(Time: Saturday Afternoon, Prom + 15)
(From the last Chapter)
"Thank you for telling me this. Girls, can you make sure that Bonnie gets home safely, please?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Is there anything that Tara or I can do to help?" asked Jessica.
"No, but thank you for offering, dear. I think that it might be best for you to stay away until you hear from us that it is safe."
STD 2018-
Anne Possible walked back into the kitchen and sat down across from the young counselor who had remained patiently waiting. And undoubtedly listening. A quick check of their ice cream containers showed them to have about a quarter remaining.
"Hello? Sir, are you there? How should I address you? I don't wish to be impolite."
"Master Sensei is what most students and the staff call me. My title is Toshimiru Kaemon. Toshimiru was the name of the founder of this academy over 700 years ago. The Headmasters have all taken his name as their family name as a reminder of someone that we strive to emulate and honor. Should we become friends, perhaps Kaemon-san would be appropriate."
"Very well, might I suggest that you use Anne-Sensei to address me. Mrs. Doctor Possible-Sensei seems too unwieldy. I assume that you heard all the conversation with Bonnie?"
"Yes, I did. Had I been a touch more honorable, I would have pointed out that for privacy, you should have turned off the headset. But I did hear, and I have one of my best researchers chasing down 'Derrick' to see who he might work for."
In Japan, a young woman named Katsumi blushed furiously at her Sensei's praise as she rapidly typed search terms into a U.S. Government census database and started a query cross-correlating names of the Middleton Rockwaller clan against a hacked Soviet database containing names of United States 'Black Ops' personnel that were stolen from an Israeli database of known worldwide covert black operatives. She was starting to start the next query against published lists of military intelligence and law enforcement personnel, when;
"Yatta!" she shouted, before remembering the decorum expected of students in their Master Sensei's presence. Grabbing a printout off the printer, she handed it to him, kneeling and bowing as if a Vassal delivering a sword to a Feudal Lord while mumbling an apology for her impertinence.
Looking at the paper, the old headmaster intoned solemnly, "Yatta, indeed, Katsumi-san."
Hearing her Sensei use the honorific 'san' while on the phone to the legendary brain surgeon and mother of the hero Kim Possible, Katsumi turned away, eyes brimming with tears of happiness. She knew that the next time he addressed her it would be with the more appropriate 'Katsumi-kun', but at that moment the young Ninja swore that she would never fail him.
Anne heard the exuberant cry of 'Yatta!' and it caused her to smile a little even though she was worried about, well, a lot of things.
"Did I hear that your researcher found something?"
"Indeed, she did. Her youthful exuberance was due to finding the information, the information she found is troubling." Anne and the counselor, who, of course, was listening, heard the headmaster make a request in Japanese to someone in the room. Anne looked at the face of the young woman across from her, but her face was calm with a trace of approval.
"We have found that Mrs. Rockwaller has a brother named Derrick Duhei who is suspected of being a recruiter working for a covert American Government Black Ops group. A group that deals with the deadliest of America's enemies usually by quiet assassination. I assume that you would rather not have your Kimberly end up in a psychiatric facility under their sponsorship?"
"No! Absolutely not! Surely these people can't just grab people off the street!"
"Apparently they think they can. In this case, I fear that grabbing your daughter would result in a bloodbath when Ronald visits them to retrieve his friend."
"Kimmy is afraid that Ronald doesn't see her as a friend anymore because she feels that she betrayed him at the prom. He's even told her that he can't be her friend."
"I would wager that friend or not, he would still be her Avenging Angel... How much brain damage did Ronald suffer? No, wait, this part of our conversation should wait until you get here."
"What? I'm not coming to Japan! I mean the Stoppable family is moving there in a month or so, but..."
"Anne-Sensei, your Kimberly and Ronald will be on a flight to Japan by breakfast time tomorrow morning. I would like you to come to attend her counseling sessions and to help monitor Ronald's recovery. In addition, there is the admittedly very small chance that Derrick might try to use your two sons as leverage to get Kim. Again, they would not, in the end, be successful. But it would be a very bloody lesson. In the greater scheme of things, it might even be a lesson they need to learn, but I fear that Kimberly and Ronald should not be the ones teaching it."
There was a pause as a young woman's voice spoke to the headmaster in Japanese.
"I have been told that your schedule could be cleared to allow you to come to Japan for two weeks, starting in two days."
"Your people seem to know more about me and mine than I feel comfortable with you knowing."
"We are Ninja, that is a large part of our job. I formally invite you and your sons to come and visit us. I understand that your husband is tied up in a time-critical project and will not be able to accompany you. We will handle all the travel details. Plus," the headmaster laughed, "the ah, shall we say, the technical exuberance of your sons will be an example to inspire a class of Ninja students."
'Lord help us all,' Anne thought to herself but said, 'I need to talk to my husband and check my schedule, but I provisionally accept. I trust that Subira will be our contact with you?"
"Yes, she can answer any questions that you have and will make any necessary arrangements from your end."
STD 2018-
Wade was in an extremely rare state, he was stumped at how to contact Kim and Ron. His fear, unproven at the moment but real enough for him to take action, was that some group with highly technical resources was trying to snatch Kim and maybe Ron. He knew that GJ used the tracking chips in their Kimmunicators to at least tell when the pair was near a transport tube. And of course, using a cellphone to find someone was trivial for people like them.
He had cut off his own cellphone so that if they called, the call couldn't be back traced to find them. Nobody answered the landline phone at the Stoppable house, and Ron's parents didn't carry those 'new-fangled' cellphones. Conversely, the Possible house didn't have a landline phone as they all carried cellphones. None of the Possible cellphones were currently connected to the network, which could be a coincidence, but he didn't think so.
Finally, he left a text message for Anne's phone when it reconnected to the network, asking her to call him. Not having a better idea, he started automated searches running on security cameras looking for a redhead traveling with a blond with a white half-mask...
STD 2018-
Kim put aside her desire to get Ron to finish answering her 'what do you want to be to me?' question for the time being. Loading into the van took a long couple of minutes; Hana was in a child seat on the middle bench in the van and insisted that she sit next to her and Rufus. Hana was either calling her 'dark sis' or 'darkness', either one fit her 'Raven Mara' persona just fine. Ron helped Yori into the back, layers of ruffles and all, and then climbed into the back to join her.
Actually, Ron joined 'them'. Another Japanese girl was already in the back, a taller beauty who introduced herself as Wanda Wang. Hana presented her new 'darkness' with a black and white stuffed animal; it was Kim's Pandaroo. Which was their way of telling her that Wanda and Hana had packed a few things for her and she was now on her way to Japan?
The pretty, former redhead, thought to herself, 'Japan. That has possibilities. I've heard that many people are able to 'reinvent' themselves when they leave their old high school environs and friends to go to college. Ahhhh, new places, new people, an almost blank slate to start over. Except for Ron and helping people, there is little of my old Kim Possible life experience that I really want to hang on to. Or am I just fixated on reclaiming my Ron because I practically threw him away? I wonder how this is gonna play out?'
"Dark dance!" Hana chanted, pulling her back into the here and now, "Happy dance!" The little girl turned in her seat to look behind her, "Bear dance too!"
Yori's cosplay zombie teddy bear was handed over the seat back and soon Hana and her 'dark sis' were playing dance party with the two plush toys. Even Rufus danced a little to the delight of the little girl. After the impromptu dancing of Rufus and the plush toys, Hana started a tea party with Kim, Rufus, and the two tired and thirsty plush dancers. To some extent, a little girl tea party was mostly the same in America as Japan and Kim decided that interacting with small children would definitely be something to carry forward into her new Raven persona.
STD 2018-
"Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. We're so glad..." Wade cut off the ringtone by hitting the answer button on his headset. [Bonus Old Guy points if you know why that is Mrs. Dr. P's ringtone on Wade's phone.]
"Mrs. Dr. Possible, I think Ron and Kim are in trouble! I panicked and cut off their comms thinking that would help them avoid capture, and now I can't reach them! I'm not seeing them on cameras or anything! It's been hours!"
"Wade, dear, slow down and take a breath. Tell me what you know and I'll tell you what I know, OK?"
"I saw that there was a Be On the Look Out warrant issued for Kim around noon. It looked like some kind of secret agency was involved, so I destroyed their Kimmunicators and sent the 'go to cover' message on their cellphones, then destroyed those. I was afraid that the bad guys would find them using their comms. I figured that I would intercept them sooner or later on security cameras and could get new comms to them somehow."
"You left them without comms and without backup?" Wade cringed from the disapproval in her voice.
"I panicked! I'm sorry! But I think that Yori is with them, so they should have some support from, uh, the, uh, people that Yori works with."
"Would that be the Yamanouchi Ninja School? I was just talking to their Master Sensei and he claims that they will be on a plane to Japan by breakfast time tomorrow."
The relief in their young tech support's voice was a real, living thing.
"That's, that's good. I was afraid that my screwup had gotten them into danger." There was a trace of tears in the young man's voice.
"Listen to me. There is entirely too much failure going on around here. And it is not just you. But all that stops right now, do you hear me?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I want you to put 24/7 tracking on my sons, James, the Possibles and if you see anybody that you can identify as part of this Yamanouchi place, I want them protected also. Get on the networks, the public networks please, I don't want your mom to be bailing you out of jail. Get on the networks and try to find threats before they hit us, Bonnie Rockwaller said that she thinks her uncle Derrick Duhei might have something to do with that warrant out on Kim. Master Sensei thought that he works for a really bad bunch, so be careful and don't mess with them directly. The boys and I are probably going to Japan in a couple of days. That's pretty much all I know."
STD 2018-
(Time: Saturday night, Prom + 15)
The injured side of Ron's face ached. In all the hustle today, he had forgotten his pain medications, strong ibuprofen really, and he was 'chasing the pain' instead of being ahead of it. The pills he had taken should start to work in about 30 minutes, at least enough to go to sleep. The standard sleepwear for tonight was declared to be gym shorts and tee-shirts, his parents had checked them into a large suite at the airport hotel.
The plan was that they would put Kim and Ron on the plane in the morning and the rest would drive back to Middleton. His parents still had to supervise movers putting things into storage before they could join them in Japan.
After a quiet dinner in the hotel's restaurant, the teens were taking turns showering and getting ready for bed. His parents claimed the bedroom in the suite and the rest of them had the living room with its king bed and a foldout sofa, "You kids figure it out," was the guidance from his parents as they left for a walk with Hana before bed.
Yori had been first out of the shower, barefoot and wearing only a long tee shirt, she dramatically flopped backward onto the king bed declaring, "Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty, we are free at last," while massaging her abused bosom.
Wanda said, in Japanese, "I see that you chose to end your shower with very cold water, did you wish for your friend to admire that freedom?"
Yori promptly rolled over, displaying an athletic, curved posterior, as she grabbed a pillow to hurl at her teammate's head causing the taller Ninja to snort in laughter (and still in Japanese), "You seem to be displaying many of your charms tonight, little sister."
Ron thought that he almost understood her Japanese, the meaning of her words barely eluding him. He could practically visualize the words swirling around him, taunting him at the edge of his consciousness.
He became aware of Kim glaring at him,
"What!?" he asked her, looking at Rufus for confirmation. The little mole rat shrugged its shoulders, looking just as puzzled as he felt.
"It's not polite to stare, perhaps they can explain it to you," She stormed into the bathroom for her shower.
Wanda walked over, putting one hand on the undamaged side of his face to turn it so she could see his eyes, "You were staring Ronnie-chan, not that you could help but look at such a shameless exhibition of Yori-chan's many charms." Blocking a second thrown pillow with her other hand, she continued, "But it appeared that your eyes were unseeing. What happened?"
"It was like I could almost understand what you were saying to Yori, the Japanese words seemed to dance around in my head and taunt me with their meaning. Probably just need the painkillers to kick in."
"Maybe so. I will use the other bathroom for my shower, I will leave you so you may stare at Yori's salacious displays undisturbed." Gathering up her shower things, she left the bedroom. Yori bounced one last pillow off the door as Wanda closed it behind her.
Alone with the blond, she said, "My apologies, Ron-san, I truly did not intend to tease you." 'That's not a total lie,' she told herself.
"That's a pity, your charms are a wonder to behold... I'm going to fill up the ice bucket, be back in a minute."
STD 2018-
Wade walked into his computer area in the basement. He was stunned to find a young woman sitting in his guest computer chair watching him. All the manuals and printouts that had been in that chair were neatly stacked on the floor out of the way.
"Hello Wade, I am Suzie Chen. I represent Master Sensei and wish to make you an offer."
"What kind of offer?"
"Mrs. Dr. Possible said that you often work alone. Since Ron and Kim are on their way to Japan, she was concerned that you wouldn't have any help or backup in case you needed it."
"I haven't needed any help so far!"
"Yes, but in a pinch, Ron and Kim would be here to rescue you should you need that. Or just be available in case you only need someone to talk to. But now they are in Japan. A Ninja of Yamanouchi may be in dire straits with alligators biting on his butt, but do you know what he is not?"
"Uh, no?"
"A Ninja is never alone Wade. Mrs. Dr. Possible suggested that we talk to you."
"You want me to be a Ninja?" the young man laughed and dropped into his computer chair.
"I think the American expression is 'Come to the dark side. We have cookies.'"
"I don't think Mom would let me go to Japan. And Ron told me about the morning runs..."
"Not all Ninjas are physical athletes. Let me put you in contact with a potential teammate and you can discuss it with her. Just talk, for now, no commitment yet."
"Yet?"
"Part of your team may need to move here so they can work at your side. That can be decided later. Are you willing to talk to them?"
"Sure, how do I contact them?"
"Call this number on the Viper app. I will use my cellphone to authenticate your computer."
Wade started up the app, dialed the number and a barcode appeared on the screen. Suzie held up her cellphone so the camera could 'see' the barcode and a young woman appeared on the screen,
"Hai, this is Katsumi, how may I help you?"
Suzie scooted over so the camera would pick her up,
"Ohayou, this is Mr. Wade Load, tech master of Team Possible, Wade, this is Miss Katsumi Cullen of our research section. She will provide you with the airline flights that Ron and Kim will be taking tomorrow. She can also assist you in getting new comms gear to them assuming you have them ready."
"They're ready now and packaged up, Katsumi, where are they taking off from tomorrow?"
"San Diego, Wade-sama, their flight information is..." she paused to type a query into her computer.
"It's just Wade, Katsumi-san" Wade added the '-san' at the prompting of his guest.
Seeing the two were busy coordinating details, Suzi laughed to herself, 'My work here is done,' slipping off to say goodbye to Wade's mother and then to the Possible house for a late dinner.
STD 2018-
The bathroom opened and Raven/Kim walked out. "OK, it's all yours. A shower goes pretty fast when you can't get your hair wet for three days."
"KP, I didn't mean to stare, I..."
"That's OK, I overreacted. It's not like your tongue was hanging out. Do you need any help with your wound? I can help you if you'd like."
"Nah, thanks, but it's still pretty gross."
"Hey, I changed Jamie's diaper that time he was sick and pooping in Technicolor."
"Yeah, don't remind me. How about let's not ruin the mystery about the man behind the mask?"
The two young women watched the blond grab some clothes out of his bag and duck into the bathroom.
"Could I ask a favor?"
"Certainly Kim-san."
"They used this to lighten my skin tone," stripping off her tee-shirt, "and they didn't do all my body. Can you help me get rid of this negative-suntan look?" She held out a jar of some kind of ointment. Rolling her eyes and also holding out a pair of latex gloves, she added, "It's supposed to be non-toxic and hypoallergenic..."
"Certainly, lay on this towel." Starting to even out the goth girl's skin color by rubbing the substance into darker areas, she continued, "Do you really think this is necessary for your disguise? It seems a little extreme to me. Particularly as your natural color will return in a week or two."
"It's a mental thing. If I really want to leave Kim behind and become Raven, I need to look in the mirror and see Raven. At least for a few days."
"Why do you want to leave Kim behind? Kim Possible is a good person. Is it for your safety? I believe that no one will be able to take you away once you get to Yamanouchi."
"Kim abandoned a friend and then had to kill two people to make up for not being where the world needed her to be."
"Roll over please so I can do your backside, your front looks pretty even now. But Ron-san does not blame you and you did what you had to do to save thousands of lives. If not from death itself, you saved them from losing their homes, their livelihoods. Conquering the world is never as clean as the movies and supervillains imagine it will be."
"No, it's not, but Kim has this mentality that if she doesn't save the world, then nobody will save it. In the long run, the world is doomed and she'll run herself ragged for nothing.
"Forgot my antibiotic..." a towel wrapped blond dashed from the bathroom to his bags, "Not looking! Not looking!"
"Oh, so Yori's boobs and butt are fascinating, but mine offend you?!"
He pulled a bottle out of a bag and walked closer to the bed, "No! You have a great butt! And I can't see your boobs, but I know they have to be great too. Oh! Water's running, got to go..." The naked girl felt a light slap on her butt just before he quickly retreated back into the bathroom.
"Did he just smack my butt!" the outrage was ruined by laughter.
"It was not I, Kim-san."
Wanda walked in to find the two girls, one naked and stretched out on a towel, laughing.
"What did I miss?"
STD 2018-
Figuring that he needed to lay low for a bit, he took his time after his shower caring for the still healing areas covered by his ceramic mask.
Walking into the bedroom he found Yori and Wanda had taken the foldout couch because while he was in the shower, his parents had returned from their walk with a tired and very bossy Hana who decided that she was going to sleep 'with the big kids' and specifically that meant between her new brother and her new 'dark sis'.
Sliding into the bed, he found Hana and Rufus sound asleep in the middle and Kim was on her side facing the wall. He hoped that she wasn't still angry at him, why the heck had he done that? For now, his painkillers had caught up, he was tired and ready to sleep. Curling up on his side, he placed his hand on Hana, comforted by the steady rise and fall of her body as his new little sister breathed.
"'Night, little Sweetie, he whispered to his little sister.
"Ii yume yoku mite ne, Ronnie-chan," Yori said softly.
"Yoku nemure, Ronnie-chan, " Wanda whispered.
"Sweet dreams, Ronnie-chan," Kim snickered.
STD 2018-
(Time: Sunday morning, Prom + 16)
Rufus raced down the deserted, narrow, hot, dark tunnels. Stopping to sniff, he didn't smell his brothers and sisters, but the foul, acrid scent of danger. A danger with scales and fangs was approaching the blue glow that marked the location of his two-legged brother. He gathered himself to fling his body into battle with one of his most deadly natural enemies. A seemingly familiar darkness flowed up behind him, passing him on its way to intercept the danger. A glowing blue insect walked along the ceiling above him, "Let the darkness handle this danger, you must remain and guard your two-legged brother's queens and his new sister. Trust it with your two-legged brother, it will not fail him again." Rufus reached up and grabbed the insect, popping it into his mouth. As he chewed the crunchy prophetic treat, he considered its words.
"Rufus? Rufus sweetie, time to get up," Mrs. Stoppable gave the little guy a gentle shake. She had seen him twitching in his sleep, 'I guess mole rats dream,' she thought.
Rufus stretched and looked around. Wanda had dressed in Kim's black dress from yesterday, Kim had put on black jeans, black sneakers, and a shirt with a graphic of a grinning feline sitting on a gravestone with the caption, 'Don't trust the cat'. Both were helping stuff Yori back into her dress with the black and white ruffles.
"Where Ron, 'Ana?" he squeaked.
"They're in the bedroom watching 'Morning Dance with the Flippies'. Why don't you tell them that the girls are nearly ready for breakfast"
"Kay!" the little naked mole rat hopped out of her hands, on to the bed, then down to the floor and ran into the next room. He was going to have to tell Ron that he was staying here with Hana. He hoped that Ron wouldn't be too hurt by that decision.
STD 2018-
(Time: Sunday Noon, Prom + 16)
'Raven' was waiting for the wide-body airliner to take off on its way to Japan. Part of her desire to reinvent herself was to help her focus on important things. Right now, her main goal was to talk to Ron about the two of them without interruption. Just to talk. How hard could that be?
Wanda had offered to help get her past airport security with her gun, but she had declined the offer. That was fortunate because as the forces of darkness were her witness, she just might shoot the next person that interrupted them if she had her gun. First, Ron was interrupted when the Judge found them and told them about the "Be On the Look Out" thing. Then there was the whole sneak out of town in disguise thing with the ride to the hotel in the Stoppable's van with Hana insisting that 'dark sister' ride with her. No time at dinner and even sleeping in the same bed didn't provide privacy because Hana was sleeping between them and two Ninjas with preternatural hearing were only a few feet away.
They were all surprised that Rufus wouldn't come with them but insisted on staying with Ron's mom and Hana. She swore that she caught the little guy staring at her several times that morning at breakfast. Still, the lack of Rufus had to make getting Ron alone to talk easier, right?
The first leg of their flight, a short hop to San Diego, consisted of an hour with a baby in front of them throwing its bottle and/or pacifier over the seat at them.
The second leg from San Diego nonstop to Japan looked promising, they miraculously didn't have anyone near them with a baby or even a child and all their neighbors looked happy to sit with headphones on and watch the in-flight movie.
After takeoff, she settled back and was checking the music that Wade had loaded onto her new Kimmunicator. They had both found a small package with 'Ron and Raven' scrawled on it tucked into the pocket of the seat backs in front of them. Wade's reputation with the pair grew stronger than ever when they opened the packages and found new Kimmunicators keyed to their fingerprints.
The plane was bustling with activity, snacks and beverages were being served and their neighbors all looked too alert for them to have the quiet discussion she wanted.
STD 2018-
Several hours into the flight, the snacks and beverages had been served and cleaned up and the cabin lights were dimmed to encourage people to nap.
Kim checked her surroundings. They were in a wide-body jet and their seats were the two seats between the side of the plane and the aisle between their two seats and the set of five seats together in the center section. The people in front, behind, and across the aisle from them were watching movies or trying to sleep. More importantly, they all had headphones on, so as long as they spoke quietly, they had privacy.
"Ronnie, you awake?" Kim folded up the armrest and scooted over next to the blond.
"Sure, uh... Am I still supposed to call you KP?"
"It wouldn't be good for my cover," she thought for a moment. "How about you use 'Raven' for now, OK?"
"OK, let's see... RM doesn't roll off the tongue like KP, how about I call you Rave?"
"That's fine, now..."
"Maybe Ravie-baby or..."
"Don't push it!"
"OK, Raven," in the dim light, she saw a touch of his goofy grin. Between that and the little swat on the butt last night, she was sure that she could fix this. That she could get him as 'more than a friend'. All that was left to it was to do it. Of course, she had to find out his reasons why it wouldn't work.
"Can we finish the conversation we started before we ran into the Judge?"
"You mean the one where I was explaining what I want to be to you if not your friend?"
"Yup, that's the one. You up to it?"
"I think so. Well, realistically, I..."
"Stop right there. Don't worry about realism just yet, tell me what you want and then we can discuss how reality messes with it."
"OK, give me a sec..." He thought for an uncomfortably long minute before continuing, "I guess it is accurate to say that I'd like to grow into being your boyfriend, but realistically..." pale fingers clamped his lips shut.
"Never mind reality just yet, what does being my boyfriend mean to you? What would you expect?"
Closing his eyes to visualize, "Well, lots of time like this, you snuggled up to me, talking and maybe... you know, growing into other stuff. Knowing that you'd always be there for me. Knowing that I'd have a permanent place in your heart."
"And that evil reality whispers in your ear and it says?"
"That you'd find someone better, That I'd walk in one day and discover you in the arms of some guy better than me."
"You think I'd cheat on you?"
"It wouldn't be so much cheating..." he murmured, thinking about his words. "But it wouldn't be hard for you to find someone more attractive than me on many levels. If that were to happen, it would be over, wouldn't it?"
Barely able to keep her voice down, she hissed, "I can't believe that you think I'd toss you aside for a pretty face! Did I ever even flirt with anyone else when I was dating Josh? Or Eric? And what about you? I saw you checking out little Miss Ninja showing off her boobs and..." Her increasing level of outrage was quenched by the soft, cool touch of smooth leather running along the arm she had draped over Ron's shoulder. Looking up, she found herself looking into the face of a snake with an almost iridescent purple body shining in the dim light with a copper-colored chin and lower face.
STD 2018-
CREDITS
All characters are the property of the Disney Company. This is a work of fan fiction.
Judge Horace Q. Snobblestone and his wife, Eunice along with Suzie Chin(Subira Chen) and her partner in Ninja-hood Wanda Wang are all from Sentinel103 and his Once Again stories.
Authors Note Thanks to CajunBear73, Daccu65, and Sentinel103 for basically being beta readers, editors, and sanity checkers. Believe me, I need a lot of sanity checks. This chapter was a blast to work on because of the input and edits I got from all three of these authors. Thanks!
I prefer to answer comments directly instead of in the story itself, however,
I will admit that Uberscribbler's comment on "What happened to Wade?" got me to add Wade in.
Zzzoo99 asked about Shego's brothers. Damn, didn't think about that... Might be able to at least work in a cameo.
Never, ever name a character 'Katsumi'. I pulled it of the name generator list in Scrivener and then after using it in chapters I published, I needed a last name. I Google search almost all my character names to make sure they aren't famous (or infamous) people. I could not find a Japanese surname that didn't get hits when combined with Katsumi. Ended up with Cullen before I didn't see hits. Now I've got to remember that she has an Irish ancestor in there somewhere.