The Rook III: Vendetta

By mkusenagi2

The story concept © 6-28-2006
All Marvel characters are © Marvel Comics.
Kim Possible and other Disney characters
are © Disney Co.

Prolog

6-24-2004
Somewhere in the
American Southwest
Project Pegasus

"I don't care WHO you're here to see… you folks aren't going inside!" said the Landing Pad Watch Commander to as mixed a group of hospital visitors as Project Pegasus had EVER seen:

Rabbi Katz better known to Ron and Kim as Rabbi K

Imi and Esther Stoppable

The Drs P Squared

Major Steve 'Bulldog' Barkin

Bonnie Rockwaller

Wade Load

"It's Ok Sir, they're here to see me." said an exhausted Kim Possible.

"Sorry Ma'am, they can't pass until they're cleared."

A HUGE shadow fell across the Watch Commander's back…

"What's the problem, soldier?" asked the voice that was causing the Solar Eclipse.

'OH SHIT!' "Uh, nothing Sir! Captain Possible was trying to let these civilians gain access, Sir!"

"I cleared these people for access 2 days ago!" a mellow female voice said to the Commander's right, "Why haven't they been cleared?"

"Linda, I don't know… but I'll get it fixed." said the shadow.

"That's ok. I KNOW YOU'LL get it fixed… Come with me soldier… We're going to discuss your future."

'I'm DEAD MEAT NOW!'

The shadow belonged to none other than Ben Grimm of The Fantastic Four, and the voice belonged to none other than the facility's commander Colonel Carol Susan Jane Linda Danvers formerly Ms. Marvel now known as Binary.

"Sorry about that folks… just can't get good help these days… you got this kid?" Ben said.

"Yes Sir." Kim said.

"Ok, I'm gonna admire the view." 'Poor kid… she's got it bad…'

Kim escorted her visitors over to the safe zone, passed out ID's and activated the elevator.

'Why's Bonnie here? She hates Ron and me with a passion.'

"I'll have to ask ALL of you to stay out of the Restricted Areas unless you have clearance. The Guardsmen WILL shoot to kill." Kim said before they exited the elevator.

Crown Prince William and Ron were in Shego's room at her bedside holding her hands while she slept when the group entered… except for Kim and Bonnie.

"Bonnie… a word… please?"

"What do you want, K?"

"Cut the crap Bonnie or I'll have you caged!" Kim Glare.

"oh… Ok. Guess you're wondering huh?"

Kim GLARE.

"Uh… I heard about it on the news… had to look… saw it too… couldn't BELIEVE it! … came to say… mumble…"

"What?"

"I'm sorry." weeping, "He's a REALLY nice guy isn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Is she gonna be ok?"

"We don't know yet… Dr. Richards and Dr. Xavier said they haven't seen a neurotoxin like this before… that's why they called Mom and Wade in. They think their research might help. She's fighting it and holding her own… but we just don't know."

"…"

"Why aren't you OUT THERE trying to find who did this… YOU'RE KIM POSSIBLE… YOU CAN DO… ANYTHING! DO SOMETHING… isn't there an antidote or something?" Bonnie wept. Kim hugged her.

"Bonnie… we're doing everything we can… c'mon let's go see 'em."

"…"

"Hey Bonnie."

"Yeah K?"

"Thanks."

---

After Kim and Bonnie entered Sheila's room Anne Possible came over and hugged her daughter.

"Something's different about you Kimmie… what's happened?"

"Uhhh… what do you mean?" 'Uh Oh!'

"You seem centered somehow… I don't know… different…"

"Can anybody join in Kimmie-cub, or is this women only?"

"Uh No Dad… I mean yes you can join in… Mom was saying that I seem different…"

Kim's gaze rested on Ron. Ron looked at her and Smiled while his parents stood at his side. Kim went beetroot.

"Kim… are you and Ron…" Anne began.

Ron walked over with his parents in tow.

"Hey Drs. P Squared! Thanks for coming. Sheila really appreciates the help and support." Ron stood next to Kim and held her hand.

"!" went her parents.

"Guys we need to talk. Now." Major Stoppable said as he led Kim and their parents to a conference room.

---

"Sir, it's an honor to see you again," Steve Barkin said to William III of Monaco, "How long has it been… 8 years?"

"Bulldog! Good to see you! Yes you're right, 8 years since I left NATO. I'll have to tell Gunny I saw you."

'Bulldog?' Bonnie thought as she looked on.

"I saw Gunny fighting with you Sir, on the newsfeed. He looks like he's doing well."

"He is. Sheila hired him as her majordomo… he saved her once on a mission. She doesn't know I know… She's quite a handful…"

The retired warriors sat at Sheila's bedside and reminisced while she slept.

---

"So why are you here Padre?" Bonnie asked Rabbi K.

"I'm sorry… have we met?" he said.

"Oh! Sorry! I'm Bonnie… Bonnie Rockwaller. I know Kim and Ron from school… you are?"

"I'm Rabbi Katz."

"OH… I'M SO SORRY! I didn't know."

"That's ok… Bonnie. I've done some chaplain work in the past so I don't mind. So why are you here? From what Ronald's told me, you have as Kim would say an adversarial 'sitch' with him."

"I came to apologize to him… I saw him fighting that Adaptoid thingie on the news… is it true what they said about it… that it wanted to kill us all?"

"Yes."

"He just… stood up to it… like it was nothing… it's SO weird seeing him do that… for me… after the way I treated him… for all of us… I never knew…"

"Bonnie, take it from me, Ronald and people in general can be full of surprises. I'm sure if you tell him what you told me that everything will be fine. Ronald has a VERY forgiving heart. Let's get something to eat."

"Ok Rabbi K."

---

Meanwhile in a nearby meeting room Ron and Kim sat at the head of a conference table while Ron explained some THINGS…

"When I find Viper, I'm gonna rip her open from…"

"RON!" Kim and his Mom said.

"Sorry. It's just not fair! Sheila's done some bad things… but she doesn't deserve this!"

"Ron what's going on?" Anne asked.

Ron told them EVERYTHING. You could hear a pin drop.

"So let me get this straight," James Possible asked, "You're in love with both my Daughter AND this WOMAN?"

"Sir, I… I… was going to choose… but I didn't want to hurt them… they both saved my life… Kim watched out for me and… Sheila took a bullet for me."

"Son," Imi asked, "have you… BEEN with either of them?"

"NO SIR!" BEETROOT! "I love and RESPECT them TOO much to do that! I'm saving… y'know… for marriage."

"Ok, son. That's good enough for your mother and me."

"OK!" James Bellowed, "THIS IS NOT OK! MY DAUGHTER WOULD NEVE…"

"STOP IT DAD! I'M NOT A LITTLE GIRL ANYMORE… I'M A CAPTAIN IN SHIELD AND I EARNED IT… SHEILA AND I MADE THE CHOICE… RON DIDN'T… I LOVE HIM AND I TOLD HIM! HE… HE NEEDED TO KNOW… WE DECIDED TO STAND BY HIM BECAUSE… BECAUSE…"

Kim began to sob.

"Ron you've always been there for Kim, so I trust you," Anne said, "What are you trying to tell us… what's wrong?"

"He's trying to tell ya that he's about to take Viper on by himself and he might not come back." A new voice said.

---

While Kim and Ron held their meeting and the others talked, Wade started to set up some equipment he'd brought that had been scanned and cleared for use in Sheila's room. A 6' 4" man with steely sideburns wearing a white labcoat over a navy jumpsuit with a '4' on it quietly walked in and watched him.

As Wade set up his Nanocomputer a hand snaked over and passed him the cables he needed.

"Thanks!" he said as he took the cables, "Oh my gosh! Dr. Richards! I didn't hear you come in!"

"That's ok Wade. Need a hand?"

"Uh, sure it'd be an honor, Sir!"

"The honor's mine. Where's Anne?"

"She's with Kim, Ron, and his folks. I think they went somewhere to talk."

"Hmmm. Well let's finish the setup and run some tests. If I know Anne She'll want this ready to go when she comes back."

---

"Who the hell are you?" an Irate James Possible asked the walking nightmare that was known as the Specialist.

'OH NO!' Kim and Ron thought.

"I'm the guy that respects these soldiers enough to KICK THE CRAP OUT OF SOMEONE THAT QUESTIONS THEIR INTEGRITY. Seems to me that you're AWFUL disrespectful to the guy that shut down a major threat to humanity… I didn't see YOU out there…"

"Sir, I've got this." Ron said. "Kim figured out that I'm taking this mission and volunteered to protect Sheila. I understand if you think I've dissed Kim but I HAVEN'T. I love and respect them BOTH. Someday I'll choose who I'll be with, but right now I need to know that I have your support."

"You're only 15…"

Ron held up his hand and STARED at James.

"James I love you and Anne as much as my own Mom and Dad, I've loved Kim for years, and I love and respect you enough to talk to you about something this serious. I know that you still look at me as that gawky kid that followed Kim on missions and understand that. But YOU need to understand THIS, I'm Major Ronald Stoppable of SHIELD, one of The Director's Special Agents and YOUR commanding officer. I EARNED the right to wear this uniform and MORE importantly to work with your daughter as an equal. If you can't get THAT through your thick skull then that's your problem. I asked you guys in here so I could TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON, NOT GET MY CHOPS BUSTED. Now if you'll excuse me I've got a partner to check up on and a mission to plan." Ron left.

"…"

Kim looked at her father and left too.

Then the Stoppables…

"Wade's waiting for me… I have to run those tests for Sheila. I'll see you later Hon." Anne said before she left.

"So tell me somethin'," The Specialist candidly asked James, "How'd a guy smart as you overlook the fact that he's grown up?"

---

Later in Sheila Goble's room…

While Mr. Barkin and the Prince looked on Anne was explaining the procedure to Sheila.

"Ok Sheila, what we're going to do is have you inhale some nanobots and run a diagnostic while Reed, Charles and I try to see what's going on. It's quite painless so don't worry."

Wade placed a mask over Sheila's face and released the nanobots…

The bots went into her bloodstream and followed her nerves…

Ron walked in and held her hand.

The bots showed her tissues were encapsulating a self replicating crystalline white substance with glowing jade protein strands.

"So what are we seeing?" asked Ron.

"The green proteins you're looking at are a primary element in the way Sheila creates plasma. The white substance is the poison we've been trying to identify. We know there's a synthetic organic component coupled with a transuranic matrix. It's defied analysis so far." Charles Xavier said over the link.

"It looks familiar… Sheila have you seen anything like it before?"

She shook her head.

"…"

Kim walked in with Rufus on her shoulder, stood next to Ron and held his free hand.

Ron gave Kim the sitch.

"Kim I keep thinking we've seen this before… somewhere…"

"Now that you mention it… yeah… I've seen it too."

"Hmmm."

"I know! It looks like that crystal the bird guy used to take Sheila's powers that time…" Ron said, "What was his name?"

"Aviarius!"

"Yeah that guy." Kim and Ron told the Drs. about the Team Go mission.

"That would only partially explain this compound's structure. Whoever engineered this knew a lot about Sheila's mutagenic structure… it's almost as if they had mapped her genome and were preparing to clone her…"

"!" 'Drakken!' Sheila, Ron, and Kim thought.

"I'm gonna KILL him!" Ron echoed Sheila's thoughts.

"No Ron!" Anne said.

"Drakken joined HYRDA and poisoned her because she quit! Because of me!" Ron squeezed Sheila's hand, kissed her forehead and left.

"Kim!"

"Mom, I agree with Ron. Drakken has to be stopped by any means. I've got to go."

---

Ron was walking past the Mess Hall when he heard, "Got a minute?" from Bonnie Rockwaller.

"I'm VERY busy Bonnie, can it wait?"

"No… No it can't."

"Ok, what is it this time? You gonna make fun of me again… call me a loser or somethin'? 'Cause if you are…"

Bonnie walked up to Ron, hugged him and said, "I'm sorry, and thank you… for destroying that Adaptoid thing you fought."

"Uh… who are you?"

"I've NEVER had anyone… but you… and Possible fight for me… when I saw you on the news fighting that whatever it was… I saw your face… you KNEW you could die and you didn't care… You're AWESOME Ron Stoppable… and I'm sorry for all those mean things I said and did to you."

"Uh thanks… Bonnie."

Bonnie kissed Ron's cheek and was caught by Kim.

"CAGED, BONNIE!" KIM GLARE.

"Sorry K! I was just apologizing to Ron."

"Hey KP. Wanna help me pack?"

"Yeah." Kim took Ron's hand and swept him down the hall.

---

After James got his chops busted again by The Specialist he went to the Mess Hall to get a coffee and ran into Rabbi Katz.

"Something the matter James?"

"I think I've screwed things up with my daughter BIG TIME."

"Why?"

James told Katz what happened in the conference room.

"Give it time James, Kim's pretty levelheaded, and so is Ronald. Let me tell you a secret. Ronald's been taking lessons for the past three years from one of the BEST soldiers the world has ever seen. He came to me and asked me for my opinion before he started training, not as his Rabbi but as a friend."

"Really! What did you say?"

"I asked him why did he want to do something that terrified him so much. He told me he was more terrified of failing you and your wife by NOT being able to protect Kim. He said he NEVER wanted to come back to your home and say she didn't make it. He also said if the time ever came he'd take the bullet for her."

'I'm an IDIOT!' James thought.

"Ronald's heart is SO pure that he's been blessed with the responsibility of being one of the world's protectors… just like your Daughter. A person that overcomes his fears to protect us all… well that's quite a person… But heck what do I know… I'm just a Talmudic Scholar…" Rabbi K got up and left.

---

Kim and Ron sat on her bunk in her quarters holding hands…

"…"

"Hey KP… if I don't make it… would you take care of Rufus?"

"yeah." She said with her eyes shut and weeping tears.

"Ron."

"Yeah KP?"

"You're NOT going to die. You'll make it back." She wept.

"Uh… I'm not trying to be funny KP, but how do you know?"

"'Cause Sheila and I will kill you if you DON"T come back!" Kim wrapped her arms around Ron and tucked her face into his neck.

Kim nuzzled Ron's neck and found his sweet spot. While he was puddling she sat atop him and gave him her essence in a kiss…

When they came up for air she said, "If you die you won't get any of that or what's in reserve."

"Uh… what reserve?"

"This!" Tiger merged with Dragon, the universe split open, Ron was completed by and complemented Kim.

"oh."

"HEH, HEH, HEH." she said as she prepared to show him more.

'help!'

---

Finally Ron finished packing his kit (somehow, HEH.) and went to Sheila's room to say goodbye…

Ron waved to the assembled, walked over to Sheila's bed, leaned over and hugged her.

"I didn't take two bullets for you to have you conk out on me now," he whispered to her, "besides I haven't made my 'Seven Layers of Heaven' for you yet!"

"What's that?"

"When I come back I'll show you." 'Gotta get you back to GODDESS mode… this isn't right… seeing you like this. Bastard's gonna PAY!'

"!"

After Ron said goodbye James Possible walked in.

"Ron can we talk… outside?"

"…"

"Sure."

The two men stepped into the corridor…

And looked at each other…

"Hrmm." went Dr. Possible.

The Serious Face Watched On.

"Ron you were right to chew me out… I keep forgetting you and Kim are growing up and making some solid decisions."

Watching.

"Come back to us… and the girls Ron… Godspeed to you… Sir!" James said as he saluted Ron.

"!"

"Uhh… Thanks MR. Dr. P. That… coming from you says a lot." 'wow!'

"Just make it back in one piece. I don't want to deal with a terminally angry Kimmie-cub because you got yourself killed."

Rabbi K, and Ron's Mom and Dad walked over and hugged him goodbye.

"Just do your best son." Imi said while they hugged him and Rabbi K shook his hand.

"I will."

Mr. Barkin came out of Sheila's room and clasped Ron's shoulder.

"Stoppable… Major Stoppable make sure you come back in one piece… that's…"

"An Order?"

"No son… a request… from a guy that respects you."

"Thanks Mr. Barkin." 'Wow… Respect… from Mr. Barkin!'

"Ron."

"Yes Sir?"

"When you catch the guys… give 'em a primal kickin'."

"You bet!"

Bonnie walked over.

"I sure missed the boat Ron… now I'll NEVER get to find out what you've got that keeps K and Sheila… happy!"

"This is kinda weird… but I'll miss you too Bon Bon." Red.

The Prince walked up to Ron.

Two warriors looked respectfully at each other… each from different generations… both tested by the worst that humanity and war had to offer… in short Veterans.

"Young man… You, Kim, and your families are part of my House… find Sheila's cure and come back safely."

"I will."

Anne Possible walked up to Ron and hugged him.

"Be careful… do us proud like you ALWAYS do Ron."

"Yes MA'AM."

Wade walked over and punched Ron lightly on his shoulder.

"Dude… y'know…"

"Yeah… keep an eye on Kim… and stay out of the SHIELD datacore while I'm gone willya?"

"ok."

'Where's Kim? She said she'd meet me here.'

Ron turned to leave…

"Ron!" Kim cried.

Ron turned around to see Kim, the Specialist, and a 6' well toned man with a sleek, backswept, double peaked head of hair dressed in woodsy casual with dogtags around his neck quietly walking up the corridor towards him.

'Who's the guy with the tags? I've seen him before…'

Kim ran into Ron's arms.

"You don't leave here Mister… until I say goodbye!" she said with her arms draped around his neck.

"UH HUH!" Rufus chirped from her pocket.

"Yes Ma'am. I wouldn't dream of… MMM" Ron tried to say before Kim made the area they were standing in GLOW.

"'Scuse me kids," The Specialist said, "but we've got some things ta hammer out 'fore the Major leaves."

"Sorry Sir!" they chimed as they stood at attention.

"Stoppable, this gentleman has volunteered ta tag along… and render assistance."

"Yes Sir."

"He's been in the field for several years so listen to him. Go it?"

"YES SIR!"

"Hey kid… relax. This should be a cakewalk." The man said.

"Uh Ok." 'Who's this guy? I KNOW him!'

"'Sides Kim MADE me promise with that… that thing she does… to

keep an eye on ya… there oughta be a law against that POUT of hers."

Kim Smiled and winked at Ron over the man's shoulder.

Ron Smiled.

The man stuck out his hand and shook Ron's.

"The name's Col. James Howlett… my friends call me Logan… some of you folks know me as Wolverine."

"!" thought the Drs P Squared, Barkin, and Bonnie.

'NO Wonder I couldn't recognize him, he's not wearing his gear! WAIT… Kim twisted Wolverine's arm with the Pout? WOW!'

"Uh thanks for coming Sir. I take it you're in charge?"

"Nah… I owe Sheila. Drakken too."

"?" Ron thought.

"And… I'm here ta act as your Conscience."

End Prolog