Authors Note: Well this chapter turned out longer than I expected. But I'm sure you guys won't have a problem with that. Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing. And I'm pretty sure at least one person out there will know why I named this chapter what I did.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.
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"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts."
~As You Like It, ii, 7
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Kim was driven with purpose Monday morning. She strode through the halls looking for Monique. The other night the two of them had come to an important conclusion. Jill was the key to this entire Camille and Ron situation. She was nearly one hundred percent certain that it was just another one of Camille's tricks. And once Ron knew that he would believe her on the rest of the story. That was if she could ever get him to trust her again.
The tracking chip had thrown a whole new problem into an already very delicate situation. Now she had to fight not only Camille's grip on his heart, but also her own mistake. Even if she could prove that she was a super villain, would things ever be back to how they once were? She honestly didn't think they could. But what she did believe was that their close friendship of over a decade would prevail in the end. Two people who had known each other for that long were together for a reason. She felt that the years of trust, mistakes, and forgiveness would help her in the end.
She found Monique at her locker getting her things for the first class of the day. She, unlike Kim and Ron, had been smart enough to not take Latin class. Kim was just thankful that it was almost over. After this year she could forget about that dead, worthless language. After all, who actually used Latin these days?
Kim approached her friend with a soft, yet determined look on her face.
"Hey Monique."
The raven-haired girl looked up from what she was doing and smiled at her.
"Hey Kim. What's up?"
"You said you were going to work your sources, right?"
Monique laughed a bit.
"I wouldn't exactly call them sources," she corrected her. "But I do know a lot of people. And they know a lot of people. So any piece of gossip going around this school, no matter how small, I can get my hands on."
That bit of knowledge gave Kim hope.
"Any info yet?"
"Of course not. School hasn't even started yet. You gotta give this thing time, Kim."
Kim sighed.
"I know I know… it's just, well, I'm impatient about this. This is huge. Bigger than prom huge."
"Speaking of prom, has anyone asked you yet?"
"So not the time to be discussing this."
"You're right. And you're lucky Bonnie isn't here either. She'd be talking so much trash about you not having a guy in your life."
Kim thought about why Bonnie hadn't been at school the past few days. In fact she wouldn't be returning until next Monday. That meant that she would miss sectionals on Friday. It was all Camille's fault. She had no idea why the blonde had made Bonnie a target. Getting her suspended only got her out of Kim's hair. The only thing she could think of was that maybe it was some sort of alpha female thing. Camille had come to a new school and had to mark her territory as the dominant female. She couldn't have made a bigger impact than knocking out the queen bee and taking her place.
"Well you're right about that. But I wouldn't exactly call it lucky considering the circumstances of why she isn't here."
Monique couldn't argue with that.
"True," she agreed.
"So I need you to find out all you can about this Jill girl. And then we need to figure out a way of proving to Ron she isn't real. Once he realizes that Camille can change her appearance it will be a lot easier to convince him that she's done it a lot in the past."
"Right. I'm going to get on it right now. I'll talk to you later."
"Thanks Monique. You're seriously awesome."
"I know," she grinned. "But hearing you say it never gets old."
The fashion fanatic walked off to get some information from her friends. Kim didn't know how she was going to do it, but she trusted in Monique completely. Then a chilling thought came to her. What if it hadn't been Monique? What if that was Camille impersonating one of her classmates again? She realized that she couldn't trust anyone. No one, no matter how long she had known them for, was safe from being a victim of her newest foe. She ran after her friend down the hall.
"Monique!" she called after her.
She stopped and turned around. Seeing Kim running after her made her visibly worried.
"What's wrong?"
"I need proof you aren't Camille."
Monique opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. She was absolutely speechless about what Kim had just said. Finally she was able to put together a sentence.
"Uh… okay. What did you have in mind?"
Kim's mind raced trying to think of something to ask her. What was something that only Monique would know? Or even if a few other people might know, it would be something that Camille would definitely not. She thought back to the earliest days of their friendship. She tried recalling what had been going on the first few days they knew each other. It had been over a year ago, and surely not even the cunning Camille could know something that far back.
"Hmm… okay. What was the first Club Banana event that we went to together?"
"Cleopatra's Closet. Good enough?"
"Who's your favorite GWA wrestler?"
"Pain King. Duh."
Kim looked her up and down for a few seconds. There was nothing about her appearance that looked off. She finally concluded that it was indeed her friend.
"Okay. I believe you."
Monique wiped her forehead clear of imaginary sweat and blew an exaggerated sigh of relief.
"I was beginning to think you were going to break out the torture devices. You're harsher than the Spanish Inquisition."
That brought a small smile to Kim's face.
"I'm just being extra careful. I can't count the number of times that… freak must have played me and everyone else at this school. Everyone is a target."
"Paranoid much?"
"For good reason, Mon. She posed as me and went on a mission with Ron. If he couldn't tell the two of us apart what does that say about everyone else?"
She looked around to the students passing them by in the hall. She brought herself closer to Monique.
"For all we know she could be listening to us right now," she whispered.
"I guess you're right…"
"So just be careful to whoever you talk to. I really don't mean to sound paranoid about all this, but we don't know who we can trust anymore. She's already turned the whole cheer squad against me. She has to be stopped."
"Which is why I should get going. We can't figure out a way to prove who Jill really is if all we do is stand here and talk about it."
Kim nodded in agreement. She was letting her paranoia hold up the process of getting the truth out there.
"I know… I'm sorry. Okay, you go do your thing. Good luck, and be careful."
Monique smiled as she walked away.
Kim looked up at the clock and saw that she was close to being late for Latin class. She would need to hurry through the halls to get there on time. But at least it wasn't a Barkin class. There wouldn't be a huge penalty if she was late, but she never wanted to make a habit of it.
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If Monkey Fist had been expecting a grand welcoming ceremony upon his arrival, he would have been extremely disappointed at what he saw. When he reached Dr. Drakken's lair there was a single overweight henchmen in a red jumpsuit waiting for him. He disembarked from his own small craft and walked over to the hired help. Two black-clad monkey ninjas flanked him as he approached the man.
"Where is Dr. Drakken?" he asked darkly.
"He's inside."
The two men stood there looking at each other. Tense seconds passed as Monkey Fist grew ever more impatient with the henchman.
"Well? Are you going to take me to him?"
"Oh, you wanted to see him?"
The nobleman had to work hard not to slam his fist into the incompetent fool's face. He took a deep breath to calm himself down the best he could.
"No, you moron. I just came all the way from England to stand here and chat with you. So then, what's the latest news on your favorite professional sports team?"
The man's face showed that he was thinking hard about the question he had been asked.
"Wait, are you kidding?" he finally answered.
Monkey Fist let out a furious roar that made the man shrink in fear.
"Yes I'm bloody kidding! Take me to see Dr. Drakken now!"
The henchman regained his composure before opening the door and gesturing him to follow.
"Okay okay… ya don't have to get so mad…"
Monkey Fist was led through the halls until they finally reached the main room where Drakken and Shego were. The door slid open and they stepped inside.
"Dr. Drakken sir, you have company," the henchman announced.
The mad scientist turned to see that his guest had finally arrived. He walked over to greet his newest partner in crime. But instead the psychotic Englishman grabbed hold of his shoulders tightly.
"Where is it!" he said manically.
"What the-" Drakken stuttered. "What are you doing?"
"Show me the Tempus Simia!"
Drakken squirmed around to get his shoulders free from the raving madman.
"Get your stinking paws off me, you-"
A paw released his shoulders and grasped around his throat tightly.
"If you finish the words of that movie quote they will be the last you ever speak," Monkey Fist growled.
Drakken looked at him and saw that he was serious. Maybe not about killing him, but definitely about hurting him. He wasn't about to let some super villain he invited as a guest come to his lair and start making threats. He did the only thing he could think of.
"Shego!" he called out.
The villainess set her magazine on the table and stood up to face the two men.
Monkey Fist's eyes were drawn to the new player in the game. Two sets of hateful eyes locked and both knew of the others capabilities. And seeing how he was in a foreign lair filled with henchmen and other hidden traps, he decided that he would play nice for now.
He released Drakken and took a step back from him. He raised his paws to chest level to show that he was no longer a threat.
"Have it your way, doctor," he said with a smirk.
Drakken adjusted his lab coat after he had been handled so roughly by his guest. After a few moments he turned his attention back to Monkey Fist.
"Now then, if we're done playing 'attack your partner', I believe we have business to discuss."
"Yes, yes we do. Now where is it?"
"Right over there," he said pointing to the table.
Monkey Fist saw the idol and dropped down on all four paws before making his way to the table. He examined the stone object for a few moments before grasping it and bringing it closer to his face.
More seconds passed as Drakken and Shego stared at him. For a moment they turned to each other. She gave him a look asking what the freak was doing. Drakken merely shrugged his shoulders before they looked back at the demented monkey master.
When he was finally finished Monkey Fist set it down on the table and went back over to Drakken.
"It is real," he said calmly.
"Well duh. We could have told you that," Shego said.
"Yes, now why doesn't it have a head? And what is this thing supposed to do anyway?" Drakken wondered.
Monkey Fist took a seat at the table, and the two other villains did the same sitting across from him. He folded his hands neatly before explaining.
"Dr. Drakken, Shego, what you have in your possession is an item that holds more power than you can possibly imagine."
Drakken and Shego glanced at the idol before looking back up at him.
"So what does it do?" Drakken wondered. "Does it shoot lasers from its eyes? Can it grow into a ten story monster of solid stone?"
A look of confusion mixed with disgust spread across the monkey-man's face. He couldn't believe the pure idiocy he was hearing.
"Do you listen to yourself when you speak? What kind of moronic ideas are those?"
"Okay Mr. Know It All, what does it do then?"
"When the head is attached to it at precisely the correct moment, it bestows upon the owner the ability of time travel."
The other two villains looked at each other skeptically.
"Right… because we're the ones saying stupid ideas…" Shego said sarcastically.
"Do not presume I am joking about this, sidekick."
Shego growled as she stood up. But Monkey Fist remained calm and collected.
Drakken remembered reading about such theories on the internet. He had dismissed them as nonsense. But hearing it now from Monkey Fist certainly made him think twice about his judgment. After all, he was a bit more of a credible source. Still though, his doubt remained intact.
"Don't be ridiculous. If there was a way for mankind to harness the ability of time travel certainly I would have figured it out years ago."
A tiny laugh escaped Shego's lips.
"The first thing that we must do is acquire the head," Monkey Fist explained. "Since I know how to find it, I think it's only fair that you give the idol to me."
"Now wait just a minute!" Drakken bellowed. "I found the thing. It belongs to me. If anything I should be the one to go out and find the head."
"Do you know how to find it?"
He honestly did not know anything about the idol other than what he had just been told and what was on the internet. And the internet wasn't the best place to find truthful information.
"No, but it's mine. That means if you want it you'll have to get through all my guards. Shego too."
Shego was still standing, seemingly ready to pounce at a moment's notice. She lit her hands to emphasize what her employer had just said.
Even with two monkey ninjas at his side, Monkey Fist knew that he would be hard-pressed to defeat all of the people in this lair and escape with the idol successfully. He decided that he would work with them for now. But he would seize the idol for himself when the opportune moment arose.
"Very well. We will be partners in this endeavor. You can call off your dog now."
Shego had had enough. She leapt up on the table and jumped at the sitting Englishman. The attack had been so swift that he had not had time to properly prepare for the blow. Her fist connected with his cheek and sent the two of them crashing to the floor. She landed much more gracefully than him and came back up to her feet quickly.
In a flash the two monkey ninjas were upon her. But ninjas or not they were still no match for the battle-hardened villainess. They were both dispatched with ease as she flung them against the walls of the lair.
But this had given Monkey Fist plenty of time to recover. He stood up and lashed out with a fist that caught Shego off guard. She stumbled back from the blow and was about to go on the offensive again, but realized that the room had filled up with henchmen holding their crackling power staffs. Monkey Fist kept his arms up in a fighting position, but made it clear that he would not be the aggressor.
By this time Drakken had also risen from his seat and stepped between the two angry villains.
"If you two have all the fighting out of your system now, what do you say we go find the head to the idol?"
Monkey Fist lowered his arms and smiled at Shego.
"I'm all for it. What do you say, my dear?"
The energy surrounding her hands disappeared, but she still had her eyes locked on him.
"Fine. Let's go," she said coldly.
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American history class had been awkward. Kim hadn't said a word to Ron. He for the most part had just ignored her. But she couldn't take her eyes off of Camille. And every now and then the blonde villainess would give her a small glance. Both of their cards were face up on the table. Kim could only hope that her newest adversary had been wrong about her poker face.
With Barkin's class over she was on her way to the next. It was the only class of the day she did not share with Ron. What had been the most boring part of the day at the beginning of the semester had now turned into a small respite. Here she didn't feel uncomfortable being around her best friend for the past twelve years. She sighed when the thought entered her mind. It was never supposed to be this way. She should never feel awkward or weird around Ron. How had it come to this?
Monique approached her as she stood next to her locker gathering her things. Kim had been so focused on her thoughts that she had not seen her friend walk up to her. It wasn't a good sign. She had to be alert at all times. Drakken was up to something. Camille was up to something. It wouldn't surprise her if the sitch got even weirder in the next few days.
"Monique!" she said excitedly. "Do you have anything? You must have something! Tell me you have something!"
Monique was taken aback by Kim's fervor. She waited until her friend calmed down a bit.
"Yes, actually. I do have something."
"Okay. Spill."
"So I talked to a few people I know, people from all different grades. And only one person had ever heard of a new girl named Jill."
"Who was it?"
"Get this. It was someone who's in fourth period study hall."
Kim frowned. She knew what that meant.
"The only class that I don't have with Ron."
"Bingo. The dude said that he occasionally hangs out in the library during that period, like Ron does every day. And when he's there he always sees Ron sitting at a table with a new girl named Jill."
"I knew it… she's poisoning his mind at a time when I can't defend myself."
Monique nodded.
"And it gets even better. When he has study hall in the classroom with the rest of the people, the teacher is always checking to see who went to the library instead. And guess who's always there with Ron?"
"Camille Leon."
"You got it. And he's never once seen Camille in the library. He also managed to swipe the class list for fourth period study hall for me."
"So this pretty much confirms what we already know."
"Right…" Monique said before the mood turned a bit uncomfortable. "So what do we do now?"
"Now we go expose Jill for who she really is."
Kim was about to head toward the library when her kimmunicator sounded.
"What's up Wade?"
"You told me to keep an eye on Drakken. I've got something."
Kim frowned once more. Just when things were starting to become clearer Drakken had to rear his ugly head again.
"What's he up to now?"
"He's on a private jet travelling through the Australian Outback."
"Australia. Well that's a new one at least."
"I'm setting you up with Global Justice. They're the only people with a craft that can get you there in time."
She sighed when she realized that it was mission time. So much for fixing things with Ron.
"I suppose I'd better change…"
"Right. And don't worry, I've already called… Junior," he said with noticeable hesitation.
She heard the hesitation in his voice and couldn't help but agree. But circumstances had dictated this decision. It was her only viable choice. Like it or not she and Senor Senior Jr. were going to be heading to Australia to stop whatever Dr. Drakken had up his sleeves.
"Alright Wade. I'm on it."
She stuffed the device in her pocket before turning back to Monique.
"Monique… I need you to do me a favor."
"Does this mean you'll owe me one in the future? Like how you get all your rides?"
Kim was stunned by the question. It was the last thing she would have expected her friend to say.
"I'm kidding… anything for you, girl," she smiled.
Kim breathed a small sigh of relief as a smile graced her lips. She had been so stressed by everything that she couldn't even recognize her friend's humor.
"I need you to talk to Ron for me. I need you to tell him everything you just told me. He needs to know the truth about his new friend and his girlfriend."
"Sure thing, Kim. I'll do it at lunch when I can get him away from that harpy."
Kim smiled as she nodded slightly.
"Thanks, Mon. You don't know how much I appreciate this."
Kim grabbed the mission clothes she kept at school out of her locker and went to the washroom to change. Meanwhile Monique went to her next class. She only had one period to strategize before she had to confront Ron about the dire situation he was in.
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Ron's stomach growled as he made his way down the hall toward the cafeteria. Once more he was happy that he no longer had to rely on mystery meat in order to satisfy his hunger.
He had heard that Kim had been called for a mission. Part of him was actually sad that she had not come to him for help. He was her sidekick after all. But at the same time he couldn't deny how awkward it would have been if they were trapped in a small aircraft together. He concluded that she had made the right call not coming to him for assistance. He just hoped that she would be okay alone. He knew that her last mission to the Tri-City Museum had not gone too well.
Suddenly he felt a hand grab his arm from behind and pull him off course. His head turned quickly to see the potential threat, but was relieved when he saw that it was only Monique. He exhaled as a tiny smile formed on his face.
"Monique, you shouldn't be sneaking up on me like that. I got the mad kung fu skills after all," he said playfully.
She did not look amused. In fact she looked very serious.
"Um, Monique? What's wrong?"
"Ron, we need to talk…"
"You know if that was Camille saying those words to me I would be totally freaking out right now," he laughed.
Her expression didn't change though. It made him focus back on her and not his joke. He didn't like the vibe of the situation.
"What's wrong? Did something happen? Is Kim okay?"
She took note of his concern for Kim. That was a good sign at least. Their friendship wasn't beyond saving. It was obvious that he still cared a great deal for his friend.
"No, it's not Kim. Although she is currently flying to Australia with Junior being her only backup."
His mouth hung open in shock.
"Wait, did you just say Junior?"
"Yes. Junior. As in, one of the people who tries to take over the world on a regular basis. One of the people who has tried to kill Kim."
"Well in all fairness I would say his dad did most of that…"
"Focus Ron!"
He did just that. He quickly shut up and resumed paying attention to whatever she had to say next.
"Look, this isn't easy for me. And it wouldn't have been easy for Kim either if she was here. But there's something you have to know about your friend Jill."
"Jill? What about her?"
"She isn't who you think she is."
He didn't respond, but rather gave her a look that told her that he was getting annoyed by the constant paranoia that people were having about the new girls in his life.
"Look Monique, I don't know what Kim has been telling you. But if you say that Jill is working for Dr. Drakken I don't know how I'll react to it."
She handed him the class roster for his study hall. He looked at it and then back up at her.
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Find Camille's name."
He scanned the list of names. It wasn't hard to spot the name of his girlfriend.
"Okay. Now what?"
"Now find Jill's name."
He looked the list up and down once more. He found nothing. It must have been an oversight on his part. He searched for the name again. Again it was not there. He continued looking through it going name by name. There was no person on that piece of paper named Jill Ishus. After a few more seconds Monique took the paper from him.
"Ron. I don't know if you'll believe me or not. But please try to think of me as a third party. I'm not Kim, I'm your friend. Jill is Camille. Camille is Jill. She's been playing you this whole time."
He wanted to laugh. He wanted to believe it was a joke. But he couldn't. Monique was as serious as he had ever seen her be. That meant one of two things. Either Kim had gotten to her too, and they were both obsessively jealous of Camille being his girlfriend. The other option was that she was right. He chose the former.
He shook his head in dismay. He couldn't believe how bad things had become for his group of friends.
"Seriously Monique? You too?"
"Ron. Look past the fact that she's your girlfriend. Think with your brain, not your, um, heart?"
"You expect me to believe that Camille is some kind of shape shifter like Kim says?"
"Yes! Is that really so hard to believe in your line of work? The first time we met you and Kim were fighting some freaky Egyptian jackal dude who wanted to be a pro wrestler!"
Ron was about to say something in protest but was cut off before he even began.
"You and Kim fought clones! Clones, Ron! Clones of Bonnie and Kim! Don't you remember that?"
He again opened his mouth but was interrupted once more.
"And don't tell me you've forgotten the Bebes. The things that are probably the most advanced artificial intelligence programs in the world? The things that moved so fast that you couldn't even see them? And you're telling me that you don't believe that someone has the ability to shape shift? After all that? Really Ron?"
He had nothing to say now. Even if he wanted to speak the words would not come.
"And you don't think that it's just a little bit weird that your friend Jill and your girlfriend Camille show up on the same day? Come on Ron. Wake up. You're better than this and you know it."
Maybe it was the volume of Monique's shouting. Maybe it was the passion in her voice. Or maybe it was the fact that all of the things she had just mentioned seemed perfectly logical and reasonable to him. But whatever the reason was, he could not come up with a counter to anything she had just told him. Instead he just refused to hear any more.
"You're crazy. This is all crazy. I'm going to lunch."
He walked quickly down the hall to the cafeteria. He looked back once to see Monique still staring at him. He felt a plethora of emotions stirring inside him. But now there was a new feeling. No, not new. It was an old feeling. It had always been there. But since the beginning it had been buried under the joy of having a girlfriend.
His doubt had resurfaced.
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The trio of super villains walked through the unpopulated Australian Outback in search of their target. Dr. Drakken held the Tempus Simia in his hands. It had been clapping slowly for the past hour. It was beginning to get very irritating.
Shego gritted her teeth. Her frustration was mounting. What kind of stupid plan was this? And time travel? What kind of moron did Monkey Fist take her for? He may have been able to sway Drakken over to his side on the jet ride, but not her. She was only here because she was being paid to do so. That and it was an opportunity to get out of the lair and do some travelling. An all expenses paid trip to Australia wasn't so bad. Maybe after they found the stupid stone head she would take a vacation and spend a couple of weeks in Sydney.
The increasing tempo of the clapping caught her attention. She turned to see the two men become excited about what this had to mean.
"We're getting closer!" Monkey Fist exclaimed.
"Yes!" Drakken agreed. He pointed to their right. "That way!"
Shego sighed as she followed them. The three of them came upon three very large stones, with the tallest of them being in the center. As they neared it the idol's clapping was constant. This was it.
"Okay, it's here somewhere," Monkey Fist concluded.
"Good. Now where exactly is it?" Drakken wondered.
"Hmm…"
Monkey Fist inspected the stones for a few moments before his eyes were drawn to the top of the center stone monolith.
"There. A mystical monkey doorknob."
"Seriously, do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?" Shego asked him.
Monkey Fist ignored her and used a few hanging vines to swing up to the top of the stone. He turned the small monkey knob on the monolith before jumping back to the ground. A hidden door slid open revealing a small room inside. The three of them looked into the darkness speechlessly.
"You were saying, Shego?" Monkey Fist smirked darkly.
Just as they were about to enter they heard a sound above them. They had all heard it too many times in their lives. It was the sound of the law.
A pair of ropes fell from the Global Justice hover jet and were soon followed by two bodies rapidly descending down them. Kim landed neatly with her usual grace before standing up at her full height. Junior came down a bit more shakily, but made a better landing than Ron would have.
The villains looked at them with a mix of shock and wonder. But their eyes were drawn more to Junior than their usual teen nemesis.
"Um, Shego?" Drakken asked. "Why is that boy wearing one of your outfits?"
Junior was indeed clad in the black and green jump suit he had gotten from his former mentor. But it was clearly not one of hers. It actually fit the muscled young man.
"Excuse me? Does it look like I wear a size one hundred?" She growled at her employer.
"Okay okay, I didn't mean it like that. It's just, well, look at him."
"What is the issue here?" Junior wondered. "I think I look absolutely marvelous in this outfit."
"Enough talk!" Shego roared. "Monkey boy, you take care of Junior. Drakken, go get the head. The princess is mine."
"With pleasure," the monkey master grinned.
Drakken went into the room to fetch the idol's head as Shego and Monkey Fist brought their fists up and ready for action. The Englishman went first.
He charged into Junior swinging his fists with pinpoint precision at the young man. Junior was barely able to ward off each blow in time. Soon enough some managed to get through. Despite the fact that he was trained by Shego, he was still no match for a master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar. Fists connected with flesh as Junior was pummeled to the ground in a matter of seconds. He covered up the more sensitive areas of his body the best he could as he continued to lie in the dirt. Eventually Monkey Fist decided that this battle was won and went over to deal with their other opponent.
Shego ignited her hands and rushed at Kim. A much more evenly-matched battle was occurring here as Kim was able to deflect and counter all of Shego's attacks, while Shego did the same with her.
Kim managed to land a hard right hook on Shego's chin, sending the villainess back a few steps. The black-haired woman snarled as she came at Kim once more only to have her attacks blocked again. She received a hard kick to her kneecap for her efforts. She stumbled back once more and looked up just in time to see Monkey Fist enter the fray.
The insane nobleman fought with both sets of paws as he tried his best to keep Kim off balance. But like Shego he was having little luck in landing a solid blow on the teen hero. An onyx boot smashed into his face and drew blood as he was sent flying back several feet and landed on the ground.
"Have a nice trip," she said mockingly to her fallen opponent. "See you next fall."
"Oh please Kimmie, did you hear that on a rerun of Power Rangers or something?" Shego taunted.
Monkey Fist quickly got back to his feet and stood beside Shego as they both began making their way toward Kim.
Junior had by now regained his strength and stood up to see Drakken emerge from the room inside the large stone monolith. Looking over to Kim he realized that he was no match for either of the two villains. So he decided to pick on someone he could defeat.
He rushed at Drakken who was caught completely by surprise as the large billionaire lowered his shoulder and plowed him off his feet. The Tempus Simia idol landed in the dirt beside him. Junior reached down to pick it up before rushing away from the mad scientist. He saw Kim struggling to fend off the attacks from her two assailants. It wouldn't take very long for her to be knocked out of the fight.
"Kim!" he shouted as he held up the stone head.
All three of the combatants looked at him. Kim took the opportunity to run in another direction as Junior threw the head toward her. She caught it neatly in both hands and stopped before reaching the large stone that had housed it.
She decided it was time for a little payback. This freaky monkey head obviously meant a lot to them if they were out here in the middle of Australia trying to get it. She would see how much they really did care about it.
"Nobody move or I'm smashing this thing against the rock!" she shouted.
Monkey Fist stopped dead in his tracks. Shego didn't.
"Stop Shego! We cannot risk damaging the idol!"
She too stopped and then noticed that Junior was next to her slamming his fists against her shoulder. She barely felt the blows. Either he had gotten weaker or she had gotten stronger. She chose to believe the latter.
"Um, Junior? Can you knock it off for a minute? Kimmie's trying to talk to us."
"Please, just do not damage the idol's head," Monkey Fist pleaded.
"You're going to let both of us go," Kim told him. "It's either that or I shatter this thing into a million pieces. Your move, Monkey Fist."
He was seething with rage. But to him there was only one option. She had to be set free. They could always reacquire the idol's head from her. They could not replace it if it was broken.
"Let her go," he announced to the group.
"What!" Shego yelled in disbelief.
"I said let her go," he repeated. "We will finish this another day."
Kim eyed them cautiously before she and Junior made their way back to the ropes hanging from the hover jet. After they both got secure grips they were pulled up. The jet flew away en route back to the United States.
On the way back she thought about how dangerously wrong this mission had nearly went. The only way they had made it out intact was by using the villain's own tactic against them. She wouldn't always have that ace up her sleeve. She needed Ron back, and she needed him now.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron didn't know why he was doing this. It felt so wrong. He couldn't believe that he had let Monique get to him. Yet somehow, someway, he knew he had to. This would be what he needed to cast out any and all doubts. This is what he needed to be absolutely certain that they were the crazy ones. He had to do it. He had to see if there was any truth behind the accusations.
There were things that just didn't add up. He had listened to what Monique had said, despite how much he didn't want to hear them. A shape shifter really wasn't out of the ordinary compared to what he and Kim normally went up against. And it just got weirder after that. He remembered things that had no meaning outside of the context of Camille being evil. He remembered how Dr. Burton had said that the Yellow Tiffany Diamond had been the target of thefts in both Paris and New York. And that was where Camille had gone to school prior to her arrival in Middleton. He remembered the fake Kim's disdain for Bueno Nacho. Camille had the same opinion the night they went to Bonnie's party. And then there was the fact that Jill wasn't listed in his fourth period study hall class. But Camille was.
It was eleven at night when Ron arrived on foot outside of Camille's house. He was fully clad in his mission gear. He hadn't worn it in some time now and it felt good to be back in it. Sure, he wore cargo pants more often than not. But these dark gray pants had a special symbolic meaning. They meant he was going out to help people, to fight for a cause greater than himself. Only on this occasion it wasn't for anyone except him. It was a recon mission; he was here to find out answers about his girlfriend.
Certainly if she was some super villain like Kim and Monique said there would be proof of it. It felt dirty and wrong even thinking about doing what he was about to do. The conflict inside him had raged throughout the day. But like he had told himself a thousand times, it had to be done.
He aimed his grappling gun up to the second story of her home and fired. After making sure the line was secure he pulled himself up to the window. He was thankful that it was unlocked. After all, who would ever suspect of someone breaking in through a window of this height?
He stepped into the dark room as quietly as possible. He couldn't turn on any lights in fear of her noticing them and coming to investigate. Instead he took out a small plastic Smartymart flashlight and began scanning the room. He realized this was going to take a long time. It was time he did not have.
"Yo Rufus," he whispered down to his pocket. "I need your help."
The tiny rodent stuck his head out of his pocket and yawned.
"I need you to help me search for anything suspicious. I don't know what we're looking for… just… anything."
Rufus nodded and jumped down to the floor and began sniffing. Honestly Ron didn't know what he expected out of the naked mole rat. All he knew was that it couldn't hurt to try.
Ron brought the beam of the flashlight over his girlfriend's dresser. There was nothing on top of it. He knew that he and Kim kept photos of themselves and the rest of their friends in their room, as well as meaningful things like trophies and gifts from each other. But Ron found nothing here. The tops of her dresser and desk were barren. He next went over to her bed.
It was made neatly with nothing on top of it. However there was a tiny table next to it. On it he found two manila folders. He brought his flashlight closer to them so he could see if there was anything written on them. His heart skipped a beat.
"Team Possible?" he whispered to himself.
He opened the folder to read its contents. Inside it were papers detailing several missions that he and Kim had gone on over the past couple of years. Some of them looked like official Global Justice documents. Others were more amateur in appearance. He noticed typos and numerous mentions of the words "buffoon" and "sidekick". He frowned as he put it down and picked up the second folder.
It read "The Ron Factor". He flipped it open and saw that this was the Global Justice report from when they had studied him to see if he was what gave Team Possible its winning edge. He had already read it once, he did not need to do so again.
His heart was pounding and his palms were sweaty. It wasn't from the fear of being caught or the rush of doing spy work. It was the dread of finding out that maybe everything that Kim had been saying was true. It was finding out that maybe everything that he had believed to be true was a lie.
He felt Rufus climbing up his pants leg and back into his pocket. He looked down at his hairless friend.
"I've seen enough Rufus. We're leaving."
Before he could make it to the window though, the room was illuminated by the light on the ceiling.
"What are you doing Ron?" a voice said to him.
He turned to see Camille standing there with her arms folded. His mouth went dry and his heart rate became even faster. What could he say? He could think of nothing but the truth. He walked over by her bed and picked up the folders.
"Camille, what are you doing with these?" he asked pointing to them.
He noticed her eyes widen as she took a small hesitant step forward. She stopped herself before she got any closer. This had caught her completely off guard. She had no excuses or stories prepared for what was happening. She did her best to improvise.
"That's just me trying to get to know you better," she said. It wasn't a lie either. It just wasn't the whole truth.
"Why do you have these? Is Kim right? Are you working for Dr. Drakken?"
Two weeks of work had suddenly come crashing down on her. There was no possible way she could come up with anything to make him believe she was innocent. How could she possibly explain having classified Global Justice documents? This combined with the accusations Kim had made effectively ended any chance she had of continuing the charade. It was time to lay her cards on the table and hope that they were good enough to win her the pot.
"Yes, Ron. I am working for him."
Ron closed his eyes tight. He had been hoping against hope that she would say no. He knew that he wouldn't believe her even if she had said no, but part of him, some tiny, gullible part of him wanted to believe that she was still innocent. Her admission had destroyed any chance of things working out.
"How… why… I mean, I just… I don't get it. Why?"
"Come with me," she smiled.
"What?"
"Come. With. Me," she repeated. "We're going to chat downstairs."
She turned and left the room with him standing there in shock. It took him a few moments to remember how to move his legs to follow her. They soon reached her living room. She took a seat on the couch and motioned for him to sit next to her. He did not, and instead sat in the large recliner next to the couch. She figured that it was good enough and began talking.
"You see Ron, I was hired by Dr. Drakken to break you and Kim up. To ruin Team Possible, to destroy your close friendship."
"Why?"
"Honestly? I don't know. I don't care either. All I know is that it was money. Money for doing something fun, something I was good at."
"And that would be?"
She chuckled at his question.
"And the Academy Award for best actress goes to…" she trailed off.
"You did this just to act?"
"More than just act. Manipulation. It was all a game to me. A very fun game. If you only knew how many things I made happen over the past two weeks. You would see how absolutely amazing I am at this."
"A game? You mess with people's lives!"
"Oh don't be so overdramatic. This is high school. They'll get over everything once they graduate."
"I feel nauseous. All this time I was just a pawn to ruin Team Possible?"
"Yeah, but you were my pawn," she smirked. "At least you weren't Brick or Bonnie. How does that make you feel?"
"I… I'm seriously going to be sick. I can't believe this is happening to me."
Camille took a deep breath before continuing.
"I'll admit, at first you were just a job. You were nothing but a paycheck to me. But then I kept reading your files. I got to know you more and more. And it got me thinking about your potential."
"My potential?"
"Global Justice may have ignored the Ron Factor. But I didn't. You and your… mole rat always seem to know what button to push. Or what wire to cut, or when to trip and fall, or when to break something. And then there was the time you created a doomsday device out of a bunch of junk that Drakken gave you. But the thing that caught my eye is what you accomplished when you were under the influence of the attitudinator."
Ron shook his head repeatedly at the mention of that horrible word.
"No, we're not going there. Never again."
Camille stood and moved closer to the chair he was in.
"You can't deny what you did. You can't deny what you're capable of. They may ignore you. They may think you're just some worthless sidekick. But I don't. I know that together we can do great things. We, unlike Kim, truly could do anything."
"What are you saying…?"
She knelt down beside the chair and folded her arms on the armrest. She looked deep into his eyes with a mischievous smile on her face.
"I'm saying that we should be partners. If we combined our skills we could defeat any hero, any villain, any organization. We could bring the world to its knees if we wanted. Like I said, we could do anything."
"How could I ever be your partner? I'm a good guy. I save the world. And you… you just want to use it as a toy."
"Exactly. You like the Fearless Ferret don't you? Why am I even asking, I know you do. I've gotten to know you very well in the short time we've been dating."
"Yes… I do like him," he said hesitantly.
"Personally I find the idea of forbidden relationships to be such a turn on. Romeo and Juliet is big on that stuff. Then there's you, the selfless hero. And me, the sinister villain. I'll be the Sheela to your Fearless Ferret.
He frowned when she used such an analogy against him. Whether he would admit it or not, he did find the whole idea of Bryce Wade and Serena Lyle being together in the comic books very appealing. But there was no way he could ever let her know that.
She stood back up, but never broke eye contact with him as she did. She then walked around behind the chair and bent down to bring her face to his ear.
"And you're forgetting another benefit of our partnership," she whispered. "My talents are more than just manipulating people. I'm every guy's dream."
She morphed into a new form before she stepped to the right side of the chair. Ron looked up at her face and jumped with sudden fright.
"I could be every girl you've ever fantasized about," she said with the smiling face of Tara.
She went back behind the chair to change her form again. This time she stepped to his left side.
"I could be every girl you've never stood a chance with," she continued with Bonnie's face and ample cleavage on full display.
She stepped behind the chair and changed yet again.
"Or… she said as she walked in front of him. The look on his face was priceless when he saw who she was. And his expression somehow became even better when she straddled his lap and brought her face close to his. "I could even be your best friend," she said seductively as she took on the appearance of Kim.
His heart was pounding like never before. The images he was seeing, the emotions he was feeling, the physical contact he was experiencing, they were all threatening to overload his brain. He couldn't even think of words right now. He couldn't even remember what the alphabet was. He just saw the emerald green eyes and fiery red hair of his best friend sitting on his lap.
Camille smiled, knowing that her message had gotten through loud and clear. She morphed back into her natural form letting her bleached blonde hair hang down on his chest. She lingered there for a moment before dismounting him and standing back up.
"So are you in?" she grinned.
It took some time before he could even think of how to respond. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. For a moment he actually considered it. He thought about everything he could have if he decided to be with her. Could she be right? Could they really do anything? Could he really have anything… anyone? He wanted to. He wanted to so badly… After all, he was a seventeen year old guy. What Camille was suggesting to him truly was every guy's dream. He shook his head and cast such thoughts from his head. He was a hero, not a villain. No matter how tempting and alluring she was, she was still a villain. They could never be together like that.
"Do you honestly expect me to say yes? After all the lies, all the secrets, all the manipulation, you think that I would work with you?"
"Think about it this way. Kim, your best friend since you were five years old, lied to you. You asked her how she tracked you that one day a couple weeks ago. And she said nothing about embedding a tracking chip in you without your consent. She said it was a satellite. I remember this because you used me as a shoulder to cry on the day you found out the truth."
He didn't know how to respond to that. Instead he just continued listening.
"And then there's tonight. You asked me if I was working for Drakken. And I said yes. I came clean and told you the truth despite how much it would ruin me. Now tell me, which person was more honest?"
"That's some twisted logic. I won't let you manipulate me anymore."
She laughed out loud. He was taken aback by the suddenness of it.
"Come on Ron, all relationships are built on manipulation. Normal people just call it compromise. But you and me, we're far from normal, aren't we? Think about every sitcom you've ever seen with a married couple. Whether the man likes it or not, she controls him. It's all a power game. It's all about who can control the other to make them do what they want. I bet you'd like it if I got to control you, wouldn't you?"
He didn't answer her question. Instead he asked one of his own.
"Camille… in all the time we've been dating, did you ever really care about me? Did you ever have any real feelings for me? Or was it all just an act?"
It was her turn to not answer. She returned the favor and asked him another question.
"Are you in or not?" she repeated.
He sighed as he stood from the chair.
"No."
Camille's mouth hung open in disbelief. How could he say no? She saw him turn to leave and grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"You should really think about this," she said carefully.
"I already have. We're done. I'm breaking up with you."
He started walking to the front door, but stopped when he heard her call after him.
"You can't break up with me!" she shouted. "I'm Camille Leon! No one dumps me!"
He turned around before responding.
"Yeah, well I just did. I guess there's a first time for everything."
By now she was fuming. He had the audacity to dump her after everything she said to him? And in her own house? She clenched her fists as she came to another decision.
"Fine! But I hope you know that I'm going to call everyone I know and tell them I dumped you. Your reputation is the one that's going to be ruined, not mine."
He chuckled darkly. It was the last possible reaction she would have expected.
"Camille, I really don't care how you spin it. There's nothing you can do to me right now that will make me feel worse than I already do."
With that he opened the door and wandered outside. She stood there for a few seconds before moving to close and lock it.
Sitting down on the couch she thought about everything that had just taken place. This was an insult, a disgrace. She had never lost a mark like that before. He had rejected her. It wasn't right. She was the one who decided when things ended, not him. He had just taken this love game to the next level. She had to make him fall for her again; it was a matter of pride. And once he did, then she would be able to end things on her own terms. It would be difficult, but then again she did enjoy a challenge.
XXXXXXXXXX
It was so hard to find good servants these days. Especially without obedience collars.
It had been a day since she learned that her plan had fallen apart. She had posed as Shego making another call to Camille to get the latest information. Ron had broken up with her, and was most likely going to reconcile with Kim. And then there was the fact that this world's Shego had failed to obtain the completed Tempus Simia idol. She sighed as she thought about what this meant. If you wanted something done right you had to do it yourself.
She was currently aboard a small private plane heading to Middleton. She pondered the extreme deviations in the timeline that had been occurring over the past several days. It was not what she had expected. She had never foreseen her former apprentice teaming up with Kim as her new sidekick. He was certainly much better than Monique had proved to be when things had originally taken place.
But one didn't become the supreme ruler of the world without having a bit of cunning. She had already formulated a new plan to ensure that things went her way. She had the tools necessary to accomplish the task. One such tool was only a phone call away. The other sat in the seat next to her.
She was about to give Kim a totally new distraction to worry about.