Authors Note: So I've spent the past couple of weeks reading the first three books in the "Sword of Truth" series. In that time I've gotten pretty much zero writing done. That explains the slow update. Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.
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"Payback's a bitch… and so am I."
~Anonymous
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The sun was setting when Kim arrived at Ron's house. She had a couple of hours until she would be hanging out with Josh. She needed it. The stress she had endured for the past few weeks, especially the last few days, was pushing her over the limit. That had never been clearer to her when she had done what she did to Camille. She never would have dreamed she was capable of that sort of action. But circumstances had dictated that she had to adapt. Camille wasn't playing by the rules.
She almost laughed when she thought that. Rules. There were no rules in this line of work. In the game of world conquest there was no place for them. Sure, there were the unwritten rules that she and her regular super villain foes followed. People like Drakken and the Seniors never made things personal. They never went after her family. They never interfered with her at school. The closest they had ever come was on her date with Josh when they had tried to make her disappear. And even that wasn't crossing the line. They weren't trying to harm Josh, only her. Therefore it was okay. The wrongness of that thought stuck with her as she looked up at Ron's bedroom window.
This was where it had happened. This was where Ron had been turned evil for a second time. Shego had come and used the attitudinator on him. To what end she still didn't know. But that wasn't the priority at the moment. Getting him back to normal was. And this was as good of a place to start as any.
She fired her grappling gun over his roof like she had done a few days earlier. After pulling herself up she stepped through his open window and landed hard on the floor. She heard a crunching sound under her boot. She looked down at the source of the noise. Her eyes widened with horror.
Despite its condition she recognized what she saw. It was an attitudinator. It was broken and burnt, beyond any hope of repair. She lifted her foot and saw that she had crushed one of the glass bulbs that went atop the device. She immediately looked around her to make sure that she wouldn't step on another piece when she backed away. Her heart was racing as she continued to look down at the floor. A bright blue light caught her eye.
Her breathing slowed as she saw another bulb. It was filled with bright blue energy, the kind she had seen several months ago during the first attitudinator fiasco. She instantly knew what it was. It was the goodness that had been sucked from Ron's mind. It was the half of his personality that was ripped from him by the device. Right now it was the most precious thing in the world to her.
She slowly took a couple steps forward and bent down to examine the glass. It was in terrible shape. There were small hairline fractures all over it. Applying even the tiniest amount of pressure to the glass might shatter it. She couldn't let that happen. If it did then she would lose Ron forever. Not to villainy. He would die.
Fearful chills ran through her as she took off her gloves and set them on his bed. She could feel herself shaking as she went to pick the bulb up. But she stopped herself when she was mere inches from reaching it. She couldn't handle it in this condition. She had to calm down. She had to stop shaking. One wrong move and it was all over. She began to take deep breaths to try to get her emotions under control. About a minute later she tried again.
She at least had to get it off the floor. There was no telling what would happen if it remained there. Someone could easily step on it like she had with the other bulb. She was thankful that it had been the empty one and not this one. Slowly, her hands reached out once again to gently grasp the glass. When she did she lifted it and cautiously moved it to his bed. At least that was soft. After she set it down she realized that it was okay. She was free to move across the floor once more.
Kim stood up and took a deep breath. One mystery was solved at least. She hadn't needed to go find Shego. His goodness was still here and intact. Even if that was barely true, even if it was still fragile, it was still here. There was hope. Now all she had to do was find the other attitudinator.
She moved to his closet door and opened it up. To say it was a mess would be an understatement. There were things in there that she had never even seen before, things she didn't even know he owned. She began taking them out in a desperate search to find the attitudinator. She knew that it was in bad shape. Not nearly as bad of shape as the glass bulb she had found, but it was taped together. It had to be handled with care.
After several minutes of searching she had found it. With just as much care she had shown the other object, she gingerly lifted the fragile device out of his closet and set it on his bed. The two pieces to restore Ron to his good self were there. It made her uncomfortable to know that this had been the easy part. She not only had to get them out of here. She not only had to find a way to stabilize them so they could be used. But she also had to get close enough to him to use them. She fished her kimmunicator from her pocket to contact Wade.
"What's up Kim?" he said when his face appeared on the screen.
"I found it Wade. I found what we need to turn Ron good again."
A huge smile crossed his face when he heard the news. His excitement couldn't be contained when he spoke.
"That's great Kim! So what's the plan?"
"They're in really bad shape," she said sadly. "I'm afraid to touch them, much less move them to a secure location. I need your help moving them."
"Okay. What can I do?"
"Can you make some kind of padded box? I don't know, but something that an attitudinator and one of its glass bulbs would fit in so they couldn't move around and risk getting broken?"
"I think I can do something like that. I'll make something so safe and secure that it would put a museum to shame."
She smiled at his confidence. She could always count on him for whatever she needed.
"Thanks Wade. I'll wait here until you're done."
"Okay. I don't know how long it will take. But not too long. I'll call before I send it over."
"Alright. I'll be waiting."
She turned the device off and walked over to his window. She couldn't sit on his bed for fear of one of the objects breaking. As she looked out the window she thought about her newly found hope. Only a few hours ago she had learned from Jack Hench about the problems with the attitudinator. She had learned that Ron's life was in more danger than she, or he, had ever suspected. But now she had the chance to set everything right. She had to think of a plan to cure him once Wade was ready. She closed her eyes and sighed.
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There was an old saying which stated that sex changed everything. She sincerely hoped that was not the case.
Camille did not love Ron. She especially did not love what he had become. And she knew that he did not love her either. At least that's what she assumed. She knew that he had feelings left over from when they had dated. Those feelings that she had manipulated from him were what had brought him back to her once he had turned evil. But love? No. It wasn't love. It wasn't anything genuine or heart-felt.
What they did have however was an understanding. They were there to satisfy their most carnal and primal needs for each other. It was the perfect relationship. They were partners in crime with benefits. There were no messy emotions or feelings to screw anything up. She had felt vulnerable and afraid the prior night because of what Kim had done to her. He had been there to "comfort" her in her time of need. And in return she had been able to scratch the itch that every teenage guy felt. More than that though, he had been able to help her with her own itch. She won in the end by getting two things she wanted while he only got one. Like she had told him days earlier when he was still good, a relationship was all about manipulation. Whoever could get the other to do what they wanted won.
They were still at her house the following day after she had slept with him. It unnerved her that he had not spoken much since waking up. Normally Ron was a chatterbox, even when he was turned evil. But he had not said much today. He had no desire to watch any TV either. It was another unusual change he was displaying. He was just sitting on the large chair in her living room seemingly deep in thought. She had no idea what he was thinking of. But she was determined to find out.
"Ron?" she said.
He looked up at her emotionlessly. He was working on some project at the moment. It looked like some kind of gun.
"What."
"What are you working on?"
"A plan."
About time. She had read enough about his previous encounter with an attitudinator to know what he was capable of. She wondered what he had in mind.
"Feel like telling me?"
"I have a question first."
"Okay. What?"
"You said that Drakken wanted you to get a monkey head from Kim?"
Camille thought back angrily on her assignment. It was a blemish on both her reputation as well as her face. She was supposed to be able to fool and manipulate anyone. But Kim knew him too well to be fooled. The mention of the word monkey had set alarms off in the teen hero's head. It was because of this that she had failed. It was because of this that she bore the hideous mark on her face.
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Drakken doesn't do monkeys."
"So?"
Ron sighed at her ignorance.
"So, Camille," he spat. "Why would Drakken want a monkey head statue if his plans never have anything to do with monkeys? Think for a second!"
She didn't like his tone. How dare he speak to her like that. But he was obviously trying to prove a point. She would ignore the insult for now.
"Okay, if you're so smart then explain it to me."
"The point is that it wasn't Drakken's plan. It was someone else's. And that someone is Monkey Fist."
"How do you know it's Monkey Fist?"
"Who else would be dumb enough to base their plans of world conquest on a bunch of stupid monkeys? That freak is obsessed with them. Haven't you ever seen him?"
She hadn't seen Monkey Fist first hand. She had only ever heard about the freak that he was. What kind of twisted person would replace their own hands and feet with monkey paws? It sickened her to even think about it. Looking down at her own hands, Camille imagined what they would look like if they were big and hairy. An involuntary look of disgust appeared on her face as she did so.
"I haven't seen him. But I've heard enough about that psycho."
"The point is that monkeys are his game. He's done it in the past plenty of times. The idols, the amulet, the Lotus Blade, everything the guy does revolves around his stupid mystical monkey stuff."
"So you're saying he's the one behind Drakken's plan?"
"Exactly."
Camille laughed softly. It figured that Drakken wouldn't be able to come up with something on his own.
"Kay, so why does this matter to us?"
"Because Monkey Fist knows what's real and what's fake. And he doesn't waste time doing plans with fake stuff."
"Wait, you think that that monkey head thing can really do something?" she asked skeptically.
"I know it can."
She was surprised to hear the confidence in his voice. He was certain that whatever she had been tasked in getting for Drakken had real power. But she wasn't convinced.
"You mean to tell me you believe in his monkey power stuff?"
"Believe in it?" he smiled. "I lived it."
"What do you mean?"
He didn't even look up as he continued to tinker with his rather large pistol. It was too big to be a normal handgun. The barrel was especially large.
"You did your research on me. You know about my mystical monkey power."
"Honestly I thought that was all a bunch of crap. I don't believe in that stuff."
That got his attention. He looked up and shot a venomous look at her. But her own glare didn't falter. The two sat there staring at each other for several seconds before Ron looked back down at his work.
"A couple years ago I went on a mission by myself to his manor. Long story short, I got zapped by four idols. They lifted me from the ground with yellow energy. And after that I was able to defeat Monkey Fist, a master in Tai Sheng Pek Kwar, in hand to hand combat."
Camille frowned when he was finished speaking. That had been in her report. She didn't really give it any credit at the time. She merely believed that he had gotten lucky, much like he had done in many of the other missions detailed in The Ron Factor file.
"And then there was the time that Kim put on some monkey amulet of his and turned into a monkey herself," he continued. "I can assure you that it was far from being fake. It's a distressing feeling when you see your best friend… former best friend, turn into the creature you fear the most."
"Fine, whatever. It's not fake. What does this monkey head do then?"
"I don't know. But we're going to find out. Did it have a name?"
She sat on her couch in thought for a moment before the name came to her.
"Yeah. It was called the Tempus Simia, or something like that."
Ron paused on his project as he looked off to the side. He was mouthing the words Tempus Simia silently to himself, as if he was trying to figure out the meaning of them.
"It sounds Latin," he finally said aloud. "But I have no idea what it means. Why didn't I pay more attention in that pointless class?"
"Why don't we just look it up online?"
"Yes, good idea. You go do that."
Camille grabbed the laptop that was sitting on the couch beside her and lifted the lid to open it. A few seconds later she was typing the name of the idol into a search engine.
"Okay, there are actually a few sites that have the words together," she said as she continued looking through the list.
"Any give a translation?"
"Yeah. It says here that it means 'time monkey'."
"Time Monkey…" he said thoughtfully. "Okay, you keep looking for information. I just need to finish tweaking this weapon before I get started on mixing the chemicals for it."
"What are you working on anyway? What chemicals?"
He smiled evilly as he looked at the hard plastic and aluminum object in his hands.
"It used to be an innocent paintball gun. But I've converted it to be able to fire darts, like a tranquilizer gun. Now all I need to do is use the formula I created to make a tranq chemical and fill up the darts with it."
"You mean to tell me that all this time you've been working on a stupid tranquilizer gun? What happened to the Mega Weather Generator? And all the other stuff you've done?"
"The right tool for the right task, Camille," he said calmly. "You don't need a sledge hammer to hang a picture on the wall."
"So what are you going to do with this thing?"
"Kim has the monkey head."
"Yeah. We just went over that," she said flippantly.
He shot her another threatening glare. Camille wasn't the only one who was getting annoyed by a bad attitude.
"So we're going to get it from her. And this will help us."
"Well we're going to have to wait until tomorrow then. She's going on some date tonight with that Mankey kid."
Ron looked at her curiously. The two of them had been standing not too far from Kim and Josh when they were celebrating after regionals. But he had never gotten the impression that they were going on a date.
"Date? What date?"
"They're not just hanging out as friends tonight. They're going on a date."
"What makes you say that?" he wondered.
"Oh come on. Couldn't you see the way that idiot was looking at her? It's so obvious that he still has feelings for her. I see guys giving me that look all the time," she smirked.
The smile had a purpose. She wanted him to get jealous. And he did. Ron emitted a low growl when she had mentioned other guys.
"And if I see them looking at you like that they'll be checking out the next girl they see through two black eyes," he threatened.
"I had no idea you cared so much," she lied.
She enjoyed toying with him. Not just him though, everyone. Especially guys. She knew that they checked her out on a regular basis, and not just because of her celebrity status. She regularly flaunted her assets for them to see when she was out. It was why she wore so many low cut, tight tops and such short skirts. She taunted them by showing them something they could never have. And having Ron around to get jealous of the stares was just icing on the cake. She couldn't wait until he got into a fight with some random guy for looking at her the wrong way.
"Can we get back to the plan?" he said bitterly.
She smiled to herself.
"Sure Ron. Whatever you want."
"As I was saying… we're going to get the monkey head from Kim. And we're going to do it tonight. We're going to crash their date."
"Harsh, but I like harsh. How are you going to do it in a public place though?"
"I'm not blue like I was last time. And everyone knows that Kim and me are tight. At least they think we still are. So the two of us being together isn't going to draw any suspicious attention toward us."
"And you have the tranq gun in case she won't tell you where it is?" she asked.
"Not quite. I'll tell you the details while I work on the chemical mix."
He stood up and gathered the necessary liquids he needed to finish his project.
"By the way, did you ever find out what Tempus Simia means?"
She gave him a weird look. She didn't know if this was some kind of weird game or not. They had talked about it only a couple minutes earlier.
"Um, yeah? It means time monkey. Don't you remember?"
He paused and thought about it for a moment.
"I think I would remember something like that. Whatever. At least you're doing something useful around here for once."
He set down the bottles of liquids in his hands and walked out of the living room.
Camille watched him exit the room with a scowl on her face. She liked him with an edge. But this edge was beginning to get a bit too sharp. She would have to put him in his place if this partnership was to continue.
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Kim was sitting anxiously on her couch watching TV. But her mind was on anything but the show she was watching. She couldn't get her mind off of Wade. Earlier she had delivered the attitudinator to him in a secure, padded package. It was up to him now to make it stable and usable. One false step and it was all over. And the knowledge of that was making her nervous beyond belief.
She couldn't believe that it had come to this. Things had never gotten this bad before. It had never been this personal or dangerous to her and the people she cared about. Drakken, Shego, Monkey Fist and Camille had taken this game of heroes and villains to the next level. No, they had taken it beyond the next level. She had never felt so terrified in her life. She could no longer blame herself for her interrogation methods she had used on Camille. She had to do it. It was the only way to find out what she had needed to know. And more than that, the girl had brought it all on herself. Kim could feel no pity.
As she sat there thinking she heard her doorbell ring. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about Josh. Right after regionals they had agreed to hang out tonight. Originally it was supposed to have been with Monique and Felix as well, but they had to back out. Now it would be just her and Josh. She was still a bit anxious about the idea of it. They had dated before. They had mutually ended the relationship because they had grown apart. What if he was interested in her again? What if them being alone did something to harm their friendship?
She reached the door and opened it to see Josh standing there. At least he didn't have flowers. That was a good sign.
"Hey Josh," she smiled as she gestured for him to come inside.
He stepped past her and into her house.
"Hey Kim. How are you doing tonight?"
A frown appeared on her face as she sighed. She didn't want to make their evening together depressing. But one of the reasons they were hanging out was so she could fill him in on all the Ron and Camille business. There was no reason for her to hold back.
"Honestly, not too good. But I'm glad we're going to be spending some time together. I could really use a friend."
He smiled warmly as he watched her put on her shoes.
"That's what friends are for."
She grabbed her purse before the two of them walked outside. She locked the door behind her before the turned to face him.
"So what are we doing tonight?"
"Well I figure because we're friends and stuff we could go do what you and Ron do. You know, go to Bueno Nacho, maybe see a movie. I'm not too picky."
Kim nodded in agreement with what he said.
"Bueno Nacho. Sounds good. I am kind of hungry."
"Cool. I didn't bring my car, I figured it was nice out so we could walk there. And it's not far either. It will give us a nice chance to talk."
"Sounds good."
The two teens began their walk toward Kim's all too familiar hang out spot. Only this time it wasn't with her best friend. Sure, Josh was a good friend. But he wasn't nearly on the same level that Ron was.
"So what's the deal with you and Ron lately?" he wondered. "And Camille. I've heard from others girls that you two are big enemies now."
She sighed as she thought about how she was going to explain it all.
"It's a really long story."
"I've got all night," he smiled.
She smiled when she heard that. She decided that she might as well start from the beginning.
"Well it turns out that Camille came to town to mess with me. She's working for my arch foe Dr. Drakken. It was all part of their plan to break Ron and me up so I wouldn't be as effective at stopping them."
"Seriously? Camille's a super villain?"
She heard the disbelief in his voice. She couldn't blame him either. Saying that Camille Leon, the rich, spoiled celebrity who was famous for doing nothing was a super villain was a pretty big accusation. She only hoped that he would believe her.
"I know it sounds crazy. But it's true. Do you believe me?"
"I know you deal with a lot of weird stuff in your line of work. I know and trust you. You wouldn't lie about something like that."
She smiled and nodded in appreciation.
"Thanks Josh. You're one of the few people who I think would trust me on this."
"So then why is Ron dating her if she's evil?"
"Well I didn't find out she was evil until a week ago. She had already been dating him for a while before that, and Ron was convinced that I was jealous of her. So when I did finally tell him he didn't believe me. And now…"
"What?"
"Now Ron is evil too."
Josh frowned.
"Ron is evil? I know him, he doesn't have an evil bone in his body. Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Remember earlier in the year when he went through his 'bad boy' phase? Remember the food fight with that thing that shot mashed potatoes?"
"Oh yeah, that was funny," he laughed when he remembered the incident.
Kim on the other hand didn't laugh. She knew the truth about what had happened to him back then and now.
"He got turned evil back then by something called the attitudinator. And it's happened to him again. It's really bad. I've never been so scared for him in my life."
"Why? What's going on with him?"
"Earlier today I met with the guy who invented it. He told me that Ron was going to slowly go insane because of it. And if I can't help him in time… he's…"
"Kim?" Josh said with worry in his voice.
"If I can't help him in time he's going to die."
Josh's mouth opened slightly but said nothing. His face was in a state of complete surprise. It was the last thing he would have expected to hear. People didn't die in Kim's world. They tried to conquer the world, they went to prison and they escaped. But no one had ever been seriously hurt before. No one had ever died.
"How are you going to help him?"
"I found what I need to help him. Wade's working on it right now. He said that I needed to get out of the house and stop calling him and worrying about it. I'm lucky that you're here with me now. I really need to get my mind off of it."
Josh smiled again as he saw Bueno Nacho off in the distance. It wouldn't take long to get there now.
"I'm really happy I can help you. I know I don't know anything about your enemies and I can't do much to help, but I'm glad I can help in my own little way."
"Thanks Josh."
Kim too saw that they were nearing the restaurant. Right now she was starving. A couple of nacos would do the trick. But right as she thought about eating nacos she remembered Ron. She remembered the day he had invented them, the day he had received his royalty check. Mostly she remembered how he could devour his entire meal before she was finished with one. She fought hard to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes.
Josh saw them too. They were just outside of the restaurant now. He took her hand and led them to one of the outdoor tables and sat her down. He took a seat next to her, all the while still holding her hand.
"Kim, you're going to get him back. You can do anything after all. I believe in you."
The display of emotion from him caused her to unleash her own. A couple of tears slowly dripped down her face. She couldn't hold them back any longer.
"But what if I don't? What if I lose him forever?"
"You won't."
But before Kim could protest she saw Josh place his hand on her cheek to wipe away one of her tears. He moved his mouth slowly to hers and placed a kiss on her lips. At first Kim didn't know what to do. They weren't dating, they were just friends. What was he thinking? And yet she didn't fight it. Instead she returned the kiss. She hadn't felt this way since they had dated several months back, not counting the moodulator. Other than kissing Ron under its effects, the last boy she had kissed was Josh. And now here they were again. She didn't know whether it was because she was emotionally compromised at the moment, or because she still had genuine feelings for him, but she didn't want it to end. For the first time in a long time she felt happy.
When their lips parted her teary eyes looked into his own.
"Josh…" she whispered.
Before either could say another word they realized that someone had come up behind them. They turned to see the smiling face of Ron staring at them. It wasn't the warm smile that they were both used to. It reeked of spite and evil.
"Well well well, it looks like the love birds are together again," he grinned. "And here I thought the two of you had grown apart."
Josh stood up from his seat and stepped in front of Kim.
"I've heard about what you are now, Ron," he said with warning in his voice. "You stay away from Kim."
Ron began laughing maniacally at Josh's words. He couldn't believe the boldness that the art enthusiast was displaying.
"Wow, that was hilarious, Josh," he said when he had recovered his ability to speak. "You think you can stop me if I decided to do something?"
Kim stood up and put an arm to Josh's chest, forcing him back a step. She took a place in front of him. He wasn't trained in any kind of martial arts. She was an expert in sixteen styles. If there was a physical confrontation tonight it would be between her and Ron. No one else could get hurt because of his condition.
"What do you want Ron?" she said threateningly.
"I'm just here to ask you a question. And how fitting, you're with Josh Monkey," he said using his old insult for the young man. "Kim, where is the head to the Tempus Simia idol?"
Rage flared in Kim's mind. It was back to the idol. First Camille, then Drakken, and now Ron. What was their infatuation with that stupid stone head?
"Like I would tell you. Have you decided to work for Drakken too?"
He laughed once more, this time at the accusation.
"Oh Kim, I would never work for a loser like that. I'm doing this for me. Now where is it?"
"I wouldn't tell you even if you tried to beat it out of me," Kim said as she set herself in a combat stance. "And I don't think you're even close to being able to take me."
He considered her words for a moment before speaking.
"No, probably not. But I have ways of getting around that."
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
Rather than answering her question he asked one of his own.
"Why did you two stop dating? You're such a cute couple," he said sarcastically.
"None of your business. And one way or another, you're coming with me tonight. It's up to you whether you're conscious or not."
"Truer words were never spoken, Kim," he said before he turned to Josh. "So monkey boy, why did you two stop dating?"
"Because she's a total prude," Josh said casually.
Kim's eyes went wide in shock when she heard that. She turned to ask why he had said such a thing. She was just in time to see Josh stab her arm with a syringe and push the plunger down, sending a putrid looking yellow liquid into her veins.
"Josh…?" she said in disbelief as her body began to feel weak.
Hey eyelids felt heavy and her legs gave out from under her. Josh caught her before she could hit the ground and set her back on the small bench at the outdoor table. After that he turned to Ron with a smirk on his face.
"That was way too easy," he said, sounding almost disappointed. "But the look on her face when she realized I wasn't Josh… that was a beautiful sight. It was priceless."
"I told you I know her weakness. Boys boys boys… and especially this one," Ron said as he poked Josh's chest to emphasize his point. He frowned after doing so. "Um, Camille? Can you change back now? I'm kinda uncomfortable talking to another dude like this."
"When we get home. I can't change in public like this."
"Right. Okay, let's bring her to your car."
Ron and Camille grabbed Kim's unconscious body and brought her to Camille's waiting Porsche. They put her in the back seat before driving back to Camille's house. They would get their answers there.
XXXXXXXXXX
Kim's eyes slowly opened to see her surroundings spinning all around her. She blinked hard several times trying to clear her vision, but to no avail. The room, one she couldn't recognize at the moment, was still unclear. Her body felt numb in places and she couldn't move her arms. After a few seconds things were beginning to seem a bit clearer. She knew this place. She just couldn't remember how or why.
It was then that she realized why she couldn't move her arms either. They were tied behind her. More than that, there was a second rope around her torso that was securing her to a chair. She was still weak, but tried to escape the bonds anyway. The efforts were in vain. Her head was still dizzy, but now things were starting to become even clearer. She blinked a few more times and realized that it was definitely a place she had been before. The voice that began speaking made the mystery a whole lot easier to solve.
"Look who's finally awake."
Kim groggily turned her head to see Camille sitting at her kitchen table. The blonde had a slight smirk on her face when she realized that Kim was still recovering her senses. She stood up and walked toward the teen hero.
"How does it feel to be on the other end of this?" she smiled.
"Camille…" Kim said weakly. "What's going on?"
"What's going on? Come on Kim, you're smarter than that. I thought it would be obvious that Ron and me kidnapped you."
"What did you do with Josh?"
"He's fine. But he won't be joining us tonight."
Kim blinked hard several more times as she was becoming more aware and awake.
"Still tired? Let me help you."
Camille lashed out and slapped Kim hard across her face. She let out a small cry of pain from the contact.
"Let me go," Kim growled.
"Hmm… I seem to remember saying the same thing. And like you said, you're in no position to be making demands."
"Where's Ron."
"He's in another room working on something. You know your former friend is really a genius when he's evil. He may not have made a doomsday machine yet, but he did come up with the chemical that knocked you out for the past few hours."
"A few hours? What time is it?"
Camille glanced at the clock.
"Around eleven. You've been out since about seven thirty."
Kim's rage returned to her now that she was fully conscious again. She didn't have time for this. Every hour was precious when it came to Ron's condition.
"Did Wade call me?" Kim wondered when she realized her kimmunicator wasn't in her pocket anymore.
"Wade…" Camille said as she thought about the name. "Oh, Wade. Your tech nerd friend. Yeah, he called. I took the call posing as you. He said that everything is ready and he's waiting for you to come pick it up."
Kim felt chills running through her. Wade must have believed that it was the real Kim he was talking to. That means he would have told her everything about the attitudinator. And that knowledge in Camille's hands was a dangerous thing.
"Camille, you have to let me go. I have to save Ron."
"Save Ron? Oh right, all that stupid stuff you were babbling to me about when you thought I was Josh. Yeah, sorry, not buying it."
"Not buying it!" she roared. "Camille, Ron's life is seriously in danger! I have to turn him good again before the attitudinator's side effect kills him!"
"Blah blah blah," Camille said as she used her hand to mimic a moving mouth. "You just can't accept the fact that you lost. You know that the only way to beat me is by turning Ron good again. Well I'm sorry Kim, not happening."
"You have to believe me! Have you been noticing him acting different? Has he been getting really angry and forgetting stuff? Those are the signs, Camille. You have to trust me!"
Camille thought for a moment before dismissing the redhead's claims. She wasn't about to give in. This was her moment of triumph.
"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."
"You'll see soon enough. And if he dies because of you, I will get you back. You haven't even begun to see what I'm capable of. Don't test me on this."
Camille laughed at the threat.
"By the way Kim, I've never kissed another girl before."
The memory of Josh kissing her came flooding back to her. The entire time it hadn't even been him. Everything she said was to Camille. And that means that it was Camille who had kissed her.
"You are seriously twisted. I feel like I need to puke right now."
"You bruise my face, I bruise your mind."
"Shut up. You deserved everything I did to you last night."
"I have to admit, I didn't hate it. I mean, it wasn't as good as kissing Ron. But you weren't bad. You tasted minty. Maybe you were expecting to kiss Josh on your date."
Kim blanched at what Camille had just said. She felt disgusted and violated.
"Don't be like that," Camille smirked. "You should feel honored. You popped my bi-curious cherry. Or rather, I popped yours. I've been doing that a lot lately. And believe me, kissing you was totally worth seeing you get your hopes up only for me to tear them down," she laughed.
The hatred and disgust inside Kim only grew. She hated Camille. She hated her so much. But right now she couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't break free of the ropes. Then a chilling thought entered her mind.
"Wait…" she said cautiously. "What did you mean by 'I've been doing that a lot lately'?"
"Like I said, you're a smart girl. Put two and two together."
She didn't want to. She knew that she had already solved the equation, but she desperately didn't want to think of the answer. But it didn't matter. It was already in her head.
"Did you and Ron…" she said before stopping. She couldn't even bring herself to speak the last words.
The sinister smile returned to the heiress' face.
"Who wouldn't want some of this?" she said as she moved her hand from the top to the bottom of her body, as if putting it on display. "We did. In fact, it was last night. Right after you left here. He was such a gentleman to come over that late at night and comfort me after you did what you did. He knows all about how you hurt me. And he hates you for it…" she said as she reminisced about telling him. "He hates you so much for hurting me…"
Kim's mouth went dry as tears began welling in her eyes. She couldn't believe it. Ron's virginity had been lost to that harpy. And it wasn't even his choice. The monster that Ron had become was not the boy she had grown up with, the one who was her best friend. But his body was. And Camille had taken something from him that he could never get back. She had taken his innocence just like her own moral innocence. She was on the verge of vomiting. She had to work hard to gather the strength to ask another question.
"Did you at least… use protection?" she asked weakly.
"Would it bother you if we didn't?"
Kim's mouth was agape as she tried to think of something to say to that. But instead Camille continued speaking.
"Would it bother you if I got knocked up by Ron? How would you feel if I had his baby, and I was in his life forever? Even if he was turned good again, I would still be the mother of his child. How would you feel to know that I would always have a bigger, more important role in Ron's life than you? You would always come second to me, even if he did hate me. I bet that you wouldn't be able to stand it. You would have to get as far away from him as possible."
Kim was having trouble trying to respond as she listened to what Camille was saying. The scenario she had just described was terrifying. The very thought of Ron and Camille having a child together was appalling. It would be the final, irreversible nail in the coffin of their friendship.
Camille began laughing as she saw Kim's reaction. She shook her head in pity.
"Relax Kim, we used protection. I'm not interested in having a kid at eighteen years old. Even if it would ruin your friendship with him forever."
Kim breathed a sigh of relief. It was a victory at least. And right now she needed every victory she could get her hands on. She heard footsteps coming their way.
"Oh look, here he is now," Camille said as she turned to see Ron walk in the kitchen.
Camille went up to him and planted a firm kiss on his lips. She looked over at Kim when she was done to gauge her reaction. She loved taunting Kim by putting her relationship with Ron on full display in front of her.
"Are you two playing nice?" he asked.
"Very nice. I've only hit her once."
"Well feel free to do it more. Later, though. Right now we have business to attend to."
Ron pulled a chair in front of the bound Kim and sat down. His dull, emotionless eyes stared into her own.
"Where did you hide the Tempus Simia head?"
"Ron, you have to stop this. You're in serious danger."
"Where is it!" he yelled.
"I'm not telling you. You have to let me help you. The attitudinator is going to kill you."
"Strike two," he said randomly.
"What?"
He turned to Camille.
"Okay Camille. Plan B."
The blonde nodded as she morphed to look like Kim. She was almost an exact copy, including her current attire. Nearly anyone would be fooled by the imposter.
Ron stood up and went next to her.
"Hey KP, let's go hang out at your house tonight. I can spend the night just like old times," he said in a kind, innocent voice.
"Sounds good Ron. Maybe you can play some video games with my brothers like you used to. It will be so much fun to be alone with my family all night!"
Kim understood now. It was a very real, very personal threat that they were making against her. It was one against her family where she would be helpless to protect them. She couldn't let it happen.
Ron turned back to her.
"Last chance Kim. Where's the head?"
She had to give in.
"Okay, I'll tell you. Please, just don't hurt my family. Please Ron, they didn't do anything to you. This is between the three of us."
He sat back down on the chair and continued staring at her.
"It's in a box in my back yard. I buried it near the back door. I disguised the spot the best I could, but if you look close enough you should see that it looks different than the rest of the grass."
Ron stood up with a mischievous smirk on his face.
"There. That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
"Just go get it. Then let me go. But please, just don't hurt my family."
"If it's there like you say it is, I will not harm your family," he said coldly.
She closed her eyes and shuddered.
"Thank you…" she whispered.
Ron looked back at Camille, who was still disguised as Kim.
"Okay. Go get it."
"What? It's past eleven. It's dark. And there's no way I'm going to dig it up and get my nails all dirty."
"Now Camille!" he yelled furiously.
She jumped back at the force in his voice. Hearing him yell like that was frightening. The look in his eyes was worse. She felt scared, similar to what she had felt the previous night when Kim had attacked her.
"Fine. Whatever," she said before storming from the room.
When Ron heard the front door close he eyed Kim once again.
"Good sidekicks are so hard to find these days…" he muttered.
"Ron… you have to listen to me. The attitudinator ripped half of your personality from your head. It's really hurting your mind. And in a few days the damage is going to be irreversible. It's going to kill you."
He shook his head in disagreement.
"No Kim, the attitudinator has made me strong. Do you know how wonderful it feels to not have that part of your mind? Do you know how good it feels to live a life with no morality, no fear of consequences? It's amazing. You need to try it sometime."
"Please Ron. I talked to Jack Hench today. The attitudinators have been recalled. They're a danger to people's lives, including yours. If I don't help you in the next few days you're going to die."
"I'm calling your bluff, Kimberly Anne Possible," he said with authority.
He saw her struggling with the ropes he had tied around her. He knew there was no chance of her escaping.
"I tied those myself. I'm amazed at how useful the things I learned to do at Camp Wannaweep have turned out to be. There's no way you're getting out of those ropes anytime soon."
Deep down she knew that he was right. She ceased her struggling.
"And now we just wait here until Camille gets back with the monkey head. After that you're free to go home."
"This isn't over Ron. I'm not going to give up on you. You've been my best friend for twelve years. And you still are, even if you don't realize it at the moment. I will keep trying until one of us is dead."
He ignored her as he fished a piece of paper from his pocket.
"Do you see this Kim?" he said pointing to the piece of paper. "This is what I was able to come up with thanks to the attitudinator. It makes me strong! It makes me smart! Look at it!"
He shoved the paper in front of her. Her eyes widened with fear when she looked at it.
"Ron…" she said uneasily. "Those aren't doomsday machine schematics."
"What are you talking about?" he said as he looked at the drawing. "You must just be too stupid to understand the brilliance of what I've designed."
"You just drew a bunch of shapes with random numbers and… smiley faces on them…"
He shook his head in disgust.
"The smiley faces are because of how happy I will be once I conquer the world! But obviously you really are too stupid to understand my genius!"
Kim was an intelligent person. And she knew that there was no sense to what Ron had drawn. It was nothing but random insanity.
"It's one of the side effects of the attitudinator. You're going insane. You have to let me help you get back to normal."
He didn't respond. Instead he just walked out of the kitchen and back to Camille's living room.
Kim hung her head down. She felt broken and defeated. They were going to get half of the Tempus Simia idol. Neither of them believed in the true danger of the attitudinator. Camille had posed as Josh and had made her feel warm and safe, only to snatch those emotions away from her. Camille had even kissed her in the guise of Josh. But the one thing that hurt the most was how Camille had taken Ron's virginity. Kim could handle the things that had been done to her. But she wept for what had been done to Ron. Nothing that had been done to her came close to that.
She waited there and occasionally looked at the clock on the wall. It had been around twenty minutes since Camille had left that she heard the door open again. She was back. Kim hoped that she had been able to find the Tempus Simia head.
Around a minute later the villainous duo returned to the kitchen with Ron holding the prize in his hands.
"Glad to see you weren't lying. Though I knew with your family on the line that you wouldn't."
"You have what you want," Kim hissed. "Now let me go."
"As you wish, princess," he said using Shego's word, the one that he knew Kim hated. "Cut her loose Camille."
Camille did as she was told, grabbing a large pair of scissors and began cutting through the ropes that held Kim in place. A few seconds later she was free.
During this time Ron had placed the idol head on the counter and had produced a pistol. Kim looked at it in fright, despite the fact that it didn't look like a real gun.
"Paintball gun," he clarified to her. "I fixed it to shoot tranq darts. Like the stuff that knocked you out for more than three hours tonight. Make one wrong move and I put some more into you. And then Camille and me go play with your family. Your move."
Kim didn't respond, but instead glared hatefully at them before walking out of the room. They followed her to the door and saw her out.
When it was clear that she wasn't coming back, the two made their way to the living room where they both sat on the couch. It had been a busy night, but they had accomplished everything they had set out to do. Not only had they acquired the object they sought. But they had also emotionally devastated Kim. That itself was equally as important to them as the Tempus Simia head.
"So what now?" Camille asked. "We still need the other half."
Ron nodded in agreement.
"Tomorrow we're making a trip to the doctor's office. He has the cure for our problem."
"Were you really going to hurt Kim's family?" she wondered.
A small smile formed on his lips as he shook his head.
"No, of course not. I love Kim's family like my own. But I had to make her believe that I would hurt them if she didn't give me what I wanted."
She smiled back to him as she traced a finger down his cheek.
"Nice to see that you're learning some manipulation skills from me."
"I've learned a lot more than that from you," he said cryptically.
Her smile widened because she knew exactly what he was talking about. And telling that to Kim had been even more fun than she thought it would be. But in her mind she frowned as she thought about something that Kim had told her tonight.