A/N

Chapter 11 is up and running!

Kim and Ron celebrate Ron's birthday with a little fun, and Kim reveals not one, but two surprises for her love!

A pair of villains begin to bring their plans together, and their main objective is finally revealed!

Kim and Ron have a heart to heart talk about certain aspects of their relationship, and Ron reveals why he knows what he knows...

During his search for Sheila's parents, Wade makes a startling discovery that shakes his faith in certain allies.

Kim and Ron's mother have a talk about coming events, and Kim finds out she has a big challenge ahead of her. Then she and Ron make a disturbing discovery.

And finally, an organization's plans are starting to come together, but not all is progressing as it should. And it's all due to a certain key player who may not be all she appears to be...

Ready or not, here's the sitch!

And here is the necessary stuff:

Kim Possible and all related characters are (c) Disney, Bob Schooley, and Mark McCorkle.

Original Characters are my creations, and I would appreciate if you ask before you use them. Thank you.

****SPECIAL NOTE: Be forewarned, this chapter pushes the "T" rating a bit. If you think it might need to be changed, let me know.


"So, any ideas for where to go for your birthday?"

Ron thought for a moment. "Maybe one or two, but a couple of them involve heading down into Denver."

Kim smiled. "Well, just remember that Monique's only agreed to be gone until 3:00 AM."

"Gone?" he said confusedly, but then the light went on. "Ohhh…well, maybe we could find a steakhouse here in town."

Kim shook her head and laughed. "You're curious what I've got planned, aren't you?"

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's badical," he whispered as he gave her a melting kiss that left her a little light headed.

"Boo Yeah," she responded as they headed towards the Sloth with their hands in each other's back pockets.

As luck would have it, they found a decent priced, quality steak and rib restaurant not too far from the campus, a place known as The Chophouse Grill. At Kim's insistence the entire tab came out of her account, her main reasoning being that since they were celebrating Ron's birthday he shouldn't have to pay. Ron of course objected at first, especially considering how much Kim had spent on the Phoenix, but one look in her green eyes told the young man this was a battle she was not about to let him win. He consented, and tried to do so only partly by not ordering anything too expensive, but Kim saw through him and put a stop to it pretty quickly, pulling out a weapon he had resisted only once.

"Ronnie, this is for your birthday. Please let me treat you," she said as her eyes grew bigger and her bottom lip popped out.

Ron shook his head and smiled, knowing he was beat. "Alright, KP, you win. Just put away the Puppy Dog Pout, okay?"

Instantly the frown flipped right-side up into a smile. "But don't think I won't use it again tonight if I have too, Ron. It's your birthday, and I'm going to make sure you have a good time. Speaking of which, do you want to drop by the Pit for a few minutes after we eat? A couple of the other girls on the cheer squad were asking if we were going."

Ron sighed a bit. "To tell the truth, KP, I'd rather just spend tonight with you if that's okay."

She grinned. "Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be? And to tell the truth, I was kind of hoping that'd be what you wanted to do. And even though it's your birthday, I do have one request."

"What's that?" he replied with a smile.

"Stay with me again tonight. In my room, I mean."

Ron nodded, but he also eyed her a little bit. "I was hoping you'd say that. But you realize that tomorrow night we need to go back to spending the night apart again, right?"

Kim rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Fine. But for tonight, things will go a lot smoother if we don't have to worry about getting you back to your room before you fall asleep." She winked sexily at him. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you're not going to want to leave."

When their food came out, a medium-well ribeye for her and a juicy medium porterhouse for him, they both dove in hungrily. As they ate, Kim was tempted to bring up a topic that was bothering her, but she was hesitant to talk about something like that during a time they were supposed to be celebrating Ron's birthday. Still, she couldn't keep it from scratching at the back of her mind. Evidently though, her face was showing her thoughts, because Ron fixed her with a concerned but loving look.

"Something wrong, KP?" he said with a smile.

"No," she replied, but after a minute, "Well, yes. I just…Ron I'd rather not talk about it when we're supposed to be having a good time."

Ron reached over and placed his hand on hers. "Kim, please tell me. You know I'm not going to be able to enjoy this if I know something's bothering you."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Ron, I almost made the biggest mistake in the world Thursday night."

"But you didn't, KP, and we got through it," Ron said with a smile.

"Yeah, but Ronnie, what does that say about us? I mean, if you think about it, that same thing happened last year when Bonnie kissed you during that whole Homecoming fiasco. I had no trouble trusting you then, so why did I jump the conclusion this time?" As she spoke, her eyes began to shimmer.

Ron's smile only grew warmer. "KP, I understand it because I know how it must have looked. The minute you spoke up, I was instantly hoping it wasn't you speaking, even though I knew it was. I don't blame you one bit for seeing it the way you did. Did it hurt, yes; but I never once blamed you for reacting that way."

Kim smiled softly. "Ronnie, I really don't deserve you."

This time it was Ron who shook his head, grinning the whole time. "And I've told you a million times that you've got that backwards, KP. I'm the one who doesn't deserve you."

Kim felt a swelling of love for him, as well as a sudden urge to get the young man alone, and glanced down at her still half-uneaten dinner. Then she turned her gaze back towards those chocolate brown eyes she adored so much. "Ronnie, what would you say to us getting the rest of this to go?"

Ron smiled and motioned to his own plate. "I would agree except that I've already cleared up most of mine. And I know you aren't fond of re-heated steaks. Besides, I'd like a few more minutes of seeing you in the glow of this light."

She laughed at the way he phrased it. "Ron, it's just normal restaurant lighting."

The blonde let out one of those goofy grins she loved so much. "KP, they could put the most unflattering light in the world on you and I'd still think you were the most beautiful thing on the planet."

The red-head blushed. "Alright, Mr. Romance, but you know if we stay I'm going to want to get a piece of that Double Fudge White Chocolate Cake with Raspberry sauce they have on the dessert menu."

"With two spoons?" Ron supplied.

"Of course," she said with a wink and an air kiss in his direction.

Once they'd finished the dessert and Kim had paid the tab, they headed back out to the Sloth and back to their dorm. When they arrived, they found that Monique had been true to her word and made herself scarce. A note that the young woman left confirmed it, and also stated that she'd most likely be gone until the next afternoon. It also suggested a few things the couple could do to keep themselves occupied in her absence. Kim was slightly embarrassed by some of the suggestions, but only slightly since some of the things it mentioned she was already contemplating doing with Ron that night. But first there was the surprise she'd planned for him.

"C'mon, KP, how about a hint?" he said as she led him into her room.

"You've already got all the hints you're going to get," she replied as she placed a scorcher of a kiss across his lips.

It immediately had the desired effect of putting the young man in a pleasant daze. She giggled as he sat back on her bed, a dreamy look to both his smile and his eyes. She quickly pulled a bundle out of one of her drawers and headed into the bathroom to change. As she slipped on the outfit she'd acquired, she wondered what his reaction would be. Once the ensemble was complete, she glanced at herself in the mirror, hoping she'd gotten all the details right. More importantly, she wondered if he'd like the way she'd spiced up the ensemble. Slipping out of the bathroom, she paused just out of sight just outside her doorway.

"Ronnie?"

"Yeah, KP?" he said as she heard him get up off the bed.

"No, wait there. Before I come in, there are a few things you have to understand. One, I'm not going to do this every time. Two, I'm really nervous about what you're going to think. And finally, if you ever tell anyone else about this, I'll personally help Daddy fit you for that black hole space suit he keeps threatening you with. Understand?"

She heard him settle back on the bed. "KP, whatever you've got planned, I'm sure I'm going to love it. And you know I'd never tell anyone about something like this unless you wanted me to."

"Okay," she said with a small smile, and stepped into view.

Ron's mouth immediately dropped open at the sight before him. Kim had definitely pulled a surprise on him, because although he sometimes fantasized about this, he'd never once expected her to ever do it. As he stared at her, he couldn't help an excited intake of breath. Kim stood there in a very sexy replica of a Ferret Girl costume, her red hair spilling out the back, the outfit fitting her not too tight but still snugly enough to be very sexy. However, she'd also made a few modifications, as it wasn't a full body covering. The red-head had added a few very revealing cut-outs so that her sides, stomach, neck, and back were exposed, and had trimmed closely around the areas where her bra and underwear would be. In fact, the only things connecting the top of the outfit to the bottom were a pair of two-inch-wide straps, one in front and one in back. The legs she'd cut off completely, and the arms had been removed to the point that her skin shown from her shoulders to just past her elbow, ending in a pair of very sexy looking gloves. Ron couldn't help but think that it was the type of thing one might find in an adult costume shop, and it made his mouth water and feel dry at the same time.

"Do you like it?" she asked nervously, the whiskers of the mask tickling her nose a bit.

"Badical Boo Yeah," he whispered, and Kim noted with a giggle that he was salivating noticeably.

"Good," she said seductively as she slid over towards him, deliberately swaying her hips in a way she knew he liked.

Slowly, she removed his shirt, using the soft velvet she'd made the gloves out of to gently stroke his chest. The responsive look on his face about drove her wild with desire, but she kept her mind focused on making sure he enjoyed himself.

"So, uh, can I ask something?" he said as his breathing quickened a little under her ministrations.

"What?" she whispered softly as she nibbled on his neck.

"Umm, how…how did you manage to make this?"

She smiled and continued her attentions. "I went by Timothy North's house and borrowed the actual one from him to copy the design. Then Monique gave me some suggestions on how to alter it so it'd be a bit sexier on me." She kissed him gently on his chest a few times. "And before you ask, yes, this is what I was hiding from you on the last trip we made to my house."

His grin spoke volumes. "Gotta say, KP, this is a badical birthday present. Although, I would make one change."

She cocked a desiring eyebrow at him. "And that would be?"

He reached up slowly and pulled the mask gently up and over her head, taking care not to catch any of her hair as he removed it from the hole in the back of the hood. "I'd rather see your beautiful face," he said as he kissed her gently.

That small kiss immediately set them both off. What had started off as a slow seduction quickly turned into a full-force make-out session, both of them with their hands roaming and searching hungrily. To Kim's delight, Ron's hands needed no coaxing this time to find her chest, and he massaged her there softly for several minutes, kissing her neck tenderly. After only a few seconds like that, however, he pulled back, and gently turned her around so that he could have easier contact from behind. Slowly, he guided her hair around and over her left shoulder, giving him full access to the back of her neck. There he planted several soft kisses, her aroused moans and tilting of her head confirming that she definitely liked what he was doing. At the same time, one of his arms slid slowly under hers to resume the gentle rubbing of her stomach and chest while the other stayed behind to give her back a slow, sensual massage.

"Ron," she said in between heated breaths, "tonight's supposed to be about you enjoying yourself, not me having a good time."

She felt him smile against the back of her neck. "Are you enjoying yourself, KP?" he whispered as he continued to kiss her there, adding a few to the curve where her neck met her right shoulder.

"Mmhmm," she managed to reply, though it certainly wasn't easy with Ron distracting her the way he was.

"Then so am I," he answered with a soft, tender suckling on her earlobe. "One thing…you need…to know…is that I…enjoy…the idea…of turning you on."

"Mmmm…okay," was the only response she could manage as her bottom lip involuntarily went between her teeth.

They went like that for another hour or so, with him continuously kissing and massaging her on almost all of her exposed skin. He even planted a few soft, lingering kisses right at the dip where the top of her outfit dipped between her breasts, causing her to writhe slowly in pleasure. However, that action also had the added effect of pulling Kim's head back in the game, and she quickly took charge, gently pushing him back on the bed so she could resume her tending of him. Climbing on top of him, she started a soft, feathery trail of kisses at his neck just below his right ear that traced down the side to his chest and then back up to the identical spot under his left ear. Then she captured his mouth with her own, her tongue gently contending with his as they danced inside his mouth.

Sitting up gently but still straddling across his legs, she gazed at him with loving eyes. "Ron, I want to do something, but I'm a little bit…nervous about it. So don't freak out if I panic after I do it."

Ron smiled, gently pulling himself up so that his upper back and neck were supported by the headboard of her bed. "No problem, KP. Just remember what I've said before, about how I don't want to rush you into anything you're not ready for."

Kim nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay," she said softly.

Slowly, she reached behind her, and undid the strap there that connected the top of the outfit to the bottom. Then, even slower, her hands came around front and did the same to the single strap on the front that performed the identical function. Then, changing her mind about how she wanted to proceed, she turned slowly around so that her back was to him.

Ron put his hands lightly on her arms and pulled her close enough that she was leaning back on his chest a little. "KP, I'm serious. If you're not ready, you don't have to do this."

Kim barely shook her head, just enough to be noticeable. When she spoke, there was timid quality to her voice that he found both new and unnerving, and yet oddly arousing. "It's not that Ron. I want to do this, but I'm just nervous, okay? I know you've seen me before by accident, but this time it's going be fully intentional. And I'm going to see what your real reaction to me is, not one that's a cover-up to keep things from getting weird."

Ron couldn't fully contain a very small, quiet laugh. "And what makes you think that I'm going to think you are any less than the beautiful woman I've always seen you as?" he asked as he gently kissed her cheek.

She smiled a little at his reassurance, and slowly removed her top. She heard Ron's appreciative gasp when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra underneath, and felt a couple of his fingers trace the curves of her back in a graceful manner. Placing one arm over her breasts, she turned slowly back around.

"Ron, put your hands on my shoulders. And look me in the face until I tell you, okay?"

He complied, smiling that loving smile of his. She stared at those caring brown orbs for a few minutes, drawing on the strength and love she saw there. Then, taking one more deep breath, she placed her hands under his arms, exposing her nervousness as she did so. Then, before she could second-guess herself anymore, she went for it, pinning her lips to his as she guided him on to his back on the bed, her bare chest melting with his. The feeling of closeness was unlike anything either of them had ever experienced, and the kisses that followed were fierce and tender at the same time, completely saturated with the love they felt for each other. They stayed like that for several minutes before she pulled back and nodded, granting him access to the view she offered.

Ron's grin as his eyes roamed over her exposed curves grew wider as each second passed. "KP, I take it back. You're not just beautiful—you're an absolutely one-hundred-percent stunning stone cold fox."

She couldn't help the quip that followed. "Well, I was pegged as a Blue Fox in the Animology quiz we took in 9th grade."

Ron's eyes cocked in a confident smirk, and his goofy grin got even wider. "And they say I'm the one who jokes at odd times."

Kim answered him with another kiss that melted sensually between their lips. As they came up for air, she gazed lovingly at him.

"So I take it you like the second part of your birthday gift?" she said with a warm smile.

"Badical," the blonde replied with another appreciative gaze at her body.

She smiled a little and gave a little bit of a dismissive shrug. "Acceptable, though not what I was expecting."

He grinned, planting several kisses on her newly exposed flesh, soft touches that caused her to shiver in delight at each loving contact between her skin and her love's lips. "And what were you expecting exactly?"

"Oh, I think you know," she said as she returned the favor by placing her lips all over his bare chest. "Something along the lines of…" She captured his lips again, their tongues performing an intricate routine that would turn most professional dance companies envious.

"Boo Yeah," they said simultaneously.


Bates poured over the ancient book that D.N. Amy's Cataconda had just returned with. The more he read about this legendary creature his master had gotten involved with, the less he liked the situation. It wasn't that he disapproved of his lord's search for power—no, that part he understood perfectly. What worried Bates was that based on what he was reading, the former English lord had completely ignored all warnings against the use of this Dark Destroyer as an ally. Even the more shadowy texts that Bates and Amy had acquired which advocated darker paths towards reaching one's goals advised extreme caution and discretion when dealing with the ancient power, and several suggested using the path only as a last resort. For Bates's employer to have resorted to that length to obtain more power was a truly awe-inspiring feat that Bates had never dreamed his master capable of. Glancing over at the other side of D.N. Amy's lab, he saw the rogue geneticist tinkering with the latest reinvention of her Genetic Zipper. Rising from his seat at the desk he'd been using, he walked over to her side and gazed at the computer screen she'd been staring at for the past several hours.

"How goes it, milady? Have you had any marketable success?"

D.N. Amy shoulders sagged. "No. I can't get any sort of sample that would be worth the risk of obtaining it. We don't have any other choice, it looks like."

With that, she pressed a button on the control panel, causing one of the chambers to open, revealing a statue of a man apparently frozen in time. He held the same pose he had when Team Possible had watched him sink into the earth nearly six months earlier, his features twisted in defiance and his simian-like hands raised as if he were trying to stop something from coming at him. On the back of his slightly higher right hand was an image of a monkey in lotus position surrounded by a circle and mystical symbols. It had not been easy, but Bates and the monkey ninjas had managed to obtain Monkey Fist's stone-encased form shortly after the United Nations ceremony where the former Dr. Drakken had received his medal. It still confused the butler how the statue had made its way from buried in the ground of a secret ninja school atop a mountain in Japan all the way to the internationally controlled grounds of the U.N. headquarters in Manhattan, New York, but he had passed it off as good fortune.

"Well, the monkey ninjas already obtained the soil from the Dark Temple's current location," Bates replied. "And we also have the Amulet of Shangorilla from the master's private collection of artifacts."

"And don't forget the Vizier's Dagger of Chimpanzania that my Orangupi just retrieved from the Athens War Museum in Greece. According to what we have read, that piece is vital to this as well. If we didn't have it, Cuddle Monkey would be stuck as a servant of that horrible Yono-beastie forever."

"Of course, madam," Bates replied with a condescending smile. "I do wish you would have sent something a little less conspicuous after the dagger, however. Once the news of the break-in airs, that blasted tech genius of Team Possible's is going to put two and two together and realize what we're up to."

D.N. Amy smiled mysteriously. "And that's why it's a good thing I've been setting up a new base for us these past few weeks, one in a location neither he nor I ever used even once. And once we've freed him, it'll become mine and Cuddle Monkey's little love nest."

Bates couldn't resist the retching in his throat, though he hid it from his accomplice-of-convenience with a well-timed cough. If he knew his master, the man would have no intentions of settling down with the overly-bubbly, bespectacled woman, regardless of what part she played in his return to the world of mortals.


Kim awoke the next morning thankful it was Sunday, and even more thankful that she wasn't at home in Middleton or up in Montana. If she'd been either place, she would have been forced out of bed and off to church or Temple. But since she wasn't she could continue to lie contentedly in the arms of the man she loved. As she looked up at him, she smiled. Ron was still fast asleep, and judging by the 8:00 AM hour, would probably remain that way for at least another hour or two. She grinned as she felt his chest rise and fall beneath her head, the slow and steady rhythm a gentle metronome that would put her back to sleep if she were to relax and let it happen.

The night before had taken a lot more planning than she had anticipated, including the small payoff of a future favor for her BFF, but the results and Ron's reaction had been well worth it. Although they had done nothing beyond their normal touching, kissing, and massaging of each other, the removal of her bra from the equation had been a welcome nuance to the sitch. And once again, Ron had proved to have an unusually sound knowledge of how to handle and kiss her breasts in just the right way to bring sighs of intense pleasure out of her, and Kim found herself wondering just where he had picked up that particular skill. She vaguely remembered making a mental note about asking him about it during the summer, when he'd first shown his prowess on the matter, but the thought had been pushed almost out of the back of her mind until last night. Now, she found herself really wanting to know. She made a definitive mental note to ask him about it later that day, perhaps before he extricated himself from the bed.

A familiar yawn brought her back to the moment, and she glanced up to see his warm, chocolate-brown eyes gazing sleepily at her. She smiled, and cuddled up closer to him.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" he said with another yawn.

"No," she replied with a contented smile. "I was just thinking."

"Bout what, KP?" he asked as he stretched a little.

"Ronnie, do you mind if I ask something? Something you might be uncomfortable answering?"

He placed his arm back around her and fixed her with a quizzical look. "Uhh…okay. What's up?"

She smiled. "Ron, I don't know if you know this, but you're very good at what you do."

"What I do?" he said confusedly.

She smiled, and looked at him with one eye closed. "Ron, where'd you learn how to handle my breasts?"

He suddenly got a very nervous look to his face. "Umm…well…"

She leaned up and kissed him. "Tell me. Please?"

His nervousness continued to grow. "Umm…that is…"

Okay, you asked for it, she thought with a smile. She pushed her bottom lip out, and made her eyes as big as she possibly could.

"Pwease, Ronnie," she said in the cutest voice she could manage. "Tell me. I pwomise I won't get mad."

"Hey, no fair pulling out the PDP and the voice," he complained. "But…umm…okay. Do you remember the Neutronalizer mission?"

"When our brains got switched?" Kim replied a little confused. Then she giggled as she caught on. "Ron, what did you do?" she said with a smile on her face.

His nervousness continued to climb. "Well…umm…it was the first time I'd seen you…your breasts, I mean…without you covering them up immediately. So I…umm…did a little bit of…umm…exploring?"

Kim grinned and laughed. "And you found out what it felt good to do, right?"

"Yeah," he replied. Then he quickly added, "But I swear, KP, I never went downstairs."

The red-head kissed him again. "It's okay, Ron. To be completely honest, I wasn't exactly the good girl when I was in your body either. I didn't 'explore' as you put it, but I didn't ignore it either." Then she thought of something. "Ron, that happened almost three years before we got together. Why did you…"

"Hold on to the information?" he finished for her, his nervousness dissipating while a sad little smile formed on his face. "Because I was already in love with you at that point. And I had been for quite a while."

Kim's eyes went wide. "But you never said anything. And you kept going after Amelia and those other girls."

His eyes drifted a little. "That was because I didn't want to upset you or ruin our friendship. KP, you were crushing hard on Josh at that time, and I made the decision several years ago to do whatever it took to make sure you were happy, even if I wasn't. That's why I was so unsure how to react to you during the whole Moodulator sitch. Suddenly, my wildest dream was coming true, but it came at me from out of nowhere, so I didn't know how to respond to it. Then, when it turned out to be all due to that little device, it broke my heart, but again, I wanted you to be happy first so I didn't say anything beyond asking if you thought there really was something between us. Then that whole Zorpox thing happened, along with the awk-weirdness of us going to my cousin Reuben's wedding together, and I figured the two of us as a couple was just going to have to stay a dream."

Kim frowned as she put two and two together. "So that's why you reacted the way you did when I started going out with that…thing that Drakken sent after me. Ron, why didn't you tell me about this?"

He smiled at her. "Because you were happy, KP. And that's all that mattered to me. It was all that mattered then, and it's all that matters now. The difference though is that now I get to be the one who makes you happy instead of watching from the sidelines."

She grinned. "And I'll tell you something, Ronald Stoppable, something I don't want you to ever forget. I'm happier with you now than I ever was with any of those other guys."

She kissed him again—a slow, lingering kiss intended to put all of Ron's doubts and worries to rest. After another hour or so of just lying there cuddling and enjoying each other's company, they spent the rest of the morning going about a normal routine. Kim nearly suggested a dual-shower, but decided against it about five seconds before she brought it up. Besides the fact that it would have been rather cramped in the small bathtub that accommodated her and Monique's Unit, she wasn't quite ready to voluntarily show him everything. When she came out, one towel wrapped around her body while she used another on her hair, the most delicious smells began enticing her nose. Glancing into the kitchen area of the Unit, she found her man working a pan and a skillet on the two-burner efficiency stove.

"Smells good," she commented as she dried her hair. "Mind if I ask what's cooking?"

Ron smiled at her over his shoulder. "Boiled eggs and some sausage. And there's some toast in the toaster. All we had downstairs."

She blinked in surprise. "You went down to your room and came back up? How'd you manage that?"

He inclined his head towards the key hooks the girls had installed near the front door. "Borrowed your keys for a bit. Also had to check on how Rufus was doing, and leave him some breakfast." He laughed a little. "Actually found the little guy crashed out near the keyboard of my computer with Everlot going on the screen and some of Max's Swiss cheese rolls nearby. Can you believe he's already at level eighty-five on that thing?"

Kim smiled and came up behind him, holding on to his sides and laying her head on his back. She would have wrapped her arms around him completely, but it had only taken one incident of scalded arms during their first summer together to show her that that wasn't a wise course of action when he was going in the kitchen. So she contented herself after that to merely curling her arms and placing her hands on his sides whenever he was working at the stove.

"Ron, I have to ask something. Do you think I was moving too fast last night?"

She felt him shake his head. "No, KP, I don't. If you'd wanted to go further than we normally do, maybe I would have said yes, but I don't think last night was too fast at all. Just…"

"What?" she said as his hesitation.

He set down the spatula he was tending the sausage patties with and turned around towards her, a smile on his face as he embraced her. "Just give me a bit to get used to it before you take it further, okay?"

"Deal," she replied as he kissed her.


Wade sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Andy Lipsky had given him a lot of information about the phone call that Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey had made to Hego's office at the Go City Bueno Nacho, but there was relatively little of it he could use. And the frustrating part was that they had called from a cell phone with a very weak signal, so he was having trouble pinning down which tower it had come from. What he did know so far was that it had come from somewhere in Italy, most likely from the Venice area. Unfortunately, since the call had occurred several months earlier, there was no way to know if they were still there. He was tempted yet hesitant to bring Kim and Ron in on this, mainly because it wasn't something pressing, but particularly since it could mean quite a few days of detective work and would most likely result in them missing at least a week or more of classes. And based on what they'd told him about their schedules and teachers, that scenario probably wasn't going to work, especially for Kim and her history class. As he went over the puzzle, Wade hit on the random thought that if her professor were going over ancient Rome right now would be the perfect time to go, but he had no idea where they were in the course work.

He sighed again as his search hit another dead end, and re-plugged the information back into the computer. However, he must have hit a wrong button, because his system suddenly started going crazy with warnings and alerts. Groaning, he hit a few key buttons to separate all the information across his other five main computers, putting all other programs on hold. As he did so, a look of dread slid rapidly across his face.

"It couldn't be," he muttered to himself, hoping his machine had made a technical error.

However, the proof was staring him in the face. Long ago, he'd created a program that tapped into the street cameras of practically every nation in the world, and had it constantly running checks against faces in Team Possible's known villain database. More than once it had alerted them to the nefarious activities of their foes, and this time was no different. The exception on this time however was that the evildoer it had picked up on was, as far as Team Possible knew, still locked up in a Global Justice prison on the coast of France. The reason Wade's search of Italy for Heathcliff and Sheridan Godfrey had picked him up was that he'd just been spotted by a traffic light recorder in the streets of Rome. Wade quickly rewound the feed, and pulled up the information on the villain, grimacing as he confirmed a positive identification.

For whatever reason, Global Justice had once again kept them in the dark about someone with a clear vendetta against Kim and Ron. Though Wade didn't know why they'd been left out of the loop, he knew he first had to confirm with Dr. Director about what he'd seen. Then he'd ask why they hadn't been told that former G.J. agent Ivan Gerhardt was loose on the streets…


Jean Stoppable grinned as she set the table for dinner that evening. She could hear Kim and Ron, who had arrived at the Stoppable house a few hours earlier, talking with her husband and Kim's parents about the reconstruction of the Possible home and various other topics. She laughed as she could also hear her son trying once again to corral his little sister. Then she winced a little as she overheard Anne Possible tell Kim about the plans to face the young woman's grandmother as a unit rather than letting Ron and her do it alone, and Kim's resulting rebuttal. Needless to say, Kim didn't sound particularly pleased that her mother had organized the whole thing behind her back. However, it sounded as if Anne was slowly winning her daughter over; that outcome probably had a lot do with Jean's son, who really did at times seem to know Kim better than her parents did.

Jean smiled at the thought of the lives they were preparing for, but couldn't help but feel just a little bit guilty that she'd ever suspected the red-head would leave her son for some college hunk. 'Hotties' was what this generation called them, but to Jeanette Stoppable they would always be known as hunks. To this point, and the woman hoped for the rest of their lives, Kim had proven to have the special ability to look beyond her son's faults and see the wonderful person he was and the good heart he possessed. She grinned as she remembered seeing a similar quality in a short, stocky blonde just over twenty years earlier, and had to agree with what her husband Gene had said the night the two teens had gotten engaged: Kim really did look at Ron the same way she herself looked at his father Eugene Stoppable. As she pulled out the silverware, she heard Kim come in to the kitchen. Glancing around to make sure that none of the pots or pans were suddenly going crazy in the young woman's presence, she smiled at her son's fiancée.

"Need any help, Mrs. S.?" Kim said as she returned the smile.

Jean shook her head as she placed the utensils around the plates. "No, not really, Kim. It's actually almost ready."

Kim nodded. "Hey, Mrs. S.? Do you mind if I ask you something kind of personal?"

"Of course not, dear. Ask away."

The red-head smiled. "What was your sister's initial reaction to Mr. S.?"

Jean grinned. "Going for the tough one right off the bat, are we? I'm guessing this is inspired by what your mother just told you, right?"

Kim sighed. "Yes. I just want to get a good idea of what Ron and I will be up against when we go visit your family in Hartford in November."

The older woman nodded her understanding. "Well Kimberly, I'm not sure if Alma's reaction to Gene is going to be a good gauge of her reaction to you. Alma's very traditional in her views when it comes to relationships and religious views, and even more scrutinizing when it comes to women joining the family. Unfortunately, her view of the world seems to be set about a hundred years in the past, and maybe even further."

"Meaning?" Kim asked nervously, afraid of where this was heading.

Ron's mother put her hand on the young woman's shoulder supportively. "Kim, anytime we have dinner with my family is the one situation where Ron gets barred from the kitchen. I think you can get where I'm going from there."

Kim shut her eyes in worry. "I'm going to have to cook for them, aren't I?"

Jean looked at her sympathetically. "I'm afraid it's a little bit more complicated than that, dear. It's Thanksgiving, and since you are going to be the newest one in the kitchen, you're going to be the one in charge of the turkey."

Kim groaned and sank down in one of the dining room chairs. "So basically the meal depends completely on me and they're using that to judge whether or not I'm good enough for Ron. Why couldn't it be something easy like bring them the lost Ark of the Covenant?"

Jean grinned, realizing the girl had not made a joke and was being completely serious. "Kim, I know the kitchen isn't your forte, and that you'd rather face every single villain you and Ron know in a single day. But I also know that regardless of what Alma says, the rest of the family knows you and Ron aren't the conventional couple. And besides, even though it might seem like my sister's the one you have to make the good impression on, the only ones you really have to worry about are my parents, Benjamin and Abigail. And just between you and me, they both already know about you two and the relationship you have, as well as the fact that Ronald will be the one in the kitchen most of the time. The only thing you have to show them is that you're a decent, mature young woman, and you'll have their complete and undivided support. Considering what I know about you, that just means be yourself."

"Thanks, Mrs. S.," the young woman replied with an appreciative smile. "So have you had to deal with any more break-ins since the last one? Ron's dad just keeps waving us off with a reply that he and Hana are fine."

Jean sighed. "Well, there was an incident a few days ago where we found monkey tracks in the backyard near the tree line, but other than that, nothing."

"Monkey tracks?" Kim said in surprise. "Where were they?"

The older woman pointed out the window at the edge of the trees near her garden. "Over there, I believe. I only noticed them because it had rained the night before and the tracks were fresh in the mud around the trees."

Kim nodded. "I don't suppose you have a flashlight I could borrow, do you?"

Ron's mother pulled one out of a drawer in the china cabinet of the dining room. "Batteries should be good in this one. Just make it quick. Dinner's almost ready."

The red-head nodded, and then went out into the living room to motion to Ron to follow her. Ron nodded and, after grabbing Hana out of her beginning circuit up the wall and handing her to his dad, followed his love out into the backyard. It took them a few minutes, but they finally found the tracks Jean Stoppable had been referring to. A few yards back, they found even fresher tracks, these much larger. What made Kim and Ron take this even more seriously was that these looked to have been made by orangutans, and were surrounded by too many hand prints to have been made by the normal quantity of two. They looked at each other, and said the same word with a matching worry in their voices.

"Orangupi."

"Guess you're theory about D.N. Amy going after monkey texts might be right, Ron," Kim admitted with a serious look on her face.

Ron grimaced. "Personally, K.P., I wish I'd been wrong on this one. Though I would like to know why they're spying on my family."

Kim suddenly had a thought hit her like a whirlwind. "Ron, are we sure that Monkey Fist couldn't make a return somehow?"

Ron shrugged. "I've tried asking Sensei about it, but he keeps brushing me off. I think he knows a lot more than he's willing to tell me, but why he's keeping us in the dark is completely beyond my understanding."

Kim nodded. "Something's not adding up here, Ron, and I don't like it one bit."

"Me either, K.P. Me either."


Gemini was furious. And when the leader of the Worldwide Evil Empire was mad, it normally meant an ejection for one of his operatives and promotions for all those beneath that operative. However, that was not the case this time, as there was nothing he could do about the situation at the moment. He strolled angrily over to Gerhardt's work space.

"Agent Alpha, why is it that Agent One is now on Stage Four of our plan while Agent Two is still on Stage Two?" he roared. "This was supposed to be a synchronous effort designed to hit Team Possible and my sister at the same time!"

Gerhardt shook his head, and his Russian accent was bristling with an anger to match his current employer's. "I do not know, Gemini. Agent One has been giving us regular reports on his progress, but for some reason I cannot fathom, Agent Two has stopped doing the same regarding her efforts. I have sent communiqués to her repeatedly asking for updates, but she continues to ignore them. I believe we may have a rogue agent on our hands."

Gemini sneered, and his voice dropped two an icy cold calmness that was far more threatening than the yelling he'd been doing a few moments earlier. "That is unacceptable on two accounts, Agent Alpha. First of all, all my agents are to address me as 'Sir,' a concept you still fail to grasp. Secondly, it was on your recommendation that I chose those two agents, and if one of them turns against me without receiving quick and speedy retribution for the action, it will be you who is asked to take a seat. Is that clear, Agent Alpha?"

Gerhardt nodded slowly, more out of frustration than fear. "Clear as a crystal Fabergé egg." Then as an afterthought, he added, "Sir."

As soon as Gemini left his side, Gerhardt began typing furiously, his dark mustache twitching wildly. The moment he was done, he sent the email to its intended recipient. Then he sent another message to a different contact, someone he had not spoken to in many years. If his current job was in jeopardy, it couldn't hurt to start reopening old bridges.


At that moment on the G.V.U. campus, a computer screen lit up as an email was received. The owner quickly sat down to read, the glow of the screen in the darkened room lighting up the Guardian football jersey he wore. The note was precise and to the point.

Agent One,

Be advised. Loyalties of Agent Two may be compromised. Approach her at once and report back with update. Understand that mission may change to include her elimination. Respond on your readiness to follow through with these orders should they become necessary.

Agent Alpha.

The young man smirked. So, his female counterpart was having doubts, was she? He'd known it was a mistake to allow a woman to undertake such an important mission for the glory of the WEE, but he had kept his mouth shut in the interest of avoiding the seat. Now maybe he would get a chance to truly prove his dedication to the organization. He quickly typed up his response.

Agent Alpha,

I am fully prepared and ready to serve the WEE and its glorious leader Gemini. Expect continuous updates on Agent Two's suspected status to begin within two days. Should situation arise, necessary orders will be followed.

Agent One.

Smirking confidently, he picked up a photo strip and smiled at the face of the young woman sitting next to him in the four pictures. She was so blissfully oblivious to his true intentions that getting what he needed from her was like taking candy from a baby. Not to mention the other benefits he was reaping from this assignment. If things kept going like they were, it was entirely plausible that he might finish up his mission long before his brain-dead counterpart ever got fully started.


The next few weeks passed with relatively little incident for Kim and Ron. The next three football games weren't cakewalks for the Guardians, particularly the most recent one against the University of Michigan. The top-ranked Wolverines had pushed the Guardians hard, leading for most of the game, but somehow Ron and his teammates pulled it out in the final minutes on a last-second field goal, giving them a thus far undefeated 4-0 record. Ron's contributions to the victories were anything but minimal, as he racked up a total of 542 yards and seven touchdowns during the three games. As a result, Vinnie's prediction about Ron approaching the status of "Big Man on Campus" began to make itself much more prevalently known, and people that Kim and Ron didn't even know from Adam and Eve were saying hello to them on campus. Had their reputations as world heroes not already been what they were, it would have been quite the culture shock, but they took it all in normal stride.

As they returned to class from the weekend break for the week of September 25th through the 29th, things seemed to be going smoothly. All their classes that week were of course their normal level, except maybe for Professor Barkin's—they had just started in on an in-depth study of Homer's The Odyssey, and Chris Barkin seemed to have an almost obsessive fanaticism with the epic tale. To Kim and Ron, it was almost like having Steve Barkin all over again, and had it not been for the different nose; long, Hippie-styled hair; full-length beard that hung halfway down his chest; and fringed leather vest over tie-dyed shirt with yellow sunglasses, they would have sworn it was their old Middleton High teacher instructing them. Indeed, once or twice, Christopher Barkin's normally very laid-back voice during their discussions of the book almost took on the drill-sergeant like demeanor of his fraternal twin.

However, one class seemed to have a radically different atmosphere to it: their Guardian's S.P.E.A.R. class. The first few weeks of the seminar, their graduate student instructor, Katie Ryan, had been very upbeat and perky as she guided them through the different aspects of adjusting to college life and campus living. However, in more recent weeks she had seemed to be far less positive, almost to the point of being a complete shadow of the person they had met their first day of classes. She still came to class with a smile on her face, but Kim, Ron, Felix, and Monique could all sense that something wasn't right. Even Rufus, who had stopped sleeping the day away after he snoozed through one of Ron's cooking classes and missed a cheese-tasting, had a concerned look on his face for the British-born young woman. When the class wrapped up on Friday afternoon about fifteen minutes early, Kim and Ron made a conscious decision to stay for a few minutes to talk to the woman they'd started to become well-acquainted with.

"Miss Ryan, is something wrong?" Kim said with a smile after everyone else had left.

"Please call me Katie, Kim. And no, nothing's wrong," the young woman replied as she shook her head. However, both Kim and Ron could easily look past the bug-eyed glasses and see the weariness in her normally bright eyes.

Ron grinned warmly at her. "You know, if you want to talk, we're here to listen."

Katie nodded, and her British accent came through clearly. "Thank you, Ron, and you too, Kim. But I'm dealing with something right now that I don't think anyone can help me with, and that unfortunately especially applies to you two. Besides, don't you have your own problems to deal with, especially with Dack Daniels still intent on causing you two grief?"

The senior Guardian slot back had apparently not yet gotten the message about Kim and Ron being inseparable, because he had approached Kim several times the past few weeks to ask her out, particularly the few days after the "break up" had occurred. Every single time she had rejected him flat out, but he continued with an almost bullish persistence, even going so far as propositioning her with Ron standing right there holding his fiancée's hand. After the first time it happened, Ron had said something to the older player, but Dack's glare at him told the young man in no uncertain terms exactly what the senior thought of him. After the second time it happened, Ron had been very tempted to unleash his Mystical Monkey Power on that arrogant black-haired head, but Kim had seen the look in his eyes and told him in no uncertain terms that it would be a misuse of his abilities and wasn't ethical or allowable.

Ron smiled. "Well, we haven't exactly taken that lying down, you know. Didn't you wonder why he couldn't stand still in the game against Michigan this past weekend?"

Katie cocked her head confusedly. "A little, especially since the game was a national broadcast. Why?"

Kim sighed, and good-naturedly clocked her man on the back of the head. "Ron here conspired with a friend of ours who's a trainer to send a message by putting some Icy-Hot on the pads that go in his pants. Particularly on his jock strap."

Katie laughed hard, so hard that her black-rimmed circular glasses slid off her nose and swung on her ears by the earpieces. As she did, Kim noticed a little light return to the young woman's eyes, and she suspected this was the first time Katie had laughed in quite a few weeks.

After she recomposed herself, Katie grinned. "Thanks you two—I needed that. And don't worry, I won't tell a soul."

Ron sighed. "Too late for that. I've had quite a few bleachers to do after practice this week. Devereaux figured out from my laughs that I was involved, and he wasn't pleased. Said it was the type of thing that high school players do, not college players. Also said that if I didn't complete a thousand reps of bleachers this week I was benched for this week's game against Army."

Kim eyed him seriously. "And he was right to do it, Ron."

Katie smiled a bit more and leaned in while dropping her voice a little lower. "Well, just between us, I think Dack deserved it. Maybe now he won't think with that part of his anatomy so much." She stood up straight and looked at her watch. "Whoops, I've kept you too long. If you two don't hurry, you won't make it down to your practices in time. And thanks."

The two nodded and turned to go. As they left, a blonde young man entered the room, his dark brown eyes flashing concern. "Katie, what are you doing? You know we have a mission to complete, and yet you're acting all chummy with them."

Her smile disappeared, replaced by a hard frown. "You think I don't know that? You got the easy job here because you don't have to look both of them in the eye and lie to them every day about who you really are. The only one you have to face is Stoppable, and he accepts everyone at face value. Possible's so good at analyzing people I'm constantly having to make sure I don't frown at her even for a moment."

The young man smiled evilly at her. "Just remember where your loyalties are supposed to lie, Katie. Or else you might be asked to 'take a seat' when we get back to headquarters."

"And what makes you think I'm faltering?" she snapped acidly.

That evil smile appeared again. "Because I'm already on Stage Four of Agent Alpha's plan. And you have yet to progress to Stage Three despite our recent 'discussions' of loyalty."

The young woman glared at her counterpart, the bruises from their last 'discussion' still causing a little stiffness. "If you think for even one minute I have any sort of fondness for those two, think again. I will complete this mission as ordered and on schedule."

Another sinister smile. "I have never said you were growing fond of them, Agent Two. Though it does sound to me like someone's got a guilty conscience trying to rise above what she claims."

"You…you…" she stammered angrily. "If you don't watch yourself, Agent One, I'll make sure that both Gerhardt and Gemini know just what kind of person you really are."

The young man laughed. "Oh, they already know that I'd just as soon backstab them as follow orders. That's part of the reason they chose me for this mission. You, on the other hand, got chosen merely because you were the first bitch to volunteer."

Katie's eyes grew fiery. "DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN! You have no idea what I've had to do to get to where I am, and I'LL BE DAMNED if I'm going to let you take that away from me. My loyalties lie completely with Gemini and the glory of the Worldwide Evil Empire."

His only response was to laugh derisively once more and exit the room. The minute he left, Katie pulled a compact out of her purse and opened it. However, instead of powder and a make-up pouf, there was complex circuitry and a screen. She quickly pressed a button. A face appeared on the screen.

"Status," the person said.

"Possible compromise on mission. Advisement needed."

"Continue with the operation unless full proof of compromise is obtained. Do not, repeat, do not involve Team Possible under any circumstances unless absolutely necessary."

"Understood."

"And Katie?"

"Yes?"

"Be careful. Something tells me there is more at play here than you or I realize."

As the young woman closed the compact, she shook her head and sighed, rubbing her temples. Dual identities were hard, but maintaining a triple persona was really starting to wear Katie down, not to mention the fact that she was currently having to be three completely different people so that no one suspected anything. And the comment her contact had just made didn't help matters any.

Something tells you there is more at play here than you or I realize? That's the bleeding understatement of the century. Might as well have said that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is really a man for all the good it'll do me in figuring out how to complete this mission without those two kids getting hurt.


a/n

As always, comments and reviews are more than welcome...they are greatly appreciated. They also let me know you guys are continuing to enjoy the story. :)

Also, special thanks must be extended to Slipgate and to screaming phoenix, both of whom pointed out a rather agriegous error I made in the last chapter which has since been fixed. Thanks guys! :)

And finally, my first story Changes just crossed the 10k views mark! THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS! :D *series of HUGE bows*