- Cleaning Time.
"I'm the loco Eco Loco; I'm the sinister destroyer; I love noise and smog, and detest soap and water…"
"Yeah, yeah, and I swim in toxic waste but you don't hear me singing about it, right?" Gill groaned as carrying one of several large pipe-resembling devices he and his employer had been placing at the rooftops of several buildings.
"Ah, you don't understand the way an evil mastermind thinks; that's why I'm the genius and you the henchman." Eco Loco pointed as installing the device and making some adjustments.
"Maybe, but without my strength, you wouldn't be able to carry all these things around Go City on your own. By the way… what these pipes do?"
"Create my dirtiest masterpiece ever." Eco Loco cackled. "Remember all those chemicals I bought with the money we stole?"
"Yes, and if you ask me, it could had been cheaper if just stealing them."
"True, but this way it's a lot faster and attracts less attention. Now, back to my plan, these chemicals are the same ones I use for my Smog Spray, plus adding a little bit of others to make a smog cloud so dense it will remain for several hours, maybe even days if we don't have strong winds this week, as I already checked. Once activating the pipes, they'll release so much smog that British fog will be a light mist in comparison, plus being a lot more polluting and toxic than regular smog. People that doesn't vanish due lack of air will escape the city in a hurry, leaving it as my personal junkyard!"
"And lots of things to steal without annoying cops or superheroes around… I like the idea! Not as dumb as you seem, boss."
"Can't take full credit; stole the idea from a guy trying to drop a giant stink bomb at a comic books and sci-fi convention last year… but hey, what kind of villain I'd be if not stealing stuff?" Eco Loco took out a little remote control and walked to the stairway, Gill following him. "Now, let's go to the sewers to detonate from there; the release will be so immense and violent even I wouldn't stand being up here before the smog gets properly dispersed."
"Hey, Gill!" The merman and his boss turned to look at the next rooftop, spotting Ron on it. "You finally did it; found someone smellier than you!"
"Thanks for the compliment." Eco Loco chuckled while Gill growled at his old camp partner.
"You always have to ruin my fun, Ronald?"
"That's my hobby, dude. And as usual, I'm going to stop you." Ron folded his arms and gave Gill a smug look.
"And how are you doing it if you're so dumb ended at the wrong rooftop, genius?" Gill smirked.
"Good point; why don't you come here and we settle this?"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"No, you come here!"
"Can you finish this, please? I want to detonate the pipes before Christmas!" Eco Loco snapped at Gill, who growled before snapping at Ron.
"No, you come here, infinite!"
"No, you come here, infinite plus one!"
Gill couldn't stand it any more, and jumped at the next rooftop, landing right in front of Ron.
"I'm so going to enjoy beating you, Ronald." Gill cracked his knuckles but, surprisingly, Ron kept a smooth face.
"Typical henchman mistake."
"What do you mean with that?"
"You see, a sidekick never leaves his or her hero except for distraction maneuvers, while some henchmen are so dumb they…"
"Leave the boss unprotected." Eco Loco paled (as much as anyone can pale when covered with ten weeks of dirt), and turned right in time to see Kim, with a shrunk Mego standing on her shoulder, climbing up to the rooftop the villain was.
"Ha! Not so brave without your henchman, right, Eco Loco?" Mego jumped from Kim's shoulder and recovered his regular size. Gill, on the meantime, had realized about his mistake and was about to jump back when Ron surprised him with a well placed kick at his chest.
"Come on, buddy, you don't want to play, for old times' sake?" Ron smirked at his enemy, who forgot completely about Eco Loco and tried to catch/punch Ron, who used his natural dodging skills to avoid the attacks while moving all around the rooftop.
Meanwhile, Kim and Mego charged at Eco Loco; the villain, finally recovering from the initial surprise, took out his Smog Spray to defend himself, engulfing his attackers with it a moment later.
"This thing –cough- is going to make me asthmatic…" Mego complained between coughs, finally falling on his knees while trying to recover his breath.
"You fools cartoonish heroes think can defeat the great Eco Loco with such petty strategies!" The villain laughed as the smog cloud started dispersing. "There's no power on Earth who can stand the mighty smog!"
"Except a gas mask," the villain's victorious face got replaced by a stunned one as Kim emerged from the disappearing cloud, a small gas mask, with goggles included, covering her face.
"A gas mask; why we never thought about that?" Mego, still at the floor, wide opened his tearful eyes.
"I offered you one on our way here." Kim reminded the violet guy, who said nothing as coughing didn't allow him, while the girl kicked the spray can away from the criminal's hands.
At the other rooftop, Gill and Ron were now at the middle of it, the mutant still not connecting any hit but it was obvious Ron was getting tired as he reacted slower by the second.
"Oh, Ronnie is getting tired? Can't stand a fight with me without mutating yourself into a squirrel?"
"It was a beaver, man; is that hard to remember?" Ron then noticed Rufus, who was at the edge of the rooftop, giving him a signal. "Okay, Wegos, do it!"
Gill barely reacted when a Wegos' battalion ran from the stairway, surrounding him and Ron and cutting all escape routes.
"You think a bunch of red ants is going to stop me?" Gill scowled at the blonde, who had jumped over the Wegos' barrier for safety.
"No, but that blue X you're standing on might do the trick."
Gill looked down at his feet, realizing that, as Ron said, he was standing on a large blue paint X. Then, all the Wegos stomped the floor at the same time.
"Is that supposed to do something?" Gill arched an eyebrow at his enemies.
CRASH!
A blue gloved hand passed through the roof, grabbing Gill's leg.
"Say 'Hi' to Hego for me, dude." Ron smirked at Gill, something he still had time to see before being pulled down alongside a good section of the rooftop around him.
WHAM! CRASH! POW! THUD! BIFF! WHACK!...
KERASH!
"WHOOOAAHH….!" Gill screamed in pain and fear as the last punch sent him through a window, his fall being intercepted by another window at a nearby building.
Eco Loco, even if not having his spray, still had his Slipping Pistol, and used it to keep Kim away, the girl ducking and jumping to avoid being hit by the disgusting slippery substances.
"Your aim stinks as much as you." Kim glared at the criminal.
"Yes, but now the whole rooftop is a large slippery surface, you can't jump anymore without falling." Eco Loco laughed loudly as Kim looked down her feet, her shoes already with some oil on them.
"Who said anything about jumping?" Kim grinned (or at least it seemed, since still had the mask on) before charging against the criminal; then, when he was about to shoot again, Kim made a sliding move, similar to a baseball player trying to reach a base, her feet connecting against Eco Loco's and making him to fall over his belly, breaking both the pistol and the remote. The criminal shook his head and then stood on four, gasping at the sight of the broken devices.
"NO! MY DREAM! MY MASTERPIECE! MY…"
WHACK!
"… chin." The criminal fell unconscious while Kim looked at him and then at her gloved (and dirt covered) fist.
"Sorry but you're too noisy… and I'll need to incinerate this glove when returning home," Kim then helped Mego stand up, and directed to Ron, Rufus and the Wegos.
"Hey, guys, are you alright?"
"Perfectly, KP!"
"Is Mego okay?" A Wego asked her.
"I need a doctor… a nurse… 'Get Well' cards from my fans…"
"He's whining… so yes, he's okay." Kim replied. "And where's Gill?"
"I handled him, Miss Possible." Hego, his head emerging from the window right under the place Ron and his brothers were standing, answered her. "But I think overdid myself with the last hit; I'll go pick up the fiendish fishy foe to turn him to the proper authorities… or the aquarium."
Hego ran the other side of the floor he was, finding the window Gill broke when broke through it; usually, he disliked the sneaky attacks, considering them villainous tactics, but, considering Gill was Team Possible's enemy, allowed Kim and Ron to make the battle plan, and, had to admit it was actually effective since, in a closed space, Gill couldn't use his slime and agility to best him as happened before, so the blue hero had the edge in that battle. Hego jumped through the broken window after taking a little impulse, reaching the other building with relative easiness. Then, Hego entered through the other smashed window, finding a wrecked room, but no Gill.
"I can't believe it… how he escaped again?"
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Gill, holding his injured side, walked down the fire exit. The mutant was badly wounded, but his scales protected him from the worst of the impact; however, it was obvious this battle was lost.
"Ronald… you'll pay for this… ruining my meal ticket!" Gill groaned as placing one of his claws under a certain section of his skin, lifting it to reveal a small communicator. The mutant finally reached the alley behind the building, smiling slightly when spotting a sewer, and then turned on the device.
"Hello? Jack… is that you? Oh, hi, Marcy… no offense, but I'm not in the mood to talk to the secretary… Jack isn't available? Okay, fine; look, my boss got caught… please get my room ready, and call me a medic. Yes, discount it from the commission, I know."
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WAAAAAH….!
"He didn't take it well?" Harold, with Susie next to him, asked Angelica as she, wearing a jacket over her P. E. uniform, walked away from the school's football coach's house.
"Yes, he did, Harold… those wails are his way to express happiness." Angelica groaned in sarcasm as she and her friends left the place.
"I still think you shouldn't have quit, Angelica." Susie sighed. "You like being assistant coach a lot."
"Yes, and since you took the job our team actually wins once in a while." Harold added.
"Do you really think I wanted to quit? Where else can yell and boss a bunch of boys with the school's consent, and all of them actually thanking me for doing it?" Angelica snapped yet got a calmer and slightly sad expression a moment later. "But… it takes some amount of commitment to do that, and right now, I wouldn't be able to have it. You guys saw the training chart Hego gave us yesterday when he and the others returned; it's a miracle can still be at the debate team with all the stuff I'll be doing along with Tommy and Finster. Even if Mister Insomnia helps us with our homework, I wouldn't have time left to rest or have fun unless quitting the football team … God, I'll probably need to reject invitations to the popular crew's parties! And guess I'm kissing good bye my web page."
Despite Angelica's claim on disliking helping others, the girl ran a web page where she gave advices to other teens, mainly girls from her school. True, most of the time it was just fashion advices and the blonde used the page as a way to get the juiciest gossip first-handed, but she actually helped with some delicate stuff once in a while, even having live chats at times… something she could only do if having a flexible schedule, the kind of stuff the girl would be lacking from now own.
Angelica and her friends kept silence while heading to Tommy's place, where the first part of the training will be done. They knew about the sacrifices the boys would do as well; Tommy wouldn't be able to start his next film project for a long time; Chuckie, being president of the Audiovisual Club, will officially quit next day at school, and the little free time he'd have would probably be spent working at his parents' business since the boy didn't want them to hire someone to cover for his absence; the only ECA the boys would still have was the Science Club, and just because Hego commented it would probably prove handy in the future.
"What I don't get is why Chuckie will quit, I mean, he barely sleeps now, so would be able to do some presidential stuff at night." Susie commented.
"Carmichael, most of that 'presidential stuff' involves meetings and team working with the other members, and they'll not spend a fortune in caffeine just because their president is a night owl. Besides, Hego said he should use some of the night hours to improve his condition, since he used to have many health problems and therefore lacks physical strength." Angelica rubbed her temples. "This whole super powered thing doesn't worth the effort; wish that stupid rock had landed at the North Pole."
"That would be funny; imagine a flying yellow bear?" Harold got his usual goofy smile that didn't disappear even when Angelica glared at him. "But see the bright side, Angie; you'll save a fortune in plane tickets."
"And sadly, my life is so screwed lately that a normal thing, even your silliness, makes me feel well." Angelica rolled her eyes yet got a little smile.
"You know me; like doing things for others." Harold shrugged, Susie and Angelica shaking their heads yet their mood getting an obvious improvement. Harold was the most naïve guy they had ever known, barely reacting to insults unless said in a very harsh tone, and hardly changing since the girls first met him at kindergarten, but his childish nature, even if frequently annoying, could be really refreshing and entertaining during hard times.
The threesome finally arrived at Tommy's place and headed to the backyard, where Tommy and Chuckie were doing some warming up exercises, Kimi and the DeVille twins helping them. A moment later, Kim and Ron walked out from the house.
"Now, guys, I'll need to ask you to leave. Know you want to help, but Ron and I will work better with your buddies in private." Kim addressed the non-powered kids and teens.
"Okay, Miss Possible…"
"Lil…"
"Oh, right… okay, Kim." Lil and the others nodded at KP, and then she looked at her friends, "We'll return in a few hours to have some ice cream together."
"Sure, Lil, no problem," Tommy smiled at her before doing the gang's salute with Phil while Kimi placed a hand on Chuckie's shoulder, the step-siblings smiling at each other, and Susie and Harold nodded at Angelica.
"If you guys are getting ice cream, can I have some too… chocolate, maybe?" Ron asked while Rufus climbed to his shoulder to rub his belly and smile widely.
"Of course, dude." Phil waved bye to Ron as he and the others walked away, and Kim focused on her recruits.
"Alright, let's start. Ron and I will work on your general physical condition, and some basic fighting moves, that will prove handy later when Team Go train you more properly at the use of your powers; since obviously we can't come here everyday, we'll have a special wide screen communicator here at Tommy's home, can tutor the three of you from Middleton as much as possible. My brothers are already assembling it with Dil and your dad's help." Kim looked at Tommy at the last part.
Inside the house, Stu was working on the screen while Kim's twin brothers, Jim and Tim, worked on the most complex mechanisms with Dil's help. The youngest Pickles had inherited his dad's inventive nature and he was as smart as weird, therefore a very valuable help, especially considering the device was a lot more than a glorified TV set; it would also scan, monitor and register the trio's physiology, energy levels and vitals during the sessions, as well as some other data, all of them to be later filed by Wade and sent to both Possible doctors, so James could check all the energy-based data and Ann the anatomical and physiological ones, that, in addition to Lucy's weekly check-ups, would be used to analyze and monitor the threesome's condition.
"I've had this idea for a cream corn's propulsion system for a while now." Dil commented to the twins.
"Well, with the right combustion engine and a very resistant battery…"
"… it might be done." Tim finished his brother's phrase, Dil smiling widely; even if he still thought Ron was cool, the young geniuses were his dreamt playing partners.
Dil leaned to check one cable, not noticing Jim elbowing his twin to get his attention; a moment later, they looked at Susie and Kimi walking away with the rest of the gang, and got sly grins.
"Hey, Jim, don't think those girls are… Hicka-Bicka-Boo?"
"Hoo-Sha!" Tim high-fived his brother before the twins got back to work.
"First of all," Kim cleared her throat, "what kind of sports you practice, or any physical abilities you might have?"
"Well, I play soccer, basketball, tennis and baseball; not too much lately, but I'm not that bad." Tommy said.
"Took some karate classes a while ago, but lost interest right after getting my yellow belt… talking about irony." Angelica groaned, "Aside that, I'm not exactly athletic."
"Don't look at me; still used training wheels on my bike until last year." Chuckie sighed.
Kim rubbed her chin; this wasn't an easy task, but anything is possible…
"Alright then; we'll do some aerobics first; you'll follow my every move, okay?" The threesome nodded. "And later, we'll start with martial arts."
Rufus dived inside Ron's pocket and emerged with a little disc. The rodent then dashed to a boom box Ron had placed behind him and Kim, and placed the disc on it; Rufus then turned on the music and started dancing.
"Is there anything your pet doesn't do?" Tommy, visibly impressed, asked Ron.
"He doesn't wash windows… or anything he usually dislikes." Ron shrugged.
Kim started the routine, following the rhythm, and the trio copied her moves while Ron moved aside, looking at them carefully. Every certain time, Ron made an observation and helped one of them, correcting their posture and other things so they could do the exercise correctly. After several minutes, Kim changed the basic aerobics to fight moves, Ron still doing his supervising job; the trio was getting tired, even if Kim wasn't giving them a very hard working out since it was the first session, but kept the pace until Kim said it was okay to take five and get back their breath.
"At what moment I got drafted?" Angelica puffed as rubbing her sides. Tommy didn't say a thing because was almost totally breathless, just like Chuckie… at least, until the geek's power activated; the glow was a very dim one and barely perceptible, since this time there were no wounds to heal, but in a few moments he felt as good as new, Kim noticing this.
"Okay, Chuckie, since you can continue, we'll start with the combat training." Kim nodded at Ron, and then they both placed a mat at the lawn.
"Now, remove your glasses and come here." Chuckie obeyed and blinked a few times before walking straight at the mat alongside Kim.
"Hold it! Finster, you can see?" Angelica got an impressed face just like Tommy; the geek was born with a very weak sight so needed glasses practically since learned to walk. Chuckie looked at Tommy and Angelica, and sighed.
"I found out today at 3 when I woke up and could see perfectly without them; guess is another thing my power healed… but I'm still using the glasses. It seems my eyes get adapted to them without messing with my sight, and besides, I'm so used to the glasses feel weird when not wearing."
Kim got a little idea and walked right in front of Chuckie.
"Can open your mouth, please?" Chuckie, slightly puzzled, did it and Kim looked at his teeth.
"See any cavity, KP?" Ron scratched his head in confusion.
"None… and actually, even if I'm no dentist, see nothing wrong in here. You should get those braces removed; I used when was your age, and know aren't exactly comfortable." Kim then got back to business as Chuckie closed his mouth.
"You guys aren't too heavy or tall, so strong hitting isn't exactly your thing. Instead, we'll work on aikido and kenpo, two fight styles that don't require a lot of physical strength and are quite effective… I admit don't master them, but know enough so you can reach an acceptable level; also, just in case, we'll teach you basic Kung Fu's moves. Once start mastering your powers, you'll surely find some good ways to improve your particular fighting style."
"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.
"Well, have you guys seen those mad martial arts movies? Well, imagine how effective a high kick can be when the girl giving it can fly. And think how powerful Bruce Lee could have been if having a lightning on each fist." Ron explained as making some playful shadow boxing in front of the cousins.
Tommy rubbed his chin and wide opened his eyes while Angelica got a sly grin, finally starting to realize the possibilities their powers had.
"So, basically, I'm the defenseless one. Big surprise here," Chuckie rolled his eyes. Kim shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Not at all; your power will allow you give and receive attacks with a minor damage for a long time. To put it simple, you wouldn't win a fight on round one, but surely end it unharmed and winning by technical knockout." Chuckie got a little smile. "Besides, you can train the most and the exercise will be more effective, therefore you'll become stronger and faster quite soon."
"Good, because he needs as much help as possible," Angelica smirked.
"More like, as much help as Possible's." Ron pointed, making Angelica to roll her eyes and Chuckie, Tommy and Kim to chuckle a little.
Kim and Chuckie started his training, the teen showing him some basic grapples and grips, almost all of them based on using the opponent's strength against him or her; Chuckie fell on the mat several times, but started showing little progress after some minutes. Then, Kim did the same with Tommy and Angelica, and later Ron showed the trio a few fighting moves; his weren't as fluid or elegant as Kim's but, as his girlfriend pointed, they still were quite effective, especially since being a little deceiving and with more than a bit of improvisation, making Ron an unpredictable fighter.
A couple hours later, Kim decided it was enough for the day. Even Chuckie was exhausted and sore when finishing, and smiled widely when spotting his sister arriving with an ice cream bowl.
"Are you guys done? Phil and I are making sundaes."
"With pecans?" Ron smiled widely.
"And chocolate sauce, strawberry, and whipped cream." Harold, his mouth with some ice cream spots around, answered Ron when popping his head out from the back door.
"Those words never sounded so well." Angelica sighed in relief while getting a wide grin.
"Double ration for me, please. Never felt this hungry before." Chuckie said as the threesome, Ron, and Rufus were about to dash inside the house when Kim stopped them.
"Just a moment, guys, need to tell you something." Kim then turned at her almost-namesake. "We'll go in a moment, Kimi."
"Okay… but can make it short? Your brothers are cute, but they're driving Susie and me crazy; and for some weird reason, Phil and Harold don't seem so happy as well." The Japanese girl nodded and entered the house, Harold following her.
"First of all, good job on this first session. We'll try to do this everyday through the video link. And second, want to give you guys this." Kim handled the trio some sheets of paper.
"Hey, this is our training chart." Chuckie noticed, "But… seems to be a little changed."
"Ron and I modified it yesterday. I think Hego exaggerated a little bit."
"More than a little bit, I would say; he doesn't know boys and girls need rest, TV, and time to stuff themselves with junk food once in a while?" Ron commented, the youngsters getting impressed looks. Kim noticed them, and started explaining.
"I know your training is important and all, but can't let it be your whole life. I talked with your parents, and they told me about all the stuff you guys do, like the assistant-coaching, the audiovisual club and the movies; with some organization, you can still do that, and have some free time left."
"Are you sure?" Tommy asked a little bit too eagerly.
"Sure; Ron and I have half-time jobs, the regular school stuff, and the missions, and still have time to go on dates, spend time with our families, hang around with our other friends, and attend our ECA, cheerleading in my case and playing football in Ron's."
"And, before that, I was the school's mascot. Go, Mad Dogs!" Ron howled playfully, Rufus mimicking him perfectly.
"To make it short, your life will change but not finish. You'll need to make adjustments and all, but that's another reason Ron and I are here, to help." Kim then got a sly smile. "Tell you what; as a reward for all your work, and being first day, we'll go to your mall and catch a movie after eating ice cream with your friends; they can come if want."
"Now, this is a teacher I can stand!" Angelica beamed, her cousin and Chuckie getting equally happy expressions. "Guess I scared the coach for nothing; I'll call him later before the guy gets a coronary."
"Less talking, and more dessert-before-lunch!" Ron said as heading to the house, the others deciding it was a good idea and followed him.
"Hope Phil and Harold hadn't eaten everything yet." Tommy chuckled. Ron opened the door for them and Kim to enter, and rubbed his chin in thought.
"You know, maybe next weekend can go to this city's water park after training, if doing it early. I heard it has a mad slide."
"Ah, the Whiplash Gorge; only slide with its own emergency room," Chuckie grinned nervously. "I slid on it once."
"And is as scary as it sounds?"
"Worse… much worse," Chuckie gulped yet got a wide grin a moment later. "And it's great!"
"That's all I need to hear!" Ron chuckled as closing the door. "Hey, don't hog the pecans!"