A/N: Welcome to chapter 8. I used this episode because I needed to introduce a character for a future chapter. It was actually a bit of a challenge to figure out how to rework the plot so it would fit in HoaH. Thanks to an idea from DasChillyOne, the newspaper articles of the heroes have a theme. For fans of Phantom/Possible crossovers, you should catch it.
As always, I own nothing, if it looks like a reference, it is, and original crossover credit goes to DasChillyOne. The next one I plan to release will be based on KP 2:11 Fearless Ferret
"Enquiring Minds Want to Know" OR "Dareless Daredevil"
Time: immediately following HoaH Inspired Stories (HoaHIS) 6 and before HoaH 9
Source: KP episode 1:15 All The News
Retconning: None
Kim, Star, and Danny had been dating for about two weeks. Naturally word got out fast, and the school had been absolutely buzzing about it. Much to their chagrin, there was even a story about it in the school paper. "The Many Dates of Danny Fenton," was the title. Even though the title was acceptable, barely, the rest of the column was typical gossip rag level writing, and the unfriendly tone toward the three of them was apparent. While she had expected this sort of thing, and generally ignored it, such behavior did not engender positive feelings toward them. Especially when it was directed not at her, but at her friends.
Kim was at her locker when a pair of students passed by whispering and pointing. Kim rolled her eyes and finished opening her locker. For some reason, a sizable document was sitting in the printer tray. "What's this?" she asked herself as she picked up one of the pages.
Ron appeared right behind her to snatch the sheet and said, "Don't touch that! No offence, K.P., but that's very sensitive material." He then picked up the rest of the pages from the printer and tucked them into a folder.
"Really?" Kim asked sarcastically.
Rufus climbed onto Ron's shoulder and looked at the folder with a skeptical eye and said, "Hmmm?"
Ron explained, "It's a story I'm writing for the school paper. Hard-hitting stuff."
Kim's opinion of the paper had dropped due to their recent story and rolled her eyes. "You're not on the paper, Ron. They keep turning you down. No offence," Kim said. "Why are you even trying for the paper anyway?"
"The extracurriculars that Mr. Lancer talked to me about not too long ago. He said being the mascot was a good start, but not enough and suggested the paper," Ron replied.
Kim shook her head and sighed. "So what's your story about anyway?" she asked.
Ron grinned and replied, "This is gonna turn them around. It's an edgy expose I call 'Math, you'll never actually use it in the real world.'"
Kim was skeptical. "Ron, I use math all the time on missions, as does Danny when he works on his parent's gear. I won't even go into what Wade does. I doubt the editor will accept this."
"You might be surprised, K.P. I'm already working on a follow-up piece on semicolons," Ron replied with a smirk.
If she had been present, she would not have been surprised. In fact, it was almost exactly what Kim had thought would happen. The editor seemed to be channeling her inner J. Jonah Jameson as she barked orders to other paper staff both in person and over the phone. All she was really missing was a mustache, a cigar, and demands for pictures of Spiderman. She was the daughter of a prominent newscaster, so this sort of thing was in her blood. In between orders, she took a look at Ron's story and figuratively ripped it apart.
"You're giving me nothing here, Stoppable! Where's the edge? The angle? You wanna get on the paper?" she shouted as she shoved Ron's story back into his chest.
"Uh-huh," Ron nodded meekly.
"Then write me a story that makes me care!" she barked.
"I'll do it," Ron replied. "I'm a born reporter. I can smell a story a mile away," as he struck a confident pose. Then reality smacked him across the face, and he timidly said to Rufus, "Maybe Kim has an idea."
His next chance would be cheer practice after school while football practice was going on. When the time came, he donned the Casper Raven costume to ensure he properly integrated himself in the cheer routines, and by "properly integrate," particularly Bonnie and Paulina, meant "know where to be to stay out of the way." He was also getting used to the modifications Danny and Tucker had made to the costume. Most of them were meant to make it more durable after years of neglect.
When the squad finished practice, Ron removed the mascot headpiece, went up to Kim, Star, and Danny, who had come to watch practice, and said, "Help me out, K.P. I need an angle."
"Why ask me? Journalism isn't exactly my thing," Kim replied.
As Ron's gaze unconsciously moved to Star and Danny, Star held up her hands and shook her head and said, "Me neither, sorry."
Danny grimaced and said, "I actively avoid reporters after their last story about us." This caused both Star and Kim to grimace as well.
Ron's shoulders visibly slumped inside the mascot costume. He was absent mindedly looking toward the field at the football players and had a thought. They were taking a quick water break so he went over with notepad in hand and asked, "OK, OK, Which one of you guys is failing a class but still playing in this weekend's game? Oh, c'mon, one of you has to be failing at something."
Every player in earshot turned to glare at Ron. "You want a story, huh?" Dash growled. "Kwan, Brick. I think there's a story at the bottom of that trash can. Let's help our new mascot find it."
The three players grabbed Ron and tossed him headfirst into a, thankfully, empty can. Dash then kicked the can on its side and rolled it back to Kim. "Back to the loser squad, Bird Boy," Dash said with a chuckle.
Kim stopped the can with her foot and glared at Dash who just turned his attention back to practice. Normally, they would have just ignored Ron, but his insult demanded action, even at the risk of angering Kim Possible.
Ron uneasily climbed out of the can while Danny helped him to his feet. He dizzily commented, "Whoa! I've got my story. Football team full of nice, great guys who are not failing anything." He was still off balance and nearly fell over.
"You kinda brought that one on yourself there, Ron," Danny remarked. "Maybe be more careful with your words in the future."
"Yeah," Ron said. As his eyes moved from the football team to the trash can to Kim, who was still glaring in the football team's direction with her arms folded, he got another thought.
Kim noticed the stare and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Cos' I've found my story. I'm gonna interview you! The Kim Possible!" Ron replied excitedly.
"Since when does my name have a 'The' in front of it?" Kim asked, confused.
"Since the day we met," Danny said with a smirk. "If you remember, that's what Tucker called you when you stopped Dash from shoving me in my locker."
"Oh, yeah," Kim remembered with a smile. "Still not sure I deserve a 'the' though."
"Well, you're not 'a' Kim Possible," Star retorted, jokingly.
"Exactly," Ron declared. "You totally deserve a 'the.' Besides, do you know any other crime-fighting, super-hero teenagers?"
He actually meant that to be a rhetorical question, but Kim answered anyway. "Phantom." Danny started to blush a bit at the totally truthful description.
"Oh right. I almost forgot," Ron replied. After thinking for a moment, he said, "That sounds like a great follow-up story. For now, I'll be over and we can do the interview tonight. And Kim, I won't accept anything less than the hard-hitting truth."
Kim rolled her eyes in annoyance while Star and Danny chuckled. "Good luck with that, Ron," he said. However, Danny did hope this one would be better than the last story.
Ron had followed Kim home and the Possible's had set his usual place for dinner. After the meal, he was sitting on the couch with Tim and Jim to watch the newest TV craze.
The announcer said, "Tonight, one extreme teen will go into the woods alone. No food, no water, no human contact. Handcuffed to a bear!" At the mention of the bear, a large irate grizzly walked into view over a rocky outcropping. The camera panned over to a tall, slender, attractive blonde haired girl.
She then declared, "That teen is me!" while pointing to herself. She then raised her hands and spidered her fingers like a monster movie. "Freaky!!" she said in a semi-sing-song voice.
Kim was unimpressed. "At least the bear won't go hungry," she snarked.
The announcer spoke again, "And now, Adrena Lynn answers the question the whole country is asking…"
The rest of the couch audience except Kim chimed in excitedly, "What will she do next!"
Kim went from unimpressed to annoyed. She asked, "I thought you came over to interview me?"
Ron replied without looking away from the TV, "At the commercial. Got any chips?"
The announcer came on again and said, "Next, Adrena Lynn and the bear go fishing…for their lives!" The picture changed to Lynn standing in ankle deep water preparing to, almost suicidally, wrestle the bear, which by all rights had several feet of reach and at least 500 pounds over her.
Kim had enough of the nonsense and turned the TV off to the protestations of her brothers. "This show is a mind-numbing waste of satellite frequencies," she retorted.
Ron agreed with her in a manner and said, "You're right," and then quietly added, "Besides, I'm recording it at home."
"Some kid's gonna get hurt trying to imitate that girl's stunts," Kim warned.
As if to prove her right, Tim turned to his brother and said, "Hey, let's see if we can sneak into the bear cage at the zoo, like Adrena Lynn!"
"Cool!" Jim replied.
Tim ran into the kitchen and grabbed a pair of steaks and some string and handed one to his brother and said, "Here, tie this steak on." He had already tied the other to his own head.
"Super cool!" Jim replied.
"Hoo-sha!" Tim added as the two "beef-headed" boys ran out the door to the zoo. Kim was just shaking her head and looking through half lidded eyes.
After they left, Ron asked worriedly, "Aren't you gonna stop them?"
Kim replied, "The zoo's locked this time of night. Alright, let's get this hard-hitting interview over with." Kim sat on the couch next to Ron who pulled out a recorder.
Ron's first question was a softball and highlighted his lack of capability as a reporter. "So, what's it like to be you?" he asked. The rest of the interview wasn't much better and Kim had to help it along.
On an empty country road, a "news" van was driving down it. Inside was Adrena Lynn and her cameraman. She was in a good mood as she looked over a ledger. "Ratings are up, merchandise sales are up!" she exclaimed.
The cameraman said, "Uh huh. Copycat incidents are up, too." There was a slight edge in his tone.
Lynn seemed unconcerned and replied flippantly, "It means they're watching. Not my fault if the little dweebs aren't careful."
The cameraman retorted, "Maybe they don't get it that you fake the stunts?" He then took a knowing glance in the mirror at the bear costume in the back of the van.
"Whatever," Lynn said with a scoff. "The point is if we're to stay on top, the next stunt must be bigger, more extreme!" she continued with emphasis on the last word.
"Like what?" the cameraman asked.
Lynn pondered for a moment and said, "I'm thinking bungee. Freaky!"
Back at the Stoppable house, Ron was working through the recorded interview. It wasn't going well. "I'm not so different from anyone else, except that, you know, I have an arch foe or two," the recording said.
Rufus vetoed that with a, "Nah."
He then started forwarding through the interview one statement at a time as he slumped over his desk.
"Sure I'm busy, but what teenage girl isn't?"
"Boring! Where's the angle?" he said.
"It feels good to help people."
"Arghh!" Ron growled, exasperated.
"I really enjoy having Phantom around. He saved my life several times and the town even more. I don't know what we would do without him."
"Hmmm?" Ron thought. The wheels were turning furiously. He then began replaying a portion of the recording over and over as he thought.
"I really enjoy having Phantom around." "...enjoy having Phantom…" "...enjoy having Phantom…"
Ron shot upright at the burst of inspiration and exclaimed, "Houston, the angle has landed."
Rufus realized how bad an idea this was and tried to stop him by flailing in front of his keyboard, but Ron would not be deterred. His story would be ready for tomorrow's paper.
The next day, Kim was at her locker getting her books when Bonnie smugly walked up and said, "Already having regret about dating a loser? It was only a matter of time I suppose."
"What are you talking about, Bonnie?" Kim asked, annoyed.
"I get why you're into him, but you're gonna have to get in line behind Paulina," Bonnie continued without actually answering.
"Still not following. Get to the point," Kim almost snapped.
Bonnie gave an evil smirk and handed her the current edition of the school paper. Kim snatched it from her hands and started to read. Bonnie started to snicker as Kim's eyes went round. "Capturing the Heart of a Hero! Possible crushes on Phantom! By Ron Stoppable!" she almost shouted.
Meanwhile, Danny was likewise getting his books when Dash walked up behind him. "Hey Fen-turd. I just heard the news and wanted to see if you needed a shoulder to cry on."
Danny cocked his eyebrow and turned around. This didn't make sense. When he faced Dash, he was wearing a similar smirk Bonnie had. "What are you talking about, Dash?" Danny said, confused.
"Well, there really was no competing with Phantom, and Kim was too good for you anyway. I know how I can help though. The answer is in your locker," Dash replied.
Danny was still trying to process what Dash was talking about so he barely resisted when Dash shoved him into his locker. After the shock wore off, Danny asked himself, "What the heck was that about?" Getting dumped was a very real fear of Danny's given how "out of his league" he thought his girlfriends were. However, what Dash said made no sense. Kim wouldn't dump him for…him. Dash was also known for a lot of things, but honesty wasn't one of them. He needed to find Kim, immediately.
After extricating himself, he made a beeline for Kim's locker. As he rounded the corner, he caught sight of Kim and Ron. She was wearing a scowl and had Ron by the collar. Given his expression, she had just chewed him out about something. "Kim, what's going on?" he asked. She just held the paper up for him to read. Danny's jaw dropped. He stared at Ron who just looked away while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Ron! What were you thinking?!" Danny snapped.
"He thought he was a reporter and then wildly misquoted his source," Kim almost growled.
"Well, I did say you'd think a crime-fighting cheerleader would give a more interesting interview," Ron said in his defense. Kim turned to glare at Ron who recoiled slightly. "On the plus side, the paper liked my story so much that they gave me a column," he added meekly. Kim just rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well, maybe next story, be more accurate with your sources," Danny chided. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I said that yesterday." Danny secretly breathed a sigh of relief that Kim was still his girlfriend, but was annoyed at how inadvertently true the story was. Meanwhile, Bonnie had been watching this whole exchange unfold with great satisfaction, but she wasn't done twisting the knife. As the bell rang, everyone dispersed to their classes.
As the day progressed, the story spread through the school like wildfire to the point everyone knew by lunch.
As the gang sat down to eat, Ron was in good spirits. The student body had been praising him for breaking such a big story. Kim, Danny, and Star were still annoyed. The rest were sympathetic except for Sam, who was still recovering. She didn't take pleasure from it, but it just reminded her of what she didn't have. She was doing her best to feel and say as little as possible under the circumstances.
Bonnie and one of her A-list friends, Amelia, were about to try and make things worse. They walked up to Ron and each put a hand on one of Ron's shoulders. "Ron, you're sitting with us," Bonnie said.
"I am?" Ron asked, confused.
Amelia said, "I'm having a little get-together tonight. No biggie, just 50 of my closest friends. You have to do a write-up for the paper."
"I do?" Ron asked, confused again.
Bonnie explained, "How else will social outcasts know what they've missed?" She cast an arrogant glance toward the others sitting at the table, and an evil smirk at Kim who returned an intense glare.
"You could invite them," Ron suggested, honestly.
Both Bonnie and Amelia laughed at the suggestion and Bonnie said, "You are so funny!" in an over-the-top flattering voice.
He was starting to stand when Sam grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back into his seat. "Wake up, Ron. She's just using you," Sam grumbled without even looking up from her lunch. Ron seemed to take the hint but was still confused.
Bonnie turned her glare to Sam and sneered, "Nobody asked you, weirdo."
Sam's head snapped up to glare back at Bonnie, but the venom in this one was far more intense than usual and it screamed "I will string you up by your ankles with barbed wire and flay you with a butter knife." Sam was in no mood for these games.
Bonnie withdrew slightly from the intensity before Kim said, "Beat it Bonnie."
"Hmph. Fine," she replied and started to walk away.
Amelia took a folded sheet of paper and slipped it into Ron's pocket before also walking away and saying, "See you there, tonight."
"Umm, OK?" Ron said, still confused.
Kim was fuming after everything that had happened. Danny had a hand on her shoulder, but there was little else he could do. Doot-doot-do-do.
Kim answered her Kimmunicator, still angry. "Hey, Wade."
"You alright, Kim?" Wade asked.
Kim sighed, "Not really, but I'll be fine as long as 'Cronkike' doesn't stretch the truth anymore," as she shot a glare at Ron. "What's the sitch?"
Wade answered, "You got an IM. Pop-Pop Porter, the frozen food king, he needs your help. Apparently, he's been robbed."
Ron's ears perked up and he said, "I smell a scoop," as he pulled his notepad and pencil from his pocket.
Kim glared at Ron and turned back to her Kimmunicator. "What was stolen?" she asked.
"One of his blimps," Wade replied.
"One of? As in, he has more than one?" Danny asked.
"He actually has quite a collection. By the way, I have your ride already set up. They'll meet you at the airport. Wade explained.
"Thanks Wade," Kim said as she ended the call. "Come on, Ron," she added.
"Be careful, Kim, and good luck," Danny said as the two left.
"We will. Thanks, Danny," Kim replied.
Kim and Ron arrived at a massive hanger containing numerous blimps of varying designs including a corn cob, a hot dog, and a hamburger and met a rotund silver haired individual with a goatee. "Thank you for coming so quickly," he said with a thick Southern drawl.
"So not the drama," Kim replied. "So what was stolen?"
"My Pop-Pop popcorn shrimp," Mr. Porter replied.
"Which was a blimp, right?" Kim asked.
"Yes. Shrimp Force One was my favorite!"
"That should be easy enough to spot," Ron commented.
Kim nodded in agreement and called Wade on the Kimmunicator. "Wade, do a search for UFO sightings."
"What am I looking for?" Wade asked.
"Anything about Earth being invaded by giant sea creatures," Kim answered, half-joking.
"Let's see," Wade said as he began typing. "Giant pig in Belize. Pterodactyl in Pittsburgh. Wait! I got it! Giant shrimp attacks. New York City."
"Bingo. Wade, can you get us a ride to New York? Please and thank you," Kim replied.
"Done. While you're enroute, I'll work on getting a better fix on the giant shrimp," Wade said as he ended the call.
After arriving in New York, Wade started to guide the two to the last known sighting. "Let's see. On target, Kim. I'm tracking the blimp to just around the corner," he said.
The duo rounded the corner and found their missing blimp. Just as described, it was shaped just like a giant shrimp with the normal blimp gondola attached to the underside. Kim heard an amplified voice say, "What?!...What?!"
"I know that voice," Kim said, concerned.
"Adrena Lynn!" Ron shouted as he pointed to the blimp gondola.
The amplified voice returned, "What?!" it said.
The crowd joined in and chanted, "Will she do next?!" as they pumped their fists in the air.
"Oh great," Kim lamented.
"What a story! I can't believe I get to see one of her stunts in person!" Ron remarked as he pulled out his camera.
"Ron, she stole the blimp," Kim reminded him.
"This is art, K.P. Sacrifices must be made," Ron said with a shrug. Kim just shook her head.
Lynn's voice echoed through the streets, "Tonight I'll attempt the ultimate in extreme action! I will bungee jump from this blimp! Blindfolded! Freaky!"
Lynn lept from the blimp and plummeted to the ground. As the bungee cord went taught, it snapped to the gasps of the crowd. Lucky for her, Kim Possible was in attendance and had the proper gear. The jet pack that Dr. Director had given her was a fantastic piece of kit.
Kim hit the button and her regular backpack shredded revealing the jet pack as a pair of wings extended. A flight helmet snapped onto her head, and she launched into the air. She caught Lynn with precious little time to spare and pulled up so she could land on a nearby rooftop.
Kim looked down at her rescue to check on her and after a moment of confusion, grimaced. "Huh? That's really annoying," Kim growled. The "Lynn" she rescued was actually a mannequin.
While Kim was still trying to figure out what happened after landing, a voice that grated on her nerves blasted from a lower building. "Freaky!"
The announcer blasted, "She'd OK!" to the roar of the crowd. Lynn appeared on a rooftop below the blimp and began dancing for the crowd. "How does she do it?" he said again.
Ron was unaware of Kim's discovery and was ecstatic. He shouted, "She made it! Rufus, my friend, guess who got a front-page photo?"
"You?" Rufus replied. Ron was grinning from ear to ear.
As he adjusted his camera to get better pictures, he caught sight of Kim still holding the mannequin. "Oh, no, it can't be! It was just a dummy. She didn't even fall," Ron said with despair. He then adjusted his camera to get both Lynn and Kim with the mannequin in the same shot.
Meanwhile, Kim was annoyed and called Wade. "Wade, can you let Mr. Porter know we found his blimp?"
Wade answered, "Yeaahhh, about that. I just got a message from him saying, quote, 'thanks for helping find my blimp. We have been contacted by the ones that took it and have arranged for its return. The publicity was enough to make up for the theft.'"
Kim was even more irritated. "Seriously?!" she asked.
"Afraid so," Wade answered. "I'm already working on your return home. It will be ready by the time you get to the airport."
Kim sighed and dropped her mannequin where she stood. "Thanks, Wade," she said. She used her jetpack again to land in an alley near Ron.
The ride home felt like a failed mission. Kim was frustrated because she had found the villain with the loot, but it didn't matter. Ron was depressed from learning his action hero was a fraud.
When school started the next day, Danny and Star met Ron and Kim at Kim's locker. In an effort to try and defuse the rumors, the three were trying to spend as much time together at school as possible, not that they needed an excuse to do so in the first place. Ron was still moping about Adrena Lynn's fraud. "Ron, get over it," Kim chided.
Ron replied, "Sorry, K.P., but discovering that your action hero is a big fake is not something you just get over."
Danny chuckled and said, "And this from a wrestling fan?"
"I don't get the connection," Ron said, genuinely confused. Danny just rolled his eyes. "I won't let her get away with this," he added.
"You'll need these," Kim said. She pulled a few prints of Ron's photos from the print tray in her locker. Wade had highlighted key segments and then sent them over. She handed them to Ron who looked them over.
Ron felt a resolve building in him and grumbled, "She calls herself extreme. The big fake!"
"Imagine that. Lying to the public just to build up your own reputation," Kim said. The barbs in her words were obvious unless you were as oblivious Ron.
Ron agreed with Kim and added, "Disgusting! Well, Adrena Lynn might get a pass from Pop-Pop, but not from Ron Stoppable." He had actually been working on it since he had returned home the night prior. Wade's pictures were the last piece he needed. He stormed into the paper office and shouted, "Stop the presses!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned toward Ron with confusion on their faces. "Stoppable!" The editor shouted. "First, we don't use presses here. Second, you better have a damn good reason for barging in like that or you can kiss your column goodbye!"
"Got a hot story right here," he replied with a huge smile.
"How hot?" she asked.
"Red hot. You know Adrena Lynn?" Ron asked. She nodded. He explained, "She's a fraud." He then handed her a folder with the pictures and his story.
She started skimming through it and her eyes went round. "Becky!" the editor shouted.
"Yeah, chief?" she replied as she ran up.
The editor replied, "Tear up page one. Run this instead," as she handed her the folder. She then continued, "Headline, 'Adrena Lynn lacks adrenaline, Rising daredevil a fraud.'" She turned back to Ron and said, "Nice job, Stoppable. Keep up the good work." She then picked up the phone and made a call. "Hey Mom. I got a scoop you might be interested in…Oh yeah, very." She covered the phone and looked sharply back at Ron. "What? You want a cookie? Get back out there and bring me more stories worth printing!"
This snapped Ron out of his reverie and he ran back out of the office.
Just before lunch, a special edition was out and Ron's story was on the front page. Ron was elated he had two hit stories in as many days.
He met up with Kim, Danny, and Star and handed them a copy of the paper with a broad smile. The three read it and Danny commented, "Well, at least this one is accurate."
"I'm on a roll, man. I just gotta interview Phantom now. I know people would love to hear from him," Ron said excitedly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Ron. After what you did with mine, he might not be interested in being interviewed by you," Kim said pointedly. Danny silently agreed. Doot-doot-do-do. "Hey Wade," Kim said as she opened her Kimmunicator.
"Kim, it's your brothers," Wade said.
"What about the tweebs?" she asked.
Wade answered, "They're OK, but they hurt themselves and are at the Middleton hospital."
"What!" Kim said. "I'll see you later, guys. Looks like I need to be somewhere," she added as she ran off.
At the hospital, she saw her parents, who had already arrived, and the twins with casts on. Jim had a broken arm, and Tim had a broken leg. "What happened?!" she asked in shock.
Jim answered matter of factly, "Bungee jumping out of a blimp, like Adrena Lynn." The two gave each other a high five.
Tim added, "Only we didn't have a blimp, so we used the roof."
Jim continued, "And we didn't have a bungee cord so used yarn."
James had already read them the riot act, but still growled, "That Adrena Lynn is a menace!"
Ann was aware of recent developments and sharply reminded the boys, "She didn't really bungee jump out of a blimp. Don't you boys watch the news?"
Jim answered, "Nah. The only show we watch is Adrena Lynn. Hey, it's time!" He then grabbed the remote and turned on the TV in the room.
However, instead of Adrena Lynn's show, they were greeted with an announcer. He said, "And the report that Adrena Lynn is a fake, broken by high school reporter Ron Stoppable, coupled with the rash of copycat stunts across the country…"
"That's us!" Tim said, excitedly before Kim slapped the back of his head.
The announcer continued, "Has prompted this network to cancel Adrena Lynn in favor of more responsible programming. So stay tuned for an extra hour of Stuff On Fire!" The twins were staring in shock. Whether it was from Adrena Lynn being a fraud or their favorite show getting cancelled was anyone's guess. After her brothers were released, Kim went back to school while the rest of her family went home.
On another empty road, Adrena Lynn and her cameraman were driving along. She then slammed on the brakes and stopped in the middle of the road. "She is so toast," she growled. "Roll the camera!" she shouted at her cameraman.
He replied, "Hello, Lynn, we've been cancelled!"
"We're not cancelled until I say we're cancelled!" she snapped. He shook his head and started recording. Lynn then continued, "A lonely highway, a desperate mission. Tonight I will pull my greatest stunt yet. Revenge against Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable!" She then made a cut motion and the cameraman stopped recording. "How's that for a teaser?"
He replied, "Good. It'd be better if we had an audience."
"Oh, we will," she said with a wicked grin. She then threw the van in gear and floored it.
Back at school, Kim was at cheer practice. It had been a tough couple of days and Kim was a little off her game. Bonnie chided her, "Will you stop daydreaming about Phantom and focus on the routine."
Kim grimaced and blushed at the same time. "I am not daydreaming about Phantom," Kim said through gritted teeth.
Paulina scowled and said, "Enough, you two. Kim, get your head in the game. Bonnie, we all know, Kim has no shot with Phantom. If anyone is going to win his heart, it's going to be me. Alright people, from the top," as she clapped her hands.
Bonnie couldn't let it go and took every opportunity to throw verbal jabs. When practice ended, Bonnie and Paulina began having a conversation where they would swoon over Phantom and deride Danny in the same breath. It almost made Kim physically ill from anger, and she got out of there as fast as she could.
At the Possible house, James was trying and failing to get a signal on the TV. The tweebs were sitting on the couch complaining. "Whack it again, Dad! You have to make it work. What good is having a broken leg, and arm, if you can't watch TV all day? They said in tandem.
Ann chimed in, "Maybe this is a good thing. We can have quality family time."
The twins stared in horror at their mother, them to each other, then to their dad and said, "Dad, please! You're a rocket scientist. Can't you do something?"
James replied with a joking tone, "Well, I could put it in geosynchronous orbit, but I'm not sure how that would help."
Kim walked in the door and slumped down into the chair.
"What's wrong, Kimmie," Ann asked.
"Nothing, just a rough couple of days," she groaned.
"I'm sure this is all Danny's fault," James grumbled under his breath.
Kim caught the remark and replied, "No, dad. It's not Danny. It's actually Ron. He misquoted me in his story and now the school thinks I have a thing for Phantom. Danny knows it's not true, but it's still a pain."
James softly growled at the mere mention of Danny's name. Ann was about to offer Kim advice when the phone rang. "Possible residence," she said. "She's right here," she added and then handed the phone to Kim and said, "It's for you. It's Wade."
Kim furrowed her brow. Why would Wade call my home and not the Kimmunicator, she thought. "Wade?"
Wade answered, "Kim. Sorry to use a landline but the communicator satellite is down."
"What's the sitch?" she asked.
"It's not just the Kimmunicator. Video signals all over the world are getting messed up," he said. Kim leaned over and at the TV as she realized the connection.
"Any idea as to the cause?" she asked.
"Not yet," he answered.
Just then, the picture unscrambled. In a darkened amusement park entrance, a very nervous Ron was seen. He called out, "Hello! Phantom? Where are you? Did we really have to do the interview here? It's spooky…and haunted, and I don't like it." Kim leaned over and looked at the TV upon hearing Ron's voice.
"Sorry, Ron. Phantom isn't coming," came another voice as the camera panned over to a slender blond with an evil grin.
"Adrena Lynn!" the twins exclaimed. James tried to change the channel only to find her on every station.
"Hmm. I thought she was cancelled," James mused.
Lynn declared, "Tonight, Kim Possible versus me in Extreme Combat! And to raise the stakes, I've got her publicist and sidekick" She then held up her hand to show she had handcuffed herself to Ron. Rufus had decided to remain hidden until Kim could get there. After what he did to a ventilation grate, he was sure he could break open the cuffs, but the hardened steel would give him a headache, and the villain would be staring right at him while he worked.
"Hey, Wade. I think I know who's jamming the signals," Kim said.
"Adrena Lynn. I'm getting it too. I'll start working my magic to see what I can do. In the meantime, perhaps you should rescue Ron," Wade replied.
"Yeah," she replied as she hung up the phone. She wasn't going alone though. She went to change into her mission clothes, and then used a phone in another part of the house to call reinforcements. She didn't want to have this call in front of her family and her Kimmunicator was still being jammed.
Back at the Middleton Fairgrounds, Lynn had tied up Ron in a roller coaster car. Unfortunately, this particular roller coaster had been out of commission since a section of the track had collapsed. Ron asked, pleadingly, "Is this, uh, really necessary? I was kinda a big fan of yours and these rides make me queasy."
"Hmph. Yes, it is. If it weren't for you and that stupid story, I'd still have a show!" Lynn snapped as she cinched the ropes even tighter. "And I wouldn't worry about this ride making you queasy. If Kim isn't fast enough, this ride will make you dead," she added with a chuckle.
Initially, Lynn wanted to kidnap Phantom, since Kim supposedly had a crush on him, but her cameraman had rightly pointed out that they had no idea how to lure or even capture a ghost. She eventually relented and decided to kidnap Ron instead.
Kim arrived at the darkened fairground and slowly started to walk through it. She knew it was a trap, but also knew Adrena Lynn was a fraud. Kim was certain she could handle anything that came her way. She also had a trump card ready.
She was nearing the entrance when all the lights came on, including several spot lights aimed directly at her.
Adrena Lynn's voice echoed throughout the grounds. "Hero sidekick and publicist, takes the ride of his life!" And only one person can save him! The hero, Kim Possible!"
Kim scowled and shouted, "Drop the dramatics, Adrena Lynn. This isn't a game!"
Lynn cackled and replied, "Exactly. It's real, it's extreme…and it's freaky!" She then threw the lever and the roller coaster started moving. "The clock's ticking," she added with a snicker.
"Stay with him," Kim whispered. She then started running toward Lynn before the boardwalk beneath her began to move. "Whoa!" she shouted as the boardwalk retracted with her on it into the entrance of the funhouse.
Kim began sliding down the funhouse slide before it deposited her in a bouncy room. As soon as she regained her bearings, she made for the exit only to find a hall of mirrors. In each one was Lynn's laughing face as the sound echoed throughout the room. "Gee, I wonder how the sidekick is doing?" she taunted. Kim kicked and punched numerous mirrors just in case the real Lynn was there. "Freaky!" she taunted again.
She body slammed a mirror only for it to spin and Kim found herself sliding down another slide. It painfully deposited her into the bumper car ring, and she needed a moment to shake off the stun. When she did, she heard the sound of a bumper car approaching from behind. Instinctively, she dove out of the way just in time to see Lynn drive by. She taunted Kim again and said, "Kim, playing games when poor Ron is hurtling towards his doom. What kind of hero are you?" Lynn's cameraman then drove by in another bumper car only much slower and holding a camera.
Back at the Possible house, Lynn's hijacking of the airwaves continued. The rest of the family was watching as Kim dealt with her foe. "That girl doesn't play fair," James commented.
Ann cheered on her daughter, "Come on, Kimmie, show 'em what you got!"
The twins were also watching and Tim said, "Go get her, Adrena Lynn!"
James admonished his son's and said, "Jim, Tim. There'll be no rooting for your sister's foe!"
After Kim dodged several more attempts by Lynn to run her over, she jumped into a bumper car herself and evened the odds. She quickly drove her car into Lynn's causing the latter to be ejected and land in nearby grass. Kim jumped out of her bumper car to give chase, but Lynn was too quick.
Lynn ran toward the active carousel with Kim hot on her tail. She leapt over and around all the horses going up and down. Kim was having a hard time keeping up. For a fraud, she was still quite athletic. She taunted Kim again and said, "You sure you should be chasing me instead of rescuing your sidekick?" Kim remained silent as she pursued. Unfortunately, Kim lost sight of Lynn long enough for her to vanish.
Kim jumped off the carousel and began looking around, ready for an attack from anywhere. The sound of rushing air caught her attention and she dove out of the way while giving a spinning back kick. This caught the swinging Lynn in the midsection, and it simultaneously knocked her to the ground and knocked the wind out of her. Kim ran up and put knee into Lynn's back to keep her on the ground.
A second later, the roller coaster car Ron had been tied to flew through the air and smashed into the ground. Lynn started cackling and said, "Uh-oh, looks like you ran out of time."
"Not quite, but YOUR 15 minutes are up," said a voice from nowhere. Lynn started looking around frantically until Phantom faded into view with Ron standing next to him. As soon as Lynn had started the roller coaster, Rufus had started chewing through the ropes before the both of them were phased through the car. Ron initially panicked before Danny told him what was going on. He flew them to the ground and told him to keep quiet until he said otherwise.
Lynn ground her teeth as she saw her plan fall apart, but Kim wasn't done with her yet. "Hey Phantom, you know, I don't think Adrena Lynn has ever done a flying stunt yet," Kim said with a smirk.
"Is that so?" he responded with an equal smirk. He walked over to Lynn as Kim activated her jetpack again. Each grabbed an arm and flew into the air with the fake daredevil.
Initially, Lynn laughed and shouted, "I do extreme stunts for a living. You think I'm afraid of heights?"
Kim retorted, "You fake extreme stunts. Let the world see how brave you are when there's real danger. Phantom, let's pick up the pace." She turned to Danny and winked. He winked back. He suspected what she had in mind.
The two made a sharp turn toward the roller coaster and accelerated. They were flying directly toward the trusses holding up the track, but instead of pulling up, they kept flying right at it. Lynn began to panic and scream as she thought they were about to crash. Kim said, "Not so extreme after all now, are you?" Lynn was still screaming and Kim had to repeat herself.
"No! No! Pull up! Pull up!" Lynn eventually shouted, but they just kept flying at the truss. Lynn shrieked in terror as the trusses filled her vision. Danny turned the three intangible before they crashed and they landed safely back where they started. Lynn's legs collapsed beneath her as she was focused entirely on getting her breathing back under control.
The Possibles, and pretty much everyone else, were still watching this, and the twins said, "Now she tells us," exasperated.
Ann added, "We told you too, boys," with a sharp tone.
After Kim, Danny, and Lynn landed, Danny looked over at the cameraman with a glare.
He realized he had only one option and shot his hand in the air while he put the camera down with the other. "I surrender! Please don't hurt me!" he said. He then walked over to sit down next to Lynn who still couldn't stand.
Danny then turned his attention to one other loose end. "Ron, we need to have a talk," he said in a serious tone.
"Oh, uh, are we going to do an interview?" Ron replied slightly hopeful.
"Yes, but I'm the one that will be asking the questions," Danny said. Ron was a little confused. Danny continued, "I'll start with an easy one. Who is Kim dating?"
"Uh, Danny Fenton." Ron replied.
"Not me, right?" Danny Phantom asked. That one actually hurt him to say.
"Yeah," Ron answered.
"Kim is your best friend?" Danny asked.
"Of course," Ron said confidently.
Danny got to the point, "Then explain to me why you wrote a story about Kim having a crush on me when you knew she was dating Fenton?" That hurt too since both people he was referring to were him. He hoped his sister would never find out about this because there would be no way for her to NOT psychologically dissect it.
"I, uh," Ron stammered.
"Did you not think this might cause your best friend and her boyfriend problems?" Danny asked, driving home the point. Kim was watching this with her arms crossed.
Ron sighed and his shoulders dropped. "I, uh, I…didn't think. I'm sorry. I just wanted to be on the paper so bad, I took her words out of context and made up the rest. I know I shouldn't have, and it was wrong. K.P., Phantom, I hope you can forgive me." Ron hung his head in shame.
Kim walked up to Ron and put her hand on his shoulder. "Forgiven, Ron." Kim understood what went through Ron's mind as something similar went through hers during the student council president elections.
Ron looked up and smiled. "Thanks K.P. OW! OW! OW!"
Kim had grabbed on to his ear and sternly said, "Don't let it happen again."
"I won't!" he yelped. Kim let his ear go, and pulled him into a hug.
Well, that's one problem solved, Danny thought. "Hey Kim, think you can call Wade to get the police to pick these two up?"
"Sure," she replied as she pulled out her Kimmunicator. She grimaced as Wade was still unavailable. All she saw was…her. The satellite feed was still going and everything had just been broadcast. They thought the cameraman had turned it off when he set down the camera, but they were wrong.
Kim held up the Kimmunicator and Danny's eyes went wide as he realized what had just happened. He turned to the cameraman and snapped, "Shut that off! Now!" The cameraman scrambled to the camera and hit a series of buttons.
The Kimmunicator unscrambled and the visage of Wade appeared. "Kim, sorry I couldn't get that shut off. I guess I'm losing my edge," he said with a slight chuckle.
"It's OK, and I don't think you are losing your touch. Anyway, can you call for a police pickup?" Kim replied. Wade had not been losing his edge, this was just a problem he didn't have the tools to fix. Lynn's cameraman had set up the feed to absolutely flood the airwaves and drown everything else out. It would be like trying to stop a tsunami.
"Already done. They should be there in about two minutes," Wade said.
"You rock as always," Kim said as she ended the call. After the police showed up, both Adrena Lynn and her cameraman were cuffed and hauled away. The cameraman was calm, if defeated, while Lynn seethed. She never took her eyes off Kim as if her stare could bore holes in her.
"Ready to go home, you two?" Danny asked.
"You bet," Kim replied.
"Totally…Uh, how?" Ron asked.
"Phantom Air," Danny said as he held out his hands. Ron was less than thrilled by the method, but it was better than walking.
The three took flight with Kim being the first that would get dropped off. Ron used the time to try and get his interview. "Hey, uh, Phantom? Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" he asked meekly.
Danny cocked his eyebrow and replied, "Depends on if you plan to publish it."
"No…well yes…uh, maybe?" he stuttered. "I guess you wouldn't trust me after Kim's interview," he added as his face fell slightly.
"Before your apology, no. Now, I can't promise to answer everything, but I'll answer what I can," Danny said. He still didn't want to be interviewed as he had to be careful not to reveal his secret. As Ron began asking, it was obvious he was in a different mindset from his interview with Kim. It wasn't the "allegedly hard-hitting investigative journalist" Ron. It was just "friend and sidekick" Ron. Some questions Danny answered, others he refused to answer at all, but some he had to lie. It couldn't be helped. One day, Ron would be let in on the secret, but not yet. At least not while Ron was part of the school newspaper.
The next morning, Ron walked into the paper office before school with his Phantom interview. True to his word, there was no spin, no stretching the truth, and no taking anything out of context. It also started with a very contrite apology from the author.
The editor looked it over and nodded. "Not much of an angle, but no one else has ever gotten an interview from Phantom before. Not bad, Stoppable." She handed the folder off to another member of the paper and said, "Got another page one story. Headline, 'Possible encounter for a phantom, not a ghost of a chance for dating.'"
Ron furrowed his brow, "Uh, I'm not sure I agree with that title. Phantom put a lot of trust in me with this interview." Ron knew he would have to apologize to Kim and Phantom for that title, and hoped they would understand. Bonnie would, of course, tease Kim for getting "friend-zoned" by Phantom, but Kim knew she would eventually get the last laugh.
"Hey 'Hemingway,' you write the stories, I write the headlines," the editor replied sharply. "No. I take that back. You actually don't anymore. Your Phantom story will be your last one with the paper."
"What! Why?" Ron asked.
"Do you know the first rule of journalism, Stoppable?" she asked.
"Uh, tell the truth?" Ron answered.
She scoffed and replied, "Hardly. It's 'don't embarrass the people you work for.' We can accept 'stretching the truth,' but not when you admit to it to pretty much the whole freaking country."
Ron's head and shoulders slumped, "Well, I guess it was fun while it lasted," he muttered and shuffled out of the office. If Ron wanted to add more extracurriculars, he would need to find a new one. Until then, he would have to be the best Capser High Raven he could be.