Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or Doctor Who. Disney owns Kim Possible, and Doctor Who is owned by the BBC.
13/02/2021 - I've just done some small re-edits for this chapter, but I intend to do a proper check-over of it and edit larger chunks of this chapter later-on down the line.
But for now, here's more Kim, more Ron, more Doctor... you know the drill! Enjoy!
Time Sitch
A Kim Possible/Doctor Who crossover
Chapter 14
"Run!" Ron shouted.
He pulled Kim by one of her arms, and dragged her away as quickly as possible from the metal-armoured creatures that had been coming towards her. As they started to follow the two teens, another one - who had previously been in pursuit of Ron and Rufus - joined in the chase.
Wet patches from Kim's tears still showed on her cheeks, but she hadn't been given the chance to be left to mourn the death of her family. She couldn't have cared less if she had been left to be killed by one of those monsters; at least it would have stopped her suffering.
After a couple of seconds, Kim managed to keep pace with Ron, who was having to force-drag her, causing Kim to stumble every few steps or so. As soon as she got up to speed, Kim let go off Ron's hand and ran alongside him. The three alien-like foot soldiers weren't slacking themselves; they easily kept up behind the two teenage heroes.
Rufus peaked his head out of the back of Ron's mission top, and looked behind the blonde-haired teenager. When he saw the creatures still chasing after them, the naked mole rat cried with a loud squeal, before quickly hiding back inside Ron's top.
Ron and Kim were heading for the more packed blocks of buildings in Middleton, where there were more side streets and a lot of alleyways. They started to twist and turn through different passages. Although the armoured creatures were still in pursuit, the two teenagers knew this city inside-out, which gave them a slight advantage.
As they got further into the maze of paths between all the buildings, an alleyway presented itself the opportunity for the two teenaged-heroes to lose the creatures' scent on them.
"Quick, down here", Ron directed to Kim. They ran into the hidden alleyway, and pushed as flat as they could against the wall. A moment later, the creatures turned round the previous corner that Kim and Ron had also just been past; but instead of following the teens, they didn't notice the alleyway and continued along the path they were currently on.
Ron - who was closest to the alleyway exit - kept as quiet as he could for a few moments. He then checked both ways of the side-path the alleyway led to; Rufus did the same, realising they had just escaped from the three greenish-coloured figures.
As soon as Ron was sure they had escaped the creatures, he began to say, "Right, we need to figure out our next steps…", as he was turning to Kim. But he stopped talking as soon as he saw the red-haired teen.
Kim's eyes looked somewhat raw from her previous tears. But she wasn't crying anymore. Only anger within her, and it was quite evident to Ron through her expression. Kim just looked at Ron, as if with a death stare. Anger built up within her; Ron saw darkness brew in Kim's eyes, and he wasn't sure if he was just seeing things.
Without any warning, Kim's anger burst out, and she thumped Ron with her fist straight at his stomach. Ron flew straight against the wall and slid to the ground, as Rufus also fell out of his top and ran behind one of the alleyway metal bins.
Kim prepared to strike again, but at the last second, Ron dodged the attack, rolling on his side and beginning to get himself to his feet. He was somewhat winded, but many missions against baddies brought this sort of violence and surprise attacks. But he had a feeling Kim's rage would only get worse, and he would probably be punished for it if he didn't help Kim.
Kim's attacks did seem to get stronger and have more force behind them each time; but they were also wild, giving Ron the chance to dodge each punch as they came his way.
Ron noticed that as much as Kim was angry and was full of hatred, he could also see the pain she was going through. Her swings at him were desperate, and she didn't seem to be clear in what she was doing. Her eyes became more scrunched in emotional pain. This was a girl mixed with anger, anguish, and pain.
Her punches may have been coming in thick and fast, but her other body movements were nowhere near as reactive. Ron capitalised on this, and skirted behind Kim as she tried to get another punch on him. Before she could attack again, Ron grabbed both of Kim's wrist and slammed her against the nearby wall.
Kim struggled ferociously, and Ron held her down with all his might. He quickly started speaking before he lost hold of her. "KP, listen to me", he pleaded. "This isn't like you. I understand the pain you're in…"
"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?!" Kim yelled, the fury still evident in her eyes. "How would you understand?!"
"Maybe I don't and I'm just saying 'the right things'", Ron said. "Or perhaps I understand because I would feel the same way if I were in your place."
Kim continuously heaved in anger, as she slowly stopped struggling against Ron's hold on her. As soon as Ron was sure she wasn't going to attack him, he let go of her wrists, and she let her arms slump downwards.
Tears began to brew in her eyes, as sadness mixed in with her anger. "Then why didn't you leave me?!" she shouted.
Another few moments passed. Kim began to cry, as any hatred she had temporarily for Ron disappeared. She didn't want to hold Ron back and have him wanting to comfort her. She had been stupid for throwing all her rage at him. Kim wanted Ron safe, just as he felt vice versa.
"You should go", she said, the volume in her voice having suddenly dropped. "You could still save your parents…" As Kim said those words, tears streamed down her cheeks, and she quickly turned her back on Ron, and cried out against the brick wall. Ron saw that Kim had become a heartbroken person; he had never seen Kim like this in his life.
After another moment of no talk, Ron started saying to Kim, "If what's happening is anything to go by, my parents are probably dead already." Another couple of seconds of silence passed by, with Kim not responding to Ron. "Besides", the blonde-haired teen continued, "to me, this is more than about my own parents. We need to save the whole of Middleton. And who knows if this extends further than where we are!"
Kim's sobbing had begun to subside, which Ron presumed meant she was listening to what he was saying.
"It's hard for me to see you like this, Kim. I'm not gonna lie, I also feel distraught, because how good your folks were to me. Life's full of tough obstacles, but I know you're made of tough stuff. And your parents would have known that."
Kim turned her head part-way to give Ron a sideways glance. She had stopped crying somewhat, but was still sniffing from the result of it.
"Did your parents get a chance to say anything to you…?" Ron asked, hoping it wasn't a bad time to ask such a question. He was terrible at being the comforter instead of the one-being-comforted.
"My mom did tell me to stay strong…" Kim answered slowly, trailing off.
"Exactly", Ron said. "They knew they'd brought up someone who was strong and brave. They trusted you to march on, even in their final moments. You're a better person than I am. I would have crawled away where no one could find me, swallow myself up, and… well…"
Kim turned fully to Ron. "That's not the Ron I know", she stated, now starting to sound more poised. "I've needed you to balance my life out and keep me grounded. I can't do the missions without you."
"Well perhaps it works both ways", Ron said. "You're a great friend, KP. But it's not just me that needs you. So does the whole world."
"Ron…" Kim said, about to counter her best friend's last statement.
"The world needs Team Possible", Ron declared. He then smiled at Kim. "Way ahead of ya."
For the first time since they arrived into this current 'reality' of their world, Kim smiled. She placed a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Thank you", she said gratefully.
The two embraced, giving each other a hug that only the closest of friends of many years could give and appreciate.
After that prolonged moment, they stepped back, and noticed Rufus on the ground. He had come out from behind the bin when the tensions had died down, with Kim and Ron's friendship as strong as ever. Knowing this, Rufus gave a cheeky smile to them both.
"You ready?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Always", replied Kim. "We need to get some answers."
"We need all the answers", Ron said.
"Where do we start?" Kim asked.
Ron thought for a moment, and then responded, "The Doctor… I think we need a talk with him."
Nothing else needed to be said. Ron knew Kim would agree with him. With that objective in mind, Rufus jumped into Ron's pants pocket, and they all exited from the alleyway.
It took a moment for the Doctor to adjust to the light, having previously been stuck in almost complete blackness. But once his eyes had adjusted, he noticed the carnage that surrounded him.
The Doctor was already standing, presumably from when he had stood up after his conversation with his green-skinned friend. The Time Lord saw buildings that had been damaged, vehicles destroyed, and dead bodies scattered on the streets of the city centre he was in.
The Doctor's heart sank for a moment at the sight of death everywhere. If he hadn't had the conversation with Yoda, the Doctor would have either lamented and got close to giving up, or reacted in blind rage. But the Doctor was more clear-headed now. He knew he needed to think one-step ahead of the enemy. The Doctor presumed Missy was behind this, but she surely couldn't have caused this much destruction to Middleton all by herself.
And then the Doctor noticed in the far distance; armoured, threatening figures patrolling the pavements of the city centre. They hadn't noticed him yet, and so the Doctor quickly decided his next course of action.
"First things first; I need to find Kim and Ron", the Doctor said to himself. If the two teenagers were anywhere in the city, he suspected they would be where the action was, but also outside - or at least getting away from - Middleton's city centre.
The Doctor decided to go towards the side of the city where Drakken's lair would be based. He suspected that Kim and Ron would want answers, just like the Doctor wanted to find out the what's and why's of this reality. The Doctor sprinted away, vaulting over fallen chunks of buildings and street objects.
Kim and Ron exited the last of the alleyways, and ran down the last main street that led to the city centre's exit. They were now very much in the open and visible to the creatures in the area. They weren't protected anymore by the buildings they had previously been in-between.
"Maybe if we went towards where Drakken's base is, we might find the Doctor there or on the way", Kim stated.
"Good idea", Ron said. "And the three psychopaths… actually, come to think of it, I don't really want to see the baddies."
"One step at a time", Kim said grimly.
Before they could go in the direction of Drakken's lair, four of the scaly-skinned creatures appeared from one of the buildings and spotted the teen duo. Without any hesitations, the creatures unholstered their weapons and began to approach the heroes.
"We need to pick up the pace…" Kim began saying.
"I'll be the distraction", Ron interrupted, with all seriousness shown on his face. "You find a way to sneak-attack them."
Kim reacted in shock, her eyes widening at Ron's plan. "Ron, no! You're going to get yourself…" But before she could finish her plea, Ron was already gone, about to face the bloodthirsty killers.
Fear and worry filled Kim's whole body, seeing her friend putting his life at risk. But she also knew it wouldn't help if she didn't act now to Ron's instructions.
The armoured alien-like figures now had their complete attention on Ron only. Kim took the opportunity to duck behind the rubble and cars lying about, and then used the cover to sneak to one of the buildings nearby.
When she had entered the building, Kim immediately went straight for the stairs, and sprinted up two floors, to gain height advantage. As soon as she reached the second floor, she went to one of the windows that was completely broken, and leaned slightly over the edge of it to see the scene below.
"Hey, you guys", Ron shouted to the alien-looking creatures, waving his hands in the air. "Bet you're not quick enough to catch me."
Preparing their weapons, the four armoured-creatures began to sprint towards the blonde-haired teenager.
"Oh, I guess they are", Ron said to himself, and began to lead the foot soldiers alongside the building Kim was in.
As soon as they were in range, Kim leapt from the window she had been watching from, and prepared herself to take out some of the armoured figures.
Because of the creatures being taller than the average human, Kim caught one of the creatures' heads before she landed on the ground. She pushed its head with full force, as she high-kicked another one of the creatures to the other side of her with her heel.
Both creatures crashed to the floor, becoming unconscious, while Kim flipped in the air from the momentum of pushing down one of them to the ground. She landed on her feet, and paused in a crouching position.
Another one of the alien-like warriors - who was holding a spear-like melee weapon - was approaching Kim. The red-haired teen got up from the floor, and managed to just about dodge the swift attacks from the creature. When it lost its balance for a very short moment, Kim grabbed the creature's head and battered it against her knee. The armoured-creature crumpled to the floor.
Kim remembered there had been four of them, which meant she still needed to take one more down. But as she spun around, Kim saw the last creature aiming their gun at her. Kim was too late to react.
Out of nowhere, the last creature was whacked in the back of the head by the butt of one of the other unconscious creature's guns. As the last of the four green-scaly creatures fell to the ground, Kim saw Ron holding that particular gun in both hands.
"You were going to say something about me being in danger?" Ron said light-heartedly.
Kim would have hugged and thanked him again, if it weren't for noticing more of the armoured-creatures approaching from the left corner of her eye. "Run, before they get closer to us", Kim alerted Ron, pointing out the creatures advancing towards them.
They ran towards the border of the city centre, where the number of high-rising buildings and flats decreased and were spaced out more. The creatures behind them were chasing them rapidly, but Kim and Ron knew they would be able to just about outrun them, having had the experience of escaping in all of their past missions.
What they hadn't counted on was the creatures starting to take control of the rest of Middleton. More armoured-creatures – from outside the city centre – began to block Kim and Ron's escape route, leaving no room for any other exits.
Kim and Ron skidded to a halt, and saw no other way out. There were at least 40 or 50-plus of the blood-thirsty alien-like soldiers surrounding them, which was too many for them to fight on their own.
Ron could feel Rufus trembling on his shoulders in fear. Ron, accepting their fate, stroked Rufus and said to him, "Stay hidden, old pal, and don't come out. You'll be safe." Partly truthful, but mostly a lie, Ron thought that perhaps Rufus wouldn't be noticed, even if the teen duo were annihilated.
As Rufus hid inside Ron's pants pocket, Kim and Ron glanced a solemn final look at each other, sharing a sad smile between them. At least they felt good about their friendship staying strong at the end. Even in that moment, neither of them regretted going on daring escapades, sharing adventures together with the goal of trying to make Earth a better place.
They stood back-to-back, preparing for a final showdown against the enemy, getting ready to take down as many of the creatures as they could before being cut down…
Suddenly, a familiar voice shouted over the top of the creatures blocking the city centre exit. "I applaud both of you, Kim and Ron; but today doesn't need any unnecessary sacrifices… I suggest you cover your ears."
Without any questioning, Kim, Ron, and Rufus (who had popped his head out of Ron's pants pocket at the sound of the voice) quickly placed their hands over their ears. After a second, a piercing sonic screech was heard, catching the armoured alien-looking soldiers off-guard. The creatures crumbled to their knees, crying out and screaming in discomfort and pain. The high-pitched sonic sound still hurt each of the young vigilantes' ears, but they had enough concentration to look up and see the person ahead of them.
There was the Doctor. Standing with the look of full certainty once more; not the man full of fear and sadness the others had seen back in Drakken's lair. He had his sonic screwdriver pointing towards all of the creatures, the source of the deafening sound.
Eventually, the Doctor turned off the sonic sound from his handheld object, and called out to the teen-duo/naked-mole-rat team, "Let's go, before their senses come back and they try to make you their next target practice!"
All three of them uncovered their ears, and saw all the creatures still squirming on the ground in pain. Without any further delay, Kim and Ron ran towards the Doctor, with Rufus safe in Ron's pocket. As soon as they had grouped together, they made a rapid getaway from the scene before the creatures noticed where they were going.
"We need a place to hide-out before we can make our next move", the Doctor said.
"Let yer man lead the way to safety", Ron said boldly, as he went in front of the others.
Kim forgot that even though she knew Ron had the best interests at heart, he could be over-cocky after he had a number of moments of bravery. It didn't matter right now; she was no less thankful, and his 'over-confidence' would disappear soon enough. She and the Doctor continued to follow Ron, as they distanced themselves away from Middleton's city centre.
Ron had brought the Doctor, Kim and Rufus to the Bueno Nacho building in Middleton. The Doctor had remembered that this had been the place where his TARDIS originally landed, at the back of the restaurant. To his annoyance, the Doctor's TARDIS had disappeared from there. He assumed it had something to do with Missy; perhaps she had control over whatever alternate reality of this city/Kim and Ron's Earth was.
The building itself was a little tatty, but nowhere near as damaged or broken down as any of the buildings back in the centre of Middleton. Clearly the place had not been completely ransacked by the new, unidentified creatures yet.
Kim had sat at one of the booth tables, while Ron went to investigate the kitchen to see if there was drinkable water for her. The Doctor was pacing the room, thinking to himself and trying to work out how the city got into this chaos.
Sometimes, although not always the case, the Doctor's brain would work so intensely on one thing - especially on how to solve a problem threatening his and other's lives - that he wouldn't always notice the small things or other people's feelings and emotions.
This was one of those cases. Although not full-on crying like previously, Kim was staring through the nearby window next to the booth, with tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. Having this moment to stop had given Kim time to replay recent events in her mind, including her parents' deaths.
With the Doctor deep in concentration in his thoughts, and without even knowing the fact about Kim's losses, he didn't notice the anguish and suffering she was going through emotionally.
Ron arrived back from the kitchen, unsuccessful in his search for any running water. All water systems seemed to have stopped working at some point, and it probably wasn't just the restaurant that was affected.
Ron saw Kim quietly crying to herself, and then noticed the Doctor being oblivious of her current state. The blond-haired teen's blood boiled initially, boarding on being angry at the Doctor's seemingly lack of care for Kim's emotions.
As Ron started to walk over to him, the Doctor mumbled to himself, "No, that wouldn't work", as he slapped himself numerous times on the head. Ron deduced that he was trying to conjure up a plan or solution to the mess around them, hence his deep concentration 'blinding' him to everything else. But as the Doctor's senses came back to the real world for a second, his eyes glanced over where Kim was sitting, and saw the state the red-haired girl was in.
Immediately, without hesitation, the Doctor walked over to the booth, and sat down opposite to Kim. 'At least he's now noticed', Ron thought to himself.
The Doctor breathed in for a moment, thinking about what to say. He didn't want to presume too much, but he guessed that Kim had lost someone - or some people - close to her. He couldn't believe Kim would be like this over just 'some creatures' invading Middleton and wrecking the place. She was too strong mentally to be taken down that easily. It had to be loved ones she lost; because she was only human, and only a person - one who cared and had a heart - at the end of the day. And the Doctor understood.
"I'm sorry", the Doctor said sincerely. Kim turned her attention from the window, and looked at the Doctor, but not always straight at his eyes.
The Doctor took hold of Kim's hands, and held hers in his own. "I promise, I will stop the madness. I'm going to fix everything."
Kim's expression fell even more. "But isn't it too late?" she asked rhetorically. After another sniffle, she then stated, "There's nothing you can do for me."
The Doctor was now surer that she had definitely lost loved ones, judging by her reactions. The Doctor wanted to tell Kim that she could be wrong, and that he believed that this was some sort of alternate reality created by someone else that could be reversed. Now was certainly not the right time for that however; and no matter whether this was an alternate reality or not, the deaths - for now at least - were just as real.
The Doctor continued to hold Kim's hands, as she continued to cry softly, lowering her head. Ron slid into the space next to Kim, while Rufus jumped out of his mission top to stand on the table.
"I think it's time we had some explanations, Doctor", said Ron sternly. Rufus folded his arms, and sounded in agreement with his owner.
The Doctor let go off Kim's hands and turned his attention to her blond-haired friend. "I know some people are going through this a lot worse than I am right now, but just to point out that it's not been great for me either…"
"We don't need excuses", Ron interrupted. "Kim's lost her family because of some arch-nemesis of yours jumping through reality-things to our world, causing chaos without rhyme or reason."
"Trust me, I would want nothing more than to stop Missy… the Master…" the Doctor said honestly. "And I'm not being patronising in saying that. That is the truth. But what she did was out of my hands."
"Well someone's got to be behind this 'hole-between-realities' thing", Ron said. "I don't buy it that she's not a part of it, and I see it as your responsibility that you should have stopped her."
"I'm not a button that you can just press to solve all problems", the Doctor exclaimed. "Even if she had a part to play, this is too way over her head for her to plan it all."
"Hey, remember you said that you and Missy were called 'Time Lords'?" Ron questioned rhetorically. "Well maybe reality-dimension-things has something to do with that title?!"
"Being a Time Lord is not as simple as having the full power of space, time, and dimensional travel", the Doctor stated. He wanted to be the calm one in the conversation, but it was clear he was slowly getting more annoyed.
"Don't hide anything else from us", Ron said demandingly, raising his voice. "You've done enough of that already."
"I thought it was best to hold back", the Doctor said helplessly. "I didn't want to raise eyebrows or cause an alarm because of something I could have done."
"Well look where that has brought us", Ron retorted. "Because of you, and your lack of action - and control over Missy - there are who-knows-how-many people dead in Middleton. Don't act so 'above-us-all'; blood is on your hands, and you are responsible for what has happened today…"
While they had been conversing to each other, Kim had stopped crying, and had been listening to Ron snapping back at the Doctor every time he had said something. The Doctor was starting to look a bit hurt. Yes, now was the time to for the Doctor to explain everything about himself and what he knew about the current situation. But Kim believed the Doctor at least had all the right intentions. They needed to trust this man completely; something which they hadn't done since he first arrived.
"Ron, that's enough!" she butted in, interrupting Ron mid-way through his tirade. Ron actually jumped from his seat, and looked at Kim in surprise.
"There is absolutely no reason to accuse the Doctor of being the reason for all the deaths that happened today. We were also involved in the events that led to this point." Kim came across as angry to Ron; but she wasn't truly mad at him. He had just saved his life and given a confidence-booster talk to her. She would apologise to Ron later when they weren't next to the Doctor.
Kim turned to the Doctor, giving him a reassuring look. "We should have some time without any other insanity taking place. Why not start from the beginning… How and why you started to 'travel around', how you and Missy knew each other, anything else you think we need to know…"
The Doctor knew he had held back long enough. The time had come to tell his story, and to answer Kim and Ron's questions.
"So, my name is the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord, who is over 900 years old. And I travel though time and space in my ship, called the 'TARDIS'; stopping here, there, and everywhere to help people in need…"