I've written this very short piece in response to a posting on the discussion forum. I wanted to take a different take on StD. In most of the stories, we have Super Ron saving the day with his Magical Monkey Mojo when shallow Kim cruelly rejects his call for aid. What I wanted to examine was what would happen if NEITHER Ron nor Kim came to the rescue. Instead someone else had to. What would the effects be? While I think this part does work alone as an independent short, I will most likely add to it as time permits. Right now, I'm working on another Kim Possible story on Ao3 and am revising my Mockingbird-Possible crossover and have a couple of other stories I'm working on, so this is one of those stories I'll get to as I can get to it based on reader response. As to the title, the Dequello is a cavalry bugle call Moorish in origin taken first by the Spanish and then the Mexicans. It means "throat-slit" essentially it's played when quarter is to be neither given nor received. If you've never heard the tune, you can find it on YouTube. It's a very haunting and beautiful melody.
Deguello
"Oh God…Oh God…Oh God…" Ron gasped, his heart racing as he barely managed to start his scooter just as the Drakken controlled Diablo toys began climbing on it. Barely able to keep ahead of the evil mechanical toys, Ron looked over his shoulder, his eyes widening in fear as he saw the burly form of Drakken's assistant, Lars, closing in on him. As Rufus pushed away the few toys that had boarded his scooter, the young blond teen breathed a sigh of relief as Drakken's stooge collided with a billboard sign.
Catching a momentary break, Ron took out his Kimmunicator and hit the speed dial. "Kim will come, old buddy." The sidekick said, but without the confidence that he usually possessed where his friend was concerned, "She wouldn't let us down."
If there was a heaven on earth, Kim Possible was convinced she was there. She was dancing at her junior prom in her beautiful prom dress with a handsome, charming, intelligent boy. No sitches, no supervillains, no crises. This was her night and she was enjoying every second of it.
Then, her Kimmunicator beeped. "I'll be back in minute, Erik." Kim said as she gently touched her date on the back of his hand. Leaving the dance floor, she made her way to the table where her friend Monique was sitting. Her Kimmunicator still beeping, Kim was just about to answer it until halted by her friend's words.
"Just let it go to voicemail, bestie." Monique said with a smile.
"But what if it's important?" Kim replied, uncomfortable at the thought of potentially missing an important call from either Wade or Ron.
"More important than…" Monique paused for a moment and looked up, "Hi, Eric!"
"Anything wrong?" Erik inquired as he brought an extra glass of punch for his date.
As her Kimmunicator beeped again, Erik said in a soothing voice, "I think Wade will understand."
"Yeah." Kim smiled as she gazed into the eyes of your date as she turned off her Kimmunicator. "It'll keep 'til tomorrow."
Hearing the recorded message of Kim's voice mail, Ron turned off his Kimmunicator. Lowering his head, he confessed to his little rodent companion, "Rufus…Kim's not coming. Not this time. And we can't do it alone. We can't take on Drakken, Shego, Lars, those Diablo robots, and whatever else they have waiting for us. It's over. Drakken's finally won. Let's go home."
"Awwww…" The little rodent sobbed as he tried to comfort his human companion.
"It's time, Shego." Drakken gloated as he activated the control signal. "The world will soon be forced to kneel at my feet or risk annihilation. Even now, my pretties are in position. And…" His lips turned up in an evil grin as he saw his synthdrone kissing his most hated nemesis on the dance floor, "The icing on the cake will be the total humiliation of Kim Possible!"
"I don't believe it." Shego grinned as she saw the images of Kim dancing with Drakken's puppet. "Your plan might actually work, Dr. D."
As the control signal pulsed, the Diablo toys did indeed activate. The Pentagon, United Nations, Tokyo, Go City, all attacked by the rampaging monsters, now no longer toy sized but rather increased in height to ten feet or higher. The world militaries were quick to respond. Artillery strikes, air to surface missiles, concentrated fire all whittled down the number of the Diablos, but quantity is its own form of quality as for every Diablo that went down, two took its place and the collateral damage caused by the use of heavy weapons was high. Civilian casualties began to mount…hundreds…thousands…tens of thousands until the President, his options limited, came to a decision.
Addressing his cabinet, the President took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking. "Before I say anything else, I will say right now that surrender is not an option. Is it not on the plate and will never be considered. Now that that is out of the way, I am authorizing the Operation Deguello. General Greer, are your teams ready?"
"Yes, Sir." The army general, a burly man with russet colored hair who had fought in countless combat operations all over the globe, responded with a curt nod of his head.
"Good." You are authorized to proceed
"General Stevens? Are your units in position?"
"Yes, Sir." The Air Force general, a slender man with blond hair greying at the temples, responded. "We have one F-117 with two EMP missiles, Predator drones with Hellfire missiles, and a B-2 on station with a tactical nuclear bomb.
"Very good." Good luck and Godspeed.
"Team Alpha in position." An army sniper and his spotter reported from their place of concealment. "Target acquired." The sniper reported, his .50 Barrett sniper rifle sighted in on the blue skinned man currently raising his arms in what appeared to be a near hysterical rant.
"Team Bravo in position." Another sniper, armed similarly to the first one, reported, his target a lovely dark-haired woman with green skin and wearing a skin-tight black and green catsuit.
"Tiny Dancer in position." A female voice flying the F-117 reported.
"Big 'Un" in position." The pilot of the B-2 radioed in.
"Psy Ops reports the speakers are active. We're ready when you are."
Colonel Alberto Gonzalez, the grandson of undocumented Mexican immigrants, gave a single nod of the head to the signal technician. "To Dr. Drakken. I am now playing the response of the US government and people."
The loudspeakers and speakers in the Bueno Nacho headquarters, along with all radio and television channels played the same tune. A trumpet solo, low and mournful, yet beautiful rang out through the speakers.
"That's very pretty." Drakken remarked as he heard the music, "Maybe this is there way of honoring me?"
On hearing the first notes of the trumpet, James Possible leaped from his seat, "Ann…Kids…get to the basement shelter—NOW!"
"There's something about that song…" Shego remarked, "Something familiar…but I can't place it."
Hearing the song, Steve Barkin took a deep breath and exhaled. Knowing that there was no shelter where the prom was being held, the teacher decided to give his young charges these final few minutes of happiness.
Amelia Rodriguez, on hearing the trumpet notes, shed a tear as she crossed herself.
As the trumpet solo drew to its conclusion, Shego finally remembered, but too late, "Dr. D.!" She cried out only to see the mad scientist's head explode from the impact of a .50 caliber bullet, splattering bone fragments, blood, and brain and tissue matter all over her face and body. Ducking quickly she felt sheer pain as a bullet round severed her arm. Acting quickly, she cauterized the stump remaining of her arm with hot plasma only to see in horror four contrails coming towards her. "Hell." Then fire, explosions, and dark.
All of Middleton was bathed in a brilliant white light before going completely dark. The Diablos, their control signal destroyed, all collapsed to the ground in heaps. Kim, turning to her date, cried out in shock and horror as he melted into a green goo, some of what was once Erik splattering on to her dress and face.
"Mr. President?" The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported. "Operation Deguello was a complete success. Targets neutralized with minimal civilian casualties. The Tri-City area is currently under martial law. FEMA, the Red Cross, and other emergency services are standing by and we've sent in First Cav to assist in first responder and law enforcement. Until further notice, Middleton is under a dusk to dawn curfew.
"Thank you, General." The President responded. "I want a return to civilian government there as soon as possible. Now…if you'll excuse me ladies and gentlemen, I have a duty to the American people I must perform.
Everyone in Middleton watched or listened to the President's address as helicopters flew overhead and tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and hummers patrolled the streets. Kim Possible, along with her parents, Ron Stoppable, and Betty Director of Global Justice watched the speech on the Possible's television
"This has been a tragic time for us all, but I have faith that the American people—especially those living in the Tri-City area and Middleton in particular who were hit hardest by these events will persevere and triumph. Thanks to the courage and efforts of the men and women of our military, the schemes of an evil man and his accomplice have been thwarted once and for all. Forensic teams have recovered the remains of Andrew Lipsky, also known as Dr. Drakken, and Sheila Goh, also known as Shego in the wreckage of the Bueno Nachos headquarters building they had confiscated as their lair. Our representative to the United Nations Security Council has also introduced a resolution as regards those regarded as supervillains. I have also directed intelligence and special operations branches of the US military to be ready to act against certain individuals and groups to be named later…"
Dr. Director turned to Kim and Ron, both sitting on opposite ends of the Possible couch, the gap between the two teens resembling an ocean more than anything else. "Congress will in all likelihood pass a law that's already being called the Possible Act. The essence of that law is that civilian vigilantism like what Team Possible did is now illegal. Kim…Ron…you are no longer permitted to engage in any of your formal activities."
"But my website?" Kim pleaded her eyes moist with tears, "Does that mean I can't help people anymore?" She sobbed, feeling as if a piece of her soul was being ripped out.
"You can babysit, go odd jobs, rescue cats, volunteer at the hospital, homeless shelters, any number of other activities for people who are really going to need someone to help right now, Kim." The Global Justice director said, "But no more fighting supervillains or any other activity that could be classified as law enforcement. I must also have you both promise that you will not leave the Tri-City area without prior authorization until you have graduated high school or have reached your twenty-first birthday—whichever comes first. If you do not agree to this, then you will be fitted with electronic ankle bracelets that will alert us if you go beyond a certain radius of the Middleton city limits. Regardless of which option you pick, as of now Team Possible is no more. So…which will it be? Your promise or the ankle bracelets?" As if on cue, Will Du entered carrying a black box.
"You've got my promise." Ron stated, "I was going to leave the team anyway…" The blond teen declared, ignoring the look of shocked astonishment on the part of his old friend, "This just makes it easier."
"Kim?" Betty asked.
"I promise." The young redhead, her head bowed low, replied in a soft, low voice.
"If it's any consolation to you…" The Director said, "Your past contributions have not been forgotten. The President has directed me to inform both of you that upon your graduation from high school, a place has been set aside for each of you in the military academy of your choice. You will also receive preferential treatment for civil service positions following your graduation from college or completion of your military obligation. Also, should you not wish to enter one of the academies, a rather generous scholarship fund has been set aside for each of you for the college or university of your choice. Make no mistake about it…you're both heroes…"
"I don't feel much like a hero right now." Kim sobbed as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I've never been a hero in the first place." Ron declared in a soft voice. "Kim was always the hero. I was just the sidekick…an anchor around her neck."
"Ron…" Kim looked up, shaking her head as tears flowed down her cheeks, "You were always there for me. I could never have…"
"Yes you could, Kim." Ron interrupted. "You're a Possible. You can do anything. I'm a Stoppable. If I weren't there, you'd have found a way to win. Me…I'm a klutz who can't even his pants up. You don't have to worry about me playing hero anymore, Doctor Director. Now…if it's all right…I'd like to go home. I'm tired and I'm sure my parents are worried about me.
"Of course, Mr. Stoppable." Betty replied. "Agent Du will give you a ride home."
"Ron?" Kim called out as her old friend opened the front door to leave, "We'll talk tomorrow…okay?"
"Yeah." Ron tersely replied, "Maybe."