If you're on the alert list just so you know I've completely rewritten the story so you should reread the first chapter
Chap 2
Middleton train station
Dozens of people gathered at the station awaiting the arrival of a few Global Justice Agents from their latest successful mission. Many of the Agents hadn't seen their loved ones for months at a time.
A man slowly sipped a fresh brewed coffee from a small plastic cup. He tried his best to keep his tired eyes on his exuberant son. Eventually the boy tripped over a small stone and swore. "Hey, hey watch the potty mouth."
The boy stood with an angelically sweet smile on his face. "But you say that word, all the time daddy!"
"Yeah, well, maybe it's because I didn't having a caring father who would whup my behind when I did something bad."
"It's only a word dad."
The father patted his son's hair. "Words are important son, they can hurt."
"Ok dad, is mommy going to be here soon?"
"She'll be here in a few minutes and then we'll go out and eat together as a family."
"Yay"
"Hey Ant what are you looking at?"
Anthony turned to his friend, his concentration torn away from the heartwarming scene. He rubbed his eyelids aggressively. "Sorry, I was up late last night."
Aaron seemed to accept the excuse but Maya, who was sitting at the other end of the bench they were on, just shook her head.
"You were probably training all night, weren't you? Is that all you do? Do you have a social life?"
"I'm sitting here talking to you, am I not?"
"That's because I put with your antisocial behavior."
"Come on, I'm not antisocial"
"Oh, you're not antisocial huh? Remember old Mrs. Whittaker? You save her cat, she sends you a basket of cookies and you tell me to send her a thank you by e-mail."
"She was probably going to invite me to her house and then we'd have to talk---"
"Mr. Romano, you pulled him out of fire five years ago. He's invited you to his house every year since. How many times have you gone?"
"Ok I get it"
"It's sad really. Oh by the way just so you know they're having a festival in honor of the returning agents in two days and I signed up our band to play there."
"What why?" Anthony said incredulously.
"Why not?"
"Look Aaron, you discovered that I could play guitar----
"Yeah you really tried to keep that a secret didn't you?"
"You turned our team into a band without my permission!"
"I just thought we should do things as a group, outside of fighting of course."
"Now you want me to play in front of other people? I'm not ready."
"Don't worry we've practiced enough songs. We'll be great, isn't that right Maya?"
"It'll be fun, Ant."
Speechless Anthony turned away and returned to watching the man and his son. He never deluded himself into thinking he would ever have a normal family life, not under these circumstances anyway. But sometimes he wondered what it would be like, to be part of a real family, to basically live another life.
His mother used to talk about the past and what might have been when he was younger but not as much anymore. Now, when they had the chance to talk, it was only about current events. It was probably for the best. Who wants to tell their mother to stop talking about the past because of a feeling of emptiness that has been growing in you over the years? No one wants to tell their mother that, it just wouldn't be right. He pushed these thoughts away and concentrated on the other excited faces in the station
Aaron leaned back on the bench. "I don't know how anyone can be unhappy when their mother, who they haven't seen in months, is coming soon."
Anthony thought it over, before answering. "My mother's not coming."
"What do you mean?"
"She's got more important things to do."
Maya glanced up in surprise. "That's a little pessimistic. I'm sure your mother cares about you."
Anthony frowned. "That's not what I meant. What I'm saying is that sometimes you have to put the needs of others over your own, I'm sure my mom would love to be here, but she'll stay behind to make sure everyone gets the help they need."
Aaron mulled the idea over in his head. "And you're one hundred percent sure about this?"
Anthony shrugged. "It's what I would do."
"So why are you here?" asked Maya, curiously.
The train roared into the station before he could answer. Maya and Aaron, in their anticipation, momentarily forget about the conversation. The train came to a screeching halt as the crowd gathered at the platform. Anthony remained in his seat watching for the moment.
Moments later, Monique Taylor stepped out of the train, took a look around the familiar area, and smiled. "Home at last!"
Maya and Aaron rushed towards their mother. She wrapped her arms around them the minute they got into range.
Aaron grabbed his mothers bag "did you kick some butt, mom?"
"Whatever happened to hello mother? Anyway, we've got some very valuable information, information that could change everything."
Maya smiled broadly "Really? Can you tell you us about it?'
"Well, it's top secret right now. I shouldn't have even told you we had any info."
Maya looked down at her mother's slightly torn body armor. "Mom… is this blood? Are you alright?"
"Don't worry girl, I'm fine." She leaned over, whispering into Aaron's ear. "To tell you the truth, it isn't my blood."
Aaron looked at his mother proudly. "Mom, you rule!"
She laughed. "I know baby, I know"
Anthony; walked over to Monique, and planted a kiss on her on cheek.
"Hey Auntie Monique"
"Well who's this young hottie?" She grabbed him by the chin and inspected his face
"You are looking so much like your father, it's uncanny."
"Thank you!"
She continued to smile happily at him. "There were some people left behind enemy lines, your mother went back to…"
"Its ok Auntie Monique, I understand."
"She'll be here in about four days."
"That's good to know"
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine, thank you. Um…If you'll excuse me I'm going to take a walk."
As he walked Anthony briefly wondered if he was all right, but he didn't want to dwell too much on it. He maneuvered through the crowd of people, knowing for sure that there were more important things in the world to think about.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Middleton, the home of the North American branch of the only hope left in the world, Global Justice. From this very city, Global Justice had managed to liberate most of the United States except for certain sections of the south.
Anthony strolled through Middleton Park doing what he did best; observing and thinking. A little over fifteen years ago Middleton was a thriving community. Well that's how it seemed anyway from the pictures he'd seen. Now there were barracks every two blocks in case of an attack.
He chuckled. Although it had been heavily armed and was GJ HQ, Middleton had never been attacked. People had theories but no one ever knew exactly why this was the case.
A group of children ran by, passing a basketball between themselves. He wondered how many of them had migrated to Middleton because they were orphaned by the war.
They probably had no idea why their parents were gone, but the problem was most people didn't know why either. The Brotherhood of the Snake was a very secretive organization. There are rumors that they had been around for centuries but eighteen years ago they made their presence known to the world. A few months after the murder of his father, the leader of the Brotherhood, Janus, announced that the world was losing its way and basically needed to be led in the right direction. The world needed a savior and he had finally arrived. The Brotherhood over the years had somehow amassed billions of dollars and an army filled with mercenaries, highly advanced robots and of course, Janus' unparalleled power. No one had any idea who Janus was or where he came from or how he gotten so powerful
When Janus led his army into Washington D.C, the white house had been destroyed within days. In a matter of weeks the Brotherhood conquered London, Rome, Paris, and Beijing. Millions around the world converted to the ideals of the Brotherhood, some out of fear, some actually believing in Janus as a savior. The one's that didn't embrace their ideas of a perfect world were enslaved, their labor helping the cause.
Anthony smiled at a group of elderly woman as they passed by, being polite and simultaneously masking his anger.
As the countries fell, the only hope left was Global Justice. Everyone who wanted to fight the tyranny applied to GJ. With the help of his mother, they managed to hit the brakes on Janus' dreams.
Global Justice managed to collect a few major victories
The California riots led by the former slave, now self proclaimed voice of the people, Bonnie Rockwaller, with the help of GJ, kept the Brotherhood from conquering the U.S completely.
Then there was the Brazilian raid mission; where his mother and Will Du stopped The Brotherhood from wiping out the rain forest. Why a group trying to create a perfect world, wanted to destroy the rainforest remained a mystery to this day.
Finally there was Ragnarok the biggest battle in the war that created the stalemate they were in now.
Anthony stopped in his tracks, he found himself at a secluded area of the park. Directly in front of him was small monument. An elderly couple snapped a few pictures of it, he approached them and using his arm he brushed away the leaves and moss that covered the plaque on the monument.
In memory of Ronald Stoppable, former member of Team Possible; beloved by friends and family, he will be forever known as a hero.
"You know, I was saved by Team Possible, I got caught in an avalanche," said the old woman who stood by him.
Her husband grabbed her be the shoulder and pulled her close. "So was I! Maybe if Team Possible was still complete, this whole ordeal would be over."
"Maybe…" replied Anthony. "How much time did you spend with Ronald Stoppable?"
"Oh, we actually got to spend a whole day with them both."
"Really? Do you mind telling me about it?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Two days later: The welcome back festival
Aaron peered out from behind the curtains and scanned the massive crowd that had gathered at the park; most of them people their age. He backed away with a smile on his face and addressed the band.
"There's a bazillion people out there man. This….. Is…huge."
"For once I agree with you," said Reece with a big grin on his face. "We're going to be rock stars."
Aaron turned to Anthony, who was sitting in a corner behind the band equipment, his face in his hands. "What do you say bro, we're going be rock stars baby."
Anthony kept his eyes on the ground "whatever"
"Whoa, are we playing for a funeral? You can't rock with an attitude like that."
"Well Aaron, what if I don't want to rock."
"Did you or did you not teach yourself how to play guitar?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"Who in their right mind teaches himself to play guitar but does not want to be a rock star? It just doesn't make any sense"
Anthony's feet tapped nervously on the floor "I don't think I'm ready for this."
"Let me get this straight my friend. You've got no problem fighting murderous mutants and throwing yourself out of planes but you can't play in front of a crowd of people!"
Reece roared with laughter.
Aaron walked over to his friend "you better snap out of this, you're the lead guitar and lead vocal, and I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Those are vital parts of the band. Heck, you even picked the freaking song we're playing."
Maya at the time was practicing, twirling her drumsticks when she came to a realization. "Hey, we don't have a name for our band."
"What about, Reece and the backstreet experience?"
Aaron rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha, how about Dark Sunday?"
Maya shook her head "that's stupid"
"Naked Mole rats!"
They all turned to Anthony, who looked away sheepishly. "I'm sorry."
Aaron sighed. "Look, we'll decide on the name later. Tomas, how's the lights?"
"Why can't I be in the band too?"
"Because you don't have any talent!" Aaron shouted back. "Alright everyone, take your places."
Out in the crowd two people made their way through the masses. Draped in loose clothing and elaborate caps, they tried their best to blend in the crowd.
"Hurry up Kim or we won't find a good spot to see the show."
"Slow down Monique, you know I haven't had time to rest yet."
"You should have seen how sad he looked when you didn't show up two days ago. Won't he be surprised to know, you're here early."
"I'm surprised too. When did Anthony learn to play a guitar? He never showed an interest in it before."
"Well, Aaron tells me he's pretty good and looking at his genes, why shouldn't he? This song is supposed be a real Pd."
"Pd?"
"Panty dropper" Monique laughed. "Don't you just love how inventive the kids are these days?"
The curtains lifted and the spotlight hit the stage. The band waved as the crowd applauded them. Aaron nodded to Anthony as they took their places on the stage, but he was too surprised by the crowd reaction to notice.
"Oh my god there's Anthony he's so dreamy!"
"Anthony, look over here!"
"Looks like Anthony's popular with ladies" said Monique
"You might be right Monique," said Kim as she observed the swooning girls. "It might be time for him and me to have a little chat."
Anthony turned to the band. "Ok, let's get this over with…on three. One, two, three."
They started out perfectly with his guitar playing standing out from the rest; soon it was time for the vocals.
Girl, it's been a long time that we've been apart
Much too long for a man who needs love
"Oh my god," exclaimed Kim, in complete shock
"What? They're really good!"
"It's not that."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ten years ago:
Anthony immediately dropped his toys on the ground when he heard the quiet sobbing. He followed the noise into his mother's room. The room was cast in darkness, except for the light glow of the television. Anthony walked further into the room his eyes on the screen. She was watching home movies again. He watched as a figure moved across the screen, the man he knew only from pictures.
"Mom, are you ok?"
"I'm fine," she said in a raspy voice. With her sleeves, she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Mommy, why do you watch movies that make you cry?"
"That's a good question."
Anthony stared at her waiting for an answer.
"Hey there's nothing wrong with living in the past, it's a healthy and normal human reaction."
He continued to stare.
"Ok, maybe if we watch it together, I won't be sad. Is that ok?"
Anthony nodded. She picked him up and placed him on her lap.
"Look, there's your daddy."
Ron appeared on the grainy screen, he adjusted the video camera until it met his requirements.
"Good morning Middleton, it's Ron Stoppable reporting from the land of the rising sun. How's it going KP?"
"Wave to your daddy, sweetheart" said Kim.
"Can you believe half the summer's gone, time really flies. So, anyway, today I decided to send you a video tape instead of a typical letter. I kind of thought it would be kind of romantic. Or not, it doesn't really matter, as long as you know that I…uh
He got up and went off screen. You can clearly hear the heavy breathing in the background.
"Daddy's pretty funny isn't he?"
Ron came back on screen. "Alright I can do this… as long as you know that I love you! Ok that wasn't so bad, felt pretty good actually. I'd show you more of Yamanouchi, but there's that "secret ninja school" policy. So I'm going to entertain you, I hope, with an old Japanese tradition.
He went off screen again and rolled a karaoke machine into the camera view.
"You may not believe this but this actually belongs to Master Sensei and he's got this weird obsession with 80s American glam rock. I know, it's just bizarre. Anyway, I also borrowed this old guitar from one of my classmates. Long story short, Yamanouchi has a great music program."
He took a minute to set up the machine
"Ok, so I've picked the cheesiest song from Sensei's collection to express my undying love for you. Wow, that actually sounded better on paper than it did coming out of my mouth… hmmm the battery is getting low so let's get this started.
Girl, it's been a long time that we've been apart
Much too long for a man who needs love
I miss you since I've been away
They clapped and swayed along with the song.
There's no one like you
I can't wait for the nights with you. I imagine the things we'll do
I just wanna be loved by you.
"Daddy's pretty good huh, he's singing about mommy"
"He's grrrrrrreat," said Anthony as he moved to the music.
"Yes he is baby"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Are you ok Kim?"
Kim broke out of her trance. "He's really good."
The crowd erupted when Anthony finished his solo.
I just wanna be loved by you
No one like you.
The crowd exploded once again as the band finished up the song.
"That was freaking awesome," yelled Aaron.
"Oh no…" cried Anthony "they're rushing the stage"
A stampede had broken out as a mass of people, mostly teenage girls, attempted to get on stage.
"Yes! We're rock Gods," beamed Reece.
"Let's out of here," ordered Maya, and they quickly exited the stage.
A few minutes later, Aaron paced around backstage.
"We should have a debut party?"
"Yes," agreed Reece.
"I mean in these stressful days isn't in our duty to relax with a huge forty eight hour bash?"
"Yes!"
"Who knows… we might die in battle any day now. We've got to take advantage of the band's success right now."
"Yes!"
"Ok, we'll have the party! First thing we have to do is round up the groupies."
"Aaron I could not agree more"
"Sis, what do you think about this party?"
"I think you should start thinking with your brain instead of your…" she looked around the room "…wait a minute. Where is Anthony?"
Anthony, with his guitar in one hand, popped open a window in the men's room. He had one leg out before someone burst through the men's room door.
"Where do you think you're going buddy?" Asked Aaron
Anthony cursed his luck "I'm just going to take a walk"
"A walk?"
"Yeah"
Aaron shuffled slowly into the bathroom "well, we're planning a party here. You know, to celebrate the band's successful debut."
"That's great, but I don't think I'll be able to make it."
"You won't be able to make it? Ok let me make myself clear, the other members of the band are planning on creating the biggest bash of our teenage lives, a party by the way that will be filled with groupies."
"I hear you Aaron but I…"
"What part of groupies do you not understand?"
"I'm not really a people person Aaron."
Aaron looked at his friend incredulously. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm going need you to help me out here Ant. You are the son of Kim Possible, arguably the most respected and celebrated hero in the world today, are you not?"
"Yeah."
"You've just rocked hundreds of people out of their socks, making you, for the week at least, a rock God among your peers."
Anthony watched as Aaron crossed against his arms and leaned against the wall before him "Aaron…"
"Wait a minute, I'm not done. In the past, you've proven countless times that you have the potential to be a hero on par, or dare I say it, a better hero then your mother."
"Look…"
"Finally, and I say this in the most platonic hetero way possible, you, my friend, are a 10.5 on the hottie scale. And knowing all this, you are standing here in this men's room telling me that you are not a people person. How is that possible?"
"I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel."
Aaron stared up at ceiling and vigorously rubbed his face. "Fine, go. Just means more groupies for me."
"Thanks!" Anthony smiled, and then he leaped out the window.
Aaron shook his head as he leaned against the windowsill. "One of these days bro, someone's going have to teach you how to have fun"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Anthony lay on the park bench strumming on the guitar, looking up at the night sky, when someone sat by his head.
"Stars are beautiful tonight."
Anthony sat up when he recognized the voice. "Mom?"
She grabbed him into a huge bear hug before he could react. "I hear you've been missing me."
"Oh come on mom," he said, as he pretended to try to break free from her grasp.
"What, are you to big to get hugs?" she said before letting him go.
"When did you get here?"
"Well, I got here just in time to catch a concert."
Anthony blew out a gust of air, ran one hand down the back of his neck. "Oh man you saw that?"
"Yes I did, great show"
Anthony fell silent.
"Thank you" she said suddenly.
"Thanks for what?"
"For bringing back a few good memories" she paused for a moment before continuing. "We've got a really important mission coming up and I'd like you to be there with me."
"Are you serious?" he said excitedly.
"I've talked to Dr. Director; and after thinking about it long and hard and I think the time is right for you to…"
"Thank you!" he said as he returned the bear hug.
"Ok, ok you're suffocating me. When did you get this strong?"
"I can finally make a difference!" He thought.
"Speaking of the concert, it seems now you've got quite a bit of fans of the female variety."
"What?" he said slightly embarrassed. "Ah… that probably won't last."
"Ok, but what about Monique's daughter Maya?"
He did a double take "what are you talking about? We're just friends, a girl and a boy can just be friends, right?"
Kim began to say something but then she just smiled "whatever you say."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread any of these baseless ideas around other people, please and thank you."
"Anthony I think you and I should have another talk. You're seventeen now and…"
Anthony leaped up from his seat "No…oh no…no…no... We are not having any talks. There is no need for talking. Besides I already know about that."
"Really…" she said, "what do you know?"
"I know... stuff." He stammered. "Look, I don't need to be having any talks about that with my mother. That is just sick and wrong."
"You're right, that's more of a father-son thing right." She said looking down sadly.
"Ah mom, I didn't mean anythi---"
Kim picked her head up quickly, revealing her smile. "I'm just playing with you"
"That's funny, that's really funny. You've actually found something more powerful then the puppy dog pout."
"Do you know any other songs?"
"A few," he replied. "What do you want to hear?"
"I'd like to hear something slow and sweet."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Spirit of Yamanouchi dojo
By emptying his mind completely, his senses increased greatly. Meditating, he mentally scanned the surrounding area for any traces of spiritual energy. Turning around quickly, he guarded his mid section, and blocked his stalkers attack.
Yori smiled at him. "Very good, Anthony-kun, you followed my energy, and blocked my kick. Not let's see how you handle this."
She spun and performed a roundhouse kick, which forced Anthony to duck. She quickly linked that up with a sweep kick, which he then countered with a back flip.
Taking the offensive he attacked with a three quick punches, she dodged the first two and rolled under the last. She pushed herself forward until she ended up behind him.
Swiftly, she attempted to drive her elbow into his back. He parried the attack, grabbing her arm and tossing her over his shoulders. Unfortunately, she landed back on her feet. Recovering quickly, she attacked with three straight kicks at his face. Anthony deflected two with arms, side stepped the last and performed a roundhouse kick of his own. He stopped his foot before it could hit her on the face.
She smiled at him proudly. "You've progressed beyond my expectations. You're dismissed for the day."
Anthony dropped to his knees and bowed until his face touched the floor.
"Thanks again for me training me, Yori-Sensei."
"There's no need for this Anthony-kun. It's been my honor to train you."
Anthony continued to bow. "Although it has been my honor to train under you Yori-Sensei, I respectfully ask to be expelled from the Yamanouchi School."
Yori was clearly shocked. "Why?"
"I do not wish to disgrace the school. I'm no longer able to follow the rules of the Yamanouchi School."
"Which rules?"
"The Yamanouchi School has taught its students to only fight to protect and to avoid taking the lives of their enemies."
"And you can no longer follow this?"
"I feel, in this situation, that the death of my enemy is very necessary."
"Why do you feel this way?"
Anthony hesitated. "Many years ago, my mother had told that she once had the opportunity to kill a certain enemy. But for some reason she could not bring herself to do so. Unfortunately, her decision led to deaths of many others. She has been agonizing for years because of this."
"And you will rectify this mistake"
"I will avenge my mother, my father, and all those who have died needlessly. Please excuse me from the school Sensei."
Yori's face became pale, and she gave him a look of deep sadness. "This enemy you are referring to… is it Janus?"
Anthony said nothing.
"In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior."
"Thank you for the advice Sensei but I believe my only goal in this life is to restore the world's nature order, and I can do so by stopping one man. I feel that I was born with the power to do so"
For a person who was in complete control of her emotions, Yori couldn't prevent a tear from rolling down her cheek.
"I hereby grant your wish. You are now excused from the Yamanouchi School."
"Thank you Sensei."
"Wait right here Anthony-kun"
Yori went to the back of her dojo, and returned with a small glass containing a small silver bracelet.
Anthony noticed the bracelet and pushed it away. "I can't accept this. I'm no longer in the school."
"This is yours by birthright, please take it. You've practiced extensively with it, you deserve to have it."
He reached into the box and grabbed the bracelet. It instantly changed into a sword, and then into a shield, and then it returned to its bracelet form. His body gave off a blue light and then it dissipated. He quickly attached it to his wrist.
"Thank you Sensei, for giving me the power to change the world for the better."