Hi there, we're back with another chapter to our tale that continues on after Kim and Ron have gone their separate ways after Kim's meltdown post-Graduation. Ron's done pretty well for himself in Japan and Kim's picking up the pieces from what went down after she got to England. Both are involved in plans for their futures, but while one of them hopes to one day reconnect with the other, the other has closed the door on the relationship, looking forward to solitary life in path he has chosen. And each bears their scars as they continue on with their lives.
And before we get started, we'd like to thank those out there who dropped in, read the chapter, Reviewed, Fave'd or Alerted the story or previous chapters: Sentinel103, Valerie3, Jimmy1201, The Queen's Fabler, pbow, readerjunkie, kaitlynchosenisme, Vondrakenhof, sparrowhawk63 and staticice. Thanks to you all for those Gold Stars.
But for self-preservation against a swarm of Disney Lawyers, we'd just like to say that the characters of Kim Possible are here in a pro-bono way, no money is being made from their involvement in our tale. We're just borrowing them and their locales for reading and writing fun.
And now, here's Chapter 2.
Storm Chaser
2
Osaka, Japan:
"Well guys what do you think of the rooms?", the young blond replied after placing their bags on the floor. Hirotaka and Yori had parked the car and had already disappeared into their room shortly afterward.
"Very nice Ronald, I must say you have good taste.", Barbara Stoppable approved to her eldest.
"I didn't know if you guys ever stayed in a Westin before. They are pretty nice and they have been understanding about my friend.", Ron smiled, happy that he made his Mother happy, "And with the suite Hanna can have her own room."
Dean sat down on the large bed, "I'll bet they have great seafood restaurants here.", he chuckled as he checked the mattress bounce. Then seriously, "Ronald, why aren't you staying with us?"
"They do Dad. I hope this doesn't crimp your style, but I went ahead and made reservations at the Ebiya for all of us including Hanna.", Ron grinned, then focusing on the first question and dodging the second, "it's sorta upscale so we have to dress up. And I suggest 'queen of the sea'.", their amateur gourmet chef told them with a wink. "So I hope you have an appetite. Now we'll have to walk a bit from the hotel, but it's just enough to work up that appetite."
"I know how you understand food Son and you know that I trust your judgement in those matters, so how far is it?", Barb asked, "And you should answer your Father's question."
"Only a few blocks Mom, and I hope you guys like lobster.", he informed his Mother, then relented to his Mom, "Why I'm not staying with you guys?…..Well I lived the last three years in a dorm with damned little privacy, and I just want to get a little of that back. So I'm just across the hall."
"Alright, I can understand your reasoning.", Barb nodded. "And we're glad you'll be nearby, but not underfoot.", she sighed in relief. "And we love it that Hanna has developed a taste for some the dishes of her heritage,", the tall blonde woman replied, "so I'll bet she'll be willing to try anything."
"I'm glad she has too Mom, but it's a wonder she got that way with so very little of that in her childhood from…", he hesitated, "From back there."
Her Mom-dar going off, "You need to try and let go of the past Ronald or it will consume you."
"It already ate me up inside but I'm over it now, Mom. The process of becoming my own person was long and hard and almost broke me, but I am better now. I thank Yahweh everyday for having my pink buddy with me through it all.", the blond told her.
"And I can never make up for the toll it took on him.", Ron said softly, thinking back on the grief his buddy helped him through also may have contributed to the current state Rufus was in now.
Having heard much of the conversation before entering the room, and carrying said mole rat in her hand, "Mom if I can eat meat cakes, I can try lobster.", Hanna said when she saw her brother suddenly shudder.
"What's the matter with Ron?", the young Japanese girl asked of his reaction.
"Every time I even think of the words meat and cake together, my mind goes 'wrong sick'. The problem is that I don't know why."
"Meat cakes are not that bad Ronald.", Dean snorted. Then remembering Ron's earlier mentioning of the topic, "Now what's with the name aliases this time?"
"The Headmaster here in Japan has a wicked sense of humor that he sometimes used to keep me motivated in school. While I have used the name of one of Kimberly's former flames, it isn't the only one I've used to keep myself below the public's radar or go unnoticed when I travel around.", Ron explained.
"I understand your desire to go unnoticed Ron, but Mankey? Isn't that a little close to Monkey? I seem to remember that you had issues with them years ago after that summer camp."
"Like I said the Headmaster has a whack sense of humor. At least he hasn't referred to me as Chippie…yet. But I swear, somehow he found all the names of Kim Possible's old beaus and used them on me at different times. At first it was tough, but it made me better in the end…I guess.", Ron chuckled.
"Why would he do such a thing when you were so devastated by what happened?", his Mom asked.
"At first he did it as a joke, I thought it was to hurt me, but after three years I realized that he did it to help me and it has.", Ron explained, before changing the subject from his former lover, "Anyway let's call Hiro's room and see if they're ready."
XXX
The Possible home: Middleton, Colorado:
"Kimmie is you driver's license still valid?", Anne asked.
"I need to get it renewed, it expires next month. Why?"
"Good, tomorrow I'll take you down to the DMV and then you'll be current to drive the van. I'll call our insurance agent to have him put you on our coverage again."
"But I really don't need to use a car…."
"You don't have to use one Kim, but if you feel the need to get out on your own, this way you have the freedom to do so.", Anne explained, her intention to nudge her daughter, and not force her, into reentering the world around her home.
The younger red head thought for a moment, "Sure Mom thanks….I know…It's hard trying to get back on track and I guess this is one way to help that along.", then suddenly remembering, "Oh, and I have to be in to GJ at noon to get my passes and meet my advisor."
"I do know honey, but I want you to consider this.", looking directly in her eyes, "You might not want to get on the same track you intended before going to England. You've dealt with some very trying life changing events and I think you need to re-evaluate what you want to do with your life, ok?", Anne said as she offered Kim a chance to see alternatives. "Now, do you know who your advisor is?"
Shaking her head, "Not a clue, Mom, and as to your suggestion, right now I just want to finally get back to doing something positive with my life again.", Kim told her Mom before trembling slightly.
"Mom, am I wrong…that I want to find Ron eventually and make it right between us? Is that the right thing to do?", Kim looked down at her feet.
"What does your heart tell you honey?"
Looking up in sorrow, "I know I still love him, but the question is does he still love me? I know I panicked when I was at school, and forced you to do something I now so badly regret, but I want undo the damage I've done to Ron and his family and somehow make it up to them.", Kim said remorsefully, "And even though I love Ron with all my heart, I hope I haven't irreparably damaged what we had. But what I don't know is that he'll forgive me for the lie that kept me from him.", tears in her eyes.
Sadly shaking her head, "There is such a major lie in all this, and that's something I promised I'd never do to him. I hope he can someday forgive me."
Anne knew this was coming and was semi-prepared. Taking a breath she spoke, "Kim, when your Dean called us and explained the situation I knew then that changes were going to have to be made and they would take time to bear fruit, so to speak. We respected your wishes and left you to handle this on your own…and to maintain your trust with us, your Father and I broke off contact with Ronald and his family when you begged us to so that he wouldn't be hurt by your perceived shortcomings. At the time I told you this was the wrong thing to do.", looking evenly at her daughter.
Stopping Kim's apparent reaction, "Wade could have flown Ron and me over to get you in the Sloth and brought you back home where we could have cared for you, and helped heal you. Our facilities here are the equal of anything in the world, but you wanted to keep this hidden from your relatives, closest friends and your lover.", she said to Kim's astonishment.
"Yes, I knew about you two taking your relationship to that level, and I was never as happy about it as I was then. But..you may have undone all you built up by your actions since then.", Anne paused to let that sink in.
After several uncomfortable moments, "I wasn't thinking clearly then Mom; I was still: 'Kim Possible, The girl who could do anything'.", she mockingly finger quoted with an infomercial announcer's voice. "In truth I was Kim Possible the girl who couldn't save her own ass.", she said sarcastically, looking away in disgust, "As a result I became afraid of my own shadow."
Looking to her Mom, "I know what the 'official recordings' of the incident show the world, but at school, in the moments I had alone, and there were many, I assure you..I quickly realized that didn't happen at all. It was a lie..And that I had nothing to do with what happened that day, only that I almost got myself murdered during it..And the lie the world was told went against everything I am, even though it somehow was to protect something, or someone I have yet to figure out…or understand."
"And it was part of what was eating me up inside.", she said, expelling a shaky breath. "I blamed myself and went into that abyss, alone, because it was my problem, my sitch to solve."
"And the all the blame wasn't yours Kimmie, I should have taken control of the situation and done what needed to be done even though you swore me not to. So what, that you were seen as a world class heroine and an adult, I think that wouldn't have mattered and throughout it all, I think Ronald would have stuck by you…", Anne said to her in hopes she would pursue this line of thought.
Nodding to Kim to continue when she saw she was, "I know I've said this to you before, but what you were told, what the world was told was a lie Mom…Daddy and Shego didn't go into space to get me, I now know Ron went with her...I saw this in my 'dreams'." Now pausing, "And in those dreams, I also saw what Ron did at the final confrontation with Warhok and Warmonga…"
Intense anguish followed, "I saw,", swallowing hard, "I saw…that he…with his bare hands..killed them when he..he tossed them into their ship before..it…crashed on the other side of town." Eyes filled with misery. "Ron killed them Mom, he killed them with his big, strong, soft, gentle hands…to save me.", then shamefully, "For a second I was afraid of Ron…of what I saw…what he did..But I came to him Mom, I came to him and I hugged him for all he was worth.", wistfully. "Because I loved him and felt safe in those arms of his."
"I saw the so-called raw footage, Mom. The original recordings showed me and Shego sending them running to their ship, but at school the dreams began and I eventually realized the truth about that day.", a look of painful epiphany in her eyes, "He killed to protect me Mom, because I wasn't good enough, and because of that I took away his innocence." Kim averted her eyes, "And who knows what that's done to him inside, I never took the time to find out…to help him through this.", she said as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Kim you freaked out then and maybe you still are in that condition…Remember you encountered something that was beyond your comprehension. A 'Type A' personality like you found something you couldn't overcome and the person who did, and saved your life, was someone in your wildest dreams you never thought capable of doing.", Anne started to explain her take on the issue with her daughter.
"The 'Anything is possible for a Possible' credo you've lived by all these years backfired on you and that you went so long in your young life before that happened is partially my fault and James'. So we share some of the blame there, too.", her cheeks slightly flushed at the indignity of their indulgence with Kim. "But we never imagined just how badly it would all come apart for you and Ron the way it did.", Anne said sadly to her shaken daughter.
"So to keep secret what was happening to you your Father and I slammed the door on our 'third son'. We knew that would hurt him badly, but we thought he would always be here in Middleton and we could fix it in time with counseling.", Anne gathered herself, this being emotional for her as well.
"Both your Father and I, and the twins, were devastated, the guilt about not being able to say anything to the Stoppables was unbearable at first especially when we saw Ron carrying Hanna past the house…the pain we saw in him as this was obviously ripping his heart out…a cold fear gripped us as we watched him spiral down.", a painfully wistful memory.
Now tears in her eyes, "Then one day he was knocking at the door….and he had the baby with him. We just couldn't tell him that you didn't want to see him…", a sob, "or why.", a gasp trailing off before regrouping. "We thought we had time to fix things, but after that day we never heard of or saw him again.", the tears escaped her deep Safire eyes and ran down her cheeks.
"We heard through Tara, your old cheerleader friend that when she had tried to call Ronald his parents told her that he had left town and they refused to give her any forwarding address. Still we didn't do anything. Then one night when we came home from work we noticed the 'For Sale' sign at their house. We tried to contact them, but they were already gone and left no forwarding address.", she said in slight shock, "We waited too long and lost some of our dearest friends, just as you lost your beau."
"Finally, we contacted Ronald's Rabbi. He met us for coffee and while we were there he gave us an envelope with instructions to make sure that it got to you."
"An envelope?"
"Yes Honey, I've got it in one of my drawers. Wait here I'll go get it for you.", Anne said as she went into their home's business office.
A minute later Anne returned with a white business-sized envelope; in handwriting she didn't recognize it had 'To Kimberly Possible' written on it.
With a questioning look Kim tore it open. "Oh Gawd.", Kim sobbed as she pulled out the contents, a gold necklace with a small six pointed Star of David and her Middleton High School class ring.
"Mom it's my class ring and the necklace I gave to Ron at Christmas." Breaking down, "This hurts even more than I thought it would….", clutching them to her chest she started bawling.
"I am so sorry Kimmie…", as Anne went to comfort her.
Pulling back after a few minutes, Sniff, "I made a lot of wrong decisions Mom. I should have stayed in Middleton with you guys and Ronnie. Somehow we would have made it, I could have worked at Club Banana and Ron could have worked at a restraunt to make enough money to live on. I so totally screwed up."
"Aren't you forgetting who your biggest supporter of you going to England to your 'dream school' was honey?"
Kim didn't even have to think, "Ronnie."
"Why?"
"Because he wanted me to take the chance of my life with Oxford…because he knew I craved challenges. If he had only known that there was a ticking time bomb in my head….."
"And at the time you didn't want him to know his 'badical' girlfriend was on the verge of going crazy. If we had told him he would have scraped every penny he had, even if he had to sell himself to a white slaver, to have someone go and get you."
"I know Mom, I never deserved him, and now I don't know how to find him and make it up to him. This is almost as frustrating as it was trying to fight the feeling of the walls closing in around me when this all fell apart. I was wrong then, I should have called him and begged for him to come and get me, he would have saved me…just like he did from Warhok.", Kim sobbed, lightly wrapping her arms around herself, "But I was so self-centered…and I lost the best thing that ever happened to me."
Anne wrapped her in a hug. "Honey you've had a very hard time of it and right now you need to rest, recover, regroup and become who you will be. When you find Ronald again you two can work this out.", she said, kissing Kim on her hair. 'If you can find him.', Anne painfully thought as she lightly rocked her eldest in her arms.
Her voice almost a whisper, "When this was all happening you just couldn't step back and make well-thought out decisions.", the older red head advised. "And maybe we should have gone to you to help you through this, but,", shrugging regretfully, "it's in the past and now we have to help you get to your future."
Slipping from her Mom's grasp, Kim took the necklace from around her neck and looked at it for a second. She unfastened the clasp and removed the large Middleton Class ring from it. Then she unclasped the Star of David necklace and added each ring to it so her ring was on one side of the six-pointed star and Ron's was on the other.
At her Mother's questioning look, "I still believe we were meant to be together Mom, so I'm going to wear both rings around my neck with Ron's Star to show my love for him….No matter how long it takes to find him."
Anne smiled softly as she nodded; she knew her baby was still in love and was prepared to follow through with the commitment she just made.
XXX
Global Justice:
Dr. Director punched a button on her intercom, "Deputy Director Du would you please come in to my office when you have a moment?"
The sometimes arrogant, but capable Agent replied, "I can be there in ten Ma'am. I am currently watching the main board during a change of watch."
"Very good Will, carry on."
X
"Come.", Betty called out to the knock on her door.
"Ma'am I am sorry about being late. There was another manifestation that appeared earlier on the Asian Board and I wanted to run it down.", Will explained.
"Was it anything significant?"
"No Ma'am, it was a ghost just like the last seventeen times."
"Please sit Will."
"Thank you Ma'am, what did you need?"
"You know who is coming in tomorrow right?"
"Yes Ma'am, I do. But you don't want her trained for field duties do you?"
Betty turned her monitor around so that Will could see the image onscreen, "Does she look like she's ready to train with our people?"
"No Ma'am, well she's fit enough…maybe a little thinner than the last time we saw her in action…"
"Look at the eyes, Will, take a good look.", Betty directed, "She's not quite the person she was when she left Middleton.", she said in answer to Will's questioning look. "And she's a lot thinner, now. Though Kim was thin from all her previous activities in high school, in the passing years she lost even more weight while in England.", she said to Will's look of surprise.
"And I have another picture of her….it is not so pleasant.", she said when Will interrupted in shock, "She looks like a living corpse."
"Yes she did. It took them months to get her to even eat regularly; in the end, they had to force feed her.", Betty sadly stated to her now speechless subordinate.
Finally finding his voice, "Ma'am, where did you get these pictures and this information?"
"Miss Possible sent it to me along with letters from her Doctors stating what happened and how far she has come since."
"I uh, I see, Ma'am.", Will stuttered. Then after careful appraisal of the images, "And I agree, there is no way that we can put her in the field for some time. I uh also noticed that even though she's lighter, her ah, muscle tone is not even close to what it was.", Deputy Director Du concluded, "The only way I would put Miss Possible into training is after she passes a full mental and physical exam."
"Yes, I concur. But at least she broke the smoking habit before she got too far along. Those would have hamstrung her ability to train to peak performance if she had continued to smoke.", Dr. Director told him.
"She smoked cigarettes? I never would have thought that she'd do something like that."
"Yes, well…did you think she'd do anything illegal like pot? At least those cigarettes occupied her mind and hands while she healed emotionally."
"To show you how tough she still is, she quit the habit cold turkey before she got very far into turning her life around from dealing with all that crap in her life.", Betty snorted, "Then she began getting into shape again, something she started three months ago. I have covertly recorded tapes of it. She was really lousy when she started, but from what I've seen so far, I can say with authority that that little woman is as tough as a two bit steak.", she said with some measured respect as Betty leaned forward to make her point.
Sitting back in her chair, "Per Kim's psychological dossier from England, issues from the Lowardian incident helped put her through her own living hell, and she just about gave up, except for the one thing that meant everything to her. She's coming back from that, and what you saw here are the results of her condition from then to just recently.", Betty frowned as she thought about how rough the past three years had been on the former heroine.
"I see…so we stick with the plan,", Du questioned, "just like we discussed?"
"Miss Possible and young Mister Load are going to be partners Will, and while Kim will not be doing any 'live' field work this summer who knows about next summer.", Betty said. "And we expect her in at noon tomorrow."
"Well you've been anxious to get Doctor Load into the gym, it looks like he now has a training buddy.", Will smirked with a chuckle.
"Well his Mother wants him to lose that baby fat and we'll be able to have him train Kim in the basics of Global Justice so maybe she'll be able to get Load's little rear end in shape.", she smiled. "And maybe if we get really lucky we'll be able to find Stoppable and patch things up between him and Possible and put it all back the way it's supposed to be.", Dr. Director mused.
Then looking at Du before she continued, "Now that I think of it is there any update on 'Buffoon'?", Dr. Director asked using the code name the computer, for some unfathomable reason, assigned to Stoppable.
"No Ma'am, we still have nothing on him, it's like chasing a ghost.", Will said in frustration. "And why, may I ask, would Miss Possible have anything to do with him?", he asked in slight disbelief.
"When she went over the edge, the reason she didn't call him for help was she didn't want him to know that she was going through a mental breakdown. In fact, her darkest moments were when she believed Ronald was the cause of her misery…She was so wrong.", Betty shook her head.
"If she had called for him…..things could have been so different right now and I might have two very good agents on my hands instead of one who is barely able to begin her training, and the other who has somehow disappeared from the face of the planet.", Dr. Director said in a huff.
Quite surprised at the information, "Do you mean she broke off contact with Stoppable to keep him from seeing her come apart?", Will's eyes narrowed when she nodded, "That stubborn, misguided red head, she screwed up her life…maybe a few peoples' as well."
"Yes, well be that as it may, we have to deal with the hand that's been dealt to us and help bring Kim back from her shadows. If nothing else, she can one day be a positive force in the world again.", Betty surmised.
"But getting back to the invasion… Will, you saw the 'official' video, didn't you?", at his nod, "If you didn't know what to look for you'd never question it…..but after viewing the footage from the actual event, the question remains; how was Stoppable able to do that?"
"I can't say that I can answer that about what Stoppable did, Ma'am, but yes, we all examined the tape and passed it on to the media and other agencies. So far none of the conspiracy theorists or government experts have chimed in on it as a fraud, like Stoppable once maintained of the Moon Landings.", Will snorted at the irony.
Then thinking ahead to the woman coming to their agency and the man they just can't locate, "Something tells me that ole Will is going to have to step into this mess and get all stinky, if I'm to help her and find him."
"Think of it as for the good of all,", Betty lightly laughed, "at least with what you can do for now."
"So what do I have to do Ma'am, date her? I've already got a girlfriend with 'issues', so I don't want to go there with Miss Possible.", Agent Du groaned knowing the exact wording that Lynette would use on him when she found out.
"I'm giving you a reprieve from that kind of duty, Will.", she said with a smirk, "So you need to be nothing more than be professionally friendly with Miss Possible. Any more than that is more than I would expect."
Betty then got serious, "Among your other duties, find Ron Stoppable…I want a priority on that."
"Thanks for small favors….I have personally tried to find him Ma'am, and I've burnt a lot of favors doing just that. I thought we had a sighting of him in Italy and another in Poland, but they were both misinterpreted data. I had one in Siberia as well that was cold in more ways than one.", he lamented.
"I even had one in Vietnam; the guy was a Swede hiding from his ex-wife. Then there was one in Norway, and then a couple hits in Tibet and three in Japan. Nothing came out of any of them.", Deputy Director Du informed his boss as his eyes narrowed in frustration.
"Will I know you have pulled all sorts of strings to try and track Stoppable and his parents down and I don't know how to thank you for all that work that you have done with that, but now that we have Kimberly back with us it would please me so much more if I could re-unite her with her partner and lover.", Betty told him quietly.
"Lover?"
"Lover.", Dr. Director nodded, "They had been entertaining each other in that way for months before the aliens landed. When Kimberly and I talked last week she mentioned that she would like to be in that position again."
"After all this time, was she faithful?"
"I don't know for sure, but Kimberly brought it up and told me that she was, so there's that."
"Long dry spell huh, they might as well get married. Couldn't be much worse.", Will smirked.
"Well we owe it to Miss Possible to find her errant boyfriend and make him aware that she is pining away for him. If he had any sense at all he'd come running."
Will barked a laugh, "And stripping his clothes off as he got closer." Then becoming serious, "Ma'am if we do find 'Buffoon' how do we break all this information to him? He isn't going to like being tossed aside and discarded like he was. We might have a difficult time of it…And what if he found another?"
"I don't know, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it…But what I'm worried about is what would happen if that episode of his during their graduation wasn't a fluke. We don't see him as a threat to world security, but he could be to other agencies.", Betty sternly looked at her 'Top' Agent.
"Oh you mean his killing those two monsters might not have been a one-time occurrence with Stoppable? He didn't show any signs of being able to do that before, nor since…."
"That we know of Will. That is another reason that we want to get Miss Possible in here. Maybe she will let some things slip about Stoppable; things she didn't even know that she knew. The obvious stuff Wade would already have informed us of, but there are some things between lovers that don't have to be spoken. So subconsciously she may know where he is."
"Are you going to force Kimberly to give out that information Ma'am?"
"No. No, we won't go there; I refuse to force Kimberly into anything against her will. After three years of what she went through, we aren't going to push her into something she's not ready to speak about. But we will be paying attention to what she does say. And if Kimberly isn't comfortable talking about her old boyfriend we will just drop it.", Betty said quietly, looking off.
Then looking to her Deputy, "Will, three years ago she was the best at what she did, but that was before those aliens decided they wanted her head on a wall. Mister Stoppable paid a heavy price for Miss Possible's life, so I hope he has found some kind of closure."
"As you said she wants to hear from him again and maybe be in a relationship and possibly get back to where they were, but I think we need to tread softly Ma'am."
"Don't worry Will we will tread softly with Kimberly. I do not want to be the cause of her having a relapse. Now why don't you go home and get some sleep. We have to start bright and early to run the new Agent Trainees and see who can keep up."
"And you're sure that you do not want Miss Possible in those sessions?"
"Absolutely positive, all of her tutoring will be done privately. We want to train her and test her, but in a positive, non-stressful way, than what we do with the usual trainees. Maybe when this is all over, we will be able to apply her and her talents the way we originally intended."
"Yes Ma'am, I just hope that we don't open a can of worms that neither of us can handle. Goodnight Ma'am."
"Goodnight Will."
X
It was well after midnight when the one-eyed director of Global Justice sighed and shut down her computer. Glancing at one wall, she took in all the awards and portraits on it with a slight smile. Then her eye was drawn to one; a small photo which had three figures in it, two standing side-by-side, the third perched on the slightly taller one's shoulder.
'Too bad kids, all that potential and what do we have? Let's just hope we can make it better.', Betty mused as she got up knowing that if the situation hadn't rectified itself she would need some outside intervention.
XXX
The Possible home:
A shivering young woman lay curled up under her blankets, becoming more agitated as the night wore on.
In the darkened mists, the battered, semi-conscious robed form splayed on the ground was effortlessly picked up by the ankle, to the condescending amusement of the huge being performing the act.
Off to the side was a space suit wearing young man, obviously in thought, seeming to be in conversation with…someone.
"This I will give to you, my mate. Don't you think it makes a fine trophy.", the large tattooed, blue-skinned man laughed as he held the barely conscious red head aloft by her ankle as he prepared to snap her neck.
A small blond haired boy stood in front of the monster, "Leave her be and go away."
"What's this? A child to challenge me…Warhok….the destroyer of entire planetary systems? Fool!….I will take your spine to go with your puny mate's. Both of your heads will be in my library. I will keep them in a place of honor.", the alien promised as he continued to laugh.
In a flash the blond teen rushed the towering monster that outweighed him threefold.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ROOOONNNNN….NOOOOOOOOOO!", Kim Possible screamed as the horrific nightmare came back to haunt her again.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Honey….Kimmie are you alright.", Anne Possible, followed by James charged, into the room to see their daughter scrunched in a corner of her bed, wrapped in a blanket; bathed in sweat, completely disheveled, her eyes wide in terror as she tried to burrow herself into the wall beside her bed.
"M….M…Mom, Dad…..I….I'm sorry.", Kim stuttered, as she began to break down.
Both rushed over, sat on her bed and enveloped their shivering daughter comforting in hugs.
"Kimmie you're at home in your bed. It's alright. No one will hurt you here.", Anne held the trembling young woman, kissing Kim on the top of the head as she rocked her.
"M…Mom? D….Daddy?", Kim gasped in full realization, "Oh God it happened again.", Kim shuddered as she began to cry, her shoulders shaking and her lower lip quivering.
"I am so weak."
"No honey, no you're not.". James told her as he enveloped both women, feeling helpless at protecting his child from the monsters who were still tormenting her, "Things got out of control and you didn't know how to handle them…I just wish that we were all able to go back and do this right…We made some poor decisions, now we just have to work things out a little at a time."
XXX
The King house:
Dialing a memorized phone number the platinum blonde heard the phone ring until, "Hello."
"Bon-Bon?", Tara asked.
"No, it's July Ann from the Jungle Jerry movies. Why the heck are you calling so late T?"
Tara smiled, "Just got home from a date with my fiancée."
"What? Fiancée? Spill.", the teal eyed brunette demanded.
"Yeppers, he gave me the ring tonight."
"And what did you give Josh in return?", the brunette teased as her interest peaked.
"Never you mind what he got in return, but what I can say is that he enjoyed it.", Tara giggled.
"What are you saying Tara?"
"What do you think I said? I'll come over in the morning then we can go out for breakfast and spend some time talking about it. And you know there's some things I need to take care of."
"Like what."
"Like reserving a Maid of Honor for one thing. So..Bonnie…do you happen to know anyone who might fit the bill?"
"You're going to ask Flanner?"
"No silly, I was going to ask the best friend I've had all these years. Are you interested? I'll be yours when you decide to take the walk.", Tara offered.
Bonnie turned serious, "I'd be honored Tara. So when did you and Mister Artist get back into town?"
"A couple of days ago B. I'm sorry, but we were really busy when we got in and we finally were able to break away for a while. Anyway, Mom had been on my case for 'living in sin' and we were gonna announce anyway. Josh had asked me a few months ago and I said yes, but we wanted to keep a lid on it till we asked the Best Man and Maid of Honor.", Tara explained.
"Who's Josh going to ask?"
"Stoppable."
"Ron Stoppable?"
"He's the only Stoppable that I know. Why are there more of them?"
"Not that I know of Tara.", then hesitating, "But you know you went away to college while I stayed at home and went to Upperton for a year…Ron Stoppable left Middleton early that first fall and never came back."
"Where did he go, to England to be with Kim?"
"I don't know, I never heard. It was all a mystery. Even Renton and Jenkins have no idea where those two are.", Bonnie Rockwaller informed her best friend.
"Well somebody has to know about those two, they were 'together' that whole last year in High School; heck the last few months they were literally playing house together."
Bonnie told her softly, "Yeah well that didn't last long after graduation Tara. Kim stopped talking to Stoppable less than two months after she got to college….from what I heard from some of the others he basically melted down and left Middleton.", she said sadly.
Then even more despondently, "Even Kim's Mom and Dad refused to have anything to do with him. He hasn't been back, shoot, for that matter neither has Kim.", then pondering, "I wonder if Stoppable did something to her, and she cut him off after she got to England."
"But knowing her track record with the flashy hotties, it's more likely that she probably found that special guy she'd been looking for in high school, only this one had an English accent and wasn't Stoppable.", Bonnie recounted some of the prevalent gossip that was rampant in those days gone by.
"Well his 'rents have to know where he is. You know 'good Jewish boy' and all that.", Tara said as she considered where next to ask of the blond's whereabouts.
"Tara, Stoppable's 'rents and Sister vanished too. Even Mr. Barkin couldn't find them. He even got a hold of the Stoppables' Rabbi to try to find him.", Kim's former high school tormentor said.
Cutting in, "Why did Steve Barkin want to have anything to do with Ron Stoppable? All he did was harass Ron all the way through high school.", Tara's voice turned icy.
Bonnie explained, "Tara, nobody recruited Stoppable out of Middleton even though he was the best running back in the state and was beginning to get decent grades. Barkin realized that several big colleges needed running backs with the 'Mad Dog's' kind of speed and by the time he went to tell Ron about it ….Ron was already gone and a few weeks later so were his parents."
"Well everybody knows that Kim went to Oxford, the papers made such a big deal about it, so we should be able to get a hold of her through the school.", Tara started to come up with a plan of action, "I mean they have to have a phone number."
"You'd think. Look, maybe Kim's tech guy can find her? That way we don't have to bother anyone who has no reason to look into Possible's and Stoppable's business.", Bonnie brainstormed.
"Yeah what was that guy's name?"
"I uh don't remember…Just a second let me find the webpage and check it out.", Bonnie said as she began to type the address on her web session, "Wait a minute Tara I got the site, I'll have his name in a minute…..here it is, the guy's name is Wade Load. His phone is unlisted…Mom's got a list of unlisted numbers so I'll look it up later.
"You don't have to do it tonight Bonnie, it's not like I'm getting married tomorrow.", Tara tried to calm her friend down.
"Well OK, but I'm gonna find that Load guy tomorrow and I gonna get him to tell me where Possible and Stoppable are.", Bonnie's voice turned very serious.
"What is going on here Bonnie? All this caring for Kim and Ron is a little out of character for you."
Sighing heavily, "I feel guilty, Tara. I have a nice place, plenty of clothes and money…..a nice car and I'm getting a pretty good education which should make me ready for a good job, which I really don't need. In short I have it made. Two guys who I beat up on, for years….they're not here.", Bonnie said sadly.
"Tara, I was so screwed up; I mean the food chain was crap, and for all I know I might have been a big reason they left and didn't come back…I didn't really want to treat them that way...Damn food chain, dammit! I mean I date a rich guy who's Dad fought Kim and Ron most of the way through high school and he really respected them. If he can do that….so can I sniff, sniff.", Bonnie ranted over the phone.
"Are you crying?"
"No….yes.", Bonnie began to blubber, "Dammit, it hurts. It still hurts."
"I'm coming over."
"No you don't have to…."
"Bonnie I'll be there in ten, put on some decaf.", Tara ordered.
In a small voice, "Ok."
XXX
The Possible home:
Anne looked at her still trembling daughter and then gazed around the bedroom, 'Kimmie needs something…..' Suddenly a long forgotten plush toy caught her eye, 'Ah ha, that's what I've been looking for.' Grabbing it she softly told her daughter, "Kimmie, I have something for you."
"Sniff…..Mom, what are you….oh my gawd! Where did you find him? I thought I lost him years ago.", Kim said as she gratefully accepted her favorite Cuddlebuddy Pandaroo, that someone special had given her years before. She then clutched it to her chest as more tears fell.
"Ronald found him in the rubble of the old house after the invasion and had him repaired. Kimmie maybe what you needed was someone who loved you as much as your Father and I do."
Thinking hard again Anne told her husband, "Out of the room."
"Annie what are…."
"Shush, I'll let you in soon, now move it.", the mother hustled James from Kim's room; after Anne closed the attic door she went to a side unit of Kim's closet.
"Mom what are you doing?"
"Strip your top off Kimmie.", Anne ordered as she rummaged for what she was looking for, "Ahhh there it is."
In moments Anne held out a dark red piece of cloth, "Put this on."
"Mommmm…that looks like Ronnie's old hockey jersey. H…h….he must have left it here with my stuff when we…we uh.", Kim began to blush.
"You don't have to tell me how it got here, just put it on.", Anne, smirking, ordered her topless daughter.
"OK.", Kim responded as she pulled the garment over her head and pushed her arms through the sleeves, "Now what?"
"Try giving your Pandaroo a hug now."
In a moment the hockey jerseyed Kim Possible clutched the black and white plush toy to her chest, a small smile forming on her face. "Momma I forgot how it was.", Kim sighed as she rubbed her nose into her favorite and at one time most important procession and took a deep breath.
Anne opened the door, "Come in James."
"What happened? A miracle?"
"Maybe not a miracle, but a start; maybe a chance to heal.", Anne smiled as she saw Kim swing both legs into her bed and pull her covers up.
"Kimmie-cub is smiling.", James noted in relief.
"Yes she is, now Kimmie you go back to sleep and relax. With any luck your nightmares won't return."
XXX
Interstate 70, in western Kansas:
'What a long drive and I'm getting sleepy, I gotta pull in for the night before I break my neck.', the former gossip queen of Middleton High School frowned as she watched the road signs, 'Why do I even come home? Mom and Dad moved to Chicago and I don't have any friends in this lousy town anymore.'
'You could still just drive through.'
'Not a chance, I'll kill myself and maybe some unfortunate bastard and it'll be MY fault for falling asleep.'
'So, what do you care? It's not like you have anyone left but Mom and Dad. The only ones who care about you are the Flanners and Big Mike.'
'But at least I have something with Justine's family…..Mike may not even be back this time. Maybe Kim and Ron will come home. Nobody writes or calls except my surrogate family….I don't even get a lousy email except from the 'rents and Coco Banana. And all he wants me to do is restructure his spring line for next year. Why do I even do this? It's no fun anymore.', Monique began to sniffle again as she had done three times already.
Passing a road sign Monique sighed to herself, "Colby, Kansas; at least I can grab some shuteye here, fill up with gas and get a decent breakfast. Maybe tomorrow will be better."
XX
Returning peacefully back to her slumber the sleeping red head smiled as she clutched the black and white plush toy which had meant so much to her. 'I feel so much better. So much, thank you again Ronnie. I love you so.'
XXXX
Still some background covered, and where our two heroes are in their lives up to this point. Some folks had more Intel than others suspected, didn't they? But not to worry, they usually use this talent for 'niceness'. But not to worry, no bad old government agency's going to stalk anyone but bad guys in this one.
Until next time, enjoy and let us know how you like this one.