Kim Possible is an American animated action comedy-adventure television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle, and produced exclusively by Walt Disney Television Animation. The X-Men and various Marvel characters appear in American comic books, by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, published by Marvel Comics.

Unstoppable Prologue

Tri-City International Airport, 1996

Ron Stoppable was not having a good summer. As soon as he was finished with school this year, he was packed off to his grandmother Aurora's in Connecticut. He barely even had time to say, "bye," to his best-friend before his mother took him to the airport and put him on a plane. "I'm sorry, mom, I didn't even know about my chains, until it happened," Ron pleaded, "I didn't mean to break the robot!"

The little boy closed his eyes as he thought back to that day…

… Ron was an unusual boy, he did not see the world the way most boys his age saw it, nor did he interact with it the way other boys did. He would try to make friends with anybody he met, but nobody seemed to be interested in him the way he was in them, nobody except his best-friend, Kim Possible. In fact, she was his only friend, and except for his parents, his own family, the Stoppables, kept him at arm's length, and his eighth birthday was no exception.

It was held at JP Berrymore's Pizza Partitorium, he had invited everybody in his class, but as usual, only Kim and her parents showed-up. Ron was happy that they showed up, and even thanked all of them, her four-year old twin brothers included, with a hug. Ron always felt like the Possibles were a second family to him, and in the Possible's eyes, they had three sons. Despite the lack of attendance at the party, Ron had an absolute blast with Kim and her brothers, he was as protective of Jim and Tim, as Kim was herself. He took them on the same carnival style rides that he went on, as long as they sat on his lap. Another big plus, as far as Ron was concerned, because he had a voracious appetite, was all the free pizza they were going to take home.

It was during the concert that things turned bad. It seems that the JP Berrymore robot had been upgraded so it could walk out among the audience. It was programmed so that when it reached a certain verse in the song it would spring off the stage and begin walking among the audience. Ron's table was the only birthday there that day, the tables were placed lengthwise, perpendicular and, leading away from the stage. Ron, as the birthday boy, was sitting in the place of honor, in a throne-like chair with Kim sitting across from him, and to allow them to see the show better, the twins were sitting in Kim's lap. JP Berrymore had failed to tell their patrons about the upgrade, hoping to give them a nice surprise, but as events unfolded, it would be the pizza partitorium that would get the surprise, and the Stoppables would end up banned from there indefinitely.

Jim and Tim, while extremely intelligent, were still at that stage in their emotional development, where even Santa Claus frightened them, and Ron's first instinct is always to protect his family, which always includes the Possibles. So, as it happened, when JP reached that place in his song and launched himself off the stage, it appeared to Kim and all the boys at the table that the bear-robot was either attacking them or falling on top of them. So, while Kim and the twins flinched away, and Kim turned so she would take the brunt of whatever happened to them, before the robot had gone more than a foot off the stage, a pair of chain-like appendages thrust through it like spears. They wrapped around the robot and easily ripped it apart.

This was the first time he had ever been in a real-world fight; he had been training in karate since he was four. Kim preferred Chinese martial arts, which were as beautiful to watch as they were deadly, but Ron liked the more efficient and direct methods of karate. Ron's arms were outstretched as if he were throwing a punch. The chains looked like any garden variety example of the hardware, with four straight-lengths per foot, at a total of fifty-feet. They were black but had a silver-sheen when the light struck it, at specific angles. The piercing end looked like a standard delta-shaped spear-tip, but it was a wider angle, and had four edges instead of two. While all of this was happening, Ron's perceptions seemed to have slowed down, while his senses sharpened, he could hear the frightened heartbeats of the Possible progeny, the click of servo motors from the robot, and the collective gasps of many people. Ron caught the smell of fear on Kim, Jim, and Tim, as well as both sets of parents, as they went into panic mode. He could smell

the grease that was used to lubricate the joints of JP. His vision took an amber-gold shine, and he could see everyone that surrounded him, as if he was looking at them straight in the face, even those that he knew were behind him. He could see the interior of the robot's chassis, the servomotors whirling as they tried to complete the programming they were built for, even if the rest of the body was destroyed.

Two weeks later

Ann, as a doctor, examined him from top to bottom, taking blood and tissue samples, MRIs, CTs, and X-rays. What they discovered; Ron's entire skeleto-muscular system was made of the same material as his chains. His muscle fibers, ligaments, tendons, even the cartilage in his body, yes even his nose, was backed by the same substance as his chains. They were not having any adverse effects on his health, or his growth, he has hit all milestones that a boy his age should. If anything, they were more efficient at providing the necessary processes that a human body needs in order to live a healthy life… along with a healthy diet and exercise regimen, according to what Mrs. Dr. Possible told Ron's mother, once they sent him out to the waiting room.

Ron could hear what they were saying through the door. The senses that seemed to activate the night he extended his chains, were still, very much active.

"I need to know, Ann," Diana Stoppable begged her friend, "what's wrong with my son?" Who despite being a neurologist was also the only one the Stoppables trusted to oversee these kinds of tests and be discreet about it.

"Wrong, well that depends on your point of view on the matter," Dr. Possible informed Ron's mother, "in my opinion there's nothing wrong with him. Medically speaking," she added.

"What do you mean," Diana asked?

"I'll need to confirm it with a colleague," Ann began, "I'm a neurologist, not a geneticist, but our tests indicate that he has the X-gene."

There was a pregnant silence that followed that pronouncement, "What?" His mother sounded as if she was just told he had a fatal disease.

"He's a mutant, Diana," Ann clarified, "the next step in human evolution, though the tests indicate that he's only partially active. There's no telling when he will fully emerge, probably as soon as he hits puberty. That's what I read in Dr. Xavier's case studies at least," she continued, "with your permission I would like to confer with Henry McCoy, to confirm the results."

"Dr. McCoy is a brilliant man," Ron's mother agreed, before a calmer voice escaped! "I concur, Ann, I know of Dr. McCoy and his work," Diana assured her friend, "he's a brilliant scientist, and works with my cousin Warren, extensively. I also think I should send him to his grandmother's for the summer. I think he needs to be well away from here for a while, and he'll be close enough to Westchester for them to help him, but he'll also be around family that will look after him and give him the love and support he needs."

"Yes, I understand," Ann's voice sounded dubious, but did seem to agree for the most part, "but what about in the meantime, there's still a couple of months between then and now?"

Ron heard and saw his mom and Mrs. Dr. Possible as they spoke, "It'll be okay, Ann. The best thing for him is to learn how to control his abilities. I think he has control of his chains for the most part, he hasn't used them since the incident on his birthday, so I think his use of them is instinctive, it'll be like him learning to walk. He did that pretty well," Diana stated like a proud mother, "I have faith he can learn how to use them properly. I will give you permission to treat Ron as a doctor, whenever he should need it. You know how accident prone, Ronnie can be," Diana reminded, but her tone was like a mother recalling fond memories, "I trust you, and with anything short of surgery, you have mine and Don's permission to act as you see fit."

Ann just looked at Ron's mother for a moment, before looking at Ron with a reassuring smile. She returned looking at Diana and was all business, "sure, I can do that, but I will need it in writing, and I may need to involve James if Ron's abilities become too exotic for me to deal with."

"That's just fine, Ann," Ron's mother agreed with a nod, "but nobody else outside of you and

James, okay, nobody else is to know about his issue. I've heard what happens to mutants that are discovered before they are ready, it's not pretty, and even our own government would stop at nothing to get to him," Diana shuddered, "they won't think twice about trying to turn him into a weapon for them."

X-rays and MRIs revealed that Ron's skeleton reflected a minuscule amount of EM, they looked like a starry night sky on the development film. James concluded that it was indeed a metal, but invisible to most electromagnetism. It only reflected enough to allow people to perceive it but was otherwise unaffected by it. It was antiseptic and more efficient at conducting the processes necessary for human health than what was found in other homosapiens.

The same material that composed his bones was also found in his tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. It had also replaced the iron in his blood, and was even found in the muscles, including the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. There were trace elements of it, even in his skin. The only system of his anatomy where the metal was not found, was in his nervous and endocrine systems.

Because of that, Ron as it turned out was extremely durable, and somewhat resistant to injury. While they did not bludgeon him with bats, they had him and Kim spar against each other in their backyard. Kim with her sixteen styles of Chinese martial arts, Ron with his sixteen styles of Karate, both of whom, according to their instructors, were the best in their classes. In the match, they both seemed to be equal to each other in skill, if the Possibles could judge. They each acquitted themselves well and gave as good as they got, but when the match was over, Kim looked as if she had been in one hell of a fight, while Ron looked only a little worse for wear, even if he looked just as exhausted as their daughter.

They also learned that his strength was also slightly enhanced. He would not out-muscle the Hulk or anything like that, but he was still stronger than a boy his age should be. That made them even prouder of their daughter's progress in her training, if she was able to hold up against Ron's enhanced physiology.

Their spar, of course, only happened once the Possibles and Ron himself, knew that he could control his chains. He took two-months practicing extending and retracting them, whether it was all six, only three, two or one. He practiced them like he was a musician training his scales, the bottom line is Ron's natural weapons do not come out until he wants them. He has a hard time wondering when he would ever have to use such a deadly weapon on somebody.

Karate, despite being one of the most effective and efficient fighting arts, is a discipline that teaches peace to its disciples. There are masters and grandmasters of Karate that will not use their abilities against anyone, even if they are attacked. This is because they are all too aware of the devastation they could bring if they retaliate. They will allow themselves to be hit and harassed, knowing they have conditioned their minds and bodies to weather the punches and kicks of their attackers.

So, to have a weapon like this at his disposal, along with a nearly indestructible body, Ron is never going to lack confidence in his ability to protect those he loves. He and Kim do not know why they are training so hard to become formidable, they do know that it has nothing to do with any sort of competition or sport. Kim has gymnastics, and Ron has soccer for that.

The Possibles treated him the same as they always had, if anything they treated him better than before. "You overreacted, Ron, pure and simple," Mrs. Dr. Possible rebuked him, "but in spite of the results of your actions, you were acting in defense of our kids. That is something James and I will never frown upon, and so we will help your family pay for the damages to the robot, just try not to make it a habit, okay hun?"

Back at Tri-City International Airport

… Diana looked at her son, and smiled, "Honey," she said, kneeling in front of him, at the gate to the airplane, "no matter what happens you are still my son, and I am still your mother. I am not sending you away as punishment, I love you, very much, you're my little monkey," she smiled at him, "oo, oo," she said, as she tickled him, getting him to smile at her and repeat her monkey noises. She continued in a sad voice, "but with your condition, with your mutation, mommy and daddy can't help you. So we're sending you to a place that can give you the help you need," Diana turned her head so he would not see

her breakdown, but Ron smelled the salt of her tears, "it'll only be for the summer, maybe an annual thing, but you won't be gone long, we'll see each other on the Fourth, so why don't you think of this as an adventure?"

Ron was only slightly better at her words, but still asked, "what about Kim, we've never been apart for this long?"

Diana only smiled, "that's the perfect reason to go, you both need to branch out and make new friends and think about all the stories you can tell her when you are together again. Trust me," she insisted, "it'll be worth the time away…

Worthington Manor, 1996

Ron came out of his memories, still staring at his hands, as he heard footsteps approaching. He extruded a six-inch long length of chain in what he calls his wire configuration. They discovered that his chains, a maximum of six, did not come out of his body, but from somewhere else, which prevented them from ripping up his clothes. He could move them as easily as he could move his arms, and he even had the sensation of touch coming to his mind from them, which seemed to be nullified when he pierced something. He could produce them from any part of his torso, as well as most of his extremities, excluding his head and pelvic region, even the back, which was where his new sense and his golden eyes came in handy.

His senses have increased not only in acuity, but threshold frequency, similar to a bloodhound's sense of smell, a fox's hearing, and a sense of touch equal to a cat's whiskers. To say nothing of the change to Ron's eye color, which is the only outward indication of his condition. His eyes have changed the most in how he perceives the world, luckily, he can activate and deactivate them at will, but he has a perfect 360-degree view of his surroundings and can see through most obstructions if he focuses properly. It's easy to know when he activates them, because his eyes begin to glow, and as young as he is he has a strict code of honor when he uses them. The purpose of his senses is clear, it is so he can use his chains when his back is turned.

A single chain could lift tremendous loads, even if Ron himself could not, up to 30 tons with one chain, and this was deadlifting, with a sturdy enough pulley system he could lift three-times that amount of weight. What thrilled Ron the most though, was his ability to control the size and configuration of his chains. He could make them as large as the circumference of his arm, or as small as the width of a human hair. He could make the links round, or sharp, with a cutting-edge that made a scalpel seem dull, which was nothing compared to the versatility of the end of his chains. First things first, like the links, the end could be shaped into any configuration Ron could think of, from the sharpest blades to devastating bludgeons, they were unsure if there were any limits to the shapes that could be made from Ron's end links.

The chains themselves were as dark as the depths of space, the silverish sheen served to allow the eyes to perceive it, he observed. They were nigh indestructible, in fact, Mr. Possible was never able to find anything that could so much as scratch it. He had bricks of vibranium and adamantium in his lab at the Space Center, and had Ron see if he could damage them. Ron poked a couple of small holes in them, and it was not just the simple fact that he could, it was how easily he could do it in the first place. The only material Ron had to try on at all was the adamantium, but the force necessary to cut adamantium was the same amount of force needed to cut refrigerated cheese.

He retracted his chain and turned to watch his grandmother enter the clearing that looked out over the ocean. Worthington Manor was practically a seaside palace, which according to family stories was a scaled down version of a Roman emperor's villa.

Ron, however, was not a Worthington, and neither was his mother. His grandmother was born Aurora Natchios, the heiress of Natchios Shipping Company, the name came to her through her mother. The Natchios made their fortune in the import and export business, Karol Natchios his great-grandfather, or Charles as he was wont to be called, had helped facilitate their expansion from a mere Mediterranean

enterprise to the rest of Europe. Aurora met Diana's father, Eric Warren, which was the only name he ever gave her, when she was 20 and on holiday in the south of France in 1962. They both knew their time together was limited and made the most of it, and any investigations over the years to find him, have led nowhere. It was as if he dropped off the face of the planet, as if he never existed in the first place.

Diana was born when Aurora was 21, and Diana was about six, when Aurora was arranged to be married to an industrialist from the United States, Richard Worthington, younger son of Worthington Industries founder, Warren Worthington. Natchios wanted to move into the United States market, but it was difficult because of the immigration laws to conduct business, while also filing for citizenship. So, they decided that Aurora would marry into an already established business and family in America. Worthington Industries would get a discount on shipping and Natchios Shipping would be catapulted into a major market in the latter part of the twentieth century.

Aurora Worthington (née Natchios) was a breathtakingly beautiful woman, for someone of her advanced age. She was one of the few members of the Natchios family with blonde hair. A feature she has passed down to her daughter and grandson, with gentle eyes, and a loving heart, at least for members of her own family. She owns sixty percent of her family's shipping company, with her younger half-brother, Hugo, owning the rest of it; she is chairman of the board, and Chief Executive Officer of the company. She is smart, savvy, and creative, characteristics that lend well to running a multinational conglomerate. Since helming the company, she has diversified her company's interests into trucking companies, railroads, and even airlines, which has vaulted her family's company right to the top of the market.

She may have been all of that to the rest of the world, to Ron Stoppable, she was Grammy Aurora. Aurora has had children and other grandchildren with her husband, whom she loves with all the devotion that a mother could have for her children, with Ron however, there always seemed to be a special place in Aurora's heart for him. They could talk to each other about anything, and they trusted each other implicitly.

"Good afternoon, Ronnie," Aurora greeted him, as she came to stand beside him. Ron had been sitting in a white iron-work chair, surrounded by similar furnishings. There was a round table, three chairs that went round it, a couple of chaise lounges, directed out to the ocean, with an end-table between them.

Ron looked up at his grandmother with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Hey, Grammy," he greeted.

"Mind if I sit next to you, Ronnie," she asked, "I'm afraid I don't have the stamina I used to anymore."

"This is your house, Grammy Aurora, you can sit anywhere you want," Ron answered with a smirk, then added with a welcoming grin, "but it is nice of you to ask. I always feel good after we talk."

Aurora giggled at his assertion, "well thank you Ron, but you should know that's not how I see things, when it comes to family. What's mine is yours," she declared to him, almost as if making a vow, "what I own, you own. Understand," she asked?

"Yes, ma'am," Ron answered. Then he turned sheepish, "so, did mom tell you what happened on my birthday, Grammy?"

"Yes," was her only reply.

"Do you think I'm a mutie-freak, too," Ron asked, only to have her smack the back of his head?

"Ronald Michael Stoppable, if I ever hear you make such disparaging comments about anybody again, including yourself," Aurora snapped, "I am going to tan your hide!" Ron was nursing the back of his head, then looked at her with a grumpy expression, "we do not look down on others based on their genetic profile, we only judge people based on what they do, and by the results of their actions. You are not the first mutant to show up in this family," she informed him, "Richard's own nephew, Warren Worthington III is one. He has wings for goodness's sake, and can fly like a bird," she told him, "You can at least hide yours if you want."

"You are a good boy, Ronnie, and I know your mom and dad love you. I know they do," she assured him, "they've told me how proud they were of you for saving your best friend's life, even if the threat turned out to be false. You have the instincts of a hero, Ronnie," Aurora assured her grandson, "and that is nothing to be ashamed of. Your mom and dad love you, and you know your Aunt Elektra loves you, and what's more, I love you, too," she told him as she kissed his temple, while rubbing his back. "You are our little Ronnie, when your mommy was pregnant with you and people would ask her about you, she would smile so brightly, just at the thought of you. You help your Aunt Elektra forget that she doesn't have a mom," Aurora informed him, "I love how she lights up every time she sees you, you're the one thing beyond her father that she cherishes above all others. She's told me that you are her guiding light," Aurora told her.

"Which is how I see you too, my Ronnie," Aurora confided in him, "looking at you, seeing you, hearing about you, helps me keep my heart alive. You are my hope for the future," Ron sat up and looked at her, trying to see if what she said about him was true, while still hugging her, "I love you so much, Ron. And don't worry about being normal, normal's boring, you are meant for extraordinary things, baby. Promise me that you will never be normal!"

Later that summer

Ron had enjoyed the summer with his family, so far. He enjoyed playing games with his cousins, whenever their parents brought them over. His grandmother's husband had always treated him and his mom like one of his brood. The Worthingtons, while one of the world's richest families, second only to the Rothschilds in family wealth, worth tens of billions altogether, never allowed their children and grandchildren to act like spoiled brats. No child of the Worthingtons ever inherited anything if they were not at least working for the company at the time of inheritance. Every Worthington had to at least have a profession, or a passion, beyond that of Worthington Industries. Richard, for example, was a seasoned merchant marine captain, and a brilliant shipwright. He has designed some of Worthington Industry's latest waterborne vessels, including several designs used by the US Navy and the Coast Guard.

Neither his mother nor Ron, are exceptions to this rule, even if they are not Worthingtons. Diana, is a brilliant biomedical engineer, having worked for Oscorp for a few years, before leaving because they practiced too many unethical procedures. She has worked for DARPA since Ron was four, which is why they moved to Middleton in the first place. Don, Ron's dad, can do actuarial work anywhere, working as an independent contractor for several insurance companies at once.

Ron has inherited both of his parents' intelligence, as well as his Grammy's creativity, and a predatory instinct that nobody in the family seems to have, which they are sure comes from his grandfather. He gets straight As in school and seems to be a polymath. He loves to cook, and his parents do nothing but gush about his food. He loves to tinker with electronic equipment, and one of his favorite gifts for Christmas this year was a chemistry set. Ron seems to be gifted in languages, from his Grammy, he is as at home with Modern Greek as he is English, and Nana Stoppable is originally from Russia, and she has taught her son and grandson the language and customs of her homeland. Lessons she learned from her own grandmother, before the Revolution. Don, Diana, and Ron have been baptized into Eastern Orthodoxy, and attend services regularly on Sundays. Church is also where Ron has regular meetings with his Pack as an apprentice Wilderness Scout.

When Ron was not here at Worthington Manor, he would be at the home of Charles Xavier, premiere mutant expert, learning as much as he can about his mutation. It seems that Ron is the locus of an inter-dimensional gateway between their universe, and a subverse, which allows him to use his chains without losing his clothes. Professor Xavier stated that it was similar to the astral-plane, but whereas the spiritual-mental nexus of all minds is open to anybeing capable of reaching it, Ron's verse is only applicable through Ron. Ron has begun to call this subverse, his chain-plane, but he is precocious enough to wonder if he could take things into his verse and bring them out again.

They did learn one thing that was eye-opening for the staff of the mansion. Professor Xavier, perhaps the most powerful mind on the planet, could not enter Ron's mind. Every time he tried, he would get the most unbearable static in his mind, which translated into a migraine. It seems as though the metal, which Ron has dubbed ronium, and composing the base of Ron's anatomy, prevented any harm from coming to him, including psychic attacks.

Ron did not really have to spend more than a few hours a week in Westchester, he had pretty much learned what he could about his mutation before going there. He mostly went there to be around young mutants like him, to understand what being a mutant meant. He practiced using his chains, mostly in the kitchen, where he would practice multitasking, by using his chains to accomplish the various tasks needed to make a meal.

They made sure to test his chains to make sure they were sanitary for handling food, but found them to be sterile, even antiseptic, like copper or bronze. The students at the Xavier Institute learned to appreciate his cooking as much as his family. He did meet a few of his fellow mutants and became friends with a few of them, most of them were a little older than Ron. His best friend while there was a boy named Bobby Drake, both of them liked to play video games, and see how much mischief they could get into, and one of their favorite pastimes was to play pranks on each other, or the nearest unsuspecting target. Their favorite target was the stuffed shirt Scott Summers, a thirteen-year-old mutant who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. He was okay, but he tended to care way too much about being a mutant. I mean it's great being a mutant, but I am still Ronald Michael Stoppable, I'm eight-years old, I was that before I was a mutant. I want to be a kid as much as possible, until I no longer can.

Most of the students were abandoned by their parents when they manifested their powers, and had no place to go, until Professor Xavier came along and gave them a home. That alone earned him Ron's respect, he could not provide the love of family, but he gave them a place to belong. It was Ron who started calling him Professor X, as he was wont to do when he was around people he was comfortable with. The nicest person he found and the one he was most comfortable around was Jean Grey, ten-years old, scarlet-red hair and blue eyes. She was the prettiest girl he had seen besides Kim; he would always get tongue-tied when she was around, and she seemed to want to be around him quite a bit. She said it was because he was quiet, which he did not understand, because he made as much noise as the other kids.

Right now, Ron was at Worthington Manor, practicing one of his kata from Karate. It was one of the beginner forms, he had performed this same form countless times, since he was four, the day after he met Kim Possible. He was wearing his practice gi, with his brown-belt, which he had attained last year. His instructors never award shodan to anybody under the age of ten, because to earn a black-belt at his school, you had to face another black-belt and strip the belt from their waist. Ron will be required to do that sixteen times to earn his shodan for each of them.

He had practiced the kata so many times that he was not really thinking about what he was doing. One of the unique aspects about Karate, as opposed to Chinese martial arts, or Kung fu, is that Karate has one origin. It originated from a tiny island off the coast of Japan, and while there are some who say that China has had some influence on many aspects of Karate, it is still a unique form of expression. Its singular birthplace means many of the kata, kihon techniques, and kumite, have the same name and even the same steps to complete them. The only real difference between different styles is the mindset that should be emphasized with differing kata.

Some emphasize power over technique, agility over strength, hardness or softness, or a harmonization of the two philosophies. One of Ron's instructors said it was like viewing a mountain from a distance, one that needed to be climbed in order to gain wisdom. There are multiple paths available to anybody that wanted to make the climb, each path was different, and every path up the mountain was the correct one, because every path led to the same place, and had the same goal: to become strong and to grow in wisdom. The only wrong path to take was the one that led away from the mountain, but a worse path was if no step was taken, if one stayed still and did not grow. The only choice not available was the choice to abstain from the climb. When Ron asked why you could not abstain from practicing Karate, the instructor laughed warmly, and said, "it is not Karate that I was referring to young man. Karate is just one of many paths used to climb the mountain of Life."

Karate has taught Ron to see everything from different angles, to be open-minded, even if he did not understand everything around him. He decided it was time for him to become acquainted with his new appendages, so Ron unleashed all six of his chains, and activated his eyes. Two were from his abdomen, and four came from his back.

Ron imagines himself surrounded by assailants, when in practice he never bothers with a ready stance. His opponents will not wait for him to be ready when they attack. The first attack came from his weak-side, which Ron imagined himself deflecting, but his ab-chains launched their own strike, while his back-chains practiced their own blocks and counterattacks. The links were shaped like cylinders, the ends, like fists. He went through all of his kata, he wanted using them to become an instinct, he wanted them to become as interchangeable as when he used his flesh and blood limbs. Even as an eight-year-old, Ron knew that these chains were a responsibility for him, one that he had to be totally in control of, and upon whose shoulders would fall the ramifications if he misused them. Hell, with my hardened bones, getting punched by me should be more than enough to end any fight, Ron mused, because it would be the equivalent to getting hit with brass-knuckles.

Ron came to the end of his exercises, just as he heard a singular clapping sound behind him. He gave a goofy grin before saying, "hey, Elle, I was hoping to see you on this trip."

Ron turned to see a twelve-year old girl with long ebony-hair, held in check, barely, by a scarlet headscarf. She wore a scarlet, sleeveless crewneck, under a pair of knee-length, blue-jean overalls. Her name was Elektra Natchios, she was Grammy Aurora's niece, her younger half-brother's daughter, and as close to having a big sister to Ron as possible. "I like your new accessories, Ronnie," she said with a grin, "but how did you know I was here?"

"Ever since I unleashed these for the first time," he held up his right, as a chain emerged, and slid his left index along his nose, "my senses have sharpened a lot. I could smell you as you came near me, from the back of the house." The grounds around them were heavily forested, and the walk from the backdoor is a hundred yards away. He retracted and pointed to his ear, "I heard your footsteps getting closer as you came, the crunching of the grass, the impact on the forest soil, I even felt your passage through the atmosphere. Even as small as you are you still displace air and moisture," Ron concluded. "It's made me an even better cook than before, because my sense of taste has become as keen as my nose. My vision has also become as sharp as a razor," Ron added, "I have found that I can see an extremely long distance, or if up close, I can see the weave of even a silk shirt. That is also without using my golden eyes," he explained, "if I had used them, I could have watched you walk from the back door to here, and even see what kind of underwear you were wearing."

"That's amazing," Elektra declared, "and the chains are cool too, but I hope you're not thinking of becoming a peeping-tom?"

"I won't, I promise, I have a code of honor. What a girl won't show me herself, I have no right seeing. It's her body, she can share it with whomever she chooses. Plus, there are drawbacks, my sense of touch has also increased sensitivity," Ron admitted, "and synthetic fabrics are now uncomfortable to me. Cotton works, as does wool, but polyester," Ron concluded, "makes me unable to sit still. Also, when I use my golden-eyes, I lose my colorvision."

Elektra nodded her acceptance of his vow, they came close to each other and hugged for a long time, "I have missed you, polýtimo éna (treasured one). Don't think for a minute that your new additions change that," she whispered, causing him to tense, which only made her tighten her arms around him, "Theia Aurora, told me, before I came out here. I still love you, the same way I always have," she said, while running her hands through his hair, then pulled back to look him in the eye, "nothing will ever change that Ronnie, you understand? Nothing," Elektra states with intensity!

Ron nodded his acceptance of her vow, which brought a smile to her face. It made her already beautiful features even more radiant, which caused her to bring her lips to his for an exuberant kiss. It was not unusual for them to kiss like this, though she did let it linger for longer than normal. Ron returned the kiss for as long as she did, before they let go, and stood apart.

Ron had a sheepish grin on his face as they pulled apart, "you should also know that, uh, girls of a certain age can't keep secrets from me. I know at what point in their cycle they are, give or take a day or two. I found that out when Aunt Rose came for a visit last week," Ron told Electra, while scratching the back of his head, "I got close to greet her when I caught her blood scent in the air, and asked if she was injured."

Elektra had a deep-red blush and a knowing smile on her face, "well just make sure you keep those kinds of observations to yourself," she warned, "women don't like their business broadcast to the world. Okay, Ron," she asked to his understanding nod? Once she was satisfied with his compliance, she turned and began walking to the center of the clearing. When there, she turned and stood to face him, in her own ready combat stance, "come to me Ronnie," she said in a too-sweet sounding voice and a come gets some flick of her hand, "let's see whatcha got."