Reflections and meetings.

Authors note:

Well, we start to come to the end of this book. Two, maybe three more chapters to go, and then we get to the last book. I hope people are enjoying this—I know I have!

I do have one question for other KP fans, however. The two compilation DVD's, Secret Files and Villains, both have "unaired" episodes in them. Can anyone post in the feedback or email me as to whether they're actual episodes or just clip shows, and if so, are they good enough to justify the purchase of the DVD?

Thanks!

To all those who have sent such kind reviews, thank you, and I hope the end of the ride is worth it.

The school was dark and quiet. In one particular room, two nude forms lay, intertwined, asleep. One pair of eyes flickered open, looking down at the peacefully sleeping woman next to him.

What do I do now? Ron thought. He loved Kim. That much was certain. Loved her more deeply then ever before…but the locker room conversations at school, never talked about what he was feeling right now. The talks were always about who was crushing who wasn't…they all pretty much assumed that love ended all questions. Once you were "In Love" story over, close the book, you've won.

It wasn't that simple, he realized. Everything was the same… tomorrow they would be in Japan, wanted in the U.S…. Except that if there ever had been any thought of walking way, it was gone now. He could no more walk away from Kim than he could chew his arm off. She was his life.

When he and Shego had taken her, mumbling incoherently in a fetal position, his hope, his only hope and desire was that Kim would one day come back, whole and free of her demons, not to a jail cell, or a mental ward. But every step along that path had led to more needs… to be able to protect her, to support her…to help, without controlling.

And now? To be with her for the rest of his life? To be like their parents? Ron thought of the easy camaraderie of Kim's parents, the understated but equally strong love of his own. How did they get to that point?

And would he ever? And of course there was one other thing….

Thanks Sensei…I've seen enough Science Fiction to know that the guy who gets the super weapon because 'only he could handle it' has a nasty habit of needing it and dying in the last act, right before they roll the credits.

In her sleep, Kim rolled over and sighed, pulling Ron close to her. Ron inhaled the scent of her hair…and let himself relax into sleep.

Kim woke up in the early dawn hours. She could feel Ron against her, his warmth, the measured beat of his heart, the way his arms were protectively…but not confiningly, around her.

Was this right? It had felt right…even through the uncertainty, the giggles… everything. It had felt more right then anything she'd ever done. Kim had fantasized about her first—who hadn't? But somehow in her dreams of the big heroes, she'd missed the true hero. The one who had protected her, made her laugh and let her grow… No matter the cost to himself.

You want to spend the rest of your life with him? Yes. Kim thought. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine what it would be like, five years, ten years, twenty years down the line. She couldn't.

The only thing she could know was that in that future, she would be with Ron. That was a non-negotiable.

They got up early—Neither Kim nor Ron were certain if they were going to be called out, and they wanted time to shower.

Well, time to also shower, that was. Afterwards, Ron looked at Kim.

"So um…" Kim grinned.

"Yes, it was my first." She paused, "You?"

"Yeah…" Ron said. Kim impulsively gave him a kiss.

"So…what made you decide to get prepared?"

"I was thinking of it for a while…" Kim said. "So when Shego and I were out, I bought some condoms…." Ron laughed.

"Well, you did better then me—You know every guy has a condom in his wallet at school, right? I got mine in 7th grade... and then you carry it around." He shrugged, "And here I went and lost it on the night I needed it!"

"That's wasn't all you lost." Kim said with a lecherous giggle. "But well…when you have a doctor for a mom, you remember the birds and the bees." Ron blanched.

"What is it Ron?"

"Thinking of the black hole, KP."

"Well, they'll have to shoot me into it as well." Kim said. Ron paused, and kissed her, and spoke in a quieter voice.

"They'll have that chance, KP…because we'll see them again."

Wade took that opportunity to blip in on the Kimmunicator.

"Hey Guys I-YACK!" He said, suddenly shielding his eyes. "Umm….wait a minute." The screen went dark. "OK…I, uh, youknow, turned off the ummm… camera thingie."

"Uh-huh…" Kim said.

"Have you been…Moodulated?"

"Nope, Wade." Ron said.

"This is us." Kim added. "So…what's the problem?" She paused, "Besides someone paying us back for forgetting the time difference when we called you first." A groan came from the Kimmunicator.

"Well you just got me good." Kim laughed.

"Sorry Wade—next time we'll put up a do not disturb screen saver."

"Oh, um… next time?…ah…" Kim laughed even harder.

"Wade, what's wrong—didn't you tell us that you and Kyoko have a baby?"

"Virtual baby, Virtual baby!" Wade shouted. Then, calming down, he continued.

"Well, Kyoko and I…we wanted to give you something, Kim." Kim raised an eyebrow.

"And it is?" She asked.

"Well… it's sorta a surprise."

"And you called us early to announce a surprise?" Kim could swear the blue Kimmunicator was blushing. "Well…it's just that Kyoko may need some help coming up to the school… and so I wanted to make certain that someone was…" Kim thought for a moment, and suppressed a quite evil temptation to gibe Wade about his girlfriend. "…and she also has to give it to you and be back down the hill by eight." Wade finished, "School." Kim nodded at that.

"Well, we can all meet her." Ron said, "I'll go rustle up Hirotaka and Yori."

It didn't take long, although Yori couldn't banish a huge grin from her face looking at Ron and Kim…and Hirotaka seemed to get redder and more embarrassed every time he looked at the two teens. Kim had noticed that Yori was taking absolutely fiendish glee in talking about how wonderfully peaceful the night had been--- and asking how well Kim and Ron had slept…while looking at the Scarlet face of Hirotaka.

At the bottom of the hill, they saw Kyoko, sitting on several packages, a pink school bag by her. Seeing them, she ran up and gave Hirotaka a hug. Ron grinned.

Crushing on Hirotaka now—how will I ever survive? Kim leaned close into him. Oh, I guess I'll find a way.

"These are the presents, for Kim-san." Kyoko said. "They are not heavy…but I couldn't carry them up the hill. Sensei is waiting for them.

She told Sensei?

"What are they?" Kim asked. Kyoko shook her head.

"That is the surprise, Kim-san." Kim and Ron looked at each other and shrugged. At the top of the mountain, Sensei waited.

"Ah, Kim-san." He said. "It is good to see the night has agreed with you." Kim turned pink. Sensei continued, "I had asked Kyoko and Wade-san to keep this secret from you…but I believe you will both find it useful." With that, Kyoko opened up the first box and handed Kim a suit, something like the form fitting motorcycle suits some women wore…or like a slightly heavier version of Shego's combat suit.

"It…looks nice, Sensei." Kim said.

"Oh, it does more than that." Kyoko said. "Try it, Try it!"She said, almost jumping up and down in excitment. Kim glanced at Ron, who shrugged, and went inside and put it on. As she did, it felt slick…her movements somewhat altered, like the suit was moving with her.

"Are you ready?" Wade's voice spoke, and Kim jumped.

"Wade?"

"Neural induction circuits around your neck." The techno genius said, "Kyoko and I worked on them—you can hear anyone without having to have an ear mike.'

"Nice…" Kim said, "What about talking to you?"

"You'll…have to talk out loud—we haven't gotten the bugs out of reading what you're going to say."

"That's comforting." Kim said. "this is neat!" She paused, "Wait a minute," as she went back outside. Ron looked at her approvingly. The suit was very nice and flattering to her figure…with what looked like a small backpack or pod. Wade and Kyoko were now talking, sometimes stumbling over each other's words.

"The suit is made up of a diamondril carbon fibre composite—smart material-"

"Which can resist up to a .50 caliber bullet—and buffer your internal organs against the shock-"

"-but that's not recommended."

"-it doesn't need batteries-"

"-the skin serves as a solar collector—and it also can drain off heat— or serve as a holographic camouflage unit-"

"And it makes you three times as strong as you are naturally, with flexible myomer muscles-" Kim raised her hands to ward off the assault of info.

"Does it come with a users manual?" She asked.

"Yes." Kyoko said, holding a pink notebook.

"Thanks." Kim said. "Now…slowly, tell me about the suit."

"Well, we told you already." Wade said, "But boiling it down, it's a power augmenting suit that can do just about everything you used to use individual pieces of equipment for. Backmounted jets, grapple gun integral to your arm…everything but weapons. I didn't think you would want those."

"You're right." Kim said.

"When you activate the helmet, it also gives you life support for up to 3 hours." Kyoko continued, "and there are medical subsystems. It can also be set to look like a back pack, or retract the arms and legs to hide under clothes." Kim blinked. This was…really, really something. In fact… Ron picked up on her thoughts.

"Wade… Kyoko…did you do this yourselves?" The two grinned, Wade via the TV screen.

"Not entirely—we took some of our ideas and other developments and merged them together." He paused, "some from DARPA, NASA's Mars explorer…"

"Oh." Kim paused, "Why?"

"It was by my request." Sensei said. "I knew, Kim-san, that you would not be…out of action forever. I also believed that one day, Ron-san would wield the Lotus Blade." He paused, "there are some things he might do that merely human flesh and bone could not keep up with. Since we have no other magic blades… we use our modern magic of technology… but that is not all you have." He said, and gestured to the other box. Kyoko opened them and showed a pair of escrima sticks the same size as the ones she had practiced with, metallic finish gleaming in the light. Kim picked them up, did a few test moves and nodded in approval.

"They are nice." Kim said.

"Now tighten your grip," Wade ordered. Kim did and the sticks started humming, and Kim felt a little more resistance.

"Wow…" Kim said, "Heavier."

"No—more inertia. These sticks can increase the force of the blows." Wade grinned, "And if you press hard enough, you can knock the turret off a tank, or a vault door over."

"I'm ah…" Kim didn't want to refuse, but…

"Don't worry, Kim-san." Kyoko said, "The sticks incorporate limiters and sensors that will not allow them to be used at an innately lethal setting against living flesh."

"Good."

"They also can be used as a quarterstaff by attaching them together." Kyoko demonstrated, "or will attach to your forearms, both for storage and to provide extra defense—the inertial field can be used to slow bullets and other fast moving objects." Kim nodded, somewhat overwhelmed.

"I have to go." Kyoko said, with depression, "Or I will be late for school. If you have any questions…" Sensei nodded, and Yori and Hirotaka left with the young girl. Ron waited until they were out of hearing, and then turned to Sensei.

"Sensei… This just equals the Lotus Blade?" Ron said, thinking of what Sensei had said.

"No, Ron-san…it does not equal the full power of the blade—but is the best technology can provide." Kim was stretching in her armor, rubbing her fingers together.

"That's weird… I can even feel like I'm not wearing anything." She said. Then she blushed. "I mean, it's like I'm not wearing gloves." Sensei coughed,

"You realize, that you must now drill with each other—wearing this equipment, using the Lotus blade…it would not be safe to drill with the other students." Ron soberly nodded.

"We'll get enough of that when we're not using the gadgets." He paused, "I'm not about to become dependent on a bunch of stuff that might up and stop working."

"Wise, Ron-san." Kim ruined Ron's moment of wisdom by giggling.

"Yes, Kim-san?"

"I think Ron is remembering his stint as the Fearless Ferret."

"Is that a school of martial arts?" Sensei said, and then blinked at the two teens who were unable to control their laughter. After they were finished, he turned to Ron.

"Ron-san…I apologize that we could not provide you with a suit, but the expense…"

"No prob." Sensei nodded.

"And there is another reason—often magic interacts poorly with technology…and so we could not be certain it would function." He bowed to the two. "Pleasant day, and I hope you enjoy yourselves."

The rest of the day was occupied with testing the limits of Kim's new equipment. The red headed teen quickly learned that the suit functioned intuitively, and was just as effective as any of her old equipment, with the added bonus of being all in one place. Ron sat by her reading the instruction manual with her.

"Well…" Kim said, "It flies great. She paused, "I wish you had this."

"Don't worry KP." Ron said, "I have the older jetpacks and the lotus blade." He paused, "This is really incredible, though." He paged through it. "Self repairing… linked to your EEG… this is James Bond city." Kim nodded, and Ron noticed her pensive look.

"What KP?"

"I just wonder what Sensei is worried about to give all this?"

"I don't know, KP." Ron said. "But it kinda worries me too."

June became July, and Kim and Ron worked out—both with the other students, and each other using the blade and suit. Mastering the escrima sticks and the suit took time—and it was very important, Kim realized, the first time she misjudged the strength enhancing systems and punched through a brick wall. The escrima sticks were equally hard to master—limiters or not, Kim wanted to be very sure of her mastery of them before she used them against a living human—not that she expected to do that very often.

But their nights were spent working on homework, with Yori and Hirotaka…and of course, making love. Even closer than they'd been before, Ron found himself loving seeing Kim's sweet face when he woke up in the morning, her lighter body sprawled out on top of him. For her part, Kim loved the fact that two people made those hard to get spots in the shower very easy to get…although the other activities definitely eliminated any savings in time.

When not at work, or drill, Kim and Ron often headed into Tokyo, either with or without Hirotaka and Yori…Ron took advantage of his experience with Shego, and took Kim dancing. He always liked 'hip-hop' but Shego had taught him how to dance with a woman. He looked for any sign of apprehension, but Kim hugged him exuberantly, and they had so much fun that the misery of trying to wake up the next morning on only two hours sleep was well worth it.

On July 4th, Kim and Ron even had an impromptu fireworks exhibition with some of the other students, as well as Ron showing off his mastery of the ancient American art of the grill. Kim grinned at that memory, because Ron had dug up a chefs hat from somewhere…as well as a smaller one for Rufus.

It was just before the end of July that it happened.

Ron and Kim had just settled down, twining their bodies around each other in the comfortable way they'd come to enjoy…when the guard alarm was sounded. Ron leaped up, and grabbed the Lotus blade, as the lights came on across the compound. Seconds later he was out of the room, clad only in his pajama bottoms. Kim didn't have time to grab the suit, so she simply threw on Ron's pajama top and followed him.

Outside, there was a VTOL—in fact, it looked like Shego'sVTOL.

"Shego?" Kim wondered, Why didn't she call us?

"THERE YOU ARE MY BLUE FOX!"

Oh God. Junior. Kim growled, slapping a hand to her forehead. She'd gotten out of a bed… with Ron, for this? Where were the Killer Ninjas?

"I have brought you a gift!" Junior called from the cockpit.

Gift? What Gift? Then the cargo hatch opened, and four figures were dumped out with a large amount of luggage.

"I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN, MY BLUE FOX!" Then Kim realized that he was wearing the Robin Hood costume.

"He's a hero today?" Ron asked, holding the blade.

"I guess so, but who did he-"

"KIMMIE?!" The voice was unmistakable.

"Mom… Dad….the tweebs?" Kim said, disbelief shading into joy on her face. Ron had an equal expression, only his was shading into the premonition of experiencing a black hole's event horizon at a close range.

"Father, I am confused." Junior said.

"About what, my son?"

"When I said I was going to bring Kim's family here, you said it would be an act of villainy….but I am doing a heroic deed."

"Ah yes, Junior…but you see, one can be both heroic and a villain, at the same time… consider how long Kim Possible and her friend have been here… alone…"

"I am still confused."

"I know, Junior.." He sighed "But you will understand one day… now let us return this ship before Ms. Shego discovers our… borrowing of it." He paused, "She may not be happy that I determined their most likely location, either."

"How did you do that, father?"

"Please, Junior. Mr. Stoppable has only been in Japan once, and Ms. Shego was in Japan, and you don't expect anyone to be fooled by that silly mask he was wearing during their 'fight' in Tokyo?"

"Stoppable was the masked fighter? I never would have believed it."

"Sigh. Yes, Junior, I know you would never have believed it."

Epilogue:

The White House Situation Room was always at the same temperature, with plasma screens to show any part of the world at need, attendants and aids, and the best security measures ever devised by man. There was nothing different outwardly about this meeting, Steve Barkin thought.

Except the fear that was in the air.

"You are telling me that a skipper of a U.S. missile sub attempted to launch on the Russians?" The president asked the Secretary of the Navy incredulously.

"Yes Mr. President." The president sat back in shock.

"Mr. President…" Barkin said. "That's not all."

"Go ahead," The President told his old friend.

"We've had several incidences of similar forms of mental illness among other officers in charge of weapons of mass destruction."

"A drug? Stress?"

"None of the above—we can find no unifying factor save their position." Barkin paused, "But the British, French and Israeli militaries have confirmed the same thing…and we believe the Russian's and Chinese have had the same problem." He touched a button and brought a screen up. "A week ago, the Chinese ran what they announced was a "security drill" at a nuclear weapons depot outside of Beijing. It looked more like a full scale assault to retake the installation from the troops that were garrisoning it."

"Paranormal?" The president asked.

"I don't know." Steve replied. "But it's looking like it." The president sighed.

"OK—I want to be kept informed, no matter what time it is. Steve, you lead this one—and no pissing over departmental jurisdiction people." It was a sign of the fear, Barkin realized, that there wasn't even a pro forma protest at that demand.

"Secretary Danials." The president said. The Secretary of Defense stiffened.

"Yes, Mr. President?"

"Work with the Joint Chiefs. I want to make sure that no U.S. nuclear weapon can be released without the direct authorization of this office."

"Yes. Mr. President."

What went unsaid was that if it could happen to one man…it could happen to others, even the President.

To be continued.