Kim Possible and all related characters are the property of Disney Productions
Batman and all related characters are the property of DC Comics and Warner Brothers Entertainment
The Unstoppable Batman
Issue 4: A New Path pt. 4
Kim nervously tossed her bottle of water up into the air watching it spin for a moment before catching it again in her hand. She then repeated the process again, just as she had for the last few minutes. The teen girl was trying in vain to burn off the nervous energy and feeling of dread that had been building in her since last night.
It was 9:23 A.M. in the morning the day after what the media had already dubbed Diablo Night. An hour after the force field around the school had gone down and the Diablos were disabled Kim had been found by Global Justice officers. She had been searching all of their favorite haunts looking for Ron. The officers told her that Doctor Director had requested her presence at G.J. headquarters at nine in the morning. Kim spent the rest of the night looking for Ron but having no luck finding him.
Kim dragged herself into the headquarters just before nine and was shown to a waiting room. She was surprised to see both her parents as well as the Stoppables sitting in chairs waiting as well.
"Kimmie are you okay?" Anne Possible was the first person up and checking over her daughter. Kim was still wearing her prom dress that was slightly torn from her altercation with Eric last night which worried the four parents. Fortunately, Anne found that aside from a few bruises and some slight electric burns on her wrists Kim was fine.
"Kimmie cub what happened last night? And why didn't you come home after you and Ronald dealt with those robots?" James Possible asked his daughter with some concern for his daughter.
"And where's Ron?" Kim felt her self tense slightly at the question from Martha Stoppable.
"I… Don't know Mrs. Stoppable." The group of parents seemed surprised by that. After all their kids were inseparable best friends, who had been at Prom and had stopped a robot uprising last night. As far as they were aware.
"What do you mean weren't the two of you together last night?" Kim paused for a moment before shaking her head no at Thomas Stoppable's question.
"No, I haven't seen him since he left the prom and… we weren't the ones who stopped those robots." Both sets of parents were shocked hearing this. Before they could raise more questions another G.J. official came to them and told them that Doctor Director was finishing up in a meeting and would be with them in a few moments. He then gave them all some bottles of waters before leaving them all in silence.
That is where Kim was now twenty minutes later, tossing her bottle and waiting for Doctor Director to call her in. And wondering where her best friend had gone after he left Prom. Suddenly Kim was shaken out of her thoughts by a voice.
"Kim. Doctors' Possible. Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable." Betty Director shook each of their hands and then ushered them all into a conference room. They all took seats at a long glass conference table with Betty sitting at the head of the table. Betty looked around the table for a moment before asking a question. "Where's Ronald?"
Betty noticed that the eyes of both sets of parents went to the red headed teen sitting next to her mother. Kim swallowed nervously before answering.
"I don't know. I haven't seen Ron since last night… After we argued at the Prom." This drew a surprised look from all the adults in the room. After a moment of Kim being silent Betty spoke up.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable do you have any idea where your son might be?" The Stoppables shook their heads in response to her question.
"No, we were on a plane on our way back to Middleton when the… Diablo incident happened. We had a message on both our phones asking us to come here when we landed. We haven't even had a chance to go home yet." Thomas explained.
"When the message said that you needed to see us and our son, we thought that Ron would be here with you or Kim." Martha added more concern in her voice now than earlier. She now knew that not only was Ron not with Kim or the Possibles but that he wasn't with Global Justice either.
Betty seemed to think for a moment. "If I remember correctly, we left a voicemail at your home with the same message. Hopefully Ron will see that and will be on his way here soo…"
Betty was cut off as the door to the conference room opened.
"Uhh, am I in the right place? The lady in the jumpsuit told me to come here." The group were elated and relieved for a second upon hearing Ron's voice. They all turned to see the blonde teen and their elation turned to shock and worry as Kim and Martha both shouted in unison.
"Oh my god, Ron!"
Ron was standing in the doorway wearing his usual sneakers, cargo pants and jersey and shirt combo. But what shocked everyone was the condition of the boy's face. Ron's nose was bandaged and seemed as if it might be broken. Both his eyes were blackened and his right had swelled partially shut. There were also several small cuts running all over his face.
Anne was the first one up and was already examining the boy. She was quickly followed by Kim and the Stoppables, while Betty and James stayed back to allow Anne room to work and to not crowd the boy.
"Ron what happened to you." Anne asked as she was examining the boys injured face. Ron tried to think of something to say as his parents and Kim also bombarded him with questions as Anne began moving on from the boy's face and trying to examine the rest of the boy's body. Upon placing her hand on the teens ribs Ron instantly winced and sucked in air between clenched teeth.
"Ron, I need to see your ribs." Anne stated before attempting to lift the side of Ron's shirt. Ron quickly hopped back away from the brain surgeon and held his hands up against her.
"It's okay Mrs. Dr. P. It looks a lot worse than it actually is."
"Ron you're clearly hurt and I need to look you over."
"It's cool like I said." Martha then interjected.
"Ronald let Anne look you over." Kim then asked.
"Ron what happened? How did you end up like this?" Ron spared a quick glance at Kim. While Ron was acting somewhat skittish and aloof with their parents, the look he gave Kim was different. Kim wasn't sure what to call the look. It seemed like the sight of her was confusing him. In the brief second that their eyes locked it seemed to her like he was caught somewhere between relief, anger, happiness, sadness. It was as if he was emotionally all over the place. Finally, after looking away from her and turning back to keep Anne from examining him he answered her question.
"I got a little caught up in one of the riots in Lowerton." Hearing this brought concern from everyone in the room before the words seemed to sink in to Kim.
"Riots? What riots?" Ron again eyed Kim for a second before replying.
"The riots that broke out after the diablos wrecked everything. Maybe you should try and keep up with what's going on in the world Kim." Kim and everyone else were shocked to hear Ron take that shot at Kim. Bett Director quickly jumped into the middle of the arguing.
"Excuse me. But if young Mr. Stoppable says he's fine then perhaps we can hold off on his medical examination until this meeting is over." Anne began to object but Ron quickly slipped past them and took a seat on the far side of the table next to Betty.
"You can examine the boy after the meeting is over Anne." Betty then gestured to the rest of the chairs at the table and everyone took their seats. With Kim and Ron next to Doctor Director on opposite sides of the table.
"So going off what Kim said. The two of you were not responsible for stopping Dr. Drakkens Diablo robots?" Kim nodded and Ron seemed to think for a second before nodding his head as well. "Okay then can you both please tell me what you know about these machines and what has happened in the past few days that you were both involved in."
Kim and Ron spared each other a glance before they began telling Doctor Director and their parents everything that had been going on. They started from when they stopped Drakken and Shego in Japan to trying to catch them at an underground casino and then his kidnapping of Kim's father. They also brought up meeting Eric and how he and Kim had begun seeing each other. This confused the five adults because they weren't sure how a boy Kim was dating factored into the story.
The shock came for them when Ron revealed how after getting Wade to patch him into Bueno Nacho Headquarters in order to make a complaint, Ron had discovered that Drakken was running the company. And then how the Diablo toys had come to life and had begun chasing him through the streets and too Prom. And then Ron explained how he tried to explain to Kim what was going on and she had not believed him. This caused all the attention in the room to turn on Kim.
"Kimmie is that true." Her mother asked. Kim winced at her mother's tone. Before she slowly nodded.
"Yes, it's true."
"Kimmie cub with everything that you've been through together why wouldn't you…" James's question to his daughter was cut off by Ron.
"It's fine Mr. Dr. P. We can talk about this later." The room was quiet for a moment. As it was fairly clear that the second part of Ron's statement was directed at Kim. For a moment James father instinct to protect his daughter kicked in and he was prepared to reprimand Ron but his wife's hand on his arm stopped him.
"Okay then, Kim can you tell us what happened next after Ron left the Prom." Betty asked.
Kim then proceeded tell everyone about what had happened next. Surprising everyone including Ron when she explained how Eric revealed himself as one of Drakken's synthodrones. And how Eric had subdued her and held her hostage. How Monique, Tara and Bonnie of all people had to rescue her from the synthodrone. And then how the robots just seemed to shut down and the forcefield dropped when the girls got her free and outside the school.
Suddenly James started ranting about how it was a good thing that Eric had already been taken care of otherwise he would be sending the synthetic teen into a black hole. Kim shook her head at her father's little rant before she heard a soft voice whisper to her from across the table.
"You doing okay K.P.?" Kim looked up and noticed that Ron now had a genuine look of concern on his face for her after hearing about what had happened to her last night. Kim felt herself become a little lighter as she gave him a weak smile and nodded.
Finally, James was quieted down and Kim continued. She then explained that she had spent the rest of the night after they were freed trying to find Ron. After hearing all this and making a few notes on a legal pad she then turned to Ron. "Okay, Ron would you like to tell me what happened to you after you left the school gymnasium?"
Ron quickly sat up straighter in his chair and tried to collect himself. And for a moment he let his mind replay the events of last night in his mind like a movie reel, and for a moment Ron considered what to say.
"After I left the gym," Ron began. "I ended up just kind of wandering back home and tried thinking of what to do. Then I saw the robots putting the forcefields up. You know you could see them for miles around. Anyway, once I realized who all had been trapped, I started running around looking for someone who could help. I ended up in Lowerton when the robots started attacking everywhere and I just kind of hid out there until they shut down. And then I ended up getting caught up in one of the riots that broke out after the robots went down."
Ron then gestured to his face. "That's how this happened."
Betty jotted more notes down before putting her pen down and pinching the bridge or her nose as she got lost in thought for a moment. The room was very tense for a moment before the head of Global Justice spoke up again.
"In light of everything that's happened it's been decided that there are going to be some changes made." Betty began. "First as of now team possible is disbanded and your website is being shut down."
Kim immediately rose from her chair to argue. "What! Doctor Director you can't do that."
"Actually, I can Kim and I have."
"Look Dr. I understand that this situation got way out of hand. And that Ron and I should have been more on top of the situation but…" Kim was instantly cut off by Ron.
"I'm sorry who should have been more on top of it?" Ron was now standing himself and staring Kim down. "In case you forgot what you admitted a few minutes ago, I WAS on top of it. YOU were the one that dropped the ball on this whole thing Kim."
The room was again awkwardly quiet as Kim seemed to deflate at Ron's words. James Possible had to suppress the urge to jump to his daughters' defense because as much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew that Ron had a right to be upset with his Kimmie cub. Anne was also keenly aware that her daughter had made a mistake and that Ron was rightfully upset. Thomas and Martha Stoppable agreed with their son and where somewhat upset with the teen heroine themselves for not believing their son.
"Ronald. Kimberly. Would you both return to your seats." Ron and Kim were quiet for a moment before complying with Betty's order. When the two teens were seated again, she continued.
"Last night Drakken came within a hairs breath of actually taking control of the entire world. Now based on communications between Global Justice and nearly every other major law enforcement and intelligence agency in the world it appears that none of us were keeping particularly close tabs on him. That is in spite of the face that despite Drakken's more colorful and eccentric personality traits he is a man with a far above average intellect and is capable of causing extreme chaos. That is because for several years we had essentially left Drakken to you and your team."
Kim again tried to speak but Betty held up her hand to silence her before continuing.
"We allowed three children to shoulder the responsibility of keeping track of and dealing with an unstable and dangerous individual. Multiple individuals in fact. And that is a fault that I place squarely on myself."
"But Dr. Director…" Kim tried before being cut off.
"You and Ronald and your tech man Mr. Load are all children or teens if you want to split hairs. We had no right to place the burden of protecting the world from these people on the shoulder of any of you. But we were all so blinded by your skills and abilities that we were willing to let you do it. That is on us."
"Kim while I don't agree with how you spoke to Ronald last night; I do agree with you that you should be allowed to have a normal teenage life. Both of you do. You should be worrying about dating, school and prom instead of dealing with lunatics. And because we weren't paying attention things got to where they were last night. That's the reason that we are shutting you down. Last night was too close a call to let happen again."
"If you both want to continue fighting the good fight then when you turn eighteen and graduate from high school, I will be more than happy to get you both positions here at Global Justice. But until then the two of you need to spend some time being actual teens. That's what's best for the two of you. And in light of last night, it's the opinion of the government as well as this agency in particular that the actions of extra-legal operatives such as team possible cannot be tolerated any longer."
The room was quiet for a moment as the words sank in.
"And that's the final word on all this." Thomas Stoppable broke the silence.
Betty nodded. "Yes."
"Also, though it has yet to be announced Middleton high will be closing early for the summer. In light of the trauma that many of the students experienced during the Prom it's been decided that they're going to waive the last few weeks of school. They will also be offering counseling to any students who might require it. An offer that, given what you've both been through, I would recommend that you both consider. That's pretty much everything that concerns you. Does anyone have any questions."
Both sets of parents looked to their children, seeing that both of them seemed to be lost in thought soaking in what Dr. Director had told them all. Then Martha Stoppable spoke up.
"If you can tell us what did happen to Drakken last night? What stopped the Diablo attack." Betty turned her attention to Martha as all eyes in the room went to her. This caused them to miss Ron jump and a look of panic cross his face for a moment.
"We're still piecing things together since it seems all surveillance footage from the building was wiped out but it appears that a lone male assailant stormed the complex and took out Drakkens operation." This brought a look of surprise to all the faces in the room.
"One person stopped Drew?" James asked.
"From what we've uncovered yes." Betty clarified. "He apparently took out a squad of his men and a unit of synthodrones before taking out Shego and then Drakken. That said Drakken was found with a shattered nose and two black eyes and Shego…"
Betty paused for a moment before continuing. "Shego was beaten so severely that our doctors told us that if it weren't for her healing abilities, she most likely would have been killed last night."
Everyone looked shocked at hearing this and Ron felt all the color quickly drain from his face.
"Yes. This is another reason that we're curtailing extra-legal operatives. Though I personally aren't losing much sleep over it, the severity of the injuries that Drakken and specifically Shego received have concerned some higher ups. They're not thrilled with the idea of someone running around delivering these kinds of beatings to people without being accountable to some agency."
A small loud ding was heard and Betty pulled out her communicator from her belt and answered it. She listened to the voice on the other line for a moment before telling them she understood, switching it off and returning it to her belt. "If there are no further questions, I have other matters that require my attention."
Betty looked around the table seeing no one seemed to have any questions. She did notice that Ron had seemed to sink back into his seat when she had mentioned the injuries to Drakken and Shego. She brushed the thought from her mind assuming it was just from hearing that two people he knew well had been injured like that. "Well then it was nice seeing you all again. And I hope you have a better day than the one that I'm about to have."
Betty then left the conference room as the Possibles and Stoppables stood up and left just behind her. Betty turned and badged her way through a secured door in the waiting room. The Possibles and Stoppables started making their way through the exit that would lead them back to the outside when Kim spoke up.
"Hey, um… could Ron and I have a minute alone?" Both sets of parents looked at one another before they looked to Ron. Ron thought for a second before nodding his head to them.
"Yeah, we should probably talk." The parents hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
"Okay. We'll be waiting for you out by the car when you're ready." The parents then headed out the door and headed toward the parking complex. Leaving the two teens to stand awkwardly in the waiting room.
Kim and Ron couldn't remember a time since they had met in pre-k when the two had been this nervous around each other. They each tried to start the conversation a few times but when they tried looking at each other they couldn't. they would be flooded with so many mixed emotions that they were having trouble figuring out where to start.
"Why don't you go ahead and start." Ron finally spoke up.
"Okay" Kim then took a breath to try and steady herself before continuing. "Ron I'm sorry. I should have believed you. I don't know why I didn't believe you. I should have. There was no reason…"
"There were reasons." Ron interrupted. Kim looked at him surprised. Ron rubbed the back of his neck as he continued. "I had some time to think about it and looking back… there were reasons. After Eric showed up, I thought I was losing you. I was acting… weird to say the least. I was going off the walls and I was so… erratic. Looking back, I do get that. I wasn't acting like myself I see that now. And taking children's toys from a fast-food chain and turning them into robots that could be used to take over the world… That is pretty out there."
Ron breathed in sharply before his eyes flashed angrily at Kim. "But you should have believed me."
Kim felt like she was shrinking with every word that came out of his mouth. "Even with how I was acting. Even with the plan being so out there and nuts. You should have believed me because it was ME Kim. Your best friend since pre-k. The guy who has been by your side since then. Since the braces, since we started team possible, since I had to go to the amazon to get you that flower so you wouldn't disappear. All the other insane things we've gone up against over the years. You should have believed me Kim."
Kim sank down into one of the chairs, she couldn't remember ever being this ashamed of herself. "I know Ron. And I'm not trying to justify it but I just want to explain. I just… I just wanted to be normal. I wanted just one night with a boy who I liked and not have to deal with saving the world and missing out on something else that everyone else gets to have. And Prom… that's supposed to be one of the most important nights in a girl's life and I just… I will never be able to tell you how sorry I am Ron."
Kim put her head in her hands and began sniffling she did her best to keep tears from falling from her eyes. Ron sat down in the chair next to her and placed a hand on Kim's back to comfort her. The feel of Ron's hand on her back caused the tears to begin flowing freely.
"I know you are Kim. And like I said I can understand on a… rational level how you would have trouble believing me. But it's me. And the fact that you didn't believe me after everything we've been through it… really pi… it really makes me angry Kim."
Kim fought back the tears and turned to look at Ron and asked the question she was dreading the answer to.
"What does this mean for us? We've been best friends for over a decade. Is all that gone?"
Ron was deep in thought for a moment before answering. "I hope not. We've been friends so long I want to say that we can get back to where we were before. But I'm gonna need some time, Kim. I'm pretty mixed up with how I feel about all this."
Kim simply nodded in understanding. "So, there's a chance?"
"I hope so."
The two teens sat in silence for a moment, Kim resting her head on Ron's shoulder and his arm around her shoulder. The room was filled with nothing but the sounds of Kim's sniffling and Ron's breathing for several minutes while the two of them collected their thoughts.
"Where's Rufus?" Kim finally asked picking her head off his shoulder.
"He's… he's at a vet in Lowerton." Kim became worried.
"What happened?" Ron shook his head.
"He got hurt in the riot that we got caught in. The doc said that he should be okay but they kept him to keep an eye on him. I should be able to pick him up later today." Kim sighed in relief upon hearing that the smallest member of their former team was going to be okay.
"I didn't even realize there were any riots going on." Kim admitted reluctantly ashamed that she hadn't done anything to help those. "If I had maybe I… we could have tried to do something about it."
Ron shook his head. "Honestly, I doubt that even the great Kim Possible can stop riots like the ones I saw. And it's not like we've done a lot to help any of the people who were affected before last night."
Kim blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about Ron."
Ron looked away from her and stood up. "We should probably get going. Don't want the rents to start worrying."
Ron gestured toward the door. Kim rose out of her chair and walked out the door side by side with Ron. As they were making their way through the headquarters and to the parking complex Ron spoke up again.
"Did you ever think that we should have been doing more than just dealing with goofy villains like Drakken and Killigan?" Kim looked over at Ron quizzically.
"What do you mean Ron?"
"Like there were people out there that needed help and we were so busy looking at the big flashy problems that we completely missed a whole lot of people that could have used our help." Kim was quiet for a moment mulling over what Ron asked.
"I think we did, we do, the best we can to help people. I mean we saved the world more than once Ron that has to count for something." Ron nodded.
"Yeah, but what about more street level trouble."
"I guess I never really thought about that."
"Neither did I." Ron looked down at his shoes as his mind began wandering.
"Ron what's got you thinking about this all of a sudden? The riots?"
Ron continued to look at the floor as they reached the entry to the parking complex. "Yeah, I guess it was the riots."
As they exited the headquarters Ron mind replayed the events after his defeat of Drakken in his head for what felt like the hundredth time.
LAST NIGHT AFTER RON STOPPED THE DIABLOS
Sandra had just started working at the Helping Paws veterinary clinic in Lowerton a few weeks ago. She had always loved animals since she was a kid and had always wanted to help peoples beloved pets, strays and animals that needed help. She was still going for her veterinary degree but in the mean time she had managed to get a job here as an office assistant. And until tonight she had loved the job.
Now as she, two vet assistants and the head vet were trapped in the building with giant robots rampaging around the city. The machines had appeared and had proceeded to wreak havoc for a few moments before they seemed to disappear as quickly as they had appeared. None of them dared to venture out of the building yet for fear that the mechanized monsters might return as soon as they do.
Sandra turned to the doctor. "How long should we wait around."
Doctor Garfield Baker, a man in his mid-fifties, shook his head at the young woman. "I'm honestly not sure."
"There's no telling if those things are going to come back or not. And I can't find anything on the news about it yet." Karen the forty something year old vet tech jumped in.
"At least the animals in the kennels have finally seemed to calm down now." Chloe a blonde in her mid-twenties chimed in.
"We still need to get out of here. I say we make a run for it." Karen spoke up.
"What about all the animals?" Sandra asked before Karen scoffed.
"Hey, we should probably be thinking of ourselves at the moment don't you think." Doctor Baker cut in before she could continue.
"I agree we should get out but I don't feel right leaving peoples pets during this crisis. Besides since we have no idea if the danger is over its best if we just stay where we are for now." Karen was about to refute her boss's statement when a new voice chimed into the conversation, causing all four of the Helping Paws employees to jump in panic.
"Since you're stuck here is there any chance you can help us out?" The four quickly turned toward the door to find a figure standing in the lobby with them. It was a young blonde boy, wearing dark clothing and what appeared to be a utility belt around his waist. The boys clothing was torn and the shirt in particular was ripped severely in several places. The boy also seemed to have a large amount of dried blood on the clothing but the dark fabric made it hard to tell how much. Though it was clear that there were many small cuts on the boy's face and his eyes seemed to be blackening.
"My friend here needs checked out." Doctor Baker finally noticed that the boy was holding something in his hands. He quickly noticed that the thing was a small animal. The doctor cautiously approached and noticed that it was a naked mole rat, the poor creature appeared to be burnt and was breathing shallowly.
"He got a nasty electric shock." The doctor was about to ask the boy a question when Karen's voice broke in.
"How the hell did he get in here! Damn it, I thought one of you idiots was supposed to lock that door."
"I swear I did lock it." Sandra replied still recovering from the boy's sudden appearance. Karen was about to continue before the doctor cut her off.
"What happened? Did he chew on some wiring?" The blonde seemed to hesitate for a second before answering.
"Yeah, I didn't manage to find him until after the chaos with the Diablos was over." The doctor carefully took the small mole rat from the boy and turned to head back into one of the exam rooms.
"Sandra, keep this young man company out here. Karen, Chloe; with me please." Chloe looked to the young man but began following her boss. Karen on the other hand didn't budge.
"What this kid breaks in here and just hands us a sick animal during all this. How do you know he isn't going to try and rob us or worse." Doctor Baker never stopped moving as he replied.
"This creature really is injured and I took an oath to help all animals when I can. And besides unless you are planning on trying to risk running home without knowing anything we have nothing else to do at the moment do we." With that Doctor Baker and Chloe disappeared into the back. Karen looked over at the blonde teen again before throwing her hands up and following them back.
Sandra rubbed her arm somewhat uncomfortably before she decided she should do her job as well. She walked behind the front desk and began asking the young man the standard questions.
"Name and pets name?"
"Ron Stoppable and my buddy is Rufus. He's a naked mole rat."
Sandra quickly asked Ron all the standard questions and filled out the proper documents before looking back up at Ron who was now staring out the window of the office and down at the street.
"You were very brave coming out like this to get him here to us." Sandra stated approaching the teen. "We've all been to scared to go anywhere. Even after the robots disappeared it sounds like things are going crazy down there."
"Yeah, I passed a couple of riots on my way down here."
"Oh my god. Is that how you got in that shape?"
Ron looked down at himself for a moment before responding. "Uh, yeah. It is definitely getting pretty crazy out there."
Sandra nodded. "Still, I guess it's not much crazier than normal for a night in Lowerton"
Sandra looked out another window and didn't notice the strange look the boy gave her. "Um, okay. Do you know how long it will be until they can tell me something about Rufus?"
"It'll probably be a bit but I can go check it you like." The blonde teen nodded with a smile. Sandra turned to head to the exam room and as she was about to head down the hall she glanced back at the boy. He was now looking intently out the window as if something outside had grabbed his attention. For a moment she worried it was more robots but the lack of shaking dispelled that thought.
She decided to ask him when she got back as he might just be worried about his pet. Sandra quickly popped her head into the room and asked for a quick update. Chloe told her that they were still doing the exam to see how much damage might have been done and it will be another fifteen minutes at the quickest. Sandra nodded and returned to the lobby.
Where she was surprised to find that the boy was nowhere in sight. Sandra quickly checked the bathroom to see if he wanted to washup. Then she checked in back where the kennels were to see if he had wandered in there. When he wasn't there, she quickly checked the back where they kept the medications to see it Karen had been right and he was possibly stealing. Again, he wasn't there and nothing seemed to be missing.
Finally, when Sandra returned to her desk, she noticed a sticky note from her desk was stuck to the top of the desk with a note scrawled hastily on it.
HAD TO STEP OUT
BE BACK IN A FEW
Sandra then looked at the window and wondered what had made him go back out there.
A few moments before, on the sidewalk across from Helping Paws a young woman had been hastily making her way down the street. She had been out working and she needed to get home to her two-year-old child that her neighbor was watching for her. Her heels were clicking furiously on the cement as she quickened her pace and looked behind her. Tonight, she was keeping an eye out for more giant robots and not just the usual predators of the night that she was accustomed to looking out for.
She turned her head to look where she was going just as she was passing in front of an alleyway. Suddenly she felt a hand with a vice like grip tighten around her upper arm and pull her violently into the alley. The force of the pull and the heels that she was wearing caused her to stumble awkwardly into the alley, being surprised and unbalanced she couldn't put up any defense. She was dragged behind a large dumpster and slammed into the wall and sliding down onto her bottom.
"Jeannie there you are. I've been looking for you all week." Jeannie looked up to see a man in jeans and a leather jacket. A man she knew all to well. "You wouldn't be trying to duck me, would you?"
Jeannie felt herself begin to shake involuntarily. She had been avoiding this man for days now and he had finally caught up to her. "No… No not at all. I just moved streets you know. It was getting pretty crowded on the old corner you know."
The man nodded in mock understanding. "Oh yeah, I get that. Supply and demand gotta go where there's not so much competition out there with you right."
"Ri… Right." He put his hands on his knees and bent down, looming over the frightened red head.
"You think that get's you out of paying. Cause you know if I don't get paid, you're not "insured" and there are just so many bad things that can happen to people when they're not covered." He then extended his hand expectantly toward the prone woman.
"I…" Her throat had dried out and she felt her body shaking more. "I don't have much on me tonight it was slow and with the robot things and all, and my landlord raised rent."
She quickly pulled a few bills out of the pocket of her jacket and handed them to him. He counted the twenties a moment before looking at her with what seemed to be pity before he harshly grabbed her by the throat, pulled her to her feet and pinned her to the brick wall. He then shoved his free hand down her tube top, she tried to scream but his grip stopped her from making any real noise. He then pulled out a roll of bills that she had been hiding on her, he then held the bills in front of her face.
"And what have we here? Looks like you were holding out on me. I'll just hold on to this." He then stuffed the bills into the pocket of his jacket before putting his hand on the waistband of her skirt. "Now I'm afraid that's going to cost you some interest."
The man smiled cruelly and Jeannie felt her self slowly beginning to pass out when a loud angry voice boomed down the alley.
"HEY!" The man turned his head at the voice before a sudden pain shot through his face and a metallic clang filled his ears. He released Jeannie and stumbled backward as the woman tried to catch her breath and the metal garbage can lid that had soared into the man's face clattered to the ground. The man grabbed his face with both hands feeling blood leaking from his nose. He looked down the alley just in time to see his attacker.
Running full speed at him was a man in torn dark clothing, with leather gloves and a balaclava covering his face. Before the man could react, the masked man had jumped up and off the side of the dumpster for elevation and the delivered a harsh kick to the side of the man's head. This caused him to stumble across that alley and slam his head off the brick of the building on the opposite side. He then crumpled to the ground.
The masked man then turned his attention to Jeannie who after catching her breath was now more terrified than before. Because she had no idea who this masked man is or what he wanted. As far as she knew she might now be standing there with someone worse than before. The masked man let out a long breath and his fists slowly unclenched as he looked at the man on the ground. Then he turned toward Jeannie.
"Are you alright ma'am?" The voice of the masked man used now was softer as he saw the fear in the woman and was trying to set her at ease. The woman looked at him terrified before opening her mouth to try and speak before her eyes widened and she let out an ear-piercing scream. The masked man raised his hands to show he meant no harm and suddenly a loud bang was heard in the alley. There was an explosion of brick dust coming off the wall as a bullet imbedded itself into it. The masked man quickly turned to see the attacker was now sitting up on his butt and was aiming a handgun that he had hidden on him at the masked man. The only thing that saved the masked man was the shooter was shaking so badly that he couldn't aim accurately.
"You have any idea who I am? You got any idea how deep the shit you just stepped in is?" The masked man wasted no time faster than either of the other two could see her had fished something from his belt and sent the object hurtling at the shooter. The gunman let out a loud scream and dropped the gun as he looked at the shuriken that was now imbedded in his hand. The man quickly tried reaching for the gun that he dropped but as he was about to grab it the masked man slammed his foot down on the man's wrist stopping him.
"GOD DAMN IT I'M A-" Whatever he was about to say was cut off as the masked man drove his knee into his face. Then grabbed him by his hair to hold him still, before delivering three hard punches to the man's face. When the man was on the ground, finally unconscious, the masked man picked up the gun and began to fiddle with it. After a moment he was able to eject the magazine from the gun and was about to toss the weapon and ammo into one of the dumpsters when Jeannie spoke up.
"There's still one in the chamber." The masked man looked at her for a moment before looking at the gun again. She then told him how to clear that round and he followed her instructions before tossing the weapon and ammo away. He then looked at Jeannie for a moment before turning back to the unconscious man, he pulled some zip ties from his belt and proceeded to hogtie the man. Then he reached into the man's pockets and pulled out everything he had on him before turning to the woman.
"I think this is yours." The man held out a hand containing all the money that had just been taken from her. She carefully took it not taking her eyes off her masked savior. She quickly stowed the bills back in her top before she noticed that he was now holding out the unconscious man's wallet to her.
"Figure whatever cash is in here you can have it. And do me a favor and call the cops when you get home. He should still be here." Jeannie looked at him for a moment before she started chuckling.
"Did I say something funny." Jeannie looked at him skeptically.
"You really don't know who he is do you? Well why don't you open up that wallet." The masked man raised his eye curiously but did as she requested. She then let another small chuckle escape as she saw his eyes grow wide at the sight of the gold shield that was inside the wallet.
"He's… He's a cop?" The man seemed as if he couldn't believe it. Jeannie just nodded as she finally began to stop shaking, feeling as though the immediate danger had passed her.
"Yeah, so thanks for the save. But I'm not calling the cops on him cause they're not going to do anything to him. They never do." The masked man turned his eyes from the badge to her.
"They never do? You mean he's robbed and… assaulted women before and he gets away with it?" Jeannie looked at him wondering if he was serious before nodding.
"Yeah, him and a lot of other cops do."
"Why don't you report him. Someone will have to listen. The cops can't all be doing this."
"Probably not but you ever heard of a blue wall. Cops don't turn on other cops. And in this town even the ones who aren't doing what he does they're all still doing some shady shit."
"Well then go to the papers or the news stations." Jeannie just rolled her eyes at that.
"Yeah, not sure anyone is gonna go against the cops on my say or any of the other girls I know he's gone after. No one believes a whore over a cop." The masked man shook his head again.
"That doesn't matter… Wait what." Jeannie again rolled her eyes before gesturing to her clothes.
"This late at night, in this part of town, dressed like this. None of that was a clue." The masked man shook his head.
"What you do or how you dress doesn't make a difference. It doesn't give anyone, even a cop, the right the rob you and… attack you. Especially not a cop." Jeannie shrugged.
"That's life kid."
"Why not call Kim Possible?" Jeannie actually laughed at that.
"Kim Possible. That's a good one."
"What's so funny about that." The masked man asked heatedly.
"When was the last time you heard about Kim Possible helping hookers. Or fighting dirty cops. Or hell even setting foot in Lowerton when there wasn't a supervillain attacking. She deals with all those guys not the kind of things that happen down here."
"If she knew then…" The masked man began.
"She'd what come down here. Odds are she'd get herself shot. Or she'd get beat the hell out of her and assaulted. As you so elegantly termed it." Jeannie let her voice soften a bit.
"Look thanks for this and all but… this hero crap isn't how things work in the real world. Corruption. Greed. Apathy. Those are the golden rules down here and anyone who says different is either stupid or lying to you. Look I'm sure Kim Possible and the kid that runs around with her are nice and all but they belong out there."
"They fight guys with weird ass inventions, and colorful costumes that cause some chaos but they don't do anything serious. Have any of the guys she fights killed anyone or even seriously hurt anyone? No. Has she ever tried looking into a murder? Or busting a drug ring or even a drug dealer? Has she ever tried to deal with cops like Flass over there? No?"
"Kim Possible and her family and friends all live in a perfect little Disney world where the bad guys are goofy and, in the end, everything turns out just fine. And you know what good for her. Some people just get born lucky like that. She's never dealt with something harsh or heartbreaking not really, those people have never tasted desperate. Honestly, I'm a little jealous of her. But the world she lives in isn't the world that the rest of us live in. Especially in this part of Triton."
Jeannie's words hung thick in the air, the masked man said nothing appearing to be deep in thought. Jeannie slipped past him and headed back toward the street, muttering another quiet 'thank you' as she passed by. As she got to the sidewalk, she heard him speak.
"It doesn't have to be that way." Jeannie just shook her head before looking back at him sadly.
"Well, who's gonna change all that, huh?" Jeannie then turned and headed back down the street toward her home leaving the masked man standing in the alley with only his thoughts for company.
Sandra was pacing around the lobby of Helping Paws. She was beginning to worry about the young man that had just been there. He had disappeared about twenty minutes ago and for the life of her she couldn't figure out what had drawn him away. When she had been doing the intake paperwork, he had seemed so concerned and worried for his friend it was hard to imagine what made him leave. Suddenly her attention was drawn to Doctor Baker calling her name as he entered the lobby.
"Sandra where is the young man who brought our new patient in?" Sandra shook her head before responding.
"I don't know he just…" She was cut off by said teens voice.
"I'm right here Doc. I needed to step out for some air." Ron said after getting a quizzical look from the woman he disappeared on. The doctor just nodded and ushered him back to the exam room. In the room Rufus was laying on a soft bed with several wires running off of him leading to a machine keeping track of his vitals.
"It seems you friend took a pretty hefty jolt of electricity. I won't bore you with the technical terms but basically, he should be able to recover. But the shock to his system has left him rather weak. Whether this will be permanent or not I can't say but he's definitely not going to be doing anything strenuous for quite a while." Ron nodded to the doctor but made no other reply as his attention was solely on his pet. He scratched the mole rats head gently.
"I'm so sorry about all of this buddy. I should have kept you with me and you wouldn't have gotten hurt." Sandra spoke up.
"It's not your fault animals chew on things sometimes and accidents happen." The blonde teen just nodded again.
"Thanks. So, Doc can I take him home?" Doctor Baker shook his head.
"I think it would be best if Rufus stayed here for a day or two for observation. But his prognosis is good so I don't think he'd need to be here longer than that. We just want to be sure he's okay." Ron nodded once again.
"Can I have some time with him." Doctor Baker nodded and ushered Sandra out of the room and into the lobby where Chloe and Karen were both waiting. The four adults began to talk amongst themselves giving the young man time with his pet. After about half an hour the young man came out of the exam room.
"Thanks for taking care of him Doc." Ron shook the doctor's hand. He then turned and shook other threes hands and thanked them as well before turning back to the doctor.
"It okay if I pay when I come and pick him up?"
"That should be fine." Doctor Baker said. Ron nodded and then turned to the ladies.
"Thanks again." Ron then headed for the door leading down to the street.
"Your leaving?" Ron stopped at the door and turned around.
"Yeah. Rufus needs rest and my folks are probably getting worried about me so…" Doctor Baker spoke up.
"I think with everything going on out there it might be best if you were to wait this all out with us." Ron gave a polite smile but shook his head.
"Thanks, but I really got to get going. I'll be back to see Rufus soon though." And with that Ron pushed open the door and began making his way down to the street.
Doctor Baker quickly jogged to the door and began following the boy down to the street. Sandra looked at the older two women who just shrugged at her and they waited for their boss and the boy to return. After a moment Doctor Baker returned by himself.
"What happened?" Chloe asked. The doctor simply shook his head in amazement.
"I have no idea. I swear I was only a few seconds behind him, but when I got down there he had completely vanished."
"Ron." Ron was snapped back to reality upon hearing Kim's voice.
"What's that?" Kim tilted her head at him with a worried look etched on her face.
"You've been spacing out for a couple of minutes. Are you okay." Ron nodded slowly.
"I'm fine I was just thinking about how we could have been doing more, I guess." Kim looked down at her feet as they continued walking through the parking complex.
"Well, it's kind of a moot point now anyway. Team Possible is officially done."
"Guess you got your wish. Now you get to be a normal girl." Ron's voice didn't hold any malice when he said it but it still cut Kim to her core.
"I'm sorry about that." Her voice dripped with regret.
"I know." Ron spared a small glance toward Kim.
"So, what are you gonna do now that schools out? If you don't mind me asking." Ron was quiet for a moment before answering.
"I think I'm gonna get out of Middleton, out of Triton, for a while. See if I can clear my head." Kim nodded before noticing that their parents were just a few cars ahead of them next to the families' cars. The two teens said a silent good bye to each other before getting into their family's respective vehicle and heading home.
"Kimberly, we need to talk." Kim was stopped by her mother's voice. The former teen hero had hoped to make it up to her room without having to have a discussion with her parents. She quickly turned around and walked into the living room to find her mother and father waiting for her.
"Kimmie Cub we would like to talk about what happened last night with Ron." James started. Kim sat down on the couch in front of her parents and felt as if she was somehow deflating even more than she already had in the last twenty-four hours.
"Kimberly, I'm just trying to understand why it was that you didn't believe Ron when he tried warning you about Drakken last night." Anne asked.
"I… I just…" Kim paused for a moment. "I should have. I messed up royally and now I don't even know when my best friend might want to see me again. I… I just wanted to be normal for once. I mean really normal."
Kim's voice began to crack and tears began to leak from her eyes as she finished speaking. Her mother and father sat down on opposite sides of her and did their best to comfort her. They were both upset with their daughters' actions but it still pained them to see their daughter in this state.
"It'll be okay sweetie." Anne said softly as she rubbed her daughters back. James was quiet for a moment before speaking up.
"Kimmie Cub I went off a little earlier and I never asked how you were doing. Not about the situation with Ronald but after what happened with 'Eric'" James seemed to spit the name of the synthodrone out as if it were poison that was on his tongue.
Kim wiped her eyes before answering. "I'm okay Daddy. I'm more humiliated that he got the drop on me the way he did. That Drakken was able to fool me for weeks like he did. And Mon, Tara and Bonnie could have been hurt or worse saving me."
James met his wife's eyes and then asked about the burns on their daughter's wrists. Anne gently took her daughters hands and gave them a quick inspection. She noticed her daughter flinched slightly as she examined them.
"They don't hurt bad they just sting a bit." Anne nodded as she let go of her daughter's hands.
"It doesn't look there's any permanent damage done. Your wrists should heal up in a few days. But your relationship with Ron, that is going to take some time to heal." Kim felt tears beginning to return to her eyes but she blinked them away quickly.
"I know mom." Anne was about to speak again before the phone rang. Anne excused herself and headed into the kitchen to answer it. James put his arm around his daughter and rubbed her shoulder.
"I know things seem bad now Kimmie Cub, but things will get better between you and Ronald. I promise." Kim looked up at her father.
"How long do you think that will take?" James seemed to ponder her question for a moment before sighing.
"A while. Kimmie I love you no matter what and you know that, but you really did mess up last night. All you can do now is wait, because Ronald is the one who's hurting and he needs to heal at his own pace." At that a fresh wave of tears began pouring from the redhead's eyes.
"If he forgives me you mean." James hugged his daughter closer.
"He will… just give it time." James placed a kiss on his daughter's head. Just then Anne came back into the living room looking upset.
"What's wrong?" James asked.
"They called a city council meeting. They say it's an emergency and they want to talk about what's going to be done after the attack last night." James frowned.
"Do they really need us?" Anne shook her head.
"They were pretty insistent. All hands-on deck was what they said." Anne clearly was not happy about the summons either. James was about to protest when Kim cut him off.
"You guys should go. With all those riots Ron mentioned and the damage all those robots probably did I'm guessing a rocket scientist and a brain surgeon could be useful figuring out ways to start fixing things. I'll be fine." The parents looked at each other worriedly before Kim spoke up again. "Really. If it's okay I kind of want to be alone right now you know."
One more look passed between the two before they both nodded and James stood up. "Okay Kim. Your brothers are still at their sitters so you should have plenty of peace and quiet for a while. We'll grab them on our way back."
With that the Possible parents put their coats back on and gave their daughter a goodbye kiss before reluctantly heading out the door. Leaving the redhead sitting on her own in the living room with nothing but her thoughts and fears running through her head.
Ron crashed down face first onto his bed. The blonde teen had been fielding questions from his parents about where he had gone during the events of last night and how he had gotten caught up in the riots. Ron had done his best to come up with answers on the fly and his parents seemed to believe all that he had told them. He was saved when they got a call that there was an emergency council meeting that the two needed to attend. It took Ron a bit to convince them but they left to attend and they promised that they would stop and pick up Rufus on the way home if he was ready to get out.
And so, the teen found himself in an empty house, face down on his bed and unable to fall asleep. Ron's entire body was screaming for sleep and yet his mind was racing like one of Jim and Tim's runaway rockets. Keeping him up much to his annoyance.
'Why didn't I just tell them all the truth about last night?'
That was the thought that repeated over and over in his mind. It would have been so much easier to just admit the truth. He had been masked last night against Drakken because he thought if they didn't know who he was it might give him an edge in the fight. But why couldn't he admit to them that it was him now that it was all over. Why did he feel like he needed to hide it.
And then the image of a broken and bleeding Shego cut into his mind. The image was so vivid that he felt as if he was standing over the villain right then. But this time something else came to his mind the sound of Shego's voice ringing in his ears.
"STOP! I SURRENDER! PLEASE!" The words seemed so faint over the sound of his blood rushing and his heart booming in his ears. Then he heard the sounds of Shego's screams and the sickening sound of breaking bones.
"Oh god what did I do." Ron clutched his hair with his hands and began to hyperventilate. "I could have killed her."
"You are troubled Stoppable San."
The voice cut through his thoughts and the shock of hearing it caused the teen to scream out. He quickly jumped off of his bed and tried to assume a fighting stance but instead his fatigue and usual luck caused hi to trip over his own feet. With a loud crash he found himself upside down against his dresser looking for the source of the voice he had just heard.
Ron felt his pulse slow as his eyes rested on the floating blue form that was currently taking up space in the middle of his room.
"Master Sensei. What are you doing here?" Ron asked as he quickly got to his feet and tried to stand as straight as his tired form could in front of the ninja master's projection.
"I have sensed your troubles young one. I can feel the anger, sadness and fear that is welling up inside you even at Yamanouchi. What has happened?" The old man's voice was soft but firm when speaking to the boy. Ron was too tired to protest and simply slumped down on to his bed and confessed the events of the last few weeks to the master. The true events.
When Ron finished, he sat there waiting for the ninja master to rip into him but to his surprise it never came. Instead, the master's voice was as calm and serene as ever.
"It seems as if you have had strenuous few weeks. And I assume that what troubles you are your battle with Shego, as well as your experience in the alley. Correct." Ron thought for a moment, thinking about his answer before answering.
"Yeah. I mean Doctor Director said that I would have killed Shego if she didn't have super healing. I didn't even know that she had healing like that. I don't even know how I was able to beat her, I mean she had me completely beat and then everything went black. And now I can remember hearing her voice, begging me to stop. And I didn't."
Ron looked at the ninja master waiting for a reprimand for what he had done to Shego. What came though was not what he expected.
"You were able to defeat her because of the Mystical Monkey Power that resides inside you Stoppable San."
Ron blinked. "What?"
"The mystic power always resides in you young one. No only when you are at Yamanouchi or when you are in the presence of Monkey Fist. When you were on the edge of defeat, and potential death, you unconsciously called upon the power and it came to you. That is how you defeated her."
Ron again simply blinked as he let the words sink in. "Do you mean it was the MMP that made me lose control. That made me almost kill Shego."
The astral form shook his head. "No. The power simply responded to your unconscious call but it could not have made you lose control of yourself. That was caused by your rage and hate toward Shego in the heat of the moment."
Ron felt as if a weight that had just been lifted slightly off his chest came crashing down on him even harder than it had before. For a moment Ron thought that there was an excuse, that he wasn't responsible for nearly killing the emerald villainess.
"You need not feel too much guilt. If I am correct this was the first time that you ere fighting such a serious threat by yourself. Also being in a situation where you were potentially so close to death and Shego threatening everyone that you care about… that rage was not an inappropriate response."
"But… she was begging, pleading for me to stop Sensei. And I just kept attacking. If I had killed her I…"
"But you did not kill her Stoppable San." Ron looked unsure still. "Now on to your experience in the alley."
Ron again felt a weight crushing him. "Yeah."
"You are upset that such horrible things happen in the world and that you have been doing nothing about it. It is true that you and Possible San have led somewhat sheltered lives and have never dealt with the truly ugly side of the world and human nature. But you have been responsible for stopping genuine threats such as Fist and Drakken even if they are somewhat silly at times. And how were you to be responsible for stopping events that you had no idea were even transpiring."
Ron was quiet for a moment. "Triton is my home. I mean Lowerton is the biggest part of the city. I mean I know that drugs and prostitution and murders happen, I'm not that naïve to think they don't. But I didn't know how bad it was. And even if I didn't know then, I do know now. And I have to do something Sensei. About all of it."
"Losing control. The MMP. What I know is going on in Triton now. I have to do something I just don't know what yet." There were several long moments of silence that seemed to stretch on for what felt like days to the boy. Then the ninja master spoke.
"If you would like Stoppable San I should be able to assist you with the first two concerns. The last, however, you must figure out on your own." Ron thought for a moment before locking eyes with the master's astral form.
"What do you have in mind Sensei."
A few hours later Thomas and Martha Stoppable returned home from their meeting. The couple had also stopped at the Helping Paws Veterinary Clinic and were able to pick up Rufus. When they entered their home, they were surprised to find that their son was laying down on their couch looking as if he was sleeping. They tried closing the door without waking him but upon seeing his master the naked mole rat letter how a happy yelp.
"Hnk. Ron!" Hearing this instantly brought the boy around and he rushed to take his little friend out of his mother's hands.
"How you doin' bud?" Rufus gave a weak smile and thumbs up at Ron's question. Ron turned to his parents.
"Rufus is out of the woods but the doctor said that he's still going to need plenty or rest to recover from whatever happened to him." Thomas reached out and gingerly patted Rufus's head.
Okay sounds good." Ron then smiled at his friend. "And I promise you'll have plenty of time to chill on our trip buddy."
"Trip?" Mrs. Stoppable asked cocking her head at her son. Then she noticed that there was a large duffel bag packed and sitting by the edge of the couch.
"Ron, what trip are you talking about." Thomas asked for them both.
Ron shrugged. "Well since school is done for the next three or four months. And since I need sometime to clear my head about the whole Kim thing, I decided that a nice long trip would be a good way to clear my head."
His parents were both surprised at hearing this.
"Ronald you can't just take off on a trip like this out of nowhere. If nothing else it'll take you some time to figure out the logistics." His father pointed out. To which Ron smiled.
"Already know where I'm going. Already got the plane tickets bought. Already got the bag packed with my and Rufus's stuff. I was counting on him getting home by before we left. And The plane takes off in a couple of hours so if we're gonna squeeze some family time in before I head out, we should do it now."
Ron then quickly turned and walked into the kitchen of the home and began pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator. His parents quickly followed not yet done with the conversation that their son had started.
"Ronald. How did you manage to arrange all that in just a couple hours?" Ron began frying some sausage on the stove before pulling out a carton of eggs.
"Kim isn't the only one who picked up some friends over the last few years mom." Thomas then spoke.
"Son, don't you think instead of cooking or going off on a plane you should be resting. You have been up all night if I understand correctly." Ron shrugged his father off as he began to scramble the eggs.
"I can sleep on the plane it's a long flight to Japan." This raised both parents' eyebrows.
"Japan? Are you planning to go back to that school you exchanged with over there?" Thomas asked. It was the only place in Japan that he knew his son had a connection to.
"Yeah. I made some friends over there and they offered me a place to stay over there." Now it was Martha's turn to speak.
"Ronald. I don't like the idea of you going halfway around the world without us or Ki… someone we know with you. It could be dangerous." Ron half smiled to himself as he poured the eggs into a separate skillet and started dicing up onions and peppers for the omelets he was making.
"Mom, Dad, I know this is kind of sudden but I need this okay. And besides I'm only a few months away from being eighteen. Also, I've been around the world more than some pilots have. I can take care of myself and I promise I'll call you guys every day. I just really need this you guys."
Neither parent was sure exactly what it was, whether it was something in their son's eyes or his voice, but they looking at each other they decided to let him go.
"Okay Ronald. We won't stop you." Thomas said with a sigh before proceeding to a cabinet and pulling out four plates for the impromptu farewell meal. Martha gave her son a raised eyebrow however.
"It would have been nice if you had told us about this with a little more notice." Ron was barely able suppress the grin that threatened to spread over his face. And what he said caused his mother to narrow her eyes at her teenage son. His father had to fight to suppress a laugh while wondering how long his son had been waiting to say what he just had to them.
"This is my way of telling you."
Authors notes:
WOW. You know this issue was not supposed to be as long as it ended up being. I debated cutting it into two issues (four and five), like I did when two got too long and I divided it into two and three. I'm kind of wondering what you guys think, should I try and keep the issues shorter or is it okay if they run a little longer like this one.
In my defense though I had to lay out several events here that will feed into how Ron eventually dons the cape and cowl.
The biggest thing was Ron realizing that there's a lot more danger, corruption and threats in his city and the world than just the villains that he and Kim have been dealing with. And now that he's aware of it he's going to have trouble not doing something about it. Also, his strained relationship with Kim and Rufus being injured means he's going to be going it alone for the foreseeable future.
And let me explain how the city of Triton works. Triton is a major metropolitan area that is basically divided into three districts. Upperton is the wealthy district of city, and the smallest, where the wealthy live and there are upscale shops, clubs and restaurants. Middleton is very much a suburban area, it's pretty much what you see in the show. Lowerton is by far the largest district of Triton, it's also the poorest, most crime filled and seediest. If you were looking for a part of the city that was the most Gotham like it would be Lowerton. At least for now.
Also, because it was brought up… Ron losing himself to his rage and also using the MMP without realizing it and nearly killing Shego. All that feeds into why he heads off to Yamanouchi in order to try and get a better handle on his feeling and the MMP. It was just something I felt needed to happen to be another step down the Bat-road for Ron.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this issue. And if you have any feedback, please leave a review. I do read all of them.
See you next post. Same BatFic. Same BatSite.