Disclaimer: All Kim Possible characters are the copyright of Walt Disney Corporation. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. All other characters in my stories, that Disney doesn't own, are mine. :)
Time and time again, I couldn't say enough for all the help campy gave me for providing great proofreading work. Thanks, man! You're the best! (big grin)
Big thanks go to all who read and left reviews for Chapter 23: Robert Teague, ZK Chromedragozoid, AtomicFire, whitem, Mr. Average, Goinghome, Bubbahotek, SassMasterGeneral, continental-line, warlord-xana, milordo-z 2.0, iron-mantis, zafnak, and reddragonn343.
And thanks go to all who read Chapter 23. :)
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A Bond of Honor
Chapter 24 – Battle of the Songs
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)
From the outside, it looked like any other office building with a large warehouse in the back. Yet upon a closer look, one could see TV satellite dishes mounted on the roof, various TV news vans parked together off one side, and the official name of the television network mounted on the top front of the building, thus any person could see it was a television studio.
However, this was no ordinary TV studio. It was the home for the current most popular TV program on the air – American Star Maker. Therefore, for everyone who worked on the show and all the contestants as well, this building was something to remember. Well… That was unless you happened to be a contender chewed up and reamed out by the Star Maker's judge. Then you would not want to remember this building at all.
Descending out of the skies toward a helicopter pad just in front of the studio's front parking lot, a lone helicopter made the attempt to land. It was the usual 4-door copter mostly associated with the news media organizations, except this air vehicle carried the logo of a particular well-know, worldwide computer-software company.
Seeing the helicopter landed, at first, some people would have thought that someone of major importance was visiting. Yet when the passenger doors swung open, two teenagers – a blond boy and raven-haired girl – stepped out and waited for their friend – a redhead girl – to come out to join them. To others' eyes, they would dismiss these youngsters as no one significant, not knowing these young people were none other than Team Possible.
"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Gateway," Kim grinned at the image of a man in a TV screen situated just behind the pilot's seat.
The middle-aged man, wearing glasses, smiled back at the teenage heroine. "It's the least I can do after you saved years of software research on the latest Doorways operating system."
Kim waved a dismissing hand, looking bashful. "No big. It was just a matter of hooking up your mainframes to my PDA and uploading to my tech man's mainframe. He had the free space to hold the information until you got your computers running again."
Mr. Gateway nodded and continued to smile. "Just give me a call when you're done and my pilot will be happy to pick you up and take you home."
"Will do," Kim replied before the monitor blipped off and she turned to the pilot. "I'll see you later, Mr. Murdock."
Turning his head toward the auburn-haired girl, the grinning pilot tipped his head with his fingers on the front end of his baseball cap. "I look forward to it, Miss Possible. Good luck." With a smile, Kim, holding a duffle bag, jumped out of the copter and closed the door just before Mr. Murdock felt his pager go off, and after picking it up, he frowned. "What? Again? What does Hannibal want now?" Shrugging, he placed the pager down. "Oh, well." With that said, the brown-haired man began singing as he lifted the copter into the air.
Shaking her head at the retreating aircraft, Kim waved her two companions to follow her as they made way across the parking lot toward the studio's main entrance. "Come on. We have a villain to beat."
"I'm telling you, KP," Ron, holding a notebook in one hand, thumbed over his shoulder toward the copter, which was now out of sight, "that dude is weird."
"Yeah, weird," Rufus chirped in agreement as he poked his head out of the right pocket of his owner's cargo pants.
Kim, wearing her green crop top and pants outfit, couldn't help but smirk. "This coming from a boy whose motto is 'Never be normal'?"
After hearing his Japanese girlfriend giggle beside him, Ron dismissed his best friend's rhetorical question. "There's a difference between 'weird' and 'wrong on all levels,' KP. That man is wrong on all levels."
Giggling again, Yori, wearing black slacks, flat shoes, and red t-shirt, placed a comforting hand on her boyfriend's arm. "Ron-kun does have somewhat a point, Possible-san. Murdock-san was acting out of normal."
"The guy was singing opera all the way over here, Yori!" Ron pointed out. "Like that fat man with the mustache!"
Rolling her eyes, yet her mouth still smirking, Kim led her team across the threshold of the main entrance as the sliding doors parted for them. "You're talking about one of the Italian Tenors, Ron," she verified as they approached the front receptionist, a blonde lady in her mid twenties who welcomed them.
"How can I help you?" she greeted. She looked almost pretty enough to be a model.
Kim grinned in return. "Yes, I'm one of the contestants on American Star Maker. Kim Possible. Can you help us know the way to the backstage?"
Checking her computer, the receptionist nodded upon confirmation of Kim's contestant status before picking up a phone and briefly talking with someone. Closing the phone, the young woman grinned at the redhead teen. "Someone will be here shortly, Miss Possible."
After a few minutes, a tall man, wearing shirt & tie and an earphone/microphone head-set, came through the double-doors next to the reception desk. He smiled broadly upon the sight of Kim. "Ah, Kim Possible!" he welcomed as he waved a left hand which held a clipboard. "We've been expecting you!" His right hand was held out to await a handshake. "I'm the backstage manager for American Star Maker."
Giving a smile, the green-eyed young woman took the man's hand and shook it. "Pleasure to meet you," she mentioned before gesturing to her two companions. "These are my friends. Ron Stoppable." Ron waved with a grin. "Yori Takana." Yori bowed her head in respect.
"Pleasure to meet you," the manager grinned before waving the clipboard to follow him. "Please follow me. I'll take you to your changing room behind the stage."
Following the stage manager, Team Possible passed through the double-doors into the studios. For a while, they passed various offices, meeting rooms, and other rooms typical of any office building, yet after they passed through very large, fireproof steel double-doors, the teenagers and one mole rat noticed they were passing stages for production of TV shows. The hallway passed behind the backstages, allowing anyone to enter them without being observed by the live audiences. It was at the very end of the corridor that they came to the last TV stage's rear entrance and entered through the double-doors, and upon crossing the threshold, the team realized there was no doubt they were in the largest TV stage of the building – the American Star Maker studio.
It wasn't long before the manager guided them out of the backstage to another hallway which contained the dressing rooms. Kim, Ron, and Yori observed the judge's dressing room on the left as they passed it before the backstage manager came to a door on the right. "This is your changing room, Miss Possible," he gestured with his freed right hand just before consulting his clipboard. "The show will be starting in 30 minutes. After you change, please give any recorded music to the sound manager, who will play your music when it's your time to be onstage. You'll be coming after Mr. Lipsky." His eyes came up to lock on Kim's. "Any questions?"
Kim shook his head. "No. I'll be fine. Thanks for the help," she finished with a grin.
The stage manager grinned proudly. "You're welcome. After you change, go to the designated waiting area." With that said, he left.
Opening the door, Kim led the way into the room, followed by Yori, then Ron. It was a small room with make-up table & mirror, a daybed, a few chairs, and a full-length mirror mounted on one wall.
After placing down the duffle bag, Kim unzipped it before taking out the outfit Monique suggested for her to wear for the competition. "Okay, once I change, we'll go to the waiting area, but I want us to keep an eye open for Drakken. Given Drakken is here, there's a possibility Shego is here too."
Yori nodded in agreement. "It is highly likely that is the case, Possible-san."
"Right!" Ron spoke out. "So go ahead and change, KP! You're going to win this!"
Both girls blinked at him, and upon realizing he was not going to leave, Kim narrowed her eyes at her best friend while Yori raised an eyebrow. Seeing their expressions, the blond boy, out of confusion, gave a simple "What?"
"Hello, Ron! Changing Room!" Kim pointed out the obvious, nearly shouting.
Her words sunk into his head, and quickly looking around and seeing there were no changing partitions like the one Kim had in her bedroom at home, Ron finally grasped his best female friend's meaning. "Right," he grinned sheepishly while backing away toward the exit. "I'll wait outside." His hand swiftly grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut as he left.
Only after he left did Yori place her right hand over her mouth and giggle. "Oh, Ron-kun is blind at times."
Hearing her new teammate's words, Kim couldn't help but smirk as she shook her head. "I think he's so used to seeing me change behind a partition that he's forgetful that not all changing rooms have changing dividers."
"So true," Yori concurred as she watched Team Possible's leader began to change. "Do you require help with the clothes, Possible-san?"
Kim shook her head. "No, it's a simple outfit, but I don't mind help with placing the choker around my neck." The Yamanouchi ninja bobbed her head once in understanding.
After the redhead donned her new outfit, she stood still to allow the Japanese girl to place the black choker around her neck before checking herself in the full-length mirror. The attire was indeed simple but made her look like a rock'n'roll star. A blue, sleeveless crop-top had the word 'USA' on the front. Legs were covered by red, loose-waistline pants with black belt, and the only accessories were the black choker, blue bracelets on both wrists, a red ribbon tied around her right forearm, and a yellow ribbon tied around her left thigh.
Yori gave a small approving grin. "You are now ready to do battle, Possible-san."
A snort of a laugh came out of Kim's lips before they curled into a smirk. "I'll not be fighting in hand-to-hand combat, Yori."
"True," the kunoichi admitted, her lips matching her leader's, "yet you are going into battle to save the country, even the world. Drakken must not win."
Emerald eyes narrowing in determination, Kim nodded once. Drakken indeed must not win tonight's competition. Firm to do the best she could, Team Possible's boss strolled toward the changing room's exit followed by her teammate.
Upon leaving, Kim's blond best friend whistled in endorsement on what he saw. "Looking good, KP! You're ready to rock!"
"Yeah! Rock!" Rufus supported as he gave a thumb up.
An appreciative smile etched onto Kim's face. "Thanks, guys," she said before her expression turned serious again as she eyed her colleagues. "Now come on, let's get to the waiting area." With Kim leading the way, the three teens headed toward the backstage area where the contestants were to wait.
Yet as the trio exited the dressing rooms' vicinity, Yori blinked once before glancing around before spotting the signs of a particular room. Only then did she address her companions. "Excuse me. I'll be there shortly. I need to relieve myself." With that said, she walked away.
"Relieve herself?" Ron asked in confusion.
Kim fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Look where's she going, Ron."
Seeing that his GF was heading toward the women's restroom, Ron finally understood. "Oh. That." He rubbed the back of his head as he grinned sheepishly.
Sighing that her long-time friend was clueless at times, Kim once more led the way toward the designated contestants' area with Ron just behind her. It still amazed her how much the blond boy still was so childlike at times.
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The sound of a flushing toilet could be heard throughout the women's restroom, and a couple of minutes afterward, a young Japanese woman emerged from one stall. She went over to one of several sinks to wash her hands.
As she scrubbed her hands with liquid soap from the soap dispenser, Yori thought of what lay ahead. Vigilance had to be maintained for the next hour or so. Drakken would be on-stage, but not his female cohort, thus it would not be wise if she, Ron-kun, and Possible-san were ambushed by the villainess.
Then again, it would not be wise if Shego were to attack. Would it draw attention from the studio's security personnel?
Shaking her head with a frown, the Yamanouchi student turned off the water before reaching over to take out a paper towel from a paper-towel dispenser. She dried her hands and soon left the restroom without worry. After all, she knew only one other woman was in the room, currently occupied in a stall. The woman had entered the restroom while Yori was occupied, thus the oriental girl couldn't see who it was. It would be rude to see who the woman was, for after all, it could only be a studio employee.
As Yori was about to leave, the door to a stall opened and the only other woman in the restroom came out. Her green eyes were able to see the back of the Japanese, and upon immediately recognizing the girl, those same emerald eyes momentarily went wide before a smirk came to her facial features just as Yori left, the door closing behind her.
"Well, well," Shego mused, her right hand resting on her right hip, "it seems Kimmie's new friend is here, and if she's here, it means that the Princess is here too. Also no doubt that blond dodo is here as well."
As her smirk grew wider, slyer, and wickeder, the ex-member of Team Go lit up her left hand in green fire. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
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Finding her two teammates at the appropriate staging area for the contestants, Yori noticed that Kim was pacing back and forth in worry, while Ron, with Rufus standing on his right shoulder and his back to Kim, was sitting calmly while writing in the notebook he'd brought. Eying the redhead, the Yamanouchi shinobi voiced her concerns. "What is wrong, Possible-san?"
"I'm having second thoughts about this," Kim responded, still pacing. "I really don't think I should go out there."
Yori blinked at first before frowning. "I do not believe you have anything to be alarmed about, Possible-san. I believe you are experiencing something called 'stage scare'."
"'Fright', Yori," a grinning Ron corrected without taking his eyes off the notebook and his writing. "It's called 'stage fright'."
Giving a small grin at her BF, Yori shrugged a bit before focusing again on the anxious young woman. Seeing that Kim was not calming down, Ron's GF strolled over to look over her beau's right shoulder to read what he was writing. A moment later, one eyebrow rose on her face, wondering whether his writing really was writing.
Having enough of acting like a nervous wreck, Kim pushed aside the curtain slightly, showing her a view of the stage, the audience, and her blue-skinned arch-nemesis, who was being approached by the American Star Maker judge.
"Listen, thanks for that shampoo. I feel so unbelievably mellow," the judge grinned at Drakken.
Returning the grin, Drakken waved the thanks away. "You're welcome."
The judge nodded. "Hey, good luck out there," he said before walking away.
Kim's green eyes went wide for a moment, before they narrowed. Something smelled fishy here. When did the judge become so nice, and did the judge say something about Drakken giving him shampoo?
Drakken smirked evilly. "In the bag, Shego. Believe the hype." Blinking upon realizing something, the villain turned around toward the curtain, just after Kim realized he was going to look in her direction before disappearing behind the curtain. Seeing no one was there, especially his hired hand, the blue-skinned bad guy slightly growled before sighing. "How long does it take just to go to the bathroom?" he asked with his hands spread out before crossing his arms with one hand held up. "Women these days. They just take too long."
Behind the curtain, Team Possible's leader walked over to the other two teenagers. "Guys, this is so dumb, it can't work," she expressed her thoughts just as she arrived just behind the blond boy's left shoulder.
Ron continued to write. "Yea, right. Chill down, KP, it'll work."
Eying Ron's writing, Kim couldn't believe the words written in the notebook as she scanned the contents. "'You listen up, hap a howler from Ron'?" Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Yori was disapprovingly frowning.
Perking up, Ron straightened his back and grinned proudly. "I wanted it to sound like me," he explained why he was writing the way he was doing.
Narrowing her eyes, Kim matched her new teammate's expression before articulating her thoughts regarding her best friend's paper. "Why don't you shoot for 'sounds like English'?"
Ron's proud expression transformed into a ticked one.
"I agree with Possible-san, Ron-kun," Yori concurred, arms crossed. "Barkin-sama is not going to give you a passing grade for a paper that sounds like…" She momentarily stopped while she thought about it, and when she found what she wanted to say, she commenced. "Like rap singers."
"Yeah," Kim agreed, shaking her head. "Ron, I don't think the American education system would recognize Rap-glish as a language."
Just then, the TV monitors situated in front of the three Middleton High students came to life, and the Star Maker judge appeared on the screen, catching Team Possible's attention.
"Welcome and good evening!" the judge greeted with a lively face. "First up, I think this guy has a lot of talent and could go all the way!" He looked and pointed to his left. "Dr. D!"
Kim glared at the TV screen in suspicion. This was definitely not the behavior the judge normally displayed. He wouldn't be so nice, nor bother to endorse any contestant. "What got into him?" the redhead cheerleader voiced her thoughts as her teammates listened to her, "or should I say 'onto him?,'" she finished, upon realizing an idea to explain the judge's behavior, which had something to do with a shampoo. "I'll be right back," Kim said before walking away from her confused companions.
"Where's KP going, Yori?" Ron asked at the same time watching the retreating back of his long time best friend as she headed toward the dressing rooms.
As Kim went out of sight, Yori hmmed before nodding in approval. "I think Possible-san is investigating a motive, Ron-kun."
"Motive?" the goofy blond asked in bewilderment.
Turning her head to look down a little at the boy's face, the raven-haired girl nodded again. "Hai. Even you saw the judge was acting too nice."
Blinking upon realizing what his girlfriend was saying, Ron faced the television screen. "Yeah, that's right! How can the show be creepy and crawly with the judge being nice?!"
At first, the Yamanouchi ninja was confused at Ron's words, before her expression turned into a mild amused one. She shook her head at him as he watched on the TV their arch-foe take the stage.
High above the pair, an olive-skinned villainess, kneeling on a catwalk, smirked widely as she watched her rival walk away. She knew precisely where Kimmie was heading. With a plan in mind, Shego leaped quickly away.
Down below, just as the long-haired bad woman jumped away, Yori quickly trained her eyes upward, having thought she had spotted something rapidly moving away. Her almond eyes half closed upon figuring out who it might be.
"Something wrong, Yori?" Ron inquired after witnessing the swift turn of her head.
"Hai," she answered, before focusing on the path, which Kim had taken, toward the dressing rooms. "It seems Possible-san might need my help, Ron-kun." Without looking at him, Yori pointed a finger at him. "You stay here." With that said, the female ninja sped off, leaving a worried boyfriend behind.
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Out on the stage, Drakken held up the cordless microphone near his smiling mouth. "Shego, give a beat." Only a few seconds passed before he realized she still wasn't there. "She's still taking too long," he murmured sarcastically before accepting the situation. "Fine. If you want a beat done right…"
The blue middle-aged man began making rap-song noises and just a moment later he began singing.
Yo Yo Yo
I used to be Drew
One day I turned blue
As a suede shoe or berry
It makes me look scary
Then I ponytailed my hair eee
Got me a nasty scar
And a funky fresh flying car
Now Drew be Dr. Drakken
So quit that yakkin'
Think I'm out?
Ha! I'm backin'
Thus Dr. Drakken, aka Dr. D, sang his song, thinking by the end of his gig, he would be selling his mind-control shampoo without problems on his way to rule the world.
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Backstage, Ron, now standing, and his pink naked little friend, still standing on his right shoulder, watched the villain's performance on the TV.
"His tune is pretty catchy," Ron admitted with a raised eyebrow.
Rufus simply stick a finger into his mouth to convey what he thought. "Ack!"
However, a few minutes later, the expression on the teenage boy's face changed sourly. "Okay, I take it back. No one disses KP!"
"Yeah!" a ticked Rufus agreed with a fist striking into his other opened palm.
"I mean really!" Ron cried out, waving a hand at the TV screen and Drakken. "How would he like it if someone painted a mustache and beard on Shego's picture?" Both he and his small friend crossed their arms in disgust.
It wasn't long until both of them blinked in realization, looked at each other for a moment, before focusing back on the TV with defeated frowns on their faces.
"Okay, he wouldn't mind," Ron spoke out the answer.
A small razzberry escaped Rufus's lips in concurrence.
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Determined. That was how one would describe Kim Possible in one word as she walked down the long hallway of dressing rooms, heading toward one particular room in mind. She had a strong hunch precisely why the judge was acting the way he did, and to verify her intuition, she needed to search the judge's dressing room.
That was, if a particular villainess would allow Kim to proceed.
Crashing down through a ventilation duct, Shego's sudden appearance made Kim stop in her tracks, her stance ready for battle compared to her foe's casual pose with one hand on hip. "Nah-ha, Kimmie," Drakken's favorite right-hand lady teasingly scolded with a wave of a finger, "you're not allowed to venture into anyone's dressing room." Her smirk widened as she lowered the finger to place the hand on her other hip. "Don't you know that's rude?"
"Shego," Kim nearly snarled before it became a knowing smirk. "I don't need to enter that room to guess what happened. Given you don't want me to go into that room, I say that I would find Drakken's mind-warping shampoo in there. That's why the judge is so nice. He's definitely out of character."
"Oooo," the raven-haired bad woman mock awed, "the Princess figured it out. I'm sooo shocked." Her expression became gleefully feral as she lit up her hands. "Don't worry, Kim, I'm still nasty."
With that said, she launched herself toward the teenage heroine, ready to rumble. The pair punched, dodged, kicked, jumped, and fought each other well as they had many times before.
Kneeling on one knee after flipping backward to avoid a fist, Kim looked up just in time to quickly grab two fisted hands by the wrists, where the green glow wasn't seen. She growled up at the smirking face looking down at her.
"Too bad, Kimmie," Shego taunted while trying to force her lethal, glowing hands closer to her adversary's face. "By now, Dr. D should be close to finishing his song, and I guess from your outfit, you supposed to go out onstage next." Her jeering grin went wider. "Well, it's a shame you'll be disqualified for not showing up." With a grunt, the beautiful criminal tried harder to get through the teenager's defenses.
"Too bad you can not be disqualified, Shego," a feminine Japanese voice spoke from behind, and before the olive-skinned woman could turn her head around, she felt a flying kick connect to her back, sending her soaring away down the hall.
"Yori!" Kim called out in surprise, feeling relieved to see the ninja who was now standing beside her, facing the evil older woman in battle stance. "What are you doing here?" A part of her wanted to be irked at the Japanese girl for barging into her fight with Shego, thinking the other girl wanted to take away all the credit from her. Yet, Kim's brain immediately dismissed it, knowing Yori was not ever that type of person to seek glory and fame. Ron wouldn't have bothered to date the Yamanouchi student if she was that type.
Still facing the scowling villainess, who rose from the floor into a fighting position, Yori answered. "Shortly after you left, Possible-san, I noticed someone jumping away from the catwalk above Ron-kun and me. Given Shego was not seen yet anywhere, I took a guess that the individual must have been Shego, so I left to investigate to see whether the bad woman had followed you." A small grin came to her face as her dark twinkling eyes look sideways at her team leader. "I made it in time to, as you Americans say, 'Join the party'."
Standing up, Kim couldn't help but chuckle at Yori's accuracy regarding the saying. "Well, I'm glad you came in to crash it."
Yori giggled.
"Yori Takana," Shego wickedly grinned, making both teenage girls glower at her with narrowed eyes. "Well, Kimmie, you have to be going soft, if you're getting rescued instead of the other way around." Kim's left eye twitched, not particularly happy to be reminded that Yori could be better than she was.
"Knowing how intelligent you are, Shego," Yori spoke while moving her hands to a better attack position, "I am not surprised you found out about me."
Giving a self-satisfied shrug, Shego smirked. "Well, all I will say is that Kimmie's high school could use her Nerd Linger to build better microchip firewalls."
This news raised an eyebrow on the redhead cheerleader's face. "You hacked into Middleton High's computer mainframe?"
"Hey," Shego smugly answered, "if you don't mind Nerd Linger to hack into others' computers to help you, I consider it fair game for me to hack to get info to help me."
Kim gritted her teeth, for she didn't like the notion of anyone hacking into computers for selfish purposes. Wade only hacked into computers when it truly matter to find information to help on missions, but as far as she knew, the super genius would not ever break into any computer systems for self-interested intentions. Okay, her mind admitted, the boy had hacked into her digital diary, but that was more in the line of childish curiosity than selfishness.
"Possible-san," Yori's voice made Kim pay attention to her teammate, "I believe we should together teach Shego that it is not wise to underestimate one's opponents."
Hearing the underlying meaning behind the female ninja's words, Kim couldn't help but slyly smirk, matching the other girl's face. "Yori, I couldn't agree with you more."
Eying each other for a moment first and seeing their determination in each other, the ladies of Team Possible then turned as one to focus on the green-clad woman, who became serious as she readied herself. As one, Kim and Yori launched into the air, and with similar battle cries, they came down each with a leg extended at the awaiting Shego.
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With the last word spoken out of his lips, Drakken ended his song to applause from the audience, feeling he had achieved his goal. He bowed and smiled to the spectators. "I have this in the bag!" he mentally spoke. "Once people start to buy and use my shampoo, nothing will stop me from world domination! Not even Kim Possible!"
The judge came out onto the stage clapping. "Lovely, simply lovely," he grinningly praised.
Drakken grinned at the compliment. "Oh, you're too kind."
"But according to our computers," the judge said as he turned to face the audience, "and we don't know how this happened, we have one final contestant to challenge you." He raised his hands up, fingers spread. "Kim Possible!" he grandly announced.
Hearing the very name he thought a few moments ago, the blue-skinned bad guy blinked in disbelief. "What?"
"That's right!" the judge exclaimed. "We have one more contestant to go before we will announce our winner!" He gestured to the left side of the stage for Drakken to follow, and surely, the villain walked away with the judge behind him.
Outside, the man also known as Drew Lipsky appeared to still be in shock, but inside, he was livid. "Kim Possible?! Kim Possible! Does that goody teenager have to ruin every scheme I have?!" Slowly, his face scrunched to match his internal mood. "Curse James Possible for creating such a nosey brat!"
With a glowering face, Dr. Drakken walked off the stage and out of the cameras' view, yet he turned around to face the stage to await the appearance of his #1 nemesis, which he was curious to see how well she'd perform. Of course, he also thought that if he could, he would try to stop her any way he could.
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Ducking, Shego dodged a round house kick aimed at her head, only to feel a punch hitting her side. Taking the hand that had punched her, the green-skinned woman growled and threw the hand's owner, who happened to be the oriental newcomer, away from her. Only then, did the villainess face her long-time rival in time to block a side kick.
Feeling a drop of sweat rolling down her forehead, Shego, out of the corner of her eyes, saw Yori easily leap up from the floor and charge at her. With Kim keeping her occupied, the evil woman knew she was about to get squeezed again.
"It's just as I thought it would be," Shego thought as she quickly somersaulted over Kim to avoid being flanked. "I can handle Kmmie alone as well as Missy Japanese all by herself, but both of them together is almost too much for me to handle" Turning to face her adversaries, the corner of her mouth curved lopsidedly. "Now this is fun. I have not been given a good workout like this in years."
As Kim and Yori, expressions serious and firm, stood side-by-side facing their enemy, the redhead spoke out for both of them. "Give up, Shego?" she asked.
Shaking her head, Shego tisked with a scolding finger. "You should already know the answer to that, Princess."
"All too well," Kim grated before sprinting toward her foe with Yori just behind her. Her expression still looking smug, Shego anticipated their arrival, thus the battle continued after its short pause.
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After seeing and hearing the announcement of his best female friend's name on the TV, Ron placed down his notebook on a box and began to pace, much like the same friend had done many minutes ago. She wasn't here, thus his apprehensions started to mount. Even Rufus, standing on the box next to his notebook, looked worried.
Seeing the backstage manager approaching, Ron and Rufus gave him their full attention. "Do you know where Miss Possible is?" the manager asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ron shook his head. "No. I know she's supposed to be here."
Looking at his watch, the manager explained the situation. "Well, Miss Possible better be on that stage in five minutes," his eyes came up to lock on Ron's, "or else she's disqualified." With that said, he walked away.
Swallowing, the blond resumed his back-and-forth strolls. "Where is Kim?" he raised a hand in worry. "This is the talent show all over again." He knew that time of the Middleton High School Talent Show, Kim barely made it after completing the mission to retrieve the telephone teleportation device from Drakken. Of course, Ron knew he had bought time by doing odd talent stunts, thus he had won 1st place without even truly trying.
As Ron looked like he was about to worry himself to pieces, Rufus tore his owner's autobiographical paper out of the notebook, waving the paper in front of him. "Come on, sing it!"
Incredulous brown eyes gazed down at the little pink dude. "Sing my paper? Sing my paper? You want me to go out there and sing my paper?"
In an instant his brain thought of the sitch. With neither Kim nor Yori there, it was left to him to stop Drakken, thus he knew he had to sing. He didn't have anything original to sing, so his paper really was the only thing he could use for a song. He would be singing in front of a live audience in front of television cameras, sending his image to millions of viewers nationwide. It was going to be tough. It was going to be scary. And the last thing he thought… It was going to be fun.
Crossing his arms and grinning, Ron made his decision in that second his brain processed the sitch. "OK."
Leaving a grinning, approving Rufus, the high school junior student sought out the backstage manager. "Yo, dude!" he yelled, catching the man's attention. "I'm going to fill in for Kim."
"What?" the manager asked flabbergasted, blinking at the boy.
Giving his famous smile, the one telling anyone who knew him he had an insane idea, Ron Stoppable waved the manager's concerns away. "No big. I know what I'm doing." He pointed a finger at the older man. "This is what I need for you to do."
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With not a peep, the audience awaited patiently for the next contestant to come onto the stage. Some knew who Kim Possible was, thus they felt some excitement on seeing the world-saving heroine for the first time. Yet when the curtains parted, it wasn't a human that entered but a small pink creature with buck teeth, and to the surprise of some, they recognized the little guy as a naked mole rat. Many were confused, given they thought this was supposed to be a singing competition, not an episode of The Wild Kingdom.
The little pink fellow, upon reaching the microphone stand, adjusted the stand, so the microphone quickly fell down to his level. He cleared his throat once, before he began humming a tune with music started to play in the background. With an excited voice upon reaching a certain point, he cried out two words. "Hit it!"
The music picked up the beat, and the curtains parted for a blond, teenage boy to walk onto the stage as he sang.
Yo, listen up,
Have a howler from Ron
The Naked Mole Rap is the
Name of the song
Here's the story
In all it's glory
Ain't hiding nothin'
Don't know what the truth is,
How Ron met Rufus
One had to be blind to not see how much the audience was surprised. Instead of Kim Possible, a young man was entertaining them, and given the beat of the music and his singing, they couldn't help but to get swept away into the song and enjoy it.
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In the family room of the Possible residence, Jim and Tim sat up from their lying positions on the floor as they saw who was now on TV singing on American Star Maker.
"Yo!" Jim called out to his parents, who were sitting on the couch. "Ron is on TV!"
"Yeah," Tim said as he took over, "and he's singing!"
"Hooshah!" the twin boys yelled as they high-fived together before dancing to the beat of the rap song.
Looking up from reading a magazine, Mrs. Dr. Possible blinked in realization that her sons were correct. It was Ronald on the television. They had turned to American Star Maker in order to watch Kim sing on the stage, given they knew she was doing so to stop Drew. Yet to see her daughter's best male friend onstage was quite a shocker. "Honey," the Possible matriarch said without taking her eyes off the TV, "the boys are right."
Removing the newspaper from the front of his face, Mr. Dr. Possible eyed the wide-screen TV. "Ronald. Singing." He gave a small grin. "So he is." Face impassive once more, the Possible patriarch placed the paper up to face level to continue reading it.
After watching her husband, out of the corner of her eyes, returned to reading his paper, Anne half closed her eyes and shook her head, frowning. Sometimes she had the urge to take those blasted newspapers of his and burn them while he was reading them.
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Across Middleton, people who knew Ron Stoppable reacted in different ways to what they saw on TV, if they happened to be watching American Star Maker at the time. Most were surprised. Others became excited and cheered for the blond boy, like Monique and Felix. Yet only one felt disgusted as she watched what she deemed 'The Loser' on TV. Bonnie knew the next week or so in school would be a nightmare as Stoppable would be popular for some time.
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Shego really knew she was in trouble when she began to sweat. She hardly ever perspired during her previous bouts with the Princess, but this fight was nothing compared to the last one. The last one she was able to tackle just one opponent at a time, but this time she was faced with two and it was ticking her off that she was slowly losing despite her glow power.
With a roar, Drakken's right-hand partner-in-crime backhanded Yori out of her way, but when she turned to face her #1 adversary, it was too late to stop the incoming kick to the stomach from the redheaded crime-fighter. Shego was sent flying through a door into a dressing room, and when Kim, followed by Yori, went in after the villainess, they realized it was the dressing room of the American Star Maker judge.
After seeing the bottle of Drakken's shampoo on the make-up table, Kim came up with a plan to end this battle once and for all.
Teeth gritting, the world heroine charged against her female foe, who growled and threw some plasma bolts at her. "Yori," Kim hollered out as she flew into the air over the bad gal, "keep Shego busy for a few secs!" She landed right between the make-up table and Shego with her back to the green-clad woman.
Snarling, Shego raised a flamed, clawed hand as she spun around to swipe Kim in the back. "Oh-no you don't, Kimmie!"
"I don't think so, Shego!" Yori yelled as she swiftly grabbed the bottom legs of a director's chair, raised it up high in the air, and brought it down so the opening, between the backrest and the seat, allowed Shego's head and torso to come through. The tight confines of the chair trapped Shego's arms together, preventing her from moving them, and given her confinement, the middle child of the Go Family let out a howl of rage.
It was at that moment when Kim whirled around and pointed the opened bottle of shampoo at the world's most wanted female criminal. "Yori! Get out of the way!" she warned before squeezing the bottle. Just as the Japanese ninja side-jumped to her right, the liquid sprayed out of the bottle all over the top of Shego's head. The enraged look vanished from Shego's face to be replaced with a blank, zombie-like expression.
Seeing the fight go right out of the older woman, Yori blinked in confusion. "What did you do, Possible-san?" she asked as her sight went from Shego to a smirking Kim.
Kim couldn't help but feel smug that she, not Yori, was able to stop her arch-foe. "Oh, just sprayed Shego with Drakken's shampoo. The shampoo makes people obey Drakken, so I figured it would make Shego obedient."
A sly grin slowly formed onto Yori's face. "Clever, Possible-san. With Drakken not here to command her, Shego would do nothing."
Kim's self-satisfied grin went wider. Yet it quickly vanished upon seeing Yori go wide-eyed like she had forgotten something. "Oh, Kami!" the kunoichi exclaimed. "The competition!" She sprinted out of the room back toward the stage area.
It only took a moment after Yori spoke for Kim to understand, her emerald eyes going wide. "Oh, snap!" They had been so busy with fighting Shego that they had forgotten about the singing competition; especially when Kim was supposed to be onstage.
The redhead teen pointed to Shego. "You," her finger then pointed to the floor, "stay here." With that said, she ran out of the room to catch up with her new team member, leaving behind a compliant Shego.
It didn't took long for Team Possible's leader to catch up with Yori, for the moment she emerged out of the hallway into the backstage area, she spotted the Far Eastern girl standing behind a group of backstage personnel looking up a wall-mounted TV. As Kim approached, Yori turned around to face her. "Look, Possible-san," she mentioned while pointing to the television.
"That's Ron!" Kim said in astonishment. She had never known her long-time best friend could sing. It was just amazing to see and hear what the goofy boy was doing now.
However, Kim immediately banished her shock to quickly look around the place with narrow-eyed accuracy. Shego was subdued, which left only one person to apprehend – Drakken, and if the blue-skinned villain was not onstage, he had to be somewhere in the backstage area. Kim knew Drakken would not leave the studio without first finding out whether he won.
Seeing the bad guy nowhere in sight, Kim elbowed Yori to get her attention. "Come on, we need to get to the catwalk," she pointed to the walkway that was high above the stage. "From there, we can spot Drakken."
"Hai, Possible-san," Yori agreed, following the other girl to the nearest ladder that ascends to the catwalk.
Reaching the top, they quietly walked toward a point over the stage, where the two female warriors gazed down to their male teammate, who was currently facing the audience with his little mole-rat buddy on top of his head. It was then Kim and Yori noticed Drakken just off-stage to the left of the audience, and it was clear the evil man was fuming toward the singing Ron with intentions to do him harm.
What came next happened in a span of a few seconds that the girls reacted in synch so wonderfully in tune with Ron's words; they swore later it was a coincidence.
Rufus and Ron Stoppable
The two teenage girls saw Drakken walk onto the stage menacingly toward Ron, causing both together to jump over the catwalk railing and land together on top of the villain to make him fall down onto the floor. Both girls stood proudly and grinned in triumph – Kim with both hands on her hips and Yori with just one hand on a hip.
Wit' our friends from Team Possible
Everyone watched as Rufus climbed quickly up the back wall to the top of a large bulb-lit capital R and pushed it off the wall down onto Drakken, who fell through the center hole and was trapped, unable to move. Kim and Yori smirked that it was exactly like how Shego was ensnared with the director's chair.
We're not afraid of any attacks
The next thing both young Team Possible women felt was the back of their male member connecting to their backs, each receiving half of his back over each of theirs. They grinned warmly over their shoulders at his serious grinning face as he sang.
Yo, ladies, we've got your backs
It was then Rufus fell out of the sky and landed on their heads, making them all crouch down in surprise as their eyes rolled up to see him. "Oh, yeah!" the little dude exclaimed as he leaned forward toward the audience. Only then did Ron and Rufus stroll somewhat away from Kim and Yori, who kept their proud grinning gaze on the pair.
What is that, that freaky thing?
(Yes, that's right
It's a naked mole rat)
C'mon, y'all, let the girlies sing
(Listen to the naked mole rap)
As the girls watched and listened to the remainder of Ron's song, both remembered that last lyric line the boy had spoken to them – "Yo, ladies, we've got your backs." It was a heartfelt statement that Ron, as well as Rufus, meant that they would cover their backs and be there for the two of them. Yori couldn't help but feel a burst of pride and love for what her boyfriend had said with those words, while Kim felt honored and delighted her best friend for a long time would continue to support her always.
It wasn't long until Ron neared the end of the song, and when he finished, Rufus concluded it by blowing a kiss at the audience and then saying, "Boo-yah." Everyone applauded and whistled, showing how much they loved the performance.
The judge came onstage, clapping his hands. "A B minus, and I mean that in the nicest way." Ron beamed at the praise, while Kim and Yori grinned warmly at their colleague, even though they knew the judge wouldn't have been nice to Ron if it weren't for Drakken's shampoo.
Perking up at hearing the grade the judge had given his arch-foe's sidekick, Drakken smiled as his hopes flared up. "So, I win?"
"Sadly, no," the judge answered, taking a few steps to face the blue-skinned contestant.
"What?!" shouted Drakken disbelievingly, his eyes going wide.
With Team Possible watching on, the brainwashed judge explained the reason to the trapped villain. "Well, as it turns out, you're disqualified."
Drakken still couldn't believe it. "Says who?"
"The police," the brown-haired judge replied. "I don't know what this means, but they've confiscated your warehouse," he pointed to the blue man, "and they're coming to get you."
"AAHHH!" the man, the former college friend of Kim's dad, howled in defeat. All his plans for controlling the world's population went down the tubes. "Curse you, Kim Possible!" he bellowed with his closed eyes facing the ceiling.
Yori chuckled before speaking to her team leader, smirking. "Actually, I believe it was Wade-san who made the final blow." Kim, Ron, and Rufus, who stood on his owner's left shoulder, matched the teenage shinobi's expression, totally agree with her. There was no doubt it was indeed Wade, for he must have founded Drakken's warehouse and produced enough evidence for the authorities to seize the evil one's assets.
Taking out her Kimmunicator, the redhead cheerleader pressed a button, and the tiny screen blipped on to show a slyly-grinning Wade Load with his eyes closed as he held his soda cup. Seeing her young friend, Kim proudly knew he deserved the credit for the final bust of Drakken's scheme. "You may not rap, Wade," she said with a warm grin as the pre-teen boy took a sip of soda before holding it aloft, "but you rock." Using the hand holding his cup, Wade pointed to Kim, showing his endorsement of her compliment.
As the two Team Possible girls softly laughed at the tech boy's gesture, a smiling Ron came forward toward the judge. "So does this mean I won?" Both he and Rufus looked on eagerly awaiting the answer. It would be so badical if they did win the American Star Maker contest.
The judge raised his hands in a stopping gesture. "Sorry, but you're also disqualified," he grinned.
"What?!" Ron and Rufus simultaneously cried out, their mouths handing open in shock. Kim and Yori blinked at this.
"According to our computers," the judge began, "Kim Possible was supposed to be the contestant." His finger pointed to Ron. "Not you." His hand moved in a dismissing wave. "Therefore, even though your song was good, you can not win due to not being a registered contestant." He moved away from the flabbergasted blond boy and his pet, and soon after, the blond's two female companions strolled over to stand on either side of him, offering sympathetic grins. His girlfriend even placed a comforting hand on his arm.
Facing the live and television audiences, the judge smiled. "So, it's time to announce our winner. Given the disqualifications of our last two participants, the win goes to…" He pointed to his left with grand style. "Buck Teeth Joe!"
A large black man, dressed in a rap-singer's outfit, came onto the stage to the applause and cheering. Ron and Yori immediately recognized him as the contestant the judge criticized when they had watched the show prior before last Sunday. The big dude smiled, showing his buck teeth, which made him look like a human-size equivalent of a particular naked mole rat.
Seeing the big human's teeth, Rufus cried in fright before quickly running down his owner's form to scurry into his pocket home. For three sets of teenage human eyes, they could easily see the pants pocket shaking, showing the little guy's anxiety.
As the studio guards took a grieving Drakken away, Yori gave an understanding chuckle regarding Rufus's reactions. "Rufus-san is quite frightened."
Giving a small forceful grin, Ron shrugged. "He'll be okay," he said prior to looking at the smiling, victorious Buck Teeth Joe with a sigh.
Feeling it was time to leave, knowing their mission has been accomplished, Kim placed an arm around her best friend's shoulders and the other hand on his arm, while Yori, immediately caught on to what the redhead was doing, put both her hands on his other arm. Together, the girls led a disappointed Ron off stage.
As they walked off stage and out of sight of the cameras and the audience, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable whined once more. "Aw, man! I can't believe I didn't win!"
Once more the nimble ninja of Yamanouchi offered a sympathetic expression. "You did great, Ron-kun. You may not have won, but you did well in going out there and singing when Possible-san was not available to do so."
Kim couldn't dispute what Yori said. "Yori is right, Ron. You came through for us." The arm over his shoulders provided a brief hug.
"Thanks, Yori, KP," Ron replied, feeling somewhat better for their moral support. "It's good to know the Ronman has pulled through."
"Well, I know you should already know this, Ron," Kim grinned, "but that famous saying applies here." Seeing Ron, Yori, and Rufus, now that he has gotten over his fright, was paying attention, Team Possible's leader quoted the well-known saying. "You win some, you lose some."
Giving a snort, Ron faced forward, his face grumbling. "You just wait and see. I'll beat Felix in Zombie Mayhem one day. You just wait and see." Yori couldn't help but softly laugh at the sudden change of topic, placing her cheek on his shoulder, while Kim just smirked and shook her head.
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It had taken a few hours for everything to settle down. Approximately 30 minutes after the American Star Maker winner was announced, the police arrived to take Drakken and Shego into custody. Concerned whether Shego was permanently a zombie, Kim had spoken to Wade, who had the shampoo analyzed, and the boy genius found that the effects of the shampoo fade within a few days, thus the villainess would be back to normal eventually.
Only after the bad guys were finally on their way to jail did Kim change back to her normal clothes before the members of Team Possible left the studio. Night had come over the land as the three teens and one mole rat sat on a bench next to the helicopter pad across from the TV studio.
Sitting between his two favorite ladies, Ron gazed at the stars. He still was a bit put off that he lost the competition, but he reasoned it was probably for the best he didn't win. His past experiences with fame & fortune told him how much an idiot he became when he let himself became too big-heady over money and celebrity status. Also the incidents almost put a strain on his friendship with Kim at times, and given now he as well had Yori on his side, it just would not do to lose these two important ladies of his life. Nope, some things were just not worth the sacrifice for wealth and popularity.
Looking down from stargazing, Yori's dark eyes centered on her blond suitor sitting on her right. "Are you okay, Ron-kun?" she asked, catching the attention of Kim on the other side of Ron. "You look like you were deep in thought."
Ron shrugged somewhat as he softly grinned in reassurance. "Just thinking that all that dough and fame wouldn't be worth it though." His chocolate orbs latched onto his girlfriend's eyes. "I'd rather be beside my bon-diggity GF and my best friend," he then turned to look at Kim, "than have money and such."
Kim lopsidedly grinned with warmth. "Getting sentimental, Ron?"
Again the blond boy shrugged before placing his left arm up and round the Japanese girl's shoulders. "Maybe, KP," he answered, then trained his attention to the warmly smiling girl in his arm. "After all, when it comes to romance, the Ron-man can be Mr. Romeo."
With eyes twinkling, Yori shook her head. "I do not think romance means sitting next to a helicopter landing pad waiting for a helicopter, Ron-kun." Ron wisely just shrugged once again and simply gave his goofy smile in return.
Unnoticed to the young couple, their auburn-haired friend became a bit perturbed on the sight of Ron cuddling with Yori. Her left eye twitched, and for a moment, she actually wanted Ron to have his arm around her, not the sneaky ninja wench. Blinking her green eyes to what she was thinking, Kim's face returned to normal, but not before Rufus, sitting on Ron's left thigh, noticed the brief jealous reaction.
Gazing down, Yori's line of vision came to rest on the notebook resting on Ron's right thigh. "So I presume you have finished your autobiographical paper?"
Both Kim and Ron followed Yori's sight to also rest on the notebook. "Yep," the young man proudly responded, "my paper is all done." His right hand gestured to his little pink buddy. "It was Rufus's suggestion to sing my paper onstage." Rufus proudly grinned to match his owner's expression.
"I say," Kim agreed. "That paper sounds better as a rap song than an actual term paper."
A smug Ron raised his right index finger. "Yet the judge gave me a B minus for it, KP. Mr. B should likely give me the same grade for it."
A skeptical frown came across the Middleton High Cheer Squad captain's face. "I don't know, Ron. It's one thing to sing it; it's another thing to read it. Also, in order for Mr. Barkin to give you the same grade, he would have had to watch American Star Maker for him to hear the paper as a song."
A frowning Yori nodded in concurrence. "I agree with Possible-san, Ron-kun. From what I've seen of Barkin-sama's personality, he doesn't seem to be the type to watch these kinds of TV shows."
His smile faded, knowing the girls were right. Steve Barkin seemed to be the type to watch the History Channel rather than Reality TV. Yet a moment later, a light bulb mentally came on over his head, making Ron smile once more.
"No prob then, ladies," he mentioned without worry to the two befuddled gals. "Tomorrow, instead of presenting a paper paper to Mr. B, I'll give him a video paper!"
"Say what?" Kim mentioned still confused. Even Yori was unsure of what her boyfriend has in mind.
Confident in his plan, Ron held out his right hand to his long time friend. "KP, let me talk to Wade."
Without questioning, Kim handed over her Kimmunicator, and after her friend pressed a button, the tiny screen came to life to show Wade. "Hi, Ron," greeted the African-American pre-teen.
"Hey, Wade," Ron returned the welcome. "I have a favor to ask of you." Seeing he had Wade's full attention, the teen spoke on. "Did you record today's American Star Maker show?"
A positive grin from Wade told Ron everything. "You bet. I recorded everything, including your performance."
Ron's smile widened. "Great! Now can you record my performance onto tape and have it on my doorstep before I return home tonight?"
Blinking in bewilderment, Wade nodded. "Sure, I can do that. May I ask why?" he finished with a raised eyebrow.
Knowing that Kim and Yori too were waiting for an explanation, Ron finally told his idea. "Tomorrow, The Naked Mole Rap will make its debut at Middleton High as Ron Stoppable's paper for Mr. Barkin."
"Boo-yah!" Rufus crowed with excitement.
Finally comprehending his plan, both girls blinked at first before each grinned. Yori chuckled with some pride, while Kim withheld her laughter, shaking her head. "So that's your plan, eh?" the redhead acknowledged. The blond boy simply smiled cheekily.
With a chuckle of his own, Wade spoke to gain everyone's attention. "Sure thing, Ron. You'll have the tape on your doorstep in a few hours."
"Thanks, Wade," Ron grinned gratefully, and with good-byes said from the entire team, Wade signed off for the night.
As Ron handed back the PDA to his best female friend, Yori snuggled a little closer to her beau. "Well, we will have to wait and see tomorrow whether Barkin-sama will give you a passing grade," she teasingly grinned.
Hugging her shoulders, Ron looked like a man who knew things would be going well. "You'll see, Yori. You'll see."
As the oriental young woman giggled in response to her BF's words, Kim shook her head once again with a lopsided grin. Knowing this boy ever since pre-k, she knew the goofy guy's ideas were cheesy, corny, and sound unlikely to work, yet there were times these tacky plans of his did work. It amazed her every time whenever his procedures came through right on the top with good points in his favor.
"Knowing Ron," Kim spoke in her head, "it's likely he will get that B-minus from Mr. Barkin. As he said, we'll just have wait and see."
It was just then they all heard the sounds of high-speed rotating copter blades, making them all look up at the approaching helicopter - The one that would take Team Possible home to a place called Middleton.
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TBC (End of Chapter 24)
A/Ns:
1) Okay now. First off, I can imagine some of you are asking why it has taken this long to get Chapter 24 out since Chapter 23 was posted way back in February. It's not writer's block. I just happened to let my writing fall on the wayside, especially once I had DSL net access installed at home on February 14th (in the middle of a snow storm). My interests took a different direction when I started to download vids and stuff off the net, so it had taken quite some time for me to write this chapter up and post it. I also happened to have a plot bunny hit me to write up a Hana Stoppable story ("Stronger Than Bloodties"), which is now currently available to read.
So I want to say that I'm not guarantying how long it would take for me to get chapters out now. I know many readers would want to have updates often, but people should remember that fanfiction are written by people who are doing this for free on their own time. One can't expect updates often given other things might take priority first or draw attention away for some time.
2) I know some of you were expecting Ron to sing a different song than "The Naked Mole Rap", especially with Yori in the picture. Yet to be honest, Ron's paper was about how he met Rufus, not Kim or Yori, thus the song would be exactly the same as in the TV episode except for two lyric lines, which talked about Kim. I'd simply taken those lines and modified them so they sound like Ron was referring to both ladies of Team Possible. So yes, the song is exactly the same, except for those two lyric lines.
Since most KP fans, who have seen "Rappin Drakken," already know the lyrics of Drakken and Ron's songs, I didn't want to waste space installing all the lyrics in the story. I installed enough of the lyrics in the story without needing to use both songs entirely. In case of Ron's song, I installed the beginning to start the song and then the part of where the two modified lyric lines were sung.
3) Yeah, yeah, I added more pop-culture references at the beginning of this story. I couldn't help it anyway. Once I'd started writing this story, I'd immediately imagined that crazy pilot being the one to fly Team Possible to the TV studio. (big grin)