Chapter 4: The Foreboding Sky

Ron and Tara hanging out did wonders for them both. For Tara, she finally had the chance to hang out with the person she still holds an interest in. The blonde saw something more in him than she thought possible.

Whether it was walks in the park, dinner dates (hangouts), sessions as study buddies… they grew closer over the course of the month that followed. Even if it wasn't a "romance", there was something budding in the works. That was enough for Ron to continue what could be a great thing.

As for the football tryouts, Ron didn't read the email he received yet. But when he arrived at the school, he went straight to the bulletin board, oblivious to the eyes beset on him as he wandered in the halls. He looked at the roster board for both offense and defense and searched for his name… it didn't take him long.

Ron Stoppable, Running Back, #29. He took a step back, smiling at the success of his pursuit, failing keep a straight face as his heart leapt with joy. Because that he got onto the team was a success, plus the paperwork that came with it was literally "a bitch".

It wasn't the idea of football itself that he liked, but it was more of a deed he did for himself and succeeded without Kim's aid or foresight. He didn't realize a weight slowly excised from his being as he walked through the halls, drawing breath and going about with his life. Whispers traversed within school of Ron's recent success. The murmurs of how he did it ranged from luck, hidden skill, a weird device that altered him. Some people were wondering how this guy was slithering his way up to the food chain, moving his way to the top or at the very least a prosperous position.

Ron did not care about such things. Only the needs of the superficial and the stereotypical would indulge themselves in needless pleasantries. Something that is bound to expire when they set foot in the real world.

Speaking of the food chain, there was something bothering the new running back of the Middleton Mad Dogs and it wasn't something that Drakken did. He thought about it and could conclude it was about what he did, or what he was doing.

Being Lotus was supposed to be the best thing that happened to him. He gained his independence, he earned notoriety, got a good position, and got a girl. Ron didn't know what it would lead him too, and that was the problem.

The small decisions he made created an unforeseen impact on his life. One so gradual, that it only grows as each day passes. Ron saw that his streak of independent choices pushed Kim away, and all he wanted was to be her equal. Then it led him to make more decisions, such as becoming Lotus. As he continued to stop crime in this persona, attention was gravitating towards him, good and bad.

The life he was making for himself was… too perfect. Everyone always envies the life of another they consider perfect or elite. Such matters would lead those envious to emulate them, be like them, and in rare cases steal that life from under their nose.

Even as Ron wandered aimlessly, he thought about it. Would the life he built for himself be taken from him? There's always a price to pay, but how high would it be? Everyone enjoys the pleasures of life, the high, the thrill, but it always ends… leaving them to deal with the fallout, the 'crash' for an apt analogy.

For now… keeping his guard up is the only thing he can do.

Another night of patrol and it was a normal evening. Purse snatcher equals a broken nose, guy robbing a couple with a knife ends up with his weapon embedded in his knee with a dislocated shoulder. Looking out for the little guy was nice and all, yet Ron wanted to do more, like he did with Kim. He wondered when he'd get the chance to stop some doomsday/world domination plot. From above, he looks at the building near him and finds a bunch of henchmen in familiar uniforms.

"Huh. My luck's beginning to turn." Ron whispers to himself.

Within the building, the henchmen were beginning to break into the deeper parts of the facility and steal what they came for.

Overseeing the robbery was a definite requirement, witnessing these neanderthals would have them rub their temples, but they are fine with the pay and came in numbers. So, it was better than nothing. The person looked at their stopwatch seeing it pass seven minutes, they smirked at the time elapsed.

"Hm, I was under the impression these heroes were more punctual." The voice sounded effeminate and had an accent. If anyone paid attention, they could confirm a possibility that their nationality originates from the Czech Republic.

She jumped from the catwalks and appeared in front of her hired help. "How is progress."

"We're in. We're getting the device and heading out now." One henchman answered.

She nodded her head. "Good. But I would recommend that you move faster now. It seems someone is going to make a grand but unwelcome appearance."

Before the henchmen could answer who, the answer came in the form of one of their own crashing to the ground, breaking the fall of a masked vigilante. Lotus tilted his head upward to look at the men… and the leader.

"Hm. Extravagant entrance, attire similar to a ninja and a more violent approach to combat. I suppose you must be the new hero, Lotus." The woman concluded.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Lotus took a fighting stance, preparing himself for a fight.

"A woman who loves being bad." She said as electrical spark emanated around her. It enveloped her like an aura, alerting Ron to a potential danger. "But you can call me Electronique." Once she finished that sentence she blasted Lotus from his position, slamming him onto the wall. The electricity was still present on her being.

"Oh great. Another villain… least you're more threatening." Lotus joked. The sarcasm dripping from his voice as he got up from the blast.

"Oh, believe me… you've no idea how threatening I can be." Electronique added as she blasted Lotus again.

This time Lotus was prepared, flipping out of the way and dodging the attacks. He took cover after the last blast. Arming himself with a shuriken and a smoke bomb, he threw the sharp weapon first, causing Electronique to focus on dodging it, then he threw the smoke bomb, to break her field of vision. It worked, allowing the vigilante to go on the offensive.

Lotus lunged at the henchman near him and punched him in the jaw, knocking him down. He went to the knee of the other minion in the stomach and tripped him to the ground. The third henchman attempted to attack him, but Lotus was faster with a handplant roundhouse.

Electronique finally saw Lotus once the smoke slightly dissipated, she blasted him again, only for one of the henchmen to be used as a human shield. Throwing the shocked minion to the side, he lunged at her as they tumbled to the ground. Electronique kicked him off her, getting back up.

"I commend you, ninja. You're quite an interesting adversary, for someone who's started off." Electronique complimented.

"What can I say? I just have a knack for this."

"Indeed, you do. But unlike your enemies, I am not some dilettante easily defeated. Allow me to demonstrate." A whip came from her gauntlet and easily snagged Lotus, tossing him towards one wall, then the ceiling and slamming him to the ground.

Electronique yanked Lotus toward her, but he countered with a kick to her chest. The impact made Electronique release her grip on the gadget and the vigilante.

"I don't suppose I can ask you to stop and turn yourself in." Lotus joked.

"When I have the advantage? How polite of you, but I must see fit to decline." Electronique found herself standing and brushed off the mark on her torso. She went to examine her wristwatch "Hmm… a tad late in timing, aren't they?"

Lotus took a fighting stance. "Who's they?" His answer would soon come into the form of a crashed skylight with two figures falling and landing perfectly. From there, Lotus saw exactly who they were.

Kim and Will… the new dynamic duo. He couldn't help but allow a snarl ebb from under his breath.

"The new vigilante and Electronique, I presume?" Will said. "I suggest you shouldn't move."

Electronique's eyes looked directly at Lotus. "Friends of yours? Here I thought you were capable of working independently." That insult was meant to jab at the vigilante.

She looked at the pair interfering with her heist. "The offer was tempting the first time, but it lost its luster after the last one. Especially with that one." She jeered at Will.

"Trust me, this'll so be over before you know it." Kim struck a fighting pose at the end of her words.

Electronique chuckled at the show the redhead demonstrated. "I appreciate the concern, but it's already over."

"Something tells me you're not giving up easily." Kim deduced this by witnessing the confident look on the woman's face never changing in the slightest.

"Of course not. Especially since your grand entrance set off the recently hacked security system."

Electronique pressed something on her gauntlet that activated the fire alarm, which activated the sprinklers. At first, the trio felt harmless water trickle down on them. But there was more to it than spraying water. The electrical current on the lights ran high, to a point where a surge occurred where the lights blew out. The sound of popping bulbs filled the room as Electronique reached from her belt and threw what almost looked to be a grenade. As the sound of metal hit the ground, Kim, Will, and Lotus felt a rush of an electrical current flowing from the soles of their feet to their nervous system, stunning them, stiffening their bodies as they crashed onto the ground and flopped like fish. Their screams of agony caused Electronique to sport a sadistic grin.

"I'm sure that I'll meet you again, if you managed to survive long enough that is." Electronique took her escape, leaving the three heroes to writhe in pain. Lotus recovered quickly and wanted to chase the thieves. Yet his eyes looked back to see Kim and Will incapacitated. He sees the broken skylight from above, if that was a point of entry for them, it's their escape route out. First, he hoisted Kim on his shoulders, shot himself up with his grapnel and left her outside. He went down again to get Will, despite a quiet voice in the back of his head telling him to just leave the agent there. Stating that he's a 'big boy' and that 'he'll be fine'.

Lotus still wished he'd listened to himself on that. As Will came to, he moved himself away from Lotus, as if he was some infection, a disease. He grunted in disbelief knowing Lotus pulled him out of the proverbial frying pan.

"Of all the times you had to interfere, of course it would be during the capture of Electronique." Will snidely remarked.

Lotus rolled his eyes in return. "Thank you for saving my life after getting shocked by a stun grenade, Lotus. Y'know, I was hoping you'd swallow your ego and say that. She wouldn't even escape if you two hadn't broken the skylight the way you did."

"Said the untrained vigilante taking the law into their own hands. Had you left this to more experienced individuals, she would've been apprehended." Will kept arguing with Lotus. The vigilante simply scoffed at him.

"How? Especially when you were flopping like a fish after you got shocked. You call yourself a professional, but you got caught in her trap too!" Lotus responded.

"Okay, enough!" Kim got between them. "Arguing is not going to get us anywhere. In case you haven't noticed, Electronique is still out there, and we should be chasing her!"

Lotus looked at Kim. "Least she has her eye on the prize. Let's go, we can try to catch up." Before he could leave, Will placed his hand on the vigilante's chest. Lotus felt the need to swat the hand that held him back.

"We can make chase; you are to be apprehended for your vigilantism. We have questions for you and I'm sure that a nice cell would be helpful." Will suggested. Lotus could only look in disbelief.

"Okay, so after saving your life, I'm automatically a criminal? I mean I'm sure it's not because I'm doing a better job than the new dynamic duo, right? It can't stem from your own insecurities either." Lotus replied sarcastically. He intended to drive a wound to Will's pride, since he was acting ungratefully.

"Lotus, your tactics involve breaking bones, and nearly maiming your victims. Your strategy is more of a danger to the people of the city. It would be best for you to come with us and explain what you know about Electronique." Kim pointed out what she felt about Lotus's actions, if anything, it felt like clockwork again. Whether it's being Ron Stoppable, the sidekick or Lotus, she's not taking him seriously. This feeling of restraint kept choking him and even when getting away from her, that grip kept ahold of him.

"Y'know that would be a great idea if it wasn't too stupid. Kim, you've fought people before, and you're telling me you've never broken one bone in a henchman's body? Because if you're saying no, then I'm sure that you're lying already." Lotus argued with Kim's thoughts on the subject. The redhead only eyed him in suspicion as he

"Look, I'm going to hunt down Electronique and stop her from doing something crazy. Help or get out of the way, it's your call." Lotus said as he turned around and walked away. He groaned as he walked away, only to be met with a hand grabbing his shoulder. It was a masculine hand, leaving Lotus to discern who it was. Will wasn't going to take Lotus seriously, even if he had pierced the veil and saw Ron, the result was the same. Of course, Will would decide to place him under arrest not heeding the truth of their aligned interests. If Will wanted to be hardheaded, that was his call. Hard heads make soft behinds.

With his free hand, Lotus pulled and struck the cocky agent in the nose, it caused him to tumble and fall on his behind, clutching his nose as a result.

"Next time, I won't be so nice." Lotus warned. He left the two heroes on the roof. He decided to call it a night of patrol after the abrupt and unwelcome interference. He left Kim in disbelief of his actions, and Will Du licking the wounds he brought on himself.

Lotus wanted to ponder the matter further, on how he felt. But a night of sleep may do him a little justice after the whole powder keg of a meeting.

Waking up in the morning, Ron decided to leave for school earlier than usual. While exhaustion did not grip him, some signs of stress existed in him. Lack of sleep did not attribute to his predicament yet the feeling of Electronique's schemes and the potential manhunt for him courtesy of Will Du and Kim is a considerable factor.

Who was that new girl, was she like another kind of Shego, just without a Dr. Drakken to boot? His mind was looping the day as he kept studying his assigned work in an overcast. He counted his blessings that it wasn't raining, or that high winds came to blow his papers away.

Electronique, was she an electrical based villainess? A technologically savvy gal with a penchant for strategic planning? A woman with an exotic accent and beauty to boot? Ron would say no to all things… unless there was an answer that said, 'all of the above'.

What did she take from the building? What is her grand scheme in all of this? Where did she even come from? Is Ron capable of stopping her on his own? These questions haunted Ron as he faced the reality that not only was she going to be a problem but the truth of biting off more than he could chew. Was this what Kim felt like when doing the first few missions? If that was the case, he found an appreciation for her keeping her head for so long. Sooner or later, Electronique will come out of hiding and that's when he'll strike.

As for Will Du… Ron wanted to kick himself in the head for punching him. Not out of feeling guilt about it or the fact that he should've done it sooner. The notion of gaining an enemy in GJ is also something to account, the assault just gave it a guarantee. Screw it anyway, he wasn't going to take Lotus seriously. He didn't take Ron or Kim seriously or treat them with a semblance of respect. He twiddled the fingers of the hand that struck him, marveling that he felt some emotion that caused Will's pain and struck him off his high horse. It was that big word he never bothered to define, what was it… schadenfreude?

Regardless, things are still steady in comparison in his civilian guise. For now, he just needs time to get through school which should hopefully be less of a hassle now.

An evil lair could've been a volcanic island, or a big building showing the grandiose or pomposity of the resident evil… villainess. But Electronique decided to make do with something with a small lab that was well hidden, and underground.

Enough studying and networking in the Tri-City's confines allowed to find an abandoned lab that was some villain's hideout or whatever. With a couple bug sweeps, security bolsters and well-placed bribes to ignore the location… this became a lab off the grip once again. For the time being, she took off her bodysuit that allowed her to harness electricity and the gadgetry.

The villainess took a drink and looked at her chart. It was messy to the common eye, yet it held a specific kind of organization. On the upper right corner, held a bunch of notes stuck to the wall with pins.

'Who is Lotus?'

Kim Possible's name was crossed out.

Will Du's name was crossed out.

She measured Lotus's height and made potential ranges of his weight. Eye color was jotted down as brown and discovered that his base of operations was present in Middleton. His expeditions indicated he wasn't a novice in stopping crime, there was experience.

'Potential GJ agent or WEE defector? Young male.'

His combat style was ruthless, effective and instinctual. Plus, the frequency of him stopping crime indicated he wanted to be known… he wanted the media to notice him and the criminal element to be afraid.

'Training. Wants to be taken seriously. Works independent. Side note: investigate current or former GJ operatives, start with the network of those involved in Middleton aka Kim Possible'.

Electronique was many things, a fool was not one of them. She may not have bested the boisterous fools that called themselves Team Go, but they… every villain and every hero will see that she is a new breed of dominance. Her intellect will surpass all who dared to defy her. Those who support her would be nothing more than sycophants leeching off her tactical prowess.

For the upper left corner was the map of the Tri-City. Lowerton, Middleton, Upperton, all city areas, but there were pins on certain areas. Those locations of interest had kept her attention for a while. Her investigatory efforts paid off for one motive: to create a grand attack.

But that is something for another day, for the pieces of the puzzle still need to be filled, to be placed. With the recent theft of the device she desired, it only makes sense that her plot must become something of seismic proportions. Her deeds will make people tremble at the sound of her name and forever paint the heroes as failures who could not stop her. Not Kim, not Lotus, not that smarmy looking agent, no one in GJ or WEE.

It was only a matter of time until the foundation of their world would crumble before her. With that last thought, she furrowed her brow and wrote down her operation.

Project Foundation.

I apologize for the long wait, I know that sorry isn't enough to explain why I've been absent for so long, but for those who still follow this story, I feel that I owe you all an explanation. The reason why I had failed to post in such a long time was of course schoolwork and real life instances. I understand its the same thing I have been saying over and over, but it is the truth. At this point in my education, I am aiming for a degree higher than a masters which was something that kept me at bay for a long time. Do I believe I can ace it? Who knows, I'll find out... next year. Also, I've been losing the spark I've been having for writing... while it's not gone completely, it isn't as strong as it was. Most likely its because of the stuff going on that my focus was on other important things. Again, I apologize, but I am doing my best to not ignore this site completely.

Review Responses

Nys: It'll be a surprise for them both. I do love harem stories too, but after the original "author" kept forcing it in the story, it just felt out of place. No matter how much I want to write a harem story, it won't be for this.

Tyson: I don't know what it'll be like with Tara and Ron, but it's something I'd like to explore.

Nite: We all have our intents to be successful, but with success… comes something else.

Simm: Una pelea entre Shego y Ron… interesante…

Red: She's an intelligent engineer and weapons expert. Credentials like that pave the way for more ideas in writing.

Rico: This chapter here? Granted.

RJ: These instances came from someone who failed to learn and captivate the audience. The difference here is I will make an attempt to not repeat that mistake.

M_GM: Everyone, disregard the idiot who's using misspelled expletives in a whining rant. To put it short and simple, he's a story stealer, a liar, and I called him out on it like several others. Just another jerk with no creativity. Check his page and the stories he copied by copy/pasting some of the dialogue and you'll find out for yourself.

Guest: Ask and you will receive. Sorry, I've been indisposed.