It was Sunday and Ron was blissfully unaware of Kim's predicament in New Mexico. Ron was wheeling the little scooter into the Bueno Nacho parking lot to start his shift. Ron originally wanted to work days at Smarty Mart and then do the night shift with Ned at Bueno Nacho, but after meeting the night crew over at Smarty Mart, he thought better of it.
Now he only saw Ned for about an hour or so a day before he had to leave for Smarty Mart. Ron carried a gym bag that had his Bueno Nacho uniform and his red Smarty Martvest in it so he could change at either work place. Ron went into the restroom and put on his uniform, and clocked in.
Ron always got a kick out of changing cloths at work; he always looked at it like he was a super hero changing from his secret identity to his super powerful alter ego. Ron would have a little speech that he'd repeat in his mind when ever he left the restroom in his Bueno Nacho uniform, "Naco Man, proud defender of all things Naco, defender of cheese and proud purveyor of pre-packaged condiments. While in the disguise of mild mannered high school student Ron Stoppable, Ron is often called upon to fight for truth, justice, and the American way and he will get paid minimum wage."
Ron smiled at the speech, he was so busy these days he felt like needed super powers. Ron was working the equivalent of a full time job and then some. He could feel the stress of the hours on him, he got mad at Rufus for no reason and yelled at him. He felt guilty; he'd never seen Rufus look at him that way before. He knew that wasn't like him, he knew he was tired. He was glad to have a few days off soon.
He was looking forward to Monday, the cast was coming off, and he would be running around with Super Dave and Kong later in the day while they transformed him…into a "pimp daddy." Ron shook his head smiling, "This is gonna be fun." He thought to himself.
Monday morning he would get up and run, he'd been running now every other day and was getting better; he could almost run a mile before he would feel sick. Then he'd rest and take some water, then run back home. Even though he was working all the hours and trying to take in a new sport, Ron realized that he had never been happier in his life, he didn't have as many nightmares, he had friends, and he was getting to know his parents again.
That was the weird part, his mom and dad were actually starting to appear human to him and as strange as it might be, he found that comforting. Ron was pre-pairing food and letting the thoughts carry him through the day, "Strange how life is." He thought to himself.
Once he was well into his day at Smarty Mart, Ron could feel the stress getting to him. He was having trouble focusing on the work, he was having trouble being pleasant to people that needed help, he took a break just so he could walk outside and look at the night sky. Ron had worked almost a full month between two jobs and school without a day off, "I'll never do this again." He thought to himself as he re-entered the store.
Once he returned to electronics, he started doing mundane things, wiping off the wall of televisions, fronting shelves, being helpful.
Then it happened, "Ron…Ron…You there?" Ron was hearing the voice, and thought he may have been loosing his mind for a moment.
Then he turned and looked at the wall of televisions, and there he was on all 85 televisions of various sizes and quality and every single television in the department, it was Wade.
Ron shook his head in disbelief, the nightmare was happening and endangering all that he had worked for, he feared would be gone, "I am so fired." Ron thought.
Ron wanted to sink to the floor, cry, but instead Ron lost his temper, "What ya need, Wade? Looking for a television?" He asked the 13 year old computer genius.
Wade didn't notice Ron was angry, "Ron, Kim's been captured by Drakken and needs your help." Wade said urgently.
Ron nodded, "So I'm just supposed to abandon my job, give up my life and go get her? Wade, I quit, call Global Justice, those guys are good at this stuff."
Wade blinked, "Whaaaa…Come on Ron, quit joking. Kim needs you, and Team Possible needs you."
Ron exploded at Wade, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN AN IMPORTANT PART OF TEAM POSSIBLE, IF I'M SO IMPORTANT THEN WHY DON'T I HAVE A RONNUNICATOR, OR COOL GADGETS, NO I HAVE NOTHING, I ONLY GET ENOUGH TO KEEP UP WITH KIM, NOTHING MORE. AFTER ALL IT'S CALLED TEAM POSSIBLE, NOT TEAM RON, NOT TEAM STOPPABLE, WHO CARES ABOUT RON. YOU KNOW WHEN ME AND KIM ARE CHAINED TO THOSE WALLS AND THOSE PSYCHOS ARE TELLING US HOW THEIR GOING TO KILL US AND KIM LOOKS AT ME AND ASKS, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING RON? I ALWAYS ANSWER NO I GOT NOTHING, AND IT'S TRUE BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN FU…"Ron stopped screaming remembering he was at wor.
Ron whipped his face of sweat and continued in a much quieter voice; "It's always been forget Ron, Kim will save him and if she doesn't? Well, it's only Ron after all." Ron told the boy bitterly.
Wade looked sick on the 70 inch plasma high definition television that Ron was screaming at, he had never seen Ron so angry. Wades eyes were burning, he wanted to cry but he had to break through to Ron for Kim's sake. Wade tried again, "Ron you know you were never the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to electronics."
Ron's eyes got big and his face turned red and then veins in his neck started to pop out, "Are you calling me stupid, Wade? How dare you, just because I'm not good at something, doesn't make me stupid. Did you ever actually try and teach me how to use a gadget, NO; you just automatically think I'm stupid." Ron was getting tired and his head was hurting.
There was a pat on Ron's shoulder, he winced, he thought it was security coming to walk him out. Ron turned to look at a customer, and older black man, "Ron, go save Kim, she needs you." The customer said in a caring voice.
Ron turned to look at the department and realized the entire store was looking at him and Wade on the wall of televisions. There was an elderly lady off to his left, "Go get her son, she needs you."
Ron looked back towards clothing and he could hear girls chanting, "GO SAVE KIM, GO SAVE KIM"
Ron turned back towards the giant monitor and shook his head, "Damn you Wade. I get off in two hours, get me a ride." Ron said sadly.
Wade wasn't happy with the answer, "TWO HOURS, Kim needs you now." He said urgently.
Ron stared at him and in a low menacing voice let Wade know exactly what he thought, "Wade, she's a prisoner…Right…She ain't going anywhere."
Wade swallowed, "I see"
Ron spun around and faced the store, raised his right hand into the air and in the loudest voice he could muster declared, "I AM GOING TO SAVE KIM!"
There was a lot of cheering and back patting after that and all Ron could think about was, "I am such a tool."
Ron hit the clock and waived at his friends, Angry Bob got after him for being a tool of oppression. Ron just shook his head, he was the only one feeling oppressed right now.
Ron headed into the parking lot and seen the large helicopter in the back of the parking lot surrounded by people. Ron shook his head, "Don't these people have anything else to do…I know I do." He thought to himself.
Ron climbed aboard the helicopter; he could still barely hear the people outside chanting, "GO SAVE KIM, GO SAVE KIM"
Ron shook his head, "This is what being a rock star must be like?" he thought sadly to himself. Once he was in the air, he found a corner out of the way, and slept.
He awoke an hour later, 15 minutes to landing was the call. An LCD viewer came down from ceiling of the helicopter, it was Wade. Ron scowled at the viewer, "How dare you people do this to me at work." He thought.
Wade began to explain the elaborate plan he worked out and Ron cut him short, "Wade, where's the front door?" Ron said sternly.
Wade blinked, "There's a service road that leads up to the entrance."
Ron interrupted him, "Put me down there, I'm going in the front door." He told Wade.
Wade shook his head, "Bad plan, I have a better one."
Ron was getting worked up again, "Wade, I'm done with plans, I'm not going to fly in, I'm not going to swim in, I'm not going to roller blade in, I'm not going to sky dive in, I'm walking up that road going in the front door and bring her out…Got it!"
Wade stared wide eyed, "Ok Ron, have it your way. I have placed a homing beacon in the bag under the seat, it's only has one button to push, push it when guys are ready to leave." Wade said glumly.
Ron shook his head, "Only one button Wade…Duh' dumb ol' Ron can do dat, pretty shinny gadget, good." Ron wasn't in any mood for missions any more.
Ron looked at his watch, "It's 10:30, I should be at home sitting on the bed eating a bowl of tostie o's and watching TV? What am I doing here?"
Ron was feeling really sad, the helicopter pilot turned around, "You know I'd do anything in the world for Kim after she saved my fleet of helicopters from that dust storm." He told Ron happily.
Ron just stared at him. The pilot continued, "I think you might have been there, don't remember your name though…What did you say your name was again?" he asked.
Ron stared at the pilot, "Does it really matter?" he asked dryly.
The pilot shook his head, "Nope"
Ron was beginning to think this was all some sort of nightmare, "why me, why not global justice?"
Ron received the signal and the helicopter landed just across from the road on the other side of a black top road in a field. Ron took the Wade's bag and jumped out.
Ron walked across the black top road, walked on to the gravel access road, and stashed the bag in the bushes. His mood was still pretty dark, "There you go Wade, I never needed your junk in the past, don't need it now." He thought to himself.
Ron walked up the service road, motion detector lights were going off illuminating him in an eerie bright light. "Well so much for the element of surprise." Ron thought to himself.
Dr. Drakken and Shego were still trying to figure out a good take over the world scheme that they could pull off on limited funds, when the perimeter alert sounded alerting them that they were about to have company.
Drakken looked at Shego, "Who could it be at this hour?"
Shego shrugged, "Let's look at the monitors and find out."
They went into the central control room and looked at the monitors that showed the main road. Shego recognized who it was immediately, "It's Nerdlinger and he's not even attempting to sneak in." Shego said with a chuckle.
Dr. Drakken was not sure exactly what to think, "He's not dressed in mission gear, he's wearing a red vest?" This was more than Dr. Drakken could believe.
They watched Ron make his way up the road until he reached the door. Shego looked at the monitor, "He's knocking…Want me to get it?" She asked.
Dr. Drakken was scratching his head, "No I think I will handle this one." He told Shego as he made his way to the door.
Ron made it to the door and knocked. There wasn't an answer right away, for a minute Ron thought that maybe they wanted him to sneak in. Save the world protocol could get confusing and annoying and Ron wanted to get home.
The door opened a crack, "What do you want?" Drakken asked suspiciously.
Ron shrugged, "Wade called, sent me out here to pick Kimup and take her home." He told Drakken in a matter of fact fashion.
Drakken pulled back the door, "Suppose we don't want to let her go?" he snarled at Ron.
Ron shifted his weight and rubbed the back of his head with his right hand, "Look, I want to get this over with quick, I've got two days off from my jobs and I really want to go home and go to bed. Can I come in for a cup of coffee or something?" Ron was pulling no punches.
Drakken's eyes were big, "Ok" and he let Ron enter the lair.
Once inside Ron was taken to a meeting room, he passed Shego, "Hey Shego" he said with a wave.
Shego nodded, "Nerdlinger"
Once in the room, Ron sat down at the big long table, Drakken and Shego sat on the opposite side. Ron put his right hand with the cast up on the table, "Ok here's the sitch…"
Then Ron told Drakken and Shego the whole story of everything that had happened after the Diablo attack, school, fight, Kim breaking up with him, him getting his jobs, the car he wanted to buy, everything.
Once Ron had finished Shego and Drakken looked at one another, "Your serious, you quit?" Shego asked.
Ron nodded, "I don't care who rules the world, if it's you guys, I'm fine with it, I just want out of this business." Ron said with a tinge of bitterness.
Dr. Drakken looked at Ron, "She dumped you after you broke your hand defending her honor?" Drakken shook his head in disbelief.
Shego smiled, "That is cold, even for the Princess." She said shaking her head.
Ron sat in the chair, "Yea…So what's the new take over the world scheme?" he asked out of curiosity.
Drakken, shifted in his seat, "We haven't made up our minds yet, but when we do you can bet it will be freaky." Drakken said proudly.
Ron started to laugh, "You mean you guys aren't even doing anything?" he said in disbelief.
Ron shook his head, "Let me get this straight, you guys aren't doing anything, Kim breaks in, and assaults Shego…You guys should of just called the Sheriff, made my job easy, pop into town, bail her out, take her home…done."
Ron told them still chuckling. Drakken looked at Shego, "I never thought of that." He told her.
Ron was starting got get impatient, "Look it's getting late and I got a lot of things to do tomorrow, so go ahead release her to me and we'll be out of your way." He told the two.
Drakken tilted his head to the right, and then back to the left, "Shego, go get Kim Possible bring her here, make sure her arm and leg restraints are in place."
Drakken was eyeing Ron, "When I turn her over to you, I will give you the key to the restraints, you will then walk down the road you came in on without any detours and you are not to release her till you reach the blacktop road. Is that clear to you…Ron?"
Ron nodded, "I can do that." He told Drakken. S
hego wasn't interested in letting Kim go, "Are you kidding, we're just going to let them walk out of here?" She yelled at Drakken.
Drakken glared at Shego, "We aren't properly moved in yet and we don't have any way to effectively eliminate her at this time." Shego turned and left in a huff.
Shego went down the hall to the containment cells; they hadn't really paid much attention to Kim since her capture, "Lucky day Princess, your ex-boyfriend's come to take you home." Shego told her cheerily.
Kim looked up, she had been hanging by the wrists now for a full day now, "Ron's here?" she asked trying to comprehend her situation.
Shego leered into Kim's face, "You are a cold one aren't you Princess, finally meet a nice guy who'll stick up for him and then you bail on him. I'm almost proud of you." Shego said with a sneer as she released the wrists restraints that were holding her off the ground.
Kim dropped to the floor and collapsed. Shego wasn't finished with the mind games, "Wouldn't of been so bad if it hadn't of been your life long best friend, that just makes it all the better. You're learning fast kid, betrayal can be fun." Shego was laughing.
Kim was trying to make a move but her body wasn't functioning properly yet. Shego grabbed her by her pony tail and drug her up to her feet, "Don't want to keep your date waiting now do you?" She said obviously enjoying Kim's predicament.
Ron was in a better mood, his lack of a plan paid off better than he had hoped for, "You know Doctor D, I'm not going to miss the fighting, and I'll miss the travel though, even though we never actually got to see anything while on missions…very sad." Ron said with a shrug.
Drakken looked at Ron, "Being a super villain is actually pretty easy, you can do pretty much anything you want until it's time to start a take over the world plan. So I get to sight see from time to time." He told Ron.
Ron found that really interesting, but his attention was diverted when Shego entered the room dragging Kim along with her.
Ron winced when he saw Kim, she looked beaten but not physically but mentally. Ron turned to face Drakken, Drakken flipped him the keys to Kim's restraints, "There's the keys remember what I told you and Rob…err…Ron, have a good retirement." Ron nodded and took Kim by the arm.
Kim looked up at him, "Ron?" Ron looked her in the eye, "Kim we're going home now." He told her.
Ron helped Kim to the front door followed by Drakken and Shego.
Ron turned to face Draggen and Shego, "Well as the bad guys went you were the best…err, at least you guys gave me the most nightmares anyway." Ron told the two.
Then he looked at Shego, "Hey if you're ever in Middleton, beep, call me, if you want to reach me and maybe we can go bowling or something." Ron said smiling.
Shego lifted an eyebrow, "In your dreams Nerdlinger." She said in an annoyed voice.
Ron led Kim down the road, Draggen and Shego went back inside the lair, Shego was not all that convinced of Ron's retirement, "You just got played." She told Drakken.
Drakken looked at her, "I didn't get played, the side kick is gone, quit." He told her confidently.
Shego shook her head, "Five dollars says he's turned her lose and they're getting ready to come back in here and start fighting."
Drakken smiled, "You're on Shego to the Security Control room."
There on the screen was Kim and Ron and they were already screaming at each other. Shego's eyes were as big as saucers, "The kid was telling the truth." She said in wonderment.
Drakken's eyes lit up, "They haven't even reached 10 feet from the entrance…Shego are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked.
Shego shrugged, "I think so Dr. Drakken but where are we going to get a garden hose and a duck at this time of night?"
Drakken balled up both fists and grimaced, "That's it for you Shego, no more Pinkey and the Brain!"
Once the door closed behind them Ron started to lead Kim down the road. Kim winked and Ron, "Ok get these off, we go back in there and I know we can take them." Kim was faking it.
Ron looked at Kim in shock, "TAKE THEM, TAKE THEM, TAKE THEM WHERE, Kim they haven't done anything." Ron shook his head in disbelief.
"We're going home, I get my cast off tomorrow and I have two days off from both jobs." Ron wasn't compromising.
Kim shook her head, "Ron, they're evil."
Ron shook his head, "They may be evil but not today. You know the routine, they do something bad, you get called in and stop them. Kim if you want to break into people's houses and pick fights you could've stayed in Middleton and done that."
Kim couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Ron are you a part of this or not."
Ron lost his temper and began circling Kim waving his hands in the air, "PART OF THIS, I QUIT, I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH MISSIONS ANY MORE, WHAT PART OF THIS DON'T YOU AND WADE UNDERSTAND!"
Kim was shocked; she'd never seen Ron loose his temper.
Ron settled down finally, "Kim, I just want to go home. You want out of those things follow me, I'm tired." Ron sounded really down.
Kim started to walk down the road, "Ron is the reason you don't want to go on missions anymore due to us not being a couple anymore."
Ron stopped in his tracks, "Oh you think a lot of yourself don't you? Has it ever occurred to you that I might want to live a normal life? All those times we saved the world and we don't even get so much as a thank you card. The last three years we fight the same people over and over again and we never accomplish anything. Has it ever occurred to you that we might be saving a world that doesn't care if it's saved or not. Kim you ever watch the news? War, famine, poverty, what makes you think if Drakken and Shego ever win that things could be any worse? I was living a dream but it was someone else's dream, come on…let's go home." Ron started walking down the road again.
Kim swallowed hard and followed him.
Ron stopped to wait for her, "You look great by the way." He told Kim with a weary smile.
Kim looked down and blushed, "I look awful, my hairs a mess and I smell like a naked mole rat." She said giggling.
Ron laughed, "Hey now…Yea KP you got whole earthy prisoner look down."
Kim started to laugh and shook her head, "You look tired you must be putting in some hours."
Ron was starting to relax, he had forgotten how much he had missed Kim, "Yea, it seems I've been going non stop for about a month now. I've missed you." Ron told her.
Kim nodded, "Yea, I've missed you too. I guess I put a pretty big damper on things for you after the prom." She told him.
Ron threw up his hands, "Awwwwwwww Kim, I was naming kids." Ron said laughing.
Kim smiled trying not to blush.
They reached the bottom of the road and Ron unlocked the hand cuffs and gave Kim the key. Once the cuffs were off Kim gave Ron a big hug and started to take the leg restraints off. Ron retrieved the duffle bag and activated the homing beacon. Ron thought to himself, "That should impress Wade, dumb ol' Ron figured out a gadget."
Kim sat down on a small ravine that ran the length of the road. She was rubbing her wrists, "So tell me, how many Kids did we have?" She asked Ron with a gleam in her eye.
Ron laughed, "Two" he told as he sat down next to her.
Kim gave a knowing nod of the head, "Only two?" She asked.
Ron laughed, "We were kind of busy saving the world and all." Ron shook his head.
Ron handed Kim a package of peanut butter crackers from the Smarty Mart vending machine, he knew she hadn't ate in a while. Kim took the package and started to eat, "So what were they're names."
Ron smiled shaking his head, "Your not going to let this one go are you?"
Kim shook her head, "Nope"
Ron lay back on the ground, "Bartholomew and Cordelia"
Kim looked at him and winced.
Ron laughed, "I would of let you have input in this of course." Ron said.
Kim nodded, "Oh yea" and then they both laughed.
Kim shook her head, "You seem so much different now." She told her friend.
Ron shrugged, "I don't feel any different, just wore out." he told her.
Kim finished up the peanut butter crackers and shoved the wrapper in her pocket, "Got any more?" She asked obviously still hungry.
Ron looked in his pocked, "I have some jerky and a bigie candy bar."
Kim held out her hand, "Please and thank you." She said as Ron pitched her the last of his road snacks.
Kim tugged off a piece of the jerky, "You know we could always try this again?" She said looking at Ron.
Ron stood up and walked out to the road, "I would of loved to have heard that a month ago." He thought to himself.
Kim watched her friend, "Ron what are you thinking?" She asked.
Ron just looked down at the road, "If I try this again, it won't be long before I'm being drug out on missions again, I'd have to give up both my jobs, I'd lose everything I've worked for, and I don't think it would last long…I just wish I could have had more dates than Josh Manke." He thought to himself sadly.
Ron walked back into the ravine, "No…no you was right KP." He told Kim sadly.
Kim looked at him with a look of frustration, "What am I right about?" she demanded to know.
Ron shook his head, "That we make better friends than we would a couple." He told her with a blank lifeless expression.
A helicopter appeared over the horizon, it was time to go home. The helicopter sat down in the same field where Ron was droped off, it was the same helicopter.
The two entered the craft and Ron found his comfortable spot and tried to get some sleep. Kim sat across from her old friend, "There's more going on inside of Ron's head than he's telling me." She thought sadly.
She got as comfortable as she could and dozed off for the return trip to Middleton.
Once they arrived in Middleton the helicopter sat down in the High School parking lot, it was time to walk home. Ron wasn't talking much; Kim kept an eye on him. They reached Kim's house, "Well, I guess I'll see ya around?" Kim said longingly.
Ron nodded, "Sure KP"
She pulled Ron in close for a hug, "Don't be such a stranger…Ok?"
Ron smiled, "I'll try" he told her.
Then Ron turned and walked towards his house. It was after 1:00AM and Ron just wanted to find his bed. He entered his house, walked up the stairs, went into his room, looked at Rufus then crawled in bed, daylight was coming and it was going to be a very big day for Ron.