Trio

Chapter 4

Global Justice

Not being able to put it off any longer Ron left the guest room with Rufus in his borrowed jacket's pocket and started down the stairs. He could see Kim and Shego were waiting for him at the foot of the stairs. They were both in nearly matching outfits of cargo pants and mid drift shirts. Ron realized that was hardly surprising since Kim must have had to loan Shego some of her clothing to wear as Shego had burned her clothing last night as well. Ron had to blink several times as he noticed that Shego filled out one of Kim's tops slightly more fully than Kim did. Managing to finally stop comparing the beauties he noticed Kim looked very serious and Shego looked kind of nervous.

"Are they going to tell me that they are together and I should get out? I was kind of hoping to get a chance to bow out on my own. Not being dumped and told to get out."

"Ron? We've been ordered to appear at Global Justice to give a full report on what happened yesterday. I left the Kimmunicator down here last night and just got the info from Wade. We only have a few minutes before we are supposed to be collected by them." Kim explained before Ron could say anything.

Ron paused and looked over at the nervous Shego. "Then I guess we better skip lunch and go."

Walking out their front door they paused on the sidewalk in front of Kim's house.

"Well is Global Justice going to send a car for us or what?" Shego asked in an annoyed voice to cover up her nervousness. Shego feared nothing, well hardly anything but she really didn't like being confined in jail cells and walking into the 'lion's den' sure felt like a great setup for being arrested.

"Don't worry." Ron told her. "Me and Kim won't let them lock you up."

Shego blinked and turned to look fully at Ron.

"What makes you think I'm worried about them locking me up?"

"Aww come on Shego. Both Kim and I know you hate to be confined. As for them sending a car? Global Justice likes to collect us in other ways." Ron said looking down at the ground beneath their feet.

Shego just had enough time to frown and glance down at her feet to see what Ron was looking at when a hole opened underneath their feet and they started to fall.

Shego landed on her feet after the long slide through tubes that seemed to go on forever. To her right, Kim also landed on her feet in a ready position.

Ron however landed hard on his butt between them.

"Owwww." Ron groaned as he got to his feet.

In front of them waiting were Dr. Director and the young man Shego had seen last night with Dr. Director. She remembered that Ron had called him Will something.
Will looked at the two hero teens with something like annoyance and when he glanced at Shego it was a look as if he had just stepped in something, something that smelled very foul.

"Ron, Kim." Dr. Director greeted them with a smile. Looking at Shego she frowned. "Shego." Dr. Director gestured behind them and turning they could see a bank of computers along a wall behind them. "We want each of you to sit down at one of the computer terminals and type in your reports. Try to make them as brief as possible but do include any and all information you think will help us." So saying Dr. Director turned and left the room leaving Will Du to direct them when they were finished.

Shego and Kim shrugged their shoulders and picking computers sitting right next to each other they sat down and started typing. Ron walked over to one of the computers that was a few stations down from them and sat down as well. Shego and Kim were accomplished touch typists, while Ron was more of the hunt and peck type.

So it was with some surprise to Kim and Shego when Ron finished before they did. After only about 10 minutes Ron got up from the computer and walked over to where an obviously bored Will Du waited.

"Where to now?" Ron asked.

Will gestured and together they left the computer room.

Will lead Ron to what at first glance looked like the world's largest doctor's waiting room. It was a room as long as a football field and along the walls and through the middle was filled with empty chairs. The walls of the room were mirrored, making the room seem even larger and emptier than it really was.

Ron frowned as he noticed there were no TVs or even magazines to read. He was just about to ask Will how long he thought it would take before someone saw him when Will shut the door to the room in his face.

Looking down the long room, Ron spotted another door at the other end. Deciding that was probably where he would be called into next he walked down there and subconsciously picked a chair in the corner so he could watch the entire empty room at once, he sat down and waited.
After about five minutes Ron was bored out of his mind. He desperately wanted something to take his mind off the situation developing with Kim and Shego but there was absolutely nothing in the room to fill his attention other than empty chairs.

After a few minutes of torturing himself by remembering his childhood with Kim and all the missions he had gone on with her, and reminding himself that was likely to all end now that she had Shego with her, he turned his head to look at his reflection on the wall beside him.

"Bonnie was right. How could I expect things to have ever ended any different? I am such a pathetic loser." He said quietly to his image.

Shego not having been with Kim and Ron when they defeated the Cenobites had less to report than Kim so she finished typing her report next. Sitting back she cracked her neck and waited for Kim to finish so they could go and see where Ron had been taken to.
After a few more minutes Kim finished with a sigh of relief and pulled her chair back.

Shego was just about to ask what they should do next, when almost magically Will Du appeared at the doorway to the room and gestured for them to follow him.

He led them to the same long waiting room Ron was waiting in and gestured for them to enter. As soon as they did the door slammed shut behind them.

"Friendly guy." Shego said her voice laced with sarcasm. "Reminds me of the synthodrones Dr. D. uses. Only the synthodrones have more personality."

Finally spotting Ron at the far end of the room they made their way to him. Ron had his eyes closed tightly and to Kim it looked like he was deep into meditation. Taking the chair next to him she sat down.

Shego looked at the chair on the other side of Ron but frowned. Reaching down she pulled the chair away from the wall and positioned it in front of Ron and Kim but exactly just between them. Sitting down she pulled the chair forward till one of her legs was between Kim's and the other was between Ron's. She then leaned forward to foil any hidden mics that might be in the room so she could speak to Kim and Ron without anyone eavesdropping. She wasn't sure there were any hidden mics in the room of course but being an ex-villainess she thought it was something she or Drakken would have done.

Dr. Director sat behind her desk in her office. She was watching a monitor on the desk that was showing Ron looking out as if he was addressing her and from hidden mics in the waiting room she clearly heard him call himself a pathetic loser. The walls to the waiting room were mirrored for a reason; they hid the observation cameras set up along the walls to watch the people waiting to be debriefed.

Ron then let a few tears drop from his eyes and then turned around to face the room and closed his eyes.

Dr. Director continued to watch the young man until Shego and Kim came in. Finally the door to her office opened and a portly balding man entered her office carrying three folders in his hands.

The man was Dr. Oliver Racle. To his friends and colleagues he was known as Oracle. Not just a play on his name but also the fact that the man was the acclaimed master of psychology and inter-personal relations. It was said that he could observe a person and their interactions with others for just a brief time and be able to tell you exactly what had happened earlier in their lives for them to act that way and also be able to predict how they would continue their lives. He was almost always correct in his predictions.

Oracle continued to scan the reports in his hands for a moment before handing them over to Dr. Director. The eye patch wearing woman glanced at the closed folders and then at the doctor.

"Give me the breakdown." She stated.

Oracle frowned and pointed at the top folder. "Read subject Stoppable's report first."

Few people could get away with arguing with Dr. Director but Oracle was one of them. He was just too useful in maintaining discipline and control among the agents of Global Justice and… He was always right in the end.
Dr. Director flipped open the folder with Ron's name on it and rapidly scanned the single sheet of paper it contained. She frowned and without having to be told she flipped open Shego's and Kim's reports and scanned them too.

"These reports don't match." She stated after reading for a moment.

"Oh subject Shego's and Possible's reports match fairly well. The difference can be easily attributed to different personalities and different ways of seeing things." Oracle replied.

"But Ron's is totally in conflict with their reports." Dr. Director replied still frowning. She pointed at a line in Ron's report. "Here he states that Shego was captured by the silent killers he has dubbed The Gentlemen but he states she was well on her way to freeing herself and had the situation well under control. He then goes on to say that Shego rescued him."

Dr. Director flipped open Shego's report and scanned down till she found mention of the same incident. "Shego's report states that she was completely helpless and had faced the fact that she was about to die when Ron leapt on to the table she was tied to and freed her and continued to fight a losing battle with the silent killers. Shego quite emphatically insists that her life was saved by Ron Stoppable."

"If you continue to compare reports you will see both Shego and Kim state that Ron saved both of their lives once more when the Cenobites tried to use chains in a sneak attack to ensnare and kill them and later he tried to barter using his own life for Shego, Kim Possible and even Drakken's safety with the Cenobite creatures."

Dr. Director quickly scanned Ron's report again. "Ron mentions nothing of this and states the group's escapes from the Cenobites were due all to the efforts of Kim and Shego."

Oracle nodded his head. "I've of course read your own report on what happened after you and agent Will Du arrived at the high school. Did you notice that Ron credits you and Will with all the organization and planning that went on at the school. He even credits you with the idea of blasting the chains using Shego's plasma power."

"Does Ron ever take credit for anything at the high school?" Dr. Director asks her frown deepening.

Oracle replies with a sigh. "He accepts full responsibility for the deaths of the agents that were killed by the guardian chains that had you all sealed up inside the school. He even takes responsibility for the agents that were left outside to patrol and were never seen again. We never did find any traces of the bodies of those on the outside."

Dr Director continues to scan the paper in her hands. "Ron doesn't even mention that it was only with the addition of his own powers using the Mystical Monkey abilities that the chains were even temporarily destroyed. Someone who hadn't been there reading this would assume he had only stood around while Shego and everyone else did all the work!" Dr Director looked over at Oracle with a grim frown. "You are the expert on what makes people tick and do strange things. Can you explain this?"

Oracle began to pace back and forth. From anyone else this would have driven Dr. Director mad but she knew from past experience that was how Oracle pondered.

As he paced Oracle began talking. Dr. Director wasn't even sure if he was talking to her or just thinking out loud.

"I've studied all the reports we have on Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible. Even the files we reversed hacked into Wade Load's system on their missions. Outside of themselves I may know more about them than anyone else in the world, including their own parents, although in Ron's case that isn't saying all that much. His parents rarely take an active interest in his life at all and rarely even know when he is gone on a mission with Kim."

Oracle stopped and turned to look directly at Dr. Director.

"Put simply, Kim Possible is the center of Ron's world. She is almost literally the sun in Ron's universe. When she is happy, Ron is happy. When she is sad, Ron sinks into a deep depression. And when she is angry, Ron knows to run."

"How does this explain his falsifying his report on what happened and taking responsibility for the loss of life when he was in no way the one responsible?" Dr. Director demanded.

"To Ron the only reason he wakes in the morning, the only reason he continues to breathe is for Kim. He is her support and backup, as such he never accomplishes anything in his mind. It is always Kim that does the hero thing. Ron is just the distraction, the sidekick."

"Yes we know all that. We did a study on the Ron effect quite a few months back but we found nothing special." Dr. Director replied.

"Yes, I've read those reports too. They were of course deeply flawed."

Dr. Director raised an eyebrow at Oracle. "We had our best scientists of the moment working on that. How were the reports flawed?"

"Your scientists were trying to figure out what special ability or talent Ron was using to always help Kim Possible in her missions. Not one of them tried to figure out why he did it."

"Kim is the hero and Ron is the sidekick. They have been friends since childhood isn't that enough?"

Oracle shook his head and started to pace again. "Let me ask you a question Director. If your best friend were to, not even ask you but just automatically assume you would always go with them on life threatening missions all the time where you got no credit for anything you did, no pay, and in most cases were even sneered and laughed at by your enemies and at the end of the mission have your best friend take all the credit and say, 'no big', would you continue to do it?" Oracle continued without giving her a chance to answer.

"Do you know that among all of Kim Possible's enemies most of them do not even remember Ron's name? That information is also contained in Wade Load's mission reports. Only two of them make it a point to remember his name and treat him with any respect at all. Senor Senior Sr. and Monkey Fist. Indeed, Monkey Fist has been heard on more than one occasion to call Ron his arch nemesis and call Kim Possible the sidekick."

"What does that prove?"

"The mission where Ron first faced Monkey Fist and received the Mystical Monkey power, a power your scientists didn't find during the Ron Effect study by the way, he had to face him alone. Kim had a family function to attend to and Wade Load wanting to try out some holographic technology he was developing, tricked Ron into going alone. Ron did not only manage to survive a mission by himself. He also avoided capture by a genetically and mystically enhanced madman in his own home. He then took upon himself a power that comes from monkeys. Something Ron has a deep phobia about and fought Monkey Fist to a standstill and destroyed the idols.

In the case of Senor Senior Sr. Ron got the bored millionaire's attention by pointing out with all the money he had how he could become a villain very easily. It isn't a point in his favor that Ron pointed these things out to the Seniors but it is very telling that a man who made all his money himself through the use of his mind, took Ron's suggestions seriously and used them."

Dr. Director shook her head showing she wasn't following Oracle's reasoning.

"The only time subject Stoppable shows signs of being highly competent is when either Kim Possible is not around or she's not paying much attention to what he is doing or she is in danger."

"Are you saying his buffoon sidekick antics are all just an act?"

Oracle shook his head. "It's far more complex than that. It is not a conscious act on Stoppable's part. It's a learned response he has developed from almost literally growing up with Kim Possible."

Dr. Director shook her head once again to show she still didn't get the point Oracle wanted her to realize.

"Kim Possible is a supremely confident young woman. Her parents have told her almost since birth that nothing is impossible for a Possible and she has come to fully believe that. Stoppable growing up around Kim Possible learned at a very early age that Kim is highly competitive and doesn't like to lose. And he learned that the best way to keep Kim happy is to ensure she wins and not be a challenge to her."

Dr. Director's eyes widen. "I see. So like a dog trained to drool at the ringing of a bell, Ron slipped into a goofy non threatening sidekick role around Kim Possible. Why was he so competent and leader like during the silent killers and the Cenobites then?"

"Because subconsciously he knew that Kim Possible had finally ran across something she couldn't defeat on her own and if she were to try it would mean her death, so he finally gave total free reign to the Mystical Monkey power inside him. There was no other way to save Kim, oh and also Shego."

"Why is Stoppable so interested in the welfare of Shego? According to Shego and Kim's reports at one point Ron left Kim's side to rescue Shego. By your theory wouldn't that have almost been impossible for Ron to do, to leave Kim in danger?"

"No because Ron's subconscious analyzed the situation and realized the, what did he call them in his report? The Gentlemen were interested only in Shego. His mind rated them a higher danger level than…" Oracle cocked his head as he looked at Ron's report that was lying open on Dr. Director's desk. "The Lunatics that were attacking Possible, he knew that while it was difficult for her, she could handle those creatures but not the Gentlemen. As for why Stoppable is interested in Shego? He may subconsciously consider Kim as the center of his universe. He may even consciously know he loves her but he is still a male. Shego is a very attractive woman and shares many of the same qualities as Kim Possible does, strong, confident and very headstrong."

"So he is attracted to her and that is the reason?"

"Well that and Stoppable had a very morale and proper upbringing. He could no more stand by and watch a helpless woman be butchered than he could be the one to do the butchering himself. It's just not in him to stand by and do nothing."

"Shego? Helpless?" Dr. Director nearly snorted.

"Even a wild tiger can be helpless if it is trapped and tied down." Oracle reminded her.

Dr. Director nodded her head after a moment. "Okay I can accept your explanations. I can see why Ron down plays his achievements and plays up everyone else's and while this is fascinating it still does not help me in practical matters. Is it your recommendation that since Ron holds back around Kim that I should break their team apart when or if they join Global Justice?"

Oracle looked shocked. "In no way! You separate Stoppable from Possible and within two months I can promise you that Kim Possible will be dead."

"What?"

"If Kim Possible is the center of our young Ron's universe, then it can also be said that Ron Stoppable is the anchor that keeps Kim Possible from drifting too far. Kim Possible is, as I said earlier, very headstrong and confident almost to the point of it being a weakness and not a strength. Ron Stoppable either by actively resisting or by playing up his bumbling antics manages to keep her from charging in to situations without thought. Possible even admits in her report that she wanted to use a roof assault and Ron talked her into trying the front door of Drakken's lair. In the report it also states that Drakken later told Possible that he had wired the roof access with high voltage."

"So we keep the team together if we hire them for G.J." Dr. Director said with a shrug. "Now what about Shego? Can we trust her sudden desire to want to turn good?"

Oracle moved around Dr. Director's desk to look at the monitor showing Ron, Shego and Kim sitting in the waiting room. He paused for a long time. "I don't believe Shego is looking for absolution for her past crimes as much as she is agreeing to this simply to please Ron Stoppable. You yourself in your report state that Ron requested several times that Shego be given this second chance. My studies of Shego's past actions show that she despises being told what to do and has problems following authority."

"Then how do you explain her serving as Dr. Drakken's assistant then?"

"Shego's past hints at a young girl who was starved for attention and affection. Back when she was a hero she had to follow the orders of her brothers which she deeply resented but at the same time she was always trying to impress and get them to notice her. Something happened, even our records don't show what and she left them to become a criminal. My belief is she ended up serving with Drakken simply because she was tired of being alone.

Drakken was never truly a close friend or confidant but he did overlook her green skin and temper tantrums because she was useful. Shego knows this is the only reason Drakken let her stay but subconsciously Shego needs someone in her life and has reached a point where she would rather be used than be alone.
All the people in her life have ended up trying to use her or control her. Ron was the first person in a very long time that simply wanted to save her and see she has a chance to be happy. So she feels intense gratitude to him, perhaps maybe even more than that. But no I don't think Shego has any real desire to become a hero on her own."

"Then we should use this opportunity to simply imprison Shego for her past crimes and forget this farce of a 'second' chance?"

"If you wish to never have neither Stoppable nor Possible as Global Justice agents. Stoppable would see you imprisoning Shego as a betrayal of his and Shego's trust and even Possible would be disillusioned by such actions since Shego came her of her own free will."

Dr. Director sighed and reaching up began to pinch the bridge of her nose. She was getting a headache.
"Do you see no scenarios where Global Justice not only gets Kim as an agent but also a competent fully utilizing Mystical Monkey powered Ron."

"Yes. Hire all three of them as agents and always assign them to missions together."

"What! How would that work?"

"Simple. Shego is interested in Stoppable. She will not tolerate his subservient attitude to Possible but at the same time she knows or at least suspects how highly Stoppable regards Kim Possible so she won't actively confront him, but slowly with time she'll mold him into accepting a more active role. Ron Stoppable will keep Shego on the legal side of the law and slowly mellow her out and Ron will keep both of the headstrong women anchored so they don't get into an ego trip and try to outdo one another and needlessly endanger their lives. With a trio like that they will be an unstoppable force."

Oracle frowned and tapped the monitor screen. "However I am not liking what I am seeing here."

"What?"

"Notice how Shego has placed herself almost exactly between Ron and Kim? Almost as if she is staking a claim on the both of them. Not just Ron Stoppable. Also notice how Ron is sitting as if he is deep in mediation but yet at the same time he has subtly leaned away from Kim and Shego? Almost as if he is trying his hardest to give the two women privacy without dropping the pretense of being so far into meditation he can't hear or sense them near him."

Dr. Director studied the screen for a moment before nodding her head.

"My studies of Shego's past show that she is bi-sexual. I hypothesize this is because of her intense craving for affection and love so it is entirely possible that she has set her eyes not just on Ron Stoppable but also on Kim Possible at the same time. Kim Possible is leaning towards Shego as she talks and even is looking a little flush so I would say she is at least receptive to Shego's advances but Ron is pulling away from both women…"

Oracle eyes widen in suddenly revelation. "Of course I understand now. It fits in so perfectly with subject Ron Stoppable's past actions. It makes sense now."

"Well it's not making any sense to me. Please don't keep me guessing doctor, what is going on?" Dr. Director in annoyance ordered.

"Ron has picked up on Shego and Kim's initial flirtations but the way his mind has been trained to think, if Kim likes Shego then Shego nor Kim can like him. Once again it's a matter of how Ron sees everything in relation to Kim. He is always looking out for Kim's happiness and welfare but he believes he can never be quite good enough for Kim… But Shego is. So Ron has assumed that both women aren't interested in him and he is trying to pull away to clear the field so they can be together. He has probably reached the conclusion in his mind that Shego is a better match for Kim because Shego can assure Kim's safety on missions more than he can." Oracle sighed. "Such a pity. They would have made an excellent team together."

"Wait. If you are saying that Kim Possible and Shego are interested in each other but at the same time are also interested in Ron Stoppable…" Dr. Director stopped to consider the implications.

"Leaving aside the social and possibly morale considerations of such a romance triangle then wouldn't all we have to do is help Ron realize their interest and have our perfect Global Justice agents?"

"Are you suggesting that you want to become a matchmaker for those three?" Oracle asked.

"I am only interested in what is the best interest of Global Justice. The situation last night just goes to prove that things are rising to a new level. The power mad would be dictators and madmen are getting more dangerous all the time. How many times in the last month alone have we lost good agents just because in the end they weren't quite good enough? You tell me those three together would make a force that nothing could stop and you expect me to just shrug my shoulders and watch it all fall apart?"

Oracle listened to her rant but then just shrugged his shoulders. "Any actions on your part would only tend to push them farther apart. The only way I can see a positive outcome from all of this is if something monumental were to happen. A threat to both Kim Possible and Shego that they couldn't handle on their own and force Ron to come to their rescue, it would be at this point that Ron would realize that maybe Shego isn't the ultimate backup for Kim and that he is needed too. If something were to endanger Shego as well as Kim, Ron might even decide that he was as much in love with Shego as he is in Kim. But I'm telling you it won't be easy. At this point, I expect Ron to try to put as much distance as he can between him and the two women. He'll reason that he is in the way and keeping them from their relationship by being a 'third wheel'. I expect as soon as he finishes his report here today that he'll try to leave the United States completely and most likely go back to the Yamaguchi School in Japan."

With a look as if she had bitten into something sour Dr. Director replied. "That cannot be allowed to happen. I don't want to lose someone with such potential to that damn ninja school."

Oracle wisely refrained from making any comments. He knew that most of Dr. Director's ire towards the secret martial arts school in Japan was from the fact that Global Justice had for years tried to infiltrate the school and gotten absolutely no where. Even while following Ron Stoppable they only managed to get a general idea of where the school was located. All the agents trailing Stoppable had been almost gently put out of commission and rendered unconscious. To this day Global Justice wasn't quite sure what kind of training or teaching Ron Stoppable had received during his stay at the school but from discrete observation of Stoppable after he came back they realized it had something to do with his Mystical Monkey powers and martial arts.

Dr. Director sighed. "I'm going to bring in Ron now for debriefing. As usual I want you present during the debriefing and if you have any ideas or suggestions to make them discretely."

Oracle nodded and moved away from her desk to the side. Dr. Director pressed a button on the desk near the monitor and said. "Ron Stoppable will you please enter through the door closest to you. We will see you now. Just you for the moment."

WRITER'S NOTE:

Your humble writer here. Yeah I know the story is dragging just a touch but when the muse demands a scene, you have to add it.

The action and romance will kick up into high gear soon, I promise.