It was after nine when James Possible answered the knock at his front door. He was tempted not to; his family had had enough "excitement" for one day, and they deserved – needed – to have at least a few hours to themselves. Of course, whoever-it-was would see all the lights on, know that the Possibles were home, and know that they were being snubbed, but so much the better. Anyone who could just walk up to their door and knock on it had probably played some part in getting Kim thrown out of school. Of course, they might genuinely need help. And while it would serve whoever-it-was right if they had to figure out how to get by without Kim, he knew she wouldn't want that.
That was why he opened the door, in the end, but he opened it with the full intention of physically throwing whoever-it-was off the porch if they weren't in immediate danger of death. He changed his mind when he found Monique and Felix waiting there.
"Hey, Kids," he greeted them. "Looking for Kim?"
"Yes, Mr. Possible," Monique answered. "Is she here? We heard something about a mission."
"She's packing for that," He said. "You're lucky you caught her. She's leaving in the morning. Which is all I can tell you."
"Gotcha," Felix agreed. "How about Ron? We checked his house on the way over, and he wasn't there."
"He's helping her pack," Mr. Dr. Possible answered. "He's been to…where they're going…before. Of course, if memory serves, he's the last person in the world who should be helping anyone to pack, under any circumstances." He grimaced, remembering the times they'd taken Ron on family trips.
"Kim does have a better hold on the concept of 'traveling light'," Monique agreed.
"Can we talk to them?" Felix asked.
"Sure, they're – I'll call them down," Mr. Dr. Possible said. He knew that Felix's wheelchair could fly. What it couldn't do was fit up the stairs to Kim's room at the same time.
"Why don't you join us?" Felix invited. "You and Mrs. Possible. This concerns you, too."
"Is this about this afternoon?" Mr. Dr. Possible asked.
"Yep," Monique said, a feral grin spreading across her face. "This afternoon, and making the bastards pay for it."
"We're going to get Kim back into Middleton High, Mr. Possible," Felix added.
James Possible, startled for a moment, grinned back just as ferally as Monique. "Come right in," He said.
----
(Tight hug)
"Hey, Kim."
"Hey, Monique."
"How you doin', girl?"
"I'm okay. Been better, you know."
"I know. Damn it, I'm sorry girl."
"Sorry? For what?"
"I should've – "
(Felix, sternly)
"Monique, what did I tell you?"
"Stop being so mean to your girlfriend."
"That's right. Now c'mon. We've got strategy to discuss, and Kim's mom has leftover double-bacon pizza."
"Hey! That isn't leftover, that's mine!"
----
For the second time that day, the Possible family and Ron Stoppable sat down around a table to discuss strategy. This one was more pleasant in a number of ways, however: there was food, they liked the people they were talking to, the tweebs hadn't been cut out of the loop (although, admittedly, they'd mostly been included to distract them from their own plans of revenge, most of which involved particle-beam weapons), and at the end of the meeting there was an actual strategy to use against a foe they knew they could beat. There were just a few last-minute quibbles over details.
----
"And Bonnie came up with this?" Ron asked, stunned, when his two friends had finished.
"Yep."
"Uh-huh."
"Okay, that does it, we're checking her for mind-control chips."
"I don't think so," Mrs. Dr. P. said. "I've been seeing signs for a while now that Bonnie was starting to thaw toward Kimmie."
Monique, remembering the confrontation in the mall that summer, started to nod. She opened her mouth, but Ron got there first.
"Thaw?" He squawked. "This is…global meltdown! New York and LA are flooding as we speak!"
"True," Monique agreed. "But she's right. Bonnie's been being her version of friendly for…months now. I don't know when or why it started, but…" She shrugged.
"I still think we should check for mind control," Ron said.
"And we still think"
"That we should just"
"Hook up"
"Our portable Singularity Inducer"
"To the ignition"
"Of Superintendent Burlson's car," Jim and Tim said.
"Don't even joke, boys," Colleen Possible said sternly.
"Aw, mom," The tweebs whined in unison.
"Your mother's right," James Possible said. "As much as he may deserve it – "
"James…"
"And as tempting as it may be – "
"You're not helping."
"It would be the wrong thing to do," he finished piously. His wife watched him suspiciously.
Her suspicions were justified, of course. "Your Singularity Inducer is still in the testing stages. You need to use technology that you know to be dependable."
"That's it, I'm searching everyone's book bags, briefcases, and pockets before they leave the house."
"Of course," James went on, as if he hadn't heard her. "Chances are, it would be traced back to us. Unless – "
"Felix and Monique's, too."
James Possible grinned at his wife. "Just letting off some steam, dear. I think that it's a great plan, myself. Bonnie's, that is."
"It is," Kim agreed, breaking her silence at last. "But I can't let them do it."
Ron, her father, and her brothers all made noises of shock and disbelief and stared at her. Felix and her mother shook their heads in fond exasperation. Monique just grinned smugly.
"No letting for you to do, girl," she said. "It's already done."
"It's not too late to back off," Kim said. "People will think it was all a rumor, or that you couldn't get enough people to agree to it, or – "
"Girl, please. This is Bonnie we're talking about. Have you ever known her to back off from anything? Especially because you asked her to?"
Kim frowned. She was right. Nonetheless: "But you – she – they have to. I mean, what if somebody loses a scholarship because they didn't play, or – "
Felix interrupted with a noisy sigh, rolling his eyes, and shaking his head. "Heroes," He said. "You lay your life on the line for us every other day, you get your face chopped into New York Strip steak – " That drew a gasp from the Possibles – and Monique – and a frown from Ron, but Kim just blushed. "But oh no, please don't trouble ourselves on your account." He snorted. "I kinda think maybe fuckin' not."
He paused, then looked sheepishly around the table. "Uh, sorry for the language," he apologized. "Kinda got carried away."
"No, it's okay," Mr. Dr. Possible said. "It was appropriate for the occasion."
Kim wasn't interested in Felix's language, and she wasn't quite ready to give up yet: "Look," she said. "I don't want anybody getting in trouble over this."
"Shut, girl," Monique said sternly. "You two are worth it."
"Hey, no need to convince me," Ron said. "I'm all for it."
"Ron!" Kim scolded.
"What?"
"The whole world is facing a doomsday level of peril right now, in case you'd forgotten!" She said. "It can't be about us!"
There was a moment of silence as all of the people around the table realized – or remembered – something about Kimberly Ann Possible.
This was the girl who was on every club, committee, and community service project in Middleton High. The girl who was all but physically incapable of saying "no" to anyone who asked her for help, whether it was in getting their cat out of a tree or saving the world. The girl who wore the dangerous, experimental speed-shoes rather than delegate or ask for help. The girl who had treated her own recovery from could've-been-crippling injuries as preparation for facing – and saving – Shego.
Part of it was the stubborn pride of the Girl Who Could Do Anything, but another part was simply that…it was never about her. Not if there was someone else for it to be about.
"Thought I told you to shut, girl," Monique said, much more gently. Kim shut, and Monique reached across the table to her. Silently, a little confused, Kim took her hand. "There is always some doomsday peril," Monique continued. "Whether it's giant robots or death rays or that black hole thingy…but whatever it is, we have to keep livin' like we're gonna live through it. And that means making sure you have a home to come to here. You deserve that much. This time, it is about you."
Kim opened her mouth to protest, but she was interrupted again, this time by her mother: "It's okay to let someone stand up for you this time," she said.
Kim opened her mouth again. Then closed it. For a moment, the Brave Face that she'd been wearing since that afternoon slipped, and she wasn't the World-Saving Teen Hero anymore – she was a seventeen-year-old girl who was broken-hearted that she wouldn't get to cheerlead this year.
She swallowed hard, then nodded. "Okay," She said softly. Then, she took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Okay," she said more firmly.
There were encouraging noises and gestures from around the table – a hug from Ron, a pat on the shoulder from her mother.
Then her father turned his attention back to Felix and Monique, a grim, eager…fierce…grin on his face. "Right. That's settled. Kim and Ron will see to saving the world, we'll take care of the rest. What do you need from us?"
Author's Note: That was a good idea y'all had, making this a continuing story. I never intended to neglect the Home Front (have I ever?), but this way, I have more room to work with than if I'd gone with my original plan of fitting it into "Bleeding Through" (and the occasional one-shot) wherever it could. Thanks for the suggestions.
