Thanks to Sharper the Writer, campy, CajunBear73, Quathis, Jimmy1201, Eddy13, Sentinel103, Bobtrumpet, and mechwarrior108 for reviewing and to everyone for reading.
As ever, leave a review and I'll send you a reply.
Special thanks to campy for proofreading. His Limited Edition Great Blue L'il Diablo™ is in the mail.
KP, RS © Disney
I.
"Sorry about the wheels, KP," Ron said as he drove into the parking lot of the Hotel Capri.
"Ron, I don't care about the car, just the guy who's driving it," she said warmly, before adding with a note of mild sarcasm, "Though it is big enough for a mobile lair."
"Tell me about it," a chagrined Ron agreed. His father drove an avocado green four-door sedan that could be charitably described as a land yacht. Though the vehicle's gas mileage was sub-par, Ron's father liked the very low odds of sustaining a life-threatening injury while driving something so massive. "Dad may be a bon-diggity math hero, but this has got to be the uncoolest car in town."
"Oh, I don't know about that. It's got you behind the wheel," she said affectionately.
"Ah booyah," he said as he pulled up to the parking attendant. "I'm definitely keeping you around."
"You couldn't lose me if you tried," Kim said as they got out of the car. "Especially tonight. I'm going to see an actual Beagleroo! This is so ferociously exciting!"
Ron couldn't help but grin as a girlish smile spread over the face of his formally-dressed, globe-trotting, world-saving BFGF who would soon begin college at one of the best universities on the planet. He liked it when his tough, über-competent girlfriend let her inner child emerge.
"So, this makes up for all those date nights when I tried to get the frog from the claw machine at the mall?" he asked lightly, placing his thumbs under the lapels of his tux and trying to look suave.
Kim wrapped her arm through his and pulled him close. "Almost," she said with a playful smile. "Seriously, though, Ron, this is great. And thanks."
"Hey, don't thank me. Thank Mr. Smarty."
"I will. But you're the one who's given me the confidence to not worry about what people might think about me being a Cuddler."
"'Sha. It's one of the benefits of dating the guy whose motto is 'Never be normal'. Besides, you got to be yourself, KP, and you can do anything: Even turn to mush for plush," Ron said as he led her down a corridor and to the lobby outside of the ballroom. He was pleased when Kim's eyes opened wide as she took in all of the Cuddle Buddy paraphernalia.
"It's real," she said in awe as they approached the glass case with the Beagleroo. "This is so the drama."
"Let me get a picture of you two," a familiar voice said.
Ron turned around while Kim continued to gape at the rare stuffed toy. "Mr. Smarty!"
The box store mogul put out his hand. "Glad you could make it, Ronald."
"Glad to be here, Sir," he said, surprised that his normally hyper-polite, socially adept girlfriend was still distracted. "Psst, Kim. Host here."
"Huh?" Kim said as she continued to be entranced by the rare plush collectible. When she realized what she was doing, she blushed. "My bad." After she collected herself, she continued, "Thanks for inviting us, Mr. Smarty. This is amazing."
"Thank Ronald," Smarty said to Kim. "He's the overachiever who earned his place here tonight. What he did with those orcas was just the latest instance of his outside of the box thinking." Then he turned to Ron. "Congrats on Middleton Community, son. I'm glad you'll be able to stay with the team while you're at college!"
"Oh, well, …" Ron stammered while Kim beamed.
Mr. Smarty grinned as it was clear to him that Kim was as pleased to hear about Ron's success at work as she was to see the rare Cuddle Buddy. "Well, you two kids enjoy yourselves. We have some special surprises in store for tonight!"
"Will do, Mr. Smarty," Ron said earnestly as his boss wandered off to mingle with the other guests. When he turned back to Kim, she was no longer looking at the Beagleroo but at him, and with frank admiration. Then she gave him a buss on the cheek. "Way to go, Overachiever."
II.
Kim and Ron had been placed at a table near the front of the ballroom. While they were not sitting with Martin Smarty or the creator of Cuddle Buddies, they knew they had been given prime seats. Kim was thinking of how immensely proud she was of her BF. Her BF, meanwhile, was thinking of how he was hoping that he would not have to stand up lest he lose his pants and embarrass himself in front of the huge crowd.
"Your dress. It is not the Spring Collection," Coco Banana said disapprovingly to Kim before his face lit up. "But it should be!"
She basked in the designer's compliment. She couldn't believe that she was seated right next to him. While the guy she loved being with was Ron, she most definitely was not going to go to her BF to dish fashion. "It's a custom design," she said.
"Sperlucci?"
"No, Monique."
"This Monique. She is not on Coco's payroll."
"Nope. She's Assistant Manager at the Middleton Club Banana and my lady's main best girlfriend!" Ron enthused.
"Your GF's BGF designed this?" Coco asked.
"And it's badical!" Ron enthused, as Martin Smarty, who was wandering among the tables to greet guests, hovered nearby, watching approvingly and listening closely as his star employee engaged one of his more challenging content providers.
"Do you think we can get her under contract as a designer?" Mr. Smarty asked as he leaned over Ron's shoulder.
"I think I can talk with her," Ron said confidently.
"Excellent, Ronald!" the mogul said. "Here's what I'm prepared to offer …"
Kim listened as her BF did business with one of the world's five richest men and marveled at how this was the same goofy guy who a few months ago was having trouble holding down a job at Pickle on a Pike. Then he really impressed her.
"Sir, let's not forget our main man Mr. Banana of the badical designs!" Ron said. "This dude is responsible for most of my beautilicious GF's bon-diggity clothing!"
"Coco says thank you for the compliment," said the creative designer, who was clearly pleased by the words of praise.
"'Sha," Ron said with a friendly wave of the hand.
"Well, if you'll excuse me," Mr. Smarty said, "the program is about to begin and I need to offer a few remarks to start things off."
"Ron," Kim said admiringly, "You were …"
"Yeah, I know," he said with a bit too much self-regard for Kim's taste. She shot him a look that made clear she was not impressed.
"Big-heady much?" she observed with a cocked eyebrow.
Ron gulped. Kim smiled. "Just want to make sure you never have a repeat of the Bueno Nacho bathroom sitch."
"Yeah, heh, heh," Ron chuckled, then rubbed the back of his neck. "I hope you noticed I made sure you got your well-deserved mad beauty props."
Kim responded with a blush, which in turn elicited a sheepish grin from Ron. The two young heroes had once again lost themselves in one another's eyes and missed the beginning of Mr. Smarty's remarks, which is why they were both stunned when the businessman called out Ron by name only to announce to a packed ballroom that he had been fired.
III.
"Are we there yet?" Gemini asked
"Almost, sir," the nervous agent answered, not wanting to get on the man's bad side. He wasn't ready to be dismissed, especially if that involved being discharged through an ejection tube.
"Excellent," the bearded, one-eyed villain said as he stroked the head of his prized Chihuahua. "Soon, Little Sister, I will have what you so desperately want! Then, the World Wide Evil Empire will finally defeat Global Justice."
As was its wont, the hairless canine began barking furiously.
"My bad, Pepe," Gemini said soothingly. "My bad."
IV.
"F-fired?" Ron stammered as a spotlight fell on him.
"This is so not right," a furious Kim fumed.
"That's right, Ron Stoppable you're fired – from not having an award!" Martin Smarty chuckled. "I still love doing that," he said with a satisfied grin. "Ronald, your creativity and resourcefulness are the hallmarks of a great Smarty Mart employee. It's my pleasure to recognize you with this year's Smarty Mart Employee of the Year Award! Let's have a hand for the man!"
"I'm the man?" Ron said in confused awe as he saw Martin Smarty loft the coveted Employee of the Year Trophy, a gaudy golden plinth surmounted by the Smarty Mart mascot.
"No," Kim enthused. "You're my man! I'm so ferociously proud of you, Ron!"
"Son, please come up here," Martin Smarty beckoned.
As Ron rose from his chair and began walking to the front of the room, the crowd began to applaud. He wore a tentative grin and waved nervously as he made his way forward. When he saw the expression of joy and pride on Kim's face, his cheeks colored. He turned even redder when she playfully blew him a kiss. He finally reached a smiling Martin Smarty, who extended his hand. Ron began to think that other than when Kim asked him to the Junior Prom, this was the best night of his life. Then the ceiling disappeared in an explosion of dust and debris and henchmen wearing non-descript uniforms began to rappel into the ballroom.
"Coco does not know what is going on," the designer said tremulously.
"Unwanted guests crashing the party," Kim said, immensely put out with the villainous interruption. "Excuse me, Mr. Banana," she said, as she rose from her chair and prepared to take on the intruders. She looked to the stage. "Ron!" she called out to her boyfriend. "Protect Mr. Smarty!" Kim reasonably surmised that the most logical explanation for the attack was that someone was trying to abduct the billionaire so he could be held for ransom.
Seeing one of the goons nearby she pivoted on her heel and drove a kick into the man's gut. Then, as another charged her, she grabbed that attacker's arm and using the man's weight, tossed him into another one of the interlopers.
She was relieved to see Ron using his monkey kung fu on stage to fend off two henchmen there. All seemed to breaking their way. But then another wave of the anonymously-dressed henchmen appeared and the smoke grenades began to go off.
The ballroom was in chaos and it was impossible to see more than a couple of inches in any direction. Kim wished she was wearing the wrist Kimmunicator but that was in her purse, which was still at their table, which was lost in the smoke. As she tried to orient herself, she felt an arm slip around her neck. "I so don't have time for this," she growled. Kim stomped down with her heeled shoe, felt her attacker's arm loosen, slipped free, and threw a perfect roundhouse at her would-be assailant. She grimaced as she realized she couldn't get her bearings.
In the midst of the confusion, and unseen to most of those present, an anti-gravity sled silently descended through the ruined ceiling. On it was Gemini, a manic gleam in his eye. "Ron Stoppable, we meet again!"
"Sheldon?" Ron said.
"It's Gemini!" he barked.
"Whatever," Ron said dismissively. "Dude, what are you doing here?"
"He's obviously here to kidnap me for a ridiculously large sum of money," Smarty said from behind Ron.
"An intriguing idea, but perhaps I can get a rain check," Gemini said.
"You'll have to talk with customer service," Smarty said.
"In person or on the phone?"
"In person, on the phone, or on line. At Smarty Mart, we seek to please!"
"Uh, excuse me, Sir. Giving ideas to bad guys? Trust me. Not a good idea," Ron said before he turned to Gemini and changed the subject. "Dude, if you're not kidnapping Mr. Smarty, then what do you want?"
"The Ron Factor!" Gemini said, pointing one of his rocket fingers at Ron.
"Oh man. That's so sophomore." Ron said with a roll of the eyes.
"I think you mean sophomoric, Son," Martin Smarty suggested.
"No, actually, this goes back to my sophomore year …"
"As much as I'd like to take a stroll down memory lane, we need to be going," Gemini interjected as he pressed a button on a console, activating a beam that knocked out Ron before it enveloped the young man and drew him up to the sled.
"Now listen here, this is unacceptable! " Smarty protested. "You can't do this!"
"Oh, I think I can," Gemini retorted. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you!"
Kim recognized the voices of Martin Smarty and Gemini and made her way towards them, hoping that Ron would be nearby. She reached the dais just in time to see the leader of WWEE pull Ron into his vehicle and ascend toward the breach in the ceiling. "Ron! No!" she called out.
V.
"Sitch me," Kim said to Mr. Smarty with a sense of authority he was used to wielding and not experiencing.
The billionaire proceeded to recount what happened. As he spoke, he watched Kim's expression harden when she heard the words 'Ron Factor.'
"They are all so busted," she muttered.
Out of habit, Kim looked to her wrist, then remembered the Kimmunicator was still at their table. She looked around, grateful that the smoke was finally clearing, and made her way to where she had been sitting with Ron. She removed from her purse, then activated, the device. Wade's image appeared. He saw the expression of fury tinged with fear on Kim's face.
"Gemini's kidnapped Ron," she said before he could even greet her. "Can you track them?"
"Sure can. Ron's chip is still active."
"Spankin'," she said, grateful for any good news at the moment.
"You need a ride?"
"No," she said firmly.
"But how are you going to get to Ron?"
"GJ's going to get me there."
"You want me to put you through to Doctor Director?" he asked.
"Please and thank you," she answered with steely resolve.
Moments later, a surprised Betty Director appeared on screen. She had been planning to call in Kim and Ron for a friendly conversation about GJ's recent discovery. When she saw the younger woman's expression, she knew pleasantries, friendly or otherwise, would not be appreciated. "Kim? What is it?"
"The Ron Factor. Care to sitch me?"
"What do you know?" Director sighed.
"Only that your big brother wanted it so he kidnapped my BF!"
"Sheldon? Interesting," Doctor Director said. "We'll get right on it, Kim."
"Wrong," Kim shot back. "You'll meet me at Ron's house with a GJ hoverjet in fifteen."
Director took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Kim. I know you'd like to go after Ron, but that's not possible. We know about what happened in Middleton last spring. If Gemini is involved, this is now a matter of international security."
Kim snorted. "You mean personal job insecurity," she thought.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Martin Smarty interjected.
"And who are you?" she asked.
"Martin Smarty, CEO of Smarty Mart, Ron Stoppable's boss and, most relevant to the future trajectory of your career and the long-term prospects for your agency, golf buddy of the president who often likes to talk about the government's budget with me on the back nine."
Betty Director looked offended. "Are you threatening me?"
"Of course not. When you're as rich as I am, you don't have to threaten," Smarty laughed before adding menacingly, "You just do."
Betty Director didn't need long to perform this threat analysis. Frowning, she said, "Kim, I'll see you in fifteen minutes."
To Be Continued …