Chapter 3: Enthrallment
Light can't be completely blocked out just by closing your eyes. Ron found this out the hard way as the sunrise lights beamed straight into his room and straight into his eyes. After fighting it for a half hour, he inadvertently fell off the bed.
"Ow."
Cracking his neck a couple of times as he got up, Ron stretched in a manner considered unorthodox. First, he leaned all the way backward until his hands and feet were all touching the floor. He then managed to raise his legs and stand completely on his hands, doing what appeared like push-ups using his entire body as the weight. Just when he was starting to lose his balance, he front-flipped onto his feet and bent over so his hands could touch them. He then stood up and twisted his body back and forth, popping various areas of his spine, then stretched out his legs and arms, popping just about every bone in each limb.
"Ooookay, ready to go."
Rufus was just staring at him, having no idea what that was all about. Ron noticed this.
"It's something Sensei taught me at Yamanuchi to get me up in the morning. It's kinda cool, you feel dead tired and then after all that's done, you feel great. Not for the kids at home to try."
Rufus just shrugged, "Whatever," then excitedly pulled out the city map, opening it up to reveal all of the Bay City's highlights. A lot.
"Rufus, we can't do all that stuff today. We've got a meeting in…"
Ron looked at the clock: 7:58 AM.
"Okay, I'm game."
"Woohoo!"
Meanwhile, Kim was doing a lot of extensive research on where Ron could have possibly gone. She went to his house, his room, the tree house, back to her place, tried calling Wade again, constantly going back and forth before heading out into the city and visiting the usual locations: Middleton High, Bueno Nacho, the Mall, and the Arcade. It also didn't help that she still had no mode of transportation.
Nothing.
Ron started off his day by riding the train that ran high throughout the entire city. Even though it was the nighttime when the city stood out, the city was still beautiful in the morning. The sun's beams reflected through every single window of the city, engulfing it in a unique neon glow. The train itself was quiet and no one said anything.
Peace, quiet and tranquility.
After ten long hours of grueling investigation, Kim returned home. In her room, she was walking back and forth trying to think. Not easy with a headache and a giant bandage on the back of your head. This had been going on for well over an hour, and it quickly worried her entire family, including her twin brothers. When Kim was wandering away from the door, all four of them would peek their heads in and pulled back just as Kim turned around. They knew something had to be done about this, but the question was, who would go into the battlefield? Exaggerated, but when Kim was not in a good mood, she was a force to be reckoned with, as a teenager, a girlfriend, even a daughter and a sister.
Outside her room, it turned into a game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" on who would have to talk to her.
Three scissors and one paper.
Dr. James Possible was up. Sweating, he slowly crept in the room just as Kim turned around and walked away from the door.
"Uh, hello Kimmie-cub. I was…uh…"
"Dangit, I lost it," Kim referring to her concentration.
Her father froze when realizing this, almost taking a step backward. "Kim, you've been doing this all day."
Kim didn't respond for a few seconds, trying to gather the last thought in her head before losing her concentration. Realizing that bright sunlight wasn't coming through her window, she needed to know something. "What time is it?"
"Almost four, and you haven't eaten breakfast or lunch."
Without saying a word, Kim quickly walked past her dad out of the room, past her mom and brothers, and went straight for the kitchen. Her family couldn't help but spy on her the entire time.
Kim made her way to the microwave, which had both her breakfast and lunch in it, covered by aluminum foil on a plate. Completely disregarding if the food was still edible or how hot or cold it was, Kim pulled it out and just dumped all of it in her mouth like a dump truck, chewed on it, and swallowed the entire thing, minus the foil.
"Hon," her dad whispered to his wife, "Remind me what you cooked this morning."
"Eggs and bacon for breakfast and two sandwiches for lunch," she whispered.
Kim let out a huge burp after that, obviously ignoring her manners, then stormed off back to her room and past her family again.
"She's becoming more like Ronald," her dad concluded at her food manners.
"We'd better do something." Mrs. Dr. Possible was no less concerned than before.
"We could tranquilize her," Jim pitched in.
"Jim!"
"Well," Tim intervened, "Studies show that it does work well on TRL viewers."
"Hmm, TRL viewers, huh?" Mr. Dr. Possible thought. He was getting some ideas, but not before the back of his head was lightly smacked by his wife.
"We are not going to tranquilize our daughter!"
"No, of course not! I just thought it might be useful to some of the guys at work. You don't want to hear the stories of them going out to the bar and coming back to work the next morning with…" He paused when he realized two of his kids were nearby, "Well, you just can't work with them."
"Oh. Sorry dear."
"If our calculations are correct," Tim continued, "If we shoot a tranq. dart into her neck she should be out like a log. This stuff can take down an elephant."
"NO!" his parents yelled.
Mrs. Possible sighed, "I might as well go talk to her again."
She finally separated herself from her family and proceeded upstairs. Making sure she was gone, Mr. Dr. Possible and the boys decided to share some dialogue.
"You've got that stuff with you?" he whispered his two sons.
"In our room," Jim answered.
Tim had an evil look in his eyes, "But it'll cost you."
Dr. Possible rolled his eyes. "Name your terms."
The two brothers then exchanged looks with each other.
"Hickabicka boo?"
"Hooshah."
Upstairs in her room, Kim was laying down on her bed, moving around trying to get into a comfortable position.
"Mom, do you think that I'm freaking out a little bit by this?"
Her mom wasn't even in the room, staying near Kim's door and waiting to make her move. Hearing this, she realized it was time to come in.
"Freaking out? Yes. A little bit? If by 'a little bit' you mean 'dangerously', then I'm inclined to agree."
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Kim sat up on her bed. "I miss him, mom."
Her mom came and sat beside her, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I know you do, Kim. So Wade's not answering your calls and you have no idea where he's at."
"Pretty much."
"Kimmie, maybe you need a break from everything. Sometimes in a relationship we need to get away from everything to relax ourselves."
Kim didn't agree, "No mom, I need to see him and apologize to him. What if he never comes back? What if-"
Her mom interrupted with a fierce tone, "Kim, that's ridiculous and you know it. You two had your first fight, perhaps of many, but I honestly don't think Ron's just going to go away and never see you again just because of a mistake you both made on a mission. I've seen you grow up with him and you've both been in hard times. Believe me, something like this isn't going to end everything you two have shared together. He will come back, but when? That's something I'm afraid I don't know."
"You're sure?" Kim almost sounded relieved, but a hint of fear was still inside. Her mom never saw it often, but she knew it was in there.
"Of course, Kimmie. You may not have seen it, but he loves you a lot, and not just recently. It's been there throughout the years."
"I know, actually. Sometimes I go back into my diary and see it, and I can't believe how blind I was back then."
"That'll happen when you're young. Sometimes you don't see it, and sometimes you refuse it. And I know you've been afraid of it."
"I… have?" Kim asked with a confused gaze in her eyes.
"The Moodulator Incident?"
"I'm not sure, KP. I mean, I'm still having a hard time believing what just happened."
Despite holding Kim's hand, Ron felt really awkward about everything that had gone on that night. His best friend gave him his first kiss on the lips, he realized she was more than 'cute', and he went on a date… one that involved her crying, laughing, and almost ripping him to shreds.
For Kim, it was also weird. Her date with Mankey was weird enough with the embarrassment ninjas and Shego, but she was walking home and holding hands with someone in a pickle suit.
"I wish I could say I have a grip on the whole situation, but I'm totally with you on that."
Neither of them did realize they were holding hands at all. Their minds were completely elsewhere.
"Look, Kim, I…"
Still walking, Kim slowly turned her eyes to Ron.
"Lost it. Sorry."
She was silent for a second before replying, "It's okay, Ron." It was clear she wanted to know what he was going to say, and he knew it.
"I'm just still trying to get a grip on everything. You know, take it in and all."
"I understand. Must be pretty scary having your best friend almost crush hard on you one second, cry another, and then try to kill you the next."
Just a few seconds ago Kim thought that perhaps she was starting to crush on Ron, remembering what she had said that night to him, that there were fireworks between them. But when she said it, she was more focused on the fact that she was going on a date with Ron, completely forgetting that Ron had actually 'broken up' with her. She remembered it only minutes ago, and now she didn't know what to think. Did she like him like that? Was he boyfriend material? Why did he dump her? Was it because he wanted to stay best friends, because he wanted to save their friendship, or perhaps he didn't like her like that at all? She was afraid to ask.
Ron was confused. While he had his thoughts on dating Kim in the past, he never thought deeply or seriously on it, not enough to pursue it. He had been scared of her the entire day, not as much on the dating thing, but rather her mood swings. It would be crazy enough to see Kim switch moods that he was familiar with, but these weren't sides of Kim he saw at all. It was too much for him.
Both Kim and Ron knew that despite being best friends for ages, that everyone has a tendency to have a secret side to them. For Ron, this meant a number of things. What if the moodulator revealed feelings that Kim may have hidden from everyone? Perhaps when no one was around, maybe she did cry. Maybe she did have a ferocious side where her anger was bound to kill any living being nearby. Maybe she had her moments of actually laughing, something he never saw her do in high school often, if at all.
And that lust side? Clearly too much for him. Any other guy would've loved it if the world famous Kim Possible was lusting over them to the point of chasing them around the lockers, but Ron was clearly scared.
On the other hand, what if Kim never felt these things before and had a side effect or something afterward? What if from now on she started showing more emotions like crying, lust, and anger? It was something Ron didn't want to think about.
If one thing was clear, looking at Kim wasn't going to be the same as ever, literally. He always thought that Kim had a cute face with her shiny and open eyes, but he never really concerned himself with her figure at all. Because of what she was wearing, it was impossible not to look.
He felt scared. While Kim was looking up to the stars and trying to gather her own thoughts on the matter, Ron couldn't help but take a peak at her curves and various areas of her body. He felt more attracted to Kim, and never realized how… perfect her figure was. He tried to fight it, but he couldn't help but take quick glances at Kim's chest, her rear, her legs, and her waist.
He couldn't believe it, he was actually checking out his best friend with lustful eyes on her body. He instantly felt guilty and miserable for doing such a thing.
'What am I doing!' he thought.
He also couldn't believe her parents actually let her buy or wear something like that. They were probably too psyched that he and Kim were finally going on a date to notice.
Kim broke the silence. "Did you ever gather that thought back?"
He quickly took his eyes off her legs before she turned to him. "No… not really."
"Ron, it's okay to be scared. I…"
Ten seconds of silence passed.
"Never mind. Lost it."
Kim was also wondering the effects of the Moodulator. Was it designed to create emotions? Enhance them? Or build those that aren't often shown? Kim knew exactly what was going on the entire time, much like her mind control dilemma with Drakken and her brothers, but she unleashed feelings and emotions that she would have not preferred for anyone to see. Not even Ron, and now he was afraid of her, exactly what she feared and why she kept these sides hidden.
Kim wasn't one to keep secrets from Ron, but there were parts of her that she would have preferred to keep hidden. First of all, she never laughed, but this wasn't an emotion she was afraid of or ashamed of. Really, why didn't she laugh? Ron could always cheer her up, or accidentally ruin Bonnie's day after she let the pyramid in cheerleading practice fall again, or made a mission better. She smiled, but didn't laugh.
But the other emotions, she didn't like at all and tried to hide them. The first one was crying. There would be a cold day in hell before someone would see Kim Possible cry. To her, it would show weakness and fear. She could imagine; boys would think she's weak, Bonnie would see this as a weak spot as well as her villains. She had to stay strong, but at times she had her moments of breaking down. She knew it was dangerous to bottle up emotions, but that's what her room was for.
At the end of this night, Kim knew she would be crying in her room.
Then there was lust. Even girls had their perverse sides, but Kim didn't have much of a lustful side. Sure, she crushed on boys because they were talented and extremely cute, but it was all about their face. The eyes, their dimples, maybe their hair, and their smiles. She didn't care for big muscular guys. But she was aware that sometimes she let herself go when she crushed on someone, Nelson and Mankey coming to mind, and seeing as how she was doing it with Ron earlier, no wonder he was afraid of her. She wondered how afraid every guy in the school had been of her. In fact, when it came to dating, she was always afraid of the image she had and what people thought of it. She knew she had to be tough in the face of evil, since she was Kim Possible, but she didn't want to scare off her chances at love, either. It was hard being a single girl in Middleton. She didn't want to be surrounded by boys, but she didn't like loneliness either. It wouldn't hurt to have one person, but she didn't want just anybody. Even though she wasn't interested in the jocks at school, it did bother her that no one on the sports teams hit on her. She knew they may have liked her, probably not with innocent intentions, but they never really asked her on a date or anything.
In fact, no one did, and she didn't know why.
But enough of the past, Ron was more important right now. She wasn't sure if going into a relationship was the right step to go in, but she didn't want to scare him, either. Not as a boyfriend, but as her best friend.
She had to admit, though, that her lips on Ron's had an unbelievable feel to it. She didn't even know if her reaction after he fell to the floor was part of the moodulator or not. That's how much she enjoyed it. Whoever his first girlfriend was, she'd be happy.
The two later realized that this would have been a bad way to start a relationship if they went along with it. Both of them would much prefer if feelings started to evolve first instead of starting at level one and then jumping to fifty. It was more important to keep their friendship alive than to risk the relationship. At the speed it was going, neither of them was ready for it.
At this point, both Kim and Ron had reached her doorway, and they needed to tell each other how they felt.
"KP…? Do you think there's…"
"I do."
Ron's head lifted when hearing this, "Really?"
Kim nodded, "But I don't think I'm ready for it. Not like this, no."
Ron let out a relieved sigh, "I completely agree with you, Kim."
"You do?"
Ron nodded, "Don't you think it'd be a bit fast if we just went into a relationship just like that? I don't think it would work."
Kim agreed, "Yeah. I also don't want to rush things."
Both of them were shaking and nervous.
"So… you okay?" Ron asked, "Sorry I didn't ask earlier."
"No big," Kim calmly replied, "I'll need to sleep on this one. Kinda feeling motion sickness."
One letter off, but it was probably an effect from the moodulator crash.
Ron sighed but he had to say some things, "Sorry I had to, you know, dump you."
Kim started feeling uncomfortable at these words, but lightly nodded, gesturing for Ron to continue. She knew that Ron wasn't aware of the moodulator until just before Drakken showed up, but one thing was true: She went out with him, and he dumped her. He wasn't going to let a relationship evolve. Not now. Maybe he didn't want to go out with her after all.
"I just didn't want it to tank, it was just going to fast for me and I knew that if I was going to go along with it, it was going to, and that'd put our friendship in havoc. That's something I'm not ready to risk yet, KP, in case you still wanted to go on with it."
"So you're saying if I wanted to go out with you…"
"I couldn't do it. Not now."
Kim sighed, "I understand. But we're still best friends, right?"
He let out a calm sigh, "I hope so. What do you think?"
"Of course."
He let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, but how are you going to explain this to your parents?"
"I've got it handled. They might not like it, but I think the earlier I'm home with this dress on, the better."
"When did you get that anyway?"
"In Europe, I think. Remember we had to meet up with Mr. Apocy in formal wear and it was soooo hot?"
"Now I remember! Wait a minute, you went alone on that one."
"That's right, you were in detention."
"It's not my fault our mission was right before homeroom!"
"If you decided to release your parachute much later you would've gotten to class on time like I did."
Ron stuck out his tongue as Kim just curved her eyes, both letting out a quiet chuckle. To both of them, after a night of mayhem, it was good to see each other as they always remembered. Perhaps for now it was best this way.
"So, I think this is the end of it," Kim calmly spoke.
"I suppose so."
Ron was going to leave, but Kim grabbed his hand and before he realized it, he felt a warm and tender kiss on his cheek. Surprised, he slowly turned his eyes toward Kim, who instantly gave him a tight hug. He didn't know what to make of it, except that it could've been the moodulator. Where he was now, he could clearly see Kim's neck, but all he saw was just the marks that it left behind. It looked like Kim was given a dozen shots in a circular pattern.
Kim spoke gently, "Ron…? Thanks for not taking advantage of the situation. There's no telling what would've happened if this thing made me go crazy for someone else. I'm glad that when the moodulator made me act towards a specific person, that it was you."
Ron slowly lifted his arms and gently took Kim off of him. "I couldn't live with myself if I even had the thought of wanting to do that, Kim."
"Good night."
"Good night, KP."
With that, the two turned around, Kim heading up to her door, and Ron walking down the lawn.
"Oh! Ron!"
Ron quickly turned around to hear what Kim had to say, who was pointing at her black dress.
"If you tell anyone about this, I'll be your ticket to the grave!"
Ron took the threat lightly, "Okay!"
"Ron! I mean it!"
"Sure sure, good night, KP."
With that, Kim let out a sigh and went inside. The second she closed the door, she leaned against it as her face dropped, sitting down. Her mom was nearby and quickly noticed this.
"Kimmie? What happened?"
Kim's voice sounded fragile, "Mom, my feelings for Ron was caused by a device called a moodulator. They weren't real."
"But…?" Mrs. Possible knew there was a real reason her daughter was trying to hold in her tears. She couldn't tell if they were of sadness, confusion, or rage.
"He dumped me. I know I shouldn't feel bad because he knew I wasn't acting normal and was afraid our friendship was at risk, but… I don't know how I feel anymore."
"About Ron?"
"About everything. Today, I felt things, things I didn't want everyone to see me feel, and today I unleashed all of them. Crying, anger, lu-"
"You should sleep on it, Kimmie. You'll probably feel better in the morning if you want to talk about it then."
"Okay. Thanks, mom."
Kim quickly got up and stormed into her room, confused out of her mind. Her mom looked disappointed.
She sighed and whispered to herself, "I was hoping this was finally it…"
Meanwhile, Ron was slouching the entire walk home, feeling miserable.
"Why did I tell her that? Why did I tell her if she asked me out that I couldn't accept! Urgh!"
Trying to get out of the pickle suit and onto Ron's shoulder wasn't easy, but Rufus managed to get on his arm.
"It's okay," the naked mole rat muttered.
"No, it's not okay, Rufus. I can't believe I didn't put her feelings into consideration. She actually felt hurt by what I said. I saw it in her eyes, Rufus."
Rufus let out a sad sigh, not knowing what else to say. Ron also decided that he was going to sleep on this one.
"Mom, I was afraid that he didn't like me that way, and I was confused."
"Yes, but he knew that you weren't confident in your feelings. Don't you see why he did it? He was afraid to lose everything. Kim, you are everything to him. You know that, don't you?"
"I suppose, yeah. Yeah. Yeah! I was there before Rufus and Bueno Nacho, though those come in pretty close." Kim realized, "But I've got no leads on where he's at."
"You've tried contacting Wade, right?"
Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator from her pocket. "Yep, and he won't pick up, probably not wanting us to ask who's right and wrong."
"Have you tried calling him? Through the phone?"
At this point, Kim's became wide-eyed and almost fell off her bed, frozen. She couldn't believe that she didn't.
Her mom smiled at this point, getting off the bed, "I think you know what to do."
"Thanks, mom."
"Don't mention it."
Outside, Mrs. Dr. Possible closed Kim's door, only to find her husband and two sons crouching nearby, listening in.
Her husband got up, "Looks like you've handled another one."
She smiled modestly, "I just needed to remind her that Ron wasn't going to leave her just like that."
Jim agreed, "Yeah, he's been there since before we were even born. He's not going to leave just now because he and Kim messed up on a mission."
It was no surprise the tweebs looked up to Ron like a big brother.
Tim just had to ask, "Cool. Can we still tranquilize her anyway?"
"NO!" his parents barked.
This was interrupted by a loud and frustrated groan from inside Kim's room. Everyone put an ear up to her door.
"What do you mean you have no idea where he's at? … He didn't tell you? … I was at fault, Wade, that's why. I just want to know where he is… Don't you have him chipped? … Oh, that's right, he learned how to turn off his chip when he went to look for me that one time… No, I don't know how he did it… So you can't trace him? … What about Rufus? … Cell phone? Go for that… What? … Destroyed? … No… Try it again! … Where did you say it was last traced? … I don't have a TV up here, hold on."
Hearing approaching footsteps, Kim's family moved away from the door as Kim burst through it and stormed her way downstairs, now in her mission gear. They all followed. Downstairs, Kim reached her TV with her wireless phone in hand, flipping through the channels until she reached the news, almost gasping at the first sight.
Bueno Nacho HQ was set ablaze, clearly an explosion.
"And you said his cell phone's signal was there last?" Kim sounded extremely concerned in her voice.
"That's in Bay City, California!" Jim realized.
"What's Ron doing there?" Tim asked, surprised.
"Okay, great. Thanks a ton, Wade. Bye." Kim finished.
Tossing the phone on the couch, Kim quickly scrambled across the house to grab whatever other mission equipment she needed.
"Kim, what's going on?" her mom asked in the same tone as her daughter.
"Ron's cell phone was last detected on the 80th floor of Bueno Nacho HQ in Bay City, California," she quickly answered, locating her backpack and putting it on.
"That's where the explosion was at," Tim read on the TV.
Kim ran back up to the TV, where she and her family read the scrolling text on the bottom of the screen out loud in unison.
"Explosion on the 80th floor of Bueno Nacho Enterprises Headquarters… A meeting was being held to discuss the future of Bueno Nacho at the time of the explosion… Explosion time was approximately at 9:18 PM Pacific Time…"
Kim looked at her watch. 11:23 PM. Because of the time differences, it only happened just minutes ago. Just then, loud engines could be heard roaring outside, not allowing for anything else to be heard in the immediate area.
"There's my ride!" Kim yelled. "Don't expect this to be a one-day trip!"
Her dad gave her a thumbs-up, acknowledging this. Shortly after Kim closed the door, the huge jet outside took off. Her family had covered their ears most of the time, and they were all relieved to take their hands off. They all kept their eyes on the news, curious and concerned at what may have happened.
Behind one the reporters, Ron could be seen in the background helping someone into an ambulance. The whole family had let out a sigh of relief, the parents almost celebrating. But it wasn't to last long, as the report had a word that caught the family's eye:
Assassination Attempt.
Bay City, California: 7:46 PM Pacific Time.
Ron was riding on the train that ran through town, asleep. He had spent an exhausting day doing just about any and everything he could.
First, it started at the main arcade in town. The arcade was anything but cleverly titled, "Game Fantasy," but what was inside made up for it. The arcade genre was one that was dying, but this place was not only huge, but many of its titles revealed that developers still had a trick or two up its sleeve on it.
This was both good and bad, especially considering the offer that was made: Free Play on all machines for ten dollars. Not that it mattered to Ron, as Ferno covered his trip, but free play made him all giddy inside. Dancing games, shooting games, racing games, especially the Ferrari simulation one where the creators emulated the inside and physics of a Ferrari F355 Spider so well that Ferrari racers used it as a training device, one reportedly breaking his record on a track by four seconds thanks to it. What would cost three dollars to play, all for free, and it didn't matter if he crashed the car. Ron took a liking to this one, seeing that it taught him to drive and he didn't have Barkin next to him. Only problem was that he was on it for an hour and a line of kids were built up behind him, all who were constantly interrupting his games and leaving a minute later. This wasn't the only landmark for Ron, as Zombie Mayhem 6 was finally released.
After about four hours playing that one, he explored the malls for anything interesting, but he found nothing he wanted. It was awkward that many girls were hitting on him, but never heard of Kim Possible. What was it that he did to make himself so recognizable? He had no idea, and the girls refused to tell him when he asked, thinking he was joking.
He had actually spent late lunch with Nev, who introduced him to the ice smoothies served at the airport. Indeed, they were delicious, but both wound up with brain freeze. Unfortunately, the girls he had warned Ron about came back and now Ron knew why Nev feared/hated them. They were constantly trying to play with their emotions, asking if the boys liked them, always laughing like the two boys weren't in their league despite being five years younger than them.
Nev called security, and Yuri was more than glad to get rid of the two girls that people were often complaining about, working as a luggage transporter and security guard.
Ron spent the rest of the day alone with Rufus, as Nev had things he had to attend to back in his lab.
Ron wasn't exactly into most of the events the city had to offer. Internet cafes weren't his thing, that and it was too packed for even Rufus to get through. He played a few game demos in some other game stores, but he decided to go back to the arcade.
Unfortunately, when he was trying to play one of the dancing ones again, his pants fell off. But this didn't stop him, and the people who were watching found it rather enjoyable that a guy was dancing on a machine like this with his pants trapping his legs like handcuffs. Some of them thought it was part of the act.
By the time it was all over, it was almost 7:30, and Ron decided to take the transport train to Bueno Nacho HQ. He didn't intend on taking a nap, but it happened anyway. Rufus had been trying to wake him up for the last half hour, as the stop near Bueno Nacho HQ came and went several times. He would just not wake up. Rufus had to finally resort to a wet willie to awaken Ron, and it worked.
After a minute of stretching, Ron's attention went back to the window as the buildings passed by him, lit by the cyan lights of the city below. Some of the buildings had their own lights, mostly a navy blue color that gave the city a futuristic feel.
If only Kim could see this. Much like Kim, Ron's thoughts, despite having fun and misfortune in his day, were on her the entire time. His thoughts quickly went to his cell phone, which he had left in his pocket.
It was off. Well, great. Ron wouldn't have any idea if anybody had called unless they left a voicemail. He tried to call, but the signal was horribly weak.
"No –ew mes-ag-s. Ma- men-"
He was able to make out "No new messages. Main Menu," but anybody could've called. He found it rather awkward that Kim never got herself a cell phone, but he did. The more he thought about it, it probably wasn't the best idea to call her now, unless he wanted a conversation that would last for hours, and he didn't want to skip the meeting at Bueno Nacho.
He grabbed a handbar nearby as the train started coming to a stop, almost losing his balance when it did.
It stopped at a convenient location just across the street on a train station about 20 floors up. Luckily for all the passengers, there were at least twelve elevators. Ron and Rufus quickly found an empty one and pressed the button for the first floor. The instant Ron's finger pushed the button all the way in, he found himself crushed by at least twenty others crowding the elevator. Fortunately, the elevator's descent was quick.
After all the people on the elevator left, Ron slowly walked out like a jagged puppet, stretching his arms and legs at least three times to make sure he could still walk. After walking out the main entrance of the building, he quickly ran across the street, almost getting run over three times in the process. It wouldn't take him long to notice there was a crosswalk nearby.
But right now he stood in front of the very building itself. It was huge, it was glowing, and tears almost came out of Ron and Rufus' eyes when they saw the glowing animating taco on the front of everything.
"You think you're ready for this, buddy?"
"Mmmhmm!"
Ron instantly stormed in, but it wasn't what he expected. This was Bueno Nacho HQ, but all he saw was… Bueno Nacho. Restaurant Bueno Nacho. That was at first glance, however, as he noticed a few desks nearby, and what appeared to be a Help box with someone on the other side. He stepped up to the window and knocked lightly, as the girl behind it was reading a magazine. She lifted her head, and the two recognized each other.
"Oh, hi Ron."
"Yuri? You work here too?"
"Luggage transporter and security guard at the airport on day shift, help manager at Bueno Nacho on night shift. So what's up?"
"I came here to see the board at 8 PM, but this… this is the right building, right?"
Yuri scoffed, "I gave you directions myself, Ron. Of course this is it."
"Well, sorry for asking."
Yuri just laughed, "Don't worry about it, I'm just messing with ya. You see, this was just the first floor, but people thought this was the restaurant and not just the corporate building, and the numbers grew. So, we decided to open another restaurant here, and we get more money and less complaints."
"Oh, I see. So anyway…"
"You're expected on the 80th floor at 8. You've got 8 minutes. Gee, those are weird odds. Elevators are located to your far right." Yuri pushed her arm through the small opening of the window and pointed at Ron's right, at the doors with the large red word "Elevator" on it.
"Gotcha, and thanks again!"
Ron started storming off for the elevator, since a ride to the 80th floor would take some time.
"Might want to grab something when you're near the 80th floor!" Yuri hollered.
After Ron pressed the buttons inside the elevator for the 80th floor, he gave Yuri a thumbs-up, confirming that heard her warning. The doors shut shortly after.
The elevator was huge, probably enough to fit forty others. One thing that caught Ron's eye was that the elevator's sides were covered in glass, allowing for a perfect view of the city at night. It was dark, lit only by the various lights below, from spotlights, traffic, and lights Ron couldn't even see. It wasn't a cloudy day like the previous day, so the stars were glowing. He could see everything.
Unfortunately, he didn't pay attention to where he was at, and the elevator came to an abrupt stop, knocking him off his feet.
The elevator had actually gone up at an incredibly fast rate, which Ron never noticed nor felt until it came to a stop. Now he knew why Yuri had warned him of grabbing onto something: Not only was falling on your back the least welcome feeling, but he also felt extremely queasy. Rufus had been grabbing onto him the whole time, and despite Ron flying back, he didn't feel it.
Fortunately for Ron, the bathrooms were placed just outside the elevator.
The meeting had started despite that there was a minute remaining, and the President of Bueno Nacho, Benjamin Ferno, a man in his late thirties, was setting up boards and diagrams for his team members to read and analyze. He was just about to speak when the door opened.
Just about everybody but Ferno was surprised to see the identity of the boy who walked in the room. When Ferno told them he was inviting a special guest, they had expected someone in his fifties or sixties, someone who was a bombshell in the field, not somebody who appeared to have just gotten out of puberty.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, our special guest who will help us revive the name of Bueno Nacho, Mr. Ronald Stoppable."
Nervous, Ron just waved. "Hi."
He also noticed that many of them were glaring at his pet, who was messing with their heads by doing bodybuilder poses. A naked mole rat was one strange thing, making fun of them was another.
"Oh, this is my pet Rufus."
"Hi!"
Ferno appeared to be pleased, "I'm glad you decided to accept my offer, Mr. Stoppable."
"Just call me Ron. But how did you know I was even here?"
"I have my ways." Ferno smiled at Ron, but it was a warm smile. "Well, let's get this party started, shall we?"
The meeting took place immediately after, and Ferno explained through board diagrams of the company's finances, stocks, and explained that they had been in a landslide ever since the Diablo threat. It was also revealed that Drakken used most of Bueno Nacho's finances to mass-produce his mini-WMDs, more than half of it. The company barely survived, just enough to still resume business. But as they had come to expect, several people worldwide avoided the restaurant and stopped eating there, and despite the company's efforts to assure everyone that the one responsible was in jail, the public didn't buy it.
Two more months of this and it would be all over.
Ferno explained that the point of this meeting was to find a different way of attracting people back. Would it be a good idea to create a mascot? Maybe they would make a new logo and give the place a more non-traditional design? Different food variations? While the board felt like they were out of ideas, Ferno decided to reveal his reason for inviting Ron, as the board members did not understand why Ferno invited a teenager all the way from some place called Middleton.
"The reason I invited Ron Stoppable was because not only is he reportedly our number one customer, but he's also the creator of the 'Naco,' which doubled our shares. For that vacation we all had six months ago on that cruise, he's to thank."
Instantly, the board stood up and applauded, finally recognizing who Ron was. He felt a tad bit embarrassed at this, but on the outside, he took it all modestly.
"Please, it's not that big of a deal."
"Are you kidding?" one of the older bald men asked, "The bonus was enough to send my children to college!"
"And me," a younger female in her early thirties intervened, "I found my husband on that cruise."
"You have no idea how much your little invention impacted us," Ferno finished.
Ron had no idea what to say, "Wow, I guess not."
After everyone sat down, Ferno then went to explain -now with Ron's full attention- all of the explained changes, but in much greater detail. For possible mascots, he showed designs and sketches from various sources, and Ron almost interrupted with laughter when he noticed a Chihuahua with a giant X on it, clearly rejected. For new logos, there were almost endless pages, and they weren't that different than the logo now. It started with the taco in the design. Some images were extremely simplified, perhaps having only four different colors, some were computer generated, one appeared to be drawn by a comic book artist, and then a slightly modified version of the current logo. Then there was the text. This is where things got hectic, as hundreds of fonts were used, one for each of the four taco designs, with various colors and effects. So many of them looked good, but to Ron, it wasn't really necessary. Ferno explained more and more of what the board had gathered, but when it was all over,
"Ron? Any thoughts?"
Ron rose from his chair, slouching, then quietly walked up to Ferno.
"Dude, you're doing this all wrong. Rufus?"
"Yup?"
"It's time we pull out the big guns. Initiate Operation 101."
"You got it!"
The board was instantly confused, watching as the naked mole rat pulled out a bow tie and what appeared to be a small business suit, and put them on. Ferno was amused.
Drawing on the back of the diagrams, Ron explained what they were doing right and doing wrong. The problem he saw with their antics was that they were trying to be like everybody else in terms of design. He pointed out approved designs that had strong resemblance to other places, food variations that other places had, and even the mascot had similarities to other places.
Ron's plan was basic. Perhaps Bueno Nacho did need a bit of a facelift, only enough to appease to new people but still have the classic feel that self-proclaimed veterans such as him had grown up with. The board was actually thinking of getting rid of the whole teen-hangout look and feel, and Ron was immediately against this, grabbing his wallet and showing pictures of him and Kim hanging out there. It may not have been the best idea on Ron's account. While his early 'dates' with her were spent there, Kim had mixed faces. Sometimes she appeared bored on the older ones, long before they started dating, but seemed to be more focused on her boyfriend on the later ones when they were. Some of the pictures were taken inside, most outside.
One picture that Ron accidentally handed out was a picture of Rufus laying down on a plate with a giant stomach. It gave everyone in the room a chuckle. He also handed one of Kim kissing him on the cheek.
"So yeah, big no no on getting rid of the tables and chairs outside and inside and that stuff. Any questions?"
Just about everyone but Ferno answered, "You're Kim Possible's boyfriend?"
Ron almost fell on the desk, and the board quickly began to whisper among themselves excitedly. Not only did she save some of them a few times, probably not remembering it, but they also knew that she was the one who helped save Bueno Nacho along with Ron. Now they recognized him further, as Ron was the one who captured Drakken on the Worldwide Diablo Crisis.
Not to Ron's surprise, they thought it was cute that they were dating.
Ferno noticed the surprised and excited looks on the board members, "Did I fail to mention that Ron put that Drakken guy in jail?"
Everyone excitedly nodded. Ferno just rolled his eyes at himself. Ron on the other hand was just silent, anxious for the pictures to return, and they shortly did.
"And that's where me and KP spend a lot of time together. So don't get rid of the pub image!"
Everyone agreed. Ron took a huge sigh, and then prepared for another speech. He continued his presentation on everything that should be done, which wasn't much, but just to make everything new but keep it classic. He went on great detail on this, probably talking about it for over a half hour.
The board was convinced. Ron Stoppable wasn't a genius; he was a legend.
The meeting came to an abrupt halt when a projectile weapon came through the window and landed in the center of the large table. It was spinning fast, but when it slowed down, everybody in the room instantly recognized it.
"GRENADE!"
However, it failed to immediately detonate. All of the board members including Ferno froze to stare at it, but Ron immediately took action, yelling at all of them.
"Get out of here! Now!"
Their attention was being disrupted by Ron, who was acting like some military officer and yelling at everyone to get the hell out of there, all with a fierce and serious tone. Realizing that the grenade would probably go off soon, they scrambled out of the room and into the elevator, dropping everything that was in their hands. For Ron, this also included his cell phone.
Making sure the room was completely evacuated; Ron followed them, but was shocked to find them in the elevator. Depending on the explosion and what kind of grenade it was, there was a possibility that the elevator mechanics would be destroyed in the explosion, sending it 80 floors below to its doom. One of the board members revealed something to Ron.
"There's no stairs. The guys were supposed to come and build them next week, but…"
Ron noticed the bathrooms nearby. Knowing that all the pipes that surrounded the area would ease the explosion's impact, he quickly pushed any nearby board members into it, then went in himself.
"You're aware that this is the women's bathroom, don't you?" one of them asked.
Ron didn't answer, instead he put his hand up as if telling the board to stay silent.
A faint but high-pitched whirring noise could be heard, sounding like it was getting louder or bigger. When the pitch was starting to rival that of nails on chalkboard, it suddenly stopped.
Just then, a loud explosion could be heard everywhere as the lights went out. Soon, the pitch-black room was lit only by the flames on the other side of the door. As the impact of the explosion widened, the bathroom began to shake violently, breaking all of the mirrors and sending a several water pipes loose, spraying the entire area. It had only lasted for less than three seconds, and after it was all over, Ron decided to get up and explore the area. His face was almost engulfed in smoke when he opened the door, but it wasn't a lot. He crept in low and peeked his head outside.
The entire floor was nearly destroyed. Only the bathrooms survived, and just as he predicted, the elevator was sent crashing below. He only hoped the explosion caused people on the lower floors to panic and leave. He crawled back inside into the pitch-black bathroom, not able to see anything inside except the floor near the door.
"Everyone okay?"
"Perfect."
"Scratched, but I'll be fine."
"Physically, yes. Mentally? That'll take a while."
"Wait until my husband and my kids hear about this!"
"That was freaking awesome!"
"They always make explosions seem scary, but that was the adrenaline rush I needed! I'd better get home to my wife before it wears off."
"It sounds like we're all fine, thanks to you, Ron," Ferno's voice echoed.
"Alrighty then. Rufus? You still alive back there?"
"Booyah."
"Wait a minute, that's only six of our members," Ferno realized. "Tom? Tom?"
A small groan could be heard, "Get an ambulance. I think I'm having a heart attack."
Ferno pulled out his cell phone, which pretty much lit the entire room. Everyone's focus went into the old man clutching his chest. Three digits were punched.
"There's been an explosion on the 80th floor of Bueno Nacho HQ and we have no methods of getting down, and one of our boys is having a heart attack. Send a helicopter and an ambulance as fast as you can."
Two board members helped Tom Michael on his feet, who quickly popped an aspirin pill into his mouth.
"That should take care of it for some time. Provided they get here in at least an hour, I'll be fine."
A half hour later, the scene had completely changed. Police Helicopters had arrived on the scene and helped all the board members on the plane, starting with Ron, Ferno, and Michael, and then the rest. The fires set off by the explosion had been put out for some time, but not before news choppers got some nasty footage of it.
Much to the dismay of the police and security, all kinds of news trucks parked just outside the building, trying to get whatever footage they could. Security did a good job of securing Michael, however, keeping the cameras away from Ferno and Ron as they assisted him into a nearby ambulance. Michael waved a specific finger at the cameras before the doors of the ambulance closed, and it drove off. Having no idea they were being filmed, Ferno and Ron shared a discussion.
"I suppose it was a really really really good idea to invite you over, Ronald."
Ron scoffed modestly, "Please, it's what I do."
"You saved the entire board. If it weren't for you and your bravery, all of us would've froze in that room until the grenade went off. We owe our lives to you. Thank you."
Ron just shrugged, "No big. But…" He turned his head in all sorts of directions, "You'd better head home. Looks like some reporters are eyeing us, and I don't want to spend all night telling people of what's going on."
"Agreed. You should go back to your hotel room and get some rest. Again, thank you."
Ferno tried to sneak to his car in the rear parking lot of the building, having to tell security over and over that he was a witness trying to get to his car. Ron on the other hand got things the easy way; Since he wasn't in his mission gear, he was actually mistaken for a pedestrian by a security guard and kicked Ron out of the area, threatening that he'd have the police send him home if he refused.
Ron shared a look with his pet. "Nah, I want to take a look around."
He got a ride back to the hotel in a police car.
Upstairs in his room, Ron could see the blaze of the building just outside his window. He actually chuckled at the sight.
"Maybe that's what they need for a new logo; a flaming taco."
But he wasn't awake for long. He collapsed on his bed and was snoring the second his back hit the mattress. Rufus fell asleep at the same time his owner did.
Later, several blocks away on the outskirts of the city, a dark figure wearing some kind of body suit flies between the buildings, armed with little more than two grappling hooks. While the city streets are lit with police lights and the usual city glow, the high areas near the rooftops are completely dark, more than the sky above it. Because of the speed the individual flies at, they are virtually invisible.
They stop on top of one of the buildings, taking witness to the smoke of Bueno Nacho HQ, which appears to be several miles ahead.
"How much longer?"
"A mile and two blocks north," a voice with interference replied on the other end.
Ron's room is lit by all the commotion outside. If there was one thing that Ron didn't like about this room, it was that the blinds were broken, not allowing him to block out the light coming in. There was a door and a balcony on the other side that was perfect for a view, but when it came to sleeping, forget it.
None of that bothered him right now, though, as he was as dead as a log snoring loudly, as he had been doing for the last two hours.
The light in his room quickly turned to darkness as a human shadow blocked the light, leaning against the door of the window. They opened it slowly so that it wouldn't screech and wake their target up. It took about three minutes just to squeeze through, as the intruder had a slim figure.
Walking slowly toward Ron, he or she took a few seconds to analyze him. Something was comical about seeing Ron sleep so peacefully and snore. Suddenly, he stopped, but still appeared to be asleep. Just when the intruder decided to get a closer look, Ron was suddenly wide awake and holding Rufus like a gun, whose teeth were on his or her neck.
"Don't move."
Ron slowly got out of the bed as the intruder put their hands up. They appeared to be carrying no weapons, but wore a big backpack, enough to last them for a weeklong trip. Ron tried to analyze this person, suspecting them of being the person who attacked Bueno Nacho. He couldn't see any of their facial features, as their mask revealed no skin or any hair. He then tried to analyze them starting from the feet.
'Feet… legs… waist… belly…'His face immediately turned red when he noticed the chest, and looked away.
'Okay, feminine build…' he thought. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to. Wait a minute, why am I apologizing to you?"
Without a second to think, Ron quickly grabbed the mask with his open hand and pulled it off. He froze the second he recognized her face.
"Kim? What ar-mppph!"
She shut him up with a kiss to the lips.