Thank you to Boris Yeltsin, nw150, Eddy13, campy, CajunBear73, Bobtrumpet, MBedbed, F86Sabre53, starfiction123, Molloy, Jimmy1201, airauralintensity, Quathis, and Anonymoose for reviewing.
My thanks to campy and Molloy for looking over this chapter.
KP © Disney; Original Characters © the Author
Recommendation: Molloy has returned to the KP fan fiction scene with a new story that I highly recommend. It's called "The Great Blue" and it's a great KP tale with some characters from some other series, used to great effect. It's also under reviewed and I encourage you all to remedy that with some well-deserved praise.
Some of you may remember Akinyi, who used to post on this website. Akinyi's stories have been mysteriously removed from the site though Akinyi's account remains. If any you of have saved Akinyi's stories, please send a PM and we can help a fellow author get back on the site.
Chapter 45: Must See TV, Monkey Style
I.
The breaking story of Ron's "stepping up" dominated the airwaves and internet, swamping the fake news about Kim and her supposed fling with Troy Bell. Every station, every network, every web site, and every newsfeed led with the video of Kim Possible's supposed comic relief taking down Warhok and Warmonga, monkey style. The footage was drawing a huge viewership on multiple platforms. Images of Ron stepping up were everywhere.
Kim worried at first that her BF would get big heady from the attention but was relieved when she saw that wasn't the case. She didn't realized that his past brushes with fame had one critical difference from this one: unlike those of the past, Ron now had the approbation of the one person whose opinion truly mattered to him, his life long best friend, now girlfriend. With her approval and affection, Ron was able to keep things in perspective
Still, the auburn haired-college student did have reason to be concerned about her significant other's state of mind: while not gooning on fame, Ron was looking frazzled. He had been upset from the moment the story broke to the present moment, when the two sat in the Green Room adjacent to Paula Pandowdy's studio, awaiting their appearance on the latter's show.
"You okay?" Kim asked as she took her BFBF's hand.
Ron sighed. "I dunno," he replied. "Ya know, there was a time when I would have been Chauncey with all the attention, but now…"
"We'll deal," she said reassuringly, pleased to know that even though her BFBF was rattled, he was still displaying a level of maturity that hadn't existed in the past. He really was growing up. And she realized, so was she. Ron may have become less prone to succumbing to a swelled ego, but she was becoming more patient. Kim offered Ron a reassuring smile. "Both of us. Together."
The two shared a quiet moment. Then he said, "Thanks for having my back, KP."
"Always," she said. "Don't forget: we're a pretty spankin' team."
"Yeah," he agreed.
A production assistant popped his head into the room. "Ms. Possible, Mr. Stoppable, if you'll come with me, please," the young man said. "Paula's ready for you."
II.
Paula Pandowdy had reason to beam, as she had the hottest story joining her live on her set. There was a reason she was the Queen of Daytime Television and it was her ability to land interviews like the one that she was about to perform. "I'm so pleased to introduce our next guests, teen, well college-aged heroes, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable!"
The two walked through the stage curtain, holding hands, to the sound of lusty applause. Kim smiled confidently, accustomed to the attention from years of media appearances. Ron, however, still had the jitters. Unlike his junior year appearance on American Starmaker, he now had time to contemplate all that could go wrong; then he just went on stage without really thinking and sang. Now, he found himself wondering how badly Kim would hurt him if he started to rap.
And there was always the possibility that his plummeting pants problem would make itself known.
As if sensing he was about to stray onto a dangerous or at least weird path, Kim squeezed Ron's hand, and whispered, "It's so not the drama. You're wearing the half-a-versary belt, right?"
Ron grinned sheepishly and calmed down.
"Welcome you two," Paula gushed as she rose, and indicated that Kim and Ron should sit on the couch next to her chair. "I am so grateful you were able to come in today! I know how busy you college students can be."
"Thanks, Paula," Kim replied. "We're glad to be here. Right, Ron?"
"Yeah. Real good. We're Chauncey," he answered before pausing and frowning. "Though Dean Barkin is probably going to give me extra work for missing class."
"I hope being here isn't creating any trouble for you," the daytime host said.
Kim made sure to slide up next to Ron, and then she snaked her arm through his. "It's no big. We're used to juggling things, Paula, it's part of saving the world."
III.
Reeve Barkin, along with millions of others, was watching The Paula Pandowdy Show. However, unlike the Queen of Daytime Television's other viewers, the educator had little interest in the revelations about Ron Stoppable – he'd been treated to his own personal demonstration of the boy's abilities in his office, after all. Rather, he just wanted to make sure that Possible and Stoppable were actually on the show and not goofing off somewhere; he'd been a college student himself and knew what mischief they were capable of.
He grinned when Ron made his comment about class and extra work. "Excellent idea, Stoppable," he said before he began to write up a new assignment for Ron.
IV.
"I know our audience is interested in the latest news about Ron and the aliens, but, first, Kim, I want your take on the stories about you and Troy Bell, the Senator's son. What's the truth?"
"I'm with Ron, I don't and never had a thing for Troy, and I so wish he and his dad would go away," she answered. "And, before you ask, I don't drink."
"Well, KP, you did have a glass of wine at the Stoppable family Seder last year…"
"Not helping," Kim said as she pulled a face. "Besides, that so wasn't wine. It was more like the Eleventh Plague: totally gorchy"
"Uh, yeah," he said rubbing the back of his neck, "you got me there."
"And I've got you here," she said grabbing his hand and smiling. "And don't you forget it, Buster."
Paula smiled indulgently at her two guests then coughed to get their attention. "Thanks, Kim. Now, Ron, we've all seen the video of you battling the aliens. Just what happened out there?"
"Drakken, Shego, KP and I were all fighting those dudes, but at some point Dr. D went off to do something, Warhok and Warmonga took out Shego, and I got cocky, and then KP was down for the count."
"What do you mean by 'I got cocky'?"
"Warhok called us children and I didn't like him dissing us. We were graduating, you know?"
"Go on," Paula encouraged him.
"Anyway, I charged him, he backhanded me, I was knocked into KP, and, well, you know how things went down."
"But how did you know you would be able to do what you did? That was pretty remarkable."
Kim interjected, "There are some things we'd prefer not to discuss, at least not now."
"KP?" Ron spluttered.
"Time and place, Ron," she said in a tone that brooked no disagreement. She felt it was one thing for the public to know about her boyfriend's abilities, it was another to reveal the existence of a still-secret ninja school.
"Excuse me, Kim. The public has a right to know," Paula countered.
"No, the public has a right to ask," Kim replied. "We're not public officials. Just because we help, doesn't mean you have a right to know everything, that is, unless you want the bad guys to know everything, too."
Paula sat pensively, and then nodded. "Okay, I see where you're coming from, but just because I do doesn't mean everyone else in the Fourth Estate will."
"Yeah, what's with that, anyway?" Ron asked, sending the conversation in a wholly new direction. "Are there really three others? Where are they? How–"
"French history, Ron," Kim interjected and then rolled her eyes. "I'll give you the 411 later."
"Gotcha, Kimbo."
"Back to the showdown, then," Paula said as the now famous video began to play again on the large in-screen monitor. "This is incredible."
The studio audience oohed and aahed as Ron exchanged blows with Warhok and Warmonga. Then they fell silent as the image shifted, the sky turned red, and Ron began to levitate. Surrounded by a shimmering simian aura, he came back to earth and quickly disposed of the aliens, hurling them into their plummeting ship.
Paula looked from the monitor to Ron, who then gulped. "Did you know they'd hit their ship?"
"No, I, us, just wanted to get them away from KP," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "I didn't mean to croak them..."
V.
As Ron was explaining himself to Paula Pandowdy, millions of people across the nation, and indeed around the world, were watching, including one son of Mitteleuropa and his hapless brother-in-law, who were taking a break from their work at the Greenwich Village location of Der Strudelworks. The Teutonic villain had discovered that lower Manhattan with all of its construction projects was a fine place to conceal a lair, not to mention a great place to locate a bakery operation that needed lots of people with disposable income if it was to succeed. Professor Dementor was pleased: he was having his evil cake and eating it, too.
"So, Myron, ze sidekick und ze so-called boyfriend to mein enemy Kim Possible 'didn't mean to croak zem'. Bah!"
"Well, BIL—" his gangly relation-by-marriage said.
"Ach! Not vith zis BIL again!" Dementor shouted.
"But BIL, look I just want us to be closer. You know I support you in wanting to beat that mean girl and her dorky sidekick, though the scrawny guy did have some awesome moves and maybe he does look like he belong with her."
"MYRON!" Dementor bellowed.
"B-but he glowed! And levitated! Like a, um, hero …" Myron stammered.
"Hah! Vell, if there is croaking to be done then it vill be I who croaks ze two so-called heroes!" shouted the short, behelmeted figure who was suddenly holding a red flashlight beneath his chin. "Zen ze vorld vill finally bow to ze uber genius of Professor Dementor!" As if to make a point, he stood up and struck a pose. "Loyal Henchmen! To me! Ve vill end ze nuisance of ze so-called teen hero ONCE UND FOR ALL!"
To Be Continue …
