X-Possible
005: Trick
Morocco
It was evening in the Middle East, and in a darkened restaurant, two villains and one henchwoman began haggling over the top-secret technology one of them stole. "Is it true," Dr. Drakken asked, emphasizing his words, "Duff Killigan, that you stole the top-secret Centurion Project?"
"Maybe," the mad duffer replied, "is et troo, Doctor Drakken, you're looking to purchase the recently stolen, top-secret Centurion Project?"
"Maybe," Drakken admitted.
Behind them, Shego rolls her eyes and quickly loses her patience, she slams a briefcase down between them, "here's the money," she says quickly, "now hand over the Centurion Project," she demands, holding her hand out, palm up!
"Shego," Drakken growls like a kicked puppy, "we're about to haggle!"
"And, Ah doo love teh haggle," Killigan agrees, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
Shego was having none of it, "Let's just get the Centurion Project and get outta here," she said urgently! Ever since Kimmie's sidekick has started stepping up on missions, things have gotten a little tight in the villainy business. Capers have been getting foiled sooner, and lairs destroyed faster. She and Dr. D, have been on the run since they escaped custody of the US military, for trying to infiltrate a top-secret military base, last May, using of all things, a mind switch device. Shego and the henchmen never even came face-to-face with the teen hero and her sidekick, they had snuck into the base, liberating the prisoner they were guarding, and left without even setting off an alarm. Which was unusual considering Kim's sidekick, Ron Something-or-Other, was the biggest klutz she had ever met, besides her own boss. Adding insult to injury, they had even managed to trap them in their own base, simply by disabling the elevator. That's why in the future Shego would insist on having multiple escape routes built into the lairs, even the time-shares they rented from Hench-co. They stayed in military custody, long enough for the authorities to switch Dr. D back into his body, then she broke them out.
"Ach, you're a harsh one lass," Duff said, handing them what seemed like a bracelet.
Drakken accepted it with a confused expression, he waved it back and forth, and even bit into it like a gold coin. "Uh…," he asked, sounding dubious, "This trinket is the Centurion Project?"
"Aye," the scourge of the links growled, "eh don't blame me if it's a wee thingy," he said taking the briefcase, opening and began counting his money, "blame the scientists that built et."
"And guess what, I think the scientists that invented it," came a feminine voice behind them, "would like it back."
"Hand over the top-secret device, and we'll let you go," came another voice, this one deeper. They looked and standing next to Kim Possible was a man, with crimson and wheat colored hair, wearing amber-gold mirrored shades, and standing a few inches taller than his teen partner. "We're not interested in you three, right now," the voice informed them, "we want the device, not you."
Kim just looked at them and took in their stunned expressions. Maybe it was the feline in her, but she loved to see that look on an adversary's face when she burst in on them. The two villains said together in shocked voices, "KIM POSSIBLE!"
"Wait," Duff asked, "yeh know her?"
"Know her," Drakken growled in pure anger, "loathe her. Shego, Attack," he ordered.
Shego just looked at her nemesis, like a predator stalking its prey, she had been assessing her opponent from behind her boss. Shego took in the features of the person, standing next to the teen heroine, looking past his hair and glasses, at the features of the face itself.
Shego did not even hear her boss's command, as she leapt over the head of her boss placing her hands atop his head, using it as a springboard. She leapt into the middle of the floor, did a series of cartwheels, ending in a back handspring.
Ron saw the dark-haired woman bounding for Kim as usual, but he suddenly felt like testing himself, and his new found skills. In high frequency, he yelled, "Hey, KP, I've got Shego this time, you go after the two dumb-asses, and get what we came for." Kim understood immediately what Ron was trying to do, and did not hesitate to do as he asked her. Kim was not overly worried about her best friend, who in the last month has improved in his skill at fighting. They spar together every week, and together they have both been improving. She was still more agile, and flexible than him, but the gap was closing rapidly, unless she was transformed of course, then the gap widened comfortably. Kim almost smirked when she thought about the upcoming confrontation between her best friend and her arch-nemesis, when Shego ignites her powers, she'll get a rude awakening. Uncle Wolvie and Ron have sparred together claw to claw as often as they could, to get Ron used to employing them in battle. There's no one better suited to teach Ron how to use his natural weapons than his grandpa.
Then she turned her head back to Drakken and Duff, the latter of which was about to swing a golf club at an exploding golf ball. Kim immediately pressed a button on the communication watch she has named, Kimm-watch. Duff suddenly felt his club being tugged from his grasp, right after the Centurion project was pulled from Drakken's own grip. Both objects came flying across the room to the waiting teenager, the bracelet looped itself on Kim's wrist, just before she caught the flying golf club. "Nine-iron, not the way to play this hole," Kim quipped, "not with my super-magnet loaded into my Kimm-watch." Just as she said that the Centurion Project tightened on her wrist, guess it's coming with me, she thought.
The two villains ran and took cover, just as the golf ball exploded. The shock-wave of the explosion collided with the roof, causing cracks to begin forming on the ceiling. "The roof," Duff exclaimed, "she's coming down!"
"That can't be good," Drakken mused.
Meanwhile as Kim headed toward the two villains Ron stepped into Shego's path, and grabbed her by her leg to swing her around to fling her at the far wall. Shego was a little surprised by Stoppable's move and it intrigued her. Kimmie's sidekick has been training, I wonder how good he's gotten in just a few months? Shego gave a grin as she somersaulted into the wall and then to the ground, "well, lookie here, did Kimmie's lapdog finally grow some fangs?"
"Yes," Ron stated matter-of-factly, before charging at the woman he had once been attracted to. He went in for a right-cross which she dodged, before counterattacking with a round house. Ron parried it with his forearm, while trapping her leg and delivering a straight punch to the meat of her thigh. With the muscles and bones of his body composed of a more durable material than a normal human skeleton, what would be barely felt from anybody else, is the equivalent of being punched with brass-knuckles from Ron Stoppable.
Shego groaned at the intense pain in her thigh, and jumped away from Stoppable. That's where she ignited her power, the green flame bestowed upon her by the comet. She charged back at the last person she thought would give her trouble.
Ron's eyes widened behind his sunglasses, he knew he could have popped his claws and surprised her enough to halt her attack, but his mind was telling him it was not yet time to reveal his trump card. So from behind his shades, he deployed his Heavenly Eyes, his perceptions seemed to slow down, and immediately he saw several openings. He attacked faster than a lizard's tongue, he surged forward with a punch to her face, and in rapid succession at the same speed, he delivered a combination of blows to her midsection, then an uppercut, which sent her back into the wall.
Shego had apparently calmed down, "Well, well, Ron Stoppable," she asked, in slight respect, "what happened to you," she asked, "you used to be such a dork, now you're a hunk?"
"Puberty happened," he told the adult woman, blushing at the compliment, "and a few other things as well."
Just as the golf ball exploded, Kim made a dash for the fighting couple.
Kim's eyes narrowed when she heard her arch nemesis make a pass at her best friend. Did Shego just make a pass at my Ron? "Let's go Ron, we've got things to do back home," and so grabbing him by the hand she drags him out of the restaurant.
Kim and Ron ran out of the restaurant, as it came crumbling down around the two villains. From under a slab of concrete Shego stood up uncovering her boss and the one he was about to do business with. She looked at them with a quirked eye-brow, while even a direct hit from the golf ball would not have harmed her, Drakken could have at least warned her. She'll talk to him about that later, in a little session she likes to call, "Drakken Go Ouchy," but now was not the time. When did Stoppable learn how to fight like that, he never stepped up before, and always left the fighting to Possible, Shego wondered?
She was pulled out of her thoughts because Duff had the temerity to ask, "do I still get me money?" Then, Drakken proceeds to lose his mind, as he begins to curse and shout, though he can barely form the words, he was so mad.
Middleton, CO
Back in Middleton, Hallowe'en season was in full swing, with the Possible front yard decorated in all kinds of "scary" stuff. Jack O'Lanterns on hay bales or with witch hats, a bat swinging in the window, and a tombstone or two. That combined with Phantom of the Opera themed music, screaming out of loudspeakers, set the tone for the macabre holiday of the year.
In the bedroom of Kim Possible, she was on the Kimm-watch with Wade. The scientists that reported the Centurion Project missing, all had plans for Hallowe'en, apparently the return of their top-secret scientific prototype was not a top priority for them. "Wade, when do those scientists want to pick up their property," she asked in exasperation, while holding the device she and her best friend risked life, and limb to retrieve? After it clamped on her wrist they tried everything to get it off, but nothing worked until they got home, and she made herself intangible. Then it dropped right off and returned to its original state.
"Sorry Kim," Wade said, in a conciliatory voice, "but they've all left for the weekend already."
Kim thought, "did you remind them that we charge extra for keeping it overnight?" Just like artifact retrieval, device and research retrieval was one of the missions for which Team Possible charged a fee. But, only if the contracting entity can prove to them that it was theirs to begin with, Wade always made doubly sure on these missions to be sure that they were not just being used to steal technology from a rival entity, even going so far as to hack the client's computers to see if their claims are true. Now that they were SHIELD and Global Justice officers with access to those databases, they now could say with 99% certainty that they did their due diligence, before taking requests like retrieving the Centurion Project.
"I reminded them and even pointed to the specific clause in the contract that highlights that circumstance," Wade informed her, "and they said again, that we would have to keep it over the weekend."
Kim sighed, "Did they at least tell you what it does," she asked?
Wade looked reticent, "Kim, the data on the Centurion Project is hacker proof," he said looking around.
Kim noticed the look on his face, he seemed to be holding something back, "What is it Wade, you said it was hacker proof, not other means of retrieving it proof?" The eleven-year-old super-genius looked shocked that she called him on his slip, "Wade, I have two younger brothers who are, if you put them together just as smart as you, they're better at hiding their facial expressions than you," she reminded him, "now spill."
Wade sighed, "The Centurion Project was inspired by the Hulk, and was built specifically to counter him. It is a next generation bio armor meant to become more durable the more stressed the wearer becomes, theoretically to counter the Hulk's strength, this version was just the prototype, and had major flaws according to the SHIELD-GJ sources I checked."
Kim was nodding, "That would make sense, the angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he becomes. I don't approve of the way the military handles the Hulk sitch, but who are we to judge, we've never gone up against him." Wade nodded, but thought, but Doctor Banner seemed just so laid back when he was my professor at MIT, in Advanced Particle Physics. Kim signed off the Kimm-watch just as her phone rang, "Hello," she said lightly.
But the burst of sound coming from her phone startled her, "Kim, I have unbelievable news," her new friend Monique shouted over the phone!
Kim smirked, "You know of a way to take the Centurion Project off my hands," she asked? Kim opens a safe just below her bed, buried into the floor, and deposits the bracelet inside. This is the most impregnable safe in Middleton, made of two layers of half-inch thick Adamantium, surrounding a third layer of Vibranium. The molecules of the two metals were structured like a diamond's molecular structure, it was a gift from T'challa, the prince of Wakanda, after doing a favor Team Possible did for the Wakandan people. Ron has one too, which he gifted to his mother, and they both use it.
"What now," Monique asked?
"Never mind," Kim smiled. "So, what's up," she asked?
"I got the party green-light," Monique gushed.
"That is ferociously cool," Kim said, getting excited, and standing up from her bed, "when is it?"
"Tonight," the American of African descent chirped as her voice reached a higher octave.
"As in Hallowe'en," Kim asked deflating, laying back down again, and groaning…
"It's a costume party," Monique continued, "everybody is going to be there!"
"… everybody except me, and Ron," she whined to her new friend.
"But, you gotta come…" Monique entreated.
Bueno Nacho
Later at Bueno Nacho, the reason Kim could not come to Monique's Hallowe'en party was Kim's best friend. "I've already promised Ron that I'd spend Hallowe'en with him," Kim told Monique. Kim and Monique were walking into Ron's favorite eatery, and home of the top selling fast food item in the world – invented by Ron – the Naco. They walked in and saw Ron sitting at his and Kim's favorite booth, and she immediately claimed the seat next to her Ron. "He loves Hallowe'en," Kim said heavily, and Ron just nodded his head enthusiastically.
"What better way to celebrate than at my party," Monique asked in her most excited, and convincing tone of voice? Ron was making his way through a triple Naco Grande platter, ever since he started making great strides to improve himself, he had cut back on Bueno Nacho to once a month, and holidays like Hallowe'en. He continued to listen to his best friend and their new friend debate the Hallowe'en party.
"A party would interfere with the Trick-or-Treat action," Kim explained, looking at her BFF to confirm what he would have said, which he just nodded as he continued to eat and listen.
Monique looked surprised, "as in smell my feet, gimme something good to eat?" She asked, looking in Ron's direction incredulously, and he just continued to nod as he started on his last grande platter.
"That's right Monique," Kim answered, "while I think we're a little old for T-or-T, Ron still wants to hold on to his childhood a little while longer," she said, not noticing the look her best friend threw her way. Ron finishes his bite and swigs down a shot of Dr. Jalapeño.
"Kim," Ron spoke-up, she turned and looked at him, "I agree with you, I think we're too old to go trick-or-treating."
Kim gasped, as the last phrase she thought she would ever hear from Ron, came out of his mouth, "You… you think we're too old to go trick-or-treating," but before he could answer she pressed her Kimm-watch call button. She called Wade, "Wade quickly, analyze the scan I am about to send you," before pressing the face of the watch a few times, as a beam of light shot out of it, enveloping the boy next to her.
"KP," Ron began…
"Shut it you, I only let one person call me that," Kim yelled, "and from the statement you just made, you are most definitely not him!" He opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again, this is what she would do if I wasn't here, and I really was an impostor, it's nice to know she at least thinks about me when we aren't in each other's presence.
Wade's voice came over the Kimm-watch, "The scan indicates Ron Stoppable," the eleven-year-old said to Kim, "what're you doing, checking your equipment?
"KP," Ron said in low freq, taking her hand in his, "I'm glad you only let me call you by your initials, makes me feel truly appreciated, and special."
"So, you really are, my Ron," Kim finally accepts, voice coming into human vocal range, she barely notices him holding her hand, "what's with this talk about not going trick-or-treating, you love that?"
Ron nods, "I do, and I will be going trick-or-treating, just not as a trick-or-treater."
"What do you mean," Kim asked confused, "how can you go trick-or-treating, and not be a trick-or-treater?"
"By going as a chaperone-guide," Ron enlightened her, "I have volunteered to take kids whose parents are out of town, or otherwise unable around the neighborhood, so they don't miss out. Rabbi Katz called me today asking for help; it seems there are more kids this year than ever and they needed more volunteers. I've already agreed to it, and I was going to ask you, when we met up today, if you wanted to help guide another group of kids, but if you want to go to Monique's party, you can do that too."
Kim squeezes his hand in hers, and speaks to her newest friend, without turning away from her oldest friend's shades-covered eyes, "Monique, when will the party end?"
"Mom and Pop said, since it's the weekend, and a holiday, that it can go 'til midnight," the other girl replied.
Kim thumbed her chin, then squeezing Ron's hand reflexively, she turned to him, "what time are you supposed to drop-off the last child?"
"I am to return the last child to the synagogue tonight by nine," Ron replied.
"That'll give me time to get to the party," Kim said excitedly, "after I go trick-or-treating with Ron!"
Ron could not be any happier, he got to spend a holiday with his best friend, doing his favorite activity. "Coolio," Ron exclaimed, throwing his unoccupied hand into the air in a fist, "I get to spend my favorite holiday, with my favorite person of all time, doing my favorite activity of all time!" He did not care, if anybody was watching, Ron's motto of 'never be normal,' would never allow himself to be self-conscious about making a scene in public. "Then she can still go have fun at a party," Ron's eyes widened, and voice became more subdued, the longer he spoke, "where she can get hit on by the guys in our school."
"You too Ron," Monique put in before Kim could open her mouth, "you're my friend, too. That makes you welcome at my party, as well."
"Yeah Ron, you've been working so hard to improve yourself," Kim admitted to him, subconsciously giving his hand, still firmly in her grasp a squeeze and a thumb rub. "I know you didn't really do it for me, but for yourself, I have been so proud of you the last few months. You deserve a night to relax, and as you've put it in the past, marinate."
Ron just gave her that goofy grin, "you ain't gotta ask me twice," he burst out, "finally I have a venue that allows me to showcase my bon-diggity dance moves." Both teen girls just smiled at the teen boy among them, one who was already making room in her heart for him as a cherished friend, and the other whose heart he was so embedded in it was like they were one person. "I won't even have to buy a costume this year, mine comes with the package," he said, indicating himself.
Drakken's Lair
Deep in the Caribbean, on an island that is an extinct volcano, and on top of that volcano is a fortress. Within this fortress, Drew Lipskey, also known as Dr. Drakken is on the phone with the other villain he attempted to do business with yesterday. Duff Killigan was of the belief that even though the device he stole was taken back by Kim Possible, he should still be paid. He contends that he had delivered on his end of the bargain, and it was Drakken's own fault that he could not retain ownership of the device. Drakken, however, was of a different opinion, "For the last time Duff," he retorted, "I will not pay you."
Then held the phone away from his ear as Killigan explained his point of view – in his own way, 'I WANT ME MONEY!'
"Look," Drakken said in his most reasonable, but firm voice, "I said, I would pay you, when the stolen Centurion Project was in my possession, it is not in my possession, therefore…, I'm not paying."
'YEH, YEH, YOU'RE A CRIMINAL,' the mad duffer exclaimed in disbelief, over the line Drakken distinctly heard the strain of stressed metal! What's he doing over there bending his golf clubs, Drew wondered?
"My dear fellow," he began disarmingly, "I repeatedly try to take over the world," then finally losing his patience, barks, "OF COURSE I'M A CRIMINAL!"
'WELL, I'LL TELL YOU THIS MUCH LADDIE,' Killigan began threatening his super-villain contemporary, 'THE NEXT TIME I STEAL IT, I'LL SELL IT TO SOMEONE ELSE,' before hanging up!
"The nerve of that man," Drakken grumbled before bellowing, "Shego!"
As the woman the world knows as Shego appears in his office door. Making her way to his desk she opens with, "Indoor voice," she sighs, "please," she asked in exaggeration? While placing a cassette player down on the desk.
He chose to ignore her request, but still spoke in a more moderate voice – because he wanted to, not because he did not want another Drakken Goes Ouchy session – asked, "What have you found out?"
Shego pressed play, and within seconds the voice of eleven-year-old Wade Rhodes's voice was projected into the air, "Hey this is Wade, we've got kind of a problem," he began, "Centurion Project is stuck on Kim's wrist." As Wade said this, Drakken's face split into a wide grin, but Wade continued, "I know you're closed for the weekend, but if anybody checks messages, please help us out on this?"
As the recording ended, the evil scientist took on a look of mock-concern, "Our poor little Kimmie, perhaps we can be of some assistance," his grin became even wider than before.
Possible Kitchen
Kim walked into her family kitchen to find her father and brothers eating supper, made by their dad, since Anne was not home right now. Her father would be the most difficult to convince to let her go to Monique's party, especially since they were bound to be boys. James T. Possible's powerful mind was capable of many things, calculating the trajectory of a moving object containing thousands of moving parts, all moving at once, built by the lowest bidder, or programming a space probe to find the nearest black-hole, but contemplating the fact that his little Kimmie-cub was on the cusp of womanhood, and is interested in boys was where he had the meltdown. They were eating a hearty stew, since it was a chilly-evening, while her dad was reading the paper, and the tweebs were jabbering about some science fiction-something-or-other. From behind his paper Kim's father asked, "Hey Kimmie-cub, you, and Ron, all-set for trick-or-treating?"
"Eww, Kim's going trick-or-treating," Tim quipped, "at her age," Jim added.
Kim narrowed her eyes, which gave them a green reflective glow, causing even her brothers to shrink away in their seats, "for your information, Ron decided he wasn't going begging for candy from strangers."
There was a crinkle of paper as Jim Sr., and a clatter of silverware as Jim and Tim Jr., looked up mouths agape. "Is there anything wrong at home with Ron," Kim's father asked, "Tom, Vicky?"
"Did you check to see if that was the real Ron," Jim asked urgently, "he could've been replaced by an alien," Tim added?
Kim answered the questions in the order received, "As far as I know dad, Ron's parents are fine, and I'd know if they weren't," then turning to her brothers replied, "the first thing I checked when Ron told me that, was to see if it truly was my best friend, and according to Wade's scans it was 100% Ron Stoppable." The tweebs looked confused, their big sister never thought like them, "what, I thought he could've been replaced by one of our enemies, the Seniors could, and would do something like that?" Kim continued, "We're volunteering to take kids around trick-or-treating tonight," she told the male members of her family, "so we are trick-or-treating, we're just not trick-or-treaters."
Before they could add anything else, Anne burst in, "Look what I've got, boys," she came in carrying what looked like a mannequin, "it's mister Cadaver, we let the med-students practice on him, life-like latex."
The boys jumped up immediately forgetting about Ron and his unusual behavior, and hurried around the table, "you're the best mom," they exclaimed, grabbing the dummy.
Kim looked puzzled and Anne, knowing her daughter answered her unspoken question, "the boys are helping with the Scare for Care Haunted House at the Hospital."
"So, you two aren't going T-or-Ting either," Kim asked?
"We're so over candy begging," Tim answered, "duh, we're ten," Jim reminded his sister, before heading out.
After they left Anne joined her at the table, "I heard from Vicky at the hospital today, that you and Ron are helping Rabbi Katz and Pastor Smith guide a group of kids around the neighborhood, Kimmie," her mother said, "I'm so proud of you for helping out your community."
"Yes," Jim nodded, "that's very responsible of you two."
"You could've knocked me over with a feather when she told me Ron decided not to go trick-or-treating this year," Anne continued, "for a minute, I thought something might be wrong with the Stoppables."
Kim had a small smile, "you're not the only one, mom, you and dad pretty much had the same thought, and Jim and Tim, thought along the same lines as me," Kim had a devious twitch of her eyes, "but as far as I know nothing is wrong with the Stoppables, and that was definitely Ron today. We're going to take the kids around to all the houses in the neighborhood and get them back to the synagogue by nine. After that we're going to swing by Monique's Hallowe'en and get in some face-time with boys and girls our own age."
Jim narrowed his eyes and said, "Now, wait a minute."
"That's wonderful honey," Anne said over her husband, "thank you for informing us of your plans, so we'll know where you'll be."
"Your mom is correct, and since it is not a school night," Jim sighed, then nodded and added, "you can stay out as late as you want," her father told her. He went on, and decided to trust his daughter, "if you decide to spend the night, call us and inform us." Anne placed a hand on his arm massaging it, to comfort him, she knew how hard it was for him to let go.
"Go infrasonic," Kim told them with a sigh. They looked at her weirdly but complied with their daughter's wishes, "what I'm about to tell you is top secret, you can't reveal it to anybody." Anne pressed one of her earrings, and James placed an ear wiig in his ear. When at twelve, your daughter learns that she can communicate in vocal tones beyond human perception, you can do one of two things: forbid her from using such vocal tones, and hope she complies with your wishes, or if you are a scientist you can build a device that adapts her voice to your ears. The two devices take Kim's voice and modulates the frequency up or down the Hertz scale, so her parents can hear their daughter, no matter what frequency she communicates with. "While the party is legitimate, the taking kids for T-or-T is not, here's what's really happening…"
The Skies above Middleton
High above the streets of Middleton, two aircraft being piloted by villains, make their way across the sky. One of the aircraft is quite recognizable, if slightly incongruous, it was a blimp. At the helm, stood Duff Killigan, aka the mad golfer, and the airship he steered matched the tartan design of clan Killigan, a checkered field of red and green squares. He was in Middleton to steal back that, which he rightfully stole: the Centurion Project. He has been traveling from northern Africa, since Team Possible busted his deal for the said Project. He never really believed Drakken would pay him his money, but being the sportsman, he was, Duff, thought to give the mad scientist a chance to do the right thing.
In other parts of the sky flew Dr. Drakken and Shego. They were propelled along in a much less traditional flying machine, a flying saucer. The diameter of a large sports car, yet it could move at a sustained velocity of Mach 3.3, it flew from the Caribbean to Colorado in just under an hour, it is Drakken's most successful invention yet.
In the time it took for the villainous duo, Hell, since she saw him in Africa, Ron Stoppable has occupied a portion of Shego's thought processes. It was a good fight, neither one of us pulled any punches, but he got the better of me. It'll be an interesting life if I have to fight both Possible and Stoppable, it'll be hard to go from one to the other. Kim is more of the stick and move type of fighter, she'll get in a couple of good licks, and then dodge and flip out of the way, when I retaliate. Ron does not have Kim's agility, but has endurance and power to back up his lack, it could be down to being a guy. His hits hurt more too, as if his fists were made of something harder than bone, but how is that possible?
Those were just her idle thoughts, much of her time was spent aiding her employer, for the moment, in locating Kim Possible. They were hovering in stealth-mode listening to the signals from cell phones, and similar communications apparatus. They had been up in the air for a few hours, listening to random conversations, the main topic of discussion for teenagers seemed to be which party they were going to tonight. They were practically in hysterics over some new girl, named Monique's party. Who just happened to be Kim Possible's new friend, and began to follow the conversations, until they found the teen hero herself.
"Ah dut tut," Drakken yelled, "I'm getting something."
"Guess who's garage band is playing at my party," came an excited teen girl's voice?
Then a voice came over the airwaves, "Let me guess," came the voice of Kim Possible, which perked up the listeners, "who is Josh Mankey, Alex" Kim said in a deadpan voice?
"Got it in one Miss Possible, that's $200 going to you," said the other teenager.
There was a beeping sound coming from Kim's side of the call. "Hold on," Kim said, "Wade, cool costume," she complimented, "wait a second, you're gonna leave your room," Kim asked in astonishment? Over the line a low frequency humming was heard, which interfered only slightly with reception.
Drakken adjusted his sound device, which filtered out the noise and the conversation was heard more clearly. "No way," the boy named Wade replied quickly, "I do it all online."
"You got an update on this bracelet," Kim asked, cutting to the chase?
"The update is," he said reticently, "no update. I left them a message at the lab."
"We know that already," Shego exclaimed impatiently, which earned a shush from her boss.
"Okay," Kim replied in resignation, "I've got Monique on the phone, page me if anything…"
Then it fritzed out, and Dr. Drakken grumbled and banged on the device, "Stupid thing, never works when I'm roaming!"
In the zeppelin, Duff Killigan was having similar issues, and ironically had the same response as the not-so-good doctor, "Foul machine, never works when I'm roaming!"
The two villains finally got their respective apparatuses to work in time to hear:
"So," they heard Kim ask Monique, "Josh Mankey is going to be there," she asked with only mild curiosity in her voice?
"Yes Kim," Monique replied, "Josh is going to be here." Then sounding exasperated added, "gee Kim, you could sound a little more enthusiastic, I mean I've heard rumors that you had a crush on Josh Mankey, just last year."
"I know, sorry," Kim replied, "you're right, I did have a crush on Josh, and if you'd told me this just nine months ago, then I would be more excited about meeting him at the party," Kimmie admitted. "Now, however, while I look forward to hearing him play, my interest in him is just about how good he is as a musician." There was a beep on call-waiting, and Kim beeped out with, "incoming."
"Kim," came a male voice over the line, "I'm about to head over to Temple in a few secs, do you wanna meet me there or walk with me, tonight?"
"Ron," Kim exclaimed as her voice rose a few octaves, "I'll meet you there, I want my costume to be a surprise." Every time the two paused to take a breath more interference could be heard, it could only be heard when they were silent, so it did not hinder the villain's ability to hear.
"Is that thingamabob still on your wrist KP," Ron asked?
"Yes, it is, but the Centurion Project won't interfere with my costume," Kim replied.
That's when Drakken and Killigan shut off their listening devices, which startled Shego, "what," she had gotten into the topic of conversation a little too much.
Drakken answered her, "We need to start a search for this Josh Mankey person immediately."
Shego looked puzzled, "Why in the Hell would you need to do something like that?"
Drakken was listening absentmindedly, as he began typing the name phonetically, into his computer, "weren't you listening, she has a crush on this Josh Mankey, kid…" he was silent as his computer searched for any Mankeys in the area, "ah hah, found it. Josh Mankey, son of Jonathan and Pamela Mankey…" he trailed off as Shego shut off his monitor.
"Yes, I was listening when Kimmie said she had a crush on this Mankey person," Shego informed her boss, "had; while she would come to rescue Josh if he were captured, that's just Kim being a hero, but she could just as easily send somebody in her place. Why waste our efforts going after someone, she may or may not come to rescue, our goal is to get the Centurion Project, when we could capture somebody she would definitely come to rescue herself?"
"Like whom, may I ask," Drew Lipskey questioned, "and how do you know she no longer has a crush on this, Josh Mankey?"
"I didn't just spring up fully grown like a mushroom Doctor D," Shego smiled, "I was a teenage girl at one time, too. I listened to Kim's voice when she spoke about Mankey, he could fall off the face of the planet tomorrow and she would only care as a human-being." Shego turned the monitor around to her and brought the keyboard around to her as well, she flicked it on and began typing, "there was one person in that conversation, that got a real rise out of her when she spoke to them, the one person our little Kimmie would move Heaven and Hell to get back."
"Who could that be," Drakken wondered, "the other girl she was talking to, or that boy… whose name escapes me?"
Shego continued smiling, "no it wasn't the girl, but the boy who just happens to be Kim's crush is…," she hit enter, and turned the monitor back around to her employer, "Stoppable." Drakken looked at the monitor, and on it was all the public information on Kim Possible's sidekick. It read;
Ronald Victor Stoppable, 15,
1000 Elm Ct., Middleton, CO 81433,
mother: Victoria Raven Stoppable, occupation: Unknown,
father: Thomas Dean Stoppable, occupation: Actuary.
On it was a picture of Ron's yearbook picture, taken before last March. Drakken looked at the picture and got the same grin he got earlier today before coming to Middleton. Duff, however, had the same thought as Drakken, but he did not have a Shego to lead him down a different path, the correct path, so to speak.
Interlude with Ron
[Latin translation]
Ron Stoppable, walked out of his house, closing the door, and locking it. He decided to walk the fifteen minutes to Temple, rather than hitch a ride. Tonight was Hallowe'en, and though he was Jewish, this holiday was his favorite of the year. In times past, he enjoyed it simply for the free candy he would enjoy for a few weeks after the holiday. This year, however, he liked it for a different reason, because this year with so many changes happening to his body, and his need to conceal those changes, Hallowe'en gave him a chance to show-off who he was, beneath the surface. On this night, he could allow his mutation to be seen without risking his, and Kim's public reputation.
Ron's wheat-blonde hair, with crimson-red tiger-stripes in a ridge pattern branching off from a central spine in regular intervals, led from the brow to the nape. Below Ron's hairline, his usual pale skin was darkened into a midnight-blue coloration that, if necessary, would aid him to blend in at night. Below his neck was a sleeveless, hooded leather jerkin, with buckles down the front that ended just above his knees, over a long-sleeved, crimson-red, cotton shirt. On the back of the navy-blue leather jerkin, was a pattern much like that of his hair, with crimson-red tiger stripes in a central column, running along his spine, branching horizontally from the neck to the hem, the lower half of his body was also covered with roomy, black King Henry VIII breeches made of cotton twill. They had a wide, fitted waistband with a button-up fly, and on the back, crimson-red lacing through sturdy metal eyes, allowing Ron to adjust them to fit his body. The body of these breeches were pleated into the waistband at the top, and deep cuffs with lacing and cloth loops on the sides. A black pair of fingerless gloves, and boots adorned his hands and feet, respectively. All the items on his person were created and sewn by Ron himself, except for the gloves and boots, which he won at SHIELD's office Christmas party last year in a raffle. The hood even had holes, cut-out to allow his ears to peek out.
Altogether, Ron Stoppable looked downright menacing, and when he raised his hood to cover his hair, it cast his face into darkness. If one were looking at his face, all they would be able to see were two eyes that appeared to be glowing a bright pale-yellow, and his mouth which when opened revealed two pairs of elongated canine-teeth. If asked what he was, he would tell people he was a hobgoblin, and was hungry for human flesh, before winking.
The last two months, since his mutation first manifested, have changed Ronald Victor Stoppable, mentally, and physically. While he still held onto the Essential Ronness, and his life mantra to never be normal, he was not the same carefree Ron of the past. He still liked to hang out at the arcade and play video games, and just plain geek-out to comics and sci-fi movies, he now understood there was a time and a place for all those activities. He learned to manage his time, so he could still do those activities, but still make sure his schoolwork and training were completed, and it made the activities described above, more special when he got to do them.
Ron's physique has changed dramatically, since he began working out last March, and even more so when he became a mutant. Having a healing factor had its incentives, and its obstacles. He had to work-out twice as hard every day to feel the same burn as the day before. Ron worked out for two hours every morning, the first hour was dedicated to the physical training exercises he learned from Rabbi Katz, and in Boot over the summer. These were designed to increase his strength and endurance. The second hour was spent doing the training exercises that came from the Mystical Monkey Power memories, which were meant to train his body to be nimble and flexible, as well as strong and tough. KP joined him for the second hour, since her fighting styles required maximum flexibility, and agility, not to mention her cheerleading and gymnastics. Because of Ron's dedication, the shirt that he wore, showed off every muscle and sinew of his torso, but the jerkin concealed everything, except his arms, which had become toned and ready pythons. The garments concealing his lower body, however, were loose and allowed for high freedom of movement.
During the school week, Ron's two-hour work-out schedule was sacrosanct, and to keep his body progressing, Ron wore ankle-and-wrist weights, with a leather weight belt of his own design, to which he could tie washers, increasing or decreasing the weight as he progressed. In the month and a half since he began using the weights, his strength and speed have increased, and these days he was up to 20 pounds on each limb, and 25 pounds on his torso. The weights were so effective, Kim added them to her own work-out, and Ron made a weight belt for Kim. The measuring of her waist made both blush, but she did not otherwise complain.
On weekends and holidays where there was no school or missions, Ron and Kim began to participate in what they have dubbed ironman(woman) training. They began on Saturdays, after Temple, until Sundays, before Church, in addition to the ankle-and-wrist weights, they added a 120-lbs backpack in full-combat load, minus weapons, and hike, jog, or run to nearby mountains. Once they reached these mountains, they would ascend to various peaks, and once at the top, they would set-up camp, and spend the night.
While they camped, they practiced wilderness survival, their rucks had everything they needed, including rations, but they hardly ever touched them. They spent their time living off the land; fishing, trapping – with special permission from the State of Colorado, and local agencies – and, practicing navigation without modern equipment. It was up in the mountains, away from prying eyes, that allowed them to transform into their true selves, and this is where they practiced their fighting.
Kim and Ron are the best of friends, and either one would sacrifice his or her life to protect each other, but for three full hours, they did their level best to pummel each other into the ground. They were ruthless, bordering on barbaric with each other, any one who witnessed them fight, and did not know them, would think they hated each other. When in fact they loved each other deeply, which they have always known, it was only the last few months that have led them to question the type of love, they felt for each other. They did not just brawl with each other, they would fight among the trees, and treat the trees like stationary, immobile people. They had a decreasing point system to determine who won, when they damaged a tree they lost half-a-point, toppling one was a whole point.
Their sparring matches taught them a lot about each other and their respective abilities. Kim had the advantage in this game for a few weeks, thanks to her ability to pass through matter by vibrating her atoms, or phasing, between the atoms of the object through which she is moving. When Kim is phasing, she is, for all intents and purposes, intangible. Hence, when attacked, she can shift into a "phased" state (even if she is not at the time passing through an object) to allow incoming projectiles to pass through her harmlessly. When in her intangible state, every atom that leaves her body, from dead cells, to strands of hair, are also intangible and remain that way indefinitely, rendering Kim undetectable by scent. Unless Ron was using his intangible form like she was, then he could detect her as if she was solid.
Unlike her cousin Kitty, Kim cannot become invisible, though if an object is large enough, she can hide within it. Kim does have better control of her intangibility than Shadowcat, Kim realized early on that even when she was incorporeal not all of her was untouchable. She was not falling through the crust of the Earth, and she could still breathe, meaning air molecules were still being exchanged in her lungs, and the atoms in her feet and shoes were still corporeal. Through the help of her family and Ron, Kim learned to make the surfaces of her hands tangible, in the split second she would need to strike an opponent, then return to intangibility. Some of Ron's training the last few months was learning to use his abilities as precisely as Kim, to shift from this dimension and back as quickly as her.
Ron was moving silently through the trees, Kim and he were in the midst of a sparring session, but when they practiced fighting it was not just a means to train their martial arts. It was battle training, and few battles remained stationary for long. They were in one of their favorite locations to camp, it was a tiny valley tucked between two steep peaks, one was almost an escarpment, the other, while still steep, was gentle enough in slope to allow a thick stand of trees, mostly coniferous, to curve up it. The peak of the slope opened out into a ridge, which was where Team Possible laid their camp.
Ron had reverted to his Dire Wolf form, his natural form, the form he was in tonight as he walked to the synagogue, that he must hide out of necessity, but wished it were not the case. He stalked through the trees, searching for Kim, who was also in her natural form, she was given the code name, Rouge by SHIELD, as he was given Dire Wolf, but she prefers Venatrix, Latin for Huntress.
Ron suddenly felt the wind shift, bringing a new scent from directly behind him, causing him to somersault sideways, before catching himself and sweeping his legs behind him. He caught one of Kim's legs, Ron's somersault had sent him toward the downward slope of the mountain, and thus his sweep caught the young lady by surprise, because she did not expect him to be able to pull off that kind of maneuver. Because of gravity, the only direction Kim could fall was toward Ron, she was in her feline form, and thus weighed more than she normally would.
"Shriek," Kim shouted as she fell on top of her best friend, who quickly looped his arms around her middle to keep her from sustaining too much injury! Ron's new height cushioned her from injury, even if in her feline form, she had quite a powerful healing factor, in her own right. Kim lay fully on top of Ron, her hair was covering her head, so he could not see her face. Ron thought she was just catching her breath, but even when her breath was under control she did not make a move to get off of him.
Ron was not in a hurry for her to leave either, so he remained as still as possible, to preserve the moment. She felt good to him, and despite her extra weight because of her transformation, he liked her laying on him. Ron was subconsciously rubbing up and down Kim's back, through her mission outfit, which because of the chemical treatment from Wade and her dad, had expanded to fit her perfectly. Kim was snuggling deeper into him, and loving how his hands rubbed her back. She knew she was humming to herself, almost purring, which he heard of course, with his ears, he could hear a pin drop in another room.
Kim slowly raised her head which brought her eyes up to look into his eyes. Glowing emeralds met lustrous gold, they drew each other in, riveted to each other, until they were a hairsbreadth from touching. All it would take is a shallow inhalation from either of them to touch lips. Both of them asked themselves if they would take the chance? Ron wanted to, Kim could feel his interest in her through his pants? Kim did too, she was saturated with lust for him, but she asked herself if they should? Yes they should, but not here, not like this. She also knew if she were to just get up and walk away he might take it the wrong way, so she raised her hand to cup his jaw, and gave a short, chaste, lingering kiss on his lips. She pulled back to stare at him with intensity, her eyes deep pools of desire, and bottomless resolve, to weight for the right moment. He understood, and his own eyes returned her stare with one of his own, and an equal resolve to wait for the right moment.
The fighting skill set was just one aspect of Ron's life that has changed. A week before this semester started, Barkin showed up at the Stoppable residence to talk to him about his schedule. "I've admired your improvements for the last few months Stoppable," the vice-principle of Middleton High told him, "it seems you're beginning to take your education seriously, and I admire your determination."
"Thank you, Mr. Barkin," Ron returned in a subdued voice, it was just one week after the loss of Rufus.
Barkin eyeballed him, then went on with the reason for his visit, "That being said," he continued pulling out Ron's schedule, "you have too many language classes scheduled for this semester." Ron threw a puzzled look at the educator, who nodded before going on, "Middleton ISD, likes to produce well-rounded graduates, so when they leave and go out into the world, they're ready for anything that comes their way. We like for our students to take a broad range of subjects, instead of specializing in just one or two things. For that reason, we only allow students to take two language classes. You're welcome to continue with Latin, but you chose three others for your electives, you need to choose one to keep or another altogether. Here's the list of language classes we're offering this semester," Barkin said to his student before handing him a list. The list read: Arabic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Ron's hand seemed to move on its own, his finger coming to rest on Japanese, and the voice in his mind rang out for the first time. You're going to need this one soon, there's only so much I can teach you from here. Ron thought, my mind hasn't led me wrong yet, but no more moving my body without permission. "I'll keep Latin, and take Japanese, me and KP, get called there quite a lot," he clarified his reason, "Nakasumi is a frequent client of ours."
Barkin actually smiled, "that class is new this semester, and is being taught by one of my old spec-ops sergeants, the very best person you want on your side when you're in a bind." Barkin one-lined three subjects on the schedule in pen, then wrote in the new subject. "That just leaves two more periods that need to be filled," he said, while pulling a booklet from his jacket pocket.
Ron perused the material in front of him, "with all the traveling I do it'd be irresponsible not to take Humanities," Ron said aloud, and Barkin wrote in the subject, "and Electronic/Computer Technology, took an aptitude test this summer for SHIELD and Global Justice, it showed that I had an aptitude for tech."
"Really," Barkin asked while writing in the selection, "that's surprising."
Ron laughed, "to you and me both. I'm nowhere near Wade or Tony Stark's genius, but definitely college-level, and with all the doomsday devices me and KP take down, I should at least know what I'm doing."
Barkin actually laughed at that, then stood up, "Well, I'll see you at school Stoppable," then returning to his drill instructor demeanor ended it with, "I'M STILL GONNA KEEP AN EYE ON YOU, TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T START BACKSLIDING!"
Ron continued to get excellent grades in all his classes, but it was his E/C tech. class in which he excelled the most. It was taught by Ron's second favorite teacher, a man called Mr. Forge. Who preferred his students to just call him Forge. He was a Native American of the Cheyenne Nation, who had an artificial leg and hand that looked beyond state of the art. He was tall, and well-built, with dark hair that was long and kept in a ponytail, with a handlebar mustache. He was normally dressed in all black, western-style clothing, except for a brown, fringed deerskin jacket. He believed in the hands-on approach to learning, while there was some theory taught, he thought the best way to understand the theory was to practice it. Because of his Eye of Insight, Ron and Kim knew Forge was a mutant, but decided to keep that information to himself, until Forge informed them himself.
Forge did not give assignments, he assigned projects that would be worked on for the rest of the semester. Ron and his class were to develop their own tech. Here was where Ron's 'never be normal' philosophy showed itself, because while most of the class worked on exotic, cool looking machines, Ron harkened back to the first time he and Kim met Drakken and Shego. When they stole Professor Akari's Cybernetic Tick. Ron bought the schematics from the Bug Doc, as Ron liked to call him, to keep as a memento, he never thought he would actually try replicating the tick. At the time, Ron did not even know if cybernetic insects would be useful. Until yesterday, when he placed one on Shego after his fight with her, when he grabbed her by the hair. The tick he placed on her transmitted a GPS signal that could be located anywhere in the world, except underground or in the deep ocean, within 20 feet of the signal.
Ron came out of his reverie when his Ronn-watch alerted him to a signal approaching his location. It was the signal he got from the tick when it was within one hundred yards of Ron's watch. Ron's ears began to pick up a high frequency harmonic, from a jet-engine configured for silent running. Silent for anybody, except creatures who could hear in frequencies below 20hz and above 20kHz, like most dogs and cats, and Ron, Kim, Hank, and Logan. Ron looked around, but saw nothing, then from above him dropped Shego, landing in front of the teenaged boy. "Time to go sidekick, you're coming with us," Shego quipped in a self-assured grin.
In the past, Ron would have tried running as fast as he could in the opposite direction, not anymore. Ron lowered his face until only his glowing eyes were visible as they peaked out from the hood. Ron raised the Ronn-watch to his mouth and keyed it, "Dire Wolf to Rouge," he said in a growl, "I've got Trick-or-Treaters."
