On the Line

XX

Kicking the masked man in the chest was one of the most satisfying things Kim had done in weeks. Other than a few things with Monique, she reminded herself with a mental grin. Whether it was in academics or hand to hand combat – or foot to chest combat, in this case - Kim hated making mistakes. Being caught off guard had stung, but she was willing to bet that her opponent was now feeling the sting just a little bit more.

"You'll pay for that one!" the man said. He got up and brushed some dust from the warehouse floor off of his sleek ninja suit.

"Sorry, no cash on me. I guess you'll have to foot the bill!"

She lunged for another kick, but the man anticipated it and dodged. It was a good opportunity for him to come around with a blow to Kim's back, which she tried to dodge by whirling around for a block, but no blow came. Instead, the man was looking at her a little quizzically.

"Wait, I didn't mean literally pay me," he said after a moment.

"Duh! I was just engaging in repartee."

"Oh, right."

Kim managed to take advantage of her opponent's confusion and pull a sweeping kick, which he tried to dodge but ended up tripping backwards over a crate. He got back up more quickly this time, and the two of them ducked and weaved through the crates that had been knocked over in their falls, meeting each other in a flurry of fists and blows.

Kim could often recognize her opponents by their fighting styles. She knew Shego's style almost as well as her own, for instance, to the extent that they often anticipated each other's moves. She knew Monkey Fist's style too, although not as well. There were even a few regular henchman she kept running up against – particularly a couple of Dementor's goons – with whom fighting had become a familiar, almost cordial exchange. Not that their styles helped them stand up to Kim Possible for more than a few moments.

The man she was fighting was strange, however. Something about his fighting style seemed vaguely familiar to her. Even more strange, however, was that the ninja was not a very good fighter. Kim could recognize if an opponent was using textbook moves or sticking to the basics of a martial arts style, and her opponent definitely had an unusual approach, but it was easy to counter. The ninja was landing a blow here and there, but they usually glanced off of Kim as if he didn't know how to follow through. And she was easily blocking most of his punches and kicks.

It was as if he had picked up some effective attacks by chance, but was otherwise inexperienced. The fact that he had been so thrown off by her verbal sparring – which, Kim mentally noted, she really needed to work on – was even more suggestive of his inexperience in combat. At least the kind of combat that supervillains and teen heroes engaged in. Kim was also getting the impression that the ninja was using a style that did not fit his bulky figure, and would have been better suited for someone a little more nimble.

She blocked several more of the man's blows and landed a hard punch in his solar plexus, which forced him to stumble a few steps back and gasp for air. She was about to seize the opportunity to take him down for good when another ninja sailed through the air in between them and hit the ground in a heap. Kim looked back and saw that Ron had broken free of his ropes.

"Don't worry KP, I got this covered!"

Several more of the ninjas had already gathered around the Cupcake Containment Chamber and were picking it up between themselves. It looked hefty, but they were large enough that it would be out of the loading dock door within a few moments. The ninja leader whom Kim had been fighting straightened up after regaining his breath, but before he knew what hit him, Kim knocked him over again and straddled his abdomen, keeping him pinned to the ground.

"Gotcha!" yelled Kim triumphantly as she reached down and ripped his mask off.

The face that stared up at her was familiar, just like some of the man's moves. She knew she had seen him somewhere before, but where? Kim felt herself getting increasingly frustrated.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The man answered her with a punch to the face. Kim fell backwards off him, her jaw stinging, and the man leaped up again. She felt a surge of fury at being caught off guard for a second time - this time because of the maddening familiarity in the man's features. Before she could get up and make him pay, however, Ron leaped forward in a halo of blue light.

"Eat monkey foot, chump!"

Ron's foot, crackling with the blue energy of the Mystical Monkey Power, sank into the man's chest and knocked him backwards yet again. He rolled a few feet and picked himself up as Ron performed a theatrical and totally unnecessary whirling motion with his hands, while making a sound that Kim could only assume was supposed to sound like a monkey hooting.

"Alright," said the man. He tried to maintain his cool ninja exterior, but it was apparent that he was getting a little tired of the hard chest blows. "I'm a little pressed for time, so I'll let you guys win this round. Don't get too cocky, though – I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon!"

He laughed and made a break for the loading dock door, which had been opened by his fellow ninjas who had already disappeared with their baked and frosted loot. Ron was about to pursue him, but Kim held him back and shook her head, reminding him of that letting them escape was part of their plan. They were taking a moment to cool down from the fight when Kim heard a groan come from behind her.

"Ugh, what happened?" asked Assad Sacke.

He joined Kim and Ron as they stared at the open loading dock door, and Kim noticed that he had two black eyes instead of just one. He had also gotten out of his rope bonds, from the looks of it, but one of the ninjas must have taken him out of commission quickly.

"They took the bait," said Kim. She brought Wade up on her wrist Kimmunicator. "Wade, is Drakken's tracking device working?"

"Yeah, like a charm," he said. "I'm keeping tabs on the Containment Chamber right now. The ninjas have some kind of jet in a field a little ways away from the warehouse. They're just about to take off. Global Justice will be giving you and Ron a ride soon, but we want to let them get a few minutes lead on us so they don't think they're being followed."

"Sounds good. I'm dying to know who these jokers are."

Kim made a note of the coordinates that Wade brought up on her screen – she wondered why Wade couldn't have just told her that it was the parking lot directly outside of the warehouse. Their foes were hooked, and now all she and Ron had to do was keep them on the line until they got where they were going. She motioned for Ron to follow her as they left the warehouse, and almost forgot to say goodbye to Assad.

"Uh, nice meeting you," she said.

"You might want to put some raw meat on that eye," suggested Ron as he shook Assad's hand.

"Thanks guys. Drakken and I appreciate your help with our little problem."

Assad watched as the two teens left the warehouse to be picked up by their ride and start their pursuit. Although he wasn't sure if they were teens or not. Having been hired by Drakken, Assad had heard his boss make the occasional off-handed comment about the red-headed girl that had so often been a thorn in his side, but he knew that Drakken hadn't seen her in a while, and she was now in college.

As for the blond sidekick, Assad wasn't sure who he was. He wasn't even sure if he had heard the boy's name. Rob? Rudolph? Definitely something that started with an R. Whoever he was, he seemed to have some unusual powers of his own.

Assad wished the two of them luck as he limped across the warehouse floor and flipped on some lights. It was late, and he was technically not on the clock – Drakken did not pay overtime for stakeouts – but Assad felt too beat up to go home. He would sleep in his office tonight. But first, he was hoping that he might find a cold cut, or at least a cold soda, to place over his swelling black eye.

Being a manager was a lot more dangerous than he would have guessed from what he learned in business school.

XX

The sun was not in the sky yet, but a line of lighter blue was beginning to etch itself over the black tree tops beyond the parking lot in front of Drakken's warehouse, heralding the approach of dawn. Apparently Kim and Ron had slept through most of the night and morning while they waited for Drakken's thieves to show themselves. A Global Justice jet sat waiting for them in the center of the parking lot. The lot was not very large, so Kim assumed the jet must have some kind of gliding and vertical landing capabilities.

Other than the jet, there were only two vehicles in the parking lot. Kim's Sloth was parked close to the warehouse, which she had used to pick up Ron and drive the two of them there earlier, and another car was parked in the center of the lot, right next to the jet. From the looks of it, the jet had accidentally smashed into the side of the car as it made its landing. Kim wondered if it was Assad Sacke's car. All the other workers had left sometime while the three of them had fallen asleep during their stakeout.

Another black eye and a smashed car. She felt a little sorry for the guy.

Her sorrow was soon replaced with annoyance when she caught sight of who was coming out of the Global Justice jet, dressed in full uniform and extending his hand to greet his two passengers. Wade had not told her that Will Du would be giving them a ride.

"Hello, Will."

Will Du shook Kim's hand with just enough pressure to be professional, but not so much or so little as to appear emotional in any way. "I am glad to see you again, Kim Possible." He looked at Ron, and if his demeanor towards Kim had been stoic, his demeanor towards Ron was stoic with a hint of distaste. "Ron Stoppable," he added as he shook Ron's hand.

"I guess Dr. Director assigned you to give us a ride while we pursue those ninjas – er, cupcakes thieves – whoever they are?"

"I volunteered, but yes."

Will Du stepped aside to let Kim and Ron go up the ramp and into the jet first.

"We will pursue them until we find their lair, and then the two of you can drop on their location. Parachutes are in the jet. I will then take the jet to the nearest Global Justice facility, and reinforcements will be sent if you need them."

Kim was glad that Will Du made it sound as if Global Justice would not be interfering too much with the mission. She imagined that Drakken had to be uncomfortable with them being involved at all, although she never would have guessed that he would ask for her help either. Not that Global Justice didn't come in handy sometimes, but she was feeling a little insecure for some reason. Maybe because of that ninja team getting the drop on her in the warehouse; she wanted to handle this mission with as little help as possible. Maybe she just wanted to prove herself after being out of the world-saving loop for a while.

"How did you like that monkey powered kick I landed on that dude in the warehouse?" asked Ron as the two of them took a pair of seats in the jet. Ron took the aisle seat, because although he liked the view, he wanted easy access to the bathroom in case he got air sick.

"It was nice," said Kim.

"Just nice? I totally stopped that guy from hitting you while you were down."

"I had it covered," said Kim, a little testily. Ron caught the tone and dropped the subject.

Will Du looked at his two passengers after drawing in the boarding ramp and closing the passenger door. "I had heard that the two of you were not doing missions together anymore," he said. "I was not aware that Ron was coming along."

"I'm as surprised as you are," said Kim.

Ron bristled at the exchange. "What's that mean? Neither of you even want me here?"

"No, Ron, that's not what I meant, I just-"

Kim trailed off, as Ron was folding his arms together and sinking back into his seat with a glower.

Will Du sensed the change in atmosphere and took it as a cue to retreat to the cockpit in order to start their pursuit. The plane began to lift off after a few moments, and Kim watched out the window as the car parked next to them was buffeted by the jet yet again. A prickly silence emanated from her ex-boyfriend like an invisible cloud. Kim anticipated a long flight ahead of her.

XX

Monique looked up at Chirparoo One and Two, who were casting shadows over her homework as they flew in happy circles overhead. She was trying to get some work done in the apartment's living room, although she was distracted by thoughts about how Kim's mission was going. Kim's backpack was still lying beside the couch where she had dumped it the other night upon returning from class. Monique couldn't help but laugh at a thought that popped into her mind. Even if Kim was in the middle of slugging a supervillain, she was probably worrying about the homework that was waiting for her here when she returned.

"Come on girl, focus," she told herself.

Monique's homework was for an applied math class that she needed as part of her degree requirements. Math was not her favorite, and the technicalities of measurements and fitting were not Monique's favorite part of fashion design. She enjoyed the colors, picking the fabrics themselves, designing patterns, and some of the psychological aspects – like the way something as simple as a nice dress could change the way you felt about yourself, or even the way people interacted with you. But she supposed there were less interesting parts of any job that still needed to be learned.

Right now, however, she was wondering why Kim hadn't called her before starting the mission. Monique had last talked to her girlfriend yesterday, when Kim visited her at her job at the Upperton Arena and then left to meet Wade for more information on the mission. Kim hadn't come back to the apartment since then, and although Monique knew she and Ron were probably off fighting evil, she had expected at least a phone call. Was she being unreasonable? Monique couldn't decide. She didn't want to be needy or interrupt Kim in the middle of a fight.

After another moment of fruitless staring, Monique realized that the numbers on her math homework were starting to bleed together in an incomprehensible mass. "Ah, screw it," she said as she got up and grabbed her cell phone to call Kim's number. Her girlfriend answered quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kim!"

"Ooh, hey Monique. How's it going?"

"Not bad, just doing some homework. I wanted to see how your mission was going."

"Oh man, I guess I should have called you earlier, sorry. You wouldn't believe what Wade has us doing."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"You know that bakery where Ned got those cupcakes that we were all eating at the arena the other day? It's owned by Dr. Drakken."

"You're kidding me. Are we all poisoned or something now?"

"I doubt it. I mean, it's been open for a little while since I've seen those cupcakes around campus, and I'm sure Wade would have said something. Plus I saw Drakken eat one himself. Anyway, some of his cupcakes got stolen and we're following some shady characters on a plane right now to see where they're going."

"We? You and Ron?"

"Yep."

"How are things going between you two? So not the drama, I hope?"

Kim's voice came through after a brief pause, a little quieter than before. "It's been awkweird. I guess it could be worse, though. He hasn't accused me of ripping his heart out or anything."

"Yeah," said Monique. She wondered if Kim was implying that Ron had accused her of heart-ripping when they had broken up. Monique gulped a little at the thought of what Ron might think of her. "So how long do you think you're gonna be gone?"

"No idea. Oh hey, I have another call coming in, I gotta go."

"T.T.Y.S, girl."

Monique flipped the cell phone shut and sat back on the couch, placing her legs up against the coffee table as she stared at the blank television screen. Her gaze traveled down to the unfinished homework that sat on the table. She had hoped that calling Kim would take care of her distraction and let her focus, but she could already tell that it had done nothing of the sort.

It sounded like things were still rough between Kim and Ron. That was too bad, since Monique knew that the two of them probably wanted things to work out – they had lived their whole lives together, after all. She knew both of them well enough to guess that working things out, with their history and the way things had ended between them, was not as easy as it sounded, even if they both wanted it. But as for what Monique thought? She was just as confused as ever.

On the one hand, she wanted Kim to be happy. She wanted Ron to be happy. She wanted to be friends with Ron again. But that nagging worry that had planted itself in the back of her mind, the voice she had heard when Kim decided to take Wade's mission offer while she was at the Upperton Arena – that voice was still there. Was she relieved that things weren't working out so easily between Kim and Ron? Was she threatened by the thought of the two of them growing closer again?

On a mission, chirped Chirparoo One as it landed on the arm of the couch beside Monique.

"Yes, I know."

Monique began to feel guilty that she was even asking herself such questions. Maybe they were ridiculous. Or maybe they held a kernel of truth. The television clicked into life as she decided to distract herself even further, giving up on her work at least for the moment. Monique wondered if Kim knew what a mess could sometimes be hidden beneath her cool exterior.

XX

"Who was that?" asked Ron.

Kim returned from the back of the plane, where she had been pacing around after getting the call. "Monique," she said as she sat back down in her seat beside Ron. "But I've got Wade on the Kimmunicator now. Any news, Wade?"

"Yeah, good news and bad news."

"Alright, bad news first."

"The signal from the tracking device just disappeared."

Kim and Ron groaned simultaneously.

"It could be that it malfunctioned, but Drakken insists it shouldn't have any problems, so I'm guessing they wised up and decided to check the Containment Chamber, seeing as they stole one that was almost empty last time. They probably found the tracker and smashed it, or dumped it en route."

"Wasn't it hidden?" asked Kim.

"Uh, apparently not. I asked Drakken and it sounds like it was big, clunky, and obvious."

"Why am I not surprised."

Kim looked out the window as the jet passed over the Atlantic Ocean. They had been flying for a little while, and it was now a beautiful afternoon outside. The jet they were pursuing had left the United States and seemed to be heading across the Atlantic in the direction of Europe, although she hadn't gotten an update from Wade on its location in a little while.

"So what's the good news?"

"We have a location on where the tracker stopped sending its signal. It cut off a little while after their jet reached the Mediterranean."

Kim and Ron shot each other a look, and couldn't help but smile when they realized that they were both thinking the same thought.

"The Seniors?"

"That was my first guess too," said Wade. "The signal disappeared too quickly to tell for sure, but it did seem like they were going in the general direction of the Seniors' island. I think we need to check them out. Will Du is taking you there now, so you'll be ready to drop in before long."

"Thanks Wade."

The call ended as Kim continued to look back out of the window, enjoying the view. Sure enough, she saw a jutting tongue of land beyond them as they passed by Gibraltar on their way from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. A faint scruff of clouds passed beneath the jet, but the brilliant blue of the ocean and the dull green and brown of land could be seen below them with ease. Sometimes Kim thought she spied birds passing over the water, although it was hard to tell whether or not they were just reflections of sunlight on the waves.

As far as supervillains went, paying a visit to the Seniors wasn't bad at all. Kim could always enjoy a little weekend diversion to do a little sunbathing on some French beach if the mission ended quickly enough.

Kim sat back in her window seat and relaxed. After a moment, Ron got up from his aisle seat and went to the back of the jet, where Kim had seen a pair of curtains upon boarding. Wondering what Ron was doing, she trained her ears and heard faint rustling coming from the back, until a loud whoop! rang out a moment later. Ron returned and sat back in his seat holding a shiny bag of some kind, looking pleased with himself.

"What's that?"

"Airline peanuts," said Ron. "I thought maybe they'd have snacks back there, and I was wondering if even Global Justice jets carried airline peanuts. And they do – research successful!"

Ron strained as he tried to open the bag, which was sealed tight. Kim was amused at his peanut theory, but her expression turned into mild disapproval as she watched an almost indiscernible blue blow emanate from around Ron's hands as he squinted in concentration. A second later, the peanut bag ripped open, sending a shower of peanuts spraying over their seats.

Ron had not noticed Kim's disapproving look, and scooped up as many peanuts as he could get that hadn't already rolled away down the aisle. "So why do you think they'd be stealing cupcakes?" he asked in mid-crunch.

"Beats me. Maybe Junior needs some comfort food after his singing career failed to take off."

"Did it? I guess I haven't been keeping up with news on the old bad guy gang."

"Me neither, really. It was just a guess. But you know, I could swear I recognized that head ninja guy that I was fighting in the warehouse when I pulled his mask off. And there was something about his fighting style..."

"One of our old enemies?"

Ron thought about the ninja Kim was talking about; he hadn't gotten a good look at him in the darkness of the warehouse, but he remembered large pectoral muscles. "Wait, it wasn't Junior, was it?"

"No, definitely not. Maybe I haven't seen Junior in a while, but it's not like I forgot what he looks like."

"Maybe it's one of Junior's gym buddies."

Kim laughed at Ron's suggestion. The thought of Junior and his weight-training friends pulling capers cracked her up, for some reason. Perhaps they were fellow aspiring actors and singers. It was outlandish, but then, she and Ron had certainly come up against stranger things.

The two of them fell silent as they thought about what the Seniors' motivations might be, if the jet they were pursuing was really connected to them. Their plane ride had been awkward until then, but Kim was pleasantly surprised to realize that she had just shared a friendly conversation with Ron, albeit a short one. No snippy comments, no defensiveness. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Will Du's voice came crackling over the jet's intercom system. "About five minutes until we reach the Seniors' island," he said. Kim got up from her seat and grabbed a parachute for herself and Ron, who put his on reluctantly.

"So what have you been up to lately, Ron?"

Kim was hoping to continue the friendly tone that had begun just a moment ago, although Ron looked a little surprised that she had asked him the question.

"Uh, not much. Just hangin' out with the fam, working at Smarty Mart."

"Still?"

Kim immediately regretted asking, as she had not meant for it to sound like a negative comment on Ron's motivation. But then, Ron had complained to her about his job from time to time before their relationship ended, so she was surprised to hear he was still there.

"I tried to apply for a few different positions at the company, but Martin Smarty turned me down. After all I did for his kid, too! Oh, by the way, that reminds me – Mr. Smarty told me something weird about you getting my manager's job for me," Ron laughed. "I thought it sounded off, since I applied for that job myself. What was that about?"

"Oh, it's no big. I didn't even know you were applying for it. I just put in a good word for you when I happened to see the open position in the paper."

"Why?"

Kim wasn't sure how to answer the question. It seemed obvious to her. Even if she had already been broken up with Ron at the time, she felt bad for him not going to college and wanted to help give him a leg up. Before she could explain herself, though, Will Du opened the cockpit door and entered the passenger's compartment.

"We're almost there," he said.

"Who's flying the plane?" asked Ron, his tone switching rapidly to panic.

Will looked at Ron like he had just asked how to add two and two. "The plane is on autopilot" he explained patiently.

"Oh. Well, that's good."

The pleasant thrum of the plane's engines was replaced by a screaming rush of air as Kim opened the passenger door. The placid Mediterranean Sea passed by far below them, and a little more distant, an island started to get closer as the jet dipped a little in elevation. Their autopilot must be pretty fancy, Kim thought. Either that or Will Du was less competent than he pretended to be. Hopefully the former. Probably the latter.

"There it is," said Will as he pointed to the island. "Give us a call if you need help once you're down there."

Kim checked her parachute straps again as Ron followed her example. She hadn't done a jump in a while, but she was looking forward to it. Ron's expression, pale with just a hint of green in his cheeks, seemed to be communicating a different opinion on the upcoming sky dive.

"You ready to go, Ron?"

Ron nodded, a little halfheartedly. "Born ready, KP."

The island was now directly beneath them. Kim could make out the Senior's private lair and villa, although it was still a little too hard to tell if the jet they were pursuing had landed anywhere. But it was time to find out. She nodded at Will Du and grabbed Ron's hand as the two of them leaped into the blue.