The Possible and Stoppable families arrived at a sixteenth century-style stone building.
Kim looked doubtfully at the tower, which was thawing out from February frost.
"It looked a lot different on the website."
"Oh Kimmie, I'm sure it will be nicer on the inside," Mrs.Possible said positively.
"I hope so," Mrs. Stoppable added. "This is the only place we can get."
Mrs.Possible insisted on a huge guest list for the 'wedding she never had'. After doing extensive research, they had discovered that all of the places big enough were already booked for at least the next 2 ½ years. That left them with two choices: wait 2 ½ years or get married at this castle-inspired chapel at the outskirts of the Tri City.
"How do we get in?" Mr. Possible stared at the deep moat surrounding the castle-like structure.
"I don't- aaah!" Ron slipped on the ground and collided with a tree which camoflauged a round button.A wooden drawbridge lowered itself over the moat.
The twins laughed.
"Hey, at least I found a way in," Ron grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.
A short man hobbled across the drawbridge.
"You must be the Possibles and Stoppables, come on in."
Kim scrutinized him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
The man smiled and shook everyone's hands.
"The name's Jackie. Yes, Miss Possible, I do recall you were the one who got me evicted from the GWA some time ago."
Ron's mouth flew open.
"Jackie the former GWA president? You're the little dude who turned himself into a jackal monster thingy and wreaked havoc on the whole wrestling match until Kim and I stopped you!"
Jackie chuckled uneasily.
"Let bygones be bygones, eh? I've turned a new leaf now. Renting this place to unsuspecting- I mean, fine folks such as yourselves is my passion. If you follow me right this way I'll show you what this charming location has to offer."
The parents looked at each other and shrugged, following his lead.
"How many guests are you all anticipating for the reception?"
"Oh, a few hundred at least," Mrs. P said before anyone else could speak. "We have to invite all of Kimmie and Ron's old school friends."
Kim groaned inwardly. A lot of the people from school had grown up to be downright irritating. Walter Neilsen, for example, had cashed in on his own fifteen minutes of fame by telling the media he had been the Kim Possible's first kiss. The things people did for celebrity! But her mom didn't want to leave anyone out..
"That's perfectly all right," Jackie grinned. "Our main hall accommodates up to six hundred people. And an estimate of the number of people in the ceremony?"
Once again, another groan. Ever since the engagement-posted-on-their-website episode, Kim had found herself receiving calls from just about everyone she had known in high school. Every single girl who used to be on the Mad Dog squad wanted to be a bridesmaid in the wedding. The problem was, you can't have fifteen bridesmaids any more than you can have fifteen groomsmen. And at least fifteen guys- some who had even bullied Ron in school- were asking him to be part of the ceremony also.
"Hardly any at all," she rushed in before her mother could intervene.
"Yeah," Ron agreed.
Mrs.Possible stared at them wonderingly then let it go with an okay-if-that's-what-you-want look.
"Splendid," Jackie clapped his hands together. "And now for the best part- welcome to the main hall!" He pushed open two large doors to reveal…
The ugliest thing they had ever seen! The walls were heavily cobwebbed, stained glass on the windows could no longer be told apart from dirt and grime, and the floor was cracked cement that had taken on a dull gray lifeless hue that reflected throughout the room. With no sign of chandeliers, angular wrought iron sconces flooded the room in ghastly light, illuminating what was unmistakably a ball and chain attached to the wall.
Nobody could find the words. Four cockroaches scampered and a dust ball rolled by.
"It's a…"Jim began.
"Dungeon," Tim finished at long last.
"Dungeon is a strong word," Jackie countered. "We prefer to think of it as a historically accurate gathering place."
"It's a dungeon!" Ron insisted. "You're trying to sell us a dungeon!"
As they ganged up on him, Jackie backed away slowly until he stumbled backwards on a crate.
The crate moved aside to reveal an imprint on the stone panel.
Mrs. S bent down and squinted.
"Sir Lancelot Construction Company," she read aloud. "If you can dream it, we can build it."
"See? This place was built by a high quality company," the short man said.
"Wait, there's something else on it." Ron stooped and dusted away the lower portion.
"Model number 87684. Structure style doon-gun."
"I think they mean dungeon," Tim said.
Jackie chuckled nervously again.
"You listen here, buddy!" Mr. Stoppable exploded. "I may not know much about architecture, but you're trying to make our kids get married in a dungeon and I won't stand for it! Come on, everyone, let's go!"
"Suit yourself," Jackie mumbled after them. "I've got another group coming at four."
"KP, are you alright?" Ron asked her in the car. "You haven't said a word."
Kim blinked wearily. "Why can't we just get married at a normal church or synagogue or something?"
"Because we want your Mom to be happy," he answered though it wasn't a rhetorical question. "And my mom too. She's been going on about how it's going to be so big and fancy and how she's so proud."
"Yeah. We can't let them down."
Her cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Kim, it's me."
"Me who?"
"Marcella, your friend from high school. Don't you remember my voice? Anyway, I saw you on the news and thought I'd call. How is everything?"
"Fine." Why was Marcella suddenly so interested?
"That's good to hear. I happen to be in town and I was wondering if you chose your bridesmaids yet…"
"Uh-oh!" Rufus squeaked. They all knew where this was going.
Beep!
"Hold on, Marcella, I have another call." Kim switched to the other person.
"Hi Kim, it's Natasha Putin. I've been meaning to keep in touch with everybody from the cheer squad. Heard about the wedding and if you're looking for a bridesmaid-"
Ron shook his head 'no' aggressively.
Beep! Kim frustrated pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Can you hold that thought, Natasha?" Switch.
"Hello?"
"Omigosh, Kim! I haven't heard from you in so long! This is Hope, you know, from school. I'd love to see you again… maybe at your wedding?"
Beep!
"Hello. This is Crystal. Yes, the one who was always on the bottom right corner of our cheer pyramid. Kim, you and I should get together sometime. At a coffee shop or restaurant or- Hey! I could be part of your wedding."
Beep! This time Kim didn't bother to give an explanation before switching.
"Hello," she said unenthusiastically.
"Hey Kim. Monique here."
Kim looked up to the heavens gratefully.
"Monique, you have got to save me from the invasion of the bridesmaid wanna-be's."
"Let me guess, they've all heard about the wedding and suddenly everyone wants to be your best friend?"
"Exactly."
"Wow. I never understood why Kim's cell phone has five different lines until now," Ron put in.
"You have to get back to them, you do realize that?" Monique went on.
"Yes," Kim said unhappily. "But what can I do? It's just so unlike me to disappoint people."
"Good luck figuring that one out. At least you have Ron to help. How was that place you guys went to check out, by the way?"
"We'd rather wait 2 ½ years," Kim replied dryly.
Beep!
"Ooh, my boss is trying to call me. Bye Kim!"
"Bye." She switched to the other four lines.
"Kim?"
"Kim!"
"Kim!"
"Kim?"
"Kim!"
"Yes!" she cried out, unable to take any more. "You can all be bridesmaids."
Ron and Rufus stared in disbelief.
She hung up without listening to their gratifications.
Kim put her head on Ron's shoulder resignedly.
"You think we'll make it through this alive?"
"I hope so. Wouldn't want to miss the wedding cake."
Though she wasn't laughing, she was a little reassured.
BEEP BEEP BEEBEEP!
Kim grabbed the Kimmunicator.
"Sitch, Wade?"
"More than one sitch, Kim. Somebody just broke into the Middleton Art Museum and there's been a robbery at the largest bank in Miami and some little girl named Claire Johnson wants to meet you at once. Says she won a contest to be in your wedding."
"Whoa, back up," Ron said. "A robbery in Miami. Does that mean we're going to Ohio?"
"No, Ron. Miami's in Florida," Kim explained. "And what was that thing about the little girl?"
Wade shrugged. "I can't figure it. Apparently I emailed them myself to notify them she won. That's definitely my email. I just don't remember writing it."
"Weird. I guess we'll have to see her and sort this thing out."
"Yeah- and sorry, Kim, but this time Ron was right. You guys are going to the Little Miami River in Ohio. Claire lives close to there so you can stop by."
"But first the Middleton Art Museum."
"Right. I doubt you'll be needing a ride. And Ron, what's the big deal about Ohio?"
"Last time we went there our mission was at an Amish community," the blonde explained.
Rufus shuddered at the word Amish.
"Right. The kidnapped horse and buggy sitch," Kim reminisced.
"Not to mention how they treated Rufus. Apparently Amish people frown upon naked animals."
"Don't worry, Rufus. Little Miami is Amish-free… I think."
Middleton Institute of the Arts, 5th floor:
A slender young villain yanked paintings off the wall mirthlessly.
Kim repelled down from the ceiling, wearing her no-longer-prototype battle suit. (actually version 2.0 of her battle suit) with Ron stumbling behind.
"Shopping spree's over, Sahara!"
The villain named Sahara turned to face her foe. With looks that could kill and her deadly personality, she had gone into the field around the time of Kim and Ron's sophomore year in college. Sahara was basically a loner raised in the desert by a pack of hyenas, or so she liked to think. In reality she was a middle-class girl from Brooklyn who got fed up with her parents and decided to be evil.
Sahara had become the closest thing Shego had to a friend, since they could relate on the family driving them nuts factor. It also helped that they both had unearthly powers: Shego with her glowing green hands and Sahara's ability to shoot fireballs when she got agitated. (Freak science class accident, don't ask.)
"I don't think so, Possible!" She shot a fireball at her enemy.
Kim dodged easily. Sahara herself had realized by now that the redhead was too fast for her fire powers.
Seeing no other option, the villain ripped off another priceless painting and threw it at Kim.
It missed badly, hitting Ron, who was still entangled on the ceiling, instead.
"Ron!"
"Don't worry KP! I'm okay." His head had sailed right through the Victorian style oil painting of a woman in the royal court. With Ron's head on her neck and shoulders, it gave the appearance of him wearing a ball gown.
Kim tried to use kung fu on the villain, but Sahara blocked all her shots with numerous art pieces.
"Got anything better to do than destroy other people's masterpieces, Sahara?" The crime fighter ducked an ambush from a Rembrandt replica.
"No! Speak for yourself, Possible. Don't you have a wedding to plan?"
Kim stopped. "You know too!"
Sahara laughed triumphantly. "Duh. Villains' Poker Night. And I've gotta tell you, hope Stoppable here is a better husband than he is a sidekick."
"Hey, I heard that!" Ron yelled from above them, still trying to untie himself from the cords.
He finally managed to break free and came straight down with force, landing directly on top of Sahara.
"Where is she? Where's the freaky desert lady?" He glanced around alertly.
Sahara groaned from underneath.
Kim chortled. "You're sitting on her! Good job, Ron!" She kissed him.
The police arrested the villain and took her away.
Somewhere along the Little Miami:
"Thanks for the ride, Jessica!" Kim yelled as she windsurfed. Her read hair blew in the wind.
"You're welcome!" Jessica, the former Mad Dog cheerleader, called back.
"So how do you like windsurfing?"
"This is badical!" Ron screamed. The wind was so fierce he was practically getting blown away.
Rufus whimpered his disagreement, burying himself deeper into Ron's pocket.
"Really," Kim insisted. "Usually people give us rides because we've saved them in the past. We owe you a favor now."
"It's fine," Jessica said, then reconsidered. "Well, there is one thing I'd like to do… of course, you really don't have to."
"Name it."
"Okay. I was sort of hoping you would want me as one of your bridesmaids in the wedding. I mean, since I've known you since junior high and everything."
Ron held back his laughter. Jessica had known them for a long time, but through most of the school years she had hung out with Bonnie's crowd more than them. Not that she had ever been mean to Kim, but she had always seemed indifferent to their saving the world thing- not to mention that time she refused to be his date for the dance in tenth grade!
Kim looked around uncomfortably. "Um… Jessica, I really like you and all but we kind of already had some people in mind-"
"I've never gotten to be a bridesmaid," the blonde woman said eagerly. "All I have is one younger brother and I always, always wanted a sister of my own to do that sort of thing for."
"Yes, you can be a bridesmaid." Kim blurted reluctantly, regretting it the moment it came out of her mouth.
Ron gave her an incredulous look.
By that time they had arrived at their destination. Jessica hopped onto the solid ground giddily and gave Kim an excited hug.
"Thank you so much, Kim! If you need help planning anything, just ask me!"
Kim smiled back artificially.
Just outside Wells Fargo Bank:
"What were you thinking, KP? You can't keep bending to other people's will like this. Pretty soon we'll have a hundred bridesmaids! Can you imagine how big the wedding party's table will be?"
"I know, I know!" Kim answered, distressed. "I just hate letting people down. It's against my Kimness."
"Well, try to amp down the Kimness. I know it's hard to say no and go against your instinct, but you'll get it eventually. Rufus and I are naturals at it."
Kim rolled her eyes. This coming from the boy who had spent all of high school figuring out his Ron-ness.
"Team Possible, over here!" A thin man with glasses beckoned.
"Hi Mr.."
"Larry Donovan, bank manager. Somebody stole nearly eight million dollars in cash almost an hour ago."
"Then there's no time to lose," Kim said determinedly.
The man led them to the crime scene. The vault had apparently been melted down to nothing. Debris was scattered on the ground and a chair was overturned.
"Looks pretty nasty," Ron commented.
"Any clues?" Kim asked.
"Local police have searched the area. Nothing, not even a shred of evidence. We have no liable witness. They were all knocked unconscious and don't remember any of it."
"That's strange," Kim said thoughtfully.
"It must have been those monkey ninjas," Ron offered. "Or maybe Dementor's henchmen."
Donovan shook his head gravely. "That vault was titanium plated. I don't see how anyone could break in."
"Maybe I can." Wade said through the Kimmunicator.
Kim ran the handheld device across the crime scene.
"Bio DNA scan complete," Wade confirmed in seconds.
He zoomed in on an area of the vault. There were three long scratches in the metal.
"Looks like-"
"Shego," Kim finished for Ron.
"Definitely," the teen super genius said.
"I just have one question," the emerald-eyed crime fighter said.
"Mr. Donovan, whose vault was this?"
Donovan pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"One of our wealthiest clients used the vault," he answered disdainfully.
"Miss Rebecca Hildegarde Biggins."
All three members of the team nearly screamed with surprise.
"Rebecca Biggins!" Kim repeated.
"Oh yes. Usually I don't disclose private matters to anyone, but this is an exception. She's an eccentric woman, that Becky Biggins. Scares most of our bank tellers, to be frank. I suppose the eight million was a family fortune. The wedding planning business doesn't make that kind of money, of course."
"Thanks a lot, Mr. Donovan. Let us know if you need us."
Team Possible headed to their next unresolved situation.
"I can't stop thinking about it," Kim muttered to her fiancé on the way to meet Claire Johnson. "Becky Biggins with a multimillion dollar fortune! And Shego stole it!"
"I know. It's just too weird," Ron said. "Something isn't right here. I can feel it with my Ferret sense."
"Timothy North would be proud," she kidded.
Little Miami, Starbucks Café:
"Claire, would you like some juice?" Mrs. Johnson asked.
"No. I want a cappuccino!" Claire stamped her foot on the ground.
Her mother laughed good-naturedly.
"Cappuccino is a little too strong for preschoolers, Claire. They have excellent new juice blends here."
The little girl glared at her mother venomously.
"I want a double cappuccino!" she insisted. "And tell them not to add any cinnamon!"
She began humming in a low voice.
Mrs. Johnson's eyes became hollow-looking.
"Yes, I will get you a cappuccino. Claire must have a cappuccino with no cinnamon."
She ordered the drink in a zombie-ish manner.
Kim and Ron arrived thereafter.
"There she is!" Ron pointed at the cute little girl in a blue sweater.
Kim bent down to the younger girl's level.
"Hi, you must be Claire," she said. "I'm Kim Possible."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Claire answered in a bored but well trained voice.
Mrs. Johnson returned, looking thoroughly confused, with the coffee in her hand.
"Thank you Mommy," said the girl angelically, snatching the cup away.
"You wanted to meet us?" Kim asked.
"Yes," Mrs. J returned to normal. "A while back I entered my daughter in a contest to be part of the Possible-Stoppable wedding."
Kim and Ron glanced at each other perplexedly.
"We never held any contest."
"That's odd. It was posted on the site. I was notified by your webmaster that my little Claire won. After that it seemed like you forgot to get back to us."
"That contest was on the site, Kim," Ron realized. "I remember because it was that day I had a sudden urge to eat pizza. Didn't your brother's friend delete the ad?"
"Yeah, I think so. Then Mom came in with lemon squares. But I'm pretty sure we didn't open any of the entries."
"Me too. It's sort of a blur, though. Do you remember anything, buddy?"
Rufus answered no.
"Well, I guess there has been some sort of misunderstanding here," Mrs. Johnson said sheepishly. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time."
"That's okay," Kim replied. "Right Ron?… Ron?"
Ron was not listening. He was watching the little girl drinking coffee at a table by herself. He wore a goofy grin.
"You know," he said slowly. "She's an awfully cute little kid. Like you at PreK age."
"Oh yes. Pigtails were so cute," Kim responded sarcastically.
"Come to think of it," Ron added. "We are in need of a flower girl."
"Ron, you know I already have a ton of-" Kim stopped short. There was no shortage of bridesmaids, yet they didn't have a younger female to be a flower girl. Neither Ron or Kim had relatives that age and Mrs. Possible simply would not have the dream wedding without an adorable flower girl.
Mrs. Johnson smiled. "If you need her, we're available. I didn't enter the contest for fame or anything. When I was your age, the three of you saved my own wedding from being destroyed from one of Dr. Drakken's destruction rays. Its just me and Claire now, but I thought I'd like to return the favor in some small way."
"That's really nice of you." Kim felt herself being suckered in.
"Aww, look! She spilled coffee on herself!" Ron said adoringly.
"Careful, Mrs. Johnson. After the wedding Ron might decide to adopt the little angel." This was an offhand way of deciding to let her be in the ceremony after all.
Mrs. J smiled again. "Absolutely. And I must warn you, Claire can be very persuasive when she wants to."
They looked over to the table. Claire's face was hidden behind the huge cup. She put it down and smiled at them, displaying whipped cream marks on her face that had been left behind.
Even strangers passing by could not help grinning at her.
"I see what you mean. She could sell me toothpaste anytime!" Ron said enthusiastically.
"It was nicemeeting you,Mrs. Johnson," Kim said hurriedly. "We have to go now."
"All right. Call if you want to reach us. I've got plenty of airmiles, so Claire can be there whenever you need her."
Everyone waved goodbye. Upon noticing the naked mole rat in person for the first time, Claire cried out "Rufus!" excitedly and gave an extra wave.
Even the little girl's powers could not make Kim forget everything that was going on. They had no place for the wedding, at least a dozen bridesmaids, and Shego had escaped from their previous mission, not to mention the lunatic wedding planner happened to be a millionaire.
As Kim, Ron, and Rufus went home to Middleton they knew they had their fair share of problems.
But they had no idea they were being watched.
Thanks for reading.Questions, comments, concerns (and compliments)accepted as usual.