Friends and Temptresses.

When Ron came back from his meeting with Shego, Barkin and Kyoko looked at him.

"Where's Shego?" Barkin asked.

"She took off…" Ron said.

"Ah." Barkin responded, and then he held out a slip of paper to Ron. "This is an account number with a bank in the Cayman islands. It contains 100,000 dollars, as per the agreement that Shego negotiated on your behalf, Stoppable." Ron Grinned.

"Thanks, Mr. B."

"And because I know where you are, I'll be sending some things to you at the school."

"Won't that?.." Ron didn't like the idea of suddenly having an INTERPOL marshal show up.

"No." Barkin said, "This entire incident is classified at MAJESTIC. Trust me, nobody with that clearance cares in the least about some felony charges in America." He looked at Ron. "So what did Shego tell you?" Ron reddened.

"Let me guess, Stoppable—she told you about the high paying life of an international mercenary… didn't she?" Ron nodded.

"Kinda…"

"Let me tell you something." Barkin said. Ron looked at his teacher.

"Shego's right about the money. She's right about a lot of things, and maybe you and Possible should think about having some of the people who can, pay a little more than in free rides…if you ever decide to go that way again." Barkin raised a finger, "But…when was the last time you heard about Shego enjoying some time with friends, without constantly looking over her shoulder because she has to watch out for both sides, can't have any close friends outside of business or she'll put them in jeopardy? ." He paused, "Sure Shego has a lot of houses, because she always has to stay hidden. I bet she took off because she was worried I might think about tying up loose end's, right?

Ron nodded.

"Remember that—her life is a damned lonely one." He paused, "Now about you, Kyoko."

"I'll return home with Ronald-Sama."

"No." Ron blinked.

"It's ok, Mr. B."

"No, it's not—I handled your drivers ed, remember? At least you remembered a helmet, but a motor bike, in Tokyo traffic, with you at the controls, is not safe…I will take her home." Ron blinked. How did he do that—from ninja secret agent being instructed in the arts of international espionage, to 16 going on 10 in 30 seconds. Kyoko looked upset, but subsided at a look from Barkin. She looked at Ron, ran up, gave him a hug and handed him her PDA, as Rufus leaped out and made the transfer.

"I have more, Ron-sama. This one works much like Wade-san's device." She said, pointing to the Kimmunicator. "But it is, of course, much more advanced, being newer…bye!" She bounced into the car, followed by Barkin, who nodded to Ron, as the limo pulled out. As it came by him, Barkin poked his head out of the window.

"Stoppable—if Kim becomes…depressed over what happened at school—remind her, everyone makes decisions with their eyes open. I knew what might happen." Then, in a whisper of wheels, the limo was gone.

Everyone else was gone, Ron realized, with no sign there'd ever been anything here—someone had even scattered dust and dirt over the place where they'd gone in with the underwater swimming vehicles. His ninja was parked in the corner, and Ron walked to it thinking about both Barkin and Shego's statements. Ron thought about staying in Tokyo…maybe going back and seeing some of the city…but no. It was late, and if he stayed any longer he'd have to stay all night. He could come back out with Kim sometime, now that he had a bike, or just come back out on the train. He had to get back h-

Since when did the school become home?

It was late…very late when he got back. Ron stopped at the entrance to the school. (the school had a garage at the bottom of the pathway, where the Ninja now was) Nobody was up, except for a few lights flickering where some students were studying. He poked his head into their room, and saw that Kim was already asleep. Ron gently lay down beside Kim, careful to not wake her. Yori was no where to be seen, but there was a note on the pillow.

Ron-San. Kim is sleeping well. I think that she no longer need fear sleep.

Ron looked at Kim, saw how her red hair, no longer dull, haloed her face, her breath coming easily, no longer with the sudden twitches that showed her trying to fight up from some nightmare. She was deeply, naturally, asleep.

Ron fell asleep beside her, watching her until his eyelids closed.

"Stoppable-San!" Yori's voice woke him up. Ron bolted upright and saw the sun on the floor—it had to be at least 9:00… Yori was sitting beside him and smiled. "Sensei decided that you should have some sleep, given your adventure."

"Thanks… " The other side of the mat was empty. "Where's K-"

"Here, sleepy head." Kim said, strolling in dressed in her workout clothes. "I've been up since five, w-w-working." She smiled. "Did you enjoy your sleep?"

"Well…yeah."

"And who is this Kyoko that left you a pink PDA, and how did you get my Kimmunicator?" She asked, more to the point.

"Well, ah… Kyoko helped Mr. Barkin, Shego and I, and Shego gave me the Ki-"

"Whoa! Back up." Kim ordered, "Mr. Barkin and Shego? Helped how?" Ron grinned, and looked at the two of them. He wasn't in any organization that had to deal with 'need to know'.

Shego's mouth covered his, pressing him against the wall and he could feel her body- OK, maybe there were a few "need to know" aspects about the operation. Ron sat and told them all about what had happened…with edits. At the end of the story, Kim was chewing her lower lip, a disturbed expression on her face.

"What is it, KP?"

"I w-w-wish Mr. Barkin was still at school." She said, "That wasn't fair." He had tried to help me and this is what happened. Ron reached out and covered her hand.

"Mr. B. had a message for you, Kim." Ron said, "He made his decisions—eyes open." He shrugged, "I don't think he regrets it."

"It still wasn't' fair." Kim said.

"Yeah." Ron had to agree. Then Kim gave him a look.

"And working with Shego!?" She paused, and said in an aggrieved voice. "I turn my back for a few months, and the world goes nuts. Is she our friend?"

"Well, Um…." Ron said reddening, "not really… I mean, not like a close friend."

"So she's our enemy?"

"Nah…she's… a, I don't really know! Yeah, that's it!."

"Kim-san! Ron-san!" A voice came from outside, where Hirotaka and several grunting students held a collection of boxes. Ron blinked.

"Mr. B?" He asked, "I thought the money was going to be deposited…maybe it's a bonus!" Ron looked at Rufus.

"Boo-ya!" Kim and Yori shared a smile. That was Ron, all right. He quickly dug into the boxes, tossing packing peanuts all over the room. Then, he stopped, seeing what was at the bottom. His face took on a look of disbelief….of sorrow… of betrayal. Kim looked concerned.

"Ron…what is it?" Mutely, Ron pulled out one book—on macro-economics. Then he pulled out a letter, opened it and read it.

"Stoppable, Possible. 'Ninja arts' are not on the United States Curriculum for high school, and you have both fallen well behind your former classmates. In here are all the Junior and Senior text books, along with a plan of correspondence study and tests. I will be grading those tests, and I expect them promptly. You don't need to fear someone finding you." Ron blinked. Blinked again. Then he continued.

"PS: Stoppable. I don't have to say this to Possible, but I hope your new found determination in breaking things extends to using a book for something other than a head rest. Congratulations, people. You're back in school.

Ron let the letter fall from his hands.

"I'm in a secret ninja school…I just saved part of the world… and I have homework?" Kim paused and looked at him, holding the small sheet Barkin had given him.

"You also have 100,000 dollars, deposited in…our names?" Kim blinked. "It's a-a dual account…" Ron was still lost in the horror of school.

"Can I use it to pay for a tutor?" He asked, hopelessly. Kim laughed,

"Sorry—I think that'd be cheating." Then they both paused. There was something else in front of them.

The Kimmunicator.

"We haven't talked to Wade…we didn't even say goodbye." Ron said. "He's gonna be pissed."

"Beyond belief." Kim agreed.

"Maybe we should wait."

"Until he calms down."

"2040 sounds good."

"maybe 2050." Then they looked at each other.

"I have the batteries." Ron said. "Should I talk to him first?"

"How about both of us." Kim said, holding onto Ron's hand. "That way we can give each other moral support."

"Or run if this thing sprouts legs and starts chasing us." Ron said. Kim grinned.

"So not the drama, Ron." She stopped and looked at him. "What?"

"It's been a while since you said that, KP." Ron quietly said.

They plugged the batteries in, and waited while the unit went through its self test and start up procedures. Then, Kim hit the button to open the com…and waited.

Several seconds passed, until the screen cleared and there was Wade, in pajamas blinking sleep out of his eyes.

"oops." Kim said, "I think we forgot the time difference." Wade heard her voice.

"Kim?" he said. He rubbed his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he'd seen. Then…

"KIM!" He shouted, looking like he was about to start dancing. "YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE NOT CRAZY!" Kim giggled at that.

"Thanks Wade," She said. "You look…excited." Abruptly, Wades mood changed and he looked like a small thundercloud in pajamas.

"Why didn't you call me?" He said. "You could have done something- -nobody knew what had happened to you!" He paused, "After you and Shego kidnapped Kim, Ron, the entire-" Kim blinked. She'd never seen Wade this upset.

Wade Continued ranting.

"FBI, CIA and INTERPOL were crawling over Middleton. Do you know that for nearly a week they thought that the whole thing might have been orchestrated by Shego and Drakken to drive you crazy and kidnap you?" He paused, "Then they decided it might be a Russian covert operation, that you were always a FSB agent, and they were extracting you…and then" His voice raised aggrieved, "They decided that maybe I knew something… so they seized ten of my computer's!"

"At once?" Ron said, somewhat stunned by the onslaught.

"No! Every time I got a new computer, they seized it—for a month!" He glared, "I was offline for…. Hours!" The horror of that statement obviously required no expansion.

"I-I'm sorry Wade," Kim said contritely, "I didn't know and I was…not myself for a while here." Wade's anger dropped away. "Yeah." He said, "I saw some of the hospital tapes when I was looking for you." He shrugged, "If you want even crazier, you should see all the internet sites out there—they have you everywhere from Rio to Graceland."

"Working for Elvis?" Ron asked.

"Nope—getting ready for a comeback after they transplant Elvis' brain into you." Ron grinned, then looked serious.

"Wade…I didn't get in contact with you, deliberately." Ron said, "I didn't want anyone having to lie—and risk going to jail for it." Wade looked at him.

"What about your parents." Ron paused, and fell silent.

"I couldn't tell them for another reason."

"Which was?"

"They were the only people I was worried about who might talk us out of it—convince us to come back." Kim took that opening.

"Wade, how are o-o-our parents." She said. Wade blinked at the stutter, but let it pass.

"They're fine… well, scratch that. They're as good as they could be, under the circumstances. Your mom and dad are back working…" Wade paused, and looked apologetic. "But I haven't talked to them much—your dad kinda…got upset when he realized Ron had kidnapped you with Shego, Kim…so well…"

"He's banned you and me, right?" Ron supplied.

"Beyond measure, Ron." Wade grinned, "Of course, if you want to talk to him, you know the phone number." Ron blanched.

"No." Kim said. "I-I-I" She shut up. The excitement of talking to Wade had caused the stuttering to come back with a vengeance. Kim waited, counted to ten, and then started again. "I'm still wanted—and I bet there's a tap on all those phones." Wade nodded.

"Last I checked—not only your parents, but everyone you or Ron ever called as well." Kim nodded. Then, one other question she had to ask.

"Wade…How is Bonnie?" Wade paused.

"She went back to school after two weeks." He continued, "But she's still seeing the school councilor." Kim lowered her eyes in shame.

"Hey KP." Ron said, "You weren't yourself, remember?" Out of Wade's sight, he covered her hand with his. Abruptly, there was a sudden bleep from the pink PDA. Wade looked down at his computer.

"Guys, you have another-Kyoko?"

"Hello, Wade-san!" Kyoko said, her voice oddly stereophonic, coming both from Wade's device and her own PDA. "I gave this to Ron-san for his missions, in case he need help from me on his adventures with Shego-san!"

"WHAT?" Wade said, "I'm handling team possible!"

"And I'm handling Ron-san—and I gave him a MUCH better communicator!"

"Did not!"

"Did too! I bet your communicator can only handle 3rd level multi-fractal chaos theory encryption routines! Mine is better and has quantum solid state memory!" Kim and Ron blinked at the exchange. Suddenly, both units sprouted wires and started plugging into each other, the two technonerds facing each other.

"OK, Kyoko, their can be only one—the first one to break into the other's command level protocols surrenders."

"Banzai!"

Completely ignored, Kim and Ron looked at each other.

"What do we do, Ron?" Kim asked.

"Watch, and if things get too hot, hose them off… or set them up on a date."

"Date?" Kim exclaimed, "They're little kids!" Without missing a single keystroke in her duel, Kyoko spoke.

"But we do have a baby." Kim and Ron's mouth opened up at that, but no sound came out.

"Yeah, a virtual AI construct designed along hyper-cognitive self directing AI routines, set up to evolve along the lines of an organic creation, only at 20 times "real world" time." Wade supplied, even while he wasn't missing a keystroke.

"Yes, and you let the FBI confiscate our baby—10 times over!" Kyoko said from her position, furiously typing.

"But I made backup copies…" Wade pleaded. Kim looked at Ron and just blinked.

"Who do you think will win?"

"I don't know—but for the world's sake, at some point we have got to get them into some…normal activities." Then Ron paused, "No, that's no good."

"Why not?"

"They may meet the Tweebs." Kim blinked hard at that image, which somehow seamlessly joined with a vision of the earth flying out of orbit into the depths of space. Somehow, in the vision, she could hear the Tweebs, 'hick-a-bic-abooing" all the way into deep space.

"That's…horrible." Kim said, and got up, reaching down to pull Ron up. "Wade… We'll keep in touch—but don't tell mom and dad…not yet. I'll do t-t-t-" Pause, "That." Wade nodded. "Right Kim!" Now that his fear (and anger) about Kim was laid to rest, he worked on the far more important challenge Kyoko put before him. Kim grinned. That was the old Wade.

"So, was it as bad as you thought?" Ron asked.

"Not at all- - we're not being chased by them are we?" Kim paused, and got a very devilish smile on her face, "But you have your own communicator now…and someone is crushing on you, I think."

"No…it's a working relationship." Ron said, "I saved her, and well, that's why she's helping."

"Bye bye, Ron-Sama!" Kyoko said as her machine turned to face Wades, switching off the screen to provide even more power for their cyberspace match. Kim giggled.

"Oh Really." Kim continued, "Well, if you say so…" She smiled wider. "Oh-- I'm moving up and out—no more 8 year old classmates for me!" Ron grinned,

"That's great!" He paused, "Who are you drilling with?"

"Well… Yori, Hirotaka…and you." Ron blinked.

"Are you sure you're…" He paused, that sounded bad, "I mean, have you gotten all your muscle tone back?" Another voice answered that.

"No, Ron-san." Yori said. "But she is now to the point where it is not simply restoring her muscles, but training her in new abilities—and for that, the younger classes are useless. She already has that knowledge." Yori looked at them both. "Put yourself at ease—Hirotaka will not be launching any immediate 'pop-quizzes'". Ron looked over at Kim, and to his surprise, found no signs of resentment. Kim shrugged when she caught his gaze.

"I don't like it, Ron—but I'm not ready for that…yet." Ron grinned, now that was KP.

Tokyo Bay.

The rats sniffed around the body at the edge of the bay. They'd been driven back by the sound and the noise of the harbor patrol. But now… The broiled body called them. A rat moved forward, sniffing at the hand… and then, the hand lashed out, seized the rodent and proceeded to crush the life out of it. A pair of eyes opened. Mad, staring eyes.

The next morning, Ron stretched, and smiled. Once again, he was awake before Kim—not surprising, because she'd really pushed herself, probably more than she should have. Ron knew that it was because in the afternoon, she'd been working with the advanced classes…he'd seen her.

And he'd seen how far she had to come. Kim had all the moves…intellectually. But her body did not yet remember them to the degree it once had. She had to think about doing something rather than doing it—and that made her easy meat for Hirotaka, Yori… or Ron, although thankfully, nobody had asked them to spar. He wasn't a good enough instructor for that—Ron could fight, better than ever, but he'd never equal Yori or Hirotaka for being able to show the student how to improve.

But, nonetheless, Kim had fallen asleep the moment she'd hit the sleeping mat, and it looked like she might be in danger of the icewater alarm clock. Ron looked, and judged that he could let her sleep for ten more minutes before that happened.

Then, there was a subdued "bleep" from the Kyoko's PDA, no longer connected to the Kimmunicator.

"I wonder who won?" Ron said softly. Wade or Kyoko would tell him—in fact, maybe it was Kyoko calling to brag.

It wasn't. On the screen was a simple note.

Hey Ronnie.

Got a simple job. Low risk, high pay. Goody two shoes stuff. 50 percent split. Interested? Meet me at Bueno Nacho, tonight, 9:00. Don't bring Kimmie, she ain't ready.

Shego.

Ron blinked. A job? And she called it "goody two shoes stuff." Not working for a villain… But if he was going to get into Tokyo…he'd have to leave at 7:00.

On the other hand… the last job had been 100,000 dollars. Not that he was poor, by any means…but on the other hand, if they couldn't ever go home, they would need a way to make more money. Ron wasn't as naïve as he'd been—there was no guarantee that the Naco money Shego had hidden would stay hidden—and if they suddenly had to leave, an extra source of income….

"Ron?" Kim's sleepy voice came behind him. Ron blanked the screen.

"Yeah KP?"

"What's going on?"

"Just checking to see if Kyoko and Wade had named their baby yet." Kim laughed and threw a pillow at Ron. She didn't notice that it was his preoccupation that let it hit him…

To be continued.