James Timothy Possible, certified genius, aerospace whiz kid and all around super brilliant scientist spent the four hours prior to this moment in a state of horrified shock. His daughters good deeds finally caught up with her and someone she pissed off decided it was time to put her out of the fight, not with some half baked ray or carnivorous mutant, be it plant or animal hybrid, but with a simple straightforward weapon guaranteed to do the trick should it ever connect. The fact that she had somehow been spared only barely registered in his mind. A gun had been used, directed towards his daughter and to his horror, all he could think of was where the gun came from. Guns and a great number of weapons capable of wholesale slaughter were unilaterally and summarily denounced the world over.
Three world wars in the span of one hundred years was more than enough to convince global leaders to put an end to all the bull, it was the silent third event that sealed the fate of guns. A total global war fought in shadow and using things the world at large would only learn about after the smoke settled. The Geotap weaponry of the first war pushed nuclear combat to the wayside early on, the long lived toxic affects of fissiles both pre and post detonation discouraged every nation from using the tech and so hundreds millions of soldiers were thrown upon the altar of war for ever dwindling parcels of habitable land. In desperation after the global chaos of the first conflict nations raced to find the next super weapon to defend themselves, in the process tensions between the nations initiating the conflict the second time around. The silent war was spawned by a singular event where world leader hosting a function refused to take full blame for the accidental shooting death of the eldest son of a comparably large nation. Declaring it an ‘unavoidable accident’ he offered his condolences but refused to be held liable claiming he should not be blamed for a visiting child not behaving and ending up hurt. The resulting fight took place off the cameras and cost the lives of untold numbers of soldiers at the end of which a super weapon was finally used. In the blink of an eye a city of one hundred million people was transported into space. James T. Possible was a twenty-one year old grunt working tech on the investigation team that dissected the device responsible and would never forget the things he saw. He was also there when requests for submissions to make a memorial were announced, it was what got him into aerospace and engineering where he more than excelled.
The world leader who pushed the button triggering the device was charged with a single crime and upon conviction locked away for the rest of his life, he hadn’t even been involved in the initial dispute but fearing for his nations sovereign status as warring parties fought all around acted on bad advice and poor judgment. When the dust settled all projectile based firearms and weapons systems were banned outright, alternatives were already in place for military forces and under a unilateral initiative the first ‘purge’ of a weapons system in human history was carried out. He, his wife, and a select few hundred thousand out of the nearly eight million people classified super genius were left out of this purge for fear of damaging their intellect. The collective world leaders arranged for the establishment of a sanctioned independent defense agency tasked with preventing the restoration of memories pre purge and management of the threats from those who could create weapons from the ever improving materials hyper accelerated science produced. Try as the agency might there was no removing every gun. Too many had been made and secreted away by every type of person or organization and for all manner of reason but because few people remembered them and modern advances in directed energy weapons along with force field generation rendered them useless for general combat, projectile based weapons were lost, thought gone for good.
Except now, someone tried to use one of those relics on his little girl. Looking to his wife as she drove them back home he wondered if Dr. Director was right, Kim and Ron were in a very dangerous line of work and obviously, things were going to be taken to new levels in their fight. The worlds ‘evil’ population respected strength to a degree and his daughter had proven that strength time and again but as youths, barely more than children, they would take no action that drew the world’s attention. Evil they might be but galvanizing the world because they murdered children would not serve their purposes. That protection was no longer in place and it was clear the baddies out there were ready to deal with them in a more lethal fashion. Breaking away from the beautiful visage of his wife’s profile James Possible looked casually to the rear-view mirror where his precious daughter and her boyfriend leaned upon each other. He never felt the need to threaten Ron as he had the other boys Kim had an interest in but recently he sensed something else at play with them. There was so much to discuss with them that he felt more than a bit lost at where to begin. Things became suddenly complicated leaving him unable to focus on which to start with. He felt his wife’s hand reach over and clasp his bringing his attention back to her tired face, no matter her state he would never see her as anything other than beautiful.
With a soft smile and a nod to her husband, Mrs. Possible hoped she was able to convey the confidence she knew he needed from her. They had worked very hard to provide the safety their world enjoyed, they were left to oversee the tech used in establishing that security and they would be required to explain this at some point, it had happened before and they were prepared but this time there was a wrinkle. The wrinkle was their daughter, who could not be exposed to the purge, Ron was more malleable under it but even he would be hard to restructure since his chance encounter with forces beyond the sphere of science. She weighed the options open to her and slowly found herself agreeing with Betty, they would need to know the full story. Setting a firm grimace on her face she returned her hand to the wheel as she made the turn into their driveway. Betty’s suggestion, in front of Kim and Ron, had not helped and she was furious that the woman ignored her ‘parental rights’ and suggested it was time to tell Kim the truth. She wanted to spare her daughter that piece of humanity's past, but as was so dramatically displayed, they could only do so much. If Kim was to continue to serve the world as 'Hero at large', she would need to know the full extent of what she might face in the future. Once in the safety of the garage Mrs. Possible turned to those in the rear of the SUV, Ron and Kim looked wore out but her youngest children were barely containing themselves. “We’re home kids lets get inside.” She smiled softly as Kim sat up and stretched accidentally smacking Ron with her elbow. Ron retaliated by wriggling his fingers threateningly and Mrs. Possible had to snicker as Kim actually looked a bit frightened.
Mr. Possible ushered the twins through the interior door leading to as his wife made sure Kim and Ron followed instead of remaining in the garage. He wasn’t worried about them doing anything inappropriate but he knew they would spend the rest of the night sitting there discussing the events of the day and as they weren’t in possession of all the facts they couldn’t make the best judgments about it. He heard his wife swat Kim upside the head playfully as she dodged Ron. The three of them could be so childish at times, not that he was any different, but under the circumstances he felt someone need to remain somewhat level headed. While his wife helped the pair relax and calm down he would play the ‘straight man’ and keep things focused. When the time came for him to lighten up his wife would take over as the serious one. It was a strategy they developed over the years that served them well with their children who could be hard to pin down with standard methods. Turning his attention to the kitchen where his boys were busying themselves with leftovers he smiled at his mother, she had been disappointed after taking the flight from Florida to see Kim’s graduation ceremony only to end up suffering a bad bout of allergies thanks to summer pollen. In his opinion it was probably a good thing she hadn’t gone, her military training would have gotten her in trouble during the aftermath.
“Mother I know you want to hear all about it but could you please take the boys to their rooms and keep them busy until they go to sleep?” He nodded gravely at the questioning look she cast and hugged her as she stood up and began to collect up the snacks Jim and Tim were tearing up. “I’m sure you’ll get some of it from them so I’ll fill in the specifics after Michelle and I have a long talk with Kim and Ron.” Grinning tiredly he shook his head before she could ask. “No they didn’t do something bad … please just … just give us a few hours. I promise I’ll explain it all before we call it a night.” When Nanna guided the boys off to their rooms he turned to see his wife lead Kim and Ron into the living room, the three of them seemed much less scared now though he knew his wife would spend a long time crying her eyes out after they talked. He wouldn’t mind spending some time venting either he admitted.
Before James could begin explaining things to Ron and Kim, Mrs. Possible drug him back into the kitchen for a word in private. “Honey I know we need to tell them but do you think they’re ready for all of it?” She was scared of how her daughter would react to her role in the purge, she knew that few people would believe the world at large would unilaterally agree to what they had done but it was done because the entire planet agreed. A singular instance in history where everyone was in agreement, it hadn’t been repeated on any other topic which disappointed her beyond words. “I know Kim is smart and would understand some parts but … will she believe me?” She couldn’t relate how scared she was just then, if her daughter looked at her with the look of horror she expected she didn’t know what she would do.
“Dear this is Kim you’re talking about, she knows us better than anyone else.” He drew her into a close tight hug wishing he could make this all go away but knowing that was what got them in this mess to begin with. “She is a smart one I’m sure once you show her the book and I show her the gate they will understand.” He looked into her deep blue eyes and nodded seriously. The book detailed the exact events in precise detail, but the gate … that was the single tool that would prove the point beyond question. It was a last option they never wanted to put into play, they were left with no alternative however. “We might be called to the carpet for this hon but do you think there is any other way that won’t leave our daughter very vulnerable?” When she shook her head he smiled sadly and kissed her cheek then released her. “Go on, get the book I … I need to have a few words with them before we get to that topic.” He gave her a hard look that he knew surprised her but the time for games was past and he wanted to know the entire story. He played along up until now because he respected his daughter and Ron enough to trust them but things were much more complicated now and if he were to help he would need to know everything.
Kim held the tattered remains of her dress robes and mortarboard at arms length. She expected the mortarboard to be damaged if not ruined after the ceremony but the robes she had intended to preserve along with the remains of her prom dresses and the battle suit and a host of her mission uniforms. Clothes were so large a part of her life she thought of them as a way to remember important points in her life. She had hoped to have at least one undamaged garment in her collection but so far that was proving easier said than done. A quiet cough alerted her to the presence of her father standing in the arch dividing the foyer from the living room. “Hey dad is something wrong? … er … I mean beside the obvious.” She offered a weak smile as she sat down beside Ron who was being surprisingly quiet.
Mr. Possible took a seat in the power recliner he enjoyed Sunday football from, with a casual nudge of the controls he spun it to face his daughter and her boyfriend. A serious scowl flashed across his face as he looked directly to Ron then over to Kim. Flipping open the cover that hid a book space under the armrest he pulled out an envelope that looked startlingly familiar to Kim, it was from the print house she used to print out her invites. “I don’t know Kim, could you please explain to me…”
Ron swallowed nervously but refused to look away from Mr. Possible, he knew something was about to happen and he was very likely going to be kicked out of Kim’s life but he wasn’t going to go without a fight. He came close to losing her twice now, once because he hadn’t had the courage to speak up and once because he hadn’t been able to keep his mouth shut. This time he was going to say what he thought and deal with the aftermath no matter what came of it. “Mr. P if this is about me and Shego …”
James dropped the letter along with his jaw, he suspected something was up involving Shego but he was not prepared for it to involve Ron, the boy his daughter was dating. “Shego? The same Shego that G.J. believes tried to kill one of you tonight?” The surprised look on Ron’s face and the outraged look on Kim’s caught him off guard.
“Shego did not do it!” Kim and Ron spoke with a single confident voice. They were convinced of her innocence and not even the great James Possible would change their mind. Kim looked to Ron then down to her hands before she spoke again this time alone. “Dad I … I invited her because … well because I want to …” She couldn’t believe how hard this was, she never wanted to tell her dad she might not be what he expected but there was no choice now. Suddenly she felt an arm around her shoulders as she saw Ron’s calloused hand grip hers. She looked for a moment into his hazel eyes and smiled at the strength she saw in them, she knew he would always be there for her.
James watched the byplay between Kim and Ron amazed at the strength of their bond, he thought for a while now that there was something different about them but no one had bothered to explain it to him, which hurt. “Ok Kim I think I get it but please honey, tell me why you hid this from me until now?”
Ron looked to Kim’s dad in surprise, the man was scary smart but he never expected this kind of understanding. Not from the man who regularly threatened to send the guys Kim dated into space on a one-way trip. “Don’t blame Kim Mr. P this is my fault, well … mostly my fault.” He felt sweat bead up on his forehead as the older man locked eyes with him. “I … that is we … er … this is a lot harder than I thought it would be sir …”
Mrs. Possible smiled from her place in the kitchen, she was waiting for the right moment to step in and save Ron and her daughter but things hadn’t been as dire as she feared they might be, James hadn’t gone off in search of his rocket fuel yet. The world now was a very different place than the world they grew up in but it was still very harsh to people who found themselves in Kim and Ron’s position. As well as she knew her husband she had no idea where he stood on this kind of subject but she was beginning to believe he might be more open minded than she expected.
James leaned back as he thought over what he had just learned, it wasn’t much but with Ron’s earlier statement then Kim admission things started to fall into place. “Kim sweetie I want to know the whole story. Don’t make Ron have a stroke trying to handle it on his own.” He smirked knowing that would get his daughter to speak up, she protected Ron at the cost of her own safety at times, he knew Ron would and had done the same for Kim but of the pair everyone knew she was the braver and stronger. He was in for a surprise it turned out, Ron was braver than he expected.
Ron looked to Kim and shook his head making a short sign before he looked back to her dad. “No Mr. Possible. Kim doesn’t need to bail me out, this time, this time I got it covered. I think you know I love her, very much.” The older man nodded so he continued. “A while back something happened though that … well it changed things. Shego hurt me real bad, you remember that, don’t you?” When he got the expected nod he pressed on. “After that happened I made a mistake, I admitted that I … I’m not like other guys, never have been. Kim couldn’t understand it at first and nearly dumped me over it but Mrs. P got her to think about and to talk to me about it.” He saw Kim’s mom slip up behind her husband and drape an arm around him then nod for him to continue. “I almost lost Kim over it but I didn’t, I can’t thank you enough Mrs. P for that.” He smiled brightly as he nodded to her in appreciation. He would never be able to repay her for her help in his mind.
Kim decided it was her turn and gripped Ron’s hand tugging gently to get his attention. “I had the most to learn from that dad, Ron was and had always been honest with himself about his interests, but I … I always wanted to fit in, to be … normal. After talking with mom and doing a lot of thinking I had the chance … well to talk a bit with the person who got things so messed up for me.” She swallowed nervously and felt grateful for the firm grip of Ron’s hand in hers. “I had to go on a few missions without Ron because of his arm and one left me facing Shego alone, no Drakken just her. We … talked and that was when a few things became clear to me that I never knew, I … I’m … Dad I …”
Mr. Possible realized what his daughter might be trying to say, she was gay, it did not matter to him in the least but it did make him curious how Ron fit into things. “It’s ok Kimmie you don’t have anything to worry about.” He got up, walked the short distance to his daughter, and knelt to hug her close. “I will always love you sweetie no matter what.” The look of relief he could see in her emerald eyes almost brought tears to his. “So you’re … gay?” He ventured, he didn’t want to make things difficult for her but he needed to hear it from her.
Ron looked to Mr. Possible and smiled, this was a great man in his opinion, a great father. “Well Mr. P …” James turned to him and he shut up, there was no anger in the eyes of Kim’s father but he clearly wanted to hear this from his daughter not the boy she was dating.
Kim choked down the chuckle she felt well up. “Not exactly dad. I … I’m bisexual, I think.” When he gave her a quizzical look, she pressed onward. “I haven’t had much time to think about it, too many other things to deal with and like I said I was so busy trying to ‘fit in’ I never seriously considered that I might be interested in girls and guys.” She looked back to her hands as she tried to figure out how to explain the sitch. “Shego has been one of the few constants in my life, for a time I thought I hated her but … well after the night she accidentally broke Ron’s arm things changed. When I got the chance to actually sit and talk with her I found myself wondering things that never crossed my mind before. I …”
James held up a hand forestalling his daughter and shaking his head. “I don’t need to know Kim, you’re an adult now and this is a decision that you have to make for yourself. I am curious how you and Ron have worked things out but again I don’t need to know, I’ll accept that you’re happy and we’ll go one from there. Ok?” When the pair nodded, he turned to Ron, a stern look fixed to his face. “I have always trusted you with Kim Ron, I see that my judgment was not in error but if you ever hurt her I will make you wish I sent you on a trip to a singularity understand?”
Ron felt a surge of relief as he heard that, anyone else would have pissed themselves at the implied threat but he knew the man making it and he knew how much he cared for the two women he was dedicated to. “Mr. P I may be an idiot at times but there’s no way I would knowingly hurt Kim just no way.”
James smiled and nodded before he returned to his recliner, “I want you both to know … we believe you about Shego.” He didn’t need to ask his wife about that, he knew she was in on their ‘secret’ and if she hadn’t objected by now then she was convinced of the green woman’s innocence as well, that was all he needed to know. “However, there is something we have to tell you. We want you to hear us out and I ask you to be open minded, give us a chance to explain things before you … condemn us.”
Kim looked to Ron in disbelief, what could they have to say that scared them so much they would fear Kim condemning them after he had turned out to be so supportive of her lifestyle choice? “O-o-ok Dad …” That was when it clicked, Dr. Director insisted her parents ‘fill her in’ on something, something that scared them, worse than the fear she could see in their eyes over the attempted assassination not too many hours before that conversation. “Does this have something to do with the … what did Dr. Director call it? Rifle! That’s it, the rifle?”
Mr. Possible scowled at the excitement he could see in her eyes, schooling himself against the sudden anger he felt he turned to his wife who was on the verge of tears. “Yes Kim, it does but it’s a lot more complicated than it seems.” He turned to face his daughter as he leaned forward and rest his elbows wearily on his knees. “I’m sure you have a good understanding of projectile and ballistics principles Kim and a knowledge of where the term originates because that part has been left unaltered in the records but what you don’t know is how far the more lethal ballistics advanced before being both outlawed and erased from history.” With a sullen sigh and a deep breath he prepared to break the solemn oath he swore to so long ago, in light of the days events his daughter needed to know what she faced now and to hell with any who would tell him otherwise.
“I don’t know what exactly was fired at you today sweetie but I do know what type of weapon it was. It is where the term ‘gun’ originates. You’re familiar with ray ‘guns’ and toy ‘guns’ but for over two decades there have been no such weapons because … well because as a species humanity made a good decision, for a change.” He went on to tell Kim and Ron the bloody violent history of guns and the many uses they were put to. He hated seeing the look of shock and disgust he could see etched on her face, even Ron was repulsed by the story and Ron was into the more savage and violent video games. By the time he reached the end he himself felt the need to wretch, of all the achievements of humanity the weapons created for destruction were his least favorite. Tallied up no other device no single natural event not even the most powerful of weapons could match the number of lives lost to guns and he was personally proud to be part of the team that worked to remove that blight from history. His part in that was minor however, he just built the machines that facilitated the end result of his wife’s part, the part that could very well cost them both the love and trust of their daughter.
Ron leaned back as he absorbed all that he had just heard, he knew there were large unexplained gaps in history but he hadn’t paid them any mind. What was the point of worrying about a gap when everything seemed to be fine without those missing pieces? Well now he knew, without those missing bits he and Kim were in far worse danger than they had ever imagined. If guns were ‘erased’ yet still existed then what else might be buried out there somewhere on the planet just waiting for some psycho to put it to use?
Kim had her eyes closed as she tried working out and processing the details that were filtered in, she now knew what the ‘silly’ weapon was that had been used against her and she was even more convinced that Shego was not involved, or more specifically that Shego had likely saved her life. She remembered the numbers she asked Wade to factor into his simulations but now she knew he wouldn’t be able to do them accurately. “I need to tell all of this to Wade.” She looked to her father, she wasn’t asking she was telling. She would give Wade every bit of information she had just received and no one not even her parents would stop her. Her own life was of secondary concern to the safety of the man she kept at her side and the woman she wanted to get a chance to know. “Wade can’t do a complete analysis without accurate data to work from.”
James looked to his wife who he could tell wanted to object, they had already broken their oath and under the law they served were likely to face jail time for it. Letting one more person in on the secret wouldn’t help but it couldn’t hurt worse. AS he was about to consent for them both something interrupted them, a very familiar beeping that came from Kim’s digital com-unit.
“What’s the sitch Wade?”
Wade stared for a moment at the image of Kim on his monitor, she looked like she was on the verge of breaking down or exploding and he knew his news wouldn’t help matters any but he was working for her. “Kim … you won’t believe it but I found something … something big … and very bad.” With a quick double check of his security he made sure he would not be tapped or spied on when he said what he had to say. “There’s been a major cover-up Kim, things I never knew existed but do and … and …. Your parents are involved.”