Greetings and welcome back to the next installment in our tale of scrambled signals and what follows. We're back to 'splain what's happened to our two favorite characters since the debacle of Kim's Freshman year in England.

But before we get started we'd like to thank those who've Reviewed, Faved, Followed or whatever now comes to pass on the site: Jimmy1201, studyofchaos (via Guest), Uberscribbler, pbow, Vondrakenhof, Sentinel103 and levi2000a1, thank you for chiming in.

Last chapter we found Ron involved in a hunt for Weapons of Mass Destruction that was supposed to be a wild-goose chase per the locals who were handling his 'team', while Kim fended off the latest flash-in-the-pan who tried to notch his bedpost with her 'affections' and squashed perceptions the Pub-crowd had of the single red headed beauty. The thing both had in common was they had an intimate 'audience' to play to as some feelings of life gone by was brought to light, and the big difference was that one of them faced goons with live ammunition afterward, while the other had to put up with a Sot with wandering hands and an overbearing sense of entitlement to go with his drinking problem(s).

But once again we need to deny the Sharks at Disney their body count in their claims of protecting the brand: Kim Possible and all the characters named within are the property of the Disney Corporation; we're just pro bono borrowing them. All others within are our own creations or their own persons.

Storm Chaser

Chapter 13

Norway:

Turning from the spectacle of the snowstorm taking place outside her living room window, "Dean are we going to send Ronald something to celebrate Hanukkah with this year?", Barbara Stoppable asked her husband.

"I suppose we should, all he has is that mole rat to keep him company. He's got to be getting a little lonely after living in Japan for three years.", a much lighter Dean Stoppable said to his wife. The months of early morning mountain walks and Nordic skiing had done him well since his wife convinced him to accompany her on these endeavors.

Barb thought for a second, "Maybe we should call him up to see how he's doing?"

"Honey we can do that, but usually he calls us.", Dean reminded her. "How about we call him at the end of this weekend?", he said with a mischievous glint in his eye, "You never know he might have a 'hot' date over for the weekend and we sure don't want to spoil that."

Barb Stoppable, at the prospect of her Son dating again, gushed, "Right now she wouldn't even have to be a nice Jewish girl."

Realizing his teasing had lead her down a blind alley, "Barbara, I don't think that Ronald is ever going to try getting into a relationship again.", Dean said with a sad shake of his head. "All he wants to do now is hide from everyone who could associate him with Kimberly. He's just broken now, though he seems content with what he is doing with his life."

XXX

Oxford, England:

"Well that was an interesting Friday outing, Kim. But I still say you should have mauled that cutie in the sack rather than beat the snot out of him in the Dashwood like you did.", Maggie Hayes advised with a wistful sigh.

Sweetly, "Maggie you're a sweet girl, so maybe you should have spent some time with him. You might still be in the rack if he wasn't such a fast hitter.", Kim smirked in reply.

"And how would you even know if he's a fast hitter, Kim?", Maggie asked incredulously.

Shrugging, "Well, if his ability to fight was any indication of his sexual prowess, I'd have to say he wouldn't last long at any other endeavor he actually had to expend testosterone on.", Kim smirked. "Anyway I've fought a lot tougher guys than that sot when I was seventeen."

Not giving up a point from her previous question, "But Kim, what do you know about 'quick hitters'? You haven't done it since you came to Oxford from what I've heard.", Maggie said, pressing Kim further on that point.

Looking deadpan at her friends, "I may not have done it since I came over here, but compared to the three hours…", Kim's eyes glazed over. Then clearing her throat and shaking her head to clear the memories, "Uh hum, I enjoyed with Ron each time while back in high school, anything that drunken sports star had to offer would be 'quick hitter' at best."

Again glazing over, and then shuddering in memories of ecstasies past, "I so gotta find Ron again."

"Three…hours?", Jane's eyes glossed over, "Ooohhh…that sounds..nice...", her voice faded. Then coming back to the moment, "So..how was he uh, you know.", as she waved a hand casually in front of her for more details.

Kim straightened out her right arm, palm up, parallel with the floor and flexed her elbow so that her hand was pointing straight up. Kim then used her other hand to show them the extent of her blond boyfriend's assets.

"No way.", Maggie gasped, "You were dating a freak? How were you able….."

Smirking, "I'm a Possible, I can do anything and that means even waiting for the guy who gave me ultimate pleasure.", she said in conviction. Then sighing wistfully, "I just hope that he got as much out of it as I did."

Maggie jumped on that snippet of Kim's love life, "If you don't mind my asking, if you were in the throes of such rapture, how would you have even known if he did?"

Looking fondly off in the distance, "By the sounds he made while we were in the act.", she said, then turning back, "And he made some real animalistic sounds back then. Some of them even sounded like monkeys.", Kim informed them, "And he was scared shitless of them."

Incredulous, "He makes sounds like monkeys when you're messing around in the sheets?", Jane asked.

Nodding, "Yeah he did, and he so used to be afraid of them..but I liked it…", Kim looked off longingly. Then blushing heavily, "And when he'd kiss me allll overrr…", her voice dropping a couple of octaves before she shook her head again to clear it. "Anyway using the term messing around sounds like he didn't know what he was doing…But Ronnie knew exactly what he was doing."

"All over..everywhere?"

Kim's face turned just as crimson as her hair as she nodded, "Everywhere…..and I didn't have to influence him to it either. He took to it like a duck to water.", Kim giggled, "But then I did too.", as she seemed to be about to spontaneously combust.

Looking on in awe, "Lucky girl, now I know why you're waiting for a hunk like that to come back."

Nodding longingly, "But the best thing about him was that he was so loyal and loving. We didn't have to make love to enjoy each other; I just enjoyed being around him all the time.", Kim said with a sad smile. "We'd been best friends since like four; we played together our whole lives.", she looked down.

Then Kim began to sniffle and her eyes started to redden, "And I so screwed it up, just because I panicked when I had that breakdown.", she sorrowfully sniffed. Then her anger rising, "Now some other girl like Yori is probably having the time of her life with him like I used to."

"Yori? Who's that?"

With a fire in her eyes, "Some Japanese girl who had the hots for Ronnie, he's probably with her now and having her way with him…I shoulda kicked her butt a long time ago.", Kim nearly exploded as the girls looked on, puzzled.

Then at the reaction of the other girls, "You see, Ron went on a student exchange trip back when we were sophomores. He didn't talk about her and I had no idea that he even knew her until she came over to Middleton the next year looking for him for something she needed help with….", Kim said, somewhat flustered. "She was much too comfortable with him…", she followed up, not revealing the Japanese girl's ties to a Mystical Martial Arts Ninja school.

Nodding in assurance, "Well maybe that's where he went then. If he did, mystery solved.", Maggie told Kim, "You should go check it out."

Kim's eyes hardened, "I fully intend to, Ronnie's way too good a boyfriend…or more, to let go without a fight."

Interjecting, "Well I still say you ought to date other boys.", Maggie said. "Since that guy of yours just left without telling you either…..", not realizing she didn't know the whole story about Kim's exodus from Ron.

Heatedly turning to her, "Don't you understand anything?", Kim said, her hands thrust in the air, "Because of what I decided when I went through that episode, I cut off all contact with him and his family!…I refused to talk to him about this..And then I asked my 'rents to not say anything to him or any other of my friends.", she said as she relived that difficult time in her life.

Wrapping her arms around her, shivering, "H…..he must have been devastated being cut off like that.", Kim gulped. Then with a sad smile of regret, "Before that happened, we talked all the time…almost every day..even when we didn't get the chance to see each other.", she said, her voice full of sorrow.

Eyes filling with tears, "From what my parents told me of what they saw of him on the visits he tried to make at home..they said, at the end, it was as if..I…his spirit had been killed.", Kim sniffled, "And for Ron, after all he went through in high school..with all the putdowns he endured from the student body, that's something I thought was impossible…that it his spirit could never be broken.", she said as she almost broke down. Completely in shock, her friends silently looked on.

After a few moments of composing herself, Kim wiped her eyes, found a napkin to blow her nose and then softly, her voice rising, she continued, "But no matter what, no matter how long it takes, I'm gonna find him and I'm gonna get down on my knees and plead for his forgiveness for how I treated him..to take me back..or just for the privilege of talking to him.", she said with growing resolve. "I don't care if the world wide news is there to film the event when it happens, but I swear that I will find him and find a way to make things right between us.", steel in her voice at the end.

After a few moments of taking this in, Jane softly suggested to Kim, "Calm down Kim, I'm sure you'll find him eventually and fix this." Then yawning due to the hour and all the activity they watched or took part in that day, "Now I'd love to stay up all night, but I have an exam in International Relations coming soon and it's not my best subject, so I'm going to turn in. Good night all.", she said signaling their night out was about done for her.

Before all the others said their good nights, Kim said with a sad little smile, "Sorry to dump this on all of you, but I had to get it out. Thank you for letting me vent like this, sometimes this still gets to me and today really pushed a lot of buttons with me about Ron."

Then yawning, Kim said, "I'm going to turn in too, but first I want to call the family. Then I need to call my Grandmother, it's her birthday." Turning to Jane, "I too have a paper that needs some research material fleshed out before I can present a case study."

Waving to her friends as she turned toward her dorm, "Good night all, and thanks for a very interesting day."

XXX

China:

His mask in place, the Chosen One faded from view with each step he took to the cave's mouth where, a short time, ago he had encountered the armed men and their vehicles. While unsure of exactly where he and his partner were in China, he was absolutely sure that there had to be a very good reason for someone to be speaking anything but Chinese in these parts. He couldn't be absolutely sure, the blood loss affecting his ability to think clearly right now, but he was pretty certain some of the people he and Tai-shu took on earlier were speaking English before steel, bullets, body parts and blood started flying.

Though Ron knew help was on the way, he was worried that there was a decent chance the bad guys might be able to get away with the nuclear weapons before their arrival. That is if those in the cave did have them here.

Then there was the wounded Chinese girl. Even though he had done all he could for her and she could survive her wounds, it would be for naught if he had to trade their lives for the safety of the rest of the world in order to keep those weapons of mass destruction from leaving the cave.

His thoughts going back to a simpler, more innocent time, 'KP it was so much better when it was just the two of us, Rufus and Wade.', the blond sighed before he shook his head to clear it to keep his mind 'in the game'.

Going along and literally 'blending into the background' as he was, he knew his time with this tactic was limited. As it was the process took so much energy from him when he was at full strength, healthy and uninjured, he now was working with a much shorter time clock after being wounded in his extended fight, flight and return.

As such, he had to be more direct now, so he couldn't afford to play around if the men here actually were guarding the weapons. Should they be weapons of mass destruction, Ron knew he had to keep them here until Yamanouchi and the Chinese officials arrived to secure them, even at the cost of his life.

Shortly the blond could begin to hear men close by speaking…again, in English, as he quietly approached the cave. "Waldron says we have to go after those people who killed the other guys. We can't let them call in reinforcements.", Ron heard one tell another.

"Well the big one made short work of our guys, I don't know if I want to meet up with him again.", came the reply.

"We have to go back out there Nelson; the patrols we sent out earlier didn't find him or the girl. And remember, terminate them when you find them, we don't need anyone learning of this.", Ron heard a third voice.

Then a fourth, his tone quite uneasy, "I still don't like it, one of them or at least one…he's a pro…..Did you see what he did? He must have used a sword to do what he did to those others.", his voice wavered in worry. "But the only way to be sure is to comb those woods and kill everything we find.", he said in forced bravado.

"And while we're being paid well to get the cargo out of here as soon as possible, if we go and kill everything and everybody around here and get caught, remember the Chinese still have the death penalty.", came the rebuttal from a fifth voice.

"When the bosses come back out I think they're going to send a whole bunch of us out, armed to the teeth. We can't let those guys get away and notify the Chinese military or their police.", one of the men warned as he pulled the charging handle back on his MP5 as a show of readiness to kill the intruders.

"Not quite like the old days, huh?", one of the group laughed.

Snorting, "That bloated idiot might have been an arrogant ass and his plans may have been stupid, but he paid good and expected results."

"And as I remember, if you screwed up it would be a one-way trip to the sawmill. That ass could be brutal."

"All you had to do was make a decent effort….", one voice said.

Before another cut in, "Unless you upset that stupid dog of his…" Then laughter could be heard by more than a few present.

Ron slipped behind them and off to the side while listening with interest to where the conversation went with the men. He stayed to the side of the passage he had just entered leaving the two guards behind to argue with their comrades who took up spitballing what they would do if put in charge of this group.

Listening for any sign he'd been noticed as he crept down the passage, and hearing none, Ron came to an opaque screen. Scanning further he was able to crawl under it on his stomach and continue on, staying to the far right wall as possible.

Before long he found himself in a large cave and quickly made for an out of the way corner he'd noted. In the dim light provided by some yellow light bulbs suspended from the ceiling Ron scanned the contents of the cave.

His head perked up at what he found, 'Well, well, well, what do we have here?', Ron mused mirthlessly. Set away from everything else were three military style trucks, similar to the US Army's 'Deuce-and-a-half' (two and a half ton) truck, and four other vehicles of the off-road variety.

After checking for additional guards, he knew he wasn't lucky enough to have whittled their number down that much, the invisible ninja slipped up to the first truck in what shadows he could find. Foremost in his mind the possibility of the grand total of the guards actually onsite, based on the seating capacity of the vehicles he found, those guards he dispatched, and those he just left at the cave entrance, was higher that the number he encountered.

Certain of no other cave inhabitants Ron crept up to the first truck's open tailgate, hopped aboard the bed of the olive drab six-wheeler and slipped past the canvas drop-cover to the likewise canvas topped-truck bed. In the darkness of the covered bed, he pulled a small flashlight from his belt. Keeping the beam of the adjustable light narrow, Ron quietly scanned the crates present.

His brown eyes flashed blue and narrowed before they returned to their natural brown when Ron recognized the yellow and black International Symbols of 'Nuclear Material' painted on the boxes.

Quietly he pried the first crate open and a couple minutes later Ron gazed upon a cone-shaped metal device some eighteen inches long, ten inches at its widest, with unusual markings painted on it.

In grim realization, 'I believe these are the nukes we've been looking for.', Ron thought. 'I can't let these things leave here…..Tai-shu is injured and I can't bring her in here. Shit I'm sorry girl, the "greatest good" you know?', he concluded.

After a few more moments of staring at the symbols on the other boxes and the device in the open crate, 'I hate me.'

A voice approaching his position brought him out of his bleak musings, "Walker! We have to get these loads outta here before we get caught with them."

"What about those who attacked us an hour ago? We still haven't found them, they could still be a problem!", came a shouted reply from further off.

After a few moments pause, "Nah, because of them, we're gonna have to leave in an hour so bring the patrols in and double the guard until we leave.", the first said. "We've got a long drive ahead of us and the drivers will get another hour of sleep."

In distant reply, "Are you sure you don't want to turn the patrols loose out there? A couple of 'em are really pissed and want payback!"

Immediately, "No, we're not going to be here long enough to run a thorough search, so forget that! Radio the patrols to get back here ASAP and protect what we know we can. At this point, we don't need to lose anybody, or have anyone else sneaking in."

From further off and moving away, Ron heard, "Right, I'll go to the shack and call 'em back."

XXX

Oxford, England:

Smiling to herself, Kim pushed the connect button to the multi-use communications device GJ provided her since becoming a member. An advanced version of her old Kimmunicator, she used it to communicate with GJ, Wade, family and friends. The only shortcoming, to her anyway, was that due to the cost to GJ of the video part of signal transmission she could only transmit and receive video when communicating with GJ in general and Wade in particular, audio only with everybody else (budget cuts you know?). But this was made up by her device's ability to be hooked up to her room's electronic equipment, giving her complete video quality for the GJ calls as well as stereo sound for that and the phone calls she made to others.

So as it was, moments after placing the call a much loved, but at the moment sounding slightly addled, voice came through the speakers of her room's surround sound system.

"Hello? Who is this? I don't have Caller ID, so help an old woman out on her birthday and tell me who this is.", Nana Possible teased the caller, obviously figuring on family calling her, and her phone system actually was more up to date than just having 'Caller ID' on it.

Chuckling at the joke, "Hi Nana, Happy Birthday.", the young red head said between giggles to the Matriarch of the Possible Clan. "How have you been today?"

With amusement in her voice, "Why thank you Kimberly, I'm doing fine, well as fine as can be as I get older. It's nice of you to call, you've really made my day.", Nana replied. "Now how are you doing in England?"

"Pretty well Nana, it's been great here. I'm doing well with my studies, and I'm on schedule to graduate right on time in the next couple of years like I'm supposed to, this time.", Kim said. "But I really miss you, and would love to see you again, and if you remember I'll be coming home in about four weeks for Christmas. Are you going to be in Middleton?"

"Yes Dear, I wouldn't miss it. There is something about Middleton, snow, that time of year, and the decorations James puts on the tree and around the house. It will be so good to see the family again. And did you hear that Timothy and Jocelyn are going to be there from Christmas Eve until the day after New Year's?"

"I heard they were trying to make the trip Nana, and it'll be so good to see them again, especially at home for Christmas.", Kim said warmly. "We have so much catching up to do Nana, but I'll be pretty busy otherwise when I get home."

"Oh, and why's that, Kimberly?", Nana asked, curious as to the aforementioned sitch with her granddaughter during the holiday. "I thought with this traditional holiday break between college semesters or terms, you'd have some down time with no worries or schedules to meet."

"Well besides coming home to meet with the family Nana, I'm also standing in the wedding of some dear friends of mine as a Bridesmaid. Something I promised during my last visit to Middleton.", Kim related to her Paternal Grandmother.

"I see, Anne did mention to me that you'd be back for that too. And she did tell me that you are doing much better these days. It must have been dreadful time in your life, Kimberly. I wish you would have called me; I have several dear friends in England from back in the day that would have been able to help you and keep your secrets, if you would have wanted them to.", Nana assured her troubled granddaughter.

Sniffling, "Thanks Nana, I appreciate the offer, but now I see how my decisions can affect others, even bad ones.", Kim said tearing up a little. "Knowing what I do now three years down the road, I just wish I could relive them and had been on the first flight home, or called Ronnie and Wade to bring me back to Middleton.", she lightly hiccuped.

Heading off another possible breakdown, "There is not much you can do about it now dear; the only thing that I could say is never to try that again…."

"Nana?", Kim cut in.

"Yes Kimberly."

Sighing heavily, "How do I find Ronnie again?"

"Honey I don't know. It's been three years…By now he could be anywhere, or have gone on, gotten his degree and moved on in the world since then...He could even have been working around the corner from you for years with no one the wiser", Nana said, years of wisdom in her voice of such regrets. "But if you want, I'll see what I can do for you about Ronald.", she offered this small ray of hope to her granddaughter.

Her voice catching in a sigh, "Thank..you Nana, I so would like that…But d..do you think I'll ever see him again?", fading at the end.

"I don't know Kimberly, but do I wish that you find your Ronald again, if for nothing else but to clear the air between you. You two should be happy, whether it's together or not is still out there to be determined…But one thing I do believe is that if you pray hard enough, finding him may come to pass in this life.", Nana offered in reassurance to Kim.

Sniffing, "I hope so Nana, I really hope so…Well it's getting late and I have to get back to my studies, it's so good to talk to you again, really it is.", Kim said warmly. "I'll try to call next week, if that's all right."

"I can think of nothing better than talking to my eldest grandchild, whether it's over the phone or in person. Take care Kimberly, remember, someday it'll all be better and that I love you. Good night."

"I hope so Nana, I really hope so. And I love you, too Nana, g'night."

Sighing, the former heroine disconnected the call and went back to highlighting the research reference she was using for her paper, taking care to use the correct footnotes and author's credits she would properly acknowledge in it.

XXX

Middleton, Colorado:

Looking over the data the young African-American genius generated of the Law Firm involved in paying for Kim's schooling and living expenses since she'd been in England, Wade sighed heavily in frustration. While absolutely positive Enders, Enders and Klopstein had been operating completely within the spirit and letter of the law, he was starting to wonder if they had taken lessons from super-villains to keep their internal, 'classified' information regarding their clients from unwelcome prying eyes.

After attempting every hacker tactic Wade knew or 'acquired' since he began this sojourn for Kim, he was completely unable to penetrate the wall of secrecy this Chicago-based law firm had erected because of hackers like Wade and their 'talents' in the cyber-world.

One thing Wade did learn from this was that the firm went 'old-school' with their records, only letting him know via email reply that all the law firm's records of their clients were on paper and filed away in cabinets or boxes only they could access. Another thing he learned was if he wanted to access any records he'd need permission from the client, in writing and sometimes with the client present, or both, or a valid court order if cause could be made for such a condition.

What had Wade almost pull his hair out over, were their reasons for this level of security. It seems that other than client confidentiality, to an almost insane level, was the fear, somewhat justified in this day of the cyber-hacker, they had of ID Theft by hackers.

Slowly shaking his head at what he discovered, 'Man I have never seen the likes of cyber-paranoia as I have here with these people. What did they think intruders would get…credit card numbers?', Wade mused in light irritation and mile amusement at what he finally understood of the client security methods and philosophy of Enders, Enders and Klopstein.

Two things he did learn from this was that, one, the law firm was so very legit that they would make lawsuit-happy lawyers, dirt-digging 'reporters' and grandstanding politicians scream at how squeaky clean they were, and two, they would not give Kim very much information when she approached them unless she had verifiable written permission to access the records, or the actual client in her presence to allow her access to those records. And since he and Kim had no idea who the client was, it was very likely that any visit to them was dead in the water before launch.

But from all the digging he did on this firm, Wade had a suspicion of a third item of merit with Enders, Enders and Klopstein that he had no solid evidence of, yet, regarding them and their clients at large…It was just a feeling he had that their client-security methods smacked of actuarial in precision and heroic in nature; something he felt would fit quite well with two former heroes he knew.

Nevertheless Wade continued to look for clues about this mystery benefactor of Kim's. His pride in his data mining abilities and his loyalty to a friend he felt he failed, though not completely his fault, those few short years ago spurred him on. What he found as daunting to his skills was that the firm literally held a 'paper trail' going back three years, something ancient in today's cyber standards, a format practically impenetrable to skills such as his.

Regardless Wade soldiered on, working nights on his favor to Kim that he would have done for her even if she hadn't asked him to do this. What worried him more than the 'wall' he was hitting in his search was his concern that his inability to gain that information for her would setback her ongoing recovery.

Wearily sighing as he saved what he had for her, 'Oh well, I'll file this for Kim and let her decide what to do with it.', Wade mused, not aware she planned to visit the law firm next summer to ask them about her benefactor.

Information saved, Wade sat back and rubbed his temples and started to relax. After a few minutes his brain started to process what he knew up to now, the known compared to what was as of yet unknown. 'What am I missing? It's so obvious, but I can't see it…it's almost as if its right in front of my face!', he mentally ranted.

Going over those he suspected, 'We are looking for someone who has been nice enough and generous enough to make sure that Kim gets a first class education..and covers all her living expenses while there.', Wade started ticking off his list. 'Who would do this? Drakken…..nah he's too cheap. That toy guy from Japan?...Hmmm, maybe. I'll send him an inquiry to be sure about him..The same with Mr. Porter.', he checked off his list again.

'Now Kim did help Martin Smarty a couple of times, but Ron was more into Smarty Mart stuff than Kim was..yet she refused to believe that Club Banana and Smarty Mart was the same corporation', he chuckled lightly. Then shaking his head in frustration, 'It's obvious I have to make some calls if I'm going figure out who's behind this.', he huffed.

Looking at his computer screen of information, 'This has got to be the ultimate favor to her and Kim really wants to thank whoever helped her out.', Wade mused as he saved the file on his secure and private computer, setting the file under about six layers of passwords before he was done.

After taking a large sip of his slurpster Wade began an outline to chart all those he suspected of assisting Kim like they had. With a sigh he knew he was going to have to go through all the old 'Team Possible' files if he was going to be thorough. He also knew this was going to take some time since he was working ten hours a day at GJ running their computer security.

XXX

China:

Cautiously pulling back the canvas cover at the rear of his truck, Ron prepared to move to another vehicle to search for further proof of nuclear weapons onsite. Pausing when he noted movement out of the corner of his eye, he ducked back inside, preferring to use old-fashioned, energy saving duck-and-cover over his MMP fade method. He expended much needed personal power to do so, something he couldn't spare in his current physical condition, and hiding would allow him to conserve energy for other purposes as they arose.

Once the cause of his caution left the trucks, Ron opened the cover again and peeked out. Satisfied, he smiled strangely, the emotion of the smile not making it to his eyes, and he silently lowered himself to the floor of the cave. Carefully making his way to the next truck he hoped he wasn't going to find more of what he found in the first one.

To his dismay he found what he feared he would, and cursing his luck he promised to never play the lottery, regardless of his need for the money. Grimly he left the second truck and made his way to the third one, the cavern devoid of the goons for some time now.

Upon entering the third truck he noted the labels and markings on the boxes were different from the others he had inspected. In the flash lighted darkness he saw red and yellow stickers on the crates of another type of weapon.

Grimacing, 'Ahhh crud, man can this get any better? Bio-hazard signs.', he sighed as he shook his head. 'The way my luck has been going these have got to be biological weapons.'

Again shaking his head in disbelief, 'Those morons, they might be able to kill the whole planet with these things.', Ron thought, 'I gotta keep them from being moved.' Then a grim conclusion, 'Well, if they go off here it's a lot better than in Beijing or Tokyo…or anywhere else for that matter.'

After turning from the crates, Ron exited the truck and slid underneath the engine. A sudden flash of light later, a lightly glowing sword appeared in his right hand, which became a very sharp knife. After making sure he would be 'upstream' from the results of his handiwork, his eyes now a royal blue, Ron thrust the knife into the oil pan, and then cut through the front brake lines as oil spilled onto the floor of the cave.

Assured of the damage, the former sidekick moved to the next truck and repeated the process, only pausing to puncture the armored transmission pan after carving into the oil pan and brake lines, too.

'Dammit it's taking all night, I have to quit screwing around.', Ron berated himself, the process of sabotaging the trucks taking up more time than he planned. Quietly lamenting that Tai-shu's sacrifice might indeed have been in vain.

Just as Ron finished damaging the third vehicle he heard a voice at the other end of the line of trucks, "I'm gonna check this stuff over one more time, then we have to get out of here before the authorities find us. Start waking the drivers up, we need to be moving again to the next spot on the map."

Ron thought, 'MAP?'

XX

Yori's Group:

Her frustration rising with each less than swift step she took, "Hurry we have to get to those coordinates as quickly as possible. We do not know what those two did, but the alarm is going off.", Yori shouted to the slowly, especially to her, advancing Chinese portion of her team. Her urgency apparently not theirs as she tried to get them to move at a faster pace than they were set to. It was another agonizing twenty-nail-biting minutes before the truck pulled back out.

After several minutes of unhurried travel, his wife's frustration also affected him, "Shit Mein Lo, can't that guy drive any slower?", Hirotaka cursed sarcastically. Himatora at this point wisely kept out of this discussion; he was out of his depth where this discussion was going.

Taken aback at Hirotaka's displeasure, "He is driving too slow?"

"Yeah he is…Do you think you can speed him up?"

The urgency of his visiting teammates still mystifying to him, as far as Mein Lo was concerned his niece was safe with the American buffoon, the Japanese 'Alarm' not a device he considered as valid to him. "Why? Is it because you are worried that your friend hurt himself through his buffoonery?", he smirked to Yori's and Hirotaka's deepening frowns.

Calling upon years of training at Yamanouchi to not throttle the Party Official with them, Yori released a cleansing breath, "What I am worried about is actually finding anyone left alive at your niece's search area…our operative with your niece is not what he seems to be to others.", she said to Mein Lo's fading smugness.

Rallying, "What do you mean?", he retorted, still refusing to believe he was wrong in his understanding of the situation. "Why should I believe what you say about this clown I've sent off with my niece to an area of no importance?", Mein Lo countered.

Getting very close to his face, "Because our operative is a highly trained and quite accomplished assassin!", Yori hissed. "And if he suspects what we are searching for is there, it probably is there. But more importantly, if he determines he has to stop the movement of those weapons by killing everyone involved, even at the cost of his own life, he will do it.", she said, her voice raising at the end.

Pointing in the direction they were traveling, "We already know the alarm has been set off where your niece is. We usually set it off to alert us to where to find the body of the bearer.", Mein Lo's face paled, "In Mankey-san's case we suspect something has happened to your niece and we are to locate the beacon in order to either save her life or recover her body."

After watching this information hit home with their 'host', she continued, "As for Mankey-san, no matter his condition, he will complete his mission, even to the point of removing all enemies present. He has been given that authority and he will have no hesitation at carrying that out.", Yori informed Mein Lo. "Even at the cost of his life and of those he's partnered with."

Now in shock, "Why did you bring a killer for me to send off with my niece?", Mein Lo sputtered.

Shaking his head, "He's more of an assassin than just a killer and the blood on his hands is quite extensive.", Hiro calmly replied, which unnerved the Mission Leader even more. "He was included to ensure the success of this mission. So you might want to get moving before we find we have no one to interrogate upon our arrival to that cave."

"Why is that?", Mein Lo still didn't see the big picture here.

Still trying to get him to see the light, "He was ordered to eliminate any enemy in control of those weapons in any way he saw fit. He will kill them without hesitation or a remorseful thought.", Hirotaka replied.

Not quite there yet, "I see.", Mein Lo nodded, the full realization still eluding him.

Frowning, "No you do not see. I am ninja as is Mankey-san.", Hirotaka said to his host's surprise. "And he holds a position amongst us where he can make the onsite decision to kill everyone there. If he does they all die. He has the ability."

Blustering, "We did not authorize this….", Mein Lo shot back.

Yori frowned, "Do you want those weapons back?"

"Yes that is why we asked for assistance.", he nearly shrieked.

"He is your insurance policy Mein Lo. His job is to stop the movement of the weapons by any means he deems necessary.", Hiro added, "He is more dangerous than you can ever understand. If he is wounded or injured he might lose himself into…"

Yori cut her husband off as she glared at him sharply, "Never mind my husband's ramblings, we really need to find your niece as quickly as possible, she probably has been injured and Stopp…..errr Mankey-san may be on the warpath.", she warned.

Turning to the driver, (Hurry you fool. The one assisting my niece is capable of killing all those involved.), Mein Lo shouted to him as he leaned forward to slap his arm; the driver's reaction immediate as the truck gained speed to what both groups found acceptable, but for different reasons.

XXX

Cave:

Ron slid himself out from underneath the truck carrying the biological weapons. Various fluids dripping onto the ground as a result of the maintenance he performed on the truck just like he did nearly all the other vehicles. He admired the results of his handiwork; those vehicles were going nowhere unless a mechanic with parts for each one miraculously appeared out of thin air.

By hiding from his adversaries rather than going invisible on them, Ron saved precious personal energy he needed to perform the tasks he undertook with the trucks. If nothing else, for the foreseeable future he had to ensure that no weapon-laden vehicle left the cave, and with two trucks left, he would have had his work cut out for him if he made use of his fade technique.

But the wounds and resulting blood loss had taken a toll on the blond ninja; Ron was starting to tire from his exertions. But as he gathered to disable the remaining vehicles, he heard approaching voices at the other end of the cave, "Hey Marty come over here, what's this oil stuff on the ground?"

From further off another voice was heard, "What are you talking about Waldron?"

"Just come over here.", the reply, before the sounds of rapid footsteps came further into the cave.

The reality that even one truck could be driven away if he was found and killed before help arrived Ron finished disabling the truck then silently rolled out from under it, fading from view as he rose from the floor.

"What the hell?", a man in a black leather jacket said as he got to where another was standing and pointing at the ground.

"Get some of the guys in here while I check out the other trucks.", 'Marty' angrily shouted.

"On it.", Waldron replied as he walked off to partitioned end of the cave.

Ron backed up behind several boulder-sized rocks next to the closest wall and waited.

Shortly six more men arrived. 'Marty' looked around and ordered the variously armed newcomers, "Check out all the vehicles, I think we may have an intruder in here. But be careful, do it by twos."

Faced with no other choice, Ron moved from his hiding spot and began to concentrate to gather the power he received six years earlier at the Englishman's castle. In light of what he was about to do, Ron would have loved to pause and remember his life up to now, but this was a luxury he didn't have as he prepared to come out and face the task at hand.

Quickly stepping out fifty feet away from the last truck with a brightly glowing katana, which suddenly changed into a large axe, Ron tossed it across the cavern and into the motor compartment of the last functional truck. The resounding 'Wham' startled the armed men standing nearby before they turned to see the engine almost cleaved in two. Then to their further shock, the axe flew back across the cave, hovered for a second and then disappeared.

Gasping, "What the hell was that?", one of the goons blurted as he suddenly wondered if he was in some sort of fantasy movie. Though they couldn't check notes on the incident, some of the other men also wondered the same thing.

Taking his weapon off 'Safe' and pointing it in the direction the ax flew back to, "Hey Waldron, I think we found our problem. Better get over here.", goon number four said.

Waldron hurried over to his men, most of which had their weapons pointed at an empty spot on the other side of the cave. After he glanced to the incapacitated truck he turned to the spot his men had in their sights.

His eyes fixed on that end of the cave, Waldron ordered, "Show yourself!", but still could not see the menace his men were concerned about.

A voice behind him whispered, "You didn't say please.", before the very same sword one of them glimpsed earlier slid out the front of the leader's chest.

"Tag you're 'it'.", was the last thing 'Waldron' heard before he died.

Then the blade was pulled back and again disappeared.

Turning his weapon towards area behind the now very dead boss he called over to them, "Shit.", the goon muttered as 'Waldron' collapsed to the floor, his blood pooling beside his very dead body. Then he shrieked, "Who are you?"

Ron's voice raised above a whisper and projected in another direction, "You're worst nightmare.", to disorient those who heard it.

Suddenly in another location of the cave the blade appeared and flew, in a Frisbee® type manner to the one who asked the question, and cut his body in two.

After the body fell apart, another goon shouted, "Kill whatever the hell that is!", and turned his Uzi to the last place he had seen the sword, his freak-out full on as this normal caper just went above and beyond what he and his partners were accustomed to. He was further unnerved as his eyes followed the sword which circled around and flew to a different location in the cave and then disappeared, again.

Still invisible, Ron knew he couldn't keep this game of cat-and-mouse (guess which was what…) going much longer without one of the guards getting lucky again. He knew he was losing focus and power at a faster rate than usual due to his wounds. He also considered the fact that the arrival of his backup was an unknown, so he knew he couldn't depend on them to help end this standoff.

With all of this at the forefront of his thoughts, Ron decided the time had come to make his 'Last Stand' and do what he could to keep those weapons from scattering to other means of dispersal. If no one was here alive to transport them out, there would be no way to send the weapons to where they could be used against the innocent or their leaders.

Then there was the ironic personal note to self that if he was unable to live through this, Yamanouchi would not be pleased at his inability to give them a full return on what they invested in him while enrolled there for training and schooling.

As he gathered all his courage, his focus, his reasons for doing this, he sadly sighed, 'Bye Mom…Dad and Hanna. Sorry about all this. Have a safe life.'

Then becoming visible and giving in completely to the power, 'KAY PEEEEEEEEEEE!', echoed through his mind as he rushed forward.

From behind the armed guards they were startled by the hiss of, (For the Mountain.), before they turned to see a black clad male, a blue glow surrounding his form. His eyes a blue/gold mix, a glowing blue sword held at the ready, he was almost too fast to focus on as he rushed them.

As he got closer they saw the blue glow surrounding their attacker take the shape of a Great Ape, its shrieks piercing their hearing as it charged them.

XXX

Oxford, England:

Bolting upright in her bed in a blind terror, the red head shrieked as she grabbed her chest, her heart suddenly felt like it would explode.

"My Gawd…..what happened?", Kim rasped out as she tumbled out of her bed and staggered to her desk to hit her Panic Button.

In minutes Campus Security and Medics were on scene and in her room.

"Miss Possible, can you tell us what happened?", Constable Maurice Stanton asked after the Medics checked Kim's heart rate and blood pressure. Kim disheveled and at a loss, stared out her window.

Looking to him in confusion, "I don't know. If it was a nightmare then it was the worst one I have ever had."

Nodding, "Per the Medicos, we are going to take you into the hospital. The readings are off the charts and we want to be sure that you are going to be alright."

With a tired half-smile, Kim sighed, "Thanks, I think that is a proper course of action."

XX

Resting on a small sliding table Kim tried to relax as it was inserted into the MRI machine by one of the technicians.

Noting her tenseness, quite common with patients in his business, "Would you like to listen to some music?", he asked her. "It does take the mind off the enclosed space."

Nodding, "Sure..some easy listening…OK?", Kim asked.

X

Three hours later the attending physician presented the test results to the young American.

After the introductions were made, "Miss Possible, if I didn't know better and with your past history I would say that you had a panic attack.", Dr. Warner informed her after looking over the forms on his clipboard. Once done, he looked up to her, "So how do you feel now?"

Blowing out a frustrated breath of air, "I feel stupid. That was the second one tonight…..the first was a blinding pain in my shoulder, but it went away almost as soon as it happened."

"Well Miss Possible, regardless of your feelings towards your reaction to the episode you experienced earlier tonight, I'd say you made the correct decision to call for the help you've received.", Dr. Warner said as he tried to reassure her. Looking over her paperwork again, "In fact I'd say that with the symptoms you experienced, the sudden waking with a pounding heart, the rapid uncontrollable breathing and so forth, allowing us to rule out any potential problem was merited in this case."

At her look of askance, he continued, "Heart problems can begin at any age. You are neither a drug addict nor an abuser of alcohol and except for about a year of doing so, you are not a smoker, so it is safe to say that you were being prudent. The images do not show anything abnormal, so we are going to release you and get you a ride back to your apartment and you can continue with your normal routine.", he informed Kim.

"I feel much better than earlier, but with what happened I still feel stupid, but thanks just the same, Doctor."

"That is what we are here for Miss Possible, now if you have more trouble please come back in right away. And I want you to schedule an appointment with your own physician as soon as possible."

XXX

China:

The glowing sword hissed through the air before it cut through the first two men, disemboweling both before the eye could blink twice. Another guard tried to take aim, but was too close to bring his weapon to bear as the 'maniac' spun, the katana twirled and sliced downward with incredible force, ending that attempt to fire on the threat, and his life.

The next three each tried to get a free shot on the lone swordsman, but couldn't as he seemed to be in more than one place at the same time. It was as if he was almost…teleporting from spot to spot during the attack.

A goon named Steve somehow got a look at eyes that seemed to gleam and shine with blue-tinged gold. "He's the devil! Let's get out of here before he kills us all!"

And with that, two of the guards joined him as he sprinted outside, ran up the trail and dove into the woods, running for all they were worth away from this scene of horror and blood and whatever caused it.

Meanwhile back in the cave, with no living threat available, a panting Chosen One glanced around at the carnage as the glow surrounding him faded away. The Blade, however, was still at the ready.

The blood lust also fading as realizations burned through, 'I'm alive? How?...I have to get back to Tai-shu. She's been by herself too long. I have to try and help her.', Ron thought as he sagged from the 'power drop' he experienced coming down from the energy expenditure of his wounds and the battle.

Looking at the macabre scene surrounding him, the gore, hacked bodies and limbs scattered around him, he almost felt remorse for what he did here. But when stacked up against the millions of lives that could have been taken by the weapons they had stolen, what little remorse he felt for those here slipped away with the next breath he expelled.

As Ron headed out of the cave he flicked his wrist several times to get the blood off the mystically honed Blade. He now had to get to the young woman, the threat was over and hopefully help was on the way.

Nearly forty minutes later the staggering blond traveled to an area his multi-use electronics device reported as his destination. With a small smile he pushed a button on the device and waited. About thirty seconds later the form of a small woman shimmered into view, still wrapped in the coats he left her in, in what seemed a lifetime ago.

After fully reappearing, Ron knelt beside Tai-shu and gently checked on her condition. Satisfied with what he found he laid down beside her and wrapped his arms around her to add his body heat to hers, doing what he could with his remaining power to keep them both from falling to hypothermia before help arrived.

With the bad guys either dead or scattered about in the wilderness, he wasn't worried of their return to either move the weapons or locate their hiding spot and finish them off before help arrived. He was pretty sure the event he took part in back in the cave would scare the most foolhardy away from this area until his backup appeared.

With thoughts of help coming, brown eyes sagged with fatigue as sadness over what he had done revisited him. 'I have to live with their deaths, just like all the others…..'

As he faded into gentle oblivion he was content in the knowledge that so few were aware of his ability to help with 'healing' others. But the irony of it all was that those who were aware of their rapid healing, but not of how it happened were at a total loss to explain how or why it happened.

With a smug sigh, Ron's last thoughts were of the looks on the faces of his rescuers when they found them, and how Tai-shu's wounds may not be easily explained in the 'Official Report' to be filed with her Superiors.

Then…nothing.

The next sensation he felt came after an unknown passage of time when a woman's voice rang out from close by, "Here they are! Hurry the female may be injured!"

XXXX

And another chapter comes to a close. Quite the different lives Kim and Ron are living at opposite ends of the world from each other. Kim hasn't given up the search and gives a little proxy 'Show-and-Tell' about some of the attributes of her boyfriend while Ron goes all Steven Seagal on his enemies with a sword.

Now for a teaser before we go: For all the fire one had for the other, could what the other had which 'cooled' over time be rekindled? This has yet to be determined.

But is there a 'connection' between these two that affected one so unknowingly? (Yes levi2000a1, dis is for you…LOL!) The clues are there, but tune in for the answer, down the road.