Chapter IV: The Human Typhoon

Too much bliss is a dream and too much off a dream shatters reality. Ron was at a loss when he was dreaming blissfully at the reality of their kiss. He never wanted to let go and by Kim's reaction, neither did she.

But they needed to come up for air. Slowly, they parted though their arms still embraced each other. Kim smiled as she saw her boyfriend's goofy grin. It had been too long since she had seen him smile like that.

Too long.

"Wow," Ron breathed. He was smiling as if he had won the lottery after the shock of knowing that he had won. He didn't know how she had affected him so. Tracing his right hand gently on her back, he swallowed when he remembered something about Kim's attire that brought out his inner desire.

Kim was wearing nothing underneath his jersey. He even caressed her waist and didn't find a panty line. She really wasn't wearing anything underneath.

Ron grinned, and neither did he.

"You have no idea what you're doing to me," Ron said huskily making Kim purr.

"I have a pretty good idea, judging from that kiss," Kim, smiled seductively as he angled for another kiss.

Ron was about to oblige when he suddenly froze and straightened up. Kim was confused, why would he stop? They were just getting to the good part when his smile became apologetic.

"Much that I like to continue…" Ron slowly turned his head and found Nicholas, strangely in pajamas that had different sizes of crosses for design, leaning on the wall and smiling at them.

"So this is what freshening up means," he teased as he chuckled when he saw them blush. "You'd better teach me these terms, Outlaw. I may need to use them in the future."

"What's with the outfit?" Ron asked, trying to remove his embarrassment. He and Nicholas had been through a lot together and he trusted him, sort of. But when he caught him gazing at Kim, he gave him a hard glare that could weaken the strongest of men.

"Relax," Nicholas smiled as he walked towards them. "I'm not going to steal her away from you. Seriously, have I tried to take anything from you?"

"You stole my lunch," Ron said, stating a fact.

"Let me rephrase that," the Preacher chuckled. "Have I tried to take anything valuable from you?"

"You tried to take my life, long story KP," he added hastily when he heard her gasp.

"That was a mistake," Nicholas sighed. "Have I taken anything that you treasure more than your own soul?" At that, Ron smiled softly and shook his head. "There! You see? I'm not going to steal her, break you two apart or even hurt her. I'm not that heartless."

"Thanks," Ron sighed in relief. "So… they're beginning to wonder?"

"Let me put it this way. If Mr. Possible were any more nervous, he'd be up here instead of me. And you know what that means…"

"Black hole deep," both men said in unison but their reaction to the word was different.

Ron sighed in disappointment.

Nicholas smiled in mirth.

"Ms. Possible," Nicholas smiled at her. "May I borrow him for a moment while you put on something under that shirt? I need to talk to him for a minute." Blushing, Kim hesitated for a moment, looked at Ron who assured her that it was all right, and went back into her room. Still smiling, he grabbed Ron's collar and dragged him out of earshot.

"You've better control your hormones or you'd get into trouble," Nicholas said as he released the squirming Ron.

"I know," he sighed. "A trip into a deep space probe would not make my day."

"I wasn't talking about the probe," Nicholas smirked as he looked at the stairs leading to Kim's room. "I'm saying that you've better be careful." A look of horror was etched in Ron's face and suddenly he became conscious of his actions.

"If I happen to knock her up, I'll…" Ron swallowed as he tried to gather his courage. "I'll be responsible."

"Relax, Ron. Jeez. I've seen you face a whole gang of outlaws and you were never this nervous. And, though I commend you in your nobility, I'm not talking about you getting her pregnant."

"Then what?" Ron was confused. What was Nicholas trying to tell him?

"I'm telling you to go slow, especially that she's still… innocent," Nicholas said with a look that said volumes. Though, Ron still couldn't understand what he was trying to say.

"Innocent in what way?" he asked but when Nicholas gave him an unbelieving glare he figured it out.

And blushed.

"Going too fast, am I?" Ron asked with a sigh.

"The hunger will be sated but it is in how you sate your hunger shall be the measure of your hearts," Nicholas said sagely.

"Dude, that doesn't make sense," Ron frowned as he tried to understand what the preacher had said.

"Just take it slow, Ron. You have all the time in the world. Take it slow and I promise you that it would be worth your while," Nicholas smiled as he looked behind Ron. "Both of you. Take it easy."

Ron looked behind him and found his beloved looking at them in interest. Ron smiled at her, assuring her that it was all right.

"You don't want to remember your first time to be rushed," Nicholas leered and chuckled. "Romance, Ron," Nicholas waved his hand elegantly and walked away. "Charm." Ron sighed not knowing to thank the man or kill him.

"I'll stall them," Nicholas said as he walked towards the living room. "Fifteen minutes. Max."

Now Ron was confused. What had Nicholas really wanted? To save them from creating a big mistake? To remind them that their first time should be special? Or to push them in the right direction?

"Is he really a preacher?" Kim asked as she watched Nicholas turn a corner.

"Sometimes, I don't know, KP," Ron sighed as he held her close to him. "Five minutes KP, then we follow." Kim sighed as she relaxed into his arms. Five minutes was not enough. Oh no.

Five minutes was definitely not enough. But it's a start.

… …

"Where are the two lovebirds?" Shego asked as Nicholas sat beside her. She dare not admit it but the Preacher's pajama looked good at him.

"Cuddling," Nicholas said in a soft tone. Shego blinked in surprise. She knew that the two had unresolved issues, but to act this quickly was… no, after a moment's thought Shego realized that it was possible that it was not stoppable and somehow, that made sense to her.

But, Shego, being her self, could not help but tease, "Couldn't wait to get their hands on each other?"

"I wouldn't mind if it were only hands," Nicholas said making the raven-haired woman gasp in surprise.

"Thank You for leaving that image in my mind. Now, how could I sleep?" Shego shivered at the image her mind made of the two together. Her thoughts were put at hold when she heard a soft rumbling beside her. She was annoyed that to find out that that rumbling was Nicholas laughing. She was annoyed but hearing his laughter made her heart warm. How could anyone be so annoying could affect her as he did?

Her heart only softened twice, once when she was in high school and another time… She would rather forget that other time. For it was at that time that she felt betrayed and abandoned. Her reason to live had gone and her only thought at that time was revenge.

And the price for her revenge… was something she would not trade for the world.

Looking around her, Shego felt like she was part of a family again, albeit a little better than her own but a family nonetheless.

"Tell us how you met Ron," Mrs. Possible asked as she placed a plate of goodies on the coffee table. Shego, thankful that her thoughts were averted, looked at the preacher warily.

"As the lady wishes," Nicholas said sweetly, making Mrs. Possible blush. "Ron arrived in planet Gunsmoke, the planet where I came from and yes, Ron has told me about the TV show, about four years ago. I only met him shortly after that. I'm sorry to say that I had mistaken him for one of the outlaws that ravaged the city of December.

I was intrigued by this boy's courage and clumsiness. At first I thought that he couldn't be one of the outlaws, and my mind was set when I saw what he did.

There were about ten men that robbed a bank but the law was there to foil their plans. And like any foiled plans, things had gotten ugly."

"How did it get unattractive?" Yori asked, clearly interested in Nicholas's tale.

"A bunch of kids were in the street and they held them hostage. The thing I hate most is hurting the innocent. I was about to… persuade them to give up when this klutz, please do not glare at me so, ladies, I am only telling you in my own view, threw a stone at one of the men that carried a child.

I couldn't believe it, here's this skinny kid facing men about twice his size but he stood up to them. And I could tell that it scared him. He would rather run away than to face these bullies but he faced them.

You must understand that these outlaws were mean. Big, mean and carried guns. Ron was at a disadvantage but he didn't care, all that mattered to him was to get to the kid.

Ron was not completely unarmed, he had borrowed a slingshot from one of the kid's friend who happily lent it to him to save his friend. Like Davie and Goliath, Ron used the slingshot to hit the bank robbers who were carrying a kid, making them drop their hostage. And seeing that they had nothing to lose, the opened fire."

"HOO-SHA!" cried twin voices, making Nicholas pause his story.

"I think the boys found out that Ronald's back," Mr. Possible smiled as the two fourteen-year-olds pulled a very happy Ron into the living room.

"So Ron, where have you been?" Tim said as he looked at their friend.

"Have you brought us something?" Jim asked. Before Ron could reply, a pink rodent suddenly climbed up his shoulder, looking at Ron, what seemed to Nicholas, with tears in its eyes.

"Hey, guys. Hey buddy," he gave the naked mole rat a high five and the rodent happily jumped off and ran away. "What's with him?"

"He's just excited that you're back," Jim, or was it Tim, said.

"Badical," Ron said with a serene smile.

"TWEEBS!" Kim shouted as she entered the room. "Stop pestering him!"

"But we want to hear a story," the twins said in unison.

"Hush, boys. Nikki here's trying to tell us something about Ron," Tara said, smiling at the reunion.

"And if I hear right, Ron's one bad ass mother," Monique blushed as she remembered that she was with company. "Oops, sorry." Monique looked sheepish but Nicholas smiled at her reassuringly.

"I must learn these lingo you people are talking," Nicholas smiled, glancing at Shego who slightly colored at his gaze.

"It takes a while to understand Monique," Kim said as she pulled Ron away from her brothers and to one corned of the couch.

"I believe you," the preacher said. "It took me a while to understand Ron." Laughter broke the uneasiness of the situation, however slight it may be. "Now, where was I?"

"The outlaws opened fire," Mr. Possible said and was aware of the close proximity of his daughter and Ron. With a deep sigh, he ignored it. He never saw such strong love, aside from his own, in a couple before. If it made his Kimmie-cub happy…

"Ah yes," Nicholas smiled. "I could not believe my eyes. Ron was being fired upon but none of the bullets hit him. He was evading the bullets, clumsily but he evaded them. Ron did something the robbers never expected, he ran." All eyes were on Ron who just smiled embarrassingly.

"He ran?" Shego was amazed. "After standing up to them?"

"He did not run because he was scared," Nicholas said as he gaze Shego a lazy smile. "He ran because there were to many people in the street."

"An honorable act," Yori smiled in approval. "To focus the enemies' attention away from the innocent people, Stoppable-san made himself a human target."

"And they were all for target practice that day," Ron mumbled as he shivered at the memory.

Ron Stoppable ran as fast as he could, trying to get the bank robbers to follow him. He needed a plan and running seemed like a good one at the time. There were too many innocent bystanders at Main Street and he knew from the months he had been wandering the planet that the bad guys had no qualms of firing at anyone. It was worse than being in the old west.

The people from the old west didn't have high-powered machineguns.

"Get back here you buffoon!" one of the men shouted.

"The more things change…" Ron smirked as he frowned at the familiar moniker.

He didn't mind being called that. No, he didn't mind at all.

Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through his arm as he was thrown several feet across the ground. Ron screamed at the intense pain as he grabbed his arm. Skidding to a halt and gasping for air, Ron looked up and found the bank robbers leering at him as if they found his situation humorous.

"No where to run, eh boy?" one of the men snarled as he aimed his gun at him. Frozen, Ron didn't know what to do. I would be all over in a second.

Then a shot echoed through the street.

Ron suddenly jumped when he heard a loud bang. As he turned, his eyes met the worried gaze of Kim.

Kim noticed his troubled gaze when Nicholas continued his story. Something happened to Ron and it made him jump when they heard a car backfire on the street. It seemed to waken him from his thoughts, whatever they were.

She also noticed that Ron was squeezing the top of his arm during the story and let it go when he looked at her.

"Sorry. Must have zoned out there for a second," Ron took a deep breath and sighed.

"It's okay," Kim smiled, squeezing his hand, letting him know that she was there for him.

"Then what happened?" Shego asked, her curiosity was evident.

"I don't know," Nicholas admitted with a sigh. "I was concerned with the safety of the children. Once I saw that they were fine, I took off after him. As I was about to reach him, it was over. The bank robbers were already taken care off."

"They were dead?" Tara gasped in shock.

"No, just disabled. I went to Ron and took him home."

"Ron single handedly stopped the bandits?" Monique asked, sharing Tara's surprise.

"He had help," Nicholas said. Ron was amazed how he bended the truth and left some parts so there would be no question. Kim instantly knew that something was up and when she was going to ask about it, Ron gave her a soft smile and kissed her cheek.

"Another time, KP," he said. Kim knew that he would tell him everything in private. But she was still worried.

"Help?" Kim asked instead.

"He had help from an old friend," Nicholas said and left it at that.

Ron smiled as he remembered that friend.

Ron opened his eyes as he heard the confused cries of the bandits. It took him a moment to figure out that he was still alive. The gunshot came from another source.

Looking at the source, Ron's eyes widen in awe as a gunman wearing a red coat, walked slowly and menacingly at the bandits.

"It's him!" one of them shouted as they tried to flee. But the red gunman fired his gun.

Ron was amazed. The gunman didn't aim at the bandit but somewhere else. One shot hit a signboard making it fall upon a few men, the other struck a cart filled with vegetables and the contents spilled to the street, where the men stepped on the vegetables and slipped.

It was awesome! The gunman had used a lethal weapon in such a way that he did not have to kill to stop the men. It was precise shooting and Ron knew that the gunman was good.

"You okay, kid?" the man asked as he stopped and knelt in front of him. When Ron saw his face, he was taken back.

He had the most serene face he had ever seen. Almost angelic. He had a unique smile that Ron never saw in anyone before. Sadness, grief and compassion filled his smile. It was like he carried the weight of the world and bore it all with a smile.

"S'all good," Ron said weakly as his sight began to fade. The rush began to fade and he suddenly felt tired.

The last thing he saw before he blacked out, was that serene smile.

"What's with the smile, Ron?" Kim asked. She noticed Ron smile and was taken back. It was not his normal goofy smile nor was it the devil may care smile he always had. It was a serene smile that she had never seen before.

It was like he bore something heavy within but was strong enough to smile.

She liked it but was disturbed by it as well.

What had caused him to smile like that?

Then, suddenly, a mischievous gleam twinkled as his smile widened when he looked at her.

"Oh, nothing," he said but Kim didn't believe him. She was to ask about it when Nicholas continued.

"When I got there, it was a mess," he said. "I mean, the whole alley was in tatters. It was like a force of nature went through it. And that's where he inherited a very infamous moniker.

Ron looked at, Nicholas, comically pleading not to divulge that certain information.

"What nickname?" Shego asked, looking at Ron with great interest. Yori was clearly interested as well as the rest of his audiece.

"Well, I must explain something. After that incident, Ron was proclaimed a hero by the locals but in the preceding months, every outlaw was after him guns ablaze. And every time he faced them… well, let's just say an insurance company was pretty ticked off with him.

So much damage had occurred that the insurance company placed a bounty on his head." Everyone gasped at this news while Ron wished for something to swallow him up.

"It's not my fault!" Ron said in exasperation. "I was trying to stay alive!"

"In any case," Nicholas smiled as he looked at his audience. "The bounty on his head amassed to $$30,000,000."

"Double dollars?" the twins asked, not knowing that type of currency.

"Ron made a comparison and it's about… times ten?" Nicholas asked but Ron just shrugged. "Probably about that much."

"$300,000,000?" the people cried out in unison.

"That much?" Mrs. Possible asked as she looked at Ron, amazed.

"The cost of the repairs, plus compensation reached about three times that much," Shego looked at him in a bewildered gaze. "What?" Nicholas shrugged. "My mom and aunt worked for an insurance company before settling down and ran the orphanage that I worked in."

"Why so high a bounty?" Mr. Possible asked

"I think it's cheaper to get him in jail than to let him loose in the world. Unfortunately, it didn't work."

"Was Stoppable-san good in evading the enemy?" Yori asked.

"That. And the fact that every greed person was gunning for him, quite literally I might add. So, everywhere he went, he was chased."

"Not everywhere," Ron said embarrassingly. "Only when I was recognized."

"Which was quite often than not," Nicholas smiled and dodged the pillow Ron had thrown at him.

"What was this nickname?" Kim asked, amazed what she heard about Ron.

"Ron had inherited the title: The Human Typhoon.

Next Chapter: A life that was left behind caught up with a fragile soul. Burdens carried, doubts forgotten and a desire to protect the one he loved had made the choice for him.

Drakken's plan. A family trip and a chosen path.

Chapter V: The Desire to Protect.