A/N: I lied, here's part two. Please review. Part three to come soon.

At school

A single ray of sunshine illuminated the cave he'd come to think of as home. That is if a
word with such positive connotations could ever be used in relation to the quarters in
which he'd confined himself. He'd committed atrocities in his day. After that he'd
merely been bad. Now he sought penance. He'd have his chance soon. The time was
coming. He'd just have to make sure they were ready. The paper, illuminated by the light,
beckoned. It contained a simple list of names, most of them with slashes through them.
There were only a few left. Five to be exact. He didn't want to involve children, but he
was out of options. The list sat there, silently mocking all attempts to find another way.
The remaining choices were still limited. One was far too young, another her constant
companion. The girl's companion could have been an asset, but to involve it would
involve the girl as well. Could he really do that? No. The other names were no more
suitable. One had potential. Truthfully, the boy could someday become a great warrior. He
was already blessed with advantages that few had. The magic that fueled his cells gave him
an edge over most, but it would be of little aid in the coming challenges. He'd need to be
trained. There wasn't time for that. The man's eyes traveled to the last two names. Both of
these girls had discipline and training. He might have been able to call on them, but as
always there were complications. The first girl... she had been something. He'd trained her
long ago. In a perfect world she'd be his choice. In a perfect world she'd be there with him
and he wouldn't need to worry about any of this. This wasn't a perfect world. That sad thought
reminded him of a simple fact. She'd made her choice long ago. Quietly he crossed her name
off the list. It was painful, but it was time to face the truth. And that brought him to the final
name. She was the equal of the other girl in some ways, inferior in others. With time and
training she could surpass most on the field of battle. He could give her the training, but he was
loathe to. For personal reasons. There really wasn't a choice though. The name Kimberly Ann
Possible remained slash free.

The school bell rang, ushering students off to class. Many students filed into the small
classrooms that contained the cruel fate assigned to all children. Many would say that high
schools striped individuality. They would be right, in a way, of course. High Schools don't
merely turn individuals into carbon copy clones, devoid of all traces of who they used to be.
That would be too benign. Instead they attempt to destroy the few individuals who resist the
popular norm. These freaks, as some would call them, are constantly assaulted by jibs and hatred,
their self confidence eroded until nothing is left. Middleton High had tried to do that to Ron Stoppable.
It was close to succeeding, but noone knew that. Not even his best friend; Kim Possible.

The duo had been together since their youth. Since the first day of pre-k. That was the first day that Ron
had offered his friendship to Kim. She'd always been thankful for it. Through the years they had each
developed. Kim had blossomed, her natural abilities had been trained and honed. She owed that to a
single man. He had given her the skills to pursue the subjects she had grown to care for: cheerleading
and her career as a hero. After her first mission he'd offered to help her be ready for the future. She had
accepted. That man wasn't Ronald Stoppable. Ron held a different place in Kim's life. He too trained
her, in a way that he would never appreciate. He gave her hope and he cared. That and her training had
ensured her self esteem against high school. The fact that she was attractive and fashion conscious didn't
hurt. Ron didn't have any of that. He only had Kim. And that wasn't enough. Not anymore.

"Hey Ron, where were you?"

Kim's voice rang down the hallway, attracting Ron's attention. His blonde hair adorned a head that
quickly formed into a dopey grin when Kim spoke. Even as the mask slid into place he turned to face his
old friend.

"Bathroom, had some bad burritos last night."

He knew she wouldn't question that. He was right.

"Eww, Ron too much information."

He smiled a real smile at that. She made the most ridiculous faces sometimes. The yellow corridors
drifted past as they ambled towards their next class. Latin, perhaps the only real class Ron was doing
decently in. If he got a b on the midterm, he'd pass. There wasn't a high probability that would happen. He
wasn't academically inclined, not like Kim. In fact he really wasn't really good at anything. Quite unlike
Kim. She was capable. She was smart. She could do just about anything. He wasn't even fit to be her
sidekick. That thought destroyed the false smile that kept the world out. It was only a second before the
mask slid back, but it was too late. She had noticed.

"Ron. What's wrong?"

She'd placed her hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off. A flash of pain filled her eyes. She wished she
could help him. Something was wrong, it was obvious. To her at least. His perpetual smile would drop
when he thought no one was looking, he'd seemed more distracted, not even enjoying his favorite foods.
She'd never seen Ron be anything but ecstatic when a Naco passed his lips, until recently. There wasn't
much she could attribute the sudden change to. The only thing she could possibly think of had happened two
weeks before and he'd been like this much longer. It had been going on for close to three months now. It
was almost like her best friend had recently been living a lie. That was stupid. Why would he lie to her?
Still, she couldn't help but think something was wrong

"Nothing's wrong KP. Why would you think that?"

She didn't believe him. That much was obvious. Outright denial was a stupid method, but he figured it'd
make what came next more believable.

"Ron."

Her tone held a slight touch of warning.

"Alright KP, I'll spill." He stopped, first to sigh, then to take a deep breath. She too stopped walking and
turned to face him.

"There'sthisgirlandIkindahaveacrushonherandIdon'tknowwhattodo."

Her eyes blinked once, then twice as the statement filtered through her mind. After the third blink the
sentence made sense.

"Just be yourself Ron. There's no way she can't like you."

That was such a Kim comment. But Ron knew better. The truth was a bit harsher. He was a freak, an
undesirable. Noone wanted him. KP seemed to be the oddball. A small voice chanted in the back of his
head. It's message was always the same. It insisted that she only kept him around out of pity. As the days
wore on he came to believe it. By this time he agreed with it. But he couldn't be angry at her. He wanted
to, but he had no right. She put up with worthless ol' him just so he wouldn't be alone. A part of his mind
realized that something was wrong with him; that being past the point of righteous anger was a bad sign.
Unfortunately it wasn't rooted anywhere in his consciousness. It belonged to a deeper part, a subliminal
one. Unfortunately for all of Ron the warning went unrecognized.

Kim noticed the sadness, but simply attributed it to his crush. That hurt, but she wasn't going to let it
show. Maybe she was the crush. She wanted to be, but knew there was no way. He didn't see her that way.
Otherwise he'd be stammering even now. She was simply his best friend. Maybe his only one. Monique
was really more of her friend. Did Ron really hang out with anyone but her? He'd briefly dated Zita back
in sophomore year, but that'd been about two years ago. She couldn't really remember Ron dating besides
that. Lord knew he tried though. And she wasn't one to judge really. Her own attempts hadn't been much
better. There had been Josh Mankey, but she'd gotten over him. He was nice and all, but eventually the
crush just faded. Now they were just casual friends. Getting that through Ron's head was another matter
entirely.

Ron's eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth to speak. Kim didn't even realize why till she heard the
soft hello. Turning she Josh Mankey walking towards them. He had a smile on his face and was waving
softly. She returned both the smile and the wave. Ron didn't.

"Hey, Kim, Ron. I've got two more tickets to the Steel toe/Pain King match. Backstage passes and
everything. You interested?" That brought a smile to Kim's face. Josh had been trying to get on Ron's
good side for a little while now. G-d knew why Josh had, the sudden change of heart, but she was glad.
Ron needed more friends and Josh was a good guy. If only Ron would give him a chance.

She pondered thoughts along those lines while Ron refused with a simple, "No thanks, not interested,"
before walking off. Mankey then looked at her. Shrugging she excused her self and took off. But not before
telling Josh not to give up. She walked a couple of steps, trying to catch up. Then she realized what she'd
been thinking only moments before. She'd been worrying about Ron's social life like she was his mother...
or his girlfriend, a small voice chanted in the recesses of her mind. She ignored it. Thinking like that was
bad. They were friends, he wasn't interested, and it would never work. The three excuses were pathetic,
but she didn't have any others. The truth was she was afraid and that scared her more. She was Kim Possible
she could do anything, except confront Ron.

Josh Mankey watched as the two old friends walked off, Kim trying to catch up. Well he tried. At least
Monique would be happy. She really wanted him to be friends with her friends. With Kim that wasn't much
of an issue. They'd gotten along well even after their relationship slowly died. By the time she had told him
she didn't have feelings for him anymore he wasn't invested enough to care. She was a good person, but he'd
lost interest. The constant missions had been a strain on both the relationship and his patience. Monique was
different. With her he came somewhere near the top of the list, if not actually first. With Kim he was lucky if
he came before homework. He'd once came before even Ron. That had lasted all of two days. As soon as they
actually started dating she had become more comfortable with him and the sight of him didn't seem to reduce
her to a babbling idiot. He'd missed that. But he was happy now. Monique was great. Great body, decent
personality, and she seemed to like having him around. That was nice. Best of all he knew where he stood. At
least he thought he did. It was surprising when she'd asked him to try to get along better with Ron Stoppable.
Still he'd said he'd give it a shot. So he had, several times, and Ron blew him off each time. He was sure
Monique hadn't told Kim or Ron yet. She'd admitted that she didn't want Ron to freak too badly, the way he had
when Josh dated Kim. Josh wasn't sure why. Stoppable didn't seem worth the consideration, but Josh was
willing to try. It really didn't cost him much. And now he would be able to take Monique out alone and come out
looking like the good guy.