Author's note: Sorry of this chapter's too long. There were one or two things I thought about editing out, but I just liked it all too much
As always, thanks for the kind words to:Jezriana2.0, Mobius97, Sand Lord, LKillingsworth, JPMod, Cold-Chaos, Kimnron4ever, recon 228, Widow Shark, Melissa Ivory, aimtbj, Spooks-a-lot, PotentialBoy, SpriteKin, Dreammergurl2007, kemiztri, Sestren NK, and Manchester Black.
"Highway to the danger zone…"
V.
Somewhere far above the Caribbean, the Ninjet Mark II was moving at twice the speed of sound, at a cruising altitude of forty-six thousand feet. It was on its way back from Buenos Aires where its occupants had just completed a mission.
Neither of them were talking to each other during the return flight to Middleton, each lost in his own thoughts.
Ron was thinking about his wife. He and Kim had been married for eight months now, and she was still "in training" as she put it; getting herself in satisfactory shape to resume hero work. But she still hadn't taken any missions, always with the excuse that she wasn't done with her physical training.
Ron began to suspect something else. Her research was going slowly. He didn't quite understand all the concepts and theories she was working on, but there was something in the way she talked about the progress of her research that raised a few red flags in Ron's head. One week he'd ask how it was going and she'd talk about this nano-circuit or that storage capacity whatever, but other weeks her answers would be less specific. "Fine", she'd say, or "coming along".
Kim couldn't have been procrastinating. That just wasn't like her. But every time he tried to have a serious conversation about her taking a mission, she'd say "Oh, maybe next month" or something like that and then change the subject.
Ron began to wonder if Kim had lost her nerve.
After all, her most recent work as a hero involved thwarting Deathray, who just happened to be her fiancé at the time. A fact she never discovered until too late. And perhaps it wasn't just the fact that she'd come this close to losing her life, or that she was almost doomed to spend her life in a cryogenic tube. Maybe it was those things combined with the fact that they had all been done to her by a man she had intended to marry.
Ron decided it was time he and his wife had a serious talk. If it was nerves, then she needed to conquer them. If he just let her stay home all the time, eventually she'd turn into a timid, unassertive housewife who used to be a famous teen hero and Nobel prize winning doctor. It wasn't a case where Ron wanted to keep the woman he fell in love with from changing. He simply knew deep down, Kim would come to despise herself for not getting back on the horse after a rough, unintended dismount.
Ron's thoughts then turned to Rufus. Something had to be wrong with the little guy. He just wasn't acting like himself. Every week he seemed more and more agitated, while less enthusiastic about even getting up in the morning. He had stopped going on missions, and was sleeping a lot less.
Ron had sent him to stay with Wade six months ago, and Wade ran all kinds of tests but found hardly anything out of the ordinary. The clone body was healthy, and the artificial brain was working perfectly. Wade noticed there were a lot of files in that section of the brain that dealt with dreams, but he respected the mole rat's privacy. Rufus seemed to have taken a lot of interest in Wade's equipment, but that didn't appear odd to anyone.
Ron didn't want to bother Wade too much anyway. Things with Monique were going along swimmingly. Well, save for that one rough patch a couple of months ago…
"I think she's going to dump me!" Wade said despondently.
"What happened?" Ron asked.
"Nothing I can put my finger on," Wade was really glum, "We had our first argument, and didn't speak to each other for a few days. That was last week. But then I apologized – and I have been apologizing every day since then! She keeps saying it's cool, but I know something's wrong."
"Well, what did you do wrong?" Ron asked.
Wade shrugged.
"Wait, dude, you mean you're apologizing and you don't know why?" Ron spoke as though he'd solved a great mystery.
"Well, yeah" Wade confirmed, "I mean, she was angry about something. I figured I should just apologize and smooth it over."
"And you've been apologizing every day since then," Ron prodded.
"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure everything was OK," Wade sulked, "But she pretty much stopped talking to me, and hasn't returned any of my phone calls. At least not until today. She wants to meet me for lunch."
"OK", Ron said, thinking, "First, a couple of things about women."
"You're giving me advice about women?" Wade asked doubtfully.
"Um, hello!" Ron said sarcastically, pointing at himself, "Mr. Kim Possible here. Apparently I must have done something right. You want to hear this or not?"
"Yeah," Wade acknowledged, "You're right, sorry."
"OK. When you know something's wrong and you ask your girlfriend…or your wife…'What's wrong?' she'll give you one of three answers. First, if she says 'Nothing's wrong', it means something IS wrong and she wants you to continue asking her what's wrong until you are ready to repeatedly bang your head against a wall, after which she will give subtle hints about what might be wrong instead of just coming out and telling you exactly what's bothering her. She may also give you the alternative to the first answer which is usually a variation of 'as if you didn't know' or 'you know what you did'. This, of course, misses the point of our asking the question in the first place. "
"But that's…" Wade scratched his head, "I'm confused."
"Good" Ron said enthusiastically, "That'll help. The first rule in understanding women is: 'you can't understand women!'"
"What's the second rule?"
"'You don't talk about Fight Club.'"
"That makes no sense."
"Exactly! You're well on your way to understanding women." Ron gushed, "Now, the second answer a woman usually gives when you ask her 'What's wrong', is "Oh, it's nothing big', this means there is a serious problem that may require days of talking and a little crying on her part. After which you may not completely comprehend what just happened, but at least the relationship is still going, she's stopped crying, and you can go back to playing video games without her accusing you of being insensitive."
"Um…OK. And what's the third answer to the question?" Wade was really curious now.
"Oh, the third answer is when she crosses her arms, doesn't even look at you and growls 'everything's fine' at which point you should start looking in the phone book for a divorce attorney." Ron said authoritatively.
"Wow."
"The point is, you gotta communicate. You can't just apologize and expect everything to smooth over because you said you're sorry. When you do that you're basically telling her you don't care enough about her to want to know what's troubling her. And repeatedly apologizing just drives home the point." Ron said, turning serious, "It's all about the communication."
"Should I write this down?" Wade asked.
"That's risky," Ron cautioned, "Because if she ever finds that you've written it down, she'll assume you were trying to get advice about what to do."
"Well, isn't that what I'm doing?"
"Yes, but she'll get upset because she thinks it's something you should have known all along and why did you talk to someone else about our problems instead of talking to me, Ron?" that last part got out of Ron's mouth before he realized it.
"Ah" Wade said with a grin, "So you got your advice from…"
"Her dad. Seems Kim and her mother have a lot in common." Ron admitted. "Look, I'll go with you to the restaurant for moral support. If it seems like everything's going badly, just look over at me and blink twice."
"Why?"
"I'd rather not say at this point. What time are you supposed to meet her?"
"Couple of hours."
"Same place she and Kim go to for lunch?"
"Yeah."
"OK", Ron acknowledged, "I'll be in the deli across the street with a pair of binoculars."
Ron tried to avoid Kim for the next hour or so, knowing she'd want to get lunch with him and not wanting to tell her why he was going to the deli. Of course she found him, and of course she tagged along. Ron wouldn't tell her the reason why they were going to the deli, however.
When Kim saw Monique go into the café across the street, she got up to go say 'hi'. Ron advised against it.
"She's meeting Wade for lunch," Ron informed her, "I think she's going to dump him."
Kim gasped, "And we came to spy on their break-up?"
"We didn't come to spy," Ron said, pulling a pair of binoculars out of a backpack.
Kim glared at him.
"Ronald Stopp-"
"Sssshhhhh!" he cut her off, "Not right now."
"Yes right now!" Kim insisted, "We are not going to spy on Wade and Mo-"
"Gotta go," Ron got up abruptly, bolted out the door and headed across the street.
While Monique was giving her lunch order to the waitress, Wade had turned his face toward the window and was blinking as earnestly as he could.
Kim trailed Ron across the street, asking him just what he thought he was doing.
"Wade!" Ron said cheerfully, sitting down at the table, "Sorry I'm early, but I was in the deli across the street. So did you guys have your talk yet? Did she dump you?"
"Ron!" Monique, Wade and Kim all said simultaneously.
"Jinx!" Ron said lightly, "You guys owe me three sodas."
"Ron", Monique said quietly, "Wade and I need to have a serious conversation."
"I know," Ron buzzed, "You're dumping him. And it's about time. So just do it and get it over with. Wade and I got mission stuff to talk about. Go ahead, I'll wait."
Wade's jaw dropped. Kim began tugging at his shirt collar.
"Excuse me?" Monique asked, glaring at him.
"I said 'It's about time'" Ron repeated in an annoyingly condescending voice, "Seriously, Monique, Wade's head just hasn't been in the game since you two started going out. Frankly, I'd appreciate it if you didn't see him anymore."
Kim gasped, "Ron!"
"Well, it's true. I mean, the kid's deeply in love with you, talks about you all the time, never shuts up about how great you are and how you're the best thing to ever happen to him. Sometimes he even does this during missions!" Ron continued.
Monique looked to Kim, who shrugged helplessly, and then Wade, who smiled sheepishly and turned red, then back to Ron, "And you think I shouldn't see him anymore because he's distracted during missions?"
"Precisely," Ron said, sounding overly serious, "We can't afford this kind of distraction on the team. In fact, I'm just going to come out and say it. Monique, I forbid you to see Wade anymore."
"Ron!" Wade finally managed to squeak in a shocked tone.
Anger flared up in Monique's eyes.
"All week Wade's been asking me the best way to tell you how much he loves you," Ron went on, ignoring her, "I told him he should bake a cake and leave it on your doorstep, but then I realized this whole thing has Wade all turned around. I need my boy's head back in the game."
"Now you listen to me, Mr. Stoppable," Monique could have flash frozen a truckload of corndogs with her stare.
"No, you listen to me, Miss Thang," Ron realized he'd just stepped across the line. Time to make an exit, "I got no more time for this silliness. End it with Wade now, please. I don't want to have to enforce my prohibition."
Ron got up, pretending to be in a huff, and stormed out, a confused and slightly miffed wife trailing after him.
"That's right," Monique called after him, "You better leave, Stoppable."
She turned to look at Wade, and though she originally looked as if she had a speech all planned out, she seemed to have forgotten it. Her demeanor softened a bit when she gazed at him. Monique appeared as though she had suddenly changed her mind about something.
"So you were trying to figure out how to tell me you loved me?" She asked softly.
"I…yes," Wade recovered, "Yes I was. Because I do. You're the best thing to ever happen to me, Monique. That's why I went crazy apologizing all the time. I got too afraid thinking I was going to lose you without telling you how I feel."
Monique melted, "I guess love can make people do crazy things."
"What about Ron's prohibition?" Wade was attempting to discover how she felt about him.
"That man's got some issues," Monique said coldly, "And no one on this earth is going to tell me who I can and can't have a relationship with."
Wade asked her what the original problem was when he apologized without knowing exactly what was wrong, and the conversation went from there.
Across the street at the deli, Kim just had one question for her husband, "Are you just crazy, Ron? Is that what the problem is?"
"Sometimes," he said through a mouthful of sandwich.
"How could you say something so mean? Where do you get off forbidding Monique to see Wade?"
"Oh, come on, Kim," Ron said with a wink, "You tell a woman she's forbidden to fall in love with someone and that's the first thing she wants to do."
Kim looked at him, astonished. "So the whole thing was an act?"
"And a rather good one, if I do say so myself," Ron said cockily, "And I just did."
A slow smile spread across Kim's face. She looked at him through narrowed, mischievous eyes, "Ron Stoppable, I believe you have an evil streak in you."
"Well," He said in acknowledgment, "I was a villain once. Come on, didn't your dad ever tell you he didn't want you seeing someone?"
"Yeah", Kim said sheepishly, "He once said I was too young to date Walter Nelson."
"So that's why you asked my mom to drive you to the orthodontist!" Ron exclaimed.
"Yeah. But I still got in trouble." Something occurred to Kim, "Hey, have you been talking to my-"
"Oh man, is that the time?" Ron blurted, looking at his wrist. He wasn't wearing a watch, "I gotta go see that guy at the place about that thing."
Ron rushed out of the deli. Kim having to pay the check gave him a head start.
That night, Wade got a four word e-mail: 'I love you too, baby'.
And Kim got an irate phone call.
"You tell that husband of yours he better stay away from me for a few days!" Monique fumed.
Ron sidled up to his wife and listened in on the conversation.
"I'll do that, Monique," Ron whispered to Kim.
"I'll do that, Monique", Kim repeated into the phone.
"I'll make sure he doesn't do it again," Ron continued whispering.
"I'll make sure he doesn't do it again," Kim passed it along to Monique.
"And maybe I'll give him a little spankin'," Ron concluded.
"And maybe I'll give him a little sp-… uh…speaking to. You know, tell him what he did was wrong," Kim shot daggers at her husband with her eyes.
Ron ran off laughing and waving his hands in the air; waving 'em like he just didn't care.
Kim exchanged a few more pleasantries with Monique and then excused herself from the conversation as quickly as she could.
"Ron Stoppable!" She shouted after putting down the phone, "You are SO DEAD!"
She ran off after him. The chase ended as all the good chases usually do.
In the hot tub.
Ron chuckled to himself.
"What?" Came the voice of his brother-in-law. Jim had been sitting quietly in the passenger seat of the Ninjet for the past two hours.
"What did you say?" Ron asked, turning to him.
"I thought you said something," Jim said.
"Oh, no, sorry, I was just thinking about something and it made me laugh a little. You've been pretty quiet. What's up with you?"
"Oh, nothing. Just, you know, thinking." Jim said self-consciously.
"About Arianna?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"Dude, she gave herself up and then asked you for your e-mail address. Even I could connect the dots on that one."
"She's really something," Jim said quietly.
"She's also a villain," Ron reminded him, "I could be mistaken but I'm willing to bet Global Justice has a 'no dating villains' policy."
Ron checked their position on the GPS and banked slightly to the left, then straightened the aircraft out again.
"I'm sure you're right," Jim agreed, "But she's so smart, and so gorgeous…"
"No argument here," Ron acknowledged, "And she's a tad bit evil. Sorry to put it like that but trying to take over South America wasn't exactly a humanitarian effort."
Jim said nothing in response. Ron decided to change the subject.
"Hey…um, I'm not sure if I should be asking you about this. But have you heard anything about the 'Chronos' project?"
Jim nodded, "Something my brother's working on, but he won't tell me anything about it. Says it's Top Secret. How did you find out about it?"
"I got an encrypted GJ e-mail from him yesterday saying he needs my help with it. And not to discuss it with anyone, even you or Kim." Ron said hesitantly.
"You want me to ask him about it?" Jim queried.
"No", Ron said hurriedly, "I've just breached security by asking you about it. I don't want him to get in trouble. Or you or myself for that matter."
"So why'd you ask me about it?" Jim persisted.
Ron shrugged, "It's my first Top Secret operation. I guess it just felt weird not talking to family members about it."
"It's no big," Jim informed him, "'Top Secret' status on a project is almost always a temporary thing. As soon as the project is complete, GJ distributes a memo detailing the project and its outcome. It was like this for me at first. Tim always had secret projects going that I didn't know about. I would get miffed when he wouldn't tell me about them, but eventually everything would be revealed and I could see why they kept it a secret."
"Oh, OK," Ron said casually, "Makes sense."
A soft beeping came from the main control panel.
"We're approaching Middleton," Ron told his passenger, "I'm gonna slow down to subsonic velocity. You want me to drop you off at your house or GJHQ?"
"Where are you going?" Jim asked him.
"Home," Ron answered, "I need a shower and I'm starving. I figured in light of the Arianna situation, I'd let you file the paperwork on this mission."
"Aw, man," Jim complained, "I've got school tomorrow, and a ton of homework already."
"Well then," Ron took on a lecturer's tone, "Maybe this will teach you not to fall in love with a villain."
Jim gave his brother-in-law a dirty look.
Suddenly, an alarm.
"Someone's got a lock on us!" Ron shouted.
Then, a more urgent sounding alarm.
"Inbound missile!" Jim hollered, he turned around in his seat to peer out the tiny rear window.
From outside they could hear several loud hissing noises as flares and chaff burst from the rear of the car.
"Countermeasures deploying," Ron said loudly, "I'm going to try some evasive maneuvers!"
Ron pushed the throttle forward, then pushed forward on the steering wheel, sending the Ninjet into a vertical dive. The alarms continued.
"Missile still inbound," Jim began to panic, "The countermeasures aren't working!"
Ron pulled lightly out of the dive, rolled to the right, then rolled abruptly to the left and banked hard over.
"Impact in three seconds!" Jim shouted, "Where's the ejector release?"
Three.
Ron frantically pushed a large red button on the center of the control panel. Nothing happened.
Two.
"The ejector's been disabled!" Ron's voice was terrified, "Can you open your door?"
One.
"I'm trying, but the thing's –"
Zero.
THWACK!
Something heavy thumped against the roof of the Ninjet. Ron and Jim looked at each other. Kim's face appeared on the view screen.
"Tag!" She said lightly, "You're it!"
"Huh?"
"Guys?" Wade's face appeared on the screen, "You wanna pull out of the dive? The ground's comin' up pretty fast!"
Ron and Jim peered out the windshield and both let out a simultaneous yell as Ron pulled back hard on the steering wheel. The Ninjet just barely missed the tops of the trees as it shot back into the sky again. Ron leveled off and punched a call button on his view screen.
"What was that, Wade?" He demanded.
"That was just me." Kim's voice sang out.
Off the passenger side of the Ninjet, another, smaller aircraft pulled even with them. Both men stared at it without speaking for a few seconds.
"It's…it's…" Ron stuttered.
"It's a flying Mini Cooper!" Jim finished for him.
And so it was. Creamy white with two pink racing stripes that ran up the hood, across the roof, and down the back, the wheels were folded up neatly under the body while shields were in place over the wheel wells, giving the appearance that there were no wheel wells at all. Instead of four small wings near each wheel well like the Ninjet, there were two larger wings that folded out from the rear of the body of the car, with a hydro-jet engine mounted on each wing, close to the car's body. When the wings folded, the engines would retract into the rear of the car and the wings themselves would form part of the rear body panels, giving the car a seamless appearance in drive mode. A spoiler mounted on the rear of the roof gave added stability and functioned as the craft's elevator, much like the spoiler on the Ninjet. The rear interior of the craft had been cleared to make room for various equipment as well as the engines while in drive mode, leaving only enough room for two people up front.
"That's like, the Spritekin of the car world!" Ron observed.
Kim looked over, smiled, and blew a kiss.
"I think that's for you," Jim said.
"I hope so," Ron replied, "Otherwise that's just disturbing."
"What do you think of the Kimjet?" Wade appeared on the screen again.
"I'll let you know once I'm done with my heart attack," Ron snapped, "You could have warned us."
"Yeah, sorry," Wade apologized, "Just wanted to test some of the Kimjet's capabilities. Not warning you ahead of time was Kim's idea."
"My bad!" Kim said cheerfully, "So are you going to try and shoot me down now, or what?"
"Wade?", Ron looked to the view screen.
"I loaded five drone missiles this morning, they behave and function like standard missiles but are non-explosive and won't harm either of the vehicles. Your computers are linked together and will register a 'hit' any time one of the drone missiles comes in contact with either vehicle. Just access the projectiles menu and click on the "misc." icon."
Ron did so, and an indicator on a smaller screen on the dashboard showed five missiles loaded and waiting. Ron pulled up a three dimensional heads-up display. A tiny version of the Kimjet floated up in front of him, along with a set of cross hairs and other electronic indicators.
Kim pushed her craft into a shallow dive and increased her speed.
Ron looked at Jim, "You got a few minutes?"
Jim shrugged and grinned, "To help you shoot down my big sister? Sure, why not?"
Ron dropped in behind her and continued diving at a much steeper angle. At five hundred feet above ground, he leveled off. The Kimjet popped up on the HUD again and Ron steadied the aircraft to get a lock.
Kim rolled over to an inverted position, then pulled back on the steering wheel, bringing the craft through a half loop that ended with her leveling off and headed straight at her husband.
"Dude," Jim said nervously.
"I know," Ron answered.
"This is Kim we're talking about. I don't think she's ever lost a game of chicken in her life!" Jim reminded him.
Ron suddenly lost his concentration on the targeting system.
Once, in Junior High school, Ron challenged her to a game of chicken with their bikes. Ron almost got a concussion, and Kim took a handlebar in the mouth. She wound up having to get braces to fix the damage. Ron tried to turn his bike away at the last second, but Kim never so much as twitched her arms. He always remembered the look of fierce determination on her face; Kim would never turn away. Ever.
She came straight at them.
Losing his nerve, Ron rolled to the right and banked away as Kim shot through his jetwash.
Jim looked wildly about but couldn't see her. Ron circled back around, neither of them saying anything for a couple of seconds. Then Ron spoke up:
"Talk to me, Goose."
"I lost her in the sun," Jim said, chuckling, "She could be anywhere by now."
"There!" Ron shouted, pointing upward.
A small white speck was moving away from them at high velocity. She had gone into a vertical climb, nose pointed straight upward.
Ron pushed the throttle forward and pulled back on the steering wheel.
"She's gone ballistic," Jim hollered, "Go get 'er, man!"
The Ninjet surged upward, gaining rapidly on the Mini. Ron pulled the image of the other aircraft up on the Heads Up Display again. This time he had her.
Kim slowed way down, forcing Ron to do the same as he worked to get a lock.
"Uh…Ron?" Jim was looking up.
The driver's side window of the Kimjet was down. Kim extended her arm, holding a small drone missile in her hand. She let go of it.
"Aw, you gotta be kidding me!" Ron panicked and pushed the steering wheel forward, which offered the drone a larger target.
THWACK!
"That's two for me!" Kim's smiling face appeared on the screen, "First one to three gets to pick the movie tonight."
"I love how you make up rules late in the game." Ron muttered.
He shoved the throttle forward and streaked toward the ground.
Kim dropped in behind him and moved to get a lock.
"Hit the countermeasures", Ron told his passenger.
Jim searched the panel and found the appropriate button. Loud hissing noises were heard once again as flares and chaff erupted from the rear of the Ninjet.
Kim, unsure of what was happening, backed off while Ron took advantage of the situation and increased his speed. He headed for the mountains and flew into a canyon.
Kim watched him carefully until she lost sight of him in the canyon, then moved off in pursuit. She headed toward the other end of the canyon and went into hover mode once she arrived, waiting for him to emerge.
Alarms went off as a missile homed in on her.
THWACK!
Kim looked wildly about and finally saw her husband's car, parked on the rim of the canyon. Halfway through, he had engaged the all-terrain drive mode and drove up the rim, firing once he got a lock. She was expecting him to be in the air, and never once looked to the ground.
Kim hovered in low as Ron got out of the car. He strolled over to where she was hovering some fifteen feet off the ground, his hands folded neatly behind his back.
"You gotta admit, that was pretty clever of me." Ron bubbled.
"OK, hot shot, that's one for-"
THWACK!
"You're not the only one who can throw a missile drone! Two to two, baby!" Ron cackled as he sprinted back to his car.
Kim turned her craft toward his and attempted to get a lock, but he was already moving. Ron drove straight beneath her and plunged off the cliff side, throwing the Ninjet into flight mode and pulling back on the steering wheel while pushing the throttle all the way forward. It barely cleared the far wall of the canyon, then streaked off into the sky. Kim went after it.
After a minute or two of vertical climbing, Ron pulled all the way back on the throttle and allowed the upward momentum of the Ninjet to stall out. Falling back toward the ground, he throttled up again and spotted Kim, zipping along the ground, heading toward a distant lake. So she had a sub mode too? Ron increased speed and began to zero in on his wife.
Just before he was able to get a lock, Kim pulled up and went vertical once more. Unwilling to be done in by the same trick twice, Ron kept his distance at a slightly skewed angle, always keeping in her blind spot. This time, flares and chaff erupted from her car.
Ron didn't flinch, but kept after her. The flares left a huge puff of smoke between them, and when Ron burst through it, the Mini Cooper was already in a vertical dive once more. Ron throttled back and spun in mid-air, throttling up when the Ninjet was once more pointed toward the ground.
The Kimjet was in a steep dive but seemed to be descending a little more slowly this time. Ron moved in on her and got a lock. Something thumped onto the roof of his car. Then that something peeked her head over the top of the windshield. She was wearing a jumpsuit and a parachute pack, and holding a missile drone.
Dumbfounded, Ron watched as she slid down the windshield, and tucked the drone under the windshield wiper. Then she waved, pointed to herself and held up three fingers.
"You know, if she'll give me her chute, I can skydive home from here," Jim said.
"Do it", Ron said to his brother-in-law.
The car still in freefall, the passenger door slid up and Kim made her way around to it.
"Hey! You!" Ron shouted at his wife, "Get into my car!"
"Who, me?" Kim shouted back, pointing innocently at herself.
"Yes you!" Ron confirmed, "Get out of my dreams and into my car!"
"I think I'm gonna hurl," Jim said, "You guys are seriously nauseating."
Once inside, Kim slipped the parachute off and gave it to her brother, who couldn't seem to get it on fast enough. Once he was away, Ron pulled the car out of freefall and set a course for home. He pulled Wade up on the view screen.
"Wade, I know you're piloting the Kimjet. Do me a favor, have yourself picked up in it and meet us at our place. We've got a present for you." Ron informed him.
"Sure thing," Wade confirmed.
"So," Kim gushed, "I win. I get to pick the movie."
"Nope," Ron countered, "Sorry."
"Excuse me?"
"You blew yourself up with that last one. I mean, it was a pretty sweet move, but if it were a real missile, you'd be just as dead as me."
Kim opened her mouth to speak and found she couldn't. Her jaw dropped open.
"Well," she said, thinking fast, "Then you killed yourself by throwing that second one at me, which means I still win, two to one."
"Um, no, I was only severely injured." Ron stated casually.
"Which means you could not have piloted the Ninjet," Kim countered.
Silence. Then a frustrated sigh.
"OK", Ron admitted, "You won. You get to pick the movie. But I've been in South America all day so there's no guarantee I'll stay awake for it. Anyway, I need a shower."
Kim leaned over and sniffed the air, "Yeah you do!"
Twilight deepened into evening over the Tri-City museum in Middleton. A lone figure perched in a nearby tree watched patiently as the last of the day's museum visitors filed out the door and a security guard locked it behind them.
For the last eight months, Monkey Fist had been in Middleton, doing the occasional chore or grunt work for the unseen Apollyon. After a time, he began to wonder if there really was a plan, or if he'd been duped by some unseen entity into performing a few menial tasks.
He pulled out his pocket watch. Ten minutes left until shift change. Apollyon promised he would somehow have the security systems and alarms shut down. Monkey Fist didn't know how Apollyon would accomplish this, but didn't ask questions either. Somehow his unseen benefactor seemed to have all the answers.
When Apollyon originally informed him about the Tempus Simia idol, he was overcome with an intense feeling of déjà vu. Monkey Fist was convinced he had heard of this idol somewhere before, but when he tried to recall where, it was like trying to remember a dream he had last week that was particularly good but was unsure of the details.
No matter.
The moment Apollyon explained the potential power of the idol, Monkey Fist would have gladly pledged his undying devotion to him then and there. It never occurred to him to doubt Apollyon. The mysterious villain had done all he said he would do up to this point, and now world domination was within reach. Stoppable was his only concern. But Apollyon explained that his arch foe was now a GJ agent, and was being kept quite busy. All he had to do was assemble to two parts of the idol, and then he would be given instructions as to what to do next.
He looked at his watch again. It was time.
Monkey Fist dropped silently from his tree perch and moved through the shadows to the front door. If all had been done as Apollyon promised-
Right on time, the power went out. The electric locks on the front doors clicked open, and Monkey Fist slipped inside. The rest was up to him. All he had to do was avoid the guards, grab the idol, and slip back out the door in the next three minutes. He would have preferred to simply disable the guards, but Apollyon was adamant about this. No contact with them whatsoever. It had to look like an ordinary theft, not the work of a supervillain.
He bounded through the shadows, silent as a ghost, reaching the room which contained the Tempus Simia idol. Or at least the lower half of it.
Monkey Fist froze.
There was a guard in the room, swinging a flashlight about, making sure everything was as it should be.
Two minutes left.
Monkey Fist began to panic. In one hundred and twenty seconds, the power would be back on, as would the electric locks, the security cameras and the motion sensors. Should he disable the guard?
As though his thoughts had made a noise, the guard began investigating that half of the room where Monkey Fist was hiding. He crouched behind a pedestal and held his breath. The guard swung the flashlight back and forth, checking everywhere.
No choice now, he would have to knock out the guard.
The uniformed man came within three feet of Fist's hiding place, then turned and began walking away from him, toward the pedestal on which the idol sat. Monkey Fist took a couple of deep breaths, then tip-toed… or I guess you'd say 'tip-handed'… toward the back of the guard.
Fist raised his hand to strike when the guards' flashlight blinked out. Everything was in total darkness.
"Terrific," The guard muttered, and began exiting the room.
Monkey fist grabbed the idol and bounded for the door. Three feet out the other side of the front door, he heard the locks click into place while the lights came back up. Monkey Fist bolted, hoping no one had seen him.
A short while later, he was seated before his laptop.
'I have it', he typed.
Well done. There is a charter plane waiting for you at the airport. I believe it will take quite some time to find the second half of the idol.
'Where do you suggest I look?'
From what I have learned, the two halves were separated for fear the power of the idol would fall into the wrong hands. The section you now possess was originally unearthed near St. Petersburg, Russia. Assuming the other half was taken as far from yours as possible, I would search the extreme southern hemisphere; South Africa, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, perhaps some of the southern Polynesian Islands. Legend states that when the body of the idol nears its upper half, the cymbals will begin to clap together. That is as much as I know.
'And once I have the complete idol?'
One step at a time, Montgomery. Find the head first, then we'll proceed from there.
Monkey Fist began to pack his things.
Wade stared at the set of keys in the palm of his hand. He had just been given an unexpected gift.
"It's mine?" He asked, confused.
"All yours, buddy," Ron said, beaming.
"But…," Still confused, "Why?"
"Why not?" Kim countered. She had just given Wade his gift and still had an arm around his shoulders in a friendly gesture of support.
Wade suddenly wished Monique was there. She had to work late at the store again. Unable to stray too far from her Club Banana roots, Monique had majored in business in college, and opened her own boutique clothing store in downtown Middleton. All her clothing lines were original, and business was good, if not great. Sometimes she had to work long hours. Tonight was no exception.
"I guess I feel like I just don't deserve this," Wade said timidly.
"Oh come on!" Ron said rolling his eyes, "Reduce the voltage on the drama generator, dude. It's not about whether you deserve it, it's about whether or not we want you to have it."
"And we want you to," Kim said encouragingly.
"But I've never given you guys anything like this," Wade protested.
"Oh," Kim said with a sarcastic tone, "Good point. Wade's never done anything for us, right Ron?"
"Yeah," Ron said in mock agreement, "It's not like he cloned Rufus, and gave me back the friend I thought was gone forever."
"And it's not like he broke up my wedding and tried to save me from marrying Deathray." Kim put in.
"Which would include facing down a giant mechanical beast with disintegrator rays while Wade had no weapons whatsoever," Ron added., "Plus, anyone could have sprung me out of that hospital when I was a wanted fugitive."
"OK," Wade said sheepishly, "You've made your point."
"Hey," Ron protested, "We haven't even gotten to all the stuff you did for us in high school and college!"
Then Ron stepped up to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder, "And let's not forget the night you called Kim in to save me when I drowned in Deathray's lair."
"I-" Wade began.
"You saved my life," Ron said quietly, "I owe you more than I can possibly repay."
"And you helped save me from a life as the wife of a super villain," Kim added, then reached for Wade's hand, and closed his fist around the set of keys, "Take the ranch house. I can't think of a more perfect use for it than as your home."
"I…" Wade began in a choked voice, "I just don't… you guys are…"
"We love you too, man," Ron said with conviction.
Kim gave her friend a hug. "So you need help moving in?" She asked cheerfully.
Wade shook his head, still in disbelief, "Probably. I have to tell my parents about this. Mom will probably laugh and cry at the same time."
"Come on," Kim said heading for the door, "I'll take you home. Maybe we can drop by the store so you can tell Monique the good news!"
"See you tomorrow, buddy," Ron called.
Wade turned and threw Ron a dazed sort of wave.
Ron smiled and headed upstairs to shower.
Twenty minutes later he was clean, refreshed, and lying in bed, waiting for Kim to come home. But, as I am sure you know full well, a long day followed by a hot shower means you'll probably be asleep within five minutes of crawling into bed, especially if you're trying to stay awake.
Ron began to dream…
"Observe what you see here, and remember," Came a hauntingly familiar voice.
The bridges across the chasm had been destroyed. Smoke rose from within the compound of the school. The cries of the wounded and grieving were carried to Ishigawa's ears by the wind. He smiled at this.
The lord of the Satsuma province had placed his archers at high positions all around the school. Three times each hour, they would fire a volley of flame-tipped arrows upon the school. They didn't bother trying to aim. The point was to keep those within busy dealing with fire while his Samurai climbed up the faces of the cliffs surrounding the school. He had sent a contingent of warriors to climb the peak of Mt. Yamanuchi itself. Any minute they would begin descending toward the school as well.
Soon, the Ohana blades would be his.
A shout went up from some of the archers near him. Ishigawa turned to his aid, expecting a report.
"Our archers have observed one of the students has caught fire, Ishigawa-sama," The aid informed him, "He is running wildly about in a panic. Already he has set fire to two buildings."
Again Ishigawa smiled. With an almost imperceptible nod of the head, he dismissed the aid and returned to his observance of the compound. Already, some of the Samurai climbers were in view. They would soon reach the walls. And though there were many inside who were trained in the ways of Ninjitsu, it was very likely their resolve had been worn down by the siege, already in its ninth day.
Suddenly, a green, glowing spherical shape appeared above the walls of the compound. It hovered for an instant, then began moving directly toward Ishigawa. Though some of those around him retreated in a panic, Ishigawa remained unmoved. He knew his old Master had come to pay him a visit.
Within the sphere, Sensei sat cross-legged with his arms spread out on either side, as though he were holding the floating sphere together in this manner. When he reached the Satsuma lord, the sphere dissipated and Sensei lowered his legs, standing before his former pupil. And unfamiliar look of rage was plastered upon his face.
"What must be done to end this madness?" Sensei demanded, his voice shaking.
"As I stated before," Ishigawa said calmly, "I have need of the Ohana Blades."
"You do not know the power they possess," Sensei insisted, "You must not ask this of me."
"I am not asking this of you," Ishigawa said coldly, "I am commanding it."
Sensei regarded him with unwavering eyes.
"I will send the Blades to you," He said at last.
Ishigawa bowed low.
Sensei turned without acknowledgment and was enveloped once again by the greenish, glowing sphere. It carried him back across the chasm and over the wall of the school.
Ishigawa turned to his generals, "Recall the troops and assemble them on the slope beyond the waterfall."
"Hai, Ishigawa-sama," they bowed and hurriedly moved off to pass along the orders.
Ishigawa turned to his aid, "Have my horse ready for-"
He was interrupted by a deafening, thunderous roar. All eyes turned fearfully to the school. Standing atop the wall, one foot on either side of the gate, was a thirty foot tall gorilla. It was black save for a white blotch on one hand. Both fists were clenched as it bellowed, the roar echoing and re-echoing off the walls of the ravine and the peaks of Yamanuchi and nearby mountains.
Ishigawa's army froze. Even battle-hardened Samurai were suddenly awash in fear. Ishagawa involuntarily stepped back several paces, his eyes wide.
The Gorilla hopped from the wall to the space between the wall and the edge of the cliff. The earth rumbled beneath everyone's feet. Several of the Samurai were shaken from their cliff-side positions and fell, screaming, into the ravine. The gorilla crouched and swung a massive arm long the cliff edge, hurling even more Samurai into the river far below. Then it stood up and looked around, surveying the situation.
In a silent instant, the gorilla suddenly became a huge falcon. It flapped its wings and took to the air. In large circles, it climbed through the air above the school and began plucking enemy soldiers from the cliffs. The students below were compelled to take shelter as the bodies of enemy soldiers rained down upon the mountaintop compound.
Satisfied it had dispatched enough soldiers, the bird alighted on the ridge, on the near side of the chasm and was suddenly transformed into a gorilla again.
Roughly fifty archers clustered together in a group and made ready to loose their arrows at the behemoth creature. Just as they were drawing their strings, the gorilla extended its right hand, palm outward. Light blazed forth from its outstretched hand and engulfed the group of archers.
They were struck blind.
Then the gorilla bounded off after a group of sword-bearing soldiers who were being rallied for an attack on the beast. The Gorilla pulled up short and stamped its foot on the ground some fifty yards away from the rallying soldiers. The earth rumbled, and a crack shot through the ground, quick as lightning toward the sword-bearers. The ground opened up beneath their feet, swallowed them into the earth, and re-closed.
The gorilla swung another fist and suddenly it was enveloped in a field of utter blackness. No one could see through it, and thus had no idea exactly where the gorilla was. The blackness became larger and larger, encompassing a good deal of the slope beyond the waterfall. And though light could not penetrate it, sound was another matter. Ishigawa heard the clash of metal, the roars of the gorilla and the screams of his dying soldiers. The earth occasionally rumbled and at some points visible to Ishigawa, he watched as it opened up and swallowed whole companies of his men. Arrows sailed into the darkness but apparently never found their target. Beams of light shot forth from the dark field and blinded archers.
Abruptly, the darkness withdrew and the gorilla stood amidst the chaos and destruction, surveying its work. When it spied Ishigawa, it instantly changed into a monstrous snake. The serpent was upon him in an instant, enveloping him within the folds of its coils, preparing to squeeze the life from his body.
But then it hesitated. Lifting its head up as though hearing a call, it released Ishigawa and once more assumed the form of the thirty-foot-tall gorilla.
Ishigawa cowered at its feet, afraid to even look up into its terrible face.
"I send the Blades to you and yet you do not possess them as you said you would," came a familiar voice.
Sensei was just stepping down from within the now dissipating green sphere.
"Why do you not kill me?" Ishagawa pleaded.
"Death in battle is reserved for those with honor. Your soldiers earned that honor by following your commands, though they were ill conceived orders," Sensei replied calmly, "To you I grant the task of living with the shame you have brought upon yourself."
Ishigawa looked at the remains of his army and hung his head. He stood up, then suddenly lunged at Sensei, drawing his sword. A massive gorilla hand clamped down upon him before he could carry out his murderous intent, though it did not kill him.
"Away from me," Sensei commanded, retrieving Ishigawa's horse for him, "Live in your shame, and do not darken my gates again."
The gorilla picked up Ishigawa and set him roughly down on the back of his horse. Sensei slapped the horse's backside and it took off at a gallop.
The gorilla turned to look at Sensei.
What is thy bidding?
Ron sat bolt upright.
The gorilla didn't utter any words. He had heard its thoughts.
Was this real? Was this something that happened? And if so, what was Sensei doing there?
It was time to go to Yamanuchi and seek answers.
"Sweetie?" Kim's voice. She had been awakened when he sat up.
"Hey," he said softly, "Sorry I woke you up."
"It's all right," She reassured, "That dream again?"
"Yeah, much more detailed this time."
Ron described to her the new elements of the dream, including the thought he heard coming from the gorilla.
"So when do we go?" She asked, guessing his intent.
"You sure you want to come with me? You don't have to." He offered.
"Yes I do," she insisted, "I'm your wife, Ron. What happens to you happens to me. Where you go, I go. And don't even try to tell me you wouldn't come with me if the situation were reversed."
Ron couldn't argue with her when she was right. He was grateful for her undying support, "Do you know how much I love you?"
"I think I might," she said quietly with a smile.
"Well that's good," he responded, "Because I don't think I do. They haven't invented words yet that are adequate enough to describe my feelings for you."
She gently pulled him back down to the pillow and kissed him; tenderly, lovingly.
"I know what you mean," She whispered.
He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his chest with a contented sigh.
"I'll get the clearances from GJ and we'll go to Japan next week," Ron suggested.
"Works for me," she said sleepily.
Kim slept. Ron lay awake, mulling the dream over in his head. He didn't fall asleep again for quite awhile.
Ron spent the early part of the day meeting with Senior Director of Operations Wil Du, and getting the necessary clearances to take a week or two away from his duties.
Director Du did have one stipulation, however. He'd received an encrypted e-mail from Tim Possible requesting Ron's participation in the Chronos project. He ordered Ron to give his full participation in the project over the next few days, and then gave him leave to go to Japan.
Ron and Rufus were having lunch with Kim and Monique at an outdoor café when a bike messenger pulled up to the curb with an overnight envelope.
"I'm looking for Ron Stoppable!", he called out.
"Here," Ron said, raising his hand. His wife threw an inquisitive glance at him.
Ron signed for the package and opened the envelope. The only thing inside was a cell phone, which rang as soon as he pulled it out.
Ron looked at his wife, shrugged, and then answered it.
"Morpheus?" Ron said into the phone, "Is that you?"
"I knew you were going to say that!" Came Tim's voice from the other end, "Ya big doofus."
"What's with the cloak and dagger?" Ron asked, then silently mouthed the words 'It's Tim' to his wife and her best friend."
"Um…hello? Top secret project." Tim cracked, "It's a scrambled and untraceable line. A cab is going to pull up in front of the café. Get in and it'll take you where you need to go."
"OK if Rufus comes along?" Ron asked.
"Uh…" Tim sounded like he was thinking, "Sure, I don't see why not."
Sure enough, a yellow taxicab pulled up in front of the café.
"Tell Kim I said 'hi'," Tim said.
Ron hung up the phone, kissed his wife and said goodbye to her and Monique.
Twenty minutes later, the cab pulled up to an non-descript office building. The cell phone rang again.
"Take the elevator to the fifth floor, walk down the hall and let yourself in the door at the far end. I'm in a lab two doors down, and I'll be right in. Go ahead and take a seat in the chair if you want. It'll be the only place in the room you can sit." Tim's voice instructed him.
Ron did as he was told.
The room was bare, had no windows and no other doors, and didn't have much space that wasn't occupied by the chair. The chair itself looked like a dentist's chair, but there wasn't much else to it. Two small pieces of metal extended six inches out on either side of the headrest. There didn't seem to be anything else in the room.
Ron sat down and made himself comfortable. He took Rufus out of his pocket and told him to stay out of the way. Rufus walked sleepily over to a corner, curled up, and went to sleep.
Ron sat there, staring at the roof for three minutes. There was one light fixture dead center in the ceiling.
Then suddenly there were two.
"Whoa!" Ron hollered, putting his hands up in front of him. He saw four of his own hands for a second, then the double vision faded away. He sat up and looked around, blinking.
The door burst open and Tim rushed in.
"I thought I heard you shout," Tim said in a concerned voice, "Something happen?"
"I had double vision for a second there." Ron said, a little dizzy, "Is this part of Chronos?"
"No," Tim said, sounding worried, "I haven't even begun the test yet. Describe what you saw."
Ron did so, telling of how there suddenly two lights, and four hands, and then how half of everything faded away and it was all right again.
Tim examined his brother-in-law, and studied his eyes with a pen light.
"Everything seems to be OK," Tim declared, "Any dizziness?"
"A little."
"OK," Tim said emphatically, "I want you to go home and get some rest, we'll start up again tomorrow. I'll have a cab pick you up at your house about 9 a.m. If you get any more double vision, I want you to call me. You still have the phone?"
Ron took it out of his pocket.
"Mine's the only number programmed into it. Call me any time you need to."
"Sure", Ron said shrugging, "I feel fine, now. We can continue…"
Tim threw him a dismissive wave, "Don't worry about it. I need you in peak form. I knew I should have just waited until tomorrow, but I was too eager to begin. My bad. I'll see you in the morning."
"Yeah, no problem," Ron said amiably, "Rufus!"
Rufus woke up, stretched, then scampered up into his friend's pocket.
Ron walked down the hall toward the elevator. Just before he got there, an image seemed to materialize in front of him. He pulled up short, a little startled.
It didn't necessarily look odd. What he saw seemed to be a lab with electronic equipment, and a few office chairs placed here and there. What was odd about it was the fact that it was right in front of the elevator doors. There were no sounds, or glowing borders around the edge of the image, just an image of a lab, as though someone had cut out a picture of part of a lab, and stuck it over a picture of a set of elevator doors.
The a voice came from within the image, "Ron."
Again, nothing particularly odd about it. No echo effects or electronic sounding voice. In fact, it sounded eerily familiar.
"It's OK, Ron," The voice said, "This is part of the Chronos project. Go ahead and step into the image."
Ron took a tentative step forward and put his hand through. He didn't feel anything strange.
"Just take your time and step through when you feel comfortable doing so," again the voice sounded familiar.
Finally, Ron simply stepped forward, closing his eyes and holding his breath.
"You can open your eyes and breathe now." Came the voice.
Ron did so and looked to the source of the voice. He found he was indeed standing in a sort of laboratory. The man who had spoken was standing about four feet away, was wearing a lab coat and had his arms folded in front of him. He looked to be in his early fifties, had graying hair and a big smile on his face.
"Dr. Possible?" Ron said.
The man laughed, "You're thinking of my father! Ron, it's me! It's Tim!"
"Uh…Tim? My brother-in-law? That Tim?" Ron asked, confused.
"Yep! Welcome to the future, Ron!"