It's Complicated

Chapter Two

            -- Later That Day

            To Kim's dismay, the day dragged on through fourth period Trigonometry and a surprise ASB meeting, neither much improving her mood.  She stayed behind to stack the chairs, and when she trudged through the door, Will Do leaned on the wall beside it.

            "Don't you have anything better to do?" Kim quipped irritably.

            "I thought I might walk you home." He explained, offering to carry her books which she, again, declined.

            "More leads on the Lunch Meat case?" she inquired, after a moment. 

Will blinked.  "Now that you mention it…"

            Kim raised her eyebrows, yet Will, oblivious as ever, pulled his own communicator from his back pocket.

            "I…took the liberty of researching Dr. Salvador Helicon.  Apparently, he was ejected from the U.S. Military for illegal use of arsenals.  But they enlisted him three years later as a research scientist."

            "Weird."

            "Quite." He further studied the screen, "He is head of research in the New Mexico Military Science Center…"

They exchanged glances.

            "I can have a helicopter here in-"

            "No need." Kim replied smoothly, "I'll be calling in a favor."

            "Thanks for letting us borrow your sonic jet, Captain Rhubarb." 

A round faced man with facial hair smiled his gruff smile on the tiny screen. 

"Are you kidding, Kim?  After those emergency landings you made last year…"

            "What's overriding twenty-six autopilot codes?  No big."

            "We're nearing New Mexico now, Kimberly."

Kim rolled her eyes.

            "Ready to eject?"

            "When you are."

            Kim set the autopilot, Will pressed the ejection button, and their seats sprung out of the sleek black jet, blossoming into parachutes.

            "Something is missing." Will's voice muttered over the intercom.

            "What do you mean?"

            "I seem to recall an exceptional heterocephalus glaber called Rufus and his partner…Jon…Don…?"

            They landed on the hard desert sand, immediately dislodging and rolling up their parachutes.  Kim pulled her helmet away and shook out her hair.

            "Ron.  And he's busy."  There was a tone of bitterness to her voice that even Will Do couldn't miss, but he chose to leave it unquestioned at the sight of the massive research center amidst the barren wasteland.

            "Right on target." He commented, taking the extra moment to observe its quicksilver cast in the afternoon light.  Kim did so as well.

            "We can infiltrate through the ventilation system…"

            "Usually we just use the front door."

Will paused to watch, as a large bus pulled up before the New Mexico Military Science Center, and a group of bustling tourist piled out.  He smiled.

            "It's so tactless it just may work."
            "But we'll need a disguise."

            "Already taken care of." And from his pocket, Will pulled two minute devices of a dark gray shade.

            "These are-"

            "Holographic Image Casters." Said Kim, before another word escaped the incredulous mouth of Will Do.  He cleared his throat quickly.  Tossing one into her open fingers, she placed it in her own pocket and pressed the start button.  Immediately, her costume changed, and she stared, fixated, at the beautiful red glove her hand had assumed.

            "So beyond cool!"

            "Ah…Kimberly…"  Kim gave herself the once over, realizing quickly the error of the device's settings.  She 'wore' something of a thirties burlesque costume, or a sixties bathing suit, its shade matching Will's sudden change of complexion.

            "This is a side of you I never imagined I'd-"

She grunted quickly, opting to ignore the comment and adjusted the settings, swapping the scarlet monstrosity for a much more practical school uniform.  Will corrected the settings for the same motif and they ran to catch up with the tour group.

            "Welcome to the New Mexico Military Science Center, amigos!  My name is Veronica, and I will be your tour guide today.  We will begin shortly."

            Kim and Will looked on through the glass walls of the entry way to the grand, silver forms rising behind the doors as white-coated lab workers carried clipboards from one destination to the next.

            "Okay, let's adjust the holographic image casters and disguise ourselves as workers, then-"

            "Actually, Kimberly," Kim's mouth still hung open, mid-sentence, "I think it would be more appropriate if we continued on with the tour."

Kim nodded slowly and removed her hand from her pocket.  But in a way, she couldn't help but feel affronted.  Ron had never…

And then she remembered, gave a sharp sigh and crossed her arms.  Will must have noticed this too, for his eyebrows raised questioningly.

            "Okay, please follow me through these doors.  Try to stay with the group, okay?"  Kim and Will followed the group through the glass doors.

            The tour lead them in a straight path through the upper and lower floors of the Military Science Center, but did not display anything remotely connected to the Lunch Meat case or Salvador Helicon, for that matter.  By this time, Kim was beside herself with impatience.

            "And that concludes our tour, amigos!  Thank you for expanding your knowledge at the New Mexico Military Science Center, and remember: Uncle Sam Wants You!"

            "Can we please…" Kim strained through gritted teeth, but Will ignored her and walked towards the tour guide.  With a tremendous lack of spring to her step, she followed him.

            "Excuse me…Veronica, was it?"  He smiled charmingly, and the Tour Guide smiled in turn. "We're students from the Chavez High School newspaper, doing a report on…"
            "Oh!  Chavez High School, in Albuquerque?"

            "Uh…" Kim looked at Will, Will looked at Kim. "Yes."

            "I graduated there!  Class of…oh, you don't want to know it was so long ago…Is Mr. Bromstrain still there?"

            "Yeah…?" They smiled together. "But, as I was saying-"

            "Oh and…remember how he used to have that donkey with him always…I always forget its name, what is it?"

            "The donkey…" Will looked at Kim, Kim looked at Will. "Oh!"

Kim laughed nervously, "Oh that…Mr. Bromstrain…and his donkey.  He just calls it…donkey."

            "Ah!  You're right!  Now, what was it you wanted?"  Kim breathed a sigh of relief.  Will joined her.

            "We're from the Chavez High School newspaper, doing a report on recent studies in radio activity…"

            "Oh, then you'll want to talk to the Chief." Said Veronica matter-of-factly.  Will frowned.  Kim cleared her throat.

            "Actually, we were looking for-"

            "Me, Miss Possible?"

A man stood in the doorway.

            "Dr. Helicon!" Veronica exclaimed, "These are students of-"

            "Send them to my office.  I will be there shortly."  He turned into another door.  Veronica coughed, and smiled apologetically.

            "This way."

            Helicon's office rested down a long flight of stairs and through several silver hallways lit by blue or green light.  His office, decorated in an International style, was simply furnished and filled with Ming vases and orchids, gentle and soft against the harsh steel walls.  Veronica left them with another nervous smile.  And not two minutes later did Helicon enter the room.

            "So, Ms. Possible and Mr. Do…how kind of you to see me."  He traveled around them at sat at his desk, "Would you like Salami and Crackers?"

The salami glowed a curious hue.  Kim smiled weakly.

            "No thank you."

            "We're on to your case, Helicon."  Will spat.  Kim slapped her forehead mentally.  So much for subtlety.

            "I assumed you might be." He replied smoothly, "Unfortunately for you, I am in no way affiliated with my employer.  My research is purely for the U.S. Military, so if you want to crack this case, you'll have to dig deeper than me."  He stood up and brushed his suit.  "Either way, I'll never be convicted.  And now that I've told you, I must say goodbye."

He sighed sadly, stroking one of the orchids near his desk.

            "It's a terrible pity to waste such…youth and beauty."  He touched a button on his desk, as a door slid open on the wall behind him.  "It's been a pleasure."

Both Kim and Will ran for the door, but as he stepped inside it snapped shut.  Then, as they had suspected in the back of their minds, the ceiling began to sink.  Kim sprang away from the walls as their sides slowly folded into themselves.  She noted Will riffling through Helicon's desk.

            "Any ideas?" Kim asked swiftly, she and Will pushed to the center of the room, dropping to their knees as the height rapidly decreased.

            "Just one."  And from his pocket, he pulled two soda cans.  He crouched quickly towards the wall, shaking its contents and allowing it to spray over it.  Kim repeated the action, spraying it over the same spot.  The steel deteriorated.  Will crawled out on his stomach with Kim close behind –he turned and yanked her out just as the ceiling came crashing onto the floor.

They sighed.

            "Helicon may be right." Said Kim after she'd caught her breath, "We're going to have to search deeper than him to find out who's behind this."

            "Why not start with him?"  Will uncovered the papers in his other hand.  Kim gave them the once over, and shook her head.

            "Of course.  Draken."

            This time, Will's helicopter flew the duo back to Middleton –after the landing, on the quiet walk home while discussing their next course of action, there came a moment of silence between them.


Will cleared his throat.

            "Good job today, Kimberly.  It's good to see you can keep up this time around."  Kim gave a very agitated wince, but managed to give a –however forced –smile.

            "See you tomorrow."  She turned towards her house.

            "Goodnight Kimberly."  If Will saw her second wince, he said nothing more.  And when she looked back down the driveway, he'd already vanished.

Kim trudged to her room, a bit hungry but more exhausted than anything.  She hit the blinking message on her answering machine.

            "Hey KP, it's Ron."

            "Don't call me that…" She grumbled irritably.  Kim turned to her closet, looking to set out clothes for the next day.

            "Tara and I just got out of Bueno Nacho.  We're going to the movies –maybe you can catch us afterwards?"

            "Not happening." Said she again, more forcefully.

            "Well, call me when you get home.  But I might still be out havin' a blast with Tara!"

            "One date and you'd think they were married."

            "Talk to you later, KP!"

            "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"  Kim shrieked, throwing a shirt at the answering machine with such passion that it toppled over with a quick 'beep'.  She snarled, tearing through her closet with the rampant passion often seen in charming rhinoceroses.

            "Kimmy, you're home late."  Mrs. Possible peeked inside, seasons of Club Banana flying overhead, "More spinning tops of doom?"

            "Mom," Kim whined, tossing another blouse over her shoulder, "where did my new Club Banana jeans go?"
            "Aren't you wearing those, honey?"

Not surprisingly, Kim was wearing them.  She gave another disgruntled sigh and onto her bed.

Kim's mother considered this only for a moment, then sat on the edge of the mattress.

            "You want to talk about it?"

            "Not really." She grumbled.  Her mother shrugged and began to rise, but Kim suddenly burst out, "It's Ron."

Wearing her best all-knowing-mother smile she settled back.

            "Another Ron problem?"
            "Okay, I know Ron and I are best friends and everything but he's still and guy and I'm still and girl and I know there are just things we don't tell each other and it's not like I'm jealous or anything but he asked out this girl at school out without even mentioning it to me and I know it's way shallow but he didn't even ask me or at least tell me or something and I totally blew up at him but he just doesn't get it…"

Kim took a deep breath.

            "Does that make sense?"

Mrs. Possible sighed, petting her daughter's hand affectionately.

            "Yes, I understand.  You're just used to having Ron attention all to yourself.  All I can say is not to do anything rash –these problems tend to sort themselves out."

            Kim nodded.  Her mother stood up, automatically folding whatever clothing she had sat upon.

            "Now, why are you home so late?"

            "Seems like Draken is up to something.  Again.  Why doesn't he just give it a rest?"

            "A true villain ever does, Kimmy." She frowned softly, "You didn't go it solo today, did you?"

Another frustrated sigh on the Kim end.

            "Will Do is back in town."  From Mrs. Possible's reaction, one may think she was still in high school.

            "Will is back!  Oh Kimmy, invite him over for dinner.  What a charming young man…" She gave a fond sigh, "Oh, if you're hungry, there's Brain Loaf on the stove."

            "Thanks mom." Said Kim.  Her mother slipped from the room and closed the door.  Kim fell back on her bed, on the piles of clothes, on the rarities of the day and on a heap of mental streams cruising through her red hair.

Will Do, she thought dully.  At least he's not the chauvinistic, know-it-all egomaniac he was when I last ran into him.  In fact, though she would never admit this aloud, he had provided good companionship, almost as good as…

Kim grunted and rolled over.

            The phone rang.  She debated on answering, but eventually, curiosity won over.

            "Hey girl, it's Monique."

            "Oh…hey Monique."

            "Oh, well that was loving."  Kim could hear Monique pouting.

            "Sorry…I'm just a little tired."

            "I'll be you are."


Kim blinked.

            "What are you…"

            "Oh, like you don't know.  Everyone's talking about it."

            "If…" said Kim darkly, "you are talking about Ron and Tara…"

            "Ron and Tara?  Puh-leaze, they are so last week."

            "Monique, it was today."

            "Details, details.  So spill it."

            "Spill what?"

            "You and Will Do!"  Kim dropped the phone.  Monique's unintelligible babble continued until, with a degree of mental effort, she managed to pick up the phone again.

            "Kim?"

            "…Still here, Monique."

            "Stephanie just told me about your date-"

            "It wasn't a date!" Kim shrieked horribly, "It was a mission!  An assignment!"

            "I don't know why you're freaking out." Said Monique with her a feign of innocence, "I mean, it's not like he's unattractive."

            Kim re-fell back on her bed, covering her eyes dramatically.

            "This is bad.  Oh, this is bad."

            "Whatever, Kim.  Listen, you're probably tired.  Get some sleep.  Talk to you later?  Ciao."  But by the time Monique hung up the phone, she had already lost the initial energy to say goodbye.  Kim moaned, rolled over and attempted to smother herself.  No such luck.

            "Why me…?"

The phone rang again.

            "Hello?"

            "Kim, it's Ron."  Kim chucked the phone across the room.

            "I hate men." She murmured, and it sounded almost like an epiphany.

Disclaimer: Don't own Kim Possible, or any of its affiliates.

If anyone was actually waiting for the next part, I apologize.  I…lost track of time?  Um, anyway, I'm not sure where this is going so…yes.  No.  Maybe.  –shrug-

--Artemis