Again, huge thanks to everyone who's following along.
On a serious note, for a change, it has come to my attention that RonHeartbreaker's stories are all gone, probably since October. This is far from the first time such a thing has happened and it will sadly not be the last. This is a tricky subject, because it lies at the intersection of the interests of the original IP's owner, the author, and the community. Regardless of what the answer might be, it's a sad thing to see happen.
With that out of the way, on with Chapter 3...
Chapter 3 - Nobody Does It Better
Over the next few days, some details of Drakken's latest plot could be pieced together. He had set things up to keep Kim distracted, but the actual plan for world domination was far from clear. Still, what Kim had seen was bad enough. Sitting in the usual booth at Bueno Nacho, she brought Monique up to speed, her reactions carrying about as much disgust as one might have expected.
"But it gets worse," Kim continued, trying to keep her voice down, not wanting other patrons to learn of the embarrassment she had almost been subjected to. "Synthodude had a very specific mission: to take me to the prom."
Monique's answer came with an air of disgust, clearly Kim was not the only one deeply troubled by the implications of Drakken's scheme.
"Girl, that is gross! Do you know what the plan was from there?"
"No, Drakken left a ton of paperwork behind, but very little about his big picture plan. What I do know is that Bonnie somehow got wind of this and now she's going around saying I'm so desperate for a date that I had someone build me a robot date."
"That is so flawed!"
"Yeah… But the worst part is that I wonder if she has a point, in her own stupid way."
Kim's admission drew a very audible gasp from Monique.
"I mean, what if there's something wrong with me, Monique?"
"'cause you don't fit into her stupid food chain?"
Kim was unconvinced by Monique's dismissal of Bonnie's ideas.
"I'm weirding guys out! They see me on TV, roundhousing some goon out a window… It's a vivid image."
"Kim, you are a strong, independent woman. Anybody afraid of that is not worthy of your time."
"Yeah, maybe, but what if she's right?" Kim once again made an effort to not be overheard. "Is there anything sadder than going to the prom with your 'just a friend'?"
"And his naked mole rat."
It did not seem that Kim's reasoning was completely lost on Monique. Both girls looked over to the counter, where Ron was ordering food for the group, just out of earshot.
Kim continued, "I mean, a date date would be nice… But with a stinking BF."
"You're letting Bonnie play you…"
Before Monique could continue her thought, she was interrupted by the Kimmunicator beeping. Kim quickly grabbed it and answered, Wade's image popped up on the screen.
"What's the sitch, Wade?"
Ron rejoined the two girls, food in hand, as Wade started explaining the latest developments.
"I got a hit on Drakken, he'll be at the Bermuda Triangle later today."
Kim was aware of the Bermuda Triangle casino. A few too many high-profile business deals ran into unexpected difficulties after corporate big shots held their meetings there – the press caught on and started pumping out articles, each trying to outdo the others' puns, aided by the casino's logo of a sinking ship. Rumor has it that key figures in the Enron scandal had met there regularly, in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to avoid scrutiny of their illegal efforts. The casino cashed in on this reputation, proving again that all publicity is good publicity.
"The Bermuda Triangle is not really Drakken's style… Any idea what he's doing there?"
Wade's answer was immediate. "I do, Kim. Remember Big Daddy Brotherson?"
How could anyone forget? Sleazy information broker, easily bribed with chocolate. Kim's thought coincided with Ron's answer:
"How could anyone forget; he was there the first time we encountered Killigan. Good times…"
Kim shot Ron a skeptical look. Good times might be a bit a stretch for that sitch. Wade continued:
"He's set up shop at the Bermuda Triangle, and his contact info is among the stuff recovered by GJ from Drakken's lair. I'll bet they'll be meeting!"
"So he's looking to even the odds for his next evil plan?" Ron's attempt at a joke was not subtle and not successful. Monique took it upon herself to make this clear.
"Boy, you're skipping a few steps if you're gonna start with the dad jokes."
"Huh?" He answered.
"Never mind that, Ron," Kim said, "we need to get ready for the mission."
This was one of those cases where "getting ready" meant something a bit more elaborate than throwing on the mission gear. Team Possible needed to get into the casino, which meant working around anyone who might try to check their IDs – minors were unlikely to be particularly welcome in an environment of gambling and drinking. So, it felt natural to Kim – who naturally took charge of planning the operation – to swim up to the casino grounds, change into more suitable attire, and finally infiltrate through a vent. Things had worked out pretty well, despite a few minor obstacles in the water.
The most obvious obstacle to their not drawing attention to themselves, so far, was definitely Ron's choice of attire: a baby blue tux with white frills. Even Rufus was shocked by the garish display, complemented by Ron's everyday shoes. It was a good thing that Monique was not around to see Ron's fashion disaster.
"What?" Ron asked, "It was my dad's, he bought it for his prom. Never been worn."
I wonder why…
"By the way, KP, you're looking badical," Ron said as the group walked towards the casino building, "but that wig works against you, it stands out as fake."
"If you say so," Kim answered, the truth of Ron's words was not lost on her. "Next time I need a wig, I'll leave you in charge of it."
"You won't regret it! So, where did you say the vent we're looking for was?"
"On the roof."
"You know, one of these days I'd love it if they made these things just a little bit more accessible…" Ron's train of thought was interrupted by the two teens firing their grappling hooks and checking that they were securely attached. "It'd be nice to not have to climb a tall building just to get into a vent," he continued as the grappling hooks raised them to the roof.
"Afraid of heights?"
"A little bit, but it's really about me losing my pants. These grappling hooks are great and all, but they just chew through my belts, somehow…"
"Do you buy them at Smarty Mart?" Kim replied. By this point, they had made it to the rooftop and were examining the HVAC conduit that would allow them access into the building.
"Of course, five bucks for a five-pack, plus a complementary mole rat-sized sombrero."
"Stylish!" Rufus chittered in agreement. Meanwhile, Kim was busy cutting open the conduit
"Laser lipstick, sweet! Hey, how come Wade never makes me cool toys?"
"That time you practically melted your fingers?" Kim answered, still trying to create a large enough hole on the side of the large duct.
"It looked like regular nail polish!"
Kim rolled her eyes, but continued her work, freeing the last large chunk of metal preventing them from entering the HVAC system. She began to crawl into it when Ron called out:
"Uhh, KP, is it okay if I take point this time?"
Kim moved back slightly, out of the duct, and gave Ron a skeptical look.
"I just, uhh, you know, if we run into some butts, I'm better at dealing with them."
"Uhm, reality check, Ron: you're not, unless they're dog-sized or bigger – wait, did you bay 'butts'?"
"What, no, why would I say 'butts'?" He replied, visibly nervous. "I said bugs! No butts here, just bugs! And spiders!"
Ron was beginning to visibly sweat, but Kim was still unsure of what Ron was getting at, so she crawled back into the duct. "Just follow me, Ron."
He did so, and said, "Rufus, you'd better take the flashlight and light our path."
"Alright!" The naked mole rat excitedly complied.
As they progressed along their path, Kim said, "Here's an idea for a cool gadget, since you were complaining about that: a headlamp, so we can more easily crawl through these things."
"Ooh, bad idea, KP."
"And why would it be a bad idea?"
"Uh, because it would mess up my hair."
"Heavens, no, couldn't run the risk of messing with your Essential Ronness," she answered sarcastically.
For some reason Ron stopped moving forward, since Kim could not easily look back, she just called back to him, "Earth to Ron? What's the hold-up?"
"Sorry, Kim, I uhh, must have scraped my finger on a sharp edge or something."
"Just be careful," Kim said before continuing to move forward. She soon arrived at a vent.
"The ladies' room. Good."
Ron soon caught up while Kim took the laser lipstick and used it to cut open the vent, clearing the way for her to exit the conduit. "You're awfully quiet, for a change. What's the sitch?" she asked as she prepared the line she would use to drop down into the restroom.
"Uh, no sitch, KP, just, uhm, you know…"
"I see," she answered sarcastically. "Just don't get too caught up contemplating whatever it is that has your attention, we have work to do."
Kim dropped down to the ladies' room. Ron was getting ready to follow her.
"Ladies' room, Ron…" She reminded him. Ron took the hint and moved on.
Why is he so ferociously distracted today? Not even 'today', just after we got out of the water…
Kim was now standing in a large restroom – if the schematics helpfully provided by Wade were correct, on the top floor, far above the smoky rooms where the rabble mindlessly dropped tokens into slot machines. This is where the Bermuda Triangle welcomed high rollers and self-described 'legitimate businessmen'. She took a moment to make sure she did not show any signs of her infiltration. Satisfied by what she saw in the mirror, Kim walked out and discreetly called Wade over her earpiece.
"Wade, I'm in. Any sign of Drakken?"
"Not that I can see," he answered cautiously.
"Shego?"
"Nope, they're keeping a very low profile. All I have is that Brotherson is in his usual private room."
Kim stood at the top of a staircase that curiously led down to the stage area, several small tables filled the area. None of them stood out, and there was no sign of Drakken or Shego. She asked Wade, "Where's this private room?"
"To your right, if you're looking at the stage, there should be a row of three doors. Brotherson's is the middle one."
As if on cue, said door opened, revealing a large man dragging a blue figure and kicking them out of the room.
"Sure is, Wade, I just saw Drakken being kicked out of there. He practically flew over the railing and landed somewhere below…"
Kim moved farther from Brotherson's door, both to stay a safe distance away and not blow her cover, and to try to get a better view of the area below. She spotted Shego sitting at a table, apparently unconcerned about Drakken having been thrown out and onto her table. Drakken slowly got up and on his feet and started to make his way up the stairs again, with Shego following not too closely.
Kim spoke into her headset, "Ron, are you there?"
The answer came accompanied by some pained moans, "Ugh, yeah, I'm okay, KP. Did you say you had Drakken in sight?"
"And Shego. Everything okay on your end?"
"My butt had an unexpected run-in with the floor and my back was feeling left out and crashed the party. Remind me to write a complaint about the Smarty Mart-brand AA batteries I bought for my flashlight…"
"Head in the game, Ron. Drakken's going into Brotherson's room and Shego is outside, making a phone call." I wonder what that's all about…
Wade's voice was heard again, "Ron, there's a janitor's closet that connects to Brotherson's room, second door on your left, see if you can eavesdrop on the conversation from there."
"On it," Ron answered, "the Ronman can do some snooping."
In the distance, Kim saw that Shego was growing frustrated with something, but did not seem to be talking. She was pacing around. Finally, her contacts seemed to be bearing fruit – either that or she was talking to herself. Any doubts were dispelled when she reacted in shock to whatever was said. Shego tried to run into the room where Drakken and Brotherson were, but was briefly stopped by a bodyguard – she quickly took him out and continued through the doorway.
Kim, having decided to get a closer look, was moving towards the room where the villains now were, along with Ron. Casino security had not yet reacted, but were doubtlessly going to react very soon, and Shego was obviously spooked and eager to bail. I just hope Ron got good intel out of this.
Just as she reached the doorway, Ron ran out of it, dodging Shego's plasma. He screamed, "KP, help!"
Shego was following close behind him, she did a double take when she spotted Kim in the corner of her eye and assumed a defensive stance.
"Tell me, princess – how the hell did you get here so quickly?"
I figure I should do more consistent reading recommendations, so here goes one:
Captainkodak1's Kimberly's Run is something quite different, which works well. A society that kills those who reach the ripe old age of 24? You just know it's going to be a disaster, but the fun is in following along and figuring out how it is a disaster.