Immortal Friendship II

Flight of the Sea King

Author's Notes:

Let me begin by thanking all of those who have kindly taken the time to review my first work—Immortal Friendship I: Escort Duty. The support my writing has meant a lot to me, and I sincerely appreciate it.

This second installment of Immortal Friendship (which will be a trilogy) has been long in coming, and I apologize for the delay. This was due both to a busy school schedule and a desire to ensure that this work continues to be as enjoyable as my last.

For those of you who have not yet read Escort Duty, I recommend doing so before reading this story (though I've tried to write it so that you don't need to have read Escort Duty, doing so will certainly clear up some confusion). Escort Duty can be found via my profile (I can't get a direct link to post here unfortunately).

Finally, I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it, and look forward to your thoughts!

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Kim glanced around the spacious suite, utterly entranced by its lavish opulence. The Princess Jenna Kilmen had invited Kim to join her at the hotel where they could relax and recover from the turmoil of the day's events.

The issues swimming through Kim's mind prevented her from fully enjoying the luxurious setting. Dr. Drakken was somewhere near Baltimore, readying a small submarine for his next evil scheme. Ron remained hospitalized, though his recent improvement had led one cautiously optimistic doctor to suggest he could be released as early as that afternoon.

Kim's greatest concern, however, was whether Ron would be able to join her. For several days he had been serving as special escort to Princess Jenna Kilmen, ruler of the small country of Parmea. Prior to that, the CIA had put him through weeks of intensive training. Kim worried that removing Ron from his assignment and getting him back by her side could be difficult.

Surprisingly, Princess Jenna had not mentioned anything having to do with Ron's assignment, seeming to effortlessly change the subject whenever the question arose. This only served to worry Kim more, and each passing minute seemed to make it more likely she would need to face Drakken's latest scheme alone.

The waiting was killing her. She needed an answer. "Princess… I would really appreciate it if there was some way to… you know, get Ron off this assignment? I really need his help.

"You have something important to do?" the princess asked.

"Just some save the world stuff… so not the drama."

"Well, as much as I hate to say goodbye, it's probably best if he goes with you. I'll talk to Mr. Brigsby about it next time I see him—" A knock at the hotel room's door interrupted her in mid-sentence. The young Princess rose gracefully to her feet and opened the ornate maple door, revealing the two figures standing behind it.

Oh, look," she said as Jack Brigsby and Deputy Director Richard Melbourne entered the hotel room.

"Well done, Miss Possible," Brigsby began, "I don't know what we would have done without you… both the Princess and the President would be hospitalized at best."

"Wait… that was Ron, not me."

"He doesn't want to admit I was right about Ron," Melbourne said smugly. "He thought he knew him better than I did."

"I did know him better than you. You read his file and talked to him for twenty minutes… I worked with the lunatic for days. I just can't accept someone who eats caviar with their fingers as a crime-fighting genius."

"He did what now?" Kim asked.

"That's just the beginning. He broke two laptops by rolling over them in his sleep, spent nearly 75% more on his food expenses each day than we normally allow agents… at a fast food restaurant, and asked for popcorn at a mission briefing… two separate briefings in fact. And that doesn't even scratch the surface."

"That's just normal Ron," Kim said, smiling. "He's really a great guy when you get to know him."

Brigsby began to roll his eyes but stopped when Melbourne shot him a warning glance. "I knew he might be a bit unorthodox," Melbourne said, "but he did his job. He did his job very well. I'm personally putting him in for a Presidential citation."

"Ron?" Kim asked, her mouth dropping open.

"It doesn't guarantee he'll get anything, but I wouldn't count it out. After all, the citation recognizes conspicuous gallantry in defense of the President of the United States."

Brigsby rolled his eyes, ignoring Melbourne's look of disapproval.

"Gentlemen," the Princess interrupted, "It has come to my attention that Mr. Stoppable's services are needed elsewhere. With Lord Monty Fisque behind bars, I feel comfortable with his departure from a security standpoint, and hope that you'll approve it."

"I knew she'd want to get rid of him sooner or later," Brigsby spat.

Kim was tempted come to Ron's defense, but a beep from her communicator forced her to divert her attention away from the conversation. Luckily, the Princess had the same urge as Kim and rebutted Brigsby's attack.

"On the contrary, I'd request that he be transferred to my personal security team if he was a real agent, but I realize he has a family, friends, and things to do here. Taking him to Parmea with me would be very selfish indeed."

"I wouldn't mind," Brigsby whispered to Melbourne, who then kicked his younger counterpart in the shin in response. Brigby looked surprised, but realized that Melbourne was serious that the sly comments could not continue.

Kim was smiling as she dropped her communicator back into her pocket. "Good news! Ron's getting released in about an hour… so I'd really like it if the two of us can head home together."

Melbourne smiled. "If Princess Jenna approves, we will send Ron on his way with you."

"I approve," the Princess replied. "Let me make a quick phone call." She disappeared into the suite's kitchen.

"So, how do you stand him?" Brigsby asked.

"Who, Ron?" Kim inquired.

"Yes."

"He's probably the sweetest, most caring person I know," Kim answered bluntly. "Standing him is not the problem, though I'll admit working with him in the field isn't always the easiest thing. You couldn't imagine how often he loses his pants."

"I probably could, but I'd rather not," Brigsby said dryly.

"He's been my best friend for years, and probably always will be."

"Well, I admire your willingness to support the mentally challenged."

Kim turned to him and frowned, but before she could say anything, Melbourne interrupted.

"Mr. Brigsby, I have heard quite enough at this point. You will not utter another word until we have left this building. Is that absolutely clear?"

Brigsby nodded timidly.

"Alright, Kim," the Princess said, walking back into the room. "My limo is downstairs and it will take you to the hospital to pick up Ron, and then bring you both to the airport. My private jet will take you back to Middleton."

"Badical!" Kim said, immediately frowning. "Sorry, I guess Ron's been rubbing off on me."

"You are going to need to stay off your feet as much as possible for the next few days," the doctor was saying, "and be sure to take all of your medications. Your immune system is weakened and you need the antibiotics to keep from getting any type of unrelated infection. The painkillers are important too…"

"Gotcha," Ron answered dismissively. "For the fourth time."

"I'll make sure he takes care of himself," Kim added with a smile.

"You're lucky to have such a caring girlfriend," the doctor said to Ron.

"I told you people think that we're a couple," Ron said to Kim with as much strength as he could muster.

"Couple!" Rufus chirped from his spot on Ron's shoulder. Kim simply rolled her eyes.

"Ok, then, sweetie," she said sarcastically, "let's get going." She helped Ron out of his chair, handing him the pair of crutches he needed to keep weight off of the leg that had been bitten. He staggered forward, barely keeping his balance but still managing to mover at a fair clip. Rufus was jostled about and screeched loudly, grabbing onto Ron's shirt.

The driver helped Ron into the back seat of the limo, storing his crutches on the floor. Kim took the seat next to him.

The sleek black limo sped away from the curb, heading towards the airport. Kim looked out the window for a moment, then turned to Ron. "I called Mom and she said she'll take a look at you when we get home. Hopefully she can speed up your recovery, because we need to get you back in shape."

"Something up?" Ron asked, his voice still shaky but stronger than it had been since he had been bitten.

"It's Drakken," Kim responded with a sigh.

"Isn't it always? That dude needs to get a clue."

"Tell me about it. You won't believe his latest scheme."

"He's trying to steal Christmas again?" Ron said in what Kim guessed was a horrified tone, but his voice was still too distorted for her to be sure.

"He never tried to steal Christmas!" Kim replied angrily.

"That's what he wants you to think Kim," Ron said. "Get with the program!"

"Whatever… now it's a submarine."

"A submarine, eh? I knew he was going to do the underwater lair thing sometime."

"He plans to use subliminal messages beamed into TV programs to influence people's thinking."

Ron started to shake his head, but stopped abruptly as a wave of pain snapped through his neck. "Kim, Kim, Kim… when are you going to learn I have absolutely no clue what you just said."

"Drakken is trying to control people's minds by hiding messages in TV programs," Kim answered dryly.

"Was that so tough?"

The big jet accelerated rapidly down the runway, pulling up and climbing rapidly skyward. Inside, Kim and Ron were awed by the incredible luxury. The entire cabin had a lush, red carpet. They were seated on comfortable leather couches, looking out windows that were rimmed with gold.

"This is sah-weet," Ron said to Kim, who was seated on the couch opposite him, across a marble-topped table. "I'm going to go check out the galley." He began to unfasten his seatbelt.

"Ron, shouldn't you wait until the pilot says it's ok?"

"No… this is a private jet Kim, what could happen?" He stood up and limped towards the galley at the far end of the cabin. He disappeared into the small room, but Kim could hear the sound of bags being torn open and annoyingly loud chewing.

Suddenly, the airplane rocked violently to the right, approaching 60 degrees of bank. The G-forces increased rapidly, and Kim braced herself by hanging onto her seat. The plane quickly returned to level flight, and Kim let out a sigh of relief.

Ron hadn't faired as well. Kim had heard a number of loud noises coming from the galley, and got up to see what had happened. Rufus was standing in the hallway, waving his hands anxiously.

Kim jumped over him and looked in the galley, where Ron was covered with a variety of crackers, drinks, sandwiches, and other food items that had been neatly stocked on the shelves moments before.

"You ok Ron?" Kim asked.

"You missed my screams of pain?"

"I was kinda preoccupied. Are you ok?"

"I hit the wall kinda hard, but I think I'm alright," Ron said, rubbing a bloody bruise on his forehead. He got to his feet, still a bit unsteady. Kim couldn't help but wonder if it was due to the spider bites or his latest injury.

"I told you not to get up."

"I'm sorry Kim, though I doubt you expected that to happen."

"True enough… still, if you listened to me, you'd of been in better shape."

"And have missed out on three minutes of snackage, KP!"

One of the pilots walked into the galley, his face quickly going from grim to horrified as he surveyed the scene. "Oh my, is everyone ok?"

"Yes," Kim replied politely, "Ron hit his head, that's about it."

"That's it?" Ron asked loudly, "KP, it hur-urts!"

"Ok, he hit his head hard."

The pilot's expression softened as he realized things were not as bad as they had originally looked. "Any reason he was in the galley?"

"I wanted to load up on some snackage dude."

The pilot shook his head in confusion. "Anyway, we just had a near miss with another jet… something was wrong with his traffic collision avoidance system- we are lucky we saw him coming at us. I need to get back to the cockpit now… let us know if you need anything." He turned to leave, but stopped. "I hate to ask this, but any chance you could help clean this up? Eat whatever you want along the way."

"Sure thing," Ron said enthusiastically before Kim had a chance to answer. "Booyah!"