OK, so I am now officially overwhelmed. To say the reviews are flattering is an understatement. What's more, I'm having so much fun doing this. The creative process is like a drug with me. For those who have questions (anything except "what's gonna happen next") please feel free to drop me an e-mail (it's in my profile), I love discussing things like plot structure, character development, etc…. more than happy to answer or discuss those kinds of questions. To answer just one question here: yes, I have been trying to start a writing career, so far no luck. My reasons for being here at fanfic are several, but the main one is that this is good exercise for an aspiring writer (and I just discovered it). Plus, I freely admit, I love the feedback. Once again, as soon as I complete this story, I intend to read the works of everyone who was kind enough to leave a review.
So, my humblest thanks to:Tanya16, Spooks-a-lot, Classic Cowboy, Cptnshort, Jokerisdaking, pokey, LKillingsworth, Mithlond88, SestrenNK, recon228, Jezrianna2.0, ps2teen1213, JPMod, knuckz, Widow Shark, zebraFinch, aimtbj, FutureGoddess, willk1989, kimnronever, and sehnsucht792.
So you think Ron's gonna live? Read on:
Chapter 9
Alarms.
And they were the last ones he wanted to hear.
Ronin hadn't shut off the override, and Wade was beginning to wonder if he'd forgotten. When the alarms went off, he had a pretty good idea where Ronin might be. Wade had designed the suit to broadcast vital information such as pulse, breathing, heart rate and so forth regardless of whether the override was engaged or not. If one of Ronin's vitals was pushed outside the acceptable norms for a human being, it triggered an alarm.
Wade disengaged the override and pulled up every bit of telemetry the suit was gathering. One of the cameras in the mask was broadcasting a skewed angle of a dark room, the other camera showed nothing. Body temperature seemed fine, but the humidity levels were in the extreme. Heart rate was rapid and increasing.
Wade needed help, and he could think of only one person. He turned to an old monitor, punched a button, and then resumed what he was doing.
He took a hyper-sonar scan of the area. Using sonic waves, he was able to paint a picture of sorts, of the immediate area Ronin was in. The monitor showed a greenish image of shapes and lines; hard surfaces the sound waves were bouncing off of. As best he could tell, Ronin was in some kind of sunken room. On a ledge above him were two figures, one male, one female. Behind the figures he could make out the unmistakable silhouette of Deathray. The image blurred and tried to re-form, then blurred again. On a hunch, Wade re-adjusted the settings to compensate for liquid submersion and the image sharpened.
Suddenly, the old monitor sprang to life.
"Wade?"
The Kimunicator had beeped several times before she remembered she'd put it back in her hope chest. She pulled it out and pushed the appropriate button. On the screen appeared a man in his early twenties, or late teens, busily checking monitors and punching buttons.
"Wade?"
"Kim!" Wade didn't even turn to look at her, "I need you on your roof, in your battlesuit in sixty seconds. Don't ask why, I don't have time to explain right now."
"I…yeah, OK!"
The screen went blank. Kim slipped into her battlesuit and climbed out the window with no idea what was about to happen to her.
Suddenly, the heart rate plummeted. Wade began to panic, Ronin was obviously in the process of drowning. He couldn't just send Kim into battle and hope she'd have enough time to revive a drowned ninja.
Calm down, he ordered himself.
Another alarm beeped. The Ninjet had arrived at the Possible residence. The Kimunicator came to life again.
"Get in! I'll contact you once you're in the air." He barked.
"I don't know how to fly-" Kim's voice was worried.
"I've got it covered, now HURRY!"
Wade looked back at the sonar image. The two figures up on the ledge looked like they were embracing. For the moment, their attention seemed to be only on each other.
Perfect.
Wade boosted the power gain on the suit, extended the field as far as he could, and engaged the cloak.
Shego kissed him fiercely, trying to drive the image of Ron out of her head. It wasn't working. The tank was nearly full, the buffoon had been under for almost twenty seconds.
"Mmmm", Ray said pulling his face away from hers, "I think Stoppable's death actually made your kisses sweeter. You know, after I get married, you should-"
Ray shoved her aside violently, Shego went sprawling.
"He's GONE!", Ray bellowed, staring into the tank. All he could see was swirling, frothing water as the level continued to rise. Ray looked wildly about.
Shego sprang to her feet and looked into the tank with a shocked expression, "Where could he have gone? I didn't hear anything."
Ray didn't respond. He pulled out his cell phone and punched three buttons. Deathray sprang to life. The suit walked over to him, stopped, and out snaked two mechanical arms. They seized Ray by the shoulders, hauling him through the hatch and into the cockpit. He powered up every weapon available to him, turned and walked up the ramp out of the lair. At the top, Deathray picked up the signal of the ninja's aircraft approaching.
"What do you want me to do?" Shego came running up behind him.
Deathray spun, a massive arm slammed her into a nearby wall. She fell in a heap and did not move.
"Nothing", he said coldly and rocketed into the air.
The cockpit of the tiny aircraft was cramped. It accelerated away from her house at an alarming rate, banked left, and headed across town. Wade appeared on the screen in front of her.
"What's up, Wade?"
"I need your help," he said hurriedly, "Ronin is in trouble, and he may be dying."
Deathray, Kim thought immediately.
"Set me down near his position, I'll try to-"
"I can't set you down", Wade cut her off, "Deathray is already airborne and on an intercept course with the Ninjet."
"The what?"
"The aircraft you're in. under your seat is a small compartment with a black outfit inside. Put it on, fast."
Wade glanced back at the monitors. No one seemed to be in the sunken room anymore. He disengaged the cloak in case he needed what was left of the power later.
He wasn't sure how long he could keep Deathray occupied. Most villains didn't fall for the same trick twice. Well, Drakken tended to, but he was…well…he was Drakken.
But what to do about Lord Deathray?
He checked Ronin's vitals. Heart rate had slowed even further. He couldn't possibly be conscious.
Suddenly an idea. He pulled up Kim on the monitor again, she had just finished changing.
"Are your brothers at home?"
"Yeah," she responded, "I left them in my room."
"Still got the same dedicated landline?"
"Yes."
"Back to you in ten seconds."
Wade checked another monitor, Deathray was three miles off and still on an intercept course with the Ninjet.
Jim's face appeared before him.
"Wade?"
"No time for questions. Deathray is currently pursuing an unmanned aircraft being piloted by me. It's a decoy. I need you guys to run interference for me."
In the background, Wade could see Tim already pulling on his battle gear.
"You got it," Jim answered.
"I'm gonna lead him to the Middleton Fairgrounds. You can pick him up there. Just keep him busy, don't attempt to apprehend him, he's carrying some serious firepower."
He switched the monitor off without waiting for acknowledgment. Back to Kim.
"You need to bail out when I give the signal. Deathray is approaching fast."
"I'm guessing you have some method of getting me past him." Kim said.
"Your suit is equipped with a cloak and a small parachute. As soon as I open the cockpit, I'm going to engage the cloak. Try not to move too much during freefall, and don't pull your chute until the last second. I'm switching to the audio on your suit."
Wade pushed a couple of buttons.
"Can you hear me?"
"I hear you", she acknowledged.
"OK, in your mask are a pair of goggles with a built-in heads-up display. Put the goggles on, and I'll pull up a map. You see the map?"
"Yes," she confirmed.
"The highlighted warehouse is your target. Deathray's lair should be beneath it."
"All right…hey Wade?"
"Yeah?"
"Is this like, one of Ronin's spare suits?"
"Yeah, but don't worry, I had it dry-cleaned. I'm engaging the cloak now. I don't want to put any pressure on you, but Ronin's heart rate is very erratic. Please hurry."
"I'll do my best," she paused slightly, then added "It's really great to see you again, Wade. You're gonna have to tell me how you got hooked up with this Ronin guy some time."
"Oh…yeah. Great story, you'll love it." Wade said cryptically.
The canopy slid forward and Kim was hit by a wall of wind. As she stood up to climb out, she got a jolt of adrenaline as the Ninjet dropped away beneath her. The aircraft went into a steep dive, then banked hard right. Wade was attempting to draw Deathray away from her.
Kim flattened out, tucked her arms at her side and put her legs together straight out behind her. Tilting her head forward slightly, she got another jolt of adrenaline as she caught sight of Deathray hurtling straight toward her. She hoped Wade's attempt to change his course would be successful, because if not, she would splatter against his windshield in two seconds.
One second.
Deathray rolled over and banked to his left as Kim – still cloaked - shot through the jet wash less than fifteen feet from where her fiancé was sitting.
Wade piloted the Ninjet toward the fairgrounds. He couldn't tell if the twins had arrived yet and had no wish to circle around the grounds waiting for them. Last time, he simply took the jet into low orbit, knowing Deathray couldn't follow him up to that altitude. But if he did that now, Deathray would just go back to his lair and find Kim. The Ninjet came up on the fairgrounds and he turned on the infrared cameras. Two human shaped heat signatures were crouched, waiting near the grandstands. Wade turned the aircraft toward the other side of the field, away from the grandstands, giving the twins an opportunity to ambush Deathray when he arrived. A quick glance through the rear-facing camera confirmed Deathray was still in pursuit. He set the jet down at the far end of the field and opened the canopy hoping Deathray would think Ronin had run off, or was at least nearby. He couldn't fight Deathray himself. He and Ronin had agreed the Ninjet should have no weapons in case it was ever hijacked or outright stolen. But Wade found himself wishing he at least-
Another alarm.
Wade checked the source, though he already knew what it meant.
Flat line. No heartbeat.
Ronin was dead.
Kim turned the knob on the unused boiler and sprinted down the ramp. At the bottom she looked around to see if anyone might be within. Seeing no one, she moved to the edge of the tank. It was empty, save for a few puddles here and there. Ronin was lying face down. A length of chain lay nearby.
"Kim", Wade said in her ear, "He just flatlined."
"I'm all alone down here, Wade, " Kim whispered urgently.
"I'm not reading any heat signatures other than yours and Raw- I mean Ronin's. If anyone comes near the lair, I'll alert you."
Kim hopped down into the tank. She pushed on Ronin's back to get all the water out of his lungs, then rolled him over. Laying her head on his chest, she checked for a heartbeat. None. She gave five quick pumps to his chest and then pinched his nose, tilted his head back, and put her mouth on his, forcing air into his lungs.
Deathray swooped low and came to a landing near the jet.
With two metallic thunks, grappler cables attached themselves to Deathray's back and pulled him over. He crashed to the ground.
Jim ignited a rocket pack and flew into the air. Tim ran straight for the machine. Deathray stayed on his back and fired into the air with the disintegrator. He struggled to his feet to find himself facing two opponents, neither of whom were dressed in Ninja garb.
"Where is Stoppable?" He bellowed.
The twins looked at each other.
"Ron Stoppable – the one called Ronin – where is he?" Deathray repeated.
The twins looked at each other again. They shared a realization.
"Ronin-", Tim began.
"-is Ron", Jim finished.
Deathray fired again.
She checked for a heartbeat. Nothing.
Kim pumped his chest five more times.
"I don't suppose this thing comes with a defibrillator, does it?" Kim inquired.
"Let me check your power storage… the cloak used up most of the batteries. There's enough for maybe two jolts at three hundred volts each." Wade answered.
"Give me one when I tell you," Kim ordered. Then, remembering a bad experience she once had with electricity, she asked, "Is this going to hurt me?"
"No. Place your left hand over his heart and let me know when you're ready."
She put her hand on Ronin's chest, "Now!"
Electricity surged from her suit and into his body. Ronin went rigid, his back arching involuntarily, then went limp again.
"Anything on your monitor?" Kim asked.
A second of silence.
"One weak blip and then flat again." Wade answered.
"OK, give me the last one when I tell you," Kim said, "Now!"
Ronin's body arched again, then went limp. She leaned over him and looked into his face for the first time. "Come on, Ronin," she whispered, "You've gotta come back. Come on…"
An odd familiarity came over her. She squinted and looked closer.
"I think we may have something," Wade said excitedly.
Kim tilted her head and studied his face.
The driver's license photo.
RON?
Kim gave a startled scream and fell backwards, scooting away from him. She turned instantly white.
"Kim!" Wade hollered, "Are you all right? What happened?"
Silence.
"Kim!"
Her mouth was suddenly very dry.
"Is this Ron?" she asked fearfully, hardly daring to believe it.
"His heart is beating, but it's weak," Wade tried to ignore the question, "We've got to get him to a hospital."
"Wade!", she demanded, "Answer me!"
"It's not my place to say," Wade said with conviction.
That means yes.
She moved back to him and looked into his face.
It is Ron.
Unconscious, his breathing was shallow and raspy. Urgency suddenly flooded back into her mind.
"We've got to get him out of the lair in case Deathray returns." Kim said in an extremely shaky voice, "But I can't carry him alone."
"I can take care of that." Wade answered.
Ronin's suit glowed crimson. Kim gave a startled yelp as she watched Ronin seemingly move under his own strength. His head still hung limp, but his legs gathered up beneath him and he struggled to his feet.
"There's not much power left," Wade said.
Kim put an arm under Ronin's shoulders and helped Wade walk him up the ramp.
Ron…
His name echoed over and over in her mind.
"Emergency services will meet you in the alley at the far end of the warehouse. ETA four minutes. Your brothers should be able to keep Deathray busy for that long," Wade said.
They collapsed in the alley just as the suit ran out of power.
From the shadows, she watched Kim carry Ron up the ramp and out of sight. She rubbed her wounds and wondered, if Ray hadn't done what he did to her, would she still have drained the tank and removed Ron's chains?
I used to be the hero once, she thought bitterly to herself.
She actually considered giving Stoppable CPR when she heard the boiler slide away at the top of the ramp. Of course it would be Kim. So many people on this earth, but it just had to be Kim. She watched Kim give him mouth-to-mouth, and smiled at her scream when she finally recognized him. Regret could be a powerful force, but it could not conquer hatred. Could be what Shego hated the most about Kim was the fact that she used to be Kim. But Shego had long since forgotten how to be independent, much less a hero. She needed men who could take care of her. Yes, Drakken had been a bigger buffoon than Stoppable ever was, but Drew cared for her; provided for her.
And he never once hit her.
She was bemused to discover herself comparing Drakken to her current lover. She'd never really looked at Drakken that way. Theirs was a relationship of evil, bumbling genius and disrespectful yet mysteriously loyal sidekick. She stayed with him not just because he took care of her, but because she could control him when she wanted to. There was one other thing. Somewhere deep down, she knew Drakken was helpless without her. He needed her, and it wasn't such a terrible thing to be needed by someone.
Not so with Ray. She originally thought she could control him, but the more he embraced his evil persona, the less stable he became. Had she created the monster? Or had she merely opened the door and let him loose?
She concluded, miserably, that she probably would never leave Ray. She just didn't have that kind of strength. What was worse, she knew with a certainty that Ray's behavior would just become more and more abusive as time went on. She looked back down the corridor to the football stadium-sized cave that had been hollowed out beneath the warehouse district. Ray's plans had gone beyond the simple elimination of Kim's soul mate. He'd decided there were much bigger fish in the world that needed frying.
With a mixture of bitterness and sadness, she resigned herself to her new position as Ray's sidekick and occasional punching bag. She'd get satisfaction in her own way. Helping save Stoppable was one example. Such was the nature of passive/aggressive vengeance; sabotage and secrecy. Tomorrow, she'd call things even, and pretend like nothing ever happened between them. In five days she'd stand patiently by as Ray married Kim Possible. Then in seven days, after Ray had his wedding night with his new bride, she'd assist him in this new plan of his. After all, it looked like it might work.
Sirens blared, lights flashed, they'd be at Middleton Medical Center in ten minutes. One irony after another came sailing through her mind. MMC was the last time she'd seen him, now here she was, on the way to that same hospital wearing his clothes. The paramedics recognized her, and allowed her to ride alone with Ron in the back of the ambulance. She let her mind drift back and oddly enough, it settled on a memory that Ron wasn't even in.
She remembered that day, three days after they were supposed to be married. They'd canceled the wedding but she went to the church that morning in the hopes Ron would somehow show up and declare it was all just a cruel joke. She sat in that car he'd bought her, staring at the church through tears of grief over what could have been. Then three days later, Wade alerted her to something Monkey Fist was doing; some theft of an idol or whatever. The thought of going on a mission without Ron left her feeling… what? Confused? Angry?
Empty.
Felix had answered the door. She felt so ridiculous standing there in her mission gear, asking if Ron was available.
No, Felix told her sadly. Packed up his stuff and vanished. Sorry.
It was strange, feeling almost like an incomplete person. She'd once told her mother she couldn't save the world without Ron. But it wasn't until that moment she realized what she had truly meant by it. She drew strength from him, and now that source of strength was gone.
She managed, barely, to thwart Monkey Fist. But the writing was on the wall. If the world needed saving, someone else was going to have to save it from now on.
The ambulance hit a pothole, rousing her from her memories.
"Sorry", the medical technician called over his shoulder.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked quietly, looking at his face.
"I gave him my word," Wade said in her ear. "At the time it didn't seem like such a big deal."
"Why not?"
"You and I weren't exactly talking to each other much", Wade said matter-of-factly.
Touché, she thought grimly.
"I know you've got questions…" Wade began.
"Oh, you think?" she said sarcastically.
"…but I think it's best if he answers them himself when he's able to." Wade finished patiently.
She never took her eyes off Ron. It occurred to her that she really only had one question for him.
Why?
This wasn't a typical lair. There was a small, kind of sterile room that led into a larger room scattered with what looked like lab equipment. At the far end of the lab was a sort of observation window that looked out over a massive, hollowed-out room. That room had nothing in it that they could see. The floor was stainless steel, and the domed roof was littered with odd looking spiky things that neither of them could quite categorize. In the very center of the floor was a small hole, but its purpose was as big a mystery as anything else in the place.
The lair seemed to be empty.
"You think Wade gave us the wrong address?" Ron inquired.
The Kimunicator beeped.
"I heard that", Wade said, "Ron, you're in a lair in a hollowed out mountain on an island in the Mediterranean Ocean. If you're at the wrong place, I don't think the right one is two doors down."
"Knock it off, you two," Kim ordered looking around warily. "We should not have gotten in here so easily."
On cue, 12 large men in lab coats burst from hidden trapdoors all around them.
"Yep," Ron said calmly, as if he expected this to happen, "One of these days we're going to figure out there's no such thing as an empty lair!"
Kim sprang onto a nearby table and dropped two guards with a flying kick. Ron squared off against four guards, leaping over one and landing on another. One guard after another went down until Kim was pelted in the face with what looked like a white beanbag. A puff of white powder erupted as it struck her. Kim crumpled up on the floor unconscious.
"KP!" Ron shouted, and ran to her. Six guards tackled him and hauled him to his feet.
From behind a door, a man in a lab coat emerged. He was five feet tall, wore thick glasses, and had bushy white hair. He walked up to Kim's crumpled body.
"Most excellent", he observed and then moved on to Ron.
"Dr. Cody Pendant," Ron stated defiantly, "What have you done to her? And what have you done with Dr. Heeler?"
"Feh," Pendant waved a dismissive hand, "They are of no consequence. It is you I am interested in, my boy."
Ron's eyes narrowed, "Why."
"Ah, pretending to know nothing about this?" Pendant looked surprised, "Very well, I will enlighten you. As if you didn't already know."
Pendant paused and regarded Ron with a sinister grin.
"It seems your friend, Dr. Heeler, has developed an extraordinary process that – when combined with any drug it comes into contact with – is self-replicating. I don't need to tell you the value of such a process. I could take a single pill, replicate it a million times over and sell it at greatly reduced prices on the open market. But of course, that would save lives and better our civilization, making healing drugs virtually free for all the people of the earth. I am not interested in such things. But what if I could take something that was poisonous and self-replicating and drop it into a country's water supply? I think most countries would pay a high price to prevent me from such actions."
"You're like, freakishly insane, you know that?" Ron snapped.
"What gave it away?" Pendant inquired sarcastically, "Was it the hollowed out mountain lair in the middle of the Mediterranean?"
He paused for effect. What kind of effect, no one was really sure.
"Anyway, after much – shall we say, persuasion - Dr. Heeler gave us the formula for this self-replication process. Unfortunately, it seems there is just one nucleotide sequence missing from the final equation, and we are unable to complete it. Dr. Heeler told us – again, with much persuasion – that he gave you this information. Now I wish you to give it to me." He stood and glared at Ron.
Ron went pale. He remembered something about a nucleotide sequence at Heeler's lab, but Heeler had asked him to remember so many things for him he couldn't separate out the necessary information!
"I don't know what your talking about," Ron stammered unconvincingly.
Suddenly, Ron broke from his captors, vaulted over a nearby table, and dropped two guards.
"Kim! Wake up!", he shouted, taking on a third guard. She remained perfectly still. Eight guards surrounded him. Dread coursed through Ron's mind. While Kim could certainly take out eight guards, probably without breaking a sweat, he knew he couldn't.
He tried anyway.
He was able to subdue five of them before the rest tackled him again.
"Take them to the detox room!" Pendant shouted.
Twenty minutes later, Ron and Kim were at opposite ends of the large domed room with the stainless steel floor. They were both suspended above the floor by steel clamps around their hands and feet.
Ron was frantically trying to remember the nucleotide sequence.
Kim had a manacle locked on one wrist. Attached to it was a metal spike about six inches long. In addition, she had large steel manacles around her ankles. Ron didn't have these things attached to him.
Kim coughed and spluttered. She was beginning to come around.
Up in the observation room, Dr. Pendant stood looking at them.
"You know", he said over an intercom, "Back in the old days when someone had an addiction, they were treated with electro-shock therapy. The weak-minded called the practice barbaric, and it was subsequently outlawed. But I am of the opinion it was a most effective method of curing a patient's ills. You, Mr. Stoppable, seem to need a cure for your forgetfulness."
"I know the sequence," Ron said in a panic.
"I know", Pendant answered.
"Let us go and I'll tell you what it is," Ron demanded.
"Tell me what it is, and I'll let you go," Pendant countered.
He waited.
"No?" He continued, "Then let us proceed. Do not worry, Mr. Stoppable, we will help you remember the sequence. I see Ms. Possible is beginning to revive, so let us begin."
"Don't tell him anything, Ron," Kim called weakly from the other side of the room.
"Oh, he'll tell. Do not worry about that," Pendant said confidently, "Here is the situation. One of you will perish, and never leave this room. The other will be free to go. Attached to Ms. Possible's wrist is a metal rod that needs to be inserted into the hole in the center of the floor. Do this, and the exit door you see on the far side of the room will open and you will be free to go."
Kim and Ron looked at each other worriedly.
"There is, as always, a catch," Pendant continued, "Only Ms. Possible can decide who will leave this room alive. Soon, an electrical force-field will begin traveling across the room, beginning on Ms. Possible's side, and ending with Mr. Stoppable. If that force-field makes it across the room unimpeded, then Mr. Stoppable will be crushed to death, and Ms Possible will be free to go. However, if she wishes, Ms. Possible can make her way to the center of the floor and insert the rod into the hole. This will short out the electrical force-field. But, for every step she takes toward the center, she will receive an electric shock which will increase in intensity the closer she gets to her objective. When she inserts the rod, she will receive a fatal jolt of electricity, but Mr. Stoppable will be free to go."
"You are so freakishly insane", Kim shouted
"What are you two, twins?" Pendant asked, annoyed.
"Pendant!" Ron cried fearfully. "Just give me time to think!"
"I am." Pendant replied, then he turned away from the intercom, his attention distracted momentarily.
Ron looked down, "Rufus!"
The naked mole rat peeked out of his pocket. He'd been awake for some time.
"Get to that door over there and climb inside the control panel. See if you can find a control switch that will unlock these clamps and open the door!"
Rufus gibbered and chattered, then jumped out of Ron's pocket and scampered across the floor. He opened the control panel and climbed inside before Pendant turned back to look at them.
"Are we ready?" Pendant asked.
Suddenly the clamps sprang open. Rufus had done it! Ron sprinted across the floor toward Kim.
"What is this!" Bellowed Pendant. He slammed his fist down on the panel in front of him.
Five feet before Ron could reach her, the force-field dropped between them. He crashed into it and bounced off as though it were concrete.
"Ron!" Kim cried.
The force field began advancing deliberately across the floor, pushing Ron back to his own side.
Kim gritted her teeth and took a step forward. Pain shout through her. She cried out.
"No!" Ron shouted, "Kim! Stay there!"
The force field continued, now reaching the halfway point. Ron was pushed backwards. Kim took another step, and received another, more powerful jolt.
Ron began to panic, "Pendant! Listen it's…uh…it's X…uh…X7 something something."
"Inadequate", Pendant replied impassively.
Kim took two more steps and collapsed with a painful shriek.
"NO!" Ron pounded his fists uselessly on the advancing force-field.
Kim struggled to her knees and lunged forward. Pain like she had never felt before surged through her. She screamed and collapsed again.
"KIM! Just stay there! Don't move anymore," Ron cried in terror. "Pendant, please, I'm begging you. Stop now and I will do my best to tell you what you want to hear!"
"You know," Pendant said in an amused tone, "Dr. Heeler said the very same thing!"
The field came at him. The tops of it bent toward the wall and it formed itself into a large bubble that began to shrink rapidly.
Kim could barely pull herself up to her elbows. Using her hands, she pushed herself forward. Blinding white pain coursed through her body. She uttered a low groan.
Ron was up against the wall at last, the field shrinking in upon him. He sank to his knees, covered his head, and prepared for the inevitable.
Nothing.
Kim!
NO!
Ron leaped to his feet and sprinted for the center of the room. He pulled up short when he saw Kim, lying on the floor, moaning.
She was ten feet short of the hole.
Ron looked down in horror. It seemed Kim's choice had been taken out of her hands. Lying half out of the hole was the burned, lifeless body of a naked mole rat.
The room began to shake. Muffled explosions were coming from somewhere beneath them. Whatever Rufus had used to short out the field had caused a chain reaction in Pendant's equipment. The lair began to tear itself apart.
Ron moved over to Kim and struggled to get her to her feet. Her left arm was bleeding, tears were brimming her eyes.
"Ron?" She said weakly.
"Don't worry, KP" He said absently, looking around frantically. He tried to reassure her, but wasn't so convinced himself, "I'm here for ya... no mater what."
Ron's mind was a chasm of white noise. He couldn't think straight. First problem was the door. He looked and saw it was wide open. Rufus seemed to have taken care of everything. He stooped to pick up the remains of his friend, but an explosion tore a rift in the floor. What was left of Rufus plummeted into it and was never seen again.
They stumbled together out through the lair as explosions rocked the island. Pendant and his men had gone. Ron found the Kimunicator discarded on a table and picked it up.
"Everything all right?" Wade asked frantically.
"No," Ron responded, "We need a ride off this rock five minutes ago."
Kim slumped in his arms, and finally lost consciousness.
A random thought popped into his head.
X4171.
He finally remembered the crucial nucleotide sequence.
Ron never had the heart to tell her about Rufus. That first day in the waiting room at Middleton Medical Center was pure emotional torture. Four days until the wedding and Kim was barely conscious. He'd sat by her bedside most of that first day, but when her parents came to visit, he had to get out of there. The Possibles were all reassuring smiles and soothing remarks. But Ron knew better. She was in there because of him.
He walked, not caring where he was going. One painful thought after another crowded into his mind. Not the least being the fact that Kim had tried to sacrifice herself for him. Then there was Rufus, who had sacrificed himself for them both. And what about Ron? What exactly had Ron done?
Nothing.
Wait, that wasn't exactly true. He had done something. He'd failed. Big time.
X4171.
Look at that! He could call up the nucleotide sequence at will. It taunted him like a mosquito that always flew just out of reach before you could squish it. Six little syllables that could have prevented the death of his friend and the near-death of his fiancé. It was his fault they wound up in Pendant's lair in the first place! Oh, and let's not forget about Ron Stoppable's appalling lack of combat skills. Where Kim could have taken out eight goons, he'd barely managed five, and it gained them nothing. Wrong again, they'd actually gained a fabulous trip to the Middleton Medical Center! Three cheers for the idiot buffoon!
Ron Stoppable had gone from sidekick, to fiancé, to serious liability.
How many times would their relationship be used against them in some horrible plot? How many missions before Ron's lack of ability to do anything right got them both killed? How many times might Kim have to offer up her life to save his?
Ron arrived at the answer in short order: none.
If he and Kim weren't together, then she would never be in danger again.
It was just that simple.
Of course, if he told her all this, she'd just tell him he's being paranoid and talk him out of it. It was time for Ron Stoppable to step up and take some initiative. No more buffoonery, no more failures, no more liability.
No more danger to Kim.
When he finally sifted through all the information floating around in his head, he found one solid reason why he should end things with Kim as soon as he felt she could take it.
X4171.Four days until the wedding. She should be feeling better by tomorrow.
He'd tell her tomorrow.
And then get as far away from her as he could.
The first thing he was aware of was the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor. It seemed to come from far away, and had an almost echo-y quality to it. Gradually he came to be aware of other sounds. There was the low hum of an air conditioning system. Voices from far away, muffled and unintelligible. He heard the occasional rustle of paper. He heard the whispery hiss of air through a small hose. That last sound was very close. He began to regain consciousness as though he were submerged in water and slowly making his way to the surface.
Submerged in water.
A sudden, vivid memory washed over him and he began to struggle.
"Ron?" Came a far off voice.
He struggled to open his eyes, but couldn't yet.
"Ron, can you hear me?"
His mouth was bone dry. He found he couldn't speak.
"Ron, if you can hear me, just relax. Everything's OK. You're in the hospital."
His struggling ceased.
He opened his eyes a tiny fraction and painful light flooded into his head. He shut them tight again.
"Water", he croaked.
After a minute, a cup was lifted to his lips. He took some, spluttered and coughed. A cloth wiped his mouth.
"Just take it easy", the voice soothed.
"Kim?" He asked.
"I'm right here." She answered.
He lay still for a moment.
"How long?" He asked.
"You've been in the hospital for four days," she replied without emotion.
Four days!He struggled to open his eyes. After immense difficulty and much blinking, his vision returned to him. He turned his head. She was sitting in the chair, looking at him.
There was no one else in the room.
They gazed at each other for awhile. Then she got up to leave.
"Kim, wait," He rasped.
"I should go tell your parents you're awake", she said, reaching for the doorknob.
"I need to tell you something about Deathray." Ron said, struggling to sit up.
"I know all about Deathray", she replied.
Silence between them.
"Nothing to say?" she demanded, an edge in her voice.
"I'm glad you found out." he said quietly.
"Yeah, well, I'm not so sure I am." She said, tears beginning to pour forth.
"Isn't it better you know the truth?" he asked quietly.
"The truth? Just who are you to talk to me about the truth?" she sobbed. "How could you do something like this?"
"OK", he admitted, "I know it was a mistake to fake my death."
"Fake your death!" she practically shrieked. "Is that what you think this is about?"
"Well, then what-?"
"Ron!" she said angrily, choking back sobs, "I know that you're Deathray!"
Ron's mind went blank.
"My fiancé took me down to your supposed lair yesterday. When I told him all about what happened he went down to the warehouse to check it out. He found the big mechanized battle suit you used as Deathray. He showed me some of the entries you made in the computer. All your plans are there in detail. You pretended to be some superhero and swoop in to save the day. He even showed me the inside of the mechanical suit. We found your ninja mask in there, Ron!"
Ron tried to speak.
"I don't know how you got Wade to play along," she continued, "But it all makes perfect sense. Wade could easily pilot the suit by remote control. You guys fake a couple of battles… You almost killed me when we fell off the roof of the bank!"
"Wade told you all this?" Ron asked incredulous.
"I am not talking to Wade!" she blurted, "And if he contacts you, tell him to stay away from me."
She angrily wiped tears from her face.
"You're sick, Ron" she said in a quieter tone, "And you need help. I promise when I return from my honeymoon, I'll get you the best help available. I'm getting married tomorrow, which means I won't be able to see you again before we leave. But we'll discuss all this when I return."
With that, she opened the door and disappeared.
Ron tried to get up but was too weak.
She thinks I'm Deathray!Ron Stoppable's world came crashing down around him.
