A Glitch in Time
by Gary D. Snyder
Chapter 3:
"Drakken had hatched another plan to take over the world," Kim explained, "and this time he nearly got away with it. We'd gone up against each other so many times that he'd finally figured out how to play me and keep me from figuring out his plan until it was too late. If it hadn't been for Ron and Rufus his scheme would have worked. They were there for me when I really needed someone."
"Actually, that sounds like a good thing," observed Jimmy.
"It was," Kim agreed. "But more than that, I found out that Ron had…feelings for me. And it was then that I realized that he was really the person I'd been looking for all along. He was brave and loyal, and I knew that he was someone I had always been able to count on. He would always be the person I could trust." Kim thought back, recalling the exact moment it had happened. "And I realized then that I had the same feelings for him that he had for me."
Jimmy had known from the first that his infatuation with Kim could never really be anything more, but Kim's words were like a cold hand squeezing his chest, making it difficult to breathe. Fighting back against the constriction he managed to get out, "So you two…you're an item now?"
The tight sound of Jimmy's voice alerted Kim and she looked at him closely. "Are you all right with that?"
"Yes. Fine," Jimmy lied, trying not to hyperventilate. "It's just kind of a surprise, is all."
Kim momentarily forgot her personal troubles as she dealt with Jimmy's distress. "Not so much," she replied, taking Jimmy's hand in hers. "I guess I just couldn't see it. But I could at least see this. It was sweet."
"You knew?" Jimmy gasped, astonished. "You knew about…about…"
Kim smiled. "Women always know about something like this. It's just that they don't always let people know that they know. Thanks for not making it an issue. I mean, you're really great and all, but you're a little young and it's like…I dunno…we're from two different networks or something. It's like you're from some kids' network…"
"…and you're from some family channel. I know." Jimmy sighed as Kim released his hand. "But this isn't about me. What about you and Ron? It sounds like that should be a good thing, too. For…you," he added.
"What? Oh, yes." Kim grew somber again as she continued. "We went back to the prom and we…well, we sort of made it official. And like you said, that was a good thing. For a while. But then, Ron began to act different."
Jimmy was immediately concerned. "How? He wouldn't…I mean, he didn't…you know…hurt you or try getting you to do something you didn't want to do, did he?"
"What? Oh, no. No. Nothing like that." Kim frowned. "But it was almost as bad. He started closing in, somehow. It was almost like being with my father. He'd insist on taking me home after dark after a date. And during the day he'd want to call up and make sure I made it home all right. And he didn't like me going places alone. That kind of thing."
"Well, I can understand that." He thought about it. "It actually sounds kind of chivalrous, in an old-fashioned kind of way. I mean, a guy wants to make sure that someone they care a lot about is okay. They want to feel like they're needed."
"So my mom said. But I'm the girl who can do anything, right? I can take care of myself. Even so, I guess I could have put up with that or straightened him out or had him tone it down a bit or something. But then, about a week ago, I got a call from Wade on the Kim-municator."
"An assignment?"
"A rescue mission. It seems Ron had found out from Wade that Lord Monkeyfist was planning to heist some mystical simian artifacts from the British Museum. Ron hates Monkeyfist and usually avoids him like the plague if he can help it. But when he found out that Duff Killigan was in on it as well he decided on his own that that the two of them were too dangerous for me to handle. So he made Wade promise not to say anything and went off to face them alone."
Jimmy looked thoughtful. "That must have been a first."
Kim shook her head. "Not really. Ron did it once before so that Christmas with my family wouldn't be ruined. That turned into a rescue as well, but actually it was a spanking family get-together. The tweebs have been bugging my parents about it ever since and even Nana participated." She frowned. "This mission was a disaster. Wade contacted me when Ron hadn't gotten back to him after 24 hours and I figured out what must have happened. Ron had been exposed to some mystical monkey power and Monkeyfist no doubt took him captive to somehow use Ron's power with the artifacts. I didn't have any trouble tracking them down and had just freed Ron when Killigan, Monkeyfist, and a horde of monkey ninjas were on top of us."
"Sounds pretty intense," Jimmy commented, intrigued by Kim's story.
"Untold. I took on Killigan and Monkeyfist – they aren't very good at cooperative team fighting – and Ron was left with the monkey ninjas. Things seemed to be under control when…it happened." Kim looked troubled. "Ron was so worried about me that he let the ninja monkeys get the drop on him. He didn't even say anything when things turned against him. I wasn't even aware that he was in trouble until I had finished off Killigan and Monkeyfist took off with his multitude of monkey minions."
"Was Ron all right?"
"Mostly bruises. But it could have been much worse." Kim got to her feet and moved about restlessly. "It was never like this before. Ron always knew I could handle myself and he took care of himself. When he got into trouble he'd ask for help." She stopped and clenched her fists in frustration. "This isn't some kind of game. I can't be worrying about someone because they're worrying about me. This is real. The danger is real. And I can't have anyone with me on these missions if their head isn't totally in it."
Jimmy thought he understood. "So you grounded him?"
Kim nodded, looking almost ashamed. "I had Wade take him out of the loop and haven't told him about any of assignments I've taken since that day. I even swore my parents and the tweebs to secrecy on this. They all understand that it's because I don't want Ron getting hurt. But I'm not sure Ron would understand that."
"So what's the solution?" Jimmy asked.
Kim's face was a study in misery. "I don't know. I'm not sure. But it looks like I'm going to have to decide whether it's going to be Kim and Ron…or just Kim Possible." She took a deep breath and drew herself up. "So now you know. I have to do this alone."
"Maybe without Ron," Jimmy objected. "But I'm not Ron."
"Jimmy," Kim said gently. "I told you I know how you feel…"
"And I told you I understood," Jimmy replied. "Ron probably had feelings for you for years before he told you, but he put those aside because he understood that you needed someone you could count on. Well, this is no different. I didn't feel any differently when we took on Drakken and Calamitous and you could count on me then. Why not now?"
Kim stood there silently, pulled by opposing forces. On one hand, her recent experience with Ron filled her with real concern about another being hurt because of her, and if that happened she knew that she would never be able to forgive herself. On the other hand, she knew that facing Drakken and Shego alone could be dangerous and having a capable companion with her would be the prudent course of action. On a more personal level, it was true that she wanted someone with her, someone that she could count on. The boy in front of her was much younger than her, but he had proved to her that he was someone on whom she could. She made her decision.
"All right," she conceded. "I guess it would make sense to have someone along. Just promise me –" She gave Jimmy a long, hard look. "-that you'll watch out for yourself and not be worrying about something happening to me. Promise?"
Jimmy solemnly crossed his heart and raised his right hand. "Promise. You'll just be one of the guys. Although…"
Kim looked puzzled. "Although what?"
Jimmy hesitated, his face reddening. "It would be a lot easier to do that if you wore something baggier and a little less revealing."
"Baggier than cargo pants? No such thing." She gave her head a casual toss that flipped her long hair back over her shoulder. "Besides, I don't want people totally thinking of me as just one of the guys."
One of the people not thinking of Kim as just one of the guys at that moment was Ron Stoppable in Middleton. At the moment he was lying in bed in his pajamas with his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. From time to time his eyes would flick to the phone on the nightstand next to his bed. After a brief time he would grunt and then return to his study of the ceiling. His ever-present pet naked mole rat and companion, Rufus, waited next to the phone with growing impatience. Finally, when Ron next glanced at the phone, Rufus put his forepaws on his stomach in a pantomime of ravenous hunger and hopefully chirped, "Nacos?"
Ron shook his head. "Sorry, buddy," he replied. "But no Bueno Nacho today. Kim might be there."
Rufus dropped in a disappointed heap on the nightstand and Ron picked him up, rubbing his head sympathetically.
"I know," he soothed. "I'd love a grande-size chimirito platter right now, too. But she was way cranked about the mess-up the other day. She sounded like she really didn't want me around her."
He sighed at the memory. It was not often that Kim's enemies teamed up, and Ron had hoped to take them off-guard one at a time. Unfortunately Duff Killigan had managed to ambush him by surprise inside the museum while he was confronting Lord Monkeyfist and his monkey followers. He had been even more surprised when Monkeyfist had insisted that Duff Killigan bring Ron along after the two had overpowered the boy, rather than just leave him tied up or unconscious somewhere. Only later did he learn that the entire situation had been a trap set by Monkeyfist to use Ron's absorbed mystical monkey power to energize the artifact Monkeyfist had stolen. That had been bad enough, but when Kim had arrived later to set him free he had again failed, forcing Kim to let the evil monkey master to escape while she helped him.
"What is your problem, Ron?" she had demanded when the last monkey ninja had fled. "What were you thinking?"
"I was just trying to help," was all he had been able to say.
Realizing that he had been injured in the battle Kim had let the matter rest, but had insisted that he go home, rest up, and get better. When Ron had protested this she had assured him that things were quiet and that she would contact him when she needed him for her next assignment after he was better. That had been almost a week ago, and Ron had heard nothing from her or Wade apart from incidental contact when Kim delivered his school assignments. Ron had tried calling Wade, only to be assured that nothing was going down and also told him to get well. Now Ron was becoming restless and impatient.
"This is so not right, Rufus," he complained. "I saw Kim every day and nearly every evening before we started dating. I kind of figured that I'd be seeing more of her now, not less."
Rufus helpfully held out the phone receiver to Ron, hoping that he would call for a take-out order for lunch, but Ron looked doubtful.
"I don't know," he said. "Calling her up about this doesn't seem quite right. If she wanted to talk with me, she would have called."
Rufus rolled over on his back, rubbing his stomach again and whimpering in hunger, and Ron nodded.
"Maybe you're right, Rufus. Maybe something happened to her while I've been recuperating. I should call and find out." Rufus looked puzzled at Ron's interpretation of his performance but handed the receiver over anyway, content that Ron was at least taking some action that might eventually lead to lunch. Ron pressed the speed-dial for the Possible residence and waited impatiently through several rings before someone answered.
"Hello?" a young voice said.
"Hi. Ron calling," Ron replied. "Is this Jim or Tim?"
"It's Tim," the speaker at the other end replied.
Another voice came on the line. "Is so not," the new voice, virtually identical to the first voice, declared. "I'm Tim. He's Jim."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Guys, guys," Ron interrupted. "This is the phone. Twins impersonating each other on the phone so does not work."
"He's right," one voice said.
"What's up?" the other asked.
"I was just calling to see if Kim was there."
"Kim? No, sorry. She's not here. She had to leave early this morning to see somebody."
This news startled Ron. "She ditched school? Who did she have to see?"
"Some guy. Don't know who," one of the voices said.
A terrible fear crept over Ron. "Some…guy?" he repeated. He swallowed hard. "Does she know him?"
"I guess so. She said she couldn't wait to see him again."
This can't be, Ron thought in a panic. She's ditching me because I messed up? There was only one faint hope left. "Did she say whether it was a mission?"
There was a brief pause as the twins on the other end had a hasty and whispered conference. "No," one of the twins said. "Kim hasn't been on any missions. She or Wade would have told you if something came up."
Ron's heart turned to water at the announcement. It's personal, was all he could think. I've lost her. He became aware of both of the twins calling on the other end of the line.
"Hello?" one said.
"Are you still there?" asked the other.
"Still here," Ron replied weakly. "Thanks for the information. It was…informative."
"There's more," one of the twins said.
Ron nodded numbly. "That's good. I think that there's still one small fragment of my heart still beating. Fire away."
"What?"
"Go ahead," Ron rephrased.
"Oh. She was going to someplace called Retroville, if that means anything," one twin said. "That's about all I know."
"Me, too," added the other twin.
"Thanks, guys," Ron added dully. "I appreciate it. See you around. Hey, wait a minute!" he said suddenly. "Why aren't you two in school?"
"Uh…gotta go," one voice said.
"Boo-shaw," agreed the other.
Ron heard the other end go dead and hung up his receiver, his mind whirling. Kim had gone to Retroville? The only people that he knew she knew were there were a couple grade school kids they had met a while back. From what the twins had told him, it sounded as though she was going to see Jimmy Neutron. But why? She wasn't on an assignment. Could she actually be dumping him for a sixth-grader? Bonnie Rockwaller would have a field day if she ever found that out and it turned out to be true. But was it true? What was going on? He looked at Rufus, who was staring sympathetically at him.
"Rufus," he said, "we're going to Retroville."
"How?" Rufus squeaked.
"I'll get us there," Ron replied in a determined voice. "Kim and Wade aren't the only people with contacts. Ron Stoppable can handle these kind of things, too, you know." He picked up the phone again and punched a series of buttons. "Hello?" he said in an uncharacteristically authoritative voice. "This is Ron Stoppable. That's right, Ron Stoppable. I have a Priority One emergency and need to be in Retroville fast, I mean like yesterday. What do you have to get me there? Uh-huh. I see. Well, just how much are those tickets, ma'am? I see. Well, does that include a meal and a movie or what? Uh-huh. Go on…"
End of Chapter 3
Author's Notes:
From time to time I do sequels of my own stories, of which this is one. For those curious about the first (at least in my stories) meeting between Jimmy, Cindy, Kim, and Ron I refer them to "Mission: Possible".