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Chapter Text

Junior waited at one of the higher railings, waiting for the villain to appear. Kim told him to wait here and join in the fight when things got tough, but she highly emphasized that she "got this" and expected little to no aid. He understood, but he still wanted to help in his own way, even if it were a little bit! According to her, the villain this time appeared to be a green man who called himself "Professor Dementor".

She told him he would be drilling in from a big drill, according to a checklist she had recovered from when he stole said drill. And so, he waited and waited, and low and behold, the rumbling began. A drill from above destroyed the ceiling of the secret underground facility and out leaped a shortish green man who yelled out in a thick German accent, "HA! No top secret underground science facility can hide from Professor Dementor!"

He could see the redhead appear from the smoke caused by the drill and announcing, "And no smug villain can hide from-"

Professor Dementor's eyes widened, a shocked look spreading rapidly across his face. "Kim Possible?!"

"And boyfriend!" Ron announced proudly.

The shocked look on Professor Dementor's face faded in an instant. "Ah, I seriously doubt that."

"No, dude, it's true, really."

The villain thought for a moment. "Sorry, just can't believe it."

Then the crime fighters engaged what seemed like back and forth banter with the enemy. Something about the list Kim mentioned to him earlier, and how calling someone's mother was part of it? He didn't seem to figure out that part, he wasn't familiar with familial relations humans had. Junior only knew Kim's familial relations, and a bit of Ron's but that was all. The mini chimera was in deep thought for a moment on family until he heard Professor Dementor shouting one last thing.

"...Or, we could add one more item to my list: eliminate Kim Possible!"

Junior could see him aiming the laser drill at Kim and Ron and virtually jumped into action, but he stopped short and saw a blue bubble form around the duo. The attack from the laser drill was countered immediately thanks to Kim's battle suit. He wasn't familiar with it, but he did see her wear it on the day he was revived with the dragon balls.

Kim leaped high onto the platform Professor Dementor was on and prepared to attack until the man spouted something about her battle suit. Junior only let out a bored exhale and sat back down on the platform he was on, gripping the railings a bit too tightly and causing them to bend. He hadn't a clue on what to do at the moment, he was just really, really bored. Stopping that blue guy and the green woman he was familiar with last week seemed fun at least, but it didn't seem like he had something to do here.

The heroine was then met with a group of men targeting her, but she handled them all easily. Ron, however, only took notice of the laser drill by his companion Rufus and broke into a run.

Now this was more like it! The blue bio-android shot out from his spot and grabbed the freckled teen by the back of his shirt and materialized back to where he originally was. He cast his pink orbs below and noticed the laser drill was still shooting lasers like crazy.

"Thanks, little dude," Ron said, in between breaths. He seemed out of breath from all the running he had done.

The power he had acquired from the events of Yamanouchi disappeared altogether, or rarely appeared now. It was like Ron said, it comes and goes. Not that it mattered, it only meant Junior had things to do now! Even if it meant saving the blonde from imminent danger. He leaped off the platform and flew into the laser drill, destroying it from the inside and causing it to explode from within.

Professor Dementor gazed in horror. "No! How is this possible?! What other weapon have you acquired?!"

"Not a weapon, just a great kid," Kim noted proudly, watching as Junior flew out of the drill and right beside her with a grin. "And speaking of—hey buddy, next time, try to tone it down a notch with the destruction, okay? It might be dangerous, but it's still stolen technology." As she spoke, the destruction of the laser drill continued to sound as background noise.

Junior only sent her a sheepish grin and a shrug in reply.

"No matter, we will settle this next time!" Professor Dementor shouted, as he placed himself in an escape capsule and pressed a button, engines already beginning to fire. "And next time this suit of power will be your undoing!"

The mini chimera shot up to the sky simultaneously as the escape capsule had, grabbed it by it's curved top and slammed it back down to the ground, causing the engines to fail instantaneously.

Kim sauntered over to the villain sitting fearfully in his seat with a shocked expression. The glass around the capsule shattered as she approached with a smirk and her arms crossed over her chest.

"So you were saying?"

"Another day marked," Ron said glumly, aloud to himself, catching his girlfriend's attention.

"Huh? For what?"

He let out a groan and slumped in his seat, grabbing the drink he had ordered earlier and taking a lazy sip. "Since my powers went away."

After Professor Dementor was apprehended, Wade got them a ride back home, and of course they had the best seats. They were currently flying first class back to Middleton. Junior had the window seat, peeking out at the clouds above and cities below while Kim sat in the middle, and Ron at the other end. Junior could fly them all back home, but it was too far and the heroine really didn't feel like getting a bad hair day again. Besides, he seemed to be enjoying the new surroundings.

Kim gazed sympathetically at her boyfriend, but felt something weird from within. It wasn't weird, per say, but odd for the moment. Usually when one of the most important people in your life were feeling down, you'd feel similarly. Instead, she felt almost.. kind of relieved—almost satisfied even. She couldn't help but feel disgusted with herself, these feelings hadn't gone away ever since the first day of senior year. If anything, they festered.

"Ron, it's like you said, it comes and goes, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, but I really thought they'd stay this time," he replied. "I don't wanna keep being the bumbling sidekick. I don't mean to bring up things you don't wanna hear, but I gotta be strong for when something like him pops up again, you know? So I can protect you."

The redhead held his hand and squeezed it. "Hey, who said it had to be your responsibility? Trunks and the others can handle things like that, it's, like, what they do. We just have to stick to what we do best."

"Fighting crime?" he asked, looking up.

"Fighting crime," she assured. "Let's not worry about that right now, it's so not our ish." With that, she took back her hand, but was slightly surprised to see it was grabbed suddenly.

"KP, you saved the world last week, not them, you know that, right?" Ron asked, his hand tightening around hers. "They were all like Ce—uh, like super superheroes. They fly, shoot blasts, and can probably crush mountains yet it was you who saved them. Don't forget that. I know I won't."

Kim only looked at him skeptically. "It was a one-time thing and I took a risk I didn't expect to come out alive from. There's no way we'll get dragged into something like that again. As far as I know, I'm Kim Possible, just your ordinary girl who stops bad guys—you-you know, like Drakken and Professor Dementor just earlier. Not.." She balled up a hand into a fist, trying not to lose composure. "Not Goku, the guy who literally lost his life saving the world from being destroyed by an overpowered monster like Cell."

Junior turned back suddenly when he heard his father's name and started listening in on the conversation.

Ron nearly choked on his drink. "Wait, he's dead?!" he exclaimed incredulously, Rufus in his pocket choking on some food he was chewing when he heard his owner. "Cell already killed him?!"

The heroine looked at him with a puzzled look before doing a double take on what she said. "Oh, no, no, no! It was just something I heard awhile back. I'm guessing they used the dragon balls to revive him, I mean when he basically saved the world seven years ago—I think." She looked back in her memories to see if she got the story right. She heard it from the fiend himself, but she didn't want to admit that.

Ron only scowled when the bio-android came to mind, slumping back in his seat and crossing his arms. "Yeah, pretty sure we'll see his ugly mug never. He probably got his butt whooped by those guys. It was like, five against one!"

"Right," Kim just said, nodding in agreement, albeit skeptically. It might be paranoia, but something inside told her the chimera wasn't done with them yet. He could still be out there—the only assurance she could get now is from the people who were capable enough to beat him.

"Peanuts," Junior announced, planting a bag of airline food in Kim's lap and snapping her out of her intrusive thoughts.

"Oh, thanks Junior," she said, accepting the bag, mostly it was more for distracting her from her head. Nowadays she thought too much about the chimera or things of his nature.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is," Ron started once more, causing Kim to look back at him. "Their 'ish' can become our 'ish', get it?"

"I got it," Kim replied, elbowing him slightly. "Just promise me you won't strain yourself trying to get back those powers."

The freckled teen huffed. "Yeah, alright. I can't guarantee anything, but I promise you this." He leaned close to her with a determined look. "I won't let that jerk lay another finger on you—and that goes for Eric too! Might wanna start packing mouthwash to-go, Kim, he'll probably want to lay another one on you," he warned, a jealous expression flashing briefly.

"Ew gross, not like I'll give him another chance," she responded with a shiver, before noticing the other thing he said. It was almost like he also thought of the off-chance Cell survived. Looked like it wasn't just her mind this fiend invaded.

"Peanuts!" the mini chimera almost shouted with a firm look in place, planting another bag on her lap in a more aggressive manner.

Kim was yet again snapped out of her thoughts by Junior's action. She picked up the bag and sent him a curious look. "What's the deal with you and airline food?"

He looked down, almost in a pensive manner. The redhead continued to look at him, now with concern mixed in. Ron seemed to notice and gazed as well to see if the mini bio-android had something more to say.

"You were.. thinking of.. him again," he said hesitantly.

Kim and Ron just continued to stare, eyes widened just a bit. One-worded replies and short phrases were all they got from him, but now it seemed like he was capable of full-on sentences.

"Him?" Kim asked, leaning forward.

"You mean your dad," Ron said, almost stating it rather than asking.

Junior nodded. "My dad."

The heroine contemplated for a moment and shook her head, moving back abruptly. "No, he's not your dad."

Her boyfriend cast his eyes towards her in a confused manner. "Uh, I don't know, KP, he looks exactly like him and from what you told me, he came from him-"

"So not what I mean!" she interjected, sending Ron a brief look before returning to Junior. "You might look like him, you might be a product of him, but he is not your dad."

The mini chimera gazed at her with a confused expression, not knowing where she was going with this. Ron was nearly as puzzled as the child and waited to hear more.

Kim, reading the room, decided to expand upon her words. "A dad—a father doesn't do what he did. He might've created you, but he was nothing a father should be. A father is supposed to love and protect their child, and he willingly let you die just to get back at me. In his eyes, you weren't a son, you were just.." She clenched her fists, feeling livid at the absolute monstrosity of this fiend. "you were some kind of minion—someone who would do whatever he said no matter what, even if it meant putting you in harm's way. No father would do that to their child."

"Yeah, she's got a point kiddo," Ron said, his attention nearly drifting away as he noticed his drink being refilled. "Some people just weren't meant to be dads, Cell especially. Just like how some people just weren't meant to be moms, you could definitely put L in that category." After that, he took a sip of his drink.

"Moms?"

The redhead looked at him curiously. "Uh yeah, like dad but female. A mom takes care of you, loves and protects you just like a dad. Basically, everything Cell isn't, and not just because he isn't female since I'm still not too sure what he is."

After taking in the definition he was given, Junior looked up to Kim with a newfound look. "Are you my mom?"

Ron spat out his drink and began to choke. He pounded at his chest and struggled to breathe while Rufus tried to help him.

Kim's eyes widened as the question echoed loudly in her head. "What—no, no, no, I think you're confused, I'm not your mom."

"Takes care of you," he iterated, pointing at her.

The heroine scratched her head, averted her eyes and laughed awkwardly. "Well, yeah I mean, I do that, but I'm still-"

"Loves and protects you just like a dad."

"Okay, sure but-"

"Everything Cell isn't."

That settled it. Kim let out a long, deflating sigh. "Yes, technically by my definition, I could be," she responded. "But I'm not. Just think of me as your permanent babysitter until you get old enough to support yourself without me."

"So like a mom," Ron said in a strained voice, recovering from his coughing fit, before making a realization. "Oh cool, does that make me his new dad?"

"Not helping," Kim noted, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

"Come on, KP. I think he could use some parents, I mean look at him!"

The heroine reluctantly turned to see an expectant expression on the mini chimera's alabaster face.

"What better than us to be the mom and dad he needs, who by the way, is ten times better than his old one—top shelf!"

"Hate to break it to you, but I'm not changing my mind," she said firmly, closing her eyes for a second and opening them to see an all too familiar expression on Ron's face.

"No, not that, anything but that!" she pleaded, immediately looking away. It was, of course, the infamous puppy dog pout. Avoiding it was her only way to get her way. She turned to face Junior and noticed he imitated Ron out of curiosity and she gave in.

"Fine!" she exclaimed. "Just don't go too crazy with it, we're only helping him feel better, alright?"

"Done and done!" Ron responded, before turning to Junior. "Hear that buddy? You can now refer to the Ron-ster as your new old man!"

While Ron and Junior were celebrating, Kim slumped in her seat. She heard the pilot on the intercom announce they were landing, but the only thing she focused on were her loud thoughts. It wasn't that she minded being his parent, it was the implication she had any sort of relationship with Cell that irked her. If anything, made her feel sick to the stomach. She tried to push the thought away but it only got bigger.

She couldn't feel anything.

Everything felt completely numb.

To lose the ability of movement was nothing short of torture; an unwarranted punishment. She could hardly see a way out of this situation given her circumstances. Global Justice had expanded since she left and the area looked unfamiliar to her, if anything, new. Still, it was better than being locked in her old dorm like before when she was teen.

The first thing she noticed was the size; it was enormous, the ceiling reached so high she almost couldn't see it, and the walls were so far apart it could cover multiple football fields. She couldn't see a reason why this area would be built, then again, her old man did a lot of things she couldn't find reason in.

"Are you awake?"

A gentle, calming voice suddenly hit her ears, which would've made her jump if she hadn't been incapacitated by the containment device. She looked above and her eyes met with the color brown.

"I'm guessing you are by that glare of yours," Betty noted, taking out a folding chair, setting it out in front of her and taking a seat.

Had she the right to glare the only person who treated her with kindness? She didn't like to think about questions like that, her mind instinctively blocked them from her head the second they made existence. Besides, she hadn't noticed she was even glaring in the first place.

It was silent after Dr. Director spoke, it was always like that since L's place of residence switched back to Global Justice. Still, it was better than her out there assassinating people for their life energy. That's what Betty thought at least.

"I've... I've brought you something to eat!" the brunette spoke up, bringing out an apple. "Remember? You liked fruits, these were your favorites."

L brought her cat-like eyes to the red fruit below, a disgusted expression flashing across her face as she looked away.

"...Or not!" Betty continued suddenly, hiding the apple behind her, clenching her fist around the fruit and closing her eye tightly for a moment. "Uh... let's see, maybe there's something else you'd like. I'm open to suggestions!"

The assassin kept averting her eyes, her head facing her left, ignoring Betty completely. The brunette felt her chest tighten momentarily, a sinking feeling in her gut when met with the response, or lack thereof. She hadn't been eating as of late, ever since she'd been contained. The containment device hadn't been removed, no attempt was made to remove it and return it to the government. She was afraid the blonde would make her escape and leave, and something told her she might not find her next time, or in a worse case, she would find her trying to kill again. She already had a clue as to who her next target was.

Dr. Director could only tighten her grip on the apple out of frustration. This situation wasn't fair to her, she felt she had done everything right in her life and couldn't fathom why she was being met with such hatred and fury. She could easily say their bond was closer than that of her own twin brother.

"I'm.. I'm trying my best, Lu-" she stopped herself short, before correcting herself. "L... pardon, L. I'm only trying to fix what happened, can you at least work with me? Please? I-I know what happened has brought you so much pain and sadness but I need you to open up to me so I can help!"

Nothing. No reaction, no movement, she was like a statue. She really appeared as such. In their younger years she envied her sister's beauty, to the point it was more alien than human, but she never allowed the sentiment to blossom or to harm their relationship. They were related, barely, but she was raised with the knowledge that she was as much a sibling as Sheldon was. She could handle losing her brother, but she couldn't handle losing her sister.

Betty let out a frustrated, sharp exhale. "Isn't there anything I can do to make you talk? Please, just say something to me—anything!"

After awhile, the blonde finally returned her eyes to her former sister. "Let me go."

The woman in the chair hesitantly opened her eye, unable to return it to the contained assassin in front of her. "You know I can't do that."

"Why?" L nearly yelled, her face grimacing immediately. The sudden change in her behavior caused the brunette to jump, as well as how intense her voice had become. "Because you're afraid of what I can do? Newsflash, I can't do anything anymore, I'm powerless! You were there when that old bastard took it from me!"

"You can still hurt people," Dr. Director answered in a low voice. "That sight years ago, I can't get it out of my head.. no matter how hard I try, it's always there."

"Right, like Sheldon hasn't done the same either," she spat back. "WEE? Is it? He's running an evil organization by the name of World Evil Empire and yet I'm the one who gets the short end of the stick!"

"It's nothing of the sort! We've just been unable to apprehend him! Situations happen and it's mostly luck that I've got you back."

The excuse only made L angrier, to the point where tears nearly formed. "You can save your excuses, I know what this is about. You can try to hide it all you want, but we both know who you've become—who both of you have turned into. You're just like him, in every aspect possible. I can't distinguish you two as any different from that monster!"

After hearing the accusation, Betty cast her eye above quickly, as well as her head. "Who are you talking about? Are you-are you comparing me to Gemini? To Dad?"

"There's nothing to compare, you're the same person in my eyes," the blonde hissed.

The director abruptly stood up from her chair, sending it backwards and making a loud, unpleasant sound—she winced slightly. An expression of anger splashing across her face. "I am nothing like him! You, out of all people, should know that! I gladly took leadership so I could undo the damage he's dealt to this organization!"

L formed a wry smile at her response, a small laugh leaving her mouth, gradually getting louder and raucous. "So how does it feel, Ms. Director? It feels good, doesn't it?" the assassin quizzed mockingly. "To be at the top, like he always wanted. Daddy's little girl making daddy proud as usual, fulfilling his last wish even after death."

Betty couldn't form a response at that point, the woman in front of her had switched emotions in seconds. She was furious in one second and disdain in the next. She hadn't been able to perform a psychological evaluation on her yet so with what she was given, she figured she was nearing insanity. The brunette was so focused on what was happening she didn't hear the doors she came from opening, as well as the initial steps taken by a newcomer.

"Betty! Are you done with this interrogation of yours?" a female voice inquired in a chirp-like manner.

Dr. Director made a sharp turn backwards, facing Sorgel in front of her. "What are you doing here? How did you get in here? This area is strictly off-limits, I don't even allow most of my own agents in here!"

"As usual, you people at GJ think you have all sorts of jurisdiction," the young scientist noted with an annoyed look. "Just because you're a 'secret organization' doesn't mean you can hide everything from us. I don't need any justification to be here, now, do I?"

Betty nearly scowled, but crossed her arms and stood in a way that made L barely visible to the newcomer. "What do you want?"

"Need," the bespectacled woman corrected, a hand on her hip. "My containment device, remember? Cell is still out and about, thanks to you and your agents' neglect. It'll take me years to make another, that one was already in the process of being made even right after he was contained seven years ago."

"Take some of my people to help, or better yet, I'll get one of the best to help you," the brunette replied, brisk. "He personally aids Kim Possible as part of her team, so you should receive the best results."

Sorgel frowned, unsatisfied. "No thanks, this is my project, and Cell is my specimen. I won't allow outsiders to have information on him and the device. Just hand it over, it's government property, not property of Global Justice."

"...I can't do that right now," Dr. Director replied, almost reluctant.

"What do you mean? Don't tell me you lost it?!" she questioned angrily, taking a few steps forward. "Cell being captured the first time wasn't an accident, you know! If anything, it was purely based on luck! Many men were killed that day trying to get the first device on him! This current device is our only option! Not only do I need it back, but Sims ordered for its return!"

Betty moved back, trying to obstruct Sorgel's view of the assassin, although late when the scientist saw her very own creation. Her eyes had widened momentarily and her jaw dropped. She took an abrupt step back, her mouth closing slightly but her eyes still just as wide.

L and Sorgel made eye contact, although very briefly, it still occurred. She knew that look she was given, if anything, she was incredibly familiar with it despite only having known it once before many years ago.

"You need to leave," Betty interrupted, a glowering expression on her face. "Now."

The young scientist sent the brunette an unfazed look, virtually appearing bored. Later, she smiled slightly, joining her hands together for whatever reason. She stared at Betty with a knowing look. Betty only stared back with her glower remaining on her face, though with a bit of confusion thrown in.

"Actually, you can just hand her over," she suddenly said, pointing at L. "With the containment device, no need to take it off."

Dr. Director shot the woman daggers, seemingly more irate than before. "Human experimentation? Are you kidding me, Sorgel?"

"Honestly Betty, it's a fair trade. I was here for Cell and the little one and was given nothing. Nothing! Can you believe it? I'll admit, I did manage to come to an understanding of how you've given Possible ownership of him but I'm still owed one nonhuman, organic being. This will suffice."

"You think you can just change what it means to be human?" Betty rebutted with a scoff. "Of course you're a scientist."

"Well, obviously not!" Sorgel responded with a laugh. "But as far as I know, the containment device works solely on non-human, organic beings, partial or not."

The brunette suddenly went up to the scientist's face, pushing the woman backwards a few steps before lividly telling her, "Get the hell out."

Sorgel looked at her and saw a look that could kill. She wasn't experienced in fighting, so she wouldn't risk angering the director any further. She backed off, turning halfway to leave.

"I expect the very best, Betty. That containment device is no joke, it needs to be perfect. Absolutely flawless. Anything below that is only begging to be killed by Cell. I'm sure you must be familiar by now."

Dr. Director watched as the scientist sent her one last smile before leaving her and L in silence.

Chapter Text

The crime fighters arrived in their neighborhood, Ron and Junior all giddy while Kim was stuck in her thoughts as they headed towards her house. Ron hung out there a lot anyway, it was like a second house to him. By the time they got to the door, it was swung open by one of her younger brothers.

"Cool, it worked!" Jim shouted to his twin.

"Now we can tell wherever he's gonna be!"

Kim frowned and crossed her arms, a brow raised as she looked down at her brothers. "What are you two going on about?"

"A little something we worked on," Tim replied with a grin, holding a small, circular device with two buttons on the sides, and a big one on the top, there was a grid-like pattern on its screen. "It can track Junior by energy sensing! We figured somebody might wanna kidnap him since he's not human."

The redhead's face softened slightly, uncrossing her arms at the same time. "Wow, that's actually.. kind of sensible. Considering what happened during summer vacation, I know someone who'd wanna snatch him up."

"And speaking of.." Ron whispered at her ear, gesturing to the kitchen and hearing a familiar chirp-like voice inside laughing along with her parents.

The heroine's face fell immediately, as well as her heart when it hit the pit of her stomach. "No. Way." She bolted inside and into the kitchen and found a familiar scientist engaged in a conversation with her parents at the kitchen table, who were also scientists.

Anne Possible cast her eyes behind her and saw her daughter at the entrance of the kitchen. "Oh honey, you're home! Look who came to visit, she works with the General of Area 51, I think you know her, her name is-"

"Sorgel," Kim finished with a glare, her eyes sending daggers toward the scientist.

"Yoo-hoo," Sorgel said with a small wave. "I've just been telling your wonderful parents about my project, since you'll want to be involved, I'm sure."

"Project?" the redhead asked, trying to make sense of this sudden, uninvited visit from the bespectacled scientist. Soon, it began to clear and she could figure out what she was really after. "Is that what you want to call it? Why don't you tell my parents why you're really here?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

Anne and James had a puzzled look when they heard their daughter. They turned to Sorgel for answers, which she seemed to purposely leave out.

"Is there something you're leaving out?" James asked warily.

The young brunette nodded with a somewhat forlorn expression in place. "Yes, I'm afraid. Only a selected few know the details and your daughter is one of them. It's important to limit those who are already involved to secure the safety of those and everyone we care about. I'm sure you understand."

Kim's parents seemed to understand but Kim wasn't buying it. She was about to protest when Sorgel shot her a look. The redhead clamped her mouth shut and seemingly figured out what was going on. She contemplated for a moment and let out a sigh. She didn't like what she was about to do, if anything she hated herself for having to do it.

"Mom, Dad, I think me and her need to talk for a bit, alone," Kim offered to her parents. "It's pretty important mission stuff."

"No problem, Kimmy," Anne said, standing up from her chair at the table and motioning for James to follow. "I've got a neuroscience convention to go to in the morning anyway, I'll finish packing. James, you don't mind helping me, do you?"

Her husband understood and nodded quickly. "Right! Let me help you with that, sweetheart. Good luck, Kimmy-cub!"

The heroine forced a smile and waved as they left. "Yeah, thanks guys!" When they left the room through the other exit, Ron, her brothers, and Junior came in the kitchen. Although secreted slightly by Ron placing him behind his legs.

Sorgel's cheery disposition vanished and an almost bored look replaced it. "Alright, now let's cut to the chase. I need your help," she said.

"Help?" Kim asked with a snort. "Why would I help you? You tried to take Junior as your own little science experiment!"

Sorgel cast her eyes to her side and noticed the little one hiding behind Ron's legs. She almost smirked, but managed to suppress it and move on. "This benefits both sides, Kim. You honestly can't think I'm dumb enough to come here and beg for him, considering how compassionate you are for beings you don't understand."

"I may not understand what he is, but I know enough to say he's my family now, and I don't appreciate people threatening to take them or experiment on them," she responded lividly.

"Yeah, he's our family!" Jim shouted.

"And we're his too, we're his uncles!" Tim finished.

Kim whipped her head around and sent Ron an accusing look.

Ron shrugged with a sheepish look in place. "I thought they'd might wanna know, you know?"

The scientist rolled her eyes. "I'm not here to take him, if that's what you're thinking. There's something in Global Justice I need returned to me."

The redhead turned back to face her and a remembrance came to her. "The containment device."

"Bingo," Sorgel said with a wink. "And while you're at it, don't take it off whatever its bound to, you can take that too."

Kim already knew who it was. It was L, but she didn't know why the brunette referred to the assassin as a thing rather than a person. There was something she was intentionally leaving out, or planning not to tell. Why did she want L?

"Let me guess, you've seen her," Kim said, staring down at the scientist.

Sorgel sighed and nodded. Looks like the heroine was more observant than she anticipated. "Yeah, I've seen that. I won't refer to future, potential test subjects with proper pronouns, otherwise I won't get the funding I need to do what you kids say, my thing. People are sticklers when it comes to morality and humanity and whatnot, that's why they didn't hesitate to give me what I needed to experiment on our good old friend Cell. Since he, you know, committed mass murder. Anger is a beautiful tool, you know, I'm sure this thing has done some pretty vile things for you to be familiar with what I'm talking about."

She scowled at the bespectacled woman. Even more so when she mentioned the bio-android. She just stopped thinking about that monster and here he was again, being shoved into every conversation she had with everyone.

"She's done some pretty bad things, but she's human. Cell isn't-"

"Junior isn't," Sorgel added with a grin. "Logical fallacy, better watch out for those, Ms. Possible. Otherwise you'll never get your points through."

"Junior never killed a great number of people like they did," Kim retorted, then she rose a brow. "Better?"

"I guess, so are you going to help me or not?"

"I still haven't heard a good reason to," Kim replied.

"You mean, your tech genius hasn't bothered to tell you he's on this project with me?" Sorgel asked with a pretense of worry. "Then again, he probably doesn't know a lot about what happened, right? It's not like you bothered to spill anything either."

"Wade's working with Sorgel?" the redhead asked herself incredulously. That couldn't be it, he'd at least mention he could be busy with a project, but with something as big as this?

"Project? What project?" the twins asked in unison.

"Tweebs! You've heard enough, you need to quit buggin' and leave," Kim ordered, extending an arm and pointing in the direction of their rooms.

"Oh, I don't mind explaining it to them," Sorgel noted with a smile. "You see, boys, there's a big, bad monster on the loose and we need all the help we can get to recreate my containment device, and your sister's young tech friend is helping me, but we can speed up that process if my original containment device is returned to me." After saying that last part, she looked to Kim with an evil look.

Kim only stared back in reply. If there was one thing she dreaded to think about, it was the possibility of Cell's survival. It was impossible, it had to be. Sorgel had to be lying in order to scare her into doing what she wanted. It was like Ron said before, it was five against one! If he truly survived, it meant Goku and the others were—they were gone. They could be next and he would strike without them knowing.

Ron let out of a scoff and crossed his arms. "Hate to break to you, Sorgel, but that jerk is long gone! You're too late."

The scientist turned to him, unfazed and smirking. "And you truly believe that? Can you put your entire faith on this 'fact'?"

The freckled teen scowled. "We haven't seen that ugly face of his since the last time we saw him, so yeah, I can! So, there!" Rufus climbed onto his shoulder and blew a raspberry at her.

Sorgel nearly smirked, but again, tried to suppress her excitement. Although it was hidden, Kim could see the look on her face. There was no way. There had to be no way, because that meant the Earth truly was in danger. Without the containment device, they were doomed! Forget L, he could actually do some real damage to the planet and its inhabitants.

The bespectacled brunette bent down from her chair, leaning forward to reach into her bag. She dug through it for a moment until she found a certain device that appeared remarkably similar to the twins' device for Junior. She took it out and showed it off to the people in the room.

"Hey, that looks like ours!" Jim exclaimed, his brother taking a gander at the other device with widened eyes.

"Then you should know what it does, and who its intended for," Sorgel told him in a chirp-like manner, then she turned to Kim. "You know too, right? So watch and see as the truth is revealed."

Sorgel turned on the device by pressing the button on top, causing the screen to flash and turn on. It revealed a similar grid-like pattern to that of the twins' device. She pressed one of the buttons on the side to zoom out until she found what she was looking for. Then she turned the device around to show the others.

"Do you see that?" she asked softly, almost breathing with her mouth as she pointed at the blinking dot on her screen, a glowing dot that appeared far bigger than the one on the twins' locator device.

"No," Kim breathed, backing away until she hit the wall and denying what she was looking at—denying what she was even suspecting. Rejecting the idea of his existence, or that it even continued to live on.

Junior left from behind Ron's legs and rushed to Kim, running into her own legs and hugging them tightly. She could feel the embrace but unfortunately it did little to comfort her from the fact this was actually happening.

"Oh, yes!" the young scientist said aloud, her eyes beaming. "That's Cell. Oh, my wonderful specimen, you've frightened me the other day, his light was fading so quickly which meant he was dying but it's back and better than before! Oh and look!" She repeatedly and rapidly prodded at the screen, her excitement getting the better of her. "The coordinates! They're the same as the ones you gave me before when we went to find him!"

The redhead couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was utterly incredulous as she tried to find sense of this madness. He was alive, but he returned to the clearing from before? Why? He wasn't one to hold sentimental value of things or places, he made that clear when he allowed his own son to die. Did he kill Goku and the others then? Does that mean they failed?

"Th-that thing's broken!" Ron shouted with a stammer, bursting forward and snatching it out of her hands. "Or it's fake! Why didn't you have this when we went to look for Cell? Explain that!"

Sorgel snatched it back, saying, "Because I just recently finished creating it. When it comes to someone like him, it's extremely difficult to find his location, let alone create something to pinpoint it. He can suppress his energy all he wants but I know him, I studied him for seven long years—just enough to make this device to find his location even when he's taking all precautions. As for the fake part, I already tested it out, needless to say, he's very displeased."

Kim was snapped from her stunned state when she heard what the scientist said. The brunette was quick with addressing what she said before anyone, especially the redhead, spoke.

"I won't elaborate any further than that," Sorgel suddenly interrupted. "But now that I've got your attention, Kim, will you help me?"

It went silent—everyone's eyes were on Kim now, it was as if she had the final say. She was staring at Sorgel with quite the intense look too. The contemplation took awhile although the answer was already obvious. If what the woman was saying is true, then she had to go through with this. She hadn't an option at this point, if the Z warriors weren't capable anymore, she would have to take their place. She was a hero after all, she had to.

"Fine, I'll do it, but Dr. Director isn't going to like this," Kim warned her.

Ron shook his head, approaching his girlfriend with doubts. "KP, you can't be serious! She won't let you get away with it, she literally faced Cell to protect L, even though she killed a whole bunch of people!"

"She'll understand when I tell her what's going on," the redhead replied, before thinking for a moment and adding something else. "If it ever comes to that—which it won't. L's a bad guy, Dr. Director will have to understand it's for the greater good, I mean, she has to. Do I wanna deal with L or Cell? No. But this way we can keep them from doing anymore harm."

Ron still looked at her skeptically. "I mean, are you sure?"

"Yeah, way sure, I just want to get all of this out of the way so I can finally have a normal life," she responded sternly. "Well, at least what's considered normal."

"Splendid!" Sorgel suddenly spoke, clapping her hands together. She stood up from her chair and put her locator device back in her bag and picked it up. "Then it's a deal. You fetch me my containment device and my new specimen, I finish making another quickly, and Cell will be contained once more. Although that last part's optional, I can go by myself to get him."

While she started to leave, Kim stepped in the way. "How exactly did you get here? I didn't see any government vehicles around when I got home."

Sorgel stared at her for a second. "I have my ways. If I want something, I'll get it one way or another." She cast her hazel orbs below and send Junior a warm smile, although he only found it perturbing and hid himself further behind his adoptive mother.

The scientist eventually left and all was left were the twins, Ron, Kim and Junior.

"KP..."

"What?" Kim asked defensively. "I don't want to know what would happen if I said no, you saw the way she looked at him. She still wants to go all sciency on him despite what she told us."

"I know, I don't want him to get hurt too, but Dr. Director really cares about L, like really, really," he said, which caused the redhead to frown. "Look—I'm not defending her, but she's still got a place in her heart, know what I mean?"

"Well newsflash, Ron! She's a killer," Kim stated quite angrily. "She tried to kill me and you, and she actually did kill Junior, so I'd rather she'd be at Sorgel's hands than him. I don't care what kind of relationship she had with Dr. Director, but she's not that person anymore, and I'm pretty sure you don't try to kill people you care about. So think of it as me doing her a favor."

The freckled teen understood from her point of view, but he wanted her to see from his own. He had been with Betty with she spoke of L, it was like she lost a part of her soul. An inseparable duo who were partner-in-crime? Who else did that remind him of other than him and his girlfriend? If he had lost Kim like that, he would never give up on her, so he felt he could relate with Dr. Director. For now, he'd just agree with her, he had a little something else planned in mind.

"..Okay, you have a point, so just do your thing, and I'll be the helpful sidekick," he said.

Kim smiled. "Partner," she corrected, yanking him forward with her arm and bringing him close. "I think it's about time we officially drop the hero and her sidekick act." Then she gave him a small peck on the cheek.

"Boo-yah," he whispered, touching the place she kissed, but felt a twinge of guilt over the lie he told her. Which meant he had to do things quick, just so this whole thing gets solved before the situation takes a sudden turn for the worse.

Kim was in the other room speaking to Wade about the mission to sneak in Global Justice, which gave Ron just enough time to speak to Junior about what he had in mind.

Junior was just about to follow Kim when the freckled teen tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey little dude, I need you to do me a quick favor, can you do that?"

The mini chimera looked up with a grin and nodded. Kim really trusted Ron, so he held the same trust as well. If he needed help, he'd be happy to aid him however he could.

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked hopefully.

The child cocked his head to the side slightly. "Secret? What is.. secret?"

"Oh, well something you don't tell anyone, and I really mean anyone," Ron answered firmly, then he formed a slight pained expression. "Especially Kim."

Junior sent him a skeptical look when he heard that last part. The blonde already predicted this happening. If there was anyone he would blindly follow and trust whatever they would say other than Cell, it'd be Kim. Of course he believed he trusted him too, he just trusted Kim far more.

"Look, it's just a quick trip, Kim doesn't need to know," he said quickly. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her, and it-it's just a quick visit to Sensei, you remember him, don't you?"

The mini bio-android nodded again. The old man from before, at the secret ninja school who helped them with their situation. The very same who helped Ron achieve his true Mystical Monkey powers, although only briefly.

"Okay, goody, because it's happening now, and I'll need your help getting there," he added. "So while Kim's busy, I need you to take me to Yamanouchi. It'll be quick, we'll be there in and out, just like that! So what do you say, kiddo?"

The mini bio-android didn't know how to answer. He didn't want to keep secrets from Kim, but this trip seemed important to Ron. Although scarcely, he could see the desperate look on his face—in his eyes. This trip seemed more important than he was letting on. Without wasting time, he finally nodded, although regretfully. It seemed like keeping his first secret was going to be harder than he thought.

"Alright! Now give me just a sec—" Ron immediately went into the same room Kim was in.

"Are you sure about this, Kim?" Wade asked cautiously. "I've actually looked into it earlier and Dr. Director's got her on high security. No one goes in and comes out without her accompanying them. The only instance this hasn't happened is when.." He leaned into his computer and his eyes widened somewhat.

"Let me guess," Kim started with a sigh. "Sorgel."

"Yeah, she managed to get in, but that only increased the security into what it is now," he said finally. "Without Dr. Director, you aren't getting in there."

"Well, good thing I have you!" the heroine replied with a grin. "Think you could find a way in?"

The young tech nodded and cracked his knuckles. "On it, give me about five minutes, ten tops," he told her, his fingers already flying across his keyboard.

"KP, hey!" Ron called out. "Uh, I gotta hit the bathroom, mind waiting up?" he asked hopefully, staring nervously at his girlfriend who turned back with a raised brow.

"Um, sure, but you got ten minutes tops. After that we'll be leaving asap so better make it quick," she replied, affirming the last part.

"Right, got it, you know me, it'll be quick!" he replied with an awkward laugh, attempting to sound like his casual self. "No problem, doing it pronto!"

The redhead just looked at him funny. "Okay? Well, tick tock," she finally said, tapping her watch.

Ron backed away while still maintaining eye contact and hit the side of the doorway by accident. Then he moved to the side to enter properly before booking it toward the "bathroom".

"That was weird," Kim mused, loud enough to catch Wade's attention. "Think my weirdar's going off."

"What was weird?"

"Ron, he was acting funny, but I guess I kind of forced him agree with me on this mission—but I know I'm right."

"Well, you do tend to be a control freak," the tech genius replied with a small laugh.

The heroine shot him a look that only made the boy laugh more.

Ron threw his eyes everywhere until he found Junior below. "Alright little dude, time to do your thing! You don't happen to know how to teleport, do you?"

The mini chimera thought for a brief moment until a certain technique popped into mind. He brought two fingers, his index and his middle, to his forehead, then he searched for Sensei's energy so he could lock on it. After he was finished he looked up at Ron and held a hand up toward him.

"Alright, let's do this!" The freckled teen grabbed his hand and in an instant they were gone. Although Kim hadn't seen them, they left two witnesses behind.

"No," Jim started.

"Way," Tim finished.

Ron and Junior suddenly appeared before Sensei inside one of the secret ninja school's buildings—what was left of it anyway. It seemed their confrontation with L left a lot of damages to the school, comparable to the damage Ron had initially done in the past by accident when he attended Yamaouchi for a brief time.

"I was expecting you two," Sensei spoke, startling the two and making them jump.

"Really?" the teen asked incredulously, before doing a double take and sighing. "Actually, never mind, I should've expected this by now."

"Tell me, my student, what is troubling you?" the old man asked. "Something tells me you aren't here just to visit."

A worried look enveloped his freckled face. "You're right, it's—it's about Kim. Look, I don't have a lot of time, but I need your help—your advice. This mission Kim's about to go on.."

"Are you worried what might happen?" Sensei inquired.

Forlornly, Ron nodded. "Yeah, ever since school started, Kim's changed," he continued. "I mean, not that I'm judging, of course after what she went through it's understandable, but I think it's a bad kind of change. I'm worried this mission might really make that change permanent, you know? I don't—I don't know what to do."

"And this mission of hers?"

The blonde gulped. "Sneak in Global Justice and steal L away to hand her over to this scientist named Sorgel. And to be clear, there's nothing good about that lady."

"And you don't want her to go through with this," Sensei stated.

Ron shook his head. "No, even though L's a crazy killer or whatever, she used to be someone good, right?" He looked up at Sensei as he asked that.

The headmaster sighed. "Yes, and if we're being honest here, she was much like you."

Ron's eyes widened. "Seriously?!"

"Yes, she had so much hidden potential. Although she was not a holder of the Mystical Monkey Power, back then she had a hidden power of her own that could rival that of yours now. Also, she managed to destroy a few buildings during her stay here."

The freckled teen took a brisk step forward. "He-hey, I said it was an accident!"

The old man laughed softly. "Yes, she said that too. If I were to give you an example of the person she used to be, it would be you, Stoppable-san."

That really gave him a perspective on the situation now. Sensei himself said that L used to be just like him. Before deciding to kill people as a living, she had a best friend who she had done everything with, her partner-in-crime, her everything! If Betty and L could end up like that, it meant there could be potential for him and Kim as well.

"So I have to stop Kim," he finally said, watching as the old man nodded in front of him. "That won't be easy. Especially since L kind of.. you know—" He cast his eyes below and laid them upon Junior who only frowned at the topic of this discussion. He really did not like L, if anything he despised her, enough to act like his dastardly father if he ever faced her again.

"I'm not asking you to forgive her for what she's done, Stoppable-san, but to give her another chance at life," he answered. "She is but many who became evil, not born with it. I hope you understand."

Ron sighed. "Yeah, I understand. Thanks for the advice Sensei, but we gotta go now. Kim's probably going to start looking for me."

The old man nodded. "Until we meet again."

Ron waved and Junior waved goodbye while he searched for an energy to pinpoint back to the Possible house. Using his free hand, he placed two fingers on his head and he and Ron vanished from Sensei's sight.

Kim finished up with Wade on how to enter L's containment area stealthily, meanwhile Ron and Junior appeared out of thin air in the next room just as she was about to enter.

"Hey guys, Wade found a way to get us in, so time to jet!" she said, spooking the two as they quickly turned around. She eyed them confusedly. "What?"

"No-nothing! Just scared us, is all," Ron replied with a nervous laugh, then he eyed his wrist as if there were a watch on it. "Wow, would you look at the time, getting pretty late! You know we finished up late after foiling Dementor, so how's about we push this off til later, huh?"

The redhead shook her head vehemently. "No way! If there's a way to keep Sorgel's dirty clutches away from Junior, I'm taking it! L will just be the scapegoat."

Her determination dampened his own to stop this mission from happening. "...Sure, but I think a little break in between missions would do us some good, you think?"

The displeasure was apparent on Kim's face when she heard him. It was expected, she cared a lot for Junior, he did too, but he had to stop her. The new containment device could still be created, just at a slower pace, his girlfriend tended to be impatient. He hadn't a clue on what to do at this point, he could only continue to try persuading her to think otherwise, or at least find sense in what he was saying, albeit not really. It wasn't like she thought he was making sense right now anyway.

"Look, I can go myself if you're too tired," she replied firmly, borderline stern. "I won't put this off later, so rest up and I'll be back in a jiff."

"No!" Ron shouted quickly, grabbing her arm as soon as she started leaving. She eyed him curiously, although warily. "Uh.. I don't think we should go."

Kim yanked her arm back and crossed her arms over her chest. She rose a brow at him and sent him a look. "And why not?"

"Well, I just think that L's better off with Dr. Director, maybe after awhile she'll not wanna be homicidal anymore, huh?"

The heroine's eyes narrowed, she felt a sudden, yet small throb from her head. She didn't expect it, or want to accept it, but she was growing weary of arguing—she was just trying to protect her Junior! Her family. Even if it were at the expense at the assassin.

"Not a debate anymore," she stated. "If you don't want to go, then don't. I, for one, want to keep Junior safe. Also, even if what she said is remotely true, I'm not risking Cell being free any longer, so that's that. So what'll it be?"

While she stood in front of him with that unwavering, determined look, Ron could only give her one answer.

Chapter Text

Ron's answer was simple.

As he, Kim, and Junior shuffled through the air vents of Global Justice, he couldn't help but contemplate and regret his decision earlier.

"I'm with you, KP," he said then.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" he berated himself silently, although Junior managed to catch sight and a worried expression came about.

"I think we're getting close," Kim said silently, yet audibly enough for the two to hear. "There should be at least one air vent leading to where L's kept, we should be able to make our entrance there."

"So what's the plan? We grab her and shove her through the vents with us?" Ron asked, hints of skepticism sprinkled in his voice and Rufus on his shoulder with a skeptical expression. "Not gonna lie to you, Kim, but maybe we should bail."

"Ron, we're already too far in to bail, and.. uh, I'll find a way when we get there."

"Wait, so we don't have a plan yet?! We just broke in here?!"

The redhead shushed him quickly. "There is a plan! It's in the works, so no jumping to conclusions."

As much as the freckled teen didn't like it, he knew a solution to their predicament. Junior can teleport—but he wasn't sure if he told Kim about it. If anything, she probably forgot for the moment and might remember any second. He only sighed and continued to follow his girlfriend through the vents.

"Here we are," she said as she took out a lipstick.

"Is now really a good time for—" He stopped short when he recognized the device. How could he not? It was the very same that released him and Kim from the ropes they were tied up with during Junior Prom.

"Before you ask, yeah, it's the one," the heroine replied with a grin. She pointed it toward the the sides of the air vent and a laser fired, hitting all four sides of it and removing the vent opening and putting it aside, allowing them enough space to exit the ventilation system.

"Wade said he disabled the security system temporarily, so we'll have to make this quick," she said hastily, taking out the hook from her blow dryer and hooking it to the opening of the vent. Afterward, she slid down the thin line that came from her grappling hook.

Ron slid after, although not paying heed to what his girlfriend was saying. "Hear me out, KP. You ever come to think Sorgel might be playing us? I mean, let's be serious here, that jerk was against all five of those guys! And they were just like him!"

"Ron, focus, we have to be quick," Kim berated quickly. "Knowing Dr. Director, she'll most likely be having L under 24 hour surveillance. She'll be the first to notice something's off if we're not out of here in the next minute."

Junior flew down along with them as they slid down her wire. Once Ron planted his feet on the ground after Kim, the grappling hook's wire came zipping back into the device. The redhead gazed around her vicinity in a brisk manner to locate the assassin, although to her dismay, was unable to find her. The room was rather large after all, the ceiling was so high and the overall size of the room nearly left her surprised, but it would take a lot more than that to surprise someone like her.

Kim immediately turned on her Kimmunicator and patched through to her tech genius in an instant. "Uh, Wade, I don't see her or the containment device," she stated, her voice indicating immediate answers.

"She should be there, otherwise she must've been relocated while you guys started to infiltrate Global Justice," he answered, focusing intensely on his computer. "I'll try to find out what happened."

"Please and thanks," the redhead replied in a disappointed voice.

"Alright, now that we've gotten that out of the way, maybe we should leave," Ron suggested, turning to the mini chimera for aid. "Right, buddy? Good ol' L—I mean, evil ol'.. wh-whatever, all we know is that she's not here! So, let's jet!"

Junior nodded along with him. Their target wasn't there, so that meant they had to leave. Right? That was logical, at least. Although the expression on Kim's face didn't leave him feeling so well.

"No! She has to be here somewhere, we just have to keep looking!" she protested, taking a few steps forward to get a better view of the area before hearing a loud blaring sound and seeing flashing lights.

Junior leaped toward her, grabbing Ron as he did and standing in front of them protectively. The lights and the sounds ceased as a door out of nowhere flashed open and out came dashing the one and only Dr. Betty Director.

Her face exuded panic and fury. While trying to keep her eye on the crime fighters, she cast it everywhere rapidly, trying to find her long lost sister simultaneously. After failing to do so, she sent the teens an accusing glare.

"Where is she?" Betty asked angrily.

Kim was surprised by her entrance but instead looked at her with a confused expression. "What do you mean? Didn't you relocate her?"

"So she's not here?!" Ron asked incredulously, although with relief at the same time.

"I wouldn't have picked this area if I planned on relocating her in the future," she stated with quite the irate expression still in place. "I believe I'm the one who's owed answers. What are you two doing here?"

Before the heroine could open her mouth, Betty continued again abruptly, interrupting the girl before she could even answer.

"Never mind that, now that you're here you're going to help me find L," she said in a demanding manner. "No objections, you're going to whether you like it or not."

"I don't know, sounds like a GJ kind of thing to me. You know, me and KP, we finished a mission pretty late today, better us kids get to bed, huh?" he asked nervously, grabbing Kim by her shoulders and trying to pull her away from the brunette.

Dr. Director nodded. "I see, or maybe I will apprehend you for infiltrating Global Justice Headquarters without an invitation. Doesn't that sound better?" she asked, raising a brow.

Ron gulped while Kim rolled her eyes and peeled her boyfriend's hands off her shoulders. "We'll help. Know anybody else who has it out for L?"

Betty crossed her arms and paced for a bit. "Far too many, no doubt. She was an assassin in most of her 'deceased years'. In any case, the only person who would possibly have an idea where she would be—" she stopped short with a widened eye. "No. No way, that can't be possible. Then again, he used one of those stupid fly on the wall cams to find out about the Ron Factor."

"Wait, Gemini? Your evil twin brother?" the redhead asked incredulously.

"Fraternal?" Ron asked curiously, causing his girlfriend to look his way with almost the astonished look. "Hey, I did my studying!"

"Right, looks like he finally upgraded from those fly on the wall cams because I haven't seen any, especially not in here," Dr. Director continued, still pacing around in a pensive manner.

Kim rose a brow. "Thought you and your guys apprehended him?"

"Yes and no," she quickly replied. "He got out shortly after we had him. I don't even know where his next secret base for WEE is at, it makes me wish he hadn't upgraded his spying technology."

"You think he switched bugs?" Ron asked, scanning the area curiously. "Might be a spider for all we know." Rufus popped his head out of Ron's pocket and searched the area as well.

"Regardless, we'll find a way," Betty continued, letting out a frustrated exhale. "God, to think Sheldon would kidnap our only other sibling, and just because I had her first!"

"Well, he's evil, and L's evil, maybe they'll get along fine?" the freckled teen asked hopefully, causing the brunette in front of him to send him a glare.

"As bad as you think my relationship with L is, Sheldon's with her is far worse. At least I treated her like a sibling, he never thought of her as family. He's only doing this out of spite!"

"I'll have Wade find out if there's any sort of signal bouncing off from this area," Kim finally said, bringing out her Kimmunicator again and seeing the tech genius on there with a wide grin. "Let me guess—"

"I got it," he responded. "While you guys were talking, I was trying to figure out why L wasn't here. So what you said about the fly on the wall cam gave me an idea, so I searched for any other cams in the area sending some kind of signal, and look what I found." Wade's screen shrunk to the bottom left corner and on the bigger portion of the Kimmunicator's screen revealed the specs of a spider on the ceiling cam.

As if on cue, what looked like a spider appeared before them, sliding down from its artificial line of silk. Junior flew up to catch up, interested in its design.

"To think he actually changed his thought process," Betty remarked, rolling her one eye after looking at the device.

"Found a location yet?" Kim asked.

"Yep, signal was still pretty strong so I got it quick," Wade replied, typing away at his computer and revealing coordinates to WEE's next secret base.

"Thanks, Wade! You're the best!"

"Just doing my thing," he said with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

Betty grabbed the device from Junior's hands. "In any case, now that we've got a location, no need for this." With one simple motion, she crushed it with her own strength, obviously furious with the current situation. The mini chimera sweat dropped at the sight, watching as the destroyed remains fell to the floor peacefully.

She couldn't quite figure out what happened, but all she could recall was being bagged and dumped in a moving vehicle. A flying one, no doubt, she was all too familiar with being kidnapped that she knew what to expect. As of now, she was somewhere dark. She liked to say she was able to see in the dark, as if she had night vision, but the place she was in was pitch black. It wasn't until a spotlight hit her face that she could see. Her eyes squinted, obviously trying to recover from the intense light that hit them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Little lamb lost her way?" a voice questioned disdainfully.

Although it'd been long, she recognized the voice in a heartbeat. A voice she was all too familiar with back in her younger years. She never turned in the direction of where it originated, but she did end up replying.

"Sheldon," she stated.

Sheldon growled. "Gemini," he corrected with a clench of his jaw. "I bet you must be wondering why you're here."

"No, not really."

The man tried not to get angry, but decided to continue with what he had to say. "Well, if you must know, I'm here to finish what Betty failed to. For once, I actually thought she had done something right by killing you, yet she couldn't even do that. Of course, as the inferior sibling, failure was expected. While I, the superior one, will get revenge for our father!"

Gemini leaped into the light, revealing himself. With that, the entire area lit up, showing the new secret base for World Evil Empire. L observed around her vicinity, unimpressed.

"Impressed, little sister?" he asked, providing emphasis on the last term. She knew what he meant by that. She was never a part of that family, that she could see.

"Am I supposed to be?" she asked with a scoff. "Betty did it better."

The leader of WEE stomped forward, a weapon to her head. It was some kind of gun, but she wasn't entirely fazed by it. She was too familiar with being near death that not even this could scare her. In all honestly, Cell did far better in invoking fear.

"Do you regret it?"

L was a bit thrown off by that question. She rose a brow.

This time, the weapon touched her forehead, moving her head backward a bit as he applied pressure. "Do you regret what you've done?" he repeated, this time, with more fury.

At that point, she finally perceived what he was referring to. It didn't seem he had the strength to say it, as if to confirm it actually happened. She could see it in his eye, a glistening from rage, sadness, whatever it may be.

"Yes," she answered, causing him to falter for a second—until she continued. "I regret killing that bastard as fast as I did instead of making him suffer. How unfortunate, while you were so busy trying to prove your superiority to Betty you didn't even notice him dying next door."

"YOU—" Sheldon yelled, gripping his weapon so tightly and wanting so much as to pistol whip her as hard as he could. "You ruined our family, you are the bane of our existence! You separated us, you tricked Betty into pitying you and look where that got us."

L simply rolled her eyes, trying not to lose her composure by laughing. "What? So it's my fault Betty liked me more than you? Is that why you put on that stupid eye patch? To relate to her? You're so pathetic I never bothered to take you out all these years."

"Don't forget," Sheldon growled, taking a step near her, his eye looking down on her. He uttered her first name, causing her to flinch. "You are nothing. You will always be nothing, just some stupid runt our father took pity on. You will never be anything more than a freak." With that, he gestured to her eyes and walked off.

She didn't want to admit it, but for the first time since Cell, she felt fear. The second he spoke her name, he became their father. Sheldon grew to take after him, both appearance and personality-wise. It was an irrational fear she couldn't shake, even after abandoning her own name. There was no logical reason for her to feel anything related to fear now that he was dead—the very source of her existence.

It wasn't long now, she only waited for Betty to come breaking in WEE's new secret base. She would appear, confront Sheldon, get into some meaningless, immature argument over who was better, what they've done, and then it'd be all over. Maybe they'd land some hits on each other, but in the end their brother would lose. Betty happened to be more talented than him, something he inwardly knew but never grew to admit, even after all these years.

She could hear crashing in the distance. In her vicinity, she saw multiple agents of WEE running about to their stations, trying to figure out what was going on. One of them noticed something odd on their screen and noticed the spider-on-the-ceiling cam had been destroyed.

"Sir, the spider-on-the-ceiling cam has been destroyed."

"Looks like my little sister finally caught on," Gemini said, standing up. He already took notice of the destruction that sounded elsewhere and prepared for Betty's entrance. "First, to leave her a little present for when she arrives." He held up his hand, his weapon already aimed at L. With a smile, he pulled the trigger, although his hand had been hit quite hard with something unknown. The gun flew out of his hand and onto the floor.

"What's the meaning of this, Gemini?" Dr. Director demanded angrily, stepping in from the shadows, a grappling hook in her hand. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like, Betty?" he asked disdainfully. "Retribution! After what she's done to our father, you decide to harbor her in Global Justice?! Even after what she's done to our friends and family all those years ago? They're all gone because of her!"

His dog, Pepe, inside his carrier began barking raucously angrily. Just as Sheldon had, he held a great hatred for the peace-keeping organization. Hearing the name only excited him into fury.

"I don't expect you to understand, in fact, I never did," Betty answered with a glare. "You, out of all people, should know Dad was a wretched man obsessed with revenge, don't take after him! It's not worth it! He was my father too, you know!"

"Silence!" he shouted, using his gauntlet on his hand to aim at L. "This ends now!"

Before he could fire a missile, the gauntlet slipped right off his hand. Junior held it in his hands and crushed it effortlessly. Sheldon only stared, flabbergasted at what had just occurred.

L stared incredulously at the mini chimera floating in front of Gemini. He was supposed to be dead! She thought she imagined his appearance back at Yamanouchi after she'd been contained, but he was really here! She hadn't the time to fathom it, because what came next shook her to her very core.

Kim had appeared, knocking out a few of Gemini's henchmen and glancing toward the assassin. The blonde could only stare with pure rage. Although immobile, she was shaking out of unadulterated fury. It almost spooked the girl a bit, to feel a visage so hateful and bloodthirsty. She literally had looks that could kill!

"Why you little..!" Gemini attempted to throw a punch but the mini bio-android caught it with ease, unrelenting with an iron grip. The leader of WEE couldn't release himself. The grip was so powerful, it caused him to fall onto his knees.

Dr. Director marched toward him, taking out a few of his henchmen while she was at it. She was just too angry to let them get in her way. She approached her brother, who had grimaced and struggled from Junior's hold. He threw his twin a glare.

"This.. this isn't over," he strained, trying to free himself. "Someday, she will pay for what she's done."

Junior couldn't help but agree.. she'd hurt too many people. He stared with understanding, but Gemini's energy was far too hateful and evil for his words to have true meaning. Unlike Kim, whose energy was quite the opposite and had given him comfort, although recently it had taken a sudden shift to something undesirable.

Some of Global Justice's agents came rushing in and arresting everyone, Gemini included. Her twin was taken away while she prepared to return L to headquarters. When she approached her, the woman didn't bother to look at her, or even thank her for taking her out of Sheldon's clutches. In fact, she was staring quite intensely at Kim, an unbridled loathing building and building as she continued. The heroine only looked away, uncomfortable.

"So, that's that, guess it's time for us to go home!" Ron shouted, Rufus in his cargo pants nodding repeatedly in agreement.

"Not so fast, we'll have to figure out a way to get L away from Dr. Director," Kim replied in a low voice, pensive. She was deep into thought, trying to figure out a way to separate the two efficiently and quickly.

"KP, didn't you hear that conversation Gemini had with her?"

"You mean, the part where L openly admitted to killing their father?" the heroine returned, crossing her arms and sending him an unconvinced look.

"Not to speak out of turn, but he didn't sound like a good father to me."

Kim shook her head. After hearing what Dr. Director said about him, he had a point, but she didn't want to admit that. Soon she could feel a pressure in her chest, a feeling she knew all too well in the past: guilt. Why? L literally tried to kill her repeatedly, she even killed Junior, so all the more reason to hand her over to Sorgel and feel far from guilty, if anything, satisfied. It wasn't until that point she realized she was doing all this work for one sole reason.

It wasn't out of a feeling of protection, it was out of fear.

"Maybe I'm just too paranoid," she thought to herself, going over her recent, previous days where she was constantly worried and anxious over Cell's survival. The fact it took a huge part of her daily life now. It was starting to take a toll, because she actually drove herself to putting her well-being over someone else's. She had somehow convinced herself it was completely fine to subject another human being to abject torture. She didn't want to know what Sorgel had in mind for L.

"...Okay," she finally said.

"Okay?" Ron returned, confused.

"Okay, as in, you're right," she responded with a sigh. "I don't want to put my life over someone else's. I guess we could give her another chance."

"But what about that Cell stuff Sorgel was spouting?"

"I think.. we can deal with it, if it was even true," Kim replied reluctantly. "We've managed him before, even without Trunks and the others' help. I think we can deal with him ourselves somehow."

Ron's eyes lit up. "Really?"

The redhead smiled. "Yeah, really." Junior popped in between them with a grin. She gestured to all of them: herself, Ron, Rufus, and especially Junior. "We're Team Possible, nothing's impossible!"

Betty overheard the commotion but did nothing to heed it. She only looked sympathetically at her sister.

"Time to go home."

Sorgel was tweaking one of her newest devices when she received a call. She heard beeping and answered it right away without looking, she was focused on the current action she hadn't realized it was the redhead on the monitor.

"Sorgel?"

The scientist nearly hit her head on the contrivance and jumped. She whipped her head toward the direction of the voice and saw Kim, an expectant expression coming about.

"Did you complete the mission?" she immediately asked, hopeful.

Kim had a firm look in place. "No, I don't plan to. Sorry to disappoint, but it looks like human experimentation isn't okay in my book."

The bespectacled woman stood abruptly, marching toward her monitor. "What? Have you lost reason? This could be beneficial towards us; humanity! The little amount we got from Cell was still enough to be of any use, don't you think this would also help?"

The heroine frowned. "The ends don't justify the means. I just called to tell you, you know, common courtesy. So, bye! Also, don't visit my house. Ever. Might have to get a restraining order to keep you away from Junior, just to be safe." With that, Kim signed off before Sorgel could get anything else out.

She didn't attempt to call back, she only clenched her fists. Always getting close and never getting what she deserved. First Cell, and now this potential specimen. She tried to find solace in what her findings were, but it just wasn't enough—at least, not without another potential specimen.

No, it was far too early for that, but.. the redhead did give her an idea.

As Kim ended the call, she looked back to Dr. Director and her team.

"Never thought Sorgel would go as far to hire you to kidnap L," she remarked.

"Better believe it, she's certainly.. something," she replied with hesitance. "I'm just glad I didn't go through with it. No human deserves that kind of punishment, no matter what they did. That's just straight up torture."

"Oh, and you know what she does in her 'experimenting'?" Betty asked curiously.

The redhead thought back to when the bio-android trapped her in the clearing purely out of the resentment, embarrassment, and rage over what had happened to him. She didn't know exactly what he'd gone through, but she was on the rear end of it, so all she knew it wasn't pretty.

"Let's just say it affects more than just one person," Kim said.

"Well, two missions in one day really takes it out of a dude, and our little guy here," Ron noted, stretching his arms and wrapping one around his girlfriend, sending his eyes toward the mini chimera in front of him. "So how's it about we finally head home?"

"Alright, alright," she replied, rolling her eyes and leaning out from his arm. "I do have one question though."

"Question?" Betty asked.

"Yeah, I don't mean to pry, but you don't happen to know why Sorgel wanted L so much, right? I always got the feeling she was hiding something when she came to talk to me about the mission."

Dr. Director had a sudden remembrance of what Sorgel told her the other day. The things she has said about the containment device and how it worked.

But as far as I know, the containment device works solely on non-human, organic beings, partial or not.

She thought to herself for a moment, deciding whether or not to reveal this information to Kim. She felt it would be easier for them all if L remained "human" in their minds. Telling them this would only complicate things further, she didn't want them questioning her heritage and origins. The less human she seemed, the more easier it could be for them to hate her and want to be rid of her—even more so than previously.

"Just as clueless as you are," she lied quickly, almost inaudible. "Just your typical scientist I suppose. Experimenting, even at the expense of our fellow humans."

"Right, she wouldn't even refer to L as a human being last I checked," Kim replied, remembering the little snippets Sorgel had spoken where she refused to use her pronouns.

"Just what you'd expect," Betty responded with a sigh. "If that's all you have to ask of me, I can arrange a ride for you all home."

"And L?" Ron asked curiously.

"Back to Global Justice of course, there's no other place I'd rather she'd be," she answered the teen. "I'll be sure to heighten the security to the very extent of my abilities. I'll dismiss what happened today, should it happen again, I won't hold back."

"No worries, I'm sure you'll get through to her," Kim said with a small grin. "I don't know what happened back then but if anyone's going to help her, it's you."

Dr. Director nodded. "Right, thanks Kim. I'll try my best to restore our relationship."

A familiar beep emitted from Kim's pocket and she immediately took out her Kimmunicator. "Hold off on that ride a bit, I'll be back in a sec."

The redhead walked off as she answered her device, Junior instinctively following her, meanwhile Ron's eyes darted to Betty, a curiosity he held back when his girlfriend was around just to let it out now.

"So, do you know anything about what happened at Yamanouchi?" Ron asked.

Dr. Director looked back at him. "The school in the mountains?"

"Yeah! You knew Sensei, didn't you?" he asked, raising a brow.

The brunette averted her one eye, crossing her arms. "Not close, per say, but I am familiar."

"So you know what happened all those years ago?"

Betty started to become a bit reticent on the matter. "Not fully.. but enough. That day is a day I want to forget, I won't share any details."

"Aw, come on! Not even a little bit?" the freckled teen asked, pinching his two fingers to emphasize his point.

"You already perceive her in a bad light, I would like to refrain myself from tarnishing it any further," she continued. "Her past shouldn't be forgotten, but some of it should never be spread around."

Ron frowned, disappointed. He had to admit, he had an enormous urge to figure out what happened years ago. Yori and Sensei knew about it, yet hadn't attempted to tell him the history, if anything, tried to keep hidden. As far as he knew, L used to be a good person—a good person like him—yet somewhere along the way, one day, she took a large number of lives from both Global Justice and Yamanouchi. From what he suspected, it all happened in the same day.

"Okay, fair enough," he replied in disappointment. He had the idea to ask Sensei, but he had a feeling the headmaster wouldn't take kindly to the question, or try to pretend he didn't know what he was talking about.

"Go, Wade," Kim said, as soon as she distanced herself enough from the others, although she hadn't seen the mini bio-android happily following her around.

"I finally got something when you asked me to look into Cell," Wade answered. "Ever heard of the Red Ribbon Army?"

"Uh no, do they have something to do with Cell?"

"Kind of, but they were a paramilitary criminal organization that disbanded decades ago, so they've probably been forgotten by now, but they were feared from all over. It even looks like they went toe-to-toe with Global Justice before they disbanded, like they were arch rivals or something."

"Okay, makes me wonder how old GJ really is," Kim mused, before returning to her tech friend. "Not to be rude, but this doesn't really connect to Cell."

"It took a long time and a lot of hard work—but mostly good connections, I found a correlation. The organization was staffed with the best minds of every conceivable industry for an unknown goal, I never found that part, but in one of those industries was a scientist named Dr. Gero."

"Scientist.." Kim murmured, an idea coming to mind as to where this conversation was headed. "I don't think I like where this is going."

"It looks like he was pretty knowledgeable of artificial intelligence and artificial life, but.. that's as far as I got," he said, his eyes moving to Kim's. "I don't mean to pry, but has Cell ever mentioned having a creator of some sort?"

It was like whiplash. There were two moments where the chimera had mentioned a "creator". The moment she and Ron were forced to stay in the clearing and their dumb little squabble over her eating deer.

"Yeah, you don't think this Dr. Gero guy created Cell, right?"

"As far as I know, it's a big possibility. I also found blueprints greatly resembling the specs I got when you first showed me Cell," he replied, then leaning back in his chair. "The signature on these blueprints is a bit unreadable, but it does look like his name's on it. That much is sure."

"Mind looking into this Red Ribbon for me, or more importantly, this Dr. Gero? These blueprints might have a clue on how to stop him—if he's alive, of course. Can never be too safe, you know."

"On it, and I forgot to tell you I'd be working with Sorgel with the containment device. Sorry to put it off, but it looks to me every time we talk about Cell, you get a little.."

"A little what?" she asked quickly, defensive.

"A little like that," he finished, gesturing to her current attitude with worry. "I think you're getting a little obsessive over this."

"Great, so you and Ron think I'm getting too paranoid, right?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Never said that! Just maybe take it easy?" he asked, nervous.

The redhead sighed and pulled back. "You're right, you and Ron are," she admitted, although with a bit of difficulty. "Sorry if I've been acting totally random, I just really needed an upper hand to feel like.. myself, you know? I am so not used to everyone suddenly able to beat me in a fight."

Wade rose a brow and nearly smirked. "Like Ron?"

"Yeah—" Kim stopped herself short and her eyes widened. "No! I mean, maybe? No, I am totally not upset over Ron being better than me, that's-that's silly! I'm just adjusting, alright?"

"Riiight," the boy responded, unconvinced. "Anyway, that's all the info I've got for now. I'll keep you posted when I find more. See ya!"

Kim waved with a forced smile before sliding her device back in her cargo pants with a sigh. She turned around only to be spooked by the mini chimera's sudden appearance.

"Hey! Way to scare the daylights outta me," Kim said with her hands at her hips, the boy giving her a sheepish smile.

"What were you two talking about?" he asked curiously.

The way the words came out of his mouth were nothing like their previous conversations. If anything, more succinct and coherent, less hesitant. She figured he had seen and heard enough interactions between her and others to learn that. Not that it bothered her, just made it easier for the conversation to flow.

"Uh, nothing," she said passively, trying not to divulge any further. She didn't know how long he stood there anyway. "Just catching up with Wade."

He shot her an unconvinced look. It looked like he knew enough, so Kim realized she couldn't give anymore lies or excuses at this point. She knew how he disliked the mention of his father, more so that she had kept thinking of him.

"Okay look, I'm just trying to keep us safe for the likely chance he comes back," she replied quickly. "I know you told me you couldn't sense him earlier, but that's not going to cut it anymore. I need some kind of upper hand, that's all. Wade's looking into it to see if he has some kind of weakness or something, so not the drama, alright?"

Junior thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, although reluctant. All this stress over the small chance of his father's survival didn't seem worth it though, hence his reluctance.

"Now that's been settled, let's go home. I think we've been keeping Dr. Director and Ron long enough," the redhead said aloud, sending the mini bio-android a smile. Before it faded quickly and her adding, "Don't tell Ron about this, let's keep it between us. Our secret—you know what a secret is, right?"

The boy nearly sweat dropped, remembering the secret he'd kept with Ron knowing full well what the word meant. He nodded with a forced smile while she patted his head and strolled toward Ron and Betty, him trailing behind.

Chapter Text

Ron was a complete mess.

This was his nth attempt at getting his powers back, but no such luck. He even forced himself to wake up early for the chance to transform. As for staying up late, he was already proficient in that. He kept it up until he passed out, only to wake up an hour later having little time to train before school. After so many failures, his situation worsened this morning when he overheard a conversation between Kim and Monique, and unfortunately with the phrase "trading up". A phrase he only heard from Bonnie and desperately hoped his girlfriend hadn't considered. His worst fears came true when he heard her firmly say she agreed with Bonnie. Bonnie!

He couldn't stand to listen anymore, he bolted in the opposite direction they were in to avoid being seen.

"Trading up" referred to leaving him for "someone better" or a jock like Bonnie had rudely insinuated. That wouldn't happen, it was just—whatever. Kim wouldn't do that, she's not Bonnie, or like any of the other cheerleaders. Some girls do like to date jocks though, but the redhead wasn't your everyday girl, she was Kim! It's not like she would dump him to trade up—

"Would she?" he thought worriedly then.

Oh but now he had reason to be. The next few days, he feared a call or a text would come from his girlfriend to reveal the devastating news. Deathly worried of losing her. Already a week in and Junior was going to see the two people he cared most in emotional turmoil! After what happened during the summer, he thought they'd grown so much closer, or was that his imagination? Looking through what happened with rose-colored glasses? How naive! Of course something that traumatic caused her to push him away, because in the end, he left her to fend for herself. It was his fault she got hurt.

It was his fault Cell was free.

"No, no, no!" Ron shook his head. "That can't be right, Kim's not just my girlfriend, she's my best friend! I mean, we're tight!" he attempted to exclaim proudly, although his tone showed indication of a falter. "Right?" he asked Rufus, his voice lacking confidence. The naked mole rat only sighed in reply.

"Well you heard her, Rufus, now that we're seniors I'm not good enough for Kim," he continued, digging the hole his self-esteem seem to make from falling so low. She was probably thinking of it anyway since he lost his Mystical Monkey Powers, it was only Bonnie's words that spurred her into action. If only there was a way to keep her from leaving him-

He looked at the football tryouts sign in front of him, the date was today.. an idea instantly popped in his mind.

"Time for Ron Stoppable to step up and become—Ron Steppubable!"

Tryouts were more or less.. a failure, but he was getting somewhere! Besides crashing into someone's car and shoving a football in Mr. Barkin's mouth, he was surprised to see the coach/teacher/whatever-he-was-currently allowed him to continue trying out. As of now, he was currently crab walking around the lap, happening upon his girlfriend in her varsity cheerleader uniform and Monique dressed casually.

Trying to look good, he lifted his chin up at the two girls. "Sup ladies!"

Kim sat on the bench, looking at her boyfriend and trying to figure out what he was doing. "And you're doing.. what?"

"I'm just relishing the exquisite torment that is the 'crab walk'," he replied coolly.

"Fun," Monique added sarcastically.

"Ah, it's a jock thing," he replied, getting up to his feet and taking off his helmet. "You wouldn't understand."

"Jock thing?" Kim asked, who couldn't help but let out a short laugh. "You?"

The freckled teen wasn't going to lie, that laugh was a metaphorical stab in his heart, but he manage to tough it out! He wasn't going to look weak in front of Kim—never again.

"Are you kidding?" He sat on the bench next to her. "Ron Stoppable has always been about the sportage!"

The heroine gazed with an unconvinced expression. "Okay, even if that was true.. football?"

"Who doesn't like to toss around the ol' pig puck!"

"You mean pig skin?"

Ron leaned back. "Whoa KP! One sport at a time!"

Having a remembrance of the unpleasant encounter with Bonnie, Kim realized what was going on. "Ron—"

Her Kimmunicator beeped in her pocket, interrupting her in mid-sentence. "Alright, we'll get back to this later, I have to take this," she said, getting up from the bench and strolling quite the fast pace.

As soon as Kim was out of earshot, Monique turned to Ron. "Ever feel like Kim's hiding something?" she suddenly asked.

The freckled teen was somewhat taken aback. "Hey, not really cool talking behind Kim's back, but even if she were, nothing bad about keeping a few secrets! Maybe she'll spill when she's comfortable, I'm down with that."

The ebony girl only looked down, a worried look on her face. "Maybe it's just me, but she seems a bit off ever since we came back from summer vacation. I don't know what happened to you guys during those months, but something's definitely going through that head of hers. Since we started hanging out again, I've been getting a weird vibe."

Ron gulped. He noticed Kim had begin to take her calls elsewhere, he didn't know if they were mission-oriented or not. He tried not to overthink it, if she wasn't ready to tell him now, then he would wait until she would be. Still.. it bugged him to think she was keeping something from him, especially if it were important. Maybe he'd ask Junior, he would know a thing or two about it.

"Hey Wade, new sitch?"

"Got a bit of dirt on our scientist Dr. Gero, you might wanna hear this," Wade replied quickly.

"Okay shoot," the redhead shot out, wanting to hear the information as soon as possible, but eager as well.

"It looks to me, there are more blueprints, not just for Cell, but for his other creations. I haven't found all of them, but they're all numbered. From what I could gather, Cell was his 21st creation."

"21st?!" Kim exclaimed incredulously, catching the eyes of a few students passing by, staring at her weirdly. The redhead laughed sheepishly and waved them off, quickly darting away and trying to find a private area close to Ron and Monique. Brushing off the embarrassment, she hid under the bleachers and turned back to wade. "You mean to tell me, there could be 20 other Cells!?"

"What? No, well, maybe. Not 20, that's for sure," he answered. "They were dubbed androids. These were artificial beings who could devastate the entire populace if they had the chance, it's insane! Androids 1 through 7 and 9 through 15 were destroyed though. Not sure why, might've been failed ones."

"Or.." Kim spoke, a realization dawning on her. "He couldn't control them. I remember Cell saying his creator was ignorant, so I don't think he respects him all that much."

"From what you told me about him, he might've killed him, Dr. Gero I mean."

"Not a surprise," Kim said, a scowl coming about. "So that's what he is then. An android?"

"Well, technically speaking, a biological one. The others I mentioned were purely mechanical."

"Wow," she breathed out, amazed by the amount of information she received. "What about androids 16 through 20?"

"Um, I didn't really get enough on them, but I did combine what I found to know that they exist. They could be mechanical or biological for all we know. There was a bit of correlation between Cell and androids 17 and 18, but I couldn't really figure out what, but I'll keep you posted if I find anything."

"Thanks Wade! You're seriously the best!"

"Anytime! I'll be back asap with new info, signing off!" With that, the tech genius left, leaving the screen of her Kimmunicator blank.

Kim stared at the blank screen, clutching it a bit tightly as she thought about the info. "Biological android," she thought, a serious expression enveloping her face. Besides him, there could be more like him out there, and she didn't like the thought of that. Surely Goku and the others have known about this and had done something about it some time ago. Maybe.. but she shouldn't rely just on possibilities, she had to make sure.

The blueprints she received from Wade wasn't very much help. She wasn't exactly a scientist who could read it easily, or someone familiar with this extensive biology. She was almost tempted to contact Sorgel about it since she seemed knowledgeable about him, but she still couldn't trust her, especially after what happened. Maybe she'd ask her mother about it, but she really didn't want to involve anymore people in this. Not even Ron..

"Speaking of," she mused. "Better head back."

The heroine could see Ron and Monique talking from within the bleachers. She wished it could stay this way just a little longer, but as long as someone like Cell was still lingering upon the Earth, every aspect of her life were being threatened.

With that in mind, she just strolled out of the bleachers and approached her friends. When Ron and Monique noticed, the subject suddenly changed.

"So Monique! This jock stuff is pretty impressive, huh?" Ron asked in an unconvincing tone.

"Sure, Ron, whatever helps you sleep at night," Monique answered while crossing her arms, a resounding, disappointed grunt from Ron.

Kim observed her two closest friends and let out a heavy sigh. "Back to cheer practice, I guess! Good luck with tryouts, Ron. Although I'm not sure why the sudden interest."

"Whaaat? I'm just fleshing out the resume for college!"

The redhead crossed her arms and seemed to go along with it. It seemed.. convincing enough. "Well, I guess football reads better than flooding the school cafeteria."

Monique's eyes widened. "Huh?! Oh, right! The chess club incident!"

Ron's eyes suddenly narrowed. "First rule of chess club is, you do not speak about chess club."

A beep once again emitted from Kim's pocket. Monique and Ron exchanged looks and watched Kim intently to see her next course of action. Her sudden change in behavior looked fishy to them, it was their main subject of conversation before the redhead returned after all.

"So not a good time," Kim mused, as she thought about heading back for cheer practice just earlier. Just as she got up to leave, Ron placed a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned back curiously to see what he wanted.

"Hey, it's just our good old pal, Wade, right? Just take the call here!" Ron suggested with his usual grin, hoping his girlfriend would stay. His grin hid a lot more than he was showing.

"Yeah, what's the rush? No secrets between friends, right?" Monique added along.

"Um.. I guess so," Kim finally said, a bit worried that Wade was calling back for something regarding Cell rather than mission stuff. She hoped it was the latter. She answered it and to her relief, it was just another hit on her site.

"Just got a hit on the site," Wade said. "Cat up a tree, and it seems like a battle suit mission."

The heroine sighed in relief, but soon tilted her head in confusion. "Uh, cat up a tree really doesn't seem like a battle suit mission."

The young genius had a reply ready. "..You haven't seen the cat."

"Okay, then I'm on my way! Never a bad time to use the battle suit, maybe I should bring Junior along," Kim responded, a bit pensive on that last part. Maybe a little exposure to new animals could be an educational experience for the mini chimera. She didn't want to keep him all cooped up in the house 24/7.

"I'm coming too!" Ron exclaimed.

"What about tryouts?" Monique asked, a brow raised.

The freckled teen looked back to see Mr. Barkin staring quite intensely. "..Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine! We'll be in and out, just like that! I mean, it's just a cat up a tree, right?"

A puma clutched the thick branch of a tree quite tightly and roared at the crime fighters below.

"Oh boy," Ron said, wondering if what he said jinxed the situation.

"Well, that's disappointing," Kim said, remembering all the things she said that she thought were educational about cats to Junior, who happened to stare in wonder of this majestic beast. She didn't expect a big cat.

On their way to the "cat", Kim got her battle suit and Junior, and all of them headed towards their destination-which wasn't far, it was in town. An old woman approached the crime fighters and gazed upon her pet worriedly.

"Oh, Sassy's so frightened!"

"By any chance, is Sassy, say, a cougar?" the redhead asked.

"Oh heavens no," the old woman replied firmly. "She's a puma!"

The freckled teen crossed his arms, a look of realization. "Ohh, that's completely different."

"No, it's not!" Kim exclaimed firmly, then she released an exasperated sigh. "Well, nothing says battle suit mission than a puma on the edge!" Before she could jump onto the tree, Ron's eyes widened and he suddenly grabbed her before she could go.

"Wait!" he shouted. "Let me get Sassy."

Kim's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What?! Uh, hello, battle suit. Puma on the edge. You should hang back."

"No! Allow me to step up," he said, subtly referring to his current situation. "Who knows? Maybe the thought of being in mortal danger will help me get my Mystical Monkey Powers back!"

"Ron, do you even hear what you're saying? That's ludicrous!" she said, crossing her arms. For some odd reason, she felt somewhat irritated at the mention of his powers. A lot actually, it almost made her angry. He hadn't said a thing about it since they foiled Dementor—until now. She thought she would get over this by now, but the bitterness of Ron's newfound abilities only festered and grew.

"No it's not, remember when I transformed and saved you from Cell back at Yamanouchi because I saw you in danger, it makes sense!"

With the bio-android in mind, Kim nearly scowled, her irritation mounting. "Right, because that's totally what happened. Ron, he ended up beating you and I had to talk him out of killing the both of us. Look, I really don't want to talk about this right now, just let me get Sassy and we'll discuss this a different time."

Anxiety bubbled within Junior, he cast his rosy orbs to Ron worriedly to see if he was okay. He hadn't anticipated the redhead to speak so harshly of the situation. He could feel a negative dive in her energy—she clearly wasn't at her best mentally..

The freckled teen saw her scowl and gulped. Thinking it was towards him, he shrunk back, averting his gaze simultaneously. "..Alright, sorry for mentioning it."

"No big, just sit tight and I'll be right back!" Kim leaped onto the branch and tried to coax the puma to come down.

While she was busy, Junior approached Ron and tugged on his pants. "Are you okay?"

Ron nearly jumped but saw that it was just the mini bio-android. "Yeah, for sure! I shouldn't mention that jerk, I should've known how she feels about hearing his name. It was my bad." Although he tried to put on a brave face, he clearly looked upset.

The child hugged his legs and hoped he felt some assurance. Disappointed in himself, the freckled teen returned the gesture by patting the mini chimera's head. He didn't expect Junior to be so forward like this. He was supposed to be acting like a dad but ended up getting consoled by the very kid he was supposed to help look after. No wonder Kim wanted to trade up..

It was weird though, they mentioned Cell during their mission to return L to GJ. She seemed fine then, well for the situation, she seemed as fine as someone would be, but for her to be like this out of nowhere.. maybe something was going through her head like Monique said. He hoped she would open up to him soon, he didn't want his doubts and worries to overwhelm him and cause him to say or do something that would upset her.

Ron thought starting their senior year together would make everything better, but it only made everything worse. He wasn't doing enough for Kim, he had to step up. He gazed up to see Sassy swiping at Kim and managing to tear off a part of the battle suit.

"Hey!" Kim shouted angrily. "I said nice!" The part of the battle suit that had been torn off repaired itself immediately.

The puma eventually lunged at her, spurring Kim to leap back onto another branch. Once the creature landed on the branch the heroine originally stood on, it broke and caused her to fall to the ground and land on her feet. She then turned attention to Ron and approached him, growling loudly.

"Sassy, whoa!" Ron called out, backing away as Junior placed himself in front of teen with intent to protect.

"Oh, Sassy doesn't like men so much," her owner warned.

"No, no!" the freckled teen continued out of fear, backing away even further. "I'm like, barely a man. See, there was this mix up at my bar mitzvah and-"

Soon, Sassy roared and lunged at the freckled teen. The mini chimera prepared to defend but was surprised to see Kim show up suddenly in front of him. She activated her her force field which blasted the puma away. Repeatedly so since she attacked again and again.

"Force field, fierce!" Ron exclaimed in awe of the battle suit's powers. It did quite a bit for Kim when she needed it.. a lot actually, maybe it could be used for a certain something else-

"Stop teasing my Sassy!" Sassy's owner berated, hooking the puma's collar to her leash, the animal purring contently at her touch. "Let's go home, dear."

As the old woman strolled away with her pet, Kim's force field dissipated. The redhead turned to the mini bio-android with a smirk. "Couldn't let you have all the glory, buddy. But just so we're clear, that's a puma, not a cat. They're technically big cats, actually. Sorry for misleading you."

"No big," he replied.

The redhead's eyes lit up at his words. "Wow, you're really catching on, aren't you?"

"So.." Ron suddenly began, his girlfriend's head immediately turning toward him. "Gotta jet! Haha, you know Barkin, he's gonna chew me out if I don't finish tryouts. You know, the sportage! Uh, pig puck! Skin?"

Kim gazed sympathetically and sent her boyfriend a small small. "Hey, sorry for harshing on you earlier. Good luck with tryouts, hope what you're doing makes you happy at least."

Looking at Kim, his girlfriend, standing in the sun in her battle suit. No doubt, she was beautiful. Kind, compassionate, but most of all, forgiving. God, he felt like he didn't deserve her.. but he certainly wasn't going to give up on stepping up, he really did not want to lose her, especially to a jock. If only he could enhance his abilities somehow, then he could prove to be the guy she deserved-

An epiphany came to him, alas it was not a good one. The freckled teen managed to smile back, a nervous chuckle escaping his mouth as he stared at her battle suit.

Chapter Text

"Secret borrowing, not stealing—secret borrowing," Ron reassured himself as he snuck in his girlfriend's room while she was away babysitting. The little guy always followed her around, chances are he's helping her babysit tonight.

The freckled teen opened her closet and pushed through her clothes to see the battle suit hanging peacefully in the back. He reached to grab it when he noticed two crimson colored orbs staring right back at him in the blackness of the closet. He nearly let out a blood curdling scream when he noticed the alabaster and purple skin on Junior's face.

"Oh, buddy! Hey, you-you really gave me a scare, uh, so how-how's it going, huh? Why aren't you with Kim? She made it sound like you two were spending quality family time tonight," he managed to get out nervously, trying not to sound guilty of what he was about to do.

The mini chimera shook his head. "Nope. She said to stay here."

"Oh really.." Ron trailed off, moving his brown orbs to take a peek at the battle suit still hanging in the closet. If he grabbed this now, Junior could possibly tell Kim about it, no doubt. Although he knew the child trusted and cared about him, he knew he held Kim on a higher pedestal.

He also noticed this was the first time he'd seen him in clothes instead of walking around.. naked? Well, Cell did it, maybe he wore clothes to be different from him. He noticed a navy blue hoodie and khaki shorts, it actually kind of suited him. Wait, did Kim go shopping for clothes? When?! Even now she seemed to be hiding a lot more from him.

"Why are you here?" Junior asked curiously, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Just, you know.. hanging around," he answered back nervously, sending repeated glances toward the battle suit and Junior. "..waiting for your mama to come back! Heard she was babysitting tonight, decided I'd pop in and surprise her," he finished with an awkward chuckle.

Junior may have been a child, but he was Cell's child, which meant his intellect was beyond that of human children. He followed the freckled teen's repeated ganders to Kim's closet and noticed her battle suit in the center. As soon as he turned his head, Ron freaked.

"He-hey, just admiring it! Nothing bad about that! It's pretty cool, ain't it? Wonder if it works for just about anyone other than Kim," he began to prattle, suddenly sounding guilty in whatever he was planning.

The mini chimera read between the lines and pointed at the battle suit. "You want it?"

Beads of sweat appeared on Ron's face. "What? No! I-I mean, yeah, but-but no! But I'm pretty sure anyone would! Right?" he asked, the tiny android shrugging his shoulders in response, looking at the teen a bit weirdly considering how nervous he was acting. Suddenly the freckled teen had an idea.

"Hey, since we're here waiting for Kim, why don't I just.. try it on? You know, just one time, then put it right back in her closet. She won't even know!"

Junior shrugged again and moved out of the way, allowing his adoptive father to pass on through. Rufus peeked out from his pocket and shook his head, disapproving Ron's current actions. Speaking of, he approached the battle suit and gently took it off the hanger, as if it were fragile. He held it in his hands, staring at it quite intensely while the mini chimera stood by idly, gazing curiously.

It surprisingly fit for a suit designed for Kim. He wondered if it could fit just about anyone now that he thought about it. Ron was walking back to his house, carrying his old clothes. As of now, he's wearing the battle suit, and it felt.. awesome.

He also felt bad, like he was doing something bad to his girlfriend. Then he suddenly shook his head. "No! I'm doing this so I won't lose her! I'm doing this for us! It's just secret borrowing, I'll bring it back before somebody hits up the site, no big."

He practically begged Junior to keep it a secret, eventually caving in and telling him he'd be borrowing it to impress Kim so she wouldn't leave him. The mini bio-android understood, but he appeared uncomfortable at the thought of keeping more secrets. It was a bit too much, he didn't like the pressure.

Just as he left the Possible's driveway, he noticed someone approaching him.. no, they weren't approaching him, they were heading home! It was Kim! Panicking, Ron cast his eyes everywhere for a hiding place. Luckily, Kim's eyes were downcast as she counted the money she received from babysitting, giving Ron enough time to leap on top of a nearby tree incredibly fast. The redhead looked up with a brow raised.

"Thought I heard something.." she murmured to herself, then she shrugged it off and continued strolling home.

The freckled teen tried not to squeal from excitement, the battle suit had managed to help him jump over 10 feet high into the air. He had flown in the air before, but that was when he had access to his Mystical Monkey Powers. Unfortunately, not anymore, but with this in hand..

He could finally step up.

It was bright again.

Transported from the darkness of WEE, she was back in Global Justice where it was bright again. She didn't like it, it was too bright, blinding in fact. She had her eyes narrowed from the strain of staring at such a bright room for so long. She hadn't made grievances about it, mostly because she just hated talking to Betty. She knew as soon as one word left her mouth, the entire organization would be dimly lit. She would really go over the top for someone who wanted nothing to do with her.

It was worse than being starved, which was happening now apparently. She had gone months without eating, but that was because she used the energies of others to sustain herself, without that ability in hand anymore, she might just die from something so stupid. She couldn't even remember the last time she went to the bathroom. How Betty would fix that, she wondered. How amusing it'd be to see her scramble to figure out a way to sustain her body and keep her contained at the same time.

Out of nowhere, she could see a dark figure in the room with her, contrasting greatly with the room. She scowled, another agent Dr. Director entrusted, or better yet, Betty herself. She averted her gaze, wanting no part in whatever they wanted. She couldn't hear steps, but somehow they were getting closer. Confused and curious, she slightly turned back.

They were in dark clothing, black and gray demonic like uniform unlike this world, which seemed really unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time, she couldn't quite pinpoint it. It was kind of like nostalgia. They had awfully big hair, must've used an excessive amount of hairspray to keep those black spikes up. They were a bit tan, one small x shaped scar on their face but she quit focusing on that when she noticed their eyes.

"Good, you're awake."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he shushed her.

"No, don't speak. It'll look suspicious. Only you can see me, the mortals can't." He then put on a musing expression. "Wait, can you see me? Don't answer, just blink once for no, and twice for yes."

L simply blinked twice, curious of this new individual. He looked too different to be a part of Global Justice, even then, Betty would have an entire army in here trying to get him out considering what happened with Gemini.

"Okay, I'll be honest, I have no clue if you answered or not, but I'm going to talk anyway. I have some time left, but I'm not sure if it's enough, so I'll keep it quick. I'm getting you out of here, not now, but soon. As soon as we sensed you on this planet, we knew it was time. My partner and I need your help, and trust me when I say you'll definitely have trouble saying no."

The assassin put on a skeptical look. It wasn't until Betty came in, strolling right toward L and through the image of the newcomer like they were a ghost.

"Just came to check on you," Dr. Director said, examining her with her one eye. "Are you doing okay?"

She didn't answer, she only kept staring at the stranger smirking behind Betty, as if to prove her suspicions right. He was real, and growing closer.

"I can help you with your goals too, you know," he continued, strolling around. "I know the defense this planet holds, and trust me when I say I can help you deal with them to go through with your plans."

"L?" Betty continued, a confused expression on her face as she watched her sister's eyes move around the room.

"You want to get rid of someone, don't you?"

"Hey, snap out of it, you're scaring me," the brunette continued, watching worriedly as L continued to ignore her and listen to this invisible stranger. Although to answer the stranger, she blinked twice.

"Me too," he finished with a wicked grin. "My partner and I have someone we want to get rid of, we're going to need your help to do that. In return, we'll help you. I have very good connections, I can make it very troublesome for Earth's warriors to even touch you, ample enough for you finish them off."

This time, Betty approached her and put her hands on both sides of her face, catching her attention briefly before seeing the newcomer come closer in her peripheral vision.

"When the time is right, I'll get you out of here to get started on our goals. After all, we have a common enemy."

"Hey, talk to me, please," she begged, not liking this game the blonde was playing at but worried about what was going on.

"Deal?"

This time L looked toward Betty, seeing worry swirl in her one eye. She didn't even blink to answer the stranger, she only opened her mouth to answer.

"Deal."

Ron excelled through tryouts. He managed to outshine everyone at there, even those already on the football team! Barkin finally gave him another try and he managed to step up (although only thanks to the battle suit).

"Stoppable! I can't believe this! This is impossible!" Barkin shouted after taking out a football lodged in his mouth from Ron's impossible pass, in awe of the teen's newfound abilities.

Ron nearly winced at the word 'impossible'. "Heh, yeah, something like that," he said with a sheepish smile, jogging toward the coach, yet hesitantly. "So, did I make the team?"

"Make the team?" Steve Barkin asked, as if incredulous of the oblivious question. "You're the field general! The signal caller, the man! Middleton, we have a quarterback!"

The freckled teen threw a hand in the air. "Boo-yah!"

"I suggest you get ready Stoppable, because the game's tonight and I expect no less than Middleton's new quarterback!" Steve then proceeded to give a hard pat in the back to Ron.

He barely felt it thanks to Kim's battle suit. A big grin spread across his face when he heard his coach praise him. Although inwardly, he felt a pressure. All he had to do was prove to Kim he stepped up in tonight's game, no biggie. Then he'd return the battle suit before she would find out, then somehow manage to stay on the football team.

That's all.

Time passed quickly and the game had already started. The sky was dark, the field lights were exceedingly bright, yet not blinding. You could call it a beautiful night for some football in Middleton.

Ron managed to dodge the opposing team's advances and pass a 30-yard completion, ensuing a large rouse of cheer from the crowds and skeptical looks from the cheerleaders, especially Kim and Monique.

Looking around, she remedied the situation quickly by continuing their cheer. "Wow.. oh, uhh, go Mad Dogs!"

While cheering for the team, she couldn't help but think he was performing too well. She didn't feel good doubting his natural abilities, but he eased out of a pile up from Lowerton's team, perfectly okay while knocking out a majority of them. Well, he did train a bit with Sensei, and he did certainly do a lot of running while they were on missions. She was finally finding sense in the situation until he leaped high into the air over the opponents and threw the football to the other side.

Touchdown.

The entire stadium erupted in cheer, praising Ron for becoming Middleton's new hero.

"Middleton has a new hero!" the announcer shouted.

She didn't need an announcer to think that. Suddenly, she didn't feel very well. He practically flew in the air to win the game. Does that mean his powers came back?

"No, I would've been the first person to know," she tried to assure.

Monique flung herself at Kim and hugged her tightly, snapping her out of her thoughts. "He did it! Unbelievable!"

"Yeah, a little too unbelievable if you ask me," Bonnie added, obviously jealous.

The redhead found some inward pride and crossed her arms, smirking. "So Ron stepped up, jealous much?" When Bonnie looked away indignantly, she couldn't help but feel good a bit. Maybe she was overthinking this, she should be proud of Ron, he'd come so far.

She heard the cheering get louder and noticed the team was carrying Ron across the track. He was waving and she tried to wave back at him until the nasty feeling started eating up at her again. No matter how many times she tried to feel good about Ron's situation, she just couldn't, something was off.

"..It is kinda weird though, isn't it?" she asked Monique, a bit unsure.

"Maybe all that running from bad guys is finally paying off!"

That's what she thought too.

Maybe she was the one not making sense?

"So what did you think, KP?"

Kim, Ron, Rufus and Junior sat at the same booth in Bueno Nacho. It wasn't the mini chimera's first time, but he certainly enjoyed the little hats that came with his little nino's meal.

"I'm so proud of you, Ron. I never knew you had this in you," she paused, the feeling from before beginning to fester again, causing her to frown a bit. "Never."

Ron smiled nervously. "Heh, like you, I'm full of surprises!" he replied with a fake cheery tone, followed by a nervous laugh as he tried to finish his soda.

While the heroine tried to drink her soda, Junior finished his nachos and looked in her direction and gesturing to the beverage.

"Oh, you're thirsty?" she asked, before doing a double take on her question. "Can you get thirsty?"

"I like soda," he just replied.

"Yeah, I'm not really feeling it, so you can have mine," Kim said, sliding it to her left so he could grab it.

"Whoa, you alright?" Ron asked, concerned.

The redhead's eyes widened a bit before settling down. "Oh, yeah! I'm fine, just tired I guess. Us cheerleaders aren't just for show, you know."

"Yeah, I heard you guys, it really helped me win the game hearing you cheer for me."

"Did it really?" she thought to herself, doubtful of his response. She found an increasing urge to ask about his powers, but she felt it wasn't her place. It might sound like she was accusing him of lying to her, or purposely holding information back when in reality, he could just be good at football.

No, no one that good could jump over an entire person's height, especially another football team.

"Are you sure?" she unknowingly asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice, although somewhat quiet as she stared down at the wet circle that formed when her soda stayed in place.

"What?" Ron was a bit taken aback at her sudden behavior, looking a bit nervous. "We-well, duh! Of course! Wh-why wouldn't I be sure? I'm sure! Always!"

"Ron, I.. I think what you did was unfair," she said, causing Ron to gulp.

"Wha-what are you talking about?"

Kim looked up and sent him a firm look. "I don't think any average person could what you did, even Brick from last year."

The freckled teen nearly jumped in his seat. How did she know? No, maybe she was talking about something else! There'd be no way she could know—unless.. Junior told her. There was one problem with that though..

He seemed to be enjoying himself, sipping on the soda given to him by Kim as he put on another one of his hats. He didn't seem to be paying attention, which meant he hadn't said a word about it. Ron must've revealed the suit during the game. Oh god, why didn't he roll up his sleeves?! He knew it'd be too revealing and he still hadn't done a thing to hide it!

"Compared to everyone in tryouts, you had an unfair advantage, you.. you cheated your way onto the football team!" she accused aloud, spooking Junior a bit as he then stared at what was going on.

Ron, assuming she found him out, tried to remedy the situation but only made it worse. "But that was just a perk! I was really trying to cheat on you! Wait no.. for you! To-to win you!" he quickly corrected himself. "It's not what you think!"

His outbursts proved her suspicions right. How long had he been lying to her for? Did his powers actually come back after foiling Dementor? When? Why didn't he tell her? She didn't know why she was so upset about this, but this was something she'd been holding back ever since they finished summer vacation.

"Oh, so you're not a liar?" she asked, crossing her arms, a glare coming about.

"It-well, it was just until the season was over, I was going to give it back! Like, in time for missions and stuff! I wasn't going to keep it, I swear!" he told her briskly, causing her to look at him with a puzzled look, her livid emotions vanishing in an instant.

"Give it back? Keep.. what? Ron, what are you talking about?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't your powers come back?" she asked, still confused.

Ron sighed with relief, laying back into his seat when he realized she was thinking of something else. "Oh, yeah, I mean, no. They're gone, like really gone. I've been trying to get 'em back, but you know, can't have everything."

"Then what were you talking about?"

The teen tried to drink his soda again, but choked up at that question. "Uhh..."

"Ron," she said sternly.

Ron grabbed at the collar of his football jersey nervously, revealing a bit of the battle suit unintentionally. "We-well.. I guess you could say I borrowed your battle sui-"

Before he could finish, she saw the familiar design on his neck and gasped. "My-my battle suit! You stole my battle suit!"

"Secret borrowing!" he corrected, then seeing anger flash on her face and regretted his words immediately.

"You were in my closet!" she finished, incredulous. What she thought before wasn't even that bad, all she was going to do was tell him how unfair it was to use his supernatural abilities to get on the football team—but this was way worse! He came to her house, into her room, into her closet while she was away to steal her suit and use it to get on the football team! No wonder he was acting so weird the day before the game, asking her about when and where she'd be babysitting, he was making sure she'd been gone when he'd done the deed.

"Wait, it-it's just like before! It's still not what you think!"

"Oh? Okay, let me rephrase then," she said, sending him a glare. "So you're not a cheater, a liar, and a thief!"

Ron found some truth to her words-a lot of truth actually, but was too shameful to admit it. "..Okay, it is what you think."

Junior couldn't watch this any longer and grabbed a hold of Kim's left arm and pulled her toward him, shaking his head and hoping he'll get her to stop.

"What—Junior, go to the car and wait for me there. Your old man has a lot of explaining to do," she added angrily.

"I let him take it!" he quickly shouted, fully catching her attention.

Kim almost felt hurt. She couldn't feel angry at him, but was upset to see he'd gone along with this. "You knew? Why? Why didn't you tell me?" she questioned, watching as the mini bio-android look down, disappointed in himself.

"It's not his fault! I.." Ron clenched his fists. "I told him not to tell you. Well, more like beg, but, yeah."

The heroine groaned. "Ron! We can't be teaching him bad things like keeping secrets and-and stealing other people's possessions without them knowing! We're supposed to be raising him to be better than Cell!"

"And he is! Trust me, I can actually hold eye contact with the kid, when it came to Cell I always had a chill up my spine!"

"That's not what I meant, I just," she paused, trying to compose herself, but was too overwhelmed with emotions to fully convey how she felt. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. I need some time to think."

The freckled teen's heart dropped, immediately assuming the worst. "What.. what are you saying?"

Kim sighed. "We're not breaking up, if that's what you think." Ron sighed with relief until he heard her continue. "But.. I need some time alone to think. After that, I don't know if we'll stay together."

"But-but Kim, I can explain—"

"Save it, I need some space right now. I'll talk to you later," she finished, standing up from the booth and walking away, gesturing for the mini chimera to follow, which he did without hesitation. Both of them left and he could hear her car start and drive off into the direction of her house, leaving Ron alone with his thoughts.

He was still wearing the battle suit. The very thing that gave him confidence, help him get on the team, and gain everyone's applause, was now the very thing that could possibly end his relationship.

Regret hit him with full force. The funny thing was, this was bound to happen. Except she hadn't traded up, she just straight up left.

"No, she just needs time to think, once she hears my side, things'll work out.. It has to," he reassured himself.

They'd gone through so much, this couldn't be enough to split them apart.

As Kim was driving her parents' car home, she tried her very best not to lost composure in front of Junior, but her Kimmunicator beeping helped snap her into focus.

"Sitch, Wade?" she asked, a bit sniffly.

The tech genius eyed her warily. "Allergies?"

"Uh.. yeah, something like that. Anyway, is there a hit on the site?"

"No, but I got more information on, uh, you know," he didn't specify, seeing the other company in the car.

"He knows, Wade, just give me what you got."

"Well, it's not much, but I found the correlation between Cell and androids 17 and 18. Turns out, he wasn't always in the same form. Did he look different when you first saw him?"

Kim pondered, a hand on her chin. "..Yeah, he looked kinda.. more buggy than usual. Less human-like, to be specific."

"As it turns out, he needed these two androids in order to complete his evolution. He was designed incomplete, but could complete himself by absorbing these two into his being."

"Well, I guess he was successful, though I gotta say, poor androids."

"Yeah, I looked into the blue prints, and the absorption process isn't pretty. Looks like something that came out of a nightmare."

"Okay, switching subjects before I get creeped out! Anything else?"

Wade scrolled through his database. "Maybe something.. I think I have the data on what he's capable of.." he muttered, squinting his eyes as he finally located the piece of information he found earlier. "Aha! Oh.." His tone dipped when he finished reading the very list he made just a day earlier. Turns out he had a reason for postponing this meeting with Kim.

"What? What is it?" Kim questioned, her curiosity piquing. "Is it bad?"

"Uhh, let's just say the containment device is the only possible means of stopping him.."

The redhead frowned. "Okay, spill, like, now."

"Well, it looks like he has exceptional regenerative abilities, even then he's incredibly durable."

Kim raised a brow. "What the heck does that mean?"

"It means he could lose half a body and grow it back instantly, and it would take far more than all of Earth's nuclear weapons combined to even make that happen."

For once, she felt a chill up her spine. She hadn't felt fear of him other than the times she was actually around him. Now, he wasn't even here and she felt fear since.. well, since Sorgel told her he was alive.

"And I really thought this day couldn't get any worse," Kim groaned, parking in her parents' driveway and turning off the car.

"What do you mean? Did something happen?" the boy asked.

"Ugh, let's just leave it at that, I need to clear my head right now."

"I won't pry, but if I find a way that could stop him other than the containment device, I'll contact you immediately."

Kim smiled wearily. "Thanks, Wade. You really are the best."

Wade waved. "No problem. Signing off!"

The Kimmunicator shut off and Kim slumped in the car seat, overwhelmed with thoughts of Ron and the devil incarnate himself, Cell. She really thought senior year would be her year, and already things were off to a rotten start.

She wondered if she'd done anything to deserve this. She was a good person, at least she thought so. She always tried to be. Working her very best to be the best version of herself she can be.

Nothing wrong with that.

Kim looked to her side and noticed Junior held a sad expression as he also slumped in his seat.

"I'm not mad at you, I'm just.. hurt," she said. "Not by you, by Ron. Maybe he didn't have any ill-intentions, but.. I've been feeling so bad lately, I don't know if the problem's him or me, but I do know he has some part in it. Sorry you had to see that, kiddo."

Junior looked up at her and shook his head. "It's okay."

"Yeah, it'll be okay," she thought to herself.

Things will work out.

Chapter Text

He decided to wait.

Ron was afraid of going to her house, knocking on her door, and asking questions. Actually no, he wasn't afraid of doing those things.

It was her reaction he feared.

He never once had any doubts in their relationship. Okay well, he'll admit, he did sometimes assume the worst when her tone would change and think it would be the end right off the bat, but somehow it wasn't. It never was. She was an honest person, if she had any doubts in their relationship, she would come clean right away. He just had to assume the worst, but..

What the heck was he supposed to think after hearing that conversion with Monique? The second he heard "Bonnie was right" he ran and found a half-assed solution he thought would make things better.

Yeah, better. Not this.

He did try to make it better by coming clean to Mr. Barkin. He was pretty upset, but it turns out he was fast enough to make running back and stay on the team! At the time, he was pretty relieved, but seeing the unsure look on his girlfriend's face that day dealt him a nasty blow. Breaking her trust definitely left a dent in their relationship. Now she suspected him where there was nothing to suspect.

For now, he was stuck training in his backyard, well, whatever he could remember from Yamanouchi. It was still something at least, maybe he could ask Yori for some fingertips on this ninja training, maybe then it would help with his Mystical Monkey Powers.

"No, I can't ask Yori when Kim and I just had a.." Ron paused, was it an argument? No, more like he weakly defended himself against Kim's accusations. They were justified though, so he couldn't really say anything.. except the fact she wanted to trade up.

Rufus crawled up to his shoulder, slump. "Oh, hungry," he moaned, rubbing his gut.

"Trust me buddy, I am too, but I gotta protect Kim if he ever shows up again, you know?" The freckled teen picked up his little friend and placed him on the ground while he tried to close his eyes and meditate. It was more, trying to get angry enough to trigger the transformation, but nothing worked. Not even..

"Man, that sicko really won't get out of my head, huh?" he asked himself, shaking his head. He hoped Kim had a peace of mind, or at least some respite after what happened. Would really suck if all she thought about was trying to stop that monster.

"Gonna hit up the mall to buy more clothes for Junior, is it okay if I borrow the car? Thanks," Kim quickly said, picking up her mother's car keys and strolling away, but not before her mother took them back.

"Sorry Kimmy, I have to drive Jim and Tim to soccer practice, unless.. you want to?" Anne then started to hand to keys when Kim shook her hands in reply.

"Oh no, I'm not going to be the tweebs' taxi driver, I'll walk first. Buh-bye," she said, turning to leave when her mother started smirking.

"I'll give you five dollars."

"Not listening," Kim answered nonchalantly.

"Ten?"

"Walking away!"

"20, firm!"

The redhead was about to send her a crack on 'tough love' before she realized something.

"You know, Junior can fly," she noted, already out the door but turning to face her mother. "And he's pretty fast."

Anne prodded at her chin, a small grin on her face. "Oh really?" she asked, the sounds of her sons destroying the house from within with a soccer ball continued to occur.

"Yeah, and I think he'd do it for free too," Kim finished, crossing her arms with a smirk.

"Well, better find him and quick, don't think your father will be too pleased when he comes home to see.. well, what's left of it," she said, subtly hinting to her sons' destructive activities.

"Gotcha, be back in a bit!"

Kim bolted back inside, upstairs, and into her room only to see the mini chimera.. to be gone. She looked quite a bit around her room only to realize he wasn't here. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't really seen him when she woke up too. Was he gone before then? Well, he couldn't have been in the guest room, she seldom saw him in it, and that was only when she was inside it.

"Junior!" she called out, even looking under her bed. She was almost tempted to call Ron when.. she remembered what happened.

After taking time for herself to think, she felt it was her fault, partially. She supposed the reason he did what he did was Bonnie. She hadn't attempted to assure him that her words were spiteful and full of lies. She didn't need to trade up just because she was a cheerleader. He should've known that, he knows her better than most people.

Still, he stole her battle suit and cheated his way on the team. She felt pretty livid about that and the feelings hadn't subsided in the slightest. He managed to stay, but.. she still felt uneasy. She noticed her battle suit returned to her closet, but she remembered what he said about trying to get his powers back.

Back to the situation at hand.. she still couldn't find him. She began to grow worried, his hearing was exceptional, she knew this by simply whispering his name and seeing him shoot from the sky and in front of her in an instant. She yelled his name just now and he hadn't appeared.

"What if Cell-" She stopped herself short. The mini panic attack she just had was enough to give her incentive to call Ron to see if he was with him. The mere thought of the bio-android breaking in her house and taking Junior was enough to strike terror into her heart.

After calling, it surprisingly took awhile for him to pick up. He answered, his face appearing quite nervous and uneasy.

"Um, hey," she just said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck and finding it a bit hard to look at him. She couldn't quite figure out the mess of feelings she was experiencing from this call.

"Yeah, hi.. so, uh, did you need anything?" Ron finally returned back, and carefully, seeing Kim perk up at the question.

"Actually yeah, I couldn't find Junior. Is he with you?" she asked, the sudden awkwardness she'd felt dissipating as she asked him the question.

The same went for Ron when he heard the question. "Actually no, no he isn't. Think he would've introduced himself first."

"I called out his name earlier but he didn't show up, I don't want to assume the worst, but I had a feeling he wouldn't just up and leave like this without telling me.."

"You think he got kidnapped?" the freckled teen asked, his eyes widening a bit.

"No, well possibly, but he's capable of defending himself if it was just your average Joe," she explained. "Still, we know a few people who aren't exactly average.."

"Sorgel, those weird looking dudes, Cell.." Ron listed, but stopped talking for a moment, his eyes darting to Kim's face to see her reaction. Somehow when Cell's name dropped, the conversation seldom ended well.

"Wade kept me updated on the new containment device, it's not even half finished," Kim elaborated with a sigh. "As much as I wish it was Sorgel, I think it's either one of the other options."

The blonde thought for a moment, recollecting a moment in their recent past where a certain device was involved with detecting the bio-android. "Hey.. didn't your brothers make a little doo-hickey in case something like this happened?"

As if on cue, a vase downstairs had broken, the sound reaching her room quickly. "Looks like I'll be the tweebs' taxi driver today," she said in a defeated tone.

"Mind if I come with?"

A small grin appeared on her face, but she quickly wiped it off as it not to send mixed messages considering their current fight. "Oh, uh, sure, I think Junior'll appreciate it," she answered, Ron returning the gesture.

Junior snuck out as day broke. Before he did, he approached Kim sleeping in bed with a strained face, she clutched a pillow tightly and breathed heavily. No doubt his biological father had something to do with that. She hadn't slept well since summer ended, sometimes she would stay up the entire night or sleep and have nightmares. He gazed with a guilty, forlorn expression seeing her like that. Although absent, Cell was responsible for this torment.

Every night he'd catch her in a call with Wade and his father's name would always pop up. Progress on the containment device, updates on any sort of weaknesses Cell had, it was taking a toll. It was borderline obsessive, but he couldn't blame her. She was scared, she had no way of defending herself, nonetheless the planet against him. She was just one human.

He had flown out to check if the chimera truly did survive. Maybe confirming the fact he was gone would offer her some relief, but there was the off chance he was alive. Chances are, delivering the news would make things a whole lot worse.

He hadn't gotten far out of Middleton when he heard Kim's name from below. A person in white car was talking to someone on the phone.

"..you know, I passed by her house earlier today, and still no car. You'd think someone who wastes all that time going on those missions would finally get her own wheels," Bonnie snorted into the phone.

Curiously, he materialized in the passenger seat of this stranger's vehicle and listened more closely to the conversation, luckily not being discovered because of her attention on the wheel.

"Can't believe she thought that loser boyfriend of hers would actually make quarterback," she continued, stopping at a stop sign to look in her purse for some lipstick. "One of these days I'm going to catch her walking and tell her how underclass it is for a senior to-" She turned to the passenger seat and stopped talking out of shock, her phone still going off.

The tone she had reminded him of Shego and L, people he knew who weren't exactly on friendly terms with Kim. The things she said were so mean, it angered him a bit-actually a lot. He didn't think he would feel this way while living with the redhead. As far as he knew, she was so nice to everyone, and here this person was bad mouthing her over things so petty.

"That's not nice," Junior told her with angry look.

"What-what are you doing here?! How did you get in my car?" she questioned angrily, the shock leaving her in an instant. "Hey kid, it's a little early for Halloween, so why don't you go on and get out!"

"Apologize," he said, his stare unrelenting.

"Apologize?" she asked with a snort. "Oh? So you're acquainted with her," she said while rolling her eyes. "Of course, not surprised she'd hang out with freaks, considering she's one herself."

Upon reaching his limit, he leaned over to the steering wheel and pried it off with sheer force and chucked it into the sky where it disappeared. He then got out of the car and turned to the front of the vehicle. With one hand, he ripped out the engine and crushed it with his brute strength. He had quite the mischievous smirk and snickered as he dismantled the brunette's car to teach her a lesson, but the look on her face did more than enough to wipe it off.

The shock came back with full force and she stared at him in fear. Trembling and whimpering, she practically ripped open her car door and booked it out of there. Junior just stood there, the guilt hitting him hard. He continued to stand, nearly shaking at what he'd just done. He had no idea where that came from. It.. it felt good to destroy, to teach her a lesson and make her pay for her words, but to incite fear? He was afraid of admitting himself that answer, but he knew all too well what it was.

It felt good.

He felt like the very person who hurt Kim.

He retreated into the sky to continue his original mission, doing his best to forget the interaction ever happened. The last thing he wanted was to hurt and scare people. He hoped the redhead would not catch wind of this anytime soon.. For the first time since summer, he was scared.

After a while in the sky, the interaction slipped past his mind as it was filled with Cell. He wondered what he would do if he was actually alive. Would he get punished? How would he escape? He wasn't as powerful as the bio-android, maybe he could sneak in and retreat while keeping his energy on the down low. It'll be a cinch, he's sure of it.

The mini bio-android landed nearby his destination. He didn't want to risk it by continuing to fly, he needed to go by foot at this point. Cell was nothing to joke over, he didn't want to be discovered for the redhead's sake.

Junior hopped from tree to tree, gradually making his way to the clearing. When he made it there, it was awfully peaceful. Yes, there was a bit of destruction here and there, but he was surprised it still managed to exist the way it did considering the bio-android's unfathomable power. Then again, he purposely avoided training in this area specifically because of who he imprisoned here. Still, she was gone, so there should be no reasonable explanation to keep this place intact. For what purpose does it serve, besides harboring nothing but horrific memories?

For the heroine, at least.

Also, was he even here? If so, why would he continue training here? It didn't really make sense. He wasn't one to hold value over things so invaluable.. to him, at least. There are many parts of the Earth just like this, he could've easily moved on to a different spot to train. Still, he remembered the conversation between Kim and Sorgel from before, and the scientist clearly said the coordinates were the same.

He waited at the outskirts of the clearing, hesitating. From where he was at, Cell could spot him from a mile away, so why wasn't he moving forward? He thought for a moment, but came to no conclusion. Was he scared? Well, obviously, but this entire thing was his idea, the least he could do was go through with it.

After contemplating, he took a brisk step forward. Once he was in, he looked around quickly. Other than the massive destruction, there was nothing here. Literally, there was no bugs, animals, any sort of wildlife that resided here. When he was moving on foot, the amount of life in the area diminished as he moved to his destination. He continued until there was nothing left of life to be seen. The silence was unnerving, he couldn't even hear the cicadas, and his hearing was exceptional. He couldn't blame them for leaving, he'd do the same. Still.. if his father was truly gone, wouldn't they have returned?

Out of nowhere, a blast went toward him and he dodged it instantaneously. The blast nearly hit the clearing, but swerved to the outskirts instead, an explosion ensuing shortly afterwards.

"That was a warning shot," a voice announced in a threatening tone. "Had you been anyone else, well, let's say that's self-explanatory."

Junior quickly found the source of the disembodied voice and turned in its direction quickly, being towered over by his biological father. The distance between them closed in what seemed like no time at all. The mini chimera put it upon himself to defend and went into a stance. Cell only chuckled at the display.

"Relax, I have no desire to fight my spawn," he assured. "Although I meant what I said before. Warnings are warnings, before my patience wears thin you'd better leave. Gaining more power is my main priority right now and I certainly don't need you distracting me from it."

The chimera was allowing him to leave. Was this a trick? He overheard Kim and Ron conversing the other day, he found out his father had purposely allowed L to kill him. You couldn't blame him for thinking Cell wanted to get rid of him.

Junior hadn't relaxed himself, but he did start moving back out of the clearing. He was just about ready to blast off into the sky until he heard a step in his direction.

"I do wonder though, your purpose for being here," Cell started up again. "You aren't here for revenge, I can sense that. From another view, it's as if you have no plan at all. You simply came and left, but you and I know the truth, don't we, son?"

The child hadn't bothered to turn back, but he felt nervous. The way he called him 'son' scared him, it slipped from his mouth quite venomously. He had an idea of where he was getting at.. but he dearly hoped it wasn't the case.

"Did she send you here?" he suddenly asked, this time Junior turning back incredulously, almost fearfully.

"No!" Junior answered defensively.

Cell only crossed his arms, a scoff leaving his mouth. "I thought as much, there's absolutely no way she would allow that."

The mini bio-android began to tense up. He hoped he hadn't made things worse like bringing Cell back to Kim's life. If he was here, then Goku and the others must have lost, but he could sense their energies perfectly fine. He was incredibly confused on what was happening.

"So you've come here secretly," he continued, snapping Junior out of his thoughts. "And for what? To visit your old man? Let's be honest, you were hoping I'd die in that battle. All of you were, including that human you care so much for," he said, pausing to show his clear displeasure at that last part. "How disappointing, I didn't expect someone who shares my DNA to pity the lot, much less care."

Junior only stared on as Cell talked.. he sure talked a lot. The boy only just stood there and waited for him to finish just so he could leave. When the chimera noticed his behavior, he cleared his throat. "As I was saying, you can go tell that human I haven't forgotten about her. The look on her face when she realizes my survival should be amusing enough. I can already see it now."

The chimera's devilish smirk broadened at the thought of her face twisted in fear, but his son didn't take it too kindly and glared. He took the monster's reply as a way of saying goodbye, so he took no hesitation in leaving immediately. He shot into the air like a bullet and left.

Cell watched as he bolted into the sky until he could no longer be seen. His eyes narrowed somewhat, no doubt he had more than one problem to worry about. There was Goku and the others, but he was given more time to train by the Saiyan warrior, much to the others' displeasure. He wasn't sure why, but he wasn't going to complain about it. That bought him enough time, but unfortunately he had the humans to watch out for.

Sorgel was becoming an increasing pain recently ever since she came to confirm his survival. She was like a roach that kept returning no matter how times you exterminate it. As far as he knew, the containment device was on L, so there was still time until a new version would be created. He nearly scowled at his current thought process. Worrying about humans being any sort of threat angered him to the very core; he practically shook in rage. Worst of all, whenever he thought about the possibility of being captured and helpless, that damned redhead always came to mind.

Clenching his fists, he thought, "Never again."

Shortly after the confrontation, Junior had gone full speed ahead when he rammed into something, or rather, somebody.

Ron barreled backward and his back hit a tree, numerous branches falling and hitting him on the head. "Good thing I didn't have anything for breakfast.." he groaned, clutching his gut.

The mini chimera gasped and went for his aid, practically speechless as he tried to form an apology. He gibbered, unable to say anything coherent when the freckled teen shook his head.

"It's all good, just a little accident," Ron said in a strained voice, getting up slowly with what look liked an attempt at a painless expression. He was failing at it.

Clarity suddenly hit Junior like a dart. He looked up at the blonde with a cocked head. "How are you here?"

Ron sweat dropped, recollecting the memories that led up to this moment.

Rewind to moments before..

Kim and Ron were in her parents' car driving the tweebs around until they could find Junior's energy signature.

"Anything yet?" Kim asked from the driver's seat. Her twin brothers shook their heads.

"Nope, I don't think he's in Middleton," Tim said.

"Yeah, we're zooming out and he's not even in the state," Jim added.

The update only added to her list of worries. Kim grimaced slightly, trying her best not to let the information upset her. She gripped the wheel tightly in hopes of maintaining her composure. She had control of things in her life and she was getting better, but the mini chimera's sudden disappearance threw all the progress out the window. It almost felt like she had no control left.

"Hey, we'll find him, he's a tough kid," Ron tried to assure as he noticed her current bearing. "He's lucky he had someone like you looking out for him."

The redhead's eyes darted to her right briefly, landing them on her best friend for a moment before returning to the road. "I really hope so."

Tim and Jim continued zooming out in hopes of trying to locate Junior, only to find out more upsetting information. He wasn't even in the country. They exchanged unsure glances, not knowing how to deliver the information to their older sister.

"I mean, he probably snuck out at night! Probably curious and all of the places, it might not even feel far for him," Ron continued to assure.

"I still called out for him, he should've came back right away," Kim replied in a disconcerting tone as her grip on the steering wheel remained unrelenting.

"Well, maybe he had something planned today? You think he left a note? A clue?"

As if on cue, Kim made a turn and noticed police cars surrounding a white car and a distressed teen.

Catching their attention, everyone looked out the car window at the stop sign, unknowingly staring at what was going on. The redhead especially when she saw Bonnie in front of the ruined car. Upon stumbling this new situation, the teen rolled down her window to hear what was happening.

"So how tall did you say he was again, Ma'am?" the policeman asked, unsure of the information he was given.

"He-he was like, kid-sized? Three to four feet tall?"

The policeman's partner exchanged unsure glances with him. "..He's a kid?"

"Well! He's a kid who wrecked my car!" Bonnie exclaimed, beginning to get frustrated.

"The kid was driving a car?"

"No!" the brunette practically screamed. "He ripped out my steering wheel and threw it to the sky! He also took out my engine and crushed it, see?!" She gestured to her engine on the concrete, obviously crushed from the sheer force that was applied.

The cop looked at his partner, using one finger to circle around the side of his head to suggest the teen wasn't right in the head.

"Uh.. anything else we should know?"

Kim was suspicious of the information but tried to drive forward on her real mission until she heard one last piece of crucial evidence.

"Um, yeah, he's blue!"

Slamming the brakes, she bolted out of the car and approached Bonnie, making her jump.

"Which way did he go?"

The teen glared at Kim. "How am I supposed to know, K? I was running for my life, I could've died!"

The redhead glanced to her vehicle and was astounded. She couldn't believe, no, she wouldn't believe it. Bonnie had to be lying, she's just like that! Despite that, Bonnie had no prior knowledge of Junior's existence until today, she probably didn't even know his ties to her.

"You're lying, he couldn't have done this," Kim accused angrily,also incredulously while getting up in the girl's face.

"Excuse me?" Bonnie asked, scoffing. "I knew you were in cahoots with that little freak! So just because I got a car before you, you sent a little maniac after me? Is that it?"

The heroine tired to restrain her building-up fury. It was pointless continuing this discussion with Bonnie of all people, especially after all the things she said about Junior. Now she was pulling things out of thin air.

"Ugh, I so don't have time for this," Kim grumbled, practically stomping away from the brunette who was still angrily standing beside two police officers who didn't know what to say or do. They only looked at each other with confused looks.

"What happened?" Ron and the twins asked simultaneously.

"..I-I think Junior stopped by here, but I'm not sure," she started, still unsure but.. scared. What if Junior did turn out like Cell? What if he couldn't help it? He might be fighting those killer instincts of his for all she knew.

"Now what I expected when I said he might've left a clue," Ron said on a whim, looking out the window when something hit him.

No, not physically. It was like he suddenly grew a sixth sense. He experienced this before, when he had access to his Mystical Monkey Powers. He could feel Junior, far, but alive. He didn't seem to be in danger, if anything, he was trying to be stealth. Despite that, he knew where he was, it was like a sudden moment of clarity.

"..Maybe we should split up," he suddenly suggested.

Kim looked at him weirdly. "What? Ron, we've only got one device to locate him with."

"Actually, we cooked up a few in case you wanted one," one of the twins added, handing one to Kim and Ron in an instant.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Kim said, grateful, just unable to properly say her thanks to her brothers.

"Alright, I'll step out and whip out the ol' scooter!" Ron exclaimed, quickly stepping out of the car and booking it to his house. It wasn't far, but Kim thought he forgot Junior was currently out of the state. His scooter barely made it to the school, she was sure it wouldn't make it out of Middleton.

Ron booked it back to his house, but ran past it so Kim wouldn't find him there. Just in case she went back for him. He looked around, seeing the scarcely populated sidewalk and immediately tried to power up. The immense power hit him and the blue Monkey glow surrounded him completely.

Ecstatic, he yelled, "Boo-yah! I knew it'd come back!" He shoved a hand into his pocket and placed Rufus on the ground.

"Sorry buddy, you gotta stay behind in case Kim tries to find me. I'll be back soon, I swear!" Rufus sweat dropped as he gazed back to the device and zoomed out to reveal the entire map of the world. After finding Junior's location, he shot into the sky and towards him.

"I'm coming for you, little buddy!"

"And here I am," he announced proudly, hints of his pain leaking out from his voice as he clutched his gut and attempted a firm stance.

So his powers came back, that was good Junior thought. Unfortunately, he was still weaker in strength compared to Cell. Realizing his current thought process and their present location, beads of sweat enveloped his face. Panic splashed across his face and he grabbed ahold of Ron to leave.

"Whoa, hey! I'm fine! What's the hurry?" Ron asked playfully, curiously gazing at the young boy's face before realizing the source of his panic.

There should be nothing he feared other than one, obvious thing. L wasn't an issue anymore, but somebody else was.

A shadow enveloped his entire body, making way to cover Junior completely too. Without turning, he knew. His new sixth sense told him it was none other than the dastardly chimera himself.

Surprisingly, he wasn't scared, actually.. he was angry. Senior year had gotten off to a rotten start and continued a downward spiral. Kim was different before summer vacation, something in her had changed after the fact. He knew the source was standing right behind him; he had all the right to be furious. He was the reason everything was going wrong.

He was the reason Kim changed.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here, human," Cell sneered, looking down on the freckled teen. "Have you come to fight? I sensed another energy racing here, but I never would've thought it was that redhead's sidekick. Who would've guessed that lowly energy belonged to you."

"Oh yeah? Lot of big talk coming from someone who lost," Ron returned with a glare. He actually had no idea how the fight went between Cell and those warriors. He guessed the outcome through this: Cell remained dormant after all this time. Why should he? If he won, he'd have no trouble holding back. The relief he felt when he saw the bio-android's face twist in fury didn't stay long, since he remembered the immense power difference between them.

"Oh, you're going to definitely regret uttering those words, you foolish boy," the chimera continued in a threatening tone. "Now I'm curious, what strength has given you the asinine decision of insulting me? I do hope you can back up that attitude of yours because no dragon alive will reverse what I'm about to do."

Ron could feel his threatening energy and he wasn't going to lie, it was terrifying. It definitely intimidated him, but he wasn't going down easy. He stood his ground and prepared a stance in order to defend himself. Cell chuckled at the display.

The bio-android experimentally lunged at him, with no intent to actually attack. The freckled teen instinctively flinched and let out a short yell, causing the fiend in front of him to laugh out loud.

"You really thought I was going to strike you," Cell said with a laugh. "Relax, I'm a patient being, you'll get what's coming to you. I only wanted to give you a scare for now, it's hardly entertaining here without that human girl around."

Realizing who he meant, Ron glared. The chimera only continued to laugh.

"Be grateful, you're the second human I've willingly spared. Though, unwillingly, I must add. If I had it my way, you'd be there and there, oh, and a little of you all the way over there," he added, pointing to separate areas of the wilderness with joy.

"We're leaving," Ron just said, trying not to entertain the fiend any further. He and Junior lifted to the sky and left, but the taunting expression of the android hadn't left his mind.

Cell, finding the young man's existence entirely insulting, found some joy for once in his loss. Inciting fear was never an activity tiring to him. Though, it wasn't as fun compared to the redhead. Now her fear was an even greater pleasure that none could compare.

Ron and Junior flew through the sky toward Middleton in silence. The mini chimera curiously gandered to Ron's face and to see his reaction. He had a serious expression in place. He was usually relaxed and fun to be with, he was hardly serious until now. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

"Don't tell Kim," the freckled teen just said, breaking the silence.

The child was taken aback at what he said. "But she needs to know," he returned. Of all people, he knew Kim's current behavior. The obsession, the toll, the fear. Even if he didn't tell her, lying to her and telling her Cell was dead would only push back the inevitable and she would be even worse. Especially if she found out.

"Please," Ron continued, pleading. "She doesn't need this. I.. I don't want to stress her out more than she is. I know she's been a bit different lately, but this'll just make it worse. Besides, you still sense those guys, right? It means they're still alive, so that means he's their problem, not ours."

Junior was nervous. "What do I say?"

Ron knew he meant his disappearance today. "I'll talk to her. Just be there for Kim so she knows you're alright."

They finally arrived at Ron's house behind some thick bushes and as predicted Kim was there to remind him of the limits his scooter had.

"Ron!" Kim shouted in a demanding tone, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. Her parents car was parked nearby with the tweebs still inside. Looks like they're been skipping soccer practice today. She looked around previously found the scooter in Ron's garage, also Rufus. Which means the freckled teen must still be close.

The blonde powered down and jumped out of the bushes. "Hey, I'm here!" he yelled back, jogging towards her.

"I don't think your scooter will make it out of the state," the redhead said with a discouraging look, her eyes gesturing to the "vehicle".

"Oh, uh, about that, guess what? I didn't need it because I found Junior!" Ron said aloud, signaling the child to get out from the bushes and to come to him.

Junior was really anxious all of a sudden. Now that he was back in town he remembered what he did before he left. He dearly hoped Kim didn't find out, he didn't want her to hate him. She was his only family and he didn't want to lose that.

"I said I didn't need it because I found Junior!" Ron repeated, even louder and interrupting Junior's thought process. He snapped out of it and took a deep breath.

The mini bio-android walked out from behind the bushes and shyly went to Ron's side, almost hiding behind him. He had so much to say and yet so little at the same time. He didn't even know what to say to her, he had so much inside but was absentminded simultaneously. It was just too overwhelming! When he finally looked up to see Kim's face, she already pulled him to her, hugging him tightly.

"Don't ever do that again," she said in a firm tone, yet in relief at the same time.

He returned her action wholeheartedly. "Okay."

As soon as they finished embracing, Kim's mind was racing with questions.

"Why did you leave? Where did you go?" she questioned.

The anxiety hit him again, already thinking about what Ron told him earlier when they flew back here.

"KP, I don't know how to say this, but uh, he went to check if Cell was still alive," Ron said all of a sudden, trying to as careful as possible saying it but causing the heroine's head to jerk in his direction with a terrified expression.

"He what?!?" Kim exclaimed incredulously, feeling the hammer of fear pound into her heart. Trying to rationalize the situation, she realized the mini chimera was here and alive. She briskly returned to him and examined him, making sure he wasn't hurt in any way.

"And you're okay? What happened? Did you.. did you see him?" Kim stared at him, intense and worried. Junior gulped, not knowing how to answer. He didn't want to lie, but he remembered Ron's words.

She doesn't need this.

"No," he finally answered.

The redhead just continued staring, not knowing how to feel. She felt something, but couldn't figure out what. She desperately wanted it to be relief, but somehow was leaning to dread.

Was it true? Was Cell really.. dead? Sorgel was lying after all? Could it have been all a ruse to get her to return the containment device early? Perhaps she secretly planned on using the device for Junior, disguising the entire thing as if it were meant for the bio-android.

Kim's mouth went dry, it opened, but she was hesitating on her words. "He-he's gone? Are you sure?" she questioned, wanting to be as sure as possible; wanting to remove any sort of doubts and skepticism from her head.

It pained him to lie. Junior almost had a strained expression. Her current mannerisms only worsened the feeling. "..Yes."

"So, I guess Sorgel was trying to scare us into doing what she wanted after all," Ron added with a shrug, trying to reaffirm Junior's words. "Well, all's well that ends well, guess now we're sure he's six feet under. Sleeping with the fishes!" he finished with a big smile.

An odd sense of respite hit her. But it didn't feel real, it felt like her mind was playing tricks on her. How do you feel a fake sense of relief? She wanted so much as to believe him, she really did, she honest to God, wanted to. But something inside of her was intensely glued to the idea of Cell's ongoing existence. As if he never truly went away.

Still.. the relief.. It wasn't bad.. but it felt like a prelude of something worse to come. Was it the paranoia talking? She didn't know, but if Junior said he was gone, then maybe he really was. He wouldn't lie to her, at least not about something that serious.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm saying it, but you were right, Ron," Kim started, still unable to believe it.

"Better believe it," Ron replied proudly. "Now, today's had a stressy beginning, so how's about we all head to Bueno Nacho and relax? You know what, I'll pay!"

"Wow, first time for everything," Kim continued with a smile. She then remembered what happened with Bonnie today. She thought it better not to bring it up until they were somewhere private. She wanted relax at least one time after summer ended. She was sure the brunette instigated it, still.. it wasn't something to just brush off.

She looked below at the mini chimera and noticed he was still apprehensive. She gave him a pat on the head and smiled.

"Hey, cheer up! You know I would never get mad at you, you're still learning right from wrong, okay? It's okay to make mistakes," she assured, the apprehensiveness leaving him slightly. She knew he wouldn't completely get over it, but it didn't hurt to relieve him somewhat.

She was just glad the nightmare was over.. almost.

As they began walking back to the car, she also remembered Bonnie mentioning that she got a new car.

"Hey, you think I could ask my parents for my own car?" she asked Ron, as they all buckled in.

Chapter Text

Over a month had passed and it was nearing Halloween. Not close, per say, but it was the next big Holiday coming up soon.

Junior heard it referenced by Kim a few times because of his unusual appearance. Well, he didn't see it so, but he guessed humans aren't adept at change and are wary of it. He remembered this from his encounter with Bonnie and being indirectly called a freak.

He was at the house, mostly. It was a bit stifling, but he couldn't help it since the redhead insisted he stayed in. His teachers were her parents, sometimes her twin brothers but she didn't really believe they were all that 'smart'. They did help in relieve the boredom, but.. it was only a temporary solution.

He was a fast learner. It was pretty apparent on how he absorbed information just like that. The child remembered her parents praising him, but it was mostly because of his photographic memory. He only needed to hear it once and he had it done quickly. It was nice to be complimented and all, but they were all really busy people. Kim's father was a rocket scientist, her mother a brain surgeon, her brothers were prodigies, and she was a hero.

Yeah the missions were fun, but if Kim could handle it on her own, she wanted Junior to stay at home. It seemed Sorgel was keeping an eye on them, perhaps waiting for a chance to nab the boy. Thanks to that, he stayed here a lot.. alone.

Junior felt lonely.

It was a good thing Ron had a lot of free time, he came over a lot, also helping with the boredom. But today was different, he seemed.. determined. Serious even. There were even the twin brothers Tim and Jim here too. Apparently they were practicing their Mad Dog routine after replacing Ron as the new mascot.

The freckled teen donned a coaching uniform, barking orders at the twins. Making demands on how the "Mad Dog" should be. The mini chimera may be smart, but he had no idea what was going on or what he was talking about. It definitely had some importance seeing how the twins got tired of him bugging in their routine and putting him in a containment field.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt at all," Jim relayed to Junior, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah, think of it as uh.." He looked to Tim with a smirk, his twin smirking in return. "Dog cage for a Mad Dog!" they shouted in unison.

Junior looked on with more confusion and worry. He poked at the field and saw an orange bubble pop up.. he felt he should tell Kim about this.

And speak of the devil, the girl walked right on in after opening the front door.

"Oh, there are you, Junior, hey Ro-" she stopped in her steps when she noticed the containment field around Ron. "Hey! No putting people in containment fields! Remember?"

Tim and Jim just glanced at each other and reluctantly turned off the field. "Not our fault."

"It's just that Ron's really.."

Kim crossed her arms angrily.

"Buggin'," her brother finished.

The redhead shot Ron an accusatory look. "Ron, were you buggin'?"

"Look, we can't undo the past, people!"

She rolled her eyes and sat next to him, dismissing what he said. "Listen, Wade ran a search on all known green females on Earth, and he came up with Shego and a spokeswoman for the Asparagus Advisory Council.. and they both have alibis."

"What happened?" the chimera questioned. He hadn't accompanied Kim and Ron on their current mission to figure out who broke Drakken out of prison.

"Oh, um.. well, you remember the blue guy with the scar and the ponytail? The one we sent to prison?"

Junior nodded and she continued. "Turns out he broke out, someone helped him and we can't figure out who. We thought it was Shego but.."

"Wasn't her," Ron finished, still clearly upset with the situation.

"Right, and according to Wade, a green woman shooting plasma broke him out, and if it wasn't Shego, then the question is who? And you know we don't exactly know that many green people.." A sudden remembrance of her obsession with trying to find ways to take down the bio-android came to mind and she felt a chill.

When Ron noticed, he cleared his throat. "Well, good thing we only know one! Right? And that's Shego!"

"Wasn't her, though.." Kim trailed off, contemplating. She turned back to Junior and shrugged. "But don't sweat it, we got this, so please stay home and relax, okay?"

Junior pouted, he really hated the situation, but couldn't blame the circumstances. Sorgel was not someone to take lightly.

"Anyway, I digress. Still dwelling?" Kim asked Ron, smirking slightly.

"Pep puppies?" Ron asked, almost incredulously. "That trash has to be put out!"

"Trash?!" one of the twins asked in disbelief, offended.

"We'll see about that!" the other finished, both marching off.

"Junior, you should go with them, help them feel better?" she asked, hoping he'll help her with the situation.

The mini bio-android nodded, jogging towards Tim and Jim but glancing back to see Kim trying to help Ron with his own issues. He quickly turned his head back toward the twins, feeling a twinge of guilt from within. He knew he should keep the secret, but.. it was getting much more difficult when time passed. In the recent past, he could sense his father's energy in the distance, and it.. frightened him.

Goku was working on a farm near his home when he suddenly got a loud voice in his head.

"King Kai?" he asked, confused. "Sorry, I can't train today, Chi Chi told me I had to work-"

"What? No, that's not what this is about! Do you seriously think about training every second of the day?"

"Well, I can't help it, with Cell still around, I want to get stronger! It's been a long time since I've had a serious fight," he finished excitedly, clenching his fists.

King Kai sighed. "I never understood why you ever spared the monster. Then again, you gave him a Senzu bean seven years ago."

Goku gave a short laugh. "Trust me, King Kai, he won't destroy the planet. Or try to at least, I've got a good feeling this time, like I did with Vegeta when he came to Earth. The second time, I mean."

"Whatever, this isn't what I meant to talk about," the Kai continued in his head, a more serious tone coming on.

Goku ceased working for the moment once he heard the sudden shift. "Something wrong?"

"Yes and no, I'm sure you all can handle this kind of threat. I sensed a lifeform enter Earth's atmosphere."

"Are they evil?"

"In Earth terms, yes. They hail from a planet called Lorwardia. They're weak, but their technology is not something to mess with, it rivals that of the Tuffles on planet Vegeta, maybe more so. You should be careful when handling them, but I'm positive you should be able to deal with them for the time being," he elaborated.

The warrior thought for a brief moment, but had a great idea-to him at least. "Hmm, if they're not that strong.. maybe they'll be a good challenge for the kids! Goten and Trunks should have a blast dealing with this!"

The blue Kai nearly ripped off his antennas. "Did you not hear a word I said!? Their technology is no joke! Goten and Trunks are only children, right? They'll probably get killed!"

"Well, how's their technology? Maybe Bulma can whip something up," Goku suggested, only adding to King Kai's exasperation.

"I think I forgot to mention, they're known for their intergalactic conquests. They're a lot like Frieza, except they've been worse in recent years ever since you beat him. With Frieza out of the way, they've been taking over worlds like crazy, expanding their galactic empire. Earth may be their next target."

"But there's only one of them, right? It feels unfair."

"It doesn't matter if it's unfair, you need to prevent a possible planetary conquest. I thought you cared about Earth's safety?" he asked, almost rhetorically. He should've kept in mind the fact that Goku sparing villains and giving them a second chance was a common thing. Cell being the recent one.

"Of course, I do! I mean, with me, Vegeta, Gohan, Buu and even Cell here, I don't think they'll be much of a problem."

"I don't know whether I should feel bad for your wife or for the planet," the Kai mused, discouraged.

Goku crossed his arms. "If it's that big of a deal, I'll go check it out. If it's not that bad, I'll bring Goten and Trunks. Deal?"

"Fine, I guess that's the best you can do," finished the defeated Kai.

Nevertheless, there was a feeling of anticipation within the Saiyan. He wondered what this alien was like. Lorwardia, was it? He wondered if Vegeta knew anything about the planet, maybe he'll ask about it later.

The football game came around again.

Junior was in the bleachers with Kim's parents. They agreed to watch to make sure Sorgel wouldn't pull anything. Not that she'd be able to with all these people around. Kim was performing with the cheerleaders, the twins were doing their Pep Puppies routine, which the crowd was eating up. Ron was apparently in the game, but was too distracted by the twins' stellar performance to even play properly.

He ran into a pole and got piled on. Things could not get worse for him today.

"Oo, that's gotta hurt," James took note, wincing at the blows Ron took.

"I heard from Kimmie, it seems he took it personally when the twins took over as mascots," Anne added placidly.

"Well, I'd feel bad for him if this weren't such a great distraction for the kids. They haven't been blowing things up as of late, I'd like to have a full night's sleep without waking up to an explosion again."

Junior listened to their ongoing conversation until he saw Kim stop her cheerleading performance, a serious look on her face. He suddenly leaped from his seat, catching a few incredulous looks from parts of the crowd that noticed.

"Gotta jet. Drakken," Kim said to Ron, the teen throwing his helmet to the ground.

"In the middle of the game? Man, now he's just rude!"

"I can handle this one," she reassured.

"Really?" he said, a bit disappointed. "Oh, okay. But you know, it's not the same without you here cheering."

"But you got the Pep Puppies!" she assured.

"Ugh, puh-LEASE. You know what the worst thing is about those Pep Puppies?!" he asked angrily.

Kim grinned. "That they're actually pretty good, and you're jellin'," she stated, as a matter-of-fact, Ron pouting in return.

Junior suddenly appeared in between them, the landing a bit rough as the wind hit them.

"Whoa kiddo, you're supposed to be way up there!" Kim said anxiously, looking above and spotting her parents' surprised faces.

"I got worried," he said, somewhat dejected, thinking he did something wrong.

"Just keep it on the down low with your powers, okay?" she said in an assuring tone. He nodded, but had a look that said he knew something was up.

She sighed. "I have to go, Drakken sitch, remember? I have to go stop him, but it's so not a problem."

"Well, with this, it won't," a voice suddenly entered, the three of them turning in the voice's direction.

"Wade!"

"Hey guys!" the tech genius greeted, holding a portable device and putting it in Kim's direction. It opened, revealing her battle suit, Kim grabbing it immediately.

"Dude! Another upgrade for the battle suit?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Not just an upgrade, the upgrade," Wade finished with a smirk, walking towards the battle suit in the redhead's possession and pressing a button, revealing the new stealth mode he implemented. "Check out the new stealth mode."

Kim smirked slightly. "Sweet."

"I'm coming with," Junior stated, causing the three to look down in his direction in surprise.

"Junior, it's better to stay where there's a lot of people, I don't want Sorgel tailing us knowing it's only you and me. I'd feel more at ease knowing you're safe with my family," she advised, the determined look not leaving the child's alabaster face.

"Please?" she asked, a puppy dog pout coming about.

The mini chimera's determination broke when he noticed the oncoming threat and closed his eyes in defeat. "..Okay, I'll stay." He still felt bad about not telling her of Cell's ongoing existence, staying was the least he could do.

"Spankin'!" she shouted, patting his head before turning to her boyfriend. "And you know, those Pep Puppies, they'll be cheering for you, Ron," she noted. "Don't forget!"

The freckled teen grinned, which widened when she planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back in a moment's notice!" she shouted, departing immediately with the battle suit.

Goku had arrived at his destination where the supposed alien was staying. It seemed to be a fancy lair in the mountains, appearing very technologically advanced. No doubt, this was the place. It looked more advanced than whatever they built back at Capsule Corporation, it looked like King Kai was serious about this.

He didn't exactly sneak in, but he just broke whatever got in his way in order to enter. He noticed two green women, and one blue man. Man, were they all aliens? No, it had to be the tall green woman, she seemed less human than the other two. Besides, he remembered the smaller green woman from that skirmish back at the school in mountains. He was about to go and approach she, the alien who called herself 'Warmonga' when a familiar redhead appeared.

"She's looks like she knows what she's doing," he thought, watching the fight commence between Kim and Warmonga. She was a pretty good fighter, reminding him of Chi Chi back in the martial arts tournament days. He wondered if she knew Cell was still around.. she should still have that kid of his with her, right? She probably knows already.

Anyway, it seemed she had a handle on this situation.. and she was human! Good to know King Kai was exaggerating after all.

Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse when she was struck down and helpless. Warmonga prepared to deal the final blow, causing Goku to move, but ceased abruptly when he saw her get saved right after-and by Shego at that! Too bad she was taken out right after.

No wonder she managed to survive Cell, she was quite the lucky individual. Eventually she managed to stop Drakken's latest doomsday device with Warmonga's spear and destroy the lair in the process, revealing Goku in the distance.

Drakken began fuming at his sudden loss, all the while Kim prepared to take on Warmonga again until she noticed a peculiar shape in the room. It was Goku's hair.

"Huh?" she let out in confusion. Squinting her eyes, she tried to remember who it was. "Goku?"

"Sorry for interrupting, I heard someone came to Earth and came to check it out, but it seems like you've got it handled."

"Who dare try to interrupt Warmonga's battle?!" the she-alien roared at Goku, appearing like a mess from the explosion that just occurred moments before. She held her fist out, ready to fight.

Goku observed her and immediately thought that his mentor was right on the money. Warmonga was pretty weak, but from what he'd seen, her technology was no joke. But now everything was gone and all Warmonga had was her strength, which he could handle with ease.

But that wouldn't be fair, so he'll just leave it to the heroine nearby.

"Don't worry, I won't interfere," he just said, sending Kim a thumbs up. The redhead only stared in confusion.

Suddenly a monitor behind Warmonga lit up, catching everyone's attention. On it, was Junior.

Kim just remembered that Warmonga mentioned something about a "Great Blue" which she had mistaken Drakken for.

"Hello," he began, attempting an alien-like voice to speak to Warmonga as taught to him by the twins. "I seek the one called Warmonga. Meet me on Pluto, I am the Great Blue. Repeat. I am the Great Blue."

"But if he's the Great Blue.. then.." Warmonga asked herself, her puzzlement quickly evolving to pure fury. She turned to Drakken with a glare. "You LIED to Warmonga!"

Despite Drakken's plea, she swiftly grabbed ahold of him and sent him flying before leaving in her spaceship. Ron, the twins, and Junior appeared on the screen, all shouting, "Boo-yah!"

"Spankin'! But how did you guys know?"

Shego came in, already recognizing Goku standing nearby. "I'm not gonna even ask," she just said, before turning to Kim and chucking a device at her.

Catching it, she recognized it instantly. "My Kimmunicator? You clued them in on that plan? Nice."

"Don't get too chummy there, Cupcake. I just happened to remember you a had a certain blue whatever-he-is with you. Besides, I wanted to get back to the spa. You know, Mitus has the golden touch." She turned to leave before turning back once more to say something else, "Next time, you're mine."

Kim only crossed her arms as the villainess left. Now there was one more thing to deal with.

"So, you guys just deal with anything extraterrestrial?" she asked the Saiyan.

"Well, I am an alien, so yeah," he just answered plainly.

Kim didn't want to believe it, but.. she had personally seen aliens at area 51.

Out of nowhere, Gohan appeared and stepped down beside his father.

"Dad, is it over?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, you can thank her over here. I'm starting to think we can just leave everything to her," he said with a laugh.

The redhead almost had a look of horror. "Don't even joke.. This, yeah. Anything remotely close to what happened last summer? No way. Not again."

Gohan scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking at the girl apologetically. "Sorry, we should've came earlier. I sensed a new presence too, but I thought my dad would handle it."

Kim shook her head. "No big, you guys have done more than enough for this planet. I'm so glad you guys dealt with Cell."

The demi-Saiyan looked at her with a puzzled expression. There's.. no way she wouldn't know, right? He heard from his dad that a Cell Junior had been revived and went to live with her, so there's no way she wouldn't know. Unless she wasn't supposed to know? But who in the world would keep that from her? And why?

Goku, unable to read the situation, just gave it to her as plain as day. "What do you mean by that? He's still alive! Oh, but I did actually beat him, it's just that I spared him because I-"

"Dad," Gohan suddenly started, placing a hand on his shoulder in order to get him to stop talking. He sounded pretty serious. Goku didn't understand why, but he only guessed it because the demi-Saiyan was still upset about the matter of sparing the chimera.

"Huh? What's the matter? Are you still upset about it?"

"Dad," he repeated, gesturing to the heroine in front of them.

When Goku finally looked, he had a look of understanding.

Ron had secured a win for the Middleton Mad Dogs.

For once in this whole situation, he finally felt good about what happened. The Pep Puppies? They're alright! He even gave them his mouth foam from when he was the school's mascot! He also apologized to them, so everything was okay now.

He looked in the distance and saw Kim practicing in her cheer uniform. He waved at her, but she didn't seem to notice. That's weird, she was almost facing him, but maybe she was too focused on her cheer routine to ever properly see him. It was whatever, he'll just see her after practice, no biggie.

Practice was over, and he headed over to where he thought Kim would be, but she was just.. gone. Did she forget he was here too? It didn't help that she was his ride. Was he going to have to walk home again? Well, walking home wasn't that bad, but he wanted to see her again and hang out..

Ron waited by the parking lot, Rufus seemed to wake up from his pocket and stretched and yawned.

"Oh, hey buddy. I'm just waiting on Kim to pick me up. You'd think she wouldn't forget to pick up her own boyfriend, right? Haha," he laughed, tapping his one foot while waiting. For some reason he had an unsettling feeling arising from within. He ignored it, pushing it down as far as he could. It was unwarranted, because there was nothing he had done for her to be mad at as of late.

A purple sloth drove by, slowing down in front of Ron. The anxiety he had disappeared as soon as he opened the car door to get inside, flopping in the seat.

"Oh man, I was thinking you forgot me at practice, but you wouldn't forget your main man, right?" he asked, turning to look at her, but noticed Junior in the back seat. The child was apprehensive.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Junior couldn't look at him. He only turned away, his face on the verge of sorrow. Puzzled, he turned to his girlfriend.

"Kim, did something happen?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, let's just take you home," she replied nonchalantly.

Ron didn't buy it, but maybe the kid was upset at something else? He was unsure of what it was specifically, but maybe he could ask about it later. The atmosphere in the car was very tense, to put it nicely.

They rode in silence for a few minutes. Only the sounds of cars passing by and the car itself could be heard. The freckled teen glanced around now and then, checking on Junior each time. The mini chimera still seemed tense. It was like this until he noticed they were almost at his house, but silence in the car, it was unnerving. It was just silence, though. Maybe Kim had a lot on her mind right now. At least they foiled Drakken's plot last night, so she shouldn't be in that much of a bad mood.

Kim parked in front of Ron's house. No, he couldn't leave it like this, no way. He unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door, preparing to say something when the girl broke the silence.

"Ron, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Ron froze. Anything he had to tell her? He thought for a brief moment, was there anything? No, not that he could think of. Well, there was the matter concerning Cell, but other than that, he hadn't a clue. He turned back to look at her, she had a serious look, but she was also expectant. What exactly was she expecting?

"Um, no? If this is about my powers coming back, then-"

Kim gripped the steering wheel tightly, shaking her head. "Never mind, goodnight, Ron. Let's talk later."

Ron stood there, confused as his girlfriend backed up and parked at her house. He watched as she walked into the house with Junior, the young boy turning to look at him worriedly, but followed suit into Kim's house.

It was like being hit by a truck head on.

He's still alive!

Why would Goku say that, if what Junior told her was the opposite? There was a stinging, cold sensation on her skin. Sick, she felt utterly sick inside. An unsettling feeling had made home in her stomach, only growing. Tension grew in her face and limbs, so she started replaying the memory of what she was told over a month ago to try and give herself some respite. The panic only rendered the memory useless, stating a simple, yet terrifying fact in her head over and over again. Her attempts were only in vain.

Nothing, there was nothing she could do.

"Hey!"

She didn't know who shouted at her, but it suddenly brought her to her senses. Snapping back to reality, she realized she was staring down at the ground and gripping herself tightly, her breathing slightly uneven. Quickly looking up, she noticed Goku and his son looking over her like she'd fainted.

Kim had a look like a deer caught in headlights. She shook it off and opened her mouth, but nothing came out for a moment. Stammering a bit, she finally said, "I.. have to go, I have to go." She ran past them, blatantly ignoring whatever else they had to say in order to head home.

Nothing made sense. What were they doing this past month? Nothing? Why was he being so complacent? That monster could attack at any moment and the Saiyan acted like nothing was transpiring. His casualness gave her a false sense of security, why was he so casual? This was serious! Everyone is in danger, not just her! Have some urgency, like you actually care!

The redhead was on her way home. Her face was cold, she felt it as soon as the wind hit her face. After a brief moment, she realized she was sweating earlier. No wonder there was that stinging feeling on her skin. She must've shown them a side she hadn't planned to reveal.

She was home, feeling an enormous weight dragging her limbs down. Her eyes hurt, but she hadn't cried or anything. But there was a painful throb in her head, it.. really hurt. She stepped in her house, wincing a bit at the light inside, but noticing her parents in the kitchen and her brothers in the living room with Junior.

"Oh hey, you're home!"

Kim flinched, taking a sudden step back. She hadn't realized Ron was here too. "Oh.. yeah, sorry I took awhile."

"No big, also I won the game! You were right about your brothers, they.." Ron was talking, but Kim couldn't make out what he was saying. It was all muffled, like she had earmuffs on.

The heroine just nodded, to show that she was listening. "Yeah, wow, congrats. Told you the Tweebs could do it," she replied, rubbing the side of her head. "Hey, it's getting late, but congrats again."

Ron noticed her current bearing, thinking it must be jet lag. "Oh! Alright, well goodnight, KP. See ya tomorrow." He leaned in to hug her, she almost reeled back, but resisted the urge and returned his embrace.

"Well, adios!" the freckled teen shouted, marking his departure from the Possible household.

Everyone went to bed, and Junior prepared to rest when Kim approached him from behind.

"Hey buddy, let's talk for a bit, okay?"

The mini chimera turned around and noticed her appearance, mostly her face. That mission wasn't too hard for her, was it? She looked exhausted, like she went to hell and back. The child looked at her worriedly.

Kim sat on her bed, patting the spot next to her and gesturing for him to sit down. Junior went and climbed on the bed, taking the seat next to her. He turned to his right and looked up at her. She appeared pensive, as if thinking of what to say. He watched as she opened her mouth and closed it quickly; she seemed to be thinking hard on her words.

"Junior, do you remember when I said we shouldn't be keeping secrets?" she finally asked.

The child thought back and remembered the argument she had with Ron inside Bueno Nacho; that they shouldn't be teaching him to keep secrets from one another. They had a slight falling out that time, but things were better now. He wondered why she was asking, but he nodded to answer her question.

Kim sat up straight, taking a deep breath in and out. "..Do you have something you want to tell me?"

Junior's eyes widened, but then he became nervous. When the redhead noticed, she sighed. "I won't be mad as long as you tell me the truth. No.. even then, I can't be mad. You're still just a kid," she continued, running a hand through her hair. "Please, I need to know. Are you keeping anything from me?"

The guilt had built to the point where he could no longer keep it in. The mini bio-android looked up at her and nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry."

She joined her hands together, gripping them tightly. "Was it your idea?"

Junior's eyes widened again, the look on his face answering her question. But she wanted to hear it from him directly. She didn't like this situation one bit, but if it's what she's thinking, then she needed to know.

"I need you to be honest with me, please. Honesty and trust is important in friendships and relationships."

On the verge of tears, he shook his head. He knew what happened the last time he kept a secret. Things went bad between Kim and Ron, they nearly ended their relationship and he really didn't want that to happen again. He didn't want to be the reason they parted, he didn't want to lose the family he just gained. The idea wasn't with ill intentions, maybe she'd understand.

Kim scooted closer to him and wrapped an arm around him, rubbing the side of his left arm. "Hey, it's okay, it's not your fault. You're just doing what you think is best. You wanted me to feel better about it, right?"

The boy nodded, sniffling. "Please don't be mad at Ron."

The redhead closed her eyes tightly. "He did a bad thing withholding very important information. What happens between him and I won't be your fault, it never will be, okay? If I'm mad at him, it's not you."

"But you are mad," he said, more like a statement, but he said it in such a sad tone.

"..Yeah, because for a whole month I thought everyone was safe, I thought you were safe, my family," she paused, increasing the grip on him unintentionally. "I wasted a whole month doing nothing, while he knew everything. He even made you keep it a secret from me. I can't forgive that."

Kim fell back onto the bed from the sitting position. Instinctually, Junior followed suit. He looked up at her anxiously, wondering what will happen to Ron.

Kim already knew what to do next; if Ron decided to be honest, then things should go smoothly. If he doesn't fess up.. it really might be over between them. Whipping out her Kimmunicator, she contacted Wade.

"Kim?" he asked, in his pajamas.

"Ron told you to withhold updates on the containment device, didn't he?" she asked.

The boy's sleepiness wore off at that question. "..Yeah, but it was more like beg. I didn't think it was a good idea long-term, since it was inevitable you'd find out, I told him that. Sorry, Kim."

"It's fine, thanks for being honest. But.. updates?"

"It's close to being finished. About 90%. There's a matter of replicating it for using it on more than one subject, Sorgel's words, not mine."

"She's planning on that one for Junior maybe.." she mused, looking at the mini chimera beside her worriedly. "Thanks Wade, keep me updated."

"Roger that, Kim. I'll contact you as soon as I have something, and.. you still want me to update you on..?" He ceased speaking, noticing Junior beside her.

Kim knew what he was referring to. Besides updates on the containment device, there were also updates on Cell and his origins, or any sort of weaknesses he had. He didn't even have to ask.

"Do you have to ask?"

Wade shrugged sheepishly. "I guess not. Goodnight, Kim. I'll keep you posted." Then he signed off.

Warmonga had actually came back from Pluto, realizing she'd been fooled a second time. Now, she had planned on her revenge against the human girl who bested her and the blasted blue man who dared to parade around as the Great Blue.

She was about to enter Earth's atmosphere when an unfamiliar presence appeared on the ship. With a ray gun in hand, she quickly whipped around and aimed for the stranger who invaded her spaceship.

"Whoa there, I'm only here to help. Warmonga, is it?" the man asked, both of his hands in the air.

It was a man with a slight tan. He'd donned a dark outfit similar to the Kais, short sleeved. Big, black spiky hair with a reddish tint, with bangs that hung right over his eyes. He was definitely not from Lorwardia, so all the more to approach this man with apprehension.

"Warmonga does not need your help, especially an outsider who sneaks around like a coward," she said coldly, her gun warming up.

"What, you thought I was trying to get you from behind? No, no, I wanted you to know I was here," he started. "Listen, you need to know this planet is inhabited by strong warriors. One of them, is the one who killed Frieza."

Warmonga's eyes widened. "You.. you lie!"

"No, unfortunately, I do not. I do want to help you, but I need your help too."

The alien warrior narrowed her eyes, lowering her gun slightly. "Why?"

"Lorwardia's technology is needed to put a stop to this threat on Earth," he began. "They're too strong to beat on my own, too strong for Lorwardia's warriors and technology to defeat. But I know of a plan to stop them to move forward with our goals." He lowered his arms completely. "If we work together, we can get revenge on those who wronged us." He then brought his arm forward for a handshake.

Warmonga only glanced below for a split second at his hand before looking back at him with narrowed eyes. "What will you gain from this?"

The stranger gandered at her with a slight puzzled expression. "Me? Well, it's actually doing a favor for someone else, but I get to rid this universe of an annoying bastard."

The she-warrior further contemplated, uncertain and skeptical. The man sighed.

"There are Saiyans on planet Earth," he added, causing her to stare at him in horror.

"Do not lie to Warmonga, they are extinct! Frieza made that certain!"

"You truly believe every Saiyan was on Vegeta when it was destroyed?" he asked, a brow raised. The woman gulped.

"..Fine, we shall return to Lorwardia for this plan of yours," she finally said.

He shook his head. "I have to pick someone up, she's important to the plan, she has something that will subdue these Saiyans with ease."

There were blaring sirens overhead, blasting her eardrums to oblivion. She didn't know who dared to break in Global Justice, but she did know they had no way of escaping when these sirens could be heard.

L was currently still contained by the containment device, it being tweaked a bit so that she could eat and use the bathroom. She hated it, but if whatever happened a month ago was real, she had to live if she wanted to get out of here. Out of nowhere, a man's scream could be heard, but then, silence. In her peripheral vision, she could see a familiar silhouette in the distance, holding something in their hand.

They suddenly got closer, granting her full vision of whoever it was in the distance.

It was him, the stranger who only she could see, and Betty couldn't. She looked at him with a look of astonishment; she didn't actually believe he was real and that she'd gone mad.

"Hey, sorry for being late," the stranger said in an apologetic tone, lifting a bleeding, severed hand. "I had to prepare some things so everything can go forward smoothly." He used the hand to release her from the containment device, granting her full freedom, something that was out of reach for what felt eons.

When he finished, he chucked the hand, grabbed a ripped piece of cloth from his pocket and picked up the containment device on the floor. "I need this too," he added, slipping the device into his pocket. "Alright, let's go, I've got a ride prepared and we can come up with a plan at that point." He grabbed her arm and prepared to leave when Betty suddenly ran in the room.

"L!" Dr. Director shouted, worried. When she cast her eye toward the strange individual, she briskly grabbed her weapon and aimed. "Let her go, now!"

"I don't have time for this," the man mused, rolling his eyes and vanishing from her field of vision.

Betty glanced around the room, desperate for a glimpse of her sister and the invader. "Damn it!" she muttered hastily to herself, slipping her weapon back in its holster and snatching her device. "I need all eyes on the intruder! He's taken a prisoner!" she shouted, then thinking quickly and adding, "Get me Wade on the phone!"

After what felt like forever, she gave up. She searched, along with her agents throughout Global Justice, but neither L or the intruder could be found. Besides breaking in, he also killed an agent near L's headquarters, so he had to be imprisoned.

It didn't take long for Wade to be patched through to Dr. Director. He had just gone back to sleep from when Kim called him, but now someone else was calling him. "Huh? Dr. Director?"

"I apologize for interrupting your sleep, but this is urgent. As soon as you can, I need you to notify Kim Possible that L has escaped. I've already got my satellites and agents looking for her, but I may not be successful."

"What about the containment device?"

Betty closed her one eye and shook her head. "Nowhere. I think it was taken when she escaped. Someone helped her, I don't know who, but it seems they needed the device for something. I don't know the answer for what either." She nearly included the fact that the intruder used a human hand to release L, indicated they were nonhuman. If Wade were to know this, then Kim may find out L isn't human, or at least not fully.

But why would a nonhuman require the containment device? Isn't it risky? They may accidentally contain themselves permanently. She planned on looking into this further.

Chapter Text

Ron was in his backyard powering up and down at will. He was stoked to see his powers had finally, fully returned. Not only that, but his control over it was insane! He flew to Yamanouchi a couple of times to say hi to Yori and ask Sensei to train him. After all, the chimera was still alive and kicking.

Maybe he'd spar with Junior some time soon, it should help the both of them. He hadn't seen the little guy in days, or Kim actually. For some reason, he thought she was avoiding him.. but why? He couldn't think of anything other than her busy schedule.

She did act a little funny when she picked him up from football practice the other day. Junior too; it worried him a lot. Maybe the kid wasn't feeling very well? He knew he was strong like Cell, but he didn't know if he could catch a cold or something like that.

He stepped inside to take a break when he got a sudden beeping in his pocket. The communicator Kim had given him was going off, prompting him to take it out and answer it. He expected to see Kim on the screen but it was Wade. He tried not to let his disappointment show.

"Hey Ron, uhh-"

"Mission time? Does Kim need me?" Ron questioned around the same time.

"Huh? Yeah, I mean no. There's no mission, but Kim.." Wade started, rubbing the back of his neck and inhaling sharply. "Kim wants you to meet her at the roof of her house tonight. Alone."

The freckled teen didn't like the tech genius' current demeanor. It only made him uneasy of what's to come. But.. he shouldn't be thinking negatively. After all, he got his powers back and he was steadily getting better at fighting and transforming at will. They've even had a successful mission streak. Heck, he got on the football team this year!

Whatever it was, he was prepared for what she had to say.

Meanwhile, throughout the day Junior was doing everything he could to change Kim's mind and help her understand from Ron's point of view.

"What is there to understand?" she asked at the time, a serious look in place.

The mini chimera had never felt so much anxiety since dealing with Cell last summer. Also L, but it was a close second. It certainly didn't help that Kim was informed of the assassin's escape a few days ago, only adding to their long list of issues. Along with a mysterious foe who helped her with her escape. As for who it was, Betty had no clue, and Wade couldn't find their identity anywhere.

It was rapidly approaching evening. The child was crushed. He didn't know what to do, but he desperately wanted to prevent this at all costs! He couldn't stop his current sentiments from being expressed on his face, from which Kim couldn't ignore.

"Hey, hey it's okay," she assured him, giving him a quick hug. "It's really not your fault. I had a feeling.. this was coming. I didn't know then, but realizing what I know and how I've been feeling towards him is unfair to both him and me. You probably won't understand until you get older, but you will."

The redhead heard him sniffle, causing her to reach for a tissue box and hand him a tissue. He gazed at it curiously.

"I thought it might come in handy today," she added, reaching further for him to grab it. He did and wiped his nose while she continued. "Listen.. I want you to go downstairs when Ron gets here. Also another thing, it's not like Ron and I aren't going to see each other again. We're still friends, we're still tight. We've basically been inseparable for as long as I can remember, even before we got together. No issue, alright? There might be some distancing at first.. but that's it."

That seemed to help him feel better. He nodded and murmured a small "okay". Did he really think she'd just dump him and forbid him from coming over? Or to never see them again? She wasn't cruel.. well, she wasn't a pushover, but still.

A distant doorbell could be heard. She gestured at the boy to get the door while she waited on the roof. To be frank, she didn't expect a good outcome out of this, if anything, a break up. She just wanted answers, reasons, anything to help her understand why he did what he did. All because he, out of all people, knew the impact Cell had on her. The fear, the incompetence, the utterly crushing feeling of being totally worthless; a few of many unwanted sentiments instilled into her, if not, intensified tenfold after summer vacation. If you could even call it a "vacation".

Buried in her thoughts, she was brought back to the surface when she heard the doorknob jiggle on the door to the roof. Junior knew to leave them be, so she fully braced for seeing Ron come through the door.

As expected, it was him. Ron appeared.. nonchalant. Not really, actually. He seemed pretty nervous despite what he told himself in the morning. Junior's current attitude probably brought this on unintentionally. The poor kid didn't mean to, but he couldn't help feel so bad for the freckled teen. It may have worsened the situation for the blonde.

"So.. what's up, KP?" Ron started, breaking the short-lived silence. "Got a message from Wade. You wanted to meet here..?"

Kim nodded, gesturing for him to sit in the lawn chair in front of her. He'll likely need to sit down for this discussion. It wasn't going to be pretty, as far as she could tell. In fact, there may be tears.

"Ron, I've been doing a lot of thinking these past few days," she started as he reluctantly sat down. "Questioning myself, for the things I did, the feelings I've felt, and figuring out why. But I can't find all the answers by myself, so that brings us here. We need to talk."

The last four words sent a chill up Ron's spine, his face going pale. "Are.. are we-"

"Ron," she interjected, silencing him quickly. "Let's just talk, okay? I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but I need to know why you decided to keep Cell surviving a secret from me."

Is that what this was all about? Cell? He really thought the guy was a thing of the past now, but here he was being brought into this discussion. He soon realized Kim found out he lied to her. Suddenly the nervousness he felt rapidly grew.

"I-I can explain-"

"So do it," she continued firmly.

He was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts before giving an answer. "You.. changed. After summer ended, you changed. Not for the better! Monique noticed it too. You.. you were acting weird, you kept taking your calls with Wade a secret, okay, I wasn't too peeved by it because I trusted you. not until I found out your obsession with.. with.."

Kim narrowed her eyes at that last part. "With what, Ron?"

The freckled teen clenched his fists and stood abruptly, pushing the lawn chair back from the force. "Him! Cell! He's not our problem anymore and you're still acting like he is! I get it, he's.. he's done stuff to you, he's a monster, but we don't have to worry about him anymore! He's their problem, not ours!"

"Don't have to worry?" Kim asked, almost in disbelief. She laid her forehead against her wrists and leaned forward as she tried to contain her emotions. "Ron, it's not just me, it's-it's you! He almost killed you, he almost killed me! He did kill Hego, Mego, and the Wego twins! Did Goku stop him then? Did Trunks intervene then? While I was being starved and tortured, did any of them even know?" A memory of Goku telling her he spared the monster was more than enough to confirm she could only trust herself to stop the fiend.

Ron didn't have anything to say about that. The heroine didn't relent, even after his silence.

"Did any of them know what to do at that time L nearly blew us all up?" she continued in frustration, trying her damnedest remain as composed as she could. "I thought I could trust them to help too, I really did, but in the end, I saved us all. You even said it too, I saved the world, not them."

"KP, I.. I just wanted you to feel better," he managed out. A partial lie, a hidden part of him just wanted things to return to the way they used to be before summer, but he couldn't just say that, it was far too insensitive.

She shook her head. "I get that, even with good intentions, you.." she paused, tears forming with each blink she took. "You knew how this would make me feel. Knowing I did nothing for a month, believing we were safe while that monster grew stronger is.. it's killing me. I'm scared, I.. I feel so useless yet.. everyone else isn't doing a single thing about it except me."

Ron stood in silence in front of her, the guilt creeping in quickly. "You don't have to do it alone."

"It's too late for that, Ron," she replied, wiping her eyes. "It's not just this either. You talk about trust, but you go and do this? I even asked you the other day if you were keeping anything from me and you lied! Not to mention you told Junior to keep it from me? I don't want to bring him into this, but you completely disregarded what I said last time!"

"Kim, I-"

"Is there anything else you're keeping from me?" she asked, her voice slightly wavering and her palms beginning to sweat.

Without delay, Ron spilled the first thing on his mind. "..My powers came back."

Kim's breathing hitched. Out of all things, he had said the worst possible one. She couldn't place all the blame on Ron, because there were also the feelings of resentment and jealousy she felt towards him and his newfound power. The bitterness she felt, every moment he mentioned his power, had festered to the point of no return. Every mention left her feeling like she couldn't do anything; her motto. In that moment, hearing that he was again strong enough that he no longer needed her help, crushed her.

"I can't do this," she finally said to herself, panic seizing a place on Ron's face as he heard her.

"What?"

"Ron, I can't do this anymore," she repeated as she shook her head, this time saying it towards him.

"If-if this is about Cell I can help you! Remember back at WEE? We agreed we could handle it together! I've even gotten stronger since then, I can summon the Mystical Monkey Power at will now!"

"It's not just him, it's-"

"Is it the secrets? I.. I can change," he continued, grasping for straws. "I won't keep secrets! I.. uh.. Junior can teleport! He teleported me to Sensei's once! I've-I've been going back and forth to Yamanouchi and-"

Kim stood up abruptly, silencing him at once. "You aren't listening! It's not any of that, it's you!"

Kim had stunned him into silence. He hadn't a word to say, but his mouth was open to say something. Nothing came out.

"You lied to me, repeatedly. Stole my battle suit because you thought I was going to trade up and cheated your way onto the football team, made Junior keep secrets, risk all of our lives by making him a secret! I don't even know who I can trust anymore!" Her breaths were heavy now from all the shouting she'd done. She genuinely believed in Goku and the others in the past, but the way he handled the situation.. made her livid. The manner in which Goku spoke of the monster, as if the worst he'd ever done was push someone down; it nearly drove her past the edge.

He had done more than just push someone down; he tortured and murdered them.

When the pace of her breathing subsided, she contemplated a bit, realizing her double standards.

"It's.. also me too," she later admitted, sitting back down, her head in her hands. Her voice trembled as she continued, "I.. I hated you."

Ron finally had something to say. "What?"

"Your powers, I hated them. I hated that you were stronger than me, better than me. That you could hold your own against Cell, when I could never hold a candle to him. When you lost your powers, I felt.. good. I was so relieved. I hated feeling like that, because how could I ever feel that way about the person who only got stronger to protect me?"

His expression nearly lit up. "I'll stop. I'll.. I'll ask Sensei how to remove my powers, I-I can m-maybe get Monkey Fist to-to-"

"No, Ron, stop!" she continued aloud, shaking her head. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be. Look, I don't want you to; not for this relationship. It's not worth it. You have a gift, you need to help it grow. I'm.. not good for you. I'm sorry Ron, but I can't be the person that can make you happy right now. We-we have to.." she suddenly paused, her breathing hitched slightly and her lips trembled.

Despite the immense anger she felt when she found out her best friend lied, especially on a matter of great importance, she also didn't want to devastate him. She tried incredibly hard to finish her words, working up any ounce of courage to say it, but couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to say it. Kim could only blink away the tears that were unceasing, taking a few slightly inaudible gasps as she tried to inhale to calm herself.

"I.. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Ron didn't need her to finish to know what she intended. He shook on the spot, the urge to cry was powerful. He placed his hands on his head, shaking, fighting off tears. He fell backwards and his back hit the door to the roof, sliding down until he was on the floor. He couldn't focus, he felt an enormous weight crushing him, crushing his heart with its tremendous pressure. The pain was as sharp as it could get, especially in his chest, similar to grief.

Kim stood from her chair, walking toward him carefully and stopping in front of him. She was about to speak when Ron suddenly spoke.

"Can.. can I still see him?" he asked hesitantly, sniffling.

She nodded immediately. "Yes, of course. He's going to need you, he.. needs his dad after all," she said with a sad smile. "He really cares about you. He's also really worried, so you should probably.. head down to see him."

Ron nodded, shuffling to his feet and wiping his nose. Kim was about to hand him some tissues but he had already turned away to leave—an attempt to not reveal his tear-stained face. Kim only stood there with the box of tissues in her hand, thinking back on how it led to this.

Although crying, she was now visibly angry. There was only one person to blame for all of this pain in her life. Thinking about events that happened in the summer put her in a rage; remembering and reliving every moment, she only got angrier. She despised the person she had become, but there was nothing else she could do to change things. No matter how she saw it, she just couldn't be the one to make him happy, and she couldn't bring herself to be happy for him.

If there was anything else that came out of this, it was a new desire for revenge.

Jim and Tim sat through health class when they noticed Ron's current behavior. They didn't think much of it, but they had an idea of what happened between him and their sister. They quit paying attention as soon as their teacher handed out their assignments. As of now, Mr. Barkin was currently handing out sacks of flour for their 'baby lesson'.

"Stoppable! Will it kill you to at least try pretending that you're paying attention?" the teacher asked angrily, slapping the bag of flour on the teen's desk.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he just replied, barely acknowledging the bag in front of him by prodding at it.

Steve Barkin sighed emphatically, moving past him and handing out other bags of flour. Jim and Tim received theirs while sending the freckled teen a few worried glances, but they figured he'd be alright pretty soon.

Probably.

Ron was in one of the school's hallways leading to the exit when he saw Kim. He froze on the spot, clutching his bag of flour tightly. Rufus poked his head out of Ron's pocket with concern, looking up at his owner with a sad squeak.

He fought the urge to run up to her and walk home with her. He was waiting until she walked a certain distance where walking behind her wouldn't seem stalker-ish. Even though it had been a few days.. he struggled trying to give her space. Meanwhile, Rufus noticed the bag of flour and stared with a salivating look.

After some time, he made it home. He trudged through the hallway to his room when a bright pink hit his eyes. After a quick glance, he noticed his entire room had changed into a nursery while he was out! He was puzzled how this was done so quickly, but seeing his parents together near a crib helped somewhat.

"Wh-what the heck?! Why's my bedroom a nursery?"

"Because Ronald, son, our family has adopted a precious little girl," his father announced, just as his mother strolled into view with a cooing baby girl in her arms.

"We- you- I- what- why didn't you tell me?!" he practically shouted incredulously.

His father grinned. "This is our way of telling you," he said proudly.

"Ronnie, meet your new baby sister, Hana Stoppable," his mother introduced with a warm smile.

From pure shock, Ron dropped the bag of flour to the floor, the bag exploding and its contents flying everywhere within his vicinity.

"And you're sure?" Kim asked again, pacing back and forth in her room while biting her nail.

"Yeah Kim, I just received the news," Wade replied with a serious look. "After I sent my sample of the containment device to Area 51, Sorgel completed the work overnight. The second device was finished the same night too. As of now, she's trying to recruit people to help with capturing Cell, but.."

The redhead had a knowing look. "No one stepped up, huh?" she finished for him, the tech genius nodding in reply.

"Everyone who knew about him wanted no part of it," he continued. "I looked into it, and apparently it was a common occurrence for volunteers to die while guarding Cell's area. From the seven years he was in there, around 30 people had died."

Kim went pale in the face. "Oh my god..!"

"That's not the worst of it.."

"There's more?"

Wade nodded, sweat dropping. "There's a strange amount of disappearances on the floor he was in. They weren't counted as deaths and I think Sorgel had a hand in it. I might be wrong, though, but I have my suspicions."

She thought for a moment. "No.. I think you might be right. She acted pretty strange back when Ron and I were the ones guarding his prison. She kept wanting us to go inside with him, but for what, who knows.. anyway, why do you think she had a hand in it?"

The boy quickly typed at his keyboard and brought up a few reports. "All the reports for the deaths and disappearances were all written by Sorgel. 30 might actually be 50, or more," he added with a perturbed expression.

Kim contemplated for a moment. It was horrible, Sorgel was just as bad, if not worse than Cell. She purposely misled people just to.. let him kill them? No, there had to be more than that. Just for killing people didn't seem all that science-y enough for someone like Sorgel. Still, she couldn't just let Sorgel capture him again, it would probably lead to more innocent deaths, even if it is a new version of the containment device. Apparently the old one malfunctioned at random, but something told her Sorgel had done something to it intentionally back then. It probably meant..

..she had to capture him herself.

The redhead gulped at the thought. Terrifying was a nice way to put it. It wasn't like last time went so well. She vividly remembered the punctures he made in her shoulder, the pain that never ebbed away even after healing. She also remembered the chimera expressing his grievances of being tricked by her. It seemed like he wasn't going to be fooled so easily next time. He'd probably send her to oblivion before she would even attempt to place the containment device on him.

"So you're saying.. I'll have to do it," Kim said, almost stating it.

Wade shook his head. "Not exactly. You could ask for help. Maybe Dr. Director's willing to hand a few agents and weapons to help contain him. You don't have to do this alone, Kim."

The heroine ceased pacing. She stood there, pondering her next move. It was difficult to consider getting help from others; usually it was because of her type A personality, wanting to only rely on herself. But this time.. she was afraid of what would happen. The last time she asked for help.. all of Team Go were killed within seconds.

"..I don't want to risk other people's lives again. I'll find a way, I always have," she finally said, an almost weary expression on her face.

Wade had a look of uncertainty. "..Alright," he just said. He thought about recommending Ron to help her, since his powers had returned and he had improved. It may prove laborious, but their chances are higher, if not near 100% when they worked together. An inseparable duo. The break up was still fresh and he didn't want to intrude so he left it alone for now.

For when the time came however, he'll have to suggest it. For something as precarious as this, it's best to be as safe as possible.

Out of nowhere, there was a hit on the site.

Ron was putting his things down in the attic, where his new room was relocated, when he got a beeping in his pocket. He doubted it was Kim, so he didn't answer right away. When he finished, he finally answered and saw Wade pop up on the screen.

"Got a hit on the site from the Yamanouchi school in Japan," Wade began.

Ron's face lit up, the first time in awhile since the disaster. "Yamanouchi? Yori?"

"Yeah, she said she needed Stoppable-san right away."

The teen immediately thought of Kim. "Does Kim know about this?"

The tech genius nodded. "Yeah, she was notified right before I called you-"

"Wade!" Ron shouted frantically, interrupting the boy. "Did you fill in the blanks?! What if she thinks Yori and I are—oh my god, I forgot I told her I went to Yamanouchi repeatedly." He slapped a hand on his forehead in disappointment.

"Ron," Wade started seriously. "Yori asked for both of you guys, otherwise Kim wouldn't have been notified."

Ron sighed with relief. "Oh yeah, right I.. should've thought of that."

"So.. Kim wanted to know if you preferred a cargo plane ride there, or if you could fly her there."

"Wait, so you know about-"

"Yeah, Ron. I know about your powers coming back, I've actually known from the start. Saves me the trouble of getting you guys rides, you know," he replied with a wink.

Ron laughed awkwardly. "Right, um.. I guess I could carry her." He did some quick thinking and added, "Uh, actually let's go with the cargo plane."

Wade rose an eyebrow.

Ron only shrugged sheepishly. He hadn't forgotten what Kim told him her feelings on his powers, especially now that they've come back. He didn't want to show off.. he needed to be on her good side in order to get a second chance. His powers will have to be on the down low for now.

"Personal preference?" Ron replied nervously.

The tech genius sighed. "Yeah alright, I'm getting the ride. Hope it won't be too awkward for you guys."

And awkward it was. Awkweird, in Ron's terms.

Kim and Ron sat beside Junior, the child sitting in between them inside the cargo plane. They were silent, but it was Junior who broke the silence.

"Congrats," he said toward Ron with a fragile smile. It seemed he was trying to help the teen feel better.

Ron looked at him with quick puzzlement. He suddenly remembered he had a sister now. Hana Stoppable. It had a nice ring to it. Wait, stop thinking that. He couldn't believe he nearly complimented the intruder.

"Oh, thanks little buddy, but I wouldn't exactly call it a 'good thing'," he replied with a huff.

Kim's attention was caught by this. "Did something happen?"

Ron was caught off guard by her question. After a few seconds, he finally worked up an answer. "Uh.. my parents adopted a baby girl. They turned my room into a nursery and now I sleep in the attic." The teen's face glowered a bit at that last part.

"Weren't you always complaining about being an only child? You were even jealous of the tweebs, Ron. The tweebs."

Ron sweat dropped a bit. He didn't like the situation, but he also didn't want to get snarky with Kim considering the circumstances. It now felt like he was always walking on egg shells with her.

"Well.. it's all in the past now, things change," he just said, crossing his arms.

Kim narrowed her eyes. "You freak fully over change," she stated, pointing out the contradiction.

"Only when it's a bad change!" he returned, getting slightly worked up.

"Come on, you'll adapt. When that fraternal instinct kicks in, you'll love her, trust me," she finished, a small smile on her face.

Ron looked at her nervously. With the way she was acting, it was like the break up never happened. Still.. he had to keep it in mind, it still happened. No matter how many times she smiles and laughs with him, it's strictly platonic now.

They make it Yamanouchi and are greeted by Yori.

"It is a great relief to see you again, Stoppable-san," Yori began.

"Always good to see you, Yori," Ron greeted back, then remembering Kim behind him. "Uh, as long as it's clear we're not seeing each other."

The ninja looked at him with a puzzled expression. "I.. don't know what that means, but I'm still glad you're here." She motioned the crime fighters to follow her and opened the doors to the scene of the crime. "Lord Monkey Fist and his monkey ninjas struck again last night."

"Ugh, monkey ninjas? Why couldn't he use bunny ninjas, you know, that'd be a nice change of pace-" A sudden yell and he collapsed on the floor, a banana peel flying out from underneath him, being caught by Kim quickly.

Yori gazed at Ron's actions fondly. "Same old Stoppable-san, with his inappropriate clownish-try," she noted with a gentle laugh.

Kim was well aware of her feelings for Ron, but.. it was no longer her place to get upset about it. If anything, she was far more supportive than she ever could be. The thought caused guilt to creep in, causing her to grip the banana peel tightly. To be fair, she didn't think this was a real mission, in fact, she thought it was an excuse for Yori to see Ron.

"A scroll containing a prophecy of a powerful mystic weapon was in this place," she continued, opening a cupboard-like furniture only to see the scroll had been taken. "Only Sensei knows the weapon's secrets and location, but he is away and cannot be reached.. if Monkey Fist gains the weapon.."

"Don't worry Yori, we'll have that scroll out of that monkey's fists in no time," Kim assured firmly.

"Again with a scroll?" Ron asked, getting up off his rump and dusting himself off. "What's with all these scrolls containing unknown mystic power getting into our enemy's hands? Starting to get a little redundant."

"Unfortunately L was not the first, this has happened before her but Sensei has usually resolved these issues," Yori added with a sigh. "But I cannot reach him as of late.."

Junior just stood amidst the room, worry in place. He couldn't help it, it was automatic and involuntary at this point. No, he wasn't exactly worried about the current scroll-being-stolen situation, only the room surrounding his adoptive parents. He knew it would take awhile, but he was hopeful for a resolve between the two.

Sorgel hummed as she packed one of the containment devices in a protective box, locking it up before handing it to her new recruits in capturing Cell.

"Now, here you are," she said, handing the box to Team Impossible. "I'm sure you're all aware of the dangers now. You have to think and move quick, I guarantee you won't get a second chance-"

"Yeah, yeah, we're aware," Crash Cranston spoke, rudely interrupting the scientist. "We're Team Impossible, you should already know about our capabilities when you hired us via Global Justice."

Sorgel just stared with narrowed eyes. "..Yes, I know. I'm just refreshing your memory, because who knows what might happen. Also, if one of you happens to survive, the waiver I handed you specifically states no legal action."

"Ma'am, I apologize for Crash's rudeness, but we are specialized in these kinds of situations," Dash DaMont spoke politely, but reaffirming his partner's reply.

While he spoke, Sorgel strolled behind her desk and sat down, pinching her nose and sighing, exasperated. "It's fine, it just happens that I am unable to find anyone competent enough to pull this off, so I had to resort to Global Justice. The only other capable team I can think of is Team Possible, but I can't trust them with this."

The faces of Team Impossible darkened immediately. They knew well of Team Possible's existence, in fact, it's the reason why they were forced to quit the hero business. Only on basis of profit.

"..And that is exactly why, we will pull this off flawlessly for you. You can't trust just a bunch of kids for something as important as this," Dash continued, talking down on Team Possible. It's not like they would know about it, then again Wade had the world wired..

"So glad we're on the same page, but in the event things go south, push the red button on the device. It will become mobile and return to the base immediately. This machine is has more value to me than your lives, so.. you know, please remember to do so. I'll be keeping a close eye."

The three just rolled their eyes. Burn Berman especially, just what exactly could possibly be so dangerous that not even Sorgel hired Team Possible?

"Now, the subject is a being known as Cell, which I'm certain you all have heard of by now?" Sorgel continued with a raised brow.

"Again with the Cell talk?" Crash asked, doubtful. "That guy's dead, isn't he?"

"Crash, we were informed of this by Dr. Director before we came here, which means it must be true," Dash told him.

"So, all we need now is a location," Burn added, a bit impatient.

They all looked to Sorgel at that moment.

The young scientist sighed. "I did warn you all several times," she just said, typing on her device and sending the coordinates to their own. "No matter what happens, the device must make contact with him, more favorably near his upper body. He's has strong regenerative powers, so if you only get him on a limb, he'll tear it off and regrow a new one within seconds. Rely on deception and trickery if you have to." She paused, leaning back in her chair before finishing. "Good luck, God knows you'll need it."

"I assure you, we'll apprehend Cell in record time," Dash announced confidently. "But.. a rush fee will be applied."

The brunette grinned. "Come back alive and I'll gladly pay it."

The mission itself sounded ominous, but it was a sentiment Dash shook off. All missions they carried were dangerous, this one was no exception. Besides, if Hercule Satan could defeat him, so could they. They heard about all the tricks the creature could pull, he was sure he'd be able to see right through them.

And wrong he was.

Cell was in the middle of training when he heard a vehicle approaching his area from far away. It reminded him of both times the crime fighters rudely disrupted his training, which eventually led to his humiliating defeat. Irritated, he let the vehicle approach him. He sensed the energies aboard it, she wasn't on it. Looks like she was smart enough to stay away like a good human.

Besides, he needed something to help him destress and since he could no longer torment the heroine, he may as well allow these intruders to entertain him for the moment. It seemed they were hired by Sorgel to contain him; how unfortunate, these pathetic humans were conceited enough to overestimate their abilities and consider themselves worthy enough to apprehend him.

The bio-android simply stood still while Team Impossible land their vehicle outside his field, exit and approach the clearing on foot. He could tell they were trying to be silent, the poor fools. He tried to suppress a scoff at the act, their ignorance was far too painful to witness; not only that, it was mostly embarrassing.

They were communicating with each other, coming up with a plan all the while the chimera heard it all. He closed his eyes and wondered what he should do with these humans; what would be the most entertaining? Should he break some bones? Maybe some bleeding? Team Go's death wasn't exactly bloody, so perhaps he'd go for the latter.

"Hey, you," a voice rang out.

His eyes flashed opened, revealing his near-crimson colored orbs. He moved them toward the human who acknowledged him rather rudely. Such a pitiful creature, he didn't even waste his energy turning his body to look at the man. He didn't care much except the fact his hair was ginger. It was odd to point out that attribute, it seemed the girl left quite an impression on him, more than he thought.

Too bad it was the reason he was going to absolutely obliterate this fool.

It was Burn who called him out. It seemed he was the distraction according to their plan. Should he play along? Well, it wouldn't hurt to stroke their ego a bit.

"Who, me?" Cell asked back, a faux innocent tone in place with his eyes still on the intruder.

"Who else, ugly? As far as I know, you're the only thing here," Burn sneered.

The bio-android smiled. "I must say, your manners are lacking. No need to be rude, you've already captured my attention."

The agent shrugged. "You want me to lie?"

A dark look enveloped his alabaster face; he could hear the duo in the woods creeping closer from behind. "I suppose it would be asking far too much for you humans to be proper for once. You are all the same," he continued, the smile transforming into a smirk. "Rude, weak, pathetic, but most of all, idiotic."

"Oh, we're idiotic? We'll see who's the idiot!" he shouted, his eyes taking a glance behind the chimera, which was his cue.

Cell could spot something fly in his peripheral and he disappeared into thin air. It was the device and it headed toward Burn, who caught it quickly.

"Damn it, Burn! Did you have to look behind the guy?!" Crash asked angrily.

"He's still around, don't fall for his tricks!" Dash exclaimed, glancing around him.

They all glanced around, trying desperately for a clue as to where he went. A vision of him suddenly appeared behind Burn, it was Dash who pointed it out as soon as he saw him.

"There, behind you!"

Burn instinctively hurled the device behind him, it flying through Cell and vanishing into the woods. The "Cell" they had seen was no more than an after image, it disappearing as soon as the device went through.

"A-a fake?!" Burn mused incredulously, unfortunately becoming his last words before a burning pain erupted from inside of him.

Dash and Crash stared at the macabre sight in horror, of which Cell had shot his entire arm through Burn's chest.

"I told you there as no need to be rude," the chimera reminded with a grin.

"Burn!" Crash shouted, his voice wavering as he watched his comrade lose copious amounts of blood from the injury.

Burn had gripped the stun fork on his utility belt, struggling to aim at the monster. Cell heard his teammate shout the man's name and ripped his arm back out of him. Him dropping the weapon, collapsing to the ground and never moving again.

"You.. you monster! Don't you have any remorse?!" Crash demanded with tight fists, his body trembling at what had just happened.

The chimera just looked at him and gave a short laugh. He shook the blood off his arm as he replied. "Remorse? Over a rude fool like him? Maybe if he was nicer. Oh, who am I kidding, I would've done it anyway!" He then proceeded to raise a hand and obliterate the body into ashes, causing Dash and Crash to stumble, one of them falling onto their rump.

"Good luck, God knows you'll need it."

One of Sorgel's final words to him.

"Come back alive and I'll gladly pay it."

She knew this whole time. She even warned them repeatedly.

"Alright, now what shall I do with you two?" Cell asked, being struck in the face right after by Crash right after. An amused expression coming about on his alabaster face.

"Crash don't!" Dash shouted from the ground, immediately getting to his feet and seeing his teammate grab the stun fork off the ground.

"I don't care what the hell you are, you aren't getting away from this!" Seeing his fist do nothing, he activated his weapon in a rage and tried to stun the bio-android. The yellow electricity hitting his body at full force.

The chimera cocked his head, waiting for any sort of effect. As expected, it did nothing to him. At best? Tickled, which this thing didn't even do. He sent a small beam at Crash's hands and sent the stun fork flying into the woods.

"Anything else up your sleeve?" Cell asked, crossing his arms as Crash stared at his hands in horror. "I'm waiting."

He was completely still from fear, stunned even. His punches didn't work, hell, the stun fork didn't work! Burn was dead, his body now nothing but ashes. The monster literally punched a hole through him right before, what else could he do?

The bio-android sighed in disappointment, his eyes closed. "Is that really all? I'm fairly certain Sorgel is the one who sent you three. Surely, she must have explained your situation, so you should understand my disappointment right now. Out of all the humans she sent, you lot are the most discouraging. What did you say your name was? Team Impossible? You almost sound like that inane human girl I had to deal with in the summer."

Not realizing Cell had super hearing, Dash's face lit up in remembrance from the last part. "Kim Possible?" he asked without knowing, the fiend suddenly looking his way with a scowl.

Without a warning, Cell unfolded his arms and pointed at Dash, a red beam shooting out and through the man's side. "You'd do well to never say that name in front of me again," Cell advised darkly, before quickly doing a retake on his words. "In fact, you never will." He aimed again and shot another red beam only for Crash to push Dash out of the way, the beam hitting his chest.

Recovering briskly and wincing from the wound in his side, Dash noticed the wound on the left side of his teammate's chest. "Crash, what have you done?!" he asked frantically, coming over to his body and trying his best to tend to the wound. Unfortunately, out of all of them, Crash was the one who specialized in emergency medicine.

Crash coughed up blood, his breathing becoming more arduous after each breath he took. "Ge-Get out of here.. Dash," he struggled out, his chest heaving quickly, adding onto the stabbing pain in his chest.

Dash was at a stand-still. He couldn't leave his only surviving teammate, but then again, it might be his only shot at surviving. But how would he even escape with a monster like that around?

"Annoying," the bio-android spat at them, causing Dash to flinch. "I thought I could get some entertainment out of this, but you've only managed ruin my day. I don't want to waste another second with you," he finished, lifting a hand and preparing a blast big enough to wipe them both off the face of the Earth.

Like a deer caught in headlights, the duo only stared at the oncoming blinding light before the numbness of death set in.

Ron went over to the defeated Monkey Fist and retrieved the yellow and blue keys, all while his baby sister cooed in his makeshift baby carrier on his chest.

"Owned," he said with a smug grin.

"Wow, Ron," Kim noted, walking by while still being tied to Yori the entire ordeal. "Nice babysitting."

"Nobody talks trash to my little sister," Ron stated firmly.

The redhead rose a brow. "Oh, nobody?" she asked, hinting his previous promise to never accept change.

He finally realized his mistake and looked down at Hana with an apologetic look. "Maybe I'd been a little.. jerk-ish. I'm sorry about that, Hana."

After untying herself, Yori approached Ron. "The scroll will be returned to the Yamanouchi school. Its' secrets will remain safe," she said, taking the scroll from the freckled teen.

"Guess you want the keys back too," he added, looking down at the keys Hana was playing with.

Yori had a forlorn look. "No.. the shrines have been compromised. And I cannot think of a safer place to keep than with Stoppable-san."

"Responsibility! It's my bag," he boasted, immediately taking a step forward and falling onto his back, the 38th bag of flour exploding from impact. "Some things just aren't meant to be," he finished in a discouraged tone.

While he was dealing with that, Yori approached Kim. "Kim Possible, if I may, I would like to speak with Stoppable-san alone."

Kim didn't expect her to be so forward, but it might not be what she was thinking. It was selfish, her current thought process at the moment. It wasn't fair to Ron to keep being with him, especially with what she was going through right now, but she also didn't like the idea of him being 'taken away'. It could just be Yamanouchi stuff though, since Ron admitted he traveled to the school repeatedly.

"Oh, uhh sure. I'll wait at our ride, just make sure to tell Ron to meet me there when you guys are done talking," Kim answered.

Yori nodded. "Of course."

Kim then turned to leave, trying her best not to look back. She didn't want to pry, since it could be something important and personal.

Ron noticed his partner leaving and stood up to follow when Yori stopped him momentarily.

"Stoppable-san, I'd like to speak with you for a moment," she said.

"Huh? What about Kim?"

"I requested if I could speak to you alone, so she left to your ride. She said to meet her there when we finish."

"Oh, alright," Ron said, a bit nervous. He really hoped Kim wasn't assuming anything from this. "So, what's up?"

Yori gazed at him sympathetically. "Are you faring well?"

The freckled teen looked at her with a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean.." she paused for a moment. "Are you alright? I did not want to interfere since it is a matter between you and Kim Possible, but it seems something has happened between you both. I noticed you are feeling down."

Ron finally realized. She was just worried about him. How did she know about what happened? Was he really that obvious?

"How did you.."

"I can sense some sadness from you, Stoppable-san. Your words and the way you look at her does not give you the same happiness as before, if anything, you look lugubrious when you do," she explained.

He didn't know what that word meant but could tell it was related to sadness. He finally quit the act and looked down. Hana ceased cooing and looked up at him with a concerned expression.

"Maybe it was obvious, or maybe it wasn't, but uhh.." Ron found it hard to say the next part, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "..Kim and I aren't exactly together anymore."

Yori didn't expect that and her eyes widened, a slight gasp coming out. "Oh no, I am so sorry, Stoppable-san."

"It-it's fine, it's got nothing to do with you Yori, so you don't have to say that," he added, rubbing the back of his neck and unable to make eye contact. "I mean, ye-yeah it's been hard, but I think it's temporary. Kim's going through a lot, a relationship probably isn't the best thing for her right now. I can wait until the time is right."

Yori gave him a pat on the back. "I am here for you, Stoppable-san. No matter how far apart we are."

He didn't like to admit it, but she helped him feel better somewhat. It helped him look on the situation differently, at least, from Kim's part of view.

Kim and Ron made it home, Kim's house specifically because a certain someone was waiting for them.

Junior opened the door before they could even knock. He was still a little peeved he couldn't come with them to the mission, but wasn't going to let it ruin the mood. He looked happy to see them together as they entered the house.

"I'd love to stay, but I gotta run by Smarty Mart before they close."

The redhead looked at him weirdly. "What for?"

"Well, as you can see," he turned around to show the ruined bag of flour. "Sacky XXXVIII didn't make it through the mission."

"38?" Junior asked, astonished. He vaguely knew about Ron's project, but last he knew, he was at 15!

"Yeah, gotta get Sacky XXXVIIII if they still have any flour left," Ron answered him, a thinking expression in place. He nearly bought out the store's entire stock of flour. That brand specifically.

"Alright, uh, see you at school," Kim said a bit awkwardly, waving goodbye. Usually they'd hug, but now felt.. kind of weird to do so.

Ron turned to leave until he remembered his conversation with Yori.

"Hey KP, Yori and I.. we just talked about Yamanouchi stuff, in case you were wondering," he suddenly said, a bit anxious.

"Oh, right," Kim responded, not really knowing how to. "I know, you were training there, right?"

"Ye-yeah! It was just ninja stuff, you know, that's all," he assured. It wasn't exactly true, but he and Yori did talk about training after that conversation they had.

"I got you," she finally said. "Goodnight, Ron."

Ron just nodded. "Goodnight! Say goodnight, Hana."

His baby sister was still in the makeshift carrier holding the blue and yellow keys. She just cooed in place and waved with both arms.

"Ah, close enough," Ron said with a grin, rubbing the top of Hana's head endearingly before leaving out the front door and closing it.

Kim stood there, contemplating the day's events. She tried her best to ignore it, but she saw every moment when Ron tried to keep it strictly platonic with Yori. Maybe it'd make her feel good if they were still together, but now.. it just made her feel guilty. Like she was the bad person.

She held her Kimmunicator in her hands, ready to head up to her room and get updates from Wade on Sorgel's plans.

Which were in failure.

Sorgel was furious. She specifically told Team Impossible to press the button if the plan went south. They had the audacity to die and absolve themselves of all responsibility.

"Flawlessly, my ass," she hissed angrily. Now there was only one containment device in her possession. It already took a few months to create one, she was secretly creating that second one as she made the first, which is probably being blasted into oblivion by Cell.

She didn't like to think it, but her only shot might be Team Possible. The thought made her livid, but what else could she do? Get more amateurs and watch themselves greatly underestimate Cell and get killed again?

Sorgel took one of her devices out of her lab coat and pressed the top button, a grid popping up. Surprisingly, Cell was no longer at his usual training area. She zoomed out and could not find him elsewhere on the globe either. Panic seized a place on her face. He didn't leave, did he? She suspected he could survive the vacuum of space, but she never imagined he would actually leave the planet. She didn't scare him off, did she?

She began biting her nails, trying to reassure herself he'd come back. He had to, otherwise the entire planet would be gone by now. Something is stopping him and keeping him on this planet. As long as the planet's intact, she still had a chance to get him back.

Then her plans from before his first escape could finally continue.