Authors Note: Yay for a quick update. What can I say, I was feeling inspired this week. As always, thanks to everyone who is interested in the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.
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"Time travel. It's a cornucopia of disturbing concepts."
~Ron Stoppable
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The weather was really beginning to warm up these days. It was especially apparent at night, as it used to get cold in Middleton. Spring was truly making its presence felt on this late April evening as Ron and Camille exited the movie theater. Both were wearing short sleeve shirts. Ron would have liked it to have been a bit colder. Then he could have offered his jacket to his chilly girlfriend like a true gentleman.
But he knew that he honestly couldn't complain about that minor detail. It had been a wonderful evening. The date had started by going out to dinner at a nice restaurant. It wasn't anything that would drain his limited funds, but it was much classier than Bueno Nacho. After that they had seen the newest spy thriller movie. He was a bit surprised that it was the movie Camille had wanted to see. He would have expected his girlfriend to want to see one of the cardboard cutout chick flicks that guys seemed to dread. But he was pleased to learn that she had no interest in that genre on this night. They had both got what they had wanted, and the movie did not disappoint.
Camille wrapped an arm around one of his own as they strode down the sidewalk away from the theater. There were still plenty of people crowding the way as they too were looking to either enter or exit the building. Some people realized who she was and stared at her, while others simply didn't know or didn't care enough to react.
Ron felt the tiniest bit of self-consciousness as he realized that people were not only looking at her, but him as well. He did his best to shut it out and focus on the warmth of her body against his. It felt so wonderful when she was affectionate like this. He had been waiting for feelings like this all his life. It was perfect. Almost perfect. He had grown apart from his best friend in the process. No, not grown apart. Kim had done everything herself. Kim had been the one to push him away.
He still couldn't wrap his head around the things that Kim had said the prior day. Camille is a liar. Camille is evil. Camille is working for Dr. Drakken. He almost felt sorry for Kim. Had her jealousy really had this deep of an impact on her? She had never called Felix a super villain. Granted, she had accused Yori of working with Monkey Fist. So perhaps there was a case precedent here for that kind of accusation. That made him feel much better. They had gotten through that when he proved that Yori was an ally. Now all he had to do was convince her that Camille was okay.
But then there was the whole tracking chip issue. He dismissed the thought. He was on a date right now. He didn't even want to think about that at the moment. Luckily Camille was there to help distract him from such ugly thoughts.
"That was a really awesome movie," she said.
"Seriously, it was," he agreed. "That chick could do some amazing things with those knives."
"Totally. And who doesn't love a hot blonde CIA agent?"
Ron smiled when he heard her refer to the female lead as "hot". Sometimes Camille was so blunt and unconventional. He knew that Kim would never refer to the gorgeous Australian actress as "hot". His girlfriend was just as capable of being one of the guys as she was a beauty queen.
"And I suppose I have a soft spot for the fact that she got together with the dorky computer guy," he added.
"Oh? Do go on, Mr. Stoppable."
"Just kinda reminds me of us."
Camille looked up at him with a curious smirk. She waited for him to continue.
"I mean, look at you and look at me. You're this beautiful, rich, popular girl. I'm some random guy from Middleton. And yet for some reason you chose to be with me."
She made an exaggerated sigh as she continued to smile at him.
"Don't you remember anything I've told you about karma?"
"I remember that you said I was a good guy, and that good things would happen to me."
"And?"
Ron considered what she meant for a moment.
"And now the beautiful, rich, popular girl is dating me. Is that really all karma?"
"Well it's not all karma. I mean, there is the fact that I like you too."
"Right. I don't think you would be going out with me if you didn't like me at least a little bit."
Camille gave no reaction to what he just said. Instead she continued speaking about karma.
"See what happened with Brick?" she asked him. "He got dumped by Bonnie. And then Bonnie gets suspended from school. That's karma at work. They got what was coming to them. And so did you."
"Yeah, that's pretty incredible what happened to those two. I don't think they'll be getting back together a week later like they usually do. I wonder what they'll do for prom."
Camille suddenly began to shift uncomfortably. Ron noticed it immediately and knew something was wrong.
"Camille?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah… it's just…" she said hesitantly.
"What is it?"
"Prom."
"Oh. Yeah I don't know what they'll do for it if they're not dating. But you know what, who cares about them. Like you said, they got what was coming to them."
"No, not about them. About us."
"Oh," he said as he realized what she was talking about. "Oh…"
"I've never actually been to a prom. I've been home schooled all my life up until this year when I was in Paris and New York. And since I'm a senior this will be my last chance to go to one."
Ron may have been a little slow when it came to girls, but not this time. He could read loud and clear what she was getting at. He would have had to have been a complete idiot not to. Prom was only around a month away now. No time would be better to ask this.
"Camille, would you like to go to prom with me?"
"I thought you'd never ask," she smiled. "Of course I'll go with you."
She wrapped an arm around him and he did the same with her. Despite the weather not being too cool, it felt good. For a second she lost herself in the moment. But the moment was shattered when she heard a cruel voice.
"Talentless bimbo…"
The pair stopped and turned as the man who had just uttered those words walked past them. He turned his head to see what Camille's reaction would be, and saw the two teens looking right back at him.
"What's your problem?" Ron asked.
"Whatever man. Enjoy your ride on her while you can. Everyone else did…"
"Dude, I don't care how you see her on TV. Apologize to her."
Camille displayed a little bit of worry on her face. Usually the only time she had to deal with her haters was when she was making some kind of public appearance. And in those instances she had several beefy bodyguards near her. It wasn't like anyone had ever tried to harm her, but the security felt nice. And she knew there was no way Ron would be able to take this man on if things got physical.
The stranger looked amused. He was in his mid twenties and was bigger than Ron in both height and weight.
"And if I don't?"
Ron knew he was doing something stupid. But love makes you do stupid things. If he wound up with a black eye or bloody nose it would be worth it. He had to stand up for himself. His encounter with Big Mike had shown him that. But more importantly he had to stand up for his girlfriend. He did his best to sound brave and confident.
"I said apologize," he said as seriously as possible.
The man balked at Ron's response. He was sure that his size alone would be enough to intimidate the younger man. But apparently it wasn't going to be that easy. Instead he just huffed and turned to walk away.
"Whatever, I'm sorry. You two aren't worth the time," he said as he strode off toward the movie theater.
Ron didn't realize that his fists had been balled up in readiness for a fight. But after it was over he looked down and saw them clenched. He also noticed his heart was thumping in his chest. He began to ease up once the man had gotten a few yards away. But his fight or flight state of mind was still present. He jumped when he felt arms wrap around his torso.
"Ron you were so brave," Camille gushed.
He was still having a hard time believing that the man had simply walked off.
"Yeah… I seriously don't know what I was thinking there."
"Don't be so modest. I call you my hero for a reason. And you just proved it again."
"I seriously thought that guy was going to knock me out."
"But he didn't, you made him back down. And you did it for me. Thank you."
"No need to thank me. It's what any guy would have done."
"Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that you're one of the good guys out there."
Ron smiled at the compliment. He was a good guy, wasn't he? The whole world saving thing would say he was. He tried to be as nice as he could to anyone he met. He was as chivalrous as they came.
"So the night's still young," Camille continued. "What are we doing next?"
"I dunno. Did you have fun at that club the other night?"
"Totally. And you were right, you do have some nice moves."
"Thanks. So want to go there again?"
"Sure."
They made their way back to Camille's Porsche. As they walked Camille couldn't help but think of her cover. He was so easy to manipulate, so easy to convince that they were a real couple. Their relationship was as real as the spies had made theirs seem in the movie they had just seen. She sighed inwardly.
"Why do you have to be so damn nice?" her mind lamented.
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Kim and Monique exited the theater after seeing the latest romantic comedy. It had been a tough decision though, as the new spy thriller looked good as well. But in the end the two friends had decided to see it the following week. But there was no way that either of them could say they were disappointed with tonight's choice. It may have been more of the same overused plot, but it was still very enjoyable.
The two teens started walking back toward Monique's car. Despite the wave of comedy and laughter that had passed over her this evening, Kim still couldn't help but feel distracted. Her mind was occupied on other things, and for good reason. Her best friend since pre-K was dating a super villain. And every time she tried to help and make things better she only made things worse. That was perhaps the most painful part of the entire ordeal.
She felt incredibly fortunate to have Monique as a friend. She and Ron were her two closest friends. Along with Felix they were really the only people she considered to be true, genuine friends. Of course she had many other friends and acquaintances, but none of them were close to being on the same level.
"Feel like hitting Bueno Nacho?" Monique asked.
Kim didn't respond.
"Kim?"
Kim suddenly looked up and over at Monique. She smiled uncomfortably when she realized that her friend had spoken to her.
"Sorry Monique. Just a bit distracted."
"About Ron?"
"About Ron."
Monique sighed. She couldn't blame her.
"What's your next move?"
"I really don't know. How do I convince the guy who doesn't trust me to believe me?"
"Sorry," Monique frowned. "That I can't help you with."
"I know. That little witch has been feeding him lies for days now. She's been messing with his mind about me being jealous. It's like everything she was doing was leading up to yesterday."
"She's not the only one."
Kim looked at her curiously expecting an explanation.
"Remember Jill?"
"Oh right…" Kim said as she thought about it for a moment. "Jill…"
"Why would this girl who we've never even met be telling him that you're trying to control him?"
Kim hadn't thought of it on Friday. Her emotions had been in shambles then. The mention of some random girl didn't trigger any alarms for her. But now that she had time to consider it, it made sense. Why would some strange, random girl be saying bad things about her to Ron? Why would she be planting seeds of doubt in his mind?
"I'll tell you why. Because she's another one of Camille's faces."
Monique nodded in agreement.
"Of course we'll have to do a little research before we go making accusations like that. I'll ask everyone I know if they've ever heard of this Jill person. Don't worry, we'll find out what's really going on."
Kim let out a heavy sigh. Waiting until Monday would be hard. But it was the best they could do right now.
"Thanks Monique. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Monique laughed.
"I could think of a few scenarios right now. But I don't know if you want to hear them, they aren't pretty."
Kim chuckled as they reached the car.
"So, Bueno Nacho?" Monique asked again.
"Sounds good. I'm starving."
They drove off toward one of their favorite hangout spots. All along the way Kim thought about how Ron should be with them.
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Things had gotten back to normal in the lair since Kim escaped with Junior. The guards resumed their regular patrols, Drakken resumed his normal ranting, and Shego resumed her usual, well, laziness. It was one of the perks of working for Dr. Drakken. Everyone there feared her. They could never tell her what to do. So she spent most of her days doing whatever she wanted.
However lately she was getting a bit bored. He supposedly had some brilliant plan in progress which began with the breakup of Team Possible. And according to Camille's latest report it was all but complete. The fact that Ron had not tagged along on the mission was proof of it. So Shego wondered what her employer was waiting for.
She strode through the hall on her way to where she knew Drakken would be, the main control room. He was always there fiddling with some sort of invention or browsing the internet for something new to steal. Honestly she thought the guy needed a life outside of villainy. And the Friday night karaoke of course. She didn't know why she bothered to tag along as often as she did. Maybe she enjoyed watching him make a fool of himself. But more often than not the crowd seemed to like him. It boggled her mind.
And there he was. But rather than doing one of the things she was expecting, he was sitting at the table writing something on a piece of paper. She walked over to it and took a seat, resting her legs up on the table. She took out a nail file and began going to work on her fingers as she began chatting with him.
"So Dr. D, what are you writing there?"
He didn't bother looking up from his work when he answered.
"I hold here the next phase of my plan for world domination," he explained.
She stopped her own work and looked at him continue to scribble away.
"Mind sharing with the class?"
"Why yes, I think I will," he said as he finished writing. "This morning I discovered a new posted note on my computer monitor. I was extremely tired after the karaoke last night, so it's no wonder I don't even remember writing it down."
"Uh huh. Tired. Let's not forget about all those appletinis you guzzled before you sang. So what does the note say?"
"It was just my latest brilliant idea. And it's close by too."
She didn't even try to hide the annoyance in her voice.
"Can you be any vaguer? Just tell me already."
"Very well Shego," he said as he stood up. He held the piece of paper in front of him. "Tonight we will be making a trip to the Tri-City museum. And we will steal a very ancient, valuable artifact from it."
"Oh goody. Museum junk," she sighed. "And just how does this help us take over the world?"
Drakken paused. He looked down at the paper before looking back at her.
"Look it just does, okay?"
"You don't know what it does, do you?"
"I don't have to know what it does. It was my idea so it must be brilliant."
"Okay whatever. Calm down. What's the thing called?"
"It's name, Shego, is the Tempus Simia idol."
While Shego did not speak Latin, she had heard the word simia before. Right, it was from simian. She frowned when she thought about what that had to mean. Monkeys. She hated normal monkeys enough. But if monkeys were involved it would probably mean that Monkey Fist would come into the picture at some point in the future.
"Monkeys… great…" she groaned.
"Yes, I've printed out a picture of what it looks like. The internet truly does have everything on it."
He handed her a picture of the Tempus Simia idol. In the picture it was in a glass display case on a pillar. She noticed an anomaly with it.
"Uh Dr. D? It has no head."
"Yes, I suppose we'll have to figure out why. That means we have to find-"
"Please don't let the next two words out of your mouth be Monkey Fist."
"Very well. We'll have to find Monty Fiske."
Shego actually laughed at that.
"Touché. Even I have to admit that was nice."
"Quite. Now then if there are no further questions what do you say we make a trip to the museum?"
She looked back down at the picture. Honestly she had nothing better to do tonight. Might as well steal this thing if it means that much to him.
"Okay. Let's go steal us a headless monkey statue."
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Kim and Monique were still at Bueno Nacho when they heard the familiar sound of the kimmunicator beeping. Kim retrieved it from her pocket and answered the call.
"What's the sitch?" she asked.
"Robbery in progress. Someone's breaking into the Tri-City museum."
"I'm on it."
She shut it off and stuffed it back into her pocket. There was no time to go home and change, she had to get to the museum right now. Of course that meant leaving Monique behind on their night out.
"Sorry Monique, duty calls…" she said sadly.
"No worries Kim. You go do your thing and kick some butt."
"Thanks for understanding."
She stood and went to leave the restaurant before stopping herself and looking back at her friend.
"Hey Monique… think I can get a lift to the museum?"
"Absolutely. Looks like our night isn't over quite yet."
"Yeah, but I don't want you coming in with me to the museum. It's way too dangerous."
"No arguments here."
They rushed out of Bueno Nacho and into Monique's car. It took about fifteen minutes to reach the Tri-City museum. Kim was mentally preparing herself for it the entire way. She had to be ready for anyone, ready for anything. Once again she would have no backup. She knew that if she called Ron that he either wouldn't answer like last time, or would just flat out refuse. And she couldn't possibly ask Monique to join her. She was untrained and would be more of a liability than an asset.
Kim at least hoped that it would be an opponent she was familiar with. Then again tangling with someone like Max Brigand might not be too bad. If all the small-time villains were as inept as him then her job would be easy. But still, she would much rather face a known foe. At least then she would know what to expect.
The car stopped in front of the museum and Kim opened the door to get out.
"Thanks for the ride Monique."
"No problem. Go get 'em."
Kim grinned.
"Will do."
She rushed up the steps and to the front door. She found that it was intact. That means whoever was inside must have gotten in another way. Knowing that museums had all kinds of sensors and alarms for their doors and windows, she figured it must have been the roof. No matter, she liked climbing stuff.
She brought out her grappling gun and shot over the roof. After making sure it was secure she pulled herself up and saw a large hole carved into one of the windows. Apparently these were gifted with the same luxuries that the other windows enjoyed. Whoever entered through this window had triggered an alarm which had alerted Wade. The local police would no doubt be here in a few minutes.
This would have to be done carefully. Kim wrapped the head of her grappling projectile and line around a sturdy metal pole and lowered herself into the museum. Even with the dim lights inside the building it was still dark. But it wasn't dark enough that she couldn't see the movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned swiftly only to see that the person was no longer there. Whoever it was, they were stalking her.
Kim slowly and cautiously began walking through the museum. With every step she took she looked around her, watching for the hidden assailant. She continued on for another minute or two, her paranoia growing with each second. Eventually she reached an exhibit and saw another shape in the darkness. As she grew closer she actually felt relieved to see that it was Dr. Drakken. Already it felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"I never thought I'd actually say this, but I'm so relieved to see you," she told the mad scientist.
"Kim Possible!" he yelled in surprise.
"Yes. Kim Possible. Why do you always sound so surprised to see me?"
"Oh be quiet. You teenagers these days with your sass and backtalk. It all gets so-"
"Hate to cut you off there. Well, actually I don't. But what exactly are you doing here?"
She looked at him holding what looked like a small stone statue. She couldn't tell exactly what it was, but if he wanted it then it was important.
"None of your business. How did you even see me here in the dark?"
"A ninja you're not."
"But she is."
Out of the corner of her eye Kim saw a green flash and was just able to dodge out of its path. Green energy scorched the tiled floor of the museum as she landed a couple feet away from the blast. The menacing form of Shego came into view.
"So tell me Kimmie, don't you have anything better to do on your Saturday nights than hang out in a museum by yourself?"
"I know!" Drakken agreed. "First it was her Friday nights with Cousin Ed and me. And now this?"
"Yeah," Shego laughed. "It just screams loser." She turned her attention back to Kim. "Don't you have any friends? Oh wait. I must have hit a nerve there. I heard that you actually got dumped by your sidekick."
Kim growled when she heard them talk about her and Ron's friendship. Though it wasn't a surprise that they knew about it considering that they were the ones employing Camille.
"If you have to know, you interrupted my night out with another friend of mine," she said in her defense. "And for that you'll both pay."
"Yeah, blah blah blah. Too much chatter on your end," Shego taunted her. "Are we going to do this or not?"
Kim thought about how they were the ones behind everything that had happened between her and Ron. Was she ready? Oh yeah, she was more than ready. Unleashing days of anger and frustration on them would be cathartic. She dropped into a combat stance as she faced off with Shego.
"Bring it," she said to her female foe.
Shego smiled as she picked up a small vase from another exhibit close to them.
Kim eyed her cautiously, not knowing what she was doing. This was the part of the mission where they were supposed to fight. What was she… oh no.
Shego threw the vase in a high arc over Kim's head. The way she threw it gave the teen hero more than enough time to run backwards to catch it. But that was the idea. Waste as much time as possible. As soon as the vase was airborne Drakken began rushing back toward the room where they had entered from the ceiling. At the same time Shego ignited her hands and ran at Kim.
She caught the vase easily enough, but had to turn suddenly to see two glowing claws slashing at her. Not only did she have to protect her body, but the priceless vase as well. Doing one of them was difficult enough against her dangerous opponent, but two was working overtime. She struggled to block and evade every blow she could without putting the vase in harm's way. Eventually Shego managed to land a solid kick to her midriff which sent her staggering backwards.
Once there was a bit of separation between the two of them Kim was able to set the vase on the ground and look back up at her foe. But Shego wasn't where she had last seen her. Her eyes darted around the dark room searching for any sign of the villainous vixen. A single glowing green hand revealed the location.
"Catch!" she shouted.
Shego sent a small sculpture in Kim's direction. Again she was forced to run backwards in order to catch the valuable piece of art. And again Shego attacked her as she did so. Punch after punch, kick after kick were sent her way. Kim was helpless against it all. She took a hard fist to the face and stumbled backwards a bit, but held onto the sculpture all the way. She tried countering with kicks of her own, but Shego was more than capable of defending against the half-hearted attacks.
In response the older woman dropped down and swept Kim's legs from under her. Kim landed flat on her back as she clutched the sculpture to her chest. After the initial moment of shock had passed she set the item on the ground and got up as quickly as she could. Trying to pierce the darkness she once more searched for Shego. Tense seconds passed, but she did not reappear like last time. She must have used the time to run away and rejoin Drakken in escaping.
Kim snarled in frustration. They had gotten away, she had failed. Doing missions solo was an incredibly arduous task. She never realized how valuable Ron was to the team until now. If he had been here then Drakken would not have been able to get away. Either that or he would have been able to catch the flying objects while she focused her full attention on fighting Shego.
She rushed back to the room she had come through to discover that there was no sign of the villainous duo. This made her life a whole lot more difficult. Now not only did she have to rescue Senor Senior Sr., but retrieve a valuable work of art as well. To make it worse she would have to do it alone. And after this night she did not enjoy the thought of doing another solo mission.
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Kim was slow to get up Sunday morning. She wasn't having any problems physically that prevented her from waking up. Rather she was emotionally drained. With everything that was going on in her life she was feeling an incredible amount of stress and worry. Even when she knew what she was going up against she still couldn't help but think about her friendship with Ron. And then there was the fact that she had failed in her mission the previous evening. She wasn't used to failure. It didn't leave a good taste in her mouth.
She replayed the events in her mind over and over again as she tried to fall asleep that night. She was trying to think of something she could have done differently. Only one thing stood out to her, and that was that she could have let Shego break the priceless pieces of art that she was so carelessly throwing in her direction. But if that was the case and she did end up saving whatever Drakken had stolen, would the collateral damage be worth it? Was the safety of one object worth the destruction of so many others? She realized that the answer was no. She had made the right call. She could always recover what had been stolen. But she could never recreate the shattered works from hundreds, or even thousands of years ago.
She once more thought about why she had failed. She had failed because Ron wasn't with her. She reasoned that was why Drakken and Camille had put so much effort into breaking them up. Without him she was vulnerable on a mission. Like it or not, he and Rufus contributed to the success of Team Possible just as much as she did. Without them Shego had been able to distract her while Drakken got away. That settled it. She needed a partner. At least temporarily until she got Ron back. And she couldn't get him back until she defeated Drakken.
But she couldn't ask Monique for the reasons she had come up with last night. Monique wasn't trained, and would make an ideal hostage for someone like Shego or Monkey Fist. She needed someone with at least some training. Team Impossible was the first to come to mind, but she honestly couldn't stand to be around them. Besides, they had their own gig. And the thought of Will Du teaming with her was insufferable. Plus it was unlikely that Dr. Director would just hand him over if she asked.
That was when an unusual thought came to her. Granny Crocket's cookies. Kim had been shocked to learn that Shego had teamed up with Junior of all people. Not only that, but the young man was actually somewhat competent and skilled once he was working with Shego. He had been more than a match for Ron in terms of physical ability.
She considered the thought for a moment. Could she actually call Junior and ask him to be her temporary sidekick? Would he even want to do so? She reasoned that he would agree to it if it meant he could help rescue his father. But would he continue even after that was done? There was only one way to find out.
Kim called the hotel he was at and asked for the room he was staying in. After being on hold for a couple minutes the wealthy super villain answered.
"Yes who is this?" he answered.
She decided she wouldn't comment on the weirdness of his greeting.
"Um, hey Junior. It's Kim."
"Kim Possible?"
"Yes. How many other Kim's know you're staying at that hotel?"
A brief period of silence passed after her question. She figured he couldn't answer in a way that made him look good.
"Have you rescued my father?" he asked.
"No. But that's actually one of the reasons I'm calling. Junior, I need your help."
More silence. She believed this time it was more due to the shock of her asking for his help.
"How can I help you?"
"I kinda need a sidekick. And you're the only person I can think of to do the job."
"A sidekick? You mean like how I was Shego's sidekick last year?"
"Exactly like that. Do you still remember all the stuff she taught you?"
"You mean coming up with a villainous plan?"
"No no, not that part. We're not doing any villainous plans."
"Oh. Well I do remember that if we ever need it."
Kim smiled and shook her head. Sometimes she didn't know what that boy was thinking.
"Junior, I was talking more about the martial arts training she gave you. You know, the stuff you used on Ron?"
"Oh yes. I believe I can still do that."
"Good. So do you want to be my sidekick?"
"If it means getting to rescue my father from Dr. Drakken, yes."
Kim mouthed the word "yes!" as she pumped her fist in celebration. She was so happy that he couldn't see her right now. She herself was surprised by how happy she was that he had said yes. Then again he was her only option. If he had said no, there would be nowhere else to turn for aid.
"Okay good. We're not going to go today though. I'll fill you in on the details later. I'm going to need you to start practicing your moves again and do some exercises. We need to be in top shape when we go up against Drakken and Shego."
"Do not worry. My physique is already in top form."
Kim couldn't argue that point. She wondered again if he was doing some kind of steroids. His torso just didn't look natural.
"Right. Okay, thanks for doing this Junior. I'll call you when I come up with a plan."
"Very well. Goodbye, blue fox."
He hung up leaving her a bit confused. There was that blue fox stuff again. She set her phone down on the bed and let her head fall back down on her pillow. As she stared at the ceiling she wondered what she was going to do for a plan. She wondered what Drakken's next move would be. She had to remember that he had some sort of plot in motion. He was going to be going on the offensive just as much as she was. She had to stay on her toes and be ready for anything. Anything less than that could be catastrophic for not only her, but the world as well.
XXXXXXXXXX
Drakken sat at the table in his lair looking at the Tempus Simia idol. It had not done anything. He didn't know what he had expected it to do, but it was more than this. It sat on the table, silently mocking him. At least that's the impression he was getting. He didn't know why he had written down to get it. He couldn't even remember doing it. But it was obvious that he did, right?
He had spent the better part of the day on the internet searching for the meaning of the object. There had been a lot of strange sites out there that dealt with all kinds of mystical powers and conspiracies. Some of them had even said that the idol granted the power of time travel. He dismissed such notions as nonsense. As if this little stone monkey could allow someone to travel the time stream. He decided that he would have to call Monkey Fist to see if he knew what the thing did.
Looking through his villain's rolodex he flipped to the "M" section. Eventually he found the number he was looking for and dialed it. He honestly didn't even know if Monkey Fist was still in prison. If he was that would be a whole new set of problems. He was relieved when someone picked up.
"Hello?"
"Yes, um, is this Monkey Fist?"
The voice suddenly turned dark.
"Who wants to know?"
"This is Dr. Drakken. I'm looking for Monkey Fist."
"Oh… Dr. Drakken…" he said bitterly. "How delightful to hear from you."
The mad scientist knew that Monkey Fist was not particularly pleased to hear his voice. He couldn't understand why though. They had only ever met briefly at the annual Super Villain Trade Show and Convention. Maybe it was just how the Englishman acted toward everyone.
"I'm calling because I have something which may be of interest to you."
"And what might that be?"
"Have you ever heard of the Tempus Simia idol?"
There was a brief pause. For a moment Drakken thought he had hung up.
"Did you just say the Tempus Simia?" Monkey Fist said with hushed reverence.
"Yes, but I can't figure out-"
"I'll be right there."
"Wait, what?"
"I will board my private jet and come to America. You can expect me to arrive tomorrow morning."
"But you still haven't told me what this thing does."
"I'll explain everything once I arrive."
The next thing Drakken heard was a dial tone. He frowned before hanging up. Unfortunately he had learned nothing new about the object. Monkey Fist intended on keeping that information to himself until he arrived. That was a bit of a bright spot at least. In only a few hours he would know what it was supposed to do. And judging by the awe in the nobleman's voice it had to be something spectacular.
He thought about the time travelling explanation again. What if it was true? The power that would be available at his fingertips would be of truly epic proportions.
XXXXXXXXXX
Fools.
They were all fools.
She stood in her hotel room looking out the window. At night the view was breathtaking. It was the City of Lights after all. And it was even better when you were using what was essentially stolen money to travel the world and live in luxurious hotels.
The Supreme One did not know why she was here. The memories of her life were all intact and incredibly vivid. She remembered how Kim and Ron had travelled through time to defeat her. She remembered the buffoon breaking her Tempus Simia idol. She remembered the portal that had opened up when he had done so. And she remembered them escaping back into the past.
And yet somehow she had come back as well. Despite the fact that Kim had prevented her from entering the portal, she existed. She wondered how much the René Descartes quote held true in this situation. She thought, therefore she was. Honestly she couldn't come up with a better explanation for it. Had her meddling in the time stream produced some sort of permanent presence in it? Whatever the reasons were, she was here.
When she had arrived she realized that it was August. It was the first day of their junior year, the day that the sidekick found out he was moving to Norway. But it was not true in this time line. He stayed. And he had stayed for the past eight months. Clearly she and her actions did not exist in this world. Yet she did. Even after twenty years of controlling the idol she could not understand the paradoxes and enigmas it produced.
And so she had decided that she had to recreate her future. It had been destroyed by Team Possible. The world of the Supreme One did not exist. But for all intents and purposes she was real. She could see and be seen. She could touch and feel. She could taste food and drink. And so the day she had arrived she decided to break into the Tri-City museum to take the Tempus Simia idol. But she could not place her hands on the object. Her hands passed through it as if she was a ghost. Everything else in the museum she was able to grasp. But not the most important item of them all. It was as if the Tempus Simia could sense she was a time paradox, an abomination. It abhorred and rejected her.
She had screamed with unimaginable rage when she realized she could never have what she once did. She had tasted unlimited power. The world had once bowed to her every will. No man, woman, or child did not know her name and face. And it had all been stolen from her.
It was then she realized that she needed a new plan. Maybe she couldn't touch the idol, but this world's Shego could. Perhaps if she was able to recreate the events that brought her power in the first place, then she would be able to use the idol again. Perhaps if certain conditions were met in this time line, she would have the possibility to exist once more in the future. Maybe then she would be able to seize the idol and use it once more. So she set about manipulating events to her favor. Having an almost omnipotent knowledge of the past certainly helped. Using the lottery to win money gave her all the funds she needed.
So far the time line had remained how she remembered it. But she did not know if and when it would diverge and become unfamiliar to her. That meant she couldn't waste any more time. She thought it would be rather fitting if she decided to claim her victory in approximately one month at Middleton High School's prom.
The first step was to eliminate Team Possible. She had tried to do so once before by sending Ron to Norway. But even then he found his way back to Kim. This time their separation had to be much more permanent. That was where Camille Leon came into the picture. She had guided her former employer to finding her and hiring her. A few strategically placed notes didn't hurt either. She still knew all the security codes to the lair. Breaking in and planting them had been simple enough. The fool actually believed he was coming up with the ideas himself. Typical arrogant Drakken. She had then called the young heiress several times for updates as she posed as this world's Shego. And now the task was complete. Team Possible had split. Her knowledge of the tracking chip planted in him had been the final, lethal blow.
She didn't care about any of the people in this world. She didn't even care about this world's Shego. The only purpose she served was to get her hands on the completed idol for a few moments, only for it to be returned to its rightful owner as soon as possible. If she or anyone else knew what the Supreme One had once accomplished they would jealously keep the idol for themselves. To her they were all just pawns. They only existed for one reason, and that was for her to reacquire her glory.
There were too many pieces moving in the great machine. It could not be stopped. She had learned from her mistakes. Her time was coming soon. And the best part was no one knew she even existed.