Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible. Kim Possible was created by Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, and is owned by Walt Disney.
Middleton Funeral Home
Sunday, July 27th, 2008
That morning, the entire assembly hall of the Middleton Funeral Home was full to bursting with mourners from all over the Tri-City area. The golden sunlight shining through the tall glass windows at the end of the aisle seemed to mock the distraught atmosphere among the attendants. And who could provoke such sorrow in so many people? The answer was lying in an open casket for all to see. She was dressed in full mourning wear, her flaming, red-orange hair tied up in a bun, and her face with cold, pale skin that seemed to suck all the color out of the room.
A week ago today, the town of Middleton, Colorado had received devastating news. The unthinkable, the unimaginable, the inconceivable, the impossible… had finally happened. Kimberly Ann Possible, the world-famous teenage superspy, had been killed in action during a mission in Argentina.
Nearly everyone from Kim's past had shown up to say their farewells that day, even one or two of her former nemeses. Friend or foe, they were all saddened over the loss of such a brave, young hero.
But there was one person in attendance who was more heartbroken than the others. He sat with his family in the front pew, dressed in black tie, with his short blond hair combed back neatly, which he almost never did. His sullen brown eyes stared longingly at the woman in the casket, his best friend since childhood, his one and only true love.
Ronald Isaac Stoppable had been the last person to speak to Kim Possible before she died. After her first year of college at Middleton University, Kim had returned home for the summer to catch up with her family and friends. One night, Kim and Ron were at Bueno Nacho, talking about Kim's first year at college and how her classes were going, when her Kimmunicator went off. She had been called upon to help stop a cartel in Buenos Aires that was manufacturing a dangerous new street drug called Devil Dust.
The mission had been a success. Most of the raw chemicals in the lab had been destroyed by Kim and Ron, and the rest were seized by the police. However, just before they could celebrate, the cartel leader, Hans Richter, attempted to escape justice in a land rover.
Ron had been standing in front of the exit, and Hans had decided to drive straight over him and make his getaway. But just at the last second, Kim ran straight up to Ron and pushed him out of the way.
What Ron saw next would leave him scarred for the rest of his life.
Only a split second after he was pushed out of the way, he saw Hans run straight over Kim without hesitation, crash through a police barricade and drive off into the wilderness.
Ron's heart tightened up as he recalled his last conversation with Kim…
Ron scrambled across the floor to where his girlfriend lay battered, bruised, and inches from death. "Kim? KIM! SPEAK TO ME! SAY SOMETHING!"
Kim gave a cough and a wheeze through her mangled lungs. "… Ron…"
"Just hold on, Kim! You're gonna be all right! HEY, OFFICER! GET THAT AMBULANCE OVER HERE!"
"No… no, Ron… I'm not going to make it…"
"Kim… why did you do that?"
"Why do you think, silly? Because I love you."
Ron couldn't believe what was happening. He and Kim had been best friends since pre-school. She had made him a better person, boosted his confidence just by being there for him, changed his entire life, and now… Now she was dying.
The paramedics loaded Kim into an ambulance, and Ron climbed in after her. The whole way to the hospital, he held on tightly to her hand, refusing to let go.
"You always… cough, cough …you always think there's gonna be more time."
"I'm so sorry, Kim. I never should have come along on this mission. You would've been fine without me."
"Don't… don't say that. If this is how it ends for me… I'm glad you're here."
"Kim, I love you so much."
"I love you, too…" she groaned. Her breathing grew shallow. "I think this is it, Ron…"
Ron gave a sigh of resignation and clutched her hand as tight as he could. "… It won't be the same without you, Kim. I can feel my world falling apart. I'm nothing without you! The center cannot hold, KP! Please don't go!"
Kim's eyelids began to droop. She looked up at her boyfriend with that warm smile that he always loved. "… So… not… the drama…" she chuckled.
In that moment, she closed her eyes, released her dying breath and shuffled off her mortal coil.
Kim Possible was dead, and part of Ron Stoppable had died with her that day.
Ron emerged from his reflection on Kim's death as he saw people line up to say their goodbyes.
At the front of the line stood the Possible family. There was Dr. James Possible, the famous rocket scientist, and his wife, Dr. Ann Possible, an expert brain surgeon. At their side were their twin sons, Kim's younger brothers, Jim and Tim Possible. Behind them stood Kim's grandmother, her uncle Slim, and his daughter Joss.
Jim and Tim approached the casket, looked inside, and put Kim's prized Pandaroo under her arm.
Ron chuckled at that. She could never get to sleep without that thing. Maybe now her spirit can rest.
"sniffle Hicka-bicka-boo," said Jim in the strange language he and his brother had invented.
"Hoo-shah," said Tim with a strangled sob as he hugged his brother.
The Drs. Possible knelt behind their surviving children and held them in a warm embrace.
"There, there, boys," said Ann with a tremor in her voice. "She's… sob … in a better place now."
Ron sat with his head bowed, mourning the loss of his true love as he overheard the voices of everyone who came to say goodbye.
"Things were… a little awkward when we met," said Felix, "But I always knew your heart was in the right place."
"I've never been good at saying goodbye," said Monique, "So I'll just say… sob… TTYL. RIP, Kim."
"I know we didn't get along in high school," said Bonnie, "But I am so, so sorry that this happened to you."
"You really were all that, Kim Possible," said Dr. Drakken. "You knew it, and deep down, I knew it, too… but I was just too proud to admit it." He plucked a small flower from his organic vine and tucked it behind Kim's ear.
"She was the coolest enemy I've ever had," said Motor Ed. "Seriously."
"Too bad this isn't a Scenario 7," said Larry. "What I wouldn't give for a Potion of Resurrection right now."
"Well, without the Blessing of the Gods, a Potion of Resurrection would be completely useless," said Charlotte, "… obviously."
"Not now, Charlotte. I mean it. Any other time, but not now."
And the day went on from there, with friends and former adversaries saying their goodbyes one by one. Dr. Director, Agent Will Du, Wade Load, Shego, Zita Flores, and so on. After a few hours, Ron saw the last attendant approach the casket.
"Thank you for coming, Officer Downes," said James.
"On behalf of the Middleton Police Department," said Downes, "I would like to present your daughter with this honorary officer's badge. After she thwarted the assault on our precinct a few months ago, it's the least we could do." He produced a badge from his pocket, placed it in Kim's free hand, and saluted her casket. "Thank you for your service."
After Officer Downes walked back to his seat, Ron finally found the courage to stand and approach the casket. He patted his pocket, where his other lifelong friend, a naked mole rat named Rufus, sat comfortably. "Come on, Rufus. Let's go say goodbye to Kim."
As Ron walked up to the casket, he was almost overwhelmed to stand so close to the remains of his true love. When he had known her, she had been spirited, driven, full of life… and now she was gone.
"Kim… the day you walked into my life was the day everything turned around for me. In you, I found a friend, a confidante… a soul mate. I wish I hadn't waited so long to ask you out, and that we had had more time. But I enjoyed every precious moment we shared together, no matter how dangerous, bizarre, or super embarrassing it was. I'm sorry I was such deadweight when Team Possible got started. I'm sorry for all the times I held you back… And I'm sorry I couldn't protect myself when you needed me to.
"I don't know how to sum up the way I'm feeling in just a few minutes. I don't know how any of us will go on without you in our lives. But I do know this… for as long as humanity lives, the world will never see another Kim Possible."
He kissed two of his fingers and pressed them to Kim's cold, dead lips. "I love you, KP. Say goodbye, Rufus."
Rufus shed a tear and waved at the casket. "Bye-bye."
As Ron turned to sit back down next to his family, tears threatening to burst, he saw his adopted baby sister, Hana Stoppable, wrapped up in her mother's arms and reaching out to her brother. Ron saw the look on her face. It was as if she knew he needed some sort of comfort. As young as Hana was, she was very, very perceptive.
Ron sat down and took his baby sister in his arms, hugging her as close as he possibly could. As he rocked his sister back and forth, he heard one of Kim's guilty music pleasures over the intercom: "Without You" by Badfinger.
"Well, I can't forget this evening Well, I can't forget tomorrow I can't live, if living is without you Well, I can't forget this evening I can't live, if living is without you
And your face when you were leaving
But I guess that's just the way the story goes
You always smile, but in your eyes your sorrow shows
Yes, it shows
When I think of all my sorrow
I had you there, but then I let you go
And now it's only fair that I should let you know
What you should know
I can't live, I can't give anymore
I can't live, if living is without you
I can't live, I can't give anymore
And your face when you were leaving
But I guess that's just the way the story goes
You always smile, but in your eyes your sorrow shows
Yes, it shows
I can't live, I can't give anymore
I can't live, if living is without you
I can't live, I can't give anymore
I can't live, if living is without you
I can't live, I can't give anymore
I can't live, if living is without you
I can't live, I can't give anymore
I can't live, if living is without you
I can't live, I can't give anymore
I can't live, if living is without you
I can't live, I can't give anymore
I can't live, if living is without you."
Hana looked up at him with inquisitive eyes. "Big brother feel better now?"
Ron couldn't help but smile at his sister. "Yes, Hana. Big brother feels much better now. Thank you."
Later that day, the pallbearers led the funeral procession to Kim's final resting place, a small plot of land by the First Catholic Church of Middleton. Everyone crowded around the gravesite, wanting to see their hero sent off in a proper fashion. One almost couldn't see the gravesite from any angle for all the people in attendance.
The Possibles made room for the Stoppable family to stand next to them as Kim's casket descended into the ground. Dr. Ann Possible finally lost her composure and sobbed openly over the loss of her little girl. She buried her face in her husband's shoulder to hide her tears.
Ron's eyes lingered to the epitaph on Kim's gravestone. There were no words to describe just what Kim Possible meant to her community, to the entire planet. But hopefully, these words would suffice. In large, freshly chiseled letters, the gravestone read:
Kimberly Ann Possible
She Could Do Anything
April 10th, 1989 – July 20th, 2008.
The closest attendants began to file out of the crowd, allowing others to move closer and see Kim's grave. When the Stoppables were ready to leave for the wake, Ron said he was going to stay longer and he would come home later that night. He handed Rufus off to his dad and his family walked back to the car.
The Possible family, as well as Ron's friends from high school, all came up to him briefly to put a hand on his shoulder and offer the same four words:
"It wasn't your fault."
He kept his mouth shut and his eyes fixed on the gravestone. He expected them to say it wasn't his fault.
But he knew he was responsible.
He was responsible for almost everything that set Kim Possible back. Time and again, he had screwed things up on so many missions that he could've destroyed her reputation. In spite of all the college acceptance letters she'd gotten, she had chosen to attend Middleton University in her own hometown, compromising her own academic and professional prospects just so she could be close to him. And the final indignity she'd suffered had been sacrificing herself to save his life.
How could he not feel responsible for the fact that she was gone?
Ron remained by Kim's grave for several hours while the other attendants came up to say goodbye one last time before going to the wake. In the time it took for everyone to see the grave, a fierce thunderstorm descended on the cemetery. As the attendants rushed back and forth to see the grave before they got out of the rain, Ron stood as still as a statue, quiet as a church mouse, his sad eyes fixed upon the gravestone.
"Kim…"
"… In international news, reports have come flooding in regarding the fugitive cartel leader from Argentina, Hans Richter. The self-purported inventor of the street drug 'Devil Dust', after being rooted out of his stronghold on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, has apparently created a new power base in the Andes Mountains of Peru. Attempts by the local authorities to pinpoint his location have been protracted and fruitless—."
Click.
"… And with that, I'm afraid we've come to the end of our time. In closing, the headline for tomorrow's edition of the Hamlyn O Courant reads, 'Lud's Holm Falls to Virulent Plague'. To all citizens of Wellington Wells, this reporter advises you to take every precaution possible. Mask up, stay away from the shops as long as you can, de-sanitize all surfaces, and follow the curfew. Take it from Jack Worthing… That's me. From all of us at the WWBC—."
Click.
"… The recent civil war in the United African Commonwealth has spiraled out of control. Thousands of refugees have flocked to New York City in droves, bringing their friends, their loved ones, and their devastating personal stories. These are the lucky ones. Hundreds of thousands more back home have tragically lost their lives to one side or the other—."
Click.
Several days had passed since Kim Possible's funeral. Ron sat holed up in his room, lifelessly flipping through channels as the world fell apart around him. His friends had visited repeatedly, offering emotional support. However, in his depression, he had constantly brushed them away. Even his parents and sister could not get through to him.
Without Kim Possible, the world was a much darker place. And Ron Stoppable's life held no meaning.
He was drifting in and out of a news story about Betty Director losing her job for committing countless human rights violations, and the subsequent disbandment of Global Justice, when he heard the doorbell ring.
Through the wall, he heard the muffled voice of his mother. "I'll get it."
A few moments later, his mother knocked on his bedroom door. "Ron? A package came for you, sweetie."
Ron was surprised to hear this, but he said nothing in response, and remained seated in his chair.
"… Okay, well… I'm just gonna leave the package by your door, okay? Okay, love you, Ronnie."
After another hour and a half, Ron finally found the will to stand up and walk to the door. The package was still where his mother had left it. He tore open the packaging and found a videotape and a brand new Kimmunicator.
What? Who sent me these?
Ron's first instinct was to play the videotape. He popped it in his VCR and sat down to watch it.
The image on the screen showed a 17-year-old Kim Possible sitting on the edge of her bed. She was wearing the dress from the night of her junior prom. Off her shoulders hung the jacket from Ron's tuxedo. She looked at the camera with a sad smile, and Ron could see the vortex of emotion behind her eyes.
"Hello, Ron. I suppose you're wondering why you got this in the mail."
I can only assume it's some sort of last will and testament, he thought.
"If you're watching this video," she continued, "then it means I'm dead. Although, it could also mean I'm still alive, and that the courier service I hired got their signals crossed." She chuckled briefly before her face grew serious. "I'm speaking to you on the night of our junior prom. As you may remember, this was a very strange, overwhelming, and revealing night for both of us… but as tired as I am from all the excitement, I have to make a record of what I'm about to say, before I forget it.
"Ron… you were always there for me, whether I needed you or not. I know you must have felt like a burden most of the time, and I probably didn't help the situation by berating you so often. To be perfectly honest, half the reason I was so successful was because you were there to back me up, either as a distraction, or for emotional support, or to act as a gopher when I needed some rare plant to keep me from blinking out of existence… I'm getting off topic.
"And tonight, after you opened your heart to me, I realized… I realized that… you were the one. You accepted me for who I am, you never judged me or… tried to change me… And I'm just super glad you're not a synthodrone. For years, I assumed we were just close friends, but it was always more than that. I was either too blind to see it, or too scared to admit it, but it's the truth. I love you. I've always loved you."
Ron hung his head and began to tear up, wondering why the love of his life would insist on torturing him from beyond the grave like this.
"I made this videotape as part of a contingency. Hopefully, it didn't take too long for you to receive it after I died. But I have a post-humous request. You can look that word up later if you need to."
Ron couldn't help but snicker at that jibe. He knew what "post-humous" meant, but he didn't blame Kim for assuming otherwise.
"I need you to do something very important for me, so listen carefully."
He leaned closer to the TV in anticipation.
"I need you to keep Team Possible going after I'm gone."
"What?" Ron's jaw dropped open. Did she just say what he thought she did?
"To me, Team Possible is more than just a group of kids trying to make the world a better place. It's an idea. An idea that was here before I came and will be here after I'm gone. An idea that will persevere in the hearts and minds of humanity. But someone has to kindle that idea so it doesn't flicker and die.
"I'm not asking you to be the next Kim Possible. All I want is for you to be the best Ron Stoppable you can be. I know you can do it, Ron, or I wouldn't have gone to all this trouble."
Another voice could be heard through Kim's door. "Kimmie-Cub, are you all right in there?"
"I'm fine mom. I just need to take care of something before I go to bed."
"Okay, good night, sweetie. I love you."
"Love you too." She turned back to the camera. "I've always believed in you, Ron. You just need to believe in yourself. Trust your judgment. Get some new team members to help you if it makes you comfortable. But never forget what Team Possible is all about, and never think for one minute that you are anything less than you really are."
Ron couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was being asked to lead Team Possible? No way! But on the other hand, when he heard the words of encouragement, the words of love, that Kim had recorded for him, he found himself strangely invigorated. He had always trusted Kim, and if she had enough faith in him to lead Team Possible… she must have had a good reason.
"I love you, Ron. And I always will. Godspeed." She blew a kiss to the camera and the video cut off.
Beep-beep-BEE-beep!
As if on cue, the Kimmunicator rang out in that all too familiar ditty. Ron could only assume that Wade had bugged his house and had been watching him as he watched the tape, waiting for the right time to call him.
Ron stared at the Kimmunicator as it continued to ring. He thought back to all the horrifying news stories he had just seen on TV. The world needed someone to make things right again. He was no Kim Possible, but he had to do something.
I guess it's up to me, he thought. He accepted the call from Wade and put the Kimmunicator up to his ear with a look of determination.
"… What's the sitch?"
Six months later, near the summit of Mt. Aconcagua…
Ron Stoppable sat in his quarters onboard Team Possible's signature vessel, a fixed-wing, VTOL hovercraft called the TPS Kimberly Ann. In the last six months since he received Kim's videotape, Ron had collaborated with Wade to salvage what was left of Team Possible. He had trained in close quarters combat and the use of military weapons, and also studied military strategy to become a more effective leader. He and Wade had even reached out to their friends to build Team Possible into a paramilitary taskforce.
Ron was reviewing the case files one last time for Team Possible's current target: Hans Richter. His location in the Andes had finally been pinpointed by Wade after months of work. In a matter of minutes, the Kimberly Ann would be directly above the new headquarters of the Richter Cartel.
Team Possible's mission was to assassinate Hans Richter, secure his base, and destroy the chemicals used to make Devil Dust. It had taken months of planning and reconnaissance, and cost Ron hours upon hours of sleep, to get to this point. But it was finally happening. Kim Possible's killer would finally answer for his crimes.
A familiar voice sounded over the intercom. "Ron? Felix here. We are about ten clicks out from our destination."
"Thank you, Felix. Saddle up the troops and have them meet me at the cargo bay. I'll be there in two minutes."
"Roger that. Felix out."
Ron put the case file away, suited up in his combat armor, and went to the cargo bay.
When he arrived, he saw the rest of the crew waiting for him, decked out in combat armor and ready to take on the world. There was Zita Flores, the onsite tech expert, Ned Hicks, the medic, Yori Tanaka, the recon specialist, Monique Wilkins, the grenadier, and Señor Senior, Junior, the heavy weapons expert.
"Ten… HUT!" Ron paced back and forth in front of his soldiers as they snapped to attention. "This is the moment we've trained for during the last six months. We will soon be dropping into the headquarters of the Richter Cartel. You have all read the briefing files, so you know your orders. We will secure the base, assassinate Hans Richter, and destroy the raw materials in his laboratory.
"Understandably, this mission is quite personal for most of us. But we have not accepted this mission for honor, glory, accolades, money, or even vengeance. That is not what Team Possible represents. What we do here today, we do to benefit humanity, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to restore justice to the world when it is needed the most.
"Now, we've run the drills, the training simulations, until our performance was nothing less than perfect. HOWEVER… this is not a controlled environment. This is a real-life scenario. The circumstances are very different. The Sword of Damocles is hanging over us all. But I believe in all of you. I know you can do this. And do you know why? Because you are Middleton's cream of the crop. The best. The brightest. The future of America. You're Team Possible, dammit! … And you can do anything. Am I right, soldiers?"
"SIR, YES, SIR!"
"Now let's get down there and WHOOP SOME ASSES!"
"BOOYAH!" The soldiers pumped their fists in the air.
"Ron. We're coming up on the drop zone. Opening the cargo bay now."
"Excellent job, Felix."
The cargo bay door dropped open, revealing a precipitous drop down to the cartel headquarters.
"Let's move out, troops! GO, GO, GO, GO!"
One by one, Team Possible dove out of the plane and parachuted down to their objective.
Ron watched as his troopers jumped feet first into hell. He could not have been more proud of them all.
It's all for you, KP. With that, he leapt out of the plane and followed in their descent.
Author's closing notes: This is usually the point where the author tries to anticipate the readers' FAQs based on what they just read. To that end, I have several points I would like to make:
1. Why did you write a Kim Possible fanfiction when it's been off the air for 14 years? Well, there are some works of fiction that I can only appreciate in hindsight. And unfortunately, Kim Possible was one of these. I didn't take an interest in this show until recently, but after seeing it on Disney Plus, I was inspired to take a crack at writing a fanfic about it. And I tried the best I could to make it fit with the canon.
2. Is this the first fanfiction you've ever written? No, but it is the first one I've posted online. I may get around to digging up some old fanfics and posting them, but first, I'll have to make sure they're good and ready for the internet. I'm also planning a Frozen fanfic at some point in the future. It's still in the outline phase. Does anyone know any good proofreaders on this site? Because I'll take all the help I can get.
3. Why did you kill off Kim Possible? I was feeling a little depressed when I got the idea for this story. I get the impression that the death of Kim Possible is not a popular idea in the fan community, but I wanted to explore how people would be affected by her death, from her immediate social circle to the international world stage.
4. Why did you pick Badfinger's "Without You"? Well, Badfinger was the band who originally wrote the song. From what I understand, they did not get enough credit for writing it. After that, all these cover versions came along that people really seemed to enjoy. I felt the original "Without You" would be appropriate for Kim's funeral, considering that she is the most important character in the series, the one who should really be the focal point, and yet she's barely in the story.
5. What were those news reports you included in the story? Hans Richter was an original character. I came up with the drug cartel thing myself. However, the second news story was a reference to the video game We Happy Few, and the third news story was a reference to Far Cry 2. Although, in the Far Cry series, UAC does not stand for "United African Commonwealth". I just thought it sounded better than "Unnamed African Country" (Seriously, that's what it stands for).
6. Why is Ned's last name Hicks in this story? Well, I never found any sources that told me what his full name was, and when I saw him working at Bueno Nacho on the show, I got a real Dante Hicks vibe from him. For those of you who don't know, Dante Hicks is the main character in a movie called Clerks. After Clerks was released, ABC adapted the film into a short cartoon series. Not only that, but the lead character designer for Clerks: The Animated Series was Stephen Silver, who was also the lead character designer for—You guessed it—Kim Possible.
7. One more thing: I recommend the "Specter of Death" series by cwesthawk. It may have indirectly influenced my writing more that I would have liked, so I feel it's only fair to give him a shoutout.
And I think that's it. This is Ross The Boss saying, "Go back to your lives. Show's over."