Unstoppable Journey
Team Possible
Midterms Due Today Middleton High: Five minutes before the bell…Term papers were due today, the majority of the students at Middleton High were milling about and socialising. They all seemed content as if they were prepared for the day's activities. Ron Stoppable had gotten to school a good thirty minutes before, on his Namasuki CRX, from money he had earned through his electronic/home-repair business since he was ten. He was wearing his normal school attire, a maroon hockey-jersey over a black mock turtleneck, under which he wore a set of suspenders and a sturdy belt, holding up tan cargoes, with sneakers on his feet. He wore a pair of gold-tinted shades, to hide his eyes, that he had a doctors prescription to allow him to wear
It was one of the ways he made extra money, aside from the allowance he got from his parents, they give him plenty of support, emotional and financial. They were starting to reduce his financial dependence on them, so he would be prepared when it came time for him to be on his own. Anytime he needs to talk, they always make time for him, and he still talks to Grammy Aurora, Electra, and surprisingly, his father's mother, Babushka Stoppable.
She was from Russia and defected to the US in 1955. Her name then was Valeria Romanova, where she met her future husband, Jonathan Stoppable. She had been married before and had a child with her husband, a daughter they named Natalia, but she and her father, were killed when their apartment blew up while Valeria was at the market. Natalia was three-years old when she died, there was not enough left of them to even bury. Valeria left Russia a year later, because she could not remain there with the memory of her dead family.
Grandpa Richard has always treated Diana like his own daughter, he treats Ron no different than his other grandchildren. He even has the same standards of behavior for them, they may not be Worthingtons in name or blood, but by God they would be Worthingtons in deed.
On most days, his best-friend, soul-sister Kim Possible would have ridden into school with him. But, she and his second family, the Possibles, had gone for a visit to James Possible's brother in Montana for the weekend. Ron had a big job at the Middleton Mall over the weekend and would not be able to make it.
Today she seemed to be running late, and was about to be tardy. All of a sudden, the doors to the school flung open and a whirling dervish rushed through the halls. "Excuse me," she shouted politely, "in a hurry," she called apologetically. "Sorry," she exclaimed, as she rushed to her locker, which Ron had been leaning next to since getting his stuff from his own locker.
Kim hurriedly dialled her combination, opened her locker to see a computer and printer setup. She quickly inserted a disk, brought up the file for her term paper and hit print. This was where she had to be patient as the program did its magic. That did not prevent her from cheering it on to get her print out as fast as possible. "Come on, c'mon, print for Kim," she urged. She smiled triumphantly as white paper began to emerge from the industrious device. Her smile quickly turned to an aghast grimace, when the page emerged wrinkled and damaged.
"Uh oh, paper jam," Ron said from behind.
"Term paper jam, Ron," Kim shouted in desperation as she grabbed his shoulders and shook them.
Ron brought her into a hug to calm her down, "relax KP, you happen to have the best tech repairman in the business as your best-friend. I'll take a look." He stepped around her to clear the jam, made some adjustments to be sure it would not happen again, and restarted the job. Then voilà, "there you go, Kim, term paper."
"That's awesome," she exclaimed, as she turned to collect her work. "It's all here," she declared in exuberance, as she flipped through the pages,"the paper, the footnotes, and the bibliography." She collected her paper then turned to her rock and threw her arms around him. Their lips met and for a second she lost herself in the kiss.
It was not the first time they hugged and kissed each other, and it was always strictly platonic… in the past. This kiss felt different for her, it was as if she had gotten zapped by electricity, but it was not painful, it felt good, really good. She was suddenly not in a hurry, she wanted to explore this feeling, to revel in him. Their lips came away, and they gazed with half-lidded eyes at each other. The kiss had lasted a good two minutes, though to them, it seemed to last forever, and was also not long enough.
"RIIINNNGGG," the dastardly bell broke them from their stupor, and their eyes were wide as they realised what they just did. "I have to go, Ron," she suddenly stepped-back, but she kept her hands on his arms.
"Kim," Ron asked, wanting to understand what just happened?
She stepped forward and placed a hand on his cheek, and looked him in the eye. "We will talk about this, Ron," she asserted as if she wanted nothing more than to stay and talk it out with him, "but I can't be late today. I've got two this month, if I get a third…"
"I understand, KP," Ron assured her, "we can wait until after school to talk about it, somewhere private."
"Thanks for understanding, Ron," she said as she bolted down the hall, "love you!" She turned a corner without looking, and barreled into something… solid. Her term paper scattered into the air.
She saw a mountain of muscle standing in front of her. The school's assistant principal, a former Marine, who ran his classes and the school like a military unit. Brown-hair, brown-eyes, in a business suit that barely contained his bulk. "Going somewhere, Miss Possible," he asked ominously?
Kim bent down to gather up her paper, "Mr. Barkin? I'm… uh…"
"Tardy, yes," he growled, "third time, this month."
"Maybe, I'm not sure," Kim hedged.
"I am," he asserted, "I guess I'll be seeing you, after school."
"Um, at cheer practice," she asked in hope?
"AT DETENTION, POSSIBLE," he bellowed!
Later that night…Ron had just dropped Kim at home, they still had not talked about the kiss this morning, and that was okay with him, for now. That was something they both needed to think about, before they talked. Kim's house was only a block from the Stoppable residence, so it took about five minutes to reach Ron's house. Mom and dad have been traveling a lot lately, Ron mused, since I began my repair business, they've been away more and more for work. When I was ten, my dad went to work for DARPA with mom, though why an actuary would go to work for the government's science think tank is puzzling?
Instead of turning onto the main driveway, Ron turned upon a gravel path which led to the back of the property. There, we find a duplex-version of one of those tiny-houses that have become all the rage recently. It looked like a twin-gable, two-story house, built to a smaller scale. The only part that looked full sized was the carport, which was a recent addition, only about six-months old, since he got his motorcycle licence.
This was where he lived, most of the time, when his parents were away on business. One tiny-house had a futon that doubled as a couch in front of his game consoles and television set, it also had his desk with a computer, where he did his homework and kept records for his repair business. The other section housed a kitchen with a sink, range/oven, and some counter space. It also held a small refrigerator, and a section for his tools. Both sections were connected by a single-file corridor, which led to the bathroom.
Ron paid his parents utilities and only went into the main house, while they were gone, to do laundry. He paid the rest of his rent by being the Stoppable handyman, his dad said he did not have to pay them but he felt an obligation to pay them back. He built it himself, with the help of James Possible and his dad, though all the money came from his profits on the repair business, and his portion of the profits from his and Kim's website.
Because they were minors, most conventional forms of advertisement were closed to them. So, Kim and Ron opened their own websites to ensure a steady flow of income. The Kim Possible website advertised her babysitting/pet-sitting/elder-sitting business, which she did on her own, and surprisingly made as good a profit as Ron's repair business. She, with permission from her parents, was a licensed juvenile and elderly caregiver.
Ron had a similar setup with his business website, Unstoppable, he, also with permission from his parents, and help from Grammy Aurora, became licensed in electronics, appliances, and computer technology. He could be called in at any time to install or repair anything from the previous categories, and he was rated for home and commercial jobs. Kim and Ron's separate websites were local and state only, they never took any jobs beyond the borders of the state of Colorado in which they and the Tri-cities of Middleton, Upperton, and Lowerton are established. They are still required to keep abreast of licensing fees and permits, for Ron, because he is over thirteen, he is licensed as an affiliate of Natchios Shipping.
They had another website, Team_Possible, jointly owned, that took them around the world and actually made more money for them than their individual websites put together. Even if they did not charge every client for their work.
They were called Team Possible, but the 'possible' in the name was not for Kim's name, it was part of their slogan. "Anything is possible for Team Possible, we are unstoppable."
This site had people call them in from all over the globe, for anything from caregiving and repairs, artefact and science retrieval, to disaster relief and world saving. They never charged anything for the last two, a single life is more valuable than all the gold in the earth, but the first six jobs made quite a bit of money. They were starting to be recognized all over the world for their work and reliability.
They have gained permission to operate as a quasi-mercenary team, through an action implemented jointly as independent contractors for SHIELD and Global Justice. This initiative gives both agencies a pool of trained personnel to activate during a crisis, but otherwise not have to pay until they are needed. The independent contractors get credentials from each agency, giving them access to information up to Level 7 for SHIELD, and Major level for Global Justice, and are answerable only to the directors of each respective agency.
They have toppled dictators and rogue spy agencies, and have taken on low-ranking leaders of Hydra and the Hand. Recovered stolen technology for Trask Industries and the Rand Corporation, once they could prove that they owned it in the first place. They have even assisted in repairing equipment for Dr. Moira Kinross on Muir Island and helped her finally secure her divorce from her abusive husband, after Kim had a nice long chat with him about how to treat women.
Dr. Kinross, is the only person outside of family, other than Professor Xavier, and Dr. McCoy, as well as the Directors of SHIELD and Global Justice to know about Ron's mutation. Moira has begun to see Ron and Kim as good friends, and opened Muir Island up for them whenever they need medical attention, or Ron needs to learn more about his mutation.
It was at Muir Island that allowed us to learn that Kim is also a latent mutant. Meaning she has the X-gene, but it has not yet manifested.
We have started to become world-renowned, people are starting to recognize us. We're not mercenaries, we don't do anything for money, we don't just work for anybody either. We have a thorough vetting process for our clients, so we have a good idea whom we work for, and we don't do discreet things. Confidential, yes, we don't divulge the details of our missions to anybody, but we do give the names of our clients and mission-type and location of clients to Global Justice. So if something happens they would know where to start looking for us.
Ron finished making his dinner, sat down at his table, and began completing his homework for the day. He had to multitask the mundane parts of his life, because he never knew when a hit from his or their jointly-own site would come in, and they would have to go to work. Their school knows not to get on their case if it happens during the school day, or even during class, they are still expected to work hard in class, to complete assignments on time, within school guidelines, and obey all other school regulations. Mr. Barkin makes sure they do just that and never cuts them any slack, for the most part, he does make concessions for injuries, but anything less than a minor concussion and they are expected to do the work and turn it in, on time.
"BEEP-BE-BE-BEEP," the communication device he collaborated on with a third party sounded.
Ron fished it out of his pocket and accepted the call. On the small monitor, Ron saw the face of another significant part of his life. It was the face of ten-year old super genius, Wade Fury. Ron knows that he is quite intelligent, his intellect has been compared to Mr. Dr. Possible, even before his tenth birthday, he accepts this fact about himself, with humility and honesty. Wade, however, was in a class all on his own, in terms of smarts, he manages all three of Kim and Ron's websites, supplying them with tech, in which he mentors Ron in developing.
Wade has been compared to towering intellects like Reed Richards, Tony Stark, and Charles Xavier, the way Mt. Everest is compared to other mountains. Kim met him when his parents, Nick Fury's son and wife, needed her to babysit. He may be a genius, but he's still ten, and needs supervision when his parents are called away for SHIELD missions, Ron mused.
"Whaddup, Wade," Ron greeted his friend?
"Ron, got a hit on the Team Possible site, from the Amazon," Wade replied urgently.
"The Amazon, huh," Ron stated as he scarfed down his food, "is Kim on the way or am I picking her up at her place?"
"She's changing as we speak," Wade answered, "and coming to you."
"Gotcha, Wade," Ron retorted, as he went into his room for his mission-gear. As he did so, he pressed a button on his communicator, sending a signal to a nearby, private airport, one that belonged to Natchios Transport. This could be a good time to talk to KP about the kiss. I don't want it to ruin what we have, I liked it, but do we want to be a couple, or remain just friends? Regardless of our feelings on the subject, I refuse to let it ruin what we have.
High over the Amazon Rainforest…The plane Team Possible were riding in was a sea-plane, meant for water landings. If you are going into the region with the largest river in the world as a centrepiece, you need as many ways to land as you can get. The plane belonged to Ron's family's company, it was headed along the same route anyway, they just gave it an extra task between Middleton and Costa Rica.
The reason they were able to use this kind of transportation was based on the promise Aurora made to him all those years ago. "Everything she owns, he owns."
When Ron was twelve, as he and Kim began going on dangerous missions, Aurora took steps to insure that Ron would have a reliable infrastructure to conduct his operations, even if she was no longer around. She redrew the Articles of Incorporation and all ownership documents for everything Natchios Transport controlled and put them in his name, as co-owner. She retained active control of all assets until he was eighteen, but gave him access to the use of those assets whenever he needed them.
Kim and Ron had maintained a professional attitude since meeting each other at Ron's place. This was just what they trained for while in SHIELD/ GJ training camp last summer, to compartmentalise emotions while on missions, to save what needs to be said for once the mission is accomplished.
Kim and Ron stood in front of a flatscreen hooked in the bulkhead of the plane. Wade's voice came over their communicators as he briefed them further on the mission. "Okay, Team Possible, I can stream you the tape from the security cameras now," he informed them.
"Please and thank you, Wade," Kim replied.
"We're ready, Wade-man," Ron added.
On screen a darkened lab could be seen, which was confirmed by Wade's voice-over. "This is the lab of Professor Akari." As he finished speaking an ebonette-haired woman appeared on screen, her clothing appearing to be a mixture of green and black as well. She was rather attractive in Ron's opinion, though he kept that observation to himself. She seemed to be rather spry too, because as soon as she entered the screen, she performed an acrobatic kick that took out the camera.
"Rewind and freeze, Wade," Kim asked? "Who is she, she's good," Kim wondered?
"Hmm," Ron mused.
Kim looked up with a curious gaze, studying his jawline and his chin. His freckles and big cute ears she wanted to caress. She even looked at the haystack he called hair, and wanted to run her fingers through it, for a couple of reasons. I have always thought he was cute, but the way his looks have changed over the years, have made him handsome in my eyes. I don't know why the other girls at school have never tried to be with him. I wonder if he's been thinking about that kiss today, I know I have? But it's not just his looks that make him attractive to me, it's always been his heart that I like the most, a heart that cares about other people. I wouldn't mind being his girlfriend, as long as we stay best-friends along the way.
Ron turns to look at her, and smiles at her curious gaze, assuming he knew what she was thinking he spoke. "I seem to remember her clothing from somewhere…" he trailed off, then shook his head, "but I can't place it."
Kim shakes her head, to clear it of her non-mission related thoughts, "I don't think it matters for now, Ron, let's get to Professor Akari's place."
Deep in the heart of the rainforest…Once they were in the bush, Ron's senses became alert, and he activated his Golden Eyes, it was almost instinctive for him to ignore them when he was in civilization. When he was back home, or in a familiar environment, he tuned everything out so he could live a somewhat normal life. He knew his environment, and knew if there was ever anything out of place.
Now, in a place that was away from the ambient noise of human civilization, and unfamiliar territory, his senses were fully alert. His range of hearing increased to frequencies equivalent to other animals, like a cat's or fox's, his sense of smell had become as acute as a bloodhound, and his touch sensitivity was equal to a cat's whiskers.
His vision, with his eyes shut off, is amazing remained the same as a human's during the day, though his visual acuity was set at 20/5. And yet, according to Doctors Possible and Kinross, his X-gene has still not fully awakened, which is unusual, but it also means that the full extent of his power is indeterminable.
That was also, not taking his Golden Eyes into account, because they were not a part of his X-gene mutation, of that they were certain. Since awakening them at eight, Ron's Golden Eyes have given him amazing capabilities. He had one of the most powerful night vision abilities ever recorded, his vision in low visibility scenarios took on a golden-amber colour, and anybody seeing it would see his eyes glowing the same colour. He can see in all 360 directions, and through all obstructions, nothing, not even lead could bar his sight, because he was not using light, when he used his Gold eyes. They knew not the medium through which his eyes functioned, only that it was an energy that they were unfamiliar with. Another trait they discovered, quite by accident was his ability to perceive beings in the astral-plane.
Professor Xavier is not just a being of the physical plane, he is one with the psychic realm as well. From time to time, he likes to take a stroll through the astral-plane, because it temporarily allows him to escape his wheelchair. One time as Charles was strolling along, he saw two beacons of golden-light off in the distance as he moved through the plane. Distance is a relative concept in the collective unconscious, as the astral-plane is sometimes called, so he moved closer to the lights. They seemed to widen in surprise when they saw him, as soon as that happened they winked out, and Xavier returned to his body, just in time to get a phone call. It was Ron Stoppable, and to say they were both shocked was an understatement.
This revelation did not suddenly mean Ron was psychic, the only contact he could make to the astral-realm was visual. It just meant that his eyes worked beyond the physical realm, using means other than light to see. In addition to Team Possible's normal mission wear, a turtleneck with forest-green cargo pants, a utility-belt, flexible combat boots, and fingerless-gloves, Ron also wore a pair of goggles with the amber-gold tinting of his special eyes. This prevents people from noticing his eyes, and keeps the light from giving away his position on espionage missions.
Ron was in the lead with his senses to blaze a path through the underbrush without causing too much of a disturbance to the local ecology, while Kim brought up the rear, and provided navigation using the Kimmunicator. As loath to admit it as Kim was, Ron's near indestructibility meant he was the perfect person to take the lead and insure her safety. She hated thinking like that, Ron was her best friend, her blood-brother, and if something happened to him because she was too cowardly to take the lead she would never forgive herself. Just because we haven't found anything that could hurt him, doesn't mean there isn't one, Kim fumed in worry over Ron, it's not like we've been shooting him with guns, or stabbing him with knives, or even beating him with clubs. Any experiments we've done, have been conducted to cause him as little injury as possible, should we finally find something that does harm him.
Finally they came to a small clearing in the foliage, with a large tree in the middle. Atop the tree, sequestered among the canopy, they see an actual tree house sitting in its branches. It looked to be only slightly more compact than Ron's own house, though they concluded that it was only one room. The only way up was via two ladders, connected by platforms.
"Whoa, that house reminds me of folktales my babushka used to tell me about the Baba Yaga, when I was younger," Ron mused as he deactivated his eyes. They tried to keep Ron's and Kim's mutant status as Need To Know as possible. Not out of shame, it was a tactical decision, if fewer people know about him the least likely they will be ready for him. Kim just smirked as she took the lead, and began climbing up to the structure.
They wasted no time getting up to the house and awaiting them was an Asian man. He was slender and lean, yet he also seemed to have an athletic frame, with muscles that seemed to be built for speed more than strength. Another description that seemed accurate if they were any kind of judge, was the fact he was blind. He wore dark-glasses, even in the gloom of the rainforest, and he had a cane in his hand. Any other clues to his handicap were nonexistent, the most glaring of course being his residence inside of a convoluted rainforest, another absent clue, was where he looked. Instead of off to the side, as so many of the blind are known to do, this one was looking right at them as they came level with him. That could also be from the fact that he knew exactly where his stairs were located.
"Welcome, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable," Akari said to them in a deep baritone, though unlike every native Japanese man they have ever met, he did not bow to them. He turned and entered his house, followed by Kim and Ron, also unlike many of the Japanese people they knew, he did not require them to remove their shoes.
The interior of the cabin was rather dark, with no form of light-bearing apparatuses to be seen. Understandable, considering their client's living situation.
"Thank you for the call, Professor," Kim replied, "will you give us some information on what was stolen, please?"
"It was an experimental tracking device that would allow me to navigate through the forest and around my home, more easily," Akari informed her. He pointed to his dark-glasses and continued, "if you have not surmised, I have… certain limitations, and as so often happens in life, my body has adapted to its environment by heightening my other senses, namely my sense of hearing. Which has become as acute as that of a bat, and has given me a radar sense that allows me to navigate my environment pretty well," Akari explained, then went on, "but that is true, so long as I am in a familiar environment. Such as this house and even the surrounding forest, but I will soon be required to leave this place and return to so-called, civilised society. So, I used my knowledge of science to create a mobile field of sensors that emit a frequency of sound that only I, or perhaps certain pets, would be able to detect. This will allow me to move more freely in unfamiliar territory, and since they're so small, not many people will notice them," Akari finished with, "and yesterday, while I was out getting some exercise, a thief entered my home and removed my schematics for the swarm, as I call them, from my computer."
"I guess that means they weren't in braille," Ron said while looking at what looked like a normal computer station, but with a braille-display attached to it as well.
"That is correct, young man," the professor nodded, "while I have crafted the initial concept from my imagination, I will need outside help to manufacture the quantity I need."
"Hmm, once we get your designs back, I may be able to help you find a manufacturer that will be able to help you," Ron told him, "and may even turn a tidy profit for you, if you're willing to allow for general distribution of your invention."
Akari was raising an eyebrow at Ron's proposal, but he reticently just nodded, "maybe on a limited basis Stoppable-san, but it is all just a moot point until they are returned to me."
"Of course," Ron agreed, "as soon as you have signed our standard contract, and we have ascertained if you are truly the inventor of this Swarm as you call them, we will begin searching." Ron turned to the computer, which had powered on by itself, "we'll use your equipment to allow for your blindness."
A few hours later…Kim and Ron had left a few minutes ago, after finalising the paperwork that made him officially their client. From the door to Professor Akari's house emerged a very different man from the one the team had met earlier. He wore a yellow-hooded, long-sleeved suit, underneath a black and red tunic. His arms were wrapped up just below the elbow, and on his back were a pair of kama, or sickles. On the front of his tunic was the kanji character 怒りfor Ikari, or Fury, on his head was a red devil's mask that covered the top of his head, including the eyes, the rest of his face was shrouded in shadows.
Time to talkThey were in the air on the way back from the mission, which was winding down. They had filed the mission with GJ, and their business managers, so they could generate an invoice for their client.
Now the time had come for them to talk, and the silence between them was palpable. They were sitting side by side, Kim's hands in her lap, Ron's were laying on the armrests, and they were staring aimlessly ahead. Kim turned her head to look at him, he could feel the weight of her gaze, the weight of her soul boring into him.
Kim raised her arm and ran a hand over his, tracing her fingers over his arm hair, down his bicep, along his powerful forearm. Ron had turned his head to look at her, he found her staring at what she was doing, and shyly looking up at him to see if he liked it.
They had touched each other before, but there was just something different about her caress today. It felt tender, loving, and utterly amazing, not to mention right.
Ron turned his hand over, and hers immediately filled it. He looked at her face, at her eyes, which were now locked upon his. He carried hope and angst in equal measure, yet they were overshadowed completely by his affection and protectiveness. Kim knew that emotion, she had seen it passing between her parents, and shining toward her and her brothers since she was a little girl. She smiled up at him in invitation.
Ron reached down with his other hand, because he refused to let go of her for as long as he could. Kim's smile only brightened as the armrest between them was lowered. She moved closer to him, wanting to feel as much of him pressed against her as possible.
Before she knew it, his lips were on hers, his gloveless hand caressing her cheek. She surged over him to straddle his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck. When the need for air became only slightly more important to each other than kissing, they parted, but kept their foreheads together. They looked into each other's eyes, the question bright. The broadening smiles only for each other, were all the answers they needed. It was official, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable were now dating, but in their eyes they conveyed another promise, they vowed that no matter what happened, their friendship took precedence. When you have known each other for as long as they have, words become unnecessary, when you want to speak to each other.
Detention Room 12Kim and Ron arrived at school this morning with their arms linked. Kim could not prevent herself from smiling up at her new boyfriend as they walked the halls. Both of them were oblivious to the stares of their fellow schoolmates, they seemed to be lost in their own little world.
They had many of their classes together that year. English, Geometry, World History, and their lunch period, which also included Health Class. He was in Creative Writing this year, she was in Debate this year, when they parted ways for their separate classes, they exchanged kisses. When they entered their classes, both became magnets for everybody's eyes.
Every girl wanted to know the details of Kim and Ron finally getting together, and every boy was jealous that they would not get a chance to be with the head cheerleader. Ron was not the least popular person in the school, but according to the school's preposterous social hierarchy, he was nowhere near high enough on the so-called Food Chain to date any cheerleader, let alone Kim Possible. Their friendship alone seemed to be implausible enough, even if the school has long since accepted their dynamic.
Most of them did not care about their friendship and considered it an anomaly to the social ladder, much the same as mystery meat, they just accepted it was what it was and moved on with their lives. Others considered it weird, but wrote it off as him being Kim's charity case. A way for her to assuage her conscience as she moves on in life without him, not realising that with him being co-owner of the largest shipping company in the world, he is worth more than the entire student body and faculty combined. Though at the moment, only Ron, Diana, Don, Kim and the Doctors Possible are aware of his status, though all have signed confidentiality agreements to prevent them from divulging Ron's status.
Still others became incensed at them even being friends, when they realised they were a couple now too, they became enraged. None more so than Bonnie Rockwaller, one of Kim's fellow cheerleaders, and an avid proponent of the Food Chain.
Kim's debate classroom, unlike many others in the school, instead of rows of desks for students to sit in, the room was laid out by tables. Kim just so happened to sit at the same table as many fellow cheerleaders, one of which was Bonnie Rockwaller. She was a beautiful brunette with a really nasty personality, who sat directly in front of Kim on the opposite side of the table. She was leaning back in her chair, with arms crossed over her chest, and her legs crossed at the knee. She was staring daggers at her rival, who was not paying attention to her at all.
Kim's head was stuck somewhere in the clouds, and counting the minutes until she saw her boyfriend again. It was a few minutes before the bell, "so Kim," Bonnie began as she cruelly broke through Kim's thoughts. "I've been hearing disturbing rumours about you regarding that loser you call a friend."
Kim blinked rapidly to bring her thoughts back to the here and now. "What are you talking about, Bonnie," Kim wondered?
"Stoppable," Rockwaller snapped, "I heard you've been making moon-eyes at that loser."
"I didn't think I was that bad," Kim answered with a blush.
There were substantial gasps from everyone at the table. "How could you admit to something like that," Hope, one of the cheerleaders asked?
Kim affected a confused expression, though she knew where this was going, and added, "why wouldn't I admit to being attracted to him? I've always thought Ron was cute," Kim admitted, "even when we were kids. Come on girls, take off the lens of the social ladder, and imagine him as women, not in terms of popularity." Kim began to get lost in her thoughts, as she described Ron in ways that would appeal to any woman, "hair like a desert sunset, even if it's messy half the time. His sexy ears that are so sensitive when I touch them, they twitch," Kim stated dreamily, "even those freckles on his face give him a boyish quality that draws me like a moth to flame. His kisses can make me curl my toes," she stopped to gauge the looks on her fellow cheerleaders faces, nearly all of them had been caught up in Kim's description of him, even Bonnie was fighting a blush. Kim decided to give them one more push to see how they would react, when she leaned forward conspiratorially and added, "not to mention his lean, muscular physique, that I can't wait to feel pressing against me at this year's Spring Fling."
Kim smirked as she saw a few of her fellow cheerleaders begin to drool. Bonnie jerked out of her imagination and shook her head to clear it of her not so pristine thoughts. "So what," Bonnie declared, "he may have the looks but he is still a social outcast. He's still a Loser," she declaimed, "he doesn't deserve to be seen with social royalty, let alone date one!"
"I see," Kim said in understanding, "so by social royalty, you mean…"
"Cheerleaders," Bonnie screeched! "Cheerleaders, jocks, the student body government, they're the rulers of this school, the top of the Food Chain, while nerds and dweebs and geeks and losers are nothing more than fodder for their betters."
"You know, Bonnie," Kim began through gritted teeth, "there's something important you need to know about this so-called Food Chain of yours. It is the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard. Also, it's nowhere close to how the world really works," Kim growled, "those so-called nerds and geeks as you called them, are the rulers of the world. Whereas those cheerleaders and jocks you mentioned as ruling the school, they usually get a wake-up call when they graduate. They learned that their status in high school doesn't mean jack-shit when they leave here," Kim snapped as she gave Bonnie and all the girls at her table a wake up call, "because there is a truth that all of us really should take to heart…" they all looked at Kim as if she was about to impart a great wisdom, "high school… ends."
This got all of their attention, but Kim continued, "that's right, high school will end someday, for all of us, and when it does, those of us who are still stuck worrying about their popularity, will not be able to cope in a world where nobody knows your name, and they don't give a rat's ass where you were in the high school hierarchy, and life is going to steamroll all over you. That's not an opinion either," Kim continued harshly, "it's a cold, hard fact of life. So go ahead, continue to follow the food-chain and be sheep, or in your case Bonnie, Queen Bitch of the school, and you'll find out the hard way how little you matter, outside of these walls."
Later in the day…It was the end of the school day, and Kim was standing at her locker with her boyfriend. His arm was around her shoulders, hers was around his waist, and it amazed them at how comfortable they were with each other. They had noticed other couples in the halls who seemed to walk on eggshells with each other, because they were still in the Getting to Know You phase of their relationship. Kim and Ron already knew each other, as well as anybody could ever know another person, therefore they had moved past that part of their relationship into the fun parts, the Kiss and Cuddle Phase.
At the moment they were listening to an intelligence briefing from Wade, about the girl from the video. They were using the computer in Kim's locker as opposed to the Kimmunicator, "her name is Shego," Wade's voice came over the sound system, "she's wanted in eleven countries, mostly for theft and assault."
"Make that twelve," Ron added with a lascivious growl.
"Ick, so not your type, loverboy," Kim said while jabbing him with her elbow.
"Now, now, KP, I was just window shopping," Ron squeezed her shoulder, "I already got the best woman in the world as my girlfriend. It's no different than you drooling over the 'Oh, Boys' poster."
"I know, Ron, and looking is fine, I don't even mind you getting turned on about another woman," Kim stated as she looked up at him, then darted a peck on his lips, "just as long as your ardour is focused on me. I promise mine will be only for you too," Kim added.
Ron smiled at her as well, then something flashed in his mind, "Shego… Chicago… Team Go."
"What is it, Ron," Kim asked her boyfriend in concern?
"I suddenly remembered where I've seen her clothing," at Kim's clouded eyes he added, "from the video, remember… back on the plane, before we met Akari-san?" Kim's memory was jogged but she only nodded at him to go on, "I remember a few years ago, about a team of siblings, with unusual abilities, that started up in Chicago for a brief time. They didn't last very long, only about three years, then they disbanded. I remember four boys and a girl," Ron mused with his chin in hand, "the kind of powers they had doesn't spring to mind…"
"POSSIBLE," came the roar of an irate Assistant Principal! Kim and Ron jumped at the sudden noise, then turned to see Mr. Barkin striding down the hall toward them. "Aren't you supposed to be in detention," he yelled!
"Yes, my apologies, Mr. Barkin," Kim agreed as she looked at the clock on the computer, she was not late, but if she did not get moving she would be, "we were getting an intelligence brief from a criminal we encountered recently. I'm on my way." She turned to Ron and gave him another quick kiss as a parting before rushing off to do her penance.
Barkin was following her to make sure she did not try to skip, when Ron called out to her, "Me and Wade will do some digging to see what kinds of abilities she might have. See you on the outside, Kim," then to remind her that he was a detention veteran too, and acting like it was the equivalent to prison added, "make sure to make friends with the biggest guy in there and they'll look out for you. If you can't be friends, the next best strategy is to kick his ass."
Kim looked back at his last quip and rolled her eyes, though she was grinning, just before she was out of sight she called out, "just make sure you're ready for me when I get out, gonna need some attention from my man after being deprived for so long!" The last she saw of Ron, he was blushing to equal her hair, damn right, Ronnie, you are my man, not even going to try hiding that from you, or anybody else. You'll never wonder how much you mean to me. I'm not ready to say, 'I love you' yet, but I think I already feel it.
Later at Bueno Nacho…Kim served her detention, and met Ron at his favourite restaurant, Bueno Nacho. He found it the summer after the Pizza Partitorium banned Ron and his family. After the Possibles' home, and his tiny house, this was the place where he feels the most at home. She arrived in time, just as Ron was sitting down in front of a triple, nacho-taco, grande platter, and sweet iced-tea. She saw his food intake and smiled in fondness, with a shake of her head. He went to pick up his food for consumption, when Kim dashed forward and slid into the booth next to him, before grabbing his head and bringing him in for a long sensual kiss. If they had been alone, she would be trying to invade him with her tongue, but because they were in public she had to dampen her desire for him.
They parted and sat together as close as possible, her head on his shoulder, his arm around the back of her neck squeezing her shoulder. They were giggling and chuckling, "it seems I have two favourite tastes in front of me, KP," at her curious stare he answered, as he leaned closer to whisper, "Tex-Mex cheesy goodness, and you, Kimberly Ann Possible."
It was Kim's turn to blush, as she caught the double entendre, that or she had it bad for him already. Her blush only lasted a second, when a mischievous smirk appeared on her face. She leaned further into him until she was covering his ear, "you play your cards right and I might let you taste me, someday." She saw his ear go red, before pulling away, but not before nipping his ear and she was giggling.
They laughed together for a little while, just enjoying each other's company. Ron asked about detention and how she liked it, since it was the first time she's been there, since starting high school? They shared Ron's food and made small talk, until they were near the end, when Kim decided to get down to business.
"So, were you able to find out anything about Shego, and her brothers," Kim asked, going into team leader mode, even if she remained pressed against him?
"Some," he began with a nod, "I started, using old news articles and magazines, before moving on to more exotic resources." The last part was said at near a whisper, then he went on in a normal voice, as he pulled out his tablet. He flicked it on and the first thing Kim saw was the booking photo of Shego, "her real name is Michelle Go, she and her four brothers are Americans of Asian descent. She's the second oldest of her family, with her older brother Henry, being older by two years. Hego as he was called, has super-strength and invulnerability. Michael Go, her younger brother by five minutes, according to hospital records, was called Mego, and he has the ability to shrink incredibly small, I don't know his limit."
"So Shego is a twin," Kim mused?
Ron nodded to confirm, "fraternal. It seems that twins run strong in the Go family though, because there are another set of twins, and though they look alike, they're also fraternal twins. William and Wilbur are significantly younger than their other siblings, they're a couple years older than the tweebs, and have the ability to multiply themselves."
"That's great and all but what about their sister, what kind of powers does she have," Kim asked?
"I am just getting to her, KP," Ron acknowledged with a nod. "Michelle has the most diverse abilities out of them all, probably because she's more intelligent than her brothers, and probably studied her abilities more thoroughly than them. The character assessments from our exotic sources view the boys as adolescents, even Hego and Mego. They seemed to have watched a few too many Fearless Ferret reruns and acted like golden age comic book heroes."
"Something tells me, you and the Go brothers would get along just fine, Ron," Kim teased, who just smirked. "Now please tell me about Michelle's powers," she gently ordered.
"In addition to being an advanced martial artist from a young age, Shego can fling plasma bolts from her hands, or ignite them around her fingers and cut through almost anything. She graduated high school at fourteen and completed her BS in Early Childhood Development at eighteen, she was registered to begin her Masters, when she left the team and dropped off the grid for a few years. The next time she was seen, she was working as a mercenary," Ron concluded.
Kim was thinking about the information from her beau, while leaning into him. I wonder what caused her to leave, she not only left her team, but her family. It has to be more than just a family squabble, she mused, it must have been something major, as much as the tweebs irritate the hell out of me, I don't know of anything that would make me leave like that. She didn't just turn her back on her family, she turned her back on her morals, on her beliefs, on herself. What could it have taken for her to make such a paradigm shift in her conscience?
Getting InAfter their impromptu date, Kim and Ron went to their respective homes for their nightly rest. The next day as they were getting ready for school, Wade called them in, on their respective communicators, and informed them that Shego had been spotted in a remote region of the Caribbean. Knowing from experience what kind of people frequented those waters, they were immediately suspicious, which were only confirmed when Wade showed them satellite data.
It showed them images of a small jet of suspicious origin landing on a remote island. Local superstition had painted it as haunted, which just screamed, Kids Keep Out! This only meant that they would be missing, yet another day of school. It could not be helped, unlike most teens whose main responsibility was keeping their grades up and their room clean, Kim and Ron had more pressing matters to attend. Thus, with a call from Ron to the local Natchios Shipping Hub, then a call to the school to update them on the mission and non-attendance, Team Possible were wheels-up twenty minutes later en route to the tropics. Now, after parachuting into the ocean they were swimming through the subterranean caves of the island. Ron's night-vision worked as good underwater, as it did on dark nights above sea-level, the whole world was lit up like gold.
Kim was following in Ron's wake, when she was suddenly seeing things differently. They began taking on three distinct shades of a violet-purplish hue, with bright particles flickering into the mix. These particles seemed to be passing through everything, except when she looked at her hands. She raised her hands to look at them and watched as the particles she saw before, instead of passing through her, became absorbed into her skin like moisturiser. She didn't feel anything when they entered her, but she suddenly felt energised. She looked around and saw that Ron had noticed her alarm and was coming back to check on her. This was where she found another anomaly in the particle shower she was seeing. Ron did not seem to have any of the particles passing through him, as she witnessed nearly everything else. They seemed to be deflecting and repelling from him like raindrops on a windshield. Now anybody else that found themselves in this situation, may have panicked, but Kim Possible was not just anybody else. She was a capable, brave young woman, who had been in more than a few dangerous situations. What's more she was raised by scientists who taught her and her brothers to be analytical in new and strange situations.
Her mind ran through what she knew, she was seeing particles pass through objects. She knew of many such particles in her studies of physics that did just that: neutrinos of which there were three known varieties: electron-neutrinos, muon neutrinos, and tau neutrinos, 100 trillion neutrinos pass through Earth, moving at near the speed of light every second. Most of the time they are harmless because they have almost no charge, sometimes they acquire a charge and become known as cosmic rays. They do occasionally interact with biology and cause harm to DNA, but the atmosphere tends to block out most charged particles. They can also temporarily alter the composition of the atmosphere, allowing clouds to discharge their energy in the form of static electricity, also known as lightning.
Ron reached her and since talking was impossible here under the ocean, they began using the rudimentary sign language of divers.
(Problem), Ron signed?
(Yes), Kim returned.
(Abort mission), Ron asked?
(No), she replied. (I am ok), she added.
Ron looked at her eyes to make sure of her decision, before motioning for her to take the lead, so he could keep an eye on her for any more abnormalities. They moved into a tighter area, there were more stalactites in this region of the cave. All of a sudden they felt a strong current pulling them in one direction toward an opening in an enormous stalactite. Kim whipped around to look at it, and something happened. It was as if she was seeing through the façade of rock, to the truth, and still seeing the rock.
Kim saw that the opening led up into a shaft, not into certain death. Shego already knows we're here, stealth infil is a bust, she realised, no need to waste energy getting in when they're showing us the way. So she rushed at Ron with speed and strength she did not have before, and grabbed him around the waist propelling them both through the opening.
Soon after…They found themselves standing precariously on a small, circular platform, just out of reach of a very hungry shark. They were not alone however, because standing on a ledge about twenty feet from them was Shego. The weight of their water gear was cumbersome when not immersed, so they quickly divested themselves, letting it drop to the bottom of the pool. Of course, not before activating their failsafe to get themselves out, if necessary. They were still in their wetsuits, and barefoot, which had the Team Possible logo on the shoulders.
"Who are you," Shego demanded, as soon as they could speak?
Kim and Ron shared a look then shrugged to each other as if it made no difference if they told her their names. "Well, I don't suppose it would make any difference if we told you our names," Kim mused idly, "we already know you, Shego. My name is Rouge," Kim answered, pressing a hand to her own chest, then pointing an open hand to Ron said, "and this is my partner, Dire Wolf, we're collectively known as Team Possible." When they started their globetrotting site, they knew that most enemies were ruthless enough to target them through their families, so they decided to develop false identities.
Kim's voice and tone were no different than if they were a new couple greeting a neighbour for the first time. While she was talking, Ron was looking around the cavern trying to find a means of escape. There was a staircase cut into the one side of the cave wall which led to the larger complex. The ceiling was vaulted about twenty feet in the air, not even the highest he and Kim have ever jumped.
Before Shego could respond, a figure appeared in the entrance to the grotto. "I have heard of you," the voice said, "the world famous teen heroes, Team Possible." The voice belonged to a tall, ebonette man wearing a blue lab coat buttoned to the collar with black gloves, belt and shoes. The strangest characteristic of this man was the fact that he had blue-skin. Not Smurf-blue, more like the colour of the sky.
"Naturally, you know of my work," he inquired in an all too eager voice.
"Sorry," Kim answered with a shrug, which was true, she had never heard of him before. Though given the way he seemed so eager to have his name mentioned, she probably would have lied about recognizing him anyway. Rule no.1 of the SHIELD/GJ handbook: when in enemy hands, never miss an opportunity to undermine your captor's self-image. It may be the key to your freedom.
"Think about it for a moment, it'll come to you," he urged. "I'm a genius," he added to jog her memory?
"Well given that Ms. Go over there is a mercenary," Ron said, coming to the forefront, while sliding his arm around Kim's waist, "I assume you're her employer. Mister…"
"Doctor," he snapped, "it's Doctor Drakken!"
"Doctor Drakken," Rouge repeated to confirm his name.
Then, as if to pretend that she simply recognized his name said, "Ah-hah, I see that my reputation precedes me."
Since interrupting the conversation between Kim and their imprisoners, and grabbing Kim's waist, Ron has been talking to her. Using his thumb and forefinger, he has been tapping out morse code on her body. For a wild second, Kim was about to admonish her man for being so fresh with her in public, not to mention unprofessional on a mission, until she began to understand the message he was sending her.
-KP -KP stop -HAVE -PLAN stop -CHEER -TAC -5 stop, was the message she received. If she was not in love with him already this would be the catalyst that put her over the top. Even if Ron was not part of the cheerleading squad, he always helped her practice, and knew the routines of the Middleton High cheer squad as well as any of the women on the team. They have also practised many ways to communicate with each other if speaking openly was not feasible, and Morse was just one of them. Now, rather than allow herself to lose focus on the mission, she became even more determined to finish this mission, so she may give him… and herself, a proper reward.
"You have something that doesn't belong to you, doctor…" then just to piss him off, "what was it again?"
"Oh, enough chit-chat," he said, losing his patience, then, indicating the hungry sharks, put out his hand as a remote control descended to his hand! "My pets are famished, perhaps you two could stay…"
"…for lunch," Kim asked derisively?
"I wasn't going to say that," Drakken retorted, as he gritted his teeth!
"Dude you were so going to say 'for lunch,'" Ron countered in a scolding voice.
"Fine then, stay for lunch," Drakken replied petulantly, just before pressing the button.
"WAIT," Ron suddenly yelled loudly, startling everyone in the grotto! "Dr. Drakken, sir," Ron asked in a forlorn voice, "could you give a guy one last chance to say goodbye to his girlfriend?"
"What," Drakken and Shego asked in astonishment?
Not waiting for an answer, Ron turned Kim so he could watch the duo on the ledge, and so they would not be able to see. Ron brought his hand up to caress Kim's face, and smiled. All too real tears were in his eyes as he spoke to his girlfriend, "we've barely even dated a week, but whatever happens I want you to know that I love you, with all my heart. You and your family have been the only thing keeping me sane these past few years," Ron declared, "at the very least they're the only thing keeping me there. If you or they weren't there, I would have no reason to stay," Ron informed her.
He knelt down before her, on one knee, "Rouge, would you like to go to the Spring Fling with me?"
Kim nearly choked up when he told her he loved her, but the fact that he used her code name to say it, meant it was part of his ruse. She knew as well as him that when they say it for real, it will be with their true names. "No," she shouted as she stepped into his outstretched hand, as he launched her into a back flip through the air toward the green-skinned woman!
Kim spun through the air, laying out in flight, and corkscrewing toward Shego. All of which took half-a second to complete, and if it were anybody else it would have taken them by surprise. Michelle Go however, was an experienced warrior and knew not to waste time blocking, when dodging was a better option. Shego sidestepped the incoming teen, and ignited her hands. She took a lunging swipe at Rouge, who leapt away, twisting her body sideways. Kim thought Shego had missed completely when she made her attack, but as Kim completed her manoeuvre and got some distance, she chanced a look down and found a piece of her wetsuit, over her abdomen, missing. Thinking that was all the damage Shego was capable of inflicting with her attack, Kim thought nothing of it.
Shego however, remembered her fingers touching flesh. Her power did not prevent her from feeling when she pierced skin and tissue. She did not remember piercing flesh, but she did remember feeling the teenager's skin on her fingertips, and with her plasma active, the girl should have at least had a burn on her belly. Shego was given no more time to contemplate the divergence of her experience, because Rouge was moving into the offence. Kim decided to treat her opponent's hands as if they were lethal weapons, because they were, and she had plenty of experience fighting someone like that, when she and Ron would spar in the backyard. There were times when Ron would spar with his chains, and she would practice fighting an opponent wielding a blade… or six.
Kim was dodging while Shego was swiping, and both were very aware of the pool of sharks, marking the boundary of their arena. Rouge was so focused on not getting struck by Shego's plasma hand, that she failed to notice her own manos begin to glow. So did Shego, until it was too late. Kim was coming out of a series of manoeuvres that caused Shego to overextend her swipe. Rouge capitalised on the mistake, with a thrusting palm-strike, which was not a surprise in and of itself. What did surprise both combatants, was the force imparted from the palm-strike, which surprised Kim Possible, but not as much as it surprised Michelle Go. The force of the strike, picked Shego up and flung her into a cave wall so hard, she left a crater in it when she slid to the ground. Anybody else that had received such an impact would have been pulverised, but the comet that gave her and her brothers their powers, also gave them practically invincible bodies. She had never been hit as hard by anyone as what a teenage girl just did to her. She had been hit full force by her brother once, during training, and that had been bad enough to knock her out for the day, not send her into a wall. All of that would be something Michele would ruminate over, once she woke up from her unconscious state.
What about Ron?As soon as Rouge was launched to safety, Dire Wolf was launched the other way as physics dictated. He himself backflipped in the opposite direction, and allowed his parkour training to kick in as he fell toward the shark infested waters. He noticed his shadow, being cast from the light of the entrance to the grotto, and the even larger looming shadow below his, of a rather large shark, practising its seal catching manoeuvre, which meant it was old enough to have been to the southern tip of Africa. Which was an idle thought really, and while most people would be more concerned about their impending death via shark ingestion. This was not the first time it had happened, since he and Kim began their globetrotting adventures. It still hurt like a mother fucker, but a sharks jaws did no more to damage his skin than anything else they have tried.
As Ron and the shark were about to meet, something happened, and it occurred at the speed of thought. First, his skin became black, as black as the starry abyss of the night. It barely reflected more than a single photon, the metamorphosis continued over his entire body, obscuring his face and hair.
The shark leapt out of the water and bit down hard on the biggest morsel of food he received in a week. An intense fire of pain emanated from his maw. When he was a younger shark, he tried to bite an anchor chain, and he lost several rows of teeth because of it. This bite was imminently more painful for the shark than that bite, then the shark felt a punch to his nose, which stunned him. The shark suddenly felt his world turn upside-down, sending him into a catatonic state of awareness, he was locked within his own body.
As soon as the rest of the sharks were subdued, a surge near the rim of the tank, fountained into the air, disgorging a human-like figure. Drakken looked upon it with fear, but not a little bit of fascination. The scientist in him, only temporarily overridden by self preservation. He looked at what used to be a boy, no older than fifteen or sixteen, becoming a metallic, grotesque caricature of himself. Drakken remembered tales from his family in Budapest about a primeval chaos-monster created by God. "Behemoth," the not-so-good doctor breathed in a craven voice. This one, was over 2-meters tall, with dark-skin, as dark as the depths of space, with only small points of reflection resembling stars, which gave him an outline. It was his face and head that seemed to be the most changed, because they had more skull-like features than anything. His head was completely hairless, and he had no ears, his eyes seemed to be an amber-gold lustre.
Ron looked down at himself, at his body, and understood what was happening. So, my X-gene has finally awakened, and given me a makeover. I hope KP likes me like this because I may not be able to turn it off. I appear to be composed of ronium-metal, Ron's thoughts are pretty calm considering the situation, speaking of which… Ron looked down at himself and realised he had ripped out of his wetsuit, luckily his boxers helped preserve his modesty.
As Ron was marvelling at his new body, he heard the shuffling of feet near the door. He looked, and saw the azure-skinned doctor, ambling toward the door. Ron shot his chains out at the speed of sound, wrapping them around the hapless scientist, before bringing him down the steps, and into the wall.
Ron checked his opponent, and breathed a sigh of relief. He had no doubt that someday, if it meant the difference between one life, and the seven-billion other humans on the planet, he would be called upon to take a life. Thankfully however, today was not that day. As Ron visibly relaxed, luckily, my new body isn't dead material, he was checking the blue-man's pulse and could feel it under his fingers. I can even feel the warmth of my skin on his.
"Ron," came his favourite voice in the world, though it was labouring with astonishment? He looked over at Kim, who was staring up at him in wonder. She was walking over to check on him, but her steps seemed hesitant…
"Yeah, KP, it's me," he stood up and turned to her with apprehension in his golden eyes. He tried to inject some levity into his voice to disguise it, "I think my body may be going through some changes." He retreated his chains into his body, and closed his eyes to relax his body. When he opened them again, he was his usual height, and in his normal flesh and blood body.
Kim reached her boyfriend and drew Ron into a sensual kiss, pressing her body fully into his. As soon as they came up for air, they smiled at each other, caressing faces and holding hands. "I think we should make a slight detour to Westchester before we make our rendezvous with Professor Akari," Ron suggested.
"Yeah, I agree," Kim concurred, "let's find those tick schematics and get out of here."
To Be Continued…There may be some of my readers wondering why I started this story with Kim and Ron already being a couple. Well, it has rarely been done that way before, and if it has, I did not like those stories. Plus, this is a story of growth, and one cannot grow if they remain in places they are comfortable with, and I wanted to illustrate Team Possible's comfort with things, before they begin changing. All I am going to say about the future of this story is, one rarely remains with their first love, that's why they are called first loves. It does not even have to be some big rift or break up that pulls you apart, it could be just as simple as life leading you in opposite directions. Even if you remain close to each other, you may find that your life is better with someone else than them.
(I love him/her: thought or time and place Headings)
("I love him/her." speaking)
(-KP: Morse Code)
((I am ok): diver sign)
[Babushka is Russian for grandmother]