Chapter 53: Back to School
Kim spent the rest of the morning in one of the grouchiest moods she could remember. What was going on? Over the course of the last week she had realized that she was in love with her best friend, who had declared that they would never go beyond being friends, despite the fact that he loved her. Then she showed up to shadow him. She was beginning to think that she should keep a diary, then send it to the Agony County writers.
She only shared one class with Ron after Homeroom, so she didn't see him between that class and lunchtime. She grabbed her lunch and spotted Ron, sitting at a large, round table with Oscar, Cindy, Felix, Monique, and Yori. As she approached, she overheard the six engaging in polite conversation, mostly Yori describing life in Japan. Ron immediately slid over, making room for Yori to slide over, which made room for Kim to sit down. Kim took the offered space, trying not to think about how her sitting there forced Yori up against Ron.
Or about how neither seemed to mind.
"I do not understand this thing called a prom," Yori was saying, as Kim took her seat.
"It's a formal dance for the upper classmen," Monique explained. "Juniors and seniors can attend on their own, or invite anybody they want. We'll decorate the gym and put together dancing and light refreshments. It's the major school social event of the year."
"It had been originally scheduled for last Saturday," Ron continued. "But that little incident with Dr. Drakken invading the entire world sort of threw a wrench in the works. Kim is on both the fundraising and the planning committees, so she gets the dubious honor of putting something together."
Kim favored him with a scowl. "That's not going to be much fun, we had already spent almost all of the budget, so there isn't much left to work with."
"If it will help on the refreshment side, I could unleash 'Chez Ronald' for that night." Ron offered.
"It 's sweet of you to offer, Ron." Kim replied. "But I don't think it will help much."
"Not to mention you're unavailable that night," Monique added. "You stood me up once already. We have a date for the prom and I'm not spending it next to the chef."
"I do not understand," Yori chimed in. "Ron-san, are you and Monique-san dating?"
"Well, uh, "Ron started.
"It's a date, but it doesn't mean that we're a couple." Monique explained. "Ron asked me to attend the prom with him. If we enjoy each other's company, we may continue dating. If we don't, we simply won't date anymore and there won't be any hard feelings."
Yori nodded to indicate her understanding. Unnoticed by the others, Kim was looking very intently at Monique. The rest of the lunch break passed with simple conversation on everyone but Ron's part. Ron was still accelerating his healing and was thus stuffing his face with more energy than usual. Other than Kim and Yori, his companions assumed that he was making up for time spent with hospital food.
The afternoon also passed uneventfully. Kim and Ron continued to refuse to divulge details about their adventures. They didn't want to give away any information damaging to the legal proceedings, which had to be coming up eventually. Ron proved to be prepared for his return to classes, so he only had a minimum amount of 'catch-up' homework by the end of the day. With the last class completed, Ron and Yori went to meet up with Kim at her locker.
Kim wasn't particularly happy. While she could effortlessly adjust to a changing situation during a mission, she absolutely hated sudden change in her personal life. Finding Yori waiting for them in Homeroom had been bad. Learning that she would have to come up with some sort of dance plans without an appreciable budget had irritated her even more. Finding out that that little Japanese vixen would be living in Ron's house for the next three weeks was enough to make her eyes narrow just thinking about it. Then, at lunch, Yori's innocent questions brought up the uncomfortable prospect that Ron and Monique might continue dating after the prom. If her two best friends got together that way, where would that leave her?
Kim took a deep, calming breath, closed her locker, and turned around. The calming breath shot out of her nose in an irritated snort. Yori and Ron were heading her way; he was saying something emphasizing his words with exaggerated gestures. Yori had one hand over her mouth but Kim could see the upturned corners of her mouth. Ron was being flat out silly again, for Yori's benefit. If that wasn't bad enough, they were walking rather close together, more than was customary for a non-dating couple. Kim shook her head. If the two were a little closer it would mean that they were a couple. If they were a little farther apart, it would mean that they were close friends. Kim sighed; a couple of weeks could really complicate things.
"Got a huge favor to ask you, KP," Ron said as they approached his friend. "Yori and I would like to sit in on the prom committee meeting tonight. I've got a little bit of time before I have to meet with my counselor."
Kim frowned. That was another thing that bothered her. Ron had been seeing a counselor since Tuesday. Although he didn't show it to the public, the act of destroying, 'killing' the two synthodrones was haunting him. Kim had tried telling him that the 'drones weren't human, that one of them had been trying to kill Rufus and the other had been trying to kill him. Yet it still bothered him at a very deep level, since the 'drones had been thinking, feeling beings. Fortunately, the counselor seemed to be good and had concentrated on how bad off the world could have been if Ron hadn't done what he had at the time. Considering it further, Kim realized that she would think less of Ron if his actions didn't upset him.
"Sure," Kim replied, getting back to the question. "But attending a meeting that's going to be mainly students complaining about no budget and no time doesn't sound like much of a favor to me."
"It is a favor, Possible-san," Yori insisted. "The prom committee is another activity for me to experience."
Kim blinked, "I guess I hadn't thought about that," she admitted. "Sure, lets head for the Library and catch some bad news."
The three teens weren't able to attend the meeting, however. Mr. Barkin intercepted them in route to the Library.
"Possible, Stoppable, Tanaka," the big man caught their attention. "The three of you are to come to my office, now."
"Mr. Barkin, I'm supposed to attend the pr-" Kim didn't get a chance to complete her protest.
"The prom committee has already been informed that they must choose a new head." Mr. Barkin informed her. "When the Principal tells me that the four of us are to attend a meeting in my office, that's what we're all going to do."
As there seemed to be no arguing with this statement, the three teens followed the big man to his office. Once there, they all found seats and waited in awkward silence.
"Uh, Mr. B?" Ron asked, breaking the silence. "Was there something you needed to say to us? I mean, a meeting with the Vice Principal usually means the students being told what they've done wrong and what they're going to do to pay for it. At least that's our usual routine."
The big man snorted. "I'm well aware of our routine, Stoppable." At this, Yori gave Ron a hard look. "But, surprising as it sounds, you haven't acted up for some time." This time Kim gave Ron a hard look. "The Principal told me to bring the three of you to my office and that we would have a meeting with a fifth party."
"That fifth party would be me," announced a voice from Mr. Barkin's computer. The four looked at the screen to seeā¦
"Doctor Director!" Kim exclaimed. "I take it you called this meeting."
"Indeed, Miss Possible," the head of Global Justice informed the young woman. "Drakken's take over scheme has caused a severe change in the nature of supervillain crime. This could have a serious effect on the school, so I have asked Mr. Barkin to attend this briefing."
"By the way," the director continued. "Your technical genius is listening in. Not that this should be a surprise but this time I'm aware of it and actually insisted upon it."
Ron and Kim shared a smile.
"Okay, first of all, are all of you aware of the role Miss Tanaka is playing at this time?" Doctor Director asked.
"Ron, Yori, and Kim all nodded. Mr. Barkin looked at them for a long moment.
"I take it that Miss Tanaka isn't just a cultural exchange student." He said.
"Correct, Mr. Barkin," Dr. Director's voice came from the computer. "Miss Tanaka is a martial arts expert as well as a student at the Yamanouchi School. This school has an intense interest in Mr. Stoppable's well being, for reasons they will not disclose. Yamanouchi's headmaster is concerned that a supervillain known as Monkeyfist may attempt to attack Stoppable while Ron is unable to defend himself."
Mr. Barkin thought about this for a few seconds before commenting. "So by making Miss Tanaka a cultural exchange ambassador, they have found a method of putting a covert guardian with Stoppable 24/7?"
"Exactly," answered Doctor Director.
"But Doctor Director," Kim cut in. "Monty has seen Yori in action! He knows that she's a martial arts expert!"
"Yori's cover isn't to fool Fisk," Doctor Director explained. "But to keep anyone else from asking questions. I have to admit that it's a solid cover story that has her hidden in plain sight. In addition, her very presence may keep Fisk from making a move."
"Overt and covert at the same time," Barkin mused. "Impressive."
"True, vice principal, but I'd like to continue the briefing," Doctor Director continued. "Dr. Drakken's action has had a profound effect on the way the world's governments view the techno-villain community. Specifically, those who establish headquarter bases for their schemes are going to be in for a rough time."
"I thought that Kim did a pretty good job of giving them a rough time already." Ron objected. Kim smiled at him.
"She has," Doctor Director continued. "But before Drakken's diablo scheme, these villains usually relied on a doomsday device to extort various nations. The standard operating procedure was to establish a lair in a politically sensitive locale, then use this lair as a base of operations. These villains would count on political considerations to protect them from overwhelming assault."
"I don't understand that at all." Ron admitted. Kim nodded her agreement.
"Take Drakken's Caribbean Island lair," Dr. Director explained. "He picked an island in international waters, but close to several island nations and territories owned by various other nations. While almost every major nation's intelligence service knew this island's location, any military action against it would bring major political fallout. Drakken's defenses could repel anything short of military action or infiltration. As a result, Drakken could execute his various schemes, knowing that he wouldn't face a major assault."
"Okay, I think I get it," Ron jumped in. "Is that why Dementer always sets up his laboratories along Switzerland's border with another nation?"
"Exactly," Dr. Director nodded. "The same holds true for Killigan and the Seniors. They position themselves where major military action is politically risky, and construct sufficient defenses to repel law enforcement."
"But Drakken's latest scheme changed this?" Kim asked.
"Completely," commented Dr. Director. "Drakken unleashed a violent, worldwide attack. Monday, the various Caribbean nations let the U.S. State Department know that they wouldn't protest military action against a certain island. About four hours ago a U.S. Marine Corp Expeditionary Force, backed by an U.S. Navy Task Force, visited the island. The handful of cronies left there surrendered without a shot fired. Right now, military and NSA experts are going over the place with a fine tooth comb." The thin woman looked at her watch. "The various press services will learn about this in about two hours. I am certain that within hours of the press release, numerous nations will come to understandings. Shortly after these understandings are reached, powerful military units will approach Dementor's lair, and Killigan's and the Senior's islands."
Dr. Director took a deep breath before continuing. "Neither Dementer or Killigan are idiots. I suspect that they're both making tracks to hidden refuges right now. The Seniors will probably come to some understanding with the combined French, Spanish and Italian force that will visit their island."
"That explains the international types," Ron chimed in. "But what about single nation guys like Aviarius or The Mathter? How do they keep from getting squashed and will this have any effect on them?"
"Good catch," Dr. Director complimented him. "The U.S. constitution doesn't allow the military to perform law enforcement functions. Both of the villains you mentioned walk a fine line, making sure that they remain criminals instead of invaders. The U.S. has been content to leave them to Team Go. However, both Congressional bodies are currently in emergency sessions. Within two days they will pass legislation authorizing the U.S. Military to engage these villains, with per-instance Congressional approval." She looked at Mr. Barkin and the three teens. "Within two weeks, those two will be driven out of their established lairs and into hiding."
"This is all very impressive, ma'am, but how does that affect these teens and this school?" Mr. Barkin asked.
"Two implications, Vice Principal," Dr. Director explained. "First, there's a chance that either one of these villains, one of their agents, or one of Drakken's remaining agents may attempt to attack Possible or perhaps Stoppable. I doubt this, as Drakken's agents will be more interested in fleeing and the other's will be blaming Drakken."
"The second implication," she continued. "Is that those villains who don't rely on established lairs, or aren't out for world conquest, such as Fisk, Motor Ed or Adrena Lynn, might become emboldened. With these major villains out of the way, one of these minor villains might become more ambitious and might strike Team Possible for the notoriety." Dr. Director offered a small smile. "I doubt it, as such an attack would only bring on public rage, but these criminals aren't always rational."
"So I'm not the only one to notice." Kim commented.
Doctor Director smiled again while Mr. Barkin asked, "What actions do you suggest the school take?"
"Simply make sure that everyone is following your security procedures." Dr. Director suggested. "Keep an eye out for strangers on school grounds and make sure that your systems are in good working order."
"All over it ma'am," the big man responded. "I've personally reviewed our security procedures and a local business in donating a free lock down system. The contractors are already installing it. By next weekend, we'll be able to lock down the entire school with the touch of a button."
"Excellent," Dr. Director approved. "I hope that these precautions are not needed. Team Possible, you deserve to enjoy your make-up prom."
Again, thanks to all of you who have read this story. Another thanks to those of you who have left reviews or emailed me with comments or suggestions.
Special thanks to Joe Stoppinghem for beta reading and smoothing over my poor grasp of grammer.
daccu65
