Kim Possible: The Sociopath Episode

Everyone except Valia Ryan and Nev Killbourne were created by Bob and Mark.

Chapter 17: Path to the Being
Ron trains to prepare himself, and Kim realizes where she's at.

Ron's training turned out to be a bit more difficult than he had expected, and he expected it to be pretty brutal. He found it rather eccentric that he was much more skilled than he ever thought. Never did it he remember moments like smashing a dozen bricks with his head at the talent show or when he broke a tree with a kick, even though he destroyed the Yamanouchi cafeteria with it. Being a skilled fighter was one of his many qualities that he never really acknowledged.

Seeing this early in Ron's training, Sensei came to the conclusion that Ron's Tai Shing Pekk Kwar was an effect that kicked in depending on Ron's drive and motivation, as well as how he felt mentally. Ron's problem is that he hadn't mastered such things, so that's where the training focused on.

Ron had several various exercises to fulfill. It began with catching a falling leaf from two fingers. Much easier said than done, as Ron's hand would often blow the leaf from its course. Worse, not only did he have to catch one leaf with two fingers, but he would have to catch two leaves, then three. Consecutively. Ron had been awake since four in the morning, and finally succeeded his first exercise shortly before seven at night. The next exercise? Do it all over again the next day.

Ron retired to his room that night, exhausted and appalled with the thought of having to do it all over again the next day. There was no bed to sleep on, so he just lay down, staring at the moon. It was a strange moon, a rainbow-like light circling around it. He pulled out his picture of Kim. He had several pictures of her, and there were better ones he could have picked. But he chose this one.

'Focus on cherished memories.' he remembered Sensei telling him. He just held the picture in front of him as his mind slowly drifted into the night.

Ron feared the trials the next morning. It took him fifteen hours to do it yesterday. To his surprise, he did it in less than a minute. One leaf, two leaves, three. Just like that. In a few minutes after awakening, he showed Sensei the six leaves. Onto the next exercise, and Ron was hoping Sensei would cut him some slack.

This time, Ron had to take out a total of ten wooden boards that would pop up in various locations with a light wooden sword, and he had to do it blindfolded. Not only did he have to do that, but he couldn't miss when swinging or else he'd have to start it all over again. Ron just listened to the sound of the boards popping up and went straight for them, jumping to the other side of the area when a board came from there, knowing little that his movements matched those of a true samurai and ninja.

Before lunch, he was done with this exercise. More followed.

A blinding light. Coughing.

Kim was waking up.

"Awaken, Kimberly Anne..." came an echoing voice from the bright white room. Valia was somewhere in this room, but turning her head in all directions, she couldn't see him. She couldn't move any of her limbs, not her arms, not her wrists, not her legs. She was pinned against the wall.

The blinding light seemed to die down in time, allowing her to observe the room that she had been in. The room glowed in a white metal with various lights surrounding the entire place. It was a dome-shaped room, and upon further inspection, she found herself suspended 20 feet on the wall. Giant metal one ton donuts kept her legs and wrists trapped, and after trying to tug against them, she realized that they must have gone through the other side of the wall, connected by heavy chains on the other side, completely preventing her from moving. She was surprised that it didn't cut off her blood circulation, nor affect her muscles or arms.

Shivers went through her spine as cold metal touched the bottom of her face. She couldn't see what it was.

"You make it seem like stealth cloaking technology isn't in existence," came a voice next to her. She couldn't see anything.

Then, Valia slowly appeared before her as his cloaking device turned off, revealing that his left hand was studying her face.

Kim turned her head away, but she couldn't remember anything that was going on. She had little memory of where she was or what happened after Valia knocked her out at the warehouse in Middleton. She wasn't aware that Valia erased whatever memories she had of their current location, despite that he sparred with her and fed her. That was one of the advantages of mind control, able to erase one's memory.

"What... is this place?"

Valia just floated above her, using his mech-arms to raise him to her level. "This, Kimberly Anne, is my lair. Pretty, isn't it? In a location that no one can find, built with the latest technology."

Kim turned towards him and growled, "Where on earth are we?"

Val started to lower himself to ground level, laughing, "Where are we? Where are we? Now why on earth would I tell you that?"

Silence.

"We're in outer space," he chuckled.

She became bug-eyed. "You're kidding."

"Actually, I am. I was thinking you'd figure it out by now. After all, you've been down here for two weeks. Oh, that's right, the mind control device I've placed on your body hasn't allowed you to remember anything that's happened since our last encounter. I sparred with you, properly fed you, and decided to hear what was truly on your mind from time to time. It's a good thing the mind control can be taken off and put right back on. That, and memory erase." he sneered.

Kim couldn't believe her ears. Two weeks? Her memory had been wiped since she was brought down here? It felt like she had been knocked out the previous night. A ton of thoughts ran throughout her head; her family, school, her friends, Wade, and Ron. Ron...

"Exquisite if my memory serves correct," spoke the dark figure in the white room, "When I told you to take him out, I wasn't expecting you to bury his skull in concrete. Quite the surprise, and to think he was wearing a brand new battle suit. Assembled by Wade and Nev, no doubt." he continued as he reached the floor.

Kim hung her head. She knew that Valia was bluffing when he said he implanted a deadly virus into Ron's bloodstream. All that little switch did was activated a jamming signal that surrounded the warehouse, then much later that night, after powering up to its full potential, it instantly jammed all sorts of electrical devices all around the state. She was sure of it. Now she didn't known if Valia had her kill Ron, since that's what he commanded Ron to do when he was under mind control.

Valia turned around, "In the position you're in, I would have expected you to focus your thoughts on your own safety than that of another," he then paused to analyze her lips, which were dry. He pulled out a water bottle, "You're thirsty."

He raised himself to Kim's level and fed the bottle to Kim, which she sucked down instantly.

She only wondered how Ron was able to see what he was doing under mind control, and how she couldn't remember a thing. Valia could've been lying about her staying in the lair for two weeks, chained up, sparring, and feeding. She didn't know if that was the truth. He could have sent her to rob places, and he could've even taken advantage of her. She had been down there for two weeks straight. It all didn't click for some reason.

She emptied the water bottle in about ten seconds. Valia, not surprised, then lowered himself back to ground level, turning away.

"In case you're wondering," he began, "The only thing you have done while you were down here was sleep, spar, and feed. No more. After each spar, I disabled the mind control device to hear your thoughts, and after that I erased that from your mind as a safety precaution. I could have just finished you off here, but it would be all too easy, taking the fun and challenge out of it. Now I know why some of the bigger name villains don't take the easy way in."

He could have just killed her under her own mind control, but he didn't. Perhaps he felt that there was no pride in destroying an opponent who couldn't fight.

His tone had completely changed. His usual dark and cold voice felt warm as he spoke. She could tell he was being honest in his claim that he didn't do anything more than what he spoke of. The feeling was strange. Why did he even keep her alive? Why for so long? He had something in store for her, but she couldn't crack it.

She wasn't the only one who noticed this. Valia slowly made his way towards the door. Then again, the last time Kim thought Valia showed a more compassionate side, for a lack of better terms, she wound up losing to Valia and was turned against Ron. He was hiding something deep inside, but was trying to hide it. Little did Kim know that she looked almost exactly liked Michelle, except for her hair and eye color.

The doors closed as the room became dark.

"Ron..."

Before she could continue, her neck emitted a purple blast of sorts, putting her to sleep.

Ron's eyes snapped open from his sleep that night. "Kim!"

His stay at Yamanouchi was not to last much longer.

Nev and Wade were having an argument online. Luckily, Val's signal didn't disrupt cable internet connections unless they were wireless.

"I told you a battle suit for Ron was a bad idea."

"You would have preferred for his skull to be completely cracked?" Nev countered, "I placed rubbing padding to the back of Ron's mask to protect him in case his would happen."

"He still lost to Kim, Nev. Not that I expected him to actually defeat her in combat."

"That was his own doing. He had little intention to hurt her. There's a clear difference between willing to destroy your opponent and having to fight when necessary. Of course he wasn't going to give it his all. He held back."

"So now Kim and Ron are gone," Wade bitterly spoke.

"You make it sound like this is all my fault," Nev said, not liking the tone in Wade's voice for one bit.

"Sorry. I know it's not your fault. I'm just worried and upset, that's all. We've done everything we can to trace her and Val, and we've got nothing, and Ron left to train in Japan, and I guess he found a way to disable or remove his tracing chip. I can't get a lock on him, either." Wade was worried for his friends.

"Now you know why I don't get heavily involved in this stuff. I may not know them as well as you do, Wade, but I know that they're good people. You're not the only one worried about them, Wade. But... what did that note say? The Ron left behind?"

Wade pulled out a scanned copy of the note that Ron left behind, on the same piece of paper with the drawing of Kim on it. It was a note left behind for his parents and the Possibles to read. The contents of the letter came up on Nev's monitor:

Dear Mom and the Possibles,

By the time you read this, I've left for Japan to train myself. Sadly, I can't leave an address or phone number for you to contact me with. I've done this because Kim has been kidnapped and it's all my fault.

She's always been there for me, and I've failed in trying to repay the favor when she needed me the most. But I can't save her in this condition, both she and her kidnapper, Valia Ryan, are too strong, which is why I've left. I will limit my training to two weeks max.

I'm going to save her. I've talked to Wade and another colleague by the name of Nev, but they can't trace her. I don't know how, but I'm going to save her, and you won't see me ever again until I bring her home.

Ron Stoppable

P.S. I've decided to leave everything behind for this training, including Rufus. Make sure he eats and sleeps. I'll be back with Kim. I promise.

"Do you think he can do it?" Wade asked.

"He hasn't left himself with many options," Nev answered, "Save the girl and stop the villain, or die trying. I'm pretty sure he'd gladly choose the latter if he failed the former."

"It wouldn't be the first time he's put his life in danger for Kim." Wade replied.

Wade was smarter than most college graduates, and yet he was only 12 years old. However, working with Kim and Ron for a few years, his confidence in Ron was lacking, even though he wouldn't say it out loud. Nev on the other hand knew what he needed to know about Ron just by the determination on his eyes. Ron would go to the ends of the universe, heaven and hell, and to the great beyond, all for Kim. He wasn't sure if Ron had the skills.

But with the drive and determination in Ron's heart, sometimes such things didn't matter.

Valia returned to Kim's chamber to make sure she was where he left her. He noticed a sad look in her closed eyes and a depressed curve on her lips.

He felt perplexed. She was chained against a wall in a place she didn't know. She didn't even know what he had planned for her. Why was it that her mind focused on someone other than herself? Why was Kim thinking about her beloved partner? Ron didn't even have to come and save her, but their friendship had lasted forever, and somehow, Ron couldn't live without her. Could Kim live without Ron?

She didn't know what became of Ron. Did she kill him that night? Was he hospitalized? Was he just knocked out with a concussion? Yet, when Ron was under mind control, he felt miserable when Rufus saved him from it.

Ron went crazy after Kim went missing and didn't know what became of her fate. The love they shared wasn't for the wrong reasons. Kim didn't go out with Ron because she could be in complete control. Ron didn't go out with Kim to try to get some. Kim could have been much more focused on social status and the food chain and left Ron in the dark, or even find a much more skilled sidekick. Ron could have found someone as spirited as he was.

Valia couldn't figure out for the life of him on why and how the two remained friends for all of these years, or how they took it to the next level. Granted, he didn't know everything inside and out about them, but he knew enough for it to vex him.

Was life perfect for the two? While the news reports made it look like it, he knew it wasn't. No relationship, friendship or more, was perfect. Ever. Surely they have gotten into their arguments and disagreements, the things that would drive two people apart.

Did Stoppable do something to snap Kim out of her social status/food chain train of thought? Did it have something to do with the mission on Prom night? He wasn't surprised that Kim's ex-boyfriend, an advanced syntho-drone with personality, performance, and physical appearance enhancements was destroyed that night. Kim Possible, the girl who destroyed her ex-boyfriend, he thought. That was an attractive feature to Val. And knocking Shego into the communications tower, electrocuting her and sending her down with the tower, completely destroying it, anybody else would have been killed easily. That's what attracted him to Team Possible at first. Kim didn't exactly sound like a softie or a merciful enemy. That's exactly what he had been looking for, and the beating Kim gave him at the weapons factory, he knew he hit the jackpot.

In high school, it was like fate was in the palm of his hands. Everyone who had once picked on him, acted like a jerk, broke his heart, and made his high school life a living hell; they all paid. He did nothing to provoke them with. He never picked on anyone. He never had an attitude problem. He was just being himself, and he suffered for it.

Why was it that Ron was the exact same way and gotten himself a cheerleader superhero girlfriend?

He had Kim trapped in his lair for over two weeks. He still couldn't crack the riddle.

Two more days and it would be three weeks since Kim's capture. Valia was starting to grow impatient.

Sunrise at Upperton as calm winds blew past the city. Odd, as weather reports indicated low winds for today. It was a dark figure jumping from rooftop to rooftop, in search for his destination.

The figure wore a black ninja suit with red linings and packed a sword on his back. An unorthodox ninja, this one had blonde hair and freckles. The look in his eyes was no different than that of a true ninja.

Then, his destination lay before him, Upperton Lake. It was a massive lake that was perfect for all kinds of occasions, from BBQ parties, the usual teen hangout and some local band concerts. The thing that was special about Upperton Lake was that it was huge and extremely deep. It nearly resembled a deep sea. Ron couldn't even see what was on the other side. While it had been some kind of Upperton legend, there was more to the story.

Ron jumped from a building onto a high tree that must have stood 50 feet tall, then flipped off of it and dove into the water.

'They have to be here,' Ron thought to himself. 'I know Wade and Nev would tell me that they haven't been able to crack Kim's whereabouts, but I know where she is.'

Luckily, his mask and suit were designed to handle extreme conditions, from fire, wind, heat, cold, and water. Ron could see clearly what was ahead of him and didn't need to concern himself with his oxygen level as the suit provided its own waterproof oxygen pump in the mask.

After his vision was blocked by fish, seaweed, plants and a lot of dirt, he found his destination, a giant glowing white dome deep in the middle of the lake. It was about time some villain did an underwater lair, but he also wondered how nobody in Upperton noticed this at all. Eyes on the prize, Ron. He just needed to figure out a way inside.

Inside Val's lair, an alarm had gone off, the walls turning red and several holograms appearing before Val, displaying every bit of information regarding their incoming guest. However, Val decided to turn off the security system without looking at who was approaching. To him, there was no need for the security. If Stoppable could successfully infiltrate the underwater fortress, that was good enough for him. All he needed to do now was to wait.

Ron couldn't find any kind of openings that would lead inside. This place was completely armored and he couldn't penetrate it. He then noticed bubbles in one direction, and just as he took a look at it, he was sucked into a vacuum.

Apparently, the dome itself was powered by hydro-electricity, and there was a near-infinite amount of water to power it. Ron flew through the flooded underground halls of the lair at incredible speed, only fearing when it came to an end, he would crash hard into something.

Actually, it was worse. Ron noticed a huge fan was approaching, and fast. He didn't know why there was a fan underwater, but that wasn't the point. He tried something that he saw only in the movies, placing his legs and arms as close together as he could, and hope for the best.

He flew straight between two of the blades. Flawless.

It wasn't over. Another one was approaching.

Before Ron could get himself ready, a tunnel on the side sucked him in, slamming Ron into a gate and breaking it.

He was thrown out into a large pool, free of the pressure. Ron only guessed that this is where some of the leftover water was, locating a pipe on the very bottom to where water was getting sucked out. Not taking the risk of getting near it, he swam to the top, finding himself in a storage room. Success.

Now all he needed to do was find Kim.

As the exit doors opened, Ron was almost blinded by the bright white halls that built the lair. It was like some strange classic sci-fi movie, except with better picture quality. Regardless, Ron noticed he was under a camera, and tried to think of a way to get past it without being caught. Then he remembered that his suit had a built-in camouflage system. Leaning against the wall, his black and red suit and mask turned just as white as the entire hall. It was perfect.

Through the camera lens he was virtually invisible. Not that it was on.

Twenty minutes passed before the door to Kim's chamber opened. Ron froze as his captured girlfriend was suspended 20 feet above on the curved wall, asleep and still in her battle suit. There were no signs of harm. He hadn't seen her face in three weeks, and words couldn't describe the many thoughts that went through his mind.

But something wasn't right.

As he took a step closer, everything instantly went dark, and Ron found his face slammed into the floor, unable to see anything. It didn't hurt much, but as Ron got up, a few spotlights came on, one revealing Valia in front of him with his mech-arms extended.

"You're late."