Disclaimer: The Walt Disney Company owns all rights to the characters and situations associated with Kim Possible. I borrow Kim, her family and friends for no monetary gain. I do this only to provide plots to super villains out there to take over the world with.

The Closet II

Chapter 18

Junior's Spotlight

Kim and Ron did indeed make it back in time to enjoy a light lunch. After emerging on the front porch of bungalow seven from the tube system they entered the house and found Rufus, lying on the sofa with a plate of cheese, watching satellite television. (It was a nature program actually, on the TV Madagascar Channel depicting the life and habits of naked mole rats, believe it or not.)

When Rufus saw the couple he raised up on his rear haunches, firmly planted his front paws on his hips and chattered angrily at them.

"Hey, hey HEY, don't you start copping an attitude with me," Ron playfully chided his little buddy. "KP and I missed breakfast too, you know. I'm sorry you didn't get to go on the mission but it was no big deal. At least you could get into the fridge and grab something to eat."

"Oh, ho-kay," the rodent shrugged after a moment's thought and went back to his eating and viewing pleasure.

Ron swiftly whipped up some tuna salad for sandwiches and the teens ate in quiet contemplation, just watching the peaceful, natural surroundings from the front porch before heading in for a nap. Kim and Ron slept for a few hours before they got up, took a shower together then got dressed up for the evening. Kim thought Ron looked spankin' in his black pleather pants and long sleeved blue turtleneck shirt while Ron thought Kim looked badical, dressed in a light blue formal dress with three inch white strappy heels. She was also happy that he remembered to bring along his supply of Le Goop.

Shortly after seven o'clock the two nattily dressed teens and one naked mole rat, (Rufus didn't dress up for the evening except for the Lotus Petal disguised as a choker around his neck,) were picked up by a stretch golf cart and taken to the hotel on the island. Senor Senior Sr. met them at the front entrance.

"Greeting, greetings," the retired Spaniard chimed with open arms, "and welcome to my Fantasy Style Island where all of your wishes come true."

"It's nice to see you again Senor Senior," Kim happily greeted their host as she and Ron were led into the hotel lobby. The ornate décor almost floored Kim and totally flummoxed Ron. The fixtures and furnishings would've put those of any of the finest five-star hotel in world to shame.

"Wow! You really went all out when you built this place." Neither of the teens knew who said it because they were both still taken aback at the opulence of the hotel. (It was Ron if you really need to know.)

"I believe you should only keep the finest life has to offer close at hand," Senor Senior said with an air of snobbery. He led the couple across the beyond posh lobby, cordially greeting the other few guests who were all dressed to the nines (all of the ladies, and most of the men, were wearing enough gold jewelry to choke an elephant) as they went until they reached a huge set of double doors. "I hope you brought your appetites with you. The meal I have planned will be most enjoyable."

The Maitre d' immediately escorted the trio to a table off to one side of the stage but was properly angled so they would have a good view of the show. The table was set for four with the finest dinnerware in the world, the fourth place setting being only a quarter the size of the other three settings. Ron held out Kim's chair for her to sit down and everyone got comfortable for the evening.

"Did you not bring the third member of your party with you Mr. Stoppable?" Senior asked out of curiosity as he pointed to the smaller set of dinnerware. "It is my understanding that you do not go anywhere without your lifelong little friend."

"Oh, you mean Rufus," Ron perked and opened up a large, well padded black pouch on his hip attached to his belt. "Hey buddy, it's time to eat."

The naked mole rat popped up out of the pouch, yawned and smacked his lips a couple of times before he opened his eyes and looked around. "Oh Wow. Nice," the mole rat cheered before he hopped up onto the table and took his place next to the diminutive dinnerware.

"Thank you," Senior nodded to the small rodent before he turned back to Ron. "I see your little friend has an appreciation of the finer things in life as well."

Dinner was not what Kim or Ron had expected. The meal, such as it was, consisted of frozen TV dinners served in its convenient tray. Senor Senior explained that he found it extremely fascinating that entire meals could be prepared in such a fashion and made available to be cooked and consumed in such a short length of time. Since Kim and Ron were underage they were served apple juice that came in small boxes instead of wine.

The conversation during dinner was pleasant and genial. Kim and/or Ron told the Spaniard about some of their past missions and Senor Senior listened intently, interjecting with an occasional "Oh my," or "You do not say," comment. Senor Senior related Junior's desire to become an international pop sensation to the teens. Kim asked what Junior's repertoire consisted of and Senior told them Junior sang the songs of the Oh Boyz and some lady named Christie Carlson Romano, but he also really enjoyed Broadway musical tunes. Kim and Ron nodded their understanding, remembering their meeting last year with the foppish, overly buff boy.

The dining room was filled to capacity with other wealthy guest while the foursome ate but as Junior walked up onto stage the dining crowd swiftly diminished. Junior started his set with Say The Word by CCR, (that's Christie Carlson Romano not Credence Clearwater Revival,) then progressed to a few selections from the musical Cats. He was… terrible, to even try to put a positive spin on his performance.

Senor Senior Sr. seemed to be enjoying his son's show while both Kim and Ron, remembering to bring along a set of Wade's special earplugs that filtered out only voices and not the music, sat back, nodded and snapped their fingers to the show tunes.

During the intermission, Senor Senior asked what the teens thought of Junior's performance. Ron was at a loss for words while Kim diplomatically answered that Junior's voice was… unique, and may appeal to Eastern European tastes. She sited David Hasselhoff as another example of the lack of a musical ear for some people. (Though she put it in more tactful terms.)

"Really," Senor Senior Sr. begged in amazement, taken aback by Kim's critique. "I always thought Junior had no talent at all. I find his voice somewhat similar to that of an ostrich giving birth."

"I was gonna say a dying yak…" Ron chipped in, which got him an immediate elbow to the ribs from his wife, "…But I can go with ostrich," he quickly added.

Kim offered Senor Senior a spare set of earplugs for the second set and the Spaniard gratefully accepted the gift. His face lit up when Junior started singing the Oh Boyz song, Hello, Hello Hello, as he could now fully appreciate the live, twenty piece band that accompanied Junior. As it was, all four at the table could appreciate the band, Rufus having his own set of earplugs supplied by Wade. Kim unsuccessfully tried to suppress a giggle fit when Ron pointed out that all of the band members were wearing extra large headphones to deaden Junior's voice.

When the show was over, and before Junior joined them at the table, the four removed their earplugs and noticed that the diners that had somehow miraculously disappeared during the performance were now all back in their seats for dessert. Senior wanted to return the special earplugs but Kim insisted that he keep them since he would be attending other shows and she and Ron each had a pair.

"And now for the piéce de résistance," Senor Senior announced as he waved over the waiter pushing a large rolling cart with a huge sterling silver covered serving tray on it.

"Oh Goody!" Junior enthused and giggled like a school girl while clapping his hands and tapping his feet under the table in glee.

"Settle down Junior," Senior gruffly said to his son, "or you may not have any dessert." He turned to Kim and Ron and smiled as the waiter lifted the lid to the platter. "I have also recently discovered these wondrous dessert confections. They come pre-iced and individually packaged and I find them simply marvelous."

The platter was filled with Hostess Cupcakes, Twinkies and HoHo's along with Screaming Yellow Zonkers and Moon Pies, all still individually wrapped in their original cellophane. The richly dressed crowd all filed past and simply gushed over dinner and dessert as the quartet plus Junior finished their meal.

After the dessert course there was dancing. Kim and Ron tried to dance with each other but they only got in one waltz before they became the center of attention in the room. It had somehow gotten out that the young couple was quite well off, financially speaking, and the European Elite all wanted to get to know the young newlyweds who were also multi-millionaires. (Kim suspected Junior must have mentioned it to someone only because he was bored beyond belief since he wasn't the center of attention anymore now that his show was over.)

Ron was asked by one of the older, female guests to trip the light fantastic. Of course Ron diplomatically accepted and he did quite well for his first time trying to tango, although he did step on her feet once or twice not fully knowing that particular dance very well. (His MMP could only help him so much.) After the number was over she told Ron that he did quite well, even better than her husband and not to worry about the missteps since she was wearing one-of-a-kind, steel toed Prada shoes. It seemed that her husband, Philippe Bullion, couldn't even dance a two step without stepping on her delicate digits every other step.

Philippe asked the teens to come out to his exclusive club when they reached billionaire status. Kim noticed Senor Senior slowly shaking his head "No," behind Bullion's back, but said they would be sure to come out to the club as soon as it happened. Afterward, Senior told the young couple that Philippe Bullion was a pompous, arrogant snob and the club wasn't really worth joining.

xxxxxx

The teenage couple and one naked mole rat all laughed long and loud with youthful abandon as they were driven back to their secluded bungalow in a stretch limo golf cart. "Can you… can you…" Ron tried to get out between laughs before he finally settled down enough to speak. "Can you believe all those rich people thought a TV Dinner and Hostess Cupcakes is a high classed meal?"

"Oh Ron," Kim groaned through her fading laughter, "you're right, but you need to remember that with the Naco money you have now, you're as rich as a lot of those guests staying here on the island."

"I am?" Ron questioned before the sudden realization hit him. "Oh yeah, I am! But I think you meant we are. What's mine is yours, remember?"

"You're right," Kim lovingly sighed as she snuggled into Ron's one-armed embrace in the back of the stretch golf cart, "I forgot that you made me sign that Jewish marriage contract thingy."

"The Ketuba," Ron replied before he kissed Kim on the forehead and blissfully sighed. Silence fell over the couple for a few minutes before Ron softly said, "We still need to try out the Lotus Triune Maneuver."

"We will sweetheart, tomorrow," Kim answered as she stirred slightly in Ron's arms to look up into his face. "When you went to the bathroom during intermission, Senor Senior told me a construction engineer will be coming out our way to see about extending the path beyond our bungalow. I told him we might be able help him clear the path with some of our mission gadgets."

Ron thought about it for a second before he began to chuckle. "If it goes the way my old MMP is telling me we'll do more than simply clear the path."

xxxxxx

A knock came from the front door the next mid morning. Kim and Ron had been lazily snuggling on the couch in the living room before the interruption. Both got up to answer the door.

"Good Morning Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable," the average sized man with brown hair parted down the middle said with a gallant tip of his hard hat, "my name is Will Friedle. I believe Mr. Senior told you about my coming out here to see about extending the road." Ron perked up at the name believing he had heard it someplace before but dismissed the absurd notion without another thought.

"Senor Senior did tell us you'd be working in the area," Kim brightly answered. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"No Mrs. Stoppable," the gentleman said as he peered away, looking to where he had been working in the island's jungle. "I just came out to complete my survey and now that it's done I won't be disturbing you while you're staying here. We won't start clearing the jungle growth for a few weeks."

"Do you mind if we did a little of the work in clearing the jungle for you?" Ron begged with his goofy smile beaming brightly.

"I'm not sure if you'd like that," Mr. Friedle said as he took off his hard hat and scratched at the back of his head. He pointed to where the road ended. "We're going to be clearing trees, brush, rocks and whatnot in that direction then we'll tunnel through that mountain to the beach beyond. It'll be a lot of hard work. A lot harder than you two teens can handle." Kim, Ron and the construction engineer had walked off the porch while Mr. Friedle pointed out the various obstacles face by he and his men until the three were at the end of the road.

"Do you mind if we try something anyway?" Kim coyly queried. "We'd really appreciate it if we could try out a bit of magic we recently found out about and we'd like your opinion of it."

"Well, I've always like a good magic show," Will Friedle chuckled, stood back a few paces and with a grand, sweeping gesture, motioned them on. "Go on ahead."

"Rufus, buddy," Ron yelled as he opened a cargo pants pocket, "it's time to try the Triune thingy."

The naked mole rat emerged from his pocket abode with the Lotus Petal already in its knife form clenched in his teeth. He scurried up Ron's body until he was perched on his big buddy's shoulder.

Kim and Ron stood shoulder to shoulder with Rufus straddling their arms. They reached out with their outer hand and the Lotus Stem and Lotus Blade suddenly popped into their outstretched grasp.

"Hey, that is a neat trick," Will Friedle enthused with a raucous round of applause.

"That's just the warm up," Kim smirked as she shifted her weight to her inner leg, letting her outside leg slowly slide to the side. Ron mirrored her move precisely as they lifted their swords over their head with both hands grasping the hilt until the very tips of the blades were touching. Rufus jabbed the Lotus Petal straight up in the air until it filled the V-shaped wedge between the two swords. A pinprick of light began when the three metal blades touched. It was dim at first but swiftly grew in intensity until it was a blinding blue glowing ball surrounding the three tips. But the glow didn't stop there. The orb expanded and grew larger until it encompassed the three who were starting to sweat from the exertion of the exercise. But still, the blue aura kept expanding.

When the glowing sphere had swelled to the diameter of a Mack truck it finally stopped growing. Mr. Friedle saw Kim and Ron were straining hard so he backed up a few more steps, afraid of what might happen next.

Suddenly the blue aura dilated back into the tips of the Triune and swiftly shot out, down the future path. Trees, brush and even rocks disintegrated in the wake of the intense beam of light. It was so bright Mr. Friedle had to cover his eyes from the intensity. When he finally dared to open his eyes he saw Kim, Ron and Rufus lying in a pile, out cold, at the jungle's edge and the three weapons were nowhere to be seen. He looked past the two teenagers and saw that a neat circular hole twenty feet in diameter was plowed through the jungle and the mountain beyond. Even the ground was furrowed in an inverted bowl shape, completing the circle.

"Now THAT is a magic trick," Will Friedle marveled as he took off his hard hat and scratched his head in wonderment.

xxxxxx

Kim groaned and felt her head to see if it was injured as she slowly regained consciousness. Everything checked out okay but she had a wicked headache and she ached all over.

"It's about time you woke up," Will Friedle excitedly yelled as he stepped from the newly furrowed path and walked over to where Kim and Ron were lying in their own beach lounges set out on the bungalow's driveway. "That was some trick! Would you believe you cut about ten or fifteen days off my work schedule?"

"What happened?" Kim queasily queried as she slowly sat up and looked around. Ron was stirring in his own chaise next to her as the construction engineer walked up on the pair.

"You three fainted after plowing the road for me," Will said as he leaned over Kim and helped the red haired girl sit up in her beach lounge chair before he assist Ron. "You were still unconscious after about five minutes so I got a coupla of beach chairs from the garage and made you comfortable. I was just checking out your work and I gotta say you two did one hellava job."

"The Lotus Triune," Ron moaned and rubbed the sides of his temples to try and make the throbbing stop. "How long have we been out?"

"You two have been dead to the world for around twenty minutes now," Mr. Friedle said as he quickly checked his wristwatch then looked back down the path he'd just walked. "As I said, I was checking out the path you cleared. You plowed straight through the jungle and bored a perfect tunnel through the mountain. The furrow stops on the other side at the beach, just like I'd planned. All I have to do now is fill in the furrow to complete the path and trim the trees a little and then I'll be done with this project."

Kim, feeling much better, stood on slightly wobbly legs and surveyed the devastating effects of the Lotus Triune Maneuver. "Wow," was all she could mutter.

"I guess the LTM is a tool of last resort," Ron said as he got up, wrapped an arm around Kim's waist and saw the results of their little test. "It certainly sapped our strength."

"Well, I gotta get going," Will Friedle said as he clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Mr. Senior wants me to leave you alone while you're here on the island and I got to get started on another project." He headed off toward the stretch limo golf cart parked in front of the house.

"What does Senor Senior want you to build next?" Kim queried as she and Ron escorted the construction engineer to his ride.

"An outdoors, Olympic sized ice rink," Mr. Friedle nonchalantly said as he got into the golf cart. "And after that I'm scheduled to pave the path out here."

"Wait a minute," Ron said as he suddenly realized just who the engineer was. "Weren't you an actor at one time?"

"So you recognized me," Will Friedle sheepishly chuckled. "Yeah, I was the obnoxious older brother on the TV show, Boy Meets World and I've done a few cartoon voices over the years, but I decided to get out of the biz and do something more decent and wholesome with my life. Beside, Mr. Senior pays a whole lot better than any of my acting gigs did and the work is steady." He put the cart in gear and sped away with a jaunty wave of the hand over his shoulder before Kim or Ron could react.

xxxxxx

Author's Note: If anyone doesn't know, Will Friedle was the voice of Ron Stoppable for the show. Using his name was just another of my little inside jokes in loving dedication to the series.

I'll also disclaim at this time that I don't own any part of the music, singers, snack cakes or satellite channels mentioned in this story. Is their even a TV Madagascar satellite channel?