Thanks to: All who are still reading at this point…
Note: All chapters will be pretentiously labeled with Roman numerals.
I.
"You know Ron, we better hurry." Kim said with a knowing smile.
The police van carrying Drakken wasn't even out of sight and Kim was already thinking of something else. Whatever it was, Ron couldn't figure it out.
"Hurry where?" He asked, throwing an inquisitive look at Rufus.
"You'll see," she said lightly, taking him by the hand and leading him back to his scooter.
The boosters flared up and the scooter rocketed away. An hour ago, the sensation of a scooter powered by an experimental rocket fuel was something of a novelty for them, Ron especially. But now he barely paid attention to the task of piloting the bike. His mind was very much on other things.
Many other things, in fact.
He had taken the opportunity to express his feelings to Kim while they were tied up in Bueno Nacho headquarters. He wanted her to know how he felt about her in case this seemingly final mission went bad for them. It certainly appeared as though Drakken would be successful this time. But there were other reasons. Ron knew her better than anyone else. Just now, when the world needed her most, she had become discouraged. Somewhere deep inside him, in a place he didn't quite understand, Ron knew that was the time to tell her there was a guy out there for her.
Out there…in here.
He had watched her reaction keenly, trying to tell if she was acceptable to the idea, or repulsed. He never got the chance. Before he could tell Kim how he really felt about her, Rufus had interrupted them.
But the encouragement aspect seemed to work. Kim found strength and purpose again, and instead of running away or trying to escape, they went on to take down Drakken.
And Eric as well, but Ron didn't want to think too much about that. The guy just melted. Ewww.
Ron weaved in and out of traffic, maneuvering through the other vehicles as though they were standing still. He became acutely aware that her arms had gradually tightened around him. Was she trying to steady herself on the speeding scooter? Or was she embracing him? Suddenly, everything seemed to have a potential double meaning, and it was then Ron wondered if he was just imagining it all.
Maybe that was it.
Maybe she was going to pretend like he had never said anything. At school Monday, she would act like they were still friends, and hope that Ron wouldn't ask her what she thought about what he had said. Then she wouldn't have the painful task of trying to let him down without hurting his feelings.
Ron began to feel sorry for himself. What had he done? Did he just take the longest friendship – the only real friendship – he had ever had in his life and toss it away in favor of trying to score a date with Kim Possible? Well, no, that couldn't be it, at least not exactly. Ron didn't see her as some kind of trophy. He respected her. He loved-
Realization.
He was in love with her.
And though this thought should have been a joyous one, it only deepened his self-pity. He'd ruined everything; their friendship, the team, everything. He tried to push the thought away, but it nagged at him. He wanted to go back in time and take it all back, find some other way to help Kim get her motivation back. Maybe it would have been worth letting Drakken win in order to save the friendship.
Ron began to blink back tears as he realized he had very likely thrown away a friendship that had begun more than ten years ago.
"Are you all right?" Kim yelled against the noise of the wind and the scooter and the roar of the boosters.
"Yeah!" Ron responded in a choked voice, "The wind makes my eyes water."
Kim could tell that really wasn't the reason, but she didn't press the issue. She guessed Ron was worrying over what he had told her back at BN headquarters. Truth be told, she was a little worried herself.
She considered ignoring everything Ron had said to her, and showing up at school Monday, acting as if nothing had happened between them. But would that be fair to Ron? Would that even be fair to her? Originally she had decided to just take him to the Prom. They could celebrate what was likely their greatest victory over Drakken. But even though she knew Ron was trying to be encouraging, in the way that only he could be, there was something deeper in what he was trying to tell her.
She thought about Eric, and how Bonnie's words about the 'food chain' and all that nonsense had actually gotten under her skin. Then she thought back to Josh Mankey. In hindsight, it seemed she liked him because he had turned down Bonnie. Was that what made him such a hottie? It certainly seemed to be the reason they ended up drifting apart. When she got to know Josh, she discovered there really wasn't a whole lot there that interested her. He wasn't a terrible person or anything like that, he just wasn't her type. And she didn't see the point in continuing the relationship if it wasn't going to grow into something deeper. Such was the mentality of the superhero; everything was a goal to be accomplished (or conquered), or it wasn't worth doing.
Kim wasn't interested in the shallow relationships that typified high school. Dozens of guys had asked her out, but they weren't all that interested in who Kim really was. They were all looking for a trophy, and Kim could spot them a mile away. Eric seemed different. He seemed to be genuinely interested in her.
But that was because he was programmed to be interested in her.
And she realized there actually was a guy who really was interested in the real Kim, and she had her arms around him right now. Sure, part of it was to steady herself on the scooter, but if she wanted to do that, she probably didn't need to hold on this tight.
She was seeing Ron in a different light now. A flood of memories came through her; memories that seemed to have deeper meaning under this new light. Ron throwing away his job at Bueno Nacho because she needed him when Drakken had her tied up in a building made entirely out of cheese.
Abstractly, she wondered how Drakken had gotten those iron clamps to stay anchored in the gooey cheese.
Then, of course, there was the time when he was excelling in Home Economics class. Barkin had put him in charge. It was pretty much Ron's time to shine. And Kim, unused to having Ron teach her anything, begged Wade to give her a mission. As it turned out, Shego and Senor Senior Jr. had committed a string of petty thefts in Europe. And when she took the mission, did Ron complain, gripe, or refuse to go with her?
Nope.
And let's not forget the time Ron risked his life to go to South America to retrieve a rare flower for her; the pollen of which she needed as an antidote to a toxin that was causing he to embarrass herself to death. Oh, and just to pile on the guilt, let us remember that she went out on a date with Josh when she was supposed to be in her room.
One final memory came sailing into her mind that seemed to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. It was a memory of that summer when they went to her uncle Slim's ranch in Montana, when her cousin Jocelyn had developed a crush on Ron. Originally, Jocelyn was obsessed over Kim's life as a hero. But after they had thwarted Drakken's attempt to position himself as the world's most intelligent person, Jocelyn had seen something in Ron that Kim hadn't really picked up on. Joss spoke of her admiration for Ron because he always seemed to be afraid, but didn't let it stop him from charging in when he was needed.
How many times had she witnessed Ron conquer his fear?
Ron could have walked away from Team Possible any time. He could have said "This just isn't for me" and they probably would have remained friends. But he kept at it. In fact, he did so with a cheerful attitude. Even when he was complaining, it always came out sounding like he was half joking. But he never seemed to want to quit, even though at times she would wake him up in the middle of the night and drag him halfway around the world. And it just now occurred to her that he did it all for a reason. A reason that even he probably wasn't aware of.
Realization.
He was in love with her.
And she with him.
Kim felt a flush of tingles at the thought. She was in love with Ron Stoppable.
They pulled up to her house. Kim got off the bike and Ron looked at her, patiently awaiting his next instructions. He knew her well enough to know she would tell him everything he needed to know. And he trusted that everything she told him was enough. Suddenly, all of his actions seemed to have a double meaning to her.
"Go home, get your tux on, and be back here as soon as you can," she said, smiling and winking at him.
Ron looked surprised, but said nothing and rode off.
Kim went inside, completely forgetting that a Diablo-bot had nearly destroyed their house less than two hours ago. There was a note on the kitchen table: 'Went to pick up some dinner, be back soon. Mom.'
Kim raced upstairs and stopped short when she saw her dress on the bed. At first, she wondered if she should put on something else. After all, she had bought that dress because Eric told her she should, and she wanted to impress him. But she realized in hindsight that Eric would have said what he said even if she was wearing a garbage bag over her head. He was programmed, in essence, to seduce her.
But why was it, with Ron in the next changing booth trying on pants, she had chosen a dress the exact same color as Ron's tux? Was her subconscious trying to tell her something? And weirder still, the burn marks left by the Diablo-bot earlier that evening seemed to transform the dress into a psychedelic sort of companion to the frills on Ron's shirt. Were there greater forces at work here? Or was her subconscious mind desperately trying to say that Ron was the guy for her?
She pealed off her battlesuit and slipped into the dress.
Well, what if-?
"Grrr" she growled in frustration, clenching her fists. She pushed all those thoughts away. Enough with the teen angst. Did everything have to be analyzed, scrutinized and deconstructed? This was Ron, and he was her best friend. Her best, best friend.
Love should be exciting and new.
Where had she heard that before? And why did it make her think of cruise ships?
Anyway, a relationship with Ron should be fun, not all angst-y. Whatever their romance was to become, there was one thing she was determined that it would not be.
So not the drama.
Outside, the sounds of scooter and rockets.
She dashed into the bathroom, hurriedly applied make-up, pulled her hair back into a ponytail and ran a brush through it. Not perfect, but with another rush of tingles, she realized Ron probably wouldn't notice. Not because he didn't see her beauty, but precisely because he saw beyond it.
And yet, he still noticed something.
"Wow!" He exclaimed, "You look totally amazing. I think Syntho-boy would be jealous if he knew you didn't pretty yourself up this much for him."
She blushed.
Ron actually made her blush! This was a first. What did it mean if -?
Woops, there she went again.
No more questions. No more angst. It was just her and Ron, like it had always been. Maybe like it always would be.
"Maybe I didn't want to look this good for him," she said lightly, climbing on the scooter.
Ron was completely caught off guard by that. And she liked it.
"To the Prom!" She cried out, dramatically pointing her finger into the distance.
"Um…actually, KP, the school is back that wa-"
He caught her glare.
"To the Prom it is!" He declared cheerfully.
The scooter swung around, the rockets fired up, and Kim put her arms around her new boyfriend, laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. Who needed a food chain when you had your best friend for a date?
Ten minutes later, they pulled up to the gym. Music was blasting away, while lights flashed and spun. Everyone was inside. Suddenly it occurred to both of them that they were about to be seen in public as a couple. What would everyone think? As much as they both tried to ignore thoughts of peer pressure, and gossip, and potential disapproval from people – some of whom they didn't like anyway – there was still that nervousness, gnawing at both of them.
When they reached the door, Ron stopped and spoke quietly.
"I'll understand if you want to back out of this, KP."
"I don't" she said firmly, looking into his eyes.
He smiled, but they were still both quite nervous. She slipped her hand into his.
"You're sure this is what you want?" He asked one last time.
"I do", she said happily, smiling at him.
"Then," the Rabbi continued, "By the powers vested in me. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Kim turned toward him expectantly. Ron gently lifted the veil up over her face and took her in his arms.
The sanctuary erupted in applause.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my happy privilege to introduce to you, Ronald and Kimberly Stoppable."
Louder applause, this time accompanied by cheers. The newlyweds turned to face everyone and smiled. Certainly the guests were happy for the couple, but many of them were also relieved that no giant robots came crashing through the roof this time.
Needless to say, it was quite the tense moment when the Rabbi asked if anyone knew of any just cause why these two should not be married…
"Just a moment," came a voice from the groom's party. It was Jim.
The entire groom's party, which consisted of Wade, the Twins, and Felix Renton, gathered in a huddle and began whispering to each other.
Ron and Kim were mortified.
The Rabbi – who had been clued in earlier on the joke and was patiently waiting – delivered his line.
"Boys," he said gravely, "If you have a reason these two shouldn't be married, now's the time to speak up."
Ron was still nervous, but Kim began to suspect something.
"We've double-checked everything," Jim said finally, giving the Rabbi a thumbs up, "I think we're OK."
"Glad to hear it," The Rabbi replied.
Kim shot her brothers a dirty look.
Ron breathed a sigh of relief. Some of the relief he felt was due to the fact that the last six months had finally passed. Was their high school reunion really only half a year ago?
They had resumed their relationship with the agreement that they couldn't just pick up where they had left off six years earlier. But after a couple of rather awkward dates, in which they tried to act as if everything was brand new and they had to get to know each other all over again, they couldn't help but fall back into almost exactly where they had been when Ron ended it. It just seemed pointless to act as though they weren't in love. Mostly, though they had agreed to date casually because of the fact that Kim had been recently engaged to Raymond Beam.
But in an ironic bit of history repeating itself, Kim found that she felt about as much for Raymond as she had for Eric when she found out he was a Syntho-drone. Indeed, Raymond was very much like a Syntho-drone in the respect that he appeared to be someone he wasn't. So in essence, Raymond wasn't real, at least in the sense that he wasn't the person she thought she was engaged to. In fact, that person apparently didn't exist, and it had all been part of some elaborate plan in which Raymond would take over the world, and Shego would have some sort of revenge on her.
Kim had once told Shego she hated her. That was in high school, the night of the Prom. In retrospect she realized she really didn't hate her foe. It seemed Shego, in what must have been a bitter irony for her, actually suffered more as a result of her relationship with Raymond than Kim had.
Of course she'd heard that Shego had escaped, and figured Drakken had something to do with it. But it wasn't enough to motivate Kim to go hunting for her arch foes. Truth was, if Shego hadn't gotten involved with Raymond, Kim would very likely be married to him right now. Not a pleasant thought.
So after that first couple of awkward weeks, Kim and Ron sat down to talk about their relationship. Ron told her he was trying to give her space so she could get past her relationship with Ray. She confirmed there were no feelings as far as the engagement with Raymond was concerned. He was a villain, and that's as far as her feelings went for him. Then Ron asked her point blank if perhaps her feelings weren't the result of everything that had happened; the intensity, being trapped in Kim's lab, stuff like that. She assured him that wasn't the case.
So they resumed their engagement, and set a wedding date for six months hence. For the most part, everything fell back into that old familiar feeling, like returning to your home town after a few years absence. Most of it was the same, but a few things were different. After all, they had both changed in the previous six years. On the other hand, they both felt as though they were becoming their old selves again.
Kim shut down her research for awhile, and went into training. She decided she'd get back into hero work after the wedding. Ron continued to occupy the role of Ronin, and often went on missions with the Twins. He felt almost naked without the Lotus Blade, and a couple of times he found himself in situations where he really could have used it. But he managed somehow.
In the meantime, Ron and Kim went shopping for a house. It was rather a frustrating search. Hey both wanted to be relatively close to their parents, but not too close. Most of the houses, though, were either boring prefab suburban homes that all looked alike, or ridiculously pretentious mansions that begged the world to recognize the fact that the owners were wealthy. Then one day, Ron found a piece of property in the Middleton foothills. It had once been a ranch, and the Ranch House itself was a modest single story building. But on the remotest corner of the property was a small lake with meadows around the southern end, beyond which was a stunning view of Middleton and the surrounding valley. The Northern edge of the lake was mostly forest with a fifty foot bluff that dropped right into the water. Ron bought the property and commissioned an architect to design and build a modest home on the bluff. One whole side would be almost nothing but windows overlooking the lake and the valley beyond. The entire second story was to be a loft that would be their bedroom and private bathroom. A balcony extended out from the loft on the west side of the bedroom, one end of which overlooked the lake. Ron had a hot tub installed on that end. Into the bluff was dug a huge basement. When Kim initially saw it, she called it the lair, because it did indeed look like a smaller version of the lairs of so many of the foes they had battled. But Ron intended for this to be their base of operations for hero work, much like the Ferret Hole.
"Please tell me that's not what you're going to call it," Kim had insisted.
"No," Ron assured her, "We'll come up with something catchy. Don't worry."
Kim suggested calling it 'The Grotto', but Ron hated that word. Ultimately, Ron was never able to come up with anything, and they simply settled on The Basement.
The house was surrounded on all sides by ranch property. Ron originally intended to give Kim the Ranch house to convert into a lab, but it really wasn't the type of structure you could just turn into a lab without major modifications. Kim felt for the most part that she only needed a corner of the Basement to set up a workstation and begin her artificial brain research all over again. Ron was happy to oblige, and it was convenient for Kim if a mission ever came up. She would be right there, after all. For the time being, however, they would be living in the ranch house while construction on the main house was completed. All in all, it was perfect for them, and their needs. Both parents' homes were less than a half hour away, and Ron installed a privacy gate where their driveway (which was really more of a road since it was almost two miles long) met the main road, mostly for security reasons, but also because he knew his mother was the type of person who dropped in on people unannounced.. An intercom would alert them to anyone who wished to visit. Both of them were looking forward to making this their home.
Kim and Ron were definitely having an effect on each other. Kim was rediscovering her old independent spirit, as though she were finding a favorite childhood toy in the attic. And Ron, in many ways, was reverting to his old goofy self. Not completely, but some days Kim looked at him as though she were seeing ten years into the past. All of this, of course, was a good thing. Each of them was discovering the person they had fallen in love with ten years before.
"All right people, LISTEN UP!" shouted a familiar voice, "The regular DJ who was hired for this reception came down with a case of temporary deafness, and since he's my cousin, he asked me to fill in for him."
Ron couldn't believe his ears. Kim suspected yet another prank on the part of her brothers.
"I can assure you," Steve Barkin continued, "That I have an ample selection of the latest grooves, as well as some old dance favorites. So I want to see some shakin' out on that dance floor. Come on, people, chop chop!"
"Barkin's our DJ?" Ron asked his new wife.
"Yes, Ron," Kim said in a bemused tone, "Because life just hasn't been weird enough for us."
The wedding reception was in a large temporary pavilion set up near the lake on their property. There was a huge catered dinner, followed by all the usual reception traditions (Monique caught the bouquet, Felix caught the garter), and then most of the tables were cleared away to make room for the dance floor.
The newlyweds didn't do much dancing at first, they were occupied with greeting and talking to all the guests. Just about everyone who was invited managed to make it. Most of their friends from High School and college were there, as were most of their families, such as the cousins Sean, and Larry. Kim's cousin Jocelyn had grown into a very beautiful young woman. She still carried a small torch for Ron, but was genuinely happy for them. Josh Mankey and his wife were there. As was most of their high school class, and some of their respective spouses. Brick Flagg was a used car salesman these days, and he'd let himself go somewhat; the poor guy had already been divorced and remarried, and was separated from his current wife. The reception was actually a welcome break from his dreary life.
Kim and Ron were given a virtual mountain of gifts. But they also received four big surprises that evening.
The first was from Bonnie. Kim hadn't seen her since their second year in college, after Bonnie and Junior had gotten married. Kim was at GCU, and Ron was still going to Lowerton Community college. They were on a date. Wade had called…
Saturday night, and Kim had driven from Go City to Middleton to spend time with her family and her boyfriend. She and Ron were at the movies, enjoying the newest 'Space Conflict' prequel titled 'Episode 32: This Time It Really Is Over'.
The Kimunicator beeped. Ron grabbed it.
"What's the Sith, Wade?"
"Bad pun, Ron" Wade said, rolling his eyes, "Really…just awful. How's the movie?"
"Surprisingly good! Especially considering how horrible the last two were."
"What actually is the Sith- er – sitch, Wade?" Kim said, snatching the Kimunicator from Ron.
"Got a hit on the site from a research lab in Barcelona. Someone's stolen a top secret project called Powerdrain. It's a device that absorbs electricity in massive quantities, and can also discharge it in massive quantities." Wade explained.
Sitting on Ron's shoulder, Rufus chattered and pointed all around them.
Several glares and angry comments reminded them they were still in a movie theater. They made a hasty exit.
"OK," Ron said when they got outside, "Why is it that top secret research facilities are always building devices that inevitably fall into the wrong hands?"
"Originally, it was supposed to be used in conjunction with large capacity electrical storage cells in areas of the third world where building a power plant would be too environmentally hazardous." Wade continued.
"Makes sense," Kim observed, "So who would want such a device?"
"This is where it gets weird," Wade responded, "The research lab sent me an image of the energy signature, so I could scan for it. I found it, but it's on a tiny island off the European coast. Care to guess who owns that island?"
"J.Lo?" Ron queried, "Britina?"
"You're close with the pop stars, Ron," Wade hinted.
Kim guessed it, "Senor Senior Junior."
"That's the one," Wade answered.
"Wait a minute," Ron was doing some addition in his head, "Aren't he and Bonnie married?"
"Hey, that's right!" Kim realized.
"Could be Bonnie's turned to villainy," Wade theorized.
Kim shook her head, "I always suspected she might go bad."
"Maybe, but look at it this way, KP, at least now you might get to kick some Bonnie biscuit," Ron enthused.
"Hmmm," Kim sounded tempted, "And it wouldn't even go on my permanent record. Well, let's at least look into it. Got a ride for us, Wade?"
"Yep, hope you guys are ready to get wet." Wade joked.
"Huh?"
"The Navy's got a new high-speed submarine prototype."
"Baddical!" Ron pumped his fist, "I don't think we've done a submarine yet."
Several hours later, a bullet-shaped submarine began to decelerate off the coast of a small Island in the Atlantic near Portugal. After it reached a safe speed, it surfaced and coasted to a stop near the beach. Three people climbed out of the hatch.
"Thanks for the lift, Captain Annapolis," Kim said.
"Think nothing of it," the Captain replied, "It's the least the Navy could do after you saved our aircraft carrier."
"Oh, it was no big," Kim said with a dismissive wave, "anyone could have plugged that breach in the hull. I just happened to be the only one who had gum."
The sub surged ahead through the surf and extended a forward gangplank. Kim and Ron still had to wade through the shallow water to get up to the sand, after which the gangplank retracted and the sub slid backwards below the surface.
"Aw, man," Ron was complaining already, "Wet shoes and sand do not mix! You know, Whoever made this planet could have made the beaches out of cotton, or non-stick Teflon or something. Maybe keep the sand in the desert where there isn't any water."
Kim just rolled her eyes and made her way up the beach.
Rufus slept in Ron's pocket.
As expected, most of the lights in the compound were on. Kim and Ron grappled themselves up and over the high walls that surrounded the place. When they dropped into the courtyard, near the pool, they heard a familiar voice.
"I think this time, we will take the planet by storm," Junior was upstairs near an open window.
"Definitely, sweetie." They heard Bonnie reply, "This one will like, totally dominate."
"Guess I've heard enough," Kim whispered.
"Grapplers?" Ron asked quietly.
"Yep."
The grapplers were attached to the wrists of their battlesuits, they latched the bottom ledge of the window and hauled themselves up. Kim deftly swung herself over the windowsill, somersaulted once, and landed in a combat-ready stance. Ron, as expected, tried the same, but wound up planting his face in the carpet.
The first thing they heard was a rather effeminate squeal. It came from Junior.
"Intruders!" He shrieked and scrambled to get into his robe. Ron and Kim were thankful for this, as Junior was wearing only a pair of leopard-skin-pattern speedo-type briefs. Bonnie, startled, was sitting up in bed. She had pulled the covers up around herself, despite the fact that she was wearing silk pajamas. She had some sort of greenish skin cleanser smeared all over her face.
Team Possible had just broken into the Seniors' bedroom.
"Uh…" was all Ron could manage to get out.
"Where is it, Junior?" Kim demanded.
"Where is what?" Junior was just tying his robe.
"The device you stole. The device called Powerdrain." Kim explained.
Bonnie, realizing who it was, crossed her arms and glared at Kim. They hadn't seen each other in almost two years.
"There had better be a really good explanation for this," Bonnie fumed.
"We tracked a stolen top secret device to this island," Ron pointed a finger at Junior.
"And you think I have stolen it?" Junior asked, incredulous.
"We heard you talking about your evil plan just now," Kim stated, "And we've come to shut you down."
Bonnie's eyes narrowed, "Eavesdropping, Kim? This is how you save the world? By listening in on people's private conversations?"
"My wife and I were merely discussing the prospects of my latest album." Junior explained.
"Your latest album?" Ron asked, losing focus.
"Yes," Junior responded, "My last one was a big hit in Germany. But then, so was David Hasselhoff, so I do not consider it a monumental achievement. Bonnie thinks my new one is much better, and I must agree. It blends the funky disco grooves with the smooth Latin rhythms. It's called: Senor Soul."
"What does that have to do with Powerdrain?" Kim tried to steer the conversation back on track.
"We don't know what your power thingy is!" Bonnie fumed, "All we were talking about was how well we think Junior's album is going to do on the European pop charts."
"I am to be Britina's opening act for her European tour," Junior sounded very excited.
"Nice!" Ron observed, "You know, I asked her out once."
"Oh, yes?" Junior was intrigued, "What did she say?"
"Couldn't say 'no' fast enough," Kim informed him, she took out her Kimunicator, "Wade, do you still have a location on Powerdrain?"
"It's still there, Kim" Wade said, "Let me do a close-up scan of the island."
Silence for one very awkward moment. Everyone was relieved to hear Wade's voice again.
"I've got it," Wade said hurriedly, "It's on the beach to the north, and it seems to be moving. There's a small watercraft in the cove."
"Someone's taking it off the island!" Ron came to a realization.
"And they used Junior as the distraction," Kim finished his thought, "Let's go."
Kim vaulted out of the window and lowered herself to the ground with the grappler. Ron decided to take the stairs, Junior went with him.
"What did Kim Possible mean by saying I am the distraction?" Junior asked as they sprinted toward the beach.
"Whoever actually stole Powerdrain probably knew we would come looking for it," It was actually quite difficult to carry on a conversation when sprinting, "So they planted it here and waited for us to show up. They knew we'd come looking to you for answers, so they figured they could sneak it away while we were interrogating you about it. Then, when we didn't find it, whoever they are would be long gone with their prize."
Kim was already on the beach. Powerdrain was apparently not that large. It was being loaded into an inflatable raft by an older man. He was five feet tall, wore thick glasses, and had bushy white hair. Inexplicably, he was wearing a white lab coat.
"Drop the stolen merchandise, whoever you are," Kim ordered.
The man calmly halted what he was doing and regarded her casually.
"Ah, Kim Possible," He said in an almost friendly tone, "I have been looking forward to meeting you."
"Who are you?" She demanded. Ron and Junior came running up at that moment.
"I am happy to introduce myself to you. I am Doctor Cody Pendant, the world's most dangerous pharmacist." He took a grandiose bow.
"'Dangerous' and 'Pharmacist' aren't words you often hear in the same sentence," Ron observed.
"Indeed," Pendant agreed, "These days, it pays to specialize in the field of villainy if you wish to make a name for yourself."
"I'm afraid you're not making a name for yourself today," Kim informed him, "We'll be taking that off your hands."
"I do not believe that will be the case," Pendant said coolly.
"Dude, let me explain something to you," Ron's voice took on a lecture tone, "Since you're new at this, maybe you don't quite understand. There are three of us, and only one of you. The score's in our favor. Game over, you lose."
Pendant reached into his lab coat and pulled out a small communicator.
"Do you have her?" he asked.
"The hostage is secure," came a crackly reply. In the background Bonnie was heard angrily demanding that she be let go.
"Bon Bon!" Junior shrieked and took off running back toward his house, waving his hands in the air.
"Eliminate her if you do not hear from me in three minutes," Pendant spoke into his communicator again, "Thank you for falling into my trap, Ms. Possible. I did not expect it would be this easy on our first encounter."
Kim turned and sprinted back toward the compound, calling over her shoulder, "Stay here and deal with Pendant."
"Waaahhh!" Ron cried defiantly, getting into a fighting stance.
Pendant ignored him and resumed loading the small crate into the raft.
"What does a pharmacist need with Powerdrain anyway", Ron demanded.
"Oh, good, my first evil rant," Pendant said, rubbing his hands together. "I have a special room in my lair that uses a great deal of electrical power. I call it the detox chamber."
"Whatever, dude, just hand it over."
"Are you sure you want to leave Kim Possible in such peril?"
"She can take care of herself."
"Against fifty highly trained henchmen? I doubt that very much."
"Fifty?" Ron asked, suddenly unsure of himself.
Pendant nodded, "You could take the Powerdrain now, but I do not think Kim will survive if you continue to waste time down here with me."
Ron took a step forward menacingly, hesitated, checked himself, then turned and ran back toward the compound.
Pendant chuckled, shook his head, and went back to his work.
Up at the compound Kim vaulted over the wall to find Junior standing near the pool, facing three henchmen, all wearing white lab coats. Bonnie could be heard yelling from the bedroom. Kim didn't hesitate, she charged at the nearest guard, leaped into the air, used that guard to swing her legs around and take out the middle one. Dropping lightly onto the concrete, she drove a hard elbow into the midsection of the first guard. He folded, gasping for air. Junior, remembering some of the training Shego had given him, went after the third guard. It took a little longer, but that guard went down as well.
"Not another step!" Yelled a henchmen out the bedroom window, "Or the wife gets it!"
"We need to figure out a way to get her out of there," Kim said quietly to Junior, "Then we can deal with the remaining guards."
An idea popped into Junior's head.
"Bon Bon!", he shouted up to the bedroom window, "Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you, darling!" came Bonnie's voice sounding far away.
"Cannonball!" Junior shouted as loud as he could.
A second or two of silence, then gruff voices could be heard yelling upstairs.
"Hey!"
"Grab her!"
"Don't let her-"
Kim looked up. Bonnie came sailing out the bedroom window head first. She half somersaulted, tucked herself up into a ball and plunged into the pool with a tremendous splash.
Kim's jaw dropped in amazed amusement.
"I used to do that as a child," the pride in Junior's voice was obvious, "It greatly annoyed my father. I thought it would annoy her as well, but she thought it was pretty cool. I taught her that trick."
Junior and Kim walked over and helped Bonnie out of the pool.
Kim couldn't help herself, "Nice cannonb-"
"Not one word," Bonnie growled at her.
Ron came tumbling over the wall at that moment.
"OK," Ron panted, "Don't panic. We can get out of this."
"Ron," Kim said putting her hands on her hips, "Where's the Powerdrain?"
"Pendant still has it," Ron replied, "He said you were dealing with fifty highly trained…. He lied to me, didn't he?"
Kim nodded.
"When am I going to stop taking what the bad guy says at face value?" Ron whined angrily, smacking himself in the forehead.
Kim stepped close to him, "You're very trusting, Ron. It's one of the things I love about you."
"Are you two, like, still dating?" Bonnie scowled at them.
"Are you still married?" Ron shot back.
"OK," Kim interjected, "We can safely assume this Pendant guy is long gone by now, so why don't we at least go take down some henchmen? You coming, Junior?"
"As long as they do not damage my voice box, then I am in," Junior confirmed.
"Wade," Kim pulled out the Kimunicator, "We're gonna need transportation for about twelve henchmen."
"Twelve?" Ron fumed, "That's it?"
"Eurocops are on their way," Wade answered.
"Eurocops?" Kim raised her eyebrows.
"They're kind of like Global Justice, but European."
"Whatever, as long as they're the authorities." Kim said dismissively.
From within the house came a roaring sort of whine, then things began to crash and break.
"Spinning tops of doom!" Junior cried, running toward the house.
"You guys kept those?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"It was supposed to be a security measure to drive off the hordes of screaming fans." Junior lamented over his shoulder.
"Never been used, I'm guessing," Kim said wryly.
Bonnie glared at her.
"Going!" Kim grinned sheepishly. She and Ron ran after Junior.
The Spinning Tops Of Doom were set off as a distraction to try and allow the henchmen to make their escape. Having been taken in once already, Team Possible wasn't having any of it. While Junior ran around the house trying to keep some of his prized music awards from being damaged (things like the German Grammy for "Best New Artist For An Album Cover" or the Lithuanian "Best Use Of The Word 'Booty'" or even Greece's "Best Photo Montage in an Album – Male Category") Ron set about trying to find the switch to shut off the Spinning Tops, and Kim went after the henchmen, who were trying to escape via the back stairs.
Most of her work was actually done for her when the lead henchman, seeing a fiercely determined Kim Possible in a fighting stance at the bottom of the stairs, pulled up short. The others collided into each other and tumbled the rest of the way down the stairs. The last goon, seeing they were trapped, turned and ran back up. Kim grappled the roof above the stairway door and engaged the cable retractor. Up the stairway she flew, bringing her legs up and straight out in front of her. The guard made the fatal mistake of turning to look back when he reached the top and took the full force of the blow in the midsection. He crashed through the railing and sailed straight out over the pool. Kim pulled up short and landed lightly at the top of the stairway.
"Cannonball!" She called cheerfully.
And, whether because he was trained to do so, or because he was highly prone to suggestion, the henchman curled himself up into a ball as best he could and hit the water, sending a monstrous splash outward in all directions.
Bonnie was drenched. Again.
Ron poked his head out the second story door.
"Found the shutoff switch for the Tops," he informed her.
Off in the distance, they could hear the faint sound of rotors cutting through the air.
"Those must be the Eurocop helicopters," Kim observed.
"I'm gonna go way out on a limb here and guess they call them 'Eurocopters'."
"Gee, ya think?" Kim asked sarcastically.
"Kim POSSIBLE!" Bonnie bellowed from downstairs.
Kim grimaced, "Much damage?"
"Much," Ron confirmed.
Kim walked to the top of the interior stairs and found Bonnie staring angrily up at her. The first floor looked like a war zone.
"Look at this place! It's completely destroyed…"
"…which allowed me to like, totally redecorate," Bonnie chattered away to Kim. "Which turned out to be a good thing because Junior's father had been the previous decorator and the place totally looked like a lair."
Bonnie had come to say goodbye to the new bride. They hadn't seen each other in eight years, and Kim had been busy talking with as many of the wedding guests as she could. Bonnie and Junior had a late flight back to the island that night and needed to get going. Kim felt a little guilty about not spending at least a few minutes with them. They weren't even sent an invitation, but the Seniors had been in town visiting Bonnie's mother, and they wanted to say hello. Junior was grateful when Kim and Ron had come to his father's funeral, and was impressed at their show of respect by wearing their mission gear. He never forgot it, and thought it would be a nice gesture if they brought a wedding gift.
It was an autographed boxed set of all his albums.
Kim begged Bonnie to stay for at least a few more minutes, and Bonnie relented. Life with her husband on a private island was wonderful, but sometimes it got a little lonely. She had Kim's undivided attention.
"So the Tops turned out to be a blessing in disguise, then." Kim observed.
"Oh yeah," Bonnie agreed, "Totally. They did a better job than any demolition crew could have. And Junior let me have carte blanche when it came to redecorating. You guys will have to come see the house some time. By the way, did you ever find that Dr. Cody guy?"
"Yeah," Kim said frowning wistfully with a sudden far-away look in her eyes, "We had to deal with him a few times."
"So what happened?" Bonnie inquired.
"Oh, it's no big," Kim brushed off the question, "Just some bad memories. Today's my wedding day, so let's not talk about it."
"Cool," Bonnie responded lightly, "Well, there was one other thing I wanted to as-"
Bonnie was cut off by a roar overhead; the sound of jet engines coming in low. The pavilion was open on all sides, but the sun had gone down quite some time ago, so it was too dark to see what was going on outside. Everyone looked about worriedly. Perhaps the roof-crashing robot had decided to wait until the reception this time.
Whatever the craft was, it came to a hover nearby and settled to the ground. Kim was suddenly very aware that there were only Two Global Justice agents at the reception, and those were her brothers. And neither of them had brought any mission equipment.
Two figures emerged from the craft, but it was still too dark to tell who they were. Ron, who had been talking to Junior, walked over to that side of the pavilion and quietly asked the guests to clear the area. If there was to be a battle, he was determined none of the guests would get hurt.
Rufus scampered over to him and climbed up on his shoulder.
The music cut off abruptly. A tense silence descended upon the pavilion. Even the crickets stopped chirping.
Ron backed up a few paces.
Into the light stepped Shego and Doctor Drakken.