=All-Purpose Disclaimer=
Kim Possible is the registered trademark of The Disney Corporation. All characters, locations and original concepts are copyrighted and therefore protected from plagiaristic violations. Isn't that neat?
-Review Response-
melafelice: Provided that you have no further questions regarding my knowledge of Japanese language and culture, then yes…yes, I did mean to write it as-is.
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Kim Possible
The Power of Love
by Cyberwraith9
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"Beaten!"
"Yes, Shego," Doctor Drakken sighed, kicking his feet up onto one of the many consoles situated in the command center of their nefarious lair. They had just returned from the successful mission, and his spirits were just high enough to ignore Shego's indignant rage…which had been going strong the entire ride home. "I heard you the first million times, there's no need to flip out or anything."
"By the Buffoon!" she shrieked. Her fists pounded into a table filled with random bits of technology she had stolen for Drakken, shattering everything into a hail of expensive metallic shards.
"Uh-huh," he nodded absently, examining his nails. Suddenly, he spotted a small white box sitting nearby on one of his keyboards. "Ooh, donuts!"
Her fists came aglow with emerald death as she crushed another table. "What part of this am I not making clear?" she growled between clenched teeth. "STOPPABLE BEAT ME!"
Drakken rolled his eyes, reaching for the box of pastries. "I'm not sure what the big deal is," he said as he pulled a bearclaw from the box. He took a big bite, talking around a mouthful of frosting. "The Sidekick and I have fought to a standstill plenty of times, and you don't hear me moaning about it."
Shego eyed the curve of his girth as he devoured the donut, spreading crumbs across his blue jacket front. "Ye-ah…" she snorted.
Swallowing the last of the treat, he sat up. "It doesn't matter anyway, Shego." he insisted, spilling crumbs across the console as he drew the crucial data stick from his jacket. "We got what we went for."
"Which was what, exactly?" she snapped testily. Drakken's flickering data screen drew her forward as he plugged the stick into an input slot. "I'm still a little fuzzy on the whole plan."
"Fear not, my dear Shego; the wheels continue to turn within my plot." Drakken smiled, tapping his temple.
"Yippee for the wheels…" she muttered.
"What we have here," he continued without hearing her jibe, "Is an inventory of every piece of government hardware capable of breaching the atmosphere. Now it's a simple matter of picking the right one, stealing it, and modifying it to our purposes."
"Oh-kay…" Shego drawled, leaning over his shoulder as the endless list of missiles and rockets scrolled across the screen. "And the second part of our plan?"
"Ehh…" he began to falter.
She groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Look, we talked about this, remember? Killing plants isn't enough, we have to be able to make it work to our advantage."
"It's still in development," Drakken shot back defensively. At her questioning glance, he quieted substantially. "I have a few ideas," he admitted, "But we don't possess the means to bring them to fruition."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"What?"
She looked puzzled. "What was that about fruit?"
Grumbling, Drakken buried his face in his claw before coming up with a snappish explanation. "Fru-i-tion." It means 'to make something work.'"
"Why didn't you just say that?" she scoffed, annoyed.
"Climb off my back, yo!" Drakken shot. "We have bigger fish to fry than your own ignorance."
"Like maybe figuring out what to do about Stoppable?" she countered. She was rewarded with another grumble from her employer.
"If you have any ideas, I'd be happy to entertain them." he half-snarled, turning his back and folding his arms in a childish manner.
Shego stepped back, watching with interest as Drakken huffed furiously. A slow smile spread across her lips as she touched a finger to them. "Actually," she cooed thoughtfully, "I 'did' just have a thought."
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Kim felt a rush of familiarity as the tall, muscular, dark-haired stranger waltzed into her room, carrying a small folder beneath his arm. He wore a simple blue sweater and khaki cargos, with a somber look about his handsome features that suggested either extreme confidence or supreme boredom.
"Huh." Ron tilted his head to the side, trading bemused looks with his naked mole rat. "Funny," he quipped, "The orientation guide said that 'Mysterious Stranger Offer' day was Tuesday."
"I'm far from mysterious," the young man cocked his brow at Ron's obnoxious interruption as he leaned against the wall, "And hardly a stranger, if I could be so bold."
Kim had been staring long and hard at his face from the moment he had walked through her door. As soon as he showed disdain for Ron, her brain made the connection. "Will?" she asked, extremely surprised.
He bowed at the waist with a tiny smirk. "Global Justice Special Agent William Du at your service, Ms. Possible." he rattled off. With a quick glance at her companions, he extended his greeting. "Mr. Stoppable…and company."
"Hmmf." Rufus stuck his claws on his tiny hips.
Ron's fingers snapped. "Oh yeah, I remember you!" His gaze suddenly narrowed suspiciously as he eyed Will's watch. "Keep that thing away from me, okay?" he pointed to Will's wrist.
"I assure you," Will said with mild irritation, "I am here on far more important business."
"Which is…?" Kim provided, hoping to come to the point before she lost her patience and Ron lost his civility. Will tossed her the manila folder in response. Upon closer inspection, she saw the GJ logo emblazoned on the front. "Global Justice Recruitment Initiative Program." she read from the cover. "What is-?"
"Consider it a scholarship." Will offered helpfully. "Global Justice wants you lock, stock and barrel, Ms. Possible. We want you working for us."
"What?" Kim was beyond floored. She had collaborated with GJ on plenty of cases, helping them when needed and accepting help in return. But Kim and Ron had always been independents, and GJ had never showed an interest in their joining the organization before. "Why? I mean, why now?"
"Actually," he admitted, "It was my suggestion. Since our meeting I've been following your exploits with great enthusiasm." He walked over, flipping through various pages of the folder for Kim to see. "You would be housed in GJ facilities near campus, living in a one-room flat with kitchenette, laundry service, training facilities, etc." With a flip of the page, he continued to illuminate, "Private tutors will be on-hand to assist with your academic needs. Rides will no longer be an issue, as GJ transportation will be at your beck and call, both within and outside of the confines of any and all missions."
"You like big words, don't you?" Ron scratched his head, trying his best to keep up with Will's confusing explanation.
Kim blinked silently at it all, overwhelmed at the magnitude of the offer. Global Justice was willing to give her everything she could ever want or need, plus a boatload more. It was a dream come true. She was speechless. She couldn't believe it!
Luckily, Ron knew just what to say. "Boo-yah!" he pumped his fists in the air, trading high-fives with Rufus. "We're gonna be secret agents."
"Not quite."
Ron, Rufus and Kim all turned in unison. "Beg pardon?" Ron asked.
"Huh?" Rufus added.
Will shut the folder on Kim's lap, indicating the name on the folder. He underscored each letter with his finger, looking pointedly at Ron. "This offer applies exclusively to Ms. Possible. I'm afraid, Mr. Stoppable, that Global Justice simply isn't interested in you." A look in Will's eyes almost betrayed a possible joy as he plunged the words into Ron's chest like a dagger, silencing the blonde's joyous celebration.
"What do you mean, 'exclusively?'?" Kim asked, her shock and suspicion growing. Apparently, it 'had' been too good to be true.
"We want 'you' working for us, Ms. Possible." Will emphasized. "The catch is that you cease being an independent. Kimpossible.com goes off-line, and your 'sidekick'," he rolled the word around distastefully in his mouth, "Is, regrettably, out of a job."
Ron still hadn't said anything. He simply stood there, staring blankly at Will as if the agent was sporting antlers. With a trace of wistfulness, Kim ran her fingers over the Global Justice seal. It had been a nice dream, but… "No."
Will's eyebrows shot up. "No?"
She shook her head, standing up with the folder in hand. "No. Ron and I are a team. We're a package deal, or no deal at all."
"Pity." Will waved her off as she tried to hand the folder back. "Keep it." he said. "Doctor Director thought you might respond thusly at first. You can take as long as you like to decide."
His smug attitude struck a nerve with Kim, who was already on-edge thanks to her unsuccessful battle with Drakken and Friends. "You have my answer." she spat impatiently, tossing the file onto the ground.
He took the verbal blow in stride. With a slight bow, he ushered himself out of the room, ignoring the long raspberry Rufus hooted his way.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Kim let loose with a full-on, foot-stomping rant. "The nerve of that…that dork!" Kim fumed, crossing her arms over her green tank top. "Coming here, dictating terms like that!"
Ron simply lifted the folder from the ground, paging through it numbly. "KP," he muttered, looking at GJ's incredible offer.
Ron's soft whisper snapped Kim out of her self-righteous anger. She softened immediately, walking up behind him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Oh Ron," she sighed. As bad as she felt, she could only imagine how Will's singular offer had affected her best friend. The agent had flat-out told Ron he was useless in the fight against evil. That had to be a blow to the boy's ego. "I'm really sorry," she started.
"That was really cool," he muttered back, unable to look at her. "What you did back there…"
"Listen," she squeezed his shoulder, walking around to face him. He put up no fight as she took the folder from his hands. "Don't let anything Will said get you down, Ron."
With a sigh, Ron put his best front on for Kim. "No big, KP." he scoffed. "I mean, we've never needed GJ before, right?"
"Right." Kim returned the smile. She returned the folder to the ground as Rufus hopped onto Ron's shoulder. The rodent was in the middle of along string of chuckles and chattering as she led both of them out of the room. "C'mon, let's find somewhere less frumpy to hang. Classes start tomorrow, so we need to make the most of our freedom for now."
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"Shego…I'm starting to have second thoughts about this."
Drakken and Shego stood on opposing platforms suspended high above the lair's training room. They were so close to the towering ceiling that the evil genius, should he be so inclined, could reach out and tap one of the flimsy fluorescent lights without much of a stretch. Drakken wore a set of tattered red pads over his blue labcoat. He looked like a big red marshmallow, and felt equally as ridiculous. A long, padded staff sat at his feet, waiting to be picked up.
"Don't worry so much, Dr. D." Shego grinned at him from her own platform, slipping on a pair of green padding that was otherwise identical to Drakken's. "You're going to love this."
He knelt down, peering over the edge of his platform. "Is this really necessary?" he gulped, looking down at the distant conglomeration of red jumpsuits that watched them from the far-off floor. "Why don't you train one of them?" he asked, indicating the henchmen.
"There aren't words for how stupid that would be." Shego slipped a green helmet over her waves of luxurious raven hair. "Look, this is going to be great! You'll learn how to fight the idiot, I can go back to fighting Kim Possible, and the status quo will be restored." Seeing his hesitation, she added, "You said we should do more stuff together, right?"
"You're sure it's safe?" he asked meekly, putting his red helmet on.
Shego's face lost all good humor. "Pick the stick up." she said flatly. He lifted the padded staff, shaking like a leaf as his tiny talons curled around the shaft uneasily. The warrioress adopted a battle-stance, grinning again. "Ready, Doc?"
"Well, I-"
Her green staff slammed into the side of his head, knocking him from his precarious perch before he could even finish. His long, shrill scream echoed across the training room as Shego leaned against her stick, watching him fall. "Okay," she admitted to the thin air, "Maybe this was a little much to start with." She winced as a loud thud cut Drakken's screaming off.
"I can't feel my legs…" Drakken called up weakly from the circle of henchmen that had (laughingly) surrounded him.
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Kim pushed her way through a gaggle of lingering students as she walked up the steps of the Physics and Engineering building, clutching her book bag strap with one hand while edging past people with the other.
Waking up for an eight o'clock lecture had been tougher than she had expected; the dorms were noisier than her cozy loft in Middleton, making it difficult to get to sleep. She had rushed out with no breakfast and no shower, leaving her feeling hungry and grungy. An old baseball cap covered her unwashed hair, which hung in a limp ponytail out the back.
The large, looming science building was part of a massive block of buildings, all enormous to the tiny teen titan as she ascended the dull gray steps. All of the buildings looked old enough to have been there for her father's undergraduate work. Some were chipping away, while others had large patches of ivy creeping up the side. All in all, it gave the university a stately, authentic image.
But Kim didn't have time to take any of that in on the clouded, cold September morning. Rolling up her sweater sleeves, she entered the building, hoping that she wasn't late for her first lecture. Thank God it was with Ron. With so many unfamiliar faces surrounding her, she felt a little intimidated; after all, in high school she had been top dog. Now she was just another freshman.
Lucky for her, the lecture hall was right inside the doors. She pushed on through the second set of double doors and into the lecture hall. Then she froze.
For an instant, Kim wondered if she had accidentally wandered into a theater by mistake. The hall was larger than her old auditorium, and nearly filled to capacity with teeming masses of youngsters. The front of the room, past the rows upon rows of stadium seating, was monopolized by a gigantic screen, replacing the traditional chalkboard. Smaller screens lined the sides of the room, angled so that the students could see them with ease.
"Kim!" A red-sleeved arm shot out of the sea of faces, flagging her down. With a grin, Kim trotted down the stairs and slid between the rows to join her best friend, who had dutifully saved her a seat.
She gave him a grateful smile as she slung her backpack down by her feet, folding the seat down. "Thanks, Ron." she said, pulling out a pen and notebook for the class.
"No prob. Hey," he squinted, taking a closer look. "You look like crap."
"Thanks, Ron." she said again, this time with sarcasm and a punch on the arm. "You look rested."
It was true. For the first (and hopefully last) time in their friendship, Ron was more well-groomed than she. "Yeah," he shrugged, "My uncle runs a quiet ship. Oh," he brightened, "I have two surprises for you."
Depressed at the sight of Ron readier for class than her, Kim couldn't help but slump down in her seat. "Please tell me it's mouthwash and deodorant." she sighed.
"Not quite." a voice behind her snickered.
"Though you could totally use both." A mirror voice added from behind Ron's seat.
With growing horror, Kim turned in her chair, coming face-to-face with a pair of identical grins. "Jim? Tim?" she gasped, recoiling at the sight of her younger brothers sitting behind her. "What are you two doing here?"
"Taking class." Tim shrugged, tucking a pencil behind his ear.
"Duh." Jim added smugly, doing the same.
"But you're supposed to be starting your freshman year in high school!" Kim exclaimed loudly, garnering several strange looks from the other students. "This is college Physics!"
"But we went to high school," Jim insisted.
"All last week," Tim added.
"And we tested out of all the math and science."
Tim shrugged, picking up the thread. "So they're sending us here. We're getting high school credit for these classes."
"Plus," Jim said gleefully, "Once we're graduated, we can keep the credits if we go here for college!" He turned to his brother, raising a fist. "Hicka bicka boo?"
"Hoo sha." Tim agreed, tapping Jim's fist as they traded smiles.
"They jumped me when I sat down," Ron explained with a similar grin. "Rufus and I didn't stand a chance."
"Nu-uh," came a tiny voice from Ron's pocket. Rufus poked his head out, looking about the lecture hall with curiosity. The room was a far cry from Middleton High, that was for sure.
"Fantastic." Kim rolled her eyes, turning back around. Between her lousy nigh and the sudden appearance of her brothers, she was reaching her limit rapidly. "Could this day get any weirder?"
Seconds later, Kim was sorry she had said anything as a painfully familiar voice filtered through the hall's central sound system. "Greetings, students, and welcome to Physics Thirteen Oh One."
Ron leaned over to Kim as the lecture hall buzzed with the confused voices of students. "Did you leave the Kimmunicator on or something?" She shook her head, which caused his frown to deepen. "Then why do I hear-?"
"There were no available professors for this lecture, and I needed some extra cash, so I'll be your lecturer for the semester." The enormous screens began to flicker with hissing static as the voice continued, "I have kind of an issue with privacy, so the lecture will be conducted via my web-cam. You can call me-"
"Wade." Kim watched as the image on the screens resolved themselves into the interior of Wade's reclusive lab. As usual, the teen was surrounded with monitors and keyboards, and had a soft drink close at hand. Puberty had struck the young super genius some time ago, bringing with it a waver in his voice and minor break-outs that were easier to see on wide screen HDTV.
"Now that the introductions are over, let's get down to basics, shall we?" he said in a chipper tone. His image was immediately replaced with a series of pictures and video streams that illuminated the lesson as he spoke. "It all started with a brilliant man named Isaac Newton and an apple orchard…"
As Wade lectured on, Ron leaned in again. "At least we can ask for personalized tutoring." he whispered. Kim just groaned, sinking down further into her seat. As far as she was concerned, the day couldn't end soon enough.
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Drakken clutched the laser pistol in his hand uncertainly, squinting at the distant target that sat at the far end of the shooting range. The wall behind the circular target was blackened and crumbling, but the target itself was still untouched.
A deft hand swept the pistol from his grip. "You know," Shego sighed as she pulled a long, thin rectangle from the butt of the gun, "I realize that you're new at this, but statistically, you should have at least 'hit' the target after six energy clips."
With a frustrated growl, Drakken barked at Shego, "It isn't as if I'm not trying, Shego! Besides," he sniveled, "That gun seems to be…misaligned, or something." He folded his arms in a pout.
"Really?" She seemed skeptical as she slammed a fresh energy cell into the weapon. Leveling the pistol at the target, she said, "Let's see…"
Zap. Zap. Zap.
Three bullseyes.
She smirked, tossing the pistol to him. "Seems fine to me." she gloated.
Shaking with rage, Drakken fumbled as he caught the pistol. "Bah! The problem isn't the pistol," he insisted with a huff, "It's this puny power setting you've set it to." He cranked the power knob on the weapon to maximum.
"Hold on a sec," Shego cautioned, "You can't-"
Drakken ignored her warning, leveling the pistol at the target. "Suck photons, my inanimate cyclopean foe!" he cried, squeezing the trigger. Instead of disgorging a beam of red death, the weapon began to quake and smoke in his hands. Turning the device around, he foolishly peered into the barrel. "Why isn't he sucking photons?" Drakken demanded as the weapon continued to whine at a steadily-increasing pitch.
Shego leapt forward with a yelp. "It's gonna overload!" she screamed, grabbing the weapon from him. With a mighty heave, she tossed the offending pistol as far as she could down the shooting gallery. Then she tackled Drakken, tumbling to the ground in a heap atop him.
This pistol exploded in a hail of shrapnel and a ball of expanding energy, obliterating the target and much of the surrounding landscape. By the time Shego and Drakken were standing again, all that was left of the pistol and the target was a smoldering crater and a gaping hole in the wall. One of Drakken's henchmen peered through the hole curiously from the other side, waving at his employers.
Drakken laughed nervously, placing his hands behind his neck as Shego silently fumed. "Well," he shrugged, "At least I got the target, right?"
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Kim felt her spirits lifting as Ron led the way through the tiny, friendly neighborhood. There was a short break in their class schedule after the nightmare that was Physics had ended, and Ron had promised her food back at his place. Since he lived so close to campus, and Kim hadn't eaten all day, it wasn't hard to convince her. Jim and Tim needed to get back to school for English class, but had promised to visit Ron's new apartment as soon as they could.
As they walked down the street, Kim was struck by the homey, friendly nature of the neighborhood. The buildings were all fairly small, never higher than three stories, and almost all of them were family businesses. Strangers waved at them as they strolled by, giving the pair a small smile or a tipped hat in greeting. Kim also noticed that several of the stores had Stars of David pasted in their windows.
"Ron," Kim breathed, smiling at a pair of elderly gentlemen pausing from their game of checkers to bid the teens 'good morning' as the pair passed a coffee house. "This place is amazing! But it seems awfully…"
"Jewish?" he asked playfully.
She shot him a withering glare. "I was going to say 'ethnic,' but we'll use your word, sure."
He nodded, lacing his fingers behind his head as they moved down the block. "Yeah, this whole neighborhood is mostly Jewish. Been that way since it was built back in the forties, I think. My uncle had a deli just down the street, and he runs a little apartment building here in Dreidleton, too."
"Dreidleton?" Kim wasn't sure if Ron was joking or not.
"Hey," he shrugged, "It's better'n what the other churches used to call it."
"Which was…?"
"Himeyville."
"Dreidleton it is," Kim had to stuff down a laugh as they found themselves in front of an older brick building. The place stood three floors high, and was made of well-worn sandstone. Kim decided to reserve judgment for when she was inside. "This it?"
"Yup." he grinned, "Home sweet home." He grabbed her hand and dragged her into the building, excitedly running up the stairs. Kim tromped after him when he grew too fast to hold onto her, in no mood to be hurried but smiling at his enthusiasm nonetheless. "C'mon!" he called from in front of his door.
Ron had the lock worked before she even cleared the steps. When she finally made it to the door, Kim was struck with surprise and just a tinge of jealously; Ron's place was a veritable palace compared to her own dorm room. There was a spacious living room sprawled out before her, with a tiny kitchenette off to the right. Ron had somehow secured an old, patchy futon to set in front of his television set, with an overstuffed armchair and a ridiculous green lawn chair set up on either side.
"Nice living room set," Kim joked as she toed the lawn chair.
"Flea markets are a treasure trove to the low-budget student." Ron retorted, heading immediately for the fridge. His old cooking skills jumped to the forefront as he began to rummage, asking Kim, "Feel like an omlette?"
"I would have settled for cold cereal." Kim began to make her way around the room as Ron pulled out some eggs and lunchmeat. She poked her head in one door, spying a stack of empty cardboard boxes in an equally empty room. "What's this?"
Ron's voice came from the interior of the fridge as he gathered more ingredients. "That's my future roommate's room, natch. Just need to find the roommate now."
Kim looked at the cozy room with a tiny sigh, imagining the room filled with her own belongings. It was a pretty picture, that was for sure. Part of her wished she had asked Ron for the room before signing that stupid dorm contract. But she knew that living with Ron would have been too weird…at least, that was what the more traditional part of her thought. After all, boys and girls can't be roommates, can they? She doubted her father would approve. "Nobody yet, huh?" she said aloud.
"Not yet." he pulled back from the icebox, balancing a set of eggs and various ingredients. "A little help, buddy?" Rufus leapt out, snagging the package of lunchmeat with his teeth as his tail stretched unnaturally to wrap around a bell pepper.
The teen heroine continued her inspection with his tiny bathroom, and caught sight of herself in the mirror. "Ugh. Mind if I use your shower?"
"Towels are in the closet." Ron replied, flipping the cupboard open and pulling a frying pan out.
"Thanks." Kim retrieved a towel and made a beeline for the bathroom, not needing to be told twice.
Ron smiled as he began juggling the eggs in one hand, slapping a pat of butter into the pan with the other. The sound of running water pattered from the bathroom as he began whipping up breakfast for two. Rufus pulled the meat out and began slicing it into squares as Ron produced a cutting board and knife, doing the same with the pepper.
Listening to Kim humming in the shower, it was easy to pretend that she was actually living there. It would have been perfect, living with his best friend their first time out into the real world. Ron felt so bad for her, living in that squalid hole the University called a dorm room. The pictures Will had shown them of GJ's facilities had been pretty nice, though…
His thoughts on rooms vanished as the sounds of water abruptly ceased. Minutes later, Kim slipped out of the bathroom, looking much better and far more refreshed as she ran a towel through her thick, coppery hair. Ron busied himself with the omlettes, putting the finishing touches on breakfast.
"Smells good," she said, walking over to her backpack and pulling out a brush, which she used to tame her wily locks.
"Tastes better." he replied, pulling out a pair of plates and slapping an omlette on each. He watched her apply some gloss to her lips, and swallowed hard, tamping down on a set of rising feelings as he forced a grin to his lips. "Eat up."
"Thanks." she slid up to the counter, sitting atop a stool stowed beneath. "And thanks for the shower," she added as Ron slid the plate to her.
"Hey," he shrugged, doling out a pair of forks, "At least now I can say I've had a girl naked up in my place." He cut off a piece of his omlette for Rufus, who was already drooling on the countertop in anticipation.
She shot him an annoyed glance as she contemplated beating him about the head for the comment. Every one of those thoughts vanished as she took a bite of her breakfast; the flavor exploded in her mouth, dazzling her taste buds and making her feel especially forgiving. A deeply contented sigh escaped her lips as she felt the food sliding down her throat. "This is amazing…" she moaned appreciably.
Ron grinned. Then he snapped his fingers, remembering the missing piece. He slid off of his stool and strolled over to the kitchen, pulling out a carton of orange juice. Retrieving two glasses, he set one down in front of Kim, then returned to his own food.
"You're welcome." he smirked, plunging his own plate into his omlette, only to strike empty plate. He looked down, finding his plate devoid of all but a large, stuffed pink blob that wobbled slightly with each tiny sigh it gave. Ron sighed, too, reminding himself to watch for Rufus the next time he decided to 'share' with his little buddy.
Kim, in the meantime, merely smiled at Rufus' antics. "I'll have to drop by 'Chez Ron' more often, I guess."
"Whenever you like, KP." Ron assured her. He just hoped she really would; it was more fun to cook for two than one.
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"I don't think this could get much worse…" Drakken moaned from beneath the weight bar. He and Shego were back in the training room at her instruction, much to his loud, obnoxious lamentation. Currently, the mad scientist was lying flat on his back, struggling against an unloaded bench-press bar. So far, the bar was winning by a landslide.
Shego grumbled, trying to hold her tongue. She watched Drakken push pathetically against the empty bar, feeling a deep-seated sense of disgust welling up inside of her. "Look, I know we've had some setbacks," she allowed patiently, "And I mostly blame myself."
"I mostly blame you too." Drakken grunted, still unable to lift anything. He was sweating like a pig, and it was already starting to soak through his lab coat.
"So we need to get back to 'basic' basics." she insisted. "Really pound the weights, get your physical strength up before we try anything else." She watched him struggle for a few more minutes, her previous confidence waning. "Okay…" she said unenthusiastically, "C'mon. Really pound. Lift. Jiggle it. Something…"
Drakken huffed, finally getting the bar to at least clank against its holster. "I think…I'm…getting it!" he wheezed excitedly.
She sighed, turning away so the sight could no longer sicken her. "This isn't working so well, is it?"
With a mighty heave, Drakken finally managed to clear the bar from its holster. "Look, Shego!" he cried with trembling arms, "I'm pressing the bench!" Then his arms gave away, and he managed a little squeak before the bar came crushing down onto his windpipe. "Shego…" he croaked, desperately pushing with no effect. "Shego…"
Her back was still to him as she surveyed the other weight equipment in the room. "Huh? Yeah, that's great." she said disgustedly. She began mentally running down the long list of things they were going to have to go through. The sheer number of skills Drakken had yet to learn in the art of combat was daunting, to say the least.
"She…go…" he struggled uselessly against the forty-five pounds of death at his throat.
"Yeah, yeah, feel the burn, or…whatever." she snapped, still not looking. She was starting to have serious doubts about turning Drakken into a killing machine. Thus far, it had been a lot of work and headache without much in the way of results. And if she succeeded? Shego shuddered to think what Drakken could do with those kind of abilities.
"Can't…breathe…"
"Y'know, maybe I was wrong." Shego pondered aloud. "Maybe trying to make a fighter out of you is the wrong idea…"
"Going…black…"
"Maybe what we need," she mused as she rubbed her chin, "Is someone who can already fight." As loathe as she was to bring in another independent, the situation demanded it. The sorry truth was that she couldn't fight both Kim Possible 'and' her sidekick anymore. The odds needed tipping in their favor. "What do you think Dr. D?" There was no response. "Doc? Are you even listening to me?" she asked snappishly.
Drakken, sensing the end, summoned a Herculean effort and heaved the bar off of him, tossing it aside as he gasped for breath. He sat up, his throat rasping as his bulging eyes retreated back into their sockets. "I'll…go get…my little…black book…" Drakken heaved, clutching at his throat.
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Kim was sprawled out on her bed, her legs up against the wall as she held a calc book above her face. "This doesn't make sense," she complained, trying to force the equations dancing before her eyes to come to some kind of order.
"It's not supposed to." Ron said, leaning back in her new chair with his own textbook in hand. "It's calculus."
The two teens had retired to Kim's dorm room after the first day of classes, both agreeing that they needed to get an early grasp on the menace that was Calc I before things got out of hand. Pounding music thumped against the ceiling, emanating from at least three floors away and still rattling Kim's greasy window. It was just the two of them that night; Rufus had opted to stay home from the study session. Ron silently wished he could have done the same.
With a sigh, Kim rotated to lie on her front, propping herself up on her elbows. Her head hurt from the combination of math and music, both equally unwanted in her life at the moment. "I don't get it. What's an anti-derivative?"
"I am." Ron decided, slamming his book closed. "I am very much opposed to derivatives. Do away with the whole lot of 'em." He watched with growing concern as Kim rubbed her temples.
She shot the ceiling a dirty look, wondering if walking into someone's room and destroying their stereo would be considered destruction of property or an act of heroism. It was growing more and more tempting to test the theory. "This isn't a great place to study." she decided, shutting her own book.
"Next time we'll hit my place." Ron said. Suddenly, a loud crack and a jerk in his seat jolted Ron. "Uh-oh…" he said, feeling himself falling as Kim's second chair suffered the same fate as the first one.
Kim helped him to his feet, sighing and grumbling. She knew it was supposed to be tough when you left home, but this was getting ridiculous. She tried to keep the welling homesickness inside her under control, but those handful of miles between her and her family house seemed like an expansive desert at the moment. "You okay?" she asked.
"Seriously," Ron groused, brushing splinters from his sweater, "Am I fat or something? These chairs suck." he decided, kicking one of the busted legs across the floor. Above them, the person with the stereo had decided to crank it up even louder. The bass was shaking the ceiling hard enough to knock tiny particles of flotsam loose, coating everything (including the two teens) in a fine white powder.
With a tiny moan, Kim flopped back down on her bed. She wasn't one to complain, but this was quickly becoming unbearable. "It'd be a lot easier if we had someone that knew what he was doing…" she decided. Unconsciously, her eyes fell upon the stray manila folder Will had left after his visit the day before. As much as she hated to admit it, those GJ tutors he had promised were sounding awfully tempting.
Ron finished cleaning all the loose junk off of himself with a satisfied nod. "Hey, maybe Wade's available for a private session." he suggested whimsically. "This could be our chance to meet him in…person." He caught sight of her staring at the GJ folder, and felt his heart sink.
Stray thoughts began to swim through Ron's head, thoughts he wished he could will away. Global Justice was offering Kim everything on a silver platter, and all she had to do was ditch the amateur operation in favor of something far more professional. He knew Wade wouldn't mind; this morning's lecture proved that Wade could find a million things to keep himself busy with. The only one that stood to suffer at all was Ron, and Kim had turned Will Du down on that single principle. Kim had been a good friend yesterday. Maybe it was Ron's turn today.
"KP…" he said slowly, picking up the folder. She blinked, blushing as she turned away, trying to pretend she hadn't been staring. Ron opened the folder and began paging through it again, looking at the offer. The pictures and figures before him sealed the deal. "I want you to take GJ up on their offer."
"Ron?" Kim was flabbergasted. She turned to her friend as he handed her the folder, his face beaming. "What are you saying? I meant what I said to Will; We're a package deal."
"I know. And I mean what I'm saying now." Ron insisted gently. He sat down next to her, pointing to all of the things she stood to gain. "Look, you hate living in this place." Another loud bass solo pounded down more white particles, proving Ron's point. "And with GJ equipment, your parents would only have to worry, like, a zillionth as much as they do now whenever you go out on missions."
"But Ron…" Kim felt her heart being won over, but part of her felt awful for it. "I…I couldn't save the world without you."
"Hey," he took her by the shoulders, meeting her eyes with his. "Best friends, remember? I will always, 'always' be there when you need me, no matter what." He assured her. "Take the offer, Kim. Seriously."
"You…You mean it?" she asked softly.
He nodded once more. "One hundred and twenty percent, KP."
"Oh Ron!" she felt tears welling up in her eyes, but held them back as she wrapped Ron in a gigantic hug. "Thank you. You 'are' my best friend, and I'll always be there for you too."
As Ron returned Kim's embrace, he couldn't help but be glad that she couldn't see his face right then. He didn't want her seeing the total look of despair that had settled in over his features.
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Drakken and Shego stood on a wide, open platform, still slightly damp after its activation. A glorious blue landscape stretched on forever in every direction as the ocean lapped gently against their landing platform, which had risen from the ocean floor just moments before. Behind them, the only raised structure on the platform dripped slowly, a watertight lift that had brought them to the surface.
"You know," Drakken nodded appreciably as he witnessed a pod of breaching dolphins, "We really should have tried an underwater lair ages ago. This is working out marvelously."
"Not to mention," Shego added, "That it's tougher for anyone to find us."
"Yes, yes," he waved her off, enjoying the view. His impatience soon grew greater, however, as his eyes rose to the pristine, cloudless sky. "Where are they?" he muttered, tapping his booted foot.
Shego was silent as she scanned the sky. Suddenly she tapped Drakken on the shoulder, pointing upwards. "There. One o'clock high."
"What?" He looked at his wristwatch, tapping it to ensure it still worked. "It's ten in the morning here, Shego. What on Earth are you talking-"
Groaning, she grabbed his head and turned it to point at the tiny dot on the horizon. Soon, the speck grew into a full-sized helicopter. The aircraft sported a row of deadly missiles running the lengths of its stabilizer foils, and a pair of nasty laser cannons mounted underneath.
The villainous pair stepped back as the helicopter came in for a landing, touching down gently on the metal grating of the landing platform. The wind died down as the chopper's rotors slowly spun to a halt. A sliding door on the rear compartment slid open, revealing the occupants of the craft.
"Doctor Drakken…" an elderly, gray-haired man greeted his new hosts as the door slid aside. He spoke warmly with a thick European accent, and clutched an elaborately crafted, gilded cane.
The other passenger in the chopper hopped down, helping the elderly man out of the craft. This one was far larger than the first, possessing a perfectly-sculpted build with an equally-perfect tan, and flawless hair styled short against his scalp. The younger man gave Shego a brilliant smile as soon as he saw her, which she returned in kind.
"Señor Senior…Senior." Drakken greeted awkwardly, striding forward. The billionaire grabbed Drakken's hand with a surprisingly firm grip as the two shook. "And Junior, of course," he added dismissively, waving aside Senior's useless son.
"Ms. Shego," Junior grinned devilishly, waggling his eyebrows. "A pleasure to see you again, of course." He captured her hand as well, but opted to kiss her knuckles rather than shake.
"Aren't you sweet." Shego smiled, pulling away gently.
"Now, to business, I think." Senior followed as Drakken led the way towards the lift, frowning in thought. "Doctor Drakken, when you contacted me, you spoke of an alliance with which to defeat that miscreant heroine, Kim Possible."
"Quite right." Drakken nodded. "And believe me, Triple-S…we shall!"
"But…" Junior interrupted, much to the annoyance of his elders, "Even with the four of us working together, would such a thing be possible? Father has spoken many times of defeating the Kim Possible, but without much results." He traded looks with Shego, asking, "You as well, yes?"
"Yeah," Shego nodded bitterly, "She's wily that way."
"Junior raises an excellent point." Senior turned back to Drakken, halting as he leaned against his cane. "Do you truly believe that the four of us working together will be able to defeat her?"
Drakken stopped as well, smirking. "No." He saw the shock spreading over the faces of his guests. As if on cue, he heard the distinct sound of helicopter blades beating against the horizon. With a turn, the four of them watched as several other black dots appeared on the skyline, drawing closer to Drakken's secret lair. "Which is why I've made other arrangements," he said sinisterly, "Which I think you will all approve of."
Together, the four of them watched as new potential allies drew closer, spelling doom for a certain teenage heroine.
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Kim Possible is the registered trademark of The Disney Corporation. All characters, locations and original concepts are copyrighted and therefore protected from plagiaristic violations. Isn't that neat?
-Review Response-
melafelice: Provided that you have no further questions regarding my knowledge of Japanese language and culture, then yes…yes, I did mean to write it as-is.
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Kim Possible
The Power of Love
by Cyberwraith9
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"Beaten!"
"Yes, Shego," Doctor Drakken sighed, kicking his feet up onto one of the many consoles situated in the command center of their nefarious lair. They had just returned from the successful mission, and his spirits were just high enough to ignore Shego's indignant rage…which had been going strong the entire ride home. "I heard you the first million times, there's no need to flip out or anything."
"By the Buffoon!" she shrieked. Her fists pounded into a table filled with random bits of technology she had stolen for Drakken, shattering everything into a hail of expensive metallic shards.
"Uh-huh," he nodded absently, examining his nails. Suddenly, he spotted a small white box sitting nearby on one of his keyboards. "Ooh, donuts!"
Her fists came aglow with emerald death as she crushed another table. "What part of this am I not making clear?" she growled between clenched teeth. "STOPPABLE BEAT ME!"
Drakken rolled his eyes, reaching for the box of pastries. "I'm not sure what the big deal is," he said as he pulled a bearclaw from the box. He took a big bite, talking around a mouthful of frosting. "The Sidekick and I have fought to a standstill plenty of times, and you don't hear me moaning about it."
Shego eyed the curve of his girth as he devoured the donut, spreading crumbs across his blue jacket front. "Ye-ah…" she snorted.
Swallowing the last of the treat, he sat up. "It doesn't matter anyway, Shego." he insisted, spilling crumbs across the console as he drew the crucial data stick from his jacket. "We got what we went for."
"Which was what, exactly?" she snapped testily. Drakken's flickering data screen drew her forward as he plugged the stick into an input slot. "I'm still a little fuzzy on the whole plan."
"Fear not, my dear Shego; the wheels continue to turn within my plot." Drakken smiled, tapping his temple.
"Yippee for the wheels…" she muttered.
"What we have here," he continued without hearing her jibe, "Is an inventory of every piece of government hardware capable of breaching the atmosphere. Now it's a simple matter of picking the right one, stealing it, and modifying it to our purposes."
"Oh-kay…" Shego drawled, leaning over his shoulder as the endless list of missiles and rockets scrolled across the screen. "And the second part of our plan?"
"Ehh…" he began to falter.
She groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Look, we talked about this, remember? Killing plants isn't enough, we have to be able to make it work to our advantage."
"It's still in development," Drakken shot back defensively. At her questioning glance, he quieted substantially. "I have a few ideas," he admitted, "But we don't possess the means to bring them to fruition."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"What?"
She looked puzzled. "What was that about fruit?"
Grumbling, Drakken buried his face in his claw before coming up with a snappish explanation. "Fru-i-tion." It means 'to make something work.'"
"Why didn't you just say that?" she scoffed, annoyed.
"Climb off my back, yo!" Drakken shot. "We have bigger fish to fry than your own ignorance."
"Like maybe figuring out what to do about Stoppable?" she countered. She was rewarded with another grumble from her employer.
"If you have any ideas, I'd be happy to entertain them." he half-snarled, turning his back and folding his arms in a childish manner.
Shego stepped back, watching with interest as Drakken huffed furiously. A slow smile spread across her lips as she touched a finger to them. "Actually," she cooed thoughtfully, "I 'did' just have a thought."
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Kim felt a rush of familiarity as the tall, muscular, dark-haired stranger waltzed into her room, carrying a small folder beneath his arm. He wore a simple blue sweater and khaki cargos, with a somber look about his handsome features that suggested either extreme confidence or supreme boredom.
"Huh." Ron tilted his head to the side, trading bemused looks with his naked mole rat. "Funny," he quipped, "The orientation guide said that 'Mysterious Stranger Offer' day was Tuesday."
"I'm far from mysterious," the young man cocked his brow at Ron's obnoxious interruption as he leaned against the wall, "And hardly a stranger, if I could be so bold."
Kim had been staring long and hard at his face from the moment he had walked through her door. As soon as he showed disdain for Ron, her brain made the connection. "Will?" she asked, extremely surprised.
He bowed at the waist with a tiny smirk. "Global Justice Special Agent William Du at your service, Ms. Possible." he rattled off. With a quick glance at her companions, he extended his greeting. "Mr. Stoppable…and company."
"Hmmf." Rufus stuck his claws on his tiny hips.
Ron's fingers snapped. "Oh yeah, I remember you!" His gaze suddenly narrowed suspiciously as he eyed Will's watch. "Keep that thing away from me, okay?" he pointed to Will's wrist.
"I assure you," Will said with mild irritation, "I am here on far more important business."
"Which is…?" Kim provided, hoping to come to the point before she lost her patience and Ron lost his civility. Will tossed her the manila folder in response. Upon closer inspection, she saw the GJ logo emblazoned on the front. "Global Justice Recruitment Initiative Program." she read from the cover. "What is-?"
"Consider it a scholarship." Will offered helpfully. "Global Justice wants you lock, stock and barrel, Ms. Possible. We want you working for us."
"What?" Kim was beyond floored. She had collaborated with GJ on plenty of cases, helping them when needed and accepting help in return. But Kim and Ron had always been independents, and GJ had never showed an interest in their joining the organization before. "Why? I mean, why now?"
"Actually," he admitted, "It was my suggestion. Since our meeting I've been following your exploits with great enthusiasm." He walked over, flipping through various pages of the folder for Kim to see. "You would be housed in GJ facilities near campus, living in a one-room flat with kitchenette, laundry service, training facilities, etc." With a flip of the page, he continued to illuminate, "Private tutors will be on-hand to assist with your academic needs. Rides will no longer be an issue, as GJ transportation will be at your beck and call, both within and outside of the confines of any and all missions."
"You like big words, don't you?" Ron scratched his head, trying his best to keep up with Will's confusing explanation.
Kim blinked silently at it all, overwhelmed at the magnitude of the offer. Global Justice was willing to give her everything she could ever want or need, plus a boatload more. It was a dream come true. She was speechless. She couldn't believe it!
Luckily, Ron knew just what to say. "Boo-yah!" he pumped his fists in the air, trading high-fives with Rufus. "We're gonna be secret agents."
"Not quite."
Ron, Rufus and Kim all turned in unison. "Beg pardon?" Ron asked.
"Huh?" Rufus added.
Will shut the folder on Kim's lap, indicating the name on the folder. He underscored each letter with his finger, looking pointedly at Ron. "This offer applies exclusively to Ms. Possible. I'm afraid, Mr. Stoppable, that Global Justice simply isn't interested in you." A look in Will's eyes almost betrayed a possible joy as he plunged the words into Ron's chest like a dagger, silencing the blonde's joyous celebration.
"What do you mean, 'exclusively?'?" Kim asked, her shock and suspicion growing. Apparently, it 'had' been too good to be true.
"We want 'you' working for us, Ms. Possible." Will emphasized. "The catch is that you cease being an independent. Kimpossible.com goes off-line, and your 'sidekick'," he rolled the word around distastefully in his mouth, "Is, regrettably, out of a job."
Ron still hadn't said anything. He simply stood there, staring blankly at Will as if the agent was sporting antlers. With a trace of wistfulness, Kim ran her fingers over the Global Justice seal. It had been a nice dream, but… "No."
Will's eyebrows shot up. "No?"
She shook her head, standing up with the folder in hand. "No. Ron and I are a team. We're a package deal, or no deal at all."
"Pity." Will waved her off as she tried to hand the folder back. "Keep it." he said. "Doctor Director thought you might respond thusly at first. You can take as long as you like to decide."
His smug attitude struck a nerve with Kim, who was already on-edge thanks to her unsuccessful battle with Drakken and Friends. "You have my answer." she spat impatiently, tossing the file onto the ground.
He took the verbal blow in stride. With a slight bow, he ushered himself out of the room, ignoring the long raspberry Rufus hooted his way.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Kim let loose with a full-on, foot-stomping rant. "The nerve of that…that dork!" Kim fumed, crossing her arms over her green tank top. "Coming here, dictating terms like that!"
Ron simply lifted the folder from the ground, paging through it numbly. "KP," he muttered, looking at GJ's incredible offer.
Ron's soft whisper snapped Kim out of her self-righteous anger. She softened immediately, walking up behind him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Oh Ron," she sighed. As bad as she felt, she could only imagine how Will's singular offer had affected her best friend. The agent had flat-out told Ron he was useless in the fight against evil. That had to be a blow to the boy's ego. "I'm really sorry," she started.
"That was really cool," he muttered back, unable to look at her. "What you did back there…"
"Listen," she squeezed his shoulder, walking around to face him. He put up no fight as she took the folder from his hands. "Don't let anything Will said get you down, Ron."
With a sigh, Ron put his best front on for Kim. "No big, KP." he scoffed. "I mean, we've never needed GJ before, right?"
"Right." Kim returned the smile. She returned the folder to the ground as Rufus hopped onto Ron's shoulder. The rodent was in the middle of along string of chuckles and chattering as she led both of them out of the room. "C'mon, let's find somewhere less frumpy to hang. Classes start tomorrow, so we need to make the most of our freedom for now."
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"Shego…I'm starting to have second thoughts about this."
Drakken and Shego stood on opposing platforms suspended high above the lair's training room. They were so close to the towering ceiling that the evil genius, should he be so inclined, could reach out and tap one of the flimsy fluorescent lights without much of a stretch. Drakken wore a set of tattered red pads over his blue labcoat. He looked like a big red marshmallow, and felt equally as ridiculous. A long, padded staff sat at his feet, waiting to be picked up.
"Don't worry so much, Dr. D." Shego grinned at him from her own platform, slipping on a pair of green padding that was otherwise identical to Drakken's. "You're going to love this."
He knelt down, peering over the edge of his platform. "Is this really necessary?" he gulped, looking down at the distant conglomeration of red jumpsuits that watched them from the far-off floor. "Why don't you train one of them?" he asked, indicating the henchmen.
"There aren't words for how stupid that would be." Shego slipped a green helmet over her waves of luxurious raven hair. "Look, this is going to be great! You'll learn how to fight the idiot, I can go back to fighting Kim Possible, and the status quo will be restored." Seeing his hesitation, she added, "You said we should do more stuff together, right?"
"You're sure it's safe?" he asked meekly, putting his red helmet on.
Shego's face lost all good humor. "Pick the stick up." she said flatly. He lifted the padded staff, shaking like a leaf as his tiny talons curled around the shaft uneasily. The warrioress adopted a battle-stance, grinning again. "Ready, Doc?"
"Well, I-"
Her green staff slammed into the side of his head, knocking him from his precarious perch before he could even finish. His long, shrill scream echoed across the training room as Shego leaned against her stick, watching him fall. "Okay," she admitted to the thin air, "Maybe this was a little much to start with." She winced as a loud thud cut Drakken's screaming off.
"I can't feel my legs…" Drakken called up weakly from the circle of henchmen that had (laughingly) surrounded him.
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Kim pushed her way through a gaggle of lingering students as she walked up the steps of the Physics and Engineering building, clutching her book bag strap with one hand while edging past people with the other.
Waking up for an eight o'clock lecture had been tougher than she had expected; the dorms were noisier than her cozy loft in Middleton, making it difficult to get to sleep. She had rushed out with no breakfast and no shower, leaving her feeling hungry and grungy. An old baseball cap covered her unwashed hair, which hung in a limp ponytail out the back.
The large, looming science building was part of a massive block of buildings, all enormous to the tiny teen titan as she ascended the dull gray steps. All of the buildings looked old enough to have been there for her father's undergraduate work. Some were chipping away, while others had large patches of ivy creeping up the side. All in all, it gave the university a stately, authentic image.
But Kim didn't have time to take any of that in on the clouded, cold September morning. Rolling up her sweater sleeves, she entered the building, hoping that she wasn't late for her first lecture. Thank God it was with Ron. With so many unfamiliar faces surrounding her, she felt a little intimidated; after all, in high school she had been top dog. Now she was just another freshman.
Lucky for her, the lecture hall was right inside the doors. She pushed on through the second set of double doors and into the lecture hall. Then she froze.
For an instant, Kim wondered if she had accidentally wandered into a theater by mistake. The hall was larger than her old auditorium, and nearly filled to capacity with teeming masses of youngsters. The front of the room, past the rows upon rows of stadium seating, was monopolized by a gigantic screen, replacing the traditional chalkboard. Smaller screens lined the sides of the room, angled so that the students could see them with ease.
"Kim!" A red-sleeved arm shot out of the sea of faces, flagging her down. With a grin, Kim trotted down the stairs and slid between the rows to join her best friend, who had dutifully saved her a seat.
She gave him a grateful smile as she slung her backpack down by her feet, folding the seat down. "Thanks, Ron." she said, pulling out a pen and notebook for the class.
"No prob. Hey," he squinted, taking a closer look. "You look like crap."
"Thanks, Ron." she said again, this time with sarcasm and a punch on the arm. "You look rested."
It was true. For the first (and hopefully last) time in their friendship, Ron was more well-groomed than she. "Yeah," he shrugged, "My uncle runs a quiet ship. Oh," he brightened, "I have two surprises for you."
Depressed at the sight of Ron readier for class than her, Kim couldn't help but slump down in her seat. "Please tell me it's mouthwash and deodorant." she sighed.
"Not quite." a voice behind her snickered.
"Though you could totally use both." A mirror voice added from behind Ron's seat.
With growing horror, Kim turned in her chair, coming face-to-face with a pair of identical grins. "Jim? Tim?" she gasped, recoiling at the sight of her younger brothers sitting behind her. "What are you two doing here?"
"Taking class." Tim shrugged, tucking a pencil behind his ear.
"Duh." Jim added smugly, doing the same.
"But you're supposed to be starting your freshman year in high school!" Kim exclaimed loudly, garnering several strange looks from the other students. "This is college Physics!"
"But we went to high school," Jim insisted.
"All last week," Tim added.
"And we tested out of all the math and science."
Tim shrugged, picking up the thread. "So they're sending us here. We're getting high school credit for these classes."
"Plus," Jim said gleefully, "Once we're graduated, we can keep the credits if we go here for college!" He turned to his brother, raising a fist. "Hicka bicka boo?"
"Hoo sha." Tim agreed, tapping Jim's fist as they traded smiles.
"They jumped me when I sat down," Ron explained with a similar grin. "Rufus and I didn't stand a chance."
"Nu-uh," came a tiny voice from Ron's pocket. Rufus poked his head out, looking about the lecture hall with curiosity. The room was a far cry from Middleton High, that was for sure.
"Fantastic." Kim rolled her eyes, turning back around. Between her lousy nigh and the sudden appearance of her brothers, she was reaching her limit rapidly. "Could this day get any weirder?"
Seconds later, Kim was sorry she had said anything as a painfully familiar voice filtered through the hall's central sound system. "Greetings, students, and welcome to Physics Thirteen Oh One."
Ron leaned over to Kim as the lecture hall buzzed with the confused voices of students. "Did you leave the Kimmunicator on or something?" She shook her head, which caused his frown to deepen. "Then why do I hear-?"
"There were no available professors for this lecture, and I needed some extra cash, so I'll be your lecturer for the semester." The enormous screens began to flicker with hissing static as the voice continued, "I have kind of an issue with privacy, so the lecture will be conducted via my web-cam. You can call me-"
"Wade." Kim watched as the image on the screens resolved themselves into the interior of Wade's reclusive lab. As usual, the teen was surrounded with monitors and keyboards, and had a soft drink close at hand. Puberty had struck the young super genius some time ago, bringing with it a waver in his voice and minor break-outs that were easier to see on wide screen HDTV.
"Now that the introductions are over, let's get down to basics, shall we?" he said in a chipper tone. His image was immediately replaced with a series of pictures and video streams that illuminated the lesson as he spoke. "It all started with a brilliant man named Isaac Newton and an apple orchard…"
As Wade lectured on, Ron leaned in again. "At least we can ask for personalized tutoring." he whispered. Kim just groaned, sinking down further into her seat. As far as she was concerned, the day couldn't end soon enough.
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Drakken clutched the laser pistol in his hand uncertainly, squinting at the distant target that sat at the far end of the shooting range. The wall behind the circular target was blackened and crumbling, but the target itself was still untouched.
A deft hand swept the pistol from his grip. "You know," Shego sighed as she pulled a long, thin rectangle from the butt of the gun, "I realize that you're new at this, but statistically, you should have at least 'hit' the target after six energy clips."
With a frustrated growl, Drakken barked at Shego, "It isn't as if I'm not trying, Shego! Besides," he sniveled, "That gun seems to be…misaligned, or something." He folded his arms in a pout.
"Really?" She seemed skeptical as she slammed a fresh energy cell into the weapon. Leveling the pistol at the target, she said, "Let's see…"
Zap. Zap. Zap.
Three bullseyes.
She smirked, tossing the pistol to him. "Seems fine to me." she gloated.
Shaking with rage, Drakken fumbled as he caught the pistol. "Bah! The problem isn't the pistol," he insisted with a huff, "It's this puny power setting you've set it to." He cranked the power knob on the weapon to maximum.
"Hold on a sec," Shego cautioned, "You can't-"
Drakken ignored her warning, leveling the pistol at the target. "Suck photons, my inanimate cyclopean foe!" he cried, squeezing the trigger. Instead of disgorging a beam of red death, the weapon began to quake and smoke in his hands. Turning the device around, he foolishly peered into the barrel. "Why isn't he sucking photons?" Drakken demanded as the weapon continued to whine at a steadily-increasing pitch.
Shego leapt forward with a yelp. "It's gonna overload!" she screamed, grabbing the weapon from him. With a mighty heave, she tossed the offending pistol as far as she could down the shooting gallery. Then she tackled Drakken, tumbling to the ground in a heap atop him.
This pistol exploded in a hail of shrapnel and a ball of expanding energy, obliterating the target and much of the surrounding landscape. By the time Shego and Drakken were standing again, all that was left of the pistol and the target was a smoldering crater and a gaping hole in the wall. One of Drakken's henchmen peered through the hole curiously from the other side, waving at his employers.
Drakken laughed nervously, placing his hands behind his neck as Shego silently fumed. "Well," he shrugged, "At least I got the target, right?"
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Kim felt her spirits lifting as Ron led the way through the tiny, friendly neighborhood. There was a short break in their class schedule after the nightmare that was Physics had ended, and Ron had promised her food back at his place. Since he lived so close to campus, and Kim hadn't eaten all day, it wasn't hard to convince her. Jim and Tim needed to get back to school for English class, but had promised to visit Ron's new apartment as soon as they could.
As they walked down the street, Kim was struck by the homey, friendly nature of the neighborhood. The buildings were all fairly small, never higher than three stories, and almost all of them were family businesses. Strangers waved at them as they strolled by, giving the pair a small smile or a tipped hat in greeting. Kim also noticed that several of the stores had Stars of David pasted in their windows.
"Ron," Kim breathed, smiling at a pair of elderly gentlemen pausing from their game of checkers to bid the teens 'good morning' as the pair passed a coffee house. "This place is amazing! But it seems awfully…"
"Jewish?" he asked playfully.
She shot him a withering glare. "I was going to say 'ethnic,' but we'll use your word, sure."
He nodded, lacing his fingers behind his head as they moved down the block. "Yeah, this whole neighborhood is mostly Jewish. Been that way since it was built back in the forties, I think. My uncle had a deli just down the street, and he runs a little apartment building here in Dreidleton, too."
"Dreidleton?" Kim wasn't sure if Ron was joking or not.
"Hey," he shrugged, "It's better'n what the other churches used to call it."
"Which was…?"
"Himeyville."
"Dreidleton it is," Kim had to stuff down a laugh as they found themselves in front of an older brick building. The place stood three floors high, and was made of well-worn sandstone. Kim decided to reserve judgment for when she was inside. "This it?"
"Yup." he grinned, "Home sweet home." He grabbed her hand and dragged her into the building, excitedly running up the stairs. Kim tromped after him when he grew too fast to hold onto her, in no mood to be hurried but smiling at his enthusiasm nonetheless. "C'mon!" he called from in front of his door.
Ron had the lock worked before she even cleared the steps. When she finally made it to the door, Kim was struck with surprise and just a tinge of jealously; Ron's place was a veritable palace compared to her own dorm room. There was a spacious living room sprawled out before her, with a tiny kitchenette off to the right. Ron had somehow secured an old, patchy futon to set in front of his television set, with an overstuffed armchair and a ridiculous green lawn chair set up on either side.
"Nice living room set," Kim joked as she toed the lawn chair.
"Flea markets are a treasure trove to the low-budget student." Ron retorted, heading immediately for the fridge. His old cooking skills jumped to the forefront as he began to rummage, asking Kim, "Feel like an omlette?"
"I would have settled for cold cereal." Kim began to make her way around the room as Ron pulled out some eggs and lunchmeat. She poked her head in one door, spying a stack of empty cardboard boxes in an equally empty room. "What's this?"
Ron's voice came from the interior of the fridge as he gathered more ingredients. "That's my future roommate's room, natch. Just need to find the roommate now."
Kim looked at the cozy room with a tiny sigh, imagining the room filled with her own belongings. It was a pretty picture, that was for sure. Part of her wished she had asked Ron for the room before signing that stupid dorm contract. But she knew that living with Ron would have been too weird…at least, that was what the more traditional part of her thought. After all, boys and girls can't be roommates, can they? She doubted her father would approve. "Nobody yet, huh?" she said aloud.
"Not yet." he pulled back from the icebox, balancing a set of eggs and various ingredients. "A little help, buddy?" Rufus leapt out, snagging the package of lunchmeat with his teeth as his tail stretched unnaturally to wrap around a bell pepper.
The teen heroine continued her inspection with his tiny bathroom, and caught sight of herself in the mirror. "Ugh. Mind if I use your shower?"
"Towels are in the closet." Ron replied, flipping the cupboard open and pulling a frying pan out.
"Thanks." Kim retrieved a towel and made a beeline for the bathroom, not needing to be told twice.
Ron smiled as he began juggling the eggs in one hand, slapping a pat of butter into the pan with the other. The sound of running water pattered from the bathroom as he began whipping up breakfast for two. Rufus pulled the meat out and began slicing it into squares as Ron produced a cutting board and knife, doing the same with the pepper.
Listening to Kim humming in the shower, it was easy to pretend that she was actually living there. It would have been perfect, living with his best friend their first time out into the real world. Ron felt so bad for her, living in that squalid hole the University called a dorm room. The pictures Will had shown them of GJ's facilities had been pretty nice, though…
His thoughts on rooms vanished as the sounds of water abruptly ceased. Minutes later, Kim slipped out of the bathroom, looking much better and far more refreshed as she ran a towel through her thick, coppery hair. Ron busied himself with the omlettes, putting the finishing touches on breakfast.
"Smells good," she said, walking over to her backpack and pulling out a brush, which she used to tame her wily locks.
"Tastes better." he replied, pulling out a pair of plates and slapping an omlette on each. He watched her apply some gloss to her lips, and swallowed hard, tamping down on a set of rising feelings as he forced a grin to his lips. "Eat up."
"Thanks." she slid up to the counter, sitting atop a stool stowed beneath. "And thanks for the shower," she added as Ron slid the plate to her.
"Hey," he shrugged, doling out a pair of forks, "At least now I can say I've had a girl naked up in my place." He cut off a piece of his omlette for Rufus, who was already drooling on the countertop in anticipation.
She shot him an annoyed glance as she contemplated beating him about the head for the comment. Every one of those thoughts vanished as she took a bite of her breakfast; the flavor exploded in her mouth, dazzling her taste buds and making her feel especially forgiving. A deeply contented sigh escaped her lips as she felt the food sliding down her throat. "This is amazing…" she moaned appreciably.
Ron grinned. Then he snapped his fingers, remembering the missing piece. He slid off of his stool and strolled over to the kitchen, pulling out a carton of orange juice. Retrieving two glasses, he set one down in front of Kim, then returned to his own food.
"You're welcome." he smirked, plunging his own plate into his omlette, only to strike empty plate. He looked down, finding his plate devoid of all but a large, stuffed pink blob that wobbled slightly with each tiny sigh it gave. Ron sighed, too, reminding himself to watch for Rufus the next time he decided to 'share' with his little buddy.
Kim, in the meantime, merely smiled at Rufus' antics. "I'll have to drop by 'Chez Ron' more often, I guess."
"Whenever you like, KP." Ron assured her. He just hoped she really would; it was more fun to cook for two than one.
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"I don't think this could get much worse…" Drakken moaned from beneath the weight bar. He and Shego were back in the training room at her instruction, much to his loud, obnoxious lamentation. Currently, the mad scientist was lying flat on his back, struggling against an unloaded bench-press bar. So far, the bar was winning by a landslide.
Shego grumbled, trying to hold her tongue. She watched Drakken push pathetically against the empty bar, feeling a deep-seated sense of disgust welling up inside of her. "Look, I know we've had some setbacks," she allowed patiently, "And I mostly blame myself."
"I mostly blame you too." Drakken grunted, still unable to lift anything. He was sweating like a pig, and it was already starting to soak through his lab coat.
"So we need to get back to 'basic' basics." she insisted. "Really pound the weights, get your physical strength up before we try anything else." She watched him struggle for a few more minutes, her previous confidence waning. "Okay…" she said unenthusiastically, "C'mon. Really pound. Lift. Jiggle it. Something…"
Drakken huffed, finally getting the bar to at least clank against its holster. "I think…I'm…getting it!" he wheezed excitedly.
She sighed, turning away so the sight could no longer sicken her. "This isn't working so well, is it?"
With a mighty heave, Drakken finally managed to clear the bar from its holster. "Look, Shego!" he cried with trembling arms, "I'm pressing the bench!" Then his arms gave away, and he managed a little squeak before the bar came crushing down onto his windpipe. "Shego…" he croaked, desperately pushing with no effect. "Shego…"
Her back was still to him as she surveyed the other weight equipment in the room. "Huh? Yeah, that's great." she said disgustedly. She began mentally running down the long list of things they were going to have to go through. The sheer number of skills Drakken had yet to learn in the art of combat was daunting, to say the least.
"She…go…" he struggled uselessly against the forty-five pounds of death at his throat.
"Yeah, yeah, feel the burn, or…whatever." she snapped, still not looking. She was starting to have serious doubts about turning Drakken into a killing machine. Thus far, it had been a lot of work and headache without much in the way of results. And if she succeeded? Shego shuddered to think what Drakken could do with those kind of abilities.
"Can't…breathe…"
"Y'know, maybe I was wrong." Shego pondered aloud. "Maybe trying to make a fighter out of you is the wrong idea…"
"Going…black…"
"Maybe what we need," she mused as she rubbed her chin, "Is someone who can already fight." As loathe as she was to bring in another independent, the situation demanded it. The sorry truth was that she couldn't fight both Kim Possible 'and' her sidekick anymore. The odds needed tipping in their favor. "What do you think Dr. D?" There was no response. "Doc? Are you even listening to me?" she asked snappishly.
Drakken, sensing the end, summoned a Herculean effort and heaved the bar off of him, tossing it aside as he gasped for breath. He sat up, his throat rasping as his bulging eyes retreated back into their sockets. "I'll…go get…my little…black book…" Drakken heaved, clutching at his throat.
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Kim was sprawled out on her bed, her legs up against the wall as she held a calc book above her face. "This doesn't make sense," she complained, trying to force the equations dancing before her eyes to come to some kind of order.
"It's not supposed to." Ron said, leaning back in her new chair with his own textbook in hand. "It's calculus."
The two teens had retired to Kim's dorm room after the first day of classes, both agreeing that they needed to get an early grasp on the menace that was Calc I before things got out of hand. Pounding music thumped against the ceiling, emanating from at least three floors away and still rattling Kim's greasy window. It was just the two of them that night; Rufus had opted to stay home from the study session. Ron silently wished he could have done the same.
With a sigh, Kim rotated to lie on her front, propping herself up on her elbows. Her head hurt from the combination of math and music, both equally unwanted in her life at the moment. "I don't get it. What's an anti-derivative?"
"I am." Ron decided, slamming his book closed. "I am very much opposed to derivatives. Do away with the whole lot of 'em." He watched with growing concern as Kim rubbed her temples.
She shot the ceiling a dirty look, wondering if walking into someone's room and destroying their stereo would be considered destruction of property or an act of heroism. It was growing more and more tempting to test the theory. "This isn't a great place to study." she decided, shutting her own book.
"Next time we'll hit my place." Ron said. Suddenly, a loud crack and a jerk in his seat jolted Ron. "Uh-oh…" he said, feeling himself falling as Kim's second chair suffered the same fate as the first one.
Kim helped him to his feet, sighing and grumbling. She knew it was supposed to be tough when you left home, but this was getting ridiculous. She tried to keep the welling homesickness inside her under control, but those handful of miles between her and her family house seemed like an expansive desert at the moment. "You okay?" she asked.
"Seriously," Ron groused, brushing splinters from his sweater, "Am I fat or something? These chairs suck." he decided, kicking one of the busted legs across the floor. Above them, the person with the stereo had decided to crank it up even louder. The bass was shaking the ceiling hard enough to knock tiny particles of flotsam loose, coating everything (including the two teens) in a fine white powder.
With a tiny moan, Kim flopped back down on her bed. She wasn't one to complain, but this was quickly becoming unbearable. "It'd be a lot easier if we had someone that knew what he was doing…" she decided. Unconsciously, her eyes fell upon the stray manila folder Will had left after his visit the day before. As much as she hated to admit it, those GJ tutors he had promised were sounding awfully tempting.
Ron finished cleaning all the loose junk off of himself with a satisfied nod. "Hey, maybe Wade's available for a private session." he suggested whimsically. "This could be our chance to meet him in…person." He caught sight of her staring at the GJ folder, and felt his heart sink.
Stray thoughts began to swim through Ron's head, thoughts he wished he could will away. Global Justice was offering Kim everything on a silver platter, and all she had to do was ditch the amateur operation in favor of something far more professional. He knew Wade wouldn't mind; this morning's lecture proved that Wade could find a million things to keep himself busy with. The only one that stood to suffer at all was Ron, and Kim had turned Will Du down on that single principle. Kim had been a good friend yesterday. Maybe it was Ron's turn today.
"KP…" he said slowly, picking up the folder. She blinked, blushing as she turned away, trying to pretend she hadn't been staring. Ron opened the folder and began paging through it again, looking at the offer. The pictures and figures before him sealed the deal. "I want you to take GJ up on their offer."
"Ron?" Kim was flabbergasted. She turned to her friend as he handed her the folder, his face beaming. "What are you saying? I meant what I said to Will; We're a package deal."
"I know. And I mean what I'm saying now." Ron insisted gently. He sat down next to her, pointing to all of the things she stood to gain. "Look, you hate living in this place." Another loud bass solo pounded down more white particles, proving Ron's point. "And with GJ equipment, your parents would only have to worry, like, a zillionth as much as they do now whenever you go out on missions."
"But Ron…" Kim felt her heart being won over, but part of her felt awful for it. "I…I couldn't save the world without you."
"Hey," he took her by the shoulders, meeting her eyes with his. "Best friends, remember? I will always, 'always' be there when you need me, no matter what." He assured her. "Take the offer, Kim. Seriously."
"You…You mean it?" she asked softly.
He nodded once more. "One hundred and twenty percent, KP."
"Oh Ron!" she felt tears welling up in her eyes, but held them back as she wrapped Ron in a gigantic hug. "Thank you. You 'are' my best friend, and I'll always be there for you too."
As Ron returned Kim's embrace, he couldn't help but be glad that she couldn't see his face right then. He didn't want her seeing the total look of despair that had settled in over his features.
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Drakken and Shego stood on a wide, open platform, still slightly damp after its activation. A glorious blue landscape stretched on forever in every direction as the ocean lapped gently against their landing platform, which had risen from the ocean floor just moments before. Behind them, the only raised structure on the platform dripped slowly, a watertight lift that had brought them to the surface.
"You know," Drakken nodded appreciably as he witnessed a pod of breaching dolphins, "We really should have tried an underwater lair ages ago. This is working out marvelously."
"Not to mention," Shego added, "That it's tougher for anyone to find us."
"Yes, yes," he waved her off, enjoying the view. His impatience soon grew greater, however, as his eyes rose to the pristine, cloudless sky. "Where are they?" he muttered, tapping his booted foot.
Shego was silent as she scanned the sky. Suddenly she tapped Drakken on the shoulder, pointing upwards. "There. One o'clock high."
"What?" He looked at his wristwatch, tapping it to ensure it still worked. "It's ten in the morning here, Shego. What on Earth are you talking-"
Groaning, she grabbed his head and turned it to point at the tiny dot on the horizon. Soon, the speck grew into a full-sized helicopter. The aircraft sported a row of deadly missiles running the lengths of its stabilizer foils, and a pair of nasty laser cannons mounted underneath.
The villainous pair stepped back as the helicopter came in for a landing, touching down gently on the metal grating of the landing platform. The wind died down as the chopper's rotors slowly spun to a halt. A sliding door on the rear compartment slid open, revealing the occupants of the craft.
"Doctor Drakken…" an elderly, gray-haired man greeted his new hosts as the door slid aside. He spoke warmly with a thick European accent, and clutched an elaborately crafted, gilded cane.
The other passenger in the chopper hopped down, helping the elderly man out of the craft. This one was far larger than the first, possessing a perfectly-sculpted build with an equally-perfect tan, and flawless hair styled short against his scalp. The younger man gave Shego a brilliant smile as soon as he saw her, which she returned in kind.
"Señor Senior…Senior." Drakken greeted awkwardly, striding forward. The billionaire grabbed Drakken's hand with a surprisingly firm grip as the two shook. "And Junior, of course," he added dismissively, waving aside Senior's useless son.
"Ms. Shego," Junior grinned devilishly, waggling his eyebrows. "A pleasure to see you again, of course." He captured her hand as well, but opted to kiss her knuckles rather than shake.
"Aren't you sweet." Shego smiled, pulling away gently.
"Now, to business, I think." Senior followed as Drakken led the way towards the lift, frowning in thought. "Doctor Drakken, when you contacted me, you spoke of an alliance with which to defeat that miscreant heroine, Kim Possible."
"Quite right." Drakken nodded. "And believe me, Triple-S…we shall!"
"But…" Junior interrupted, much to the annoyance of his elders, "Even with the four of us working together, would such a thing be possible? Father has spoken many times of defeating the Kim Possible, but without much results." He traded looks with Shego, asking, "You as well, yes?"
"Yeah," Shego nodded bitterly, "She's wily that way."
"Junior raises an excellent point." Senior turned back to Drakken, halting as he leaned against his cane. "Do you truly believe that the four of us working together will be able to defeat her?"
Drakken stopped as well, smirking. "No." He saw the shock spreading over the faces of his guests. As if on cue, he heard the distinct sound of helicopter blades beating against the horizon. With a turn, the four of them watched as several other black dots appeared on the skyline, drawing closer to Drakken's secret lair. "Which is why I've made other arrangements," he said sinisterly, "Which I think you will all approve of."
Together, the four of them watched as new potential allies drew closer, spelling doom for a certain teenage heroine.
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