Thanks to Conan98002, swiglo3000, Zaratan, Commander Argus, TexasDad, momike, The Incredible Werekitty, whitem, Markv1.0, kemiztri, Deyinel, JPMod, Moss Royal, daywalkr82, surfost, Taechunsa, Dixon-San, mattb3671, Cartoonatic, Scoutcraft Piratess, The Halfa Wannabe, campy, qptie235, The Odd Little Turtle, jasminevr and Ace Ian Combat for reviewing.
Special thanks to campy, my beta/proof man. The figgy pudding is on it's way …
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You saw it on KP, it belongs to Disney. Clarence and It's a Wonderful Life belong to Republic Pictures.
I.
The walk into town seemed a lot longer than the walk out. Perhaps that was because Ron was a lot colder. Jumping into a river on a late December evening can do that to a fellow. Or maybe it was because of his odd companion, who seemed awfully pleased with himself. Ron wished Clarence would just go away, what with all his talk of being an angel-in-training and Ron never having been born, but he couldn't let the crazy old dude wander around alone. Ron was hoping that Kim's mother might have some ideas about how to find his new acquaintance some help; Ron thought he had problems, but at least he wasn't nuts.
They were passing the Space Center when Ron stopped dead in his tracks.
There was barbed wire on top of the tall chain link fence surrounding the complex.
That hadn't been there before.
And as he walked by the front gate, he noticed that someone had taken down both the Space Center sign and the announcement on the notice board promoting Rocket Boosters Day.
Way strange, Ron thought. I'll have to ask Mr. Dr. P. about this tonight.
Ron felt someone watching him. He turned to see Clarence looking at him.
"What?"
"The world's changed, Ron."
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"You said you wished you'd never been born. You weren't …"
"Stop saying that, dude. It's beginning to freak me out."
"I'm sorry, Ron. But you should get used to it. You don't exist. And as a result, history is different."
"Suuurrre …" Ron said, rolling his eyes.
"Scoff all you like. You'll see," Clarence countered.
Ron cast a skeptical glance at Clarence and resumed walking. His next surprise was when he came to the intersection where he expected to see the "Welcome to Middleton" greeting. The sign, which had stood in that spot Ron's entire life, had been replaced with one proclaiming "Entering Drakkenton, Birthplace of the Supreme Ruler of the World."
"Okay, dude, this is so not funny. Who'd play a joke like this?"
"It's not a joke, Ron. This is Drakkenton. Middleton was renamed when Dr. Drakken took over the world."
"What do you mean? Blue Boy couldn't take over a cream puff. We beat him like a dead horse."
"You say that with such confidence for someone who only a short while ago was blaming himself for Drakken's being at large," Clarence replied.
"Hey, you don't play fair," Ron said.
"Neither does Drakken," Clarence retorted. "Anyway, you just said 'We beat him like a dead horse.' That's wrong."
"Huh?"
"There is, there was, no 'we,' Ron. There was just Kim."
Ron was beginning to become agitated.
"Okay, let's say, hypothetically speaking, that what you say is true. I'm not here. Never was. So, KP went into the world saving biz on her own?"
"Yes."
"Began with the dude in Upperton with the flamingoat and the lasers?"
"Yes. She wasn't going to go – you weren't there to encourage her. But she felt she'd said she could do something and people were counting on her so she responded to the call. She was quite proud of herself after she deactivated the security system. It was a tremendous boost to her self-confidence. Bigger, more challenging missions resulted. Over time, she became quite confident, even arrogant. She was bragging about what she could do at every opportunity; she was actually becoming rather insufferable."
"Kim? Bragging?" Ron asked, surprised. Kim confident, yes. Supremely confident. But that was justified. He could see that. But she was never arrogant. Maybe a bit cocksure. But never arrogant. And he never recalled her being braggy beyond occasionally saying things like 'check the motto, I can do anything.'"
"Remember, Ron. You weren't there to give her some perspective. You helped keep her feet on the ground," Clarence sighed. "Then came the call about the laser drill in Wisconsin."
Ron smiled dreamily. "Ah yes. The lair made of 100 percent Swiss cheese. It was like being in heaven. I love a good cheese …"
"Head in the game, Ron," Clarence said, getting his charge's attention. He knew using a Kim Possible catch-phrase would do the trick. "Kim had already bested Dr. Drakken a few times. He was not happy about having been beaten by a teen-aged cheerleader. Drakken and Shego were especially peeved that Kim was being invited to be on the morning talk shows to talk about her exploits. They were becoming the laughingstocks of the villain community."
"Huh," Ron replied. Kim on morning TV. She had never liked giving interviews. She had always tried to be as normal and low-key as possible.
"Remember, Ron. A different world. Kim without you didn't have someone to keep her ego in check. Since you weren't there to provide her with the constant source of affirmation she needed, she found it elsewhere." Clarence shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Anyway, she headed out to the Cheese Wheel to confront Drakken."
"And she clobbered him," Ron said with a grin as he threw some mock punches.
"No, Ron. Kim, Rufus, and you clobbered him. Remember? Kim left you at Bueno Nacho, went in alone, was captured and shackled to a wall, which was how you found her when you arrived to save her."
"Save her," Ron snorted. "I found myself hanging right next to her pretty darned fast."
"True, but Rufus was able to free you. And then, while Kim was battling Shego and the henchmen, you were able to use Drakken's laser drill to destroy the lair and thwart his plan," Clarence shook his head in sorrow, then added sadly, "Too bad you weren't there to save Kim."
"If I wasn't there …"
"Drakken won. He renamed Wisconsin Drakkenville, just as he wanted to. Next he moved on Canada, which became Drakanada. He quickly succeeded in taking over the entire planet. He's ruled the world for the last two and a half years."
"Kim. What happened to her?" Ron asked, not believing what he was hearing.
"Nothing, of course. None of this is real, right? You're just imagining things, or maybe you're dreaming," Clarence answered dismissively.
Ron wanted to believe that this was all an unfolding nightmare. But somehow everything seemed … real.
"Clarence. Offer me proof. Something that I can hold on to."
The angel-wannabe looked at Ron for a moment then told his charge to reach into his pockets. "Something missing?" Clarence asked.
"Rufus' Diablo sauce. When I left Kim's, it was in my pocket. Now it's … gone. I know, maybe it fell out …"
Clarence arched an eyebrow. "What if I told you there is no Bueno Nacho?"
"What? Don't even kid about that, dude!"
"I'm not kidding. You don't exist. So you never invented the naco, Bueno Nacho's most popular menu offering. That means they had less revenue to work with and couldn't deal with the cash flow crisis that struck two and a half years ago. The company went bankrupt."
Clarence's logic was a little too solid for Ron. He was feeling uneasy and began to wonder if, somehow, Clarence was telling the truth.
"Tell me about Kim. Where is she?" Ron asked, his voice quavering.
"I think we should go into town," was Clarence's reply.
II.
Downtown Drakkenton was dull and gloomy, bereft of life. Giant posters of Drakken were mounted on the sides of buildings. And the new Drakken flag – essentially the old blue UN flag with the blue-skinned scientist's face replacing the image of the globe within the laurels – was everywhere.
Ron was trying not to gawk as he took in the strange sights. He noticed a lot of henchmen on the streets. In fact, they were ubiquitous. "I wonder how many of them are synthodrones?" Ron asked himself. Synthodrone or human, the pain sticks they carried looked all too real.
Ron passed the corner where Bueno Nacho should have been. Instead, there was a sushi bar. He blanched. Clarence had been telling the truth. Things were different. He was frightened by what else he'd discover in this new Middleton.
Ron shook his head vigorously, as if that would bring back the Middleton he knew. Then he noticed an old man, wrapped in rags, shuffling down the street and muttering to himself. It took Ron a moment, but he soon recognized that the figure was Timothy North. Ron felt incredibly sad. He recalled how he had befriended the one-time action-hero actor and helped him regain a grip on reality. Ron approached the man.
"Mr. North?"
"Are you talking to me, son?" the actor asked. "The name's Ferret. Fearless Ferret. Now, please excuse me, I have to ferret out evil."
North was poking his way past a few storefronts, still talking to himself, when a squad car pulled up to the curb. A policeman emerged from the vehicle.
It was Officer Hobble. But he wasn't dressed in a Middleton Police Uniform. Instead, he was clothed in black and wearing an eye patch. He looked like a Corpulon Storm Trooper.
"C'mon, Ferret. Time to go back to the Ferret Cave," he snapped. Ron noticed that Hobble's warm Irish brogue now had a vicious undertone.
"Clarence" Ron whispered. "What's going on? What happened to them?"
"Since you were never born, Mr. North never had a Sunshine Spreader who could help him. He sank further and further into his delusions and is now living on the streets; he was cheated out of his home and money by a shady lawyer named Hank Perkins."
"And Officer Hobble? He always seemed like a nice guy, even if he couldn't believe that I saved the day at Wannaweep. Boy, did that vex me so."
Clarence rolled his eyes. "Circumstances change people, Ron. It didn't help that Hobble had his own run-in with Drakken's goons shortly after Drakken came to power. Hobble was never the same after that."
Ron watched in shock as Hobble unsheathed his billy club and stuck the old actor.
"Hey!" Ron protested without thinking. Clarence cringed.
"You have a problem, boy?" Hobble asked.
"Uh, no. Yes. Why'd you hit him?" Ron asked.
"Why do you care?" Hobble asked, challenging Ron. "You don't look like you're from around here," he asked suspiciously. "What's your name? Papers. Now."
Ron's mind raced. He knew he was toast if he didn't think of something. And fast.
"The name's Lipsky. Ted Lipsky. You really want my papers? I don't think the Supreme Ruler would like to learn that you were coming down on one of his fam, ya know?"
Hobble eyed Ron. "Get out of here. Now," the policeman snarled.
Ron hurried down the street. He was moving quickly, not wanting to wait around for Hobble to change his mind. Ron knew he could not afford to be called into the police station. He knew a record check would prompt all sorts of questions that he couldn't answer.
Ron picked up his pace. Focused on getting as far a way as possible from the policeman, he didn't notice the fat lady coming his way; he was surprised when he collided with her.
"Sorry," Ron said apologetically, before his jaw dropped. Standing before him was a very large Bonnie Rockwaller. Ron guessed she weighed at least 200 pounds.
"Watch where you're going!" she said defensively.
"Uh, sure," repeated, still staring, unable to believe what he was seeing. Do not call her Bon-Bon, Rondo, he thought. Don't do it.
Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "What, you've never seen a fat person before? It's not illegal to be fat, you know!" she wailed.
Ron shuddered. "Uh, yeah, I know. Look, sorry. I, I've got to go." Ron turned and began walking down the sidewalk at a brisk pace.
"Okay, Clarence. What's going on? Don't tell me that being deprived of her daily dose of Ronshine led Bonnie to take up binge eating."
"No, Ron, I won't tell you that. But being deprived of Brick Flagg did."
"What?"
"Brick was, well, drafted, into Drakken's army. Most of his henchmen are synthodrones, but a fair number are human, essentially the ones who could cause trouble in a fight."
"What does he do, have the synthodrones guard them?"
"Only in an emergency, should the mind control chips fail."
Ron winced, remembering when Kim had worn one. He learned later that Kim had been fully aware of everything Drakken told her to do. She said it was like being imprisoned in her own body.
"So Bonnie lost Brick and it broke her heart?"
"Bonnie cared a great deal about Brick and was devastated when he was taken away. She knew it wasn't like the times when they'd had fights and broken up for a few days; this time he wasn't coming back. Then, to make things worse, Bonnie's attempt to run the cheer squad in Kim's absence ended in failure after just two weeks. She became depressed, began eating, and, well, you've seen the rest of the story."
Kim's absence. Where'd she go after Wisconsin? Ron wondered, wanting to ask Clarence when he saw two familiar faces turn the corner from a side street. It was Monique and Felix. Felix, though, was in a traditional wheel-chair, not the cybertronic one tricked out by his mother. Neither looked particularly happy. Monique cursed as Felix struggled to get his chair around a stretch of broken sidewalk that was covered with ice and snow.
"Dang. I wish you still had your old chair," Monique complained. "Life would be so much easier for you."
"Don't I know. If only Possible hadn't gone and messed everything up," Felix said.
Monique snorted. "You got that right. Little Miss Cheerleader couldn't leave things to the pros. Figures. She messed up and we pay the price. Serves her right what they did to her."
Ron felt like a knife was being twisted in his guts. He fell back, not wanting to hear anymore. Monique was supposed to be Kim's best girlfriend. But now she sounded like she hated Kim.
His curiosity about Kim's fate was intensifying: Kim had not only lost, but something had been done to her. He was about to ask Clarence about that when he absently reached into his pocket. There was still no Diablo sauce. Suddenly, another question popped into his head. "Clarence, how are my parents …?"
Clarence shook his head mutely.
"Dude, spill. Now!"
"They divorced, Ron. They had wanted to have a child but never did. It led to tensions and fights and arguments and ultimately, they split. I'm sorry."
"Are, are either of them here?"
"No. Your mother took a job in Norway and your father, being an actuary, decided he could work anywhere and relocated to Florida."
"Geez," Ron said, feeling like he'd been body slammed. Then his head jerked up. For all practical purposes, he'd always had two sets of parents: his mom and dad and James and Ann Possible. Ron began running. They'd know what was going on. They'd tell him about Kim.
Clarence, huffing and puffing, tried to keep pace but found himself falling further and further behind. He'd just have to meet Ron at the Possible home.
III.
The house was looking worn. Paint was chipped and one of the windows was broken. Filled with trepidation, Ron walked to the door. He stood quietly before he rang the bell.
The door opened, revealing one of the twins. Ron was pretty sure it was Tim.
"Yeah?" the boy asked sullenly. There was no sense of joy or mischief in the voice, just wariness.
"Uh, hi. I was wondering if, uh, I could talk to Kim."
The boy's eyes opened wide. Then he slammed the door. Ron was stunned. He rang the bell again. And again. And again. Finally, the door opened. This time a woman stood there. It was Ann Possible. She was haggard and her face was lined with grief. She looked around nervously.
"You're not here from the government, are you?" she asked. "We haven't done anything wrong."
"Uh, no, I'm not. Just an, uh, old acquaintance of Kim's. Passing through town."
Ann grabbed Ron's sleeve and pulled him into the house.
"I'm sorry Tim was so rude. Kim hasn't had a visitor in so long and I think he was shocked."
"S'okay. No big," Ron said with a smile. What on Earth has happened to Mrs. Dr. P.? Ron wondered.
"Kim's at work now. She'll be back at 10:30."
10:30? It's Christmas Eve! What about the Possible family Christmas? he wondered. It then occurred to Ron that there were no decorations, either inside or outside the house.
"Oh, okay."
"I'd invite you to wait, but the boys don't like strangers and I have to take care of James."
It was then that Ron looked into the living room and saw Mr. Dr. P. sitting in a chair. The brilliant, if goofy, rocket scientist he had known was staring vacantly into space. Ron felt a chill grip his body.
"I understand. I'll try another time …"
"Please do," Ann said. "She's off tomorrow, if you're free. Thank God Smarty Mart closes at least one day a year. Though I shouldn't complain; at least they were willing to give her a job. I don't know what we'd do without her paycheck. It's our only income. Sixty hours a week and it barely covers the bills."
KP works at Smarty Mart? Ron thought incredulously. She must be running the entire store.
"Kim doesn't have many friends anymore," Ann added ruefully, returning to the subject of Ron's returning. "In fact, she doesn't have any. I'm sure she'll be happy to know you looked her up … what did you say your name was?"
"Uh, Ron. Ron … Ron Doe."
"Well, nice to meet you …" Ann was interrupted as one of the twins rushed in.
"Mom, Dad's drooling again!"
Looking at Ron with pain-filled eyes, "I'm sorry, but I have to go now."
"It's okay, Mrs. Possible. G'night."
Ron wanted to leave this hellish place. He walked through the front door and into the cold evening air, then began running. He was intent on finding Kim. He saw Clarence coming his way and picked up the pace to meet the angel-trainee.
"What happened to them, Clarence?" Ron asked, panic beginning to rise.
"Right after he came to power, Drakken took Kim's father away. He decided to use his brain tap machine on James. When Drakken was done, his men just left James on the front doorstep, sitting in the rain. They didn't bother ringing the bell. Ann came home from the hospital and found him that way. He was drenched. And staring into space."
"Aw, man."
"It got worse."
"Huh? How?"
"Shortly after James' return, Ann received a certified letter, informing her that her medical license had been revoked. And Drakken still had Kim. It all broke Ann and the boys. And it killed Nana."
"Nana's … dead?"
"Are you surprised? How would you react if that happened to both of your sons?"
"Oh, geez, not Slim, too."
"I'm sorry, yes. And for good measure, Shego decided that she'd take Joss under her wing and, well, re-educate her."
A million questions coursed through Ron's head. He needed answers.
"Yori and Sensei?"
Clarence sighed.
"Answer me!" Ron demanded.
"Monkey Fist rules at Yamanuchi. Drakken decided Monkey Fist could be useful to him; he is now an obedience collar-wearing minion. Sensei, Yori, Hirotaka, all the others were turned into monkeys by Monkey Fist who had found a way to control the powers of a Chinese amulet. Your Yamanuchi friends now serve as monkey ninja bodyguards."
Ron realized he couldn't summon the mystical monkey power. That made sense, of course. He'd never been exposed to it. Ron's head was spinning.
"Wade?"
"Drakken tracked him down, put a mind control chip on him, and now has him designing weapons and security systems. You may have noticed Felix's chair was missing."
Ron nodded.
"Wade took it to reverse engineer the systems."
Ron closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.
"What about Rufus?"
"He was bought at Smarty Mart by your cousin Shawn."
"Oh no … No. No. No. That is sick and wrong. Wrong-sick! Wrong-sick!" Ron repeated, over and over, before collecting himself.
Clarence watched his charge with growing concern.
"Okay, dude. What happened to Kim after the Cheese Lair. Tell me. Now. Or I'll make sure you not only don't get your wings but that you go to the other place. The one that's as hot as Diablo sauce."
Clarence gulped, then sat down with his head in his hands. He'd made such a hash of things. But he knew the situation had to play itself through. That's the way these things worked.
Ron reached down and pulled Clarence up. "Tell me!" he demanded.
Clarence sighed before he reluctantly began telling Ron Stoppable about Kim Possible's fate …
TBC …