Chapter Four: Shadows of the mind

Kim irritably taps her finger on the desk. She looks past the Latin teacher's balding head to the wall clock, as the second hand agonizingly inches towards the twelve. Ron looks at Kim looking at the clock. She is officially tweaked and with good reason. Last night after that puppy-pout incident she all but dragged him (stretching his shirt in the process) to Doctor Director to demand just what was going on. The Director smiled replying, "it's almost 10:30 Kim, and you've have school tomorrow. We'll talk later." With that she slammed the GJ jet door and it VTOL-ed out of reach. Kim was not a happy cheerleader on the ride home.

Kim was now drumming her fingers quite rapidly. Ron looks up at the clock. Twenty seconds to go. He turns back towards Kim. It looks like she's going to explode. He crosses his fingers.

"Oh please just let the bell ring. Oh please just let the bell ring. Oh please just let—"

The bell rings. He turns to find the desk empty, and his eyes shoot to the door to see a glimpse of red hair disappearing around the corner. Ron's astonished. Not even he moves that quick when he's trying to escape from a Mr. Barkin class. He grabs his bag and hurries to catch up. She's practically to her locker before he finally does catch her and the Kim-municator chimes.

"Go Wade."

"Man, what's got you tweaked?"

"Wade…"

"Alright! Alright! The files you gave me have massive encryption and anti-hack measures. I won't have all of it deciphered very soon. But I did manage to find a few files that are cross-referenced with Dun's. It should be printing now."

Kim twists her locker combo open and yanks the freshly printed pages from the printer tray. Ron peeks over her shoulder and scans the copy.

"Project: Aurora?" he ponders.

"It's got something to do with the idea of suspended animation." Wade says.

"You mean like cryogenics?" asks Kim.

"Sort of. Think of it as cryogenics without the deep freeze."

"Right…let's pretend I don't know what all this means…" blurts Ron.

"Suspended animation is the process in which all bodily function is slowed to the point in which it's nearly non-existent. It's like you're in a deep sleep. NASA's been toying with the idea to use that method in the future for deep space exploration." Wade explains.

"Oh…" Ron replies. "So what does that have to do with an ex-spy?"

"A very poignant question." Says a voice.

The teens swirl to see Ben Dun coolly leaning against the lockers across the hall his smile again on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Kim asks.

"Well, DD wanted to have me run through a few…simulations for the day. It took twenty minutes. Thought the time should be better spent."

"Doing what?" Ron asks now.

"Dropping off your homework."

"Homework? Aw man…"

"So you going to introduce me to the techno geek on the other side of the screen?" questions Dun.

"Ben Dun, this is Wade," Kim responds waving her hand to the screen, "Wade Load."

"He certainly is." Dun replies placing a CD into the computer tray.

"Huh?" the trio replies.

"Study up kiddos. I'll catch up with you folks back at the Possible household after school. See you then." Dun says cliply as he quickly turns and heads for a corner.

"Dun, wait!" Kim shouts as she hurries after him. He makes the corner seconds before she arrives at it. She turns only to find a completely empty hall. Well, almost empty.

"Bonnie?"

"What Possible?" she huffs.

"Where did the man go just now?"

"What man?" she answers annoyed.

"Nobody can pull a fast fade like that…"

"Whatever. Look I burned the stupid CD you wanted." Bonnie tosses the case into Kim's hands.

"What CD?" Ron asks.

"Uh…um…new cheer?" Kim tosses.

"Sweet!" Ron snatches the CD from her hand. "The mascot needs some new tunes!"

"No!" the girls reply in unison. They both turn to each other surprised, almost looking for something in the other's face.

"Um…not right now Ron." Kim says as she gently pries the CD from Ron's grasp. "Let's see what Ben Dun left us huh?"

"Okay."

"I'll talk to you later." Kim calls to Bonnie as they turn around.

"See you." Bonnie calls back.

"Later? What's all that about?" Ron ponders.

"Nothing Ron. Wade?" Kim asks as she turns again to the computer screen.

"Hmmm…" the super genius muses as he studies the newly uploaded files. "Whoa."

"What is it?" Kim questions.

"Kim… what there doing here is…cutting edge. It defies the principles of physics."

"Wade, take a breath and tell me what you're talking about."

"Right. What they have here they're calling a D.A.R.C. box."

"D.A.R.C. box?" the two other teens chime. They turn to each other surprised.

"Jinx! You owe me a soda!" exclaims Kim.

"D'oh! I never get a soda."

"You know it creeps me out when you two do that." Wade says calmly from the computer screen. "Anyway it's a Darkness Amplification Remote Circuit."

"So what's it do?" asks Ron.

"Suffice to say, it's like a flashlight in reverse."

"Come again?" Kim answers.

"A flashlight is able to manifest and project light. Now imagine if that flashlight could project darkness instead of light."

"But that's impossible."

"Exactly, until now. It seems that Dr. Essence has—"

"Whoa whoa whoa." Ron says. "Is this going to be complicated?"

"Um…relatively." Replies Wade.

"Then I don't want to know about it."

Kim groans. "Wade, what does the thing do?"

"This device is able to project a sphere of perfect darkness over an unverified amount of space, like a portable abyss as it were. It looks like the darkness also dampens radar and communication signals. It also absorbs any light source inside of the sphere."

"Why would anyone want a machine that could create darkness?" Ron asks.

"Military purposes of course."

"Of course." Kim answers dryly.

"This was a top secret military project Kim. Think about the applications. Being able to cover an enemy placement with a complete darkness, the enemy couldn't see their own vid-screens and hands, let alone their targets. Communications would be jammed, leaving them completely inoperative. It's defeating the enemy without firing a shot, non-lethal warfare."

"But in the wrong hands…"

"Like a bad guy who could blanket an entire city in blackness? Imagine doctors not being able to see hospital charts, or drivers all of a sudden unable to see two inches in front of them. Or a million blinded people in mass panic. We're talking total chaos."

"Uh guys? I know this little talk has been so…expositional and all but Kim and I have about a minute and a half to reach her next class and Mr. Barkin's on tardiness duty." Ron sticks a thumb to his left.

"We'll talk later Wade." Kim says as she slams her locker and bolts down the hallway with Ron in tow.

"Yeah sure." Wade replies to the now dead line. He rubs his mouth with his left hand worryingly as he examines the D.A.R.C. box specs before him.

After-school, in front of the Possible household:

Kim and Ron spy Dun leaning against the Possible Mini-van outside the house. His eyes are now shielded by a pair of dark sunglasses. He straitens up as they approach.

Ron notes Dun's new eyewear, "What's up with the shades spy-man?"

"Middleton's a bit too…bright for me. Too many bright colors…" he replies cryptically.

"Why didn't you just wait inside?" Kim asks.

"I needed to catch something."

"Catch something?"

Suddenly, an unmarked black van roars and squeals to a stop in front of the house. The side door slides open and a metallic briefcase is hurtled towards the crew. Dun deftly catches it in his hands and the van once more roars down the street.

"This." Dun says. "DD had some gear to deliver; now we can go inside."

"Um…question?"

"Yes Ron?" says Dun.

"Why do you call Doctor Director 'DD'?" Ron asks as he and Kim head for the front door.

Dun pauses a moment before replying. "Because she hates it." He says quietly as he follows them inside.

The trio plus one naked mole-rat seat themselves around the kitchen table. Rufus enjoys a small bowl of nacho cheese while Ben Dun pulls out a triangular device and places it in the middle of the table.

"Portable hologram projector," explains Dun. "JG techs probably stole the idea from your Kim-municator."

"Really." Kim replies deadpan. "So what's this conference holo—"

RING!

"Kimmy? Can you grab that?" cries Mrs. Doctor Possible.

RING!

"I got it Doctor Possible!" Ron cries as he grabs the kitchen phone.

"Ron wait!" Kim exclaims. Dun's head tilts as he examines Kim's nervous look as Ron answers the phone.

"Possible household….Ned? Why are you calling? Bueno Nacho catering order?"

"I've got it now thank you Ronald," Doctor Possible speaks on the upstairs line.

"Mrs. Possible? What's this about a party order?" Ron asks

"I'm sorry Ron; it's for a surgeon get-together tonight. I had wanted to let you know but I knew you'd be on a mission and I didn't want you to bum out about not being there."

"Oh…uh sure. Thanks for the invite anyway," Ron says. An awkward silence follows as he hangs up the receiver. "Kim…why is there a party…with a Bueno Nacho buffet…that I don't know about?"

"I…I have no idea. You'd have to ask my mom." She answers her voice a little shaky. Ben Dun's eyes shift quietly and swiftly between the two figures, cataloging this little scene for another time. Suddenly, the hologram projector hums into life.

"Hello again Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable…Dun." Doctor Director greets. "I'm aware that last night I had been a little…shortcoming as to your roles in this mission. I apologize, but at the time you knew only what you needed to. That was to find and contact Agent Dun here. For that I am in your debt."

Kim, still a little tweaked answers curtly, "Thank you Doctor Director. Would you mind telling us now what this is all about?"

The Director smiles smugly, "why, saving the world from dangerous criminals of course. Let's begin the briefing shall we?..."

Author's Note: dear readers, in an effort to spare you an amateur's attempt of the quagmire of a "Counsel of Elrond" scene, I'll save the briefing for next chapter. We've come to that troublesome soggy area where one must elaborate on explanations and psychological head games before the action comes. Sorry, but I promise more action for next time!