Out With the Old and In With the Older

XX

"Thank you for your hospitality," said Señor Senior Senior with a polite nod as he got onto the yacht they had nestled amongst Shego's jet skis upon arriving at the island. "I am sure we shall call upon you to join us at our own island soon, and I hope you will give us the pleasure of your company."

"Yeah," said Shego. "Just don't be surprised if I show up attacking you for the first few minutes. It seems to be etiquette for you guys, right?"

Senior laughed good-naturedly. "I am still amazed that you would choose to give your island to an old flame and a group of your mutinous henchmen. I would be happy to take it from you instead."

"Feel free to take it over if you want," said Shego. "I think you'd need more help than just the three of you, as lame as those goons down there were. Midas isn't too bad at the martial arts stuff, really. He just stands no chance against his teacher. But you're right, it was probably a dumb move for me to try to keep him around after we broke up in the first place. I'm sure Ron here knows all about what happens when you try to keep things going with an ex," she said with a laugh.

Ron caught Shego's comment and realized that their situations were similar. Maybe he had been silly in hoping that things could be repaired between Kim and himself, especially with their complicated history together.

And yet, Ron wondered, was it really the same? It wasn't like Shego had anything in common with Midas; she had said so herself. He was around for massages and eye candy. And while Kim was certainly eye candy – and good at massages, on the couple of occasions Ron remembered getting them from her – she was also a good friend. Someone he could talk to, someone he had grown up with. Someone who complemented him in many ways. Someone he would always care about, even if things were unrepairable between them. None of those things seemed to apply to whatever relationship Shego and Midas had enjoyed. Ron found himself more confused than ever.

.Senior boarded the yacht as his son took Shego's hand and gave it a kiss. His son came forward and took Shego's hand in his own. "I shall look forward to seeing you again," Junior told his old teacher. "Perhaps we can practice some of our moves together."

Shego thought it might have been a double entendre, but Junior's earnest smile told her it was not. She wondered if he was even capable of more than one entendre at a time. As he boarded the yacht with his father, Bonnie – last in line to board – gave Shego's hand a brusque shake after raising an eyebrow at her fiancée.

"Uh, nice to meet you," she said before turning to Ron. "Nice to see you a second time, I guess. Are you gonna tell Kim I've been dabbling in the supervillainy?"

Ron scratched his head. Bonnie had certainly developed some martial arts skills since he last saw her, and she seemed to be in league with the Seniors now. Not just as a potential daughter-in-law, but as a fellow devotee of villainy. It was surprising. And yet, when Ron thought about it, maybe not really that surprising.

"I guess I'll have to tell her, yeah," said Ron. "That is kind of our thing. I mean, her thing," he corrected himself.

"Hmm. I guess maybe me and K will be competing on a whole new level before too long, seeing as you two are back on your missions together. Tell her I said hi!"

Ron realized that Bonnie had not witnessed the abrupt and nasty ending to his mission with Kim when she left Shego's island in a huff. He was about to correct her, but decided it wasn't worth the effort, and Bonnie was already on the yacht anyway. The boat's three passengers waved as the yacht began to pull out of Shego's enclosed dock area and into the open ocean. Senior's wave was genuine. Junior leaned out over the ship's prow, waving theatrically. Bonnie's wave was dripping with forced politeness, and ended after a few seconds as she retreated into the hold.

As the yacht left the island, Ron stared at it and remembered his night with Shego. He turned to her and felt a burst of mischievousness as he gave her a big wink and a grin. Shego was confused for a moment, but she followed his gaze back to the boat and gave a short laugh. Maybe the two of them could sneak onto the Senior's yacht sometime and -

Shego stopped her laugh abruptly when she realized what she had been forgetting.

"You already called Wade for a ride?" she said. "Cause I'm not carting you around on the hovercraft."

"Yep," said Ron. "He'll be here pretty soon."

"Alright – I needed to talk to you about something before then."

"What's that?"

Shego led Ron through her lair as they left the dock area. They passed through hallways, through the lounge area which still wasn't cleaned up. Shego's hovercraft was parked outside in the courtyard, stuffed with the few personal possessions she actually cared about. Most of the material things in Shego's life were disposable, and they could be left on the island with her ungrateful henchmen.

"Look," she said as they left the front of the complex and into the open air. "I'll admit, you're less of a buffoon than I expected, and that Mystical Monkey Power of yours is pretty impressive. You know, there's this secret ninja school in Japan you should really think about checking out-"

"Yamanouchi."

"Yeah. You already know about it?"

"I'm like their chosen one."

Shego whistled. Yet another unexpected layer to Ron Stoppable. But she was getting off track.

"The point is, I'm not sure what you're expecting, but whatever happened between us this weekend was just this weekend. Got it? I'm not saying it hasn't been fun, and you weren't half bad in the sack, but we just wouldn't work together. I might not be a supervillain, but I'm no white bread goody goody like Kim Possible either. Not to mention that you're a little too immature for me. No offense."

Ron was immediately offended. Still, he found it hard to argue with most of her points. Shego was very different than he was. He did get the impression that she was not as one-dimensional as he had once thought, not to mention that she seemed to be changing from the old Shego, even over the course of one weekend. But the fact remained: it was Shego. The bite to Drakken's bark, the woman who had tried to kill Kim and himself on past occasions. Beautiful, for sure – a forbidden fruit – but one which could be poisonous if Ron took a big juicy bite.

It was the end of her comment that offended Ron, however. That he was immature. Childish. Kim had said the same thing about him before she left the island, and others had told him the same thing before. Martin Smarty had cited his immaturity as a reason he was turned down for the Smarty Mart positions he had applied for. Maybe, Ron thought, he really was childish and immature. Unable to move on from the past, unable to handle any real change in his life without avoiding it, or – if it was forced upon him – denying all responsibility for it. It would go far in explaining why the last couple of years had been kind of a drag.

Kim had told Shego the same thing, actually. Just before she had left the island, she had told the two of them they were both childish. And based on Shego's rants about Drakken and her past while the two of them had been out partying over the weekend, Ron got the feeling that she had just as much trouble getting over things as he did. Maybe Shego was being a little hypocritical by telling him he was too immature for her.

Ron looked up at the sky as the sound of beating rotors thumped faintly in the air. A large helicopter began to approach from out over the ocean. Ron wasn't sure if it was Global Justice or not, but it was his ride, and it would be landing in the field in front of the hangar attached to Shego's lair complex. Wade had told him the helicopter would take them to the mainland, at which point they had a jet waiting that would take them back to Middleton in no time. The helicopter drew closer, and Ron looked over at Shego, who seemed to be getting ready to say goodbye.

As he wondered what Shego was going to do with herself now that she was leaving the island, an idea flashed in his mind like lightning. All those cupcakes she had been stealing from Drakken. Vindictiveness, maybe – but Kim had also said she wanted attention. Attention from Drakken in particular. Maybe Ron could do her a favor. He grabbed Shego's hand and pulled her towards the hangar as the helicopter drew closer.

"Um, what are you doing, dork?"

"You're coming with me."

Shego's initial reaction was to slash Ron in a burst of plasma for grabbing her with no warning and ordering her around, but his tone didn't seem rude. It was just matter-of-fact. She felt a glimmer of interest in whatever the dork could be thinking to risk enraging her with such an order.

"I need my hovercraft and my stuff," she said. "I'm not leaving it here for Midas."

"Okay – can't you just follow along behind the jet then?"

"That's a lot to ask when I don't even know where you're trying to get me to go."

"Where else were you going? Do you have other plans?"

Shego frowned and watched as Ron approached the helicopter, which was now touching down to the ground in a cloud of dust and plant debris. She had no other plans – he had her on that point.. As Ron looked back and gestured insistently towards the rendezvous point in front of the hangar, she felt her reluctance melting away. The boy had given her a few surprises already. Maybe she would stick around just a bit longer and see what else he had in mind.

XX

Monique looked over the supposedly new fashions in the fashion boutique's display window. They were a little dated despite the sign's promise – not quite what Monique would have chosen to display - but they weren't bad at all. She and Kim had shopped there on occasion, and there was something inviting about the shop's cozy, historic appearance, nestled between larger, more modern buildings in downtown Upperton. Shops like these did not always have the consistent quality of Club Banana's merchandise, but you could find some real gems in the rough if you looked. And now that her classes for the day were over, she could look with her girlfriend as long as she wanted.

The overhead bell gave a jingle as Monique opened the door and saw Kim standing near the back, holding a fuzzy cream shirt over herself that clearly did not work. Fortunately, Monique had arrived just in time to prevent disaster. She rushed into the shop and tore the shirt from Kim's hands.

"Girl, what are you thinking? F.F.P. Alert!"

"Oh come on," said Kim. "Is cream such a faux pas? I have another shirt with this color."

"Yeah, but it ain't the cream, it's the fuzzy. This thing would make you look like a baby chicken!"

Kim gave it another inspection and decided Monique was right. It was a good thing she had Monique to join her and go shopping after she was finished with her meeting with Dr. Director – fashion saves were just one of the benefits of going out with Monique.

"Alright, then what do you suggest? I feel like something new."

"How about a skirt?"

"I prefer pants."

Monique rolled her eyes. Kim could be a little stubborn about her outfits sometimes. So she wanted something new, but not that new. So demanding, thought Monique as she flipped through the racks of clothing to find that special outfit that screamed Kim's name at her. But whatever Kim wants, Kim gets!

"This is the perfect way to wind down after some sucky classes," said Monique. "I'm glad you called me over here."

Kim froze in horror at Monique's comment. Classes!

"What is it, baby?"

"My classes! My economics class with Mr. Barkin! I forgot all about it!"

Monique felt a twinge of guilt at realizing that she had almost called Kim before she left for the Global Justice meeting that morning, but chosen not to when she decided Kim must have already gotten out of her classes. "Uh, oops," she laughed nervously. "No big, I'm sure. I mean, I doubt you had a pop quiz or anything."

Kim gulped.

"Back to shopping!" said Monique in an attempt to steer Kim towards a more entertaining line of thought. She knew how worked up Kim could get about academics, and it wasn't like Mr. Barkin hadn't given her extensions in high school. "Ooh, this one would look good on Paul," she said as she pulled out a frilly, baby-blue dress designed for a plus-sized woman. Kim looked askance at Monique's choice.

"We are talking about Pain King here, right?"

"Yeah. Hey, I'm not saying he'd wear it, I'm just saying it'd look good on him."

Kim snorted at the comment and helped her girlfriend sift through the clothing.

"How are Steve and Paul, by the way?"
"They're doing good. I actually went shopping with them over the weekend. Steve's daughter is still with that boyfriend that accidentally drove his motorcycle through their storage shed. Apparently he said he couldn't pay for it because of how much it cost to repair his bike. Boy, the way Steve was getting all worked up about it, I thought I'd never hear the end of that. They told me how stupid I was being for worrying about you and Ron, too, even though I didn't really listen to them at the time."

Kim smiled and gave Monique a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Freaking unnecessarily, maybe, but not stupid."

"So what did Dr. Director have to say, anyway?"

"She just wanted me to get back on the horse with my missions," said Kim. "Specifically, with Ron."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I don't see how that's going to happen, though."

Monique nodded as she went through a collection of outfits that would have looked good on Kim, but were not exactly what she was looking for. She'd know it when she found it.

"I do think you'd be happy going on those missions again," said Monique. "And I know things didn't end so well with Ron this weekend, but from what you said, it sounded like you guys were doing okay at first. Maybe the two of you just need to keep trying. If that's really what you want."

"What do you want?" asked Kim.

Monique knew that Kim was referring to her insecurities.

"It's not about me," she said. "But if you really want to know what I want, it's for you to be happy. And I think you already know what would make you happy."

Kim nodded. She had been thinking about what Dr. Director had said while roaming around downtown Upperton, and she was in fact coming to a conclusion about what she wanted. Unfortunate, as she and Dr. Director had agreed at the meeting, it wasn't necessarily up to her.

"How about this one?" asked Monique, holding up a skirt from a collection on a mobile rack. It was nice enough, but Kim would not have picked it out for herself. Monique had a cheeky expression, and Kim knew her chain was being pulled since she had expressed her preference for pants earlier. Still, if Monique picked that skirt out from the others, it meant that she liked that one in particular.

"It looks perfect, actually," said Kim.

"Really?" Monique gave a little hop of excitement. "You'll wear it?"

"Totally."

XX

Shego grumbled as she brought her hovercraft into the air and flipped the 'extreme thrusters' toggle, sending her blasting through the sunny skies of the midwestern United States. A strong wind whipped through her hair and bit into her face as she hurtled through the atmosphere at speeds that would have broken police scanners, had she been on the ground. Their altitude and speed was giving the wind more than a little bit of a cold sting, and although she had no intention of going back to her island lair, Shego suddenly found herself missing the warm benefits of being in the Mediterranean.

"Can you slow down?"

Shego glanced over at her passenger, who was sitting with chattering teeth and his arms folded tightly together. He sat stuffed into the passenger's seat like a sardine in a can - with Shego's boxes and packs of personal possessions, the hovercraft did not have an inch of room to spare.

"I thought you liked going fast," she said.

"Usually. Maybe not right now, though."

Shego slowed the craft down a little; that wind was pretty cold.

Ron's ride had just dropped him off at his house, Shego following in her hovercraft, where she had experienced a brief moment of complete terror at the realization that perhaps Stoppable had ignored her whole speech about the yacht rendezvous being a one time thing, and was going to introduce her to his parents instead. Fortunately, he had only wanted to grab his scooter. Shego had taken one look at the thing and refused vehemently. No way she was climbing on the back of that joke on wheels. Which left her a slightly less annoying alternative: ferrying Ron around on the hovercraft.

"So where are we going?" she said. "I'm kind of surprised you don't have any work on Monday. I figured a do-gooder like you would have a nine to five job you had to get back to."

"I do," said Ron.

"Aren't you missing it, then?"

"I am," said Ron. "I just need to drop by really quickly, and then we can take care of you."

"Take care of me?"

"Well, you didn't think I dragged you along to come hang with me at work, did you?"

Shego shrugged as Ron pointed her in the direction of the Smarty Mart, which she could already see on the horizon. She would have to wait and see what her dorky passenger was planning after he visited his workplace. She wondered if he had totally forgotten about his job, or if he had been deliberately playing hooky. Maybe she was already rubbing off on him a little.

XX

A jagged burst of backfiring shot through the small employee parking lot behind Smarty Mart as Steve Barkin backed his '74 Ford pickup into its regular spot. The truck was getting a little old, but it still got him where he needed to go, and Steve Barkin did not believe in the fancy, souped up vehicles of today's youth. He got out of his truck and slammed the door as he took a look around the parking lot. Speaking of today's youth, he did not see Stoppable's little blue scooter anywhere. That wasn't a good sign.

Steve went into the building and clocked himself into the employee lounge time clock before noticing that someone else was in the room with him. The person was wearing bandages over a large part of his body, obscuring most of his face, but Steve recognized him after a closer look.

"Ah, Jenkins! Back from the hospital, I see."

"Yes sir!" said Jenkins. Steve Barkin was his coworker and not a superior, but it seemed natural to address the man with 'sir', just in case. "I was taking a short break. The doctors say I should be able to get rid of my crutches in another week or two!"

He motioned to a pair of crutches propped against the table beside him. Steve grunted.

"You're on break? I take it Stoppable is here?"

Jenkins coughed nervously.

"Um, no sir. Davis is here, though."

Steve frowned at the name and left the employee lounge. Jenkins grabbed his crutches and limped along behind him since his break was over. As the two of them entered the exotic animals section and arrived at the customer service kiosk where Ron should have been carrying out his shift, Steve could already tell that his young missing manager was in big trouble.

"Ah, Steve Barkin," said Martin Smarty, who was standing behind the kiosk with the night manager, Davis. Judging by the smug look on Davis' face, Steve began to get an idea of what was happening.

"Do you happen to know where Ron Stoppable is?"

"No sir. I just clocked in for my shift myself."

"I've been taking a tour of some of the branches," said Mr. Smarty, "and I was paying a visit here at the Middleton branch when I came in and saw no managers on the floor. I called Davis shortly afterwards to come over here immediately, but Davis tells me that it was Ron Stoppable's shift today."

"I'm sure Stoppable is just a bit late, sir," Steve offered.

"Six hours late, to be exact," said Mr. Smarty as he looked at the employee schedule.

Steve frowned. He was fond enough of Ron Stoppable that he had tried to downplay the boy's absence, but clearly the boy was in for it now. Especially, thought Steve, after Stoppable had been complaining the other day about Martin Smarty turning him down for other store positions. It sounded like Ron was on the outs with Smarty Mart's C.E.O, and there wasn't much Steve could do to save him.

"Look at this, sir," said Davis as he pulled a console system out from behind the kiosk counters. "A game, too. Zombie Mayhem. Looks like Stoppable's been up to no good!"

Steve couldn't believe it, but he was actually beginning to feel sorry for Stoppable. He knew that Davis and Ron had a rivalry with each other, and it looked like Davis was the happiest he had been in months at the prospect of finally getting the upper hand on his managerial nemesis. Perhaps Davis had toyed with the scheduling hours deliberately – Steve wouldn't put it past him. He had to admit that he shared Ron's distaste for the night manager. There was a certain reptilian vibe to the man. And he did spend a lot of time hanging around the monitor lizards.

"Ah, Jenkins," said Mr. Smarty as he noticed the heavily bandaged, cast-wearing figure propped up on crutches beside Barkin. "Back from your break, I see. Before I leave, I was wondering if you could sign some papers? I spent some time organizing things and looking around the store before I called for Davis to come in, and I've got them all ready for you."

"Papers, sir? What kind of papers?"

"Oh, just standard legal documents. Non-liability contracts in case of reptile injury – trivial things, really. They're just meant to reinforce the employment contract that you already signed. Nothing for you to worry about, it just needs your signature."

"Okay then sir!"

Martin Smarty smiled and nodded, glad that he had visited the Middleton Smarty Mart. Things had clearly been getting a little out of control at this branch lately, and he had arrived just in time to clean house and set things in order. He was about to break some bad news to Davis when he nearly jumped and smacked his head against the roof of the customer service kiosk in surprise. Two familiar figures had just appeared out of one of the exotic animals aisles.

Ron Stoppable, and – if Martin was remembering her name correctly – Miss Wobakoff.

"Hey Mr. Barkin," said Ron before doing a double-take at the other people present. "Hey Mr. Smarty. And Davis," he added as he eyes slitted dangerously.

Shego gaped at the presence of Steve Barkin. She hadn't seen him in years, and Ron had mentioned nothing about Steve working at the Smarty Mart. Did he drag her along to try to hook her up with his old high school teacher out of pity? Steve nodded curtly at her, obviously just as thrown off by her presence, but before she could say anything, Martin Smarty adjusted his tie and sidled up to her with a smile.

"Miss Wobackoff. How nice to meet you again!"

"Wobackoff? Who? Who the hell are – oh, right. Martin. Uh, hey."

"Did you stop by the Smarty Mart to visit me, by any chance? You know I'm still single."

Shego felt her eye twitch as she wondered why she had ever agreed to tag along with Ron without knowing where he was going. "Don't you still have that kid?" she asked. It was a stupid question, but she was mainly trying to shut him down before he got any ideas.

"He's been in juvenile hall so much lately, you'd barely know he was there," said Martin.

"Is that like a pickup line?"

Martin frowned, a little unsure of how to deal with Shego's attitude, but he found himself brushed aside as Steve Barkin decided to make a move, grabbing Shego's hand and giving it a vigorous shake.

"Miss Go – IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU AGAIN!"

Steve gave himself a silent reprimand as Shego winced at his throaty yell. He always tended to get a little loud when he got nervous around charming women.

"Look, for God's sake, my name is Shego, okay? Shego."

"Is that seriously your real name?" asked Ron.

"No, it's – that's what you people need to call me, alright? Shego!"

"I apologize," said Steve. "So, I saw that United Nations conference on television after you helped Kim and Ron here save the world. You know, when Drakken put those flower tendrils around you. I was wondering, ah – are the two of you still together?"

Shego groaned as she gave Ron a very pointed look that let him know he needed to get his work business done quickly. She had been dealing with far too many exes in one day, especially when Stoppable had thrown her into two of them with no prior warning.

"Mister Smarty," said Ron, "I needed to tell you something."

Martin stared at his employee, a little annoyed to be interrupted for a second time in the middle of his attempt to get back in Miss Wobakoff's – Shego's – good graces. Still, he remembered that he needed to deal with the issue of Ron Stoppable missing almost an entire manager's shift. After Ron's lackluster job performance lately, Martin believed that this new infraction was the last straw.

"I quit, sir."

Martin blinked.

"You quit Smarty Mart?"

"Yes sir. I appreciate the opportunities you've given me, and I enjoyed working here, but I've decided it's time for me to move on. I know it'll be tough to keep this place together without the Ron man around, but I hope you understand I need this."

Martin shrugged and gave Ron a vigorous handshake. "I was going to fire you," he said, "so your decision is fine with me. Good luck to you!"

Ron returned the handshake limply.

"Er – thanks?"

"Oh, and that reminds me," Martin said as he noticed Davis tugging at his shoulder. "I had some news for you as well."

"Giving me a raise and a promotion?" asked Davis. "I believe I would work well as an overall store manager in command of several floor managers, sir. I have big plans for this store!"

Martin shook his head. "No, not good news. Bad news. Bad news for you. I was looking over some of the taped security camera feeds when I got here, before I called you to come in and cover Stoppable's shift. I noticed that you were the one who exercised negligence in keeping the monitor lizard cages locked and the lizards fed, thus allowing them to escape and maul poor Jenkins here."

Jenkins attempted to nod at Martin Smarty's vague hand wave of acknowledgment, although his neck cast meant that his whole body did a sort of awkward dip, which nearly made him lose his balance and drop his crutches.

"Not only that, but I noticed numerous other safety infractions on the security feed, as well as you playing games on that console system there. I even saw you erasing some of Ronald's top scores."

"You can see that?" asked Davis in a meek whisper.

"Our security cameras are top of the line," Martin said. "Near-microscopic magnification capabilities! Also, you're fired. Get your things from the employee lounge and leave."

Davis gaped for a moment, shocked at the turn of events, before his shoulders slumped down in defeat. Ron watched as he walked past, and while he first reaction – amazingly enough – was a twinge of pity, Ron remembered why he hated Davis when the night manager gave him a silent hiss before passing by.

"He's kinda got a reptile thing going there," said Shego as she watched Davis leave the department in a distinctively slithery fashion.

"Totally," Steve and Ron said simultaneously.

"Now," said Martin as he tapped the side of his head, deep in thought, "next on my agenda-"

"Mr. Smarty?"

"Yes, Ronald?"

"I'd like to suggest Mr. Barkin for the manager's position. I think he would be a very good manager for the Middleton branch. I've worked with him for a long time in both an academic and professional capacity, and, well, the dude's pretty cool when he chills out a bit."

Martin nodded. Ronald seemed to be reading his mind today.

"Yes, I was just about to offer him the job. It's not like there's anyone else I can promote around here anyway, unless Jenkins wanted some more responsibilities."

Jenkins tried to shake his immobile head, nearly sending himself spinning onto the ground again.

"In that case, how about it Steve? Want the job?"

"SIR YES SIR!"

Martin Smarty grimaced as Steve crushed his hand in a vice-like handshake.

"Alright," said Shego, "are we done here?"

The group stared blankly at her as she felt herself growing increasingly impatient.

"You said we had somewhere else to go after this?" she asked Ron.

"Yeah."

"Then let's go already."

Shego grabbed Ron by the arm and led him out of the exotic animals department, letting Ron wave a quick goodbye to his old teacher before they left. She caught a glimpse of both Martin Smarty and Steve Barkin extending their hands longingly as she began to leave. Before disappearing down one of the aisles, she glanced over her shoulder and winked at the two men.

"Bye boys!"

Martin and Steve let out a pair of sighs as they watched the woman's back end disappear. To be honest, Steve thought, Shego had a little bit of a reptilian vibe to her as well, although it was very different from the unpleasant aura that emanated from Davis. Shego was no innocent flower like Miss Go, but her charms were just as apparent. Sort of like a sexy snake or something. All that green, undulating...

"She's really something, isn't she?" said Martin.

"Definitely, sir."

Martin took a few moments to gaze wistfully at the spot where Miss Wobakoff had just been standing before slapping Steve on the back. "Time for me to visit the Lowerton branch," he said. "Hopefully it won't be as much of a mess as this one. But you'll be turning that around, right Barkin?"

"Absolutely!"

Martin nodded and left the Customer Service and Exotic Animals Management Kiosk, as was its official name in the Smarty Mart handbook, to Steve and Jenkins. Steve looked at the empty kiosk and nearly licked his lips in anticipation. This was what he had been waiting for. This was what he deserved. Steve Barkin, Smarty Mart floor manager – or maybe general manager. He wasn't clear on what Martin Smarty had meant, but the Smarty Mart C.E.O. was already gone. Steve would have to get clarification later.

"Ready to work, Jenkins?"

Jenkins nodded hesitantly.

"Maybe you go check on those monitor lizard cages and make sure everything looks ship shape."

"I'm not sure, sir. Couldn't I check the dachshund cages instead? Or maybe the parakeets?"

"Jenkins, son, listen up," said Steve as he ushered in a little closer, ready to impart some wisdom to the boy. "When I was in 'Nam, one of the most important things we learned, other than how to use alternative materials as toilet paper when you're smack in the middle of hostile territory, was how to deal with fear. Jenkins, you have to tackle fear head on. You gotta face that fear and show it who's boss!

"Now," he said as he slapped Jenkins on the back, not noticing the boy's squeak of pain, "go tell those monitor lizards that you're back and stronger than ever!"

"Yes sir!"

Jenkins dashed away, to the extent that crutches allowed dashing, as Steve entered the kiosk. He took a loving look at the manager's chair in which Stoppable had always sat, except on the rare occasion that Steve took over and sat in it instead.

Now, it was his. All his.

He eased himself slowly into the seat, enjoying the feel of the hard plastic and awkward arms, not even remotely designed with ergonomics in mind. Steve Barkin would whip this branch into shape, pronto.

He would have to thank Stoppable for putting a good word in for him, too. It meant a lot that the boy recognized his retail and management capabilities. Steve had always thought of Stoppable as a bit of a protégé. A piece of human clay, who had just taken a longer time than usual to be molded into something useful. And Steve could tell that Ron was going places now.

Although he hadn't said so, Steve assumed the boy had been late to work because he was on a mission with Kim Possible. He wasn't sure why Shego was hanging around with him, but if Stoppable could get a woman like that to even tolerate his presence, he must have been doing something right. Shego was certainly out of Steve's league, as he had unfortunately learned during that last attempt to woo her with the mandolin at Drakken's lair. Steve blinked back a tear of pride as he thought of his student – once in academics, but now in the lessons of life and love. Once a boy, but now - just maybe - a man.

If only he would think about a little weight training for that scrawny upper body.