No... no, this isn't possible. Ron gasped in horror. Kim slumped to the ground, unresponsive. How could this have happened? They were supposed to have a future together! Romantic or not, they were supposed to know each other the rest of their lives, and now that had just come to a tragic end. His mind couldn't wrap around the fact that it was global Justice, someone she had trusted completely, had had struck the fatal blow.

His shock was quickly giving way to anger. His hands ignited and he turned to face their attacker, intent on exacting vengeance. "You're going to pay dearly for that." Ron swore, his voice quieter than it had ever been.

He fired two blasts in order to knock the Agent off balance and immediately charged in. All fear, all rational thought was gone, replaced only by a desire to make the man who took his best friend away from him pay with his life. His eyes saw red and blood poured through every vein in his body.

And not a single blow from his barrage hit its target. His opponent had expertly dodged them all, even holding one hand behind his back as a mocking gesture. Ron was so enraged that his attacks were off-balance, making him sloppy, as a brutal fist to the gut couldn't help but remind him.

All the while, the Agent was simply standing there, not moving an inch. "Pathetic, Stoppable." Tristan smiled. "And you're supposed to be Miss Possible's sidekick?"

"You murdered her!" Ron bellowed. "I don't care what it takes! I'm going to kill you!"

"Take a look behind you, Stoppable." Tristan gestured, but Ron ignored him. He could sense more presences in the house now, and cursed himself for not acting sooner.

If I had, KP would still be alive. Ron sighed, depression threatening to overtake him. No, I can't let that happen! I can't let this go unpunished! "I'm not falling for any of your tricks." Ron promised. He knew the possibility that he would simply get shot in the back, but saying that he was not thinking clearly at the moment was a dramatic understatement.

He attacked again, still keeping his senses peeled for anyone coming up behind him. Ron kept a better angle on his attack this time, though, being unpredictable, reversing his attacks often, making Tristan work furiously to keep him at by. Unfortunately, with such a small area, there was little room for him to maneuver.

One of his blows finally connected, smacking into his body armor. Ron wasted no time in pressing his advantage and threw several more, hoping for a killing blow. If he saw himself in a mirror at the present time, his eyes would be glowing red. The room around them was in tatters, and he nearly tripped over a piece of furniture.

It was the opportunity Tristan was waiting for. In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Ron was thrown back into the wall, his back aching badly and the drywall on the verge of collapse. He only just managed to move out of the way of a kick that could have taken his head off, but it touched him enough to where he stumbled back yet again. He looked for an open, a way to regain the imitative, but Tristan was too smart to give him one.

Tristan swung a punch towards his head. Only too late did Ron realize that it was a feint, and he felt a knee between his legs, sending him to the ground. He called upon his power, his hands nearly burning the carpet to cinders, but they were unable to react in time as he was pinned against the floor.

Determined not to give up, Ron spat at him: "Going to kill me too? If I die, you're coming with me!"

"Look behind you, fool." Tristan sneered, hauling him to his feet and throwing him against the couch. Ron's hands glowed with energy, prepared to burn the person who killed his best friend to cinders, when he heard a quiet voice that interrupted him.

Kim was moaning on the ground, still on her hands and knees, trying to force herself to her feet. All thought of revenge forgotten, Ron shoved himself out of Tristan's grip and knelt beside her. "KP... KP... KP..." Ron kept repeating, unable to say anything else. "Are you all right?" He finally managed to muster.

"I'm a bit stunned, but I'm fine." Kim replied, slowly getting to her feet. "Those bullets were pretty painful, though. What the hell is going on?"

"Global Justice has decided to kill us both!" Ron explained, almost forgetting that there was another person in the room.

"Perhaps you should look Miss Possible over; do you notice anything?" Tristan asked, gesturing to Kim. "The most obvious should be the lack of blood."

Ron glanced over towards Kim, and reluctantly concluded that he was quite correct in his statement. With three gunshots to the chest, blood should be splattered everywhere, and yet there wasn't a single drop of it to be found. Which is more than can be said for me, Ron admitted, wiping blood off of his lip.

Beginning to recover from the shock, Kim started talking: "So what is all of this about? What is Order 31? Why is Director doing this? What is she doing?"

"You can't possibly trust him!" Ron protested.

"If we were really going to kill you, we would have done so already." Tristan informed them. "Now... do you want to know or not?"

"Okay, what is all of this about?" Kim wondered. She'd known that attempts on her life were possible; the battle with Electronique was proof enough of that. However, she never imagined in a million years that Global Justice would try to kill her. She'd worked with them for years! This was how they repaid all of the hard work she had done for them?! Mentally, she told herself to calm her anger. There would be a time and a place for it; not only that, she still did not know just what was currently going on.

Tristan waited a few moments and began: "As for Order 31... it's an order given out in an emergency for the immediate termination of an Agent that has gone rogue. It is not ordinary procedure; there has to be an immediate and extreme threat to justify that kind of action. At my rank, I'm not even supposed to know such a thing exists, but I have ways on uncovering information."

"But KP hasn't done anything like that!" Ron protested. "She's the truest woman I know, better than any of them. Why would she be marked for death?"

"And there lies the problem; it's obvious to me that someone has set her up." Tristan remarked.

"Yeah, that one we already figured out." Kim snapped. "But who set me up? Why?'

"I don't know the answer to either of them." Tristan admitted. "Whoever it was, however, was someone with a great deal of influence. Only the Director has the authority to give the order in Global Justice, which means the order could only have come from their superiors. The problem is: which one... or ones?"

"Great; do you have anything that's actually helpful?" Ron snapped, still fuming over their betrayal.

"That means... Director set all of this up to try and buy us some time while she figures out the mystery." Kim deduced.

"I knew you were the smart one." Tristan smiled. "If they think you're dead, they won't be looking. It's only a temporary measure, though. Eventually, whoever is responsible will discover that your deaths were faked. We're hoping that in that time period, we will learn who is responsible for this."

"So... does everyone believe the way you do?" Kim wondered, fearing the answer. Even if Director sent someone who would not actually kill them, the fact that she had to hand-pick an individual suggested that at least some people in Global Justice believed that she was a threat and had to be eliminated. Just when I thought things were beginning to look up, Kim gulped, struggling to hold back tears. How could I be so foolish?

"I wish I could say they do, but no." Tristan shook his head. "Some of them believe that you're too dangerous to work for us, although none of them know that the order has been given out. Officially, their orders will be to capture you two once they discover that this was a setup."

Kim collapsed to her knees, completely speechless. Not only was the order to kill her given, many of the people she worked with believed that it was justified. She took several deep breaths, forcing the tears to stay inside her body, and managed to speak once again. "So... what's the plan?"

"What the fuck is wrong with them?!" Ron shouted. "Kim's sacrificed everything, risked her life, all to make the world a better place! They really think she should be killed? Why?!"

"You know why, Ron." Kim whispered, more to herself than the others. "Because of it... because of him!"

"They can't possibly be judging you based on that!" Ron exclaimed, but remembered in the aftermath of her kidnapping, many people were doing just that because of who she was related to. Ambrose... it always seemed to come back to Ambrose. Her damned half-brother... they're judging her based on his actions. He thought, though, that Global Justice would be smarter than that, that they would see past it. Evidently, both of them had been too optimistic on that point.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time to get out of here before the police come." Tristan began setting up the crime scene, with the rest of his team rushing into the room. "We're lucky you live in a relatively isolated part of Middleton, or this would be impossible. As it is, we still don't have a lot of time."

"Can we really trust him?" Ron whispered to Kim. He was upset by this, of course, but working at Global Justice full time had never appealed to him that much. He had gone on all of their adventures merely to make sure nothing happened to his best friend. Kim, on the other hand... this had become her life. She rarely thought of any other career, and to have her belief so cruelly ripped from her like this...

"Do we really have a choice?" Kim sighed. Ron wrapped his arms around her, trying to give what comfort he could. She was actually familiar with this agent. He was one of the people who pushed for her reinstatement and helped her readjust. Although she had never told anyone else, she began to confide in him about some of her worries and fears. "All right, I'll... I'll pack my things."

"No, absolutely not." Tristan cut her off. "I'm sorry, but we have to make this look convincing. Your room must be left intact, and... no one can know about this, not even your parents."

"Why can't I at least let them know I'm all right?" Kim questioned. "They're going to think I'm dead! Do you know what that will do to them?!"

"Yes, and I wouldn't do this if Director had any other option." Tristan sighed. "This will only be temporary, Kim. I swear, I'm going to find out who did this." His eyes flashed with her.

"Then I'm going with her!" Ron announced.

"Ron, no!" Kim exclaimed. "You could end up dead! Do you have any idea what we're in for?" Truth be told, neither did Kim, but she didn't want him dragged along with her. She was going to have to suffer yet again; Kim didn't want Ron to go through it as well.

"We're a team, KP... and we always will be." Ron promised, taking her hands in his. "Whatever happens, whatever we encounter, you don't have to go through this alone."

"Agreed; she's going to need all the protection she can get." Tristan smiled.

"So what now?" Kim sighed, reluctantly giving in. "How do we get out of here without being seen?"

Tristan informed them:"Many of the neighbors are currently at work, but according to intelligence, the people on the corner are ill and thus could observe you. It's far from perfect, but we've got to act. The alternative is another assassin coming to take you down, and this one may believe it's necessary."

Kim took her last look around the house. It's only temporary, Kim told herself over and over again, but couldn't quite bring herself to believe it. She feared that she'd never see her parents again, that she'd spend the rest of her life on the run. The thought of not seeing her dad's smiles, her mom's reassurances; she'd even miss the tweebs and the constant annoyance that they gave her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Although she appeared to be calm on the outside, Director was internally trembling. She had been waiting to hear news for hours, hoping that she had not just made a grave mistake. The situation was going to be difficult under the best of circumstances. If anything went wrong, both of them could end up dead.

Assuming they're not dead, Director worried. She had hand-picked a team that she believed was loyal to her, and believed that Team Possible was innocent. She was hoping to get them out of the line of fire, at least on a temporary basis. It wouldn't last long, but hopefully enough for her to figure out the mystery. When she did... well, let's just say Order 31 could work on other individuals as well.

On the other hand, it was quite possible that both Kim and Ron were dead, that the team she picked was the wrong one. Director did her best to force those thoughts out of her mind, and focus on her work. It did nothing to ease her concern, however. Her long years of service allowed her to be productive in spite of everything that was on her mind, and even then, she was far less efficient than she normally prided herself on being.

"Who could possibly have done this?" Director wondered for the thousandth time. There were many possibilites; Team Possible had many enemies and many people who would like to see them dead. Ones who could actually pull this off... that narrowed down the list considerably.

One of her top agents walked in, and she fought down the urge to rip his throat out. He was one of a select few who knew that the order had been initiated and unlike some, who were simply reluctantly following orders, she believed that Miss Possible had to be killed. "Director, our timetable was approximately one hour. It has been four and counting. Perhaps we should send another team."

"I have full confidence in them." Director replied, feeling the urge to vomit. "If there is nothing else, you are dismissed." She was fortunately smart enough to exit her office before Director got even angrier.

But she wasn't going to be able to stall forever. Eventually, questions were going to be asked if there was no report. Please, god, let me have made the right decision. Director prayed. She wasn't that religious normally, but under the circumstances, it gave her some much-needed comfort. It was also likely that they'd have people from outside their organization do the job; Global Justice was in contact with numerous mercenary groups that they sometimes used when an operation had to be done that couldn't be associated with them; it was one of the uglier aspects of the job.

Her cell phone began to rang. The instant she picked it up, she heard Captain Joshua Cunningham state: "Objective complete; mission successful." hanging up before she could reply. Director breathed a sigh of relief; she had known all her communications were likely to be tapped, since everyone knew that she was a supporter of Team Possible.

I've bought you all the time I could. Director thought. Now it's time for you two to do your part.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim laid down on the bed, trying to relax as best she could. Her mind was full of thoughts about her family. What would they be saying right now? Did they suspect anything? And was that really a good thing or not? This'll teach me to take them for granted, Kim thought. Ever since the incident, relations with her parents, especially her father, had been strained. She was able to forgive him, but it had never been the same between them since.

Now, though, if she could see them again, she'd fall down on her knees apologizing to them for the way she had acted before. Being in a position where she might never see them again helped make her see what was truly important to her. "Don't think like that; we'll get it figured out." Kim attempted to convince herself.

After being smuggled out of her house, the two of them were placed in a hotel under assumed names. Since both herself and Ron were well known and they didn't want to take a chance of anyone recognizing them, both of them had been disguised. Kim's hair was now a dark black with high quality dye that genuinely looked like the color was real, along with contacts that made her eyes look hazel. She hated wearing them- they were very uncomfortable, especially since she didn't need them to see- but she wanted to end up caught even less, so she put up with it.

Ron walked back into the room, his arms full of food. "Here; I got you something." He remarked. "You haven't eaten a thing all day."

"Thanks, Ron." Kim complimented, hearing her stomach growl once the food was in front of her.

"Hey, figure I might as well take advantage of all the money they gave us before we left." Ron shrugged. "Wouldn't let me get any from my Naco royalties, but at least this should be able to keep us alive for a while."

"10,000 dollars will be able to get us by for quite some time; maybe enough to start a whole new life if we wanted." Kim remarked. The thought depressed her, though. The fact that they received such a quantity indicated the Director did not believe that this would be solved anytime soon.

"Could be worse; at least you didn't have your head shaved!" Ron groaned. Instead of being dyed, he had his hair completely shaved off and given a whole new wardrobe. "I swear to god, he's the worst barber I ever had!" He couldn't help but laugh; the alternative was to break down in tears. "I think the worst haircut I've ever seen... is when the twins decided to cut it when you were sleeping."

"I told you never to mention that again!" Kim shouted, but she broke out laughing in the process. In her freshman year, Jim and Tim had decided to try and save them money on haircuts and wanted to prove that they could handle it. Oddly enough, it was one of the only occasions where they had not intentionally humiliated her. She was furious at the time, especially after the humiliation she had to endure at school, but now all it did was make her laugh hysterically.

"Oh, right, I didn't mean to." Ron gave her an innocent grin, to which she responded by punching him in the shoulder. "Ow! Are you trying to kill me?" He pretended to fall over in pain... but Kim got the last laugh when he actually did manage to trip over the leg of the bed, falling on his face.

"At least your pants stayed up this time," Kim giggled.

"I don't think I'd stand out very much." Ron admitted. "Seriously, they couldn't have found us a better Hotel." The place they were staying in was run-down and cheap, although it was fortunately reasonably kept up, although both of them could spot a couple of holes in the drywall in the room they were staying in.

"They won't be looking for us here... I hope." Kim sighed, her previous humor gone.

"I know; it's hard on me too." Ron admitted. "I wanted to at least say good-bye to my parents, but they probably think us dead. I don't know much about parenting, but I do realize that it's their worst nightmare. Maybe I'm distant from them, but I still love them, as unbearable as they can be at times." He hated thinking about him; the only thing that resulted was pain. His heart felt like it was about to rip out of its chest and only with intense concentration was he able to keep his hands from igniting with energy.

"I'm sorry, Ron; it's easy to forget that you're suffering too." Kim was forced to admit, hugging him from behind and resting her head on his shoulder. As soon as he spoke those words, she felt selfish. She was so caught up in her own angst and worries that she completely overlooked that Ron was suffering in the same way she was. True, he didn't dream of working for Global Justice the way she did, but he was still on the run and away from everything he had ever known, same as her. "I've been so caught up in myself that I forgot about you. I wouldn't blame you if you're angry with me."

"I'm not; this was my choice, KP." Ron pointed out. "As difficult as this might be, I wasn't going to let you suffer alone. If I had the chance to change it, I wouldn't... no matter how overused that statement might be."

"How long do you think this is going to last?" Kim wondered.

"I just wish it wasn't necessary at all." Ron replied, trying to find a way to vocalize his fears, but at the same time, not let Kim know just how hopeless he was beginning to feel.

"We ought to find this guy ourselves!" Kim announced. "We can't just stay on the run forever; we've got to be more proactive!" If there was one thing she hated, it was being powerless. Like it or not, they both were, at least until they had at least a clue as to who was responsible for this. However, she did not intend to stay idle; they were Team Possible! She swore that she would never be a victim again.

"I'm open to that idea." Ron declared. privately, he didn't see how they would do so. Their usual enemies had predictable patterns, even if neither of them could know exactly what shape their plan would take overall. Here... he couldn't even begin to guess who it was. He highly doubted it was any of their usual enemies, but the one or ones responsible... they had to have at least some kind of encounter in the past. At least that would give them a place to start.

"Still... I don't think we should stay for more than a couple of days." Kim mused. "If we stay in one place, it'll be easier for them to find us... whoever they are."

"You just read my mind." Ron stated and pulled out his cell phone.

"Ron, they said we're not supposed to call anyone!" Kim hissed. "Look, I want to talk to our friends and family as badly as you do, but it's not a risk that we can take right now."

"Those weren't the people I intended to call." Ron pointed out. "We're going to need a better place to stay. You'll probably hate it, but it'll be the last place they'll ever think to look for us... assuming they agree."

"Who are you talking about?" Kim wondered, but Ron ignored her and began typing in the phone number.

"Hello?" Ron asked. "Hi! Yes, it's good to hear from you too, Shego. Look... we're in a bit of a situation here. It's going to take me a while to explain everything."

XXXXXXXXXX