Kim Possible and all related characters and indicia are owned by the Disney Corporation. Supergirl and all related characters and indicia are owned by DC Comics/Warner Bros. This work of fan fiction is written for pleasure, not profit.
WWLAOS: Saying what she wants to have happen, backwards, is how Zatanna casts her spells, both in the comics and on the Justice League cartoon. Don't ask to explain why it works :)
Sand Lord: A prototype of it, yes.
Thanks to: eckles, star's dreams and Triaxx2.
Kim looked out the window in the living room of the small apartment she shared with Ron. The campus of the University of Northern California lay spread out beneath her, though it was obscured by falling snow. Not much had accumulated yet, but the weather people were talking several inches by nightfall. Kim snorted. She remembered her and Ron's search for a place to go to college. One of their many criteria had been 'mild climate'. The city of Redding's website had claimed such a climate: "Average high temps in winter thirty to forty degrees." Apparently this winter was going to be an exception to the rule, since it was currently just over twenty, and supposed to drop considerably during the night.
Kim turned away from the window. She, Ron and Kara had just returned from a day of skiing at nearby Mount Shasta. After their run in with Monkey Fist and Felix Faust the teens had decided they needed a nice, relaxing vacation, and the new ski resort on the volcanic mountain had been the destination of choice. Now that they were back home, Ron was in the apartment's small kitchen fixing supper. He was making an Italian dish whose name Kim couldn't remember, but which smelled wonderful. Kara was sitting on the sofa, leaned back against one armrest, a notebook in front of her and a textbook in her hands.
"You know," Kim commented, "You're one of the few people I know you would take homework on a vacation."
Kara grinned but didn't look up.
"You know how it is, Kim. If you let yourself get too far behind it's even more work to catch up. Don't worry though. I'm almost done."
Ron came out of the kitchen.
"What are you studying anyway?" he asked. Kara held the book up so Ron could read the title. "Advanced Calculus," he read aloud. "Sounds complicated."
Kara shrugged. "It's just math." Ron moved around and looked over her shoulder.
"Yipe!" he exclaimed. "That's not math!" he protested, pointing at an equation. "Two plus two is four is math. That's...that's...gibberish!"
"No, it's a vector-valued function," Kara proclaimed haughtily. "Perfectly comprehensible."
Ron shuddered theatrically, and the girls laughed.
"Take it easy on him, Kara," Kim advised. "Ron's mired in freshman prerequisite hell and he's not happy about it."
Ron nodded. "I'm majoring in Culinary Arts for Heaven's sake! Why do I need to take a course in rhetoric?" he demanded plaintively.
"They just want to be sure you're well rounded, Ron, that's all," Kim supplied.
Frowning and grumbling Ron plopped himself down on the couch. Kara closed her textbook and set it aside. Kim settled onto the opposite end.
"Getting off the subject of schoolwork," Kim said, "You were going to give us the lowdown on what happened to Faust, as I recall."
Ron perked up at that, and straightened up.
"Yeah," he pitched in. "I know Bates was sent back to England, and Monkey Fist and DNAmy were carted off to Belle Reeve Prison to await trial, but what did Dr. Fate do with Faust?"
Kara drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees.
"Well," she began, "I'm sure you realize that no ordinary prison could hold a man like Faust. He'd escape in a few seconds." Kim and Ron nodded.
"So Fate took him to an extraordinary prison?" Ron asked.
"Yep," Kara confirmed. "Most people don't know it, but the Justice Department has a special branch that deals exclusively with magical crimes, and there is a special court in Washington that tries those cases."
"And they took care of Faust?" Kim inquired. Kara shook her head.
"Turns out Faust was too powerful even for them, so arrangements were made to have him tried and punished, if found guilty, by the Lords of Order."
Kim and Ron stared at Kara blankly.
"And just who are the Lords of Order?" Kim asked curiously.
Kara's brow knitted as she considered how to answer. Finally she said, "The basic answer is that they are extremely powerful extra-dimensional beings that embody the concept of Order. Mainly they oppose their arch enemies, the Lords of Chaos, but they also dabble in the regulation of magic. Fate and his government counterpart discussed how to deal with Faust, went to that special court I mentioned, and got it to turn Faust over to the Lords of Order."
"What will they do to him if they decide he's guilty?" Kim asked, her voice slightly sick.
"Fate was pretty closed mouthed about that, but I got the distinct impression that whatever happens, we'll never see or hear from Faust again," Kara said grimly.
"Pretty harsh," Ron agreed. "but then, we'll probably never hear from Monkey Fist or DNAmy again, either."
Ron had a point, Kim knew. The state of Louisiana had announced its intention to try the two for capital murder. If convicted they would face a minimum sentence of life without the possibility of parole, and the state had already said it would seek the death penalty. California wanted the duo on assault and kidnapping charges. The Federal government had its own laundry list of charges as well, and the United Kingdom was making noises about bringing Monkey Fist back there to finish his outstanding prison sentence. No matter how things shook out, it looked like Monkey Fist was going away for a long, long time.
After dinner, while Kim and Kara did the dishes, Ron sprawled on the couch, leafing through Kara's textbook. He shook his head in disbelief again and again, and was heard to mutter the word 'unbelievable' a number of times.
When the girls were done cleaning up they joined Ron on the couch and put on a movie. It was 'The Princess Bride' one of Kim's favorites and, somewhat to Ron's surprise, Kara's as well. As they watched the days exertions, coupled with full stomachs and the cozy warmth, led to drooping eyelids and nodding heads. Kara was soon snuggled against Ron, her head resting on his right shoulder while she dozed.
After a while Ron glanced over at Kim. She was sitting a little apart from him, her eyes fixed on the TV. She seemed tense, and Ron understood. If Kara hadn't been here it would have been Kim snuggled up against him. Ron smiled to himself. That was easy to fix.
"Hey K.P.," he said softly. She looked at him just as his free hand reached out to snag one of hers. As their fingers intertwined a smile touched Kim's lips. Ron gave a slightly jerk of his head that said, 'Get over here,' and moments later Kim was pressing herself up against his side. No words were spoken. None were needed. Kim and Ron just looked into each others eyes, and knew what the other was thinking. As the wordless conversation drew to a close Ron's head moved forward. Kim's free hand touched his cheek as their lips met in a gentle, lingering kiss. Afterward they lingered, nose to nose, eyes sparkling with laughter and affection, then Ron was leaning back again and Kim's head was resting on his left shoulder.
As the movie drew to a close Ron's thoughts went back to high school and all the people who had seemed to go out of their way to make his life miserable. True, the taunts and bullying had dropped off sharply in the last two years, but there were those who either hadn't noticed the end of his social awkwardness, or who had seemed to resent its disappearance. Ron chuckled quietly. Once upon a time he hadn't been able to get a date to save his life. Now he had not one, but two incredible, beautiful girls whose idea of a perfect day was spending time with him.
As his head nodded forward Ron wondered, how could life possibly get any better?
Fifteen years later:
Ron leaned on the wrought iron railing and looked out across the gleaming spires of Metropolis. Stars twinkling in the clear night sky were mirrored by the glinting lights of the city. He was standing on a balcony about halfway up the side of one of Metropolis' famous skyscrapers, the Powers Industries Building. Behind him, through a small side room, was a banquet hall full of expensively dressed people celebrating a landmark achievement in the life of someone very dear to him, but as happy as he was for her, his mind was on other matters this night.
Light footsteps and the barely audible swishing of delicate cloth warned him of someone coming up behind him. A familiar scent reached his nose, the scent of soap and perfume and female skin, all overlain with the barest hint of strawberries.
"Kim," he said softly as a familiar form joined him at the railing. She was as beautiful as ever, if not more so. Red hair, elaborately styled, cascaded down her back, contrasting nicely with her pale skin and the light blue of her evening gown.
"Ron," she replied with a warm smile. A hand lightly traced the lapels of his tuxedo. "You're looking dapper this evening."
"And you're as gorgeous as ever, K.P.," he rejoined. Her smile broadened.
"It's been a while," she commented.
"Too long," Ron agreed, slipping an arm around her waist. She moved in closer, and in moments they were embracing. The hug was followed by a prolonged kiss, and then Kim was resting her head against his chest, just like in the old days.
"I've missed you," Ron confessed. "You need to come by more often. The kids always look forward to a visit from their Aunt Kim."
Kim smiled again and turned toward the gathering of people. In the center of them all was Ron's wife, Kara Kent. Tonight was her night as her company, Kent Technologies, celebrated its wildly successful IPO. Surrounding her were family, friends, and business associates. Kim saw Kara's cousin, Clark, now Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet and his wife Lois Lane; Kara's Aunt Martha and Uncle Jonathan, now quite elderly, but still going strong; Kim's mother and father, who had quit their jobs in Middleton to move to Metropolis when Kim's dad went to work for Kara; and billionaire Bruce Wayne, who had bankrolled Kara's endeavors from early on, leaning heavily on his cane as he limped around the room. Other familiar faces included Kara's friend Barbara Gordon, paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair, but absolutely brilliant with computers; along with Ron's parents; Wade; and Derek Powers, their billionaire host and the man who had purchased the second largest block of stock in Kent Technologies. The only people of importance absent were Ron and Kara's children, who were staying home. The kids weren't theirs in the biological sense: Kara had been having unprotected sex with human men for eighteen years and had never even been late for her period, let alone gotten pregnant. Instead, she and Ron had adopted. They had three beautiful children now, and were talking about adding a fourth.
Kim looked back up at Ron. "Don't worry," she said, "I think you'll be seeing more of me in the future." Ron's eyes followed hers to the ring on her finger, and he smiled.
"You finally took him up on his proposal, huh?"
"Well, he's not getting any younger, so when he asked again, I said yes," she explained.
"Good for you," Ron murmured approvingly, drawing Kim into another hug. She melted against him.
"We should do this more often," she said contentedly.
"My offer still stands," Kara's voice said from behind them. Ron and Kim turned their heads to see Kara standing a short distance away, smiling happily at them. "Both offers, in fact," she clarified.
Kim blushed. Kara had made it clear, before and after she and Ron were married, that if Kim and Ron wanted to make love they were welcome to, any time.
"I really don't mind sharing him, Kim, with you anyway," Kara had said. Kim and Ron had taken Kara up on her offer a number of times, encounters that Kim treasured.
"Maybe I will come by tonight after all," Kim said archly. Then she shot an apologetic look Kara's way. "I'll have to pass on the second offer, though."
Kara snapped her fingers in disappointment. "Rats!" she said jokingly. Ron chuckled. Kara's second offer was for Kim to join her and Ron in bed, but Kim hadn't ever quite been able to bring herself to the point of agreeing to it.
"Although..." Kim said, glancing back at Kara and the daring dress she was wearing.
Kara's eyes sparkled. "Don't tease me, Kim, I -" Kara stiffened suddenly.
"What is it?" Kim asked as Kara moved to the railing and stared out across the city.
"Trouble," Kara said. Turning to Ron she elaborated: "Shockwave is back in town."
"Great," Ron swore, "I guess those rumors were true after all." Reaching into a pocket he pulled out an electronic key ring and pushed a button. High above, a dark shape detached itself from the side of the building and plummeted down to their level, halting next to the balcony. The sleek black vehicle made Kim's eyes widen.
"That's the new Batmobile, eh?" she said.
"That's right," Ron confirmed, touching his wristwatch. His tuxedo morphed into a suit of shiny black armor, a red bat symbol on the chest. A wave of black swept up over Ron's face and formed itself into a helmet.
Kim glanced at Kara. She had already stripped off her glasses and put on her costume. Kara might be older, with the body proportions of a mature woman, but she was as sleek and muscular as ever, with a physique any super-model would envy. Her costume had changed quite a bit, though. Gone were the white, cropped tee-shirt and blue micro miniskirt. Now known as Superwoman, Kara wore a long sleeved blue leotard-type top and a somewhat longer red pleated skirt and a longer cape as well. She glided up off the balcony and hovered nearby while Ron jumped into the Batmobile. Both of them looked back at Kim.
"Aren't you coming?" Ron asked.
"Sure," Kim smiled. "I may as well get used to working with you guys again." The ring on her finger flashed, and her dress disappeared, replaced by a tight fitting bodysuit of black, white, and emerald green.
"I like it," Kara said approvingly.
Ron nodded as well, then gunned the engine of the Batmobile. Addressing Kim he said, "Stick close...Green Lantern," then hammered the throttle and tore off. Kim leapt after him.
"Right behind you, Batman."
This chapter brings to a close my most ambitious story yet, in terms of scale. In and of itself it is partly a nod to gargoylesama and his 'Path of Two to the Road of One' story, and partly a fulfillment of my long standing desire to do something with the fact that Ron Stoppable and Terry McGinnis are voiced by the same actor.