FALL OUT: PART 1
Birds chirped as the sun warmed Ron's face, bringing him back to consciousness. He sighed slightly, not wanting to wake up, and hugged the body-pillow in his arms tighter and buried his face into its golden-red hair. "Wait …"
Ron's eyes snapped open as bits and pieces of last night flowed into his mind. He came to Kim's place upset over what the fear toxin had shown him. Kim held him while he cried and mourned his parents. Then … "oh boy …" Ron gulped as he felt Kim's nude body begin to wiggle closer as his own equally nude body spooned against her back.
Ron carefully untangled his arms and legs from his best friend's and slowly started to climb out of bed. That course of action stopped suddenly when Kim's hand gripped his wrist and her ankles wrapped around his leg. "Where do you think you're going? It's a cool morning and I need my Cuddle Ronnie to keep me warm," Kim purred, glancing over her shoulder at the shocked teenager.
"Kim…" Ron breathed as she rolled onto her back to look up at him while holding the blanket high on her chest to hide her nudity, "About last night, it …"
Kim reached up and pressed her finger to his lip and made a shushing noise. "You and I both needed that. I'm not ready for a relationship again yet either, so last night we just experimented with the whole 'Best Friends with Benefits' thing."
Ron gave a slow shy nod, and Kim tugged on his arm. "Now, come back to bed, muffin, it's cold." He looked at her in disbelief over what she had just called him and then sighed in defeat before climbing back under the covers and letting Kim curl up beside him.
"Kim, as comfortable as holding you is …" Ron said as she hugged him with her head resting on his shoulder. "What if someone catches me in bed with you and us both sans-clothes?"
"Ron, you're being paranoid, like that's going to …"
"KIMBERLY! RONALD!" Her father's voice yelled from the entrance of her room.
"Uh oh …" They both said in unison.
"Daddy …" Kim eyes widened in horror and tried to cover herself as she fought with Ron over the bed sheet.
"Mr. Dr. P … I can … I mean … I don't want to go to a black hole!" He breathed fearfully despite all the training Bruce had given him to control his emotions.
Mr. Possible walked into the room, his eyes not leaving the two horrified young people on the bed 'til he reached the wastebasket beside the bed. He took a glance inside and gave Ron a cold look. "Good, you used protection." He said as he turned his back. "Get dressed, and I'll tell your mother we have to have a place at breakfast for Ron."
Kim and Ron watched with awed faces as Mr. Possible left them alone. "That …" Ron breathed.
"Was too close …" Kim finished as they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
(--V--)
Batman's eyes narrowed as he silently treaded along the side of the sewer path below the streets of Middleton. His eyes trained forward on the flashlight and for any movement in the shadows and his keenly trained ears listening for any sounds around him.
"You two do realize flying gives off a slight whishing noise." Batman stated without even glancing from his path.
"How did you know …" Wonder Girl gawked as she and Superboy floated from around the turn and approached the Dark Knight.
"See, I told you the man is a Meta with actual eyes in the back of the head!" Superboy exclaimed.
"No, I heard you flying," Batman snapped, still not looking back. "Go back to the surface and stay out of my way."
"You might need help." Superboy stated, as he and Wonder Girl refused to leave.
"If I needed help, I would have brought someone who could." Batman stated coldly and started onward into the sewers. Batman stopped after a few moments and glance back. "Stay at least ten feet back; stay as silent as possible unless I speak to you. Understood? Two eyes, two ears, one mouth, you can understand which ones are important." He said as he continued on.
The three made it into the shadows for several meters before Batman spoke up. "So, already moving in for a rebound?" the Dark Knight asked a surprised Wondergirl, nodding toward an equally flustered Superboy.
Wondergirl quickly recovered and placed her hands on her hips. "Diana warned me you might pull something like this," She said, looking down her nose at the Dark Detective. "I'll answer that, if you answer this." Batman quirked an eyebrow. "When are you going to grow a spine and ask Di to marry you?" the only sound was the flashlight clattering as it hit the stone path.
Batman narrowed his eyes as he scooped up the flashlight and turned his back on the teenagers. "We should be approaching a Global Justice sub-base. They've been strangely quiet since the Joker showed up. I want to check that out."
"Did he just back down?" Superboy whispered to the stunned Wondergirl, who was expecting an argument.
"I heard that," Batman grunted from ahead.
"See?" Superboy pointed as they began to follow, "So a Meta!"
"Superboy." Batman snapped.
"Oh, God …" The Boy of Steel gulped loudly.
Superboy slowly floated around the corner where Batman stood at a large metal door. "Y-Yes, sir?"
"How would you deal with this situation?" Batman asked gruffly.
"Huh?" Superboy blanched, staring at the Dark Knight.
"How would you deal with this?" Batman asked, nodding toward the dead end. Superboy nodded, but Batman held up his hand. "Think about the tools at your disposal, Superboy. Heat vision. X-Ray vision. Super strength. Super hearing. Your telekinetic powers. Your predecessor had a problem with using every muscle but the one that counted."
Superboy flushed slightly and narrowed his eyes, triggering his X-ray vision. "Well … can't just knock it down, there's a pillar on the other side. Don't want to risk bringing down part of whatever's above us."
"Good, so what would you do?" Batman asked, "Not what Superman would do. Think for yourself. Fill your own shoes. Forget Kent."
Superboy nodded and scanned the area with his X-Ray vision. "Why use all those super powers when I don't need them," he said as he stepped toward an odd-colored brick in the wall and pressed it, activating a sliding door. "Use the muscle that counts."
Batman gave the teenager a smirk. "You've got a lot of potential, boy." The Dark Knight said with a short nod. "Just remember Kent craps the same as everyone else, and you'll be ok." With that the Bat swept into the hidden hallway leaving the two teen heroes in stunned awe.
After a moment Superboy and Wondergirl followed the Dark Knight into the seemingly abandoned sub-base. "Strange …" the Batman whispered to himself as he read the most recent base logs.
"What is?" Wondergirl asked, glancing at the digital notebook in Batman's hands.
"All Global Justice members were ordered to return to the Central HQ." Batman stated, narrowing his eyes. "Strange, but considering their role, not unheard of." He then sat the notebook back down and turned toward the door. "Looks like a dead end here; I can determine more of this from the Cave."
"So we came down into the sewers for nothing?" Superboy and Wondergirl asked in unison turning toward the Bat, but finding themselves alone in the abandoned sub base. "I hate it when he does that …" Superboy complained as they moved toward the exit.
(--V--)
Ron sat back in the booth at Bueno Nacho with Bart Allen, Dick Grayson and Cassandra Cain. "He's still here," Ron whispered, sipping his soda.
"You don't know that; he could have fallen back when he saw Bruce and the kids digging around in the sewers." Dick stated, taking a bite out his naco. "By the way, great job coming up with this."
"I doubt it, but stranger things have happened," Ron nodded, "like Bruce actually letting Cassie and Conner tag along."
"He's been acting strange." Cassie stated, poking at her naco questioningly. "Ba-Bruce, I mean."
"Stranger than dressing like a bat to make bad guys crap all over themselves?" Bart asked, earning a glare from the other three occupants.
"He has … spoken to me… more recently. Since your arrival actually, Ron." Cassie said, tilting her head at the naco. "He has also been giving me instruction on maneuvers I have never seen before."
"Yeah, he actually called me for a change the other day," Dick said, "And he didn't ask any business questions. He just … talked. It was weird."
"That is unusual …" Cassandra mused.
"That wasn't the weird part." Dick shook his head. "He was asking for help putting up the tree."
"Tree?" the three others asked in confusion.
"Christmas Tree," Dick said, and Cassandra gasped in shock. "That was my reaction too. And also he's going to have a big Christmas gathering for the family and friends. Meaning Titans new and old, the Kents, the Possibles, and God knows who all else."
"What's he up to?" Ron rubbed his chin.
"Dunno, maybe he's just an evil old man trying to get into heaven now," Bart shrugged.
"Who knows," Ron shrugged, standing up with his tray. "I'm going to go back to the Drs. P's place. Keep me updated if anything new comes up," Ron said, walking away from the group.
The three remaining casually dressed heroes sat in silence for a moment before Bart glanced to Cassie's half eaten naco. "You gonna eat that?"
(--V--)
Hidden away from Middleton, the Batwing sat almost abandoned except for the costumed crime fighter at the computer. "Batman?" Wonder Woman said as she came down to land on the gangplank of the jet. "I brought lunch? Your favorite," She said, walking into the rear of the jet, Batman not even acknowledging her as he continued tapping away at the computer. "Batman? Bruce, you alive?" Diana fought a smirk as she walked toward the Dark Knight.
"He's targeting Kim's family," Batman stated in his usual "work-voice". "The Possibles are the last stable family Ron has; I can't let him hurt them anymore than he already has."
"You're not a machine, Bruce, eat. I brought a Big Mac." Diana opened the paper bag and ran the small box in front of Batman's face.
"Odd, I recall you saying I WAS a machine the other night," Batman replied in his usual tone as he opened the burger box.
"Hera, give me strength …" Diana rolled her eyes as she sat down in one of the inner hull's seats. "Do all men just think about sex in the presence of their lovers?"
"Ron went thirteen to fourteen years without thinking of it around Kim," Batman said, taking a bite from his burger. "Of course, they were childhood playmates. I think that's why Dick and Barbara had so much trouble out of their relationship. Pre-Puberty friends have a hard time having relationships."
"And should Ron and Kim work out?" Diana asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Stranger things have happened," Batman nodded before taking another bite.
"Like us?" Diana smiled, leaning back against the hull of the Bat-plane.
"I was referring to the Kents, Farm boy from another planet meets military brat from the city," Batman shook his head, "Doesn't make sense, but they work. Like Kim and Ron work."
"I never knew you were such an expert on romance," Diana crossed her arms with a smirk.
"I'm an expert on everything," Batman added, taking another bite.
"Oh really?" Diana stifled a chuckle. "Why's that?"
"I'm Batman."
(--V--)
Ron narrowed his eyes as he walked down the sidewalk. He was being followed, he could tell, but who was it? Was it Bruce, Diana, one of the Titans, or even Catwoman? He narrowed his eyes when he realized none of them would have stalked him like this without alerting him that it was them, well maybe Selena, but he would have a harder time detecting her.
Ron took a side turn into an alley and sure enough who ever was following came down behind dressed in a trench coat and hat. The man didn't make a sound when Ron grabbed his arm and threw him against the wall of the building. "Who are you and why are you following me?"
"Long time, no see, Ronnie-Boy!" the grinning clown smiled at him as the hat fell off his green-haired head.
"Joker …" Ron's eyes widened as the Clown kicked him back, laughing hysterically.
"My, oh my, have you been working out, sonny boy? Wouldn't mommy and daddy be tickled pink their wee skinny goofball has become a Ma-an!" The Joker giggled, tilting his head to the side. "I've been watchin' ya since ya came back to Middleton, Ronny, or should I say … Robin?"
Ron reached for his pager to call for help but stopped before he pressed the button. Joker murdered his parents, his "brother", his Kim's Josh. This wasn't Batman's or the Titans' fight. This was his. Ron dropped the pager to the ground beside him. "Me, Robin, got a few screws loose there, Clown-boy?"
"It doesn't matter to me whether you're the Boy Blunder or not, Ronnie-boy, nor does it matter if Brucey Wayne is really and truly no doubt the Bat-freak. What DOES matter, is you are the lovely Mrs. Kimberly Anne Wayne, sorry, Possible's bright eyed BFF w/ Benefits!" Joker laughed loudly. "Don't look surprised, Ron. I said I was watchin' ya, and I got some video footage at my hideout of you and Kimmie-girl together last night that will have every pre-teen in the country jacking off for weeks!" Joker laughed even louder at Ron's wide eyed response. "I really was surprised that such a well known and supposed roll model duo could be so … so … KINKY!"
"Why are you doing this?" Ron asked, tightening his fists.
"It's nothing to do with you per-se, Ronnie-kins," Joker nodded, rubbing his chin dramatically. "I know Andy and Batsy had a thing going back in the day, and then she disappears and lo and behold exactly sixteen years later! Kim Possible, the girl who can do anything hits the scene. She's got the fighting spirit Bats made popular, and oddly enough, it wasn't hard to figure out she was Batsy's baby girl! So, long story short, Bats is getting old and I can't have the old freak passing on his genes." Joker dramatically ran his finger along his neck. "So Kimmie has to go, but before I do that, I gotta poke a little fun out of her and make her good and crazy. I want Kim to be a rabid animal, so that when I put her down, the world will thank me for it!"
"You're insane …" Ron narrowed his eyes.
"That's what my girl Harley used to say!" Joker laughed, "But she loves me anyway, stupid bimbo!" Joker stopped laughing quickly and took a very deep-thought look. "You know, since Kimmie's Batsy's girl, wouldn't it be ironic … yes, yes I like this idea even better, Ronnie-kins, I think you'll like it too. I'll push her off the deep end, and then … wait for it, it's gonna get good, I'll blow Harley's brains out and let the driven nutty Kim take her place as my bed bunny!"
"Over my dead body," Ron growled before throwing himself at the Clown, gripping the clown's neck, only making him laugh harder. "You killed my parents, you bastard; I won't let you touch Kim or the rest of her family!"
"I killed a lot of people's parents, Ronnie-poo, and some kids too," Joker laughed before kicking Ron in the unprotected crotch then hitting him in the side of the face with brass knuckles. "As for you not letting me touch Kimmie and her fam … Let's see you STOP ME! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh yeah, Moo." He kicked the stunned Ron in the chest sending him down to the ground. "Had to complete the rhyme. Cute, huh?"
"Won't … let you …" Ron wheezed, as he fought back to his feet.
"Oh yeah, you definitely are Bats' apprentice, Ronnie-boy, you can't hide it if you're as tough as you're acting," Joker grinned, hitting him hard in the rubs again, sending him back down to the ground. "Don't worry, Ronnie-poo, I'm not going to kill you here," Joker said, picking Ron up by the hair. "I want you to die right in front of Kimmie and the Bat. Teach them what happens when you screw with Mr. J." Ron heard him laugh even harder before he slammed his face into the concrete, knocking him unconscious.
To Be Continued
Next chapter: The Joker, vs Kim Possible, The Batman, and the Phantasm for the life of Ron Stoppable.
A/N: The 'muffin' bit was an obscure reference to Fred Perry's Gold Digger. Check it out won't you at Antarctic Press.