"You're just going to have to trust me. If I get someone else to scan your apartment, you'll just say that I told them to tell you there was nothing, or something else like that." Dr. Director had agreed to meet with Drakken and Shego at their new apartment. "There aren't any bugs here."
"Unless someone leaves food out. Dr. D!"
"What?" Drakken entered the room where Shego and Betty were meeting.
"Let's get this cleaned up." Drakken resisted at first, but Shego persisted.
"Do you want ants? Because that's how you get ants!"
"Consider yourself lucky we don't have fire ants around here. Our Atlanta office is overrun with them." Shego and the two doctors (one legitimate, one...less than legitimate) were there primarily to finalize the ex-villains' status with Global Justice. The general consensus was settling around giving them a longer leash overall, but stiffening penalties for any cases of recidivism. Outside of "protection of key Global Justice personnel," there would be no further obligations for the two of them at least until January, although any extra duties undertaken could lead to an increased stipend. Mostly this just entailed killing a small forest for the sheer level of paperwork.
"Besides, Betty and I are a lot closer to being on the same page here than you are with her. You need to hear about these things."
"What's to hear? You babysit Mister Hotshot Professor when he's up here and in a situation where you have to play his girlfriend, pretending I don't exist..."
"Wait, what? You think that's what this is about?"
"Given the terms of the lease, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"Please work out your relationship issues at another time," deadpanned Dr. Director. Suddenly, a new approach to the situation occurred to Drakken, one that he hoped Shego would catch on to in due time.
"That's really what it's all about, isn't it, Dr. D?" said the blue ex-villain.
"What are you talking about?"
"Much as I outsourced..."
"Stole."
"...necessary components of my evil schemes," he quickly interrupted himself with, "I'm not into that sort of thing anymore, on the straight and narrow now," before he got on with his story; "I submit to you that you are merely outsourcing protection detail because of something unresolved between you two." For a few seconds, no one said anything. Then Dr. Director spoke.
"You have your view of the situation, and I have mine," she said in a particularly clipped tone, one that she was much more accustomed to hearing from the likes of Will Du in his more arrogant period.
"Well, my view has depth perception, so there!"
"Dr. D, Dr. D. Let's try to be mature about this," said Shego.
"NO!" shouted Betty and Drew.
"If you don't start acting like adults, you can't drink like adults." This shut up the head of Global Justice immediately, and Drakken followed suit shortly thereafter, although this was more out of directly pleasing Shego as opposed to a fear of ethanol deprivation. As the evening wore on, the three of them seemed to mellow out and act civilized with one another.
The Global Justice jet was flying high over the East Coast on the way to Middleton. This was about 1500 miles west of where Bonnie wanted to be landing.
"Look, they don't even let us get any idea of where the campus is. All we know is that it's in Northern Virginia somewhere."
"But you do get there. And I'm sure that if your parents could get in there, you could get me and a film crew there as well."
"You...haven't been around a film set, really, have you?" Kim told Bonnie.
"Forget about that little failed production. I picked the director specifically because he called himself 'the anti-Blamhammer.' It's not going to be one of those movies where there's just a bunch of explosions for 90 minutes and a plot is just sort of thrown in along the way."
"Yeah, it'll be 90 minutes of you running around in slow motion, or jumping around a lot."
"This director also happens to have certain...preferences, so I don't think he'll care about that sort of thing, but I didn't think about that when I chose him." Bonnie was trying to be very careful, almost politically correct with her words, very unlike the cheerleader Kim and Ron had known in Middleton for too many years. There was an awkward pause for about a minute before Ron spoke.
"So, um, the whole ballet thing..."
"Let's just say I had an attitude problem with a lot of my colleagues."
"There's a shocker," whispered Kim underneath her breath.
"I was the only one who, you know, ate anything without offering it to the porcelain god immediately thereafter. Same reason I never tried to be a model."
"What about doing some shoots for publications with more...male interest?" suggested Ron, drawing a brief glare from Kim, before she relented, figuring that someone of Bonnie's physique could do very well in that line of work.
"Junior and I did not like the idea of a gazillion teenage boys and men with the minds of teenage boys eye-banging me."
"And this would be a change from the way things are now because..." Kim trailed off sardonically.
"When they're doing it in person, you can retaliate. Like this." Bonnie grabbed a lipstick from her bag and threw it at Ron. Although he didn't seem to be paying attention, he caught the projectile out of the air. He then stood up and walked over to Bonnie.
"I believe this is yours," he said, returning the cosmetic to its rightful owner. Bonnie found herself leering at Ron as he returned to Kim's side. Fortunately for Bonnie, Kim wasn't really paying attention. There were no real incidents for the remainder of the flight to Middleton.
"Where are we?" Bonnie was accustomed to landing at Tri-Cities Metropolitan Airport near Middleton.
"We are at a private airstrip about 30 miles east of Middleton," said the pilot. "Miss Possible will be providing any further transport you may need." He returned to the cockpit as the others climbed into the Sloth.
"Can I crash with you until one of Senior or Junior's people comes and gets me?"
"So, um, what do Global Justice people do for fun around here?" Drakken figured that he had get to know Dr. Rodgers as long as Shego was in charge of his safety at times.
"Bowling? There should be a bunch of assorted Global Justice-types there tonight."
"Yeah, that sounds good." In about a half hour, the two of them found themselves at Bowl's Bluff Lanes. A few Global Justice agents saw them. One, a brunette about Drakken's age, came up to the professor.
"Meeting the parent...er, boss, um...what exactly does the green bitch call you?"
"Her boyfriend." Drakken half-snarled.
"Maybe you should keep her on a shorter leash with this guy around," she said, pointing at Dr. Rodgers.
"What is she talking about?"
"Well, you know how Shego gets when she gets the sauce in her?"
"I have recently learned about that."
"The first time I ran into her after Betty decided I couldn't take care of myself was at a bar over by Dulles."
"Say no more. That explains a lot." Drakken's face turned severe as he confronted the agent who had called out Shego. "And if you call my girlfriend that again, say it to her face. Talk about a face-melting solo, and not the kind my cousin Ed likes."
"Easy there."
"Have a past with her?"
"I have a past with a lot of women. I don't bring it up unless they bring it up. You are not they, so I'm not bringing it up...OVER THE LINE!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"No, not you," the professor pointed at one of his colleagues, who from his angle appeared to have crossed the foul line.
"Oh, OK." Nonetheless, the allegedly-offending bowler came over to confront Dr. Rodgers.
"First of all, my foot was not over the line. Also, this game doesn't even count for anything."
"Every game counts for something, tangible or otherwise. I'll go ahead and take your word that it was just my angle, but watch yourself." The blue scientist just sort of stared at the GJA professor.
"Shego and Kim Possible seem to have quite a character on their hands," thought Drakken. The bowling itself actually went pretty well, at least for the person was starting to be called Drew Lipsky more and more often by former and current acquaintances alike.
"Drew, did you ever get shipped off to a prison with a bowling alley? You seriously waxed all of us. I'll get us a ride back."
"No, but there are still days I wish I could throw Frugal Lucre down an oiled wooden lane towards ten wooden pins. Or landmines, either way would suit me."
"I can't believe I'm letting you stay here...again...without you stuck to me." Bonnie was not going too far in making herself at home, much to Kim's relief. However, she felt it was better than having her go back with her mother and sisters. If anyone could bring back the old Bonnie, it would be them. Pretty much everyone she knew was out of town since GJA's fall break was the weekend after all the local schools, plus Kim would be more understanding of her boyfriend's lifestyle, if not his father's.
"And if your family asks, you're not here?" asked Dr. James T. Possible.
"I'd appreciate if you would tell them that," said Bonnie with a tinge of sadness. Just then, she heard a groan from the bathroom.
"TWEEBS!" Tim and Jim ran out into the living room, with Kim following close behind, carrying some electronic equipment. "There will be no hidden cameras in the guest bedroom, and there certainly won't be any in the guest shower!" Upon hearing this, Bonnie pulled Kim aside for a little girl-to-girl talk.
"You wouldn't happen to be open to teaching me a bit, you know, if they actually do make this movie, so I'm not completely lost. Also if I catch your brothers trying to make their own movies starring me without my permission, I need to provide a credible threat. Did I mention that if they start to get on my nerves, I'm staying at Ron's?"
"They. Will. Not. Get. On. Your. Nerves," Kim said emphatically. "Oh, by the way, he'll probably be here in the morning, just thought I'd warn you. Or he might stop by this evening, depending on how much his family wants to catch up with him."
"Must be nice, having someone like him," Bonnie mumbled.
"What?" Kim couldn't really hear what Bonnie said.
"Oh, nothing." Bonnie was thankful that Kim apparently didn't hear what she said about Ron, or at least was acting as though that were the case. Dinner followed shortly thereafter; although towards the tail end of the meal, the Tweebs whispered something to Kim. Her silent reaction to this seemed to be a mix of confusion and revulsion, but also a hint of understanding as well.
"What was that all about?" asked Mrs. Dr. Possible.
"I'm curious myself," added Bonnie, who was the first to finish. Just then, the doorbell rang. Bonnie began to get up to open the door, but it opened with Ron being led in, or possibly dragged in by Hana.
"Bonnie, you've met Hana, right?"
"Yeah, back when we were doing homecoming-related things, I think you had her with you."
"Ugh, don't remind me." Kim still smarted from how everything went down that week. "I'd still like to know how you could have pulled that off. Wade couldn't find anything."
"Because as far as I know, there was nothing to find," said Bonnie.
"Oh, really?" said Kim skeptically.
"Well, Ron Rieger told me that he voted for me. He seemed more confident that I would win than I was..." Kim and Ron glared at her. "You know, I've decided move past high school; It would be nice of you to do likewise...hey, where's Hana?"
"Bonnie, sometimes Global Justice agents get rather unusual tasks. Why don't you help us look?"
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Don Shelby."
"Oh, hey, I haven't heard from you in a while. What's up with that?"
"Well, being the CEO of a worldwide legitimate business empire can be quite time consuming."
"I can imagine so. Sorry if I sounded a little snippy back there."
"Don't worry about it. Are you staying on campus for fall break or are you going home?"
"I'm still on campus...I don't think I'm going to go home until Thanksgiving."
"All right, would you be open to meeting with me that Saturday or Sunday? I have something I need to discuss with you. It's not urgent time-wise, but it does need to happen, hence the month-and-a-half notice."
"OK. I can do that."
"Good. Just don't flunk out or get expelled before then, all right?"
"I'll try."
"Don't try, just do it, OK? Good-bye." Gemini hung the phone up, left his office and returned to the main command center. "There, I made contact with our agent on the inside. Happy now?"
"Yes, sir."
"Agent Delta, you have been an invaluable part of the Worldwide Evil Empire since you were Agent Chi. This is the first we have deviated from my plan. It had damn well better not blow up in our faces. Speaking of which, Agent Zeta, how are we coming along with acquiring the remaining components?"
"The heating oil was simple enough. The ammonium nitrate, on the other hand, has been slower in coming. The whole thing with stealing only a few pounds at a time..."
"Was designed specifically for the purpose of keeping anyone from finding out what we're up to until it happens," snapped Gemini. "I fear you may never understand how my little sister operates. At least until you get some rest. Have a seat." Zeta returned to his desk, and Gemini pressed a button on a remote he had hidden in his pocket. Steel bands emerged from various parts of the chair, holding down his arms and legs.
"Hey, at least I'm leaving in one piece."
"Right you are," said Gemini with a sneer. Just then, another band emerged, this one wrapped around the agent's neck, gradually tightening. He attempted to struggle for a few seconds, then fell unconscious. However, the band continued to tighten. It remained taut for several minutes. After what Gemini felt was sufficient to get the job done, he pressed another button on the remote, and all the bands retracted into the chair. Zeta slumped to the floor lifeless. For a minute, no one said or did anything.
"Well don't just sit there! Clean up this trash!" Two agents tentatively stood up and dragged the body out of the control room. "Let me be clear, this organization cannot and will not tolerate ignorance. If this plan fails, no one in this room will be a free man. But we have everything to gain. Okay, motivation over, get back to work." The not-so-happy few, the band of unrelated agents, prepared to go once more into the breach, or at least do some prep work towards that end. While Gemini's motivational methods could be gruesome, in this case they were effective.
A.N.: I just haven't had much time to work on this, plus I've been re-outlining the rest of the story. Nonetheless, review and I'll try to reply before the next chapter is up.