Ron made his way to the Dr. Director's office as quickly as he could. Kim and Betty were already waiting for him.
"Glad you could stop by. The three of us need to have a bit of a talk." Kim rarely was this intimidated by authority figures, or any figures for that matter. Ron, on the other hand, was his usual self.
"WHYYY? HAVEN'T YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE BEFORE?"
"Snap out of it!" yelled Dr. Director. This was the first time all day that she had raised her voice at anyone.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, ma'am," said Kim. "Ron, perhaps you should step outside for a second." When Ron stood up, Kim swatted his buttocks hard enough to echo throughout the room.
"Please try to have a little decorum," said Dr. Director in a tone more befitting her so-called "Number One" agent.
"Sorry about that. I've found that sometimes that's all it takes to get his to focus on the task at hand."
"I see. Miss Possible, Mister Stoppable, I think I speak for everyone at Global Justice when I say that the last situation in which we want to see you is one where you are choosing between each other and your work. That being said, I believe that recent events better illustrate the difficulty in maintaining romantic relationships as part of Global Justice more than any lecture from myself or any of our agents possibly could. You were lucky that we were able to manage the situation with available personnel during your, um, 'stealth mission,' but that will not always be the case. We do have an old-fashioned siren system that covers the residential areas of campus, but we feared that utilizing the system in this situation would have created more panic than was merited."
"We understand," said Kim.
"We knew this could be a possibility when we decided to bring you both here. We can't pretend you're not human. It will require maintaining a delicate balance, and, well, ensuring that certain protective measures are taken. I don't think you two want a permanent souvenir of your actions just yet."
"What is she talking about?" whispered Ron to Kim. She answered his question by addressing the one-eyed protector of the free world.
"Ever since my sophomore year of high school, I have taken precautionary measures, not only in case male supervillains got any ideas, but also to keep things on a regular schedule."
"Um...oh, THAT kind of permanent souvenir. I'm going to have to remember that one. Yeah, none of that for a while." Kim nodded in agreement.
"Now that family planning issues have been resolved, let me bring Agent Du in for the next item on the agenda." Just as she was about to step outside to retrieve him, Will walked in the door.
"Well, that was fortuitous timing."
"Quite. Possible, Stoppable, I presume you two are doing well after your 'stealth mission.'" Kim groaned at Will's somewhat lecherous tone.
"That bad, eh?" Before Kim or Ron could correct him, Betty spoke up.
"Let's concentrate on the actual threat now, okay? We have had an apparent associate of the head of the Worldwide Evil Empire on the campus of our academy for the better part of the semester. We are currently holding him a couple of floors below us; we will resume interrogation this evening. As far as Sheldon knows, Patrick's cover is still intact."
"There generally has been little communication between the two of them while he is on campus, but there may be a meeting in the near future. I recommend that he be released on personal recognizance. We will need to prepare him for the possibility that his cover may be blown, or that Gemini will have turned him against our organization."
"Why don't we tail him?" asked Ron. "He said that Gemini was the one who set up us the bomb. He leads us to him, he can go with us quietly or make a scene, book him, Betty, problem solved."
"He will not go quietly," said Dr. Director bluntly. "He'll blow himself up and take an entire city with him before he lets me put him in a cell."
"I have another idea," said Kim. "It's a little more complicated, but I think it's a little more likely to work."
"So, how is he?" asked Shego, uncharacteristically concerned for someone else's well-being.
"The dose of radiation he received should only have temporary acute effects," said a doctor. "However, he will likely need more frequent cancer screenings, particularly thyroid cancer. One thing I have yet to get out of him, which would be exceedingly helpful, is precisely how he came about his skin tone."
"That's a problem, seeing as he doesn't even know."
"I figured that out, I was wondering if you perhaps had some answers for us."
"Your guess is as good as mine. Dr. D. never really believed in documenting his work. He was blue when I met him, the only time I can recall when he has not been blue was a brief incident involving one of Jack Hench's devices. Drained the evil right out of him and into Stoppable."
"I actually heard about that one. At least it was him and not Kim Possible." Shego shuddered a bit when thinking about what could have happened if Kimmie had turned evil.
"Well, as far as I know, I am not immune to the effects of radiation, and, well, look at me." The doctor turned his glance towards the woman standing before him. "Not there!" she snarled.
"I wasn't!" he yelled nervously.
"Sorry about that; I should be used to it. There's only so much anger management can do for me. You may resume your ogling."
"If you insist." The doctor resumed, but this time a green flame engulfed one of Shego's hands. He could have sworn he saw a raised middle finger through the flame.
"At what point am I actually going to be able to see him?"
"If you wouldn't mind putting out the open flame in the presence of oxygen tanks," said the doctor. Shego quickly complied, then the doctor continued. "You probably won't want to be near him for a few days, and unless you want him to go home naked, you are probably going to want to bring him some non-irradiated clothing."
"I'll do that."
"By the time you're back, I could have things set up so you two could have a private video conference. Would you like that?"
"Sure, whatever, just get it done or else." Shego left the infirmary and headed back to her and Drakken's apartment. When she arrived, she collapsed on the couch, intending to take a brief nap. The whole day had been terribly draining physically and emotionally, at least since discovering what had happened to Drakken. She couldn't seem to relax; her heart was racing but she couldn't drag herself to her feet. All those years of mad science, and only when he turns good does anything actually bad happen to him. Kimmie never had to worry about whether Ron would get turned into a tumor incubation chamber. Sure, she had a prom night ruined, but that was one night when monkeys on typewriters made Shakespeare. If only someone understood what she was going through.
"So let me get this straight. You want me to pose as this guy's girlfriend as he meets with a supervillain. So that he won't try anything?" Bonnie Rockwaller was laying out on Señor Senior, Senior's yacht somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
"Hey, I didn't think it was a particularly good idea at first either," said Agent Du. "But it is the best idea we have been able to generate, and time is not on our side."
"Then get better idea people," sneered Bonnie. "Is Kim there?" Will temporarily muted his phone.
"Miss Possible, are you here? Miss Rockwaller wants to know." She nodded and Kim took the handset from Will.
"K, can you tell your superiors to come up with better ideas?"
"As a matter of fact, B, this was my idea."
"Oh, that is just classic you!" Kim could have sworn she heard Bonnie roll her eyes. "Put me in danger while you and your lackeys hunker down a mile away in some bunker."
"Miss Rockwaller, I assure you we will be within ten seconds of the rendezvous point," said Will. "Gemini is Dr. Director's twin brother. She knows what he will and won't try to pull."
"If you had met my sisters, you'd understand why I would be a bit skeptical about trusting that one's siblings would act one way or another."
"If anything happens, you can think of it as research towards your role," offered Ron. "Or if nothing happens. Either way, it will be good pre-release publicity."
"Let me consult with the producer." Bonnie put down her phone. Around a minute later she picked it up again. "I'm going to put him on, okay."
"Hello, Elizabeth." Señor Senior, Senior's evil plans rarely required the attention of Global Justice, but she had some experience with the billionaire.
"Well, better you than Lurman."
"What he lacks in class, he has in his inability to stop talking. But anyway, I'm a little wary of placing your potential future daughter-in-law in such a prominent position in such an important mission."
"I heard that!" said Bonnie.
"Sheldon likes to avoid collateral damage. That being said, I do not see any reason to risk the next megastar when you don't even know that he knows that you know for whom he works."
"Wait, how do you know?"
"I have been in occasional contact with your brother. He had originally sought to use one of Kimberly's high school acquaintances in his plan."
"I see. Is Miss Rockwaller one of the ones he approached?"
"No, but he probably knows who I am; that's why I shouldn't be a part of this. I do, however, want to be a part of something with Global Justice in the future. You know, to give my work more authenticity. I'll be in touch again. Peace!" Bonnie ended the call before anyone else could get the last word in. After a minute, Will spoke up.
"Well, that was a colossal waste of time."
"Yes, that little snippet of information will be quite useful to us, Agent Kappa." Gemini was beaming. Two of his bugs inside Global Justice facilities had given him more ammunition to use against his little sister. In addition, one of his agents had discovered a little more about one of his sister's lackeys. This would allow the Worldwide Evil Empire to gain a little more leverage. On the other hand, he was fairly sure he'd have to burn his agent on the inside of the Global Justice Academy; no matter, he was expendable anyway. He felt compelled to call a few more members of his inner circle in for another meeting as things would be moving at a fast and furious pace soon.
"Gentlemen, I have been forced to adapt our plans due to several changes in circumstances. Thanks to our information gathering, we have learned that while our agent on the inside has been found out, we have succeeded in leaving Betty scrambling for ideas. We have also learned, thanks to one of the agents in this very room, that we have access to a little more collateral than we thought we had. I will be dispatching a team to a location in the Pacific Ocean to be determined later."
"Now, when you say more collateral, what do you mean?" asked Agent Eta.
"There is a yacht in the Pacific. The team I will be dispatching will ensure that the boat leaves its next port of call with one fewer passenger."
"And what of our agent on the inside?" asked Agent Lambda.
"We shall ensure he is properly dealt with; he signed the same contract that all of you have signed. If Betty does anything I wouldn't do, that will be on that organization's conscience. Now if you will excuse me, I need to contact my agent in private." The other agents left the room while Gemini called up Patrick.
"Oh, hello, Gemini." Patrick did not seem to be in a good mood.
"I can tell my sister told you what they had on me. What I have on her is entirely different in one key way. It's true."
"So, the whole thing with you being the leader of the Worldwide Evil Empire..."
"A complete fabrication."
"Assorted henchmen being, um, disposed of..."
"Again, a lie. For all of my sister's failings, she knows how to get great special effects people to do her bidding. I can show you how it all works sometime. Why don't you stop by my office in a couple of days; I can introduce you to some very interesting people."
"Slight problem; they're not letting me leave campus unless I wear a wire. They want to see what I see, especially if it's the inside of your, um, headquarters."
"Go along with it...are they monitoring this call?"
"I don't know, if they are they probably won't let me go."
"True, I'd go ahead and continue playing dumb. Act like what they've told you about me is true. Pretend that I don't know that they know. It's for the best for everyone. Trust me."
"Can you give us some privacy?" Shego asked the Global Justice nurse in Drakken's room to leave.
"Sure thing. But it might be a while; I have to change out of my bunny suit. I can't really hear anything in the airlock, so if you want to go ahead and start, I won't be listening."
"It's all right, Shego," said Drakken. "If there's anything you don't want anyone else to hear, I'm feeling a lot better but still really worn out, so if you could try to save the really heavy stuff for when I get home."
"Sure, fine, whatever." After an awkward bit of silence, she continued. "So, um, has Global Justice interrogated you much?"
"No, they just took a quick statement. I understand they're giving the other guy quite a grilling."
"I was about to grill him myself," muttered Shego, briefly flaring up.
"Shego, I don't even know if he knew anything. And if he did, Betty's probably going to make the rest of his life short and hellish."
"I'll be with her on that," said Shego coldly. "Even if it violates the terms of my pardon."
"I can see her bending the rules in that case. I mean, she does it all the freaking time for Kim Possible and her bunch." Shego was taken aback by Drew's use of even a mild intensifier. The nurse left the airlock, leaving Drakken and Shego completely alone at last. "You know, once I finish getting decontaminated, I don't have any non-radioactive clothes here..."
"Oh, I brought some," said Shego, "but I like where you were going with that. All the more reason for you to get better."
"Now, don't get all soft on me, Shego."
"No, you don't get soft on me, Dr. D." Just then, a Global Justice agent burst into Shego's room. Reflexively, Shego lit up.
"We have a hostage situation. Dr. Director asked for you personally."
"But..."
"Go, Shego," said the recovering scientist. "I'll either be here or back home. You've got more important things to do than to talk to some irradiated old schmuck." Shego was not reassured by his words, but she obeyed them and the agent. It took a few minutes for her to reach the situation room, where she joined Kim, Ron, Dr. Director, Will Du, and Dr. Rodgers.
"Oh, hello everyone," said Shego. "Dr. Rodgers, what are you doing here?"
"The initial message from Sheldon specifically mentioned me and Kim by name. I also have experience negotiating hostage situations."
"Hang on, we're picking up another message from Gemini."
"Hello, little sister and lackeys."
"He did not just call us lackeys," said Kim and Shego at the same time.
"You may be wondering why I asked everyone to be here. Obviously, Betty, her organization and I have a bit of a past, Kimberly and her buffoon have stopped my plans before, and Shego has betrayed our cause. But you're probably wondering, why Dr. Rodgers?" Gemini turned on another light in his plane revealing a person tied to a chair with a burlap sack over him or her. "I've picked up the same threats as you all have, but I don't know who's behind them. That's beside the point. In my effort to try to outdo your three-ring circus, I discovered something very interesting about the good professor. In quite the happy coincidence, for me at least, I also traced a call from your campus to a yacht in the Pacific. I now introduce to you my hostage. He removed the sack from the hostage's head, revealing Bonnie's face.
"Does she look familiar, Dr. Rockwaller?"