- Meet The Parents.
That night, Chuckie wasn't the only sleepless; Tommy, at his room, was staring at the ceiling, immerse on his thoughts and trying to digest what happened that day; in less than ten hours he, Angelica and Chuckie were captured by giant birds, held captive by a loon on parrot disguise, rescued by a cartoonish hero team and two teens with a naked rodent, found out they had secret powers, and returned home safely.
"I like action movies, but living them isn't as cool as thought." Tommy sighed as rubbing his forehead. Like most people, he had heard about Kim Possible, but always considered her and her missions simply as planned stunts used to promote so-called last fashion clothing or a coming action film or TV series, and the real emergencies, like the Diablos incident, to be actually handled by the army and just using Kim as a promo girl or something; realizing she and the dangers she faced alongside Ron were quite real was almost as surprising as him becoming a super-charged living battery.
The explanation Wade, Kim's friend, gave to everyone through the girl's communicator didn't help as much as Tommy expected, at least to calm down his nerves. According to the techno genius (who, weirdly enough, was barely Chuckie's age), a piece of the comet that granted Team Go its powers broke when still at the atmosphere, and, out of many possible impact sites, fell right at the park where Tommy had spent a lot of his life since babyhood, probably being responsible of destroying a game (according to an old note from a local newspaper Wade found), this being the reason why the rock didn't leave a crater when impacting, simply bouncing or breaking into smaller pieces that dispersed around the game. Being just a baby back then, Tommy, just like Chuckie and Angelica, couldn't remember the exact moment when found the rock that gave them the powers, but, apparently, since he and his companions weren't directly impacted, these abilities didn't get activated immediately, the heat and stress generated by the crash being the catalysts that made them manifest on Team Go's members shortly after being hit and causing them to get odd skin coloration as well, except on Hego's case, who only had his hair's color changed while his siblings' skins got a slight tone according to each one's glow color; it was a slight relief for Tommy that his skin was normal, as well as Chuckie and Angelica's; the boy chuckled slightly when the image of his cousin resembling Lisa Simpson popped in his mind.
Without Aviarius' intervention, the powers might have remained at a minor level forever, especially since only a very specific tracking device could detect the minimal energy they had before being attacked by the staff; Aviarius already had tracked Team Go's members once, but his data got destroyed or confiscated by authorities last time he got captured, so needed another lecture of the heroes' energy to calibrate his equipment and find other people affected by the same comet; apparently, the criminal, despite his craziness, was smart enough to deduce or, at least, considerate the possibility of more than one comet's fragment falling on Earth and granting powers to some other people.
Tommy looked at his hand, and concentrated a little bit to produce a minimal spark, just to convince him self again that this wasn't a dream. The comet granted him the ability to absorb and manipulate electricity, both from environment and from machines, plus generating it, this surely explaining his recent video camera's problems; from early age, Tommy dreamed with becoming a film director, and even made amateur films once in a while, gaining certain reputation at school and even minor awards at local festivals, but lately he couldn't work properly since at times the camera got affected by magnetic interference, or the battery got drained faster than usual.
Of course, this finally explained why Chuckie had been having insomnia for the last weeks; his power was enhanced healing speed due his cells getting repaired, replaced, or strengthened far faster and more effectively than a regular person's (even re-assembling broken bones the right way), therefore needed less time to recover strength and his body worked fine with few rest. Aside the insomnia thing, it seemed his power caused Chuckie's hair to get a more orangish tone over the years, something Tommy, out of curiosity, actually had noticed when looking at some old pictures and compared them to recent ones, being obvious that his friend's hair used to be a live red tone when he was a baby, and as he grew up got more orange on it, something people would attribute to the sun de-coloring it, or an accident Chuckie had with some dye several years ago.
For Angelica, who Tommy was sure was sleepless as well, the flight ability came from a gravity-repulsion aura; basically, it had a wave length contrary to Earth's gravity, allowing the girl to separate herself from ground, and being somehow linked to her brain waves she was capable of changing direction, speed and height. The girl didn't have major consequences on her daily life before the power's manifestation, aside her hair becoming slightly brighter.
"Tommy, are you awake?" Dil's whisper took Tommy out from his thinking.
"Yes; you couldn't sleep, uh?"
"How could I? Not everyday your brother becomes a superhero." Dil entered the room, sitting at the bed. Tommy sighed and sat as well.
"I have powers, Dil, but no, I'm not a superhero, just a guy who woke up as a regular boy, and went to bed having tazers as hands."
"Come on, Tommy, you had always been a hero for us. Who's the guy who always takes the lead, helps us when troubles arise, and, when I get myself into a difficult situation, helps me out of it even if getting in troubles as well?"
"Thanks, bro… but this is different. You heard Hego and Team Possible; they face all kind of threats on a regular basis. Just to think we had been this close to an ice age or having Canada ruled by a blue-skinned dictator… is kind of scary."
"Yeah… by the way, you owe me an apology; Ron told me Area 51 is real, with true aliens on it, and that Kim encountered an alien amazon once."
"Yes, Dil, you were right all these years…" Tommy rolled his eyes. "Wait, you just called him 'Ron'? We just met the guy today!"
"To me, anyone returning my bro sane and safe after being abducted by a mad scientist becomes an old friend." Dil smiled at Tommy, who got a little grin as well. "Besides, the guy is cool! We even have the same motto… 'Never Normal'."
"Yes, I noticed how fast you and Phil clicked with him." Tommy chuckled, yet got back his thoughtful expression almost immediately. "I don't know how things will go tomorrow."
"Relax, T; no matter what happens, you know your little brother is here for you… especially if needing a sidekick."
"Very funny," Tommy shook his head before giving his brother a little smile. "Thanks, Dil."
"Whenever, bro," Dil and Tommy made the gang's salute (touching fists), and then the younger one left so Tommy could finally get a little rest.
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The next morning, Angelica and Chuckie's parents arrived at Tommy's place to wait for Teams Go and Possible and discuss the route of action concerning their off-spring newly found abilities. Aside the trio, the parents decided the only ones who would be at the meeting would be Lucy, being their doctor and therefore the one who had attended them all their lives, and Lou, since the man was extremely close to Tommy and someone the parents respected as an authority figure; the other kids, Dil included, would stay next door, at the DeVilles' place, because they wanted to know everything concerning their friends but the house would soon be too crowded and it was necessary to keep everything as serious and ordered as possible.
About half an hour after everyone arrived, The Sloth stopped at the house's entrance, and Kim, Ron, Rufus, and Kim's dad, who she asked to be present as well (basically, to have a normal-looking adult on Kim's side to calm down the threesome's families), walked down.
"I don't remember last time I was this much time in a car. And Kimmie, I'm sure you went over the speed limit more than once." Doctor James Possible rubbed his back; to be on time, they had to get out of Middleton before sunrise, with Kim going at maximum speed most of the journey.
"I'm sorry, Dad, but it's partly your fault, I mean, we could have waited for Team Go, and use their jet."
"I know, Kim, but I'll already be at the same room with them; sharing a plane with circus people is just too much for me."
"Dad…"
"Superheroes or not, they simply look too much like circus people, and, as much as I admit it's an irrational feeling, can't help but having it." Dr Possible gave Kim a sheepish smile. At that moment, Didi opened the door to let them in.
"Miss Possible…"
"Please, Mrs. Pickles, I already told you yesterday, call me Kim." The teen shook the woman's hand as entering alongside Ron.
"And call me Ron; is more comfortable."
"Anyway, I want to introduce all of you to my dad." Kim moved aside so Dr Possible could shake hands with Stu, who moved aside his wife while everyone else looked at the newcomers from the living room, Lucy getting a slightly uncomfortable look.
"Doctor James Timothy Possible; glad to meet you, Mister and Mrs. Pickles."
"Doctor… oh, my!" Stu brightened as a kid in Christmas. "Doctor Possible? THE Doctor Possible?"
"Stu…"
"Sorry, Didi, but… this man is a genius! When NASA has a doubt, he's the one they call!"
"Well, I don't like showing off," James smiled slightly. "Are you somehow connected to the scientific community?"
"Actually, yes, I'm an inventor myself… nothing on your level, sir, of course. I design and invent toys, and once in a while domestic appliances, and animatronics for parks and special events."
"Mmm… now I know where I heard your surname! You weren't the one who designed a robotic dinosaur that ran rampant at Paris like, ten years ago?"
"He did?" Ron, Kim, and Rufus (who popped his head out of Ron's pocket at that moment) gave Stu a puzzled look.
"Yes." The other adults and the threesome chorused as Stu blushed in embarrassment.
"It was something for a theme park, and, well, made it so easy to control a baby could do it."
"And we did." Chuckie said as he and Tommy chuckled nervously.
"Don't know what's so funny; you dumb babies almost dropped me from Eiffel Tower." Angelica frowned slightly at the boys.
Didi and Stu finally lead Ron and the Possibles to the living room, James finally noticing Lucy.
"Hey, Lucy, what're you doing here?" The scientific gave her a friendly smile.
"Hi, James… how is Ann and the twins?" Lucy chuckled nervously as her friends looked at her.
"They're fine, thanks for asking. Ann wanted to come, you know, for the medical and anatomical aspects of this, but she had a programmed surgery today, so it's just me here."
"Hold it!" Drew, Angelica's dad, addressed Lucy. "You two already knew each other?"
"Well, his wife is one of the country's best brain surgeons, and met her in a congress some time ago. I still see her once in a while when going to conferences and since sometimes James here goes with her…"
"So, you're basically saying you know the parents of a famous teen hero, and never told any of us?" Chaz asked her.
"Well, we're mainly professional acquaintances, nothing more."
"Uh, Doctor Carmichael, no offense, but that's as much as being Robin's classmate, and never visiting Wayne Manor." Chuckie pointed.
"Thanks for the comment, Captain Geek." Angelica rolled her eyes and then addressed Ron and Kim. "Don't let the name fool you; he's not really a captain."
"Are you sure your surname isn't Rockwaller?" Ron arched an eyebrow at the blond girl, who simply shrugged, obviously not understanding the question.
At that moment, Kira looked out the living room's window, spotting Hego approaching the house carrying his twin brothers on his arms and Mego, in his shrunk size, standing at his shoulder; being so early, and a Saturday, nobody really noticed them. Apparently, because of the commotion the jet caused the previous day, they decided landing it somewhere else and arrive by land; because of his super strong legs, Hego could run at a very good speed, and his siblings barely slowed him.
"Oh, great, the circus folks," James frowned slightly as Kim cooled him down. Didi opened the door to let them in.
"Good morning, Mrs. Pickles. Sorry we're late; we asked for permission to leave the jet at a private hangar a few miles away from here." Hego greeted the woman as dropping gently the twins and Hego returned to his regular size.
After exchanging greetings and James felt more or less comfortable sitting closely to Team Go, the discussion started.
"First of all, I'd like to know if you three are feeling fine and if your powers are somehow affecting you in a negative way." Hego asked the threesome.
"Nope, none," Tommy said as he, Chuckie and Angelica nodded.
"Actually I'm feeling better. My psoriasis is gone, and also most of my old scars." Chuckie confessed.
"How many did you have?" Ron asked.
"Last time I counted… 128," Chuckie shrugged, getting semi-shocked looks from both teams and Dr. Possible. "I'm accident-prone, okay?"
"What a great hero he'll be." Mego mumbled under his breath yet loud enough for Ron to hear him.
"Hey, clumsy guys are people too, you know?"
"I checked them last night," Lucy explained. "And they're apparently fine; of course, we'll need to make some lab studies as well, but hadn't because of the discretion we're handling this. I have their medical files here, if want to check it later." The woman handled a CD to James.
"Thanks, Lucy. And, in all the time you had been their doctor, never noticed anything out of the ordinary?"
"Aside Chuckie's allergies and some other medical problems of his, no; for something that might indicate superhuman powers, well… Jim, I'm a doctor, not a geneticist. That kind of thing requires special equipment, and having an idea of what to look for."
"And those tests… they don't usually involve painful studies, isolation at some sort of hidden lab, and if not finding anything, dissecting the subjects as if being frogs at a High School?" Chuckie gulped as grabbing his own throat.
"Funny; the last mad doctor that caught us threatened with something similar." A Wego pointed good-humored, but judging by the threesome and their families paling, they didn't took it that way; fortunately, Dr Possible calmed them down.
"Don't worry; my lab has very good equipment and my wife knows some really well capacitated specialists; even the lab rats don't get injured."
Rufus washed some sweat from his forehead while sighing in relief.
"On the meantime, well, we'll be more than glad to accept them on Team Go." Hego said proudly.
"About that, well, we appreciate you guys saved our kids yesterday and all, but… the superhero business doesn't sound like a very safe one… especially with that 'mad doctor' comment." Kira pointed.
"Sorry." Wego gave everyone a sheepish smile.
"Yes, and I mean, what kind of parent allows a son or daughter go face mad scientists and monsters on a daily basis? No offense, Doctor." Didi cleared quickly remembering who was sitting in front of her.
"None taken; and I understand your point. I wouldn't allow Kim to go on missions if not knowing she and Ronald can handle them."
"Yes, and we're not exactly unprepared; KP here knows 16 Kung Fu's styles, Wade gives us information, and he and her brothers give us cool gadgets, plus Rufus and I are always there to cover her back." Ron pointed as passing his hand over Kim's shoulder.
"And besides, we're not asking you to become heroes right now." Kim got cut by Hego.
"Why not? I mean, destiny granted them with a major gift, and with great power…"
"Yeah, yeah, I saw the movie; Tobey Macguire is cute." Angelica interrupted him. "But you guys are asking us to go risk our necks for people we don't even know against weirdoes who should be at jail, an asylum, or another planet. Look, I might complain at times, but like my life, and extremely selfless stuff isn't exactly part of it."
"And incredibly dangerous ones aren't part of mine. I might heal fast now, but still feel pain… and it's painful." Chuckie added.
"And we don't want our families to worry about us." Tommy finished. "If I were a few years older might considerate it, but I'm just eleven!"
"Hey, I wasn't much older than you when started!" Mego said, more than slightly annoyed.
"And my brother and I went on our first mission at age 7." A Wego added.
"Of course… before that, we trained for a few years." The other Wego admitted.
"Maybe we should focus on that." Kim got everyone's attention as addressing the trio. "Look, I know you guys weren't expecting this… first time I got into a dangerous situation, it was entirely by accident, but found out Ron and I had some sort of talent for that, and we like helping people. And the truth is that you now have something that makes you extra special and different from practically anyone else, and can use it to do some great things. It's too soon to make a decision right now, because you need to have vocation for this, just like with any career, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to train on the use of your powers. Team Go has the experience to help the three of you, and Ron and I will gladly aid at anything you might need."
"And there's another detail; Aviarius already know you three have powers, and might tell other villains." Ron pointed.
"No, he'll not." Hego pointed. "In his malevolent mind, the defeat of Team Go is a personal business he's not willing to share; he already knows our secret ID's, but none of us had ever been attacked as civilians. Considering we rescued the three of you, and your powers have the same origin as ours, he'll surely think the same way, so will tell nobody."
"But he might attack again in the future." Kim cleared.
"What do mean, boy? He's in jail!" Lou said as he and his family wide-opened its eyes.
"You can say that again. My lawyers will get sure that man gets ten life sentences and more if we can!" Charlotte pointed.
"Unfortunately, these evil birds have the habit of flying out of the cages." Hego sighed.
"Can you cut the birds' analogies? They give me migraine," Mego whined.
"Actually, Hego has a point here; many villains are smart enough to escape prison, or, at least, have henchmen on the outside that help them out."
"Or a 'get-out-of-jail' card… but that's just a theory of mine." Ron interrupted Kim, who sighed and continued.
"So, what we're proposing is that, simply training the three of you so can defend yourselves in case Aviarius or any other villain attacks again."
"The young lady here has a very good point." Lou commented. "And even the guy on the funny outfit has a good one; in my days, many boys lied about their ages to get drafted and fight the Nazis, even if knowing it was dangerous, simply because it was the right thing to do. But at the end, it's up to you kids to decide."
The other adults looked at each other, and then at the threesome, who had thoughtful and slightly anxious looks, as Lou moved next to them.
"Dad is right; as much as we hate the idea of any of you getting injured, at the end it's your lives and choice, so… we'll let you decide, and accept and support whatever you choose."
"Mmm… can we have some time to think, just the three of us?" Tommy asked, Chuckie and Angelica nodding.
"Sure, Champ." Lou and the other adults nodded back, with Kim, Ron, James, and Team Go giving them agreeing looks.
The trio left to the kitchen, with Tommy on the lead, something Mego noticed.
"Hey, why the girl and the geek let the little one talk for the two of them? I thought the eldest was the one in charge." Mego gave his big brother an upset and kind of childish look.
"Mego, please, not here."
"If the kids agree, I want the girl to be their mentor; looks saner than the others." Charlotte whispered to her husband.
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"So, what do you guys think?" Tommy finally broke the five minutes silence; he was leaning against a wall while Angelica sat at the table and Chuckie stood next to the fridge, none of the three exactly eager to start the discussion.
"I don't know… they are right about that Aviarius guy; if he throws his birds against us again, wouldn't like to be unprepared." Chuckie admitted.
"More like, you wouldn't like being far from your room so can hide under the bed." Angelica used the sarcastic tone she reserved for Chuckie, but without the smirk she normally had when doing it. "Not that I'm anxious to face that fool again myself; maybe kicking his leg wasn't a good idea after all."
"Yes… I'm not eager to know about the limits of my healing power the hard way." Chuckie sighed.
"Then, it's decided." Tommy sighed. "We'll train to master our powers and be ready, just in case. Besides, well… I'm a little scared of myself."
"What do you mean?" Angelica gave her cousin a puzzled look.
"Think about it. What if I lose control of my power, and shock someone by accident? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if hurting my family, or one of our friends." Tommy looked down.
Angelica and Chuckie kept silence; they never thought about it, but Tommy had an honest and reasonable worry. What if Angelica lost control while flying and falling from a dangerous height? Or what if Chuckie caught a severe contagious disease, and, not being affected himself, spread it?
"Fine then… I'm in. But if one of those cloning boys tries flirting with me again, or I have to use a black and yellow outfit that makes me look like a flying mango, I'm blaming you, Pickles." Angelica smirked at her cousin, this time her tone a lot closer to usual. Tommy got a little smile and Chuckie rolled his eyes.
"Leave it to Angie to play bossy girl first chance she has. Well, guess I'm in too; besides, when was the last time fear or common sense stopped me from following you to an adventure?" Chuckie placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, best friends and all that stuff." Angelica stood up. "Okay, dorks, let's go tell our parents we'll join the circus."
The trio walked out from the kitchen, and told their families they'd accept the proposal. Hego got an extremely happy look, and stood up to clear his throat and direct to the families.
"Perfect; we'll do our best to support and train these youngsters. Now, I'm sure we'll need to set some ground rules here. Point number one…"
The Kimmunicator's trademark tune cut the speech.
"Miss Possible, can you put that thing on vibrate?" Hego complained, slightly annoyed for the communication device ruining the mood.
"Sorry, Hego; what's the sitch, Wade?"
"Gill and Eco Loco; I found them."