BRRRRIIIIINNNGGGG! The school bell rang loudly as Ron Stoppable left his Marketing Class at 3:15 on a warm Friday afternoon. Five days and he still hadn't made any friends besides Amy Vokram. To make matters worse, he'd been shoved into the lockers three times a day and picked on by Joey Mason, the jock who picked on him his first day on the bus.
Ron had never felt this depressed in his entire life. It was even worse than when Kim was "dating" Eric the robot Drakken had sent to distract her during Prom. Ron dolefully trudged down the street and made his way to a nearby martial arts place he'd heard about. He'd try to take lessons, it would pass the time and it would help him improve so he could be more useful on Kim's missions.
He walked into the karate studio. Maybe they'd teach him if he requested lessons, hopefully it wouldn't be too expensive. "Um…hello?" he asked one of the men standing inside the building. "You guys teach karate here?"
"We do, son," the man said, "so you ever taken lessons?"
"A little bit," Ron said, he really didn't know how to describe it. He'd been to Yamanouchi's secret ninja school in Japan, he'd promised to keep that a secret so he didn't say anything about that.
"Let's see what you can do, Ron," the karate instructor said. Ron lunged at him, trying to punch him as the man blocked it and quickly grabbed his arm. The man sent Ron Stoppable flying across the room.
Ron scrambled to his feet and ran, trying to punch the instructor as hard and fast as he could. His blows either hit nothing but air or were blocked with ease by the instructor.
The man easily knocked him down. Ron tried to get up again, but tripped over his own feet and fell down. The instructor stood over him.
"You're too clumsy, you can't even stand on your own two feet, let alone fight. I'm wasting my time with you, just go." Ron did as he was told and left the studio. He tried other places but they all said the same thing. After a week of trying to find a teacher without success, Ron sat down on a curb after being thrown out of the last martial arts studio in Jump City.
His Kimmunicator started going off and he answered it. He was desperately hoping it would be Wade with a mission for Team Possible. It would make him feel better if he was actually doing something besides being picked on at school.
"What's the sitch—" Kim did a double take. "Ron? What's the matter with you? You look—depressed. Did you see the e-mail I sent you?"
"K.P. I am depressed, isn't that obvious? And no, I didn't see your e-mail. I'll reply back when I get home." Ron asked, staring at the screen.
"By the look on your face, I'd say yes," Kim responded quickly.
"Please, K. P., tell me you have a mission. Tell me something's going on so I can go somewhere. I just want to get outta here!"
"Sorry Ron, no can do. Just haven't got hits recently. When something comes up, you'll be the first to know. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and snap out of this weird funk you're in."
"I'll try, K.P.," Ron replied. "I'll call you later."
"Hey, is something bothering you?" Robin said, sitting beside Ron. He'd noticed the kid apparently talking to thin air as he was walking by. He'd been out on patrol after he told the others to go back to the Tower.
Ron didn't even notice him. He was staring down at his knees. "Why you askin'?" Ron asked.
"Well, I've never seen anyone with such a glum look on his face," Robin replied. "Care to talk about it?"
"What are you, a shrink?" Ron asked.
"No, not really," Robin said with a small laugh. "I couldn't help myself, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."
"Nah, you probably haven't," Ron said, "I've been having a bad week."
"Really? Why?" Robin asked. He did look familiar, he'd seen his face somewhere, but couldn't place it. Maybe talking to him would give Robin a clue about the boy's identity
"Well, my family just moved here, and I didn't want to come," Ron said glumly. "I only have one friend, my girlfriend is in another state and I can't even see her because she's at college. And to top it off, I can't find anyone to teach me martial arts and I've been kicked out of every single martial arts studio in the entire city."
"Why's that?" Robin asked; there was something Robin liked about this kid. He felt connected to him. Robin saw a device in the boy's hands and noticed the initials K.P. engraved into the front.
K.P…? Is it possible…? Possible…Kim Possible…The Girl Who Can Do Anything, Robin smiled, that was where he'd seen him before! On Kim Possible's website. He knew the boy's face because he kept track of Kim Possible's hero work. He'd heard Kim had a partner, if he remembered the site correctly; the name of the boy next to him was Ron Stoppable.
"They kicked you out, huh? Did they say why? You haven't been getting into trouble have you?" Robin asked.
"No, they all say the same thing, "You're too clumsy, you can't even stand on your own two feet, let alone fight. I'm wasting my time with you, just go." I hate it, I have no friends, I get picked on, shoved into lockers and people laugh at me. And I can't even help K.P., and I'm too depressed to save the world."
"Don't get too depressed, Ron, I can think of someone who wants to help you out," Robin said, smiling.
"Yeah, right, how would you know—" Ron's eyes went wide in shock. "Hey you know my name! How did you know—" he turned his head and saw the steel-toed ninja boots, his eyes drifted up to the green pants and the yellow utility belt. Then Ron saw the R insignia and his mind was freaking out on him. Ron finally raised his eyes and saw Robin sitting next to him on the sidewalk.
What the—WAAAAH!" Ron fell over in shock. He forced himself to sit up. "Why—why are you talking to me?" Ron asked.
"You looked like you needed somebody to talk to, Ron," Robin said.
"But you're Robin the flipping Boy Wonder, you're the coolest thing since the Chimurito, and well, I'm just little old me, K.P.'s sidekick and nobody even remembers my name. Everybody knows who you are."
"I wouldn't go that far," Robin chuckled, "Not everybody knows who I am."
"I guess you're right," Ron conceded. "You said you knew someone who could help me out with the whole martial arts thing. You know a good teacher or somethin'?"
"I was referring to me, actually," Robin said. "I've always wanted to teach someone else what I know. You have a lot of potential Ron Stoppable, you just have to have the self confidence to make the most of it."
"Now you sound like K.P. She's always telling me that. Not that I don't get what's she's saying, it's just hard trying to y'know—"
"Hold your own when your partner has a reputation that's hard to live up to," Robin said. "I know how you feel. You know who my partner was before I came here and I know what it's like living beneath someone else's shadow."
"Yeah, that's basically it," Ron said. "Now, although I was kicked out of every single martial arts school in Jump City, please don't tell anyone this, but I did go to a secret ninjitsu school in Japan."
"The Yamanouchi Ninja School," Robin smiled. "I've been there before."
"You've been to the Yamanouchi ninja school? How is it a secret if you've been there?" Ron asked, amazed.
"When I was there, I used another name," Robin explained.
"Oh, so how do you know my name?" Ron was curious. He was surprised anyone remembered his name. The only villain who consistently remembered his name was Monkey Fist.
"Kim Possible's website, I keep track of her. You two have done a whole lot of good for everyone. She gets a lot of calls. I've heard a lot of good things about her."
"Dude, if she knew you were reading her website, she would totally freak," Ron said.
"Why's that?" Robin asked. He thought it was a funny idea that the Girl Who Could Do Anything would be capable of freaking out.
"Well, she doesn't know I know this but she had a crush on you in elementary school," Ron admitted. He saw Robin laugh.
"Really?" Robin asked, "It's nice to know I have fans." Robin gave Ron a smile, it seemed so odd that he would meet Kim Possible's sidekick here in his city. He did want to help Ron. Hopefully, there wouldn't be too many missions for the Titans this week and they could get started with Ron's training.
"Well, listen Robin, I guess I better head home, I've held you up for way too long, dude," Ron said.
"Hey, it's no trouble, come down to the Tower, I want you to meet my friends," Robin said, "Just tell your folks your with Robin, they'll understand."
Ron pulled out his cell phone, he let it ring and his mom picked it up, "Hey, Mom, I'm going over to Robin's place okay? I'll be back at 9:30, okay?"
"Ron, is Robin your new girlfriend? I thought you were dating Kim Possible."
"Mom, Robin's not a girl. It's Robin the Boy Wonder," Ron said, "You know, the Batman's sidekick."
"You're going to Robin's house? Robin the superhero?" Mrs. Stoppable asked.
"Yes, Mom, that Robin," Ron said, "I'll be back in a couple hours, okay?"
"Okay, honey, be safe," Mrs. Stoppable said,
"Come on, Ron, let's go," Robin said as they began walking down the street. "Ron, tell me about Team Possible. I've read the newspaper articles but it's not the same as hearing it from someone who was actually there."
"Okay, I guess I could tell you about Dr. Drakken and his Killer Bebes," Ron said.
"Killer what?" Robin asked. He'd never heard of a Bebe.
"Killer Bebe, a really, really high tech robot and it was created by K.P.'s arch foe Dr. Drakken…" Ron began to tell Robin the story of Kim's arch nemesis and Dr. Possible. Robin laughed at some parts and smiled when Ron told him how he had used his movie makeup kit to disguise himself as Dr. Possible to fool the Bebes.
"Sounds like you two have a time of it," Robin said, smiling. "This Dr. Drakken…he's mainly a big mouth who doesn't fight."
"Yeah, that's what Shego's for," Ron said. "Shego is the muscle, Dr. Drakken is the brains, but for being a mad scientist, he's kinda stupid."
"I see," Robin said, Ron saw him stop in front of a red motorcycle. "Get on, it'll take us a few minutes to get home."
"This is yours?" Ron asked. Robin nodded.
"This thing is totally bon-digity!" Ron said, "I gotta get me one of these."
"I'll see what I can do for you, Ron," Robin laughed.
"Oh can we stop by my house real quick? I wanna pick up Rufus."
"Fine with me," Robin said, starting the engine. "Just show me where to go."
Ron gave Robin the direction to his house. They arrived and Ron jumped out. Running inside he grabbed Rufus and headed back outside. When Rufus saw Robin, his little beady eyes became very wide and the little rodent squealed.
"Robin, Boy Wonder. Rockin'!" Rufus jumped up onto the motorcycle and sniffed Robin's uniform. Robin laughed and scratched Rufus' head.
"He talks," Robin looked at Ron. "You like the motorcycle Rufus?"
"Uh-huh, yeah!" Rufus said. He jumped up on the handlebars. "Shotgun!"
"He won't fall off will he?" Robin asked.
"Nah, he likes to ride shotgun on missions," Ron replied. He climbed up behind Robin.
They drove to Titans Tower. Ron's mouth fell open as he saw the gigantic T come into view.
"You live in that?" Ron asked. "Wade would flip. Who am I kiddin'? I'm flipping right now."
"Wade, isn't he your friend who runs Kim's website?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, he's the ten-year-old college graduate who rarely leaves his room," Ron said. "He's a cool guy, he made this awesome battle suit for K.P., he also makes all her gadgets like her laser lipstick and the grappling hook, anything else K.P. needs he can make."
"When did he graduate college?" Robin asked.
"At age eight," Ron replied.
"Why doesn't he like to leave his room?" Robin asked.
"He says he dislikes the outdoors, but he's been coming out a lot lately, mainly to give Kim her stuff."
Robin and Ron arrived at Titans Tower and made their way inside. Ron was nervous, he'd never hung out with anyone beside K.P. and Felix, it felt odd being away from his normal friends.
Ron followed Robin into the elevator and they went up to the top floor. Exiting the elevator, they entered the living room. Ron's mouth hit the floor. The room was filled with tech equipment from floor to ceiling. There was a large circular sofa in front of the largest plasma screen television he had ever seen in his short life. He felt like he was in Heaven, a unmotivated, lazy person's Heaven at best, but still this living room was definitely something he'd want in his dream house.
Ron mentally kicked himself for blowing the ninety-nine million dollars he had earned from the royalties off his Naccos; he could have done this to his room if he still had the money. If only he had learned earlier that money couldn't buy friends. If he ever had the chance to get that money back, he would definitely renovate his house instead of carrying all of it around in his pockets. He also made a mental note to never take Bonnie Rockwaller's advice again. Then again, never talk to Bonnie Rockwaller if he ever saw her in the street, not that she would actually talk to him, he was the loser of Middleton High School.
He looked over at all the tech equipment and computers. He whistled, the Teen Titans made Global Justice look like they were strapped for cash, all the machines he saw were state-of-the-art. He wondered who gave the Titans their money. It definitely wasn't Global Justice funding. They had to have connections to somebody with a lot of money.
"Hey, guys, I want you to meet a new friend of mine," Robin said. Ron snapped out of his reverie and looked up at the four teenagers in front of him.
"This is Ron Stoppable," Robin said, "He's Kim Possible's sidekick. Ron, this is Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy and my girlfriend, Starfire."
"It's…It's nice to meet all of you," Ron said, sheepishly shaking each of their hands.
"So, Ron, what do you like to do in your spare time," Cyborg asked.
"I play videogames a lot. And I do EverLot on the Internet when I'm not fighting zombies on the PS2, either that or I'm on a mission saving the world with K.P.," Ron admitted.
"Dude, you play EverLot?" Beast Boy asked. "I love that game. How come I've never met you on there?"
"I don't know, there are tons of people on there, when do you go on?" Ron asked.
"Between one and three in the morning," Beast Boy answered.
"I'm usually at home asleep during that time, and if I'm on a mission I'm usually asleep at that time, in another country," Ron said. Cyborg and Beast Boy laughed.
"Is it true that you and Kim Possible are "dating", I believe the term is on this planet," Starfire said hesitantly.
"Yeah, we are, Starfire," Ron said. "Robin said you were his girlfriend, so I guess you two are dating too, huh?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Is it true that you're from another planet and that the stuff you eat looks like octopus?" Ron asked.
"Yes, I am from another planet, and would you like to taste some of my freshly squeezed Glorg?" Starfire offered.
"No, no thank you. I'm not hungry," Ron said quickly. He turned to Raven. "You're Raven right? You like reading books and you do that meditation stuff, don't you?"
"Yes, I do," Raven said. "It helps me focus. How do you know about meditation?"
"Learned how to do it when I visited Japan once. But I couldn't concentrate well enough to do that cool floating stuff."
Ron suddenly remembered Rufus who had been in his pocket. "Oh, I want you to meet my pet naked mole rat, Titans, this is Rufus. Come on out, little buddy. Some people want to meet you."
Rufus stirred in Ron's pocket and poked his head up. He smiled at the Titans and Beast Boy leaned down so he was at eye level with the naked mole rat.
"Hello, Rufus," Beast Boy said. He patted Rufus' head and smiled. Rufus jumped out and climbed up Beast Boy's arm and onto his shoulder. "Smart little guy," Beast boy added, looking at Ron's pet.
"What do you say we get started now, Ron?" Robin asked. Ron looked over at him, surprised. He wanted to start his training, right then and there.
"You mean, right now?" Ron asked, "I mean, I just got here."
"Better to get started now. We'll get to know each other better, along the way." Robin showed him into the gym. Ron stared at all the equipment and then noticed Robin standing in the middle of the floor. Robin picked up a Bo Staff and tossed it to him.
"So Ron, let's see what you're made of," Robin assumed an offensive stance and began moving toward him with lightening speed.
"Oh, boy," Ron gulped. He just hoped he'd be able to dodge the blow in time…