Second Time's the Charm

XX

It was early in the morning, and all through the lair, not a creature was stirring – except for Kim Possible.

Kim and Ron had accepted Señor Senior Senior's offer to stay for the night. There was certainly a chance that Senior was luring them into a trap, but then, he could have captured them with the Spinning Tops of Doom, and he didn't, so maybe he was telling the truth about not being a cupcake thief. Either way, Kim had no intention of sleeping. If the Cupcake Containment Chamber was here on the island somewhere, she would find it, and it couldn't hurt to make sure the Seniors weren't up to any other nefarious schemes while she was here.

She crept silently down the halls of the Senior's home, checking each room as she went. Wade was also awake in case Kim needed to call him on the Kimmunicator, and he was keeping tabs on the lair from the computer bank in his bedroom, checking for possible traps. If one did get set off by Kim's snooping, she supposed she would try the old 'couldn't sleep and got up for a glass of water' excuse. Lame, but maybe a good bet with her hosts, since Señor Senior Senior would immediately lead her to the kitchen and pour it himself.

She turned on her wrist Kimmunicator and whispered to Wade. "Any updates?"

"I'm not registering any more traps, besides the fish."

Kim shuddered at the recollection of the hungry koi trap she had stumbled through in the darkness of a previous room. Fortunately the lasers had not noticed her for some reason, but the fish had been hungry. Their toothless mouths were harmless, but their bites on Kim's legs produced a sort of suction sensation that she found, for lack of a better word, gross. It was a pretty weak trap – even Frugal Lucre's snapping turtles were more dangerous - but she had to give the Seniors points for imagination.

Then again, maybe she had just fallen into a regular indoor koi pond filled with fish that Junior neglected to keep well fed.

"What about the Cupcake Containment Chamber?" she asked. "Are you picking up any readings from it? Or anything else that looks weird, for that matter?"

"Nope. Either they've got good jamming signals running, or there's nothing very fishy going on in that house. Except-"

"Don't say it, Wade."

"Sorry."

The variety of rooms that could be found in the Senior's private island home was astounding. Kitchens, dining rooms, bedrooms, and guest rooms, of course, but also a number of specialized rooms including the indoor bar and lounge where, earlier that night, Kim and Ron had been treated to Junior's stunning karaoke renditions of his own songs. Kim remembered Junior's off-key singing and wondered if it was karaoke when you were singing your own original music.

Earlier, she had even stumbled upon what looked like some kind of indoor theater room with a big wooden stage and red curtains drawn back to the sides. A smaller dressing room had been hidden in the back, behind the stage. Kim had opened a closet in the dressing room and found a number of outfits, one of which looked almost identical to her mission suit. The sight of the outfit had made her shudder involuntarily, although she had no idea why. It was probably a coincidence. Her mission suit was not that unusual looking. Still, she had left that particular room quickly, deciding there was nothing to see there.

Kim came upon another door in the hallway she was talking, and opened it as quietly as possible to find herself staring at a stunning view. She was in some kind of library, or maybe a study room, with bookcases lined up along the walls and filled to the brim with thick volumes bound in leather. There was even a spiral staircase which led up to a smaller study nook on a second-floor ledge within the room. It was hard to see up there, but it looked like the study nook was also lined in bookcases. One corner of the room in which Kim was standing had several leather chairs and end tables organized around a fireplace. A fireplace for a library on a Mediterranean island, Kim thought. Must be decoration.

The stunning view, however, was not of the books. One wall of the room, opposite the door, was covered from floor to ceiling by a plate glass window that overlooked the ocean. Kim entered the room and walked closer to the window. A small, rocky beach below the window stretched out for a handful of yards before abruptly cutting off into the ocean. It was early in the morning, and the moon was still out, but the light outside was bright enough that Kim could still enjoy the view. With accommodations like this, Kim wondered if she was in the wrong line of study. Maybe Upperton University offered a program in supervillainy.

"Hey."

Kim yelled out in surprise and stumbled backwards, knocking over a globe that had been set up beside a leather chair. She grabbed the arm of the chair before falling down completely and looked in the direction from which the noise had come. Bonnie had just gotten out of one of the chairs near the fireplace; Kim had not even noticed her in the darkness. She stood and looked out at the view that Kim had just been enjoying.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Couldn't sleep," said Bonnie. She held up a glass that she was holding in her hand. "Got thirsty. I was just walking around the house and thought I'd come in here and look at the ocean for a little while."

"Ah. Well, uh, that's totally what I was doing too."

"Sure, K."

Kim took the liberty of moving another leather chair so that it faced the windows and sat down. Bonnie looked back at her old enemy and returned to her own seat, sipping at her glass of water while the two of them listened to the faint sound of the crashing surf coming through the window from outside.

"Soooo," said Bonnie after a long silence between the two of them. "Finally gave up on the dork, huh?"

"I don't think that's the way to put it," said Kim.

"Whatever makes you feel less guilty. So who did you ditch him for? Mankey?"

"I haven't seen him since high school. I'm in a relationship with Monique now."

Kim flinched at the sound of Bonnie spraying out a mouthful of water from her drink. "For real?" she asked, her voice near shouting level.

"Yes, for real. The two of us go to Upperton together. I found out how she felt about me sometime after Ron and I broke up, and well – things just kind of happened."

"What does that mean, you're into girls now or something?"

"I haven't really given it a lot of thought," Kim said with a shrug. "Monique was there for me after Ron and I kind of fell apart, which made me feel closer to her. But I was kind of freaked when I learned how she felt, to be honest. I asked her to give me some time to think about it, and eventually I ended up liking her as more than friends."

Kim wasn't sure why she was being so open with Bonnie, who had not only been her high school social nemesis but was apparently in a long term relationship with the son of one of her supervillain foes. Maybe she just enjoyed catching up with a familiar face, even if it Bonnie's face. Not only that, but when Kim thought about it, she didn't really have a lot of close friends to talk to about her life since high school. Acquaintances, maybe, but Kim rarely made close friends. First there had been Ron - then there was Monique.

"You know," said Bonnie, "I guess it kind of makes sense when I think about it. Sometimes in high school I did kind of feel like Monique was checking me out."

"So not likely. I think that's just your self-absorption talking, Bonnie."

"Come on," said Bonnie as she motioned over herself. "You're saying that if you weren't with Monique, you wouldn't be totally drooling over this?"

"Oh, please," scoffed Kim.

Bonnie put her glass of water on an end table beside her chair and returned to watching the ocean. Although she was silent, Bonnie was giving off an insulted vibe, which Kim found amusing to no end. Even if Bonnie had never expressed any interest in girls herself, she was still shocked by the idea that any girl who had ever expressed interest in any other girl would not find her irresistible as well.

"What about you?" asked Kim. "How come you haven't ditched the boy toy yet?"

"Why would I? He's exactly my type."

"To be honest, I thought he was a rebound from Brick."

"Nope. Junior can be annoying, but he's all mine. We're engaged, you know. Brick never really paid enough attention to me. He was too independent."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. You know I heard he's with Justine now? Apparently they were dating in secret towards the end of high school, but they kept it quiet because they didn't think their social circles would approve. I guess the nerds can be just as vicious as the jocks when it comes to enforcing the food chain."

"Brick with Justine?" Bonnie laughed, which turned into a brief choke as a sip of water went down the wrong pipe. "G-gack – ahem! That's the dumbest pairing I ever heard of."

Kim shrugged noncommittally. Maybe she was wrong; it was just what she had heard on the grapevine, and it made no difference to her if Bonnie believed it.

The two of them lapsed into silence again as they watched the view of the Mediterranean through the window. The sun still wasn't up, but the blue wash of the sky was growing brighter by small degrees. Kim wanted to ask Bonnie about the mission, about whether the Seniors were up to something – possibly something involving cupcakes – but she didn't know how to broach the subject. Maybe, she decided after a moment of thought, it was best to be direct with Bonnie.

"So is your future father-in-law still a supervillain?"

Bonnie stammered for a moment. "Why would I tell you?" she asked.

"Well, do you really want your cash cow going to jail? It might be best if you let me know what he's up to so we could nip it in the bud before Senior gets himself into trouble." Kim knew she was stretching, but it was the most likely way to get anything out of Bonnie. "Come on, do you know if he's planning any evil schemes? Did he steal Drakken's cupcake shipment?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes at the mention of cupcakes. "Kim, your missions are really hitting the bottom of the pathetic bucket. I mean, cupcakes? Seriously?"

"Actually, we already dealt with cupcakes in the past. Drakken had a cupcake operation going that was a front for a world domination scheme."

"So how do you know he's not just taking you for a ride again?"

"We don't," said Kim. "Although Wade's scanned his warehouse and his bakery and didn't find anything too suspicious, besides absurdly overpowered baking ovens. So unless he's got a lair somewhere else that we haven't found yet, I don't know what he might be up to."

"Maybe the cupcakes have some kind of poison in them. Or like a drug or something."

"I don't think so," said Kim. "Wade would have tested them and told us if they were dangerous, and I ate a couple before I even knew they came from Drakken's shop and I feel fine. Plus I saw Drakken eat some himself when we went to the bakery. They are really good, though," she admitted. "Almost as good as Ron's cooking."

"Whatever," said Bonnie. "I can tell you that Senior didn't steal your cupcakes."

Kim didn't know why, but she got the feeling that she could trust Bonnie. Maybe it was the fact that they had shared a conversation that – while prickly – did not end in a vicious fight. More likely than that, however, as bad as Bonnie had been in high school, Kim knew she was a little biased when it came to the girl. Assuming Bonnie was actually bad enough to be in league with a supervillain was probably unfair on her part.

"If you're finished interrogating me, I think I'm going to try to get a little more sleep," said Bonnie as finished her water and rose from her chair.

"Good idea. Ron and I should be leaving early tomorrow."

"I'll miss you," said Bonnie.

The statement was sarcastic, but it did give Bonnie a pause. She didn't think she would miss Kim Possible, but it had been nice to see a high school classmate again, even if that classmate had been an insufferable goody-two-shoes. Maybe she wouldn't mind seeing Kim again in another few years. Just for a day or so.

XX

Ron... Ron, wake up.

Ron opened his eyes to find Kim Possible shaking him insistently. He had been merrily skipping through fields of ripening Nacos with his best buddy Rufus, but Bueno Nacho would have to wait for now. It was time to finish their mission.

"It's time to go," said Kim.

"Did we figure anything out? Are the cupcakes here?"

"I don't think so. Wade and I looked around the place overnight and didn't see anything. No jet, no cupcake thieves, no cupcakes. And Bonnie seemed to think Senior had nothing to do with it. But it's time to go - Will Du is waiting for us outside in the Global Justice jet."

Ron sat up from his covers, yawning and stretching as Kim left the room and made her way towards the jet parked on a roof of the Senior's house. Señor Senior Senior had been forced to move his helicopter into the courtyard to allow the jet to land on his villa's roof helipad, since it wasn't quite maneuverable enough to land anywhere else on the rocky island without things getting a little dicey. Senior didn't seem very enthused about Global Justice coming to pick his guests up either. Kim found it strange that she was worried about being too imposing on her enemies when she had investigated them for possible supervillainy on many occasions.

Senior, Junior, and Bonnie were waiting for her on the roof when she arrived. The jet was still powered up and ready to go, and Will Du stood nearby with an impatient look.

"Your company was a pleasure, my dear," said Senior as he stooped a little to kiss Kim's hand.

"Thanks for having me. And, uh, sorry about accusing you of stealing those cupcakes."

"An unfortunate misunderstanding, I am sure."

Will Du approached the group from his jet. He had been holding back a little, unwilling to converse with the enemy, but now that Kim had arrived he felt a little more comfortable about approaching the Seniors. "Where are we going now?" he asked. Ron appeared from the roof hatch and rushed over to join the group, still struggling to get his shirt on correctly.

"I really have no idea," said Kim. "If we can't find out where those thieves went with their jet, then we're out of luck. For all we know, they were just misleading us and changed direction as soon as they dropped the tracking signal."

"Perhaps they have something to do with the villains on the other side of the Mediterranean," suggested Junior. "what do you think, father?"

"I do not know what you speak of, son. Please, do not waste our guest's time."

"But father, you know the island! We even looked at it ourselves when we first chose to make our home here. Someone was building their own lair on the island last year!"

"Where is this?" asked Kim, her interest piqued.

"To the east, a few miles from the coast of Cyprus," said Junior. "I am not aware of the exact location."

"That's alright, I'm sure Wade can figure it out."

Will Du listened to the conversation, still a little tense from the close proximity to supervillainy. He knew he wasn't breaking any Global Justice protocols, seeing as he had the rule book memorized, but it still seemed wrong to be so chummy with them somehow. "Do you think the jet was traveling past the Senior's island on the way to this newcomer's lair before it dropped its tracking device?" he asked.

"Seems like our best bet at the moment."

"Alright," said Ron. "Island hopping. Not bad for a first mission!"

Will Du accepted Senor Senior Senior's handshake with forced courtesy, and then returned quickly to the jet and disappeared inside. Kim said her goodbyes and followed close behind him.

"See you later, Stoppable," said Bonnie. "It was nice catching up with you, even though I'm not sure we talked at all while you were here."

"Uh, yeah, that's a shame."

The two ex-classmates stood uncomfortably for a moment.

"It was nice to catch up with you, Ron Stoppable," said Junior. "I see you have conquered your cowlick problem, by the way. What is your secret?"

"Oh, crazy thing, it just kinda flattened out in the last year or so!"

"I am quite jealous. I must still use Le Goop for my own hair. But I do not mean to keep you from your important mission. I am sure we will meet again someday, Ron Stoppable!"

"Definitely," said Ron as he boarded the jet with an exaggerated wave. "See you folks later - I'm off to save the world! Maybe. Okay, I have no idea, it depends on what the cupcakes are being stolen for, but me and KP are off to do something pretty important, I'm su-"

Ron's words were cut off as Will Du got tired of waiting in the cockpit for takeoff, went back into the passenger's section, pulled up the boarding ramp, and closed the passenger door. After a moment, the jet lifted off and tore though the sky to its next island destination.

XX

The bakery was bustling with activity when Wade arrived for a little mission planning with Drakken and Hank. It was clear that Drakken was becoming far more successful as an entrepreneur than he had ever been as a supervillain. Wade wondered how much of that was Hank Perkin's positive influence.

Wade felt strange collaborating with Kim, Ron, and a pair of their old enemies, but he supposed that things changed. People changed, too. Today Wade had decided to take a few of his laptops in a backpack and spend some time at Drakken's bakery instead of being cooped up in his room. Partly it was to involve Drakken more in the mission process and keep an eye on him, but partly it was because Wade wanted to grab a sample to take back to his room for later. Assuming he could resist eating it this time.

"Welcome, Kim's computer nerd sidekick!" said Drakken at the sight of Wade standing in the shop entrance. "Please, have a seat!"

Wade looked at the booths and the stools lined up against the counter. Every seat in the room was full.

"Uh, doesn't look like any are available. Maybe we should just go back into the employee area?"

Drakken frowned as he looked around the dining area. It was definitely crowded. "No, that won't be necessary," he said. "You two, in that booth! Please leave."

The man and woman to whom Drakken was speaking looked up in surprise. "I'm sorry?" the man said.

"We need this booth. I must ask you to leave, now."

"But we're paying customers!"

"Don't care, I'm the boss. Scram!"

The couple got up indignantly and grabbed a couple of their remaining cupcakes before clearing out. Drakken shooed them with a pair of tiny hands, and the woman turned back with an obscene gesture before storming out of the door.

"Please come again!" yelled Drakken just before the door closed. "Alright, now it's time to get down to business. Hank, get in here!"

Hank Perkins popped in from the employee area and recognized his love instantly by the black mullet poking out over the back of a booth. Across from Drew sat that technical genius that helped Kim Possible with her missions, including her current cupcake pursuit. Hank joined the two of them as Wade removed his laptops from his backpack, along with a few other assorted electronic knick-knacks, and arranged them meticulously around the booth table.

"Three laptops?" said Drakken. "Even I'm not that nerdy."

"Don't dis the equipment," said Wade. "Maybe you should remember that I was always the one hacking into your system and helping Kim figure out all your schemes."

"Nnnngh. I was only joshing you – there's no need to be condescending."

Wade had not heard from Kim since earlier that morning when the two of them were checking out the Seniors' island, which had been largely fruitless, but he knew that Kim would be leaving at any moment. Unfortunately, Kim had told him that she had no idea what to do next, and Wade wasn't much better off. He called Kim up on one of the laptops, and that familiar crown of fiery hair popped onto the screen in less than an instant.

"Kim, I'm here with Drakken and Hank Perkins. I thought maybe we could do a little brainstorming."

"No need right now, Wade," said Kim. Wade could tell from the scene behind her that she was already flying on the Global Justice jet with Ron. "We've got a lead."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Junior told us there's a new villain's lair that was recently set up on some other island in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Cyprus. He didn't have the exact location, and Senior didn't seem keen on sharing info. We were wondering if you could find anything."

"I'm on it."

Drakken and Hank watched in wonder as Wade went back and forth between his laptops, typing as effortlessly as a maestro at a piano. Seeing Wade hard at work was poetic, hypnotizing – Kim was lucky to have such a henchman. Drakken wished he had people like Wade backing him up instead of incompetents like that Assad Sacke over at the warehouse.

"Hey everybody," said Assad Sacke as he joined the group at the booth. "What are we doing over here?"

"What are you doing over here?" asked Drakken as he stared dumbstruck at his floor manager.

Hank laughed at the question and punched Drakken playfully on the arm. "You closed the warehouse, remember silly? All the expansion is on hold until we can take care of this little cupcake shoplifting problem of ours. I asked Assad to clock in a few hours over here instead."

"Oh yes. Hmm. Well then, Assad, what do you want?"

"Just thought I'd stop by," said Assad. He blinked and looked around the table, his black eyes still noticeable but no longer swollen. As Wade typed, oblivious to his surroundings, Assad smiled nervously. "Also, there may be a small grease fire in the kitchen."

Drakken groaned as Hank got up in a flash.

"Consider it taken care of, Drew!"

"Hank," shouted Drakken as he looked back at the two of them running off towards the kitchen. "Remember, pan lid or baking soda! Don't throw water on it!"

"Gotcha!"

Drakken was glad the safety inspectors from the Fire Department had already visited yesterday. He turned back to the booth and saw Wade grin triumphantly at something on one of his laptops and spoke to the open connection he had with Kim Possible.

"Found it, Kim. I can't tell if it's a lair or just some kind of vacation getaway, but it was built within the last year and it looks suspicious. Not only that, but guess what the icing on the cupcake is?"

Kim rolled her eyes.

"Well I thought it was funny," grumbled Wade. "Anyway, it's right in the trajectory of where the tracking device would have been headed if it hadn't disappeared beforehand. And I don't see that jet we were following, but the place has a landing area and a building that looks like a hangar. Coordinates sent."

"Thanks, Wade. We're on our way."

Wade crackled his knuckles in satisfaction and then placed his hands behind his head, stretching a little in smug satisfaction. Let Drakken call him a nerd now!

"We may have to evacuate the bakery in a moment," said Drakken as he sniffed at the air, which was beginning to carry the acrid tinge of smoke.

Wade's satisfaction disappeared as he began to wonder if the cupcakes were going to catch on fire. The fire alarm in the dining area went off for a moment, but Hank Perkins came rushing out of the kitchen, beating at it with an old dishrag until the smoke dissipated. After a moment the alarm turned off again, and Hank went back into the kitchen to return a moment later with a tray of cupcakes in hand.

"Don't worry," he told the other customers. "Everything is under control!"

Hank sat down at the booth with Drakken and Wade, putting the tray of cupcakes on the table. "These are from the reserve batch," he said with a pointed look at Drakken, "but we'll need to spend some time cleaning out the Bakinator 2000. It's gotten a little ashy. Again."

Drakken sniffed haughtily. He knew that Hank was making another veiled jab at his creation.

"Cupcake, Wade?" he asked as he offered his tech helper the tray.

"Don't mind if I do!" said Wade, grabbing a cupcake.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on the kitchen with Hank for a moment."

"Sure."

Wade watched as the couple left the booth and entered the kitchen, bickering at each other about ovens and power levels. Once he was sure that they weren't looking, he took the cupcake he had grabbed from the tray, unpeeled its paper cup, and placed it back on the table as if he had eaten it before wrapping the cupcake itself in a napkin and stowing it in his backpack.

He would need to do some tests later; recently, he had been wondering if perhaps there was something off about the cupcakes themselves. It wasn't likely, as he had seen Drakken eating cupcakes before, and had even eaten one himself when he first called Kim and Ron about the mission. A stupid mistake, he had to admit, but they were so tasty it was hard to resist. And he certainly didn't feel poisoned or brainwashed. Kim and Ron had eaten some as well, and they seemed fine. Regardless, it was best to be on the safe side and explore every possibility.

XX

"I've actually got a special degree program going on with the university," said Kim. "To be honest, I was way freaked when I first got to college and saw all the options, so I just took classes all over the place, and I did well enough that my advisors and professors worked with me to make something more unique."

Kim had been talking with Ron in a surprisingly civil manner ever since the two of them had left the Seniors' island. The topics of conversation had veered towards small talk for a while - comments on the weather, good television shows they had seen lately, how strange Bonnie and the Seniors were, speculation on what Drakken could be up to other than a legitimate food service career - but now the conversation was steering itself in a more personal direction, as Ron wanted to know what kinds of plans were in Kim's future.

"How long until you graduate?"

"About a year," said Kim. "I would have graduated earlier but I'm covering a lot of stuff. International law, psychology, criminal justice, political science, you name it. I might actually be taking a semester abroad when my senior year starts, though. I'm applying for an internship in Japan, working for the embassy. I thought it could be interesting to visit Yamanouchi while I was there and try to pick up some skills, since it's not like there's much I can get from martial arts classes anymore."

The intercom crackled as Will Du spoke from the cockpit. "You could intern with Global Justice in Japan," he suggested. "We have numerous martial arts and hands-on training programs, which I am sure you would benefit from."

Kim looked up at the round gray speaker above her, set into the ceiling of the jet. "Um, Will, could you stop listening in on our conversation? A little privacy, please and thank you?"

"Very well."

Going away to Yamanouchi, Ron thought. To learn martial arts.

Kim had mentioned Yamanouchi so casually that it took Ron a moment to register what she had said. Yamanouchi was a sore subject with him after what had happened between the two of them. He wondered if Kim was even aware of his feelings on the matter. Either way, the reference irked him a little.

"You're not worried about going away for a semester?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it would mean being long distance with Monique. I just thought that might be a drawback. After all, think about what happened between the two of us when we ended up in different places."

"I don't think that will be a problem. It's only a semester."

"So things are pretty heavy between you two?"

"Yes, Ron. I live with her, after all."

The conversation trailed off as Kim wondered why Ron had asked whether a semester abroad would hurt things between her and Monique. She hoped it wasn't because he was still hung up on her. Their breakup had been well over a year ago, and while Kim knew that it was a big deal for the both of them, a person had to move on eventually. The thought crossed her mind that perhaps Ron was just being vindictive. Perhaps he was jealous of her success, of the path her life was taking, and wanted to make her insecure. But Kim felt guilty as soon as she considered the notion. Ron couldn't be that mean. Most likely, he was just trying to make an honest parallel between taking a semester abroad away from Monique, and when Kim went to Upperton while Ron stayed in Middleton. She didn't think it was a valid comparison, but then, it didn't mean he was trying to be petty either.

"What about you?" she asked, wanting to shift the focus away from herself. "What kind of plans do you have in your future?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. I still gotta beat the new Zombie Mayhem, and I was talking to Rufus the other day about figuring out a new Mexican entrée. Maybe we could sell it to Bueno Nacho and get another one of those royalty checks. Oh, and me and Mr. Barkin have to reorganize Smarty Mart's exotic animals section pretty soon, we've got some new species coming in that need a lot of room."

"So you're planning on staying at Smarty Mart?"

"Well, I applied for a few jobs, but like I said, Martin Smarty turned me down."

Kim frowned. It sounded like Ron was not really thinking much about his future. Playing Zombie Mayhem certainly didn't do anything to improve his situation, and while Ron did have a flair for experimenting with food, Kim honestly thought that the Naco had been a bit of a fluke, especially since they had stopped further royalties after giving Ron a legalese-filled notice about the first check being a one time payment for ownership of the Naco brand. She thought Ron would be better off pursuing his passion in food through different routes.

"I always expected you to go to culinary school," she told him. "Have you thought about more education yet?"

"I applied to a lot of colleges when I graduated, remember?"

"You can always try again."

"Look," said Ron, a little curtly, "not everything is possible for everybody the way it is for you, okay KP?"

Kim looked taken aback, but further conversation was stifled as, instead of speaking over the intercom, Will Du stepped out from the cockpit again. "I am not trying to interrupt your privacy," he said, "but we are about to pass over the island. You two should get ready. The island is larger than the one owned by the Seniors - I could land the jet and accompany the two of you, if you'd like."

"No thank you," said Kim as she got her parachute ready. "I work best alone."

Ron caught the comment and wondered if she meant it to sound the way it came out.

"Come on Ron, let's wrap this thing up. This island had better be the right one."

Will opened up the passenger door and, for the second time that weekend – the second time in what felt like forever, actually – Ron felt himself yanked out of the jet and into the clear blue sky.

The island below them was a little bit larger than the Seniors' island, and as it steadily drew closer, Ron restrained his severe nauseousness enough to see that there was in fact a hangar on the island along with a small complex of buildings. Much like the Seniors' home, it was hard to tell if they were approaching a lair or just another private island villa. Ron supposed that building a lair in the Mediterranean required a certain amount of style and comfort. It wasn't like a mountain lair nestled in the Alps, where you could essentially put it inside some cave or go for the 'imposing fortress of doom' aesthetic.

The two of them tumbled through the air, closer, closer, until Kim took the liberty of pulling his parachute cord as well as her own. Their descent slowed as they angled closer to the island. For a moment, Ron wondered if they were going to hit the shallow water before reaching the beach, but the breeze pushed them just barely onto wet sand. Kim skillfully unhooked her parachute in a running landing, while Ron tangled himself in his own for a few moments before breaking free. He was glad that this island didn't seem as craggy as the one which the Seniors had chosen to build their home.

"Over there," said Kim as she pointed to a copse of palm trees just past the small beach. "Let's take cover for a minute and scope the place out."

Kim sprinted towards the palm trees and hoped there were no guards patrolling on the beach to see their footprints, although she hadn't sighted any yet. She should have been worrying about whether or not they would be captured, whether she was out of practice, whether some new supervillain was lying in wait. But at that moment, Kim found herself wondering whether or not those ninja thieves had already eaten all the cupcakes.

XX

Notes - Hope everybody is having fun over the holidays. I've been spending time with family and playing way too much Call of Duty with my brother.