Before reading anything in this chapter, go and google "Wonder Woman #600." Even if you know what that looks like, you might wanna refresh your memory. It is crucial.

Most special thanks goes to CajunBear73 who beta read this 40k wordcount monstrosity.

UnStoppable Flash

Disclaimer: Kim Possible trademark and all characters belong to Disney.

DC Comics and all characters belong to Warner Bros.

Previously on 'UnStoppable Flash'

The blonde woman, Hippolyta, smiled again. "Simply put, I am here to get you to your mother."

"My dear Anne, my name is Athena, and your mother."

As Ron's vision swam and spun, he saw the petite form of Tara King behind the guys holding him still. She was the last thing he saw before he fainted.

"More than everything else though, faith, hope in a better future."

"Gregory Home. Forensic Analyst. What exactly do you do?"

"I was going to say that I would owe you a favor. A favor from me is worth more than money." Luthor's voice carried an impassive tone.

Shego was spasming as she barfed all the contents of her stomach. "Wh... What the... hell... was that... Prin.. No... Possible."

"They are dead. Everyone I failed. Kim. They are all dead. " Ron stated in a stale, matter-of-fact tone.

"But I am rarely mistaken, and I'm right on the money, don't you think so... Flash?"

"Impossible." This was all Ron said.

"Feels like I should be more concerned about someone moving as fast as me." Clark shrugged.

Chapter 10: Rōnin Part Two - Red Rage Redemption

The following few weeks saw gradual improvement in Ron's behaviour. Kim was still keeping a close eye on him, and it looked like certain familiar patterns of his behaviour were slowly coming back. His eating was kicking back up, and to her lament, so were his cheatish way of doing academics.

There were no signs of him returning to his old self, though, but she noted he recently began showing some obsessive behaviour. Lately he was constantly found huddling in the public library, for reasons she could not fathom, going over forensic science books. Kim would say this was one of his short-term obsessions, if it was not for the fact he was hiding the forensics books in normal high school textbooks to read in his classes.

She tried not to think about that, instead she dwelled on how Ron did not show any inclination of taking his suit back up again. The redheaded teen couldn't decide if that was a bad, or a good thing. Ron had even walked away from a television when he saw a police car chase, and had turned off the police scanner frequencies from his watch. And naturally, he refused to talk about it.

She didn't know what they were going to do in the long term. Her secret training sessions showed that the power she craved previously was not at all out of reach. Every day, her strength and speed increased gradually. Every day, her reflexes improved just the tiniest bit more.

But she didn't know what to do. Not with Ron, not with her website and certainly not with her mother. Anne Possible had absolutely refused to speak further on the subject, stating that Kim needed to hear certain things later.

Being shutout by Ron and her mother was bad enough, but worse still, was Wade going completely off the radar. None of his old numbers worked and email to him came back 'Undeliverable-no address found'. The genius boy – her team's mission command - was essentially missing. All her parents knew was that Wade's aunt took him away from the city for a while. For how long, no one knew.

However, mission life, of sorts, went on. A few people had reached her by phone for certain Good Samaritan deeds. She couldn't say no. They were simple stuff, community service grade favors she took a certain pleasure in taking on. Especially after facing, what she felt, were her shortcomings.

That didn't stop her from noticing how certain criminal events had started to appear in The Examiner 'Police Blotter' columns. People started noticing the increasing trend in of criminal activity. In many minds, Flash's disappearance was already a big deal. Certain TV and newspaper psychologists deduced that, correctly for the most part, the young hero was unable to deal with consequences of the Valentine's Day.

Biting her lip, 'If only they knew.', Kim sadly thought.

Just prior to and after Flash's appearance, Tri-City had one of the lowest crime rates in United States. Now, that trend was beginning to end. Kim didn't know why, but it appeared that, with Flash gone, criminals viewed the city as easy pickings, especially with the way cops failed to handle the new crime wave.

Something had to be done, yet, she was forbidden from performing any violent hero work. Government officials had made it clear after Canada, whatever she did on foreign soil notwithstanding, her actions, anything other than her simple favors, was not going to be tolerated.

Kim wasn't certain how the people in Middleton took the events either. Her return had seen a surge in morale initially, but as the details of the attack came to light, public opinion on her soured. She had enough credit with the locals that no one had dared to say what they thought to her face, but local channels and radios were debating whether what she did in the long run was actually a detriment, a perception that was furthered by Flash's disappearance. So it was, almost two months after the Valentine's Day tragedy, the city that used to be her cradle now had turned into a place of uncertainty.

Sighing heavily, she stopped her musings and finished packing her bag for her upcoming trip away from all this drama. As if by divine interference, her Nana needed help moving into her new house in southern Florida. Kim hoped the change of scenery would help Ron burst the invisible bubble he had built around himself. Spring Break was on, and she hoped she could use the change of scenery, and the event itself, to let off some steam; the last two months had not been kind to them.

She also hoped Nana Possible had eased up a little on her traditional ways, but she didn't count on it.

So it was, ten hours into the drive, that Kim found herself fearing that she was going to go nuts. Earlier she had tried to sleep, with no luck as tweebs annoyed her endlessly. And after they fell asleep, her father's snoring after Anne took over the driving nearly sent her over the edge. All the while, Ron just kept reading a big book on forensic anatomy and physiology. Though she hadn't witnessed any of it, she was reasonably sure the blonde had also fallen asleep a few times, violently shaking himself awake when he dozed off.

Kim didn't know the reason, but she suspected he was having nightmares, or terror. Ron was showing all the clinical signs of post traumatic stress disorder, and all she could do was silently support him.

During a lull in the abject boredom, she puffed audibly. To her surprise, Ron's elbow nudged her arm.

"You're awfully somber for someone going to Florida for spring break." He whispered quietly, so as to not wake up those asleep in the station wagon.

Moving to him, Kim whispered back. "You can only say that because you've never actually met my Nana."

"Why?"

"She's got this super weird overprotective thing going on."

"Kim, that's standard grandmothering procedure."

"But my Nana has a way of taking it to a truly critical level."

"Critical? How critical that can be?"

Kim sighed. "Just wait till morning, you'll see."

Ron shrugged. "Wanna take my noise blocking earmuffs? Looks like I'm not gonna get much use out of them.", he said as he pulled said earmuffs from his backpack stuck in backseat.

Kim nodded, but touched his hand briefly. "Ron...Are you...Okay?...You were kinda...uh, restless earlier."

Ron shrugged again. "I'm...okay-ish.", he deflected her question. Handing her the earmuff, "Just get some sleep KP. C'mon, you can use my shoulder."

Deciding to let it go, "Thanks.", before she put on the earmuffs, and instantly basked in the effective soundlessness. She nestled her arm around Ron's, put her head to his shoulder, and promptly fell asleep.

While she slept, Ron held a flashlight in his other hand to continue reading the book. Every now and then he shuddered ever so slightly as he heard the bodiless voice of a female.

"You need to close that book and sleep as well Ron. You need it."

Ignoring the voice, Ron kept reading.

Morning came as they crossed into Florida. To Kim's dismay, the last few miles to Chez Leisure was marked by the singing of Anne and James Possible. Having woken up earlier, Kim tried to shake off those last miles; the singing, while sweet, got old very quickly.

Ron, on the other hand, had fallen asleep sometime in the dead of the night and was still out like a light. And while Kim slept on his shoulder, Ron appeared to have collapsed into the side window. So deeply he slept, it took some effort to wake him. And, ironically, no small effort was made to wake Rufus, to, who appeared to be quite content napping in Ron's pocket.

"There we are. Now that wasn't such a bad ride, was it?" Anne Possible exclaimed as she let the twins out.

Tentatively, Kim removed the earmuffs Ron had given her. "No. Those last sixteen hours just flew by.", she deadpanned.

Completely missing Kim's sarcasm, "Well that's what happens when you travel at the speed of fun!" James Possible laughed at his own joke before he moved to unpack the baggage, but found that Ron had gotten then ahead of him.

"Why don't you guys all go in, I'll get these over to the door."

Patting the blond teen on the back, "Thanks Ronald." James said before moving towards the entrance. Upon arrival he found that Kim, apparently, had already been ambushed by her grandmother and, to the young redhead's dismay, was being shoved into a wool sweater made just for this occasion.

Wincing as he watched the Possibles going in, Ron knew that wool would be a killer on Kim at this temperature. Pausing after the Possibles entered the condo, he put Rufus on the hood of the car.

"See anyone around buddy?", Ron asked his buddy. After scanning the area, the naked mole rat shook his head fervently. "Squeak loudly if you do. I'll just get this done in a flash." Ron smirked slightly, amused by his own pun, then his smirk faded, Tara liked that one. With a frown, he pushed the thought out of his head.

After one last look around, he blurred into a streak, and one by one, boxes started appearing at the door of the living community. He was done in a few moments.

Admiring his handiwork, "Not bad, no?", Ron asked Rufus as the naked mole rat climbed into his shirt pocket. After the mole rat squeaked in the affirmative, Ron walked inside after closing the doors of the car.

Walking inside he came upon Kim being introduced to her Nana's new neighbours. He slightly laughed at her predicament when the person who knit the green wool sweater was introduced to her, with Kim greeting her 'benefactor' wearing the most awkward, forced smile he had ever seen on his best friend.

Stepping to him, "You're already done Ronald?" James Possible asked before he looked to the entrance. "Nice job."

Ron simply shrugged as he leaned on a nearby wall, with Rufus peeking out his shirt pocket. He was brought up short when he heard a very familiar surname being called.

Infuriated, "Rockwaller! What are you doing here?" Kim's grandmother shouted, adding to the creepy feeling Ron already had of the elder Possible, as she scowled at another old woman who had just walked inside. Though the voice of her grandmother was different, for some reason the tone was very familiar to Ron, it's just that he was used to hearing it from Kim.

Giving as good as she got, "That's my question Possible. Just what are you doing in my community?" Rolling his eyes at the reply, 'Aaaand there was the -also- very familiar counter-tone.', Ron thought. It was like someone had aged Kim and Bonnie fifty years and placed them in Chez Leisure.

Ron looked to Kim, who was equally alarmed. Her eyes were darting between the two old women who seemed ready to brawl in the foyer.

Squaring off, "I'll have you know, I just moved here.", Nana shot back.

Wincing, "You?! Oh Lord." The elder Rockwaller seemed to be in almost physical pain. "This must be God's way of testing me.", she looked upward.

Nana Possible seemed contemplative. "It might not be a divine idea to get me to move here. In fact-", as she looked to the side.

Her anger collapsing, "Don't tell me, it was Jay who recommended this community.", Rockwaller groaned.

"He told me he had an old friend who moved here and liked it very much." Shaking her head in frustration, "Dear God, after fifty years, he is still up to his old tricks." The Possible matriarch fumed.

Petrified by the interaction between elder residents of Chez Leisure, the rest of the entourage was frozen in their spots, afraid any movements would bring down sudden carnage upon them. They all were equally shocked when, the elder Rockwaller turned to them and then zeroed in on Kim. "Ah, you must be Kimberly. Little Bonnie talks about you a lot." The frozen visage shown to Nana Possible gone, she offered a warm smile to Kim. "I am Courtney Rockwaller, dear. And hello to all the rest of you.", she greeted the rest of Kim's family.

All Kim could do was nod, making a small 'meep' sound as her hand was shaken. Then gulping loudly. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that she doesn't have good words to say about me."

Waving that off, "Ah, don't worry your pretty head with that. We were all teenagers once." Then offered a warm smile to everyone else, save the oldest Possible.

Suddenly, the doors to the living community opened and gave way to two elderly men, both of whom looked to be very spry.

The leading one looked to both old women and loudly exclaimed, "Are you two kiddos playing nice?" Then a little too innocently, "What a nice coincidence to have both of you in the same community!"

Nana Possible turned to him. "Jay, you insufferable old buzzard! After all these years, can't you let go?!" Then she turned to the other old man and smiled. "Hello Alan."

The slightly taller old man smiled back. "Hello Josie.", he greeted. Then punching his friend lightly on the arm, "Sorry about Jay, but you know him." Smiling warmly, "Hello Courtney.", as he made the rounds with his friends.

Ron whispered to Kim, who had sneaked over to him. "Josie?"

"Nana's name. It's actually Jocelyn.", Kim whispered back. Then they looked back at the elderly confrontation.

The elderly Rockwaller shook this "Alan's" hand as she kept shooting daggers at the other character, the "Jay" fellow.

"Oh come on kids, it's been fifty years. I think you two will like living in close proximity.", Jay said with a huge, warm smile as he greeted everyone else and shook their hands.

"Jay Garrick," He said with a slightly extravagant half bow. Gesturing beside him, "And this is-"

Cutting his friend off, "I am Alan Scott, and not that old so I need you to announce my name.", he ribbed Jay.

Shrugging, "We are both over ninety."

A raised eyebrow, "So?" Then he turned away from Garrick and started shaking everyone else's hand. Jay did the same.

As Ron and Jay shook hands, a very weird feeling took hold of his hand as he announced his name, "Ron Stoppable."

Garrick's eyes widened for a second, then quickly reacted and smiled as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. However, Ron had caught it, alarm bells started ringing in his newly blossoming scientific mind.

Introductions done, James and Ron started carrying the boxes and luggage to Nana's new living unit as the rest proceeded to the common area with the elderly. They were done quickly, as Ron sneaked a few extra boxes each time while James had his back turned.

James was adjusting the positions of the boxes Ron left him when the blond heard the voice of Jay Garrick in a hallway short of the common area. He sneaked around to the edge to eavesdrop and learned Jay was talking with Jocelyn Possible.

"I am still very irritated with you Jay."

"And I tell you, it has been fifty years. You and Courtney need to let this go."

Ron heard the old woman huff in annoyance. "Did you try to set up a get-together, again?"

"Well…yes."

Snorting, "I see that it didn't work again." Then, "How's Joan?"

"You know, old age. She sends her love. Her hip was troubling her a bit."

"That's too bad, I would have liked to see Joan. What about Carter?"

A very brief silence followed. Then Ron heard the old man's voice with some sadness in it. "Carter passed away a few months ago. Alan and I were there, at the end." He sighed. "He called 'Shayera' one last time and then slipped away. I think he was happy."

"Of course he was happy Jay. He had been missing her for the last thirty years."

After another brief silence, Jay's voice picked back up. "Well, Nelson keeps locking himself into his tower as always. I heard that even his son and family couldn't reach him. Rex's legs failed, so he couldn't make it. It's just me and Alan, I'm afraid."

"You still keep an eye on everyone, don't you? Will you ever truly retire?"

"Hold your horses there kiddo. I haven't put on the tin helmet for years now."

Kim's voice sounded from behind Ron, startling him. "Ron! Come on, join us!"

Ron panicked as he thought he was discovered, so he bolted with superspeed to a nearby door to the common area. His mind, however, was still going over the cryptic conversation he overheard between the two elderly friends.

Ron joined the group in the common area, watching several of the elderly there take part in many activities available to them. Kim came near and nudged him with his elbow. "What took you so long?"

"Uh..." He contemplated telling Kim about what he heard, but that was all vague stuff about old friends. He decided to go over it later. "Nothing. Rufus wanted to explore a bit."

Kim was skeptical. "Rufus? Wanted to explore an elderly living community? Hmm."

The mole rat, who had just raised his head from Ron's shirt pocket, looked at Ron and then nodded fervently, even though he had no idea what was going on. Kim decided to let it go after that.

"Come on, I gotta ditch this sweater and I don't think I can take another round of the Possible vs. Rockwaller Cold War, the Senior Edition.", before she pulled him along to Nana's unit.

Smirking to Kim, "I hope this gave you some perspective about you and Bonnie now.", Ron said to the long-suffering member of the Junior Edition version.

Smiling way too innocently, "Whatever do you mean by that, Ron?", Kim's voice a bit too nice for Ron, so he decided to not get any further over his head with her.

Deciding discretion was the better part of…survival, "Uh, nevermind.", Ron quit while he was still healthy.

As soon as they reached Nana's living quarters Kim got the sweater off of herself in record time, leaving her hair quite the example of what happens when it is crossed with static electricity. While she fought her hair and its pops and sizzles, and frizzy wildness, the rest of the family filed into the unit to get settled for the short stay. As their luck had been so far, both teens turned to the door just as Nana walked in.

"Kimberly Anne, I have some lovely sundresses for you.", Nana said as she held a few one-piece sundresses with varying color and design in her hands. Ron thought they were not that bad, until he tried to imagine Kim in one of them. That resulted in an immediate, hard-to-contain giggle.

Kim shot a murderous look at him and turned to her grandmother. "Nana, I am not really a sundresser. When I'm on a mission-", she cut herself off when she remembered she had been 'retired' from them. And this allowed Nana to bring up another issue she and Kim had been at odds about for the last several years.

"Oh Kimberly Anne, you still haven't gotten through this phase yet?"

"Phase?"

"These missions of yours, hip-hopping all around the world on school nights, in those baggy boy's pants." Nana had a very dismissive, and to Kim's opinion, annoying take on the matter.

"So not. Just last week, I foiled this freak who tried to flood Canada with a weather machine.", Kim retorted but didn't realize that Nana playing with her ear, seeming to not be paying attention to her. The old woman responded with a generic "That's nice dear.", and started to walk out of the room.

Following her out of the room, "Nice?" Kim continued. "The population of Ottawa thought it was a little better than 'nice.'"

James Possible answered from behind his newspaper. "She didn't even hear you Kimmie. I think she turned down her hearing aid. She does that.", the genius rocket scientist stated this in a tone that spoke of a long suffering familiarity of the activity.

Kim fumed as she went back into the room she was going to stay in for the next two nights. Ron, meanwhile, had opened the drapes, which had revealed many college students walking around. She walked to Ron and looked out with him.

"Spring Break huh?", as she nudged Ron slightly, in hopes of getting him to loosen up a little and hang out. "Wanna walk around, see if we can pass as college students?"

Ron slightly hummed, as he normally did when he was not keen on something, but Rufus enthusiastically sprung up from his shirt pocket and nodded fervently. His owner was still stuck on the slightly mysterious behaviour of Nana's old friends.

"Rufus apparently wants to go. But I warn you Kim, while you can easily pass as one,", waving a hand to her, "this", drawing his hand down his front, "just screams 'high school kid' from a hundred yards out.", Ron lamented.

Smiling, Kim reached up and placed an arm over Ron's shoulders. "I could pass you off as my little brother." She teased and then laughed at Ron's mortified expression. Then suddenly she came to realize something now apparent about her best friend. Ron was taller these days. Taller than she remembered.

Sneering, "Full day of humiliation and self-doubt, what's new?", as the sarcastic, self-hating Ron emerged again. This was a new trend with him, probably some coping mechanism.

Kim decided to forget all that stuff, the recent past and everything, and wanted to just have some fun with him. They both needed it.

Ron decided the impromptu investigation into his suspicions could wait. If Rufus and Kim wanted to have some fun, he could at least pretend to be there with them. He owed that much to them for sticking with his sorry ass.

Next morning came with a happy rush. Kim had a blast, navigating parties and other attractions with Ron and Rufus, but she wasn't sure if Ron did, he stayed in the background most of the time. And quite early in their travels there was no doubt of who the star of the outing was.

Rufus, the magnificent and adorable naked mole rat had managed to being named honorary mascot of five different sororities. Kim also found herself swarmed by various college sororities who wanted her to attend their university when she graduated high school.

Ron just kept to himself, sitting off to the side, reading his oversized criminal analysis book; throughout seven different parties. Kim started to take in just how truly uncanny how he managed to evade notice when he wanted to, leading her to understand why Drakken had such a big problem about recalling his name.

Next morning found Kim yawning, and rising from her bed, the parties really wore her out. The other bed in the room empty, the Tweebs were already up and, no doubt, causing mayhem somewhere. Walking out of the room she found Ron sprawled on the couch in the living room, snoring lightly with Rufus doing the same on his stomach.

Sitting at a mirror in the room, Anne was combing her hair when she saw Kim walk out. "Kim, go wake Nana so we can go out to breakfast."

"Can do.", and Kim let out a monster yawn as she stretched before she went to her grandmother's room. Yawn satisfied, she opened her eyes to a strange sight. A trail of dirty footprints were on the floor, leading up to Nana's room. Worried, Kim rushed to the door.

Knocking hastily on the door, "Nana?", Kim called out, "We're going to breakfast. It's a buffet."

The door opened, giving way to a dreamy-looking Nana Possible, with some sort of circuit board falling off her robe. The sight confused Kim to no end. Then she noticed some wires wrapped around her grandmother's right arm.

Mouth open in surprise, "Nana...Wha?"

Her voice sounding somewhat manic, and a bit creepy, "Oh! Is that the remote for the TV? Silly me." Nana answered, before she walked out of her room, and to the bathroom. Trailing behind her, a keyboard, cable wrapped around her ankle, rattled as she walked.

Kim had no idea what was going on.

Breakfast was slightly less weird, but Ron looked antsy as well, so she decided to keep Nana's off-the-charts weirdness to herself, for now.

Both teens heard someone speak from the booth next to them.

"Did you hear what happened last night?"

"No, something big?"

"Apparently, almost all the tech stores on the southern coast of Florida were robbed last night."

"Get out! How is that even possible?!"

"No one knows. What kind of a crime gang can rob over a hundred stores in one night, is anyone's guess. Apparently, half of them went down without any security recordings."

"Holy moly, and this part of Florida used to be so nice."

Kim and Ron turned slightly to each other, thoughts of what they just heard churning in their minds.

'One hundred stores?! No recordings?..That Garrick fellow comes to town for a night or two and this happens. I gotta check this out.', Ron's thoughts returned to the weird wibe that he got off of Jay Garrick when they met.

'Tech store robberies...', as Kim took a discrete look at Nana. 'It can't be. I gotta check this out.'

She slid from her seat and pulled Ron along. "You hear that?", she whispered as they drifted from their booth.

"Yea. Weird."

"We need to look into this."

"I... uh... Yea. But..."

"What?"

Ron agreed that they needed to look into all the robberies, but he also had another suspicion about them. He came up with a plan. "We gotta split up. So many of them, and only two of us."

Kim thought on that for a second. "Without Wade, we will be flying blind. Your watch and my Kimmunicator are disconnected from all satellites…And we never bothered to buy mobile phones."

"All the more reason to split up, I can cover more ground alone."

Kim nodded as that made a lot of sense. "Okay. Here's the plan. We split up, we find out what we can, we regroup back in two hours at Chez Leisure and compare notes."

Ron held out Rufus. "Take him. I'll be, uh, running. You know he doesn't like that a lot. Also, you might need his badical nose."

Taking him from Ron, "And you won't?" Kim gave the blond a crooked smile.

Smirking, "I got a nose almost half as good as his, heh." Then his face fell as he remembered something. "Dammit, I didn't bring any... friction-proof stuff."

Lightly chuckling. "Then it's a good thing I packed them with my mission clothes.", Kim smirked back.

Mouth open in shock, "You did? Wait...You packed your mission clothes? But the...G-men stuff?"

Shrugging, "Well, it's just some Club Banana clothing after all.", Kim shot him a wink.

A resigned smirk, "Heh, well, let's go then." The teens said goodbye to the rest of the Possibles and left the diner.

Back at the unit, Ron finished dressing as he pulled up the zipper and then put on the red hood over his face. This was the last friction proof clothing that was not his leather suit. Wade had only two made, and the other was burnt. He tested the shoes and pants, they seemed to fit, if only just a tiny bit loose.

"You ready?" Kim asked as she walked out, fully dressed in her usual mission ensemble, from the room she shared with the twins,. Lightly whistling, "I have not seen you in those before…Nice."

Looking himself over, "Really? Everyone else who saw them thought they were cheesy B-rated TV show stuff."

Patting him on the back. "It looks ferociously good. Let's go.", before Kim moved to the door.

Looking uncertainly to her, "Kim maybe we gotta try to fly a bit under the radar? What, with government and all?"

Kim considered his concerns, "Window?"

A short nod, "Window.", and Ron looked to the window they were going to exit before he shook his head to clear it. He thought he had seen the face of a familiar blonde girl, her smile reflecting from the glass for a second.

Kim walked into the third store on her list; she was taking stores closer to their lodgings while Ron had taken the ones further out. The first two she had checked were broken into using very unorthodox methods to do so, such as a portable shuffleboard table being put through the glass. The second had both the electronic alarm and the locks fried and melted by a curling iron she found sticking out of the alarm console at the door.

This third one was even weirder. Someone had stabbed knitting needles into the alarm panel. She tried to understand what the hell was going on there, but the evidence was too bizarre for her.

Rufus scampered off her shoulder and chittered nearby with vigour. She walked over to him and crouched near where the mole rat was pointing. There she found yellow particulates on the ground…almost like crumbs of-something. Frowning for a moment..if Wade was on the other end of her Kimmunicator, she'd ask for an analysis, but she no longer had that luxury.

Looking curiously at the mole rat's behaviour, she realized that maybe she didn't need it. Rufus, sniffing the particulates, seemingly liked the smell. He picked one of the bigger crumbs and ate it as Kim watched. The mole rat immediately showed his approval of the taste.

"Huh. If you think it's good..." Kim took one of the other crumbs and sniffed it herself. It had a sweet and sour smell, almost lemon-like. At close up, the crumb looked to be a part of some sort of cake. She extended a little plastic bag to Rufus. "Bag some of it for comparison later Rufus."

She looked around for anything else. She surmised that this was all the evidence she could uncover for now. Spying a nearby clock, she decided she should be getting back to Chez Leisure. Rufus scampered along and handed her the plastic bag, and then climbed into her pocket.

Shaking her head in frustration, "Hope Ron has something better.", Kim walked out after securing her 'evidence'.

The blond speedster was going to blow a fuse. So far, he had visited a grand total of thirty robbed stores and found no evidence of any kind, period. All he could figure out was that someone or something had barreled through the glass doors of the stores, without cutting themselves or leaving so much as a footprint. A few of the stores were completely undamaged, as if the doors seemed to just open by themselves.

Ron tried to pull up the security camera footage in all of the previous stores, but the access to all of them was password protected. He had some basic knowledge of password hacking techniques, courtesy of Wade, but nowhere nearly enough to crack those systems.

Deciding to give one more store a looksee, he checked the surveillance computer of the last store he entered. To his surprise, he entered the system without a password prompt. Apparently, someone had forgotten to reset the system after the police had cordoned off the store.

Navigating to the system's video files, he pulled up the previous night's recordings. Instead of watching it normally, he fast forwarded as he reviewed it in superspeed. Then, in the length of a few frames, storefront was blown in and suddenly everything inside was gone.

Ron's eyes widened immediately. He rewound the scene and replayed it at normal speed while he watched. There were only a total of four frames in the recording with any movement. A singular blur in darkness was all one could see.

'Superspeed.'

Ron exhaled loudly as he stepped back.

'Shit!'

He left the store in a hurry, he had to return to Chez Leisure.

Kim sat in Nana's kitchen, waiting for Ron to show up, while her grandmother was baking something, and from the smells wafting from it, it was sure to be good.

Donning oven mitts, Nana opened the oven. While she removed the tray, however, she didn't miss a chance to work on Kim's nerves.

"Kimberly Anne, I'm very disappointed that you haven't taken my advice. If you're looking for excitement, why not take up ballroom dancing?"

Looking away and resisting the incredible urge to eye-roll Kim then heard the tray in Nana's hands hit the ground. She turned immediately to see the old woman looking ahead, her eyes glazed and unfocused.

Her voice distant and, to Kim, in an almost drone-ish tone she never heard from her Nana, "I'm going out for some air." Baffled, Kim looked at Nana as she left, but then noticed the tray on the ground, of Nana's famous lemon squares. Tentatively, she picked one up and sniffed.

Realization struck her. There was no doubt about it. It had the same smell, same color and structure to a clue she found earlier that day.

Rufus peeked out of her pocket to look at her while Kim looked at the lemon squares, and the door Nana just exited out of. "This is so wrong Rufus."

Now she had to follow Nana, but Ron was still not around. Yet she couldn't afford to wait.

'How can someone be late if they possess superspeed?! Damn it Ron.'

She made up her mind and ran out to follow Nana.

After a while of following the old woman from distance, they arrived at a marina. Nana, and many more old people appeared to be mounting jet-skis, motoring away from the dock. After they all left, Kim scanned around for one more, and spotted one at the edge of the marina.

Having no time to lose, she sped up and jumped far in the air onto the vehicle, turned it on and went after the elderly brigade.

Ron was enroute to Chez Leisure when he spotted the two old men that were making his weirdar go off the charts.

Sitting under an umbrella at their table near water's edge, if he was not mistaken, he found Jay Garrick and Alan Scott sipping tea. He sneaked behind a nearby table to listen in.

"Ah, nothing like a hot tea after spending the day relaxing.", Garrick said, his attitude completely at odds with the loud red Hawaii shirt with yellow leaves he was wearing. He seemed and sounded like a simple old man.

"I think my hearing aid is going off.", Alan said jiggling a finger in his ear. "Now this is the exact opposite of what you would have said thirty years ago."

Shrugging, "I was sixty back then Alan. Tastes change."

"I suppose. So tell me, why did you react to that kid's name, Stoppable?"

"Did I now?", said Jay in faux surprise. Tossing out, "It's an unusual name…that was probably it.", in hopes his friend bought the 'explanation'.

Glaring, "Jay, I've known you for sixty five God-forsaken years, so I know when you avoid topics in conversation.", Alan shot back. "Something is off with the kid, and the way you reacted to him."

Ron cursed under his breath. Those two had sensed something about with him, just as he sensed it about them. He heard Garrick sigh softly.

"I used to... know another Stoppable. A long time ago."

"How long ago are we talking here?"

"Back in the war. He-"

Ron suddenly heard both men stop speaking. He peeked out from under the table to see both old men standing up awkwardly and leaving some money on their table. They had really vacant, blank looks in their eyes.

Ron knew something had just gone terribly wrong. He knew he had to go back to Chez Leisure, but his gut told him to follow these two old men.

He followed both of them from the shoreline inland, to the wetlands. As soon as they hit the edge of the town, both men did something that made Ron's eyes pop out.

Alan Scott subtly glowed green and took off into the air.

And Jay Garrick simply blurred into a visible streak.

Ron was now properly shocked. 'Holy fucking shiiiiiiit!'

He blurred after the two old men, now revealed to be metahumans.

Kim followed the elderly on jet skis to an old, abandoned gator farm in wetlands. She observed people leaving their jet skis and walk into the main building. She got a little closer to get a better look.

In the entrance of the gator farm Drakken stood happily munching away on lemon squares. A tray in his right hand, he kept stuffing his face with them, until Nana approached. Stepping aside he gestured her inside and followed her in.

Rufus squeaked softly when he saw that. Kim patted the mole rat's head. "I know. My Nana and Drakken, we are over the weird limit here."

From behind her, "Princess, you have no idea.", and Kim was startled to find Courtney Rockwaller standing next to Shego. In the old woman's hands was what appeared to be a golden staff with a jagged end and a crystal.

Before she could react, the staff fired a golden beam which caught her right in the head, knocking her out for a short time. Rufus had successfully scampered off in time.

When Kim came to, she was suspended over a shaft used to feed gators from the farm. Drakken was nearby, typing something into his system, while a number of old people were nearby, watching with empty eyes.

"Well done, oldsters!", and Drakken threw a small piece of raw meat down the shaft, watching four gators tear it apart almost instantly. "They came with the lair, isn't that great?"

"What kind of sick, twisted and half-baked plan did you come up with this time?", Kim shot back as she checked the metal bonds and chains on her hands. She noted they were not strong enough to contain her hands, and once she was out of sight, she could easily rip them apart.

"Oh, you would like to know, wouldn't you?!", he sneered. "Oh, all right. You pushy kids.", he gloated, "I'll tell you all about it before your demise!" Kim had to admit, Drakken's wackiness was somewhat endearing when compared to the real psychos.

"I have devised a way to control all the elderly in the world! My genius-"

"Developed a signal to control teenagers through their music players but he failed to calibrate the signal and instead tapped into hearing aid frequencies." Shego interjected as she watched from the side, quite disinterested, as usual.

Sputtering, "Shego! She doesn't need to know that!" Drakken coughed slightly before he composed himself again. "When I launch this satellite, every old man and woman with a hearing aid will be under my control!" Then he walked over to the old people in the room. "And best part is, they came with bonus perks in this test run! Why, never in my wildest dreams, would I have imagined I'd get control of some old heroes!"

Baffled. "Old heroes?"

Standing behind Courtney Rockwaller, Drakken presented, "Meet Star-Spangled Girl, the last sidekick of the old Justice Society. And she has friends with her.", he gloated, then frowned, "But I wonder what is taking them so long?"

Suddenly the air was pierced by a pained howl.

Ron tried to keep his eyes on both of the old men. But it was tough going keeping up with one that could fly and the other who could run very fast. They weaved through the sparse woods in wetlands until they came to a building in the swamp.

Both men slowed down and Ron looked past them to see some sort of old shack raised above the swamp by wooden support beams. He also saw there were a few other old people milling about it.

Before he could begin to understand what was going on, he was grabbed and thrown in the direction of the building. He was thrown with a lot of force and quite suddenly he found himself in knee-deep water of the marsh.

He tried to clear his face with his sleeve, but as soon as he cleared his eyes and opened them, he came face to face with a huge, green, flying fist. It connected with Ron's entire torso and sent him flying upwards through the shack. He let out a shriek because of the initial pain.

He crashed through the closed door and then came to a stop on an inside wall.

"God frigging dammit!" Ron slumped on the ground, holding his chest in pain. He heard a gasp nearby and raised his head to see Kim, chained to a hook, ready to be lowered into some death trap.

Waving nonchalantly, "Oh, hi Kim. Seems I've hit a snag in the investigation."

Shego raised an eyebrow at that, when two old men came through the hole Ron made coming into the building. Happy to see them, Drakken called out to them. "There they are! Two of the strongest men of their time! The original Flash and the phenomenal Lantern! Thanks to whatever allowed them to be here, 'cause I now control them!"

Kim's face fell, this explained the situation Ron was in, but it only lead to more questions.

Drakken took a few steps toward Ron, but when the teenager raised himself and tried to rush the blue villain, the freak level went over eleven. Drakken raised his right hand and Ron was suddenly trapped in a mini-vortex.

Glowering, "You punched me out the last two times we met, buffoon! Well, no more!", Drakken sneered. "Thanks to you, I finally got control of this new power!" Waving his hand about him, the wind picked up, slamming Ron into the roof then down into the wooden floor. With a victorious cry, Drakken pushed both of his hands forward towards Ron. A violent and sudden wind blast hit Ron, sending him through the wooden panels behind him, and into the swamp.

Drakken turned to Kim. "See, Kim Possible, even if you are all that, I am now so much more! Meet Drakken The Super Atmospheric Sorcerer Supreme!"

Snarking from behind him, "That's a bit long to be considered scary, Doc.", Shego continued her habit of busting the blue skinned man's chops.

Whining petulantly, "It's a work in progress, Shego!" Then turning to Garrick and Scott, "Now, you two, go and make sure the buffoon stays down and away. I don't want his gimmicks to destroy this plan as well."

Without no visible sort of confirmation, Garrick blurred away and Scott flew off through the crashed panels. Drakken turned to Kim, who was now fuming.

Shego was concerned just the tiniest bit. From what she heard, the buffoon had saved her life in Canada, and they were not on overly aggressive terms. "Sending those two to keep the sidekick down? Doc, isn't that overkill?"

Dismissively, Drakken retorted. "Oh relax Shego, at most what can two old men do? Besides, I told them to keep him down, nothing serious.", and then he turned to Kim.

A toothy smile, "Poor Kim Possible.", he gloated. "Bet you didn't think you'd be fighting off all these old people. Too bad you won't be here to see me control the world's elderly population!" Then, with a voice more familiar from Public Service Announcements, "Which by the way, growing by ten percent each year."

Trying to buy some time, "Well, mystery robberies solved." Kim looked for a way to stop this. "Bet you didn't even realize who the old heroes were till Shego told you, huh?", she snarked back.

Shego's mocking laugh came from beside him, "See, even Princess caught that."

Annoyed, "Silence!" Drakken shouted. "The rocket to carry my satellite into orbit is ready." Then they heard a bubbling sound and the sounds of something large rising outside the building. "Just a little something I borrowed from the Cape."

Kim just rolled her eyes; the situation was growing more ridiculous by the second.

Ron landed in the swamp, a good distance from the gator farm. That last hit from whatever freaky stuff Drakken was doing had got him good. A few of his ribs were slightly hurting, so his progress was slow as he tried to rise in the muddy water.

He first felt them rather than saw them. When he had risen to full height, he faced the two old men wearing festive Hawaiian shirts. He now knew what the hell had set off his weirdar: The last remnants of the Justice Society, Superheroes of the Greatest Generation. One of them, the very inspiration to his own alter ego, the original Flash. The other, inexplicably, a person who holds a power much like the modern day Green Lantern.

And both looked at him with empty eyes. He did not know how Drakken controlled them, but it was clear they were not acting on their own desires.

Seeming to look right through Ron, "Stay down." Alan Scott declared in an even, emotionless voice.

Ron scoffed. "Like hell that's gonna happen!" Kim needed his help, and these two old timers didn't know what he could do.

"Dr. Drakken ordered you to be kept down. You will be kept down." Garrick exclaimed in a creepy, almost robotic tone of voice.

Then Garrick exploded forwards toward Ron, but the teenager was ready for that. Ron spun in superspeed to evade him and watched as Garrick stopped at a distance after missing him. Not paying attention to the other old hero, the blond speedster caught a green blast in the back sending him into the swamp water again.

Thinking fast, Ron didn't try to recover normally this time, so he rolled in the mud and then went into superspeed when his feet touched the swamp bottom. Another blur joined him and he saw Jay Garrick running alongside him. The old man suddenly charged with his shoulder, and Ron, unprepared for such an attack, took the full brunt of the charge and crashed into a patch of switchgrass.

He was lucky that the switchgrass turned out to be soft enough to cushion his supersped crash. But he was not so lucky that his forced stop had given the other old man to pepper his position with green blasts. He took a few hits before he rolled away and sped off again.

The marshland around the gator farm suddenly was crisscrossed by two streaks and a green trail, with energy explosions lighting up the expanse.

Ron kept evading the old man who matched his speed, but his compatriot was making it an extremely difficult task. Alan Scott, whatever he was, expertly wielded the Lantern-like power of his and almost kept up with Ron's maneuvers. Scott and Garrick had expert teamwork

Ron evaded another charge from Garrick and spun out of the way, but apparently the other old man was waiting for that. A huge green wall of energy instantly materialized in front of him, forcing Ron to take an instant left. The wall curved into his path again and spikes started shooting out of it. The blond speedster had to evade by making a 180-turn, but Garrick was waiting for him.

The old speedster's arm caught Ron's shoulder, throwing him full force and speed onto a marsh tree. Ron smashed through its exposed roots and sank into the knee-deep water. Jay Garrick closed in on that spot, but Ron exploded out of the water spinning in super speed.

He had enough of being pushed around by old men. He rushed at Garrick and they started to circle each other in super speed, creating a mini tornado. Ron broke the maneuver and made a move for Garrick's legs. It almost succeeded and sent the old speedster rolling in water. Unable to capitalize on the move, Ron had to evade the green energy blasts that peppered his position from above. Angry, he started picking up debris from water and threw them at Alan Scott.

The flying old man easily deflected them with an archaic shield construct, until something odd happened. A piece of damp wood Ron picked up from the tree he was thrown onto earlier made through the shield and struck Scott in the chest.

Ron didn't miss that, but he had no time to contemplate or capitalize on the information as Garrick was back and charging at him. He barely evaded the clotheslining hit from the older speedster as he leaned back almost fully. But his recovery from that had not been as fast as before, for as soon as the blond righted himself, Garrick had circled back and caught him by his hoodie.

He was spun around in superspeed and then thrown into the air where he was met with another huge green fist which nailed him with considerable force and sent him spinning into the marsh's muddy water. The mind-controlled old heroes took the phrase 'keeping Stoppable down' quite literally.

However, there was just one problem.

Ron's pain finally overrode his shock and confusion. He really had enough by being pummeled by these two old fossils.

Garrick blurred nearby, presumably to check to see if Ron stayed down, and just as he was going to look in on the downed teen, the water exploded around Ron and he was suddenly standing. Immediately, Garrick rushed him, but in his mind controlled state he could not realize that something was wrong with the blond. Ron easily caught the fist flying at his face, before his eyes opened to reveal two flaming red orbs.

His face twisted with palpable rage, "My turn!", the teen's distorted voice exclaimed. He grabbed the old speedster by his Hawaii shirt and threw him away, no super spinning preceding as before. Garrick flew off a good fifty feet before landing in the muddy water.

Sensing, more than hearing, an incoming strike from behind by Alan Scott, Ron bobbed and weaved through the endless energy blasts with ease, closing in on the flying ex-hero with alarming speed. A red streak with lightning trails were the only clues the old Lantern had to fire away at Ron. Sensing the incoming danger, the mind controlled old man immediately tried to gain altitude. Only to feel a hand grab his left ankle.

At superspeed Ron had jumped and caught Scott, and they both descended into the water. Ron spun around in place while holding onto Scott's ankle, then let him go. The old Lantern crashed through a few patches of switchgrass before he came to a stop.

Ron saw a blur at the edge of his vision, and with impossible reactions, he blurred into action as well. He caught the incoming streak of Jay Garrick with much greater speed and held him by his throat. The taller old man was now held up in the air by Ron's hand.

His eyes leaking red flames, "You wanted me to stay down?! YOU FIRST!", Ron roared with rage. He extended his right arm fully to lift the old man, and then slammed him into the marsh water at extreme speed. A wave of muddy water rose and travelled out from the point of impact.

But Ron was not done; he looked at the slowly rising Alan Scott as the old Lantern flew up a bit and sent a huge fist made of green light at him. With a roar, Ron ran straight at it and tore through it. As he neared the flying old man, he jumped, creating a small shockwave in the water. He caught the Lantern in the air, with only a thin shield construct between them.

Ron's supernaturally charged fists rained down on the shield as he roared. "YOU THINK YOU CAN PUSH ME AROUND?!", punctuating each word he shouted with a punch. The shield cracked and burst, allowing Ron to catch the old man and drive him towards the water. After they hit the water and rolled in it, Ron got up and threw the old man towards his speedster friend and then ran to them in superspeed.

He caught up to the old Lantern while he was in the air and cocked his right fist back in superspeed. Time seemed to slow down for him as he looked at both old men.

The Original Speedster was shaking, yet still he had that lifeless look in the eyes. The Lantern he was just about to hit had tears in his Hawaii shirt and blood coming out of his mouth.

Something stirred within the rage-blind teen. These two men used to be heroes! They did not deserve this!

No one deserved this.

'NO!'

Ron closed his eyes and turned his head away. He fell and rolled in the water with the remnants of his superspeed, his eyes closed. He came to a stop and held himself barely above water.

'No, no, no! I won't lose myself to this again! Not again!'

The red lines seeping from his eyes to the veins around them slowly receded. The shaking in Ron's arms and hands slowly subsided and stopped. Slowly he opened his eyes to reveal his normal brown irises. He was now breathing hard and fighting off the sudden exhaustion in his body.

Without warning, he was hit in his chest and was blasted off a ways. Slowly he righted himself to see both old men somewhat recovered, and pushing their aging bodies to carry out Drakken's order. Not faring much better, Ron he had taken a fair amount of damage and the burst of the monkey rage power didn't help either.

Still recovering, he could only watch as Scott formed a green energy hammer above him and brought it down. He closed his eyes as the hammer descended.

But the blow didn't come. Mystified, Ron then heard a familiar voice somewhere above him.

"I'm gone for a few months and I come back to find you fighting a ring user? What the hell man?"

Hal Jordan had arrived.

Hanging by the hook, Kim decided to try to get through to her grandmother. "Nana! It's me, Kim. Kimberly Anne? Uh, don't you wanna, you know, lecture me or something?"

Pausing in his calibrations of the rocket at the console, Drakken turned to Nana, "Wait! That is Kim Possible's Nana?! Ohohoho!", and did a little dance as he laughed. "You know, you really should get that lemon square recipe from her. They're to die for."

Kim rolled her eyes at Drakken's attempt to pun.

Waving a hand to his sidekick, "Anywhoo, Shego! Feed the gators!" Shego shrugged and released the mechanism to lower Kim down to the alligators.

'Well, if that's how we are gonna play this.', Kim decided as she raised her legs and violently swung them down, while also pulling with her arms. The chain holding her arms together broke and she fell towards the gators. Landing on one of them, she had to hold the jaws of another that snapped at her.

Making sure that no one was watching from above yet, she made use of her strength, snapping the jaws of the gator she was holding and swinging it towards another. The two gators violently struck the support beams and stayed down. Kim jumped off the one she was standing on and held it by its tail. After spinning with it and hitting the rest of the gators, she threw it to the support beams.

By now all of the gators were either down or afraid of Kim and cowered away from her. She crouched low and then jumped with extreme strength, landing on a beam just before she reached topside and then jumped off of it, spinning in the air and alighting beside Shego, who seemed shocked that Kim had gotten back up so quickly.

Snarling, Shego charged her hands with green plasma. Both Kim and Shego charged at each other, with Kim evading the charged hands of the villainess and kicking her in the stomach. Holding back her strength, a lot, she launched Shego away, slamming her into the wooden wall across the room.

Eyes opening, Shego furiously growled. Prepared to charge at Kim again, Drakken stepped in to stop her. "No Shego. This is a family matter.", and he gestured towards Nana Possible. "Nana, destroy little Kimberly Anne Possible!" Nana's lifeless eyes zeroed in on Kim.

Kim was appalled. "That's really low! You know I can't hit my own grandmother!"

Smirking, "Oh don't worry.", Drakken pointed to Nana, She'll be hitting you."

Snorting, "As if.", Kim moved towards Drakken but was suddenly kicked back to the ground. The teenage heroine looked up to see Nana's extended leg slowly descending from the just delivered kick. Speechless at the sight, she could only gape at her grandmother.

In a voice that sounded more like a history lesson recital, Drakken lectured her, "When she was your age, she trained with Shaolin monks to perfect the ancient art of Pang Lang Quan Kung Fu."

Kim rolled away as Nana descended on her with a drop kick. Evading the blows, she spoke with disbelief. "Are you telling me that Nana, my Nana, is some kind of-", Kim's sudden realization of what she heard was distraction enough to let slip one of Nana's kicks which knocked her into some crates nearby, breaking most of them.

As she rose from the debris, Drakken continued. "She then became a top aviatrix and was the first woman to successfully complete the Navy's underwater demolitions training program, the precursor to the Navy SEALs."

Kim's eyes, and her disbelief, grew, "Nana?!"

"That's not all. She then goes dark, being assigned a position so classified that even I couldn't find out about it. My, oh my,", Drakken smugly sing-songed, "if all indications are true, she must have been agent in Justice Society's ranks for the government.", before he moved behind the old woman. "You don't know very much about her, do you?" Laughing, he pointed at Kim. "Mrs. Rockwaller, please help her Nana destroy Kim Possible."

"What the hell are you talking ab-" Kim's question was halted when she was blasted backwards by an energy bolt. She looked up from the ground to see old Courtney Rockwaller pointing a golden, jagged staff at her, while wearing an unusual belt.

Kim didn't get the chance to observe much else as her grandmother again descended on her with a flurry of actions that belied her age, while aided by another spry old woman who kept firing off energy blasts at her. The redheaded teen did her best to avoid strikes from her grandmother while also staying away from the energy blasts. She suspected this would be nearly impossible before she gained enhanced reflexes. At the moment she was barely avoiding them at all.

Of course, being forced to fight her own grandmother and another old woman she could not hurt did not make it easy for her. She couldn't strike back at them, especially when she wasn't in full control of her powers.

Meanwhile Shego, bored with Kim's avoidance routine, decided to add her ranged plasma blasts to the onslaught. Kim now, was being overwhelmed with the increased attacks. Barely avoiding another golden blast from Courtney Rockwaller's staff, she took a grazing hit from Shego's plasma. In that split second, Nana caught up with her and kicked her clean into the wooden wall, bursting Kim outside the shack.

Kim landed on Drakken's rocket and looked up to the shack. The two old women and Shego stepped out, all looking ready to pound Kim some more.

'Ferociously uncool Drakken.', Kim thought before all three women descended on her again.

Hal landed near Ron, held his arm out, ring hand in front of him, and created a spherical shield around them. Ron coughed as he was helped on his feet.

"Ron, are you okay? Dude, you look like you went ten rounds with a meat tenderizer."

Ron steadied himself as he looked out of the shield and the two old men observing them. "I think that would have been an improvement.", he wheezed.

Pointing outside, "Who the hell are these two? A frigging power ring on Earth was not what I expected when I came back." Hal also eyed the old men as he kept the shield steady.

"From what I heard, old heroes. Justice Society, from way back, World War Two and all that."

"Shit, I thought that was an old phony legend."

"Do these two look like fakes to you?"

"Who the hell are they?"

"The one with red shirt, that's the original Flash."

"You're shitting me."

Ron shook his head. "If only. The speed he used while chasing me was very genuine."

"And the ring user?"

"I only heard Drakken call him 'The Lantern.' But I thought you were the first human Green Lantern."

Gazing at the elder Lantern, "I thought so too!", Hal said with newfound uncertainty. Then, "Ring, identify power source of opposing ring user."

"Analyzing. Power Signature: Eldritch. Known energy profile indicates the entity known as Starheart involved."

Ron was confused. "El-eldritch? Doesn't that mean it's-"

"Magic!" Jordan cried as Alan Scott created a huge hammer and slammed it into Hal's spherical shield. The sphere blasted back with both Hal and Ron inside. Hal kept the shield in one piece as they bounced on the water and crashed through swamp trees. Ron, on the other hand, rolled around inside the sphere like a hamster.

"God dammit!" He cried out as he saw the cracks in the shield. "Hal! The shield!"

"Shut up.." Hal muttered, as he concentrated and the cracks slowly repaired. "We gotta step back, plan!" They both saw Alan Scott closing in again, with a red streak close behind. "Ron, hide us after this!"

"After what?!"

Ron didn't get an answer as Hal made the spherical shield explode and briefly flashed a light from his ring almost as bright as a star. When the light went out, Hal and Ron were both gone.

Some distance away from there, they were catching their breath and hiding behind the roots of a swamp tree. Hal was apparently distraught with the entire situation.

"Dude, what the hell have you done to make them go batshit crazy on your ass?"

"They are mind controlled." Ron stated as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "By Dr. Drakken."

"What? Seriously? How?"

"If I knew how, I'd be trying to disable it. Instead, I was forced to fight for my life as Drakken ordered them to pound me into the ground."

"Well damn. Didn't think that goofy villain of yours had it in him."

"You and me both."

Hal gave Ron a once-over. "Where is your suit?"

"It's... uh... complicated."

Hal rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. Your BFF, where is she then?"

Ron's eyes grew as he remembered. "Oh damnit, she was back at the hideout of Drakken's! I have to go help her!"

Sarcastically, "Yeah, I don't think the two oldies patrolling the perimeter are gonna make it easy.", Hal snipped. "Seriously, fighting a Lantern look-a-like and the original Flash", he shook his head. "The things you get yourself into."

In irritation, "Not my fault! I was only down here to help Kim's grandmother move!", before Ron peeked a little above from the roots, to see if they were still alone. "But, how did you know there was trouble here?"

"Funny story. There I was, returning to Earth after months of training and patrolling the sector, and the first thing my ring does when I enter the atmosphere is to warn me of danger around here. Some energy surge, I think. Maybe the old guy's ring? Weird though, it doesn't register now." Hal looked at his ring. "Dunno what is up with this thing."

Ron mumbled. "It's me. It had to be."

"What?"

Ron spoke up. "It's…It was me that it registered. Probably."

"How the hell you caused an energy surge dangerous enough to be recognized by the ring?!"

"It's... uh...-"

"Don't say it." Hal was shaking his head.

"Complicated."

"Goddamit man. What the hell happened while I was gone?" He shook his head. "Well, we better take these guys out."

"Hal, they're old, at least ninety something. And they're under mind control, so they don't feel much pain. We can't hurt them."

"They will hurt us!" Hal puffed as he saw Ron's glare. "Okay fine. Restrain only. How we'll do that, I have no idea."

"We gotta get to the abandoned gator farm a few clicks out, that's Drakken's hideout and where Kim is. Probably from where Drakken controls these guys as well."

"So, we have to fight our elderly versions, without hurting them more, and get to your BFF. And I so dare you to say that one five times faster."

Ron shrugged. "You know I can say that five hundred times faster. Anyway, you take the Lantern, I take the Flash?"

Hal scoffed as he stood up and looked around. "Now you've made it sound really weird."

Kim flipped back as one of Shego's plasma blasts hit the surface of the rocket where she was just lying. She landed in the muddy water outside of the shack. She also watched in shock as Nana Possible jumped over the railing and landed with a grace belying her age. On the other hand, Courtney Rockwaller just extended her staff forward and flew in that direction.

Shego jumped down last as she rained down green plasma on Kim's location, forcing Kim to keep flipping backwards. During this evasion, Mrs. Rockwaller had flown in behind her, began firing off golden blasts from the staff, forcing Kim to retreat towards Shego and Nana. Kim avoided one of Nana's spinning kicks, rolling under it, when Shego came down on her with a drop kick.

When Kim blocked that kick with a single arm, she slightly surprised Shego. The pale-skinned woman had slightly increased physical strength due to her mutation, and this far into their rivalry, Possible had preferred to evade more than block. Now she was straight up blocking some of her most powerful strikes. Shego didn't have more time to think as Kim grabbed her leg and threw her off. She flipped in the air, landed on a patch of switchgrass and then fired twin plasma blasts from her hands.

Kim decided to take the initiative in the fight, completely ignoring the two old women. Jumping over the blasts, she rushed at Shego with increased speed. Before Shego could determine what had happened with her blasts, Kim was already nearby, preparing to take her down. Holding back some of her power, she tried to sweep Shego's feet.

The mint-skinned metahuman was deceptively quicker than most humans, so she barely avoided getting swept off by Kim. She jumped over Kim and, as she did so, tried to kick the teen in her head. Figuring something like this was coming from the sneak-fighter, Kim reacted ferociously as she spun from her crouching position and punched Shego's incoming kick, blasting the villainess backwards in the air.

Suddenly becoming aware of attacks coming from both sides, Kim flipped over Nana's charge but got caught by the blast from Rockwaller's staff. She was thrown back some distance, past some swamp trees and into the water.

Kim picked herself back up to see one flying elderly woman raining energy blasts down on her. Back flipping from her where she had been blasted to avoid them, she came face to face with her Nana. As she tried to retreat more, she became aware of one thing: These two old women, regardless of what had happened between them in the past, were working perfectly in tandem. So far, only her combat experience and certain supernatural reflexes had saved her from serious harm.

The fourth person in the equation came running from the treeline. Shego's hands were alight with green plasma and looked extremely excited by the fight she was in. She jumped in Nana's attack path and cut her off as Kim was having trouble figuring out how to shut the old women down without hurting them. The answer came to her in the form of a charging Shego.

'I need to use her anger against her, she is the one that is not used to fighting with the other two.'

Just then, Shego did something Kim had not seen her do before. As she ran to Kim, her plasma-encased hands flared and launched her upwards, and when she descended upon Kim, it was with greater speed. The teenage heroine was caught off guard, but her honed reflexes allowed her to roll under Shego. Standing up, she blocked a kick from Nana and flipped backwards to avoid another golden blast from the staff.

Shego charged back as soon as she recovered, her hands flaring again, and speeding up her punches just before she threw them. Kim blocked a few, before Shego flared both her hands in close range, propelling herself upwards with her right knee extended. Kim took the full brunt of that attack on her chin.

Knocked down, she tried to gather herself from the vicious strike. She was not hurt much, her newfound supernatural resilience helping in that department, but that kind of a hit dazes a person no matter what, so Kim had trouble.

Thankfully, Shego chose that moment to gloat. The mind-controlled old women responded and stopped as well.

"How do you like the new moves Princess? I've been training just for you, you know."

"You actually took time off from your spa appointments and trained?", Kim snarked at the vain villainess. "I feel so ferociously honored.", Kim played on Shego's competitiveness to buy time while shaking off the dizziness.

Shego shrugged, not realizing Kim was not nearly as hurt as she seemed to be. She was sure that the lithe teenage heroine was devastatingly affected by her strike. "What was it that you said? 'Done playing around'? Well Princess, I'm done playing around with a half-assed cheerleader who thinks she's hot stuff."

Kim faked more dizziness while she seemingly tried and failed to raise herself on her right arm. "So not the drama Shego.", her voice feigning wooziness. 'Everyone needs a measuring stick after all.", now a firmer tone. "But, you just might want to know though...", sounding matter-of-fact.

An eyebrow raised in curiosity, "What?"

Kim calmly raised her head, eyes clear, a wicked grin to her opponent, "You should really have trained a lot more.", before she leapt out of the water onto her hands and then towards Shego's head. The raven-haired villainess couldn't react in time and was struck by Kim's flying twin kick, knocking her out before she hit the ground.

After the kick Kim spun and landed on the roots of a swamp tree. Failing to react when Shego was taken down, the mind-controlled old women now resumed their attacks. Kim smiled slightly, now that Shego was out of the picture, she could shake these two off and go straight for the cause of this.

"Let's see if you can keep up with this Nana!"

Kim breathed in deep as both old women closed in, one running, the other flying. Then she started sprinting with all her speed towards them. She was a lot faster than before, and now, without the risk of being seen, she could unleash her potential. Nana somehow reacted and tried to kick Kim as she closed in fast, but Kim saw that coming and jumped over her, towards the flying Rockwaller.

Courtney Rockwaller, despite her mind controlled state, showed great reaction time and flew upwards, with Kim just barely missing her. But, it was not Kim's intention to catch her. Now she had a clean path to the gator farm. When Kim landed she did not slow down as she ran towards it.

"Come on! Let's dance it out, old timer!" Hal Jordan screamed as he rose in the air, exchanging energy blasts with the other ring user he was facing.

Ron just had stepped out from his hiding place and was now facing Garrick. The old speedster had the same vacant look, but seemed as if he was looking for an opening, now that his backup was occupied.

The two speedsters stared at each other, reminiscent of old west gunslingers facing off. Ron was thinking in super speed on how to handle this and restrain the old man without hurting him. There was no easy answer. This man had all the moves he had, and some others he had not.

Energy blasts of both variety, both dark and luminous green, exploded above them. Lanterns were fighting an intense aerial battle. One particular explosion illuminated the area in between both speedsters, and that was the moment each surged forward. In a blink, two red streaks closed in on each other, one covered with yellow lightning surges, the other with shimmering energy. A mini-tornado two seconds long occurred where they converged, before two streaks rushed away from each other.

Ron had a little time as he braked and looked back. The old man was breathing hard, but the mind control had overridden the effects of it. The teenage speedster couldn't damage the old one, so direct attacks were out.

'Wait a minute. Old. He is way old. Long past his prime.'

He took a good look at the old speedster and another mini staring contest began again.

'And I haven't even hit my prime yet.'

Speed was the answer to win this contest between the two streaks, young and old. Fastest would win. Ron tried to remember how he could push himself, something he did not have reason to do since...

'Since Valentine's Day... Come on, remember how you got that fast!'

He breathed in deep as he tried to reach to the font of energy he felt from back then. His molecules started to vibrate faster and faster as he stood still, then without warning, he shot forward like a laser beam. The old Flash barely reacted in time to evade, but Ron's goal was not to impact with him. He started circling the old man with ever increasing speed, as he drew more and more energy from the source within him.

The muddy water started to rise up around Jay Garrick. The old speedster was overwhelmed as the air around him was sucked upwards and the intense kinetic energy vortex pushed him upwards. Lightning crackled around the vortex as Ron picked up more speed. Then, all of a sudden lightning left circling the mini-vortex and flashed around in between the swamp trees. The wind and the lightning died down to reveal a heavily breathing Ron, small tendrils of lightning still crackling around him. Garrick was tied down by vines from swamp trees and switchgrass knotted together, presumably by a super speeding Ron tying it all together.

The Lantern battle above stopped as the old one noticed his partner's predicament. He shot downwards, towards Ron and the immobilized Garrick. Hal was a little late in reacting and was now behind Scott.

Ron saw the dark green streak closing in on him as he breathed heavily. "Well, that would be so cool if it wasn't gonna hurt me."

Kim ran through the swamp treeline and made a beeline for the gator farm. She had an idea as she closed in, and jumped upwards and descended towards Drakken's rocket. She landed on its side with great force, tumbling it towards the gator farm's elevated shack. The rocket crashed through the fence and the sidewall. Kim kept running on the rocket and jumped up as it fell down, aiming for the newly created hole in the wooden wall of the shack.

She landed in a crouch and rolled forward. Drakken, still overseeing the computer workstation, turned to her in surprise.

"Kim Possible! Why won't you ever stay down?!"

Kim smiled. "I really think you should hire better help Drakken."

Drakken growled and put his hands forward, in a repeat of something Kim had seen that had taken Ron by surprise. Jumping sideways, she felt a powerful wind blast passing by her. Diving in towards Drakken, she felt another blast passing overhead. Not giving him another chance, she rolled and jumped on Drakken, kicking him into a nearby wall, dazing the blue skinned mad scientist when he impacted the wooden paneling.

Turning to the computer control workstation, Kim punched right into it. The system flashed and died almost immediately. The elderly people still in the shack suddenly snapped back to reality, and Kim pulled her hand from the workstation.

Drakken shook the cobwebs out of his head and saw the remains of the workstation and his rocket. "Damn you Possible! Not again!"

Hearing him, Kim went on alert and took a fighting stance. "Yes, again! You should've learned this by now."

Drakken fumed and pitched a fit when he fired off uncontrolled blasts of air; mainly pushing all air away from him. His actions led to him damaging certain parts of the wooden platform, destabilizing the structure further, with the rocket that had crashed into the shack collapsing further into the building, ripping through the wooden supports.

Drakken blasted himself out of the shack and towards the swamp, while Kim, still in the shack, tried to find her balance, when she saw the ruined supports in the roof giving way. It came crashing down on the elderly population, still trying to understand what the hell was going on.

Without a second thought, Kim made a huge leap towards them and held up the roof at the last second. Everyone around Kim crouched and screamed. She visibly strained as she pushed her new fledgling strength to the limits.

Dust settled around them and suddenly, she felt the load on her shoulders getting lighter. She looked around to see green constructs of light placed under the collapsed roof, slowly raising it. A moment later, she had to squint as lightning flashed around her in a red streak. The elderly all around Kim started disappearing one by one, until they were all gone. Then the streak came to a halt in front of Kim.

Kim smiled as she saw Ron look at her with wide eyes and a shocked expression. "Well, I don't know if this badical, freaky or both. You look... uh..." Ron got stumped after that. Rufus was peeking out of pocket, apparently having been picked up earlier.

Kim grinned at him, "The phrase you are looking for is ferociously cool." Then glowered, "But how long were you gonna make me wait?"

Ron got closer and held her at the waist, "Well, excuse me for having two superpowered fossils on my ass."

From above, "Just get her out from under there smartass. I don't wanna hold this all day." Hal scolded the blond speedster.

Ron rolled his eyes and grinned. "Wanna blow this joint?"

With heavy sarcasm, "Anytime this century Ron.", Kim rolled her eyes as Rufus squeaked an agreeing tone.

He blurred away into a lightning ball, holding Kim in his arms. When Ron stopped, she found herself on the marina deck where she docked her jet ski, a good distance away from the now collapsing gator farm. Every elderly person affected were there as well. She saw her Nana and Mrs. Rockwaller standing some distance away, tending to the even-older duo of Jay Garrick and Alan Scott.

Ron was not around, at least not immediately. Then he walked out of the swamp treeline with a normally clothed Hal Jordan. He winked at her and walked to her.

"I guessed you would like to explain the mess to these fine old ladies and gentlemen."

Kim rolled her eyes and turned towards the crowd.

Sometime later that day, Kim Possible sat in a chair at Nana's new apartment thinking on the day's events. It had taken a while, but they had cleared up what had happened with those affected. No one recalled seeing her using super strength, or seeing anyone else than Shego with superpowers. Situation resolved.

She could live with Drakken and Shego disappearing, but Drakken acquiring superpowers of his own was troubling, as was the increase in Shego's capabilities. But for now, they were done for, wherever they were.

Jocelyn Possible was an old woman who had seen far too much in her lifetime and it did not please her to see Kim doing what she did, or how she did it. Yet, at a certain point, she realized, eventually Kim's other grandmother would be coming into play in her life very soon, and Kim was not the kind of person to be controlled by anyone. Least of all, a goddess. She made a decision and took a seat near her granddaughter.

Kim raised her head to see Nana sitting near her. "Well, that certainly was a blast, don't you think Nana?"

"Kimberly Anne, I would first like to say that I'm sorry. I tried to protect you, to keep you away from all this. But it appears I took the wrong approach with you."

"Nana, you just did what you thought was best."

"And I was wrong…And I should have known I was wrong, too.", she paused and took a breath. "This is not the first time I made the same mistake. Just in reverse order,", eyes looking upward in familiar frustration, "by some divine irony."

Kim's eyebrows rose in obvious question, when Nana continued. "I met your mother, years ago, when she was just about a year older than you are now. Years before she met my son, in some strange twist of fate. I presumed as much to tell her what to do, and she rebelled as well. Anne wouldn't tell you of this, but I was not the... most pleasant person back then."

"Nana, what is going on? I mean, I can understand that you have some secret past now, what with the superhero friends and Navy training but.." Kim trailed off.

Nana resolved to tell all she knew to Kim. Her granddaughter, in a certain way, was more qualified than anyone else to take on all of the truth.

"Global Justice oversight on the Tri-City did not start with you and your 'missions' Kimberly. It didn't even start with your mother, who did her own vigilantism back in the day. It started when I directly founded it in Middleton."

"What?!"

"After the war, the government realized that they had turned a blind eye to the superpowered individuals and vigilantes a little more than they should have. Even back then, it was evident that more and more of them would spring up. After my training with Shaolin monks, the ARGUS program had me trained by Navy in almost every skill a modern warrior would need. I was then assigned to be the government's liaison to the Justice Society."

Nana sighed and put her hand on top of Kim's. "You see, a lot of them had refused to fight in the war, fearing what the inclusion of their powers would do. Alan was one of them." Her voice darkened, "What I would call blackmail was used on Jay to get him to fight.", she paused. "After the war, no one within the government trusted them. I stayed with them for seven years, right up until Alan disbanded the group.", her eyes distant.

Looking to Kim, "If you are wondering why I have been at odds with Courtney, that's why. She was very loyal to the old guard…Sort of a sidekick. But she idolized them and didn't understand the concerns of the government, so she always treated me as an enemy. And I really didn't see any need to change her outlook; Alan disbanding the group broke her heart the most. Everyone moved on after that."

"We finally had gotten rid of the Justice Society, yet, that would not stop the superpowered individuals from appearing who wouldn't be as socially conscious as they were. Something was needed to keep the order, thus was born the idea of Global Justice. The secret charter was accepted on UN floor... And here we are. It worked well for a long while, but it is not nearly effective as it once was." She sighed. "After all, no one planned for the time when aliens started dropping out of skies, Amazon princesses flying in and starting wars or sixteen year olds acquiring powers equivalent to ancient gods."

Kim gulped. "You...You were the founder? How come no one in the family knows this?!"

A twinkle in her eye, "Your grandfather knew. He was the first Global Justice science director. But aside from him, we let no one else know. We didn't want this life for any of our blood. That's why he had us retire to a ranch in Montana." Sighing, "Well, we succeeded, partly. Slim remained there, content with what he does. June and James remained in Middleton after school, but they didn't get involved in any of the stuff we used to be."

As Jocelyn's eyes peered into a past long gone, she sighed again. "Then something unthinkable happened, James told me that he met this perfect woman, 'the loveliest med student ever', in his words. Not in my darkest dreams had I ever imagined that to be the young girl I had butted heads with years before." Her eyes turned to Kim, as if seeing Anne in her youth there. "I had a lot of trouble with the situation. Your mother wouldn't tell you this either, but that was why James and Anne married in secret, too. I didn't want a demigod as the mother of my grandchildren."

"So you know!"

"Yes…She is not the first Olympian that I met either. The woman who trained her, Hippolyta, showed her face in our world before. Just like her daughter now does, I suppose, but she was a lot more discreet than this 'Diana'. And of course, years ago, on the day of James and Anne's secret marriage, this woman, whom you are the spitting image of, showed up and let me know what had happened. You see, she couldn't go to her own daughter's wedding either."

Nana stopped herself. "But that is not the point. I thought I could keep all of you safe, as far away as possible from the evils I had faced. I forgot, of course, that anything is possible for a Possible. You slipped my notice and became a teen hero despite all my efforts." Analyzing her, "I'm still not sure if that was your blood calling or God's way of reminding me that irony is his best weapon against hypocrites."

"I make my own choices Nana. No one else."

"I realize that now, Kimberly Anne, and I am so sorry. In my ignorance, I have done damage to your cause." The old woman suddenly looked very tired and very somber.

"Nana... What's wrong?"

"The government oversight being put on Tri-City, your activities being watched... I just could not sit by after that horrible attack. I used my old contacts and pushed for Betty to back off. I pushed for the federal government to back you off from vigilante work." Her face now bitter, "That dreadful woman, Amanda Waller, she apparently was waiting for that. She used that for furthering ARGUS' objectives."

"But.. I can't stop now.. Not with..." Kim, pulled up short, about to let slip Ron's secret.

A sly smile, "Don't worry Kimberly. I know. Jay just told me. Remarkable, how events unfolded as they did. A new Flash just as the tide turns." She smiled faintly, "Maybe we should count ourselves lucky to have only the most light-hearted among us to carry that name. It is a heavy burden that he must bear."

"I won't let him go through this alone, Nana, and I can't ignore my own nature anymore, either. I'm sorry Nana. But this has to happen the way I decide. And I choose to stand up."

Nana smiled as she looked at her grandchild. She was marvelous, something beyond comprehension for the old veteran. "I know. I can't do anything anymore, but I understand now. You are more than your mother or me. You can succeed where we both failed."

They held hands as they sat and smiled at each other. Finally, the bridge between the generations was constructed, and a common ground was found. Family had succeeded where logic had failed.

Kim had just that one question. "I just don't understand how Mom and you could keep this quiet for so long. I mean, does Dad even know?"

Nana chuckled lightly. "Ah, dear James…He doesn't need to know any of this. He has always been accepting and light hearted, the best of the sons and most marvelous of fathers. Besides, this is all in the past now. I am not Jocelyn Fury, Director of Global Justice. And your mother is not Anne Nomaly, Titania. We are not those two people anymore."

Kim smiled. "Her alias was Titania?" Nana nodded.

"That's actually a good one."

Luggage packed in their car, the Possibles, and others were saying their goodbyes before leaving.

Some distance away, both generations of Lanterns and Flashes were saying goodbyes as well.

"It has been my honor to meet a real Green Lantern, Hal." Alan Scott offered his hand.

"Uh, that honor is mine, Mr. Scott." Hal took the hand and shook it. "I can't believe we actually had to fight. You were just amazing."

Smirking, "A few decades of practice. I'm sure you'll do better in no time."

Jay shook Ron's hand, both speedster knowing each other for real this time. "Sorry you had to deal with us old coots."

"Sorry about the, uh, injuries. I was a bit overzealous." Ron scratched his neck.

"Nonsense. You did what you had to do kid." The old speedster smiled warmly. "You are something else. I remember bits and pieces and... Kid, you made the old red and gold proud. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see someone like you to take on the mantle."

Ron sighed. "I…I don't know…If I can be…The Flash anymore."

Jay put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "Look, no one knows better how memories hurt us, how…Time hurts us. So take your time. Pain is part of what we are." Ron tried to say something, but failed. Garrick smiled and continued. "I know."

He pulled a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to Ron. "For when you are ready."

Ron looked at the paper, it was an address. He looked to Garrick.

"My home address in Keystone. When you are ready, I can show you a few tricks. And Joan always loves guests at dinner."

"I...Thanks…But you don't have to do this."

"As I said, you make this old man proud. Besides." Garrick shot a very mysterious smile Ron's way. "I owe the Stoppable family a debt. One that I couldn't pay back, until now."

"Wha?" Ron just couldn't process what the old man just said.

"Take care kid." Garrick and Scott left the younger heroes. Ron had many questions, but they had to wait.

Hal turned to the teenage speedster. "So...I caught up with what happened. Man, I'm..." He exhaled loudly. "Damn, saying 'I'm sorry' seems so lacking."

"You don't have to say it. Everyone else did, already."

"Well, my parents are dead too, so if you wanna talk..." Hal trailed off. "Shit, I'm real bad at this."

"It's okay Hal. Really."

"You are a really bad liar."

Ron sighed. "Yea."

Hal huffed as he tried to find words for something important. "Look..About that power surge."

"Hal, it's not something you can help with."

"I don't know if that's true, but you gotta know something. This ring only warns me that urgently when a threat of a planetary scale happens nearby.", Hal let sink in before levelling with him, "Ron, if you are saying the source was you... and I can't freaking imagine how that is possible, that kind of warning puts you in Green Lantern Corps capture list Numero Uno."

"Hits just keep on comin'. Badical."

"Of course I won't report this. And if you need my help, whenever, wherever, you got it. But you need to get that under control."

"I know." Ron shivered lightly as the ghost memory of that rage touched his mind. "I'm trying."

"But it's 'complicated', isn't it?" Hal grinned. "Well, I hope you succeed, the amount of crazy surrounding you and your BFF…Was she holding up a roof all by herself?"

"Yea... Don't ask, I've got like zero idea how. Haven't spoken to her yet."

"Anyways man. Looks like your party is ready to go. And I gotta get to Carol before she combusts in rage." They shook hands. "You know the drill, just gimme a call if you need."

"See ya Hal."

Hal walked away to find a safe spot to transform and fly away, and Ron walked to Possible's family van. Nana Possible pulled him and Kim aside just before they said the final goodbyes.

"Ronald, I don't know what will happen in the future, so I only request for you to watch my granddaughter's back. No one can ask more from you that you haven't already given, but you are the only one she can trust. And Kimberly, if you are going to do this, you must do this with everything you have." Looking between them, "Both of you have to."

Then she handed them some lemon squares for the road and hugged them.

Just before they got into the minivan, while they were loading the luggage, Ron felt the need to ask.

"So we are not going to talk about how you have super strength?"

Kim sighed. "Back home Ron." Ron shrugged and closed the back panel.

"Well, damn.", as Ron leaned back in his swing. He and Kim were sitting on some swings in a playground near the Possible residence. "There goes part of your slogan." He had just heard how his best friend had the blood of a goddess in her veins.

Kim was happy that she could finally tell all she knew to her best friend, and he was at least showing signs of returning to normal. Florida had changed something in both of them, but for Ron, it was more subtle. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Ron was... uncertain.

"What part?"

"Basic, average girl? Yea, good luck flying that argument while being a...Wait, what is the politically correct word for your situation? Quarter-god?" He looked genuinely confused.

"Hell if I know. References to offspring of demigods are far and few in between. Really, no myth I read about ever affords them any powers."

"And clear as day, I saw you hold up a roof."

"Yes, that did happen." She looked ahead in the evening sunset. "I've been thinking." She turned to face the blond speedster. "We can't bury our heads in sand Ron. I mean, this-" She pointed to herself. "Not after this. Not after all that happened."

Ron sighed. "After we both made the city and our families a target, and after me failing to save those I supposed to, you mean. After all the craziness, all the pain, you want more?"

"Ron, you see the news plainly as I do! Crime is on the rise. All those you scared off are coming back! You remember what Oliver said. You remember what happened with the government agents. Tri-City needs protection!" She held Ron's hand. "It needs you."

"Kim, can't you see that I'm the furthest from the thing it needs?! I can't control myself in a fight! I am angry, all the time, and I don't even know why! I still hear..." He stopped. He had not mentioned hearing Tara all this time, to anyone.

"You still hear what?"

Ron stammered. "I-I... I still hear the sirens in the night, the fire coming out of the ER... The screams."

From behind Ron, a bodiless voice reached his ears. "Lying to her won't make this better. She should know all this. She can help."

Kim held his hand tighter. "Please, tell me Ron. I can help."

Ron shook as the voices merged in his head. "No! No, you can't! How are you going to help me?! Kim, I am one bad day away from going all Manson on everyone around me! One bad day away from..." He sighed and shook. "From becoming the monster you stopped at Gemini's base. I shouldn't be living with your family, I should be locked up with the key thrown away! I can't be the...the Flash. Not when I am this close to becoming something no one could stop!"

"I would be there with you. I can help you now. We can be a real team again."

"Kim, Wade is gone. In the wind. If he were here, he could tell you what someone like me is capable of if things go wrong. He could tell you how there must be safeguards in place to take me down, kill me if necessary. But even he couldn't tell you how immensely scary that monkey power makes me. The sheer amount of power I felt last time, it's like trying to hold the sun in your palms. And it burns everything it touches. Even..." His voice broke and got lower.

"Even you." He got up immediately from the swing. He pulled his hand from Kim's. "You, the twins, Mr. and Mrs. P. are the only good things left in my life. I will protect this family at all costs, even if it's from myself."

He turned and walked away. And left Kim with a whisper, probably meant for himself.

"Especially from myself."

Kim watched him leave. She knew that he was afraid. In the darkest corners of her mind, she was too. What she saw in Gemini's lair that was a natural disaster in her best friend's skin.

Yet the problem remained. Middleton and Tri-City needed the Flash. Or someone like him.

She looked at her hands.

'Someone like him.'

Slowly, she balled her hands into fists.

After leaving Kim, Ron meandered around through the city as shadows stretched and daylight dimmed. He was uncertain about everything; what to do, how to live...practically everything. Part of him wanted to be the Flash again, to protect the people in Tri-City, to have them feel safe again. That part wanted to just run fast...and make everything right again.

But another part of him knew that wasn't possible, not as he was right now. Where he was so carefree, he was now full of rage. Where he used to give comfort, he was now terrifying. Where he was sure of purpose, he was now full of doubt. This part of him knew...that not all problems could be solved by running fast. Some problems, you had to stand and endure.

He was marginally better, maybe more adjusted to the pain and rage he felt all the time from when Kim first brought him back. But in reality, that made him just that much more dangerous. With the awareness of his rage, came the clarity. His fight with the Lantern and Flash of old had scared him. This time, when he lost control, he had retained part of his logic while he used superspeed.

Combined with the mystical powers, Ron had no idea what the ultimate result would be. The monster that could come out of such circumstances...he had no idea how to stop. Worse, he had no idea how to control the feelings. Bathing and reveling in rage was an infinitely better feeling than suffering the cutting pain all the time. It was like a drug that he couldn't help but crave for.

Speaking of drugs...He noticed that he was in the back alleys of downtown Middleton, and he had just seen something he had never seen before: A guy, showing the inside his truck to a feminine figure in a dark alley. Ron had the funniest feeling about it; this looked too much like a drug sale to him.

Even before Flash, this was very rare in Middleton.

Avoiding the illumination of streetlights, he sneaked closer and listened in after he crept further down the alley.

"Lookie missie, this ain't no crappy pill I'm dealing here, its pure gold! Freshly imported from Starling, a very nice and affordable dose of Vertigo. I guarantee you, you won't find a better product. What you need it for...a little partying or relaxation? It'll serve both needs. You just gotta pay up and choo-choo to partyland."

The voice of the man sickened Ron, what with the sales pitch and the false honey in the tone. Yet, he had also heard about 'Starling' and 'Vertigo.' How far had his own city fallen while he was wallowing in pain?

Then the buyer spoke, and Ron's eyes popped wide, he recognized its owner.

"Stop making the sales pitch, I don't need to hear it from the likes of you. Just give me the vials and name your price."

"Honey, this here is quality product, but I like you, so I'ma make you a deal. Half a grand for the whole set, enough for an entire week of party."

Ron, trying to understand how this girl was here, stood frozen in shock.

"I...I got three hundred. I can pay the rest later."

"Nuh-uh. Sell on spot babe." Then pausing to look her over, "Tell you what though, lemme take you to my place, we blow one dose together, have a little 'fun', and I'll call us even on the missing two Benjamins."

"I..uh..." The girl stammered, uncertainty now in her voice.

Ron had enough. He stopped hiding and walked into the alley. "You don't wanna be here Bonnie." He walked up to the former cheerleader and held her shoulder. "Come on, I'll walk you to your place."

"What the hell?! Stoppable? What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"One of the few right things I can do these days. C'mon." He tried to get her to move, gently.

A hand fell on Ron's shoulder. "Now lookie here boy, it's clear that the girlie here don't wanna leave. Why don't you scurry off and I won't have to shank your guts out."

Ron's everlasting anger spiked immediately. "Take! Your hand. Off me!"

Smugly, "Or what?"

Ron let go of Bonnie and spun in an instance, catching the drug dealing scumbag's hand and turning it forcefully to the side, making the wrist bone snap immediately. The sleaze fell on his knees and screamed. Before he realized what was happening, four distinctly bad-looking guys filed into the alley.

Yelling to them, "Get the little fucker!"

Ron shoved Bonnie lightly to the wall to get her out of the way, then faced the four guys rushing at him.

From there, Bonnie saw it all. Ron took the first one head-on, punching him in the gut and then shoving him back. The second one had a knife he tried to slice Ron with, which failed. Ron leaned back and then took the blade right out from the goon's hand, holding the sharp edge. Then he kneed him in groin and threw the knife at the third one.

The knife didn't get the goon with the blade, but it scared him off for a second. Ron punched the guy he kneed and threw him into the fourth guy trying to get to him. He rushed the guy momentarily distracted by the thrown blade, jumped and kneed him in the face. Then he picked him up while he was falling and threw him at the last guy standing. Then he jumped on both and started punching both of them, his right hand bleeding from the blade he had caught.

Bonnie saw Ron's anger and pain come roaring out. He just kept punching the two guys. The fourth guy, the only one still halfway conscious, tried to call for help, but got punched in the mouth as he opened it.

"Stop!" Bonnie ran at the blonde teen and tried to hold his arm, but had gone berserk. Bonnie still holding his arm, he kept punching. Then he felt something jab his right leg.

"Have a nice death, motherfucker!" With his left hand, the drug dealer, whose right hand was broken by Ron, had jammed in all six vials of Vertigo into Ron's leg. Ron stumbled backwards as he felt his right leg go numb.

The drug dealer got up and limped to his car. The only conscious goon hobbled and got into the car as well. Bonnie held Ron as he tried to balance himself, but failed. In pain, the drug dealer shouted at Bonnie as he hurriedly turned the car on.

"Have fun dealing with that crazy sonuvabitch before his brain fries missy!" Then the car roared and sped away from the alley.

His brain bombarded with weird images and sounds, Ron was going haywire. Bonnie's face suddenly turned into Tara's.

"Why did I have to die Ron? Why wouldn't you save me?!"

Then it turned into his mother's.

"You had speed enough to save everyone but your parents. Was it worth it Ronnie?"

Finally, it transformed into his own, with the added bonus of red eyes and a face crackling with red energy.

"You are weak and useless without me! Accept the rage so we can do what we really want!"

Bonnie had no idea what to do as Ron fell backwards and shook violently. She knew what that much Vertigo would do to someone. Ron should've been dead already, but somehow, he was still alive.

The last shreds of sanity within Ron's mind whispered to his panicked consciousness.

'This is a chemical! Burn it off! RUN!'

Ron's eyes closed tightly, then opened violently. Bonnie saw red and yellow tendrils of lightning shooting up within them. Then, with no notice, he was up and lifting Bonnie. Next, she felt her whole body tingling and saw images rushing her by.

Then, she crashed the ground in a park, on the grass. She grunted but raised her head when she heard loud breathing. Ron was standing, and from what she could see, vibrating violently. His entire body kept vibrating, and at a certain point, Bonnie saw a cloud of steam coming off of him, his sweat burning off quickly. Yellow lightning started to surge from all around him.

As the brunette watched, Ron burned off all the alien chemicals inside his body. Then he stopped. He felt extremely weak and hungry as he fell on his knees. He had fainted before his torso hit the ground.

He woke up some time later. He was still in the park, and apparently, his head was resting on Bonnie's lap. He raised himself immediately, scaring the brunette slightly. He was still lightheaded and his stomach grumbled.

Bonnie was silent as Ron gathered himself as much as he could. When he looked up to her eyes however, she spoke.

"You brought us to the park in the suburbs."

"Yea...Sorry about the hard stop...I was a little...Shaken."

"You should be dead. No one gets that much Vertigo in them and lives."

"Well, I am sure you already gathered this but I'm not most people."

Bonnie looked into his eyes and sighed. Ron could see the anger there, and a kind of pain he was familiar with.

Eyes boring into his, "This was why Tara was acting cagey for the last two months." Different emotions competing in Bonnie's eyes, "This was why you weren't with her when she got killed at the hospital.", as realization dawned within her.

Ron had nothing to say. It was no use lying now.

Eyes locked on his while she put the pieces together, "It all makes sense. How you hung out less and less with Possible. How you filled in for her when she was in the coma. Why you kept coming in late to school.", tumbled from Bonnie as Ron said nothing to her revelations.

She sighed again and leaned back on her hands, and Ron suddenly realized Bonnie was wearing very inappropriate clothing for a sixteen year old. "Freaking Flash. The superhero...And the loser who made my best friend fall in love with him.", she shook her head, "Same freaking person...Of course."

Ron had nothing to say, replying to her might start a tirade from Bonnie he wanted to avoid right now, but he did have concerns to voice. "What were you doing Bonnie? Better yet, what the hell were you thinking?"

Standing up she crossed her arms, "It's not your problem.", as she glared at him.

Ron suddenly moved to her and grasped her left arm. He pulled it towards him and took a close look. He did not know whether to be happy or sad with his findings; Bonnie's left arm had only a few needle marks, no more than three. He had hoped for unmarked skin.

Pointing to her arm, eyes narrowed at her, "How is this not my problem?", Ron replied. Gently squeezing her arm, "How is you wasting your life away not a problem for anyone you know?!", he growled.

Scowling, "Why do you care?!", Bonnie shot back. Glowering, "You have no right to lecture me on anything!"

Staring, "Why do I care..." Ron's head fell forward. Still holding Bonnie's arm. "You were this close to..to...", he shook the arm, "sleeping with a lowlife for drugs!" He stammered, having trouble getting the words out. "How can I not care?!"

Fixing him with an icy glare, "Oh the irony...", dripping from her lips, "You've hated me all these years, and now you've gotta save me?! Why wouldn't you just leave me there?!", she shouted at him.

Hands clenched, "Why in the hell did you think you had to fight for me?!", Bonnie's eyes sparking with anger.

Searching within him, "Because someone had to!", his eyes just as angry. "I couldn't just stand by and walk away! I...", then paused to take a deep breath when a sweet, bodiless voice spoke in his ear, "She needs your help as much as you need help. You can do it."

Exhaling, "Tara...is gone.", to flinching teal eyes. "She can't look after you anymore.", Ron said to Bonnie's now abruptly mounting rage.

Livid, "And whose fault is that?!", Bonnie wailed before tearing her arm away from Ron. "YOURS!", and jumped on him.

Knocked on his back, Ron could see the tears falling from the brunette's eyes as Bonnie started to beat on him while she was in a haze of her own anger and self-recrimination.

Between strikes, "You were supposed to be with her!", Bonnie railed. "To protect her!", another blow to his chest. "You were supposed to be a boyfriend first!", this one to his face. "Instead you ran off to be a hero, didn't you?!", as she wound up again. "You got yourself trapped, and she had to go and be all noble!", double strikes to his chest as she faltered.

Pausing to wipe her eyes, "She hated herself for being jealous because you only had time for your comatose bestie!" Angry eyes fixed and boring into sorrowful ones, "Because of that, she went in there and tried to be a hero! Something you had to be for her!"

Ron, looking numbly to Bonnie the entire time, just took the hits, both on him...and on his soul. Bonnie wasn't saying anything he hadn't told himself...but he never knew how Tara felt when he tried to save Kim from the coma. He mentally blanked while thinking on this as Bonnie kept hitting him.

Bringing him back to the here and now, "That stupid Miss Perfect was supposed to be awake!", Bonnie struck him again in the chest. "She", punch, "was supposed", punch, "to be the hero,", another punch, "who saved people!", double punch." Not. My Best Friend!", now pummeling him. "Not the girl whose only fault...was to love some idiot!", Bonnie railed at him before punching him in the face.

Pausing in her bashing the source of her pain; detestable eyes boring into suffering, "I hate you Ron Stoppable! I hate you!", and Bonnie rained blows down on his chest.

Bonnie, now almost spitting on Ron as she screamed at him, "You should've died instead of her!", hitting him again as she broke down sobbing.

In between her sobs, Ron said something that Bonnie missed as she continued hitting his chest and face. Stopping, she leaned in closer to hear what he was saying.

After she got close enough, he said it again. "Welcome to the club."

Recoiling, "What?!", the brunette shrieked, staying her fist in mid-strike.

After coughing up some blood, Ron's slow whisper carried to her, "I...should have died.", he said before he paused, searching for the words. "I should've died saving her, my parents, everyone...in that ER.", as he started to release what was pent up within him since that day.

Her eyes taking in his appearance, "I should've taken the bullet for Kim.", his eyes haunted. Then snorting, "Hell, I should've died back when the lightning first struck me.", Ron said sarcastically before looking her dead in her eyes. "You might as well do it now. You can't hate me more than I hate myself right now."

Fist still poised, Bonnie stopped. His eyes closing, Ron stopped, somehow feeling at peace for the first time in weeks. In the ensuing calm, each began to note that the air was cool and clear, and the stars provided just enough light for Bonnie to see Ron's face; to really see it since he brought her to the park.

Something broke in her heart.

This wasn't the selfish monster she kept building up in her imagination. This was just a boy who had too much pain piled on him. Someone who had lost his parents and the girl he loved on the same day. Who suffered through more than she ever did. Who was selfless and kind, just like Tara always was.

Brought up short, "You weren't supposed to take it...", Bonnie wailed. "God damn it...God damn it Tara!", her eyes looking upward, "Why did you have to have the best eye for men, just like you did for everything else?", before she seized up in anguish and released it all in a scream.

Finally relaxing, she felt more tears escaping her eyes. Slowly, she fell sideways and off of Ron. She sensed Ron sit up beside her as she sobbed. Slowly, the blond pulled the brunette into a hug. She cried into his shoulder for a few moments before Ron heard one sentence, so much pain in her voice.

"I miss her so much...", before she broke down, sobbing so brokenheartedly.

After a while, Ron reached a hand to her and gently held her arm. His face was ashen, but his voice a little less sorrowful. "This cannot happen again, Bonnie. Ever. She would not want this for her best friend."

Speechless, Bonnie could only nod. Ron continued. "Bonnie, you have friends. Tara is gone, and no one will ever replace her, but give your friends a chance.", he looked meaningfully into her remorseful eyes. "They might surprise you...Go back to the team, they are your friends."

Then he sighed. "And...give Kim a chance." Stopping her from protesting, "I know, after all these years, it's hard, but she can be a really good friend...if you let her.", earnest eyes looking into unsure.

She didn't say anything, and after a few moments both slowly stood up before Ron helped the brunette with her scattered bag.

Gathering her in his arms, "It's past midnight. Let's get you home.", and he sped them to her home, a big, nice townhouse. They came to a stop in her backyard.

Awkwardly he let her go and then scratched his neck. "Look,", he started haltingly, "if you ever, you know...", and looked at her arm, "get any urge to do,", waving to her, "something similar, call me. Or a friend. I...I am not Tara, but I can...try to listen."

Grasping his arm, "I will. And I will also see if I can go back to cheer squad. But...", her voice took a pleading tone. "Just don't say a word of this to Kim. Please?"

Looking to the brunette, "She could help. She can help a lot better than I can."

Her eyes now pleading, "I don't want her knowing. Please?"

Sighing, Ron nodded. "Of course. This is between us."

Her eyes softening, "I'm fine with you, you know.", Bonnie confessed to him. Hesitantly, "I...don't have many friends.", she looked down shyly, shuffling a foot nervously. Looking sincerely to Ron, "Having you as one...", she smiled genuinely, "That's more than fine.", her hand gently squeezed his arm.

Smiling, Ron nodded back. His heart, now, was just the tiniest bit lighter. Maybe he had done this one thing right.

Smiling, "Good night B. Sleep well."

Then, with a gentle wind, he was gone.

Just like some of the painful weight she no longer had in her heart.

Two days later, Ron was less mopey, but he was still somewhat distant. There was still no purpose in most of what he did since then, but being able to help Bonnie had lifted his spirits.

Friday morning saw Barkin gathering the entire student body in the gym, and it looked like he had an announcement to make.

"All right people, LISTEN UP!" He shouted, silencing the entire gym. Disinterestedly continuing after the din settled, "In the spirit of international, 'touchy-feeliness', Middleton High is taking part in a two week long student exchange program with our sister school, at Yamanouchi, Japan." He turned towards the gym door and began clapping. "Please extend a warm Mad Dog welcome to…Hirotaka!"

Everyone heard the sound of an engine roaring outside the buiding. A moment later, someone rode through the door on a motorcycle into the gym. The rider wore combat boots, black pants, black driver's gloves and a dark red jacket that Ron found extremely badical. He removed the helmet and half the student body, comprised of almost of all the females in the school, collectively sighed in admiration.

Hirotaka was a reasonably tall, extremely handsome guy with wild black hair that Ron could only describe as 'shonen-main-character-worthy.' He pulled out a stick of gum from his jacket, flipped it into his mouth with impressive precision, turned to the students and made a small gesture with his hand and said "Hi."

Ron had to say, he had not seen such coolness in some time.

"Imports are nice!", as Monique admired the foreign hottie, practically drooling.

"True that, that's one bondiggity ride. Much better than my old trusty scooter." As usual, Ron didn't get what Monique, or any girl, was referring to.

"That too.", Kim agreed, admiring the view as well.

Barkin continued. "And now, the name of the Middleton student who will journey to the home of sumo and anime." Ron wasn't paying much attention, while the school's resident 'otaku' Juro stood up, in his mind assuming that he would be the one to be picked.

"Ron Stoppable!" sJuro froze dead in his tracks, while Ron was brought out of his musings and reacted to his name being called.

"Huh? Me?"

Barkin walked up to him and got in his face. "Now keep in mind Stoppable. For the next fifteen days, you will be our cultural ambassador. You represent this school, this city and this nation."

Ron huffed, completely blindsided by this exchange, "Ugh... Well, uh, you know how it goes. At least, I hope someone does."

Backing off slightly, "Go pack up Stoppable. Your plane is in two hours." Barkin struggled with his emotions a bit before he added, "And Stoppable... Try to relax a bit over there." Ron just nodded.

As Ron got up to leave the gym, Hirotaka, surrounded by a legion of females, broke through and shook his hand.

"Stoppable-san, I hope you will find your stay at Yamanouchi pleasant."

"Thanks Hirotaka, I might kinda need a change of scenery, so I hope so too. And uh, stay away from the mystery meat. Have fun dude." They shook hands again and Ron left.

An hour later, he was packed and waiting for Barkin to take him to airport. Rufus was in his pocket, apparently excited for the trip. He had only one backpack with him, the same one he used in missions. Kim ran a quick check and saw he had packed the friction proof clothing with normal ones. Monique was with them, so Ron had to talk 'shop' with Kim away from their friend.

He put the backpack in the car and then turned to Kim. "Can we have a quick word?", and shot a pleading look to Monique.

The fashion-blogger got his meaning and smiled. Patting him on the arm, "Have some fun over there Speedy.", and she returned to the school.

Kim, shaking her head, grinned. "If only she knew how close she gets with some of those nicknames."

Ron smiled slightly. Then his face turned a little serious. "I, uh, did Bonnie ask to get back in the team?"

Kim registered surprise as this question. She had not told anyone yet, but Bonnie did speak to her briefly about it. "Well, in fact, yes. How do you know?"

Ron sighed. "She, uh, is going through a hard time, and I was hoping you'd cut her some slack. We had a little chat, and... She needs this Kim. She needs people to be with her."

Kim put her hand on Ron's shoulder, "I know. I already agreed. I know what she is going through."

Sadly, "Your best friend didn't die.", Ron added.

Kim's head dropped slightly, "Yes, but he tried real hard a few times while I was watching.", her eyes haunted. Then grinning, "But he's a bit of a klutz, that one." Then hugged him, "Please Ron, come back.", she pleaded.

"It's just two weeks Kim.", Ron tried to brush off her plea, but Kim knew how he was really.

She let go of the hug, and looking into his eyes, "Come back to us. We'll wait for you." Both of them knew what she meant, and no more words were needed between best friends. She left with a smile as Barkin walked from the school and to the car.

Bonnie was watching from some distance, Ron saw her and made a little gesture with his hand and suggested, 'Take care.' She nodded and waved back.

Ron got into the car, sighed and then turned to Barkin who was looking at him oddly. "Let's split Mr. B."

His backpack slung loosely over one shoulder, Rufus sitting on the other, Ron walked through Narita International Airport towards an exit to meet his school contact. With his red hockey shirt, red hoodie and loose beige pants, not to mention the mole rat on his shoulder, he stood out quite well in the International Arrivals Zone.

Which probably made it easy for the owner of the lilting voice, he just heard, to find him.

"Stoppable-san." Looking the other way when he heard a slightly accented female's voice. When he turned his head, he froze as if Cold had got him in the ice block again.

There stood an incredibly beautiful teenage girl. She was, without the doubt, what poets had in mind when they wrote about exotic Japan. With a figure that hinted at an incredibly fit body, flawless skin and shining black hair cut to shoulder length, this girl shut down Ron's teenage mind. After all, he was still a freakin' sixteen year old!

She had one of those navy blue Japanese school girl uniforms on, with a skirt low enough to be decorous but high enough to drive teenage minds to insanity. The outfit was complete with black knee high boots, which Ron didn't notice immediately. He had been locked into the obsidian-like eyes of the girl.

The first thought that went through his shocked mind was telling.

'Holy moly, God did show special attention to these lands.'

The girl clasped her hands traditionally, bowed slightly and greeted him. "Konichiwa. I am Yori from the Yamanouchi School." She slowly walked up to her and Ron's mind went into overdrive as the uniform was perfectly accentuating her figure as she swayed. "It is my honor to guide you this week."

Rufus realized the tricky state of mind Ron was in, not to mention his slightly ajar mouth from shock, and flicked one of his large ears with all the force he could muster. While that earned a slight glare from Ron, it also shook the blond speedster out of his shocked state.

He tried to remember the key Japanese phrases he had speed-memorized from a booklet he read on the plane, but could only come up with a lame one.

"Arigato. I-I-I... mean the honor is like, uhh, totally mine." He was flinching throughout half the sentence.

Yori was either oblivious to his situation or incredibly sophisticated to simply accept it as she smiled and showed Ron the way to their transportation.

Ron realized that it was probably the second option as they travelled to Nagano Prefecture via bullet train.

A bus dropped the blond American and his guide at the road crossing the Hida Mountains, some fifty kilometers out of Nagano. There was no school anywhere in sight, and Ron was highly doubtful that anyone would build one out here.

"This is where you go to school?" He and Rufus were looking around but failing to see anything resembling one.

"The campus is located on the peak of Mount Yamanouchi." She pointed to one of the highest peaks in the Hida Mountain Range.

"Man, the students must be getting a lot of cardio done just for commuting to there. So we are just gonna wait for a helicopter to pick us up or what?" Ron threw a sly grin at the girl, thinking that there was no way in hell she could've climbed that high.

Yori giggled as she mistook Ron's statement for a joke. "Oh, you're funny, Stoppable-san. Of course, it will be our honor to walk."

"Walk?" He looked at the peak. "I'd have preferred to run."

"Run?" She giggled. "You must be an expert on the American style jokes."

Ron waved it off. "I'm Jewish, comes with the territory."

It took a few hours for them to climb at a leisurely pace. Ron would be bored out of his mind, if the scenery leading him wasn't as good as it was. The view of things off the path wasn't bad to look at either.

Yori was surprised, the American teen seemed to have no problems climbing this far and as fast as they had, even though he had eaten three different snacks throughout the ascent. In fact, he almost seemed relaxed. She was expecting at least some difficulty towards the end, but the blond had yet to even show any shortness of breath during their climb. Needless to say, she was impressed.

"You must be very fit, Stoppable-san. This climb is difficult even for some of our students."

Ron smiled slightly. "What can I say, I don't tire easily."

"You seem to get hungry though."

Ron's stomach picked that moment to slightly grumble again. He grinned with embarrassment, but Yori just giggled at his antics.

They came upon a small waterfall where Ron couldn't see the mountain trail going any further, until Yori walked around the stream and took a left under it. Ron followed her, walking inside a passageway leading to a wooden bridge. That bridge connected to an ancient Japanese monastery complex at some distance.

Looking to each in amazement, Rufus and Ron were impressed. "Check it out." Ron exclaimed.

What awaited them when they got to the school was even more shocking.

Inside the walls, some fifty or so teenagers were training. Some were rappelling down walls, others used smoke bombs to vanish, while another group sparred in full Kendo gear. All of them had white clothing, similar to karate gi Ron had seen back home.

Ron was confused beyond measure. "Is this a public school or..?" Yori just smiled mysteriously.

A gentle, yet commanding voice called out to him. "Ron Stoppable." Ron turned and looked at the owner of the voice. He was an old man in monk robes, with the most bondiggity beard-and-moustache combo Ron had ever seen. "We have awaited your arrival." He bowed his head ever so slightly, "I am Sensei."

He nodded towards the rest of the courtyard and started walking. Yori and Ron followed him. "Yamanouchi is no ordinary school." A few trainees in white gi's made a few leaps above Ron as he watched. "We are a secret training ground for the ancient art of Ninjutsu."

Ron's mind was just blown to hell. "A secret ninja school?!" He looked at the old master and Yori in succession. "I'm guessing you don't take admissions by mail then."

Yori giggled again and Sensei just smiled. Ron looked around and smiled slightly as well. Maybe these two weeks wouldn't be so bad.

Well, in his defence, Ron was still sixteen and yet to learn not to tempt fate.

Monique and Kim were sitting at Bueno Nacho when Hirotaka walked in with a throng of teenage girls at his sides. When they took seats, it was almost instantaneous how quickly they relocated to admire the Japanese teen.

Monique pointed to them. "Check out the sheep. They almost move as fast as Flash for him."

Kim smiled a little, "Are we the only two girls in Middleton not crushing on him?" Then she noticed Brick Flagg standing up from a nearby booth and walking up to Hirotaka with obviously malevolent intent.

The quarterback got up close to Hirotaka's face. "You think you are pretty slick stuff, don't you chief?"

Hirotaka did not miss a step as he pulled out a gum, tossed it in the air and caught it in his mouth with little effort. He bowed his head slightly, "Excuse me.", and then tried to walk around Brick. Of course, that did not sit well with the quarterback. He blocked the Japanese teen and spoke menacingly.

"Maybe I need to teach you a lesson in manners."

Monique rolled her eyes. "What's rude about 'excuse me'?"

His demeanor unconcerned, "To fight you would prove nothing." Hirotaka said politely.

Kim was impressed by his poise. "That's very Zen.", she nodded approvingly. Then stating the obvious, "Brick won't get it.", to Monique. But as she was about to turn back to the brewing contest between the two males, a newspaper in the other booth caught her eye. Part of the title included the words, 'Teen Death' in it. Curious, she reached out and picked it up to read further. The title was more ominous when read fully.

'Teen Death in Lowerton. Police: Evidence Points to Drug Overdose'

'Drug overdose?! What drug?', were her stunned questions as she began to read the article to sounds of Brick tiring himself out trying to hit Hirotaka.

'Drew Sullivan (18), was found dead in his car last night, apparently of a cardiac arrest after injecting himself with a syringe of unknown designer drug. Lowerton PD stated that the case was labeled as an accidental suicide in light of drug overdose. Mr. Sullivan was a star athlete at Lowerton High School, playing wide receiver for Lowerton Lemurs and was expected a receive a scholarship upon graduation.'

As Kim read the article, Hirotaka won his 'disagreement' with the quarterback simply by evading and tiring Brick out, until he fell out from exhaustion.

"I am so digging his hair right now!" Monique's voice took on a fan-girlish quality in her exclamation. She turned to Kim, "Girl, what do you think?"

Kim's head shot up from the newspaper. "Wha? Oh yea, his hair, it's cool."

Monique's eyes narrowed on Kim, "What's wrong?"

Kim sighed, "It's just…Nothing, just nothing." She stood up. "I'm going to run some errands in the house, see you later."

Monique wordlessly nodded and watched Kim leave. The redhead had acted a bit weird for the fashion guru's tastes.

'Maybe she's just worried about Ron. Yea, that's probably it.'

Standing beside Sensei and Yori on a platform, Ron looked on as Sensei explained the history of the Ninjutsu School to the assembled students in the courtyard.

"Our school has a long and honored history. It was founded in the year 338 AD by the great warrior Toshimiru, who carved this monastery from the mountain." Pausing, he held a long and slim wooden case in his hands, opening it and showing what was inside to Ron, "Using only this sword, the Lotus Blade."

Ron was not an expert on katanas or swords in general, but it was clear as day that the oddly gleaming blade in the case was anything but normal.

Ron suddenly felt very strange, as if something was tugging at the back of his mind. For some reason he felt a connection to the gleaming piece of metal in front of him. Without realizing what he was doing, he slowly reached out to touch the blade, but an urgent scream made him jump back.

"NO!"

"Whaaat?" Ron had jumped back a good four feet in shock.

"Anata wa amarini mo ōku o itte iru, Sensei." The owner of the earlier cry, a male student who looked no older than eighteen, had stood up and was speaking to Sensei. "Kare wa gaijin!" Ron knew as much Japanese as the little booklet concerning general phrases, so he missed much in the conversation, but he could tell this dude was angry, and he was angry about him.

"Yeeeaa, maybe I should leave you guys alone?" Ron offered to be polite and remove himself from the 'discussion', but Yori touched his arm and shook her head slowly.

Sensei was apparently angry as well now. Ron could hear it in his tone. "Fukushima! Anata no burei wa watashitachi subete o yogosu!"

"Shikashi Sensei! Kare wa-" The guy stopped his tirade and suddenly rushed to the platform, now looking angrily up at Sensei.

Sensei just cut into whatever he was saying with a clearly commanding tone. "Sarani haji o jibun de shinai." Whatever Sensei had just said seemed to control the rebellious student, who walked up to Ron and bowed.

"Honored guest. I must beg your forgiveness for my rudeness."

Ron had no frigging idea what had happened, but he wasn't the type to shame someone for no reason. "Dude please." He made a peace sign. "Nothing but love." He snorted. "Besides it's not like I don't anger my teachers on a daily basis, you know what I mean?"

The guy didn't know what he meant, but his behaviour seemed to please Yori, who smiled at Ron's friendliness to someone clearly agitated with him.

Kim dug into the stuff her Mom had put in the basement. What she looked for was here earlier, when Anne had first showed it to her.

It took some work, but she finally dug out a wooden chest locked by a padlock. Seeing no other way around it, she held and ripped the padlock off the chest. Removing the top of the chest, she finally found what she was looking for.

There they were: The ensemble Anne Nomaly used years ago. Kim regarded them with reverence as she removed them from the chest. It was not at all her tastes in battle clothing, but that was part the point of why she had sought these out.

The clothes and other stuff formed the exact same ensemble the Anne in her coma-dreamworld wore. She especially liked the red chestplate/corset armor. Her biggest problem though, was the shoes.

Sighing, "Heels..." She shook her head as she inspected the shoes. Looking upstairs in disbelief towards, "Seriously Mom? Heels in crime fighting?" Well the shoes were a pair of ankle high leather boots with golden clasps. They also had two inch heels, which didn't look particularly bad, but Kim had serious doubts about their practicality. She barely tolerated heels with dresses in dances or events as it is, but this was just pushing her boundaries.

Her voice floating down from the door to the basement, "Well Kimmie, heels that fit." Anne smirked to her daughter.

Surprised at getting caught like this, Kim turned around quickly. She tried to come up with an excuse, but there was none.

Anne smiled as she descended the stairs, "Relax Kim. I expected you to do this, I only wondered why it was taking so long."

"You are not angry Mom?"

"Why should I be? They are for you…and still perfectly functional.", Anne said before looking appraisingly at Kim, "And you have exactly the same measurements as I had back then. They should all fit." She came near and went through the items Kim had laid out. Holding the black leather tights out to Kim, "You will want to put these on first, it makes putting the other stuff on top much easier."

Kim was shocked that her Mom was okay with all this, and since she didn't want to break the mood, she stood silently by as her Mom guided her through the clothing donning process. The red battle corset was the piece she expected trouble, but its material was unlike anything Kim had seen. Both flexible and seemingly resilient, it fit her like a glove. The corset had a 'T' shaped finish on the top, just below the neckline, and a golden belt with an owl shape at the bottom, where it connected to the leather tights.

There were red gloves with golden bracers affixed to them, which also fit perfectly. The weirdest part came when Kim put on the boots. The golden clasps affixed themselves to the tights, and Kim felt the boot sort of adjust themselves slightly to give her a perfect fit. She took a few steps with them, and realized that this was the most comfortable heels she had ever worn.

Shocked, "Mom, what is all this stuff?", Kim begged an answer, "I could swear the boots changed their size just a tiny bit to fit my feet."

Nodding, "It probably did.", Anne said in satisfaction, before holding out a small black leather jacket to Kim, "You see, aside from the jacket." Which Kim accepted and put on, "All the rest are very special items. All made by Smith himself."

"Smith?"

Looking to her daughter meaningfully, "You'd know him as Hephaestus." Kim's eyes popped open. Waving a hand about Kim, "All are enchanted items." Pointing to, "The battle corset is nigh-indestructible. It stretches and always stays on. Protects against most knives, and I think it can even double as a Kevlar armor against bullets." Then, "The belt never comes off, unless the user wills it." And then pointing lower, "The boots are also very resilient. They are also as comfortable as the sneakers you wear to battle."

Raising her hands, "What about these?", Kim showed the gloves with golden bracers.

"Ah yes, those…See, those were not specially made for me.", Anne explained while Kim looked them over. "Though they were still made by the Smith, they are Amazonian battle bracers.", Anne explained as if that was an easily understood thing.

Kim looked to Anne in askance, "And?...What do they do?"

"Well, Amazons use them to deflect incoming attacks. Swords and knife slashes, hand-to-hand combat protection and arrow deflection."

Looking back at them, "Arrows? Really?" Kim was slightly impressed.

Anne smiled a bit. "Or well, in some cases, bullets."

Kim was now shocked properly. "Deflecting bullets?! Like, like the Wonder Woman?"

"Well, you would need to have a very extensive training and superhuman reflexes to pull it off.", Anne said before shrugging, "I guess Lyta's daughter had those two in abundance."

"What about me? You think...?" Kim left the question unfinished, but the intent was clear.

Anne shook her head. "Someday, definitely, but you need training in your powers and the appropriate strategies for that. Until then, I would say not being where the bullets are fired is your best defense for now."

Kim smiled as she continued to inspect the bracers, "Still ferociously cool." Then looking at the jacket. "What's that for?"

Anne chuckled. "Well, to cover your arms and shoulders of course. This is just a generic leather jacket I'm afraid."

Kim looked at her mother. Then she took the jacket and put it on as well. After that, she turned and posed slightly. "How do I look?"

Anne was speechless. Kim stood eye-to-eye with her now, and the older redhead was suddenly struck at how much her daughter reminded her of her own immortal mother. Kim had the indomitable drive and natural leadership abilities Anne never had. She had charisma, and it showed. She shook herself out of her thoughts and took an item from her lab coat's pocket. This was the most crucial item of all.

Kim saw it too. "A tiara? Is that the one Athena gave you?"

"Yes. Forged by the Smith, enchanted by my mother's disguising powers, it's one of a kind.", before she placed the tiara in Kim's hands.

Just then, something incredible happened. As they looked on, the tiara transformed slowly into a metallic choker. The end result had a stylized star insignia on the front. Kim looked at it for a while, inspecting it. Then she put it around her neck and clasped it in the back. Almost immediately, she felt a weird sensation washing over her.

Anne gasped slightly, and hurried to find a mirror in the basement. She came up with an old hand mirror and gave it to Kim, who gasped upon seeing her own, new look.

Her flowing and 'flippy' red hair had transformed into a silky smooth jet black. Her green eyes had gone to a sparkling grey. Most of all, her face had lost all the baby fat, with her cheekbones, chin and nose becoming a lot more pronounced, and her lips glowing red, even though she had absolutely no lipstick applied. She looked incredibly beautiful.

And quite frankly, she looked very little like Kim Possible. The magical boots with heels had also changed her posture slightly, making her look taller, with broader shoulders. Unless someone already knew who she was under the magical disguise, there was simply no way in hell to tell who she was.

"Oh. My. God." Then she recoiled as she heard her own voice. It was an octave deeper and distinctly older in tone than her normal voice.

Again, Anne was left completely speechless. Her daughter looked five times better than she ever looked in that ensemble and the magical disguise fit her perfectly. It was almost uncanny how all these fit Kim a lot better than they did her. It was also strange how that new voice was almost identical to her own mother's.

Kim looked at herself a little while, but the evening light was stretching their shadows, coming from the basement windows. Kim looked outside, then at herself, and then made up her mind.

Anne saw what went through her mind, "What will you do now Kimmie?" She sighed and walked to the unfamiliar looking woman; for this was a woman, not a girl anymore. Putting her hand on her daughter's shoulder, she asked, "You're not Ron, you can't run around the city all night."

Kim shook her head, "I need to get to Lowerton before total dark. I need to...", Kim paused, she was not sure if her mother should know about the designer drugs on the street.

Sadly, "I read the paper too Kimmie.", Anne replied; Kim's concern was unnecessary.

"Mom, there was almost none of this a year ago. Ron exits the stage for two months, and all sorts of lowlifes start filling in. Drug dealers?" She shook her head slowly. "No. We can't wait for Ron anymore." There was conviction in her tone and the magically altered voice only added more weight to her words.

Anne nodded slowly, but didn't let go. Looking into the grey eyes which reminded her so much of Athena, she spoke slowly. "You have just started to understand your capabilities. Don't underestimate anyone Kim."

With a confidence she felt from her old status quo, "Mom, so not the drama. I've fought plenty of battles against all sorts before.", Kim shook her head.

Her look cautious, "Things have a way of changing when you try to change them Kimmie." Anne caressed her daughter's cheek, "This action you are currently taking, it will give way to reactions different from what you are used to, you must be careful."

Kim took in what she was told, then leaned in and kissed her Mom in the cheek. Distinctly unfamiliar looking face aside, it was still Kim under there. She smiled and left the basement running.

Anne sat down on a nearby box. "This was what you meant by the appropriate time, didn't you?", she spoke as if someone could hear her as she pieced a puzzle together that finally started to make sense to her.

Slowly getting angrier, "The time when superpowered individuals increased in number." Anne rose from the box. "The time when you wanted a weapon of your own to roam the mortal world."

Spinning, Anne's fist landed on the nearby wall, making a hole in it, "You scheming bitch, did you already know that it would be MY daughter?!"

Silence was her only answer.

Kim descended on the rooftops of the old neighborhoods of Lowerton. She had used her full speed to cut through Middleton and hitchhiked a ride on top of a bus the rest of the way. Lowerton had the lowest socio-economic status amongst the three sister-cities, so it was not hard to navigate its relatively old layout of rooftops. Kim found she only needed one or two power jumps to reach them.

She navigated amongst the south district, looking for a specific type of loiterer.

It did not take long for her to find a suitable quarry. It appeared that this new designer drug was getting popular as she watched ten different people make transactions in the span of ten minutes. She was sure she had found a drug dealer.

After the last buyer left, she decided it was time. Jumping from the top of the seven-story building, she landed on the pavement in the alley where the drug dealer waited for more customers. The impact cracked the asphalt a little bit and scared the shit out of the dealer.

Rising from the ground, Kim didn't hesitate to use all her fledgling powers to disable the dealer and his guards which ran into the alley as soon as they heard the impact.

She slapped the knives out of the hands of two thugs, and flung them both to the nearby wall, one hand per thug. They impacted the wall with a crack and sank to the ground, unconscious. She kicked one of them in the knee, cracking it loudly, then threw him away, out of the alley. The dealer and his last guard, now shaking in their boots, tried to run away.

Kim punched straight into the rims of one of the tires of their car, ripped it and the tire still attached from the car and threw it at the guard, who took it in the chest. He flew a good distance away and crashed into another car, falling unconscious immediately.

Kim then jumped a good ten meters in the air and landed near the drug dealer. While the absolute power she felt in her veins was incredible, she didn't let herself get distracted. As her mother said, she had to be careful every step of the way. Grabbing the dealer by his throat, she raised him with a single hand and put his back against the wall.

"You will tell me what drug you are selling and where you are getting it from." Her altered voice, infused with the threatening tone, surprised even herself. It was the voice one would expect to hear from a warrior, not a teenage cheerleader. It would also scare the shit out of almost anyone on the receiving end.

The drug dealer barely got some words out. "...Go... fuck...yourself... bitch..." Apparently, this dealer was not willing to share details.

The police found him and his crew a few hours later, all piled up unconscious near a full trunk full of vials filled with a green liquid. The dealer was missing almost all his teeth, and his fingers were broken.

A few hours after the courtyard speech, Yori led Ron to one of the bigger buildings in the monastery complex. The lighting and the heating were all old school since electricity didn't seem to be available this high up the mountain. Yori carried a paper lantern as she guided Ron to an empty room.

Ron walked in and saw the thin bedroll on the floor. He knew from his information booklet that lots of Japanese homes had those as beds, so he didn't ask about a real bed. But he had one other question.

"Well, home sweet home for now, am I right Rufus?" The mole rat jumped onto the mat and made himself comfortable. Ron turned to Yori, "So, just wondering. Since this school is, well..." He waved his hand around. "You know, secret 'ninjutsu' stuff and all, Hirotaka is also a..." He left the question open-ended.

Yori smiled. "Ah, Hirotaka-san is our school's most accomplished student. It was his honor to be sent in exchange for you."

"Not that I expect trouble or anything but...But he would look out for the people there if something bad happened, right?"

"He is a most honorable warrior, so he would do so. Do not worry, Stoppable-san." Yori seemed to think this explanation was enough to placate Ron's anxiety, and her answer had partially done so.

"Well, you can call me Ron if you want...Stoppable-san is…" He exhaled slowly as everything came rushing back to him, then he gulped. "...was my father." He shook his head slightly and looked at Yori, "Thanks, for showing me around and stuff."

Smiling, "It was my honor to do so.", before she pointed to the bed. "You should sleep. Wake up call is at four o'clock sharp."

Ron moved Rufus and threw himself on the mat. "In the afternoon?" He yawned and closed his eyes. "Okay, that sounds doable."

Yori giggled at his antics, "You are so funny with your American style jokes. Goodnight." Bowing, she closed the door.

Ron's eyes opened back up. He just had a cold chill up his spine, but he did not know why. He disregarded it as the anxiety of being in a new place. He had actually liked the school, super-secret ninja stuff included. Some of his past was forgotten, just for a few minutes, until he had reminded himself.

He looked to the low ceiling of his room, "Goodnight Mom, goodnight Dad."

Waking up to the very loud ringing from a Japanese-style gong, Ron woke up with a start. Shortly after he cleared his head he heard the sounds of others running around near his room. Then he realized it was four in the damn morning.

He groaned and changed into the white gi that was laid out in the corner of his room, with superspeed of course. He exited the room and saw all students running to the courtyard, so he followed them.

In the courtyard, Sensei just said a few words. "Today, we start with the Dragon Course. Be quick, be silent. Go!" Students scrambled off, presumably to do whatever the Dragon Course was.

"I have no idea what that is." He said, to no one particular. He decided to follow a student and do what he did, but as he turned to run, someone tripped him. Time slowed down as he fell. Ron's hand shot forward as a reflex and he landed on it first. Then he used his forward momentum and rolled forward to a crouch. He looked up to see the guy who had caused a scene the day before, Fukushima, looking at him with barely contained mirth.

"Welcome to Yamanouchi, gaijin."

Ron glared at him, but didn't answer. Instead he moved on to the Dragon Course where he tried to complete the course by copying others, but that didn't go well.

The misdirection techniques these students used were beyond him. Somehow, all of them had gone into hiding and were now making themselves incredibly hard to see. Ron had no idea how this was done, but Rufus seemed to get it instantly, and Ron lost track of him immediately. The best he could do was to hide behind a plant.

When lunch time came around, he saw an old lunch lady serving some sort of small…somethings he didn't recognize on a tray. Students were grabbing it from her with speed and precision as she tried to make it hard for them to grab one serving. Worse, they were all doing it with chopsticks. When his turn came, he tried twice and failed horribly each time.

He got annoyed with it, and on the third attempt, he did it while speeding himself. The lunch lady pulled the tray aside as he went for the serving, but he followed it and grabbed two servings at once. He put them in his mouth immediately and chewed with gusto, to the lunch lady's surprise. She was even more surprised when Rufus jumped in and cleaned out the whole tray. Ron chuckled with his mouth full.

Yori, who had eaten her own serving slowly with poise and grace, came over to him, "Stoppable-san, that was most impressive."

"What, all of you grabbed it in the first try, it took me three times."

Yori pointed to the still moving lunch line. "Everyone here grabs their serving by observing and predicting where the tray would be next. You just followed it after it moved."

Ron nervously laughed. "What can I say, I have, uh, fast hands." Then he realized how the full context of that statement might be taken by a girl. He quickly pulled his hands to his chest, "Not-not-not that way, y' know.", he stammered and walked away embarrassed, with Rufus jumping on his shoulder.

Yori just giggled at him.

After lunch, students started breaking logs of wood in two by striking it with their hands. Yori showed Ron how it was done, cleanly breaking a particularly thick piece of wood with a single strike. Ron whistled.

"I really shouldn't make you angry, huh?"

Yori smiled at him. "Do not worry Stoppable-san. How do you Americans say, you and me are good."

Ron blushed and turned to the log in front of him. He tried to hit it the way Yori did, but failed to do even a little damage to it.

'OW!' He mentally shouted as pain shot up through his hand. A small 'meep' sound came out from him. Yori held his hand.

"Are you okay, Stoppable-san?"

Ron's voice, higher in pitch than it normally is, quaked as he answered. "To-totally fine. Ju-just didn't hit it correctly."

He glared at the log, then placed his hand on it and then tested the trajectory above it. Then, in a single move that Yori couldn't see, his hand struck the log. Unlike the clean breaks of all the other students', Ron's log exploded as it broke, striking three students nearby.

Smiling sheepishly. "Sorry!"

Cheating with superspeed was not working as intended.

For the sparring with staffs, he was paired with Fukushima. The taller, intimidating teen attacked Ron with fervor. Ron had decided not to cheat, as it would be too apparent and it was simply not working well for him. He found out that he could still block and evade easily though. His training with Kim and Monkey Kung Fu helped immensely.

Fukushima jumped over him and twirled the staff around before finishing his moves.

Ron tried to do the same, and somehow disappeared the top and pants of his training gi in the process.

He looked at himself and sighed, "Even in Japan. I mean, c'mon!"

Yori giggled at him, but also slightly blushed when she saw his thin but defined muscles.

Kim rushed back home after cheer practice, eager to continue dealing with the drug issue she started on recently. She had failed to learn anything about the drug or where it came from, but the drug dealer she had dealt with had a map of Tri-City with certain areas tagged and named. One of the areas marked on the map was where she had caught him, so the teen heroine assume that it was a territorial map for dealers.

She could use the map to find more, so she waited till sunset and started to prowl at Middleton rooftops, this time intending to find dealers closer to home.

She had to put that on hold for just a minute when she heard a scream from an alley. Kim rushed to the alley and saw two guys with knives threatening a woman, no older than twenty. They were threatening to hurt her while demanding her purse.

Kim grimaced. 'This has been happening while I thought a few good deeds and stopping a wacky villain every now and then kept the people safe. This was what Ron meant when he said "People I couldn't help".'

She jumped off from the rooftop.

'Well, not anymore.'

She landed with a loud thud, which made the two thugs jump in surprise. They turned around with their knives pointing to Kim. She raised herself to full height and looked them directly in the eye.

"Get lost." She was not able to get used to the magically altered voice yet, but was getting the hang of it sounding like a really dangerous person.

One of the thugs dropped the knife and ran away, the stupid one talked back. "Where the hell you came from, Comic-Con? You get lost lady."

Kim sighed and slapped the knife out of his hand in one very quick move. Then she lifted the guy and threw him out of the alley. The thug landed on the pavement, got up limping and ran away in fear.

The woman was still shaking and her bag was on the ground. Kim took it and gave it to her. She smiled slightly. "I did tell him to get lost." The transformation of her voice was incredible. When she dropped the threatening vibe, the voice had almost came out melodic.

"Y-yes."

Kim smiled again and prepared to jump away back to the roof, when the woman stopped her.

"Wait! Thank you!" She had touched Kim's arm slightly. "Who are you?"

Kim simply patted her hand. "Someone who wants to help." Then she jumped away.

Next morning, police found four more dealers, with their cars all trashed, goons all defeated and all tied up nicely near more drug vials. They were stumped about who was doing it all.

Ron grumbled as the second day at Yamanouchi ended. He had received numerous cuts and bruises and had spent a lot of energy trying to keep up without superspeed. It was just ridiculous how people here did some stuff, when he had trouble doing them with a superpower.

Yori was worried about him and insisted on getting him to his room. He had no problem healing all the bruises, but she did not know that.

Ron didn't get why he was here. "Listen, it's clear that I'm not cut out for this ninja school stuff."

Yori pointed to the mole rat sitting under the apple tree in the courtyard. "It has been harder for you than Rufus-san." Rufus, had a little pocket knife in front of him, which he grabbed and used like a sword. He climbed up the tree, cut apples, and then cut them in the air, before catching and eating all of it.

It was ridiculous, Rufus had turned into a master ninja in two days. Ron glared, "Show off."

Yori put her hand on his shoulder, "But you must not give up. Even a mighty river was once a stream."

"Yori, putting aside the fact that I'm a trickle in that analogy, this doesn't make any sense at all! Why am I here? Me, at a ninja school? Why?"

Yori just smiled, "I believe in you Stoppable-san. Good night."

Ron sighed and turned to leave for his temporary room, but felt a tug in his arm. He turned and received a shy kiss from Yori on his cheek.

That put him out of commission for a while as he went to his bedroll in a haze.

Just before he fell asleep, a familiar and unsettling chill came over him, but he ignored it as he started to snore slightly.

Just a few hours later, an alarming chime was rung in the middle of the night. He woke up with the unsettling feeling in his stomach, and immediately knew something was wrong. He went into superspeed and got to the courtyard in a silent haste.

Just then, right before students started filing into the courtyard, he saw something he wished never to see again.

A monkey dressed in a ninja costume, jumping over the walls of the school.

Rufus had ran after him and got to him as Ron was reeling from the shock. Yori also ran near him.

"It is the alarm! The Lotus Blade has been stolen!"

Ron inhaled sharply as anger started flooding back into his system.

'Fiske. Is. Here!'

In the morning, Sensei requested his presence in the courtyard. The old master was sitting with the empty case of the Lotus Blade. He nodded to a spot beside him when he saw the blond teen.

"Stoppable-san. Sit."

Ron sat down wordlessly. He was not able to calm down after finding out Fiske was around, but he also got the feeling that he was about to get his answers now. So he sat and listened. Rufus was near him, also listening.

"I wish your help. In recovering the Lotus Blade."

"My help? You have a school full of ninjas with skills leagues ahead of mine, and you ask me?" Ron exhaled and huffed. "Damn it, why am I here? Tell me now, please."

Sensei got up and nodded. "The Lotus Blade is no ordinary sword. In the wrong hands, it could be very dangerous." He pulled out a tuft of black fur from inside the case. Rufus smelled it and squeaked, "Monkey."

Ron knew. "Monkey Fist…Lord Monty Fiske was here last night. After this blade." His eyes flashed red just for a moment, making Sensei's eyes widen slightly. "That murderous bastard was...here!"

Sensei observed Ron's rage simmering just below the surface before speaking. "This Monkey Fist is now more powerful than ever before. The sword in the wrong hands...I fear for us all."

"You fear? I get that the sword is like super special, but why would he want it? That maniac is about monkeys, and only about monkeys." He shivered. "And I gotta say, I have some very deep rooted monkey issues…Both old and...recent."

Sensei nodded again. "I know. You were not chosen to come to Yamanouchi by accident." He turned to the statue of the founder in the courtyard. "Toshimiru, the warrior who founded our school, was the original master of Tai Shing Pek Kwar. He was the last Monkey Master."

Ron looked at the statue. "Monkey Kung Fu." His eyes grew. "That's why the blade seemed so familiar, and why I reached for it." He looked at his hands. "The power inside me...called to it."

"Yes. Very astute, Stoppable-san. Since Toshimiru, there have been only two individuals who have been exposed to the mystical Monkey Power. Monkey Fist...And you." He put the case down. "The Jade Monkeys implanted a Sokumen, an Aspect into you. That Aspect now is part of you. It also connects you to the blade." The old master exhaled in a slightly dramatic fashion. "You and the sword are now connected by destiny."

Ron sat back down on the bench. "Destiny." His breathing got ragged. "Why? Do I look like I need more 'destiny'?!" He spat out the word as if it was poisonous. "All I suffered, and it's not enough?!"

"You must do as your heart tells you." Sensei's very calm demeanor in all of this finally got on Ron's nerves.

Ron exploded, "You don't know what you are asking for!", his anger spiked. "You have no idea what this power is like!" His eyes flashed and stayed red this time. "You don't get to act as if you know it all!" His voice had distorted towards the end, and an unseen wave of energy pulsed out of him, making everything in a ten meter radius shake slightly. He stood up abruptly.

"You don't get to spout destiny at my face!" Another pulse travelled outwards, this time shaking everything in the courtyard. He was about to take a step towards Sensei, but then, he felt a hand on his own.

Yori was holding his hand, pleading with her eyes for him to calm down. Her silent request and the tears in her eyes cut him off from the rage. His eyes reverted to brown and he fell on his knees.

Yori moved to help him, but Sensei held her hand. "Yori, leave us please."

"Demo Sensei, Ron-san wa-"

"Shitte iru, Yori. Watashi wa kare no sewa o shimasu."

Yori bowed slightly and retreated. Sensei walked near and helped Ron stand up. "Stoppable-san, please follow me."

Ron accepted and wordlessly followed the old master.

They walked towards the other side of the mountain via mountain trails long lost to civilization. Sensei seemed to know them by heart though. After a few hours, they came upon a crack in the stone. Using the narrow passage, the old master led Ron to a place unimaginable.

Outside the passage, there was a grotto. A small, relatively quiet but steady stream fed the little pond in the middle. Ron felt weird walking inside. The grotto's 'roof', where the stream came from opened up to the sky above, illuminating inside with daylight.

Sensei didn't go near the pond. "You need to go in by yourself, Stoppable-san."

"What's in there?"

"Only what walks inside."

Ron looked at the grotto, then back to Sensei, but the old man had vanished into thin air.

'Only what walks inside... Ripping off Yoda is so not cool Sensei.' He looked at the pond again. It had a certain beauty to it. He walked inside slowly.

'Here goes nothing.'

Kim was getting tired of this. In four consecutive nights, she had taken down a total of twelve drug dealers all over Tri-City.

And not a single one of them had said a word about the drug or its origins. She had never realized what a bitch detective work could be without a super genius running down leads and getting analyses for clues.

At least Ron had the luxury of canvasing the entire city in a matter of minutes. She was shooting blind into the situation, and the map she had lifted off from the first dealer was not going to be valid at this rate. And to add to her tweak, the last two dealers she took down had extra protection, with guns.

She had taken them down quickly, without gunfire ever becoming an issue, but whoever was coordinating the dealers would get a handle on the situation more quickly than she could run down the remaining leads.

She had located one of the final dealers, and his protection detail, in the dead center of downtown Middleton. It was a bold move, and it had certainly made Kim's job easier.

In fact, this one was making it too easy. Kim had to remind herself that her newfound power was not the answer to all questions. Her instincts told her one thing about this.

'Trap. They know someone is going after them. They prepared a damn trap.'

How she craved backup now. Without Wade, she was blind. And without Ron, she was without reach that would clear out the trap in seconds.

"You are going about this all wrong." A deep and gravelly voice spoke from behind her.

Kim's heart almost leapt out of her chest as she turned around. Her heart racing, she immediately looked around to see who was speaking. She finally saw what she was looking for in the shadow of a ventilation exhaust.

Dark cape fluttering in the slight breeze, a man stood wearing full body Kevlar armor, painted in black and dark grey. The cowl with two pointed ears gave her all the clue she needed.

Forcing herself to breathe normally, she spoke as menacingly as she could. "Batman."

The man stepped out of the shadows and Kim could fully see his figure now. Standing at a solid six foot three, maybe four inches, he towered over the teenager. Kim had to admit, she had trouble believing what Ron had recently told her about how this man had stopped him in Gotham. But she didn't doubt a word of it anymore as this man was as intimidating as one could be.

He slowly walked to the edge of the roof and looked down. "You have been running around, punching every low-level dealer you find and hope to get an answer out of them. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one." The voice was cold, unfeeling and offering no sympathy at all.

Kim took a few steps backwards away from the man in armored suit by instinct. "Smart one of what?"

"That teenager unit you called a crime fighting team.", he stated as if it was painfully obvious.

Kim had the urge to check if her choker was in place, as well as her magical disguise.

Without even looking at her, Batman seemed to know what she was thinking, "Your artifact is doing its job. I know because I have been keeping an eye on you."

"What?! You were spying on me?!"

Batman took a small binocular from his belt and started to scan the immediate area down below. He spoke while continuing his scan, "I was keeping my eye on someone a lot faster than you. You happened to be nearby."

Ron had not told her much, and apparently had left out how Batman knew about his speedy activities. Kim decided it was high time this man explained what he was doing here. "What are you doing here in our city?"

"Your job, apparently." He collapsed the binocular and put it back into his belt. He turned to her and Kim could feel the icy glare emanating from the blue eyes of the man. "You have successfully scared off my only lead concerning this outbreak of Vertigo into the rest of the country."

"Wait…The rest of the country?"

"You didn't even learn what you were dealing with.", he exhaled slowly. "Did that genius kid used to tie your shoes for you as well?" He walked back towards the middle of the roof, into darkness.

"Look, you've no right to come here and insult me!"

Batman didn't react to her anger. He continued explaining, "What you have seen here is Vertigo. Designer drug, origin is from Starling City. The original chemist who made and distributed it has been shot dead with three arrows ten months ago. It has resurfaced recently in several cities, including Gotham and Tri-City."

"I tracked their distribution here, to Tri-City area, but before I could find the source, you started demolishing their local operation. Without any regards for strategy."

"I was planning to find the source and shut it down!" Kim exclaimed.

"The source is not here. This here is just their hub for distribution. And you couldn't find who run the operation even if you had known that, since as I said, you have been going about this all wrong."

"Cornering the dealers and forcing the information out of them isn't a good plan?"

"It is a failed plan." Batman's gaze turned back onto her. "You don't dismantle a drug operation by hitting the outlying elements. You scare that element back to the core, so you can follow." He pointed below the roof. "They are ready now, and scaring them is not an option until they disperse that trap they prepared." He moved away to the other edge of the roof.

"Congratulations, you just failed your first solo operation. Now stay down until this cools down." With that insulting remark, the caped crusader jumped off the edge and zipped away.

Kim punched out the nearby vent in anger and wrecked it.

Ron woke up to find himself in a white void. He did not remember anything after walking near the pond and sitting near it. And this white nothingness was most clearly not within the mountains.

Or anywhere real for that matter. All he could see was a white 'nothing' in all directions.

Until he heard a crackling, familiar and distorted voice that shook him to his core.

"Took you long enough."

Turning his head to his left, Ron faced something he hoped to never see again.

It was him. Eyes full of red fire, veins marked with red energy, face cracking and flicking off in red energy surges. The very sight of this version made him sick in the stomach.

"Look at you. Weak. Afraid. Denying me won't earn you any boy scout badges." There was excessive revulsion in his distorted reflection's voice. Ron could feel the hatred and rage rolling off of him, most of it focused on himself.

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you are. But I know that you are nothing I want to be near. You are five hundred miles of bad road."

"You dare?! You useless piece of trash! If it wasn't for you, I would not need to suffer this pain!" The other-Ron pointed to his chest. "I would make it all right!"

"By bringing the dead back? Or by killing everything on sight?"

"You are the one that is five hundred miles of bad road! Your weakness prevents me from killing all those responsible, making all criminals fear us! I would create safety beyond comprehension, and yet you keep me locked away!"

The red energy surged more around the other-Ron, making him look almost demonic. "I am the one that should be in control! I AM THE ONE THAT DESERVES THIS BODY!"

"You? Who do you think you are?"

"Didn't you listen to the old geezer? I guess I am that Aspect, which means, I AM power itself while you are nothing! Who do you think I am, you brainless, incompetent, useless, worthless worm?!"

"I AM YOU! AND I HATE YOU! I HATE YOUR WEAKNESS! I HATE YOUR INDECISIVENESS! I HATE YOUR FEARS!"

Ron was shaking as his distorted version spewed out equal measures of rage and spit. "You're lying!"

"AM I? Do you think you suffer alone? Do you think that I did not feel all the pain?!" Suddenly, the other-Ron went into superspeed and caught the real one from his throat. "I felt everything!"

"I loved the feeling of wind on my face as we ran! I loved the feeling I got every time we saved someone! I felt every injury you took, every bullet you dodged, every blow you dealt! With you!"

He threw the real Ron onto some invisible ground in the whiteness. "I suffered as Kim laid there, unmoving, unresponsive. I felt my heart grow cold as you faced failure after failure. I felt the caress of Tara's hands as she ran them through your hair! I felt her lips as she kissed you!" The other-Ron was shaking with unimaginable rage. "I FELL FOR HER JUST AS YOU DID!"

He lifted Ron and threw him away again. "YOU IGNORED ME! YOU LOCKED ME AWAY! Every time I helped you, you shut me down again! You feared me! YOU!"

The rage filled copy lifted his hands. "YOU WEAK WORM! YOU FEARED YOURSELF!"

The rage of his copy didn't simmer down, but he stopped screaming. He sat on the ground near Ron as he squirmed from the mental pain. "You shut part of yourself out. Did you think that it was simple as shutting away the mystical powers? By shutting me out, you neutered yourself. You shut part of your instincts down. You lost to a gorilla because of that, you lost to a freaking ice villain because of that. If you had allowed me to help, we could've shut down Atrocitus without Jordan's help."

He looked down on the real one's eyes. Red fire met brown irises. "Yet you shut me out. You were too slow against Cold. You lost, and that time cost us everything! Tara died because of you! Our parents died because of you! All those people died because of you! YOU MADE US FAIL!"

"Shut up." Ron grumbled from where he tried to sit up. "Shut the hell up."

"Truth hurts, doesn't it?!"

"I said shut up!" Ron got up and rushed the sitting replica with super speed. He was caught and thrown on the other side.

"This is not a fight! It never has been!"

Ron got up and rushed again. The replica caught him and raised him with a single hand. Then he was punched away.

"I am what you should have been all along!"

"SHUT UP!" Ron kept rushing with superspeed, and continuously got pummeled as the replica easily overpowered him.

"DON'T YOU GET IT YET?! I am YOU! I know everything you know, I can do everything you can! But I don't fear what I am!"

He caught the real Ron in mid-rush this time. "This is not some story where you get to slay the big bad! And you are not the hero. You are not a warrior, not a sidekick, not a friend, not a boyfriend or a son. You are nothing!"

He held Ron and looked into his eyes. "Every day you spend wallowing, hating yourself, I get stronger. Every day you let people suffer in our city and felt guilt, I get stronger. And every day, you lose a little bit more of yourself. Do you think making a few new friends will make you stronger?! Your guilt grows all the time. Your self-hatred grows. As it does, so do I. Pretty soon, you will be gone, and I will be all that's left. Without you to block me, I will keep Kim, the Possibles and every innocent safe! I will take VENGEANCE!"

He opened his mouth and spewed red energy all over Ron.

Ron woke up in the real world suddenly. He was suffering from hunger, exhaustion and anxiety. He weakly crawled away from the pond and towards the exit.

He passed out before he made there.

Kim spent the next few nights, including the weekend, prowling the rooftops. She didn't make a move on any dealers even when she found one, she just observed and waited.

There was no sign of the vigilante from Gotham either. He either was really good at hiding, and indications were that he was quite good, or he was just waiting like she was.

But that didn't mean she was idle the whole time, she had stopped a few muggings she'd come across. She didn't know what else to do in the meantime.

Meanwhile, school life was a bit of an afterthought for her. She had realized changes were needed, and just like her mother said, change begets more change. Reactions to those changes were coming her way.

"Look, we really could use your help with the yearbook committee, Kim.", Lisa said to Kim while standing across from the redhead's seat in the cafeteria, "You are not doing that whole 'teen hero' thing anymore, so why are you even dropping out?" A girl she worked with on that committee, was trying to talk Kim out of resigning.

"Cheerleading takes time, and I realized I needed more time for myself."

"I spoke with members of other committees too, Kim. You dropped out of environmental cleaning and planning committees as well. Frankly, people are worried a little.", Lisa said out of concern for someone everyone at Middleton High saw as the epitome of overachieving.

"You all can relax, I'm fine, I just need more time for myself and my family.", Kim assured her.

Lisa shook her head a bit, "To be brutally honest Possible, I think you are wasting enough time worrying about that friend of yours.", she snarked.

Now Kim remembered why the yearbook committee was one of her least favorite activities. Lisa could be a really stuck-up bitch when she was irritated, and she was irritated a lot. Only this time, she did not realize what dangerous waters she was treading in.

"We all feel bad and all, but if he wants to stay a moping loser the rest of his life, he shouldn't drag you down with him.", she sniffed to Kim's now rising outrage.

Before the brunette, and nearly everyone who saw the incident, knew it, Kim grabbed the high school social climber by her sweater and pulled her down to the table. Her face, heavily made up with top-of-the-line makeup, suddenly was nearly nose-to-nose with a very furious redhead.

"Call Ron a loser one more time…", Kim's eyes, voice and expression left no doubt of what would come if she did. Lisa was a hair's breadth away from getting pummeled by sixteen styles of Kung Fu, and she knew it.

Monique, however, arrived on the scene just before things escalated, and held Kim's arm, "Let her go girl. She doesn't know what she's saying, being a stupid bitch and all."

Kim exhaled slowly and let the brunette girl go. She scurried away from Kim immediately, but not without parting words.

"I always knew something was wrong with you, thanks for confirming it freak!"

The glass in Kim's hand exploded, and Lisa decided she needed to be elsewhere, yesterday. Monique, realizing the entire cafeteria had watched the debacle, shouted in anger.

"Go back to your mystery meat! All of you!" Everyone immediately turned back to whatever they were doing.

Monique sat down near Kim, "Are you okay Kim? I mean, you have been a little off lately."

Sighing, "I'm fine."

"Look, I get it if you are worried about Ron, but he's coming back next week, no need to stew over it.", as she tried to placate Kim. If that was the problem.

"Mon, I'm fine.", Kim sounded like a broken record.

Monique narrowed her eyes, "Seriously? Half the school chases Hirotaka, and you don't even bat an eyelash! Mankey asks you on a date, you say you're busy. You drop out of almost everything but cheerleading. All of this while Ron's away." Monique shook her head. "You ain't the best liar around."

Kim sighed, "I got a lot on my mind. And I didn't tell Josh I was busy, I said 'can we do it in a week or so', after I sort out a few things."

"Which just happens to be when Ron comes back.", Monique countered smugly.

Kim didn't answer. She didn't want to argue with Monique.

Monique sighed as well and let the issue go. She had interrogated her friend enough for one day.

On the other hand, Kim was simply annoyed at how people acted as if the world ended when she quit a few activities. People were suffering out there, from Vertigo, and since she had fucked up big time, she was reduced to waiting it out. That didn't do favors for her anger management.

Ron woke up, parched and hungry. He did not know how long he had slept, but it felt like a long time. Coughing, he opened his eyes and found he was in a Japanese style room, what looked like his temporary one in the school.

Slowly he tried to get up, and a few moments later, Yori walked in and helped him sit up.

Handing him a glass of water, "Ron-san, you made me worry!", she helped him manage.

He coughed after drinking, and looked at the girl holding him. "Ron-san?"

Yori blushed furiously, "I... meant to say Stoppable-san. Gomen nasai."

Ron snorted, "Don't be. It has a better ring to it than 'Stoppable-san.'" He looked around, "How long was I out?"

Yori helped him drink another glass of water, "It has been three days since Sensei brought you back unconscious."

"Three days? It has been three days since we left?!"

Yori sighed, "It actually has been five days. You and Sensei have been missing for two days before that."

'What in the hell?! That...sequence with myself didn't feel like it was two days long!' Ron shook his head and tried to focus on what was important. "What about Monkey Fist? Any news?"

"We know he didn't leave the mountains yet. Sensei believes he is hiding somewhere, trying to unlock the Blade's power."

The door to the small room opened and Sensei walked in. "Yori, please bring Stoppable-san some food. Make sure you bring enough for two people. He needs his energy."

Yori stood up, bowed and left.

Ron sighed from his sitting position. "Five days. I lost five days on that lost cause."

"No cause is lost forever, Stoppable-san."

"You didn't see what I saw. I don't think you should even let me walk around, let alone have me fight for the Blade."

Sensei stood silent, letting Ron speak his mind. "I have seen what I am becoming. And...you saw it yourself…I can't control the Monkey Power.", he looked to his hands. "I'm a danger now, and at this rate I will be soon be a murderer.", he clenched them. Looking up to Sensei, "I don't know what to do.", he looked lost. "Maybe you should just kill me now." His hands fell to his sides. "You can't let that monster go free. You don't know what I can do. What he would most definitely do."

Sensei sat down near Ron. He sighed.

"There is a tale. An old tale." He stroked his beard as he composed his thoughts. "In the Kofun era, there used to be a state called Yama-taikoku. This state and its leader wanted to grow. It was ruled by a ruthless clan leader of Yamatai. At his side, his greatest soldier, a warrior of unparalleled ability."

"Legend says that this warrior had migrated from the continent. He had a way of fighting none of the Yamatai or its enemies had ever seen. He had served masters on the old continent as well, but had come looking for a better life and better battles in the islands. It is said that he had many names affixed to him at the time."

"Years passed and Yama-taikoku grew. The warrior would never lose, and his master's army always followed in his wake. They say that when his eyes turned red, no one dared to stand in his way."

"But even the most resilient blades get chipped over time. The warrior was tired. He was tired of all the blood he had shed. He was tired of the endless war. They say the red fire in his eyes went dull."

"One day, he left his Master's side, leaving only a letter. The Master was furious. He ordered the name of his former warrior erased from all records. He called him Rōnin, 'wandering man', and ordered all his subjects to do the same. He was the first one in history to be called Rōnin."

"The warrior, whose name now forgotten, travelled the entire length of the islands, before finding something of unparalleled beauty. A piece of sky had fallen through the mountains, boring down a hole and creating a cave."

"He found the cave and watched in amazement as the fallen piece of the sky gleamed like the sun. Feeling drowsy, he went to sleep near the fallen piece."

"Legend says he slept for five days and nights in that cave. When he woke up, the fallen piece was gone, replaced by a blade of unimaginable beauty and sharpness. It gleamed just like the fallen piece did."

"Hearing the Blade call to him, the warrior took it up. The Blade asked him, 'What do you fight for?' The warrior had no answer. He had been looking for that for many years."

"It is said that, many years ago, in the old continent, the warrior was struck by heavenly lights. And he was destined to fight ever since. The Blade asked again. No one knows what was the answer the warrior gave the Blade. All we know is what happened afterwards."

"The Blade gave him a new purpose as he held it. He gained control of his destiny. He forged it with the Blade. He carved a mountainside with it."

"He called himself Toshimiru, the one that watches over many ages."

Sensei finished with a smile, "They say his eyes never glowed red after that, but instead, it shone brightly as blue as the sky the Blade had fallen from."

Silence fell over the room as Sensei watched Ron, and the teenager contemplated the tale.

After a while, Ron asked just one question. "Do you think I can forge my own destiny, Sensei?"

Sensei smiled, "What does your heart tell you?"

Kim had just finished cheer practice and was on her way home when someone called her on her new cellphone, a necessity she had to buy after Kimmunicator had gone dead.

A deep voice spoke at the end, "Seven PM. Lowerton Warehouses. Be there." Then the call ended abruptly. Kim had barely recognized the gravelly tone of Batman. She grumbled at the rude way he addressed her, but she let that go, it was not a priority to her now.

A few hours later, she was on top of a building overlooking the warehouse district. Of course she was in full costume.

Jumping, "You're on time. Good." Kim was scared out of her wits by Batman again.

Spinning around, "God dammit, stop doing that!", she glared at the Dark Knight.

He ignored that remark and pulled out a device with a little screen. A dot was blinking constantly on it. Kim looked at it from the side.

"Looks like a tracker device?"

Even though his face was hidden behind his cowl, "Since following the dealers was no longer an option,", Kim could feel the glare, "I tagged one of the returning transport trucks to follow back to the distribution center.", he explained while watching the screen and comparing it with the visual they had from the rooftop.

"How did you find them in Gotham?"

"The Escabedo Cartel distributes Vertigo in Gotham. It's not hard for me to find them. Their loyalty only goes as far as a few major broken bones.", Batman explained things he'd done in a cold, yet casual tone, that would've frozen her blood.

"Won't they know someone discovered the shipment?"

"As soon as the perp who talked wakes up, yes, they will." He pulled out a little map and started eliminating warehouses from the tracker screen.

Kim asked with some hesitance. "And...when will he wake up?"

"When they cut off the morphine they gave him for the broken bones and the concussion he sustained, passes. Usually takes around ten to fifteen days." He circled an area on the map, put the tracker back onto his belt and pulled his binoculars to scan the target area.

Kim had thought she was being harsh by hospitalizing the drug dealers with medium level injuries, but this was way beyond her comfort zone.

Batman wasn't pulling any punches, it seemed. He turned her and showed the map. "We have two locations. Warehouse 14 and 15. They operate out of both. Now, I'd have preferred to have someone who can evade bullets for this, since they all carry semi-automatic weapons, but we will make do."

"So sorry I can't cheat by running at Mach Two or something!", Kim's sarcasm and anger burned through her professionalism and into her voice.

Batman either didn't notice or simply ignored the shot, "We'll have you out of the line of fire. You have experience in stealth and you'll utilize those skills to get to the water tank on top of Warehouse 14. When I give the signal, you will knock it down onto the roof and through the floor. There is one guard on top of it, neutralize him before taking position."

Kim looked at the warehouse in the distance. Water tank seemed doable enough for her new strength. "After that?"

"You will relocate to the roof of Warehouse 15. Using the skylight, you will breach it. Silently. Then you will see if the shipment and the man in charge is there. If he is not, you will come back out and wait."

"And what will you be doing?"

Batman pulled out a grappling gun, far more advanced than her old grappling hair dryers. He fired it off and talked as the line travelled. "I will be giving the signal."

"What is the damn signal?!"

"You'll know it." His line tugged and he zipped away.

Kim growled with anger. This man was, by far, the most antisocial person she had ever met.

Kim used as little superpowered jumps as possible and instead fell back on old habits. She had done quite a bit of stealth as the public teen hero, and carrying someone as clumsy as Ron around while doing it was incredible training. It was no problem for her to reach the roof without anyone noticing.

She spotted the guard Batman warned her about. He was a large man who seemed to be of Latino origin. Someone asked something over the radio he was carrying, and he answered in what Kim recognized to be Spanish. She waited for his check-in to end, then slipped behind him and put him in a choke hold. Within a minute, the guy was on the ground, unconscious.

She went near the water tank and tested it. Its supports seemed weak enough to be broken with enough force. It was a question of whether her strength would be enough.

'You held up a roof by yourself Possible. Get it together and get it done!', she admonished herself and got in position. Now she just had to wait for the 'signal' from Batman, whatever the heck it would be.

She didn't have to wait long or guess what the signal was. Suddenly, all the electricity in the immediate vicinity of Warehouse 14 and 15 went out. Cries of surprise came from below her. Kim pushed the water tank with all her might. The supports groaned, and the metal under her hands bent slightly. With a final push, she ripped the water tank and threw it onto the thin roof of the Warehouse 14.

The water tank crashed through the roof and came down on some crates below. Kim heard the sounds of water rushing out and then the sounds of several guns being fired. Some of those abruptly cut off. She didn't have time to listen though. Gathering her strength, she jumped from Warehouse 14 to 15 in one big leap. She landed with a loud thud, but no one could hear that over the commotion nearby.

She found the skylight and opened its glass window slowly. There were support beams inside, on which she jumped. Warehouse 15 was also fully cut off from power, but she could see several people inside with lights coming out of their cellphones.

She heard shouting in Spanish. Someone opened the doors of Warehouse 15 below her. She kept watching. Finally, someone shone a light on some open crates. Clear as day, she could see vials of green liquid. This place was their target.

Sounds outside got less and less frequent. A man, who seemed to be in charge, sent more of his underlings outside. Semi-automatic gunfire was being heard in bursts, but Kim realized this was probably due to panic in darkness, since if they had a target, they would fire off many more bursts than she heard.

As she watched with only a little light illuminating the warehouse, someone threw a smoke pellet inside. The few people left inside lost track of the entrance for a little while, then Kim saw Batman land on a support beam nearby.

He gestured to the man in charge, then pointed to the armored looking SUV nearby. Then he made his hand into a fist.

That was easy enough to deduce for Kim, 'Trash the man's ride.'

Batman waited for Kim to get above the SUV, then threw several smoke and gas grenades down below. Intense coughing could be heard by both vigilantes. Then, as she watched, Batman dove inside the smoke. She saw people being strung up on support beams with wires shortly after.

She couldn't even see how he did it, but Batman was taking down an entire operation by himself. The lights came back up at that moment. The apparent man in charge finally saw Batman in the smoke and made a beeline for his car.

Kim decided it was time and leapt down to land on the SUV. Her landing had made a dent, but she went for full effect. She punched straight through the hood and into the engine. Then she pulled out half of it with a hand.

The man who tried to run was a Latino wearing a very expensive suit, Kim noted with her fashion sensibilities. He was now shocked to see a woman tearing through his getaway car like it was nothing. He took a few steps backwards as Kim jumped down from the hood. She put one hand under the car, and with some effort, flipped it to side. The man tried to pull a gun on her, but then Batman was there, behind him.

"You are done, Luis Escabedo."

A few minutes later, the man named Luis was thrown onto a chair. "Your father must want to sell Vertigo badly if he sent you here. Now tell me, who is your contact in Starling?" Batman got right in Luis' face.

"Vete a la mierda murciélago!" Luis shouted at Batman. The vigilante wasn't impressed. He reached out and, with a single strike, bent the man's right elbow backwards until it broke. Kim slightly twitched as she heard the screams.

"You have only so many chances to answer before I break enough bones to make you useless." The caped man wasn't about to let this one go. "Now, answer."

In heavily accented English, "Do your worst!" Luis screamed to Batman.

Batman reached out and broke the man's left wrist like a twig. Kim twitched slightly again as the screams were getting worse. The interrogated man's breathing was very heavy now, presumably from the pain.

"Answer me or this will be the beginning of a long night." The man spat at Batman's armored combat boots.

Kim had looked away by then, and heard the sound of a big bone breaking like a piece of wood, and a third set of screams. She couldn't take it and walked out of the warehouse. She slipped out to the exit and closed her ears with her hands. Even through that, she heard the muffled screams for several minutes more.

After a while, all she heard was silence. Then she heard Batman walk nearby and she hurried over to him, but instinctively moved away from the absolutely ruthless vigilante.

Batman saw her reaction, but did not comment on it. "I have notified the authorities. They will be here in a matter of minutes."

"Was...was that necessary?" Kim's voice quaked as the screams echoed in her head.

"Luis Escabedo is Manuel Escabedo's middle son. The third in line for the Cartel. Making someone like him talk...took effort."

"That wasn't my question!"

"I know." He took out a remote and pressed some buttons. "Go home. Tri-City's operation for Vertigo is done. Your cities are safe now."

Kim heard sirens closing in. But she had things she had to say. "You are as crazy as they say you are."

Batman ignored her again and looked above to see a small aircraft closing in. He pulled out his grappling gun and aimed it upwards. "Keep your friends close. If you want to stay alive." Before Kim could angrily retort, he fired his grappling gun and it stuck on the small aircraft passing them above. He was high up in the sky next moment, depriving her of venting on him.

Kim growled again and turned to leave, noting Police cars swarming into the Warehouse District. She jumped away as she saw the first line of cars reach her position.

It took a long shower before bed to calm down enough to sleep.

Ron took one more day to get himself back up to a hundred percent. The food helped a lot, and he would have liked to take more time to recover, but he had a very immediate concern that went by the name of Monkey Fist.

He donned the black ninja gi he was given and got ready to go after the monkey-crazed Englishman. The students of the school had narrowed his location down, more or less, but it was up to him to retrieve the Blade.

Like the warrior of Sensei's story, he wanted to forge his own destiny, so he left the school, unannounced, with only Rufus on his shoulder. At least, he tried to. Sensei was an experienced ninja himself, so he caught Ron as he tried to slip out of the school.

"Stoppable-san. I see you are on your way to complete your task. Yet, there is something you should know.", the old man sighed and stroked his beard. "I am saddened to say that Yori is missing."

"Missing? Missing how?"

"While you rested, we learned of the immediate area which Monkey Fist is hiding. She took on the task herself and left without letting anyone know."

"But...why?! It's my responsibility now!"

Sensei sighed, "I think she didn't want you to suffer more than you already have."

Ron groaned, and then slowly nodded, "I will bring her back Sensei, safe. That, I can promise."

Sensei nodded and bowed as Ron left. Some distance from the monastery, Ron was again interrupted by someone. This time, it was Fukushima.

"Honored guest! Wait!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Look, dude-san, I really don't have time for your attitude right now."

Bowing his head, "Allow me the honor of going with you.", Fukushima exclaimed.

"Well... I suppose we could use someone who knows the area.", Ron said, then immediately followed up with, "But let's get one thing clear.", as he got up in Fukushima's face to get his point across. "As soon as we find Yori, you take her, and you run. You don't look back, you don't stay 'for honor' or some such crap. You have no idea how dangerous Monkey Fist actually is. Got it?"

Fukushima sighed and nodded, "Fair enough outsider. Fair enough."

They began running on the path. After they travelled a fair distance and crossed three mountains in the Hida Range, Fukushima led them towards the slopes of a fourth one.

"The trail leads this way, as per our information."

Ron looked around to see heated water pits amongst the snow. "Man, it's like an ice sauna in here."

"Volcanic hot springs. Some of these mountains have active volcanoes inside.", Fukushima informed him. He looked ahead to a nearby slope which led to the mountain nearby, "I will see how far this trail leads. Watch my back."

Ron nodded, "Consider it watched.", as Fukushima left and Rufus jumped into a hot spring to relax. While the mole rat enjoyed the heat, he saw a monkey ninja emerge from the water. Ron turned to look at Rufus.

"Rufus! Ru-" He stopped calling for his pet as soon as he saw a fair number of monkey ninjas swarming at him.

"Oh Fuji." He went into action with his own Monkey Kung Fu as the monkey ninjas reached him. All the while whining as he fought, "Why is it always monkeys?!" He deflected two monkeys and spun around to knock out three at one time. "Or aliens?!" He crouched to evade two more and punched out another four monkeys in quick succession. "Or mutant talking gorillas!" He jumped up and dropkicked a few more. "Why can't I ever get attacked by crazed supermodels?! Or boy-band fangirls?!" He thought about that last one for a second. "Scratch that one, it would be horrific.", and punched one monkey who had jumped from his back without even looking.

Monkeys kept coming. Ron was getting annoyed. "I mean seriously, how does Monty even find the time to train you all?!" He caught two of them, and using them as unwilling weapons he spun around, knocking out all the remaining monkey ninjas. Rufus knocked out the last two monkeys himself and then jumped on Ron's shoulder.

Fukushima showed from above the slope and waved at him. "Outsider! This way." Ron moved to follow him again.

Pretty soon, Fukushima found the way inside the mountain, and into very warm underground passages filled with lava. They came to a split in their path. Fukushima pointed to the two paths. "We will cover more ground if we split up."

"That's true.", Ron agreed after Fukushima already had left. He followed the second path, and it led him to a huge underground cavern. In the distance, he heard something that made his blood both freeze and boil at the same time.

Monkey Fist's crazed laughter. He walked to the source and peeked around a corner to see his enemy standing with the Lotus Blade in his hands, surrounded by a cadre of monkey ninjas. The urge of revenge, that one feeling he thought he had left behind in Gemini's lair, he could feel again as he looked at the mad lord.

"I have the ultimate weapon, and it is with me, where it belongs! MINE! Its power should be mine!" His laughing tone changed into anger. "Yet why doesn't it answer to me?! Ask me your question already Blade! Make me your owner!"

Ron sneaked closer, but stopped when he heard a whisper from nearby, "Stoppable-san!" He turned to see Yori, tied to a rock formation.

He exhaled in relief, she looked relatively unhurt. "Call me Ron-san.", before he pointed to the ropes and Rufus went into action, biting and cutting them in record time. Ron helped Yori get free and helped her stand up. "Come on, we need to find Fukushima and get you the hell away from here."

Yori stopped and held Ron's arm. "Fukushima?!" Her face assumed a grim look. "No! He told Monkey Fist the location and the defenses of the Lotus Blade! He has betrayed us."

Ron suddenly understood why Fukushima had insisted to come with him. "He was the one that led us here. That means this whole thing is-"

"A trap!" Monkey Fist exclaimed and walked up to them with his monkey ninjas.

Fukushima threw a crooked smile at them from Fiske's side. "Sorry outsider." More monkey ninjas jumped from around and surrounded Ron and Yori.

Fiske walked slowly towards Ron. "You and I are the only two people on Earth capable of unleashing the power of the Lotus Blade." He drew the sword and held it towards Ron. "And how lucky for me, I still owe you a painful, horrible death. Once I destroy you, I will be the only holder of the Blade and the Monkey Power! It will all be MINE!"

Ron saw Fiske's eyes flashing with orange light as the madman concluded his speech with maddened laughter. But Fiske was not the only one that was feeling giddy.

Monkey Fist was the only perpetrator of the Valentine's Day attack that Ron couldn't get a handle on, aside from the murderer of his parents. Now, he had basically came right at Ron, giving him the chance to get payback.

"You want the power?! I will give it to you Fiske." Ron speaking shut everyone up, including the monkeys. "I will give you so much of it, I was only waiting for this chance." He left Yori's side and took a step toward Fiske. "See, you think you trapped me. You are correct. But here's where you are wrong." Rufus jumped off from his shoulder with a glance from Ron.

He caught two monkeys from nearby and flung them towards the others, knocking several of them out simultaneously. "We are not trapped in here with you...", he shook his head. "No, YOU are trapped in here WITH ME!" Before anyone could interfere, Ron closed the few meters in between himself and Fiske in an instant. He rushed the madman so fast that they went over the small gap in the lava and landed on the other side of the lava stream.

Fiske was still holding the Blade. He raised his head and looked at Ron, who was standing up. "No...No, no, no, no...No! Not again! This power is mine!...It was always mine! It should've been only MINE! You ruined everything. Not this time! It will all BE MINE!" As he ranted, the orange glow in his eyes reached the veins in his face and started to spread, his voice distorting at the end. At the same time, he rushed at Ron with the Blade, trying to hack and slash the blond teen.

Ron's anger bubbled up and came roaring out as well. "You had my parents killed! You told them to attack them and me directly! You were the last one on my hit list! This is your end!" Red fire spread out of Ron's eyes and to his face. He took Fiske's attacks head on and evaded them as he tried to hit back.

Ron evaded an attack and aimed a charged punch at Fiske's lower abdomen. The Englishman blocked that strike with the wide side of the Blade. As soon as Ron's punch landed on the Blade, the entire cavern shook and a small ball of energy exploded from the point of impact, sending Ron and Fiske to opposing sides. The Blade flew all the way towards the other side of the lava stream, landing near Yori.

The energy explosion had destroyed some of the rock formations. The cavern shook violently one more time. As Fukushima, Yori and the monkey ninjas watched the fight below, unable to get there, Rufus made it to the Blade and held it.

Ron and Monty rushed at each other again, this time, only exchanging blows as there was no sword involved. Both fighters' face had turned into a crisscross pattern with the magical energies flowing through them. Ron used his natural speed to gain the upper hand, while Monty relied on his reach and experience.

Every blow exchanged or attack blocked was sending small shockwaves through the air, further destroying more and more rock formations. Their speed increased gradually, sending ripple after ripple into the air.

Now the shaking of the cavern went way beyond small tremors and Yori could see the ceiling was beginning to crack. Hot magma started to creep in from the cracks in the walls.

Ron blocked a palm strike aimed at his heart and caught Monty's hand. In his rage, he failed to see what was going on all around them, just like Monty did too. He charged his other hand with magical energy on instinct and tried to punch his opponent over the guard. Monty had the same idea.

Red and orange blasts met in the middle of them, and all sound imploded in the cave for a moment. Then a huge blast of reddish-orange energy storm ravaged whatever structure was left in the cavern.

The Blade in Rufus' hands gleamed and glowed violently for a moment as well. The mole rat stood stunned for a moment as his eyes briefly flashed blue.

Ron and Monty stood up again, looking at each other. Then Ron felt something. He knew what it was.

'Rufus!'

The red in his eyes dulled and he looked towards the higher platform. The ceiling was coming down and Yori stood dead in the middle of a rock's falling trajectory.

What do you fight for?

He thought he heard a voice, but dismissed it. Then he looked to Monty and then Yori, and for a millisecond, he thought about just rushing at the madman again.

Then, after that millisecond which felt like an entire lifetime for him, he turned away from Monty.

Red energy gathered around his feet, and then he blasted off with a red shockwave. He tore through falling rocks as he reached for Yori. The girl had not realized the danger she was in as she watched the fight below with worry in her eyes. Ron landed near her and then punched upwards. The big chunk of falling rock exploded in a red blast.

The red veins on Ron's face receded slowly as he held Yori's hand. Then Rufus threw the Blade to him. Ron caught it without looking, and without realizing he had done that. It was almost like a reflex action. Rufus jumped on his shoulder and squeaked loudly.

Ron pulled the speechless girl to him and went for one of the exits. They could hear the monkeys screeching and Monty screaming as they made a dash for the exit from the collapsing cavern.

After a few minutes, they were out, on the snowed slopes of the mountain, cold wind biting their faces but reminding them that they were, indeed, still alive.

Ron's eyes finally reverted back to their normal color. Exhaustion took over him again, and he fell on his knees. Yori held him and tried to get him up.

"They will be coming for us! We must go Stoppable-san!"

With her help, Ron slowly got up and they ran away from the mountain, the snow hindering their process. The blond thought about maybe picking up Yori and speeding away, but his body was weakened and his clothes were not friction proof. Superspeed was a very last resort, and they were not in that desperate a situation yet.

They heard the mountain grumble behind them as they ran. Before long, there would be an avalanche, and they had to get out of there.

As they ran, the blonde teen felt something at the back of her mind that made the hairs on his neck stand up. He abruptly stopped. Apparently, Rufus on his shoulder had felt the same. They turned around to see three snowmobiles closing in, Fiske on one, Fukushima at the other and a few monkey ninjas trying to drive a third, at the very back.

Ron could feel the power radiating from Fiske. And they had no way to escape unless he took Yori and sped away.

Something in his gut told him to stand still. He realized that he had yet to see this through fully.

Snowmobiles reached them and surrounded them. Fiske stepped off, the orange glow in his eyes seeming more ominous in daylight.

"Hand over the Blade! It is MINE, it will always be MINE!"

Ron was tired, from the red haze, from not having eaten in a while and from general mental exhaustion. He held the Blade back, trying to find a way out of this.

"Why don't you come and take it Monty? Are you scared of little old me?" Ron was plain outright posturing now.

The madman's orange energy was melting the snow around him slowly. "Your stolen power has ran out Stoppable! You can't stop me now!" He walked towards them.

Yori saw that Ron wouldn't be able to stand up to the genetically enhanced madman now. With a war cry, she pulled out a metal fan and attacked Monty.

It was a futile effort. The Englishman evaded all the attacks, and then simply swatted her aside like a fly with the back of his hand. Yori flew off a good distance before landing and rolling in the snow, motionless.

"No!" Ron stabbed the Blade into snow and rushed at Monty. Fukushima got in his way and blocked him.

"I have been waiting for this outsider!" He took a stance and attacked Ron.

"You should have waited more!" Ron blocked Fukushima's attacks and answered with a torrential offense of his own, which backed down the traitor step by step.

Then, a horn was heard. Everyone turned to the source, and saw Sensei blowing into a war horn. The entire student body of Yamanouchi was behind him, looking none too pleased. Not one bit.

A few rushed quickly and retrieved Yori from the snow. The rest charged as Sensei blasted the horn again. Fiske's remaining monkey ninjas moved to intercept.

Fukushima looked back at Ron. "Without the Lotus Blade, you are nothing!"

Ron didn't answer and simply evaded the traitor's next flurry of attacks. He dropped low and swept the feet of traitor from under him. Then he jumped back up, a hint of red glare returning to his eyes. "Want some more of that 'nothing'?!"

Fukushima growled and charged at Ron. The blond waited and countered with a single palm strike. The force of the blow sent Fukushima back into a pack of monkeys, knocking out all of them. The traitor was also out of it.

While that happened, Monty Fiske was acting like he was in a daze. Eyes still glowing with orange light, he reached for the Blade slowly.

Ron and Rufus felt something weird and turned around to the Blade as well. Fiske touched the Blade before they could react.

Then the world changed for all three, the two humans and one naked mole rat. A soundless, colorless, invisible energy washed over them. Fiske was blown back some distance, but he was still standing. A voice spoke in their minds. This time, Ron could hear it with no problems.

What do you fight for?

The Lotus Blade glowed brightly with white light and levitated in the air. Monkeys and students…everyone stopped to watch. The three beings with Monkey Power heard the voice again.

What do you fight for?

Monty Fiske's hand reached forward, towards the Blade. His eyes glowed with orange light, his face almost gone from the energy. He screamed with madness in his voice.

"POWER! ALL THE POWER SHALL BE MINE! ONLY MINE! MIIINEE!"

The Blade shook in the air, responding to the power radiated by the madman.

Ron's hand reached for the Blade as well. But he couldn't find the answer.

'What do I fight for? Revenge? Anger?'

Rufus' entire body was suddenly bathed in blue fire before he jumped on Ron's shoulder. Ron looked at him. Rufus was pointing behind them, towards the students and Sensei. The students had fear in their eyes as they watched Monty Fiske radiate power. Yori's eyes were fixed on Ron, tears in her eyes. Sensei smiled, as if he knew something no one else did.

Ron remembered. Why he fought. Why he bled. Why he suffered and went back for more. The faces of his parents, Tara and those that died at the hospital swam through his mind. The Possible family flashed in his mind. His friends. Monique. The entire school. Then, an image of a little girl about to be crushed by a car. A man about to die in a burning building.

The city cheering for him as he ran. He saw their eyes light slowly. The entire Tri-City flashed at his mind.

Kim's face. She was crying, but happy. Back when he had arrived to fight Grodd. That light in her eyes.

That's why he fought.

His eyes started to burn with a blue fire. He extended a hand, and Rufus reached out with his claw as well, completely in sync with Ron. The blond spoke, and this time, his voice wasn't distorted by some crackling energy. It was charged with an echo. Something...else.

"I fight...to save them. To protect. To be whatever they need me to be. I fight…" Ron's voice didn't falter, but got stronger as he exhaled. "For hope."

His arm fully stretched, power coursing in him, he spoke with a finality. "I fight...For Them." Rufus squeaked with him, sounding with the same echo as Ron.

The Blade shook violently, and then stilled in the air.

Well said. Both of you.

Then it flew into Ron's hand, almost instantly. Ron and Rufus felt power flowing back into them. On the other side, Monty Fiske felt all magical power leaving him.

"Nooo!" He fell on his knees as the orange light evaporated and he was left without any power.

The mountain shook violently. Everyone turned their heads to see an avalanche starting and racing to them.

The monkey ninjas ran back to their master and lifted him onto a snowmobile. Fiske had a broken, lifeless look in his eyes. The monkeys started the vehicle and sped away.

One of the students ran at Ron, holding injured Yori in his arms. His name was Ryouichi, he had been kind to Ron in the training. He tried to hand Yori over and spoke.

"Honored guest, take Yori-san and go on one of those machines! Sensei will follow!"

Ron looked at the oncoming avalanche as he received Yori in his arms, holding her bridal style. They had maybe twenty seconds. "What about the rest?"

Ryouichi bowed slightly. "We will accept whatever fate that awaits us."

Ron made up his mind at that second. "No. Maybe you will, but I won't." He gently put Yori on the snow and smiled. "Be back in a...Flash."

With Rufus on his shoulder, he took the Lotus Blade and again his eyes burned with blue fire. He drew back his right arm, and felt the Blade charging up with power. Then he threw it with all his might.

The Lotus Blade, now glowing with blue fire, plowed straight onto the oncoming avalanche and cut a hole in its middle. Its glow was lost a second later, but Ron had bought some time for them. He turned to the students and spoke.

"Everyone, stay exactly where you are. Trust me."

He smiled as he handed Rufus to Yori. She held the mole rat close to her chest, unable to speak and watching Ron. She saw lightning dancing in his eyes.

Then, Ron exploded into a black streak with lightning trails. One by one, students disappeared from the path of the oncoming avalanche. There were a lot of them, and the avalanche got closer even with the streak clearing them out as fast as he could.

Yori closed her eyes and held Rufus. She felt the thunderous sound of avalanche coming closer and cringed. A moment later, she felt a floating feeling in her stomach and found herself in Ron's arms when she opened her eyes. He slowly laid her on the snow again and smiled. "Told you. In a Flash."

Then he fell on his knees. The shirt of the black gi was burning, so some students rushed over and helped him get out of it. Almost everyone was looking at Ron with something close to reverence.

Yori looked around and saw that they were on a somewhat nearby slope, overlooking the avalanche. She failed to see Sensei and panic started to rise in her gut.

"Where is Sensei?! Ron-san, where is Sensei?!"

He pointed towards the avalanche zone and grinned. The rest of the students looked where he pointed and were amazed. Sensei was floating in the air towards them, sitting at a lotus position and looking quite pleased.

"He was doing that by the time I got to him, so..." Ron chuckled. Sensei landed near them with a smile; several students rushed to him to check on him.

"Man, I really can go for a full tray of that onigiri right now." Yori heard a stomach grumbling and saw Ron grinning. She smiled and hugged him.

They had all returned to the school at sunset. As they walked on the wooden bridge leading to it, Ron spoke to Sensei.

"Sensei, I'm really sorry about losing the Lotus Blade...But I kinda needed to do that."

"And I am most grateful for it." Sensei smiled. "But you need not worry about the Blade. So long as your heart remains pure,", and pointing to Ron's chest, "the Blade will always know the way home." He waved his hand slowly. "Call it back to you."

"Call it? But, I mean...How..." Then Ron remembered how the Blade had come to him in the first place.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly as he reached out in the air. He felt the Blade's presence and willed it back. A gentle breeze washed over them and Ron saw the Blade approaching in the air. He couldn't resist being Ron though, "Magic sword, here boy!"

The Blade increased its speed at the last second, and sped by him, taking Ron's gi pants with it as it rushed past him. As the Blade went by, Ron could swear he heard the ghost of a snicker in the back of his mind, before it impacted the wall of the school behind them.

Looking sheepishly, "Aaaand there goes the pants." Ron said, almost as if he expected it. "Uh, let me eat and I'll fix the wall, kay?"

Sensei came over to him, "You still have two days here Stoppable-san? If you would like to leave early, we could arrange it."

Ron sighed, "I think I have one last thing to do before I leave."

Next morning, dressed in a new gi, Ron hiked the path up to the mountain grotto. Alone this time, he walked in a light rain, but he didn't mind it much.

He entered the partly illuminated grotto and sat near the pond. The wind now blowing the rain across the hole in the ceiling of the grotto made for a hollow whistling within. Ron didn't have to wait this time, he found himself in the white nothingness immediately.

Before him, stood a version of him, with his head hung low, so Ron couldn't see the eyes. The other-Ron slowly raised his head, and Ron took a deep breath in relief. The eyes looking back at him had only gentle blue fire in them.

Both Rons looked at each other for a while. Finally, the real one had to ask. "Nothing to say, really?"

The other-Ron stood up and walked to Ron. He extended his hand. Ron did the same. Just as they were about to shake hands, the other-Ron pulled his hand back. Then he said only two words.

"Not ready."

Ron was confused. "Not ready? Not ready for what?" He huffed, "C'mon man, don't leave me hangin'."

The other-Ron didn't say anything and just smiled. Then he turned his head slightly to the right, pointing with his eyes. Ron didn't understand what was going on, but looked where he was directed.

He was suddenly back in the grotto, standing up, and looking towards his right. His breath got stuck in his chest.

Tara was standing right there, near him. "Hi Ron."

Ron's voice creaked slightly. "Ta...Tara? Is it...really you?"

The petite blonde didn't answer the question, not exactly. "I am here.", then walked and stood near Ron, putting her hand on his cheek. He felt the ghost of a warmth there.

"We are all here.", she said looking up to him, and when Ron looked behind her, he gasped.

Eighteen people stood behind Tara. He saw the faces of those that died in the ER of Middleton General. He saw Lontaine and Janet Load, standing near...Near his own parents.

His mother smiled at him. His father grinned slightly. Ron fell on his knees and looked at them all.

He spoke with a low, remorseful tone. "I am sorry." He breathed quickly. "I am so sorry...Everyone...I'm sorry."

"Why?" An old, gruff voice amongst them asked, "What's this crap about you being sorry, boy?"

Ron stumbled on his words. "I...I...couldn't save you all. I should have. I am..." He looked up at Tara, "I should have been there."

A woman, of Middle Eastern descent spoke, "But you were there. Don't you remember?" She spoke with a kind voice. "My husband and daughter…They were in the waiting room. You saved them. They are alive because of you."

Another woman spoke, this one a nurse, "I worked with Janice for years. She has been my best friend for a long time. She was about to die by one of those monsters, but you saved her. Because of you, she will get to play with her granddaughter."

The old man with the gruff voice spoke, apparently annoyed, "You didn't save anyone close to me, since I don't have any friends. I was a useless, bitter old drunk. But two young ones, a nice couple, found me passed out in the street and brought me to hospital. On a Valentine's Day. You saved those two, kid. They will get to build a family after all."

Another man, dressed in a sharp suit, spoke as well, "You think you failed." He slightly snorted, "Young man, you have saved more than you know, both that day and before. Failing? If you failed at anything, it would be not seeing how much good you did."

His parents smiled at him as Ron cried silently. He looked at them and Tara, "I...I should have been there with you. I shouldn't have run off and got myself captured."

Tara caressed his cheek, "Then you wouldn't be the Ron Stoppable I fell in love with." She got on her knees near Ron and put her forehead against his. "You saved Bonnie, and I can't thank you enough for that. It was my choice to stand up to evil that day, and I don't regret it one bit. I am proud of what I was able to do."

"You shouldn't have had to do it, I should've been there in time."

"You were. You got to me in time." She placed her lips on Ron's. The speedster felt enough warmth to feel as if she was still alive, "I was happy before I died. Thank you."

Lontaine and Janet Load smiled at him as they spoke, "You were just doing what you had to do. Our son did what he had to do. We are proud of you both." Wade's mother slightly sounded worried with her next sentence. "Ronald, please keep an eye on Wade. He is a genius, yes, but he still needs his friends. You will need each other." Ron nodded as he wept.

Finally, his parents came to him. His father put his hand on Ron's shoulder, "You couldn't have known what would happen to us. Even if you did save the rest, we were already gone by the time you learned what happened."

His mother slowly hugged his back. "Ronnie, you don't know how proud you made us. You didn't fail us. You didn't fail any of us."

Ron felt his father join the hug as well. "No matter what happens, we will always be with you."

His mother's grip got so strong that Ron felt her as if she was really, physically hugging him. "Always in your heart."

Ron wept as he felt the presences around him fading. Every tear he shed washed off one more stain from his soul.

He wept with a ghost smile on his face. He wept, as Ron Stoppable, finally, forgave himself.

The next day, Ron stood at the courtyard in his friction proof hoodie, pants and shoes. Sensei stood with the Lotus Blade back in its case. Rufus was on Ron's head, standing tall and proud. Yori also stood near. Some of the students were also assembled nearby.

"Our gratitude to you, Ron Stoppable. At Yamanouchi, you will always be remembered as a warrior hero." He bowed slightly in respect, as did the other students.

Giving Rufus a high one to his paw in celebration, "Boo-yah! The warrior hero combo is much cooler than an average hero!"

Sensei got a little serious. "But, the true nature of this ninja school, and your quest here, must be kept secret."

"Aww.. This would be one damn hell of a story."

Yori put her hand on his shoulder as she spoke. "You must never tell anyone about your adventures here. Not ever."

Ron sighed, but smiled back, "Well, what's one more secret to keep, am I right?" He looked sheepish. "It'd be, uh, badical if you could keep the, 'running' part a secret as well?" Sensei and the students nodded as they smiled.

Yori walked him to the gates of the school. "I will miss you.", before she leaned in and kissed him on the lips, only slightly. She was blushing a little as well. "Goodbye, Ron-san."

Rufus didn't like that last part, and 'pfft'ed in annoyance. Ron was shocked again, but he recovered quickly. He slung his backpack, zipped up his hoodie and took a few steps. He turned and grinned. "Any chance of a warrior hero getting a lift to the airport?"

Yori giggled again. "Always with the American style jokes. Naturally, it will be your great honor to walk."

Ron chuckled. "Well, walking sounds really honorable and all, but as I said to you once before, I prefer to..." He waggled his eyebrows as he grinned. "Run."

Yori felt a strong wind and then saw that Ron was…gone.

Monique was outside the airport, saying goodbye to Hirotaka. Kim was supposed to be here as well, to pick up Ron, but she did not show up. She was a little concerned, but didn't call her.

"Stay in touch Hirotaka, take care."

Hirotaka shot one of his patented female-melting smiles at her. "Thank you. But I must say goodbye to my 'number one girlfriend.'", he said in a suave tone.

As Monique watched in absolute shock, Bonnie ran in and kissed Hirotaka on the lips…the hug and the raised right foot, the whole deal. She stepped back from him and waved. "Bye Hiro darling!" Then she noticed someone behind him. "Oh, hello Stoppable."

Ron was behind Hirotaka, sharing Monique's disbelief. "Hello B.", Ron managed before Bonnie waved at him and walked away. Hirotaka shook Ron's hand. Ron looked at Bonnie's disappearing figure, then at him.

"It's been only two weeks...Man, Yori was right, you are good."

Hirotaka smiled. "I hope you found your time pleasant at Yamanouchi."

"Well, it was..." Ron grinned. "Refreshing." He leaned and in whispered. "About the hole in the wall, that was totally the Lotus Blade. Don't let them tell you any different."

Hirotaka smiled and bowed his head. Ron did the same. Then the Japanese teen hunk left for his flight, and Ron was hugged almost instantly by Monique after that.

"Wow, you look a lot better boy! Spill!" She exclaimed after looking over his face.

Ron grinned. "It was…nice."

"How was the school there?"

Shrugging, "You know, same old." He looked around. "Where's Kim?"

Monique's face darkened. "Hell if I know, she was supposed to be here."

Grinning, "Maybe she had an urgent call or something."

Then he saw a newsfeed on a nearby TV screen.

"Bank Siege in Progress: Middleton in Terror."

He turned to Monique. "You know what, I should get to home. Kim will probably be there, and Mrs. P. would want me back right away."

Monique nodded and let him run away towards the taxi pool.

Ron stepped inside Possible residence. Mr. P and twins were not around, but Mrs. P. saw him right away.

"Ron!" She hugged him. "You look...okay.", after she pulled back to look him in his eyes.

"I think I am. Uh, Mrs. P., where's Kim?"

Anne smiled, a bit sad, and pointed to the TV.

As they watched, a woman in black and red threw a bench into the bank currently held by the robbers. After a few gunshots and screams, the robbers ran outside with hostages in front of them.

Anne pointed to the old guest room, now Ron's room. "Go and look at what's on your bed."

Ron didn't know what was going on, but he nodded. He suspected Kim might be the woman in TV, going by her mother's reaction, but he was confused as that woman had black hair. He walked inside the room and saw what Anne wanted him to see.

The dark red leather suit, completely cleaned, had been laid out on the bed. On top of it, a Silver Star of David lay, newly cleaned and polished.

Ron looked at them, then at his hands.

Then he smiled.

XXXXXXXXXX

Finale - Kingsman: The Secret Service Soundtrack

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim was having a hard time. She had pulled a neat trick by getting two of the robbers through the bank's walls. She also had saved half of the hostages, but the other three robbers had taken one hostage each as they walked outside the bank and were now pointing their guns at the hostages' heads, threatening to shoot if their demands were not met.

One yelled, "You crazy bitch! I don't know who you are, but back off!", and pushed the gun to the skull of his hostage.

Kim was standing a good ten meters away. She could move, but not nearly fast enough. Police snipers were being blocked by the hostages, so they couldn't take a clear shot. It was a really tricky situation.

"Calm down stupid. Don't do anything stupid, like the nickname I just gave you. Stupid." Kim wasn't sure if angering the robber was a good idea, but he did move the gun slightly away from the hostage for a moment.

Then she felt a very strong wind as something passed her by. The robbers looked at their hands and saw that the guns were gone. The lead robber's eyes grew and he started to shake.

"No..,No, no, no!... He was gone! Not him!"

Lightning flashed in front of them and was gone the next second. All three hostages were now standing behind the police cars.

In disbelief the lead robber screamed, "He was gone!" Then lightning flashed again and the other two robbers were on the ground, seemingly knocked out.

Then Kim heard a voice she wanted to hear for so long. It had a slight reverb effect on it, making it very hard to tell whose voice was it. "Jeez, it's like none of you heard of the term 'sabbatical.' Shame really." The robber heard the voice directly behind himself. He slowly turned to see Flash standing behind him. The man in dark red grinned. "Hi." Then he landed a superspeed punch to his face. "And goodnight."

The crowd, reporters and even cops were now cheering. Flash walked up to the woman in black, red and gold. He extended his hand.

"Hi, I'm Flash. Maybe you've heard of me?" A little surprised to see he was standing at the same height as woman, but then again, she was wearing heels.

"Yes, you run." The woman winked just slightly so only he could see." Ferociously fast."

Ron grinned. This was Kim after all. Then, with a bit of flair, "And who might you be?"

Kim thought on that for just a bit. There was a name she had thought of before, but had discounted it as a bit pretentious...

'But hey, who cares.' She smiled, "Call me...Titan."

Ron chuckled slightly and winked quickly himself. "Well, badical name there." Then he pointed to the rooftops. "Wanna blow this joint?"

Kim nodded and Ron turned to the crowd, made a little hand gesture and then exploded away in a lightning streak. Both Flash and the newly-named Titan were gone.

A few city blocks of distance away, Ron stopped and let go of Kim on a rooftop. "I am so digging the new look KP."

Kim waved it off. "Mom's old clothes really." Then she grinned. "Kidding, they are awesome."

Ron smiled at her. He had missed her, and everyone else. "I'm back."

Kim rolled her magically disguised eyes, "I know Ron. The entire Tri-City knows now."

Ron shook his head. "No, no...I mean..." His smile was genuine, one hundred percent Ron-shine. "I'm...back."

Kim exhaled in unimaginable relief and hugged him tight. "Welcome back."

They broke the hug a minute later. Then Ron looked at Kim's boots.

"Heels. Kim? Really?"

Kim just laughed as she jumped away from the roof.

To be Continued in: To Hell and Wonderful Beyond, Summer Fever Part I

Author Notes: As stated in the opening, CB73 has done a marvelous and wonderful job of beta-reading and hugely improving the narrative. Thanks a million mate.

I've finally got this one completed, the mega chapter of Ronin. Parts 1 and 2 totals around 60k words and written over months, so I'm expecting all the reviews, positive and negative, from all of you. Any ideas, criticisms and questions are welcome and expected. Hope you all had fun reading it.

Also yes, I totally ripped off WW #600 look for Kim's alter ego. I mean, wouldn't you? Just the most impressive female superhero outfit ever.