Seeing the mecha, Ron was astounded. Looking the machine up and down, he called up to the cockpit, "Sagara, I gotta tell ya, Dude, I'm still a little tweaked. But I have to admit, you have got some of the coolest toys."

"I'm with Ron on this, this is amazing."

To the amazement of the pair, Al addressed them over the onboard P.A. system. "Thank you."

"Whoa! Is that thing fully atonemeus?"

Kim grimaced as Ron once again butchered the English language. She remembered what happened a few minutes ago when she corrected him, and was forced to restrain herself from the automatic correction that jumped to her lips.

Ron caught the grimace out of the corner of his eye. He knew exactly what he said. And he said exactly what he wanted to. It was a test. A test to see if she could learn. He had been through too much in the last weeks to fall back into old patterns. He had felt more then abandoned by Kim when she cut off their relationship. He had felt betrayed. By the person he least expected it from.

His parents he expected to treat him like they forgot about him. "But, this is our way of telling you." How many times had he heard that. Hana was way too young to start acting that way, and he doubted she would. He had made it a point to visit his parents three or four times a week, for dinner if nothing else. And every time he showed up, Hana practically mugged him in her joy to see her 'Big Brother'.

For nearly everyone else, it was practically a given that they would disregard him. His former classmates, the newsies, even the villains. But Kim, the one person he thought he would always be able to count on. The only person in the world that had never let him down, had done exactly that. So nearly ten weeks after Graduation, it was a much less trusting Ron standing in the GJ hanger, looking at one of the most advanced mechas on the planet.

Roger he trusted implicitly. Much like how he used to trust Kim. His parents he trusted about as much as he ever did. It wasn't that they were malicious, they were just thoughtless when it came to him. Master Sensei? He wasn't sure. He had never lead him wrong before, but he had sent these two. This new duo? A little bit. They would have to earn the rest. Ron was a past master of putting himself in someone else's shoes. And he had to admit that Sagara and Kaname were trying to do their best in a no win situation. He didn't like it, but he admitted it. He still wanted to get Sagara in the Dojo.

But Kim, he thought there was a LONG way to go before he trusted her again.

Kaname broke Ron out of his reverie. "Hi, Al, it's good to see you again. How're you doing?" Kaname had a special fondness for the A.I. ever since he had helped her rescue Sousuke from the hands of the Yakuza a few months before.

"Quite well, Miss Chidori. Other then a complete lack of ammunition, I am fully functional and combat ready."

"Well, Sousuke'll get that fixed for you."

Al wasn't sure which mode he should be using, but since they were talking about his weapons systems, and those impacted military duties, he decided to use the professional. "So the Sergeant has stated. He had also allowed me to remain in a conscious state, so long as it does not adversely effect my combat readiness."

"Great, you should contact Eleanor, she asked when you would get here."

"I shall do so once I have communications access."

"Sousuke, why don't you introduce Kim and Ron to Al."

"Al, are you scanning the hanger directly in front of you?"

"Yes, Sagara. I 'see' two other individuals besides Miss Chidori. Accessing onboard database. According to onboard database, I calculate a better then 95% probability that the female is Kimberly Anne Possible and 75% probability that the male is Ronald Dean Stoppable."

"Whoa, dude, you know my name?"

"Of course Mr. Stoppable. The photographic record is clear. When used in conjunction with other files I have in my data banks, it is a simple matter to match a name to a face."

The lesser trusting Ron had to ask. "Ok, but why did she get 95% and I only got a 75."

"Because there is a great deal more information on Miss Possible then yourself by several orders of magnitude. Therefore it was easier to identify her then you. I had to search further to arrive at the correct answer. If I had communications access I would have been able to get a higher percentage for both of you."

Al's answer mollified Ron. "OK, I'm impressed. Man, I have got to get me one of these."

"Stoppable-san, Possible-san, this is Al and the ARX7 Arbalest. Arbalest, please list Stoppable-san and Possible-san in the IFF as friendlies and allies. In a combat situation they are to be protected. Grant level 4 access."

"Also grant Doctor Elizabeth Director, aka the Commander, level 2 with level 1 under emergency conditions. Previous orders remain in effect. Be aware, it might be necessary for you to move out to my location, so once you have communications access, you are to stay in touch with Eleanor and myself regularly and keep your map references updated."

"Monitor mine and Miss Chidori's cell phones often, at random intervals, to determine if there is a problem. If you encounter a discrepancy, your list of contacts and order are as follows, myself, Miss Chidori, Commander Director, Stoppable-san or Possible-san, Captain Testarossa, Lieutenant Commander Kalinin, whomever is the current Urzu-1 and Sergeant Major Melissa Mao. Acknowledge and log orders." Sousuke kept giving verbal orders while he started typing on the keyboard. 'Also monitor the phones of Stoppable and Possible as well. Acknowledge this in text.' A line of text flashed across the screen. 'Acknowledged Sergeant.'

"Orders acknowledged and logged, Sergeant."

"Very good, Al. As noted, you may remain out of standby, except for necessary shutdowns. And no one is authorized order you to shutdown without my presence."

"Understood, Sergeant. Query, the chassis has just come from Depot level maintenance, however it still requires a shakedown. Should I schedule an exercise for this?"

"I will have to ask the Commander where we can have it, Al. this isn't Merida Island, I don't know where the training areas are."

"Very well, Sergeant. Once the weapons are loaded, I will ready at any time."

"I have to report to the Commander, Al. Contact me via cell phone if your status changes."

"Roger, Sergeant.

Sousuke left the cockpit, secured it and started climbing to the hanger floor. "Stoppable-san, Possible-san, would you please show me and Miss Chidori to the Commander's office so I can give my report. We also have to get some information and contacts from her."

"Sure thing, Dude. Come on."

Kim looked at Ron in mild surprise. She had to ask him. "Ron, you know where Dr. Director's office is."

"Not really, but there's one of those 'You are here' boards near the elevators. I'm pretty sure that it tells ya where to go."

'He thought his way through it. He thought his way through it and didn't need any help from mmmm, anyone. He really has changed. What am I gonna do. He hates me now.'

**********

After reporting to Dr. Director and getting the contact numbers and agreement to set up commo access, as well as setting up a basic load-out for Al, Sousuke and Kaname were heading to the building Sousuke had bought. At Kaname's prompting Sousuke asked Kim and Ron if they wanted to go with them. Both agreed, but Ron said he needed to call his Uncle. When he called, to Ron's surprise, Roger told him the truck was fixed.

The location was less then a mile away and since the back seat of the car still full of luggage, the four decided to walk the short distance.

Of course Ron was pumped at seeing the 'clean' GTO, with it's multihued indigo paint job. So much so that he wanted to have a closer look. Sousuke raised the hood revealing the massive 500 CID, 500 HP, 500 Lb Ft of torque engine. Ron was awestruck. He thought the 428 in Elma Lee was huge, but this was ridiculous.

Kim's response was a bit more subdued. "Don't you know how much gas that thing uses?"

From seemingly nowhere a melodious feminine voice floated in the air "What is it about pushy females harping about my gas mileage? Every male that sees my chassis likes it and wants one of their own. But the first thing out of a females mouth is 'gas mileage'. Why is that? And I'll have you know, I get respectable gas mileage, considering performance, weapons emplacements and armor. I'd like to see you do better." There started to develop a definite touch of frost to Eleanors voice

Ron and Kim were dumbfounded trying to figure out who said that. Sousuke just stood there with his normal neutral expression with a hint, just a hint of humor. Kaname was laughing so hard she was holding her sides.

"Hahaha, I suppose, hahahah, that, hahaha, that I, I, I should, hahaha, introduce you. Hahahaha, Miss Possible, Mr. Stoppable, this is Eleanor. Hahahahahaha, and I said almost the same thing when I first saw her."

"I'm sorry Kaname, but that's not quite right. What you actually said was 'it looks like some huge gas guzzling, gear head, hot rod to me.'"

"Whoa, it talks!"

"I beg your pardon, I am not an 'it'. My name is Eleanor."

If Ron was pumped before, that was nothing compared to this. "MAN, you people do have the coolest toys. This is badical! How did you get an A.I. that small! Man, Wade needs to see this!" Ron felt that in some ways, the A.I. in the car was much cooler then Al, because you expected that sort of thing from a mecha.

Kim was still trying to figure out how many more times she was going to stick her foot in her mouth to today. After Fredrick the chimp, Dr. Porter's creation, Oliver, and all the other, other then human intelligences her and Ron had come across, she thought she knew better then to just spout off like that.

Sousuke gave Eleanor the address and sent her on a roundabout trip to the location while the group walked to the address. A short while later they were standing in front of a warehouse just over a mile and a half from the campus. It was on a corner lot with an alley on the back side, and a small parking lot between it and the next building. It was about 75 ft on the short side, over 150 on the other and 20 feet high on one end of the building with a second story on the end by the parking lot.

Eleanor pulled up as they were standing there looking at the slightly decrepit building. Kaname was starting to get a bit tense. Her eyebrow started twitching when she looked at Sousuke and said, "OK, it's not that I don't trust you Sousuke, but what is this?"

"Give me a moment, please Kaname, and I will open the overhead door. Eleanor, please drive in and park inside when I have done so." He used the keys the Commander had given to him and opened the adjacent personnel door. A few seconds later, the overhead rolled smoothly up revealing the darkened interior. Kaname, Ron and Kim had waited outside and followed through the overhead behind Eleanor. Eleanor turned on her headlights to allow them a little light to see by. Once Sousuke found the switches for the overhead lights he started turning them on.

Eleanor parked and turned off her headlights as the sodium lights started to glow, revealing the garage portion of the building. It covered the front half of the building and the rear had a second floor with a set of stairs leading up. A double ended freight elevator was in a corner against the interior wall also going to the second floor. A portion of the floor space was occupied by several large crates. Four of the crates were alike in markings and size, being much bigger then a commercial refrigerator. The rest of the crates were smaller. Kaname recognized them as the ones she and Sousuke packed their personal effects from Tokyo in.

"I'm still not impressed, Sousuke. It still looks like a warehouse."

"This is the garage area, Kaname. If my instructions were followed the rest should be more acceptable. Please follow me."

Sousuke led them to the door on the ground floor explaining. "The ground floor is given over to both the vehicle and equipment garage in this section and a full Dojo in the rest. The second floor is where the living quarters are located. The basement should have been set up as an armory and firing range."

Through the door was a long hallway to a basic Dojo. It lacked the rich woods and intricate details of Sensei Matsuda's Dojo in Tokyo or Toshimaru-sama's Yamminochi School in northern Honshu, but it had lots of space between the load bearing pillars, thick mats on the floor and pillars with doors leading to what looked like separate male and female locker room/shower areas in the hallway.

"Not bad, Dude. You could really throw down in here."

"Yes, this will do for a training area. Let's check the armory and firing line next."

The stairs to the basement led to a secure door. Behind the door on one side was a foyer that had VERY thick glass in front of a series 4 of lanes. Each had a partition between it and the next with a small shelf on each side. Overhead was a set of cables that held the targets. Sousuke explained that the entire room was soundproofed and lined with enough concrete and steel to prevent even an RPG from breaking through. Inside the foyer was another door that looked like it went to a vault and opened to a medium sized room with shelves and tables throughout. The shelves had empty weapons racks stacked on them.

Taking up the remaining space on the side of the firing line was a long open room that was about 30 feet wide and about 75 feet long that had the freight elevator. " Sousuke said he had plans for the space, but didn't discuss them with the group.

Sousuke reentered the firing line and checked the lights and target holders. Finding them functional he said, "Excellent, shall we go upstairs?"

At the top of the stairs was basically a rather large apartment. Entering the main part of the apartment, they saw a large living room, two small rooms on one side that looked like some kind of office/study areas and an open kitchen that had Ron drooling. All the appliances were commercial grade, stainless steel. The stove had six burners and two ovens. Lots of counter and cabinet space with a three basin sink. One of the basins was much smaller and designed for washing food and had a disposal.

The living room faced south, was open to the rest of the roof of the building and had an access door to a fenced in area, like a patio.

There was a hallway on the north side of the apartment with four bedrooms, two on either side of a hallway. Between each of the two sets of rooms was a shared bathroom. Walking down the hallway, Sousuke noted which side was east and immediately chose one. Pointing to the west side, he suggested to Kaname, "You should take one of the rooms on that side, Kaname."

Unfortunately for the hapless Soldier, Kaname was in a teasing mood. With a fake pout that never failed to send his pulse rocketing, she said, "And here I thought you wanted me to stay with you."

Queue instant bullet sweat. "I, I, I, thththought you wowould rather nnnnot have the momomorning sun in your fffface, Kaname."

"Awwww, You're so sweet." She patted his cheek and sauntered back down the hall with a little extra twitch in the hips. Kim couldn't help but think 'Oh, she's good.'

Shaking his head to clear the fog, Sousuke muttered, "This way." and followed the twitch.

Kim looked around whistling, "You got a nice setup here, Sagara. Better then my loft that's for sure." Sousuke looked at Kaname from the corner of his eye and saw her subtle head shake. 'Not yet.' was the sign.

"Thank you, Possible-san. Would the two of you be able to assist us in unloading Eleanor as well as bringing the rest of our belongings up here?"

"Not those huge crates, right?"

"No Stoppable-san, the four largest contain Bonta-kuns and will remain in the garage."

OK, I might regret asking this, but what the heck is a Bonta-kun."

It was obvious that Sousuke stood a little straighter, while Kaname winced. "It's a mini A.S. of my own design. They are able to withstand any projectile rounds up to and including .50 caliber. They can also allow the operator to survive an RPG strike, although the chassis might be damaged beyond repair. They carry a 30mm smoothbore that can fire either buck shot beanbag or sabot rounds depending on the mission. They are very effective in an urban environment. They are also fast enough to use hand to hand techniques against an enemy."

Kim didn't know what to make of this. 'A 30mm smoothbore, what is this thing, a tank?'

Ron was a different story, "Dude, you gotta show me one of those."

Thinking fast, Sousuke agreed. "Certainly, Stoppable-san. After we finish unloading the car?"

"You got a deal, man. Let's go." It only took the four of them about thirty minutes to unload the car and place everything in their respective rooms. Both of the former couple were surprised by the Fender guitar. The other crates were brought up intact with the elevator. Sousuke and Kaname said that since they had packed enough in Eleanor, they could open and empty them later.

Going back into the garage, Ron found a wrecking bar one of the movers had left behind, and he and Sousuke attacked the crate surrounding one of the mini-mechas. When they got the crate opened and pulled the foam wrapping away from the machine, there, in all it's glory, covered in beige fur, stood what looked like a giant two legged hamster. Bonta-kun, the theme park mascot.

Kim looked at Kaname. She had helped the other girl carry her things to her room and seen her stuffed plushie. Kim looked back at the eight foot tall A.S. and muttered, "OK, this doesn't look that dangerous."

Kaname saw a chance to break some of Kim's assumptions about the world in general, and a few things in particular. Very quietly she leaned toward Kim and said, "Looks can be deceiving." When she said it, she was giving Kim a significant look, then looked, not at the Bonta-kun, but dead at Ron. "Sometimes it's the most unassuming things can be the most dangerous."

Kim replied just as quietly, "You're right, but what do you do when your whole life, you've gotten used to things being one way, then suddenly, they've changed."

"Something I learned from Sousuke, you adapt."

"I'm trying."

"Not to sound pushy, but I think a lot of your problem is you've never had to adapt to him before. He's always adapted to you, hasn't he."

Kaname could hear the sorrow in Kim's answer, "Yes, he has."

**********

Looking at the mini-mecha, Ron chuckled and said, "Dude, it's a good thing my motto's always been 'Never be normal', ya know."

Sousuke had a thoughtful look on his face when he turned to Ron. "I find myself in agreement with you, Stoppable-san. If I had been 'normal', I would have been killed many times over. If I was normal, I would not have been able to operate the ARX7 or gone to Tokyo and met Kaname."

"Hehehe, Ya know, in spite of how the day started, I'm startin' liking you, Sagara. You seem to be the epitome of 'Never be normal'. I'm still gonna have to kick your ass though."

"You welcome to try, Stoppable-san. Allow Kaname and I to get settled, then we can break in the Dojo."

The girls had heard the last part of the exchange and Kim nudged Kaname. Once she had the taller girls attention, she waved her head to the stairs. Kaname understood and excused Kim and herself on the pretext of going to the bathroom. Sousuke looked at the retreating girls and asked Ron a 'Question'. "Stoppable-san, do the females in America go to the bathroom in 'herds' like they do in Japan."

"Uhh, Sagara, I'm pretty sure you don't want them to hear you calling 'em a herd. FYI dude, herd implies cows and cows imply fat. And I promise you, you don't want the chicks thinking you're calling 'em fat! And to answer your question, yea, they do."

**********

When the girls reach the upstairs bathroom, Kim was hesitant, she wanted to ask a question, but with the way her day had been going, she was afraid of sticking her foot in her mouth again. "Uhhhh, look, I'm still concerned about Ron. Just how good is your boyfriend?"

Kaname had been briefed by both Sensei and a GJ rep, so she had a pretty good idea of what Kim was thinking. So she asked a question of her own. "Let me ask you this. How many times has either you or Ron fought, really fought for your lives? I'm not just talking about those strange villains the two of you fight. The blue guy and green woman or the one wearing a dress. I talking about kill or be killed. The kind of fight, that if you lose, people die. You, your friends, whole cities. So, other then the aliens, how many times have either you or him really been in a fight for your lives?"

Both of the girls were getting peeved. Kim at Kaname's apparent belittling of what her and Ron had accomplished. Kaname at Kim's naiveté. "What, you think those missions weren't dangerous?! There's no telling how many times we could have been killed! We saved the world I don't know how many times."

Kaname broke in quietly. "You ever seen someone shot and killed three meters away?"

The question stopped Kim in her tracks. "I have. Sousuke was saving me from a traitor that was seconds from either raping and killing me or just killing me. He rushed into the room without a weapon, seen what was happening, and charged the man who was armed with a pistol. He fired, I distracted him, Sousuke fought him and got the gun away, and shot him from two meters away."

Kim was truly flustered by now, but she had to try and make her point. "If he got the gun away from him, why didn't he take him into custody?"

Kaname got right in Kim's face and said, "Because it was Combat, not a fight. We were trapped with no way to restrain him or keep a prisoner and there were other people going to die if he hesitated. Nearly two hundred people and a nuclear powered, nuclear armed, multi billion yen submarine were at risk! Sousuke doesn't go around killing people indiscriminately. But killing your enemy is what it takes to save lives."

Kaname pointed her finger like a gun at Kim and said "Bang! When terrorist and criminals start plying their trade, the one I want protecting me is Sousuke. He's gone into battle against terrifying odds. 3, 4, even 5 to one. And he's won. Do you remember hearing about some huge machine rampaging across the Tokyo harbor area about a year ago?"

Receiving a nod, Kaname continued. "It was called the 'Behemoth'. And what stopped it was Sousuke in the Arbalest. He had to kill the pilot of the other machine, but how many lives did he save? The Behemoth had enough power for over two and a half days of combat ops, not hours, days. You've been there, how many people live in Tokyo? Millions of people were at risk, their homes, jobs, and lives. The Behemoth had already crushed a squad of Japanese A. like they were bugs and nearly killed a good friend of mine, Sergeant Major Melissa Mao. And the only way to stop it was to kill the pilot. He was boy, about fourteen. He had been brainwashed by a terrorist group."

"You mentioned back at the GJ base that he seemed pretty ruthless. And your right, he is. But he is also the most kindhearted, gentle and sweet man I've ever met. He will do anything to help someone."

"The first time he really saved me, I had been taken hostage by a bunch that want to use me for some freaky experiments. At the time I thought he was just some Otaku boy. But he wasn't. He had been assigned as my bodyguard. He rescued me from those people and got me away by stealing one of their trucks. We were under fire and Sousuke crashed through a hanger door. Inside the hanger were these surplus RK92 Savages, former Soviet A.. Sousuke climbed up the side of one and got it running. Then he took out three other machines by himself. Things went downhill from there."

Kaname looked through the window in the door down into the garage where Sousuke and Ron looked to be talking about something inside the Bonta-kun. "We ran into a machine piloted by an absolute lunatic that was like a panther compared to a house cat. I still don't know how we got away. But Sousuke was hurt in the explosion. I remember it was raining, and he had blood running down his side. He had given me his jacket and asked me to hand him his first-aid kit from out of one of the pockets. I couldn't believe it when he pull a 4 and a half inch piece a metal out of the side of his stomach. I still have it, I can show it to you later."

"I watched as he calmly pulled it out, cleaned and dressed the wound. And the only thing he was worried about, was my safety. Not his wound, not the enemy, nothing! I've seen him go completely out of his way to help someone. And the thought of getting something in return never crossed his mind. Does that sound like a hardened killer?"

"Sousuke's only ruthless when he has to be. But make no mistake, if he's decided you're an enemy. Not an irritant, not some annoying jackass, but a real enemy. One that threatens the lives of others. A terrorist or mass murderer, then you're liable to wake up dead one day. He even let a bunch of Yakuza live after they kidnapped and beat him. They even threatened me. And he still let 'em live. Doesn't mean we didn't teach them a lesson. Just means they got to live."

"To answer your question, Sousuke's very good. Almost every fight he's been in. Has been a fight for his life. So when they get in the Dojo, if Ron doesn't use his extra abilities, Sousuke's gonna kick his butt." With that, Kaname turned and headed back to the garage, leaving a thoughtful Kim.

**********

Back in the garage, Sousuke was doing something Kaname had only realized he could do in the last few months. Being subtle. He had manipulated Ron into the cockpit of the Bonta-kun and was explaining the offensive and defensive systems as well as the scanners, thermal imagers, acoustic sensors and a host of other features he had built into the mini-mecha. He had a plan to deal with Ron's anger issues as well as trying to advise and support him through the process of accepting and dealing with the problems left over from the Graduation Day invasion.

Part of the plan was giving Ron another outlet for his anger. Machines. Ron had mentioned the Galaxie his uncle had 'sold' to him. So that was a start. But he also had orders from both Toshimaru-sama and Mithral with G.J. concurrence. 'You are to find out if Ronald Stoppable capable of using the Lambda Driver.'

He had already shown extraordinary abilities. If those abilities could be joined with the Lambda Driver, then the forces trying to protect the planet from both internal and external threats would have a weapon to match a nuclear device. The trick was to draw out and hone his abilities without aggravating his emotional issues. And the first step was doing something Sousuke had done once before. Changing his relationship from an antagonistic one to a partnership. He had done it with Al, and as long as nothing interfered he could do it here.

**********

Outside of Berlin Germany, a jaundiced man of short stature, was berating a tall young man with platinum hair. "He vill pay! Do you unzerstand zhat! I don't care vhat you zay! Ze Buffoon vill pay! Mien helmut vas given to me by der Führer und Reichskanzler himself! Und it vaz irreplaceable. Ze doctors vere forced to cut it apart to get it off und destroyed it."

"Please calm yourself Doctor. We're not saying you can't have remuneration, we are merely asking you to postpone you designs until a more advantageous time."

"More advantageouz to you maybe, but not to me. Ze sooner he feels my wrath, ze better."

"Doctor, what we're asking for would be better for the both of us. And I never said you couldn't strike at him indirectly. There are other ways of hurting someone then killing them. Sometimes it's better to attack the periphery then the center." The tall platinum haired young passed a set of photographs.

One was of a quartet. An older heavyset couple wearing glasses and holding a toddler with a tow-headed young man standing bedside them. The next had the same tow-headed who looked to be working on a 60's Ford with an older man. The last was of a smiling couple consisting of the tow-headed boy and girl with fiery hair.

Looking through the pictures the 'Doctor' held up the one of the couple and said, "She owes me anyvay. But ze rest, theze show promise. Perhaps you're right. I can do vhat I vant as long as he lives?" Receiving a nod, "Very vell. You have a deal, Herr Platinum."