Tales of The Awkward: Chapter Six (Team Players)
Chrome Notes: Ah, it's the end of the first half.
When a team rife with cohesion and chemistry is clicking, there isn't much the opposition could do to stop the onslaught. It didn't matter if the team was a party of eleven, nine, five, or even two. If they had it, how could the one who were going to stop them... stop them? Needless to say, team chemistry was paramount to every team's success.
As for Team Possible, however...
"Ron! Go for the center!" Kim Possible, world reknowned heroine, but not quite superheroine commanded.
"Gotcha, K.P.!" A rushing Ron Stoppable said. It was a familiar scene; Team Possible was out to foil a particularly nasty Dr. Drakken plot; this one involving a Positron laser, a couple of crystals, and some sugar cane. Possible barked out commands to her partner, whilst duking it out with her longtime archrival, Shego. The redhead just narrowly missed from being hit with a blast of green plasma. Unfazed, still, she continued to press on.
"Hey, you know..." Shego began, pausing to attempt to dish out some punishment to her opponent. "...sidekick looks a little different from the last time I saw him..." She dodged a high kick attack from the younger woman. "...You know, he's actually kinda cute..."
The teen heroine performed a backflip to avoid the henchwoman's sweep. She landed gracefully, as always. Before she leapt back into the prey, however... She paused for a moment... Did Shego just say that Ron was cute? Shaking off the notion, the girl went back to business with the tussle. When an opening presented itself, the auburn-haired crimefighter attacked with a little extra. Chiefly because she wanted to take Shego down, and not because of Shego's newfound affection for her partner.
"What, you want his number?" Kim asked snidely, a closed fist headed directly for the black-haired woman's midsection.
"Nah..." Shego answered, deftly sidestepping the attack. To the younger woman's surprise, the stronger Shego grabbed the hand that she wasn't attacking with. With brute strength, she whipped the surprised girl over her shoulder and threw her against a nearby wall. Kim, clearly injured from the collision, slumped against the wall.
"...I've already got yours," The villainess said with that ever-so-evil smirk.
The redhead shook her head, attempting to clear up the cobwebs. That was some kind of shot...
"K.P.! Are you OK?" Ron yelled.
"Don't worry about me," she ordered, though woozily. "Don't lose those crystals!"
"Gotcha," the blond aye-ayed. He was on the run from two guards, ably using what little quickness and agility he had to evade the burly men.
"Grrr..." Dr. Drakken, the mad scientist growled. He had seen just about enough of the buffoon eluding his very much underqualified henchmen.
"Shego! Get the buffoon!"
"With pleasure," she replied.
Effortlessly, the villainess executed a somersault and found herself right in front of the hustling blond. Ron stopped dead in his tracks.
"Uh-Oh..." He said quietly.
Uh-Oh was right. He was surrounded. Drakken's three also-rans were to the right of him, Shego was to the left of him, and Drakken himself was on a platform almost directly above him. The blond was boxed in and in a pick your poison sitch; face the three burly guards with those sparkly pitchforks, or face the exceedingly dangerous Shego. Boy, it would be totally badical if his patented Mystical Monkey Power decided to kick in right now. Or now would be nice... Actually, it would be really beyond awesome if it kicked in... now. But then again... right now wouldn't be bad.
Kick in... Right about... Now!
"Hand over the crystals, punk," said one of the guards. When their demands wasn't met in the allotted time, the guards began to close in on him. The blond shut his eyes in obvious panic... This was shaping up to be one painful weekend.
"Wait," Shego chimed in. The super-powered villainess ambled toward the petrified sidekick. "I've got this."
"Ron!" Kim exclaimed. She attempted to come to his aid, but was hit from behind from the blast of a ray of some sort. It didn't hurt much, however, she was chagrined to find out that moving her extremities were quite impossible.
"That was my Paralyze Ray," Drakken gloated. "It won't keep you stationery for long, but it will keep you still long enough to watrch me conquer the world!"
He issued the standard-issue maniacal laugh that he seemed to be good at, and... where did the sudden thunderclap come from? It was clear as day outside... With all of the chasing and fisticuffs at a standstill, all eyes situated on the crystals, the sidekick, and Shego. The auburn-haired crimefighter could only watch as Shego advanced on 85-percent defenseless sidekick.
"Hey, handsome," The black-haired woman began, an attractive air in her voice. "What say you hand over those crystals, eh, hun?"
Handsome? Who was handsome? The blond pointed to himself to try and differentiate who the lady in green was referring to. Well, he was the one with crystals, and she did nod, and wink at him... and was moving closer toward him.
"Hummina...Hummina," he stuttered.
"That's right, Ronnie. I'm talking to you," she continued. The young man himself felt paralyzed under the older woman's gaze.. and the fact that she had actually said his name. Another sudden bout of Severe Critical Temporary Shutdown Syndrome (SCTSS) jolted Ron as he felt the gloved hand of the evil-evil-evil and soooo gosh-darn sexy Shego grip his chin. Her effervescent smile, which already did a fine job of melting away his resolve, was threatening to melt the teenage boy in itself.
"If you hand over those crystals, sweetie, I'll be very..." she moved painfully close to him, her mouth shatteringly close to his ear. She smelled so freaking good, whatever perfume it was, it threatening to pretty much kill him. Add to that, her voice was a 'roll-of-quarters' exposing seductive. "...very grateful..."
Guh! Very... Grateful?
Critical Error 666B: Temptation via Evil Seductress
Prognosis: Extremely Poor
Treatment: GIVE IN! GIVE IN! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GIVE IN!
Just about everyone, from the guards to even Drakken, were in awe of the black-haired woman's sudden switch from 'ruthless warrior' to 'five-star femme fatale.'
"Hey, doc," A guard asked. "What's her number again?"
Kim, on the other hand, couldn't believe the measures that Shego was taking to get to the crystals. Then again, she would really hate to see her comet-powered rival put a pounding on her best friend, and with her in the current state she was in, not be able to stop it. She hoped and prayed the her partner's self-control matured along with his other traits.
"I-I-I," Ron stammered. "I can't," he finalized, though shakily.
"Not even for... me?" Shego asked, her jade green eyes shimmering into his.
Wait a minute... Could a negotiation be put in place? He couldn't... But, with the way she was staring at him, he could've sworn that he could.
"No, I can't," Ron answered with more conviction
"No?"
"No," he said once again. As if the sun came from behind the clouds, the blond remembered who he was dealing with... Even though the woman he was talking to was hot like... fiyah. "I can't allow you guys to take over the world. Y'all are evil!" He exclaimed, pointing at the evils in question.
With a flippant wave of her gloved hand, Shego excused herself from the circle. "Oh well, at least I tried something new..."
At a moment's notice, mean green plasma built up within the henchwoman's fists. With the evil smirk in full effect, she lunged at the blond.
"...But now, it's time for the direct approach, hun," the villainess stated.
Kim shut her eyes. Ron shut his eyes -- and probably wet his pants. With one blow, the hapless blond went down - hard, and the crystals went flying. Unfortunately, for Dr. Drakken, his henchmen weren't exactly blessed with the hands of an NFL wide receiver, the men all dove for the soaring crystals only for all three of them to come up empty. On contact, the glassy objects shattered to the floor, much to the displeasure of one blue-skinned mad scientist. With the crystals irreparably damaged, the world was safe for another day.
As for Team Possible, however, they weren't safe for another day... or for the next couple of days, for that matter.
"Are you sure you're going to be OK?"
"Yes, K.P. Besides, there's nothing rest and morphine can't fix!"
How true was that? Despite the blond's reassurance, Kim couldn't help but to constantly question his physical condition. In the scrum, in which she wasn't able to intercede in, he had sustained a fairly mild concussion, numerous bruises, and some top-notch lacerations. Still, though, she wasn't exactly enamored with her best friend's stay in the hospital that night. Though he was comfortably rested in his house this day, she still wasn't exactly at ease. In the back of her mind, she knew there was always a possibility of her partner being injured critically during missions. While that didn't happen that Friday night, she spent most of that weekend dwelling on what could've been, and was very much disturbed by it. She felt responsible for what had happened, and to a degree, she was. After all, she did often pull the blond along on these missions, sometimes literally. Then again, at times, he invited himself. Other than the company and the prospect of being a distraction to the opposition, there wasn't too much use for him.
But don't tell Kim that... She might get upset.
The auburn-haired girl had always had a notion to train her best friend, but the time to do it had never presented itself.
"Hey, Ron." She asked.
"Yeah?" he answered drowsily.
"Are you sure that you're all right?"
"Abso-tively, Posi-lutely, K.P.," he replied with a slight level of exasperation in his voice. To demonstrate, he got out of his bed and still up for the first time since the incident. "See? Why are you so concerned about this? I'm good. I'm cool. I've never felt... Owww... Ow... Ow."
A jolt of pain in the boy's lower extremities belied his belief that there was nothing wrong. Not that Kim was believing any of it, mind you. Despite the lie, she rushed over an applied an ice pack to his bruised knee.
"See? That's what I'm talking about," she said as she eased him back into bed. "I don't like it when you get hurt, Ron."
Uh-Oh... It looked at though she was serious about this. He could see it in her eyes. But then again...
"Aw, you know how it is, K.P! 'Tis a scratch, 'Tis a scratch."
"Ron..."
"Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man," he said playfully.
Why did he always have to joke around when he got hurt? And... Since when did he know Sheakspeare?
"Ron, I'm serious!" Kim urged. "It's not just a scratch... I just... don't like it when you get hurt, Ron... I hate it." She drew closer to him and attempted to look him in the eye. "I can't let that happen to you, Ron. I care about you too much to let that happen."
The boy shied away from the concerned look of the auburn-haired girl. The blond blushed slightly, from the closeness between himself and his best friend, and from what was just said. He knew that she did indeed care about his well-being. In fact, he hadn't seen Kim this concerned since this past Christmas. Of course, the only thing he really remembered from that foray was that kiss he got on the cheek under the mistletoe errr, Parsley. But that was neither here nor there.
"You can't blame yourself, K.P.," Ron said, his voice adapting to the significance of the matter. "It's happened before, and it'll probably happen agai--"
"No it won't," Kim said solemnly.
"Why?"
"Because from now on..." Kim paused, as she turned her back on the bedridden blond. "...You're not going on missions with me anymore."
That took Ron for a serious turn. "What? Why? K.P. you're taking this way too seriously... I just--"
He paused as he saw the girl begin to tremble a bit. It took a couple of moments for him to realize it, but she was crying. She wasn't sobbing loudly, but her body was convulsing frequently enough for him to notice. It was a first for the blond. He had never seen his best friend cry before... She was much too strong for that, wasn't she? He had to get inside what was bothering her the most about this. He had taken his share of beatings during missions before, and he could safely say this was far from the worst. So what was the problem? Struggling mightily, he got to his feet and followed the redhead to where she was standing. He had no idea how to combat this, he'd never a show of emotion like this from Kim before.
Critical Error 208A: Emotional Overload: The Water Works
Diagnosis: Pops out of nowhere at times.
Treatment: When in doubt, do what the guys in One Tree Hill do.
There she was, just a couple of feet from her. Was he going to accept the girl's solution? Maybe... Even past that, though, he still felt the urge to calm her down someway. Ignoring the rising discomfort from standing up, he slowly proceeded toward his best friend.
"Kim?"
The teen heroine didn't want the blond to see her like this. As if she didn't hear him, she kept her back turned away from him. Seeing that this route wouldn't exactly work. Thus, he took another route;
Yes! The glorious route of confrontation!
"K.P., enough already! Like it or not, I got hurt. I don't see why you're so broken up about it."
Still with her back turned, Kim replied. "I'm so broken up about it because there wasn't anything I could do about it. I..."
"...Like you always say. So not the drama, K.P. That was a one-in... like a thousand thing. I mean, look, you get banged up and bruised all of the time... You don't see me shedding any--"
"That's different, Ron. I know how to defend myself... You... well--"
That gave the blond an idea.
"If you're so concerned about that, then why not train me?"
Uh-Oh... Sure, Kim had an idea to do this. But she had always figured that she'd be the one to bring it up.
"You're in no position to..."
"Whoa! I'm talking about right now... After I heal up, you can... show me the ropes, so to speak."
While it did sound better than cutting the blond out of the picture altogether, she was a bit hesitant to give it a go. She truthfully didn't believe Ron would be so opposed to her decision.
"I... guess that could work," she said, an uncertain air in her voice. She was taken aback slightly as she saw the boy's slight look of relief.
"Whew..." Ron said to an uninjured Rufus. "Crisis Averted."
That statement left the auburn-haired girl a bit curious, but certainly not in a bad way. "Wow," she began, her lips slightly curling upward. "I didn't know all this saving the world business was that important to you," she said, a small smile gracing her face for the first time in a while.
The blond flushed a bit as he looked away. Either the girl's smile was a bit too much of a welcoming sight, or he was uncertain about what he had to say for an answer.
All throughout his attempt at an answer, he kept eye contact with the girl to a bare minimum... or in this case, none at all.
"Uh, well, K.P.," he paused to rub his neck in an anxious manner. "...It's not just the, um... saving the world business that's important to me..." He trailed off, fearing that he let on a bit too much.
"Oh..." Kim began. "I..."
She immediately had a flashback of what had happened that Friday Night before Spring Break.
"Uh... Well..." he began. "Some things are more important than this..." He said, thumbing over to the packed house.
"Like what?"
"Like.. Say, tagging along with your best friend on a mission... Even though it's 'nothing major.'"
"So wait... Let me get this straight. You'd rather fight freaks with me and lose your pants than party with those guys," she asked in disbelief.
"Oh... I don't know... Yes," the blond answered with a smirk.
More important things? Like, maybe... The teen heroine's facial features flushed slightly in what her partner might have been alluding to.
"Uhh..." the blond became even more uncomfortable, as if that was humanly possible. However, with the last faltering ounce of nerve left in him.
"...'Cause, you know, we're best friends, you know... BFF's are supposed to do everything together, right?"
Disarming Quote No. 1!
Whew! Give that man an emmy... as well as a stretcher.
The flush that was apparent of the auburn-haired girl began to subside. She did, however, keep a warm smile in her partner's direction.
"I guess you're right," she said. At a moment's notice, she threw her arms around the boy, giving him a good squeeze. While Ron was happy to see his best friend in a better mood, he still did have some injuries.
"K.P., K.P... Injuries, Injuries!" He urged in a whisper.
She broke away immediately, a slight flush of embarrassment on her face. Neither had much of anything to say following the... well... er... friendly embrace.
"So..." Ron began, attempting to break the proverbial ice. "...am I um... reinstated?"
That seemed to snap Kim out of her momentary daze.
"Oh, Yeah, of course... On one condition, though."
Condition? He thought he cleared everything up already...
"Condition?" Ron stammered. "Wha-What condition?"
"You still have to train with me," she said wryly, before turning to leave.
Uh-Oh...
Train? As in... choo-choo?
End of Chapter Six
Oh Boy... Honestly, I don't think this chapter exactly matched the flow.
Either way... Liked? Disliked? Think the Astros can actually pull off a miracle? Review!
