Mission: Possible

by Gary D. Snyder

Epilog:

"You know, this place rules," said Kim, taking another bite of her hot dog. "I've never been anywhere that had marshmallows as a standard hot dog condiment. I'll have to come here more often."

"Glad you like it," Jimmy replied. "Sam began offering them as a topping after my friend Carl begged him to, but so far you're the only other person that's asked for it. The menu items here are a little unusual sometimes, like the mustard ice cream, but people can generally find something they like at the Candy Bar."

"Oh, yeah," Rufus agreed, somehow succeeding in scarfing down his own frankfurter that was larger than himself.

"Speak for yourself," Ron complained. "There is not one Bueno Nacho anywhere in this town and not one person I've asked has even heard of a naco or chimirito." Rufus clucked his tongue in sympathy and began an attack on another hot dog, only to be pushed way by Ron. "Dude, that's mine."

"I thought you didn't want it," Kim pointed out as Rufus sulked.

Ron shrugged and took a large bite. "Just because I can't have a naco doesn't I'm going on a hunger strike," he commented, his mouth full.

Of all of them Cindy was the only one who hadn't said anything since their return to Retroville. Once the magnet had been put out of commission and Kim had subdued the four villains events had gone smoothly. As with Shego and Beautiful few of the henchmen had been willing to brave the chill of the Arctic night or a battle in the pitch blackness, and Jimmy and Kim had quickly shown the remaining few the error of their ways. The unforgettable sight of steel hit by Jimmy's liquid helium super-soaker shattering like glass had unnerved most of them, and Kim's martial arts prowess had cowed the remaining hold-outs.

Once the installation's power had been lost the force fields keeping Ron and Cindy in their respective cells had shut down, but it wasn't until military forces had landed and secured the installation some time later that Kim and Jimmy had been able to search for them. Fortunately both Ron and Cindy had had the sense to remain where they were rather than risk stumbling through the darkness so, assisted with information from captured guards, the two were quickly located. Jimmy had seemed delighted to see Cindy again, but Cindy couldn't help but notice Jimmy's subdued mood when Kim and Ron had unashamedly embraced when reunited, and Jimmy's (idiotic, Cindy thought) look of undisguised bliss when Kim had kissed him on the cheek for his help. It was then that Jimmy had invited Kim and Ron to drop by Retroville for a bite to eat before returning to Middleton and, much to Cindy's distress, they had accepted.

Now they were all in the Candy Bar and Cindy remained withdrawn, not touching her food or joining in the conversation with the others. Rufus, noticing the hot dog on her plate, sidled up and eyed it greedily. Cindy noticed him and pushed the plate towards the naked mole rat indifferently. "Knock yourself out," she said as she slid out from the booth and headed towards the soda bar. Neither Jimmy, who was engaged in a technical discussion of the Strato XL with Wade on the Kim-municator, nor Ron, who was busy with his hot dog, noticed Cindy's leaving, but Kim did. With a sigh she stood up to follow.

"Where you going, Kim?" Ron mumbled, his mouth full.

"To do some damage control," Kim called back. "Don't let Rufus finish my dog, okay?"

Ron doubtfully eyed the marshmallow-covered concoction. "Actually, I'm not sure he'd want to." Rufus, halfway through Cindy's own sandwich, simply belched and shook his head.

At the bar Kim slid onto a stool next to Cindy. "Hey, Cindy. I couldn't help but notice that you have something on your mind." When Cindy said nothing Kim went on. "You don't have to tell me what. I can guess, and there's a couple things I think you should know."

"If it's about none of this being your fault, don't bother," Cindy said. "Nerd-tron's done this so many times before I should be used to it. If it weren't you it would be April from Gorlock. If it weren't April it would be Sagebrush Sally. It if weren't Sally it would be Betty Quinlan. There would always be someone else he'd have a crush on"

"But never you?"

Kim's voice was sympathetic but the words cut Cindy like razors. Slowly, trying not to show how much the idea hurt, she nodded.

Kim placed a kindly hand on Cindy's shoulder. "Cindy, trust me. I've been there and I know how you feel. And there really are a couple things that you should know." Cindy's silence gave assent and Kim continued, "I know that Jimmy's been crushing on me and truthfully I have to admit that I'm kind of flattered. I mean, once you get past the hair and big head he's really kind of cute, and he really is quite a guy to have on your side. He's loyal, and brave, and trustworthy…a lot like Ron."

"Point?" Cindy asked.

"The point," Kim said, "is that crushing on someone is totally different from really caring about them. I really care about Ron, but I've never had a crush on him. Well," she corrected herself, "there was that one time with the moodulator, but –"

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that just because Jimmy hasn't had a crush on you, and maybe never will, it doesn't mean that things between you won't develop into something deeper. And you know, I really think that that's going to happen someday."

Cindy thought about that. "And what makes you think that?" she said sardonically, desperately needing to be convinced of Kim's words.

"That's the other thing I wanted you to know. When we were back at the base Jimmy tried to think of a way to shut down the magnet permanently. He came up with some ideas, and they were all right, but they weren't all that special. It was when he found out that you were in personally in danger because of the magnet that he had his brain blast thing. He wasn't thinking about me, or saving the world, or being a scientific genius. What mattered was that you were in trouble and he knew he had to help you." Kim let the words sink in. "That's what makes me think that he really cares about you. And it's what makes me believe that things between you will work out someday."

She's good, Cindy thought as she felt her black depression lifting. She turned to look at Kim, a quizzical look on her face. "Someday?"

Kim smiled. "He's only twelve. Give him some time to really understand what he wants. He'll get there. He is a genius, and geniuses can do anything, right?"

Cindy turned to look at the booth where Jimmy was still deeply absorbed in his discussion with Wade. What Kim had told her made sense. It might be too much for Cindy to expect anything from Jimmy now, but someday…

"Do anything?" she repeated. She turned back to Kim and smiled. "That's Possible."

THE END