Disclaimer: This story is based upon characters created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney. If you recognize the characters from TV, they aren't mine. I will never make any money from this.
This chapter includes actual dialog from the show to lend authenticity. I am working under the belief that this constitutes 'fair use'.
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Book Two: Chapter Six: Family Fun Night
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In a custom lair atop a nearby mountain, a man sat on his throne somberly. The room was vast and round with a high domed ceiling and the comforting feeling of sitting inside an egg. His winged cape, custom rooster-style Mohawk combined with his long, hooked nose to give him a bird-like appearance. His custom boots completed the effect by appearing to be bird's claws.
"You wanted to see me?" The hoarse voice came from a boy who walked toward the throne hesitantly. The leathery wings on his back fluttered nervously. His own black cape reached down past his knees.
Aviarius looked down his beak at the boy, "It's time to pay that favor you owe me, boy."
"Okay," He sighed. "What do I have to do?"
"Simple, Dandle!" the eyes of Aviarius twinkled. "Destroy Team Stop!"
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Jim Possible moved an annoying lock of his own red hair out of his eyes. This allowed him to see the wiring on his ignition control much more easily. As he adjusted the ground, he could sense an inner lament from Jimmy about the utter lameness of family fun night with Aunt June.
He was glad to be experiencing it only second hand.
Tim waved at him from the launch pad several yards away, "Hicka bicka boo?"
"Hoosha!" Jim raised the controller high.
Tim ran back over to Jim.
Once all was set, Jim pressed the control.
The boys watched happily as what should be there highest launch yet began. Even their other brothers were made happier by this experience as it came to those at Aunt June's house through the We-Stop network.
None of them were pleased to see a trail of flame erupt from the sky and strike the rocket.
It came down in fiery glory, fifty feet short of the height goal that evening.
We-Stop watched as a dark figure came down from the sky. It was a boy their own age, with bat wings and glowing red eyes.
"Hey!" cried Jim.
"What's the big idea!" yelled Tim.
"I'm sorry," said the boy hoarsely as he landed near the launch pad. "Was that yours?"
"Yes!" Tim said plainly.
"You owe us a rocket," said Jim.
"Well, I didn't come to blow up your rocket," said the winged boy as a fireball appeared between his hands. "It's you I came to destroy!"
The redhead heroes jumped in opposite directions as the fireball was launched.
It exploded on the control position, frying their equipment.
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"So," asked Aunt June at dinner. "How are you boys doing?"
"All right," said Jimmy.
"We found a new playmate at home today," said Timmy.
"Oh?" said their mother, "Who's that?"
"Some kid with demon powers," said Timmy.
"He's attacking the tower now," Jimmy took another bite of ham.
The adults all paused at this news.
"Do you boys need a hand over there?" I-Stop asked carefully.
"Nah," Jimmy waved off the idea.
"We're having fun with 'im," said Timmy.
"I wonder why Kimmie's so late," said Mr. Possible.
"I'm sure she'll be by before the games start," said Uncle Barry.
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Back by Stop Tower, We-Stop had multiplied to ten boys and were piling on the winged invader.
Their 'new playmate' roared as he pushed off the crowd of ten-year-olds with strength that rivaled He-stop at that age.
"Not," said Timothy.
"Good," said James.
The winged boy's eyes glowed red as her formed another fireball between his hands, "I just have to destroy you." Just before he tossed the ball forward, he added in his hoarse voice. "Nothing personal."
Jimbo saw the fireball coming. He glowed red before fading away. The glow he had faded into quickly retreated into James, who was a few feet away.
"That's really rude!" yelled Tim.
"We don't even know your name!" yelled Jim.
The demonic boy struck a pose and glowered, "I am Dandle!" Then with a wave of both his hands, a wave of flame arced out from him at all the red clad boys.
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It was dark.
"Ron, Are sure this is right?"
"Feels right to me, Kim." He fumbled a moment, "Are you sure it fits in here though?"
"I'm pretty sure, Ron." After a moment she added, "But it is dark."
"How about our glows?" asked Ron.
Kim slapped her own forehead, "Of course!" After another pause, "But not while we're touching."
"Right. Sorry, She-stop."
A moment later, the Stoppable garage was lit faintly by green and blue hues. Then came the sound of broken glass.
"Ron, you crushed the light bulb!"
"It's okay, I've got another."
"Well, keep your strength off," Kim stressed. "I'll light the way while you replace the bulb."
"Gotcha, Kim." Ron carefully unscrewed the old bulb in the dim green light and screwed in the new bulb.
They surveyed their handiwork a moment before Ron spoke, "I'll get the switch."
Just as he stepped out of the light of her glow, Kim heard a crash.
"I can fix that!"
Then the light came on, showing a garage overstuffed with boxes, brick-a-brack and knick-knacks.
Kim's communicator beeped, so she answered it, "What up, Wa-. Dad!" Kim was startled to see her father on the communicator. It had been years since he handled mission communications.
"Kimmie," he said sternly, "do you know what night it is?"
"Um," Kim thought fast, "No."
"Well, it's family game night, and we're missing a gamer."
"My bad," Kim admitted. "It was an emergency and Ron wanted my help."
"Your cousin Larry will be so disappointed." He sighed. "Well, I'll break the bad news."
"Tell him I feel terrible, Dad." Kim eyes were sullen.
"I know you do, Hon," said her father. "Bye now."
When the octagonal screen went blank, Kim punched the stale garage air. "Yes! Close one cous', but not this time!"
"Wow!" said Ron as he tried to return a box to its original shape, "Cousin Larry again?" Ron readjusted his belt, "You've been complaining about him since- forever. What's so bad about Cousin Larry?"
Kim put an arm around Ron, "Do you have all night? It all started when we were three. Aunt June brought Cousin Larry over for a play date."
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We-Stop strategically reduced their numbers while those that didn't fade into glowing energy and rejoin with their brethren ducked below the approaching arc of fire.
"How about the repulsor rifles?" Jim asked his nearest brother.
"Cabinet's locked," replied Timothy.
"But the front door isn't!" cried Jim.
Dandle was entering the tower.
All four present members of We-Stop ran after him.
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Kim continued her story over dinner with Ron's folks, "Flash forward to family game night."
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The bat-winged intruder made his way to the main control console.
"Get out of our headquarters!" yelled Tim.
"Be with you in a sec'," said Dandle as he slipped a card into the panel. He immediately turned and cast jets of flame at them from both hands.
The two middle boys ducked while the other two grabbed fire suppression equipment from the walls near the doors. They all then rushed the strange boy head on.
Dandle removed the memory card from the panel and flew over the boys, taking advantage of the high ceiling.
Timothy sprayed his extinguisher at the flying boy, but missed.
When he landed at the doorway, Dandle turned his red glowing eyes back at the four twins. "I'll have to destroy you later. Bye!"
He then flew out the main door and into the sky.
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Kim droned on about Larry's faults on the phone with Ron that night, "Once a month Larry comes over, and I am stuck in freakville."
She still had more to say on the subject in front of her locker at school, "And now, Larry drones on and on about these creepy conventions he goes to, in costume! And the video games, last month I learned everything I ever wanted to know about that stupid Fortress game."
"Fortress?!" Ron's interest was piqued. "The other night I spent six hours battling the hill top fortress with nothin' but a joy stick and a will that could not be denied."
Kim frowned, "And to think that's time you actually might have otherwise wasted."
Wade waved as he walked up to them, "Kim, Ron."
Ron waved back, "Hey Wade."
Both of the vanguard members of Team Stop did a double take, "Wade?!"
Ron gasped, "Live?"
Kim was astonished, "In person?"
Ron grinned and lifted a hand, "High Five!"
Wade lifted a hand and Ron slapped it, but his hand passed right through Wade's body. This prompted Ron to panic, "Wade's a ghost! Wade's a ghost!"
"Ron!" Wade said, "I am not a ghost."
Ron pointed at the apparition accusingly, "Don't play me specter."
Kim passed her hand through Wade's head a few times. Doing this seemed to disrupt his appearance and cause a staticy hum, "Hologram?"
Wade pointed at Kim, "Precisely."
"You almost fooled me," Ron commented. "Almost!"
"The technology is incredible," said Wade. "You can literally be in two places at once,"
"Technology's answer to the red glow, huh?" commented Kim.
"Exactly!" said Wade. Then his image shimmered with static. "Eh, there are still a few bugs to work out." His image disappeared and the screen in Kim's locker flicked on, "Anyway, we got a hit on the site from a Lord Monty Fisk."
"The archaeologist?" asked Kim.
"How did you know?" asked Wade.
"I saw a documentary on the Knowing Channel."
"He's discovered the location of a rare artifact. But he needs your help to get it."
Kim reached for the flight plan that Wade was printing out. "Cool! Never been there!"
Ron looked at the plan, "Cambodia?"
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"Nice place," said Ron as they trudged through the jungle, "come for the humidity; stay for the leeches."
Then they encountered a ruined structure with a strange face on it.
"Huh?" said Ron when he saw it.
"A monkey temple," said Kim.
Ron started shaking, "M-m-m-m-m-m-monkey!"
"Oh no," Kim didn't feel like handling a panicked leader all day. Then again, this made her de facto leader.
"She-stop I presume?" Two men appeared from the jungle brush nearby. "I'm Lord Monty Fisk," said the taller, younger of the two. "This is my valet, Bates," he gestured to the shorter man who was holding a parasol over the lord's head. They were both dressed in the typical clothing and gear of English explorers.
Kim introduced Ron, "This is He-stop."
"He seems rather troubled," Bates, the mustached man folded the parasol.
Lord Fisk observed Ron's shaking a moment, "Quite."
"Yea," Kim said as she watched Ron continue to shake. "Well," Kim explained, "See it all goes back to Ron's first summer at Camp Wannaweep. He had to bunk with the camp mascot, Bobo the Chimp."
Kim snapped her fingers just before Ron's nose.
He broke out of his fit, "That was one crazy monkey."
"You do know of course that chimpanzees are actually part of the ape family," said Lord Fisk. "They're not monkeys at all."
"Monkeys, apes, they all hold things with their feet, man!" Ron held a foot up toward the lord, "We're talking about freaks of nature."
Fisk was not pleased at all, "I asked specifically for She-stop's assistance. Why is he here?"
Kim wondered why Wade had not mentioned that. She also hoped Wade was not still watching her accounts. He might have seen that money Drakken gave her before she transferred it offshore.
"I'm team leader," explained Ron.
The lord turned to Kim, "My condolences." Then he led them through the brush.
"Ron!" Kim chided quietly as they followed the explorer toward the temple, "Could you get a grip?"
"Mark my words," Ron said unhappily, "His lordship is five-hundred miles of bad road."
"Ron, Lord Monty Fisk is a world famous explorer and highly respected scholar," She whispered as they approached the Englishmen.
"Bad road!" Ron told Kim again. Then he saw that Fisk was staring at him. Ron smiled and attempted a British accent, "Ah, Monty old chap-"
Fisk wasn't impressed, "I believe I will direct all further communication to She-stop." The nobleman showed her an old map of the temple and the jungle surrounding it and pointed, "According to this map, the jade statue is here."
Ron was curious, "What's the statue of?"
Fisk scowled at Ron, but then brightened and teased, "A monkey."
Kim pointed to an ornate decoration on the map, which looked somewhat like a monkey with four icons around it that had lines which intersected at the center drawing, "What's that?"
"The locals believe that placing this icon in precise alignment with three others would generate a mystical monkey power," Fisk then folded the map and placed it under his coat. "Utter nonsense of course."
The group then proceeded to the temple entrance.
Kim walked in until she realized that Ron was not walking with her. "Come on!" she waved him in.
"May be there's a back way in?" Ron grinned nervously.
"Honestly, there is nothing to be afraid of," Kim just went in without him. Then a portion of the floor opened, swallowing Kim.
Ron cried out, "She-stop!"
Kim slid down a steep passage until she fell with a pronounced grunt into a room with huge busts of monkeys on the four walls. "Okay," she thought aloud. "At least the walls aren't-" Two of the walls began to close in on her, "moving?"
Kim jumped onto the forward jutting lips of one of the busts in the cautious hope that the bust would prevent the walls from meeting together and crushing her.
When the bust's lips kissed against those of its mate on the opposite wall, the rock crumbled. Kim used her glow to push against the walls and quickly jumped and climbed up to the top of the walls and managed to slip out from between them when they were still four centimeters apart, "I feel so welcome here." She looked around her and then started down a hall that seemed in the right direction, "Gotta find that jade monkey and get out."
She encountered a corridor where the walls held more monkey busts going down its length. As Kim walked by, a stone monkey spat flame, "Wow!" Kim jumped to evade it only to have another breath fire toward her. Kim jumped, flipped and cart-wheeled down the corridor as they each spat fire at her.
Kim was genuinely relieved when she reached the end of the monkey gauntlet, "Once again, cheerleading has saved my life."
She walked up the adjoining corridor with a set of stairs. The closer she got to its end the louder she could her the sounds of monkeys screeching. She finally had to cover her ears and instinctively shut her eyes as well. When she reached the drop at the top, it caught her as a complete surprise.
When she started to fall, the shrieking stopped. Kim managed to grab the bottom of the doorway she had fallen through.
She looked down to see she was now near the domed ceiling of a great room. The floor below was at least forty feet down. The spikes in the floor rose about eight feet high.
Kim got the impression that someone who hated her deeply was guiding this rather clichéd adventure, "Spikes!" She then sardonically asked her 'author', "Gee, where are the snakes?"
When the snakes started crawling out of holes in the ceiling near her, she thought she must have angered him. "I was just being sarcastic!" she called to the unseen heavens.
The snakes reared back to strike, so Kim released her grip. She cried out as she fell, then grit her teeth and turned on her glow. She let her anger and frustration fuel it as she threw masses of energy at the spikes below.
They shattered and Kim managed to fall onto flat stone instead of jagged rock.
Bruised and moderately battered, she stood up to face a small pedestal, "The jade monkey." She reached up and took the statue.
The spikes that remained, and the pedestal, all receded into some unknown place. Then as Kim held the jade monkey in her arms, the large floor of the room tipped suddenly, "Wow!"
Kim was whisked down a sloped tunnel and slid back to the temple entrance, ending at Ron's feet.
"Kim!" He looked very happy to see her.
"Huh?" She was surprised to be brought back to that place.
"What happened?" asked Ron.
Monty Fisk clapped his hands together and spoke before she could answer, "She-stop, I shall see to it that the National Museum celebrates your heroic efforts."
Kim handed him the statue, "It was no big."
When Kim worked with Wade on a flight plan back home, she found that a typhoon threatening Taiwan would be too dangerous to fly through and too large to fly around. They had to wait about eight hours before a flight to Middleton would be safe.
She and Ron got sleeping bags from the plane and camped with Lord Fisk, at his insistence.
"I'm telling you Kim," Ron leaned on his elbow, unable to sleep, "he's bad road. I feel it."
"He has a royal title," Kim said sleepily.
"Which you can get on E-bay!."
"Go to sleep."
Ron lay back on his pillow at looked out into the trees. "What?" Ron saw something black and simian dart from branch to branch. "There's a monkey in the camp, a live one."
"You're obsessed," Kim said curtly. "Sleep!" Kim rolled over in her bag.
The creature came into the camp proper. "Getting closer, " Ron began to shake again. He saw it double back and slip into Fisk's tent. "The Monkey!" Ron gathered the sleeping bag around him so that all but his eyes were covered. Ron watched where he had seen the monkey last with careful fear.
A hooded figure emerged, carrying the jade monkey statue. Ron relaxed, letting the bag fall away from his head and sighed with relief, "It's just a hooded ninja."
"He's got the statue!" Kim sat up.
The ninja took an oddly relaxed combat stance.
Kim stood in a combat stance and attacked with a simple left hand strike followed by a spin to allow her to attack again with her right.
The ninja leaned back and away from both strikes and struck with the side of his right hand.
Kim barely ducked it.
He reversed his moved to strike at her again with the same hand.
Kim rolled onto her back and kicked the statue from his left hand. "He-stop, catch!"
Despite still being wrapped in his sleeping bag, Ron caught it easily.
With the artifact no longer in the fray, Kim lit her hands.
The ninja duck lowed and rolled out of the way of her glowing attack.
Her glowing hand broke a tent support.
The ninja finished it's roll on Kim's right flank and stood in his awkward combat stance. He drew a line in front of him with one foot.
Kim recognized a challenge. She grunted loudly as she jumped to attack. Her glow brightened like green fire.
He twisted away from her advance and attempted to strike at her as she passed.
His hand passed through that space just after she had. He attacked with the other hand before she could take a fresh stance.
She gasped at his speed as he reversed his hand's direction again to try for a 'leftover' strike.
He missed, so Kim pressed forward with several glowing strikes that would not have struck at all if not for the force of the glow itself around her hands grazing against him.
He stepped back from each of her attacks.
When they were both under the tent's canopy, he ducked under Kim's kick and nimbly quick-stepped from under the canopy. Then he broke the other support to the canopy.
The tent's canopy came down on Kim.
Watching Kim struggle under the tent flap, Ron yelled out, "Don't worry, I've got the monkey." Then he looked at the ninja and at the statue. Then he cried out, "I've got the monkey!"
The ninja leaped at Ron.
Ron stood in his sleeping bag and ripped the bag off of his glowing body.
The ninja landed directly in front of him and taunted Ron forward with one hand.
Ron punched.
The ninja grabbed his outstretched arm and threw the off-balance superhero over his shoulder.
Ron hit the ground hard, "Hey! That's not fair."
Kim arrived and moved to attack.
The ninja stepped around Ron, so that the blue-haired youth was between the hooded ninja and his green teammate.
Kim attacked, but Ron accidentally rose into it as he stood up. Kim's glow was neutralized as it touched Ron's, which was also dimmed.
The ninja was standing over the statue on the ground. He dropped two large pellets. Smoke rose.
Kim ran into the bank of smoke, "Oh no! He's gone, and the statue's gone with him."
As the smoke dissipated, Monty Fisk and his valet emerged from their tent.
"What's all this then?" asked Fisk.
Kim walked to him, "Someone stole the jade monkey."
"How shockingly awful."
"Yes," agreed Bates. "Awfully shocking, m'lord."
Fisk paced thoughtfully and stroked his chin, "Word of our discovery must have gotten out." He balled his hands into fists and swore, "Oh rot!" He then turned to the teens, "If only your bravery was not wasted."
Kim angrily struck her own fist into her other hand. Ron thought her hands glowed for only an instant.
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They soon flew home and got there about 4 a.m. local time, so they went to bed for a few more hours.
When Kim trudged into the kitchen, her father was reading the paper while her mom was frying bacon.
"Morning, Honey," said Mr. Possible. "How'd Cambodia go?"
"Mixed. The good part, I saved a priceless icon from a ferociously snaky, spiky pit; less good," Kim picked up a glass of orange drink, "a ninja stole it."
Mr. Dr. Possible lowered his newspaper a moment, "Oh, isn't just like those darn ninjas? Well, this aughtta flip that frown upside down." He folded the paper slightly, "Cousin Larry felt so bad missing you for family game night," he made a large smile, "Aunt June invited us all over for dinner Saturday!"
Kim spit her drink across the table and coughed. "Oh, I wouldn't want to," Kim patted her throat, "impose."
"Not at all," Dad seemed shocked at the thought. "Aunt June says Larry never has friends over."
Jim walked in, "Maybe because he's the dweebiest guy on the planet?"
Tim was behind his twin pointing a twisting finger at his own head while making a face.
"Jim," his father scolded, "don't mock family."
The twins sat down at the table together.
"Maybe he's not even of this world," said Tim, "maybe he comes from some far off planet of dweebs."
The boys shared a high five.
Their father continued to lecture, "Take a lesson from your sister boys, Larry might not look like the coolest kid around, but Kim knows you can't judge a book by its cover. He turned back to Kim, "Right honey?"
Kim had been imagining the boring and dweebish things that Larry would be telling her about, "Huh?" She smiled at her dad and made a grunt of non-committal agreement.
"We should be looking Dandle and the files he took anyway," Jim said sheepishly.
"Files?" Mr. Possible looked down his nose at his sons.
"That demon kid?" asked Kim.
"What files?" I-Stop rushed over to the table.
"He took copies of files that Dr. Batman had made," said Tim.
"Medical files?" asked his mother.
The boys nodded.
"Our medical files?" Kim stood up, outraged.
"We tried to stop him!" cried Jim.
"and find him!" cried Tim.
"But he disappeared!" said Jim.
"There's no telling what someone could do with that information!" said I-Stop.
"They could find exploit our weaknesses," said Kim.
"and sell them," said Tim.
"Why didn't you boys tell us about this last night?"
"We had to see what files he accessed first," said Jim.
"I'd better call Dr. Batman," said Mrs. Possible.
"We will definitely talk about this later boys!" stressed their father.
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Later, she and Ron had their usual lunch at Bueno Nacho. Of course, If BN delivered, Ron would probably live at the tower even more.
"So was everything in those files?" asked Ron.
"Apparently," Kim groused. "Mom and Dr. Batman are supposed to go over them today for things some villain may try to exploit."
"I wonder if they'll try to use my astigmatism against me." Ron swallowed, "Did I tell you I broke up with Bonnie?"
"Oh?" Kim brightened slightly.
"I guess I'm free this Saturday."
"My Saturday is going to be night of the living Larry," Kim spoke as though she expected to be facing Dr. Dementor.
"You know," Ron spoke around his Naco. "I gotta tell ya. This Larry, he sounds like a majorly fun guy."
"Want me to send him to the tower?"
"Hey," said Ron. "Maybe he'd like a tour."
"Please, no," Kim whined.
Their communicators beeped, and Ron answered,
"Go Wade."
"I dug up some info on that jade monkey."
Ron dropped the octagonal device and covered his ears, "La, la, la, la monkey stuff, no monkey stuff. La, la, la."
Kim picked it up and covered Ron's mouth, "Please continue Wade."
"The temple was one of four built by the followers of monkey kung fu. Each temple had a jade monkey."
"Back up," said Kim. "I know sixteen styles of Kung Fu, but - monkey style?"
"Sick and wrong!" Ron complained.
"It's also called 'drunken style'," said Wade.
"See?" Ron slapped the table, "A sober person would never fight like a monkey!"
"According to legend," Wade displayed some images of temples, kung fu artists and monkey icon art on the tiny screen, "when the four jade monkeys were brought together, they gave the warriors mystical monkey power."
"It's the same drawing we saw at the dig," said Kim. "But why separate the monkeys?"
"Because mystical monkey power is sick and wrong!" Ron yelled.
Wade ignored him, "actually, the legend says that the worriers didn't want anyone else to get the power."
"Maybe the thief believed the legend?" Kim suggested.
"The leading expert on all things simian is Lord Monty Fisk," said Wade.
"We helped him, He'll help us," said Kim. "We'll go talk to him this weekend."
"Oh, that would be a fun conversation," Ron crossed his arms. "Monkey this, monkey that, monkey, monkey, monkey."
"Ron, look," Kim started to lecture, then she winced. "Oh! Saturday!" She cried. "Just remembered my dinner with Larry."
"Can't you flake?" asked Wade.
"No, all flaking options denied."
A green-skinned redhead walked up to the booth, "Can I make a suggestion? Send me."
Kim stood up and walked around the new girl, examining her.
"Oh no," said Ron, watching them both. "Which one's the real Kim?"
Kim passed a hand through her double, "What do you think?"
"Oh sure make fun," Ron was annoyed, "but when holographic duplicates start running around, you can't be too careful."
"Think about it Kim," sang Wade. "My holographic simulator is ready for a field test."
The hologram began moving as though listening to a fascinating speaker, "Really Larry? That's very interesting Larry." Then she gasped appreciatively, "Nice costume, Larry."
"It rocks, Wade. but I can't do the virtual flake," Kim whined, "I promised dad." She then looked her holo-twin up and down again, "It is very tempting though."
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Thanks for waiting gang. I added a new sub-plot in response to the reviews so far.
(That's what I love about this place, interactivity)
Besides, the tweebs needed stuff to do anyway.