He should have known better. He had done something stupid, taken on more than he was ready to handle and he was paying the price. Hours of torture had left him exhausted and now his torturer had become his interrogator, demanding key information. Ron held his head up, outwardly defying the hulking brute to do his worst while, inside, cringing at what the wrong answer would bring.
"When executing this play," Barkin rumbled. "Who picks up the blitzing linebacker and who's the hot receiver?"
"I've got the blitzer," Ron gasped. "The tight end cuts his route."
"Correct," the big man nodded, to Ron's immense relief. "Hit the shower."
Ron trotted off of the field, deciding, and not for the first time, to have a long, long talk with Felix about his great idea of Ron attending football camp. The first two weeks had been pure agony although, if he really thought about it, the week at Yamanouchi had been worse. Well, worse on the physical side, the hazing here had been worse.
Fukushima had been crueler than any of his fellow campers, but he had been the only one out to humiliate the outsider. Here, while none of the individual teens attending the camp could quite match the arrogant Japanese student, collectively they outdid him. The other teens, as well as being bigger than Ron, had been playing for years and knew the game. This camp was just polishing them up to hopefully shine enough to get into a college program. Ron knew nothing other than what he overheard while being the Mad Dog and it showed.
At first, the other boys seemed to be divided between two factions: The first wanted to drive him out of the camp because he was tying down the coaches' time. This camp was supposed to be polishing high school players to a point beyond what most high school players had achieved, not teaching a newb the basics. On the other hand, the other group seemed to want to keep him around because he absorbed quite a bit of the coaches' ire and wrath. He only stuck with the program because the alternative was sitting around the house and fuming that she was spending all of her time with it.
Contrary to his earlier beliefs, video games actually got boring when that was the only thing that you had to do. With the school year over, missions not taking place and Felix working a job at the Space Center, Ron didn't have much to do except play video games. While he got to the point that he could actually challenge Felix during their gaming sessions, he started to get really sick of them. When the football camp started, he joined up...honestly shocked that Barkin let him in. Then, another of his earlier beliefs wound up being disproved.
After a couple of weeks, he started to take both an interest and pride in what he was doing.
The first couple of weeks were the roughest; he didn't know even the basics...heck, he didn't even know how to put on some of the equipment. However, he quickly proved to be not only faster than anyone else on the field, he had incredible reflexes when it came to avoiding violence directed his way. At first it wasn't easy...the helmet restricted his vision...but he quickly learned to put his head on a pivot. Then, he learned the basics of blocking and tackling and everyone, himself included, learned that he was actually quite strong. With every passing day, more of his fellow attendees were losing some of their scorn and starting to look forward to having him on the same team come that fall.
As he showered and got dressed he was forced to admit that one of Kim's cheerleader workouts was probably just as rough as the workout he had just endured. He knew for a fact that the Yamanouchi workouts had been harder, but it didn't mean that he enjoyed working out like this. Still, he had to admit that it did a good job of giving him something to do and was putting him in the best shape of his life. Finished with his after-workout hygiene, as well as his thoughts, he headed home at a trot.
He had started taking an alternate route home from the school. It was a longer route, giving him sights and letting him see people that he wasn't used to. He steadfastly refused to admit to himself that he took this route to avoid all of the familiar places that he and Kim used to hang out...and that he saw Kim hanging out with Eric during his first week of football camp. The longer route home gave him variety and a good post-workout stretch, that was the reason, and he refused to think about it any more.
"Y'know it's not going to do any good."
A familiar voice behind him reminded him of a downside of this route; passing relatively close to the Rockwaller household.
"Ah, Bon-Bon," he plastered a false smile on his face and turned to see the irritating brunette, on a bicycle, sneering at him. "Thank you so much to come out here and correct me. Now, could you do me a favor and tell me what it is that I'm trying to do, and why whatever I'm doing won't work?"
"You think you're fooling me?" She snorted at him. "You're trying to get her back. You think that if you make yourself into some sort of jock, she'll forget about that thing and come running back to you." She shook her head at him. "That's what's not going to work. That thing might be artificial, but it's hot and you're not. Face it, Stoppable, you're never going to be anything more than an afterthought to her. She's already moved on and you're gonna finish off Middleton High all on your lonesome."
"You really think that's what this is all about?" Ron struggled to understand the brunette's line of reasoning. "You really think that I'm trying to get her back?" Now, it was his turn to shake his head. "News flash, Bon-Bon, there's life after high school and since you eliminated the mascot position, I'm without an extracurricular activity. If I'm going to avoid gym class and get into a college, I'm going to have to show that I do something more than play video games all day."
"Try to tell yourself that," Bonnie instructed him. "Let me tell you how this is going to go down. You're good, Stoppable; I've watched that football camp since before I was a freshman. It's how I spotted Brick before he became a star. You're not going to ride the bench, you'll be a starter and even a star. You'll make some noise on the football field but you're not going to get what you want. You want Possible but you're never going to be what she wants. You've already set yourself up as a loser and no matter what you do, no matter how well you do it, the loser is always going to come through."
"It sounds like you want me to quit the team before I even get on it," Ron pointed out. "Care to tell me why?"
"Oh, I don't mind if you get on the team," she told him. "In fact, if you want to, you will. I just don't want you messing with the squad."
"Mess with the squad?" He was perplexed. "How can I mess with the squad? I'm off of it, in case you forgot."
"I didn't forget," she rolled her eyes. "Let's cut to the chase here. You have skill and potential, I'll give you that, but you're still a loser. Now, if you hadn't been sleeping through Barkin's history lessons you would have remembered a story about this Hannibal guy. One of his generals told him that he knew how to win a victory, but he didn't know how to use it. That's you, Stoppable."
"Not getting the connection, Bon-Bon," Ron admitted. "And by the way, the guy who told Hannibal that was named Maharbal."
"The point is that you actually have the tools to be on the food chain," Bonnie told him. "You help Possible on her missions and she's famous for them. If you knew what you were doing you would have turned that into having girls all over the world wanting you, but you don't know what you're doing. You're still a loser. Football isn't going to be any different. You're going to make the team, make the varsity and get some major statistics behind your name; but you're still going to be a loser. It won't get Possible back."
"First of all, that's not the reason I'm playing," Ron pointed out. "And secondly, there's no 'getting her back'. She was never mine in the first place."
"You know what I mean," Bonnie rolled her eyes again.
"Okay, here's a question coming back at you," Ron told her. "Why do you even care? You're not my friend, you're not out to do me any favors and you don't much care for Kim, either. Even if I was playing football to get her back, wouldn't you like to sit back and watch me crash and burn?"
"Yeah," she shrugged her shoulders. "That would be fun, but you might do some damage on the way. You see, Stoppable, some of the girls on the squad think I gave you a raw deal by dropping the mascot. Tara's still kind of sweet on you and Crystal thinks you're an okay guy. Now, if you become a star, one of them might just forget what a loser you are and when you flame out with Possible, she might decide to pick up the pieces. The only problem is, you're a loser and that will come through once the season is over. I don't need my girls getting shook up, or bringing down the rest of us by dating a loser."
"So why not just tell me to keep off the team?" He asked.
"Because you're good," she told him. "I know football, I've been cheerleading since middle school. You could push the team to make a run for the state tournament and that will mean a lot more exposure for the squad, and me."
"You know, I think I finally figured out your problem," Ron told her, as the realization suddenly hit him.
"I don't have a problem, Stoppable."
"Yeah you do," Ron told her. "You're hot and you've decided that's all you need to be. Because of that, you've decided that anything any guy does is to get a hot girl, because that puts you it the center of the world. You're like some sort of political or social activist, who thinks that everything as to do with your cause. Since you want every guy in the world to do everything he does to get a hot girl, you've decided that everything every guy in the world is to land himself a hottie. News flash, I didn't go on missions with Kim to get her or any other girl, I don't play video games to get a girlfriend, I wasn't the Mad Dog to get a girl and I'm not playing football to get a girl. I want to avoid gym class and do something that will look good on a college application. End of story."
"Whatever," she rolled her eyes again. "Look, Stoppable, just keep away from my squad and we'll be fine."
"Trust me Bon-Bon, I have no intention of getting anywhere near you," he answered, with complete sincerity.
"Then why are you talking to me?"
"Because you approached me and initiated the conversation."
"Fine," she sighed. "Just remember the conversation. Remember your place and you won't get bruised when you try to climb up the food chain and fall back down."
Bonnie rode off before Ron could come up with a reply for that...not that he really had a reply. Instead, he thought about what she had told him. No, he wasn't trying to get Kim, or any other girl for that matter, by playing football. He also never intended to get Kim, or any other girl, by helping Kim on her missions. However, he had to admit that he really should have gotten something out of all of the effort. It's not that he expected payment but there should have been...something else. He struggled to put his finger on just what he wanted for the rest of his walk home.
As luck would have it, shortly after getting home, he got a call. Not a phone call; that would have been too normal. Instead, his computer came to life and showed Wade's image on the monitor.
"Ron," the young genius told him. "Kim took a mission against Dementor and it's not going well for her. She really needs backup."
"What can I do that Eric can't?" Ron asked him. "Aren't synthodrones stronger and more agile than people?"
"Eric isn't with her," Wade told him. "She needs help."
"Whoa, Eric won't help her?" Ron was getting more irritated by the moment.
"It wasn't that he isn't willing," Wade told him. "It's a condition of his release, he's not allowed to go on these missions. There's some question that he might have hidden subroutines in his programming that will override his current behavior."
"And the Possibles let him in their home," Ron grumbled.
"That, and synthodrones have a weakness," Wade told him. "Even a minor cut will kill him."
"You realize that I'm not bulletproof, either?" Ron asked.
"Ron, now's not the time for this," Wade insisted. "Now, are you willing to take a quick assist to help her, or are you going to just leave her and leave me trying to find someone else to help her?"
"Fine, I'm going," Ron growled. "When's pickup and where am I going?"
"No pickup necessary," Wade told him. "It's at Bueno Nacho. I'll brief you on the way."
"Okay," Ron agreed, sprinting to the door. "But we're going to have a long talk when this is done."
She should hate this little creature. Bringing this child into the world had required her to deceive and manipulate the Chosen One, then had cost the life of her friend. Now, caring for this child took several hours of each day; time that could have been spent honing her skills, improving her conditioning or even relaxing. Not to mention, her position as a caretaker meant that there were no more missions to thwart the evils that the Yakuza were inflicting on the world. For these reasons and more, she should hate the child.
However, Hana was incredibly, overwhelmingly, almost nauseatingly cute.
It wasn't just that she looked adorable, even though that was enough. She acted adorable, as well. While her other caretakers spent more time, collectively, with the infant, Yori was the one who spent the most individual time and it was showing. When Yori arrived after her daily training, the little girl squealed in delight, waving her arms in greeting.
Yori's resolve to remain professional, efficient and aloof hadn't lasted the first day.
Would the child have affected her as much if she were a man? Yori didn't care; she was quickly smitten with the infant and enjoyed spending time with her. Hana was developing faster than a child should, so it was vital that this development be guided and encouraged. The best way to do this was to find ways that entertained the little girl and she responded to this encouragement with affection and delight. Yori couldn't help herself; she found herself rejoicing at Hana's little triumphs.
Today they were playing with a simple toy; a ball with various shapes cut into the sides and toys corresponding to those shapes. At this age, Hana should be only now be able to grasp the toys and bring them to her mouth to feel. However, she was able, with much trial and error, to fit the appropriate toys into the proper openings. She had been at it for over an hour and crowed with delight every time she got it right.
It should have gotten boring by now, but the little girl's enthusiasm was contagious. Yori couldn't help but encourage her.
Yet, all good things come to an end. Yori was reaching then end of her time to watch and care for the child and Hana was growing weary. Yori gently took the toy away from the infant, which prompted pouting from the child.
"It's alright, Hana," Yori gently chided her. "You will be able to play with this tomorrow."
Hana was too young to understand the words, but she seemed to understand the meaning. Her pouting stopped and she reached up her arms to be picked up.
"Soon, you will be walking," Yori told her. "With assistance, of course. I predict that I will have a very sore back from walking bent over, helping you develop your legs."
Hana giggled and patted her face, bringing a smile to the ninja's face. The little girl remained in a good mood through her bottle, then her bath. She was yawning widely...and adorably...when Yori placed her in her crib.
"Good night, little Han," she murmured to the girl. "You might have a great and vital destiny to fulfill but for now, remain an adorable child for as long as you can."
Yori did not know if Hana could understand the sentiment in this statement, as the child was already asleep. Smiling, she tucked a blanket over her charge and turned to slide as silently as possible from the room, only to see Master Sensei observing her. The old man gestured with his head for her to follow him.
"I see that you have gained affection for your charge," Sensei noted, once they were out of Hana's room.
"Indeed, master," she admitted. "I did not see this as being against my instructions."
"Quite the contrary," he noted. "I had hoped that you would forge a bond with the child, and she with you."
"May I inquire as to why?" Yori decided to try and satisfy her curiosity.
"I am not a father," Sensei told her. "I know little of raising a child from infancy to adolescence. However, all with whom I spoke have told me that children grow best when treated with love. Yet, even that is not the only reason."
"Master?"
"I am manipulating both you and her," Sensei admitted. "So I let you know at this time. There is a saying that a soldier will fight if he hates that which is in front of him, but he will fight harder if he loves that which is behind him. The Han's destiny is not always victorious and triumphant; there will be dark times and hard choices to make."
"So you wish me to come to love her, so that I will willingly sacrifice myself, if needed?" Yori asked him. "Or do you wish her to come to love me, so that she will sacrifice herself, to save me?"
"Neither...yet both," he told her. "I, like my predecessors before me, ran the Yamanouchi school with discipline, honor and logic. I, like my predecessors, sought to eliminate emotion from myself and my students; to instill a sense of honor in our actions and the logic of sacrifice for a greater goal. I have come to question this, to consider that affection may instill a sense of sacrifice beyond that which honor and logic can." A slight smile showed through his mustache. "If affection for her friend and peer could bring one of my prize students to risk the wrath of her master by questioning him while drunk, perhaps sisterly affection can prompt her to even more determination in pursuit of her goals."
Yori tried to keep the shock from showing on her face, but was pretty sure that she failed.
"I freely admit to taking solace in spirits when great tragedies or great triumphs present themselves," he was now smiling openly. "But I have never become so inebriated that I forgot where I was or whom was with me."
She chose to not point out that his inebriation had once allowed a couple of mutated gorillas to kidnap him.
"Your plan to obtain information from me was flawed," he continued. "So we must work on it before you attempt it upon one of Yamanouchi's foes."
"Yes, master," she bowed humbly.
"But your motivation was strong," he continued. "You were determined to learn more of your friend's condition before taking action. Once you realized that there was no hope for her, you did what you knew to be right. That is why you weren't punished for your acts. I have no intention of crushing such initiative and determination; I will redirect and refine it."
"A ninja needs to know when to discard honor and be as ruthless as our foes," he concluded. "You have shown a willingness to do this, with sufficient motivation. We will now teach you how to do this more effectively."
Ron's bad mood had been getting worse through the whole afternoon. It was bad enough that he had to go off on a mission, still fatigued after his workout. It was worse when he found out that Kim had been taking missions with no backup. The final straw had been when Kim refused to talk to him after the mission. She just left, without as much as a thank you, and said that they would communicate later on. Well, now was later on. He was sitting in his room again, with his computer monitor in split screen mode. One half of the screen showed Wade and the other half showed Kim. She was sitting in her room, occasionally glancing away from the screen.
He could just about guess who it was that she was occasionally looking at.
"Okay, let's get this straight," He told the other two. "It all started with Dementor stealing an ultrasonic drill."
"That's not important, Ron," Kim interrupted his rant.
"I think it is," he shot back. "And if the two of you don't want me disconnecting this whole conversation, you'll humor me just a little. So, what was his plan with it?"
"Kind of vague," Kim admitted. "He dropped a to-do list in the lab when he stole it. 'Steal ultrasonic drill, break into underground lab, call mother, conquer the world'."
"That is kind of a big jump," Ron agreed. "Let's forget the 'call mother' bit for a moment. Does anyone know how he intended to go from breaking into the lab to conquering the world?"
"Not a clue," Wade answered. "There weren't any weapons or high powered machinery in that lab."
"Okay, let's set that one to the side for a moment," Ron said. "So Kim took on him and the henchmen, using the battle-suit, and it steamed him off to no end."
"Correct," Wade confirmed. "That's when he set up a trap...or to be more accurate...the precursor to a trap. He contacted me with a fake call for a cat stuck in a tree. This lured Kim into a house full of traps and diagnostic equipment. Kim got the better of him but he escaped again and we hadn't realized that he had performed a detailed scan of the suit."
"So then he made his move," Ron finished.
"Yes," Wade answered. "Kim and...er...Kim was at Bueno Nacho when Dementor attacked. He hacked her battle-suit and rendered her helpless before taking control of it and putting it on. I couldn't take control back, but I was able to fry all the systems in it. Still, Kim was out and Dementor would have been able to do pretty much anything he wanted to her before escaping with the suit. That's when you showed up."
"Yeah, I'm down with the rest of it," Ron told him. "He was doing a bit of monologging, so I got the gist of what happened before I got there." He rubbed his still sore knuckles. "So, without any weapons or henchmen, he wasn't much of an opponent. Now, how about some answers?"
"I guess," Wade looked a little uneasy about this and glanced towards where Ron was sure Kim's image was showing on the genius' screen."
"Okay, you're both dancing around the subject, but it's pretty clear to me that Eric was with Kim when Dementor attacked," Ron told them. "Why didn't he help her?"
"A condition of his release," Wade answered. "Like I told you before, he's required to get out of there whenever a super-villain shows up. It's a reasonable precaution; Dementor had hacked Kim's battle-suit and that was bad enough. What if he hacked Eric, as well?"
"Okay, that makes sense," Ron admitted. "Now, why did I get the silent treatment back at Bueno Nacho?"
"Because we aren't exactly on speaking terms right now," Kim answered. "I know that you're upset with me, so I'd rather make this request remotely, with Wade acting as a referee."
How had it come to this?
"Okay, that's reasonable," Ron nodded. "So what kind of a request are you making?"
"We need you to start going on missions again," Wade answered, when Kim hesitated. "Kim has taken a few and they haven't gone all that well. Somehow, she just performs better when you're with her."
Ron ground his teeth together so hard that he swore they would crack.
"I know you're upset with me," Kim repeated. "And I have no right to ask this of you, but it's bigger than you and me. We always filled a niche that law enforcement couldn't take care of. If we're not there, well, you've seen what some of the schemes that Drakken and Dementor came up with could have done."
Ron took a deep breath, then another. He followed that up with a third deep breath and kept taking them until he had taken ten.
"If you won't, I understand," Kim's eyes were downcast. "Or if you need more time to think..."
"I'll do it," he said.
"You will?" Kim suddenly looked back into the camera.
"You will?" Wade repeated, looking just as shocked.
"I will," Ron told them both. "But there's going to be some changes."
"Like what?" Kim asked.
"For one thing, equipment," Ron told them. "On the last mission, Kim was in a high-tech battle suit while I was in my khakis and shirt."
"Ron, the battle-suit is off line," Wade told him. "It took me years to just make one and I don't know how long it will take me to get it back on line. Even if I started working on one for you right now, it will be..."
"Okay, I understand the high-effort thing," Ron interrupted him. "But what about basic equipment? Kim goes out with a grappling hook, a laser cutter, knockout gas and a Kimmunicator. I go out with the clothes on my back and my cell phone in my pocket. The only time you guys even trusted me with a grapple gun was when we were stopping Junior from stealing the Tower of London from New Zealand."
A muffled question sounded from off the screen on Kim's side. She muttered that it was a long story and she would explain later, but Ron wasn't going to be deterred.
"After the mission, you took it right back," he told the two of them. "During the mission to rescue Sensei, we got dropped off of a waterfall! Kim had a grapple to use while I was left to just fall and hope for help. If I'm going on missions now, it's going to be as a real partner, and that means I'm equipped for the job."
"Okay, that makes sense," Wade nodded. "I can throw another set of mission gear together pretty quick."
"This next one might be a little more difficult," Ron continued. "I want some recognition."
"What brings this on?" Kim demanded. Ron was honestly glad to see that she had picked up some defiance in her tone.
"I had a talk with Bonnie today," Ron began.
"I don't need anything of her attitude on these mission," Kim snapped at him. "I was never in it for the fame."
"You never demanded it," Ron admitted. "But you sure got it."
"So, why do you want recognition?" Kim asked him. "Are you out for a fan club or a bunch of groupies?"
"No," Ron shook his head. "I'd like at least a little of the compensation that you get."
"Compensation?" Kim was both shocked and offended. "I've never taken money for helping people! You know that! The only thing I've ever asked for was a ride to the next mission."
"That's all you ever asked for," Ron pointed out. "But you sure got more than that. For one thing, even though you were only a Junior, you were getting offers for full ride scholarships at major universities. A little recognition would look really nice on my college applications."
"Bonnie told you that?" Kim looked skeptical.
"Not in so many words," Ron told her. "She was calling me a loser for nobody knowing me, even though I had been going on missions with you for years. But I think it's a good point. Heck, I didn't even get recognition for being the mad dog, even though I was probably the best mascot in the district. I always had the mask on, so nobody but the squad knew it was me."
"I can do this," Wade told him. "I'll make sure that I include your name in the press releases after the missions. That should help with college applications. Anything else?"
"Yeah," Ron answered. "How about mentioning me when the corporations, and even the mom-and-pop stores, offer things?"
"Is it that important?" Kim asked him.
"It is when you're on a limited budget," Ron answered. "Which both of us are. I know that you never had a corporate sponsor, but plenty of companies and people were willing to give you equipment. I'll admit that you shared a lot of it with me; the parachutes, the rappelling equipment and stuff like that. But you also got boots and other clothes. When my stuff got damaged, I had to either repair it or replace it myself. I'm not asking for a wardrobe, but a little help when it comes to replacing what gets shredded on missions would be nice."
"Okay, I can't make any promises," Wade told him. "But when I get the calls, I'll pass along the fact that you could use a little help replacing what the missions cost you. Is that all?"
"No," Ron told him. "There's one more thing. I'm attending football camp and I have a good chance of making the team this fall. I know that you passed on some minor missions when Kim had cheerleading activities...at least when you could. I want the same consideration."
"Is it that important?" Wade asked.
"Yeah," Ron told him. "Like I said before, I don't have much in the way of "extracurriculars", to get into college and I really didn't get any recognition for what I did when I was on the squad. This could be what gets me into college. I have to look out for my future."
"Well, all of this seems easy enough," Wade told him. "What do you think, Kim?"
"It makes sense to me," she answered. "I think we have a deal. I'll sign off now."
Without waiting for a response, she reached up to a point near the camera and her feed suddenly went dark.
"Ron, could we have a word?" Wade asked him.
"Sure," Ron shrugged. "What's on your mind?"
"I know that I can't understand the intricacies of the situation," the boy genius told him. "But I appreciate you stepping up like this. The two of you do some really good things for the world."
"Yeah, growing up can really bring some complications," Ron sighed. "Even if you're not all the way grown up yet."
"I'm not looking forward to puberty," Wade admitted. "I'd like to think that my intellect will keep me from doing anything foolish, but I kind of doubt it."
"Tell me about it," Ron told him. "Sometimes, growing up really sucks.
A/N: As always, my thanks to Joe Stoppinghem for his beta reading.