“I don’t know what the hell you two are doing but if you’re trying to get me pissed, mission accomplished. Now spill, err just not any of this chocolate stuff … what the hell is it by the way?”
“Coco-Moo and for the full explanation, not to mention another mug full, you’ll need to agree here and now to join us. No questions asked, though I am willing to let you know the pay rate will be much higher than BurgerSlinger is giving their managers.” Boo-YAH! he thought to himself, check and mate. Ron would be getting yet another compilation of the greatest nudie-vision KiGo moments from Drakkens personal library, Drakken was lousy at gambling but as a perv he held a crown worthy of any perv king.
Bonnie accepted the second mug full from Drakken and thought it over as she sipped. Yeah BurgerSlinger had been the only job she could get, which beat out the naco joint hands down in her opinion, but she was not intending to work there a second longer than she absolutely had to. “Alright Stoppable lets just say I’m willing to listen, for another cup, what do you have in that skeevy little pea-brain of yours?” Her mug was immediately refilled as Ron hitched out an elbow offering to escort the hot tempered female to their car. She would have broken the offending arm if it could have been done without spilling some of that dark nectar.
Ron just grinned at the indignant look she threw at him, she had taken the offer and they both knew she could no longer really hold the ‘loser’ label over his head. “Aww come on BonBon we’re partners now the least you could do is be civil.” The look of utter outrage on her face was worth all the years of humiliation and disdain she held for him, not that he held it against her. Nope not at all. “Fine Bonnie but you will need to be a bit more tolerant of me since I will be the man signing your paycheck.” He pulled out a cow patterned chequebook and scribbled a number on the dollar amount line then held it for her to see. “Will this be enough to satisfy our new partner?”
Drakken slid in behind the volatile women and gawked as he read the figure on the cheque, Ron hadn’t been joking when he said he was going to break the bank if he had to to get this woman to agree. “Ron are you sure this specimen it truly worth that?” He was still playing his part but this was an out of the blue question, the look Ron gave him convinced him that she was and the line of questioning should be dropped. “Fine if you insist but as your partner I must say you’re putting a lot of faith in someone who smells of burger grease and bad hair spray.”
Ron winced as Bonnie turned to Drakken and drew back the hand holding her mug of moo. “Hold this for a minute Stoppable, I need to have a word with our ‘partner’ if you don’t mind.” Drakken should have kept his mouth shut while he was ahead, Ron thought with a chuckle as Bonnie proceeded to pummel the azure coloured scientist. He took this opportunity to hit the record button on the camcorder Drakken had left near the thermos. Granted Drakken was no fighter he was able to dodge or evade most of the attacks she threw at him, he had spent nearly six years dodging Shegos assorted attacks after all. “BonBomb don’t kill him we’re going to need his brain in tact if you’re going to stand in for KP.” She heard Ron say, that got the brunettes full and undivided attention.
Stalking over to Ron Bonnie fumed as she tried to decide which question to ask first, being that both the things she just heard pissed her off she was having a hard time deciding which was the more important of the pair. “Ok Stoppable you have exactly thirty to tell me exactly what the hell you meant by ‘BonBomb’ before I start peeling you like a fig.” Kim would always be a touchy spot with her specially after their last encounter when Kim said she was taking a year off the serious study to relax. With Kim not looking into college for a year the idea that they might end up rooming together was crushed.
Drakken smiled happily as he rubbed his jaw, the woman might not be Shego but she sure had a hell of a good right hook. When she turned to attack him just then he almost swore he was looking into Shegos eyes, the woman had that scary a look in them and he found himself willing to do a great number of things for her. He missed Shego, the green warrior was one of a handful of people he actually trusted. When the accident happened Shego could have easily left him there to rot but she didn’t just as he opted to intervene on her behalf when he had seen the line rupture and nuclear inhibitor fluid sprayed out saturating him with its lethal preservatives. That agony would haunt him for the rest of his life, which would be a very long time as the fluid had a stunning affect on him due to the large doses of radiation some of his experiments imposed upon his cellular structure. “Not yet Bonnie, We are too … public to be discussing that. Come with us to the lab and we’ll explain the whole thing … in detail.”
Looking the blue man over carefully Bonnie nodded in silence, there was something in the way he was staring at her that peaked her curiosity. There was a sadness in those black eyes that she couldn’t help but notice but beneath that she could almost see something else, a warmth she couldn’t place. “Ok fine whatever lets just go then.” She had essentially committed to the job Ron had offered and if she could get the kind of payroll he put on that cheque then she figured dealing with this pair a minor inconvenience. She wasn’t as sure of her decision when she was led to the hovercar Drakken routinely flew around. She never claimed to be a rocket scientist but she did understand the principles involved in flight and the hockey puck like object floating a few feet off the ground defied what she understood of flight in every way.
Kim sat fuming at the kitchen table as her mother laid it on thick with the whole ‘so long as you live under this roof’ spiel, she had heard it at various times from both her parents but this was the first time her mother imposed any rules that prevented her from doing the work her website brought in. She could understand the concern but that was going too far in her estimation. It didn’t help that these new rules also included her trips to the dojo or the mall or any of the dozens of other places she normally visited. She accepted that being fresh from the hospital she would need to take a few days to rest and recover, mostly she wanted to spend those few days detoxing from the potent medications she had been given for her wrist. “I understand the concern Mom but seriously don’t you think you’re going a bit overboard with all this?” Her patience had been nearly exhausted already and this was pushing that to the limit.
Mrs. Dr. Possible scowled at her daughter and looked to her husband for support, they had both agreed there was a need to restrict Kims activities for as long as they could to give her a chance to recover but James had already left the room. “No Kimberly Ann Possible, this is not overboard but I can go that route if you press the issue.” If it had not been for the years of experience she had with her daughter and the years of experience she had dealing with patients who refused to listen to her initially she might have cratered under the withering glare her daughter was currently firing her way. She was half tempted to play the grounding card but choose to forget that option as it wasn’t really an option anymore. Kim was eighteen and if pushed too hard she was legally within her right to move out. “Now your father put your book bag and overnight bag in your room I think you should go get that situated while I make dinner. Hospital food may be quite nutritious it is also terribly bland.” Her nose wrinkled as she remembered the primary reason she spent so much time learning to cook.
Kim sighed and nodded as she stood to leave the kitchen, her options were currently limited to staying at home and dealing with the restrictions or find an apartment to rent until she could find a more permanent housing arrangement. She had a sizable bank account to draw from left to her by her grandfather but she was saving that for an emergency and this didn’t count as such in her opinion though it was getting close to that critical distinction. “Thanks mom but can I make a request for dinner?” Her mother looked at her with an eyebrow arched curiously, “No brainloaf or other freaky medical special please. I’ve had all the hospital related junk I can stomach for now.” This earned a light chuckle and a nod from her mother as she turned to get started on the food. Scowl in place as she left the kitchen Kim made her way up the stairs to her loft room.
Once in the comfort of her own room again Kim angrily threw her backpack into the closet and shut the door, the college could kiss her ass for all she cared just then. She knew her mother only wanted the best for her but she didn’t have to make such a big deal about the meeting with Shego she had caught. Wondering if the older woman was home, she parted the curtain that looked out across the small depression in the mountain range separating the houses. Her eye to the monocle of her telescope she scanned the darkened windows for any sign of life and was pleasantly rewarded when she saw Shego part the draperies of her observation window and put her binoculars to her face.
Thinking quickly she twisted the tuner setting of her lipstick laser to signal beam and began flashing Morse code, she had no way of knowing if the older woman could understand and was surprised to find her simple signal getting a response. Shego used the dim green of her plasma as the light source for the returned message inviting her to come up for tea.
Kim cast a sidelong glance back to the stairwell leading to her room thinking it over seriously but deciding against it. Her Morse was a bit rusty but she remembered enough to convey what she needed to. “Can’t the mother unit has me in full lockdown mode. Pissing her off right now would not be a good idea.” The scent of something good cooking drifted to her nose. “Besides all I’ve had for the last few days was hospital food or hospital junk food, neither of which are exactly … healthy.” She would never be convinced that the muck they served under the guise of a ‘nutritious filling meal’ actually met the description, the mashed potatoes would have been better served as mortar for bricklayers.
Shego watched Kims face contort in memory of something that must have disturbed the woman and did her best not to laugh in full view. “So Kimmie is afraid to face down the mother ‘rent eh?” her signal went unanswered but she didn’t really need a response, Mrs. Dr. Possible was one of the few people Shego was actually leery of, people who get paid to carve up other peoples brains are not ones to piss off. “Well it’s good to see that you’re home Pumkin, I was not looking forward to having to make another trip to that hospital. Sick people give me the willies, not to mention large numbers of sick people in confined places can’t be good for healthy people.” Barring the cold she got courtesy a sneeze from the redhead she was watching through the binoculars she had only been sick twice in the last several years, both of those times were a direct result of trips to the hospital. At least that’s what she blamed for the flu she picked up after being shuffled into the prisons medical ward. She was at a loss to explain what made her sick, she never got sick from mundane things, save that damned flu or whatever it was Kimmie sneezed on her. All the doctors she ever visited or, in Drakkens case, worked with attributed her resilience to the comets affects but they also warned her there was no way of telling if she would enjoy this aspect in all areas. At the time there were no specialists in radical genetic reformatting and it was clear whatever had happened to her was on a genetic level.
Kim sat there trying to come up with a good response to Shegos jab at her for not facing down her mother but decided not to, the less ammo she gave the older woman the better off they both were. “So how are you doing? I see your hair is growing back, kinda fast though isn’t it?” She had seen Shegos hair get fried in a number of different manners only to notice it was perfectly restored the following day. If it hadn’t been for all the times she had used Shegos long hair to keep the older woman in close range she would have sworn the woman wore wigs. It made her somewhat jealous of her nemesis, her own hair was a red mess after most of the fights and battles she got into, it was only the gentle care she took to restore it every night that kept her from enduring a crew cut similar to the one Shego sported the other day.
“Part of the paint job and body work Princess, by mid January it’ll be good as new.” She was glad she had Morse code committed to memory otherwise this conversation would be impossible to conduct. She ran a hand through her hair untangling the few knots it had acquired during her workout. “I have to admit this is much easier to deal with but I like my hair long, ok yeah it’s a pain in the ass at times, usually because you pull out handfuls at a time, its much nicer the way I usually keep it.” She could see Kim nod and smile as she looked at her from over the telescope she had aimed directly at her. She was about to add more when Kim bent to look through the telescope again but she heard a quiet padding of feet closing in on her, she only got out a short parting sentence before she had to react. “Got to go Pumkin I’ll look for you again tomorrow.” Before she could put the binoculars down and face the threat approaching from the shadow the threat attacked and Kim got a look as a mass of sinuous fur as Shego ducked out of the way just in time. When the black clothe fell back across the window shutting off any further nosiness Kim was left scratching her head and wondering what Shego would own that was both furry and big enough to get her to move that fast.
Drakken winced as he watched Ron complete a wicked series of punches and kicks that sent Bonnie sprawling across the matt of the training room. He kept the smile from forming on his blue mug as he gave his grudging approval to Rons choice for their associate, she was not in Shegos league or even close to Kims but few people were. With a growing respect he watched as the fiery tempered woman lunged for Ron who easily dodged every punch she threw at him, the girl had remarkable endurance and he recognized that stubborn glint in her eyes. The pair had been training non stop for the last four hours and while Ron had barely broken a sweat Bonnie was nearing the point of exhaustion, she wouldn’t stop even if she wanted to. Once they explained the situation to her Bonnie told them to push her as hard as necessary to get her in the shape she needed to be to handle her new job. Drakken only knew two others with as much drive and this girl was working to give that pair the chance to sort things out. “That is enough for today Stoppable, she won’t be of any use if you break her.”
Ron cast a look to Drakken perched in the control/observation tower then looked back to Bonnie who, despite the furious anger burning in her eyes looked ready to fall over if a light breeze caught her wrong. She had proven to be every bit as good as he expected, anyone who spent a few days a week sparring with KP would have to be. “Drakken is right Bonbon that’s enough for today.” He turned his back to her and began walking away only to duck and sidestep just barely avoiding the back roundhouse she threw at his head. Following through with the motion imparted by his evasive action Ron dropped low and swept out a foot connecting solidly with the back of Bonnies knee dropping her like a stone. “You make too much noise Bonbon and your attacks are too repetitive.” He smiled brightly as he feinted left of her prone form forcing her to the right where he wanted her to go, a simple tuck and roll planted his heel firmly in her gut and put an end to her fighting for the night. “You also react instead of taking action. We will have to work on that, you’re doing great by the way.” He extended a hand to help her to her feet she glowered but took it. “I’ve been in the fighting game for years now and I’ve faced off against the people who regularly give Kim a run for her money, you lasted far longer against me than most of them have.”
Drakken was fuming mad as he watched the blonde drive his heel into Bonnies stomach winding her after she attempted the sneak attack but he forgot his anger when he heard the compliment Ron offered the woman. He witnessed countless battles where the sole factor in his defeat had been the sidekick, Kim would handle Shego and Ron would cause enough chaos to totally disrupt the delicate machinations he laboured so tirelessly to assemble. It came as no surprise, when the union sent out the dossier on ‘the Ron factor’, that there was something more to the buffoon than could easily be explained. He nodded his agreement with Rons assessment of their partner on whole, she had a lot to learn but she had more than enough potential to do the job. Bonnie was clutching her stomach and looking miserable as Ron walked away, Drakken could tell she was upset with herself for what she considered a poor performance on her part. Shego often had that very same look on her face when Kim beat her in the one on one matches they had over the course of their careers. The difference he could see was a simple one, Shego had a long standing very skilled rival that forced her to get past the depression of so many repeated losses. Bonnie was on her own, or so she thought.
Catching her breath and forcing herself upright Bonnie glared daggers into Rons retreating backside, she was doing her best and it was all she could manage just to avoid being thrashed by the former mascot. She was responsible for a great deal of misery he went through and if she didn’t know better she would swear he was doing this just to piss her off and repay her in kind. Stumbling towards the dressing room at the rear of the lair she caught sight of her other partner, the blue freak, she could see a look of concern in his eyes she would never have expected. So far Drakken remained cold and aloof, seemingly disinterested in her and quick to insult her but now she saw something different about him. She looked back to the direction Ron had taken out of the room and smiled to herself, Ron wasn’t being the prick she had expected him to be even though she admitted he had every right to, then there was the blue man. Everything Kim told her about him seemed to be just the show he put on but from the short period of time she had spent in his company she understood him to be every bit the genius he proclaimed himself to be. Perhaps it was time to take him to task and get him to give her the edge she felt she needed if she were going to make this work.
Drakken carefully approached the agile brunette leery of any pent up anger she might be holding in reserve to unleash upon him. She had an air around her that reminded him so much of the green skinned woman he shared so many years and adventures with it was almost frightening. “Come over here Bonnie, let me give you a quick examination.” He tried not to let his voice show any emotion for the young woman, she would likely think him foolish for such things but he did care. He never wanted to really hurt anyone, not even Kim. The few times he had attempted to destroy her had been with methods that would have either killed her outright without pain or made her simply vanish, as painlessly as possible. After his experience with the nuclear inhibitor fluid he knew that inflicting physical pain on another being was something he simply could not do, sure he might make bold declarations of such but he never carried any of them out, at least he never put any into motion that he felt Kim would fall before. Waving his mediscanner over her stomach he scowled at the readouts, Ron had pulled no punches with the girl and she would have some long lasting bruises to show for it. “I’m afraid you will be getting far more of these sessions than I would prefer Bonnie but Ron is right, if you want to hold your own against some of the other badguys out there you’ll need the most extensive training we can put you through.”
She nodded halfheartedly, of course she would be going through more sessions like that, she was a rookie in the game and the only way to hold her own would be to push herself further than she ever dared before. There had been a time when the mere thought of hard work turned her stomach, then she spent a month running herself ragged trying to outdo Kim for the head cheerleaders position, Kim conceded without really putting much effort into or so she thought. One week later she was all but begging Kim to take over again, she still couldn’t understand how the red head could do all that she did outside of school and still get so much accomplished in school. “Dr. Drakken …” She wasn’t sure what she was going to ask but with all the things she had seen him pull off in the last twenty hours she figured he might be the only person who could give her the edge she knew she needed. It was crazy to even consider but she was committed to this and she would not back down now. “Drakken is there anything you can do to help me improve faster?” She could see the spark of interest fire up in his eyes, there was something he could do, she was sure of it now.
Those turquoise eyes of her bore into him with a determination on par with the most steadfast gaze Shego ever cast at him, she didn’t know what she was asking and he felt he should say as much. “Bonnie I …” the moment he opened his mouth to tell her not to even consider it he knew she was not going to just give up on the idea, he could see the drive to succeed in her eyes as clearly as he had seen it in Shegos face. “You don’t want me to do anything Bonnie, I … I wouldn’t want to be responsible for hurting you.” She didn’t glare or yell she didn’t even make any attempt to lash out at him she just stood there looking defeated. “Oh alright but remember you asked for this.” He held out his gloved hand and when she took it in her own he lead her to the laboratory. “I’ll need to run some tests Bonnie, a few of them may hurt which I don’t want to do but if this is what you truly want then I will do what I can for you.” He felt her hand tighten around his own briefly, the last time he held the hand of someone he cared about she was watching over him as he fought against the chilling death he experienced, he didn’t really die but he couldn’t really be killed either.
“It’s more than just what I want Dr. Drakken. I agreed to this and we only have a month, no matter how good a trainer Stoppable may be there’s no way I can catch up with Kim, not like this.” She hated to admit to anyone that she was no real match for Kim, admitting that was akin to admitting her sisters were right about her. If they were to succeed she would have to take chances and risk it all, just like Kim did. “Whatever it takes Dr. Drakken I want to be able to go face to face with Kim and not be afraid she is better than me.” Shego may be the bad ass of the pair but Kim was the rule against which she had always measured herself, she came up lacking far more than she would care to admit. “I want to be confident that if she needs someone to save her I can be that person. She would do no less for me.”
Drakken nodded grimly as he led her to his examination table. Kim, he knew, was the type who could be counted on to give everything she had for those she cared about. He had seen that in many of their encounters, she was always going out of her way to make sure Ron never got hurt even though he could clearly see the ‘sidekick’ hadn’t needed her extra efforts for a while now. “There are a few … upgrades I may be able to make Bonnie, but my area of expertise is more in the field of engineering and technology not biologic. I did pick up a thing or two from someone who is rather spectacular in her field.” If he combined his nanotech skills with those genetic modifications DNAmy had so carefully instructed him on he might be able to give Bonnie the edge she was after. “There are risks though, some of these systems have never been tested before. Not on animals and certainly not on people.” He cast a worried look her way as he prepared the larger bioscanner for an in-depth mapping of her systems, she could have no idea the difficulties he was facing in doing this.
Ron leaned back in his comfy chair as he listened to Drakken inform Bonnie of the risks she was exposing herself to, he didn’t want to smile but he couldn’t help himself. Bonnie was every bit as driven to succeed as Kim or Shego she just needed the proper motivation, she had it now but she was taking a chance that he would have considered insane not a week ago. Drakken hadn’t reformed so much as kept his part of the wager, every night he would whip out some ludicrous scheme to take over the world or design some new death ray only to stuff them in a folder marked ‘glory days’ which he kept in the company vault. Ron wanted to stop Bonnie, stop Drakken but he couldn’t. Bonnie was an adult and made her choice. Drakken seemed to care for the woman for some unfathomable reason going so far as to actually threaten Ron after the first meeting swearing that if he didn’t look out for their new partner Ron would wish they had remained enemies. Ron shook his head at the memory, there were few times in their numerous encounters where Drakken pulled off intimidation and if Ron hadn’t had the edge when he tried this last time it might have actually worked.
Rufus slipped out of Rons pocket and raced across his leg onto the expansive desktop that dominated his office. Surviving the fight between Shego and Kim had been a small miracle unto itself considering he spent most of it locked in that pouch of Kims, it was made of some new fabric that not even his enhanced teeth could gnaw through. Looking up at his friend Rufus gave a small chirping squeak before running off into the shadows. Ron waved at his retreating tail and asked if he could pick up some Nacos while he was out, he made a mental note to have a special order delivered to the lair because he would be occupied for the next few days. In his retreat from the battle between the warrior women Rufus stumbled across an emerging threat and it was taking everything he had to avoid anyone from either side discovering his true agenda.
Rufus three thousand lay curled up in the dumpster he confiscated for his new dwelling, it was a step down from his lavish quarters in the future but he would take what he could get at this point. He had established contact with the Rufus Prime, he explained the problem the future faced at the mercy of The Hand of Power and The Hand of Mercy, he begged his ancestor for help and the Rufus Prime agreed. A loud thump outside the dumpster alerted him to the presence of someone, in a flash he drew his neutron cannon and assumed a combat position. A series of knocks and half vocalized words eased his tense frayed nerves, it was Rufus Prime. “Did you bring the Nacos?” He nose confirmed it long before he heard Rufus Prime acknowledge him, there was one constant between past and future. Nacos. The Hand of Mercy kept the fast food chain going for some unfathomable reason and it was one of the most dominant food services in the known universe.
Rufus Prime dropped the greasy bag of pseudo food into the dumpster and followed after taking a quick look around. The odds were he was spotted at least a few times on his way here but he knew how the humans around him thought, he had been given the intelligence of the brightest minds of the era and it gave him an edge over those who would upset his efforts. He agreed to help his future descendant in order to get the full story from the giant naked molerat, what he heard got his blood boiling. The future his friends and family were at stake and he was to play a dangerous game if he was to save any of them. Taking out a small note pad and pen he began writing out a rapid series of questions for his descendant desperate to gather more information to act upon. He knew it wouldn’t matter in the long run, all the planning in the world would only go so far until something changed the rules of the game and threw the playbook out the window. At that point he would have to act accordingly and hope to make the right decisions. He did have one ace up his sleeve, as it were, and he would keep that card safely tucked away until he needed the edge it would provide him.
Dismissing the last of her staff for the night Dr. Betty Director leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on her fancy desk. The labtechs would likely scream bloody murder if they saw her boots scuffing the pristine mirror like surface but she didn’t care, right now there was a storm brewing and she was watching from the sidelines. The call she received from Wade laid out part of the puzzle and now that she had the office to herself she could make the inquiry necessary to get the rest of it. After a minute or so more she lifted her boots off the desk and began the office scan, the facility was staffed at all times in case some emergency should present itself and she had to know she was in the clear before she could open that line. Once confirmed she pulled her eye patch to the side and placed her eye to the optical scanner mounted on the wall beside her desk. A series of harsh beeps and clicks sounded out as the old hard-line modem connected into the more advanced system she was accessing. Her patience was rewarded when the dark skull and cross bones of the in-terror-net came online and linked her to her brothers primary office. The moment his face came over the display he swallowed, she had not replaced the eye patch and he could see his eye staring back at him from across the world. He was glad to see the look of mild surprise on her face, his eye patch was off and her eye was looking back across the network, they had obviously been thinking the same thing. “Sheldon.” A slight nod. “Betty.” Another slight nod. “We have to talk.” “Agreed.”