Author's/Notes:
June 28, 2020: AFTER A LONG ABSENCE (a little over 6 years), I AM BACK…
And, because it has been so long, I will be rereading (and possibly editing each chapter before continuing the story in PART III: THE RETURN OF THE RON…so don't hurry ahead, expecting the story to continue right away. I will repost chapters with a new date "stamp" as I go, so feel free to (re)read and review as you wish. Thanks to all who have kept the flame burning all these years.
As for any newbies who have just stumbled upon this story, please don't skip over the following information:
This is Part 1 of a 3-Part Saga (The RSVP Trilogy). It is epic in scope and "Ron-Centric" though most of the characters in the Kim Possible series will appear or be referenced before the tale is done.
If you're looking for a short story and a quick wrap-up, stop reading now. By the time RSVP III wraps up I will have produced the equivalent of (at least) three KP novels.
Parts of the story will unfold slowly. If you think you know what is going to happen next or who will do what—or even "why"—well, the odds are that you are probably wrong. Seriously. It will take the majority of readers awhile to tell if their first impressions are correct. Give the story a chance before you decide whether or not things are going to turn out to your liking.
Ditto on the issue of "Shipping." As Joss would say: "It ain't so important who ya brung to the dance as much as who ya go home with." (And if the dance is long, you may go through several partners before the music's done.).
And ALWAYS REMEMBER: Everything isn't always what it seems to be!
A Word about the RATING:
Although the RSVP Saga is not as dark or graphic as some of the other KP stories here on FanFiction-dot-Net, we're going to definitely leave high school behind.
And while over 90% of the story is solidly planted in the "T" Rating Category, there will be an occasional "M" Rated word, sentence, or scene. I'd like to think that the grown-up stuff is done tastefully. (Although the first chapter is probably the most shocking and offensive of anything you might read. Trust me, it's not as dark and twisted as you might think and it does get better after that…)
Required Disclaimer: Kim Possible and the KP Universe is the property of Disney & Co. Uncle Walt will rise from the grave should anyone suggest otherwise...
Chapter 1 – Strangers in the Night
Ronald Dean Stoppable had finally mastered the lotus position so that he could sit for hours without discomfort.
He had honed his meditation skills to where he could block all external distractions and commune with Master Sensei half-way around the world.
And—even better—he could hear his thoughts now without the old man having to resort to messages written in mystery meat gravy!
But the ultimate Monkey Master was still vulnerable to certain primal forces…
Do you need to seek shelter, Stoppable-san? Sensei's thoughts echoed in his head.
What? Why?
Is there not a terrible storm bearing down upon you?
Ron Stoppable opened one eye, taking care to not let go of the ethereal connection he had with the head of Yamanouchi Academy.
All was quiet in the Stoppable house—notwithstanding the small army of paparazzi still camped out in his front yard. A squad of monkey-ninjas—once the minions of Lord Montgomery Fiske—were still keeping order, discouraging the more aggressive members of the press as well as the fans, curiosity seekers, and out-right nut-jobs who failed to respect their new master's privacy.
His parents, unnerved by the sudden and invasive scrutiny, had decamped on another overseas trip of undetermined duration, leaving their suddenly mature and surprisingly unflappable son to deal with his new-found fame in his own, unique way.
As for the weather?
Sunlight streamed in through the second story windows and he could see that the blue skies were cloudless in at least two directions. It looks like a bondiggity beautiful day from here, he reported.
Just as he re-closed his eye, his stomach growled.
There it is again, the old man sent. Can you not hear the terrible thunder?
Heh. Uh, yeeaah. I'm thinking that's the dinner bell…
Dinner bell?
Ron couldn't tell if the wise old man was truly mystified or just pulling his leg. My stomach, sir. It's—well—sort of rumbling.
I can feel the vibrations coming through your chi, my son! You must literally be starving!
Well…I haven't eaten for a couple of hours now and I was thinking of heading over to Bueno Nacho. Ron sighed. If I can sneak out of my house without being spotted.
The old man chuckled. Of all of your adversaries, Fame may yet prove to be the most formidable. How are the others holding up?
Ron took a moment to review the events of the past few weeks.
The Possible house had been destroyed in the opening salvos of the Lowardian invasion and Kim's parents had moved the family into their summer cabin out at Lowerton Falls while they made plans to rebuild.
The other two members of the "Fearless Four" (as the tabloids had christened Kim, Ron, Drakken, and Shego once videos of their battle with Warhok and Warmonga went viral) were keeping low profiles, as well.
Preferring his newfound status of "Successful Hero" over that of "Repeatedly Failed Villain," Dr. Drakken had accepted a research appointment in the bio-weapons division of Global Justice. Dr. Director had extended the invitation, believing that his "flower power" had some fascinating, potential weapons applications.
She also believed in the old maxim: "Keep your friends close and your mad scientists closer." Since the Global Justice labs were Top Secret, Drakken was accepting most of his accolades "by proxy."
Shego was pardoned of past crimes, as well, and offered a position with G.J. She had gone to ground soon after. With her unexplained absence Ron was left with the nagging suspicion that she had changed her mind about reforming her ways.
The Director had been unusually tight-lipped on the subject. But then there had been little opportunity to discuss other people's business as she had scheduled Kim and Ron for a succession of meetings, personal appearances, seminars, and debriefings. These had the blond and the redhead on separate schedules, often in different parts of the country.
It was frustrating spending so much time apart during the opening month of summer. A more cynical man might suspect that Global Justice saw more value in Team Possible as separate individuals than the successful gestalt that Kim and Ron had evolved over the years.
But things were bound to settle down eventually, he figured. In the meantime, he would continue to support Kim in her new-found celebrity as world-saver.
It wasn't Kim's ego at stake, here—though the more she said "No big!" the bigger it seemed to get. No, it was Global Justice's push to use their heroics to help rebuild national and international morale, shattered like the thousands of cities and towns in the aftermath of the Lowardian conquest.
And, as much as Ron tried to be supportive of Kim's and Dr. Director's vision for the new Global Justice version of Team Possible, he felt that he had to downplay his own part in the events of "Graduation Day" (as G.J. code-named their mission file). Aside from his loyalty to Kim in maintaining his second-banana status and traditional role of "The Distraction," he was even more concerned with protecting the secrets of Yamanouchi and its ninja traditions.
Up until now it had been fairly easy: he was coming to suspect that his MMP—mystical monkey powers—were assisting him in this matter. While it wasn't entirely possible to "cloud men's minds" like a Jedi Master, he still seemed to have the knack for causing reporters to forget or, at least, misspell his name.
Still, it was getting harder and harder to do as viral cell phone videos of him singlehandedly ending the alien invasion seemed to pop up on the internet every hour!
Sensei "listened" to Ron's words and considered the deeper potentials behind his observations.
This is a time of great change, Stoppable-san. Not just for you and your friends, but for the larger world, as well. I want you to consider coming back to Yamanouchi to meditate and train your new-found powers before making any final decisions on the next phase of your life.
Well, the young man pondered, it would be great to come back for a visit. And I still haven't got the hang of doin' the Big Blue…but Dr. Director seems to have the rest of my summer tied up tighter than Mr. Barkin's as— He caught himself in mid-thought. —signment schedules. And then we—Kim and I—were supposed to start college in the fall. Unconsciously, his right hand rose from his lap and rubbed the back of his neck. Although so many new offers from colleges have been pouring in since we became famous and Betty—I mean Dr. Director—is pushing us toward the Global Justice Academy…
Perhaps, his mentor suggested, a little retreat from the noise and confusion would give you a clearer perspective.
I'll talk to Kim and the director. He sat up a little straighter. Hey, maybe Kim could take some time off and come, too.
Stoppable-san…Possible-san's destiny is not tied to Yamanouchi as yours is. Do not misunderstand. She has her own path for now and your time with us would be best spent looking inward. One cannot build strong relationships until one is strong enough to spend time alone and use it constructively.
Ron had had Kim's back since Pre-K and their time together had only grown more precious since his status had changed from BFF to BF/BF (Best Friend/Boy Friend), but he could sense the wisdom in Sensei's words. And, between all of the rebuilding in Middleton (not to mention the rest of the planet) and all of the personal appearances that Bet—that is, Dr. Director—had scheduled for them, they really weren't spending that much time in each other's company, anyway. Kim seemed especially distracted these days and now might be the perfect time for a little spiritual fine-tuning.
The director would most likely be the problem.
Although she said that she had closed the files on the so-called "Ron Factor" study, he had felt her watchful eye on more than one occasion since then.
And after G.J.'s debriefing with Kim, Drakken, and Shego—as well as the videos that turned up of his Big Blue smackdown with the alien giants—Dr. "Call me Betty" Director had insinuated herself into every briefing/training session/public appearance that he was a part of. Ron had a sense that Kim would have an easier time in asking for personal leave than one Ronald "Can't Catch a Break Here" Stoppable.
Over the years he had thought about changing his name to something more appropriate, like "Ron Forgettable" or "Ron Disable." But now suddenly one of the hottest Dilf's (Director I'd like to—don't think about it! Don't think about it! Bad imagination! Bad! Bad!) was treating him like "Ron Indispensable!" And it wasn't just his own fantasy-driven paranoia: Kim had picked up on it, too. She had grown increasing tweaked at Betty's—er, Dr. Director's—increasing focus on Ron and decreasing mentoring of the Girl-Who-Could-Do-Anything.
"It stands to reason," he had tried to reassure his redheaded partner: "how much mentoring does someone 'who can do anything' really need?"
Unfortunately, that had just seemed to tweak her all the more.
Yeah, a little Ron-along Time might be a good idea right about now. Bet—that is, Dr. Director—needed to remember that neither he nor Kim were sworn agents under her jurisdiction and that these PR junkets were strictly favors.
Favors that had somehow turned into an uncomfortable series of obligations.
And, maybe with himself out of the picture for a couple of weeks, Kim would get the validation she seemed to need right now.
One way or another, Ron Stoppable was still thinking about how to have Kim's back.
His stomach growled again and Sensei chuckled. You may go now, Master Stoppable. You should seek shelter at Bueno Nacho before that storm arrives.
Heh. Thanks, Master Sensei. I'll call Wade right now to set up my travel arrangements and then go tell the ladies that the Ron-man's got to go back to Summer School.
RSVP
"Exscuse me, Miz. I am vaiting for somebuty to join me here."
The tanned blond wearing sunglasses and a floppy hat sat down across from him in the booth anyway.
"Vat? Are you deff? I said—"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you, Shorty," said an annoyingly familiar voice. "I'm here." She removed the sunglasses to reveal piercing green eyes.
"Shego?"
"Keep it down. I'm not deaf and neither is anyone else in this seedy dive. Unless it's you." She smirked. "Ya know, if you cut some ear-holes in that helmet of yours maybe you could have a conversation without yelling half of the time."
"Your disguise is amazink!"
"So, don't ruin it by calling attention to us. Not that that ship hasn't already sailed with you wearing that stupid kettle out here in the open."
"Mine helmet disguises my true identity," the man known as Professor Dementor huffed.
"Yeeaah…but what disguises your helmet's identity?'
"Vat? Are you blind? I am vearing un hat!"
"It might look a little less ridiculous if you hadn't duct-taped it on top."
"It kept fallink off."
"Natch. You got a hat that's sized to fit an actual head. You should have ordered one in helmet-size."
"Are you going to vaste time making fun of mine disguise—"
"Or lack thereof," she drawled.
"—or are you interested in hearing mine offer?"
She sighed. "I've been getting a lot of offers lately. But I went to all the trouble to slap on some flesh-colored foundation and wear a wig so I might as well listen to yours."
The diminutive man grinned wolfishly. "I vant you to come vork for me!"
"And vhy—" The faux blonde shook her head. "—why would I want to do that?"
"Power, wealth, fame, glory!"
She tapped an index finger to the fingertips of her other hand. "Let's see now. Power? Already a human generator and power plant rolled into one. Wealth? Been socking it away for years, now, and made out like a bandit on some investments I made on the sideki—I mean, I don't ever have to work again if I don't want to. Fame? I'm a frikkin' hero. Saved the world. Remember I said a lot of offers? Was being overly modest. Let's see…what else? Oh, yeah: glory! See previous finger." She leaned forward. "Look Doctor Demento, I've wasted some of the best years of my life working for an idiot who couldn't pour pee out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel. If I was going to trade up, it would have to be way up!"
"Zounds like you already haff someone in mind."
"Yeeaah. Well, last time I looked, he wasn't available. So—"
"Who iss it?"
"Not important!"
"Let me guess. Rumor hass it that Monkey Fist is permanently shtoned out of his gourd. Duff Killigan? Nein! He vont efen let anyvon caddy for him. Das Seniors? I hear that itt did not vork out zo vell for you de lazt time. DNAmy hass alvays been chelous off you. Motor Ed—I zee by the expression on your face dat you vould rather enter un convent! De others out there are chust jokes!" He stared at her. "Who am I missing?"
Shego banished the image of another, briefly blue villain from her mind and glared back. "Me, in another two minutes. Or less. So, unless you can offer me something that I really want but don't already have—"
"Kim Possible kneeling at your feet!"
The maybe-not-so-former villainess gripped the edges of the table in their booth and her fashionable gloves began to smoke.
"Tell me more…"
RSVP
Ron was zipping up his backpack when he suddenly had the distinct impression that something was terribly wrong.
The muscles twitched between his shoulder blades and could almost imagine hostile eyes glaring at him with malevolent intent. He whirled, dropping into a martial art pose he had come to call "The Spasmoid Monkey." He braced himself for the sight of Professor Dementor or Duff Killigan or (he repressed a shudder) even DNAmy coming through his bedroom door.
It was Kim.
"Hey, Kimilla…" He started to relax and then noted the expression on her face.
"Ron, we need to talk."
Maybe it would have been better if Dementor or Killigan or DNA—well, Dementor or Killigan, were there instead. The words, "we need to talk," had always struck a note of dread in his heart but today they were playing a whole series of chords. Something was seriously wrong. It was in her voice, her posture, the narrowing of her eyes, the folded arms across her chest. And something more. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but an imaginary monkey started to scream in the jungle of his subconscious.
"I got your message," she said.
Ron was nowhere as clueless as he had once—well, at least had pretended—to have been. "I was coming to see you," he said. "I wanted to talk about this in person but I figured a little heads-up was in order. I would never leave you a message and just…Bet—uh—Dr. Director, maybe…but I was coming to see you." He knew he was starting to babble but old habits are hard to break. "Thought we might catch up over at Bueno Nacho since it's not open to the public, yet. I still have my keys and the repairs are coming along—"
"We'll talk here, Ron. I'd just as soon not be seen in public with you."
At first, he wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. But the words hung there in the air between them, unmistakable in their simplicity.
Then he considered that she might be kidding. But her tone told him that if this was sarcasm, it was venomous at its heart.
"Wow, harsh much?" he quipped lightly.
In truth, Ron was surprisingly wounded by her words and her tone. Her anger, while under the influence of the moodulator chip, had been frightening and he had feared for his physical safety; but she had never spoken in way calculated to be emotionally vicious. That lone monkey, screeching in his hindbrain had just turned into a simian choir. Kim…" He could hardly get his own mouth to work. His eyes were blurring as well. "I-I don't under—I don't understand!"
"I know! That's just it!" she railed. "You don't understand! There's so much you don't understand! And so, it's pointless to even try to explain it to you! It's just best if we end it right here and right now! You go off to Japan. And stay there. You like the East so much, why don't you just stay there. On the other side of the world. Settle down and marry your geisha-slut, Yori. Make a bunch of slant-eyed babies like your little, weirdo sister! And stay on the other side of the planet. I don't want you near me! I don't even want you on the same continent with me!"
The pain receded for a moment as Ron Stoppable was literally stunned into a numbed state by the torrent of hate and cruelty and vileness that was pouring out of his beloved. It was a nightmare that paralyzed his mind and froze his heart. He struggled to understand what he had done to upset her—what possible justification could excuse the racist invectives, the hostility that descended into flesh-crawling nastiness. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't think.
Rufus stepped into the breach.
The hairless pink rodent stood up from behind Ron's backpack and began an angry rant back at Kim that started off incomprehensible and grew increasing unintelligible as he expressed his disgust and shock at Kim's words and behavior.
"Oh, shut up!" the redhead snapped. "I'm sick of pretending your choice in pets isn't disgusting, as well! You know what? I'm so tired and bored and so ready to be done with you and your whole dysfunctional family that—let me make it simple and clear and burn this bridge forever…" She rushed past her suddenly ex-best friend, ex-boyfriend, and grabbed Rufus before he could react.
"We are done!" she said coldly. "Do you understand? There is nothing between us after this! There is no us! What we had, the past, all of it—is just as dead as this!" And with her last words she gave her hands a violent twist and snapped the small creature's neck.
RSVP
Kim Possible awoke to darkness.
She didn't remember putting herself to bed. It took her a few moments to remember that she wasn't even in her own bed, in her own house.
Both were gone, early casualties of the Lowardian assault.
She remembered now: she was bunked in the Possible family summer cabin, deep in the woods near Lowerton Falls.
She was exhausted these days. When she wasn't spending time helping her parents comb through the wreckage of their home for anything salvageable, she was helping the neighbors and leading search and rescue parties.
Of course, most of her time was taken up by Global Justice missions these days. No, scratch that: her life and Ron's had been co-opted by Betty Director's "Public Relations" list. This quasi-internship was less about acting as G.J probationary agents and more about becoming the one-eyed taskmistress' personal minions.
She frowned in the darkness. Not that Ron seemed to mind so much...
Oh, the director had been quite persuasive in the beginning: "The world has suffered a massive psychological blow. People, families, towns, entire counties are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Folks need a symbol to lift them out of their despair, ease the shock that there is intelligent life out there—and that it doesn't always wish us well. The world has a better chance of coming together if they can see how they were saved by just two teenagers coming together…"
Yeah, that "two teenagers" line had gone over really well with Shego and Drakken. Probably why they had disappeared just before the PR tours really got going. Just as well, though: she didn't like the way her green nemesis (ex-nemesis, she kept reminding herself) kept looking over at her man. Come to think of it, Betty Director had a similar look in her eye of late.
It was bad enough to think that millions of teenage girls might be crushing on her Ron because he was one of the "Fearless Four" that helped save the world. But when grown women—powerful and possessing a seasoned sensuality—were looking at him like he was a new flavor of ice cream…
Kim sighed. It was understandable. Her Ron was brave and loyal and talented and so un-ordinary—extra-ordinary—way beyond ordinary! And even if he wasn't a fashion model hottie, any man who could single-handedly hurl giant aliens back into space, was bound to make any woman a little weak in the knees!
It was certainly keeping her off balance!
High school was behind them and they were entering a whole new world, now. Everything was changed or changing.
That was to be expected.
What surprised her were the changes that were taking place in the one constant in her life outside that of her family.
Throughout her life—ever since Pre-K—she had always led and Ron had always followed.
This was new.
A new Ron.
She didn't really know this new person.
A man—yes, man—who possessed frightening, new powers.
She had seen the old Ron go off the rails before: a new hairstyle had turned him into a self-absorbed, fashion monster—albeit temporarily. And the time he had turned into a giant, orange—don't think about it, don't think about it!
And Zorpox the Conqueror: one of the most dangerous foes she'd ever faced…
…and that was without the ability to levitate and make Hego look like a 98-pound weakling.
What if the adulation of the world turned his ego monstrous again? What if this mystical blue glow got under his skin and rebooted the Big Z?
Or, most terrifying of all: what if he didn't need her anymore?
She was suddenly roused from her musings by the sound of a creaking floorboard.
"Alone at lassst..."
The sound was unexpected but the voice was eerie beyond any imagining. Disembodied in the darkness. Almost familiar and yet strangely alien. She felt her skin erupt into gooseflesh.
A whole lotta gooseflesh!
Her mind was still befuddled from too little sleep and too much exhaustion. The absence of light didn't help. But it was dawning on her that she had stripped down to her panties and a cropped tee to sleep on top of the sheets in the summer heat. The family cabin was remote, meaning no electricity and, therefore, no air conditioning.
For the moment she couldn't decide whether it was worse that the darkness hid her unknown visitor from her…
…or better that it hid her from voice's owner.
Somehow these two scraps of fabric left her feeling more naked and vulnerable than if she had slept in buff altogether.
"Who~o's there?" she asked, trying to squash the tremor in her voice.
"Now why am I not surprised?" The voice was amused and yet bitter. "You give a girl the best years of your life, you support her in every, self-centered, dumb-ass, and dangerous project she drags you along to…and then she hogs the credit when its long past time for you to be recognized for all of the sacrifices, risks, and unacknowledged successes that you've made."
"Who is this?"
"Oh, man! If those clues aren't enough to answer that question then you must fuck over a lot of people! Guess I'm not so unique after all."
The use of the f-word tweaked her but it frightened her, as well. None of her foes—even the ones that had come close to killing her—had ever assaulted her with such base vulgarities before. This was unknown territory for the teen and she felt a trickle of sweat collect between her ripening breasts and worm its way down her bare belly to collect in the whorled cup of her navel.
"What do you want?"
"What do I want, Kimberly?" The voice went from silkily contemplative to harsh and angry in a heartbeat. "I want what is due me! I want respect! And I want payback for the years of disregard, the humiliations, the thoughtless cruelties—"
"My parents will be back any time now," she interrupted. Her voice cracked a little this time.
"You better hope not." The voice was a whisper, now, but louder. As if the other's mouth was close to her ear. "They wouldn't be able to stop me. Your father, your brothers—quick and easy. Merciful, really: dead before they hit the ground. And then I could take my time. Two for the price of one…something to savor."
"W-what are you talking about?"
A hand brushed her breast, a quick caress through the thin fabric of her tee, and was gone before she could react.
"Your mother is an exquisite woman, Kimberly. A promise of everything you would ripen and grow up to be…if I were to let you live. Oh, the fantasies I've had with every visit to your house. The images crowding my mind when I sat at your dinner table. Do you know what I was really thinking when I said: "May I have some of your…pie…Mrs. Possible?"
She gasped and, for a moment, the emotional pain was so intense, that she thought he had driven a knife into her solar plexus. "Ronald?" she moaned.
And the thought crawled out from under her hind brain: No…Zorpox!
A hand locked onto her arm. Something hard and cold and metallic encircled her wrist. Her hand was pulled up and back and a ratcheting sound announced the closure of the other end of the handcuffs to the bedpost.
"And now your other arm, my sweet," the horrible voice oozed. "Then we can stop wasting time on engagements and weddings and skip straight to the honeymoon…"
She tried to strike at him but it only enabled him to catch her hand and clamp the second pair of handcuffs onto her other wrist. He was stronger and had the better position for leverage and she would have been done for except for an unexpected event.
The kimmunicator on her bedside night stand went off, its familiar beep tones unnaturally loud in the near silence of the cabin. The screen threw a soft glow across the darkness, startling her attacker.
She saw Ron Stoppable hesitate in that moment, allowing her to wrench her left arm free from his grasp. As he reached to recapture it, she flailed at him and the unsecured end of the handcuffs struck him across his face, scratching his cheek.
"You bitch!" he growled, backhanding her.
Kim's head snapped back and, for a moment it seemed as if the cabin's roof had been lifted away: the room was full of stars. Her eyes couldn't properly focus so she felt rather than saw that he had stripped off his clothes as he tore hers away and crawled on top of her.
"Help," she sobbed. Then screamed. "Help me, Wade! Oh help!"
His skin was cool and clammy where it touched hers. And wet. As he tried to pin her free wrist again, she felt drops of moisture patter across her chest and face.
"Kim! Kim? What is it?" Wade's voice was tinny and sounded far away.
"Rape!" she cried breathlessly. She couldn't get enough air with his weight pressing down upon her. "Ron—"
It hadn't happened yet but, as soon as he locked her other wrist to the bedpost, there would be no stopping him!
Struggling with the unsecured cuff in one hand, her assailant raised his other to strike her again and then paused, peering at something that was discoloring his fingers. The pale light from the kimmunicator didn't reveal hues, only shades of grey and dirty white in contrast. He put his hand to his torn and leaking cheek and examined the fresh stains from his wound. His mouth popped open and his face grew drawn and haggard like a hollow-faced corpse as he grabbed the scraps of Kim's tee shirt to staunch the bleeding.
He leapt from the bed and stumbled as if already woozy from blood loss. He seemed to sag a bit as he scrambled toward the door, a little like a balloon that had developed a slow leak. Flinging open the door, he galloped out into the night and the thing that looked less and less like Ron Stoppable disappeared from Kim's sight and Middleton, Colorado.
RSVP
While a saggy, less-than-human-looking thing was collapsing to the ground a few hundred yards from the Possible's summer cabin, a small cosmic object was passing into the innermost boundaries of the Oort cloud, some 50,000 astronomical units from the center of the solar system.
Launched upon the destruction of the Lowardian invasion fleet, it had passed the orbit of Jupiter within a matter of days.
A week out, it slowed to navigate the Kuiper belt's great ring of ice debris and dwarf planets, some 30 AU out in the Trans-Neptunian region.
Passing into the Scattered disc zone, it accelerated once more, folding normal space into a warp-bubble to break the Light Barrier.
At 90 AU from the sun, it encountered the Heliopause where the outbound solar wind collides with the interstellar wind. Reaching termination shock, it was buffeted off course for several parsecs until it maneuvered back into the Heliosheath beyond and began to pick up speed once more.
Now it was passing into the outermost region of the solar system's zip code and headed for deep space and home.
As soon as it arrived, it would deliver news or Warhok's and Warmonga's failed invasion, their personal demise, and an in-depth analysis of what—or who—posed such an incalculable threat to the Lowardian home world…
ABOUT THE TITLE: "Strangers in the Night" is the title of one of Frank Sinatra's greatest hits. It also suggests that the characters aren't whom the other thinks they are...
Author's/Notes 2:
At times I've looked askance at other stories where the authors tell us a great deal about what was in their chapter or what they're planning to do next. As a reader, I'm sometimes a bit of a purist, preferring to figure out what was going on based on just what was in the story, itself.
But I've come to see the value of the author talking about his or her process. So, if you're a "purist," just skip the writers/notes at the end of each chapter. If you're interested in my "process" I'll try to give the curious reader a little more insight into most of the chapters.
Like here, I've struggled to find the right balance of clues for the reader to figure out what's really going in this first chapter-as I try to explain to my first reviewer below…
Again, not everything in this story is as it initially might seem. The careful reader will catch the clues without having everything explained right away. For example, right after Ron has a terrible confrontation with "Kim Possible," we have a scene where Kim is thinking of her Best Friend/Boy Friend with longing and affection. If that doesn't tell you that not is all as it seems, you're going to miss a lot of what's really going on as you read ahead.
Buckle-up, keep your arms and all personal effects inside the vehicle until we come to a complete stop. It's going to be a bumpy ride...
Riplakish13
Author's/Notes 3: (6/28/2020)
Wow! I can't believe it's been over 10 years since I originally started this story…and almost 6 years since I stepped away to…well, do a lot of stuff. But that's another story. My To-Do List is still pretty full and I'm having to relearn how to use the FanFiction site tools, but I'm hoping to get the RSVP Saga back up and running in the days and weeks ahead. I'm just curious to see if my readers are still out there and how many of them are willing to forgive me for being away for so long.
A lot has happened since I stepped away, most significantly (for this part of the FanFic Universe): Disney+! Now we can binge watch KP as much and whenever we want, plus the live-action movie, for what it's worth. As long as it's been, I may need to do more research before I'm done...
R~13
REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER 1
Clutch28 3/24/11 chapter 1
So in order to make the story fit your adult themes, you decide to virtually rewrite the characters to fit your image. Dreadful. Just dreadful. The only ones true to character are Shego and Dementor but you virtually killed any interest in their plot when you had Kim step completely out of character and then had Ron rape her. Try Adult Fan Fiction for this story, maybe another more fitting series too would help. But this "twist" has already turned me off.
Hey Clutch, sorry you missed the clues that "Evil Kim" and "Evil Ron" weren't the real Kim and Ron. I spell it out in the next chapter but, thanks to your feedback, I tweaked the first chapter to bring those clues out a little more. Subtlety is a tough call for an author: we don't want to make everything too obvious right away or the reader doesn't get the pleasure of working through the clues. There are always readers who are three steps ahead of me (Yeah, I'm talking about you, Pavel) as well as those who miss some of the innuendo. It's a balancing act as to whether to dumb down the story or make it too difficult for the majority of the audience. In either case, reader feedback is always enlightening. I hope you will come back and give the story another look. You still might not like it but at least you can dis it for what it really is… R~13
Pavelius 2/21/12 . chapter 1
Fan-fiction is surely fucked up the last days... couldn't post anything...
Anyway…I am starting to reread the whole story and i am looking forward to the changes you made
Keep it up
Pavel
Thanks, man. R~13
warfolomei 6/26/12 . chapter 1
A promising start, let's see how well you can keep it.
Yes, let's… ;-) R~13
Uberscribbler 12/1/12 . chapter 1
Now that was just plain evil. Enticing, attention-getting, and positively addictive.
But evil nonetheless. On to chapter 2.
Evil? Wow, you've caught on right away. You just don't know HOW EVIL! Mwa-ha-ha-ha! R~13
Grissom 6/10/13 . chapter 1
Okay, I've been reading this series since 2011. The thing that's always really bugged me is how you seem to be constantly rewriting it over and over and over and over again and again and again and again and... you get my point, right?
So, I have a request: could you PLEASE limit yourself to one re-write per year? This current one has to be, what, your fifth or sixth re-write? In two years, no less? You spin a good yarn, but it's incredibly frustrating having to constantly go right back to the start so many times.
Sorry, man. My major problem is that I've gotten to a place in the story where—if I lose momentum—I lose my place in all of the different plot threads and have to go back and re-read the whole thing.
And then, of course, I see a bunch of things that need fixing. Or opportunities to make the story and the characters deeper and richer. Or even put in a whole new scene.
This is a necessary part of the process for me as a writer (made much worse by the length and complexity of this 3-part monstrosity).
And whether I go back and make the changes while readers wait several weeks (or months) for a new chapter to appear—or take down the old chapters so I can give 'em a real looking over as I work my way up to continuing the story where I left off—everyone still has to wait the same amount of time for new material (not counting the new material that may appear in previous chapters).
Without revisiting the whole thing from time to time, a number of plotlines would be dropped, characters shortchanged, and the overall quality of the later chapters would begin to suffer.
There are writers who finish their stories before posting them. And there are writers who post one chapter at a time and never go back to fix errors or inconsistencies (despite specific reader feedback).
I'm not either one.
I hate making you wait for new material. I hate that I've gotten to the point where any real absence from this project means I have to essentially reboot my brain and figure out where everything goes again. I've offered to take on a Beta or even a Gamma—someone to help me keep track of where I've been and where I plan to end up…but everyone runs away screaming. ;-) R~13
zafnak 7/10/13 . chapter 1
OHMYGAWD! Kim killed Rufus! THAT BITCH!
Oh..well maybe not. That line about disgusting pet choices was a bit of a giveaway...
OHMYGAWD! Ron raped Kim! The Ron-hating writers of Kimfiction feel justified in their views! THAT BASTARD!
Oh..wait...maybe not. Ron seems to be..melting a bit there...
Dr. Dementor you evil sadist! This is all your plot, isn't it?
Welcome aboard zafnak. You know the old Meatloaf song "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"? I think you're gonna have some fun here… R~13
Some Dude 8/24/13 chapter 1
Holy cow! Damn that was a viscous start... hope you lighten things up at least a little next chapter.
Stay with me for a couple more, at least: I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. R~13
Akiho Tonoshi 11/4/13 chapter 1
soooo I've read a few of the reviews and now I'm questioning my interpretation, as such i feel i have to ask. Kim didn't actually get raped did she? i mean yes, it was going to happen and probably still hella traumatic but it didn't actually happen did it? either way, hell of a start to a fic.
Hi Akiho, your answers await in Chapter 2, but (1) no, she didn't, and (2) yes, it was. Trust me, this was the darkest chapter you'll read. At least for a while... R~13
Kyuubi-Titan 11/12/2013 chapter 1
This has me hooked. I found this fic searching for some Anne Possible smutt, but you have appealed to my sense of macabre.
Thanks, KT. Keep going, more macabre and adventurous situations for the lovely Anne Possible await! R~13
dbzsotrum9 12/30/13 chapter 1
So a fake Kim hurts Ron & a Fake Ron hurts Kim... what happens when they find out... those 2 have to get back together... there is no way they would ever stop loving each other & they have to be together, X'(
Will Ron get revenge?
Well, I wouldn't want to give too much away at this point but the road ahead for both Ron and Kim will be a very long one before those two crazy kids work all of their issues—real or imaginary—out. R~13
TheNiemand 6/3/2014 chapter 1
Hey wasnt there more chapters of this?
Yes, and they're being reposted as I finish re-editing them. I'm hoping for at least a chapter a day-two, so far, today. R~13
King of Anachronisms 6/4/2014 chapter 1
Hmm? What's this? Another rewrite? Fine by me, it's a reason to start over a very good and very expansive story over again. Maybe I'll even see things I missed before.
Thanks King! Many readers find "new" material each time they read-even when there is no new material. But there will be new material here and there as time and the reposts go on... R~13