Chapter 21: Surveillance

Friday morning Kim found herself walking to school with Ron just like she had Wednesday and Thursday. Despite her best efforts, Ron had refused to divulge any deep details about his status with Sue. As promised, he had attended Wednesday's game. Sue had played in the band at halftime and had joined Ron after the band was finished. The rest of the squad had noticed this and most of them were every bit as curious about the couple as Kim was. When any of them had asked Ron about his dating life he had stated that a gentleman just didn't discuss such things.

Ron didn't hang around at Kim's locker like he used to, even though had she told him that she and Josh had broken up. Kim had trailed him and spotted him at his own locker, chatting with Sue. At lunchtimes, Kim and Ron's usual booth was full. Ron and Sue sat on one side of the table, Oscar and Monique sat on the other side of the table, and Felix parked his wheelchair along the outside edge. Several other wrestlers sat in the booths around Ron's.

Kim sat at one of the cheerleaders' tables reminding herself that she had quit sitting with Ron in order to sit with Josh, weeks ago. It really shouldn't be irritating her that he had managed to find more friends in the meantime. She tried to keep an eye on Ron without being obvious. She also watched him whenever she could throughout the school days. He and Sue weren't advertising the fact but if you looked close you could tell that they were a couple. They smiled, they stole glances at each other and they stayed close to each other. It made Kim want to gag until she realized that Ron had probably gone through the same thing with her several boyfriends and/or crushes.

After practice, she, Hope, Marcella, and Tara would spend a few minutes comparing notes. It was both amusing and frustrating. Amusing because the squad had never paid much attention to Ron while he was one of them but he was a major topic of discussion now that he was gone. Frustrating because none of them could dig up much in the way of details about Ron's relationship. Unknown to Kim, it wasn't just students showing an interest in Ron.

"Hey Doc, got a minute?" Shego's voice blared over the speaker in Doctor Drakken's laboratory.

"Does it matter if I do or not?" The blue-tinted mad scientist snapped back. "If you intend to mock me just get it over with! I'm quite busy with my latest effort and only have a limited amount of time to devote to your entertainment!"

"Whoa-ho Doc! I'm not making fun of you, at least not yet. Tell you what, I've put together a little video surveillance compilation. Once you bust free, buzz me. I think you'll be interested in what I've found."

"Truth be told I am really only reviewing what some of my…agents…are doing at this time. What is the subject of your presentation?"

"Team Possible! Look Doc, I know you're working on another 'take over the world' plan. I also know that you've got some sort of 'neutralize the princess' research going on as well. I've got something for you to see that might help that research."

Dr. Drakken cupped his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "Very well Shego, if you have this compilation on the server come to my lab and we shall review it."

"I'll grab the popcorn and be right there!"

Dr. Drakken honestly wondered if she was kidding about the popcorn.

She wasn't. To be truthful, the bad doctor didn't mind munching on a few handfuls of the snack while reviewing Shego's research. This research consisted of surveillance video of their most recent encounters with Team Possible as well as pirated video of a simple high school wrestling match. Although he recognized the boy in the gold wrestling uniform as Possible's sidekick he didn't see the point of the video. He admitted as much to Shego.

"You're the egghead," she explained, "while I'm the security expert. Look at these clips in chronological order. See how the sidekick gets just a little bit better every time? On this first clip he just ran and screamed. By the last one, the time he gave you that wedgie, he took out you and two of your guards in a matter of seconds."

"Why did you include his wrestling match? While I admit he defeated his opponent quickly that other boy could hardly be a valid comparison to one of the guards, or to you."

"I just wanted you to get a look at him. Look at how that kid's filled out over the last couple of months. He's gone from being 'The Buffoon' to a bona fide assistant to the princess."

"I can see that but what's the point? He is still not your match. I believe you could easily defeat him so why should I worry about it?"

Shego took a long breath. "Let me put this in more educated terms." She thought for a minute or two. "Okay, here goes. The sidekick's value to the princess has never been his direct operational capability. Oh, he's always had some limited value. I mean, he's always had a few moves that would always come out when nobody expected it. But his value has always been his ability to enhance her abilities. He gets to the device while we try to deal with her or he distracts us while she completes the mission. That has always been his role and as much as we belittle him it has contributed to her success."

"Point taken, please continue."

"Now, this 'enhancement factor' has been acquiring real operational capabilities. Look at his speed in the match and look at how quickly he took down those two guards. Now he isn't anywhere near my, or the princess's ability, but he's someone to be reckoned with. Add to this is the fact that he still enhances her abilities. The result is an even more formidable team."

Drakken replayed some of the footage. "Yes, now I see what you mean. May I assume that you have a suggestion?"

"Just this, I'll bet that you're putting a great deal of research into finding an effective, discrete way of neutralizing the princess when you execute your latest plan. If you've already spent months coming up with a plan for her, maybe a couple of hours spent on him will be time well spent. Eliminate the team, not just the star."

Drakken gazed up at the ceiling, lost in thought for several minutes. "Yes," he finally said. "This is quite good advice. Indeed, most of my research for neutralizing Miss Possible is already complete. I shall simply change a few parameters in order to deal with the sidekick. After all, anything capable of counteracting Possible will be more than enough to deal with, what is his name again?"

"Stoppable, Ron Stoppable."

"Won't it be most ironic that the first time he hears me say his real name will be when I stand over his cowering, completely defeated form, shortly after my plans come to completion?"