Disclaimer: None of the characters from either "Kim Possible" or "The Powerpuff Girls" belong to me.
Chapter 8 - So, We Meet Again - Part 1 (06.09.04 / 10.29.04)
Twenty minutes have passed since Mojo Jojo had been apprehended and the Powerpuff Girls had departed for Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. The local police force was busy not only cleaning up the scene, but trying to interrogate the hundreds and hundreds of potential witnesses as well.
In order to take as little time as possible, the witnesses had been split into a large number of small groups of about eight to 12 people and were questioned about what had just occured all at once.
On the road, Mr. Barkin was among those examining damage to vehicles on the road. In particular, the seven buses that had brought the Middleton High sophomore class here... well, the five buses that were still usable and intact.
"This is a disaster!" Barkin yelled. "These buses will cost a fortune to replace!"
Suddenly, many of the officers began departing the scene. A lot of people were wondering what exactly was going on... until Kim and Ron appeared in front of their classmates, with smiles on their faces.
"Kim?" Monique asked, a bit concerned. "What happened?"
"I just told them everything that happened and that the Powerpuff Girls had come to save the day," Kim replied.
"Then they said thanks for the help, but leave the fighting to the real heroes," Ron added... before ending up on the receiving end of a smack to the head by Kim. "Hey!"
"I was hoping to leave that part out!" Kim said angrily. "Anyway, after that, they decided the case was closed and that everyone could go home."
"Really? Just because you mentioned that the Powerpuff Girls were here?"
"Yeah, Monique! And I'm not sure the whole 'sugar, spice, and everything nice' theme really applies here."
"They laughed at me!" Ron exclaimed. "They laughed at me when I told them that I was a sidekick!"
Monique couldn't help but quietly snicker under her breath. But before Ron could catch her in the act, Mr. Barkin's boisterous commanding voice filled the air.
"Alright, Middleton High! Back on the buses! It's time to resume our trip!"
"How am I supposed to board my bus?" Bonnie asked, pushing Kim aside to get to the head chaperone on the trip. "It got blown up by a giant robot!"
"Rockwaller, I never left anyone behind in a warzone when I was in the army! I'm not about to leave anyone behind now!"
Meanwhile, across town, Professor Utonium and Doctor Drakken had finally arrived at Townsville Technical Institute. It was here that they were attempting to find a lab for Drakken to work in so he could do his research. But...
"Little does the Professor know that the only research I plan on doing involves plotting to take over this city and rename it... Drakkenville!" he thought to himself. "Wait... haven't I used that name before?"
"Here we go!" the Professor announced, breaking Drakken's train of thought. "The chemistry building. We should be able to find you a lab to work in here."
"Excellent!" Drakken responded, rubbing his hands together evilly.
A few minutes later, one of the buses carrying the students from Middleton High pulled to a stop in front of Pokey Oaks Kindergarden. The doors opened up, as about thirty sophomores or so stepped off the bus.
"This is a school?" Kim disappointingly asked, noting Pokey Oaks' small size.
"Looks more like a preschool to me, girl," Monique replied.
"You are SO going to pay for this, Kim!" Bonnie exclaimed, grabbing the redhead by the arm and turning her around.
Kim, Ron, and Monique were in shock when they saw that Bonnie's hair was all messed up and out of place. One could even say that...
"You look like something blew up in your hair," Kim commented smugly.
"You think this is funny, don't you? Well, guess what, K? I'll get back at you!"
"Oh... really?" Kim asked, with a mocking tone in her voice.
"No one makes a fool of Bonnie Rockwaller! I'll get my revenge! Just you wait!"
Bonnie walked off, hoping to find somewhere to hide until she could fix her hair.
Once out of sight, the trio burst out laughing.
"I can't believe you did that!" Ron shouted.
"Why not?" Kim smiled. "She SO had it coming to her. Oh, and thanks for the idea, Monique! I needed that."
"Anything for you, Kim!" thanked Monique. "I relish any opportunity to knock Bonnie off that high horse of hers."
"And to think... all I had to do was pay Brick ten dollars to give her a noogie."
Speaking of the resident brainless quarterback...
"Bonnie, come on!" he shouted, running off the bus in search of the brunette. "I thought you liked it people fooled around with your hair!"
"Okay, people, cut the chit-chat!" Barkin shouted loudly, getting off the bus. "It's time to share our knowledge of the world with those unexperienced and of smaller stature than ourselves! And may I remind you that this is no ordinary field trip. This is a hands-on, out of the classroom project that counts for a good part of your final grade! So make it count!"
"Well, here we go," Kim sighed.
"No worries!" Ron stated with enthusiasm. "This should be an easy A!"
"Just don't try and pull a Kim on me, okay?" Monique said, aware of Ron's work ethic. "I'm not your lackey, here to do all the work and receive none of the credit!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Monique!" defended Ron.
"She knows about our whole 'science fair' routine," Kim stated, "which, now that I think about it, is definitely not cool."
"I'm a changed man! Ron Stoppable doesn't ride on other people's genius! He thrives in it!"
"No wonder you're the hero and he's the sidekick," smirked Monique.
"Hey hey!"
"Yeah!" added Rufus, popping out to remind everyone that he was here as well.
"Class, quiet please!" Ms. Keane told the kindergardeners kindly. After waiting patiently for the children to settle down, she continued. "Today, we have some very special guests with us. A class of teenagers are coming here today to show you what it's like to have a big brother or sister. They are going to relive their childhood through you, and you'll take a peek at what's to come when you get to high school."
Suddenly, the sound of knocking came from the door. The class watched as Ms. Keane went to open the door.
"Hello there!" greeted Ms. Keane, sticking out her hand as a gesture of friendship. "And you must be..."
"Barkin," the stone-faced Mr. Barkin replied while moving to shake hands with the young woman. "So this is Pokey Oaks, is it?"
"Why, yes it is!" Keane replied cheerfully. "Please, come in!"
"Thank you." Barkin then turned to the teenagers behind him and started yelling, commander-style, "Alright people, inside now! Move it, move it!"
As Kim's class speedily yet orderly entered the classroom, the Powerpuff Girls were observing their entrance from their seats.
"They all look so big and tall!" noted Bubbles.
"Duh!" retorted Buttercup. "They're supposed to be! Man... this whole thing is bogus. It's like we're being babysat for the entire weekend!"
"It's not all that bad," said a reassured Blossom. "I think it's a great opportunity to learn what the future holds for us in regards to our lifestyle in higher education."
At that moment, Kim, Ron, and Monique entered the building, to the shock of the girls.
"Hey, it's those guys from downtown! The ones we saved!" Blossom exclaimed.
"You mean the fakes that said they were heroes? Give me a break!" Buttercup stated.
"Hooray!" Bubbles rejoiced. "I'll get him to show me his naked mole rat again!"
Blossom went silent, casting strange looks at her bubbly sister. Buttercup rolled her eyes and explained, "He keeps this stupid pet in his pants pocket."
"It's not stupid!" defended Bubbles. "It's cute!"
"Whatever!"
By this time, Kim and the others had noticed the girls were there.
"Talk about irony," Kim quipped.
"Out of all of the kindergardens in Townsville, why'd we have to go to the one that they go to?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"Ron, chill! Everything's gonna be okay. Maybe we won't get paired up with them."
"Are you joking, Kim? Of course we'll get stuck with them! We're heroes,
they're heroes. It just screams 'mandatory partnership!'"
"Uh... don't look now," Monique cut in, "but I think they're starin' at us."
Sure enough, Blossom and Buttercup were shooting them icy glazes. Bubbles, on the other hand, had a playful smile on her face.
"Man, they're scary!" Ron commented.
"Which one?" Kim asked. "Blossom or Buttercup?"
"Bubbles."
"Bubbles?" Kim and Monique said in unison.
"But she's smiling at us!" Monique added.
"You always gotta look out for the ones who always smile! Besides, they could be thinking of some evil plot to take over the world and no one would know because they're always happy!"
"You'd better clean out that brain of yours, Ron, 'cause no logic's getting through the cobwebs up there!"
With all of the teenagers now in the building and spread out across the room,
Ms. Keane finally addressed her class once again.
"Class, please welcome the sophomores of Middleton Senior High School! They are here to share their experiences as teenagers with you."
"That's right!" Mr. Barkin cut in. "The young adults that surround you are here to show how different things will be when you get to be their age. The world has much more in store than nap time and... bleh, cooties. Things won't always be peachy keen! Life is hard. If you don't push to the top of the pyramid of success, it'll run you into the ground so firmly that you'll be wishing you could just go cry home to mommy and everything'll be okay! But it won't!"
"Now, now, Mr. Barkin! Let's not scare the kids, okay?"
"Too late for that," Kim commented, noting a third of the class was shaking in fear, and another third was on the verge of breaking out in tears.
"He doesn't scare me," Buttercup said to her sisters defiantly.
"Everyone, settle!" Ms. Keane spoke up, trying to regain control of her class. "There's nothing to worry about. Mr. Barkin was just joking around."
"I don't joke around," Mr. Barkin replied.
"Anyway," Keane continued, ignoring Barkin's comment. "It's time to assign partners. When I call your name, children, please stand up. After I call each child's name, I will call out your big brother or sister's name for the weekend."
One by one, the kindergardeners were paired up with the sophomores. As the possible pairings went down, and Kim and company still found themselves without their 'littles,' while the Powerpuffs were still 'big'-less, it seemed that Ron's prediction was going to come true.
"Blossom," Ms. Keane announced, calling out the red-headed leader. "You'll be paired with... Kimberly."
Upon hearing that, Blossom and Kim shot icy glares at each other.
"Of all the people..." Blossom said to herself as she floated over to Kim.
"Figures I'd get stuck with their leader," Kim thought.
"Buttercup," continued Keane, "you'll be paired with Monique."
Neither had any verbal reaction to that pairing, though Monique was doing her best to hide any hints of fear.
"Bubbles, let's see... let's pair you with..."
"Please not me, please not me!" Ron prayed, getting down on his knees.
"Is he for real?" Buttercup asked.
"Oh, yeah," Kim sighed, rolling her eyes.
"That's SO Ron," Monique added, doing likewise.
"Ron," Ms. Keane announced proudly.
"YEAH!"
"NOOOOOO!"
It didn't take much to figure which half of the pairing reacted which way.
"Can I see it? Can I see it?" Bubbles asked repeatedly, quickly flying over in order to get another glance at Ron's 'pet,' Rufus.
"See what?" Ron shot back.
"Your cute little pet!"
"Rufus is not a pet," defended Ron, pulling Rufus out of his pocket. "He's family!"
"He's so cute!" Bubbles chirped, taking Rufus from Ron and beginning to hug him incessantly.
"Hey, hey!"
"Don't worry about Bubbles," Blossom reassured. "She won't hurt him. She just loves cute, small animals."
"Help here!" Rufus exclaimed, trying to escape but to no avail.
"That should be everyone..." Ms. Keane began, but then Mr. Barkin cut in.
"Wait a minute, Ms. Keane. I've got one more." Turning around, he glanced at the only student without a 'little.' "Rockwaller!"
"Huh?" Bonnie jumped in surprise, still attempting to fix her hair.
"But I don't have any kids left to assign her," Keane told Barkin.
Suddenly, the front door swung open, and a shrill voice of annoyance filled the air.
"Who's the cheap low-life who parked that ugly school bus in front of the school?" she yelled. "I had to walk an extra 25 feet because my limo couldn't pull up to the sidewalk!"
"Who's she?" questioned Barkin. "Is she in your class?"
"Yes," Keane replied, turning towards the girl. "Glad you could find time to join us today... Princess!"
A bolt of lightning filled the air as the snobby rich girl cracked an evil smile.
Coming in Chapter 9: "So, We Meet Again - Part 2"
- Drakken has a lab... so work begins on his master plan!
- Bonnie and Princess... could there be anyone worse than those two?
- The Powerpuffs take Kim and the gang home to daddy. Really!