Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from Kim Possible are all owned by Disney the great and powerful. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.
Is this a cross-over if none of the heroes are OCs? They come from various sources. Hunterwali is credited as being the first Indian movie with a sequel, her time period was moved more into the present. After a proposal for a television program fell through Capitão Falcão became a Portuguese movie parody of superheroes (while attempting to exorcise some of the country's political demons – I've pretty much killed that by moving it from when it was set, the 1950s/60s, to the time it was released – during the Kim Possible period). Umzingeli, Hawi, and El Gato Negro appear in African and American comic books that aren't DC or Marvel so you're excused if you've not heard of them. There have been a couple heroes called Die Fledermaus (the Bat), including one by DC, but it was usually as homage to, or parody of, Batman. I brought Philippine hero Ipo-ipo into the present, he began life in the 1940s fighting the Japanese.
Word of assurance: After assembling this international team I recognized it would take me a million words to cover every team I'm putting into the race, and I realized I had as little interest in writing about that many teams as you'd have in reading that many (especially with heroes you've never heard of). So, while we're starting with a large cast most of them will receive very little attention. Attention will remain focused on one team, with three or four other teams being mentioned fairly often, and the rest will drop out of sight after being eliminated from the race – with many of them never having received much attention before their elimination. Rest assured, readers, you won't need to refer back to the above list of heroes to follow this.
And Superheroes Come to Feast
By the late afternoon of the day Doctor Director had met with Kim and Ron she was able to relax. She had assembled a list of twelve heroes... It had been harder than she had imagined. Many active heroes were not interested in competing in a race. Two early contacts, Inspector Steel of India and Japan's Kamen Rider, had turned her down flat. She wondered briefly if there was more than one Kamen Rider – it was difficult to tell who was inside the costume. And, after their refusals, she had limited the information she had given those she contacted.
Ron and Kim remained the youngest heroes she had asked. She had hoped to avoid asking them. There was supposed to be no risk involved in the Race. At least no extra difficult challenges were supposed to be added to what had been planned. And the head of Global Justice hoped the producers kept their word. But the team-ups could add an unexpected hazardous level.
Betty was delighted with some of the heroes she had recruited, and disappointed at some who had accepted the invitation. Die Fledermaus was the oldest among the heroes. Once called the world's greatest detective she wasn't sure how well he could keep up with the younger heroes and the other competitors. Hunterwali was the second oldest of the heroes, but Betty Director had faith in the ability of mature women. She probably was in it to win the money, but only in the sense she would give it to charity if she were on the winning team. Burn Berman of Team Impossible and one of the African women, Umzingeli, she regarded as mercenaries who had agreed only in hopes of winning a million dollars for themselves. While they were mercenaries she wished Crash Cranston and Dash DaMont had not turned down the invitation that Burn had accepted. It would have meant she wouldn't have asked Capitão Falcão. Betty did not like Fascists. She would have been happy to hand the Falcon over to the State Department or other agencies in charge of recruiting the heroes' partners, but he was regarded as a hero in Portugal.
Still, despite Kim and Ron's youth and status, she'd rank them with those who volunteered because they felt it was the right thing to do. Kim and Ron knew Hego and Mego, and Betty believed they had met Burn Berman as well. El Gato Negro, Hawi and Ipo-Ipo would be strangers to them but had solid reputations.
"I just hope no one from either team kills his or her partner." She called the United Nations to pass on contact information for the heroes. Global Justice had not recruited the heroes' partners for the race.
Global Justice was a law enforcement organization. They had no authority to issue pardons. The heroes would be paired with villains, their incentive to cooperate – more valuable than the million dollars was offers of pardon. General Zelimkhanov had placed no restrictions on the villains. Governments had. There were no murderers among them, and no one who who had maimed a person in the commission of crime. The government could not offer a pardon from civil suits – the threat of civil suits gave the recruited villains an incentive to work hard for the million dollar check.
"I'm going to recommend Global Justice have more monitors in place," Doctor Director decided. "Villains cannot be trusted."
Kim and Ron were among six passengers traveling on a small, private jet to Europe.
The man with the lucha libre mask introduced himself, "El Gato Negro. I think you're Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable."
Kim smiled, "You got it. I've heard of your work in Texas. I... I thought you'd be older."
The man laughed, "I guess I'm something of a heritage hero. My grandfather created the role. Of course I'm not taking on the kind of crooks you two are."
"No big, really. And we've stopped the hero work now that we're in different colleges... Actually, I'm out of it, period. And Ron was only there 'cause he's my best friend. Our computer genius was really the one who handled a lot of what we did."
"Computer genius? Will he help–"
"If you're asking about the race, no. Ron and I are on our own in this. You got here last, are you up to speed on everything? I can introduce you to the others."
"Thanks. My understanding is that we're meeting up with six more contestants tonight. We take a train from Paris to Andorra tomorrow and the day after that we meet our surprise partners and begin the race."
"That's what we were told."
"Glad we're on the same page. Could you please make the introductions?"
"Sure." Kim looked across the aisle and back a couple seats. "Burn?"
A burly man grunted and looked at Kim, "Yeah?"
"El Gato Negro, this is Burn Berman of Team Impossible. Burn, this is El Gato Negro."
"Gawd, how many mask wearers we gonna have in this?"
"I don't know," answered Kim.
"It would be better if my enemies did not know my real identity," El Gato Negro explained.
"Uh, your name's quite a mouthful," complained Ron. "I mean, if a rock is falling and I want to shout to you, the rock'll hit you before I get your name out."
"I'll answer to Cat," the Chicano assured him. "I'm allergic to getting hit with rocks."
"Really? I'm allergic to–"
"He's kidding, Ron."
"Cat is a lot easier," Kim told the masked man. "Let's step back and I'll introduce you to Hego and Mego."
"Thank you... They're out of Chicago, right? I believe Hego is very strong – will that give his team an advantage? I've watched only a few episodes of the Race."
"I don't believe any of the challenges will call for super strength, or Ron and I would be out. It might help him on some... I'm hoping flexibility will help with some."
Hego and Mego wore their small masks, but took them off in mid-flight.
"We'll be wearing them during the race."
"Do such small masks really hide your identities?" asked Cat.
"Of course," Hego assured him.
From the corner of his eye the Chicano saw Kim shake her head, 'No.'
In mid-flight Rufus awoke and put in an appearance. He was introduced to the others.
Burn looked doubtful, "Pets are allowed?"
"He was checked out before we left and got a green card... Well, it wasn't really green, but they called it–"
"He was joking, Ron," Kim reminded him. "Apparently a couple of our unknown partners may also have pets with them."
In Paris that evening the six who had flown in from the United States met the other six. Network personnel filmed the gathering.
"Are they going to do that all the time?" Ron whispered to Kim.
"Probably."
"Hope I don't get a zit on my nose or anything."
Kim guessed the age of Die Fledermaus in the early sixties, but he carried himself like a man of forty. The Austrian was in his late seventies. He seemed to regard himself as the host of the gathering. He made the introductions for those who had just arrived.
"Ladies first," he began. One of the African women gave him a dirty look for the comment. He missed it completely. He gestured at the taller of the Africans, "Umzingeli, from the Ndebele. Her friend is Hawi, from Ethiopia."
"Hawi is not my friend," Umzingeli told them firmly.
"But neither are we enemies," finished Hawi. "We met on the flight here."
"I thought–"
"Africa is a very large continent, with many different people. Do you know everyone in Europe?"
"I apologize for making assumptions." He gestured at a strongly built middle-aged woman. "Hunterwali, from India."
A dark-skinned man was introduced as Ipo-ipo, from the Philippines. "Like your Hego and Mego, and along with Hawi and Umzingeli, he possesses meta-human abilities. The rest of us must rely on our wits and abilities."
"Are you suggesting we do not use our brains?" demanded Umzingeli.
The Austrian ignored the comment and introduced the last member of the group, another masked man, "Capitão Falcão of Portugal."
Kim suspected Die Fledermaus was behind the times in regard to gender sensitivity and manners and attempted to change the subject, "So glad to see you," she told the other women, "On the plane over I was worried I might be the only one."
"But we do not know who are partners will be," Hunterwali pointed out. "I find myself very curious about the silence."
"I'm guessing we all do," Cat seconded.
"The tactic is clearly designed to add a degree of difficulty," insisted Die Fledermaus. "It will be part of the drama... I researched the program. And, of course, the greatest degree of difficulty will be if we are paired with criminals."
"No way," insisted the Chicano. "Criminals? They can't use criminals. The police would arrest them."
"Maybe former criminals who're out of prison," Fledermaus argued. "I'm simply stating the possibility which would have the greatest potential for conflict."
"Perhaps we will be paired with celebrities, sports figures of some sort."
"One can hope friends," Capitão Falcão offered, "perhaps Puto Perdiz will work with me."
Die Fledermaus pointed out the flaw, "While any der Spatz with whom I've worked would be welcome, the fact Ms. Possible and Mr. Stoppable will not be paired suggests it is unlikely any of us will be paired with a friend."
"I just want a partner I can win with," Burn said flatly. "I don't want a farce. Don't want to show up and find we've all been paired with chimps or something."
"Monkeys! No monkeys!" Ron hyperventilated.
Kim put a hand on his arm to quiet him, "He was just saying that to make a point, Ron. There is no way they would pair us with chimps."
"And they're not monkeys. Chimps are apes... And smarter than some people I know."
"They're all monkeys to me," insisted Ron.
Hego remarked, "We seem to have found Ron's kryptonite."
Die Fledermaus, El Gato Negro, and Umzingeli prowled through the train looking for any clues to their partners for the race as they rode to Andorra. Camera men recorded their efforts.
"I'm guessing our partners met up in Spain, either Madrid or Barcelona," represented the opinion of Die Fledermaus.
The Cat mused, "It's odd, but this method of our meeting each other creates a feeling of 'us' and our future partners as 'them'."
"Which will only become more intense if we are paired with criminals, especially foes."
"I have no foes who are out of prison," Umzingeli assured them. "And I will return them to prison rather than participate in a media circus."
"I've faced so many killers and crazies," the Austrian mused. "They couldn't possible release any of them – not at the whim of a cheap dictator."
"All the more reason to think we will find celebrities of some sort as our partners. Sports perhaps. I'd love to have the Real Madrid... No, they wouldn't take time from their season."
The older man patted the younger on the shoulder, "Real Madrid or not, I hope your prediction of celebrities is the solution to the riddle and not my fear of criminals."
"Or someone none of us have considered," the black woman said. "But we will know on the morrow."