Spoiler Disclaimer: Events, dialogue, and situations surrounding the episode "Monkey Ninjas in Space" (1-19) are referenced and revisited here, albeit modified in the context of the parallel timeline.
Dr. Possible looked around the lobby of the command center, and a proud smile graced his face. A dozen brightly smiling children were gathered around him, waiting for him to speak, Kimmie-cub and her friend were munching on rocket-shaped cookies, and the sun was shining brightly outside on a beautiful day. All was right with his world. "Good morning Rocket Boosters! I'm Dr. Possible."
"Good morning, Dr. Possible!" the children chorused back.
"Ten years ago," he began, "I formed the Rocket Boosters to help show that science can be fun, and to show my Kimmie-cub that her dad does some pretty exciting things, while helping her deal with some problems. Once a year since then, we've had the rocket booster open house to show just how cool science can be.
Unnoticed by her father, Kim dropped her face into one hand and shook her head briefly in annoyance as every child's face turned to look at her curiously. Even Monique's normally cheerful expression grew a shade chillier as Kim groaned in disbelief.
"Today," Dr. Possible continued, "science is just as cool as ever, and my Kimmie-cub is..."
As Dr. Possible continued to speak, Monique asked, "You want to get out of here before he breaks out the baby pictures?"
Kim looked down at her Rocket Booster sweatshirt, which was straining at the seams and revealed more of her midriff than even she was used to, and sighed. "No, it'll be okay... I hope. But the first sign of home movies, and we're gone." Kim fell silent with a surprised squawk as she was suddenly engulfed in a hug by her father.
"Plus it's still a great way to spend a day with Kimbo here. And I have a special treat for you all today," Dr. Possible smiled at the cheerful faces of his audience as he hugged his daughter. "Today, you'll be meeting our newest astronaut, who's completing his training for a year long mission on our space station." He paused for a moment, as the kids cheered and talked excitedly about the surprise, then added, "So come along, and let's see what's new at the space center, shall we?"
The tour progressed without any more excessively embarrassing incidents as Kim and Monique trailed after the excited children. Despite the inauspicious start, both found themselves enjoying the visit, even though Kim had seen many of the sights before - or even stranger ones in the various villains' lairs - Dr. Possible's enthusiasm for his work was impossible to ignore, and the innocent joy of the children was just as contagious.
Dr. Possible stopped beside a plain wooden door without any identifying sign, and waited for the tour group to gather.
"So what's behind door number one?" Monique asked. "Atomic reactor?"
"I'm not sure. Could be the janitor's closet," Kim guessed.
When the children were all gathered, Dr. Possible announced, "Now, I'd like you all to meet the special new addition to our space crew, Frederick." He stepped aside and with a broad smile, gestured inside with a sweeping gesture.
As the door opened, contrary to the teens' guesses, it revealed a small work room. Most of the room was innocuous, but across the room, a diminutive figure in a space suit was working on a computer terminal, navigating a virtual spaceship through a simulation of an asteroid swarm.
The children looked briefly confused, since the room looked fairly boring when compared to the particle collider room, the satellite tracking station, or the Mars rover testbed. Thinking she was missing something, one girl in the back even jumped up and down trying to get a better look over the heads of her peers.
When the seated figure noticed the visitors, he turned to face them, and pressed several buttons on a control panel on his left wrist. ( Welcome. friends. ) a synthesized voice announced.
"How come he uses that box thingy to talk?" a curious girl asked, twirling one of her pigtails around a finger as she stared at him.
"I think you'll like this, boys and girls," Dr. Possible's voice became even more cheerful. "You see, Frederick isn't a human astronaut, he's a..."
As he continued to speak, the small figure reached up, and unscrewed the helmet from the airtight locking mechanism on the neck of his space suit. As he lifted the helmet from his head, the children breathed a collective, "oooh" of delight.
"He's a monkey!" one boy announced, pointing at the astronaut.
The children rushed forward and surrounded Frederick, but were either too reserved or too frightened to do anything else. Once Frederick pushed some more buttons, and announced, ( Frederick. Friend. ) the reserve swiftly was quashed by their excitement. The monkey collected hugs, handshakes, pats on the head, and even a kiss on the cheek from one girl, all of which were borne with a friendly demeanor and a gentle smile.
"Frederick needs to get back to training, kids," Dr. Possible finally announced. "So come along with me, and I'll show you where Frederick's rocket is being readied for launch."
Still psyched by meeting the monkey astronaut, the kids returned Frederick's wave goodbye and called out "Goodbye, Frederick," as they left. They were all but bouncing with excitement as they followed Dr. Possible down the hall, and even Kim was smiling as she brought up the end of the train.
As Dr. Possible stopped in front of a large observation window, he gestured proudly with one hand and explained, "This spacecraft is being prepared for a special mission. Frederick is going to spend a year on our space station monitoring experiments from elementary students from around the country."
Surrounding the rocket, a muted swirl of activity was ongoing. Robotic tenders rolled around the base, monitoring and servicing the vehicle, while small white puffs of either smoke or steam were periodically emitted from the access ports on the vehicle itself. To Kim's experienced eye, the ship itself seemed outdated and old in style compared to some of the vehicles she'd seen and flown, but judging from the gleam in the children's eyes, it didn't matter.
"Glad you came along, Kim?" Monique whispered.
"Actually, yes," Kim whispered back. "It's been kind of fun. And just look at the look on their faces - they're so sweet."
"They're real cuties, aren't they?" Monique smiled, seeing one boy pressing his face against the glass so tightly his nose was flattened and his breath clouded the window.
Before Kim could comment, the air was filled with short, barking kiyais. One by one, a squad of monkey ninjas leaped into position surrounding the small group and dropped into an attack stance.
"Monkey ninjas!" Kim gasped. Reaching into the pocket of her cargo pants, she drew out the Kimmunicator and hit the silent alarm button. Before she could do more, her father made his move.
Stepping between the children and the nearest monkeys, he spread his arms as a warding barrier, and demanded, "What's going on here?"
Before Kim could explain, or the monkeys could move, a dark voice came from the shadowy depths of a corridor. "A prophecy is being fulfilled!" the evil laughter that followed did nothing to reassure anyone as Monkey Fist melted from the shadows, walking in a distinctly animalistic gait using his knuckles to balance himself.