Danger, Josh Mankey!
"Once mystical monkey power is mine, all shall bow before me!" Josh groaned mentally, and tried to not listen to him…although his ranting had made him decide what he was going to draw…he might die for it, but well, it was a really great idea…
Meanwhile in the hallways of the second story, Kim and Senior were letting the prisoners out.
"How can we get them out of the house?" Kim asked.
"I think we can give you a hand…" Ron said. Kim looked up.
"Ron!" She said, "Oh thank god, you're okay…"
"Where's Josh?" Kim shook her head.
"I think he's with the crazy man."
"I believe you said something about helping the hostages, young man?" Senior asked.
"Oh, right! The back doors open, the laser grid is off—they can just take off and there's a phone at the corner store where they can call the cops."
"Fine, but I'm getting Josh!" Kim said.
"Oh… speaking of that." Bonnie said, stepping aside to reveal Kim's wheelchair, "I thought you might want this.I found it back there."
"Oh…yeah." Kim said. As Senior put her down in the chair. She unlocked the wheels and spun around once. "Now I feel a lot better."
"OK, I'm going to get Josh." Ron said, "Bonnie, you stay-"
"excuse me?" Bonnie asked. "you weren't about to tell me to stay here, were you?" Some girls pouted. Bonnie didn't. She unleashed glares that could melt a steel statue down in a second.
"Um…. Ahh…." Ron paused, thought about saying yes, through better of it. "OK…just be careful."
"I'm coming too!" Kim said.
"N-!" Ron said, and biting off the word before another steel melting glare, changed his tune, "You-stay… I mean you and ah,"
"Call me Senior."
"Senior need to stay and keep the evacuation going." Kim looked rebellious.
"I agree, young man…" Senior said. "It is something that must be done, and I am uncertain if I can do it alone." Kim blinked, then looked up at Senior.
"well… if you need the help." She said.
"Excellent!" Senior said, "We shall summon the police immediately." With that, he turned and motioned to the collected people. "Come with the young lady and myself!"
As the headed to the back, Kim looked at Senior.
"You don't need my help…"
"Not at all, young lady, but you will notice that your large protector was so surprised by my offer that he didn't waste time by trying to convince you to leave, and we of course said nothing about not… returning, once we have finished the evacuation." Kim blinked.
"You mean?"
"My dear, I mean that they shall need our help…in fact, I have given some thought to it."
"Oh?"
"Yes, however well trained, Monkey Fist is using, well…animals. And animals have some disadvantages that I doubt he has fully considered…."
"Oh…." Kim said, and her green eyes brightened. "I see."
"So let us complete the evacuation…and then we shall return to aid our friends."
"Well you just about screwed up." Bonnie said.
"Huh?" Ron asked,
"You almost told Kim she couldn't come with us back there, didn't you."
"Yeah…."
"Not smart."
"I know…but this is…"
"Dangerous, like last time." Ron winced. He remembered that.
"Ronald… I'm afraid Kim is still refusing to talk to you." Kim's mother said.
"But… I just wanted to say I was sorry…" Ron trailed off, and looked at Kim's mother. She generally didn't refer to him as Ronald. "You're mad at me as well, aren't you."
"Pretty much, yeah. I would be furious but I know you meant well." She pointed towards the couch. "Sit." Ron sat. "Okay Ron…lets run through what happened. You were at the mall…"
"Yeah."
"And you ran into some kids who were… not overly nice."
"Yeah, and I was worried that they-" Suddenly, Dr. Possible had her hand up in a quelling gesture."
"Did you think they were going to physically attack you?"
"No." She nodded.
"So Kim wanted to stay but you were worried and then you…" Now her blue eyes were directly on him.
"I grabbed the wheelchair and got out of there."
"Even though Kim was, I've been told, objecting at the top of her lungs."
"Yes."
"So you drew attention to her handicap, at the same time you treated her like a two year old." The thirteen year old couldn't meet her eyes.
"But…but it could have…"
"Ronald." Dr. Possible paused, then continued. "You are a very good young man, but I'm afraid you messed up…very badly. Kimberly cannot walk, and probably will never be able to walk again. That does not make her an infant, or a mental defective, or anything else that would give you the right to take advantage of her handicap to control her. James and I might be able to—not because she's handicapped but because she's our daughter…and just like your parents can with you, we have the right to control her movements." A pause. "You don't. These were a group of cruel children, in a public place surrounded by adults who would have intervened. If you are ever in a fire, or an emergency like that, I certainly don't expect you to stand aside and do nothing—and neither would Kimberly. But beyond that… well, would you have tried to grab Kim bodily and force her to go somewhere like that when she could walk? Short of a life or death situation Ronald... I wouldn't have grabbed her like that." Ron didn't say anything for several minutes, because for some reason he couldn't talk, and when he did, it came out in a breaking voice.
"She's… going to hate me…isn't she." Kim's mother looked at him and shook her head, a sympathetic expression crossing her face.
"No. There's a difference between fury and hate. She's furious with you now, and humiliated, and feeling betrayed. I'll talk to her…but you have to realize that now, more than ever, you must respect her rights." Dr. Possible sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Kimmie has lost so much, you know that, but you cannot—in fact none of us can—understand just how much it impacts her life, each and every day. When she gets up, when she goes to the bathroom, where she can go… a year ago she was a new cheerleader…" she shook her head, "And now, we can go up a flight of stairs…but if there is no ramp or elevator, she cannot. Getting out of bed, getting to the shower, taking a shower… all of them are now terribly difficult, compared to when she didn't even consciously think about the process…." Dr. Possible's voice trailed off and her eyes blinked suspiciously fast. "But she is still Kim, Ron, that hasn't changed, and all her determination and pride are still there, and as close a friend as you are, you can hurt her worse than just about anyone else by discounting the one and hurting the other."
"I… I understand." Ron did, and now he felt terrible.
"I know you do… and you'll probably have a fair amount of crow eating to do the first time Kim sees you next… now you'd better go home while I talk to Kim… because if there is one other thing that hasn't changed…it's her temper."
Ron shook his head. "Never touch my wheelchair without permission." He said.
"What?"
"Just remembering the first words Kim said to me when she was talking to me again."
"You should." Bonnie commented. "Guys should always remember what women tell them, us being the smartest sex, and all."
"Always? Explain choosing me." Her boyfriend said.
"Insanity and intelligence are closely linked." Was Bonnie's airy reply.
"So you're insane?"
"I'm following you to fight a crazy man with trained ninja chimps."
"Yep. Crazy."
"Aren't you finished Yet"
"Um…" Josh pushed one curious monkey ninja away, scribbled a little more, and then nodded.
"YES! It's done!" HE blinked, and turned pale. He was starting to sound like the lunatic that had kidnapped him! Then he handed the Concept piece to Monkey Fist.
The villain looked at them, frowned, then glared and thrust the piece back into Josh's face.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Um…don't you see it?"
"You have me…as an organ grinder, with a monkey on a chain that looks like me again!" He frowned. "Prepare to experience Monkey Kung Fu." Josh gulped. Okay. Maybe going with his inspiration hadn't been such a good idea.
"How about if he doesn't…" Another voice said. Ron and Bonnie were standing at the entrance, and Ron grinned. "I think it's time for the next round, don't you?"
TBC