The Lotus Bloom - Chapter Six - Rose
Kim and Ron sat at the controls of the hovercraft during the flight to Wannaweep. Everything had been set in the computer even the approach to the base. Kim sat back in the quiet hum as the craft flew into the approaching evening. Kim's eyes glanced over to Ron as he sat back in his flight chair with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were closed, his bandaged chest rising slowly up and down. The bandages had already leaked red in a number of areas. Her heart opened again. Her eyes misted. How could she have ever tossed him aside? Had she been that shallow? Sure he was goofy and childish at times. He made mistakes, but if there's one thing that he never failed at, it was being at her side. Each time she needed him he was always there. Her thoughts went back to what he had said that day at the Space Center. She realized then the pain she had to have caused him. 'Never again, Ron. Never will I ever hurt you like that again.' She promised herself.
Ron's eyes opened to see her watching him.
"What's up, KP?" He asked.
Kim quickly changed her gaze back to the controls and peered out the window.
"How close to you think we are to the Wannaweep base?" She asked quickly.
Ron stood and stepped to her side looking out the window.
"I don't know KP. It's hard to tell in the dark." He said.
Kim turned and found that Ron was a lot closer than she had expected. When she turned she found her arms around him. She pulled him close and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you for taking care of me." She squeezed him tightly as he held him as tight as she could, never wanting to let him go.
Ron gave a little gasp.
"KP" He said in a strangled voice.
"I want to tell you two things. One, your parents are watching, and two that you are really hurting me."
Kim blushed and let Ron go. He slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.
She sighed and laid her head over on him. Behind them their parents were watching. The twins started to say something until they saw the icy glare their mother was giving them. They decided to go back to studying the manuals they had found on the laser rifles.
Ron and Kim watched in amazement as the craft flew into a cave right over the grotto where Gill had made his change the second time. The craft hovered for a moment as it automatically extended the landing gear. It then settled to a soft landing with a thump. Heavy doors closed behind them as light came on in the landing bay. Ron stepped over and hit the switch to open the hatch on the side of the craft. The door opened and the steps swung down to the floor. The two fathers helped their wives down the steps. The twins jumped to the floor of the landing bay and took off running. Kim bounded down the stairs and waited for Ron. She turned to see him gazing out of the door.
"Come on Ron, let's look around."
Ron's head peeked out of the door.
"Kim, this is Wannaweep. It's a place of evil."
"Ron, this is also the place where you alone rescued the whole cheer team, and later changed yourself into a mutant beaver to save us a second time. If there is any place where you know the score, it's here." Kim explained.
Ron glanced at Kim, his partner and now his girlfriend. She had that approving look to her face.
"Kim, do you know something?" He asked.
"What's that?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You're badical." Ron smiled.
"The Ron-man is back in town where he knows the score." Shouted Ron as he stepped out of the hovercraft.
Ron took one step down and slipped. He bounced down the remaining steps and landed with a thump at Kim's feet.
Kim smiled as Ron stood rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"Ahh, sorry about that KP."
Kim smiled as she wrapped her arms around his him and laid her head on his chest.
"No big. As brave as you have been recently, it's feels good to have my Ron back."
Ron smiled as he placed his arms around Kim's waist.
"Your Ron, huh."
"Uh huh." Kim murmured and pulled him down for a kiss. They held the kiss but a moment then broke for air.
"Mmmmm, Booyah!" Kim giggled, mocking Ron
"Back at cha, KP." Ron grinned.
He took her hand and they turned to explore their new home. The base was small, but well equipped. There were a number of labs filled with equipment. The kitchen was big enough to feed quite a few people with a large 8 burner stove, 3 ovens, a deep fryer, and a large cooker. The freezer was large and well stocked with meat. The refrigerator was filled with vegetables and other items. Ron looked in wonder at the pantry.
"Kim, there is enough food for here to take care of all of us for sometime."
The two teens continued searching through the base. They found a number of bedrooms. Each room had a bed, closet space and a desk area for two people. A door at the rear of the bedroom led to a small bath with a toilet, sink and shower. Each bed had sheets, couple of blankets and a pillow.
The teens continued down the hall and found a communications room. Kim checked the equipment and found it ready to receive.
"Well, Ron we better not use this until we are told to. We can receive messages so until then we stay quiet. We don't want to give away where we are." Kim told Ron.
They continued their tour of the base and found a physical training room with mats, a couple of classrooms, and a meeting room.
"Well, KP we almost have all the comforts of home. We have food and a place to sleep."
Ron stretched and yawned and as he did, his arm came down around Kim's shoulders. Kim smiled and moved closer to him putting her arm around him.
"Trying to be smooth with the yawn, stretch and arm around shoulder bit" Kim asked smiling. "No big, I don't mind a bit."
Ron shook his head a bit and was a little unsteady on his feet.
"Whoa, I think that pain medicine your mom gave is going to my head." Ron complained.
"Well, since when have you slept?" Kim asked.
"Well, I guess it was that night at your house." Ron answered.
"RON, that was almost two days ago! YOU HAVEN'T SLEPT in TWO DAYS?" Kim exclaimed.
"Heyheyyy! I napped…. a little." Ron answered touching her face..
Kim smiled and pressed her face into his touch. "Why don't we find a room for each of us and get some sleep."
Ron nodded and winced as he moved back up the hall toward the area of bedrooms. He entered one and sat on the bed. He leaned over and lay down. He was asleep the instant his head hit the pillow. Kim pulled a soft blanket over him. Kim watched Ron sleep and thought back over the last few days and the turmoil they had caused. She remembered him turning his back to her and leaving her reaching for him though the bars of her cell. She had felt completely lost and alone. Now as she stroked his hair she as she thought of the chance that he had taken. If Gill had found out what Ron had been doing before he had gotten them home, the consequences would have been terrible. She shuddered at the memory of Gill approaching her, touching her, then Ron pulling her away to safety. Kim bent over and kissed him on his cheek. She then yawned and stretched taking a seat on the other bed. Her own eyes became heavy, she placed her head on the pillow and was instantly asleep.
Mr. Possible and Mr. Stoppable were walking through the halls of the base. Everyone had been exhausted from the events of the past few days and except for the two fathers, everyone else was asleep. They passed the door where Kim and Ron were asleep. They looked in on their children. Kim and Ron seemed to have collapsed asleep in the two beds. The two fathers glanced at each other and their worry creased faces smiled. The creases on their faces brought on by what these two young people did. These two young people had taken on a fight that could change the world, if they survived that is. Both fathers had spoken about what their children did, but neither of them ever thought of stopping them. Mr. Possible glanced at his daughter asleep on the bed in the same room as her lifelong friend. He walked over to his daughter and pulled the blanket over her. She mumbled in her sleep "thanks Ron, love you." Mr. Possible blushed slightly as he turned to see Mr. Stoppable taking off Ron's shoes and covering his feet with the blanket. He turned lifting the blanket and took off Kim's shoes and placed them on the floor. He covered her with the blanket again, then bending down kissed his daughter softly on the cheek. Kim giggled in her sleep. "Not now Ron." Mr. Possible smiled at his daughter. She had made her choice; Mr. Possible knew that, and he was very proud of the choice she had made. He and Mr. Stoppable quietly left the room turning off the light as they closed the door.
Kim woke up feeling so comfortable and warm that she didn't want to move. She opened her eyes slightly to see Ron fast asleep in the other bed. She realized that she was in bed in the same room with Ron. Her eye flew open at that point and she sat up abruptly.
"Ron, wake up!"
Ron moaned and opened his eyes. He realized that the two of them were in the same room together. He sat up quickly, his eyes wide.
"Ahhhhhhh" he yelled. "Mr. P. is gonna black hole me for this."
"Kim, ahh, how did,…how…." He stammered.
The door to the room opened and the two teens were horrified to see Mr. Possible come into the room with a tray with two plates on it. He sat the tray down on a nearby table.
"Glad to see you two sleepy heads up. Kimmie cub, your mother fixed the two of you some breakfast. Why don't both of you eat then get cleaned up. Dr. Director wanted you to call her as soon as you could to set up a meeting. Did the two of you sleep well?" Dr. P. asked.
"Ah, daddy, yeah, oh, um." Kim stammered.
"Don't worry Kimmie. Mr. Stoppable and I decided that it would be okay for you to be together. We trusted you both. Now it is time for you to get up, eat breakfast and get cleaned up. Come on! Up!up!up!."
Mr. Possible smiled as he patted Ron on his shoulder and ruffled Kim's hair slightly. He then turned and left the room.
Kim and Ron glanced at each other.
"Now that was about 11 on the weirdness scale."
Radio Room
Ron sat at the controls of the radio. He and Kim had eaten the breakfast that Mr. Possible had brought to them. Then they both found a shower and cleaned up. They found clean clothes waiting for them when they came out. Now they were following the instructions laid out on a card on how to contact Dr. Director. Ron had set the frequency and had the radio ready. He keyed the mike and spoke.
"Dis is the Mad Dog and the Red Fox calling the Techno Kid and the One-eyed Queen, you got your ears on?"
He released the key on the mike and waited.
"Red Fox?" Kim asked Ron with a raised eyebrow and a glare that filled her eyes.
"You've always been foxy to me, KP." Ron said flatly.
"Hmmm for that comment this fox might just make a certain mad-dog howl later on." Kim said with a rather smoky voice.
"Who is going to make who howl?" asked Dr. Possible as he entered the radio room.
Both teens jumped literally out of their seats. Ron fell on the floor as he missed his seat, Kim squealed a little "eeeep" and clutched at her chest.
"DADDY, don't do that." Kim said.
"Okay, but the question remains who is gonna make who howl?" Mr. Dr. P asked looking at the two teens.
"Oh Kim said she is gonna make Gill howl for all that he did to her." Ron said quickly.
"Oh, okay." Dr. P. said as he relaxed. "Have you heard from Dr. Director yet?"
"No, daddy, we just started to call when you came in." Kim explained.
A voice came over the speakers. "This is the One-eyed Queen and the Techno Kid calling Mad-Dog and Red Fox. How do you read? Over."
Kim took the mike. "This is Red Fox and the Mad-Dog, we read you loud and clear, One-eyed Queen."
The speaker burst with static. "Red Fox, Mad Dog, how are the arrangements at the kennel?"
Kim spoke to the mike again. "One-eyed queen, kennel has plenty of room. I think we can arrange for the mad-dog to hunt up a special batch of dog chow too."
"Sounds like a plan, the techno kid requests that Red Fox not assist in the chow please. He doesn't want another trip to the vet."
Ron fell out of his chair laughing silently.
Kim glared at Ron as she answered. "Tell the Techno kid that Mad Dog is ROFL. Mad Dog might need to be muzzled if he doesn't behave." Kim directed a kick at Ron as he rolled out of reach.
"10-4 on that Fox, oh, a certain pastel rodent says hey and he can't wait to see both of you. We should arrive at the kennel at approximately 1900 hrs. Over and out."
Kim put up the mike as she glared at Ron.
"Daddy, could you leave Ron and me alone. We need to have a little talk."
"Sure, Kimmie cub, oh but before you have your little talk to Ron. You might want to see the birthday cake he made for you." Dr. Possible told his daughter.
"Birthday, Ron you remembered." Kim whispered her eyes sparkling.
Mr. Possible smiled as he left the room. 'Ron my boy, you keep taking good care of my little girl.' he thought.
"Ron?" Kim asked as Ron got up off the floor. He took his seat back and rolled over to Kim.
"You really think I would forget my girlfriend's birthday?" He asked.
"Hmmm, well I see I don't have to worry now." She slid over onto his lap and placed her arms around his neck.
"Well, the Ron-man takes care of his girl." Ron said with a smile.
"And he better be, or a certain DAD will black hole him." She replied, teasing.
"I wonder if we can order Bueno Nacho with this thing"
"Ron!" Kim said sternly.
Ron gave Kim a little grin, and then leaned forward to give her a little kiss. Kim deepened the kiss as she closed her eyes. Soon she broke the kiss.
"Hmmm, spankin!" Kim said quietly.
Ron reached over to the side and pulled a small cake from a side cabinet. Kim's eyes shone as she gazed at the small cake. She slid over to her chair as Ron stood and brought the cake over to her. He took one-step and tripped over the leg of the chair he had been sitting in.
"ooooOOPPSS".
"EEEKKK, RONNNN!"
The two mothers were approaching the radio room when they heard Kim yell. "RON!"
Ron Stoppable came running out of the radio room.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Dr. P, mom, got to be somewhere." Ron said as he ran by the two mothers.
"Where?" Mrs. P started to ask until Kim flew out of the room in pursuit of Ron. Her face and the front of her shirt covered in the remains of the cake. The result of Ron's fall with placed the cake in Kim's face.
"Come back here you." Kim yelled her hands full of cake with white icing.
"I take anywhere is preferable than in there." Mrs. Stoppable said flatly.
The two mothers looked as each and burst into laughter. Soon Ron ran back up the hall toward the two mothers.
"Hi mom, bye mom" Ron gasped as he flew by.
The object of his affection ran by still holding the cake.
The two mothers waited for their two children to come running back. There were shouts and squeals from the end of the hall as the two ran from one room to another. Then it became very quiet. The two moms looked at each other wondering what was happening. It was too quiet.
"AHHHH, Kim, NOOO." Ron screamed.
"Got you" yelled Kim.
"AHHHhmmmmmmm" Ron's yell quieted to a low moan.
The Mrs. Possible and Mrs. Stoppable walked quickly to the end of the hall where Kim had ambushed Ron. His face covered in cake and white icing, Kim and Ron appeared to be sharing the cake on their faces and enjoying it very much.
"KIMBERLY ANN POSSIBLE" Exclaimed her mother as she gave Kim a swat on the back of her pants.
Kim and Ron turned their red faces covered in yellow cake and white icing.
"Ahh, no big Mrs. P. I guess I had it coming." Ron smiled.
"Can't you two wait until the wedding cake?" Her mother said with raised eyebrows.
"MOTHER!" exclaimed Kim her eyes widening.
The two mothers laughed as they turned and left the two teens to clean up. The mothers reached the end of the hall and turned to see Kim and Ron coming up the hall hand in hand cleaning each other's faces.
The two mothers shared knowing glances, memories coming back to them of years past.
The two teens headed up the hall arm in arm past the two mothers.
Mrs. Stoppable smiled.
"I seem to remember smashing a cupcake into Ed's face one time."
Mrs. Possible laughed.
The Landing Bay – 1900 hours
Kim and Ron waited in the landing bay of the base for Dr. Director. The two families had met together in the kitchen for Kim's birthday. There were not many presents but the cake was wonderful. Everyone was thankful that they were alive, well, and together. Kim and Ron now stood as the cavernous door to the landing bay slid open and a dark sleek hovercraft eased to a soft landing. Kim and Ron could see Dr. Director at the controls with Wade beside her. Hopping up and down in the window was a very excited naked mole rat.
The hatch to the craft slid open and a pink blur flew out the door and straight to Ron.
"RUFUS" yelled Kim and Ron together as Rufus jumped up on Ron and hugged him tight then leaped over to Kim and curled against her neck.
"Good little mole rat" Kim said as she petted him.
"Team Possible" they heard a voice say and they looked up and noticed Dr. Director standing there with Wade. Dr. Director pulled herself to attention and snapped a salute to the two teens. Kim and Kim jumped to attention and returned the salute.
"Kim, Ron, I am very proud of the job that the two of you have done in the past few days. You have conducted yourselves with courage, ingenuity and plain hard work." Dr. Director mentioned as she brought her hand down from the salute.
"Wade has filled me in on some points but I need a full report from the two of you."
Kim and Ron nodded.
"Yes ma'am, we can go to one of the meeting rooms." Kim said. "BUT, FIRST. I have a bone to pick with Wade here."
Kim strode sternly over to Wade with a scowl on her face.
"UH, Kim" Wade said sweating. "No hard feelings?" he asked meekly.
Kim stood in front of Wade with her hands on her hips. She then broke out in a grin and reached over to give Wade a kiss on the top of his head.
"Thanks Wade. You never stop rockin' " Kim said.
"Well, Dr. Director, that is everything up till now." Kim mentioned finishing their report. They had left the landing bay and gone into one of the meeting rooms. Kim and Ron both gave full reports on what had happened.
"Well, done Team Possible. We know that the sabotage done the last time damaged the manufacturing facilities and the viruses that were planted in the computers destroyed much of their data. They located all of the monitoring devices so we only have a vague idea of what is going on. We do know that the missiles engines that you destroyed were to be used to spread the "zombie" juice as we have come to call it. You set them back quite some time. But they still are moving forward. We can't get in and they have control of too many officials. The only real chance we have now is to find an antidote. Kim, your father is good. But even with Wade's help he might not be able to produce an antidote."
Dr Director sighed and then looked back up at the team
"Someone has consented to help us. He is flying in as we speak. Apparently he was attacked by the same forces that you have been fighting. He was part of the group but his boss turned on him. He and his partner were able to escape, but his partner was badly injured. He made a deal, we take care of his partner, and he would give us all the help he can.
The group heard the landing bay doors open.
"Ahh, I think our guests in question has arrived. I think we should go meet them."Dr. Director suggested.
The four of them walked to the landing bay in time to see a battered and smoking hovercraft limping into the landing bay. The craft could barely remain aloft and finally settled to a landing.
Kim and Ron marveled that the craft was even able to fly.
The door opened and smoke billowed out of the door. A tall male figure came out of the smoke carrying limp female figure. Kim and Ron's eye bulged in shock. The figure's blue lab coat was burnt and torn in several places. Drakken limped from the smoke carrying the limp figure of Shego. Kim noticed that Shego's jumpsuit was covered in cuts and burns, she did not move.
Drakken shuffled forward and stopped directly in front of Kim and Ron.
He looked at them with pleading eyes, his voice never was so full of desperation.
"I'll do anything you say, ANYTHING! I surrender, just please, PLEASE, help her!"
Well, here it is folks. Sorry for the delay. Rich changed jobs and my job got real crazy. I still may not post as much. But business has improved. Thanks for all the thoughts and emails. I have a long road to walk, but have been down this road before. I'll make it.