The sun was shining down without so much as a cloud in sight; it was the type of day that was for want of a better term, Perfect. The building standing before her was relatively new based on its design and general layout. Nothing special about this building, so why was she continuing to stand there staring at it. The building wasn't the problem, it was what the building represented, it represented an ending, and a beginning. "I can do this, really, no big, so not the drama. Wrong," Kim sighed. "So the Drama."
A crash followed by an "AWWWW MAN" brought her back to the task at hand. Turning she saw the reason for the whine, there on the ground lay Ron partially in and under a pile of boxes and bags next to a moving cart. The sight brought a giggle to Kim's lips.
"Uh KP, instead of standing there laughing, could you give me a hand." As he struggled to unbury himself. "Uh huh uh huh" a muffled voiced chipped in.
"Sorry Ron" Kim bent down and began moving boxes. As she did she looked at the young blond boy, man. How much he has changed in the last year she thought. He had grown at least 2 inches and begun to fill in his loose fitting clothes. While he had matured, a lot, he was still the easy going guy she had been friends with since forever.
Finally scrambling out from under the last of the pile he stood up and glared back at it, Rufus joined him in his glare. "I thought it would be more stable." He began restacking the boxes on the cart, this time trying his hardest to make sure they wouldn't fall again.
"At least we aren't in a hurry, although unpacking is going to take forever." Kim smiled picking up the last bag.
"To true, no need to rush on such a beautiful day, one needs time to stop and just enjoy." Taking a deep breath of the late summer air. "Ahhhhhhhh"
Giggling again Kim walked towards the door; Ron slowly pushed the cart following her. She had changed over the previous year and yet not. Still there was the innocent girl who would give him the puppy dog pout to get what she wanted, but now it was mixed with a strong, confident woman. Not that the girl hadn't also been strong and confident he thought.
Moving into the building they saw several other students moving about filling out papers, moving boxes and bags, and cleaning up. "Looks like we got here at the right time, not many people. I'll get the paper work, you find the elevator."
"You got it." Replied Ron as he moved deeper into the building.
"Hi, I'm Kimberly Possible." Stopping in front the registration desk. "What do I need to fill out?"
The man behind the desk quickly began to run his finger down a check list. "Possible… Possible, ah here we are Possible, Kimberly Ann." His eyebrow rose slightly. "Ok, all I need for you to do is sign here." Pointing to a blank space on the sheet. "And here you go." Handing over a folder with two different keys on top. "The folder has all of the information about this Residents Hall, the larger key is for your room and building access, and the smaller one is for your mailbox. If you have any other questions the office will be open at 6."
"Thank you." She turned to follow after Ron only to find him standing behind her. "I thought I asked you to find the elevator." She placed her hands on her hips.
"I did find the elevator Kim, but there's a problem."
"You didn't tip the cart again did you?" Her arms sagging slightly.
"No, nothing like that, it's just that the elevator is out of order. So I figured I'd get my paperwork done now and then worry about getting the stuff up the stairs." He flashed her one of his goofy grins. "Now if you'll excuse me. Pardon my good man but I believe you need me to sign some papers." The man looked up. "Perhaps you've heard of me, the names Stoppable, Ron Stoppable."
The man rolled his eyes and scanned his list. "Sign here." As he reached for another folder and two keys.
"BOO YAH" Ron snatched the keys and folder. "Time to get moved in."
Sighing with a slight smile on her face Kim turned heading for the cart. "Let's see if you are as excited when we have to move all of those bags and boxes up several floors without the elevator."
"It's no big KP, we're in college now. These are supposed to be the best times of our lives."
"Hello beautiful, you looking for a man to help you move your stuff?" Kim and Ron turned towards the voice. It belonged to a striking young man. He casually leaned against the wall. He had light brown hair which was highlighted and spiked. His clothes looked brand new and were from top of the line labels. The whole look screamed arrogant. What really bothered Ron though was that the guy's eyes were wandering up and down Kim's body.
"She's got help dude." The stranger looked over at Ron, noticing him for the first time.
"Extra help never hurt anyone." He flashed a smile at Kim.
"I think we can handle, thanks for the offer though."
"If you change your mind I'll be around." With a wink he turned a walked off. Ron's eyes never left him until he was out of the building.
"What a creep." A small pink head poked out of his pocket nodding.
"Don't worry about it Ron. Let's just concentrate on the boxes." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Besides I'll take your help over anybody else's." Smiling they resumed walking towards their cart.
Ron collapsed as he finally made it to the correct landing, panting he slid the final box forward into the hallway. The dorm or Residents Hall as everyone seemed to be calling them now was a more modern idea to a classic concept. It was more of an apartment style, with 4 single rooms attached to a living and kitchen area. Standing back up Ron looked over as Kim finished climbing the stairs; they had moved his stuff in first since his room was a floor below.
"Wow, that was rough" He wiped his brow off with his sleeve. "The stuff is moved in but we still need to unpack…" His comment was interrupted as a girl bumped him out of the way as she moved into the room. "I was like, here first, you know."
"Rude enough." Kim spit out.
"Don't mind her, she gets focused on one thing and kind of spaces everything else out." Kim and Ron turned to see who the voice belonged to. Standing behind them carrying several bags was an average looking man. "Hi I'm Cameron Brake, everyone just calls me Cam. Welcome to Reed Hall." He had brown hair bordering on dark, with a neatly trimmed goatee that framed his face nicely. He was solidly built and while not as big as Brick, would have been able to give him a run for his money. He had on a long sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows and loose fitting jeans.
"Dude, are you like the hall director or that girls big brother." Ron shot out. His statement made Kim look closer. She realized she hadn't noticed that this guy didn't look like he really fit the age for a dorm resident. "You sure don't look young enough to be a student."
"Ron, that was kind of rude." She was embarrassed by how quickly Ron had stuck his foot in his mouth. "I'm Kim Possible, and this is my boyfriend Ron Stoppable."
"As in the Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable." Their heads nodded. "Wow, what an honor, never figured I'd meet the likes of you two, you're actually living here." He stuck his hand out and shook both of their hands. "As for being rude don't worry about it, I am older then most people you find living on campus. Some of us just get a late start and still don't want to miss any of the fun." Smiling he started towards the door again. "Lets not stand here blocking the hallway all day."
Entering, Kim and Ron noticed three girls standing in the main room. One was the girl that had bumped into them, the others they hadn't seen before. "Ladies, may I introduce the final member of this insane asylum." The other girls turned towards Cam. "Ladies, Kim Possible; Kim Possible, the ladies." His comment drew the intended reaction, irritation, smiling he continued. "And this fine upstanding young man is Ron Stoppable, now now don't get to excited he is already spoken for." He continued to smile until he noticed the look from the other girls in the room, feigning confusion. "What?" A pillow caught him in the face.
"Funny Cam, forget something." He looked around, scratching his head. "How about our names." The girl walked up and smacked him on the shoulder. "Hi, I'm Kari Conn" Pointing over at the smaller of the two remaining girls. "This is Casey Nough. And last but not least this is Gwen Trouble."
Kari was dressed in a tight fitting t-shirt and jean shorts, looking like she was ready to work. Her dirty blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail; the tail did nothing to hide its very curly nature. She had an athletic look to her and looked as if she would go and prove it if not for the glasses perched on the end of her nose. Her eyes danced behind the glasses, sparkling a beautiful aquamarine.
Casey was by far the most serious looking of the bunch. Her dark brown eyes seemed to study everyone around her and not miss a thing. Her brunette hair was kept just above shoulder length and accented her face nicely. She was smaller then the other two and looked almost out of her element, especially since she was wearing a sundress.
Gwen looked like she belonged behind a TV playing a video game. She was wearing a baggy hooded sweater and cargo pants at least 1 size to large. The clothes just hung on her but she didn't seem to care. Her hair was also brunette but much lighter in color; it hung just past her shoulders. The ice blue coming from her eyes betrayed the slacker look she was trying to give; they seemed to glow with mirth at the new arrivals.
Gwen and Casey started moving towards the door. "It was nice to meet you, but we already unpacked so we're going to check out more of the campus. Catch you guys later." The two disappeared down the hall.
"Unfortunately I'm not done unpacking, if you'll excuse us." Smiling she got a snobbish tone in her voice. "Come along Cam." With a flourish she turned head held high and headed into her room.
"Looks like you've got a great group here KP."
"Yeah, should make for an interesting year. Lets get to unpacking or we are never going to get done." Kim said turning towards her room.
The room looked as if the boxes and bags had just been dumped in. Sighing Kim bent down and picked up one of the bags and began to put the clothes away. As she worked her mind kept wandering back to the previous year. It had gone by so fast she couldn't believe it. They had gone on very few missions, it seemed that Drakken and the rest had decided to take some time off. In fact the last mission they were on was almost 3 months ago. The last mission hadn't been anything special, just Drakken with some crazy take over the world scheme like usual. It was after the mission that things had gotten weird.
Ron and she had decided to enjoy a night on the town. They were enjoying the view from one of the taller buildings when they noticed a commotion in a warehouse below them. Deciding to check it out they had found themselves in the middle of a war. It wasn't super villain related, just common criminals, but someone had taken them apart and done it hard. Kim was shocked at how badly the thugs were beaten, most were lucky if they had only two broken bones.
A crash grabbed their attention as they moved further into the building. Moving through a doorway they saw them, two figures standing over another thug. They wore pure black outfits, not ninja gear; more like combat fatigues. The first was slender and held themselves with grace, definitely female. She was dressed like her partner except for a ribbon tied around her arm. The other was a brute, pure and simple. Most large guys carry themselves with a swagger, letting everyone know that they're big and tough. This guy had none of that, he simple moved with a purpose. He grabbed the thug and slammed him into the wall with a sick crunching sound, definitely broken ribs. He hung there unable to even raise his head to look back at his attacker.
Kim reacted on instinct; she rushed forward and interposed herself between the two. "What are you doing? He's done, he can't fight back." She glared at the dark stranger, what she saw shook her. The eyes glaring at her were human, but they held no humanity in them. The thug dropped to the floor next to her, which might have been a good thing but now this monster was looking at her.
A hand reached out and gently touched the mans arm. In that moment his expression changed, his head snapped over to where his partner stood next to him. Her head gently shaking from side to side, then they both turned and ran. Kim was about to follow them when a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned seeing Ron standing there, with a determined look on his face.
"We can either chase them and let some of these guys die or we can save the chase for another day."
Kim shuddered despite the warmth of the day. Ron noticed and looked closer at her. "What's up Kim?" A concerned look growing on his face.
"I was just thinking about…them." She still referred to them as, well them. The media had begun calling them Ribbon and Stalker, although she doubted very much if that's what they called themselves.
"Not to worry KP, they've only been seen a few times since then. I doubt they last too much longer, they'll give it up." Ron gave her a reassuring smile.
"Actually I had Wade do some checking, these two didn't start in the Tri-City area." Pacing around the room. "They've been moving around the country for the last 2 years. I think they are here to stay, well maybe not here, but you get what I'm saying." She looked over and found Ron just smiling at her.
"Don't worry; nothing's going to happen as long as you've got the Ron Dog with you." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. "We're this areas dream team." She couldn't help but smile, he always looked at the brighter side of things.
After unpacking her room they went down to Ron's. She hoped he would actually unpack his stuff instead of just tossing it around the room. When they had finished with her stuff she had been disappointed to find that nobody was there, Gwen and Casey were still out and Kari and Cam were no longer there. Oh well she'd have plenty of time to get to know them better.
Walking into the main room, both Kim and Ron were surprised to see Cam standing there talking to another guy. This guy made Cam look small. He was the same height but built like a tank, it looked like he had to turn sideways to walk through a door. His hair was jet black and was long enough to show that it hadn't been combed. He was wearing a muscle t and shorts. Cam's back was to the door so the other guy noticed Kim and Ron first.
"Can I help you?" He said as Cam turned.
"Actually this is my room, well that one over there is." Ron said pointing in the direction of the room with his stuff in it. "We're just going to get started unpacking."
"You're in this room, man that's cool." Cam had a big grin on his face. "I'm also here and so is this big guy."
"Hey, I'm Steve Swardson." His hand shot out and took Ron's hand in his. Ron's hand completely disappeared into the folds of Steve's. Grinning Steve moved on and gently shook Kim's hand.
"Glad to meet you I'm Ron Stoppable and this is Kim Possible."
Steve stood there smiling for a second then his expression dropped. "Really? Bummer and here I thought I'd be the big man in this dorm." His smile returned immediately as he smacked Ron on the shoulder. "Oh well, looks like I'll have to share."
"Steve here is on the football and looks to have a good shot at starting at linebacker." Cam stated as Ron rubbed his shoulder. His watch beeped at him at that moment. "Oops, got to go or I'll be late for work. Don't have to much fun kids. Later." With that Cam left the room.
"I'd love to stay and chat but I've got to get to practice." He turned to leave then turned back. "Just so you know the other guy living here is Tom, he…can be some what obnoxious. Anyway take it easy."
"Well it looks like I'm going to have an interesting year as well."
"Ron our lives are already interesting, now it's just by a matter of degree." Looking around. "Lets get started maybe we can get done before dinner." The mention of food brought a small squeak of excitement from Ron's pocket. Rufus poked his head out. "Not yet Rufus, we have to finish unpacking first." Disappointed Rufus slumped back into the pocket.