Chapter 9 Conversations

Major shout outs to both Sentinel103 and CajunBear73 for pre-read and beta work. They found a lot of grammer and spelling brainfarts DOOHH :P

"SCHNELL, SCHNEEEEELLLLLLL. Ve must find zhe opening to zhe bunker. Do you understand. I vill accept no excuses."

Deep in the German heartland not far from the River Rhine, a team of purported archeologists were sorting through the rubble of an old German Command Bunker from the Second World War. The leaderof the team was trying exhort to his men to greater efforts through the use of an invective laden diatribe.

It wasn't working very well. Mostly because four years of constant bombardment and sixty years of construction, demolition and reconstruction, had changed the surrounding landscape to the point that the landmarks he needed to find his prize had been obliterated to the point of uselessness.

The major terrain features remained, but the lesser ones had changed drastically. He remembered the hilltops, those hadn't changed much. And the while the riverbank had shifted, it wasn't major. The repeated bombings had crushed the once-visible portions of the bunker to gravel and twisted, broken rebar.

And the trees and other vegetation had changed time and time again. Gone was the grove when he had tried vainly to woo Gundred into becoming his bride. Throughout his life only three things had he ever succeeded in: surviving, escaping the despised hunters of Zion, the Mossad, and NEVER, EVER, failing the orders of his Führer.

The short, jaundiced, in more ways then one, man knew he was maddeningly close, within 50 or 60 meters of where he needed to be. Once they got underground and into the bunker proper, he would have no problems. The bunker complex he was looking for would have survived anything the hated American B-17 and British Lancaster bombers could have thrown at it. It had been so over-engineered it probably could have survived an atomic strike. But finding the bombed-out opening was proving frustrating.

It was supposed to have been the Central Command Bunker for der Führer. But he had chosen, rightly the little man thought, to stand in the German Heart of Berlin when the American and British tanks had come crashing out of the Ardennes and Black Forest's,while the Soviet steamroller approached from the East, led by the shells of thousands of artillery pieces.

It was also a repository for many secrets. Billions of Marks worth of gold, silver and other precious metals had been lost in the death throes of the Reich. Along with years of technological, arcane, mystical and most importantly, biological research. Just one of the programs begun by Schutzstaffel, the 'Protection Squadron' had led to life extending serums. There was the small side effect of the yellowing of the skin, but it was worth it in return for slowing the bodies aging as much as 80 percent. And there were other hidden treasures that, like the ME-262 and improved Panzer IV's, arrived too late to stop the Allied onslaught.

The Wehrmacht, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS and the Luftwaffe had fought like the Berserkers of legend to try and buy the Reich time. But the Soviets in the East were willing to spend men's lives like water, throwing enough men against entrenched positions, pillboxes and defiladesthe defenders ran out of ammunition and were overrun. And in the West, no matter how many little Shermans the Panzer Corps destroyed there was always two more rolling off of the transports and into the ports of France.

Germany had been caught in a vise of Japanese making. When der Führer heard about the Pearl Harbor attack, he had been so enraged, he nearly ordered the Japanese Ambassador's executions. It was only the fast talking of his advisors that prevented it. The bombing of Pearl Harbor had pulled the Americans into the war, something Hitler wanted to prevent at all costs.

There had even been reports that the Japanese Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, Yamamto Isokorohad strongly advised against starting a war with the Americans, but the honor bound man followed his orders and pressed home the opening attack to a war he didn't believe in. He likened it to awakening a 'Sleeping Giant'.

Although the little yellow man revered der Führer, he also knew he was human. Subject to all the foibles humanity implies. And he knew Hitler had made three major mistakes in his role as der Führer und Reichskanzler. The first, and longest reaching, had been his disregarding of the advice of his scientists.

Had the German scientific community been given just two more years before Hitler launched the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe into Poland, they would have been able to have jet aircraft and Panzers with better armor and more powerful, longer ranged guns than anything in the world. Radar guidance for the Luftwaffe aircraft, better radios and more time to train with them. They could have completed the heavy water experiments of the Norsk Hydro facility at Rjukan and had atomic weapons years before anyone else.

The next was launching Operation Barbarossa, either three months too late or nine months too soon. Either direction in time would have put the German Army outside the walls of Moscow either well before or well after, the ghastly winter of '41-42. The failed plan to subjugate the Russians cost the Reich millions of trained German Soldiers.

And the last and worst mistake was following with the terms of the Axis Pact and declaring war on the Americans with the idiot Japanese. How the Japanese thought they could beat the American industrial complex without their own vast domestic steel reserves baffled the best German strategists and logisticians.

When the Americans entered the war, many of the High Command, privately, VERY privately thought the cause was lost. They knew the United States had just finished rebuilding their industrial infrastructure to modern standards following The Great Depression and once they got their production lines up and running, Germany had no way to match the industrial Juggernaut the Americans represented.

However, although the Allies had a greater industrial capacity, no one in the world could match the scientists of the Reich for innovation. No one else either could or would follow the lines of research of the Josef Mengele and his peers. They had madebreakthroughs to boggle the mind. They were just too late to save the Third Reich.

Now though, more than 60 years later, there was no 'Greatest Generation', no crucible of The Great Depression to temper the arrogant Americans into some of the hardest, toughest, most ruthless fighters the world had known since the Spartans or the hordes of the Kahn.

And although those morons in the deserts of the Middle East had struck a symbolic victory on September 11, 2001, it had cost them dearly. Their patron and paymaster Hussein had been hung like a common criminal and the Al Qaeda "Great Leader bin Laden" was either hiding out in a cave like a Neanderthal or he was dead and buried in a cave in caused by an LGB (Laser Guided Bomb) dropped by an F-16 from 40,000 feet. Not the best of endings for either of them. And luckily, Yamamoto's 'Sleeping Giant' merely swatted the annoyance, rather then coming fully awake to pulverize "The Community".

It was time and past time for things to change. The contents of the bunker would both finance and arm the new Reich's Krieger. The value of the deposits inside had increased in value tremendously. What was worth a hundred Deutsche Marks in 1944 was worth five hundred or a thousand now.

A glorious new future awaited. And the opening salvo would be against the Buffoon. The first step would be to revive the Buffoon's oldest foe. The man who hated the little Untermensch as much, if not more then he did. The jaundiced little man was sure the method to bring back the English Lord lay inside. Although he had 'agreed' not to kill the Untermensch, that didn't mean he couldn't let someone else do it for him

Soon, Lord Montgomery Fiske would pay him a visit, and Ronald Dean Stoppable would not enjoy the visit

**********

Ron stood there, looking at Senior and the vision struck.

His parents lying dead at the feet of an indistinct figure holding his sister, his baby sister, by her throat. Her face was a shade of blue with her tongue distended out of her mouth. Kim was leaping to attack the figure when it threw Hana's body at her enough to knock her off course. Kim landed hard, but rolled with it and leapt back to her feet and charged again.

Along the way she jerked a bar of some kind from the rubble around them and started using it like a Bo, trying to subdue the killer of his family. He laughed, jumped away and kept a step ahead of her as he spoke with a strangely familiar voice, "I shall neither kill you nor allow you to stop me, my dear. Merely let you live, with the knowledge of your absolute failure. Your failure to protect the ones you love. To do what was necessary to win. And once our victory is achieved, I'll have you captured and caged, just so I can enjoy watching you suffer for the rest of your long, long life. HAHAHAHAHAHA"

When the vision faded, Ron dropped just as he had earlier that day. Only this time, rather then regaining consciousness, he faded into darkness.

Sousukesaw the sagging Ron and caught him before he dropped to the ground. "Stoppable-san? Stoppable-san, can you hear me?" Sousuke started checking Ron for unseen injuries muttering to himself. "Airway and breathing are good, regular and even with no laboring, no obvious bleeding or broken bones." Snatching a penlight from his kit, Sousuke checked pupillarydilation, still muttering to himself, "Both eyes reactive and equal." Dropping the light he carefully checked for head injury. "No distension anywhere, which rules out most concussion factors."

Senior demonstrated just how spry a man his age could be when he leapt from the landing to the floor and rolled to absorb the momentum. He stepped close to the pair and asked in a very concerned voice, "Is he alright, Mr. Sagara?"

Hearing the voice so close, Sousuke reacted on instinct and had his Glock out so fast Senior asked himself, 'Strange, where did that come from?'

It took Sousuke a moment to see that Senior meant no threat. Replacing his pistol he said, "I am detecting no injuries. I believe Stoppable-san over exerted himself in the battle." It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth. He actually thought Ron was in the throes of another vision and passed out. He wasn't going to tell Senior that though. After all, the man had threatened terroristic actions against a unsuspecting country.

"Very good, if you will allow me to assist, we can take him to some place a bit more comfortable."

Sousuke weighed his options and decided he had no choice but to trust the elderly man, some anyway. "Thank you, Sir. That would be appreciated."

"Excellent, excuse me for a moment and I'll return with a way to transport the young man."

Looking around the huge mansion, Sousuke asked, "Sir, how far will we have to take him?"

"Up to the second floor and down the hallway, why?"

"With your assistance, we can get him there sooner."

"A cradle?"

"No Sir, firemen's carry, you would act as spotter and catch him if I fall."

"Would the carry further injure him."

"I don't believe so, Sir. I think he's just exhausted. His Combat performance would have required large energy reserves. With rest and food he should be alright."

"Then let's begin. Halfway there, we change places, agreed?"

"Agreed, Sir." In spite of himself, Sousuke found himself starting to respect this old man. He took advice and made decisions like Combat Leader.

Together they got Ron into a guest bed. Senior gave Sousuke a number for the house switchboard and Sousuke left Ron a note telling him call as soon as he woke up. He then had Senior put him in contact with Wade telling the thirteen year old the two of them were alright and staying overnight and to pass the information to concerned parties.

Once the crisis had passed, Sousuke started to feel the weight of the last three days since he and Kaname had left Merida Island. When Senior offered him a room next to Ron's his innate suspicious nature reared up until Sousuke clamped down on it.

He had to be patient until Stoppable-san was at least mobile. Because while he had little doubts about his own ability to escape, there was no way to do so while hauling an unconscious Stoppable. He would wait, be patient and see what tomorrow brought.

**********

The conversation she had with Kaname had left her shaken. 'How far?' Such a simple joining of words, until they were placed in the context the Japanese girl used. To protect others Sagara, Kaname and apparently Ron were willing to go to the limit and even beyond. After she had gone home leaving the Japanese girl waiting for her boyfriend's return, she tried talking to her mother.

She found her Mom in the kitchen finishing the dishes. "Mom, can I talk to you? It's important."

"Certainly, Kimmie. What's wrong? Is this a girl talk, mother/daughter talk or woman to woman?"

"It's a Ron and Graduation Day talk."

Anne bit her lip and looked away from her eldest child. Looking back, she said "Kimmie, I'm not the right one to talk to about this. I really think you need to talk to your Father."

"I'd rather talk to you, Mom. Please."

"Kimmie, we both know what this is about. I took an oath years ago. The very first thing it says is, 'First, do no harm.', and that's the reason I think you need to talk to your Father.

"But Daddy can be so clueless, Mom. I really need help with this."

Anne was very stern, "I didn't say talk to your 'Daddy', I said talk to your 'Father'. There's a difference."

"Huh?"

"Kimmie, you don't realize it because your not a parent. But we wear different 'hat's' depending on the situation. Sometimes he's the bungler who can't use a grill to save his life, other times he's a brilliant man who's trying to get us to the stars. At one time he was a ham-fisted new Dad bouncing his little girl on his knee after making a terrible mess of changing her diaper. Another he was a Father who had to lay down punishment for a young woman that lied to him. And I don't think we need to mention the 'Democracy Incident', do we?" Kim's jaw dropped and she went wide-eyed.

At the tender age of six, that had been one of the closest times her Father had come to swatting her on the butt. Anne had been out of town and James had just put the two year old twins to bed. Sitting at the table reading his paper, he glanced at his watch and informed her, "Kimmie-cub, it's time to take a bath."

Now the six year-old Kim wasn't amused. Earlier, Ron had been picked up by his parents and she had been told she had to stay home. Grrrrrrrr. And in Kim's six year-old mind, bath equaled bedtime. Double Grrrrrrrr. The petulant Kim let her displeasure be known. "But, I don wanna take a baff."

"Young lady, I said it's time to take a bath, march."

"But, I don wanna."

"Kimmie, you're about to get a spanking, now go."

And the little would-be tyrant put her six year-old fists on her six year-old hips, stomped her little six year-old foot and said in a clear piping voice. "But, we live in a Democracy."

James's jaw dropped. He wanted to roll out of his chair laughing. She just looked so cute standing there with her furrowed brow and six year-old mean expression. The problem was that right then, he couldn't be 'Daddy', he had to be 'Father'.

"Young lady, I don't know where you got the idea that the United States is a Democracy, but it's not, it never has been. It's a Democratically Elected, Representative Republic, has been since the Constitution was ratified in 1789."

He stood up from his chair and TOWERED over the now frightened Kim. "But that all stops at the front door. From the front door to the backdoor, this place is a Totalitarian Dictatorship. And I'm the Dictator. Now if you don't get to hopping, I'm going to give you a spanking. Move!" James snapped his fingers and pointed at the stairs. Little Kim scuttled away, heading towards her room to get her PJ's and got ready to take a bath.

Kim shuddered, dispelling the memory of one of the very few times that James Possible had frightened his daughter and returned her attention to her Mom. "I thought we agreed to never mention that?" She muttered.

"And now, a few months ago, he found out that someone came a hair's breadth from murdering that little girl. You didn't see it because he didn't let you see it, but he was furious. Those aliens were lucky that Ron dealt with them. I hate to think about what he would havedone if your Father had gotten his hands on them. As intelligent and imaginative is he is, he could have thought up some things that would have had the Marquis de Sade shaking his head."

"Now I'm not gonna talk about this anymore, go see your Father." Anne pointed at the garage and Kim could hear the capital. She really needed advice she could trust, and her Mother had always been the best source, but she was deferring in favor of a man who had always avoided 'Talks'. Where do babies come from, ask your mom, what's different about boys, ask your mom, why did grandpa go to Heaven, ask your mom, why is Ron so clueless, ask your mom.

She headed to the garage where she saw James Timothy Possible doing…something to some esoteric piece of machinery. She saw he had a bottle one of his few imported lagers in his left hand and scratching his head with his right while staring at the whatever it was.

"Daddy, can I talk to you?"

He looked up with a cheerful grin and said, "Sure thing, Kimmie-cub. What's on your mind?

"It's about what happened with Ron and the Lowardians."

The bottle in James' hand exploded. "Ugggg!"

"Daddy?!"

James had gripped the bottle so hard he'd broken it. He was bleeding from the cuts, but not badly. Kim jumped to grab the First Aid Kit they kept in the garage. With the Tweebs around, it paid to be prepared. Kim pulled out the bandages and antibiotic cream and started cleaning her fathers hand. He was muttering about himself and the kindest word was 'stupid'.

Kim was slightly surprised by his language, but kept working. Her First Aid training was getting a workout today. Ron's collapse this morning, the fight at Sagara and Kaname's place and now this.

"Are you OK, Daddy?"

Peering under the pressure bandage at his hand "Yea, doesn't look like I need stitches. I'll be alright." He looked at his daughter out of the corner of his eye. He saw the concern there. Both for him and something else. He had been expecting this conversation, albeit a few weeks ago.

Ron had approached him about a week after the Graduation and told him everything. From the start of the weird symbols being left around the world, to Warhok's proposal for having his precious Kimmie-cub stuffed and mounted and Ron's response. That was the moment that James Timothy Possible, scientist and visionary, learned to HATE. He never hated Drew or Demenz or the other villains she had faced. But at that moment he hated.

He hated someone he had never met. Both for their threat against his daughter and for his own loss of innocence. He had always believed that once a race reached a certain level of sophistication, they would leave violence behind. And he was wrong. It seemed the fight for life, the survival of the fittest, the struggle to survive never ended.

He could tell she had been hurting since she and Ron split up. And like any daddy, he wanted to bandage her skinned knee. But this wasn't a skinned knee or a cut on her finger. It was her heart, and the only ones that could fix it was her and Ron.

He didn't blame Ron, much as he might have wanted to. He knew that Kimmie's hurts were mostly self-inflicted. And Ron was hurting even more. He could only imagine what the boy was going through. One thing he did know though, was that he would have done the same thing. Those beings had threatened his little girl. As far as he was concerned, he would have done a lot more then just throwing them into a burning spaceship.

He put those thoughts behind him and addressed his little girl. He and Anne had talked about it, and they both agreed that this time, he was going to have to be the one to 'Talk' to their daughter.

Taking a breath he looked into her emerald eyes and said, "So. Ron and the Lowardians, huh?'

Kim laid out her day, from going downtown to when she left to come home, leaving out only the classified stuff, like the ARX7. Her meeting the new Agents, Ron's collapse, his surprising skill in the fight, his being called in a mission without her and most importantly, her conversations with Kaname.

"I don't know what to think anymore daddy, one of the most important things you and Mom have taught me was the sanctity of life. And Ron, of all people, Ron violated that trust. And now I have this girl telling me I need to think about whether or not I could do the same thing."

James started rubbing at his temple with his un-bandaged right hand. "Kimmie-cub, until that day, I never thought about it. It never even crossed my mind. Since then though, I have thought about it and I've gotta tell you. As much as I hate the idea, I would have done it, too." His voice started to break "Had someone threatened your Mother or you kids or even Ronnie, like that, I would have killed them. With my bare hands, I would have killed them!"

There was another paradigm shift as Kim just stared at the kind and gentle man who sired her. She would have never thought she would hear something like this from him. He had always been the good-natured, absent-minded man behind the paper at the table.

"That young lady is right, it's something you should think about. Particularly with the way your missions have been going. Over the last few months they've been getting tougher and more serious."

"I can tell you a way to consider it. The same way I thought about it. It's an equation. Simple math. It's either me, your Mom and the Twins, or some villain, Ron or a psychotic killer. Someone is going to die. Make your choice. The people you love or your principles. And some ambiguous principles are a cold comfort when laid against the lives of the people you love."

'Sigh', "Kimmie-cub, you seem to have a strange double-standard."

"What do you mean?"

You don't seem to think that Combat Veterans are murderers or a police officer that is forced to kill a suspect. But you do for Ronald. Why? What's different?

That was something Kim had thought hard about over the intervening months, and after meeting Sagara and Kaname and the talk she was having with her Father, her thoughts coalesced into an epiphany, and she started to cry. "Daddy, who's the gentlest person you know?"

James answered instantly, without thought, "Ron. You know, I don't think I've ever seen that boy lose his temper."

"That's what's so hard about this. If someone like Ron can be capable of it, what's that say about me? The whole world knows about the famous 'Kim Possible Temper', and if Ron can take a life, as sweet and gentle as he is, there's almost no chance I won't unless I give up the missions. And I don't want to give them up, I like helping people.

"The missions may be a moot point for a while, Kimmie-cub. There's something I think I should tell you. There's a group of…liberal retards that are trying on behalf of Warhok and Warmonga of Lowardia, in absentia, to bring murder charges, two counts, against one Ronald Dean Stoppable."

"WHAT?!?! Are they out of their minds? Ron saved everyone on the planet and they try to do this to him?!" Kim was very close to understanding what Kaname and her father were talking about. So close, she was breaking into tears. "How could they?! Where the hell do they get off thinking he's a murderer?!"

"Kimmie-cub, calm down, it's under control. The President is handling it."

That stopped her tirade in midstride. "The... the President?"

"Yes, he was absolutely livid when he heard about it. So much so that, he pardoned Ron before they could even really get started. It cut 'em off at the knees. I heard that groups lawyers were pulling their hair out trying to figure out a way around it. Seems a few of them were looking forward to a few years of very expensive work."

"Why hasn't anyone said anything about this, Daddy? I mean this is big news, it should have been the lead story on every TV and newspaper on the planet. Oh God, I can see it now. 'Team Possible Sidekick a Murderer', story at six. How long has this been going on, Daddy?"

"A few weeks. Someone anonymously hired an entire legal team to defend Ron. Someone with a lot of money. No one on the team is talking, either they don't know or they won't say who hired them. The first thing out of the gate, they motioned for a gag order. Shut everybody down. We think the news outlets know already and their just waiting for the right time to go public. That means they're waiting for the biggest impact. So far the team has been able to keep it out of the media, but it won't last much longer."

"But why are they doing this? I mean those aliens where going to take over the world. What are they thinking?"

"I asked the legal team the same thing. They said it's like those people trying to get a stay of execution for a death row inmate that doesn't want their help. So now, every time these…clowns try to file a motion against Ron, the team buries them in countermotions"

"Ron's Dad's been keeping me and your mom up-to-date. He told us today that the lawyers for the group are going to be able to get the gag order removed in the next few days. So get ready. You know how the media is. Kimmie-cub, this is going to be like a shark's feeding frenzy, and you and Ron are the chum."

"There is good news. Under Lowardian law, Ron's innocent. AND, there won't be another invasion."

Kim blinked, "Huh?"

"One of the reasons the U.N. pardoned Drew was he helped translate the alien database. Part of the wreckage from the ship contained the central computer systems. The ship didn't self destruct, it crashed. I design spacecraft, Kimmie-cub. And the central systems are among the best protected parts of any ship design. If they go, the ship goes."

"So you do everything you can to protect the systems. Most of the computers survived the crash. And the aliens were so arrogant they didn't even have any security for them. Entire teams of experts have been going over the database for weeks. The whole ship is being examined, everything from power generation to food processing. It's better then a gold mine. The things we'll learn are.." James was starting to lecture, thinking about how the wreckage would jumpstart humanity to the stars.

"Daddy, focus, Ron."

"Oh, anyway, part of the database was Legal. We already knew the Lowardians are a Warrior race. And that had a serious impact on their laws. Apparently the Earth has a Champion who defeated not one, but two Lowardian Warriors in single combat. It's the 'two' that's important."

"From what Legal said, if Ron had defeated one Warrior, it really didn't mean anything. He just beat a Warrior. But the aliens 'ganged up' on Ron. They acted dishonorably. That's one of the reasons the Lowardians use Walkers. No one can beat them in single combat, so they call out their armies. That's not single combat. The Lowardians can then conquer a world within the rules using Walkers."

"But that's not what happened here. Ron beat the both of them by himself. No firearms, technology, or advanced weapons. He would have been allowed to use hand weapons like a sword, knife or a battleaxe, but not a gun. Anyway, he faced them alone using only his hand-to-hand skills and killed them. That means he's considered a 'Blooded Warrior" in the eyes of the Lowardians."

"And from what the legal team has been able to figure out, they can't attempt another invasion until they can find a Warrior that can beat Ron. And Warhok was supposed to be the best they had. That's what justified Warmonga's return, you beat Warmonga and she brought Warhok because he was a better Warrior then her. And since Warhok was the best the Lowardians had and Ron defeated him, they can't come back."

"Kimmie, Ron really did save the world this time. Not just that, we're protected for the foreseeable future from a threat there's no way we could have responded to. He saved not just the world, but our future."

Kim was still furious though, "Does Ron know about this?"

"No, his parents are trying to keep it quiet as long as they can. But it'll only last a few more days."

James became pensive "Kimmie, something else I've thought about. I know you're hurting. You miss Ron. That young man loves you as much as I do. So much he's willing to die to keep you safe. But you have built this wall between yourselves. And the only way to stop the hurt is you have to forgive each other your sins. He did what he had to do and you didn't know what to do. For what it's worth I hope you can patch things up."

They were interrupted by her Kimmunicator. Without thinking, Kim reached down and hit the receive button. "What's the sitch, Wade?"

"Kim, I've been keeping an eye on Ron and Sagara. They landed about five minutes ago. They're getting ready to hit Senior's place now. That's not the strange part. The strange part is that the servers for every surveillance camera in Senior's place just lost all encryption. Most of the servers are still fairly tight, but the video and audio systems are wide open. I don't think it's glitch, I think Senior wants everyone to see what happens in there.

Kim was starting to worry. "Wade, can you have me a ride standing by just in case."

"Already done. You'll be in the air 10 minutes from when you give the word. I have your super suit ready, too. It'll be waiting."

"You rock, Wade."

"They're scaling the side of the place now. Do you wanna watch as they go in?"

"Yea. Send it here, please and thank you."

James interrupted "Wade, don't send the signal to the Kimmunicator."

"Daddy?"

"Send it to the Hi-Def in our living room. I wanna watch, too. But I'd rather watch on a 54-inch screen, not a 4-inch. I'll go turn on the TV. Kimmie, go get your mom and the twins, I'm sure they'll want to see this too."

"Daddy, you're a genius!"

"I think we already knew that, Kimmie-cub. Now hurry, the show starts soon."

**********

Kim was totally blown away by what she saw. The whole family was blown away by what they saw. The Tweebs were hyped well beyond their normal energetic selves and James and Anne were proud of Ron's performance, and partly confused as well. 'Where did all that skill come from.'

For Kim it wasn't just the performance from Ron. As Wadehad mentioned, the audio was active along with the video. And hearing Sagara defer to Ron was startling. She had been browsing through the files on both the Veteran and his girlfriend, and knew he was more experienced than Ron, but his calm and logical acceptance of taking a back seat to Ron was an eye-opener that said a lot about his thought processes.

He wasn't a glory hound and from both the files and his demeanor, it was obvious that he wasn't a coward either. He truly acted as he felt was in the best interests of the mission. Somehow Kim got the idea that if the roles were reversed and they were on his turf, he wouldn't hesitate to take charge. She wasn't sure she could have done the same thing. It was something else to think about.

The video died just after the clapping and 'Bravo's' started. Kim was instantly on the Kimmunicator. "Wade, we just lost the signal, what happened?"

"I don't know. The servers just dropped off line. I'm trying to reroute around them." Wade worked at his station for a few minutes. "Kim, it looks like all the servers on Seniors place dropped. Give me a few minutes to try and get it back."

"Hurry Wade, please."

Wade called about 20 minutes later saying both Ron and Sagara were alright and staying on Seniors island for it least the night. The rest of the night Kim studied the files on Sagara, trying to find out as much as she could about the enigmatic Sergeant and his girl friend.

**********

The following morning, Kim knew Wadewas right. She needed another perspective. A criminal perspective. She needed to talk to Drakken and Shego. After arranging a ridethrough Wade, Kim had called ahead so Drakken could deactivate the security systems. She landed the hoverjet in the hangar and was greeted by a smirking Shego. "Well, well, well, Princess. To what do we owe the honor? Since you called ahead, I gather you and Stoppable aren't gonna bring the lair down aroundour ears." she said while waving expansively aroundthe hangar. Looking around Kim and not seeing the familiar tow-headed mop, she asked, "Where is Ron, anyway?

"Ron's not here. He's……taking care of some things. And since when do you call him Ron?"

Shegogot a very serious look on her face. "Since he saved all of our collective asses, that's when. He's earned it. Calling him by his name is the least I can do." Shego started sporting a grin so evil that Kim instinctively went on her guard. "I'm even making Dr. D. write 'The buffoon's real name is Ronald Stoppable.' on every one of his blackboards until he remembers." Then Shego giggled. "I think he's up to somewhere in the neighborhood of about 3000 times. Come on, lets head to central core, Drakken's there."

Kim followed and glanced at the former villainess with sad eyes and said, "Thank you, Shego. You're right. He has earned it. I just wish the rest of the world could get it right."

"Ya know, he might be better off with fewer people knowing it. Would keep the crank calls to a minimum, know what I mean?

"Maybe."

They walked in silence until they got to the central core where Drakken was standing in front of a blackboard, chalk in hand. He was powdered by the dust from having to write and erase the same thing over and over and over, ad nauseam.

Shego plopped into her chair and picked up what looked suspiciously like a Long Island Iced Tea. "So what are ya here for, Punkin."

"Information."

When Kim hesitated, Shego waved her hand in a 'come on' gesture and sarcastically asked "On?"

Three names had stood out in the files of the Sergeant. Two of them had an extremely violent history and the third seemed to be the one holding their leashes. She decided to find out about the obviously dangerous ones first. "Have you ever heard the names Gauron or Gates?"

Shego's reaction wasn't what Kim was expecting. Shegogasped, jumped from the chair while tossing the drink to the side, grabbed Kim by the front of her jacket and with a frightened expression asked, "Where did you hear those names?" Even Drakken had a terrified look in his eyes. "Where Possible? They're supposed to be dead."

"From the files of a new GJ agent. From your reactions I gather these guys are bad news."

Shego let her go and backed away. "Bad news doesn't begin to cover it, Princess. I don't know which of the two was worse. As violent as your villains were and are, that's nothing compared to those two"

"Gates was an absolute lunatic. He'd been known to be walking down the street in some second or third world country, singing an aria and just shoot someone. For any reason or none at all. He didn't like the way you walked, BLAM! He thought you smelled good, BLAM!"

"And Gauron was a complete sociopath. He was aggressive, violent, antisocial and had a complete lack of anything resembling remorse or empathy. He liked to kill; it was a game to him."

"The only time he he'd been known to show any restraint, was when he was planning something. He had been used as a mercenary or an enforcer by various groups that really didn't give a damn how he got results, as long as he got 'em. I heard he was almost able to take over a ballistic nuke sub once and was stopped by some Special Forces type. But that was a rumor."

"It's not a rumor Shego, it happened."

"What? You mean to tell me that Gauron almost had his hands on nukes. Please tell me he really is dead."

"Yea, he is. The new agent transferred from the submarine. He was part of the Special Response Team on board. The files say he was the one to kill Gauron."

"Oh, thank God."

"Was he really that bad?"

Drakken broke in, "Kimberly, I am evil and whack. But he made me look like your Pastor. I heard he once shot a man between the eyes just for saying something insulting. And knowing Gauron, it probably wasn't even that insulting."

"So you're sure they're dead?" Shego looked at Kim with undisguised glee. "Both of them?"

"Gauron for sure, and they think Gates was operating one of those Arm Slave machines when Sagara blew it up."

"Sagara? That's the guy who killed both of them? You gotta introduce me?"

"What?! Why?"

"So I can seduce him."

"SHEGO!!!"

"Come on, Dr. D. Ya gotta admit he deserves a reward."

He growled in a tone Kim had never heard from the normally submissive Drakken"Then I'll give him a new weapon or upgrade a machine for him. Not. That!"

Shego's tone surprised Kim more then Drakken's. The only way Kim could think to describe it was a soft bantering. "I was just joking Doc, relax"

Drakken had a sad look on his face. "There are some things you don't joke about Shego. Please."

The expression and tone of the mint hued villainess softened even more, "Sure thing, Doc."

Kim had seen the recordings from Drakken's U.N. appearance and had suspected that there was more to the pair than met the eye. But seeing it in person left her with her jaw hanging. She didn't even want to think about what she was seeing, it was too gorchy. Trying to get back to the reason for her visit, she asked. "What about the name Leonard Testarossa, that ring a bell?"

Shego's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Why are you asking about those names, Possible? These guys are over your head, even with your G.J. clearances. They aren't your normal run of bad guys." Shego waved her thumb between herself and Drakken. "As bad as we've been in the past and as close as we came with the Diablos to winning, we still had plans in place to handle those guys and their organizations."

"I'm not saying they're out of your league, just that your better off leaving them to people that are willing to deal with them, HARD. These aren't guys you beat down and send them to prison. You shoot them, preferably with a sniper rifle from 2 klicks. That way you have a better chance of living."

Kim looked between Drakkena and Shego and said, "Because it looks like I have to deal with Sagara and his girlfriend. Seems that G.J. had them transferred to Middleton to be someone's bodyguard while they go to college and he's been the one to handle a lot of messes caused by these guys. Both are Japanese and G.J. asked me and Ron to be their guides until they get their feet under them."

"Makes sense. But that's not the only reason you're here is it?" Shego had sensed that Kim was hiding something.

"No, it's not." Kim paused, then said, "I don't know any way to say this other then to just say it. Shego, could you kill someone?"

**********

As I'm sure you can guess gentle reader, the 'Democracy Incident' has a basis in reality. My daughter and I, other then name changes, had that same conversation verbatim.