Chapter Seven
Hallowe'en dawned bright and clear and cool. The leaves continued to turn, and the entire tri-cities area enjoyed the colorful environment. The air was full of excitement and anticipation on this Saturday. The moon would be large and full tonight, a perfect time for the little ghosts and goblins to collect their due.
At the Possible breakfast table plans were made. The Doctors Possible would be at the Medical Center's annual haunted house, and the Tweebs had decided a few years earlier they were too old for trick-or-treating, so they would be helping too. With Ron at Yamanouchi, Kim said she had decided she would stay home and pass out the treats after taking Raf and Kabale to their party. Her family accepted this without comment.
Kim, Raf, and Kabale were in the living room. The angel and devil both wanted to see the classic movie "Snowman Hank and the Haunted Christmas", which made Kim roll her eyes, but she turned the channel over for them. She sat down in her dad's easy chair, thinking that Ron would be sorry he missed this.
"Hey, sis!" called Jim.
"We've got something for you," said Tim.
Kim looked quickly at Kabale, who looked back blandly and shrugged. A commercial started, so the angel and devil got up and went with her.
In the hall Kim was confronted with her twin brothers standing by a robot. It looked sort of like a water heater with arms, and wheels for feet. There was a sensor on the front near the top. An opening in the middle had a holder below it. The words "Happy Hallowe'en" were painted across the front.
"Okay... what is it?" she asked.
"The Treatanator Mark One!" they replied in unison.
"We made it in case you have..." said Tim.
"To go on a mission tonight." finished Jim.
"Wheel it onto the porch..." said Tim.
"Pour the candy in here..." said Jim, opening a hatch in the back. He dropped in some peppermint candy and closed it.
"And it will sense how many kids come up and give each one a piece," said Tim, proudly.
"Sounds good, but let's see it work," said Kim.
Jim snapped open a paper bag and went around to the front. Tim flipped a switch just above the hopper, and the sensor light came on.
"Trick or Treat!" cried Jim, holding out the bag.
There was a BEEP! from the robot, and a piece of candy dropped into the tray. The three-fingered claw reached over and picked it up, dropping it into the bag. "Happy Hallowe'en!" it said in a monotone.
"See?" they said.
"Wow, guys, I'm actually impressed!" said Kim.
"Us too," echoed Kabale and Raf, who were standing in the door.
Tim turned off the Treatanator. "You're already in costume?" he asked.
"We lost our luggage at the airport, and this is all we had," answered the devil-girl.
The twins seemed to accept that explanation, and turned back to Kim.
"Well?" they asked.
"I'll use it, if I have to go," she answered, "Are you sure it's safe?"
"Oh, sure, we consulted with Wade about the software and Dr. Renton about the design," said Jim.
"Thanks, guys, and I mean it," said Kim.
Her brothers exchanged a high five. "Hicka-bicka-boo?" "Hoo-sha!"
KP/AF KP/AF KP/AF
Late in the morning Kim's parents and brothers left for the hospital to help with the haunted house, leaving Kim and her company at loose ends.
After lunch Kim called Wade and asked about the circuitry match he was doing.
"Nothing yet, but I keep having the feeling I've seen it before. I'll let you know," he said. He reached for the disconnect, but a beep from another computer caught his attention. He turned toward it.
"And there it is..." he said, studying the monitor. "Kim, this is nearly the same circuitry as the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer!"
"Nearly?" she queried.
"Yeah... someone made some modifications. And seeing this... Oh, I get it!" he said, turning his attention back to her. "The package was a trap. When you picked up the doll, the pressure switch activated the PDVI. It was supposed to take you to another dimension then destroy the electronics. But the power leads were wired backwards, and it somehow brought them to you." Wade shook his head. "I can think of a few mad scientists who would try something like that."
"Me too," nodded Kim. "But can you tell which one?"
"I didn't find any familiar fingerprints. But I'll run a web and satellite scan on all of them, see if anything shows up,"
he replied.
"Thanks, Wade, you still rock hard!" said Kim.
The boy grinned and reached for the button when another alarm sounded. He turned to a different monitor. "Kim, we just got a hit on the site."
"Great. What's the sitch?" she asked.
"Huh. It's a live feed from Monkey Fist!" he said. Wade disappeared from the screen to be replaced by the visage of Lord Monty Fiske, a famous British archaeologist who was obsessed with monkeys. Several years ago he paid the insane geneticist Dr. Amy "DNAmy" Hall to convert his hands and feet into those of a monkey. He, Ron, and Rufus shared a magical energy called the Mystical Monkey Power, and Fiske wanted it all and Ron dead so he could become the Ultimate Monkey Master.
He was in his early forties, with black hair and a thin face and dark eyes. He usually wore a black gi, and had many monkey minions with him, all trained as ninja. He sported an evil grin.
"Good afternoon, Miss Possible," he said. As a rule he was polite, but still very evil.
"Good afternoon, Lord Fiske," answered Kim, sarcasm plain in her voice. Raf and Kabale approached, but Kim waved them off. "What can I do for you?"
"You can meet me at the coordinates I've sent your computer buddy," he answered.
"Ron's not here, but I'll be happy to come," said Kim.
"Oh, I knew that already. I sent Sensei a message, and Stoppable will be arriving in a couple of hours," he said. "If you hurry, you might get here before he does. And bring that horrid mole rat with you,"
"I plan to," said Kim firmly, and ended the communication before Fiske could respond.
Wade immediately reappeared. "Kim, the place is in the desert a few hundred miles from here."
"Send the info to the Sloth. I'll be ready in five minutes," she said, and signed off.
As Raf and Kabale watched, Kim grabbed her mission clothes and changed behind the screen. Stepping out she picked up her utility belt and put it on. After her old mission clothes were discontinued she had, under questionable circumstances, gotten a new design. A short-sleeve purple shirt and black pants, calf-high boots and dark gray gloves. The utility belt with holster for her hair-dryer grappling gun and the wrist-model Kimmunicator completed the ensemble.
Kim didn't know it, of course, but her decision to use the outfit over the objections of the Fashionistas, its actual designers, was one of Kabale's victories.
The devil-girl smiled and started to say something, but Raf stopped her.
"Don't, not now. It's not the right time, and she doesn't need the distraction," whispered the angel.
"Always spoiling my fun," grumbled Kabale in a whisper, "But you're right. I'll tell her later."
"Ready to go, Rufus?" she asked her small partner.
"Uh huh! See Ron!" he said.
Kim picked him up and put him in a side pocket of her pants. "Let's go."
"We're coming too, Kim," said Raf.
"No, you should stay here; this will be dangerous," the heroine said.
"Oh, like we don't know that," snarked Kabale.
"We have to go; we're your guardians and guides," said Raf.
"But..." started Kim.
"We can fly, remember?" interrupted the devil, "If you don't take us, we'll just follow."
Seeing it was an argument she couldn't win, Kim just turned toward the trap door. "Come on, then."
It was mid-afternoon, but she didn't know how long the mission would take, so Kim set up her brother's robot on the porch while the others climbed into the car.
She backed the Sloth out of the driveway and left Middleton. Some ten minutes later they were on a deserted stretch of highway. Kim nodded in approval.
"This will do," she said, "Make sure your seat belts are fastened and stand by, we're taking off." She tapped several buttons, and the trunk opened to reveal the rocket engines.
Raf, in the front seat, braced herself against the dashboard, putting a hand over Rufus, who was once again asleep in her lap.
Kabale braced herself as well, and a minute later they were airborne, heading for a date with a crisis point.