KIM POSSIBLE RIDES AGAIN

CHAPTER 2 - Back in the Saddle

Once they were cleaned up, Kim and Ron made their way to the rendezvous point outside of Autzen Stadium.

"Why so glum, Ron?" Kim asked looking back at her boyfriend moping behind her.

"Oh, it's nothing, KP."

"Are you still sulking because I made you shave your soul patch off?"

"I thought it made me look edgy."

"Yeah, no. Your facial hair isn't thick enough for it to look right."

Ron just gave Kim a morose look.

Kim rubbed his cheek gently. "Tell you what. I'll make you a deal, if you shave, I'll shave."

Ron stood there dumbfounded for a second. "And by shave, you mean …"

**Hey wait up!** a high pitched voice chirped from behind them interrupting Ron.

Kim gave Ron a wicked smile. "There you are, Rufus. Ready to go on one more mission?"

**Uh huh. Uh huh!** the rodent replied as he climbed up Ron and perched on his shoulder.

"Uh, Kim my um … shoelace is loose. Keep walking we'll catch up with ya."

"Alright," Kim said giving the duo a perplexed look.

Ron stopped to 'tie" his shoelace and waited until Kim was a little distance away. "Did you get it?" he discretely asked Rufus.

*Yep!* the mole rat replied, proudly pulling out a black velvet box from the tiny backpack he had been sporting since Middleton.

"That's my boy. Was it expensive?"

*Meh*

"I'll pay you back, you know I'm good for it," he said opening up the box. "What's this?!"

*Ring, duh*

"Well, yeah I can see that but this," he said pointing to the diamond, "doesn't look like five carats."

*No, one*

"That's four carats short."

*This better*

"It's not your girlfriend"

*Not your money!*

Ron just gave his buddy a deadpan look.

*Store didn't have five carats.*

"Fine," Ron said with a huff. "I'll make it work. What do I expect when I send a naked mole rat to do a man's job."

"Are you two finished with that shoelace yet?" Kim shouted from several yards ahead of the duo.

"Uh, yeah almost, KP," Ron said standing back up and jogging over to his girlfriend, while Rufus put the ring back into the backpack. "This isn't over, Rufus."

*Up yers,* the rodent replied with an accompanying rude gesture.

"Problems?"

"Nah, KP, you know how shoelaces can be."

She winked and pointed down to her sandals. "Not really."

"Yeah," Ron said with a nervous laugh. "So where is this jet supposed to pick us up?"

Just as the words came out of Ron's mouth, a rope ladder dropped right in front of them. The trio looked up and saw a black and purple Global Justice jet hovering several stories above them.

"It would appear that they're picking us up here," Kim said grabbing one of the lower rungs. "Looks like we're climbing."

"You'd think with all of this empty parking lot around us Wade could at least land the thing."

Kim just gave a shrug and started climbing up. "Not a clue, but there must be a reason. Besides, it's not like it's the first time we've ever had to climb into an aircrAAAAAAAAAAFFFFFFTTTTT!"

Ron stepped onto the first rung of the ladder when it suddenly began to reel itself swiftly back into the aircraft. The force of which launched the trio into the cargo bay.

Kim stuck a perfect landing after a few flips in the air. "Ha! Still got it!" she crowed.

*THUD!*

"Speak for yourself," Ron groaned from the heap that resulted from Rufus' and his landing.

"Hey guys!" Wade's voice boomed over the intercom as the cargo bay doors shut and the jet began to move. "Make your way into the cockpit and get situated."

Kim and Ron looked at each other and shrugged before making their way to the cockpit where they were greeted by a pair of empty seats and a view of the clouds rushing past them.

"Um, who's flying the plane?" Ron asked.

"That would be me," Wade said appearing on a monitor waving a joystick and sucking down a soda. "Don't worry, I've logged several hours on the flight simulator. Flying via remote is practically like being there for real. Please, sit down in the seats and buckle up."

"Just like old times then huh, Wade? You with your whole mysterious 'never physically present' gimmick."

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for nostalgia."

"Yeah, not so nostalgic for the spring-loaded ladder system," Ron said as he adjusted his clothes from the extraction.

Wade laughed nervously. "Yeah, sorry about that. Normally I would have landed the jet but its landing gear has been a little touchy as of late."

"Great, can't wait to see what happens once we actually reach our destination."

*Um ...* Rufus chirped tugging at Ron's sleeve.

"What?"

*I uh*

"What? Out with it!" Ron asked, still annoyed with his pet's shopping habits.

*I dropped it,* Rufus said.

"Dropped what?"

Rufus gave a nervous glance towards Kim, before making a hand motion simulating putting a ring on his finger.

Ron looked like he was ready to scream, but with Kim sitting less than three feet away he held it in. "You WHAT?!" he asked in a harsh whisper.

*The ladder jerk, yanked the backpack ...*

Ron put his head in his hands and moaned. "Not again."

Kim gently rubbed Ron's back. "Ron, are you okay? You've been acting … erratically since we …" Kim trailed off as she cast a glance at the screen with Wade still on it.

Ron bit his lip and began to turn a few shades redder as the news that Rufus had lost the second engagement ring and Kim's suspicions that something was going on sunk in. "Yeah, KP, I'm fine. Just mission jitters."

"Okay," Kim drawled out. She gave her boyfriend one final skeptical look and took hold of his hand as the plane flew on towards their destination.

A short time later, the jet began to lose altitude and descended into the mountains of Northern California.

"Alright guys, you're almost there."

"Are you sure, Wade?" Kim asked in concern. "All I'm seeing is the mountainside we are heading towards."

"Eh, KP, it's probably some secret entrance that's going to open up just as we're about to crash into the rock face," Ron said nonchalantly.

"Ron, we're not going to some villain's lair. Global Justice would never go with something so cliche and villainish. Right, Wade?"

Wade gave a nervous chuckle. "Actually, Kim. Ron pretty much nailed it."

"Just open it up, Wade," Kim replied with a mild glare at Ron's smug grin. "It's not our first rodeo."

"Fine," Wade sighed in disappointment. With a flick of a button two giant bay doors began to open, exposing the secret base contained within the mountain.

The jet slowed down and the landing gear deployed as the craft closed in on the approach. Kim and Ron watched in awe as the jet slowly hovered into the bay and landed in the center of a large landing pad.

"Well, at least the landing gear worked," Ron said.

The trio exited the jet and found themselves standing inside of a massive hangar with vast, high ceilings and heavy steel plating covering the walls. It was a mix of modern design and military might.

Ron gave a whistle. "Impressive but also unsettlingly empty."

"Yeah," Kim agreed. "Where is everyone?"

"Right here," said a voice from the far corner of the hangar.

Slowly the outline a short stocky figure emerged from the shadows and revealed Wade. Slightly older and slightly larger with the addition of corn rows on his head and some high school stubble on his face, but it was still the same old Wade.

"Sorry about not picking you up in person, but we've been a little ... shorthanded," he said as he greeted the duo with big hugs.

"That's an understatement," Ron said observing the base. "What is this place?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Welcome to Global Justice Headquarters," Wade said in fake exclamation with his arms raised above his head. "Located deep inside the Klamath Mountain Range of Northern California. This is where we base our operations out of now."

"How … quaint?" Kim said uncertainly as she gestured to the unforgiving baroness of the walls.

"Yeah, you like those walls? Twenty-five feet of solid rock with an additional fifteen feet of concrete. This place was built to withstand the impact of a Tsar Bomba-grade blast."

"Sounds a little excessive, don't you think, seeing as the Soviet Union isn't even a thing anymore?" Kim asked.

Ron rubbed his chin. "Yeah, and incredibly stupid as well. Seriously, concrete has less than half the strength of the native rock that this mountain is made of. Now, a good reinforcement grid could help with that, but it seems that if you are going to use all of that metal you might as well keep the bedrock and make a nice thick spalling shield on the inside surface."

Kim and Wade just looked at Ron in astonishment.

"What? I went to college too."

Kim's look moved from shocked to skeptical. "Uh, huh."

"Fine. I saw it on an episode of How to Survive the Apocalypse," Ron said in exasperation.

"A mainstream, quasi-reality TV show went into that kind of detail?" Wade asked.

Ron threw his hands up. "Okay, okay. After I saw it on the show I was interested and went online. I found a post-apocalyptic survival game slash simulation where each player has to build a bunker and see who can survive the longest. There were all sorts of engineers and physicist and other geniuses playing the game and they would talk all of the time about strengths of certain materials and attack effects. Happy now?"

Kim just smiled and patted him on the cheek. "So that was why you were asking dad about atmospheric scrubbers a few months back."

Ron answered with an awkward smile.

"Well, that was random. I missed you guys," Wade said before leading them across the hanger. "On the bright side the facility is kept at a brisk 65 degrees all the time. Which is nice when the occasional wildfire sweeps across the area."

"So ... if this is Global Justice's nerve center, where exactly is Global Justice?" asked Kim. "The last time I was with them I was surrounded by agents, scientists and well, just a lot more people in general."

"You're looking at it," Wade sighed. "After the global economy tanked in 2008, all funding allotted to the Global Justice initiative dried up overnight, forcing it to shutter. All agents were either reassigned back to agencies in their countries of origin or were laid off entirely. The final act was Dr. Director hooking me up with Trepid before she was reassigned to a desk job in DC."

"I see," Kim answered taking in the vast emptiness before her. "You know, speaking of Trepid ..."

"Oh yeah, that's right! You've never met Trep have you?" Wade perked back up.

"No, we've only heard bits here and there. He doesn't seem to be one for publicity."

"Nah, not in the least. Very low profile. Probably a byproduct of being an agent for all of those years. Pretty cool guy, though. We seem to click."

"So, where is Mr. Low Profile?" Ron asked tentatively.

"He's down in another shuttle bay working on Betty. We should probably head down there and introduce everyone and then get you all briefed.

Kim and Ron nodded in agreement and followed Wade.

"Betty?"

Wade winked. "Yeah, you'll see."

After a couple of minutes of walking through a long, dark corridor Ron asked, "This is sort of overkill for just a 2-man operation don't you think?"

"Well, the long term goal is to try to revive Global Justice in some shape or form. Eventually we're hoping to add to the ranks and have a decent spy network established again."

"And the short term?" asked Kim.

"Short term is us. A couple of semi-pros with a few allies holding down the fort until this recession blows over and some form of funding can be acquired. Until then it's ramen noodles and phone cards."

"Ha, just like college life, eh, KP?" Ron asked.

"Huh?" Kim asked as if she was lost in thought, before rushing to answer. "Oh ... yeah, right."

"Yeah, this facility goes pretty deep into the mountains," Wade continued with his commentary. "One day we found a bunch of old dune buggies Global Justice mothballed. Which, we might, from time to time, race through the corridors when business is slow," he said innocently and grinned.

"Badical."

"Yeah, well, we can only do it when we can afford the fuel for it. At least that's one perk of this economic downturn, cheap gas."

"So how bad, exactly, are the financials?" Kim chimed in.

"About the same as when you were doing it. I've got a few revenue streams set up from some gadget patents I sold the rights to, but for the most part we're still a shoestring operation barely above asking for favors to get by. Here we are," Wade said while activating a keypad.

As the large double doors opened the quartet was greeted by the sounds of Junior Kimbrough, whose hypnotic blues music produced an eerie hum as it resonated and echoed through its vast interior.

Wade gestured through the doors. "Ladies first."

As they moved across the bay the sounds of drilling, banging and clicking could be heard coming from underneath a matte black muscle car which was situated in the center of the room.

"Hey, Trep!" Wade shouted.

"What?" Ken grumbled back from under the car.

"Come out from under Betty. Our reinforcements have arrived."

"Alright. Gimme a sec. Just … about … 'chit! Stinking bolt!"

Turning to Kim, Wade said, "Ken's method of stress relief is to work on Betty here."

"OH, COME ON! GET ON THERE YOUR PIECE OF ..."

The beeping of the horn drowned out the rest of Ken's verbal rant.

"Yeah, sounds real therapeutic," Kim replied.

Ron gave Wade a quizzical look. "Did you just say reinforcements?"

"Come on, Ken. Shade tree mechanic time is over," Wade said ignoring Ron's question.

"Fine," Ken huffed as he scooted out from underneath the car and threw aside a wrench in frustration. Standing up he wiped his hands on a rag and grabbed a slice of pizza from a box on the roof of the car. "Seriously, who puts metric bolts on an American car?"

"I'm sure we can look it up later, but for now, I would like for you to meet your predecessors."

Ken flashed a steely-eyed glare towards the group while he finished the pizza slice. "So this is the famous Kim Possible," he said extending a tattooed arm in greeting.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet the person behind all of the stories," Kim replied as she shook his hand.

"Likewise," Ken answered before releasing Kim's hand and turning to Ron. "And this must be Ron … Sssssss ..."

"Stoppable," Wade whispered in his ear.

"Ron Stoppable, the improbable hero of the Lorwardian Invasion."

Ron's expression changed from mild annoyance to shock as Ken finished his statement. "Well, I wouldn't say that it was totally me. I had some help," he said leaning into his girlfriend and shaking Ken's hand.

"Fair enough," Ken said before grabbing another slice out of the pizza box resting on the roof. "Sorry for pulling you two out of your spring break, but we felt it best to bring you in after all of the recent events."

"Recent events?"

Trepid raised an eyebrow and looked to Wade. "You haven't told them yet?"

"Told us what?" Kim asked increasingly worrisome after seeing Wade's facial expression turn sour. "What? What happened?"

The agent pursed his lips before turning his attention to the newcomers in an awkward manner. "Um, perhaps we should go discuss this in a better location. Wade, how about you go take our guests up to the War Room and I'll meet you in there once I clean up."

Kim, Ron, Wade and Rufus made their way down another corridor and into the facility's War Room, a large office area covered with various monitors which showed news feeds from across the world, security camera footage and interfaces which appeared to be tracking various satellites. Situated in the center of the room was a large round meeting table to which Wade ushered his friends.

Kim slid gently into a contoured bucket seat and anxiously tapped her fingers across the surface of the table while her counterpart discovered his chair's ability to spin.

Within a few minutes of the friends sitting down Ken entered the room wearing a pair of green military khakis and a black tank top. His auburn hair was now spiked in a manner which reminded Kim of her brothers and a slight freckle pattern had now appeared from under the black grime streaks across his face.

"Look at you all dressed up for the briefing," Wade commented sarcastically. "You could have at least gotten something with sleeves."

"Yeah, yeah, at least my shirt fits," Ken shot back.

"Aaaand we're back to the fat jokes."

"Um, guys?" Kim asked impatiently.

"Alright, starting from the beginning. I'm Ken Trepid, former L7 Global Justice Agent, currently furloughed and reassigned to Wade here to continue Team Possible following your retirement during your freshman year of college."

"We were called Team Possible?" Ron whispered to Kim who responded with a shrug of uncertainty.

"You'll be happy to note that, in your absence, Wade and I have continued the tradition of keeping the bad guys at bay and making it a little easier for people across the world to sleep at night. However, since your retirement there has been an uptick on the danger scale."

"That's … great," Kim said somewhat unsure. "How much 'uptick' on the danger scale are we talking?"

"Oh you know, disarm a few backpack nukes, stopping terrorists, preventing World War 3. Things like that."

"Oh," she answered slightly overwhelmed.

"You have to remember, Kim, that Ken here was one of Dr. Director's top agents. He dealt with a lot of heavy stuff while he was under her command. So, it was natural that it would follow him here to his new assignment."

"Yeah, the days of rescuing kittens from trees, and rich debutants from their Cuddle Buddy collections are over. We're dealing with a lot more meat and potatoes these days."

"Backpack nukes and terrorists," Ron said with a dismissive wave as he leaned back in his chair. "That 'kitten' that my KP rescued from a tree just happened to be a cougar. Compared to that some little backpack nuke is no big for my girl."

Kim gave Ron a smile. "Thanks for the support Ron, but I'm with Wade and Ken on this. Backpack nukes and terrorists are way more 'uptick' than what we used to do."

"Don't know, KP. Diablos and Lowardians seem pretty upticky to me. And World War 3 would be nothing compared to the horrors of Camp Wannaweep," Ron finished with a shiver.

Kim just shook her head and addressed Ken again, "So, what part of these 'meat and potatoes' happened to bring us back into the fold?"

Trepid moved his glare from Ron and looked at Wade for a signal which he sent back in the form of a simple nod. "Alright, here it goes. Shortly after the Lowardian Invasion, a great debate erupted amongst the world leaders on whether your former adversaries, one Drew Theodore P. Lipsky, a.k.a. Doctor Drakken, and one Sharon Goforth, a.k.a Shego should be praised for their contributions to end the attack or to whether they should be prosecute for their roles in countless plots and crime sprees which spanned for nearly a decade prior."

"That's dumb," said Kim. "If it wasn't for them, we'd all be pets to giant green warfaring aliens and their giant tripods."

"True," Trepid remarked. "Ultimately an agreement was reached that they had earned somewhat of a pardon for their efforts, but to ensure that they remained on the straight and narrow they were mandated to rejoin Shego's family in Team Go. The idea being that her brothers would be able to keep a watchful eye over them to make sure they didn't slip back into a life of villainy."

"Oh yeah, put the people who leave their video monitor feed on so their enemies can listen in on their conversations in charge of them. That makes a ton of sense," Ron said with an eyeroll.

"Not to mention it was being around her brothers that led Shego to break bad in the first place," added Kim.

*Yeah, dumb,* contributed Rufus.

Ken held up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Hey, I wasn't a part of the negotiations, and when it comes to me and Team Go … Well, it's long story. Anyways, they were supposed to have vacated their layer outside of Upperton Bay earlier today and move to Go City. However, their hovercraft never arrived at Go Tower. Concerned that something had happened, a courtesy call was put into local law enforcement to check it out," Ken said grabbing a remote from a compartment in the table and turning on a monitor. "What the responding officers found was this. Brace yourselves."

The trio just calmly took in the images as massive amounts of destruction were displayed on the monitor. Pictures of overturned tables, shattered chambers, broken boxes and a destroyed hovercraft accompanied with a backdrop of smoldering debris.

Kim just shrugged her shoulders. "Looks better than their lairs typically looked after Ron and I visited."

Ron let out a long whistle. "Oh yeah, their lair looked a lot worse after the moodulator incident. And we didn't even see it until a week later."

"You wouldn't call us in for a wrecked lair," Kim said. "So, what happened to Drakken and Shego? Did they renege on the deal?"

"No. Earlier today, we received confirmation that both Drakken and Shego were victims of a devastating and deliberate attack. This was the result of that attack."

"Oh my gosh!" the trio gasped simultaneously.

"What happened to Drakken and Shego?" Kim asked again.

The awkward look Ken had shown in the shuttle bay reemerged as he shifted his eyes back to Wade as if to ask him to deliver the news.

Wade let out a reluctant sigh and stepped forward next to his partner. "Kim, Drakken … he didn't make it."

"You mean?" she nervously asked, hoping to not hear the inevitable answer that was to follow.

Ken took over the news in a manner which suggested that such context was all too familiar with the older agent. "They found him under a massive pile of rubble; crushed. By the look of the impact, it was probably quick."

"I don't believe it," she managed to get out. It was clear that the news of her on-again / off-again archnemesis' demise had hit her hard.

"I've got the autopsy pictures right here in this folder if you prefer to see for yourselves," Ken said pointing to a set of documents on the table. "I wouldn't suggest looking at them on a full stomach though."

"S-shego?"

"We don't know," Wade answered. "After the initial reports were made and the coroner moved out we performed our own investigation. There was no sign of her in the layer or in the surrounding water. We searched an area of several miles with no results. Several burn marks present in the wreckage and walls are from her signature powers so we have reason to believe that she may have been taken after a struggle, and, more importantly, that she fought back."

As Kim continued to stare aimlessly at the images of the destruction, her shocked expression morphed into anger. "Do you know who did this?"

"Yeah, we know exactly who did this," Trepid said activating a holographic image in the center of the table. The projected image showed a hulking grey-skinned beast of a person with long black hair, dark red eyes and pointed ears lined with piercing. "Meet Akuma, the latest walking problem to show up on our radar. He's seven feet, 500 pounds of pure nastiness and he's been eluding us for months. Strands of his hair were found at the scene, positively placing him there."

"What ... who is Akuma?" Ron asked, nervously glancing at the hologram and shifting closer to Kim.

"We don't know much about him, but based on his physical appearance Wade theorizes that he's either a mutant or a Lorwardian holdout from the invasion, maybe both. What we do know is that he started showing up in early 2009 as a mercenary and has zero concern about hiding who he is. Committing crimes in broad daylight without even an attempt to cover up his identity."

"You said he has been eluding you. Does that mean you've been tracking him?"

"Akuma is the primary suspect in a slew of robberies we have been investigating over the past year. We know it's him, but he's in and out so quickly that he's long gone before we're even able to mount a response. Berlin isn't exactly the next town over you know."

"What has he been stealing?"

"Remember back in the day when Drakken intended to destroy the state of Wisconsin by using a laser drill and a magma pump, but instead ended up melting the cheese covered building?" Wade asked.

"Yeah, I remember. That was one of our earlier missions against him."

"Actually, the building was cheese," Ron added, "it's a common misconception Wisconsinites have to deal with."

"Riiight, well what you didn't know was that the drill is actually known as the Deep Venture Project and was a collaboration between seven different scientific corporations and contractors created for energy exploration. It was intended to be used to access fossil fuel deposits deeper into the earth than any conventional drill could and more environmentally friendly than any kind of fracking technology could. However before the initial tests in the Arctic could be completed on it, Drakken stole it and the three of you had, no offense, seriously damaged it by turning it into a giant soufflé.

Kim slumped back into her chair. "Oh … awkward."

"Yeah, but not technically correct. We turned it into more of a fondue. Soufflés require eggs …" Ron trailed off when he noticed the 'not the right time' look Kim was giving him.

"Anyways, don't sweat it. You saved Milwaukee from a meltdown and these labs all basically have villainy insurance nowadays, so they were all made whole plus probably some extra money on the side. Now, fast forward five years later to the oil price debate where market speculators inflated the price to well beyond $100 a barrel and causing hardships on working people around the world. The idea to resurrect the drill project was tossed around and gained traction rather quickly. With the blessing and funding from the Department of Energy and several international counterparts the seven labs began to secretly rebuild the laser drill. Only except this next version would be more powerful and could go deeper than any other man made object could before."

Ron shook his head. "And people say that I'm not bright? Let me guess, it was stolen as well."

"Well, not exactly. For starters it was a logistical nightmare. It took more energy to power it than it produced, and because of that it could only run for several minutes before needing to shut down for maintenance, cooling and recharging. It wasn't as effective as they had hoped. Efforts however were made to try to remedy the power drain issue, but before that happened the global economy collapsed. With the collapse the price of oil cratered and since gas prices were under $2 a gallon, the Energy Department considered the issue resolved and the project was cancelled. The drill was dismantled and the seven labs took back the components which they individually had invested in and worked on, and the idea was never heard from again."

"I know how this goes," Kim leaned in with assumption. "This is where you say 'until something happened' right?"

"Earlier this year, there were several break-ins at various science facilities across the globe."

"And I'm assuming these facilities happened to be the seven with the drill pieces?"

"Precisely," Wade said flipping through more slides. "Laboratoires Fleur Bleue in Montreal, Canada; al Rezal Science Institute in Doha, Qatar; Selanne Labs in Helsinki, Finland; Dynamiq Technologies in Houston, Texas; Sudesh Labs in Delhi, India; and Haksoo Industries in Gagwon, South Korea."

Ken stepped in and continued, "All were hit within the last few months. All break-ins followed the same signature 'smash and dash' technique with Ugly here's mug plastered all over the security feeds. Like I said, he didn't even try to protect his identity. It's almost like he's mocking us with his recklessness."

"I remember when you were checking out the Korean one," Kim said to Wade.

Ron sat staring at his fingers deep in thought. "Hey Wade, I counted six labs this guy has broken into. You said the drill was created by seven."

"That's right," answered Trepid. "It's obvious Akuma's going after the drill components. At first it was hard to determine where he would strike next since the components were literally scattered across the world. However, now that there is just one piece left we can focus our attention on a single location and try to catch the hairy bastard in the act."

"Which, I am guessing, is where we come into this conversation," Kim said.

"Well, yes. We thought between the assault on your cohorts and the location of the final piece that you'd want to be a part of the take down."

"And where is the final component?" asked Ron.

"In the Research and Development department of the Middleton Space Center," Trepid answered.

"My dad's lab?"

"Yeah, we thought this might get a little personal. Akuma hasn't been kind to the scientists and security staff he's come across."

"Well, dad should be safe. He's still 230 miles above earth orbiting us on the space station."

"Yeah, KP, but all of his co-workers have known you for as long as you've been alive. A lot of them are friends of your family. Then there's Frederick. We love Frederick," Ron said referencing the lab's celebrity space chimp.

"Well, if it's any comfort, Akuma's frequently been breaking into these facilities after hours. And we have been in touch with the administrators of the laboratory and they are well aware that a very dangerous individual has his sights on their facility."

"Why would a space center be working with a bunch of energy companies? That seems a little out of place does it not?"

"I know this one!" Ron shouted enthusiastically. "Mr. Dr. P mentioned that they were working on a project that could possibly lead to mining on asteroids. That's why!" he said proudly looking at Wade for confirmation.

"Actually, yeah … Ron's right. There has been a lot of talk about space programs mining celestial bodies for decades. A drill that bores holes with amplified light instead of drill bits that could break would definitely be of interest to the space center. Nice job, Ron."

"Boo and yah."

"Easy there Buzz Lightyear," Kim said with a grin. "So, is there any kind of plan in place?"

"There's been no definite pattern to the break-ins so we aren't able to pinpoint an exact time to expect him to make a move. However, in discussing the threat with the lab we think we may have come up with an idea that we hope could narrow the plot to a specific day."

"And what idea is that?"

Wade picked up the thread. "Well it just so happens that tomorrow the Middleton Space Center will experience a 'major malfunction' in their physical plant, forcing the evacuation of all staff and furloughing all operations for 24 hours while 'inspectors' are brought in to check things out and ensure a worried public that there is no danger."

Kim nodded her head. "To which I'm assuming that the malfunction and evacuation are a ruse for us, the 'inspectors', to set a trap in the guise of a soft target?"

"Exactly," Ken answered. "If we're lucky and broadcast it wide enough, he might see it as a soft target and make his move. We can use the component as bait and attempt to trap him with one of those sticky gel grenades. Maybe after some convincing he might tell us who he's been working for."

"So you think he has an accomplice?" asked Ron, leaning forward in his chair and inspecting Akuma's hologram again with narrowed eyes.

"I'd say it's very likely. Akuma doesn't come across as the type who's into precision instruments and planning. I mean, with his methods of breaking and entering, he could be robbing banks, stores, and depositories. Obviously he's not, so that tells me that someone else is pulling the strings and he's just hired muscle. And whoever this mastermind is has gone through a lot of trouble to get what he or she wants. The problem is that due to my err … 'sidekick' being on spring break, and quite adamant to stay that way, in order to pull this off I'm going to need some help."

Ken motioned to Kim and Ron and continued. "Who better than the 'Girl Who Can Do Anything' and her loving boyfriend who possesses the Mystical Monkey Power?"

"You haven't been reading the headlines lately have you?" Kim scoffed as she tried to comprehend what was being asked of her. "It's been awhile since I donned the old utility belt. I'm known more these days for making an ass of myself."

"Like I said … the girl who can do anything," Trepid said with a wink.

Ron leaned forward even more in his chair and started to say something, but Kim's gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him short.

Ken continued ignoring the pair. "And I'm fairly certain if we pull this off, the whole 'Kimgate '08' period will be an afterthought."

This statement forced the former Team Possible back in their chairs wearing matching expressions of surprise.

"What? You don't think I know about your undergrad antics? We are a spy agency remember?"

Kim blushed but said nothing.

"And, I uh … the whole Mystical Monkey Power? Um, yeaaah … it's not really a thing anymore. I kinda fulfilled my prophecy and it went away," Ron said with a lot of waffling.

Ken crossed his arms and blew some air gently from his mouth up towards his hair in a sign of slight frustration. "Look, I get it. It's been awhile since either of you suited up for something like this. I also get that by being here you're being deprived of a much anticipated vacation, but we frankly don't have any other options."

Ken relaxed his posture and continued. "The fact is that I wouldn't have let Wade call you in if I thought we could handle the situation on our own. Drakken is dead. Shego is missing and presumed dead. And those responsible for them, and the death and injury of several other scientist and security guards across the globe, are going to hit a target that we know with 100% certainty."

"If they acquire that final component," Wade picked up, "who knows what they intend to use it for? Guys, you said yourselves that those two didn't deserve this. Don't we owe it to them to at least try and save her if we're able to?"

Kim sat there for a second, apparently deep in thought about what Ken and Wade were asking of them. Slowly she looked up from her hands and grabbed the autopsy folder which Trepid had laid near her. She removed the photos and winced at the images of mangled bodies strewn through debris, and finally paused on the one of the broken body of the man whom had made it his life's work to end her own, only to find redemption at the end. She quickly closed back the folder and pushed it away from herself.

"Do you honestly think Shego might still be alive?" she finally asked.

"Akuma had to have had a purpose for attacking them. That reason had to have been to grab her. Otherwise, nothing else would make sense. Neither of them have posed a threat for quite some time. So, yes."

Kim continued to stare at the folder. "They didn't deserve this. Even if Drakken had never changed his evil ways … Nobody deserves to meet their end like this."

"Some people do," Trepid muttered.

Ron looked up from Kim and addressed Ken. "Not them though."

"So, does that mean we can count on your help?"

With lips trembling slightly, Kim stood up from her seat. "If this trap works and it gets us to Shego, then we're in," she replied as she placed her hand gently back on Ron's shoulder.

"We are?"

"Yes, Ron. This is what we do. We help people … even when they're people we don't want to help. And this Akuma person is going to find that out first hand!"

"I … guess I'm in too then." a much less confident Ron said, also standing up and joining Kim.

*Bring it!* Rufus chirped from Ron's shoulder, cracking his knuckles.

Ken's face cracked a smirk and he and Wade exchanged nods of acknowledgement.

"Excellent. We leave for Middleton tomorrow. In the meantime you're free to explore the facility and get familiar with everything. In the morning we'll get you prepped prior to deployment. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a 'major malfunction' to phone in."

"Morning?"

"Yes, I fixed up a couple of quarters just above the launch pad for you two for the night," Wade said. "One for each of you. Very comfortable and nothing like a barracks; spy agencies tend to have it a little cushier than the military. We'll have you well-rested and ready before you know it. Until then you're dismissed. There's a modestly-stocked kitchen down the hall, basic cable, a Z-Box, and the dune buggies for entertainment. Any questions?"

Ron turned a frowning glare towards Rufus. "Yeah, any chance of taking the buggies outside?"

Ron and Rufus had resigned to their quarters for the evening. Wade was correct, Global Justice had made efforts to make the living areas for their agents a little more hospitable than the rest of the base with their modern decor and sheet rocked walls. After slipping out of his shirt and pants, he crawled into bed and pulled out a red box from his pants and opened it.

Inside it was yet another engagement ring. This time it was two carats on a white gold band, purchased earlier in the day from a quick dune buggy venture to a jewelry store located in a nearby town. He sighed quietly to himself in disappointment that within a matter of a day he had managed to lose not one but two engagement rings. At least this one was superior to the single carat ring Rufus has purchased on his behalf.

Then there was a light tapping at the door.

"Come in," he said after hiding the ring under his pillow.

The door slid partially open and Kim discretely sliding into the room while rubbing her arms in a slightly awkward manner. "Hey."

"Hey," her boyfriend replied discretely making sure the ring was secured. "Everything okay?"

"I couldn't sleep." She shrugged and continued, "Mind if I join you?"

"Nah," he said opening up his sheets and patting the mattress in a invitation for his girlfriend to join him in bed.

She smiled at the offer, approached the bed, slid under the covers and spooned with her love. The bed was a single but neither of them minded the extra close quarters, especially Ron who gently caressed his hands up and down Kim's bare legs. The touching was well received and Kim responded by cuddling herself deeper into his form. However, he suddenly stiffened up when Kim closed her eyes.

Kim moved out of the spooning and rolled over so she could face Ron. "Ron, what's wrong?"

"Just nervous," Ron said frantically. "You know. Mission jitters."

Kim smiled sadly back. "No, Ron. I know your mission jitters. This isn't that. This is much bigger than that. It was bad after Wade called, but it has been a lot worse since the meeting. And just now. You froze. Please, hon, talk to me."

Ron's eyes shot open for a brief second and then he sighed. "I'm afraid."

"It's more than that though, isn't it? You've always been afraid on missions."

Ron shook his head. "Not like this. At least not before graduation. Everything changed with the Lowardians."

Kim just waited for him to continue.

"They were going to kill you, Kim. Not kill you with an elaborate villain scheme, but rip your spine out and stuff you like a trophy. I used to see it. In my nightmares. Your eyes close and your dead and I can't save you."

"But you saved me, Ron. You were a hero. You were my hero. You accepted the Mystical Monkey Power and you saved me and the whole world," Kim said as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

Ron scoffed. "Yeah, a hero. Not so much. I killed them, KP. I didn't kill them on accident. I killed them because I wanted to kill them. I was angry that they threatened you like that. And when the Mystical Monkey Power flowed through me unchecked I went from angry to cold rage. I meant to kill them. And even after they were dead, I wanted to kill everyone and everything else that would threaten you."

"But you didn't."

"No, because, when I saw you on the ground and I saw the fear in your eyes … I realized that I was the threat. I used to have nightmares about that as well. I wasn't able to stop it and I killed you. I killed everyone," Ron said before a deep sob escaped. "Kim, I enjoyed it."

"Shhh … It's okay, babe," Kim said as she pulled him into a hug. "They're just nightmares. They're just your mind trying to cope with a very stressful situation."

"But they aren't anymore. You saw the images of Akuma. He's a Lowardian. I'm sure of it. And we're going to face him tomorrow. What if he kills you? What if Sensei lied to me about the Mystical Monkey Power being gone and I kill you? I'm afraid. And when you close your eyes, all I can see is you dead."

Kim leaned forward and kissed Ron. "Then we just need to override those images," she said as she closed her eyes and reached down to his hand and moved it from her legs to a more intimate region of her body.

"Kim?"

"It's okay. Besides, I need this too. Those images Ken had of Drakken. After the meeting ended and you headed out on the dune buggy, I went back through folder and looked at them again. I can't get them out of my head," she whimpered as Ron began to move his hand. "Every time I close my eyes, all I see is that mangled body in the rubble. We both need something better to envision when my eyes are closed."

Ron kissed his girlfriend passionately. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Kim said before gasping as Ron's other hand slipped up under her nightshirt.

*KNOCK KNOCK* banged against the door to Ron's room where he and Kim laid asleep in bed. Kim's leg hung off the mattress while Ron pooled drool on his pillow and held her torso close with an arm across her chest.

"Rise and shine Stoppable," Trepid shouted opening the door and flinging on the lights.

"Huh whu ..." the two slurred in startled unisom resulting in Kim rolling onto the floor.

Seeing more of Kim than he intended, Ken quickly spun to face out the door. "Well, good morning you two," Ken said with a chuckle as Kim grabbed a blanket to cover herself and stood up. "I guess now is a bad time to tell you that Global Justice has a strict policy against cohabitation in the residence areas."

"Yeah, well, lucky for us we aren't Global Justice agents," she grumbled, before collecting her clothes and pushing Trepid out of her way as she stomped back to her room.

"Get some breakfast and a shower and meet me in the armory in thirty minutes. We have a big day ahead, and lots to go over," he shouted to her down the hall.

"Yeah, yeah," Kim said before disappearing into her room.

Ken then turned to Ron who was in the process of impersonating a lobster in color, which resulted in an eyeroll.

"That goes for you too, Hoss."

Donning a Global Justice issue t-shirt and sweatpants she found in her quarters, Kim entered the kitchen.

"Mornin', KP," Ron called out as he closed the oven door.

Kim glared at her boyfriend as she took the cup of coffee that he presented to her. "It's getting better," she said after taking a sip.

Ron kissed her on the cheek as he walked around the counter and sat two plates with sausage and eggs on the table. "Muffins need a couple more minutes."

Kim took a seat across from Ron and pensively ate her breakfast. "Ron, are we in over our heads?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? This … all of this ..." she said pointing to the reinforced walls which made up the room. "We've agreed to help a guy we barely know attempt to trap some sort of mysterious man-beast who's out there killing people."

"We've only dealt with anything like this once in our careers, with the Lowardians and look at what that did to you. Our villains were always kind of goofy, and their crimes were borderline glorified shenanigans. You know, Senior Senior Junior trying to steal a cookie recipe, Dementor and his mutant dachshunds, Drakken trying to become a pop sensation to hawk mind controlling shampoo." Kim sighed and said, "I still can't believe he's gone."

Ron reached over and took her hand in his. "I know and I'll be okay. I was pretty much over it until I saw that image of Akuma. I don't know. Seeing another Lowardian just seemed to trigger something inside me," Ron said before the timer went off and he stood up get the muffins. As he passed Kim he leaned over and gave her a deep kiss. "But, you certainly helped with that last night."

Kim giggled. "Yeah, well I think the last time was technically this morning."

"God, I loved sleeping next to you all night."

"I know. And if it wasn't for Ken it would have been great waking up next to you as well," Kim said before finishing her eggs and grabbing a muffin. "I keep wondering what happened to Shego."

"Do you think she's still alive?" asked as he grabbed a muffin as well.

"I don't know, but if she is this Akuma guy knows her whereabouts, and we owe it to her to find out who's behind it and why. I just don't know if we can take him."

"Well, Mr. Trepid seems fairly confident that we can take him as a team. I on the other hand am very confident in my KP."

"Thanks, but it's just been so long that I'm have my doubts."

"Now KP, you're still the girl that can do anything right?"

"So I'm told," she said with a shrug. "We'll find out."

Ron turned serious. "Are you nervous?"

"I'm a little worried, yeah," she admitted. "Shego's as tough as they come and even she couldn't fight him off."

"True, but in the same light, how many times did you beat Shego? You have the better record which I would think means you're a more formidable opponent than she was."

"Yeah, but I'm clean. She knew that my goal was to always make sure my opponent ended up in the back of a police van not in a body bag. If Akuma attacked them the way that the images suggest, then she would have done things differently. Shego always talked about 'the more direct approach' but she never went that far to actually try it. At least not to me."

"I don't know, KP. What I do know is that you're one bad mamma jamma and Trepid gives me the impression that he um, 'loves the Second Amendment,' if you know what I mean. So maybe we are better prepared for a fight than a pair of unarmed people who were blindsided."

"Yeah, he does look like the type who enjoys a little more firepower than a grappling hook. There's just so many unknowns."

"I know. Let's just trust that Wade knows what he's doing. We might not know Trepid, but we know and trust Wade's judgement. He's got an IQ of 500 or something afterall."

"Alright," Kim said as she stood and took the dirty dishes to the sink.

Armed with a fresh cup coffee and a muffin, the pair trudged their way down to the armory which was more a of large empty room than what the name had implied. Once inside they found Ken and Wade engaged in an intense strategizing session.

"Ah, there's the old guard," Wade said looking up over his partner's shoulder.

"Yayup, up and at-em," enthused Ron in response.

"What's up Wade?" Kim asked admiring the bare walls. "Is this one of those armories where you hit a button, the walls open up and all of the gear and gadgets come out with some fancy green backlighting?"

Wade's smile quickly faded into a scowl, "Actually it's blue. Seriously you two, we finally get a place with a slew of nifty bells and whistles and you guys keep spoiling the cool reveals," he remarked while pressing a button on a hand-held device. As predicted, a brilliant blue light began to shine through fine lines in the wall while a slew of panels opened up revealing an arsenal of shiny new gadgetry.

Kim stared in open mouthed wonder. "Wow, that's a big step up from a grappling hair dryer and a decoder pocket mirror."

"Yep, Global Justice gave us a slew of their finest gadgetry to use in their absence. Although, that old grappling gun of yours still gets its fair share of use, but I think you've outgrown it. Care to see what we got instead?"

Kim and Ron both nodded their heads with enthusiasm while Rufus hopped down and ran to a rack close by.

Wade motioned them to a counter which rose from the floor. "Alright, since you mentioned your trusty grappling hook, let me show you its replacement," Wade said pulling out a pair of gloves from a case. "Behold, grappling gloves. How about you slide those babies on and tell me what you think."

Kim obliged and slid the dark grey gloves on over her hands. They were long and went up nearly to her elbows in length and had a tight fit up her arms.

"Very nice," she commented as she modeled her hands from her front to her back and then again to her front. "Very light and very stylish."

"They're made from an experimental composite of ultra-thin Kevlar and spandex for high durability without giving up movement. It may be thin, it may be light, but you'll be able to deflect a katana blade with your arms."

"Niiice," Kim said noticing some bulk near the hand area. "What about this?"

"Ah, like I was saying, these are a replacement for your grappling gun. A tiny carbon fiber grappling hook and wire system is built into each wrist, and is triggered by posing your arm like so and then moving your wrist like so," Wade described as he bent his own wrist at a slight angle and made a small motion as to cock his arm. "With a little practice you can use the gloves in the same way Spiderman uses his Webslingers to move around New York City."

"Interesting."

"And to top it off, on the back of your left hand is a new and improved com link. It's similar to the Kimmunicators except it's not a giant bulky plastic brick or a domed wrist-accessory like your other models."

"Sleek and compact. Very nice, Wade."

"Yeah, plus it has built in Wi-Fi for when you're in need of a hot spot out in the jungle. Next, we got your standard utility belt armed with all of your typical L1 particulars: smoke bombs, first aid kit, suction cups, emergency landing gel, all stuff you're fairly used to working with."

"And then finally, new boots. They're made to withstand rugged terrain with soles strong enough to prevent piercing from nails and other sharp objects. And of course, they come with the standard issue rocket boosters built in for those tight spots."

"Are the roller blades included?"

"Absolutely, even though some of us wanted them taken out because they thought they looked stupid," Wade grunted with an eyeroll in Trepid's general direction.

"What? I just said I liked the old-school versions better," Ken defended.

"Yeah, I call it someone doesn't' know how to use inline skates."

"Whatever, Wade."

"That's it for gadgets?" Ron asked.

"Yep."

"But, uh … what about those?" he asked pointing to Rufus who was looking over several shelves filled with a slew of firearms ranging from small handguns to shoulder-length launchers.

*Ewww ... McMillan TAC-50. Sweet,* cooed Rufus as he inspected the heavy rifle.

"Ha ha, yeah, right," Trepid laughed. "No firearms are issued to anyone until they've reached L3 status and have had proper training."

"Oh … but w-"

"And are only to be issued and used by Global Justice agents," Ken finished over Ron. "Seeing as 'Red' here made it clear that neither of you are agents earlier. No guns for you."

Ron took a step toward Ken. "What do you mean by 'Red'? If that's a crack about ..."

Kim stepped between Ron and Ken and smiled at Ron. "Come on, Ron, like Wade would trust us with guns. You lose your pants half the time you use a grappling gun, and the less said about my infamous '98 fair shooting gallery incident the better."

Ken gave Wade a perplexed look at Ron's reaction. "Anyways, the only thing left I guess is some proper threads."

"Yeah, I'm not really feeling the sweat pants and t-shirt look," Kim said staring down at herself. "Ever get that battle suit working properly?" she asked Wade.

"Nnnnnot, exactly," the young genius said with a shrug. "I'm making progress but it's going to probably call for an entire redesign of the suit to ensure that it functions properly. But, a while back we put in a little commission to a mutual fashion-designing acquaintance of ours in the event your services would ever be needed," Wade continued pulling a small box out from another compartment and handing it to her. "We'll wait here while you go try it on. Oh, and while I was at it I took the liberty of getting you a pair of contact lenses from the med bay."

"Do I even want to know how you got my vision prescription?"

Wade gave her a cheshire grin. "Oh, come on Kim, do you really think the University of Oregon's medical records are that secure?"

"Apparently not. Hang on, I'll be right back."

Several minutes later Kim made her way back into the armory. Her glasses were now gone along with the ponytail. Her hair was now let out in her signature waves.

"So how do I look?" she asked with a slow spin.

Kim's new look was an updated version of the outfit she had worn her senior year in high school. The black and purple boot-cut pants were replaced with pants that were now dark gray like the gloves accompanied by now a light blue stripe which traveled up the sides. Her top featured a two-tone pattern that had a light blue shirt which had darker blue stripes which ran down both her sides and shoulders. And unlike her older shirt, she now had a slight collar which ran a couple inches up her neck. Finishing out the ensemble were the new boots, gloves, utility belt, and a set of elbow pads.

"Wow, KP, Monique really outdid herself this time," Ron said in approval.

"Yeah, no kidding. I should probably use her for all my clothing needs," Kim joked.

"Actually, if all goes according to plan and we get some sort of semblance of normalcy back to this place, we're going to try to contract her out to create new uniforms for all of us," Ken commented.

"Well, Global Justice will definitely have some style if that's the case," she said as she approached her boyfriend. "You're blushing, Ron. Like what you see?"

"Yeah, KP. Dang that uniform makes you look hot!" he said. "It's like we never left."

"Yeah, I know. I still can't believe we're back doing this sort of thing. Hmmm, this shirt is very slimming," she said pinching a small patch of flab on her side.

"So, um, what about el Stoppablerino?" Ron said pointing to his chest. "What do I get for new duds?"

Ken and Wade exchanged glances before turning their smiling faces back towards Ron. "Oh, and oldie but goodie," Wade said.

***Several Hours Later***

"It's criminal,"

"What is?" Kim asked her moping boyfriend while the two of them made their way down to the hangar carrying some supply crates..

"This," he said pointing to the black turtleneck shirt he was wearing, "You come back into the game and you get the whole G. look going on while I have the whole … the whole ..."

"Sidekick?"

"No! Buffoon going on … again."

It was true, due to budget constraints Wade only had the funding to update Kim's mission gear to a sleek new look while Ron was forced to wear the same old grey cargo pants and black turtleneck he had worn as a look since he was a high school freshman.

"Oh, Ron, you were never a buffoon. You heard Wade, once they get some funding back, they'll get new outfits made. Besides, I think it's still a good look on you no matter what. Even when I got the purple outfit you were rocking that."

"Yeah, yeah, says the woman with gloves that can block sword attacks."

"And that doesn't mean that I'm looking to get into a swordfight with someone to see if that's true either. Seriously, don't be jellin' Ron. It's not what's on the outside that's important."

"For the apparel oft proclaims the man."

"Hamlet?" Kim asked in awe.

"Yeah, and this apparel proclaims who I used to be. A person that I don't want to be again. That person wasn't good enough. That person was a screw up … and you left him."

Kim set down the crate she had been carrying, took Ron's face in her hands and made him look down at her so that they could make eye contact. "This apparel was not worn by a screw up, nor was it worn by a buffoon. It was worn by the bravest person I have ever known. The man who wore this outfit was the man who started me on this path. He was the man who has helped save the world and countless lives. He was the man that I fell in love with. And he is the man that I love now. Leaving you was a huge mistake, but it was my mistake not yours. One that I assure you will never happen again."

Ron knew he didn't have a decent response to that so he simply bit his lip while shifting his eyebrows in a manner suggesting Kim had gotten her point across.

Giving him a quick peck on the lips Kim picked her crate back up and led Ron into the main hangar where the jet was being loaded with supplies by Trepid and inspected by Wade.

"Well, if anything it's good to see that you're looking a little more confident than what you were this morning."

"Yeah, I think a good dose of Ronshine accompanied by the new gear and threads helped with that. Now I feel like I know what I'm doing again."

"Everyone suited up and ready to head out?" Trepid asked them, himself now dressed up in his own battle gear consisting of a vest loaded with pockets and harnesses strapped all across his body.

"Ready as I think we're going to be," Kim confidently replied tightening up her new belt.

Ron discreetly patted the sides of his pant legs to confirm that the little ring box and its contents were secured and accounted for on one side and that Rufus was deep asleep within his other cargo pocket.

"I'm rea-heh-heh-dy to roll out myself!" he seconded.

"Good, let's get this last bit of gear onto the jet and we'll be ready to go. I'll brief you on the way to Middleton."

- End Chapter 2 -