I do not own Kim Possible.

Edited February 20, 2020. Combined a few chapters and polished them up a bit.

A Stupid Bet

Kim Possible liked to think that she had a great deal of patience. If she didn't, she probably would have gone insane from all the crazy stuff she's had to deal with over the years. But she was only human, and there were some days where her patience could only stretch so far. Today was one of those days, and it seemed like Bonnie was intentionally trying to tear her thin shred of patience into pieces. Kim watched her rival pace in front of her, her lips moving furiously as she ranted and raved. Kim was only half paying attention, since she knew this tirade well. Bonnie was not pleased with her leadership.

Which wasn't unusual. But Kim was so not in the mood to deal with her ego.

"Thank you," Kim said loudly, cutting Bonnie off. "If you're so unhappy with the routine I planned, then let's put it to a vote." She spun on her heel to face the rest of her squad, who were sitting on the bleachers and watching the pair with varying degrees of exasperation and amusement. "All in favour for the routine I prepared, raise your hands."

All of their hands rose high into the air. Bonnie made an angry noise in the back of her throat and Kim managed to quell her victorious smirk. "There you have it. Democracy. The routine stays. Can we please start practice now?"

Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "Puh-lease," she spat, her voice dripping with bitterness. "I am so tired of your 'I'm so much better than everyone else' attitude."

Kim felt an ache start to build at the base of her skull. She was going to have a heck of a migraine by the end of the day. "Bonnie, I do not think I'm better than everyone. You're the one being difficult here! Just because you don't like the routine I created, which is perfectly fine, by the way, doesn't mean it has to be reworked from the ground up. There's not even enough time to do a whole new cheer. The Spring Fling Cheer Off is in a few days."

"Some leader you are," scoffed Bonnie. "You won't even take suggestions."

Kim arched a brow. "I'm sorry. I remember a lot of snark, but no suggestions."

"Bonnie, the routine is fine, really," tried Tara.

Bonnie whirled around to glare at the blonde. "Just because she's brainwashed you doesn't mean I'm going to blindly follow her."

A laugh bubbled in Kim's throat but she hastily turned it into a cough. "There's no brainwashing going on, Bonnie. Can we stop the drama and practice?"

The brunette crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Kim could see the internal debate happening in her stormy eyes. She was clearly outnumbered. But she hated to back down. She hated to lose. Especially to Kim.

"You can't do the routine without me," she finally said, a note of triumph in her voice. "So unless you deflate your big head and actually listen to me, I'm not gonna do your stupid little cheer."

Kim bristled. She had designed the routine with Bonnie having a key role, partly in the hopes it would keep Bonnie from having a meltdown, and partly because Bonnie was one of the best cheerleaders on the squad. Leave it to her to find the one thread to undo her carefully made plans.

The redhead's patience reached its breaking point. "All right, Bonnie." Her green eyes flicked around the gym, tracking the high rafters in the ceiling. "If democracy isn't your thing, how about a bet?"

Bonnie's posture straightened, her chin lifting. "Bring it."

"If you can flip your way up to the rafters, you can rework the routine into whatever you want. But if you fail, it stays the same. And you have to carry my books for a month."

It was petty but she felt like she deserved something for the headache Bonnie had given her.

But Bonnie wasn't stupid, not completely, and she scowled. "Hey! What will you do for me if I win?"

Kim shrugged. "I don't know. What do you want?"

She was expecting something humiliating, like catering her lunch every day or cleaning her shoes. A smirk that Kim would deem devious crossed Bonnie's face as she said, "If I win, you have to stay at Middleton Prison. For a whole week. With all those freaks you put away."

"Bonnie!" said Tara in horror. "You can't make her do that! That's, like, messed up!"

Kim waved down her concerns. "Don't worry, T. It's fine. We have a deal."

It's not like Bonnie would ever be able to make it up that high any—

There was a rush of air as Bonnie flipped past her, hands and feet a mere blur as she moved across the smooth surface. She twisted her body and landed in the middle of the trampoline stacked in the corner. She jumped once, twice, three times before executing a spinning flip, using the momentum to carry her further. Kim watched, her eyes growing wide with horrified realization as Bonnie sailed in a high, graceful arc, her fingers reaching, stretching, hooking onto the edge of the metal beam. With a great twist she landed on top, striking into a T-pose.

The squad leapt to their feet, whooping and hollering at the girl's athletic display. Kim opened her mouth but no words came out.

No. Way.

Never before had Bonnie ever gotten that much air.

"Someone get me a ladder!" the brown-haired girl ordered.

"Be back in a sec," called Marcella. "Liz, come help me."

They sprinted out of the gym and Bonnie grinned smugly down at the redhead. "I think practice is cancelled for the night. I've got a cheer to rework for the Cheer Off and you've got a reservation to make."

Kim grit her teeth, clenched her fists, and said tightly, "Well played, Bonnie. Well played."

Leave it to be Bonnie to give her best cheer performance ever simply to win a bet.

…

"KP, I don't wanna go! I'll get torn to pieces!"

Ron Stoppable tried pulling his wrist out of his best friend's grip but it was no use. Kim let out a huff of breath and stopped walking, barely reacting when Ron accidentally ran into her. "Ron! You said you'd come with me!"

"Yeah, but that was before you asked the warden if you could do it. I didn't think he'd actually say yes! What kind of sick and wrong person lets a couple of teenagers stay a whole week in a prison? With a bunch of villains?!"

"I'm not happy about it either. Not only did I lose the bet, but my dad is making me hold up my end of the bargain." Kim launched into a poor imitation of her father. "A Possible is always true to their word, Kimmie. If you thought about the risks of gambling you wouldn't be in this little muddle."

Ron gaped at her. "This is your punishment?!"

"Not according to him," said Kim moodily. "I ran my mouth and now I have to own it. Besides, it's not like we're actually going to room with actual criminals. We'll just be sharing the dining hall. And the work yard. And the showers."

"What?!"

They finished crossing the parking lot and the warden met them at the concrete doors. "Miss Possible, I was quite surprised when I got your call. Are you sure you want to do this? Prison is no place for a young lady like yourself."

"Or a young, upstanding man like me," piped up Ron.

Kim managed a smile. "Well, if I'm—we—are going to do a project on the functions of prison, I might as well get firsthand experience. This won't go on my record, will it?"

"Of course not!" said the warden with a laugh. "Come with me."

Ron shot Kim an indigent look. "A project?" he hissed.

"I had to say something!" she returned. "No way could I tell him I'm here because of stupid bet."

"So much for never lying."

Kim flinched. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it! But no more."

"Suuure." Ron rolled his eyes. "That's what you said last time."

The cells they passed were empty, which was perfectly fine with Kim. There was no way she was ready to face the heckling and the taunts of the inmates, the majority of them ones she put away herself. The warden paused outside a cell, where two orange jumpsuits were laid out against the steel cots.

"Wow," said Ron. "You really went all out."

"Well, since you asked for the full experience, might as well give you the full experience," said the Warden with far too much cheer. "Once you put those on, I can escort you to the dining hall. I want to assure you that you are in the utmost care. Nothing will happen to you under our watch."

"Thank you," said Kim sincerely. "But I've met most of these guys before, and they're no big."

"I'm actually not hungry," said Ron squeakily. "Is it okay if we just crash in the cell for now?"

"Of course. If you need anything at all, we've left a remote there for you. Just press the button and someone will come to assist you right away."

Kim made sure he locked the cell door behind him and gave a heavy sigh when he walked away. She wrestled into the orange jumpsuit and studied her reflection in the cracked, grime-encrusted mirror. "Attractive."

"Is yours riding up? Mine is riding up." Ron grunted as he struggled with his own jumpsuit. "Well, at least I won't lose my pants."

Kim smiled. "Seriously, thank you for agreeing to do this with me. And for not bailing in the parking lot."

"Ah, I wasn't going to bail. Probably."

She glanced at his pocketless suit, realizing that his cargo pants were buried underneath the neon fabric. "Hey, where's Rufus?"

"I left him at home. I didn't want to bring him here."

"Good call." Kim didn't even have to turn in a full circle to gather her surroundings. There were two steel beds with thin blankets and flat pillows. "Talk about five-star service."

Ron approached the bars and peered at the cell across from theirs. There were small nametags bolted to the thick strip of metal running horizontally across the cell door. He squinted at it and gave a strangled gasp. "Monkey Fist! Monkey Fist lives across the street!"

"Typical," groaned Kim. "Terrific. Shego better not be our neighbour."

Two small windows connected to each side wall. Ron stood on his tiptoes to look through the thick plexiglass.

"Well?"

"There are a lot of burn marks on the walls, so I'm gonna take a solid guess and say yeah, it's Shego."

"Of course."

Ron slumped against the wall, terror on his features. "Kim, I think they stuck us in the block with all the mad scientists and evil villains!"

"Would you call this karma or bad luck?" Kim asked miserably.

There was the sound of feet pounding against the concrete, the barking shouts of the guards, and a few very familiar voices grousing as they steadily came down the corridor to where Kim and Ron were stationed. They exchanged uncertain, wary looks and slowly moved far back into the corners of their cell.

Kim buried her face in her hands. "Definitely karma."

She was never going to make another bet again.