Notes: As I intended for it to be a diary entry of sorts, this chapter will be short and sweet.
Chapter 9: Lunar Reflections
It's funny, the things you take for granted without even realizing. So many people in Middleton don't realize what a privilege it is just to wake up, climb out of bed, and walk out to get the morning paper.
At least, they didn't before Shego came.
The scary thing is, sometimes we could actually see the green explosions from all the way up here. Auntie says it's just Shego showing off rather than doing anything really damaging, but it's not all that reassuring. At least the big ones stopped pretty quickly, but that could just mean people gave up without much of a fight.
If I were alone up here, I'd actually be a lot more scared than I am now. As it is, I see the Possibles, Stoppables, and Tara every day. You might think that makes up for my own family deciding to stay on Earth, but you'd be wrong: it more than makes up for it. They weren't the only ones, either. Wade and Monique chose to stay behind, too. Kim says if there's ever going to be an underground resistance network, they'd need Wade and his tech skills to stay alive. Of course, Kim says a lot of things, and if you believe Auntie (which I do), not all of them are true. Mostly she only lies in order not to frighten people close to her, which I can respect. I'm not too crazy about when she lies to me, but I guess it's her way of showing she cares about me. And, strangely enough, I think I'm starting to be okay with that.
It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops when we first got here, though. It took Kim three months to get over the fact that Auntie had "poisoned" her. Specifically, that jellyfish toxin acts like some kind of symbiote. Once it's in your bloodstream, it never leaves. At first we thought it only worked for us girls, but then Ron seized up three times in one day, and we figured out that Rufus was doing it accidentally. I'm not sure how he does it, since he doesn't really have any hair to speak of. Auntie thinks he grows temporary quills or something...don't ask. It doesn't work at all for Ron, but Auntie never did say why that was...
But as I said, Kim got over that, once she grudgingly admitted that having her hair double as a stun gun was pretty useful. She tricked me into several games of trying to see who could stun the other first. It was a whole month before I realized she was trying to get me into fighting shape, and by then I'd gotten too good to just stop...plus it was really fun the times I did win. We don't let Rufus play anymore; he's too small, too fast, and extremely hard to hit. Kim's got the best aim, and even she's never tagged him.
I'm not the only one keeping busy, either. Tara's studying to be a veterinarian. I think it's so she can take better care of our "dogs," but she won't admit it. Coincidentally enough, the Bonnie bots are also animal experts. Apparently Dr. Porter really knew what she was doing when she designed them. They've been teaching Tara in shifts, but it's hard to measure her progress, considering how long the days are here. That, and she only has so many patients to practice on. Fortunately, the dogs love her almost as much as I do, and Rufus, like his owner, is easily persuaded with promises of cheese.
Speaking of food, Mama Possible has all her "kids" on a strict diet. It's actually a lot of things I already ate, just in slightly bigger quantities. Naturally, Kim had no problem following it, but I later found out that was because it was really HER usual diet. It's bad enough they make us dress like her when we're working out, and now we have to eat like her, too. I swear if I spot even one red hair on my head, I'm going to scream. Anyway, the diet works well with all the exercise we do. I'm proud to say the only one that had trouble after the first month was Ron. Kim even gave me a pat on the back and said she was proud of me, too. In the past, I would've snapped at her for that, but instead I managed an uneasy smile, since I could tell she really meant it.
And if you think that's sick and wrong, wait until you hear this. The Possibles are really big on kissing each other, which I already knew. The other night after dinner, I was trying to talk Kim out of dragging me on another one of her early morning jogs. She wasn't listening, of course. Anyway, we're passing Mama Possible in the hall, and Kim turns her face up for a kiss without even breaking her stride, which threw me off. So I'm hurrying to catch up with her, only to get ambushed by a kiss on the top of my head. It takes me about three seconds to realize what just happened, and I slowly turn around to ask Mama Possible if maybe she thought I was Ron or something. That, apparently, was her cue to say, "Oh, I'm sorry, Bonnie. Did you want a hug, too?" And the next thing I know, I'm getting hugged, and then kissed AGAIN. The whole experience rattled me quite a bit, and I immediately ran to Kim's room to demand an explanation as to why people were suddenly being so affectionate to me. I mean, I didn't want Ron trying to kiss me next.
"Oh, that," was Kim's reply. "Well, you're family now, Bonnie." And then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she came over and kissed me in the exact same spot. I accused her of doing it just to freak me out, and she happily replied that was merely a bonus.
But now that it's started, I can't get them to stop. I tried complaining to Tara, but she only got mad that SHE wasn't getting kissed, and they didn't want her feeling left out, so now the only one not getting regular kisses is Rufus, and I'm pretty sure Ron would do it if the mood was right.
The thing is, I don't really mind the kissing so much anymore. When you've grown up with years of my mother's sloppy kisses, relatively dry ones are all too welcome. And Kim, thankfully, only does it when she's feeling extremely happy. Any more than that and I might have to call her on it...or have Tara call her on it.
Believe it or not, I'm talking to Auntie less and less. I've worked my way down from daily to once or twice a week. She doesn't seem to mind; in fact, she seems pleased that I'm fitting in with the Possibles so well. She's relaxed about the predictions, at least for now, and limits herself to just reminding me how much better my life is turning out compared to her own. If she's at all jealous, she's great at hiding it.
It's weird, but I'm starting to see why she wanted this for me so badly. I used to think that saving the world should be left up to people like Kim. But the more time I spend with her, the more I realize that I AM a lot like Kim. No one's made any official declarations, but it's clear to all of us that when the time comes to take on Shego, Kim and Ron are going to have a third partner. No one asked, and I didn't volunteer, but it's going to happen. Sure, I'm scared that I might mess up, or that Shego will just blast me into bits the moment our eyes meet, but I'm still going. As Auntie would say, it's my destiny, my future. It helps, knowing that the Bonnie bots and the dogs will be there, too. They don't say much, but I know they'd do anything for me, even give up their own lives. Even so, I don't want them to die, if only so they can go on to help some other version of me that needs them. It's not like Auntie can do it anymore.
Kim likes to be openly optimistic about our chances, Ron even more so. Me, I've never been so lucky as to seem so naive. I've always been more realistic about my life, especially when there was a good chance of it ending. Auntie was apparently of the same mind, because she was the one that finally convinced me to convince the others to each write up a will. Mr. Stoppable helped us with tricky parts, and he even promised me that he would personally make sure that Tara was taken care of "in the event of my passing." He said it so nicely that I almost forgot we were discussing my death.
I'm not the only one taking a good, long look at my life, though. Just last week, Kim dragged me out of bed and demanded, "What happens if only one of us doesn't make it?" I guess she'd assumed up to that point that we'd either all live or die together. So, as calmly as I could, I told her I'd make sure Ron didn't run off with the first Martian babe that showed a little leg. She stared at me, uncertain if she should laugh or be angry. Finally, she settled on asking, "What makes you think it'll be me?" I calmly explained that she, being foolishly heroic, would probably throw herself in the line of fire to save me, and then again so would Ron. However, Kim, being the more athletically blessed of the two, would get to me first, which would leave me and Ron alive but arguably heartbroken at the loss. Whatever my original intentions in telling her that, Kim took it another way entirely. She smiled and hugged me, whispering, "I love you, too," before going back to bed and leaving me replaying the conversation in my head for the rest of the night. For the life of me, I still can't figure out where she picked out that little impression. I guess people hear what they want to hear that early in the morning.
Auntie surprised me by saying she wouldn't go with us when the time came. She claims that she's told the Bonnie bots everything she would've told me about Shegoton, and that she'd rather keep Tara company, if either of them stared to miss me too bad. And Tara, who was never exactly thrilled about me going back to Earth in the first place, jumped at the chance to keep even a little piece of me with her. If I wasn't so worried that I might not come back, I might've been mad at her. Instead, I told her those three little words she always likes to hear, and promised I'd make her proud of me.
When the day comes, I'll have to go, ready or not. It's what we've been training and waiting for. Kim and Ron might be able to pull it off alone, but at least with the dogs and the Bonnie bots, they've got a better chance. And if all else fails, maybe I could distract Shego for just a few seconds, and do my part to save the world. If I die, I'll have died doing something worthwhile. If I live, maybe I'll be able to tell Auntie whether she was right about everything or not.
As the day draws closer, I find myself needing reassurance. Even though I've asked her over and over, I find myself going to Kim and asking the same question.
"Can you promise me we'll win?"
She smiles at me, always, a sad smile that I know she's shared with Ron for asking something similar in a tight spot.
"Nope. But I'll promise you this. If Shego is destined to beat us, she's going to have to earn it."
For some reason, I like that answer more and more every time I hear it.
Next Chapter: Speak Like A Child
Our heroes have come to defeat evil. But what they face at the end is neither evil nor able to be defeated.
Endnotes: There are two more chapters. One which I planned, one which I didn't. I expected some lip about my manipulation of the time stream, so no surprise there. Maybe it's that I don't take criticism well, I don't know for sure. But rather than complain or lash out, I'll simply say this. I was going to end with Chapter 10. Then I got a certain review, and decided to start work on an Epilogue even while still writing Chapter 10. In short, Chapter 10 is basically how I wanted to end the series, with one or two exceptions that will be fully explained in the Epilogue. So if you're one of those people that thinks I've treated the time stream like a redheaded stepchild, well, stay clear of the Epilogue. As they say, that last step's a doozy. Although personally, I'm hoping that the end of Chapter 10 will leave you feeling so unsatisfied that you'll have no choice but to read the Epilogue. Because me and my sinister porpoises are evil that way.