Chapter 12: Saturday

Kim concentrated on her opponent and knew that her opponent was studying her, as well. Both were soaking wet and breathing hard from their exertions. Suddenly, her opponent's steed charged forward and hers surged to meet him. The two crashed together with a solid thump and began to drive into each other, each trying to force the other off-balance and give their rider an edge. Kim managed to get a grip on Cindy's wrist and with Ron pulling away from Oscar, managed to pull Cindy off of Oscar's shoulders and into the cool waters of Lake Middleton.

The four teens had been 'camel-fighting' for hours and were having just about as much fun as any of them could remember. Both girls had wound up in the water more than once, usually dragging their boyfriends under with them, as the two teams were fairly well matched. Oscar was a little larger, and stronger, than Ron while Kim had the strength advantage on Cindy. For once, Kim's natural 'Kimness' wasn't demanding that she win these contests. Rather, it was her boyfriend's actions. Every time the two of them wound up under water, Ron tried to nip her toes. Her surprised shriek, the first time he had done so, had turned heads all over the public swimming area. In addition to this, her head had been mostly underwater when he had done so, and her resulting inhalation had brought in enough water to leave her coughing for several minutes. She fully intended on having a few words with him when she got him alone.

With the exception of her BFBF's habit of bringing his teeth in contact with her toes, it had been a wonderful day. Cindy, Kim, and Oscar had shown up at the Stoppables' shortly after the family had returned from Temple. Ron had finished his room earlier in the week and the four teens teemed up to move Ron out of his old room and into his new one. With four fit, energetic teens working on it, the chore had taken a little more than an hour. It would have taken less time except for two incidents.

The first incident was the discovery of a sandwich, age unknown but considerable, that they had discovered when they moved Ron's bed. The offending, one-time foodstuff had been hiding under an old towel. When Cindy had innocently grabbed the towel, the odor from the sandwich had sent all four teens running outside, gagging. The other three teens had sent Ron in to dispose of both the towel and the one-time foodstuff, as well as open all of his windows. Even so, it had been several minutes before any of them would enter the room again.

The second incident was the discovery of Ron's, official (and signed by Timothy North) Fearless Ferret pajamas. Oscar had come across them and Ron had made the mistake of admitting that he wore them up until the previous year. With Ron's luck being what it was, Cindy and Kim had just walked into his room in time to catch the admission. The resulting giggle-fest (for everyone except Ron) had been bad enough. The next several minutes of work had been even worse. Ron and Oscar had been hauling Ron's dresser up the outside staircase when Cindy sidled up behind her boyfriend and asked if he was prepared to 'ferret out evil.' Oscar, of course, had found himself unable to stand, much less help with the piece of furniture. Ron had calmly set his end of the furniture down, stood up, and dropped his pants with all the dignity as he could muster. This move had exposed his official, Fearless Ferret boxers. His three companions had difficulty breathing for a good piece of time. Ron's predicament wasn't helped by the fact that his mother chose that moment to walk around the house and catch the full view.

Despite the distractions, the four teens had gotten Ron moved into his new room fairly quickly. As soon as they were finished, Gene Stoppable gave his car keys to Ron, who's ears were still ringing from his mother's lecture, and suggested that they all go out and have fun for the rest of the day, but to return that evening for a cookout and Ron's surprise. The four teens got together and decided on a trip to Lake Middleton. One thing led to another and soon they were camel-fighting in the beach area.

Having successfully unseated Cindy, Kim spared a glance at the beach area. Bonnie and Brick had been there when the four arrived. Bonnie, of course, stared down her nose at the four, clearly considering their enthusiastic activities to be childish. Although she was out of earshot, it was clear that she and Brick had exchanged some harsh words. Kim smiled, convinced that Brick had suggested the two join in on the fun.

"I've had about enough of the dunking," Cindy declared. "I think a little bit of tanning is in order."

Kim was forced to agree. The water was cool and her small body chilled easily, so an extended bout of sun-soaking sounded wonderful. She slid, somewhat reluctantly, off of Ron's shoulders and headed for the beach. The four teens spread out some beach towels and indulged in that traditional teenager's beach pastime: boyfriends smearing sunblock on their girlfriends. It was hard to say who enjoyed the process the most but all too soon the girls were properly basted and soaking up some UV rays. Ron, of course, started to fidget within minutes of lying down on his own towel.

Kim knew her boyfriend well; give him a game controller or park him in front of a TV and he could marinate for hours. Force him in to inactivity without anything to distract him and he would either be asleep, or fidgeting, within five minutes. Kim glanced over to Cindy, intent on commiserating, to notice that Oscar was also fidgeting. She watched, amused, while the boys made valiant efforts to enjoy soaking up the sun (and noticing that Cindy was also enjoying the entertainment). She glanced towards Bonnie and noted that Brick seemed to be fidgeting, as well.

Tired of the inactivity, Ron and Oscar put their heads together, then retrieved a football from the car and headed off to talk to Brick. Brick was more than happy to see them heading his way and was on his feet before they even got near him. A few minutes later, Ron and Oscar were running patterns as Brick tossed the ball. Kim and Cindy smirked at Bonnie's irritation.

Bonnie had obviously wanted to spend the day soaking up the sun, with her blond Adonis next to her, fulfilling her need to make every boy want her and every girl want to be her. She was more than a little put out when Oscar and Ron, two boys not even on the food chain, hijacked her arm-candy. What was even funnier was that she really couldn't complain about it. Brick was on a football scholarship to Go City University, so every bit of practice he could get in was a benefit. While Brick wasn't the brightest person in the classroom, he was a near genius on the football field, so he could even claim, truthfully, to be helping his alma mater by giving the two younger boys some pointers.

There was a moderate crowd at the beach that day so it wasn't long before more boys drifted over to the football-throwing trio and soon a small crowd was playing some beach football. Kim smiled, liking the idea of Ron being able to mingle, freely, with boys he barely knew. Ordinarily, she would join Ron in athletic activities like this, but she had never really enjoyed playing football. Of course, she didn't' mind tackling Ron every now and then…

"Kim," Cindy interrupted her musings. "When are the tryouts for the football cheerleading squad?"

"I'd have to look at my calendar for the exact date," Kim replied. "But they're the week before school starts. Why?"

"Oh, I was thinking about trying out for the squad, rather than running cross-country this fall."

"We do have two slots to fill," Kim admitted. "You'll have to audition, like everyone else, but I'd say you have a good chance of making it. Why aren't you running cross country this year?"

"I just wanted a change of pace," Cindy admitted. "Besides, I'm the senior reporter for the school newspaper this year and I'd like to report on the games from a cheerleader's perspective."

Kim studied her brunette companion for a few minutes. While Cindy had never cheered at either football or basketball games, Kim knew that she was capable of performing the acrobatic moves needed. All cheerleaders did these in rehearsal. For some reason, Cindy had always preferred cheering at wrestling matches to cheering at basketball games.

"Why did you start cheering at wrestling matches?" Kim asked her. Despite both being cheerleaders, Kim had never considered herself close enough to Cindy to ask her before.

"I like wrestling," Cindy admitted. "I enjoyed watching it more than basketball, so I decided to cheer at the matches rather than the games. The cheerleaders get the best view of the matches."

"Did you get together with Oscar because he's a good wrestler?" While Kim wasn't much of a gossipmonger, she was curious.

"Not because he was a good wrestler" Cindy informed her. "But I got to know him because he was on the team. He's really shy around people he doesn't know well, but he's a real goof around his friends." Cindy shook her head in confusion. "That's something I can't figure out about him. Put him out on the mat, and he'll stick his forehead in a complete stranger's armpit too turn him over on his back, but he's shy about saying 'hello' to that same stranger on the street. Anyway, I liked his sense of humor and his manners but I was a little shy about just asking him out so I talked to Sue. She was dating R…" Cindy stammered to a stop, embarrassed.

"It's okay," Kim assured her with a smile. "I'm not his first girlfriend and he's not my first boyfriend. I take it that Sue and Ron set the two of you up."

"Yeah, our first date was a double with Sue and Ron."

"Oh, that sleigh ride through Middleton Park?"

"Yeah, did Ron tell you about that?"

"No, I actually saw you guys," Kim recalled with a smile. "As far as first dates go, that one looks like it'd be hard to beat."

"It was a good one," Cindy admitted. "I know that Oscar's not that much to look at, at least not at first, but he's a really nice guy and we have a good time." She sighed a little. "I just wish Bonnie would back off of us."

"What's the deal with that?" Kim asked. "I mean, I've seen her come up to you guys and make comments that seemed to tick you guys off a little, but neither of you have ever mentioned anything about it."

"I think that it's just Bonnie being… Bonnie." Cindy replied. "She seems to think that the only way to build herself up is by tearing other people down. She used to give Ron all that grief, but then she saw what he went through on prom night so she really can't call him names anymore without making herself look bad. She gave Oscar grief for awhile but he just ignored it so she kind of shifted to me. She keeps asking me when I'm going to ditch the 'low budget import' for a quality boyfriend. It really gets to him but he keeps his mouth shut." She gave a little sigh. "Kim, if I make the football squad, she's going to have more opportunities to heckle me about it, won't she?"

"Yeah, but then I can deal with it," Kim informed her friend. "All you have to do is tell me that it's bothering you and I, as squad captain, can tell her to back off."

"Ladies," Ron interrupted the conversation, ambling up to the girls alongside Oscar. "I think that it's about time to head back to town for dinner."

The other three teens agreed and gathered their things. They said goodbye to Bonnie and Brick. Brick gave them an enthusiastic 'catch you later' while Bonnie simply turned her nose up at the foursome. Shaking their heads slightly, they piled into the Stoppables' car and headed back to town.

Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable set the four teens at a picnic table in the backyard. Ron had come by his cooking skills honestly, so there were no complaints about the cuisine. About the only thing that detracted from the evening, at least in Ron's opinion, was that Monique was working and Felix was out of town, and couldn't make it. After the four teens, two adults, and one quadruped had eaten perhaps two much, Gene Stoppable stood up and ushered everybody to the garage.

"Everybody, we've chosen this day to celebrate a couple of milestones for our family," he informed his audience. "Before I go into these events, I would like to thank all of you for helping Ronald first build, then move into, his new room. The meal we provided was the least we could do to thank you."

"Now, for our events. The first one you probably know, Ron here will turn seventeen next week. The second event will be news to Ron, as well. Son, we heard from the agency yesterday. While we still have some work to do, we will complete the adoption process in the next forty days. You should be able to greet your new sister around the time the school year begins."

There were congratulations all around at the second piece of news. Ron was very happy that his parents wouldn't have to face the 'empty nest syndrome' in a little over a year.

"Now, on to what's underneath the tarp," Gene continued. "When Dr. Drakken attempted his take over scheme this spring, the four of you wound up sacrificing Ron's old scooter. A scooter seems a small price to pay for avoiding global tyranny, but Ron's been without transportation ever since. Ron, please remove the tarp and tell me what you think of your gift."

Ron's smile was huge as he stepped forward and yanked on the tarp, with a flourish. He revealed a very large, powerful motorcycle that looked vaguely familiar.

"Thanks, dad," he said, examining the machine. "I don't see any manufacturer's logo. This is a great bike but where did you get it?"

"It turns out that Edward Lipsky left his bike double-parked the night he attempted…what he did at the gymnasium," Gene informed his son. "The police impounded his vehicle, then auctioned it when he made his plea-bargain. I thought you'd like a completely customized, unique bike."

"Dad, it's great," Ron enthused. "But riding Motor-Ed's machine? That's either wrongsick or totally badical."

"I'll go for badical," Kim informed him. "Motor Ed hates us anyway, so it's not like we're calling him out or anything. We helped bring him down, we might as well get some of the benefits."

"I like it," Ron declared. "Thanks dad! By the way, is it…"

"Fueled up, the title's in your name, and there just happens to be two helmets on the workbench over there," Gene informed him. "We had to modify the frame since Ed's a rather large man. I don't think you would have been able to reach the handlebars on a machine made for a six-foot six man."

"Dad, it's perfect," Ron put on one of the helmets and settled himself on the machine. He noticed that Kim was pulling on the other helmet.

"KP, care to accompany on my maiden voyage on my new machine?" Ron asked.

"You better believe it," Kim informed him. "But, one thing Ron."

"Yeah?"

"If you ever refer to the passenger section of the seat as the that which begins with B, followed by seat, you're going to be looking long and hard for another co-pilot."

DNAmy glanced at the clock in her lab. It showed two-thirty in the morning. She didn't care, preferring to put in long hours once she was on a roll. She gave off a sigh, missing her Monty. He was in the safe-house back in the Sates while she continued her work in Belize. It was probably for the best; this arrangement let her work without any distractions and he probably wouldn't approve of her experiment's subject. At least he had thrown off a little bit of his funk and had started to work out again.

She considered putting off the next step of her work until she had some sleep, then decided against it. The pieces were all in place so she might as well continue. She had isolated what she called the restructuring genes and was ready to proceed. Her test subject was anesthetized and immobilized on a surgical table. She applied a tourniquet to the spider monkey's left arm then amputated the limb. A consummate professional, she left enough skin on her subject's stump to act as a bandage for the wound. Finished, she inserted several IV needles before stepping back from her subject and to a workstation.

She worked the controls, causing the monkey's restraints to release. More commands caused a robot arm to lift the netting, upon which the monkey was lying, lifting the small creature and carrying it to a large, glass tank. Amy lowered the monkey into the tank, then filled it with the proper chemicals, converting the tank into what she referred to as an artificial womb. Next, Amy reviewed the monitoring equipment, assuring herself that the automated systems would keep anesthetics and nutrients flowing to her test subject. Satisfied, she moved on to the next step.

She had previously removed cells from the monkey's brain stem, and had spliced the restructuring genes, as well as other genes, into these cells. She now injected these cells back into the monkey's brain stem along with drugs, which would cause the genes in these modified cells to dominate the actions within the brain. She hadn't altered the monkey's basic DNA, since its DNA already included the arm she had removed. Instead, the procedure she had just completed should, in theory, cause the monkey's own body to re-grow the limb. Satisfied that the automated systems would monitor her subject, Amy staggered off to bed.

Inside the artificial womb, deep in the sleeping monkey's brain, an awareness, too primitive to be considered a thought, stirred. For lack of a better term, this awareness was the core of the creature's identity as a monkey. This awareness hadn't stirred when the monkey had been captured and maimed, as violence was part of a monkey's natural world, a state of existence to which the creature was accustomed. But when Amy's restructuring genes activated, they invaded the monkey's body and made it something…other than a monkey. Sensing this alteration, the awareness emitted a silent, ethereal scream of protest.

Many miles away, in Middleton Colorado, the peacefully sleeping Ultimate Monkey Master suddenly sprang awake in a cold, fearful sweat.

A/N

Hello again, everyone. I thank everybody who has taken the time to join me on this little journey that my imagination hauled me of upon some weeks ago. I am thankful, and humbled, by the positive response I have gotten. Thank you to everybody who has taken the time to post reviews or email me with suggestions and ideas.

As always, a big thanks to Joe Stoppinghem for his invaluable Beta Reading and helpful suggestions.

Best wishes

daccu65