Authors Note: Thanks again to everyone who's reading and reviewing. And thanks to Neo the Saiyan Angel for the chapter title. It's a lot better than the one I originally came up with.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.
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"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
~Michael Corleone
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This… was not good. There was just no other way to describe it.
The Supreme One had been living in luxury since she had awoken in this twisted, ever-changing timeline. But what had just happened was threatening to ruin everything she had worked for. Everything she had worked for, in reality, for the past twenty years. If those fools didn't play their parts properly she would never regain what she had lost.
Having knowledge of the security codes to Dr. Drakken's lair did more than just allow her unrestricted access to it. It also allowed her to tap into the security footage. And what she saw was simply infuriating.
Her pawn, Camille, apparently had a mind of her own. It was something she would have never predicted. Apparently the young woman had plans of her own, plans that didn't involve handing the Tempus Simia over to this universes Shego. But that was only the start. Camille alone may have been easy enough to tame. Ron on the other hand…
The Supreme One thought she knew what he would attempt with his newly found freedom. She knew that the last time he had been turned evil his ultimate goal had been to acquire the world's supply of nacos. He had built the typical super villain type doomsday machines, the kind that Drakken would have thought of. But this time he was acting differently. At first he had only wanted to do petty damage to Kim for what she had done to him. And that would have been fine. That was why she had unleashed him after all. He was supposed to be the ultimate distraction for Kim while the Supreme One went about her business. But in the past few days he had changed his game. Now he was after the Tempus Simia. And worse still, he now had both pieces of it.
She wondered about the complexities of this universe and why things were so different from what she had predicted. At first things had been going great. Everything was happening as she thought it would. And while she knew that unleashing an X-factor like Camille into the mix would drastically change things, she never thought that it would turn Ron into an actual threat to her plans. She knew she had to act now, or things would be ruined forever.
After she had used the attitudinator on Ron she had taken her talents to Miami for a brief vacation. Spending time on the private beaches and being pampered in the luxurious spas of South Beach would give her time to clear her head and consider what she would do when she regained her iron grip on the world. But after checking the security footage only hours earlier she realized that things had begun to go horribly wrong. So she had hopped on the first plane she could get to Middleton. She may not have known where Ron would be, but she at least knew where his ultimate destination was. And that meant that Drakken and Shego had to go there as well.
She would slip into the lair and leave a note telling them to follow Ron to the Temple of the Tempus Simia in central Africa. After doing so she would immediately go there as well. She was used to having nothing but time on her hands. For the first time in twenty years she knew the fear of having a time table.
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The dull humming of propellers filled the silent cabin. The old propeller plane wasn't the fastest ride these days, but it was all she had. Global Justice had been unavailable to her for this. They couldn't have chosen a worse time. They didn't know what was at stake. They didn't know who was at stake. She could only hope they would never have to find out.
Kim sighed impatiently. If she had been on one of the fast hover jets she would have been to Drakken's lair by now. Instead they were still quite a distance from their destination. There was no telling what was going on there, and what would happen in the time it took to get there. All she knew was that she wanted to be there now. Why hadn't she kept the transportulator? That ingenious device could have solved so many of her problems. All she would have to do is call Ron's cell and when he answered she would be there in an instant. Alas, it was not meant to be.
She tapped her fingers while looking out the window. She didn't know why either. There was nothing but clouds. Lots and lots of clouds. That's all there ever was. More and more clouds. But it was all she had to look at for the moment. Waiting to arrive at the site of a mission tended to be the hardest part. And in this instance it was especially grueling.
Looking over at Junior, Kim saw that he was fidgeting a bit. She had to remember that he had a stake in this too. His father was still being held captive. Ron may have been the primary objective, but Senior was the secondary. She couldn't let herself forget that. But then again Senior didn't have a time table on his life. Ron did. And therefore Kim felt fully justified in making him her top priority.
Her kimmunicator began beeping as she continued staring out the window. Glad to have a distraction, she dug into her pocket and brought the device up in front of her.
"What's the sitch Wade?"
"Kim, Ron's on the move."
It was news at least. She hadn't heard much of anything since she had boarded the plane.
"What? Where?"
"He's moving south. And very quickly too."
"South?" she wondered. "What's south?"
"Just more mountains. If he was moving south-east I'd say he was heading back to Middleton. I don't know where he's going. Maybe New Mexico?"
"Oh oh! Or old Mexico!" Junior chimed in.
Kim ignored the Ronnish display from her new sidekick. Now was not the time to get nostalgic.
"I honestly can't tell where he plans on going," Wade admitted. "All I know is that he's not at Drakken's lair anymore. You should probably go after him."
"Yeah but if I don't know where he's going I can't just make this plane follow him," she frowned. "After all, it's not exactly my plane to command. I'm just using a favor to fly me to Drakken's lair."
Wade nodded knowing that she was right. But they had to do something.
"I'll keep monitoring the chip. Maybe you should head back to Middleton to regroup and find a way to follow him."
"Yeah… how are we going to do that? We can't get a ride that quickly and on such short notice."
He didn't have a good answer for that. And he hated not having answers.
"I don't know, Kim."
She sighed at the news. Ron was on the move and she had no way of following him at the moment. It was a depressing piece of news. As if her life could get any more depressing.
"Well… thanks Wade. Yeah, we'll head back to Middleton. I don't know what we're going to do but we have to think of something."
"Okay. I'll keep you up to date if anything new comes up," he said before pausing and giving her a weak smile. "Don't worry Kim. We'll get him back. I just know it."
She couldn't bring herself to speak. She just nodded.
She shoved the kimmunicator back in her pocket and leaned her head back against the seat. There was nothing she wanted to say right now. But she knew she at least had to tell the pilot to turn around.
The man did as he was told. After Kim had instructed him to return to Middleton she returned to her seat. It meant more sitting around. More waiting. More silence.
"So…" Junior said uneasily. "What are we going to do now?"
Kim knew that he was upset that they weren't going to save his father. But she also hoped that he understood why. They could go back for him later. There was no later once Ron had passed the point of no return.
"I… I don't know Junior. I really don't know…" she lamented. "I hate this feeling. I hate not knowing what to do. It's terrible to feel so helpless."
He knew all too well how she felt. When they had been captured by Shego, he had felt helpless as well. As their lair came crashing down on them he could do nothing but cower in fear, hoping that a falling piece of debris wouldn't hit him or his father. He felt just as helpless when Shego had burst into the room and took them prisoner.
"But the important thing is to not give up," he said. "You are Kim Possible. You can do anything. And you will think of a way to fix this. I know you will."
Kim slammed her fist on the chair's armrest.
"What if I can't do anything?" she yelled. "What if this is all for nothing? What if Ron ends up getting killed because I wanted to go around the world being a super hero…"
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"I should have stuck to cheerleading…" she said softly.
At times like these Junior wished he was smarter than he was. He wished he could think of the perfect thing to say to make a person feel better. But he could think of nothing to right the situation. All he could offer was what he had.
"You have still helped many people. Without you the world might have been taken over several times by now."
"And at what price?" she asked. "Ron's life? It's not worth it. Living in a free world without my best friend isn't a world worth having. He deserves better than this. We all do."
Junior had no response to that. He had said how he felt, and she had rejected it. It was an internal war that only she could wage. It was a resolution that only she could come to.
Minutes of silence followed Kim's outburst. It had given both of them time to reflect and think. Eventually she broke the silence.
"I'm sorry, Junior," she said. "I didn't mean to yell at you about any of this. It's not your fault. I'm just upset about everything."
He understood why she had done what she did.
"Do not worry, Kim. There is no need to apologize. I know that your anger was not directed at me."
She smiled at his understanding.
"Thanks Junior."
She heard her kimminicator begin to beep once again. She turned it on once she had fished it from her pocket.
"Go Wade."
"Kim… um, we just got a hit," he said uneasily.
"A hit from who?"
There was noticeable hesitation in his voice.
"Camille Leon."
Kim felt anger rising up inside her at the mere mention of the name. She hated that girl with a passion. Even Shego didn't share the same level of pure loathing that she had for Camille. What she wanted was anyone's guess.
"What does she want?"
"I don't know exactly. She said it's about Ron."
Kim thought that maybe she was calling to gloat. But it just seemed so random. She could have gloated at any time over the past few days. Why now? Maybe there was some reason behind the call. She figured that at this point she had to investigate any lead on Ron, even if it came from Camille.
"Alright. Put her through."
Wade nodded. A few moments later his face was replaced with Camille's.
"What do you want?" Kim said bitterly.
"I need your help. It's about Ron," the heiress said without a trace of malice in her voice.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know. He parachuted out of a plane somewhere above Middleton. He has both parts of the Tempus Simia."
Fear shot through Kim's body. While she didn't know exactly what the Tempus Simia did, she knew its Latin translation. Anything that meant "time monkey" could not be good.
"When did this happen? How did it happen? What's going on, Camille?"
Being asked so many questions caused a scowl to cross her face. Clearly she did not have the patience to answer them all.
"Look, right now all that isn't important. What matters is that he's gone now. He's going to see Monkey Fist on how to use it. At least that was the plan when we were still… together," she hesitated on the last word. "And most importantly… I believe what you said about him."
They weren't together anymore. Kim wished she could celebrate that victory. But she couldn't. There was simply no time, and she was just not in the mood. Perhaps later if everything was back to normal she could celebrate. But not now.
"Well right now Wade is following the tracking chip. We'll know where he ends up."
"That's the other thing. When we were at Drakken's lair he got the chip removed. Drakken said he was going to flush it down the toilet so you wouldn't come after him."
Kim's eyes squeezed shut. This was even worse news than before. At least when they saw his tracking chip moving they had some idea of where he was going. But now they had nothing. There were no leads other than the fact that he was going to see Monkey Fist.
"Do you have any idea where Monkey Fist is right now?" Kim asked.
"No. If I did I would tell you."
It was worth a try at least. But as she suspected, it came up empty.
"Well… I'm on my way back to Middleton right now with Junior. We're going to be jumping any minute now. When we do get there I want to meet you face to face."
Thoughts raced through Camille's mind when she heard what Kim had said. Junior was going to be there. Her uncle. And Kim wanted to meet her. She remembered what had happened the last time she had been with Kim without Ron there to protect her. It was not something she wanted to experience again.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Camille said.
"Look, you obviously called me for a reason. I don't know what your sick mind is up to, but you telling me about Ron means that it's important to you for one reason or another. And seeing how you know a lot more about his recent activities than me, you will help me. Or else I will make things painful for you. Are we clear?"
Camille understood what she meant by painful. The threat was loud and clear. At this point not doing what Kim wanted would hurt a lot more than seeing her alone. And as she knew, there was more than just her at stake here.
"Fine. I'll meet you when you land. Just like, call me or whatever."
Kim put Camille's cell phone number into the directory on her kimmunicator. Once she was on the ground she would call the girl and set up a meeting.
When their conversation was over she once again returned the device to her pocket. Something was up. She just knew it. And while she didn't know what Camille's game was here, she knew that ignoring her would do more damage than getting her involved.
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Night had fallen upon Middleton as Ron walked through the forest. In his hands he clutched the two pieces of the Tempus Simia idol. He had had both in his possession for several hours now. But he needed a place to hide them. The forest was the perfect place.
Soon he would be contacting one of the men he feared most in the world. It was the reason he had been cursed with mystical monkey power. The Englishman considered it a blessing. But even when Ron had been sane he knew it was no such thing. Anything to do with monkeys could be considered nothing less than something to be reviled and loathed. He knew the irony of planning to use the idol to rule the world. The only problem was he did not know how it was to be done. For that he needed the expert on all things monkey related. Monkey Fist.
He took a seat on a fallen tree trunk and looked at the idol's head. The grinning stone head looked back at him with dull, unblinking eyes. If it was a staring contest he hoped to win he would be sadly disappointed.
"No, I don't know what to do with you," Ron told it.
The grin remained unchanged. Ron felt as if it was taunting him with its knowledge. Knowledge that he lacked. It was the reason he was being forced to contact Monkey Fist.
"That's why I'm going to bury you here," he responded to its mute question. "I don't like you. But I need you."
Again, its expression didn't change.
"Because I don't want to bring both parts until I know I can trust him. Well, at least trust him as much as you can trust any crazed genetically altered super villain."
Ron was growing angry with its questions. But it kept asking them. Or at least he kept hearing them.
"Look, will you just let me call him? Maybe if you're good I'll give you a snack."
Silence filled the air once more.
"All I know is that you're important. And I would hate for you to have a little accident. Oh yes, I would just hate it."
He grimaced as he continued staring at the object. It was bothering him now.
"Just shut up. I'm going to call him."
He set it on the ground and got his cell phone out. While he didn't know how to directly get in touch with Monkey Fist, he thought he might know a way around it. After pulling an unusual number from the directory he made the call. It rang and rang until a voice finally answered.
"Fiske Manor. Bates speaking."
"Bates…" Ron said softly. "Bates Bates Bates. I remember you. You tried to trick us. You were helping Monkey Fist get the idols. You might even say that you're the reason I am the way I am. You and monkey boy of course. But not other monkey boy. Evil monkey boy. Then again all monkey boys are evil, aren't they?"
A moment of silence passed before the man on the other end responded.
"I'm sorry, who is this?" he asked.
Ron didn't bother answering the question. He had business to attend to.
"I have something your master wants. Tell him I have the Tempus Simia. Both parts."
"You what?" Bates gasped.
"You heard me. Get me in touch with Monkey Fist. I would hate to think about what he would do to you if you let this opportunity slip through your fingers."
"Of course…" he hesitated. "I'm afraid I don't know your name. How am I supposed to address the gentleman I am speaking to if I don't know who he is?"
Ron grinned at the words. No one ever remembered his name. It was just a part of his life he had been forced to deal with. No matter how many times he had helped save the world, no matter how many times Kim was in some magazine article or on the news, no one ever remembered his name. Or when they did they just got it wrong. This was no different. But soon people would know his name. Once Monkey Fist helped with the Tempus Simia he would be all-powerful. Ron didn't know what the stupid stone monkey was supposed to do. All he knew was that it was a potent weapon.
He licked the dried blood that still covered his mouth and chin. If Bates could get a good look at him right now there would be no way he could use the word "gentleman".
"Ron Stoppable…" Ron said dreamily. "Flon Boppable. Jon Loppable. Don Floppable. It doesn't matter what you call me. Just tell your freak of a master what I have, and that he is to meet me to discuss terms."
"Very well, I shall do that. But where is he to meet you? You have given no details as to where you are."
"I'm in Middleton. He is too. I can smell his monkey stench in the air."
"Such hostility is not necessary, Mr… Floppable was it?"
"Stoppable! It's Stoppable you fool!" Ron screamed into the phone. Clearly he had forgotten what he had said only seconds earlier.
Ron's teeth were bared and his face was a mask of rage as he stared wide-eyed into the phone. It didn't matter that Bates couldn't see how infuriated he had gotten. His anger was bordering on uncontrollable levels, and it was taking every ounce of self control he had not to throw his phone against a nearby tree.
"My sincerest apologies, Mr. Stoppable," Bates said calmly. "Now tell me, where is it that you would like Lord Fiske to meet you?"
"Middleton Forest Preserve," he said as his eyes scanned the surrounding trees. "I'll be the guy sitting on a log. Tell him to hurry up. I get bored easily. I would hate for something unfortunate to happen to the idol if I was kept waiting too long."
Ron couldn't see Bates nodding quickly before he replied.
"Yes yes, of course sir. I will inform Lord Fiske of your situation at once. Please just do not make any rash decisions. Lord Fiske greatly values the item you possess. He will be able to reward you richly for your efforts."
"Yes. Yes he will," Ron agreed.
He hung up before Bates could get another word in. He looked down at the dirt where he had buried the Tempus Simia's head. A guttural growl sounded in the back of his throat as he stared at it.
"Shut up. You're not helping," he told it.
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The mall was bustling with activity. She figured that was exactly why Camille had chosen the place.
Kim had arrived at the mall as the sun disappeared over the horizon. She knew that in another hour the massive complex would be closing for the night. She hoped it would be more than enough time to figure out what exactly Camille's plan was. Since there was no getting out of meeting face to face, the blonde had asked to meet her here in order to discuss a few things. Maybe to her a mall was akin to "home turf". Kim was more than happy to oblige.
She had been waiting for around twenty minutes in the food court. In that time she had gone and bought an order of French fries. She sighed as she dipped a couple into her ketchup and popped them in her mouth. Her frustration was mounting. If someone said to meet you in a certain place at a certain time, they were expected to show up. And according to the clock on her kimmunicator Camille was twenty minutes late. If she realized that lives were at stake she sure wasn't showing it.
Kim leaned back in her chair and looked up at the lights mounted on the ceiling. Another impatient sigh escaped her lips.
She decided to go through the information she knew again. Ron had both parts of the Tempus Simia and was going to see Monkey Fist. He had apparently ditched Camille in doing so. And now neither of the girls knew exactly where he was. Could this be why Camille had contacted her? Was she after simple revenge for being dumped by Ron? Kim figured that it made some sense. If nothing else, turning him good again would foil whatever plot he had in mind. She had no problem with that. Anything that saved Ron's life was just fine, even if it did involve Camille's help.
She munched on a few more fries before she saw a girl approaching her. Her heart sank instantly when she saw the black hair. It wasn't Camille. But it didn't stop the stranger from taking a seat across from her.
"Kim," she said indifferently.
Kim frowned, knowing that she was going to have to send this person away.
"I'm sorry, I'm waiting for someone. It's important."
"Duh," the raven haired girl said. "I'm Camille."
If she was claiming to be any other person, Kim would have simply ignored her and moved to another table. But it made sense. Taking the face of another person was nothing out of the ordinary for her manipulative foe.
"I want to believe you, but I need proof," Kim said. "I've needed to get a lot of proof from people these past few days. So tell me something that only Camille and I would know."
"I screwed your best friend," she said bluntly.
Kim's mind went blank as she made a fist and was mere milliseconds away from shattering the girl's jaw. But that would only be giving Camille the attention that she wanted. And more than that, it would just be another way to ruin her reputation. Kim Possible assaulting an innocent civilian in a mall filled with witnesses could destroy her. Instead she took a deep breath and unclenched her fist. Had she looked at it she would have seen that her fist had been so tight that her knuckles had gone white.
"You just had to choose that, didn't you," she said bitterly.
The stranger smiled mischievous smirk.
"Didn't have to. But it was the fun choice."
Kim shook her head trying to forget what she had just heard. It was time to get down to business.
"Alright Camille, no more games. This is serious. If you're telling the truth about believing me then you know Ron's life is in serious danger. Right?"
"Call me Jill in public," she said. "I'm trying to maintain a disguise here. We wouldn't want the media following us around while we're trying to save the world, now would we?"
Kim shot her a skeptical look.
"You? Save the world? What are you talking about?"
"Look, I do believe you about Ron," she said before pausing for a few seconds. "I… saw things that I wish I had never seen. He did things, said things that I never would have thought he was capable of. I may have only known him for a few weeks, but I know that this isn't him. And it's not right either. No one should have to be like what he is now. Especially if he's going to die in a few days."
"Maybe even tomorrow…" Kim said softly. "Hench said that he only had four days to a week before it became irreversible. And since that's the case I'm going with the absolute minimal amount of time," she said as her words were getting caught in her throat. "Cami- Jill, if we don't save him by tomorrow night, I'm afraid I'll lose him forever."
Camille saw how emotional Kim was getting. She had been right about the teen hero's poker face. She was showing what she had for the world to see. It was just one of the reasons that manipulating her was so easy… so fun. But this wasn't the time to do it. Despite how much bad blood the two girls had, they had bigger issues to worry about.
Silence settled over the table after Kim's display of emotion. When normally Camille would have pounced on the opportunity to take advantage of it, she had to work to restrain herself now.
"Time monkey," she said randomly.
Kim just gave her a confused glance.
"The Tempus Simia," she continued. "It's Latin for time monkey. I don't know what it does, but Ron is convinced it can do something great because Monkey Fist wants it."
"I know what it means," Kim replied. "I just don't know what it does."
"Can't you like, call your tech guy and find out?"
"He's already working on it. The important thing is that we need to find Ron. Do you have any idea where he could be?"
Camille frowned when she had no answer to give. She liked knowing things. Knowledge was power. Power to be in control. And she always had to be in control. When she didn't know information she felt helpless. And since she didn't know any martial arts like Kim she was at a severe disadvantage when it came to a power struggle.
"I don't know where he is. But if you find out I want to come too."
Kim looked at her like she was out of her mind.
"Are you crazy? What makes you think I would ever want someone like you on a mission like me?"
Camille glared hatefully at her.
"Don't you ever call me crazy," she hissed.
She didn't know why, but this was the second time that Camille had given an emotional reaction to being called crazy.
"Fine. But it doesn't change the fact that there's no way I would ever let someone like you watch my back. You would bury a knife in it sooner than you would help me."
Camille shrugged with a slight tilt of her head as she conceded the point to her arch foe.
"Normally, yeah. That would be totally true. But I actually have something at stake here."
"What could you possibly want out of this?"
"I'm in it for the payback. I don't like getting dumped. No one dumps me, Kim. Especially not twice."
Kim had figured as much. Payback was a good motivation for lots of things. But the last word got her attention. She looked quizzically into the blue eyes sitting across from her.
"Twice?" she wondered.
Camille waved her hand dismissively.
"Just forget about it. It's nothing."
While she wasn't sure, Kim thought she knew the meaning behind Camille's choice of words. And if what she thought was true, then maybe things would start to look up after she turned Ron back to normal. She wouldn't press the issue… for now.
"Fine. I think I know what happened anyway."
"Just shut up, okay?"
Kim smiled knowing that for once she had struck a nerve with her nemesis.
"Sure," she said before changing the topic. "So this is Jill, huh?"
Camille nodded.
"Yeah, so? What about it?"
"Why did you choose to appear like her tonight? Why did you use it on Ron? I don't know, I'm just curious I guess."
Curious was right. Kim wanted to get inside the mind of the girl who had been inside hers for the past several weeks. She knew the power that mind games and manipulation had. They were stronger than all the sixteen styles of kung fu she knew combined.
"None of your business," Camille said flatly.
"Aren't you just full of secrets," Kim cooed. "I guess you're not nearly as stupid as people think you are,"
"Yeah, that's what your former best friend said the night we went to Bonnie's party."
Kim scowled at the mention of the party. It was just another part of the entire process which had turned Ron against her. And seeing the small smirk form on Camille's face, she realized that she had said it for a reason. It was indeed turning into a mind game war.
"And whether you like it or not, I am coming along. So either you let me come with where you can see me, or maybe I'll just have to pose as someone else. Junior, a driver, a pilot, I could be anyone," she said. "Funny, I told Ron the same thing. Too bad we never got to try it out."
It was another very personal jab that threatened to send Kim over the edge. But like before she kept her cool. She worked hard to keep her face under control. She didn't want to let Camille know how much the comment affected her.
The blonde did have a point though. It was better to keep a loose cannon like her where she could be seen at all times. Having to constantly look over her shoulder would only distract Kim from the real goal. And she could afford no distractions when it came to Ron. She found it morbidly amusing when she realized she couldn't have any distractions involving Ron.
"You want to come along? Fine. But know this, my first and only priority is putting the attitudinator on Ron's head and getting him back to normal. If you die out there because you're too slow or stupid to react to a threat, that's your fault. I will not be looking after you. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Alright, I'll set you up with a spare mission outfit of mine. At least that way you'll have a lot of mobility and you'll be able to use some of your gymnastic moves if you need to."
A tiny, mocking laugh slipped through Camille's lips. It appeared she was working hard not to erupt into full-blown hysterics.
"What's so funny?"
"Me wearing that outfit?" she said pointing to Kim's attire. "Sorry, but the Kim Possible look is so last year. You couldn't pay me to wear that train wreck."
Hearing Camille insult her outfit made Kim growl angrily.
"It's not a look. It's my mission outfit. It's very comfortable and flexible. And it looks good, thank you very much."
"Whatever. I could pick something better out of my closet. Or better yet, I'll go to Club Banana right now and get something."
Kim was quite honestly getting tired of this conversation. It would be better to just get Camille out of her hair.
"Fine with me. If you're still serious about wanting to come along I'll call you when I get some more info. Until then just… don't do anything stupid. Okay? I need to focus all my attention and energy on Ron. I don't need you screwing things up."
Kim stood up before Camille could reply. The heiress watched her walk out of the food court toward the front doors of the mall.
Camille shrugged uninterestedly at the way the conversation had ended. Now she at least had an excuse to go shopping… not that she ever needed an excuse to do so. But the prospect of finding a "mission outfit", as Kim put it was exciting. She would outdo Kim at her own game. And she would look good while doing it.
XXXXXXXXXX
Dry twigs crunched under bare feet. He knew he should have worn shoes. But having gone bare foot for the past three years now had made such an idea seem undesirable. After all, monkeys didn't wear shoes. They didn't need to when they lived in the wild. And he didn't need to either.
Monkey Fist was carrying a large, bright flashlight with him as he wandered through the Middleton Forest Preserve. His two loyal monkey ninjas flanked him on either side, their eyes constantly on the lookout for trouble. He knew that he was potentially stepping into trouble here.
He had been enraged when he had heard that Ron Stoppable had the Tempus Simia. He was a fool, an idiot, and most importantly, a pretender. He was not worthy of having mystical monkey power. He was not worthy of harnessing the great power that the idol held. But apparently he didn't know what the sacred item did. If he did he wouldn't have called the true monkey master here to meet him. Monkey Fist could only assume that it was a similar situation to what he and Dr. Drakken had. He had the idol, but not the knowledge. Only Monkey Fist knew how to unlock the secrets hidden in the stone.
Another twig snapped. It was swiftly followed by a voice.
"Not another move, monkey boy."
Monkey Fist froze when and brought his light up toward the source of the sound. He saw Ron standing there in his traditional mission outfit. Only he did not look normal. Not one bit.
The most obvious difference was the red stain that surrounded his mouth. As he examined him further, the boy's hair was an utter mess. It was filthy and wild as if he had not taken a shower in days. His bloodshot eyes said that he was not getting much sleep. And the crazed look in those eyes told the world that he was not himself.
Monkey Fist was in no mood to deal with this. He held out his free palm as he spoke.
"Give me the idol, Stoppable," he said darkly. "Or I will take it forcibly from you. And you would not want to experience that."
Mocking laughter with a good amount of saliva spewed from Ron's mouth. The threat had not only been rebuffed, it was being ridiculed. The reaction made Monkey Fist's blood boil.
"Now you listen-"
"No!" Ron interrupted.
"What?"
"I will not listen. I brought you here to listen to me. If you don't do what I want I will destroy the Tempus Simia idol. And I know it means a lot more to you than it does to me."
The Englishman was seething, but he knew that Ron was right. Ron had nothing to lose since he didn't know the power he possessed. But Monkey Fist on the other hand…
"Very well. I'm listening."
"Here's the deal. I will allow you to have the body of the idol. But the head stays with me. You will tell me what needs to be done with the pieces. And we will do it together. And after we unlock its power we will have a little battle to determine who keeps the power for himself. The winner takes all. That is unless you're too scared to face me."
Monkey Fist grinned at the idea. He knew that he was more than a match for anything the teen could throw at him. It was absolutely perfect.
"Agreed. Now shall we get going?"
"Oh, one more thing," Ron said as he reached into one of his large cargo pockets. He brought out a hammer he had swiped from the toolbox in Drakken's lair. "If you so much as look at me the wrong way I smash the head. That means you get nothing. And neither do I. But it seems you want this a lot more than I do, doesn't it?"
Any plans he had of taking the head before reaching central Africa vanished from the former nobleman's mind. But it didn't matter. He knew that he would defeat Ron in their fight to determine who kept the power. He would just have to deal with the teen until the two pieces were brought together.
"Fine with me. Now then, I have a private jet that can take us to where we need to go. So let's get going right now."
"Yes, very good."
Ron crouched down and began clawing through the dirt. After a few seconds he brought the stone head up in one hand and held the hammer in the other. He looked into Monkey Fist's eyes as he tapped the head of the hammer gently against the stone.
"Lead the way," he said.
XXXXXXXXXX
There had been no updates from Wade all night. That was almost as depressing as bad news would have been. But she was at least thankful that there was nothing bad to report.
Kim sat down for lunch on Monday morning. She looked forlornly at the seat that Ron had normally occupied until a few days ago when he had decided to sit with Camille. It was as empty as the hole in her heart that missed her best friend.
Monique and Felix knew why she was staring at the chair but didn't say anything. They had been informed of Ron's condition not long after Kim herself had learned it. There was nothing they could say to fix it. That's what they would normally try to do. If anyone had a problem the rest of the group did and said what they could to try to make things better. But for this problem a simple "it will all work out" offered little compassion. This was a game they didn't understand, a game they didn't even want to understand. They left the hero game to the people who could deal with it.
But their attention was drawn to the person who took a seat in another empty chair at the table. When Kim saw who it was she was just as shocked.
"Bonnie?"
The brunette gave her an icy glare that would have silenced most people. But Kim was used to the look. She was immune to its chill.
"I forgot that your suspension ended today…"
"Uh huh," the dethroned queen muttered.
"Um… why are you sitting here?"
"Because thanks to that bitch over there," she said pointing to Camille. "The squad hates me. Jessica and Tara do because they think that I think all blondes are stupid. And the rest, well, they're just trying to stay clear of me because my reputation got ruined. They don't want to associate with a…"
Kim wanted to laugh at the irony of it all. But in her current state she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead she just finished Bonnie's sentence.
"Loser?"
"Just… just shut up Kim. Okay?"
"Alright."
Kim took a bite from her sandwich as an uneasy silence settled over the teens. The solemn mood had switched to uncomfortable in an instant. Bonnie was curious why.
"So all this quietness can't be because of me," she said. "What's going on?"
"It's Ron," Felix said softly.
"Oh. Where is that loser anyway? I haven't seen him all day. Is he still dating Camille? I still can't get over the fact that she's still popular even though she's dating him. I mean, how can she possibly be more popular than me with Stoppable as a boyfriend?"
Bonnie was on the receiving end of three angry scowls as she ranted. She was painfully out of the loop. She may not have known what had been going on the past few days, but it didn't mean that they couldn't get angry for what she said.
"Ron… is in big trouble," Monique said sadly.
A soft laugh slipped out of Bonnie's mouth as she thought about what kind of trouble he could get into.
"What, did he turn all evil again or something stupid like that? Is that why he's not here? Did he get suspended for starting another food fight?"
Kim slammed her fist on the top of the table. Bonnie, though completely unintentionally, had hit way too close to home.
"Knock it off Bonnie," she said angrily. "You have no idea how bad this is."
Bonnie frowned when she realized that Kim was upset. Kim didn't get upset. Despite all of the barbed comments she used to throw at her, Kim always came out unscathed. To see her lose her cool like this meant that something was terribly wrong. Her tone turned serious.
"Seriously, what the heck is going on?"
Kim met the brunette's gaze as she began to explain the situation.
"Yes, Ron got turned evil again. He has been since Thursday. And if we don't change him back really soon he's going to die. That's how simple it is."
The words hit Bonnie's chest like a giant fist. She shook her head in disbelief.
"No way. He can't die. People don't die in your world, Kim. They just… I don't even know. They unleash giant wiener dogs and use weird chemicals to make two people stick together. But they don't die."
"I don't know how else to explain it to you. If I don't save him by the end of the day he really could die. Don't ask me to explain how the attitudinator works because I don't know. All I know is that I have to turn him good again."
"Oh…" she said as she looked down at the table. "Well, uh, I guess the whole thing about me being suspended seems pretty small in comparison. I was going to ask about that, but…"
"It was Camille."
Bonnie's head shot up when she heard that.
"What do you mean?"
"Camille's a shape shifter or something. She posed as you, me, and a lot of other people. She's the one who got you suspended."
"You're kidding. She's the one who ruined my social life? But why?"
"I wish I had a good answer for you, but I don't. My only guess is that she just wanted to be on top."
Kim cringed at her choice of words, knowing what she did. Either no one noticed or they just didn't bother to ask why she had reacted like that.
"Makes sense… it's what I would have done."
"What?" Kim asked in disbelief.
"If I was the new girl at school I would take down whoever was at the top of the food chain. I would totally manipulate everyone else, get them all to be my friend, and then take out the queen bee. I gotta say, I'm actually impressed. But now I have to bring her down. I'm going to enjoy destroying her even more than I do with you and Stoppable. This chick is going to be a challenge. But the bigger they are, the harder they fall."
As if drawn to them by the mere mention of her name, Camille took a seat at the table. No one had noticed her walk over from the cheerleader table. Monique and Felix gave her angry looks. Bonnie glared hatefully at her. And to their surprise, only Kim was the one who looked indifferent towards the villainess.
"Anything?" she asked cryptically.
Kim shook her head sadly.
"No. Nothing. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. We have no idea where he could be now."
"Have you tried calling him?"
Kim gave her an incredulous look.
"Excuse me?"
"Um, call his cell? Can't you people do that whole triangulate thingy like they do on TV?"
"No, Camille. Because in order to do that you need a third point, like a satellite. Hence the 'triangle' in 'triangulate'."
"So? Get your nerd friend to build you one. Maybe your lie to Ron inspired him to make one."
Kim was about to strike Camille for bringing that up when she realized that she was right. They didn't need their own satellite. Wade could get one for them. Or more accurately, steal one for them.
She got her kimmunicator out and made the call.
"Hey Kim," the boy said. "Sorry, but I haven't found any sign of Ron. But I did dig up some info on the Tempus Simia."
"Not now Wade. We need to try something. If we call Ron could you triangulate his position and find out where he is with GPS or whatever?"
"I think you're thinking of trilateration, Kim. But yeah, if I had some satellites I might be able to track him by his phone's signal. But I don't."
"So steal one!" she said a bit louder than she would have preferred. She took a moment to collect herself before continuing. "You're a super genius aren't you? Hack some satellites. Steal them. I don't care what you call it. Our friend's life is in danger. You do what you have to do."
Wade was taken aback by the emotion in Kim's voice. But he understood why. This was a very serious situation, and emotions were getting the better of many people these days. He nodded enthusiastically at the idea of stealing a satellite.
"Okay. I'll do it. But you'll still need to get him on the phone."
"I doubt he'll even take my call…" she said sadly. "He hates me now thanks to everything you did," she motioned to Camille.
"Then I'll do it. Wow, seems like I have to do everything around here myself…" Camille mumbled to herself.
She flipped open her cell phone and called Ron's number. After several rings he answered.
"What," he said coldly.
"Um, Ron? Hey… how's it going?"
"Fine. What do you want?"
"Just calling to say hi… and that I was thinking. You were right. I was being so annoying… you were right to do what you did. But I want to be partners again. We had a nice evil little plan, didn't we?"
The insane cackling that she had grown to hate erupted from the phone so everyone at the table could hear it. It was so loud that Camille had to move the phone away from her ear.
"You poor pathetic girl. You think I want you? I have everything I need for my plan. And soon I will unlock the power of the Tempus Simia. You'll just be a memory after that."
Camille wanted so badly to insult and demean him. But she had to keep him on the line while Wade did his work.
"So does that mean you've talked to Monkey Fist already?"
"Oh yes. I've already made a deal with him. We're on our way to our destination right now. It will take only a few more hours to arrive. And then I will rule the world."
"And what are you going to do once that happens?"
"I don't know, I think I'll start off by destroying all the people who could never remember my name. That's a lot of people though. It will keep me busy for a while. And of course I will finish off Kim Possible."
Camille glanced over to Kim to get her reaction to his statement. She was busy looking down at her kimmunicator. A few seconds later she looked up and gave Camille a thumbs up. It was done.
"Kay Ron, you keep having your delusions of grandeur. I blame it on spending too much time with Drakken. But know this, Stoppable. I'm going to bring you down for what you did to me. No one, absolutely no one, does that to Camille Leon. See ya soon."
Without waiting for his response she flipped her phone closed. She stood up before looking at Kim.
"Alright, I'm going to get changed. You call Junior and get a ride or whatever you do."
Kim nodded before looking back down at Wade's face.
"So where are they?" she asked.
"According to their trajectory and flight path, they're heading to somewhere in central Africa. And get this, the research I did on the Tempus Simia said that there's a temple for it in-"
"Central Africa?" she finished.
"You got it Kim. I'm ninety nine percent sure that's where he's headed."
"Then we are too. Wade, get me a ride."
He rubbed the back of his neck uneasily at the command.
"Um… we don't have a ride to get there."
"We what?"
"Like I said… Global Justice doesn't want to be your personal valets. And there isn't a plane available to us that's fast enough to get you there in time to stop Ron. He's already halfway across the Atlantic Ocean."
Kim closed her eyes tight and shook her head. This could not be happening.
"I'm sorry Kim… but it looks like our plan just crashed and burned."
Crashed and burned.
Kim's eyes widened.
"Team Impossible!" she shouted.
The room went silent and looked at her standing up with a finger pointed to the air. After a few seconds the majority of the students resumed their lunch.
"Kim?" Wade asked.
"Dash Demond, Crash Cranstin, and Burn Burmin," she explained. "Team Impossible. They're non-profit now, remember? If we call them they can get us to Africa in time. They have a plane that's fast enough."
"Right! I'll get them on the line right now."
"Okay. Tell them to pick us up here. I'll call Junior and then change."
The two made their respective calls before Kim went to her locker to retrieve her mission clothes. When she stepped into the bathroom she realized that Camille had left a couple minutes earlier. She was currently in one of the stalls putting on her own outfit. Kim stepped into the one next to hers and began changing.
"So… I still have my doubts about you coming along," she said to Camille. "But if you genuinely want to help, for whatever reasons you might have, I could use all the help I can get."
"Whatever."
"Just don't get in my way. Distract him while I knock him out and put the attitudinator on his head. Okay?"
"Uh huh."
Kim wasn't used to the unusually quiet side of the villainess. She figured that maybe their current situation and location was a bit awkward.
When Kim was finished she opened the stall door and stepped outside. She saw Camille standing there waiting for her.
She wore an outfit that was similar, yet completely different from her own. Camille's cargo paints were colored with black, white and tan camouflage rather than solid dark green. Her black tank top was tight and revealing instead of Kim's loose, three quarter length sleeved shirt. The only thing she had that matched Kim's outfit was the pair of black leather gloves.
The heiress looked Kim up and down and noticed an anomaly. Kim never usually wore white underneath her shirt. But it didn't matter. She just continued looking as a smirk broke out on her face.
"You know the difference between you and me?" Camille asked. "I make this look good."
XXXXXXXXXX
It had not taken Team Impossible long to arrive at Middleton High School. Junior had arrived at the school a bit before they did, and the three members of Ron's rescue team embarked on the high tech hover jet belonging to the former heroes for hire.
Kim looked at her two partners with amazement. If someone had told her a month ago that she would be going on a mission to rescue Ron with Senor Senior Jr. and Camlle Leon, she would have laughed them out of the room. But things had changed in the past few weeks. Junior was fighting for his father, while Camille was fighting for her…dignity? It's what she figured at least. But they were all she had to count on these days. Everything had gone so horribly wrong.
Wade had been keeping a track on Ron's flight since they had first pinpointed his position. He was growing ever nearer to the African continent. And while Team Impossible's jet was making up ground at an incredible pace, it was still not going to be in time. Wade estimated that depending on where they landed Kim would arrive several hours after Ron. But Wade had also told her that the Tempus Simia's head had to be attached to its body at precisely noon for it to work. That was a small victory at least.
A flight that had taken half a day for Ron would not take as long for Kim and her crew, but it would still take time. It was mid-morning when she arrived thanks to the time zone difference of travelling this far east. Looking out the window she could see the green jungles that spread from one end of the horizon to the other. Ron was out there somewhere. And he was with Monkey Fist. She couldn't forget that. Monkey Fist was waiting as well.
She sighed when she checked the time. The waiting was the hardest part. She would be there soon. It just couldn't arrive quickly enough. It would be noon in this part of Africa in less than an hour. And she still had to find out where exactly the temple was.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron and Monkey Fist stalked through the empty Temple of the Tempus Simia. A circular hole was carved into the ceiling where the light from the sun would shine through onto an altar that stood in the chamber. That was where the idol had to be put together. And it had to be at precisely noon.
They had arrived in the middle of the night and spent the night in the temple. Neither of them had slept. They had to wait there for hours until the sun was sitting at the top of the sky. While Ron tried not to show fatigue, his eyes betrayed him. But now the waiting was nearly over.
"Why do you get to put it on?" Ron grumbled.
"Because I am the master of mystical monkey power! You are just a fool and an imposter!"
"I have just as much power as you! I got hit with the stupid yellow lights too!"
"How dare you call it stupid! I've worked my life for this power!"
"And what a wasted life you've lived," Ron laughed. "Now give me the monkey head!"
The two practitioners of monkey kung fu grappled with each other for the head. As they did so Ron released the object with one of his hands to reach into his pocket and retrieve the hammer. Even though he might not be able to deliver a decisive blow, he knew that Monkey Fist didn't want to take a chance.
"Stop!" the Englishman yelled. "Okay, just… we will put it on together."
"Together?" Ron grinned scarily. Dried blood still covered his lower face.
"Yes… we shall attach the head together. We will both hold it and put it on."
"Fine. And then we will see who will have control of the power."
"Yes… yes we will."
The two villains breathing increased as the sun neared the point it needed in order to make the ancient magic work. Each one truly believed that in only a matter of seconds they would be unstoppable.
It was time.
Four hands gripped the stone head; four hands placed it on the idol's body at precisely the right moment required. A ring of glowing red energy expanded out of the idol and through the air. A portal opened up behind them. But before either of them could step into it they were tackled off of the altar.
Ron and Monkey Fist landed hard on the ground together. They looked up to see a green woman standing above them.
"Shego?" Monkey Fist asked. "What… what are you doing here?"
She nodded her head back at Dr. Drakken who was standing several feet behind her.
"I'm here to reclaim what's rightfully ours," she explained. "The sidekick here stole it from us. And now that you put it together we don't need you anymore."
Shego grasped the Tempus Simia idol from its resting place on the altar. A loud thunderclap sounded outside that shook the temple's chamber.
"See? I've got it. You don't. What do you think of that, monkey freak?"
She didn't get a verbal response. Instead the two men were back on their feet and charging at her. She tossed the idol to Drakken who fumbled it in his hands for a moment, but soon secured his grip on it.
Monkey Fist threw a punch at Shego that was easily avoided. But rather than simply dodging it she grasped his arm and threw him back and over her shoulder. He landed several feet behind the melee as it continued between her and Ron.
Drakken retreated to behind the altar where he wouldn't get in his partner's way. He felt safe there as he watched Ron and Shego fight. But the fight didn't last long. Even if Ron hadn't been up the past two nights he was still not quite up to Shego's strength and skill. He was dispatched and sent flying across the room where he landed on his backside. He was slow to get up, but did so eventually. He looked hatefully at the woman who had foiled his plan. He watched as Drakken walked to stand next to her.
"Hah! That's what you get!" he taunted. "I've got the best fighter in the room. And now the Tempus Simia is ours!"
As the mad scientist began laughing, Monkey Fist gathered himself in preparation for another attack. But before he could make a move he felt a tap on his shoulder.
He turned around to see… Shego?
In a panic he swung a fist aimed at her face. The villainess calmly caught it with her right hand. With her left she brought a fist of her own down on the man's elbow. The result was a sickening crunching sound of snapped bones and ligaments.
A horrifying scream filled the room that got everyone else's attention. They looked to see Monkey Fist writhing in agony on the floor of the temple clutching his arm. The arm was bent at a right angle at the elbow… facing the completely wrong way.
A collective, shocked gasp escaped their mouths when they saw who was responsible for it.
"Walk it off, ya wimp," The Supreme One smirked as she looked down at the fallen monkey master. She turned her attention back to Shego and Drakken. "Now then… you two. Gimmie my time monkey."
XXXXXXXXXX
Authors Note: Camille's mission outfit was taken from a picture called "My Evil Little Plan..." by Destikim on DeviantArt, and displayed on the account Camille-leon. I liked the look so much that I just had to use it. So thanks to Destikim and Camille-leon for the inspiration.