What will happen when the ante is raised and Kim Possible is unwillingly swept up in a plot that goes beyond the usual super villain plan?

Disclaimer: Kim Possible and related are the property of Disney which, contrary to common belief, I do not own.

Special thanks to Slipgate for beta-reading this chapter

Nuclear fury

Somewhere in the Zagros Mountains

In a small camp, a group of just over two dozen elite soldiers awaited the return of their general. Even though he had left the army years ago, the fifty-two year old Russian would always be their general.

Antonivich, the second in command of the small band, and proud to share his name with the general, looked at the dirt road that crisscrossed through the mountain range and at the army truck that drove on it, heading toward the camp.

"Sir," Antonivich said in his mother tongue and nodded politely as the general stepped out. Sergey Antonivich Maslov, formerly one of the Soviets' most dangerous generals, had never required military doctrine from his underlings and never stood on his stripes to get something done. This was one of the reasons his soldiers had adored him, and the reason why his elite had followed him when he had left the army shortly after the Cold War ended.

Even past fifty, Sergey was someone to consider; his famed hawk-like vision was still unimpaired and he took good care to keep well in shape. Most of his soldiers, no weaklings themselves, would have a hard time taking him down.

"Antoni, son." Childless himself, Sergey had more or less adopted the younger man as his son shortly after Antonivich had arrived as a new soldier under Sergey's wing. "Did anything happen while I was away?"

Antonivich nodded and walked alongside the general as they headed to the command tent while several other soldiers began unloading the various heavy weapons from the bed of the truck. "Yes, the man you expected has called. He will arrive here at sunset."

Sergey smirked. "Good. His sources will help us greatly."

Antonivich looked curiously at the man he considered his father more than his biological father. "Will you explain to us what our plan is?"

Sergey smiled vaguely and nodded. "Yes, but after I have talked with Mahmoud. Once we know we have what we need, we will begin our own plan."

The soldier knew his general would not indulge further; Sergey based his plans on certainty and refrained from spouting ideas he could not make true.

"Welcome to my camp," Sergey said as he inclined his head at his visitor.

"Welcome to my land." the stately man, in his early sixties and sporting a long, grey beard, replied. He looked at the Russian general with dark brown eyes.

Both men had spoken in English. Sergey didn't speak Arabic and even though Mahmoud could understand Russian, his accent was so thick that the general could not understand him well.

Having an impatient nature, and not inclined on working through long traditional conversations, Sergey got straight to the point. "Why do you need our help?"

Mahmoud smiled, knowing all about the temper of the man before him. "You and your group of soldiers are unrivaled experts on concealed mobile platforms for launching missiles."

Sergey shrugged. "That is true, although I doubt our expertise is in high demand anymore. Nuclear submarines took over that task years ago."

"Yes, but those missiles are too slow for the target we intend to hit."

"And what target is it that you are aiming for?"

"The new president."

Sergey smirked. "Airplanes are no longer enough?" As a soldier, he despised acts of terrorism against civilians. Being a pragmatic person, however, he could not deny their usefulness in some situations.

Mahmoud scowled, but did not reply to the comment. "Without their head of state, the so-called free country will be paralyzed with fear."

Sergey could not deny that was a likely outcome, at least temporarily, until the revenge came. "What is your problem? I don't think someone like you would have great difficulty obtaining a nuke."

"You'd be surprised." Mahmoud retorted dryly. "However, the USA military has developed a new laser-based defense system, capable of destroying a single, maybe even several, simultaneously launched missiles."

Sergey frowned. "I did not know that system actually worked."

Mahmoud allowed himself a small grin. "The general acceptance that the laser defense system was an utter failure is one of the greatest achievements the USA homeland defense has accomplished."

Sergey nodded. "No one would try to circumvent a failed system… clever. So what is it you want of us?"

"I need a mobile platform that can be concealed, and a rocket," Mahmoud said, "I will produce the warhead."

Sergey nodded thoughtfully. "The platform will not be an issue, the rocket will take some time. We need to acquire the right persons for that. Do you have a construction location?"

"Yes, North Korea. The Marshal of the Korean People's Army, Kim Chol-Sung, will provide us with a base."

Sergey frowned, but did not comment. "Very well, we will use the previous contacts once we are ready to get things started."

"What did he want?" Antonivich asked after Mahmoud had left and he, Sergey and the two lieutenants of Sergey's small army gathered to talk their own plans through.

"He wants to shoot a nuke at Washington," Sergey said. "Not a bad plan, but not what we want."

"What do we want?" one of the lieutenants, Ivanov, asked.

"The hidden depot of secret Cold War weapons, and some captured Nazi works," Sergey replied. "I know of the location, but you would need a nuclear missile to get in."

Antonivich grinned. "And look what fate brought us."

"Yes… but I wonder what Chol-Sung will want with the missile." Sergey briefly explained the role of the Marshal of the Korean Army in the plot. "His help will not be free."

"He will probably try to destroy South Korea," Lev, the other lieutenant, said.

"That's not a problem as long as we can control the rocket," Antonivich pointed out. "Who do we ask to help build the rocket though?"

"An American anarchist," Sergey said, "Edward Lipsky is a genius on rapid transports and not shy of wreaking havoc. Last year he managed to build a rocket-powered vehicle capable of surpassing the speed of any missile currently in existence. Antonivich and I will go to the USA and invite him over. The rest of you will go back to Russia and obtain project Winter Fir from Camp Grizzly Bear. You will bring it to North Korea in the ship that will be waiting in the camp. Wait for instructions in the international waters."

Jack Hall paced anxiously through the meeting room. The head of the CIA was not known to sit still and relax, but even for him this was extraordinary.

His counterpart Solomon Leman, of the Israeli Mossad sat on his chair, observing the restless man. "Why don't you sit down? You make me nervous with that pacing around. And you know it will take some time before the others arrive."

Dr. Elizabeth Director, head of Global Justice and current hostess of the special meeting of agencies around the world regarding antiterrorist actions, sighed and moved between the two men before they would start another of their infamous verbal wars. "Gentlemen, please. I know some people have been delayed, and that we cannot start this meeting without them. However, if you wish, I can already provide you with the data we have gathered thus far."

That settled both men, and by the time they were halfway through the report, the others arrived.

Hugh Kensington, the commander of terrorist affairs, Katelyn Noble from the UK agency, and Istvan Deva from the Russian army arrived together. A short while later, Kevin Gold from Homeland Security arrived as well, making the group complete.

"Welcome everyone," Dr. Director greeted the assembly as she distributed the rest of the reports. Everyone had already been briefed by their own agency, but comparative notes were always appreciated. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"We have to," General Kensington said, "if what our field agent saw was correct, then we have a serious threat to humanity on our hands."

"The pictures seem clear enough," Katelyn observed, "to me, it's clear that general Maslov is back, and teamed up with Mahmoud Khomeini."

Dr. Director opened her own folder to the photos that had been taken by one of the Middle East agents. The first picture showed an older man with a long, grey beard. While his eyes were not clearly visible, other pictures that had been taken in the previous years showed they were brown. "Mahmoud Ali Khomeini," she read to herself, "Ex-Revolutionary Guardsman, with a degree in nuclear science. Possible family relations with the Iran leadership. Religion: Islam, is believed to be an Imam. However, this is never confirmed."

Then followed a list of actions in which Khomeini had partaken or was thought to have partaken in.

Meanwhile, Istvan Deva was paying more attention to his countryman, Sergey Antonivich Maslov; one of the most dangerous generals of the Cold War and thought to have connections with forces that wanted to return Russia to its old state. The general was also supposed to have knowledge of one of the extremely secretive weapons depots that remained after the Cold War. The Russian government had no idea where these depots were and tended to shrug the idea off as a conspiracy theory. Deva knew better; he had been inside one of the depots and from their documentation he knew there were more. And the things he had seen in the one depot made him worry greatly about the contents of the rest.

"But what is their goal?" Jack Hall asked. "Where will they strike?"

Soon a heated discussion developed in which everyone claimed that they were at greatest risk, so their ideas to prevent it should be followed.

"Gentlemen," Dr. Director finally cut in, "we do not yet know what their intention is, and wild speculations only do harm…" she was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.

Curiously – she had made it clear that the meeting should not be disturbed – she opened the door and an agent whispered something in her ear and handed her another document.

After closing the door, she turned back at the assembly with a slight smile. "We may just have booked some progress."

Waiting a moment before she had everyone's attention, Dr. Director continued. "I just received word that Antonivich Pator, who is considered to be General Maslov's second in command, was spotted booking a flight to New Jersey."

"Is he already placed under arrest?" Hall asked. "And did we already catch Maslov?"

"No on both," Dr. Director said, "Pator is only considered Maslov's second in command, and he has never been accused of any crime in his life, nor is there evidence of such."

"When he still served, he was very close to Maslov," Istvan Deva explained, "We even believe Maslov considered him his son. They resigned at the same time."

"We can still put him under arrest," Kensington suggested.

"Maslov is a master of disguise," Deva countered, "and if we capture Pator, he knows we're after him. Worse, you can be sure to be accused of capturing innocent Russian civilians because of your remaining Cold War paranoia."

Kensington had no reply to that; it was true that he was considered paranoid on some occasions, his track record on being right notwithstanding.

"We'll keep an eye out for Maslov," Dr. Director said, "and we'll follow Pator. Although I do wonder what business either of them would have in New Jersey."

"Edward Lipsky?"

"I prefer Motor Ed, seriously." The big man frowned. "Who asks?"

"I do," the other man simply said, his aide remained silent. "We, me and my men, require your service."

Motor Ed looked at them dubiously, but then shrugged. "Come on in."

"Do you think Maslov and Khomeini will cause a lot of trouble?" Will Du asked after the meeting had finished and all the members had left to their respective agencies.

"Their combination is a dangerous one," Dr. Director replied, "and given General Maslov's specialization we may have to prepare for long-range missiles."

"We do have a good defense system against that," Will mentioned when another agent walked in on them.

"We think we know what Maslov did in New Jersey," the agent said, "Within hours of Maslov and his associate arriving, we got a report that Edward Lipsky is on the move."

"That is a problem, especially if they manage to strike a collaboration." Dr. Director thought for a moment. "Have Motor Ed shadowed, he is probably less acquainted with disguises than General Maslov. Maybe he can lead us to Maslov and Khomeini."

After the agent had left, Dr. Director turned to agent Du. "Under no circumstance do I want Kim Possible to get wind of this. This is not her league. Give her anything to keep Team Possible from interfering; give them missions, let them know we have Motor Ed in our scope as long as you don't mention what he may be up to. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear." Will Du nodded; he knew when his boss was worrying and this was one of those times. Rivalry had to be postponed until this problem was dealt with.

"I don't get it," Kim said, her irritation showing clearly. "First, Wade tells us that Motor Ed is on the move and an instant later we get the same message from GJ, telling us they've got it covered…"

"Something we all have our doubts about," Ron quipped.

Kim continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "…And now they saddle us up with any mundane criminal they can find. What's up with that?"

Kim's mother frowned. "But that's not a problem, right? I mean, with college it's only a good thing that the missions are few and easy?"

Kim and Ron were visiting their parents, as was their bi-weekly custom ever since they started college. They had visited Ron's parents earlier that day, reveling in how Hanna had grown over the past year. But now Kim couldn't contain her irritation with Global Justice anymore and felt the need to vent.

"You think they're up to something," Jim, one of Kim's brothers, suggested.

Kim nodded, glad her brothers understood. "Yes, and experience tells me that whatever it is, us not knowing will inevitably lead to trouble heading our way."

Tim laughed. "You really know GJ too well. If you want, we can help Wade check out what is going on."

Kim smiled. "Thanks, but I think I will let them go on a little bit like this; I don't want to cause more chaos to come their way. We'll just have to be more on guard."

Jim and Tim stood up to head to their room. "The offer still stands, just let us know."

Kim looked as her brothers walked upstairs. Even at fourteen, they were already almost as tall as she was – not that that said much – and showed no sign of stopping their growth. At least they had grown past their 'pranking their big sister' days.

"So, how is college life?" Mrs. Dr. Possible then asked, changing the subject.

Kim turned back with a huge smile. "Really good. In fact, my counselor said that if I keep this up, I can finish my bachelor's degree this year and start with my master's degree already, so it will at least shave a year off college."

"That's great honey." Kim's mother's voice was filled with pride. "James will be so proud… you are still going to do the master's in biochemistry, right?"

Kim grinned. "Yes, I will. But I might just use the bonus year to work out my minor in diplomacy and turn that into a master's as well."

Ron sighed. "So far for the easy time now that we get fewer missions."

Kim gave her boyfriend a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry, I won't neglect you."

Ron's smile had already returned. "But I still don't see how you could possibly combine biochemistry and diplomacy into a useful combination."

Kim pondered that for a moment, but then she shrugged. "Anything is possible for a Possible."

"How about you Ron," Mrs. Dr. Possible then asked. "How are you doing in college?"

"The courses are coming along nicely," Ron said, "but me and a couple of buddies from my class are considering quitting after obtaining our bachelor's degree and starting our own business. I have been talking with dad about it and he thinks it's a great idea. And with some of the leftover money from the Naco royalties we might even be able to get a loan big enough to provide us our own restaurant."

Kim smiled proudly. "My man is setting up his own business."

"That's great," Mrs. Dr. Possible said. "Just keep in mind that the business world can be brutal."

Ron nodded. "I know, mission work will seem mundane compared to this."

"Hey!" Kim said in fake irritation. "We do some pretty dangerous stuff."

Ron smiled and conceded. "I know KP, but I'd rather face villains than lawyers."

Camp Grizzly Bear

The small band of soldiers drove into the camp and noticed their arrival had already been announced.

The camp commander walked up to the lead car. "Ivanov! The general said you were picking up one of our older projects?"

"Yes," Ivanov answered in the same dialect, seeing as he and the commander came from the same city and had served together for a while. "We came to collect project Winter Fir and the ship that was assigned for it."

The camp commander chuckled. "Then I hope you don't fear the underwater, because the only two ships we have here are diesel submarines."

Ivanov frowned, but then he shrugged. "As long as the project fits inside."

"That it does, my friend. We modified the submarine so that the top of the front bow can open. Although this does mean there is little room for other things aboard."

"That is no problem, we need to be stealthy anyway, we were not planning on taking a lot with us or starting a fight… for now."

The commander laughed. "Good luck with what you are doing. The general will know what's best."

"You want me to rebuild a rocket to make it super-fast? That is awesome, seriously."

Sergey smiled slightly at the memory of the easy victory of convincing Motor Ed to cooperate. He and Antonivich were on the way to North Korea in a private jet that was stated to be for entirely different business. Motor Ed would arrive by other means within a few days.

The general was certain that his new associate would be shadowed, but he had no doubt that once they arrived in North Korea, Chol-Sung would make sure that no one could follow them.

It didn't matter to Sergey that people would think of North Korea as their possible hiding place; it was only a matter of time before Chol-Sung's association would become apparent anyway. And as far as Sergey understood, the operation mainly involved putting together already invented and built parts, so the timeframe would not be that large.

Things were looking good for the general, and it wouldn't be long before he got into the weapons depot.

"Marshal Chol-Sung, it is a great pleasure to finally meet you."

"The pleasure is mine."

The stiffness in their posture and their cold eyes belied the apparent politeness between Chol-Sung and Mahmoud. But they were headed for a common goal, so open hostilities were not a good start.

"I have a base prepared in a mountain range," Chol-Sung said, "it will be the perfect place to achieve our goal."

"Indeed it will," Mahmoud agreed, even though he suspected Chol-Sung might have a different goal in mind.

"When will general Maslov arrive?" Chol-Sung inquired.

"Within three days. The associate he has acquired will arrive shortly after. We should be able to start in a week."

"Then I will make sure my men are ready."

"This is just pathetic," Kim growled as she faced the twenty-odd henchmen. Although, henchmen may not have been the right word for the scrawny looking men that stood in front of her. "Where did you get these anyway?"

Frugal Lucre laughed, oblivious to the remark. "I hired them one week for free using a HenchCo coupon. I know they're just starting their training, but their numbers should be overwhelming enough."

Kim just shook her head; twenty fully trained henchmen wouldn't be able to stop her, not to speak of this batch of wannabes.

"I got it KP!" Ron shouted, holding up a small device he had taken while Frugal and his group of men – Kim couldn't even get herself to call them henchmen – had been focused on the redhead. "What is it anyway?"

"Mr. Smarty's electronic agenda," Kim said, "apparently it has everything on it regarding his personal and business data, codes and locations of valuables. Be careful with it, it is pretty much priceless."

Ron almost dropped the device in shock, causing Kim to veer over to prevent it from falling and breaking.

Even though Ron managed to catch the agenda before it hit the ground, Lucre's 'muscle' saw their chance to attack Kim while she was distracted.

Not even paying real attention to her attackers, Kim set out with a flurry of kicks and punches that sent Lucre's men flying. Instead, she looked at Ron with a scolding glare. "Would you be careful with that?"

"Sorry KP," Ron said in apology, "I didn't mean to drop it."

Kim smiled, much to Frugal Lucre's frustration seeing as his men hadn't even been able to lay a hand on her. "It's okay. I'm just a bit frustrated with these rookie jobs GJ keeps handing us."

"I am a real super villain," the villain loudly exclaimed, "I'm just a lot better with the money and I don't cost as much. What other villain would be willing to return the device for a mere million dollars?"

"He got you there," Ron remarked.

Kim nodded as she decked her last opponent. "Yeah, but he still stole that thing, and has threatened to use it to unveil all Mr. Smarty's secrets."

Ron suddenly looked with renewed interest at the device. "His secrets, like how he got so rich?"

"Hard work and dedication," Kim replied with a grin. "That's no secret, it's in his book."

"You read his book?" Frugal and Ron said at the same time.

Kim couldn't help herself. "Jinx, you both owe me a soda. But no, I just heard Ron say it so often… not that he took it to heart for a long time."

"Harsh KP," Ron muttered, although he knew the truth of her words; he had never shown Smarty-like ambition when it came to getting rich, not that that stopped him from being a multi-millionaire for a brief period of time.

Kim flashed her boyfriend a smile. "Hey, you're doing good now, starting up your own business."

"That jinx thing… that could save you loads on drinks," Lucre pondered as Kim cuffed him before she cuffed the mainly unconscious associates. "Maybe I can utilize that…"

Kim smirked. "Good luck with that. I've been trying to get those sodas from Ron for years now."

"Aw, come on KP," Ron whined, "I'll never be able to pay back all those sodas you earned over the years."

Kim chuckled briefly, but then used the Kimmunicator to call Global Justice. "We stopped Lucre and obtained Mr. Smarty's agenda… although I still don't see what you would have to do with it."

"A jet will arrive soon to pick up the criminals," came the short reply, after which the connection was closed again.

Kim frowned as she pocketed the Kimmunicator. "There is something fishy going on there. I wish they just told us."

"How is Team Possible doing?" Dr. Director asked.

"Efficient," Will simply said, "They've swiped almost our entire 'low priority list,' clearing up a lot of work for us."

"Are they figuring out something already?"

"I think so, but they are not acting on it at the moment."

Dr. Director was glad that Kim was still giving them the benefit of the doubt. "Give them some of the medium-level assignments for now, that should keep them busy without too much risk of them finding out about our high-priority tasks… How are we doing on that anyway?"

Will frowned before answering. "Not too good. We did track Mahmoud, Maslov and Edward Lipsky to North Korea, but we lost track of all of them in there. We do think they might be in league with Marshal Kim Chol-Sung, but without solid evidence we cannot do anything, even enter North Korea."

Dr. Director did not look happy. "How can we call ourselves Global Justice when we still can't enter every country without signing a hundred documents… in triplicate."

"Dude, this lair is awesome, seriously!" Motor Ed exclaimed as he walked through the large base that was partly dug into the mountain. Every resemblance to a lair was missing, however, as one wouldn't even know that he was inside a mountain when looking through the base. The only clue would be the lack of windows.

"Is he always like this?" Mahmoud asked Sergey in Russian, who merely shrugged.

"He is an American. The point is that he is the one we need for this rocket."

Motor Ed frowned. "What are you talking about? Me being an American something?"

Chol-Sung, who understood Russian but was even worse with the pronunciation than Mahmoud, shook his head. "They were saying that they need your 'American expertise' to reconstruct the high-speed rocket you have built before."

No one reacted to the obvious sarcasm in the jab at the American expertise, although their reason might have varied, ranging from agreement to obliviousness.

Motor Ed stared at Chol-Sung. "You managed to get the rocket? So all you need is for me to fix it?"

He was met with confused stares.

"The Marshal's grasp of the English language may not be adequate here," Sergey explained. "What he meant was that you would be able to build the same rocket again, just like when you originally built it."

Chol-Sung briefly nodded, as that was what he meant.

"Oh…" Motor Ed looked doubtful for a moment. "You guys didn't know that I stole the original rocket? Seriously, I just modified it."

Two pairs of eyes looked at General Maslov, who looked in deep thought for a moment. "Did you enhance the performance of the rocket in some way?"

"Of course, seriously," Motor Ed scoffed, clearly insulted. "I made it able to reach its maximum speed inside the atmosphere… although actually reaching that speed would have some bad effects on the surroundings, seriously."

"Who made the original rocket?" Mahmoud inquired.

"James Possible. He's the top rocket scientist in the world," Motor Ed answered without hesitation.

Maslov nodded, and addressed his associates in Russian. "After my men arrive with the carrier, I will obtain Dr. Possible. I will make sure he will work for us if the plans for the rocket are no longer in his possession. Lipsky will make sure that the doctor won't be pulling a trick on us."

Mahmoud and Chol-Sung nodded. "Very well. We will start the building process based on the regular missile designs that will fit your carrier."

Sergey turned back to Motor Ed. "You will have to tell me everything you know about Dr. Possible."

The inter-agency meeting was buzzing with anticipation.

"We located Chol-Sung in the Kangnam mountain range," Hugh Kensington said, "we suspect that he has a base hidden somewhere in the range. We also have reports of sightings of people looking like Khomeini. No sign of Edward Lipsky or Sergey Maslov."

Istvan Deva spoke up next. "We have spotted recent activity in one of our camps called 'Camp Grizzly Bear.' Apparently, one of the submarines has taken off for a training mission. However, the camp commander is known to have ties with Maslov."

Jack Hall was the next one to speak. "I am preparing a team to locate and infiltrate Chol-Sung's base."

Solomon Leman frowned. "Do you have agents that can fit in?"

Hall grinned slightly. "Mine and your interpretation of 'infiltration' may differ somewhat."

Leman nodded. "In that case, may I offer the service of one of our top 'infiltration' agents? He performed outstandingly when 'infiltrating' a terrorist movement in Iraq, and I believe he joined forces on several occasions with your team."

Dr. Director was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable with the situation that was developing. She knew very well that their opponent was working on developing a highly dangerous nuclear missile that may be able to defeat the defense system, but she did not like the ideas that were suggested right now at all. "May I offer the assistance of Global Justice?"

Jack Hall frowned; he knew very well that Global Justice would do anything to keep matters as civil as possible, but flat out refusing them could give the wrong idea of his intentions. It would actually give the right idea, but he preferred to keep that a public secret; the politics of inter-agency cooperation was a very special form of tightrope walking.

"Do you have agents trained for this?" Solomon kindly asked, showing he was siding with Hall. "My understanding is that you generally leave terrorism and military operations to other agencies."

Betty sighed; she knew when she was losing a match. But then Katelyn Noble decided to take the other woman's side. "I agree with Mr. Leman that it would be unwise to have unprepared agents joining in. However, it would truly be a shame to put Global Justice's resources aside. May I suggest using their China base as the headquarters of our operation? That way Global Justice can oversee and provide ample information while the infiltration teams have legitimate support close by."

Jack Hall grimaced; now he was the one being outplayed. But he nodded. "Very well, that seems like a proper deal."

Leman's expression was unreadable, but he too nodded. "I think this will be a satisfying cooperation."

"General, we have project Winter Fir."

Sergey nodded in approval. "Excellent. I have sent half the men to bring the project to our new base. Chol-Sung provided men and transportation to make sure the carrier arrives without being noticed."
"What about the others, sir?"

"They come with me. We have to make a trip to the USA."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, more is to come soon. And to those who are waiting for the sequel to 'The Road Ahead', don't worry, I'm working on that one too.