Chapter 4: Termination
Before Ron knew it, Kim had pinned him to the bed and was pressing her lips hard against his. This wasn't like Kim at all and it almost scared him, but he couldn't resist it, eventually giving in and wrapping his arms around her body.
Five minutes felt like forever, and when it was all over, the two were looking at each other, laying on top of the same bed. Before Ron could say something, Kim held him extremely tight.
"Ron, please don't leave me like that ever again. I am so sorry."
"I should be the one apologizing."
"No Ron, this is all my fault. It was wrong for me to blame everything on you when I didn't tell you of my plan."
"But I sure deserved what I got. No guy should ever hurt you the way I did regardless if it was an accident or not."
"Stop it. I shouldn't have snapped the way I did."
"Not the first time I messed up on a mission, Kim."
"Wrong. It's not the first time we messed up on a mission, Ron."
Ron sighed, seeing that it was pointless to argue with Kim. He did feel a bit relieved though that she came to apologize.
"So, how'd you find me?"
"Wade. I finally got through to him by calling his home phone, and his mom made sure he would talk. He said the signal released by your cell phone was completely destroyed, last detected on the top floor of Bueno Nacho HQ."
With this said, Ron realized that he didn't have his phone on him, probably dropping it when he tried to get everyone out of the boardroom.
"Aw man! I was on the forth level of Metal Slug 3!"
(Author's note: Don't ask me where you can get MS3 on your cell phone. It's called fiction, baby.)
Kim lifted her head from Ron's chest and put her nose on his, "It's okay, Ronnie. I'll buy you a new one."
"I still can't believe I let you call me that."
Kim scoffed, "I still can't believe I let you call me Kimbo all these years!"
The two then held each other as tight as they could as their heads crashed into the pillows. The two continued to talk in darkness.
"I'd love to hug and kiss more, Kim, but I'm tired."
"So am I. I spent the whole day figuring out where you were."
"It's only been two days."
"Two days of having no idea where you were! I was sick and worried! Are you saying you didn't miss me?"
"Of course I missed you," Ron answered with a smug look, "I just kept myself occupied to avoid being depressed out of my mind."
Kim pouted, "See, you can do that. I can't."
"So… no missions, eh?"
"Nope, but I can see you had one."
"What, the Bueno Nacho thing?"
"Yeah, Wade had given me all the video feeds he got on the way over, and I saw you escorting all the board members on the streets and one guy into the ambulance. You're a hero, Ron."
"You don't sound surprised."
"We save lives all the time, Ron. Should I be?"
"I suppose not. Speaking of surprises, what's with the stealth suit again?"
"Wanted to surprise you, but I can see the training at Yamanuchi paid off."
"I think a kiss on the lips like that qualifies as a surprise, Kim."
Despite that the two wanted to talk endlessly, they were far too tired to.
The next morning, the blinding light was more than enough to wake her up, and when she came to, she was slightly embarrassed that she had been wearing her stealth suit the entire time next to Ron. Her parents would have probably killed her and/or Ron if they found out she had been sleeping in the same bed as him, but it wasn't like she had done anything questionable.
Seeing that Ron was still asleep, Kim decided to grab her bag from the other side of the bed and took out some clothes and shower equipment. She figured it would be nice for her to be clean as Ron woke up.
Instead, when she came out wearing a pink shirt and white shorts, she found that Ron was completely awake and watching the news, trying to get any information on what had happened.
"Mornin, Kim."
Kim playfully jumped on the bed and sat next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Anything?"
"Yup, and I'm not sure I'm liking it."
Kim gave Ron a concerned gaze, "Spill."
"This was the first grenade attack in the city, and while some believe it was a terrorist act, it was an assassination attempt."
"Because it was aimed at a specific person or group instead of aiming for mass casualties…?"
"Bingo, and guess whose face is listed as the target?"
A picture of Ron was revealed on the TV as the prime target of the assassination attempt. However, this picture of Ron was taken at a carnival on a date with Kim, having a queasy face, covering his mouth with his hand, and his hair flying back.
"Where'd they get that picture?" Ron practically demanded.
Kim looked mortified, "You think you look bad? I'm out of high school and still haven't made a decent picture!"
As the picture zoomed out, it was revealed that Kim was also in the picture. It was the last thing anyone would want to be seen doing: Picking their nose. Ron actually found himself laughing at the expression Kim was making in the picture, soon finding himself on the floor as Kim kicked him off the bed.
"Not funny, Ron!"
He wouldn't stop laughing, even after she slapped him around with the pillows. To her surprise, he managed to grab her arm and dragged her on top of him, then snatched one of the pillows in her hand and attacked her with it. Clear to say, they broke out in a pillow fight, eventually getting up and chasing each other around the room.
After it was all said and done, Kim stood victorious on the bed.
"Booyah," she spoke with a proud smirk.
However, Ron had a rather surprised expression on his face, "Did you just say, 'Booyah', KP? Just, no."
"Who's standing on top of the bed, Ron?"
"But 'Booyah', Kimbo? That's my line and that so doesn't work on you," he whined.
Instead of answering verbally, Kim just hopped off the bed and gave her boyfriend a raspberry. He fired back with the same weapon, and then it evolved into some kind of raspberry war to see who could last the longest or be the loudest.
This time Ron had the advantage; probably the master of goofy faces, and sticking out his tongue just happened to be among them. Kim tried to fight back, but her tongue was much smaller and she couldn't stick it out as far as she thought she could. As the war went on, however, neither of them realized they were coming closer to each other, not opening their eyes between takes.
It eventually ended with they both 'attacked' simultaneously, both making contact with their tongues.
Romantic? Not with these two. Both of them instantly stopped and frantically rubbed their tongues, all while gibbering absolute nonsense. They had made out a lot in their relationship, much more than their parents would want to know (it's nearing 500), but they hadn't exactly gotten to the level of using the tongue yet. It was too awkward for both of them.
Today's flavor? Morning breath.
Ron came out of the bathroom, "Okay, no harsh feelings, KP, but I'm so not ready for that."
"Ew, tongue? So not yet."
Their little moment was interrupted when a small naked mole rat was rubbing his stomach, whining.
"I guess it's time, huh, KP?"
"I sup-"
Kim was interrupted by a long moaning noise coming from her belly. Her face turned purple when she realized it, more so that Ron and Rufus were bawling on the floor. Just as she covered her face, Ron got up and pulled her hands away so she could see him.
"I'll take that as a yes. I'm gonna shower and after that we'll head off."
Kim just stared at Ron the entire time with an expressionless look on her face. How was he able to tolerate those embarrassing moments the entire time they were dating? Surely any other guy would've been freaked out or thought it was unfeminine or gross, but Ron seemed to like it for some reason. It wasn't like she was completely overdoing it, though.
An hour passed before they were all eating at a fancy restaurant called "Killer Waffles." Kim was quick to think the name, while original, was pushing it a bit, but that didn't stop Ron almost becoming possessed by the aroma of home cooked waffles.
But as he and Rufus found out, they weren't the ones to chow down. In fact, Kim's new eating habits had almost scared them. She ordered twice the food they had, combined, and she just dumped the plate's contents into her mouth, followed by the drink. What took Ron and Rufus at least eight minutes to consume, Kim did it in less than one.
And to finish it off, Kim let out a tiny burp and wiped her mouth with her napkin. She was quick to notice that her boyfriend and his pet were staring at her in awe.
"Sorry about that, but I haven't been eating well the last two days, not to mention I skipped dinner," she innocently beamed.
BEEP BEEP BE BEEP
Ron still had a waffle hanging from his mouth when Kim picked up her Kimmunicator, "Hey Wade, what's happening?"
"I'm guessing you found Ron."
Kim nodded, "How'd you know?"
"You have a thing with not eating well when you're stressed out, and..." Wade paused to inspect Kim's teeth, his eye taking up the entire screen, "You've got a lot of food in your mouth."
Kim turned pale when the Kimmunicator turned into a mirror, showing all the food in her mouth. Without a moment to think, Kim picked up whatever drink she could and rinsed her mouth off.
"Okay, Kim. Not bad. But for the record, hot sauce is not exactly ideal for that kind of situation."
"Hough sauche?" Kim asked with her mouth full. She quickly put the bottle down to see what it was labeled.
Los Mariachis Loco Hot Sauce (The Crazy Mariachis Hot Sauce)
"Hogh suache?" Kim asked again in disbelief as she swallowed the sauce in one gulp, "Who would eat hot sauce with their…"
She noticed that Ron had another order and was putting some hot sauce on his waffles. He had already taken the precaution of ordering two ice cold lemonades for her.
"… never mind."
Ron traded winks with Rufus, "And that hot sauce should be kicking in… three, two, one…"
On zero, Kim's face turned crimson red as the hot sauce kicked in. It was a bad idea to put some in her mouth, but it was a much worse idea to swallow it all, as she felt the burn through her entire body. Noticing the drinks Ron got for her, she quickly sucked both of them down in a few seconds. Now that that was out of the way, she started gasping and hyperventilating for air.
"What was I thinking?" Kim asked herself after a few coughs.
"Pffft. Amateur," Ron taunted, "Bueno Nacho's Diablo Hot Sauce is ten times worse than that."
"Where do you get the stomach for this stuff?"
It took him a few seconds to think, "You know, I never thought about that."
Kim's attention was diverted back to her Kimmunicator when she realized Wade had fallen off his chair, laughing the whole time.
"Please tell me that was the first of many!"
Kim rolled her eyes, "Surely you didn't just call me to see how Ron was in some plan to make fun of me, Wade."
Wade caught himself and managed to pull himself back onto his feet, "Sorry, that was just too much. Well, since Ron hadn't called me about his trip to Bay City, I was sorta worried about him too. You both didn't happen to listen to the news this morning, did you?"
"Sure did," Ron spoke with his mouth full, then playfully answered, "I'm a target for assassination!"
"You make that sound like it's a good thing, Ron. Believe me, it's not. In fact, this is bad. Real bad."
"Are you sure those reports are accurate, Wade?" Kim asked with a half-concerned half-suspicious look in her eyes.
"Based on reports of violence in the city, it appears so. I'll explain. You see, Bay City is largest in corporate sales, deals and handlings, recently beating Go City in just about everything. Right now it's the most expensive city in the country. That said, there's also a lot of crime there, but we're not talking about bank robberies or gang fights. The security in the city is that powerful. But we're talking drug lords, crime syndicates, pretty much the mafia. In fact, records indicate that 87 of all the businesses are involved, Bueno Nacho excluded."
"I knew it!" Ron interrupted, "It's all some diabolical plot against Bueno Nacho!"
"Wade, just continue…"
"Anyway, the discoveries I made revealed that these guys are extremely brutal in their methods. We're not talking about sending five guys to put someone in cement boots. I'd tell you the details, but you're eating. Believe me, it's really brutal stuff."
"So where does Ron fit in?"
"That's the part I'm having a problem with. Most of the violent acts aren't reported to the public at all. That's how much influence these guys have. They have assassins, no doubt about it, but they're trained only to make sure the assignment goes on without any traces. No witnesses, no evidence, no records of it even happening, pretty much erasing the victim from history. Then suddenly, there's an attack with a grenade at Bueno Nacho, a place that doesn't possess any real threat to these groups, and they only go after the heavy competition."
"So basically we've got someone who decided to make their attack public. Sounds like a method to throw these crime syndicates off," Kim analyzed.
"Still sounds like a Bueno Nacho conspiracy theory to me," Ron pitched in.
"Ron, whoever initiated the attack was clearly after somebody in that building. To use a grenade like that, they clearly wanted you taken out and obliterated. The assassins of these crime syndicates don't let their moves be seen. This isn't the case. Someone went out on their own and wanted to take you out and wanted the world to know."
"You don't suppose that whoever this rookie is might be after me too, Wade?" Kim asked with a less concerned look on her face.
"That's a possibility, but there's not enough known information on who they are or what their motives are."
"Is that all you know?"
"That's all I know, and our old friend Nev happened to pitch in half of that information. He moved to Bay City a couple of months ago, some deal with a secret service. He won't give me the details, but he seems to know the city pretty well."
"Good to hear he's doing well," Kim smiled. "Usually we get help from people and never see them again."
"Kim?" Ron asked with a horrified look on his face, "Arrows don't just fall out of the sky and come right at you, do they?"
"What?"
She quickly turned her head to where Ron's eyes were looking at, and out the window appeared to be an arrow moving at high velocity right at them. Or rather, Ron.
"Move!"
Just as the arrow was about to make contact with the window, Kim dived straight past Ron away from the seats, grabbing his hand and taking him with her. Only milliseconds later the arrow shattered through the window and punctured a trash bin. On the floor, Kim tried to cover any kind of debris that was falling to ensure Ron's safety.
Expectedly, just about everyone inside went into a panic and stormed out of the restaurant, but Kim and Ron kept low and out of sight. In a matter of minutes the place was practically empty, but Kim realized by now that the assassin was probably gone, seeing that it was pointless to look out the window to see if she could get a visual. But she did anyway, raising her head high enough to get a clear view from the window, and no deal.
To her surprise, Ron didn't appear to be shaken at all, getting up before her and helping her up.
"Well, I didn't expect for breakfast to be like that…"
"So, convinced now?"
"Yup, but I won't be surprised if Bueno Nacho is involved in their plans."
Kim groaned, before taking note of the arrow that was stuck in the trash bin door, swinging back and forth. It appeared to have a note tied to it, but the arrowhead had a peculiar look to it.
It wasn't just an arrowhead; attached to the end of it was a syringe with silver mercury in it. The thought of someone trying to poison her Ron with mercury was a bit frightening for Kim, but she let Ron have the letter.
"What's it say?"
Ron just showed her the piece of paper itself. It had one word on it:
Tower
"Tower?"
Realizing that she must have dropped the Kimmunicator, Kim frantically went looking for it, finding it exactly where she left it, the table. There was still a communication feed on it.
"Wade? You still there?"
"Kim! Are you two okay?"
"Perfect, but confused. Ron gets attacked again, but this time with an arrow with a syringe tied at the end. It also had a note attached. It only says the word 'Tower' on it."
"A syringe? Filled with what?"
"Mercury." Kim raised the syringe in her hand to show it.
"Blood poisoning. That's brutal. But Tower… I might have to ask Nev about this on-"
"Already on it," another voice interrupted in the background.
Wade was stunned, "Nev? How did you break into this signal?"
"I am the lord of illusions," he laughed before he split the screen in half to reveal himself, "Good to see you again, Kim."
"Hi Nev. Anything about this tower?"
"Well, it may or may not be relevant, but…"
"Spill!" both said in unison.
"Jinx! Hah! You owe me a soda, Kim!"
Kim's eyes narrowed, "Nev…"
"Alrighty, Tower, huh? Tower tower tower… It wasn't some kind of tarot card, was it?"
Kim shook her head as she put the note up to the screen. It was just an empty piece of paper with the word 'Tower' handwritten on it.
"Well, there is a tarot card that's called Tower, and it's one of the worst cards you can get on a reading. It pretty much spells tragedy, death, and the like."
"Isn't there a death card for that, already?" Kim asked with the tiniest bit of knowledge for tarot cards.
"In the world of tarot, some cards don't have obvious meanings. Actually, I recall that the death card isn't actually tragic, but I didn't study tarot for long. It was just a fad that a small group of girls in middle school started. They experimented with them and gave out free readings, and they wouldn't leave me alone until I told them I wanted one. Heathens…"
"And if it's not involved with tarot cards?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. How's Ron?"
"Bomb Diggity!" Ron shouted behind Kim.
"Good to hear. Sorry Wade and I couldn't get a trace on the assassin," he brought up.
"No big," Kim calmly assured him, "If they strike twice in less than 24 hours, we're bound to see them again soon. We'll get 'em."
Wade intervened, "I'll keep my satellites locked for any suspicious activities and keep you all posted."
"Please and thank you, Wade."
"You in on this, Nev?" Wade asked with an inviting tone.
"Sure, why not?" he asked with an unexcited manner, "Beats having to clean the lab and look for the music videos you made and watch them for no reason whatsoever because they are 'teh suck'. Hey, check it out, grandma, I get to do something constructive."
"I'll just take that as a 'yes'," Wade said with little confidence, then cut his communication.
Nev was still on. "So… I'm guessing Ron's taking you out all day, huh?"
The couple just shrugged. "Well, we just let things happen. Why?" Kim asked.
"Just wanted to tell Ron in private to avoid the Sunset Hill Mall because of the Cuddle Buddy store that has a lot in rare stock you won't find in Middleton or most countries and that Kim will probably spend hours and hours and hours there and probably spend a semester of her college tuition on it."
Kim was in disbelief to what she had just heard. "What?"
Nev didn't realize what he had just done. "Oh crap! You didn't hear me say that, did you Kim? Um, me no speak English, habla espanol? Oh man…"
Kim's eyes widened. "Cuddle buddies? I don't remember telling you about my obsession with cuddle buddies!"
"I think my pet penguin just died… in a… uh… car accident… It uh… fell asleep on him… Gotta go!" Nev instantly cut transmission.
Kim slowly turned her head to Ron, who was smiling sheepishly.
"What?"
Her eyes narrowed, "You didn't happen to tell him that, did you, Ron?"
"If I did, I don't remember, but it was an accident."
"Okay, I'll- Hey! Wait a minute!"
Taking no consideration into what had just happened minutes ago, Ron immediately ran out of the restaurant and right into the streets ahead to get as far away from his girlfriend as he could. Kim was quickly in pursuit.
"Ron!"
"Hey, relax! Even a teen hero needs to have her fetishes!" Ron tried to assure her while running.
Kim performed a somersault to get past a taxi, "That's not the point!"
The rest of the day did not go as planned. The two had gone into a chasing game throughout the city, sort of a game of spy versus spy, at least in their minds. Ron's training from Yamanuchi allowed him to scale the buildings as easily as Kim could, except she had the advantage of bringing a lot of her equipment in her pocket. She always brought her grappling hook along with her. Depending on what their plans during the day consisted of, which was nothing on both of their accounts; the game would last from a few minutes to several hours.
The name of the game? Tag.
Ron was running on the roof of a short building, having no idea where Kim had disappeared off to. She had been chasing him for some time, as it appeared the sun was to set soon. Just when all things appeared normal, he felt a finger slide up his back, almost sending him into an explosion of laughter.
"Gotcha."
The time it took Kim to finally catch Ron? Two hours.
"You're getting better at this every time, Ron," she whispered from behind.
"I guess I am, huh?"
Kim's head dropped in ponder. "That reminds me, I totally forgot why I was chasing you in the first place…"
"Beats me." Ron lied to save his hide.
"Hah! I remember now! You owe me a shopping trip!" she beamed with an evil glare in her eyes.
"No! Not again!" Ron whined.
BEEP BEEP BE BEEP
Ron let out a thrilled sigh. "Thank you, Wade!"
Kim let out an exasperated one while she pulled out the Kimmunicator. "Go Wade."
"Where are you guys at?"
"We're on the roof of… Bob's Pizzeria. Why ask?"
Wade seemed to speak in a disappointed tone. "I thought I had a lock on the assassin, but it turns out to be you two. Sorry about that."
Something didn't click for Kim. "Wait, don't your satellites always work on a visual scale? How could you mistake it for us?"
Wade shook his head, "The city has too much electronic equipment that's disrupting the visual signal, so I have to go for a heat signature. It's not perfect, but I thought it worked."
"So there's no trouble?"
"Not at the moment."
"Goodie."
Wade rolled his eyes, realizing Kim was more excited about going to the cuddle buddy store than an assassination attempt on Ron. That's Kim's confidence in the situation for you.
She quickly turned off the Kimmunicator and locked her eyes on Ron. "You owe me a trip to the Sunset Hill Mall, Ron Stoppable."
Ron groaned. "Aw, do I hafta?"
Kim fluttered her eyes innocently. "You mean you weren't going to get me a present?"
Her boyfriend rolled his eyes, "Now where did you get the impression of-"
Behold the puppy dog pout.
"Okay Kim, just no. No no no no no no no no no! That's not going to work on me anymore! As best friends, yes, but dating? That's too much, Kim. There's no way I'm going to spend five more hours in a Cuddle Buddy store!"
Thirty minutes later, Ron was standing outside the Cuddle Buddy store, appearing bored and exhausted. It wasn't that bad when Kim went for these things when she was younger, but one thing he noticed when he started dating her was that she secretly built a collection. He knew she had a thing for them, but not to the point of obsession. That kind of thing died down in her junior or sophomore year – so he thought.
A lot of kids in the store were giving befuddled glares to the redhead girl who was twice their age and acting like she was half. Ron almost hid himself when Kim came out with a bag of at least fifteen of these.
"Two dollars each, Ron!" Kim beamed.
"Nice," he said unexcitedly. His attention was more focused on the little kids who appeared to be petrified of Kim. "Can we go back to the hotel now?"
"Ron, we were there only ten minutes ago."
"Twenty."
"Whatever." Kim put all her new friends into her backpack. "I'm thirsty, Ronnie!"
Ron just put his arms behind his back, "Okay Kim, acting like a little kid who hadn't seen candy in ages was freaking me out. Now you're freaking me out… even more. A lot more."
Kim's innocent and petty expression pretty much dropped. It was weird that Ron, someone who was childish as long as she could remember, was now telling her to act mature. She stuck out her tongue at him and gave him a loud raspberry, not that it countered Ron's point at all.
Kim turned her back to him and started walking off. "Fine, I'll get me a Zero Smoothie!"
Something about that name to Ron, picking up the communication device Nev gave him and pressed a button on it – the only button on it.
Nev didn't even look at the screen, doing some typing. "I see Kim dragged you to the mall."
"Hey, uh, Nev, what was the name of that drink that they serve at the airport?"
"Zero Smoothies – For the people who love the taste of a smoothie with a sweet sweet aftershock that will send your brain to absolute zero. That's the motto, anyway. Supposed to guarantee a killer brain freeze. Why?"
"Uh oh. I think Kim just went on a suicide mission."
"She'll be fine. Keep me on, I gotta hear this."
"Hear what?"
Right on cue, a loud maniacal cry came from the cafeteria and could be heard from outside the mall. It was clearly Kim. Nev and Rufus almost instantly burst in laughter, and eventually Ron gave in, seeing his girlfriend in the distance roll on the floor back and forth holding her head making the most bizarre faces she could make.
It took Nev a few seconds to stop laughing, "I am so saving that and putting in on a DVD. I could give you a copy."
Ron still couldn't hold himself. He also found the situation funny in another way. Earlier, Kim sucked down a bottle of hot sauce without realizing it, and now she sucked down an ice-cold smoothie that gave her massive brainfreeze. He was soon to get a grip on himself.
"I'd better help her or else she'll kill me when she gets up."
"Agreed. Keep it real, buddy." Nev cut transmission.
As Ron said he would, he quickly went to Kim's aid and helped her on her feet. He located two empty seats nearby and helped her there.
"You might want to watch that drink, Kim. It's kinda designed to have the effect of Diablo Sauce, only cold."
Some kid nearby overheard her, "Said to be more fierce than the Arctic regions of earth."
"Oh, I'm a believer." Kim grumbled, based on her own experience in the Arctic regions of earth.
Ron shrugged. "Tell you what, I'll take the Zero Smoothie and I'll buy you something else."
"You're sweet, Ron. Any of these places serve regular smoothies?"
"Lemme ask."
Ron left Kim alone for her to get the pain out of her head, leaving Rufus with her just in case. Seconds later he came back with a cherry cream smoothie, a rare favorite for Kim.
Kim's face rose when he put it on the table. "Ron, you rock."
Ron just shrugged his shoulders modestly. "Hey, it's what I do." He then picked up Kim's old Zero Smoothie and sucked it down.
Soon Ron was the one pounding his head on the table and muttering absolute nonsense. Kim couldn't help but laugh.
The two finally came out of the mall later that night. Kim had held one of Ron's hands in both of hers, excited at the rare collectables she gained.
"Thanks for taking me, Ron."
Ignoring the original reason he took her, Ron just smiled. "I suppose it's been some time since you let yourself go with those things, huh?"
Kim excitedly nodded.
BEEP BEEP BE BEEP
Kim answered. Wade had the assassin tracked.
The lights of Bay City had already engulfed the place in a neon glow. On top of one of the buildings, a dark shadow sits on the edge, studying a hand knife. Realizing the circumstances brought to them, they stood up and stretched.
A voice filter made their voice unrecognizable. "You finally found me."
They didn't even need to turn around to realize that Kim and Ron were behind them, in mission gear and packed. They were ready to finish off a fight that hadn't begun. The assassin was wearing a cloak and some kind of ninja mask, but it, like Kim's stealth suit mask, had no openings to reveal any kind of features. Eyes, mouth, head shape; none of it could be seen.
Kim took a few steps forward, then got into a fighting stance. "So you're the one who's been trying to kill Ron."
The dark figure spoke in a monotone voice. "Quite."
"Why?" Ron barked back.
"Your death will mark the beginning of a greater plan…" the assassin spoke with no emotion in their voice.
"What greater plan?" Kim asked. "You think killing him will just make things work?" The thought of her boyfriend being marked for death was a creepy one. She almost appeared weak.
"You fail to see why this must be done, Kim Possible. To ensure that the plan works, all opposition must be destroyed." The assassin pointed at her. "To destroy your enemy, you must find their weakness, exploit it, and use it against them. When it comes to everyone's favorite teen hero, the research isn't necessary. Your weakness is walking right beside you."
Kim realized that the person the assassin spoke of was no other than Ron. "So, that's why you want Ron taken out."
The assassin merely nodded. "It was also an action to lure you here. Now we can kill two birds with one stone."
Moments like these, Kim really wished she could remove the mask and see who it was, as many of her recent villains used mechanical filters to hide their voice. Their choice of words sounded familiar, but it wasn't who she thought it could've been.
This assassin had a lean feminine build. It wasn't the first time.
"Do you wish to unmask me, Kim Possible?" the monotone figure asked. "I dare you to try. Come!"
The assassin quickly stepped backwards, purposely tripping over the edge and then releasing some kind of grappling cord to pull them elsewhere. Without thought, Kim and Ron were immediately in pursuit, equipped with grappling hooks in their gloves, both launching them at the same time and flying in opposite directions. The assassin gave the two a run for their money, as she twisted and turned into various buildings at the last second, throwing Ron off. He didn't appear to be afraid of heights when he was grappling, since Kim told him over and over to think of himself as Spider-Man, and it worked for the most part. Unlike her partner, Kim already knew exactly where the assassin was going to land. If they wanted a fight, they were going to go for a suitable location, probably a heliport. She wasn't familiar with the city, but she already saw it once. Fortunately, Ron kept behind her, following her every move.
The heliport was getting closer, and just as Kim predicted, the assassin stopped in the middle of it. Team Possible landed there shortly afterward. Just when it appeared that Ron made a perfect landing, he forgot to release his grappling hook, tossing him off balance into the concrete floor. Kim immediately helped him up, then both got into stances.
The assassin followed, getting into a jujitsu fighting stance.
Kim and Ron decided to take a careful approach with this one, walking in a circle around the assassin, but in opposite directions. The assassin was already familiar with their plan; walk in opposite directions in a circular motion, and when they're both on the sides, they'll attack. She predicted right. The second she was between the two, they charged. All the girl had to do was head low and swing her leg, tripping Ron, whose momentum sent him flying into Kim. Any misguided spectator would've thought that Ron tackled Kim. The two were quick to react, quickly getting on their feet.
'Okay,' Kim thought, 'That won't work.'
She looked toward Ron and gave him a slight nod before motioning her head towards the assassin. He got the message.
The two charged at the same time. Ron decided to go in low with a sweep, and Kim went in high with a new technique Ron taught her. It's basically a spinning roundhouse kick that's done in the middle of a back or forward somersault, intended to confuse an opponent. The assassin was familiar with this, unfortunate for Kim, and did a front flip mixed with a kick, flying over Ron's low sweep and kicking straight at Kim in an open area, but it wasn't strong enough to knock her off her feet. If anything, it knocked her back on her feet.
"You bore me," the assassin spoke in a low tone. For someone who sounded like they were dead, she didn't do so bad for defending herself.
Unfortunate for the assassin, Kim and Ron decided to attack just as she finished her line. They both caught her off guard and tried to blind their opponent with a few fists on opposite sides. If the girl tried to defend herself against Kim, she would be bombarded by Ron and vice versa. She soon realized it wasn't difficult to escape this as she went low and rolled in for the escape, leaving Kim and Ron at each other. The two noticed this immediately. Ron caught one of Kim's fists, grabbed the other one and hurled her around in a circle. He threw her straight at the assassin but the girl was able to barely dodge it, attempting to jump out of the way but landed on her side. Kim landed on her feet but her momentum sent her against the gate.
Ron let the assassin get on her feet before he made his move. The assassin noticed this and went to take advantage of this, doing a handspring to get on her feet and then went for a kick for Ron's neck, but he blocked it with his wrist and decided to trip his opponent. Having only one foot to stand on, she easily fell but used her hands to avoid falling on her head. Again she did a handspring to get on her feet, but went after Ron again, this time with a punch. At this point, Ron was used to catching punches in his hands, doing it again, but realizing that Kim was approaching, he decided it was time to finish this.
First, he released his opponent, but followed immediately with an axe kick with his right leg that started high and ended low, striking the girl in the neck and side of the head, forcing her to stagger. With the same foot, he twisted his body and went for a low sweep, but the impact of it sent his opponent high in the air, and just when it appeared she was going to land straight on her head, Kim came out of nowhere and came in with a mid-air dragon kick, a mid-air kick that's powered by your running speed, and the girl went flying into the concrete. She rolled a few times before the gate on the opposite side of the building stopped her. She fell onto her knees, coughing and hacking in an attempt for air.
"Booyah!" the team said at the same time.
Ron immediately groaned and covered his face when hearing this. "Way to kill a moment, Kim!"
She just crossed her arms. "You're not the only guy in the world who says 'Booyah', Ron. And what's wrong with me saying it?"
He pouted and crossed his own arms. "'Booyah' is my word," he whined.
Kim just rolled her eyes, smiling the entire time. The two then had their focus again on their defeated opponent. Kim approached casually, but Ron went in slow.
"Kim, watch out!"
Before Kim realized it, the assassin got on her feet and swung a knife at her. Kim flew back in reflex, but not enough to avoid it. The weapon managed to cut her arm.
"KP!"
Kim backed up to Ron, holding her bleeding arm, "It's nothing. Just a small scratch."
The two raised their heads to see their enemy, now holding a knife in each hand. She was standing and appeared to have more fight in her, but not much.
"You two live up to your name," the girl hissed, "But even if you manage to stop me, this is far from over."
The girl leapt at them with both arms, not anticipating their next attack. When she was in arm's reach, Kim and Ron delivered a palm smash straight in her face and finished it off with a double spinning roundhouse kick, sending her flying back into the gate and the knives out of her hand. One of them flew high into the air, descending back to the ground after the girl hit the gate. The knife was clean but was soon colored red as it sliced the girl's arm in the same place she hit Kim. It wasn't a brutal wound, just enough for it to bleed.
The team got at least a bit of information just by the color of her skin. It was a dark tone, but it could range from several ethnicities; Hispanic, Asian, Indian, Filipino, etc.
Realizing this, the girl realized a part of her cover was blown and it was time to make her leave. Kim and Ron immediately went after her to prevent her from escaping, but the girl got up and went in for a final move that would ensure it. Seeing that Kim and Ron were running side by side, she ran in-between them, grabbing Ron's arm from behind and throwing him straight at Kim. She wasn't able to avoid it. The second the two hit the ground, the girl threw a smoke bomb at them, blinding them but also affecting their breathing. By the time they got up and escaped the smoke, the girl was gone.
"Damn it!" Kim yelled as she slammed her foot into the ground.
Ron didn't like it when Kim cursed, something she did often when a bad guy got away.
"Kim, please don't. Not now. So the bad guy got away, we'll get them," he calmly tried to assure her.
Kim poked at her wound a few times, wincing each time she felt the pain. Before she was about to poke it the seventh time, Ron gently grabbed her arm.
"Let me see that."
He grabbed a bandage from his utility belt and wrapped it tightly around the wound.
"Thanks, Ron. Sorry I got like that, it's just that I thought we were close to having her, and now that we've been in battle, she'll probably be more precise when she tries to get you."
"KP, you worry about me too much. It's okay."
"Is it, Ron? You know if anything ever happened to you I'd never forgive myself for not being able to stop it."
"Kim, chill, alright? It's not like I'm doing this alone. You're the one who's got a cut on her arm, not me."
Kim sighed, "I suppose you're right." Ever since the two started dating, well, even before, Kim would worry when Ron got in trouble or was kidnapped, but those feelings amplified since Prom.
Ron helped her back on her feet, then inspected the area for clues. Distracted by their conversation, Kim had already forgotten why the assassin bailed, but the second she saw the knife with the assassin's blood on it, she pulled it from the concrete with her uninjured arm. Ron recovered the one with Kim's blood on it just in case, and she pulled out her Kimmunicator.
"Wade? When was the last time you performed a blood/DNA test?"
"A couple of months ago, I believe. Lemme guess, you've got a sample from the assassin?"
Kim nodded and held the Kimmunicator toward the knife. It scanned the crimson tip for five seconds before turning off.
"You guys should get some sleep. Seeing that you injured your culprit, they'll probably go into hiding for a day to heal up and plan their next attack. I should have an identity confirmed in the morning."
"Thanks, Wade."
"G'night you two."
"G'night!"
The two were on the elevator of the same building, making their way down to the 15th floor. There was a train station there that would lead them to the hotel. As the elevator made its descent, the two had a small conversation.
"How's your arm?"
"Feels like the bleeding's stopped, and it only hurts when you touch it. I'm still a little frustrated, that's all."
"KP, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Ron."
"You've been frustrated on our missions a lot more often, especially when I'm involved. How… when did this happen?"
Kim shrugged. "I don't know. I never really put a lot of thought into it."
Ron didn't say anything. He could remember that before they went out, Kim was usually cool and calm on her missions. She would sometimes lose her temper when taking on Shego and when Bonnie was in her presence, but that was months ago when the two were in high school and before Shego and Drakken went to prison.
Kim broke the silence. "I guess when I get worried I get frustrated. I really thought we were going to get her right there and then." Ron actually had no idea how crazy Kim went when he went to Bay City alone and didn't leave a trace for Wade or her to get in on. "Is it that bad?"
"When you curse, it kinda worries me."
Kim's eyes spelt guilt. "Sorry that I worry you, Ron." She was sincere in her tone.
Ron thought to himself more. Was this what Kim meant by 'growing up' before? Did it involve everyone on the planet changing for the better or worse? Sure, there were people who needed to change in life because they didn't take life seriously in high school or had no future planned. No one wants to be completely unsuccessful, so there are those who do change themselves to try to become better people. Some succeed, but most fail as old habits die hard. If Ron had tried to change himself, he would be part of the latter, but he had no intention of changing himself. He didn't realize that he was changing, but he was. He grew to be more mature in missions, his buffoonery was low, and his fighting abilities were rivaling Kim's, much more when his Mystical Monkey Powers kicked in, but that only occurred when he desperately needed it to.
Those were on missions, however. As a person, sometimes he would be completely serious when the situation called for it, but that was it. He would stand up for himself and Kim when he needed to, but he was the same goofball Kim had known for years.
Kim on the other hand was not the same person she was in high school. She wasn't a cheerleader, she wasn't part of the honor roll any longer, she didn't help sports activities or the student council. School was over. Such things as the food chain, popularity, Bonnie, and other relevant high school pressures were gone, over, kaput, done. Her high school stress no longer affected her or stressed her any. Some could argue that Ron played a large role in this, and perhaps it was both him and the end of high school that allowed for this to happen. She would never admit it, but a huge part of Kim felt empty now that high school was over. Her extracurricular activities got her into a good college close to Middleton, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to pursue a career in cheerleading since her primary focus was science. She also wasn't sure where to achieve in that field as well. Astronomy? Chemistry? She had to think deeper than that.
One thing that didn't change in her was her will to help people. Perhaps this was what she wanted to do. Maybe she wanted to find cures for diseases, use technology to help people or replace lost organs or limbs.
Kim wouldn't admit it, but inside she felt a bit lost. The only things that kept her alive was that she was the girl who could do anything and save the world, and Ron was always there for her no matter what. She became a better person with him around, letting go of labels and images that high school was infested with, and she decided to let her personality fly. There was no need to act a specific way to maintain an image in high school. There was no point; there was no more high school.
Even the world famous Kim Possible had her own insecurities. But it wasn't enough to keep her chained to the ground. Thanks to Ron, she had developed her own personality much further, with a lot of influence from him unintended. He really did help fill out that large hole inside of her.
But her attitude on missions became more fierce over the months. Sometimes she grew angry and wouldn't allow the villain any mercy in combat. Sometimes she grew angry and would threaten the villains in ways that would make them crawl under their bed at night. It was always directed at the enemy, though. Never Ron nor her family or friends.
Ever since she knocked Shego into the communications tower at Bueno Nacho HQ, she got a new thrill for battle in her missions. But often Ron's health and life would be at risk, and that only made things worse. Ron wasn't without his angry moments, either. Whenever Kim, Rufus or Bueno Nacho was in danger, he would become someone different.
One way to look at it was that Kim and Ron were becoming like each other in a lot of ways. Ron was becoming more like Kim on missions, and Kim was becoming more like Ron in everyday life.
The elevator had come to a stop on the 15th floor. Ron assisted Kim onto the train. There were a lot of people that noticed Kim was wounded, so they got out of the way. There were two seats available in the middle, where the two sat.
Ron put one arm around her and the other on a nearby bar. "Careful, it's a bit shaky when it starts up."
Kim yawned as she sat down and leaned her head on Ron's shoulder, "I'll be fine."
The two were long asleep in the hotel room, sleeping in the same bed again.
BEEP BEEP BE BEEP
Both groaned, refusing to wake up. Kim was able to get a glimpse of the clock: 12:48 AM.
BEEP BEEP BE BEEP
Kim reluctantly grabbed the Kimmunicator from the shelf where the phone and clock were.
"Wade, do you know what time it is?"
"It's almost three by my time. Near one on yours."
"What are you doing up this late?" Kim asked weakly.
"I've ID'ed the assassin, but I needed to check it over and over again."
"Kim?" Ron asked from beside her. "What's the matter?"
"Wade says he's got an ID of our assassin."
"Can't it wait until morning?"
Wade shook his head on the screen. "You're not going to like this when you see it Ron, but believe me, I've checked over ten times."
"Show us."
On a picture appeared the assassin's identity. Both Kim and Ron were almost instantly awakened when they realized who it was.
"That can't be…"
"YORI?"