Kim Possible and all related characters and indicia are owned by the Disney Corporation. This work of fan fiction is written for pleasure, not profit.
John Steppenwolf and fanjimmy: Thanks for the reviews.
'I can do this,' Ron assured himself for the hundredth time as he approached the corner. Students heading to and from their lockers swirled around him unheeded. Around that corner was Kim's locker, and probably Kim herself. Ron eyed a nearby clock. He had three minutes and forty-two seconds 'til his next class. He took a deep breath, and plunged around the corner.
Ron stopped in spite of his determination. There she was. Her locker was open, hiding her face as she rummaged inside it. Ron dredged up more nerve. 'Steady Ron. This isn't some unattainably pretty girl. This is Kim.' Yeah. Kim. Only the prettiest girl in the whole world. What could be more unattainable than that? Ron gave himself a savage mental kick. 'Belay the negative attitude!' he snapped at himself. Another deep breath. Square the shoulders. Into the abyss.
"Hey K. P!"
Kim flinched in surprise and her head popped back to see around the locker door. "Ron!" The smile on her face was dazzling and Ron felt his stomach lurch, but in a good way, like riding a fast down elevator.
"How ya doing?"
"Oh, not bad." Kim paused. A slight...frown? But it faded as fast as it had come. "I haven't seen you much lately."
Ron's nerves were jangling, and he felt his face heat, but he forced himself to speak casually. "Well, ya know. This week's been kinda weird."
"Weird's the word all right," Kim agreed. "I mean..." she hesitated. "I've been...you know." She was floundering uncomfortably.
"No big, K. P." Ron said, surprising himself with how reassuring he sounded. Kim almost sagged with relief. Her eyes glowed with gratitude, and a message Ron understood perfectly: Thank you for understanding how I feel, even though I can't put it into words. Her eyes. Big, green, warm, beautiful. He could stare into them forever, no trouble at all, what with the way she was staring right back and...
Ron shook himself. 'Stay focused.' Another frown creased Kim's brow, but it was a puzzled frown, not a disapproving one.
"Anyway," Ron said, swallowing nervously, trying not to stammer, "It being Friday and all, I was thinking we could go see that Brad Pitt movie you've been talking about."
Kim blinked. "Brad Pitt movie?" she said blankly. She blushed suddenly and exclaimed, "Movie! Right! Yes! That sounds like fun, Ron," she finished, a bit more calmly, giving herself a one armed hug. The arm was high enough that it made her breasts rise slightly, and Ron about died. What was it that dude on 'Queer Eye' had said about a woman drawing attention to her bosom? Fighting panic and a sudden surge of hormones, Ron squeaked, "So, afternoon matinee work for you?"
Kim froze. Her face fell, and Ron felt his spirits plummet. 'Oh no,' he thought, 'she's gonna turn me down.' The excitement of moments earlier melted into black despair. 'And what's with this emotional roller coaster? It's killing me.'
"Ah, I have an errand I have to run right after school," she explained, "but..." Ron felt a wild surge of hope. "I promised my folks I'd be home for supper, so how about the seven o'clock show?" Joy.
"Seven is good for me," Ron agreed. Kim smiled again, and Ron's knees went weak. "Hey," he suggested, "Why don't you skip supper at home? I'll pick you up at six, and we can stop by Bueno Nacho, or something."
"Six it is," Kim confirmed, still smiling that heart melting smile. "I have to get to class," she said, and Ron was sure he heard regret in her voice.
"Me too," he said softly, almost unable to believe that what had just happened had actually happened. Kim turned away, paused, turned back, smiled again, and said "See you tonight, Ron." Then she was gone, and Ron sagged against the bank of lockers. He reveled in his victory until the class bell jarred him back to reality. Hastily collecting himself, Ron sprinted off to his own class.
Kim Possible looked anxiously at Cyrus Bortel. She was seated in a comfortable chair in front of his desk, a huge thing that made the vertically challenged scientist seem even smaller. She had kept Bortel's inventions out of the wrong hands (namely Dr. Drakken's) twice now, and the least the good doctor could do, she reasoned, was settle any doubts she had about the effects of his latest gadget.
"How does my Moodulator work?" he repeated her question, a slight German accent coloring his words. "Well, that's a difficult question. Would you like to know that actual mechanism, or the theory behind it?"
Kim hesitated. She didn't consider herself an overly prideful person, but she hated to appear ignorant. "Uh, which is simpler?" she asked.
"The theory," Bortel said with a tolerant smile.
"I'll take the theory then," Kim said, hiding her embarrassment behind a smile.
"Well, to simplify, the Moodulator stimulates specific emotional centers in the frontal lobe of the subject's brain, while simultaneously suppressing the region that controls inhibition."
Kim frowned in puzzlement. "Why suppress inhibition?"
Bortel chuckled. "American's tend to be a reserved people, with a strong aversion to showing emotion in public," he explained. "Suppressing their inhibitions makes the Moodulator more effective, because they don't fight it so much."
"That makes sense," Kim agreed. 'I guess,' she added silently. "But about these emotions your device creates -" Bortel halted her with a raised hand. "No," he shook his head. "The Moodulator doesn't create emotions, so much as it amplifies them."
"Amplifies?" Kim repeated softly.
"Ja. For example, if you were somewhat irritated with me, and wearing a Moodulator that was then set to 'Anger' your irritation would grow to fury."
"And if it was set to, say, 'Happy'?"
"Your mood would change, of course." Bortel smiled. "You might even become giddy. But you would not suddenly be happy about what I had done to irritate you. Something else that already had a positive emotion associated with it would take it's place."
Kim sat quietly for a moment, eyes downcast as she debated whether or not to pose her next question. Finally, blushing, she looked up. "I, ah, spent most of my time...er, that is, while I was wearing it, the Moodulator was set on 'Love' and I, uh..."
"Something awkward happened?" Bortel asked. Kim nodded.
"There's this guy, and I kind of, well..."
"'This guy' as you put it, he is perhaps that young man who assists you?"
Kim's face flamed at Bortel's insight. The little scientist favored her with a grandfatherly smile. "I am a scientist, Ms. Possible, not a poet, so matters of the heart are not my specialty. But I can tell you this: my Moodulator can only make you more liable to do something you are already inclined to do. It cannot make you do something you don't, at some level, already want to do."
Kim favored Bortel with a look of pure gratitude. The exhilaration she'd felt when Ron asked her out had been underlain with dread that her response hadn't been her own, and she'd acceded more for Ron's sake than her own. It had taken a lot of courage, she knew, for him to ask her out, even with the effort he'd put into making it sound like he wasn't asking for a date. Kim was grateful for that. If he had said the 'd' word, she probably would have said no, and that would likely have doomed their friendship. But he hadn't. Whether the omission had been deliberate or accidental, Kim didn't know, and now didn't care. She pushed back her chair and stood up.
"Thank you for your time, Dr. Bortel, you've put my mind at ease."
"My pleasure, Ms. Possible, it was the least I could do."
Kim grinned at him, glanced at her watch and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date to get ready for."
