Hello, and welcome to Down the Bad Road, a Kim Possible/Chronicles of Darkness Quest!
Now, some...
Now, some...
Down the Bad Road
- Thread starter Emerald Oracle
- Start date
- Crossover
- Created
- Status
- Ongoing
- Watchers
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- Threadmarks
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Statistics (13 threadmarks, 29k words)
User Total Emerald Oracle 13
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
Hello, and welcome to Down the Bad Road, a Kim Possible/Chronicles of Darkness Quest!
Now, some of you may have seen this quest before on SB or QQ, and indeed, this is the same quest that Iandude0 is running. HOWEVER! I have recently become the Co-GM, and in light of that, and the frankly deplorably small numbers of votes, I have decided to Cross post the quest here! Rejoice! Or don't, I'm a bunch of letters on a screen, not your lawful superior.
Following this post will be a pair of posts, by me, for mechanical purposes, and then all the extant material. Enjoy!
Now, some of you may have seen this quest before on SB or QQ, and indeed, this is the same quest that Iandude0 is running. HOWEVER! I have recently become the Co-GM, and in light of that, and the frankly deplorably small numbers of votes, I have decided to Cross post the quest here! Rejoice! Or don't, I'm a bunch of letters on a screen, not your lawful superior.
Following this post will be a pair of posts, by me, for mechanical purposes, and then all the extant material. Enjoy!
Main Character Sheet
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
Character Sheet
Name: Stoppable, Ron Stoppable
Concept: ???
Profession: Layabout per excellence (None)
Virtue: Dedication
Vice: Sloth
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None
Attributes
Skills
Merits
Flaws
Willpower: 4 (8)
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [L] [L] [L] [L] [ ] [ ]
Health: 7 (8)
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Size: 5
Speed: 9 (11)
Initiative: 4 (8)
Defense: 5 (7)
Morality: 10
Name: Stoppable, Ron Stoppable
Concept: ???
Profession: Layabout per excellence (None)
Virtue: Dedication
Vice: Sloth
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None
Attributes
Physical
Strength - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Strength - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Skills
Physical
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Running
Brawl - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Drive- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Larceny - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Weaponry - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Doomsday Devices
Crafts - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Occult - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Aberrant Creatures
Empathy - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Persuasion - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Socialize - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Streetwise - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Running
Brawl - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Drive- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Larceny - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Weaponry - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Doomsday Devices
Crafts - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Occult - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Aberrant Creatures
Empathy - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Persuasion - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Socialize - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Streetwise - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Merits
Danger Sense - Ron has a knack at feeling when things are about to go horribly wrong. Of course, whether he chooses to go down the bad road anyway is a different question.
Fleet of Foot (2) - Hey, when you have to run away, no one can catch you.
Ambidextrous - Ron's proficient at using both hands, even having a good amount of muscle memory for both to booth. Twice the capacity for nacho moving after all.
Mystical Monkey Powers - ??? (maaaybe you shouldn't have messed with strange monkey-related artifacts).
Fleet of Foot (2) - Hey, when you have to run away, no one can catch you.
Ambidextrous - Ron's proficient at using both hands, even having a good amount of muscle memory for both to booth. Twice the capacity for nacho moving after all.
Mystical Monkey Powers - ??? (maaaybe you shouldn't have messed with strange monkey-related artifacts).
Flaws
Untapped Potential - Ron is a formidable opponent against many dire threats. However, years of being overshadowed by Kim has caused him to overlook this, never really trying to go beyond these 'limits' he imposed on himself. He has trouble taking himself seriously, and cannot use all of his abilities to their fullest extent until he does. All attribute points above 2 are locked out of use unless Ron's health is below half, and Ron cannot gain skills above three motes until this trait is removed.
Willpower: 4 (8)
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [L] [L] [L] [L] [ ] [ ]
Health: 7 (8)
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Size: 5
Speed: 9 (11)
Initiative: 4 (8)
Defense: 5 (7)
Morality: 10
Last edited:
Middleton Cell Character Sheets
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
Middleton Cell Character Sheets
Steve Barkin
Name: Steve Barkin
Concept: ???
Profession: Substitute teacher/ Ex-Military
Virtue: Fair
Vice: Hardass
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None/???
Attributes
Skills
Merits
Flaws
Willpower: 6
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Health: 8
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Size: 5
Speed: 11
Initiative: 7
Defense: 7
Morality: 8
Brick Flagg
Name: Brick Flagg
Concept: ???
Profession: Athlete
Virtue: Kind
Vice: Competitive
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None
Attributes
Skills
Merits
Flaws
Willpower: 5
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Health: 10
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Size: 6
Speed: 13
Initiative: 5
Defense: 7
Morality: 10
Tara King
Name: Tara King
Concept: ???
Profession: Socialite
Virtue: Selfless
Vice: Hypersocial
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None
Attributes
Skills
Merits
Flaws
Willpower: 7
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Health: 7
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Size: 5
Speed: 10
Initiative: 9
Defense:5
Morality: 10
Bonnie Rockwaller
Name: Bonnie Rockwaller
Concept: ???
Profession: Athlete
Virtue: Dedication
Vice: Arrogant
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None
Attributes
Skills
Merits
Flaws
Willpower: 4 (6)
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Health: 7 (8)
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Size: 5
Speed: 9 (11)
Initiative: 4 (7)
Defense: 6 (7)
Morality: 10
Steve Barkin
Concept: ???
Profession: Substitute teacher/ Ex-Military
Virtue: Fair
Vice: Hardass
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None/???
Attributes
Physical
Strength - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Strength - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Skills
Physical
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Brawl - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Drive- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Rifles and Shotguns
Larceny - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Cooking
Weaponry - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Crafts - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Occult - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Empathy - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Silencing Presence
Persuasion - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Socialize - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Streetwise - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Brawl - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Drive- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Rifles and Shotguns
Larceny - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Cooking
Weaponry - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Crafts - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Occult - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Empathy - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Silencing Presence
Persuasion - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Socialize - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Streetwise - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Merits
Profession- Soldier 3: Well, whatever it was he was back in the day, he was pretty good at it. Not that he's going to tell you anything more than vague sentences and deflections.
Contacts- Military 2: Mr. Barkin says he still knows a few friends from back in the day in the Army. He might be able to contact them and get what aid they could give.
Safehouse- Size 1, Secrecy 2, Cache 1: Mr. Barkin says that his apartment is available to be used if push comes to shove. He also noted that he my or may not have some weapons ready should something happen.
Contacts- Military 2: Mr. Barkin says he still knows a few friends from back in the day in the Army. He might be able to contact them and get what aid they could give.
Safehouse- Size 1, Secrecy 2, Cache 1: Mr. Barkin says that his apartment is available to be used if push comes to shove. He also noted that he my or may not have some weapons ready should something happen.
Flaws
Traumatic memories- Whether or not he admits it, Mr. Barkin has seen a lot of things back in the day. There are a lot of things he'd rather not have to see again, too. When confronted with incredibly stressful situations, make a difficulty 3 Composure+Resolve roll. If it fails, Mr. Barkin's effective composure and resolve are reduced to one for the duration of the encounter.
Willpower: 6
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Health: 8
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Size: 5
Speed: 11
Initiative: 7
Defense: 7
Morality: 8
Brick Flagg
Concept: ???
Profession: Athlete
Virtue: Kind
Vice: Competitive
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None
Attributes
Physical
Strength - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Strength - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Skills
Physical
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Running
Brawl - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Wrestling
Drive- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Larceny - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Weaponry - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Crafts - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] | Specialty: Triage
Occult - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Empathy - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [X] [ ] [] [] [ ]
Persuasion - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Socialize - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Streetwise - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Running
Brawl - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Wrestling
Drive- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Larceny - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Weaponry - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Crafts - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] | Specialty: Triage
Occult - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Empathy - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [X] [ ] [] [] [ ]
Persuasion - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Socialize - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Streetwise - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Merits
Profession- Athlete 2: With as much natural skill as any professional player, Brick is on the line to be recruited by a few major College Football teams once he finally graduates.
Fleet of Foot 2: Very few people can outrun Brick when he gets going, and he can score touchdowns in record time if he ever decides to get out of the pocket.
Giant 3: Have you seen this guy? He's huge, and everyone knows it.
Fleet of Foot 2: Very few people can outrun Brick when he gets going, and he can score touchdowns in record time if he ever decides to get out of the pocket.
Giant 3: Have you seen this guy? He's huge, and everyone knows it.
Flaws
Unintelligent- Though Brick is very well gifted on the physical side of things, he does tend to have trouble learning or understanding new topics in a more academic setting. Brick requires double the experience to advance mental attributes and skills.
Willpower: 5
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Health: 10
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Size: 6
Speed: 13
Initiative: 5
Defense: 7
Morality: 10
Tara King
Concept: ???
Profession: Socialite
Virtue: Selfless
Vice: Hypersocial
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None
Attributes
Physical
Strength - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Strength - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ]
Skills
Physical
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Acrobatics
Brawl - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Drive- [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Larceny - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Weaponry - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Crafts - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Occult - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Empathy - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [ ] [ ] [] [] [ ]
Persuasion - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Charming Impression
Socialize - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Athletes and gossiping
Streetwise - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Acrobatics
Brawl - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Drive- [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Larceny - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Weaponry - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Crafts - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Occult - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Empathy - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [ ] [ ] [] [] [ ]
Persuasion - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Charming Impression
Socialize - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Athletes and gossiping
Streetwise - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Merits
Contacts- Cheerleaders 2: Years of going to competitions from a very young age have given Tara a long list of friends and acquaintances that she's made. She also has the phone numbers of each one, kept up to date.
Resources- 1: Tara is from a relatively well off family, and has a bit of money from various allowances and chores that she has a good amount of spending money when she needs to use it.
True Friend- Bonnie Rockwaller: Out of all the strange things to come from Middleton Highschool, this is perhaps considered the weirdest. The kindest of the Middleton Sophmore class is best friends with the one who is widely considered the absolute meanest. It's considered a mystery to this day.
Fast Reflexes: Years of being a Cheerleader have honed her reaction speeds to a higher standard than most others have.
Resources- 1: Tara is from a relatively well off family, and has a bit of money from various allowances and chores that she has a good amount of spending money when she needs to use it.
True Friend- Bonnie Rockwaller: Out of all the strange things to come from Middleton Highschool, this is perhaps considered the weirdest. The kindest of the Middleton Sophmore class is best friends with the one who is widely considered the absolute meanest. It's considered a mystery to this day.
Fast Reflexes: Years of being a Cheerleader have honed her reaction speeds to a higher standard than most others have.
Flaws
Crush-Ron Stoppable: Though he may not know it, Tara has it bad for Ron ever since he saved her life in the camp Wannaweep incident. She wants to get close to him, and any attempts to threaten harm upon him gain a +1 bonus to success because of that.
Willpower: 7
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Health: 7
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Size: 5
Speed: 10
Initiative: 9
Defense:5
Morality: 10
Bonnie Rockwaller
Name: Bonnie Rockwaller
Concept: ???
Profession: Athlete
Virtue: Dedication
Vice: Arrogant
Cell: None
Compact/Conspiracy: None
Attributes
Physical
Strength - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Strength - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Dexterity - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Stamina - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Intelligence - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Wit - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Resolve - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Social
Presence - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Manipulation - [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ]
Composure - [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ]
Skills
Physical
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Acrobatics
Brawl - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Catfighting
Drive- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Larceny - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Weaponry - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Crafts - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Occult - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Empathy - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Persuasion - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Flattery
Socialize - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Streetwise - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Feign Innocence
Athletics - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Acrobatics
Brawl - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Catfighting
Drive- [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Firearms - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Larceny - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stealth - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Survival - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Weaponry - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mental
Academics - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Computer - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Crafts - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Investigation - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Medicine - [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Occult - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Politics - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Science - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Social
Animal Ken - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Empathy - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Expression- [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Intimidation - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Persuasion - [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] | Specialization: Flattery
Socialize - [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Streetwise - [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Subterfuge - [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] | Specialization: Feign Innocence
Merits
Resources 4: Everyone knows Bonnie's the daughter of an incredibly rich businessman, and as such she has a lot of disposable income, even when it doesn't go to the latest club Banana lines. Though it might take some cajoling, you can usually have her try to spend some on the Vampire hunting.
True Friend- Tara King: To this day, many students are confused at how the School's brightest light could have become best friends with Bonnie, the school's resident Queen Bee and soupuss. However, the two are incredibly close. To the point where one would be willing to threaten a certain goofball with a plastic knife if she needed to.
True Friend- Tara King: To this day, many students are confused at how the School's brightest light could have become best friends with Bonnie, the school's resident Queen Bee and soupuss. However, the two are incredibly close. To the point where one would be willing to threaten a certain goofball with a plastic knife if she needed to.
Flaws
Always second best - Bonnie has more skill then she ever realizes, but years of being belittled and bested by both her sisters and Kim have made her ignorant of her own capabilities. As time goes on she will likely gain more confidence in herself, and start to work past her own issues. Until then, all attribute points above 2 are locked out of use unless hers or Tara's health is below half, and Bonnie cannot use skills above three motes without burning willpower until this trait is removed.
Willpower: 4 (6)
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [L] [L] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Health: 7 (8)
Current: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [L] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Size: 5
Speed: 9 (11)
Initiative: 4 (7)
Defense: 6 (7)
Morality: 10
Last edited:
Prelude One: Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
You had been having a bad day. In fact, in the chronicle of misfortunes that was the life of Ronald Dean Stoppable, you'd probably list it as one of the worst in quite a while. Losing out on sleep because you had to go help Kim for a late night mission in Cairo was no big, really. If anything, you'd gotten used to it over the past few months. Who needs more than four hours to get stuff done, right? Getting stuff done didn't include last night's English Homework, it never really did. But then again, that stuff was always kind of stupid. Who cared what Bram Stoker thought, the dude had been dead for a hundred years! Of course things would get worse. They always did on Wednesdays, you know?
Rufus had a cold, so he couldn't come with you to school. You'd spent enough time setting up his bed and preparing the perfectly warmed naco cheese for his consumption later that you'd managed to get into school late. That translated into having to deal with Mr. Barkin yelling at you for the greater part of an hour. After arriving in English class late, and unable to hand in your homework due to having spent the most of last night fighting baddies, you found yourself locked up in detention for the second time this week. And who else would monitor the "troubled children" other than Mr. Barkin? The stare he always gave you was enough to make the small two hour spam seem like an eternity. The man had it out for you, that much was clear.
As detention ended, you'd managed to somehow position yourself in just in the right way to have been in range of Big Mike when he opened up his soda, which you're pretty sure got a good shaking when Mr. Barkin had been yelling at him earlier today for accidentally breaking a table he walked into. Normally, getting splashed by that wouldn't have been a big deal, but everything that you'd been going through today had just made you more than willing to be done with just about everything now. All you wanted to do was go home, switch shirts so you didn't feel gross and check up on Rufus. Maybe even get some nacos for the two of you while you were walking, so that you could enjoy them together while watching reruns of Fearless Ferret. It was around six now, and would be a badical end to what was otherwise a very bad day.
You were so entranced by the thoughts of cheesy goodness that you hadn't noticed you'd taken a left earlier than you should have, instead of going through the main road you'd found yourself in a dim alley. The moment you'd realized where you were, the voice in the back of your mind started to scream that this place was (literally) bad road, but you'd already gotten halfway through to the other end of the street. Swallowing your fear of being mugged or attacked here, you slowly started to advance towards the exit of the avenue nearby. Your eyes darted through the occasional pile of trash or discarded furniture to the side area, looking for the phantoms or monster to come out and get you in such a vulnerable state. A small part of your brain knew that you were over-reacting to this whole thing but you'd known to trust your gut in things like these. Focusing on the shine of a store's sign in the distance, you continued to close the gap between alley and road. You were almost there! You could get out and just go get so-
A splattering noise caught your ear right as you neared the road. Almost instinctively, you could feel your eyes rolling towards the sky. Of course your luck wouldn't hold out in this sort of situation. It never did. Taking a few breaths to steel yourself, you walked towards the source of the noise- a darkened brown fence, only illuminated by the light of a streetlamp. Creeping a little closer, you could only hope that someone had decided to paint their fence at night and promptly tripped over the can while doing so. It was better than every small alternative your mind was playing over and over as you stepped closer. A small squelch was the final indicator, pulling up your shoe to see a liquid almost black in the dim light of the alley.
You froze, waiting for anything, praying that whatever was there thought it was just an animal of something. Close by a small animal knocked over some loose garbage, breaking the silence and ending your own panicked immobility. Carefully placing you next foot, you creeped closer still to the source of the disturbances, against every instinct screaming at you. They all paled next to the one resolution reverberating through your head.
Someone was in trouble, and you needed to help them.
You looked over the fence, hoping to discover some small hole in the wooden pieces to figure out what was happening. Taking care to make as little noise as possible, and having entered full mission mode, you crept towards a small opening a few inches away from your right knee. Slowly squatting down, you allowed your eyes to reach the little gap in the fence's coverage.
The moment you had, you were glad you didn't scream. There was a body there, on the ground. You couldn't really notice anything more beyond the small trickle of blood that had been flowing down to the fence. No, your mind had been preoccupied with the second figure in the scene. It was standing right next to the first, wearing a black hoodie and jeans. You watched as it reached down, and bit into the neck of what you could only now call a victim.
As if something broke in your mind, the only thing you could think of doing was fleeing. Your feet pounded on the pavement, going faster and farther away from that sick and wrong image as you channeled every desperate escape attempt you had ever made into your sprint. Your ran for what seemed like hours, not even sure of where you were going in the city before you finally stopped.
Huffing and puffing, you found a nearby wall of whatever building you were next to and pulled out your trusty cell phone. You flipped it open and hastily pushed the three-digit combination to contact the police. It took a few moments before a voice came through on the other side.
"911, please state the nature of your emergency."
You gathered your breath for a second before saying the first thing that came to mind.
"I just saw a guy get killed!"
There was a short pause, before whomever was on the line continued.
"Could you tell us the exact location of the crime scene, please?"
You tried to search your memory for any hint of where exactly it was, but the details outside of the horrific scene eluded you.
"It's near the Bueno Nacho close to the Middleton Mall, in a backyard near one of the alleys."
That was the best you could do. You were more preoccupied with running away from the murderbeast to look at the street sign.
"Thank you, a pair of officers will be sent to investigate the area. Did you see the perpetrator?"
"You mean the vampire?"
There was a silence on the other line for a few seconds.
"Could you repeat that, sir?"
"The suspect was a vampire. You know, prowler of the night, bloodsucker and biter of necks? I saw him drinking the victim's blood!"
The was a small pause at the other side of the line before the dispatcher came back on.
"This better not be some prank, understand? Murder is serious business, and if you're wasting our time you're putting others in danger for your joke. The officers are beginning their sweep now, to look for a dead body, while keeping on the lookout for a possibly deranged individual. Good night."
Then the line went dead, presumably as she hung up. You were glad that they didn't dismiss it out of hand, but this was a world with supervillains and death rays! Was it so hard to believe that vampires could also be a thing?
Of course, someone had to stop that. But you couldn't just do that, you weren't enough. You dialed the most commonly used number on your phone, and waited until the ringing noise was replaced with one you'd been hearing only hours earlier.
"Hey Ron, what's the sitch?"
"Nothing much KP, Rufus is still sick, Big Mike spilled some soda on me and I JUST SAW A VAMPIRE!!!"
Okay, so maybe yelling it at the top of your lungs wasn't the best way to open up the conversation.
"Could you tone it down a little bit, Ron? I'm kind of eating dinner right now, and dad's giving me a really weird look from across the table."
"Sorry, Kim."
"Are you sure it was a Vampire you saw? I'm pretty sure those only exist in stories, and we have been forced to read Dracula for English class. Maybe you just saw something and it was on your mind? You do tend to exaggerate things..."
"Come on, Kim! When have I eve-"
"The Smarty Mart clerks being replaced by Lizard people last week."
"Hey, they didn't know about the newest deals of the season!" Really, was it so hard to keep track of how the price of peanut butter was in the packaged food section of the store?
"... Right. Look, I'm not saying you're making things up Ron. I'm just saying that maybe you should take a second to step back and think it over. Get some sleep and just come back to it later. Now, I've got to go-Mom's glaring at me now-see you tomorrow."
And then she hung up. But you couldn't stop, you knew what you saw. Something had killed that man, and might try harming even more people. You were going to stop it.
Someone had to, after all.
Of course, you still couldn't do this all by yourself. You weren't dumb enough to face a creature of the night by yourself; that would be suicide. You needed to get some assistance here if you wanted to live, and you wanted to be sure that they wouldn't just reject you out of hand. Even now, you had a few possible candidates:
Rufus had a cold, so he couldn't come with you to school. You'd spent enough time setting up his bed and preparing the perfectly warmed naco cheese for his consumption later that you'd managed to get into school late. That translated into having to deal with Mr. Barkin yelling at you for the greater part of an hour. After arriving in English class late, and unable to hand in your homework due to having spent the most of last night fighting baddies, you found yourself locked up in detention for the second time this week. And who else would monitor the "troubled children" other than Mr. Barkin? The stare he always gave you was enough to make the small two hour spam seem like an eternity. The man had it out for you, that much was clear.
As detention ended, you'd managed to somehow position yourself in just in the right way to have been in range of Big Mike when he opened up his soda, which you're pretty sure got a good shaking when Mr. Barkin had been yelling at him earlier today for accidentally breaking a table he walked into. Normally, getting splashed by that wouldn't have been a big deal, but everything that you'd been going through today had just made you more than willing to be done with just about everything now. All you wanted to do was go home, switch shirts so you didn't feel gross and check up on Rufus. Maybe even get some nacos for the two of you while you were walking, so that you could enjoy them together while watching reruns of Fearless Ferret. It was around six now, and would be a badical end to what was otherwise a very bad day.
You were so entranced by the thoughts of cheesy goodness that you hadn't noticed you'd taken a left earlier than you should have, instead of going through the main road you'd found yourself in a dim alley. The moment you'd realized where you were, the voice in the back of your mind started to scream that this place was (literally) bad road, but you'd already gotten halfway through to the other end of the street. Swallowing your fear of being mugged or attacked here, you slowly started to advance towards the exit of the avenue nearby. Your eyes darted through the occasional pile of trash or discarded furniture to the side area, looking for the phantoms or monster to come out and get you in such a vulnerable state. A small part of your brain knew that you were over-reacting to this whole thing but you'd known to trust your gut in things like these. Focusing on the shine of a store's sign in the distance, you continued to close the gap between alley and road. You were almost there! You could get out and just go get so-
A splattering noise caught your ear right as you neared the road. Almost instinctively, you could feel your eyes rolling towards the sky. Of course your luck wouldn't hold out in this sort of situation. It never did. Taking a few breaths to steel yourself, you walked towards the source of the noise- a darkened brown fence, only illuminated by the light of a streetlamp. Creeping a little closer, you could only hope that someone had decided to paint their fence at night and promptly tripped over the can while doing so. It was better than every small alternative your mind was playing over and over as you stepped closer. A small squelch was the final indicator, pulling up your shoe to see a liquid almost black in the dim light of the alley.
You froze, waiting for anything, praying that whatever was there thought it was just an animal of something. Close by a small animal knocked over some loose garbage, breaking the silence and ending your own panicked immobility. Carefully placing you next foot, you creeped closer still to the source of the disturbances, against every instinct screaming at you. They all paled next to the one resolution reverberating through your head.
Someone was in trouble, and you needed to help them.
You looked over the fence, hoping to discover some small hole in the wooden pieces to figure out what was happening. Taking care to make as little noise as possible, and having entered full mission mode, you crept towards a small opening a few inches away from your right knee. Slowly squatting down, you allowed your eyes to reach the little gap in the fence's coverage.
The moment you had, you were glad you didn't scream. There was a body there, on the ground. You couldn't really notice anything more beyond the small trickle of blood that had been flowing down to the fence. No, your mind had been preoccupied with the second figure in the scene. It was standing right next to the first, wearing a black hoodie and jeans. You watched as it reached down, and bit into the neck of what you could only now call a victim.
As if something broke in your mind, the only thing you could think of doing was fleeing. Your feet pounded on the pavement, going faster and farther away from that sick and wrong image as you channeled every desperate escape attempt you had ever made into your sprint. Your ran for what seemed like hours, not even sure of where you were going in the city before you finally stopped.
Huffing and puffing, you found a nearby wall of whatever building you were next to and pulled out your trusty cell phone. You flipped it open and hastily pushed the three-digit combination to contact the police. It took a few moments before a voice came through on the other side.
"911, please state the nature of your emergency."
You gathered your breath for a second before saying the first thing that came to mind.
"I just saw a guy get killed!"
There was a short pause, before whomever was on the line continued.
"Could you tell us the exact location of the crime scene, please?"
You tried to search your memory for any hint of where exactly it was, but the details outside of the horrific scene eluded you.
"It's near the Bueno Nacho close to the Middleton Mall, in a backyard near one of the alleys."
That was the best you could do. You were more preoccupied with running away from the murderbeast to look at the street sign.
"Thank you, a pair of officers will be sent to investigate the area. Did you see the perpetrator?"
"You mean the vampire?"
There was a silence on the other line for a few seconds.
"Could you repeat that, sir?"
"The suspect was a vampire. You know, prowler of the night, bloodsucker and biter of necks? I saw him drinking the victim's blood!"
The was a small pause at the other side of the line before the dispatcher came back on.
"This better not be some prank, understand? Murder is serious business, and if you're wasting our time you're putting others in danger for your joke. The officers are beginning their sweep now, to look for a dead body, while keeping on the lookout for a possibly deranged individual. Good night."
Then the line went dead, presumably as she hung up. You were glad that they didn't dismiss it out of hand, but this was a world with supervillains and death rays! Was it so hard to believe that vampires could also be a thing?
Of course, someone had to stop that. But you couldn't just do that, you weren't enough. You dialed the most commonly used number on your phone, and waited until the ringing noise was replaced with one you'd been hearing only hours earlier.
"Hey Ron, what's the sitch?"
"Nothing much KP, Rufus is still sick, Big Mike spilled some soda on me and I JUST SAW A VAMPIRE!!!"
Okay, so maybe yelling it at the top of your lungs wasn't the best way to open up the conversation.
"Could you tone it down a little bit, Ron? I'm kind of eating dinner right now, and dad's giving me a really weird look from across the table."
"Sorry, Kim."
"Are you sure it was a Vampire you saw? I'm pretty sure those only exist in stories, and we have been forced to read Dracula for English class. Maybe you just saw something and it was on your mind? You do tend to exaggerate things..."
"Come on, Kim! When have I eve-"
"The Smarty Mart clerks being replaced by Lizard people last week."
"Hey, they didn't know about the newest deals of the season!" Really, was it so hard to keep track of how the price of peanut butter was in the packaged food section of the store?
"... Right. Look, I'm not saying you're making things up Ron. I'm just saying that maybe you should take a second to step back and think it over. Get some sleep and just come back to it later. Now, I've got to go-Mom's glaring at me now-see you tomorrow."
And then she hung up. But you couldn't stop, you knew what you saw. Something had killed that man, and might try harming even more people. You were going to stop it.
Someone had to, after all.
Of course, you still couldn't do this all by yourself. You weren't dumb enough to face a creature of the night by yourself; that would be suicide. You needed to get some assistance here if you wanted to live, and you wanted to be sure that they wouldn't just reject you out of hand. Even now, you had a few possible candidates:
Prelude Two: Recruitment part 1
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
You didn't sleep much that night, how could you? You'd both been subject to one of the most horrifying sights of your life and then resolved to stop such a thing from happening again. Your veins were pounding with fear and adrenaline in equal measures, and you couldn't help but try to get something done if you weren't going to be sleeping. Normally this would have included favorite reruns of Fearless Ferret and a few late-night nacos to make everything better, yet the sleeping form of Rufus trashed that idea. The little guy was sick, and he needed rest much more than you needed some late-night entertainment. That severely limited your options for fun times.
He'd hear the TV, and even then you wouldn't watch Fearless Ferret without your best buddy beside you. You wouldn't be able to play zombie mayhem, or any other videogames for that matter. You'd be too loud eventually and wake him. Making emergency foodstuffs was also out of the question. If the sound of cooking food or the noise from rustling through the refrigerator weren't the thing that would wake him, the smells from whatever it was you decided to eat would. Looking over your room, you quickly discounted pretty much everything. The computer would inevitably have you playing videogames, tossing in bed just seemed like a waste of your time and you didn't feel like doing your homework. What essential life skills or lessons did the teacher think you learn from Dracu-
Oh. Oh wow. Yeah, you almost forgot that was the book you'd been assigned to read for homework. Of course, you hadn't touched a page. Kim usually needed to goad you into doing this. You could almost hear the sirens in the distance. Heck, you checked outside the window to see if the skies were raining fire.
It was a cold day in Hell when Ron Stoppable did his homework freely, after all.
Cracking open the book, you started to check over the pages of the reading material. Soon, you found yourself taking some rudimentary notes as you read through the journal entries that made up the piece's contents. The usual ideas came out: that vampires sucked blood, they could create more vampires through other people, they were weak to sunlight and could also be killed.
You started really getting into it after the first hour, though you found you were less interested in the actual facts of the Vampires then you were the story of the hunters. They all seemed so normal to have been the people to take Dracula. I mean, the dude was a pop culture legend, not to mention he is more commonly known as the vampire. It was badical in a reassuring way to think that it could be done, even if it was complicated. By the time you'd realized you'd finished the homework you were supposed to do was written down, if sloppily, on a bunch of papers right next to you. You took the moment of rest you had to check the clock once more, it was a few minutes past seven, before deciding that maybe for once it would be best if you arrived in school on time.
No, you'd get there early just to throw everyone off. Never say that Ron Stoppable couldn't be spontaneous! You would never be normal, and being so predictable was just something you didn't like doing. Heck, you could even be productive on the way there, too! There were some issues you needed to think about, after all.
Of course, you did have to prepare Rufus' food for today, too. You didn't want to let your little buddy stay sick, and one day off probably wasn't enough for him to bounce back totally yet. You took a few hunks of cheese from the fridge and lay them out on the cutting board for him to eat at his leisure later. After that, you opened the door to the crisp early morning air and set out for Middleton High School.
As you walked, you thought about your ideas on whom to recruit, wondering which of them you would approach today.
Kim was almost immediately your first thought, but you weren't sure what you were about to do was worth risking her friendship. Just bugging her when she'd already told you not to do this was probably not the best idea. If you wanted to talk with her about this, you concluded that you'd have to do it later than today.
Monique was out for now too. It probably wasn't likely she'd believe your claims right now, and she'd likely go to Kim who would say you were just telling a wild story. So she wasn't viable for now.
After that, your mind went to Tara. She was a pretty awesome girl to be around, but you really weren't sure you wanted to throw her into this just yet. Really, putting friends in danger was not cool not matter how much you wanted help with this. Maybe you'd think about talking to her later, when you had a better idea of what exactly you wanted out of her.
Next on your prospective list was Brick. There wasn't really any other reason to have included him outside of your own miniscule amounts of pragmatism. The guys was pretty strong, and actually kinda cool to be around when he wasn't with Bonnie or any of her friends. You really could have used him for this, but you didn't think going to him first would be the best idea.
That only lef-
"Stoppable." Mr. Barkin's voice came out clearly from the classroom you were in. Huh, apparently your body had been on autopilot long enough to get you in class. It looked like he was doing role call, like every class he ended up subbing for was put through.
"Here." You responded absently before going back to your thoughts.
Yeah, going to Mr. Barkin was probably the best choice you had to approach. He had skill, experience and if you wanted to start this off well, you needed to get someone who knew what he was doing. You weren't even sure he'd doubt you that much, if at all. You did go hunt for a Yeti with him back on the ski trip last semester, so may-
"STOPPABLE!" The substitute teacher in question yelled right next to your face. With a start, you few backwards, hitting the floor in a totally uncool way. You must have really been off your game if you didn't notice him getting so close. You made a mental note to go take a nap when you got home, or to just do it in Math. It's not like the teacher there cared. You picked yourself up among the usual snickers and giggles that honestly were more annoying than hurtful at this point. You could only ask they have some variety in your smug amusement.
"Do you have the assignment, Stoppable?" Oh yeah, that. In the corner of your eye you could see Kim shaking her head in resignation while everyone else just rolled their eyes and went to ignore the coming tirade.
Wow, you had gotten really predictable. Well then, time to show them all that Ron Stoppable was not just some normal slacker. You nodded at Mr. Barkin before unzipping your backback and pulling out the proper assignment, all five completed pages of work. Taking a moment to revel in the strict teacher's face going slack, you handed in the work. As if shocked by the very idea this was possible, the substitute teacher personally sat down in front of the desk and took up the teacher's notes while checking the work you'd done, his pen scratching in a now eerily silent room.
As he continued on, you took a moment to capture the image of your classmates' stunned faces. You could even swear you saw some people with their jaws hanging open. As your eyes found Kim, she gave you a small smile and a thumbs up in response, which only made this day just that much more badical.
Having finally finished surveying the classroom, you turned your attention back to the teacher, who had put down the paper and simply started rubbing his temples. Looking over the clock, you watched as the remaining minutes ticked by to the end of the period. As everyone got up, Mr. Barkin looked directly at you. His stare was enough to know you probably shouldn't try moving, even if your brain was screaming at you to bolt. After the last few students left the room, the substitute teacher closed the door and motioned for you to step forward. Awkwardly, you got closer to the imposing man as he took the time to look you over. You stopped when you were a few inches away from him. He stared you down for a few seconds, before holding up your homework.
"What is this, Stoppable?" You knew what he was talking about, but with the man standing right in front of you and glaring as hard as he possibly could, it was rather intimidating to behold. Even if the answer was obvious.
"I-its my homework, sir."
His eyes narrowed, flitting back to the sheets of paper that were the subject of all this trouble.
"That is the homework for the entire week, Stoppable. Not just today. Now, could you explain to me why the school's resident slacker just happened to get seven days of homework done in one night." You couldn't help but hear the accusations in his tone, even if he didn't intend to put it there.
As if sensing your discomfort, he continued. "Normally I'd say something like this would be the result of someone just copying answers from off the internet, but I know you Stoppable. The D-Hall crew might try something like that, but not you. These papers are the real thing, and I want to know- is there a problem, Stoppable? I know you wouldn't do this normally, so something must have happened. What. Was. It?" He punctuated every word in that last sentence with a step, until his face was looking down with less than an inch of space. You wanted to collapse into yourself, to just wink out of existence right there.
But you wouldn't, you couldn't.
"I-i-i" Okay, so maybe you could just fail that much. Then again, there wasn't really a better opportunity than this.
"Vampire."
The substitute teacher cocked his head at you, as if not really understanding what you had said.
"Could you repeat that, Stoppable? This time so I can hear it."
With a loud gulp, you looked Mr. Barkin in the eye.
"I, uh, saw a vampire on the walk home last night. You know, bloodsuckers, dwellers of the night? Yeah, I saw one eating a person-wow I'm really calm about this aren't I?- and I kind of wanted to ask you to, you know, help me fight it..."
Silence. You waited for a few seconds, expecting the inevitable laughter or disbelief that you would have considered a normal reaction. As you raise your head, you spotted the man leaning on a wall near the door, his right hand massaging his forehead. You weren't sure whether or not that meant he believed you, but you thought it was better than many of the other responses he could have given.
Maybe you shou-
"Are you serious, Stoppable?" He said it in a tone so quiet it was almost a whisper. You were caught off guard by the sudden shift in Mr. Barkin's demeanor, but you tried your best to give him his answer.
"Y-yes, sir."
At that, the substitute teacher approached you, and came closer enough that you could see his brown eyes. "That's not good enough, Stoppable. I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me: Are you telling me the truth?"
You returned his gaze, even as it made you wanted to shuffle uncomfortably, with your eyes meeting his. You swallowed back what fear you had, and opened your mouth.
"I am, sir."
The brown orbs narrowed at this, as if searching for something before he turned away. Mr. Barkin went to the door and opened it.
"Then I'm in, Stoppable. Now get going to class. We'll talk about this later."
Well, score one for the good guys, it seems.
STEVE BARKIN HAS JOINED THE HUNT
Now you just needed to figure out who you'd go to next. Helpfully, you talked to Mr. Barkin later that day and got his two cents on the people you wanted to approach tomorrow.
He'd hear the TV, and even then you wouldn't watch Fearless Ferret without your best buddy beside you. You wouldn't be able to play zombie mayhem, or any other videogames for that matter. You'd be too loud eventually and wake him. Making emergency foodstuffs was also out of the question. If the sound of cooking food or the noise from rustling through the refrigerator weren't the thing that would wake him, the smells from whatever it was you decided to eat would. Looking over your room, you quickly discounted pretty much everything. The computer would inevitably have you playing videogames, tossing in bed just seemed like a waste of your time and you didn't feel like doing your homework. What essential life skills or lessons did the teacher think you learn from Dracu-
Oh. Oh wow. Yeah, you almost forgot that was the book you'd been assigned to read for homework. Of course, you hadn't touched a page. Kim usually needed to goad you into doing this. You could almost hear the sirens in the distance. Heck, you checked outside the window to see if the skies were raining fire.
It was a cold day in Hell when Ron Stoppable did his homework freely, after all.
Cracking open the book, you started to check over the pages of the reading material. Soon, you found yourself taking some rudimentary notes as you read through the journal entries that made up the piece's contents. The usual ideas came out: that vampires sucked blood, they could create more vampires through other people, they were weak to sunlight and could also be killed.
You started really getting into it after the first hour, though you found you were less interested in the actual facts of the Vampires then you were the story of the hunters. They all seemed so normal to have been the people to take Dracula. I mean, the dude was a pop culture legend, not to mention he is more commonly known as the vampire. It was badical in a reassuring way to think that it could be done, even if it was complicated. By the time you'd realized you'd finished the homework you were supposed to do was written down, if sloppily, on a bunch of papers right next to you. You took the moment of rest you had to check the clock once more, it was a few minutes past seven, before deciding that maybe for once it would be best if you arrived in school on time.
No, you'd get there early just to throw everyone off. Never say that Ron Stoppable couldn't be spontaneous! You would never be normal, and being so predictable was just something you didn't like doing. Heck, you could even be productive on the way there, too! There were some issues you needed to think about, after all.
Of course, you did have to prepare Rufus' food for today, too. You didn't want to let your little buddy stay sick, and one day off probably wasn't enough for him to bounce back totally yet. You took a few hunks of cheese from the fridge and lay them out on the cutting board for him to eat at his leisure later. After that, you opened the door to the crisp early morning air and set out for Middleton High School.
As you walked, you thought about your ideas on whom to recruit, wondering which of them you would approach today.
Kim was almost immediately your first thought, but you weren't sure what you were about to do was worth risking her friendship. Just bugging her when she'd already told you not to do this was probably not the best idea. If you wanted to talk with her about this, you concluded that you'd have to do it later than today.
Monique was out for now too. It probably wasn't likely she'd believe your claims right now, and she'd likely go to Kim who would say you were just telling a wild story. So she wasn't viable for now.
After that, your mind went to Tara. She was a pretty awesome girl to be around, but you really weren't sure you wanted to throw her into this just yet. Really, putting friends in danger was not cool not matter how much you wanted help with this. Maybe you'd think about talking to her later, when you had a better idea of what exactly you wanted out of her.
Next on your prospective list was Brick. There wasn't really any other reason to have included him outside of your own miniscule amounts of pragmatism. The guys was pretty strong, and actually kinda cool to be around when he wasn't with Bonnie or any of her friends. You really could have used him for this, but you didn't think going to him first would be the best idea.
That only lef-
"Stoppable." Mr. Barkin's voice came out clearly from the classroom you were in. Huh, apparently your body had been on autopilot long enough to get you in class. It looked like he was doing role call, like every class he ended up subbing for was put through.
"Here." You responded absently before going back to your thoughts.
Yeah, going to Mr. Barkin was probably the best choice you had to approach. He had skill, experience and if you wanted to start this off well, you needed to get someone who knew what he was doing. You weren't even sure he'd doubt you that much, if at all. You did go hunt for a Yeti with him back on the ski trip last semester, so may-
"STOPPABLE!" The substitute teacher in question yelled right next to your face. With a start, you few backwards, hitting the floor in a totally uncool way. You must have really been off your game if you didn't notice him getting so close. You made a mental note to go take a nap when you got home, or to just do it in Math. It's not like the teacher there cared. You picked yourself up among the usual snickers and giggles that honestly were more annoying than hurtful at this point. You could only ask they have some variety in your smug amusement.
"Do you have the assignment, Stoppable?" Oh yeah, that. In the corner of your eye you could see Kim shaking her head in resignation while everyone else just rolled their eyes and went to ignore the coming tirade.
Wow, you had gotten really predictable. Well then, time to show them all that Ron Stoppable was not just some normal slacker. You nodded at Mr. Barkin before unzipping your backback and pulling out the proper assignment, all five completed pages of work. Taking a moment to revel in the strict teacher's face going slack, you handed in the work. As if shocked by the very idea this was possible, the substitute teacher personally sat down in front of the desk and took up the teacher's notes while checking the work you'd done, his pen scratching in a now eerily silent room.
As he continued on, you took a moment to capture the image of your classmates' stunned faces. You could even swear you saw some people with their jaws hanging open. As your eyes found Kim, she gave you a small smile and a thumbs up in response, which only made this day just that much more badical.
Having finally finished surveying the classroom, you turned your attention back to the teacher, who had put down the paper and simply started rubbing his temples. Looking over the clock, you watched as the remaining minutes ticked by to the end of the period. As everyone got up, Mr. Barkin looked directly at you. His stare was enough to know you probably shouldn't try moving, even if your brain was screaming at you to bolt. After the last few students left the room, the substitute teacher closed the door and motioned for you to step forward. Awkwardly, you got closer to the imposing man as he took the time to look you over. You stopped when you were a few inches away from him. He stared you down for a few seconds, before holding up your homework.
"What is this, Stoppable?" You knew what he was talking about, but with the man standing right in front of you and glaring as hard as he possibly could, it was rather intimidating to behold. Even if the answer was obvious.
"I-its my homework, sir."
His eyes narrowed, flitting back to the sheets of paper that were the subject of all this trouble.
"That is the homework for the entire week, Stoppable. Not just today. Now, could you explain to me why the school's resident slacker just happened to get seven days of homework done in one night." You couldn't help but hear the accusations in his tone, even if he didn't intend to put it there.
As if sensing your discomfort, he continued. "Normally I'd say something like this would be the result of someone just copying answers from off the internet, but I know you Stoppable. The D-Hall crew might try something like that, but not you. These papers are the real thing, and I want to know- is there a problem, Stoppable? I know you wouldn't do this normally, so something must have happened. What. Was. It?" He punctuated every word in that last sentence with a step, until his face was looking down with less than an inch of space. You wanted to collapse into yourself, to just wink out of existence right there.
But you wouldn't, you couldn't.
"I-i-i" Okay, so maybe you could just fail that much. Then again, there wasn't really a better opportunity than this.
"Vampire."
The substitute teacher cocked his head at you, as if not really understanding what you had said.
"Could you repeat that, Stoppable? This time so I can hear it."
With a loud gulp, you looked Mr. Barkin in the eye.
"I, uh, saw a vampire on the walk home last night. You know, bloodsuckers, dwellers of the night? Yeah, I saw one eating a person-wow I'm really calm about this aren't I?- and I kind of wanted to ask you to, you know, help me fight it..."
Silence. You waited for a few seconds, expecting the inevitable laughter or disbelief that you would have considered a normal reaction. As you raise your head, you spotted the man leaning on a wall near the door, his right hand massaging his forehead. You weren't sure whether or not that meant he believed you, but you thought it was better than many of the other responses he could have given.
Maybe you shou-
"Are you serious, Stoppable?" He said it in a tone so quiet it was almost a whisper. You were caught off guard by the sudden shift in Mr. Barkin's demeanor, but you tried your best to give him his answer.
"Y-yes, sir."
At that, the substitute teacher approached you, and came closer enough that you could see his brown eyes. "That's not good enough, Stoppable. I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me: Are you telling me the truth?"
You returned his gaze, even as it made you wanted to shuffle uncomfortably, with your eyes meeting his. You swallowed back what fear you had, and opened your mouth.
"I am, sir."
The brown orbs narrowed at this, as if searching for something before he turned away. Mr. Barkin went to the door and opened it.
"Then I'm in, Stoppable. Now get going to class. We'll talk about this later."
Well, score one for the good guys, it seems.
STEVE BARKIN HAS JOINED THE HUNT
Now you just needed to figure out who you'd go to next. Helpfully, you talked to Mr. Barkin later that day and got his two cents on the people you wanted to approach tomorrow.
Prelude Three: Recruitment Part 2
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
The rest of the day passed without much incident. You managed to get a bit of shuteye during math class without getting yelled at, and you weren't subject to any truly nasty things today. Heck, Bonnie was only near you long enough to call you a loser once before having to go do something else! You chalked it up to your innate Ron-ness finally starting to get to her, but then Kim had to point out that you were too tired to actually respond for once. That stung, but the compliment on the renewed work ethic you'd been showing made it all better. It always seemed like she just had that ability to just brighten your day like that.
As the two of you walked out of school later that day, you made sure to stop by the Bueno Nacho nearby for some cheesy goodness to deliver to Rufus. Of course, you got yourself a naco to eat with Kim while you waited. While she decided to stick to a soda, you waited to see if she wanted to say anything to you before allowing your mind to shift to other things right now. You'd been glad Barkin had accepted your offer to help you with this. It took a weight off your shoulders, not having to do all of this on your own. Of course, you still had to figure out who you wanted to recruit next. You looked up at Kim to see her idly flicking around her straw in the cup, seemingly bored out of her mind.
Yeah, you didn't feel particularly like approaching her about this yet. Maybe you'd put it off until you'd gotten a good idea of how exactly you wanted to break it to her? Yeah, that seemed like a good idea... Though sticking around still made you feel a little bit guilty every time you thought about how you were doing something so important without her. Pushing that bit of remorse deep into your core, you stood up and gave Kim your trademarked Ronshine smile before turning to get the takeout you'd ordred to Rufus. Sure, getting Bueno Nacho two days in a row was kind of expensive on the nonexistent budget you had, but Rufus was sick and you'd been going through a lot of heavy stuff.
If you didn't deserve to spoil yourself in times like these, when would you?
As you continued the walk home, you considered who you would approach later out of the remaining candidates.
Tara was still out. She had cheerleading practice tomorrow, and you weren't exactly comfortable yet with coming to her for help here. You were trying to think of a few ways for her to help outside of the big combat roles, but you weren't really coming up with much yet. Maybe you'd get hit by some inspiration later if you thought hard enough about it.
Monique was in a similar situation. You still didn't feel okay with risking a friend and you weren't sure how to approach her about all of this yet. You wanted to make sure she was on board if you asked her, and didn't want word of that getting back to Kim if you weren't successful. That would only complicate matters...
Brick... might actually work. You still weren't sure what exactly you'd say to him nor how to get him away from Bonnie to get a word in at all, but you were pretty sure he was viable. Sure, you didn't really know the guy that well but he would be a good asset in the physical department, more importantly in the 'beating up monsters' area of that. He'd be worth considering.
You gave a few thoughts to possibly trying to get big Mike or one of the D-Hallers in on that, but you weren't sure they'd really work well given the circumstances. They wren't exactly the brightest bunch after all, and were basically pariahs within the normal food chain to a point where Bonnie liked them less than even you. So they were out for n-
"Hnng?"
Oh yeah, you had a pet mole rat to feed. Rufus looked at you with greed in his eyes as his nose hairs twitched oh so predictably towards the bag of greasy goodness you had been carrying. Complying with the unspoken request that you hand over the goods before he decided to do something desperate, you opened that bag and rolled out the nacos for him to eat before going up to your room to think some more.
As you lay down in your bed, just trying to figure out what you were going to do, you kept going over the ideas in your head repeatedly. As time wore on, you finally came to the decision of approaching Brick tomorrow to give the offer. Then, you spent more of your time trying to generate some idea of how you'd separate Brick from the normal crowd he tended to be with. More specifically, how to get him away from Bonnie. You could hit him with a stink bomb that you'd borrow from one of the D-Hallers, if the man smelled terrible there'd be no way Bonnie and the other would stick around. Wait, no. That was too mean. Okay, so maybe you could do something to Bonnie to get her to go away? Maybe you could accidentally splash some juice or something on her? No, that wouldn't end well either, and Brick would probably go to help her out anyway. Heck, maybe it would just be best if you just let the chips fall and dealt with whatever opportunities you were given tomorrow.
"snnrk, Ron?"
… And now Rufus was staring at you with a concerned look in his eyes. Was it really so unusual for you to act so seriously? Sure, you were sometimes better known for your laid-back attitude, but even that wasn't always there. The mole rat's head twitched towards you, before holding out this thumbs up in an almost unsure manner. You'd kept the poor guy out of the loop because he was sick when everything happened, but you wouldn't just let your little buddy down like that. No, if there was anyone you had to tell about this, it was him.
"Hey Rufus, I saw a vampire two days ago."
"Hnng?" The mole rat looked at you, face filled with confusion. After a few seconds, he held his pink arms up and flashed his front teeth as much as he could as if to question that was what you meant when you said vampire.
"Yes Rufus, that type of vampire. Bloodsucker, prowler of the night. I even saw the guy eating someone before I ran away. It's totally freaky!"
Rufus let out a small screech at that, and a small thud impacting you was showing that his thin little arms wrapped around you. Of course he would, he was your best little buddy and the two of you had been through practically everything together. He would have believed you even if you said the sky was falling, because he knew you wouldn't lie about something like that. Of course, that he shivered in fear even as he tried to comfort you told him that he would rather not have believed what you were saying.
"Come on, Rufus. I know the thing sounds scary, but it'll be okay. I'm going to fight him, and I've already got some people to help me. The question is, are you willing to give me a hand?"
You watched as the little guy slowly collected himself before giving you a resolute salute with a prideful huff. This guy would be working with you through thick and thin. Of course, there wasn't really much you could do tonight, so you figured it was time for the both of you to de-stress and just have a good night for once.
"So, I heard the Fearless Ferret movie was on tonight." And like that, Rufus was already out of the room. As you settled in front of the TV in the living room, you prepared for a night of fun adventure and heroics while you planned for tomorrow.
After two hours of Timothy North's glorious acting, you went to bed and awaited the beginning of the next day.
Once again, you managed to wake up to the shill beeping sound of your alarm clock, and had gotten dressed before starting off on your journey to school. You were later than yesterday, but still managed to be in first period on time again. The first few classes passed by in a blur, more tedious and boring now that you had a set goal to complete. Really, all they were doing was getting in the way.
After the classes let out, you made it your mission to talk to Brick Flagg away from the nefarious influence of Bonnie Rockwaller to have a serious talk with him about the dangers of Vampires. And wow, you never thought you'd have said a sentence like that ever before today. Heh, it almost sounded like the something out of the Fearless Ferret, actually. However, as the day wore on you found yourself met with little success in you efforts. No matter how hard you tried, Brick was always around one of the popular food-chain types. It was near the end of the day, when you'd almost given up, that you had your opportunity.
You were washing up in the school bathroom after 5th period had ended when the sound of the door opening to your right grabbed your attention. To your luck, in walked your target, probably about to do whatever business he was here for. You slowed down a bit, taking your time to make sure your hands were extra clean. After a few more seconds, you heard the sound of a second faucet running. You checked to make sure that it was, in fact, Brick.
"Hey Brick."
The large student seemed bewildered that you were talking to him, before responding.
"Hey John."
You know you'd thought you'd gotten used to people messing up your name, yet you couldn't help but feel a flare of annoyance run through you. Was one syllable really so hard to remember?
"... Ron." You muttered softly to yourself, though not quietly enough as the blonde jock's frown indicated.
"Sorry, I don't really talk to you much." Fair enough, you guessed. It's not like you shared any classes with him, anyway.
"Well, I was wondering if you could help me out with something. Its kind of important, at least to me." Here it was: the moment of truth.
"What do you mean?" He seemed confused, but not outright dismissive like you feared was the worst case scenario.
"Well, I kind of need someone to help me go hunt a vampire. I was wondering if you were free this Sunday if you wanted to help out..."
Brick looked at you, his face almost incredulous, shrugging his shoulders and giving you a weak smile.
"Sure. I don't really have much to do this weekend anyway. If you want help, you've got it."
Huh, you thought he would have put up more resistance than that. Cool. The two of you walked back to classes, but not after talking a little bit about what to do next. It looked like you now had two people on board with your whole plan.
As you walked home this night, you started to think about who you would attempt to recruit tomorrow. Brick said that if you really wanted to, he could get you in contact with some of the more popular people if you wanted him to.
RUFUS and BRICK FLAGG have joined the hunt!
As the two of you walked out of school later that day, you made sure to stop by the Bueno Nacho nearby for some cheesy goodness to deliver to Rufus. Of course, you got yourself a naco to eat with Kim while you waited. While she decided to stick to a soda, you waited to see if she wanted to say anything to you before allowing your mind to shift to other things right now. You'd been glad Barkin had accepted your offer to help you with this. It took a weight off your shoulders, not having to do all of this on your own. Of course, you still had to figure out who you wanted to recruit next. You looked up at Kim to see her idly flicking around her straw in the cup, seemingly bored out of her mind.
Yeah, you didn't feel particularly like approaching her about this yet. Maybe you'd put it off until you'd gotten a good idea of how exactly you wanted to break it to her? Yeah, that seemed like a good idea... Though sticking around still made you feel a little bit guilty every time you thought about how you were doing something so important without her. Pushing that bit of remorse deep into your core, you stood up and gave Kim your trademarked Ronshine smile before turning to get the takeout you'd ordred to Rufus. Sure, getting Bueno Nacho two days in a row was kind of expensive on the nonexistent budget you had, but Rufus was sick and you'd been going through a lot of heavy stuff.
If you didn't deserve to spoil yourself in times like these, when would you?
As you continued the walk home, you considered who you would approach later out of the remaining candidates.
Tara was still out. She had cheerleading practice tomorrow, and you weren't exactly comfortable yet with coming to her for help here. You were trying to think of a few ways for her to help outside of the big combat roles, but you weren't really coming up with much yet. Maybe you'd get hit by some inspiration later if you thought hard enough about it.
Monique was in a similar situation. You still didn't feel okay with risking a friend and you weren't sure how to approach her about all of this yet. You wanted to make sure she was on board if you asked her, and didn't want word of that getting back to Kim if you weren't successful. That would only complicate matters...
Brick... might actually work. You still weren't sure what exactly you'd say to him nor how to get him away from Bonnie to get a word in at all, but you were pretty sure he was viable. Sure, you didn't really know the guy that well but he would be a good asset in the physical department, more importantly in the 'beating up monsters' area of that. He'd be worth considering.
You gave a few thoughts to possibly trying to get big Mike or one of the D-Hallers in on that, but you weren't sure they'd really work well given the circumstances. They wren't exactly the brightest bunch after all, and were basically pariahs within the normal food chain to a point where Bonnie liked them less than even you. So they were out for n-
"Hnng?"
Oh yeah, you had a pet mole rat to feed. Rufus looked at you with greed in his eyes as his nose hairs twitched oh so predictably towards the bag of greasy goodness you had been carrying. Complying with the unspoken request that you hand over the goods before he decided to do something desperate, you opened that bag and rolled out the nacos for him to eat before going up to your room to think some more.
As you lay down in your bed, just trying to figure out what you were going to do, you kept going over the ideas in your head repeatedly. As time wore on, you finally came to the decision of approaching Brick tomorrow to give the offer. Then, you spent more of your time trying to generate some idea of how you'd separate Brick from the normal crowd he tended to be with. More specifically, how to get him away from Bonnie. You could hit him with a stink bomb that you'd borrow from one of the D-Hallers, if the man smelled terrible there'd be no way Bonnie and the other would stick around. Wait, no. That was too mean. Okay, so maybe you could do something to Bonnie to get her to go away? Maybe you could accidentally splash some juice or something on her? No, that wouldn't end well either, and Brick would probably go to help her out anyway. Heck, maybe it would just be best if you just let the chips fall and dealt with whatever opportunities you were given tomorrow.
"snnrk, Ron?"
… And now Rufus was staring at you with a concerned look in his eyes. Was it really so unusual for you to act so seriously? Sure, you were sometimes better known for your laid-back attitude, but even that wasn't always there. The mole rat's head twitched towards you, before holding out this thumbs up in an almost unsure manner. You'd kept the poor guy out of the loop because he was sick when everything happened, but you wouldn't just let your little buddy down like that. No, if there was anyone you had to tell about this, it was him.
"Hey Rufus, I saw a vampire two days ago."
"Hnng?" The mole rat looked at you, face filled with confusion. After a few seconds, he held his pink arms up and flashed his front teeth as much as he could as if to question that was what you meant when you said vampire.
"Yes Rufus, that type of vampire. Bloodsucker, prowler of the night. I even saw the guy eating someone before I ran away. It's totally freaky!"
Rufus let out a small screech at that, and a small thud impacting you was showing that his thin little arms wrapped around you. Of course he would, he was your best little buddy and the two of you had been through practically everything together. He would have believed you even if you said the sky was falling, because he knew you wouldn't lie about something like that. Of course, that he shivered in fear even as he tried to comfort you told him that he would rather not have believed what you were saying.
"Come on, Rufus. I know the thing sounds scary, but it'll be okay. I'm going to fight him, and I've already got some people to help me. The question is, are you willing to give me a hand?"
You watched as the little guy slowly collected himself before giving you a resolute salute with a prideful huff. This guy would be working with you through thick and thin. Of course, there wasn't really much you could do tonight, so you figured it was time for the both of you to de-stress and just have a good night for once.
"So, I heard the Fearless Ferret movie was on tonight." And like that, Rufus was already out of the room. As you settled in front of the TV in the living room, you prepared for a night of fun adventure and heroics while you planned for tomorrow.
After two hours of Timothy North's glorious acting, you went to bed and awaited the beginning of the next day.
Once again, you managed to wake up to the shill beeping sound of your alarm clock, and had gotten dressed before starting off on your journey to school. You were later than yesterday, but still managed to be in first period on time again. The first few classes passed by in a blur, more tedious and boring now that you had a set goal to complete. Really, all they were doing was getting in the way.
After the classes let out, you made it your mission to talk to Brick Flagg away from the nefarious influence of Bonnie Rockwaller to have a serious talk with him about the dangers of Vampires. And wow, you never thought you'd have said a sentence like that ever before today. Heh, it almost sounded like the something out of the Fearless Ferret, actually. However, as the day wore on you found yourself met with little success in you efforts. No matter how hard you tried, Brick was always around one of the popular food-chain types. It was near the end of the day, when you'd almost given up, that you had your opportunity.
You were washing up in the school bathroom after 5th period had ended when the sound of the door opening to your right grabbed your attention. To your luck, in walked your target, probably about to do whatever business he was here for. You slowed down a bit, taking your time to make sure your hands were extra clean. After a few more seconds, you heard the sound of a second faucet running. You checked to make sure that it was, in fact, Brick.
Brick's recruitment, DC 70: 1d100=88, SUCCESS
The large student seemed bewildered that you were talking to him, before responding.
"Hey John."
You know you'd thought you'd gotten used to people messing up your name, yet you couldn't help but feel a flare of annoyance run through you. Was one syllable really so hard to remember?
"... Ron." You muttered softly to yourself, though not quietly enough as the blonde jock's frown indicated.
"Sorry, I don't really talk to you much." Fair enough, you guessed. It's not like you shared any classes with him, anyway.
"Well, I was wondering if you could help me out with something. Its kind of important, at least to me." Here it was: the moment of truth.
"What do you mean?" He seemed confused, but not outright dismissive like you feared was the worst case scenario.
"Well, I kind of need someone to help me go hunt a vampire. I was wondering if you were free this Sunday if you wanted to help out..."
Brick looked at you, his face almost incredulous, shrugging his shoulders and giving you a weak smile.
"Sure. I don't really have much to do this weekend anyway. If you want help, you've got it."
Huh, you thought he would have put up more resistance than that. Cool. The two of you walked back to classes, but not after talking a little bit about what to do next. It looked like you now had two people on board with your whole plan.
As you walked home this night, you started to think about who you would attempt to recruit tomorrow. Brick said that if you really wanted to, he could get you in contact with some of the more popular people if you wanted him to.
RUFUS and BRICK FLAGG have joined the hunt!
Prelude Four: Recruitment Part 3
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
On the way home, you went over the potential allies you could attempt to recruit tomorrow. You'd already started to assemble a good team with Mr. Barkin and Brick but you knew that they were still lacking in some of the more important areas. They would work well in any situation that required the three of you to go beat something up, but you couldn't really go very far beyond that. With that in mind, your thoughts drifted towards the people that you'd mentally listed as worth recruiting and tried to figure out if you could use them in a less combat focused position. Sure, getting another good fighter would be a great addition to the team, being able to fight the Vampire was your end-goal after all, but right now you just couldn't see the group doing anything beyond that.
You needed people who could track the creep, to follow him down and figure out where he lived. You needed people smart or charming enough to gather information on him rather than just hoping that you hit the right target. You didn't expect miracles, but even a single person who could carry that out effectively would go a long way.
Kim had all of her contacts and allies from the people you'd both helped save during the missions that you went on. She was also the top of her class and right next to Bonnie on the food chain. However, you weren't totally sure that calling in people would be a good thing. Sure, you'd done it before for dumber things- you'd certainly burned quite a few when you managed to get that totally badical hair with Le Goop from flying to Paris so often- but this was different. Kim wanting a ride to go fight off doctor Drakken was normal; Kim asking for help moving five people to somewhere she doesn't want to talk about much wouldn't end well. Heck, if she asked you to do that you'd be running away as fast as you could; the situation screamed bad road. So, swallowing the guilt in your core, you ruled her out from the pool once more.
God, keeping this secret from Kim sucked even if it was for the best.
You could go to Monique, though. She was pretty smart, and a huge social butterfly too. She was totally cool, and you got along with her pretty well ever since you discovered she liked wrestling too (even if she was a fan of the Pain King). Then again, you still weren't sure exactly how to spin the story to her in a believable way that would get her to sign on. You were doing well here, and you didn't want to take a risk with her just yet. It was tempting, but trying to get her wasn't really worth the risk right now in your opinion.
You were still uncomfortable with the idea of recruiting someone only thinly connected to you to be put into danger. The concern rang no more true than with Tara, though a more practical part of your brain couldn't help but understand how useful she'd be in more social areas. She got along with everyone fairly well, she was even one of the few people Bonnie considered a genuine friend, and always seemed to confront everything with the most positive attitude possible. Then again, you really didn't want hurt someone so nice. The entire idea just seemed kind of sick and wrong to you, so she was out of the options.
On the other hand, Josh Mankey was just as good as her around people if Kim being reduced to a drooling idiot around him was any indication. Then again, that was kind of why you hated the guy's guts and if you wanted to work with him to kill monsters you weren't really sure how that would affect things. You certainly didn't want to do something stupid just because he was the one being affected by it. Maybe you'd change your mind later, but right now he just didn't seem like a viable option right now.
Bonnie was just... yeah, no. You weren't even going to entertain the thoughts of how talking to her would go. You could only take being looked down on by the Queen Bee of Middleton High School so much, and you weren't going to actively force that upon yourself. Sure, she was pretty useful in a lot of areas, you'd even grudgingly go to admit that she's probably the only person even close to KP in her skills, but if that meant putting up with her attitude for an extended period of time then you had better things to do. It was nice of Brick to suggest getting the two of you to talk about that, but you just couldn't see it happening for a while if at all.
The D-Hall crew was ruled out simply because you couldn't see them being any more than the outcasts of school. They just weren't the guys you wanted to go to for talking to other people without giving their target the urge to punch something. That just didn't seem like a smart move, and that got them put off of the list.
Of course, that meant you ruled out everyone. Stuff like that did leave you without any options for obvious reasons. As you went to bed, you found yourself occupied with trying to figure out some solution to this problem. After a few minutes of attempting to solve this, you found yourself falling asleep.
The noise of your alarm clock shook you out of that, and you found your thoughts returning to the subject you had been focusing on before you rested. Unfortunately, you still found yourself no closer to the solution as you approached the School to get to first period. You still didn't feel like you co-
It was then that the answer hit you. Well, more accurately, it drove past you.
Pretty much everyone in High School had their driver's license if they could get it. Kim had gotten hers months ago, and you hadn't been far behind (though the clerk at the DMV just had to take the photo the moment you blinked). If you wanted to go hunt that Vampire though, you need someone who could do the driving for the whole group. It wasn't a big role, one that could be covered by someone who did things elsewhere most of the time, but it was necessary. You needed someone to get you there and back, not to mention pulling everyone out if things went weird.
Luckily, out of all the candidates one of them did drive a (slightly battered) van everywhere.
It was with some reluctance then that you decide to approach Tara about joining the group. Of course, trying to talk to her was the big problem. Just like with Brick, she was agreeable enough but it relied on her being away from Bonnie for any of this to work. In the end, it took less time to get to her than it did Brick. You'd been trying to approach her in between classes, to get her attention somehow. Yet every time you'd tried to get near her in those periods, you found Bonnie nearby with a narrowed glare and insult on the tip of her tongue.
It was during lunchtime that you'd finally caught a break. As you went up to get a plate of food from the cafeteria you felt the presence of someone walking to your left. You looked over to see Tara keeping her pace alongside you, smiling a little bit like she always seemed to do.
"Hey Ron, I noticed you wanted to talk to me?" You were grateful that she was able to understand your intent, rather than just assuming you were being normal, creepy Ron that everyone else seemed to think you were. The two of you continued, picking up the trays to get whatever it was that was being served today.
"Yeah, I was wondering if you were free this weekend."
"Sure I am, Ron! Where do you want to meet up?" You felt guilty as Tara's smile widened. Everyone else must have been doing something if she was so happy to hang out with you of all people. Then again, maybe she just understood that everyone needed a bit of Ronshine in their lives.
It seemed wrong to involve her in something so dangerous, but you'd already gone halfway. You might as well go for it.
"In front of the school on Sunday Morning. The rest of the group should be there around then."
"Okay then!" She chirped, taking that as her cue to turn away from you, and go to the table of the populars.
The rest of the day was spent in relative peace, before you were given a few "extra pages" from Mr. Barkin in history, given that the teacher was sick again this month. As you started to determine who you'd go to next, a small thought came to the forefront of your mind.
Did you forget to tell Tara about the whole Vampire thing?
Tara King Joins the Hunt?
You needed people who could track the creep, to follow him down and figure out where he lived. You needed people smart or charming enough to gather information on him rather than just hoping that you hit the right target. You didn't expect miracles, but even a single person who could carry that out effectively would go a long way.
Kim had all of her contacts and allies from the people you'd both helped save during the missions that you went on. She was also the top of her class and right next to Bonnie on the food chain. However, you weren't totally sure that calling in people would be a good thing. Sure, you'd done it before for dumber things- you'd certainly burned quite a few when you managed to get that totally badical hair with Le Goop from flying to Paris so often- but this was different. Kim wanting a ride to go fight off doctor Drakken was normal; Kim asking for help moving five people to somewhere she doesn't want to talk about much wouldn't end well. Heck, if she asked you to do that you'd be running away as fast as you could; the situation screamed bad road. So, swallowing the guilt in your core, you ruled her out from the pool once more.
God, keeping this secret from Kim sucked even if it was for the best.
You could go to Monique, though. She was pretty smart, and a huge social butterfly too. She was totally cool, and you got along with her pretty well ever since you discovered she liked wrestling too (even if she was a fan of the Pain King). Then again, you still weren't sure exactly how to spin the story to her in a believable way that would get her to sign on. You were doing well here, and you didn't want to take a risk with her just yet. It was tempting, but trying to get her wasn't really worth the risk right now in your opinion.
You were still uncomfortable with the idea of recruiting someone only thinly connected to you to be put into danger. The concern rang no more true than with Tara, though a more practical part of your brain couldn't help but understand how useful she'd be in more social areas. She got along with everyone fairly well, she was even one of the few people Bonnie considered a genuine friend, and always seemed to confront everything with the most positive attitude possible. Then again, you really didn't want hurt someone so nice. The entire idea just seemed kind of sick and wrong to you, so she was out of the options.
On the other hand, Josh Mankey was just as good as her around people if Kim being reduced to a drooling idiot around him was any indication. Then again, that was kind of why you hated the guy's guts and if you wanted to work with him to kill monsters you weren't really sure how that would affect things. You certainly didn't want to do something stupid just because he was the one being affected by it. Maybe you'd change your mind later, but right now he just didn't seem like a viable option right now.
Bonnie was just... yeah, no. You weren't even going to entertain the thoughts of how talking to her would go. You could only take being looked down on by the Queen Bee of Middleton High School so much, and you weren't going to actively force that upon yourself. Sure, she was pretty useful in a lot of areas, you'd even grudgingly go to admit that she's probably the only person even close to KP in her skills, but if that meant putting up with her attitude for an extended period of time then you had better things to do. It was nice of Brick to suggest getting the two of you to talk about that, but you just couldn't see it happening for a while if at all.
The D-Hall crew was ruled out simply because you couldn't see them being any more than the outcasts of school. They just weren't the guys you wanted to go to for talking to other people without giving their target the urge to punch something. That just didn't seem like a smart move, and that got them put off of the list.
Of course, that meant you ruled out everyone. Stuff like that did leave you without any options for obvious reasons. As you went to bed, you found yourself occupied with trying to figure out some solution to this problem. After a few minutes of attempting to solve this, you found yourself falling asleep.
The noise of your alarm clock shook you out of that, and you found your thoughts returning to the subject you had been focusing on before you rested. Unfortunately, you still found yourself no closer to the solution as you approached the School to get to first period. You still didn't feel like you co-
It was then that the answer hit you. Well, more accurately, it drove past you.
Pretty much everyone in High School had their driver's license if they could get it. Kim had gotten hers months ago, and you hadn't been far behind (though the clerk at the DMV just had to take the photo the moment you blinked). If you wanted to go hunt that Vampire though, you need someone who could do the driving for the whole group. It wasn't a big role, one that could be covered by someone who did things elsewhere most of the time, but it was necessary. You needed someone to get you there and back, not to mention pulling everyone out if things went weird.
Luckily, out of all the candidates one of them did drive a (slightly battered) van everywhere.
It was with some reluctance then that you decide to approach Tara about joining the group. Of course, trying to talk to her was the big problem. Just like with Brick, she was agreeable enough but it relied on her being away from Bonnie for any of this to work. In the end, it took less time to get to her than it did Brick. You'd been trying to approach her in between classes, to get her attention somehow. Yet every time you'd tried to get near her in those periods, you found Bonnie nearby with a narrowed glare and insult on the tip of her tongue.
It was during lunchtime that you'd finally caught a break. As you went up to get a plate of food from the cafeteria you felt the presence of someone walking to your left. You looked over to see Tara keeping her pace alongside you, smiling a little bit like she always seemed to do.
"Hey Ron, I noticed you wanted to talk to me?" You were grateful that she was able to understand your intent, rather than just assuming you were being normal, creepy Ron that everyone else seemed to think you were. The two of you continued, picking up the trays to get whatever it was that was being served today.
"Yeah, I was wondering if you were free this weekend."
"Sure I am, Ron! Where do you want to meet up?" You felt guilty as Tara's smile widened. Everyone else must have been doing something if she was so happy to hang out with you of all people. Then again, maybe she just understood that everyone needed a bit of Ronshine in their lives.
It seemed wrong to involve her in something so dangerous, but you'd already gone halfway. You might as well go for it.
"In front of the school on Sunday Morning. The rest of the group should be there around then."
"Okay then!" She chirped, taking that as her cue to turn away from you, and go to the table of the populars.
The rest of the day was spent in relative peace, before you were given a few "extra pages" from Mr. Barkin in history, given that the teacher was sick again this month. As you started to determine who you'd go to next, a small thought came to the forefront of your mind.
Did you forget to tell Tara about the whole Vampire thing?
Tara King Joins the Hunt?
Prelude Five: Recruitment Part 4
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
That night, you went to sleep after a suitable amount of snackage and gaming time with Rufus. The question of who to go for next weighed on you mind, but Thursday night was game night. Not even Vampires could damage the sanctity of game night in the house, not if Ron Stoppable had anything to say about it. What followed was no more than the inevitable destruction you tended to face at the claws of the hairless mole rat, whose combos in Alley Brawl were only matched by his killstreaks in Call to Conflict. A night to relaxation and relative peace after everything that had happened helped put everything into perspective, in a way.
You were hunting down a Vampire, and in the end you weren't sure what that meant. You'd been putting more effort into this than you had... well, pretty much anything really, for quite a while. You just didn't want to see someone innocent get hurt because no one else would act. And... that was it. Maybe it was just being around Kim so long that helped you decide that, it was what she would do after all, but a small part of you wanted to think that it was simply something deep within you that you'd always had. Some core of a hero in the body of a sidekick. As you watched another one of the lesser players getting crushed by Rufus over the internet, you couldn't help but feel another pang of guilt.
For all your talk of being a hero, you certainly brought a lot of people in on this whole thing, didn't you? Rufus, Mr. Barkin, Brick and Tara. You'd let them in, and you'd protect them all.
But for the moment, you would just enjoy the night. After a few hours of virtual destruction, you found yourself passing out into the glorious comfort of your bed.
The next morning, you walked to school with a pep to your step and a whistled tune coming from your mouth. As you continued on your path, once again fashionably late to first period, you thought about who to go recruit next.
Once again, you thought about going to Kim but even now you felt your smile fading at the either part of the notion. Your group was starting to form, and you just weren't sure you wanted to involve Kim in it, at this point. In the end, it would just have been one more thing for her to put on her schedule of studying, training and fighting bad guys. Heck, you only did the last of those and it took up more time than anything else you'd really done. Perhaps she was still worth it, on top of everything, but you just didn't feel like going to her today. Maybe you'd give it a chance tomorrow, when you would be able to get some good one on one time over the weekend. Even now, you shoved down the growing feeling of unease as you wrote her off once more from the list on who to recruit today.
After her was Monique, and once again you couldn't help but consider her a good prospect to get. She was still skilled in areas that you lacked, yet even now you still didn't really consider that going to her simply from the fact that you were afraid you'd fail. Having one less person on your team because you'd screwed up today just didn't appeal to you. A part in the back of your mind said that you couldn't keep putting things off, but you shoved that sentiment down. Maybe later, whenever later would be.
The list once again continued to Mankey, and you still couldn't see a way for you to get over the hangups you personally held for him. Perhaps once you'd gotten yourself more established, you'd be able to stomach going to him? But for now, he was also a no-go.
You'd still rather listen to Mr. Barkin running his nails against a chalkboard while lecturing you on algebra than attempt to confront Bonnie. You weren't going to do that unless you really needed to.
The D-Hall crew was stuck in the limbo of being easy to convince, but not really pretty useful. Sure, they'd follow you but if they continued to be the screw-ups you'd remembered them as, then there really wasn't much reason to get them at this moment.
And once again, that left you with everyone ruled out. However, you knew you'd figure it out by the end of the day, you always managed to find some solution. You wouldn't just give up like that, it would be betraying the inherent principle of your Ron-ness. So you continued mulling over the options as the periods flew by, passively tuning out the drone of teachers and students in favor of you own mental monologue. It wasn't the first time you'd done this, in fact you'd managed to get very good at ignoring things that didn't concern you when you really needed to concentrate. Except forKim, of course (though in a way she did concern him). You always kept an eye out for her. Everything else was just unimportant, though. It was how you managed to ignore Bonnie's insults, after all.
Which is probably why you didn't notice her until you were being dragged by the collar away from the Cafeteria you'd been heading towards. Even now, you could only feebly grasp towards the open doors as you found yourself being thrown into the janitor's closet. With a quick move, your chest was against the wall with one of her arms pinning you while the other held some sort of weapon toyour throat.
"Loser. We need to talk."
"I could tell, Bon-Bon." At that nick-name you knew she hated, whatever weapon she had against you came closer to your neck, to the point where you could feel the little points on what you could only assume was it's tip. It felt weird, almost like a very dull-
"Bonnie, are you really threatening me with a butter knife from the cafeteria?" You could see the cheerleader rolling her eyes at that, before pressing it down as hard as she could on your neck.
"Don't let that stop you from trying anything dumb, loser. Now, what did you talk to Tara about yesterday?"
Oh, that.
"Nothing important, Bonn-" You could almost hear her scoff at that.
"That's a lie, loser. Now, she seemed pretty happy yesterday. I don't know why she would be from talking to you, but I'd like to know what it was that left her like that."
"Well, I asked her if she was free this weekend, and asked if she wanted to hang out."
"She wasn't. We had our monthly Club Banana visit on Sunday, and today I learned she's had to cancel for some reason." Her voice had descended to a low growl as she spat out the sentence, and you could almost feel the malice
"...Sorry?" Really, it's not like you knew that she had plans with Bonnie, though getting away from Bonnie probably helped to explain why Tara was so overjoyed when you asked.
"You should be. Now, if you hurt her on your date I will personally come over and cas-"
"Uhh, what date?" Seriously, why did Bonnie think someone as awesome as Tara would want to date you of all people?
You could almost swear people in the hallways could hear the sigh she let out at that, before you found yourself slammed against the wall twice as hard as before.
"Well then, loser, if you weren't asking her out what exactly were you planning?"
Well then. You know, you'd initially meant to figure out who to go for soon but even you could tell this was an opportunity.
It wouldn't hurt to try, right?
"I kind of want her to help me out with, uhhh, hunting vampires." Okay, you'd screwed that up and from the look Bonnie was giving you she seemed incredibly unamused at your mumbling.
"Could you say it so I can actually hear you, maybe?" Yeah, she wasn't happy.
"She's going to help me hunt a vampire." Bonnie closed her eyes as if that very sentence caused her physical pain from exasperation, before looking back to you.
"Okay, let's say I believe you. Tara seemed pretty happy to be doing that. Any reason?"
Oh yeah. That.
"Well, I, uhh, may not have, completely by accident mind you, remembered to, err, tell her about the whole Vampire thing. Totally understandable, right?" Finally, Bonnie removed herself from herposition practically on top of you to what was probably the deepest facepalm you'd seen in quite a while.
"Typical. So, the two of you are just going to go do that on Sunday, then? With only one of you knowing what you're actually getting into?" Okay, so when you put it that way, it did sound really dumb, but you weren't that idiotic.
"No, it's not just the two of us. Brick and Mr. Barkin are going to help."
"So it's not just the two of you?"
"No." Yeah, that would be stupid.
"Good, where are you meeting?"
"Here."
"Great, I'm going to be there. Later, loser." And then she was gone, having moved from the clos-
"Oh, and since you missed lunch, here." You felt something soggy hit your face before the sound of shoes clinking on the floor marked her complete exit. You looked down as the item to find a peanut butter and jelly sandwich laying in your hands. You felt like you should have been insulted, but you'd honestly had worse before. And Bonnie was on your team.
So, mission accomplished?
Bonnie Rockwaller has joined the hunt.
The rest of your day passed without incident, while you tried to ignore the strange gazes some of your classmates were giving you the whole time. It was nothing new, but normally you'd actually done something to earn this. You honestly weren't sure why they were so focused on you, and were happy to hear the bell as school ended.
You found yourself running back home for the first time in a long time, only slowing down once you'd noticed the car parked in the driveway.
Looks like mom and dad were home from their recent trip.
You entered a bit more carefully than you normally had, in case you might accidentally hit either of them with the door, before settling down in the living room. You father was sitting in his chair, sipping some coffee while catching up on the local new with the sections you usually left for him while he was away.
Given that they were actually home for once, you gave a quick call to Kim and offered to invite her over for a meal with your family. You'd been given a regretful no, before having the phone hung upon you. You could really only shrug at that; it was her loss.
Your mother called down a few minutes later. You looked at the dish she'd prepared, trying to tell the place they'd visited this time. Apparently it was Italy, if the finely made chicken alfredo with a bit of home-made cannoli was any indication. You could feel your mouth watering from here at the sight.
She was the one who taught you how to cook, after all. You spent the meal talking and catching up on everything that had happened during their trip like you always had. It was nice to see the pictures your dad managed to get over the time there, and in turn you told them about how school was going over the past week.
Well, leaving out the vampire bits, of course. After that, you had a fun time playing a few games of trivial pursuit before ending the night with a match of clue. You'd thought about suggesting playing Monopoly once again, but then again you remembered the last time you got utterly destroyed by your accountant of a father. Instead you allowed yourself to fall asleep early, hoping to get a bit more shuteye than normal.
You awoke next morning to the sharp trill of your communicator, and a few seconds later your bleary face was confronted with the sharp LED screen portraying Wade's face.
"Hey Ron, looks like a research company in Texas called about a possible robbery by Shego happening today. I've already got a chopper on the way."
Okay, that timing was just terrible. Firstly, you were asleep and secondly, you had stuff to do today.
Then again, it was a mission. One that involved Shego stealing stuff so it was probably doomed from the start, but still something you'd sworn to do.
Of course, you could probably lie your way out of it... no matter how distasteful that sounded.
You were hunting down a Vampire, and in the end you weren't sure what that meant. You'd been putting more effort into this than you had... well, pretty much anything really, for quite a while. You just didn't want to see someone innocent get hurt because no one else would act. And... that was it. Maybe it was just being around Kim so long that helped you decide that, it was what she would do after all, but a small part of you wanted to think that it was simply something deep within you that you'd always had. Some core of a hero in the body of a sidekick. As you watched another one of the lesser players getting crushed by Rufus over the internet, you couldn't help but feel another pang of guilt.
For all your talk of being a hero, you certainly brought a lot of people in on this whole thing, didn't you? Rufus, Mr. Barkin, Brick and Tara. You'd let them in, and you'd protect them all.
But for the moment, you would just enjoy the night. After a few hours of virtual destruction, you found yourself passing out into the glorious comfort of your bed.
The next morning, you walked to school with a pep to your step and a whistled tune coming from your mouth. As you continued on your path, once again fashionably late to first period, you thought about who to go recruit next.
Once again, you thought about going to Kim but even now you felt your smile fading at the either part of the notion. Your group was starting to form, and you just weren't sure you wanted to involve Kim in it, at this point. In the end, it would just have been one more thing for her to put on her schedule of studying, training and fighting bad guys. Heck, you only did the last of those and it took up more time than anything else you'd really done. Perhaps she was still worth it, on top of everything, but you just didn't feel like going to her today. Maybe you'd give it a chance tomorrow, when you would be able to get some good one on one time over the weekend. Even now, you shoved down the growing feeling of unease as you wrote her off once more from the list on who to recruit today.
After her was Monique, and once again you couldn't help but consider her a good prospect to get. She was still skilled in areas that you lacked, yet even now you still didn't really consider that going to her simply from the fact that you were afraid you'd fail. Having one less person on your team because you'd screwed up today just didn't appeal to you. A part in the back of your mind said that you couldn't keep putting things off, but you shoved that sentiment down. Maybe later, whenever later would be.
The list once again continued to Mankey, and you still couldn't see a way for you to get over the hangups you personally held for him. Perhaps once you'd gotten yourself more established, you'd be able to stomach going to him? But for now, he was also a no-go.
You'd still rather listen to Mr. Barkin running his nails against a chalkboard while lecturing you on algebra than attempt to confront Bonnie. You weren't going to do that unless you really needed to.
The D-Hall crew was stuck in the limbo of being easy to convince, but not really pretty useful. Sure, they'd follow you but if they continued to be the screw-ups you'd remembered them as, then there really wasn't much reason to get them at this moment.
And once again, that left you with everyone ruled out. However, you knew you'd figure it out by the end of the day, you always managed to find some solution. You wouldn't just give up like that, it would be betraying the inherent principle of your Ron-ness. So you continued mulling over the options as the periods flew by, passively tuning out the drone of teachers and students in favor of you own mental monologue. It wasn't the first time you'd done this, in fact you'd managed to get very good at ignoring things that didn't concern you when you really needed to concentrate. Except forKim, of course (though in a way she did concern him). You always kept an eye out for her. Everything else was just unimportant, though. It was how you managed to ignore Bonnie's insults, after all.
Which is probably why you didn't notice her until you were being dragged by the collar away from the Cafeteria you'd been heading towards. Even now, you could only feebly grasp towards the open doors as you found yourself being thrown into the janitor's closet. With a quick move, your chest was against the wall with one of her arms pinning you while the other held some sort of weapon toyour throat.
"Loser. We need to talk."
"I could tell, Bon-Bon." At that nick-name you knew she hated, whatever weapon she had against you came closer to your neck, to the point where you could feel the little points on what you could only assume was it's tip. It felt weird, almost like a very dull-
"Bonnie, are you really threatening me with a butter knife from the cafeteria?" You could see the cheerleader rolling her eyes at that, before pressing it down as hard as she could on your neck.
"Don't let that stop you from trying anything dumb, loser. Now, what did you talk to Tara about yesterday?"
Oh, that.
"Nothing important, Bonn-" You could almost hear her scoff at that.
"That's a lie, loser. Now, she seemed pretty happy yesterday. I don't know why she would be from talking to you, but I'd like to know what it was that left her like that."
"Well, I asked her if she was free this weekend, and asked if she wanted to hang out."
"She wasn't. We had our monthly Club Banana visit on Sunday, and today I learned she's had to cancel for some reason." Her voice had descended to a low growl as she spat out the sentence, and you could almost feel the malice
"...Sorry?" Really, it's not like you knew that she had plans with Bonnie, though getting away from Bonnie probably helped to explain why Tara was so overjoyed when you asked.
"You should be. Now, if you hurt her on your date I will personally come over and cas-"
"Uhh, what date?" Seriously, why did Bonnie think someone as awesome as Tara would want to date you of all people?
You could almost swear people in the hallways could hear the sigh she let out at that, before you found yourself slammed against the wall twice as hard as before.
"Well then, loser, if you weren't asking her out what exactly were you planning?"
Well then. You know, you'd initially meant to figure out who to go for soon but even you could tell this was an opportunity.
It wouldn't hurt to try, right?
Recruiting Bonnie, DC 90-20(Best friend)-20(Boyfriend)=50 Rolled: 96, SUCCESS
"I kind of want her to help me out with, uhhh, hunting vampires." Okay, you'd screwed that up and from the look Bonnie was giving you she seemed incredibly unamused at your mumbling.
"Could you say it so I can actually hear you, maybe?" Yeah, she wasn't happy.
"She's going to help me hunt a vampire." Bonnie closed her eyes as if that very sentence caused her physical pain from exasperation, before looking back to you.
"Okay, let's say I believe you. Tara seemed pretty happy to be doing that. Any reason?"
Oh yeah. That.
"Well, I, uhh, may not have, completely by accident mind you, remembered to, err, tell her about the whole Vampire thing. Totally understandable, right?" Finally, Bonnie removed herself from herposition practically on top of you to what was probably the deepest facepalm you'd seen in quite a while.
"Typical. So, the two of you are just going to go do that on Sunday, then? With only one of you knowing what you're actually getting into?" Okay, so when you put it that way, it did sound really dumb, but you weren't that idiotic.
"No, it's not just the two of us. Brick and Mr. Barkin are going to help."
"So it's not just the two of you?"
"No." Yeah, that would be stupid.
"Good, where are you meeting?"
"Here."
"Great, I'm going to be there. Later, loser." And then she was gone, having moved from the clos-
"Oh, and since you missed lunch, here." You felt something soggy hit your face before the sound of shoes clinking on the floor marked her complete exit. You looked down as the item to find a peanut butter and jelly sandwich laying in your hands. You felt like you should have been insulted, but you'd honestly had worse before. And Bonnie was on your team.
So, mission accomplished?
Bonnie Rockwaller has joined the hunt.
The rest of your day passed without incident, while you tried to ignore the strange gazes some of your classmates were giving you the whole time. It was nothing new, but normally you'd actually done something to earn this. You honestly weren't sure why they were so focused on you, and were happy to hear the bell as school ended.
You found yourself running back home for the first time in a long time, only slowing down once you'd noticed the car parked in the driveway.
Looks like mom and dad were home from their recent trip.
You entered a bit more carefully than you normally had, in case you might accidentally hit either of them with the door, before settling down in the living room. You father was sitting in his chair, sipping some coffee while catching up on the local new with the sections you usually left for him while he was away.
Given that they were actually home for once, you gave a quick call to Kim and offered to invite her over for a meal with your family. You'd been given a regretful no, before having the phone hung upon you. You could really only shrug at that; it was her loss.
Your mother called down a few minutes later. You looked at the dish she'd prepared, trying to tell the place they'd visited this time. Apparently it was Italy, if the finely made chicken alfredo with a bit of home-made cannoli was any indication. You could feel your mouth watering from here at the sight.
She was the one who taught you how to cook, after all. You spent the meal talking and catching up on everything that had happened during their trip like you always had. It was nice to see the pictures your dad managed to get over the time there, and in turn you told them about how school was going over the past week.
Well, leaving out the vampire bits, of course. After that, you had a fun time playing a few games of trivial pursuit before ending the night with a match of clue. You'd thought about suggesting playing Monopoly once again, but then again you remembered the last time you got utterly destroyed by your accountant of a father. Instead you allowed yourself to fall asleep early, hoping to get a bit more shuteye than normal.
You awoke next morning to the sharp trill of your communicator, and a few seconds later your bleary face was confronted with the sharp LED screen portraying Wade's face.
"Hey Ron, looks like a research company in Texas called about a possible robbery by Shego happening today. I've already got a chopper on the way."
Okay, that timing was just terrible. Firstly, you were asleep and secondly, you had stuff to do today.
Then again, it was a mission. One that involved Shego stealing stuff so it was probably doomed from the start, but still something you'd sworn to do.
Of course, you could probably lie your way out of it... no matter how distasteful that sounded.
Prelude Six: Mission One
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
"I'll be there soon, Wade. Just give me a second to get some clothes on."
There wasn't even really a doubt in your mind beyond the idle thought that suggested you wouldn't on the mission with Kim. She was your best friend and helping her out was your number one obligation. Sure, you'd lose in the end. That was just how things were with these sorts of missions, but if being there could stop Kim from even a fraction more harm than she might have gone through without you it would be worth it.
Even then, you made a promise. You were hesitant to break it when you'd already managed to gather a decent amount of people to help you out. You hopped your way down the stairs, trying your best not to fall down them while putting on the black turtleneck that you always used for missions. When you hit the first floor, you quickly grabbed a yogurt in the fridge before rushing out of the door towards Kim's house before promptly turning back once your accidentally bare feet hit the rough gravel. Slipping on your shoes a hastily as you could, you resumed your run through the pavement towards the Possible home.
Surely enough, there was a helicopter waiting there right above Kim's house. As you neared, you could make out the shape of a rope ladder hanging below it. If the thing hadn't landed to get you guys, it must have meant this time things were really serious. Once you got there, you climbed the rungs as fast as you could with one hang (the other still carried your precious breakfast) until you reached the inside of the vehicle. As you flopped down onto the nearest seat, yogurt held victoriously in the air, you heard a small giggle from where Kim had chosen to sit down.
"Happy to have remembered Breakfast this morning, Ron?"
Oh come on! That was only on- twice that you'd forgotten to eat something before you went on a mission. Sure, the second time the stomach rumbling gave away your position but that was one time.
"I'll have you know Kim that I am proud of remembering to get something and will enjoy this yogurt under the knowledge that, just this once, Ron Stoppable got everything right." With a smirk of triumph, you peeled back the thin foil lid of the awaiting yogurty goodness, taking your time to slowly lick off the sweet little bits that stuck on it. After crumpling that and throwing it into a trash bin the pilot had, your hand entered the left pocket to go get the spoon you brought. Only to find nothing. Taking your hand out, you searched the left pocket in vain for the plastic utensil set your mother had got for you when she learned about the missions you went one. Giving Kim a nervous smile, you patted down the back pockets of your cargo pants, hoping against everything that you'd actually tried to use them for once.
"Forget your spoon, Ron?"
And now Kim was trying to stifle her giggles at your accidental failure. It was no big, but you still couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. You'd gotten so close to getting it right and you just forgot the final step. With a sigh, you resigned yourself to the old "crush the cup method" of yogurt delivery when a small sound from the cockpit got your attention.
The pilot had one hand held behind his back, and in it was a plastic spoon. With a look of gratitude, you seized the utensil with a grateful nod. Newly-acquired spoon in hand, you dove into the creamy breakfast you'd tasted, enjoying the pleasant surprise of the cherry flavor entering your mouth. It was good, better than the weird flavors your dad would sometimes get at the supermarket.
You'd hoped you'd never taste black licorice yogurt ever again..
The ride continued in silence as you devoured the small breakfast, and for a short while afterward. The rides, even when they were on stuff like supersonic jets or similar vehicles tended to take a long time. After a little more silence, Kim decided to initiate a conversation with an uncomfortably sly grin plastered across her face.
"Soo, how's Bonnie doing, Ron?"
Uhh, what? You didn't think anyone knew about what you talked about there! Bonnie even went out of her way to isolate the two of you so people wouldn't hear. You stared at Kim for a few seconds, the confused/astounded look on your face showing before she continued.
"I mean, its good but Bonnie? Really? You could do way better than her, Ron."
Sure, Bonnie wasn't the great to be around but she was a good cheerleader. There wasn't really much higher you could go to when asking for help.
"And not to mention skipping lunch to make out with her! I was worried!"
….
….
What.
No, no you must have heard her wrong. Kim wouldn't have suggested that you and Bonnie... together. Urgh, the very idea was just sick and wrong on so many levels.
"What, Kim?"
She gave you a sympathetic look, probably registering the utterly flabbergasted look before starting again.
"I mean, I know that a lot of people seem to think that you aren't dating material but I'm glad someone saw the good in you. Even if it is Bonnie."
She really meant that. She thought you were dating Bonnie Rockwaller of all people. Queen Bee, highest on the food chain and eternal archnemesis of a certain loser! Sure, she was working with you right now but that was because she threatened you in a locked closet! The entire thought itself was preposterous, it'd be as ridiculous as Kim suddenly announcing she was dating Shego. It just wouldn't happen in any sane world.
Faintly, you could hear as small noise. Dazed as you were by the thought of dating Bonnie, you couldn't help but focus on the sound as it grew louder. After a few seconds, you realized it was Rufus snapping his tiny fingers near your face. Huh, you didn't think you were that out of it. Turning to Kim, you gave the most direct reply you could.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Wow, you didn't mean to yell that. After flinching a tiny bit from your outburst Kim shifted back to a more comfortable position in the vehicle's seat.
"... Okay, I guess I was mistaken. So what did she drag you into a closet to do?"
Okay, you couldn't talk about the hunting stuff. Not when you were on a mission. The last thing you wanted to do was distract Kim by giving her more on her plate right now. Then again, you just didn't feel like lying about something like this. Looks like a half-truth would be the way to go.
"She just wanted to threaten me Kim, it's no big."
The look she gave you was almost scary, really. Sure, getting threatened was bad but you didn't think that it was worth her doom glare. It just didn't seem like a big deal when you'd regularly been held up for your lunch money up until freshman year.
Then again, they did stop after Kim happened upon the two guys and had a "serious chat" with them. With the stare she was throwing, you think she might have wanted to do the same to Bonnie. Had it been any other week, you would have been perfectly fine with that. Not now, unfortunately. She opened her mouth to say something at the same time you did. Before either of you could utter a word though, the helicopter rumbled as it started to near the ground. As the vehicle finally touched the earth, Kim began to exit but not before making it clear that the two of you would talk about the issue on the way back.
Well, out of the frying pan and into the plasma-fire. Following her lead as usual, you climbed out of the machine, though not before giving the pilot a thumbs up for his badical bit of help with the yogurt. Maybe you'd talk to Kim about trying to work with him a bit more. Of course, with your face turned towards the man, you didn't see the little gap in the floor you were supposed to step over.
As you hand spiraled to the ground, you could only conclude that it was going to be one of those missions.
After you managed to recover from the embarrassing spill you moved right next to Kim. Though she did give you a sympathetic smile, she was already busy talking with a man in a white lab coat to comment on your misfortune. As the two continued to talk about the object the two of you had been called in to protect, a rare gem of some kind that had been transported here to be used for a laser of some sort. Honestly, once you got the basics of the situation you just tuned him out and started to scan the environment. Kim would sweat the details, and you'd look out for weirdness.
The lab itself was rather nice, actually. Most places you'd been called to protect had very little to see beyond the occasional landscape painting or motivational poster on a sterile white wall. Such was probably the function of top secret bases. This lab wasn't really much different, but it seemed one of the staff cared enough about appearances to have brought some plants into the building. There was a mall bed of flowers centered around a large skylight that practically screamed point of entrance for someone like Shego. The man led the two of you further in, down a sparse hallway you were used to before coming upon what looked to be an office. If you had to guess, it was either where the person who ran the place was, or where the gem was kept. It could also be both, though. The man who guided you through there moved aside a picture of some building to reveal a safe in the wall. He put in the combination, but at that point you were more occupied picking out all of the little things you'd seen before in movies. So far you had the skylight, the safe hidden behind a picture carrying the item, you wouldn't doubt that the place probably even had a security system of lasers that could alert the police about a break in after it was too late and needlessly loud alarm sirens too. Oh, and air vents that were way too big to be practical for anything but letting people get through.
You'd seen way too many of these places to believe otherwise. The man finished, and sat back down. Kim turned to leave the room. After the two of you got out of the stuffy little office, you turned to her, waiting for her to give you the sitch.
"So, he just wants us to stand here and guard the room until professionals come to take the diamond. I guess that shouldn't be too hard, right?" She gave you a weak smile, before showing what you both knew but were unwilling to admit. You'd been through thick and thing with Kim here, and each of you understood it well enough that the two of you would die of boredom before anything of note happened on a mission like this. Even worse, there was even a chance that the Shego alert was false, and neither of you would be able to do anything other than act as if everything was perfectly fine.
This was going to suck.
some time later
"So, when exactly are the people who'll pick up the gem going to get here, Kim?" The two of you had been just standing in that one position for what seemed like hours, simply trying you best to keep alert despite everything else. The boredom ground you down bit by little bit as the clock wore on, destroying you as eve-
"They'll probably be here within an hour or two like the director said, Ron. It's only been ten minutes."
Yeah, you hated being put on guard duty.
"Well I hope they get here sooner rather than later. I'd like to get back home."
"I know this is going to be really boring Ron, but this is what we do. You can't have excitement all the time, even if you're a hero." Yeah, and you understood that. Heck, you shuddered a bit at the images of the body you'd found only five days ago baring through you mind, showing you why having crazy things happening was not always good.
It didn't change the fact that you hated just standing around, though.
"So Kim, what do you think Drakken wants to make this time? I mean, its always something crazy but do you have any ideas?"
"I don't know Ron, maybe something like the laser they plan to use here to melt into something."
"I'd bet money he just wants to get into another safe, and thought this was the best way to go about it."
"That does sound needlessly complicated and convoluted enough to be something he'd come up with. However the Sidekick is wrong." The all too familiar voice came from the room you were supposed to be protecting. With a crackle, Shego's plasma encased hands ripped through the fragile frame of the doorway. At the very sound of the attack, Kim had rolled to the side much like you did. Looking back towards your enemy, you saw the Green clad figure of Shego in a wide stance, both hands glowing with neon green energy.
"What? Have you decided to skip the inevitable thrashing and hand yourself in?" Not one to be dissuaded by the threatening posture, immediately leaped forward, trying to stop the criminal with a swift kick.
"Not a chance, Princess. I just got sick of climbing through those stupid air ducts. Beating you up is just my way to de-stress." Hah! You couldn't help but give a little chuckle at that as she quickly sidestepped the blow, aiming to counter with a blast of her own; however her outstretched claws met nothing but air as Kim smoothly ducked under the incoming attack.
As the combat continued, you took the opportunity to check the room, hoping on the small chance that Shego got impatient and decided not to grab the item like she was hired to. The melted metal carcass of the safe combined with the prone for of the director on the ground put that idea to rest easily.
Behind you, Kim gracefully avoided the glowing claws of Shego's hands as the mercenary did her best to rend through her nemesis. With a small roll, Kim attempted to throw another kick at her enemy, only to have her mission boot passing harmlessly to the side as Shego dove away. It was then that you glimpsed a small bag looped around her belt, likely containing the jewel. It went back out of sight as she spun through a punch Kim threw towards villainess' face, deflecting the force of her attack and using the momentum to throw Kim against a wall.
"So it looks like you were right, Kimmie. This beating was bound to happen." Disoriented as your best friend was by the wall slam, Shego took the opportunity to pin her enemy and get in position to deliver a plethora of brutal blows.
You'd wanted to go protect Kim, but you weren't stupid enough to put yourself in the middle of a fight between the two. It was then that you had an idea.
You knew the battle was lost, and you knew that Shego would get away with the gem. The best thing you could do was stop her from hurting Kim any more. The only way to do that was to somehow distr-
Wait, all your other guesses had been right. If the trend held, that meant there was one thing you could do. Running into the room, you searched for something that would alert the guards at the facility. Rufus crawled out from the pocket he was in, dashing toward the man's desk for anything. A triumphant squeal indicated that he had found what he was looking for, and with the press of a red button you final guess was proven correct.
The alarm sirens were waaay too loud if people wanted to catch thieves. The first roaring drone was enough to startle Shego, who responded by gracelessly dropping Kim and running away to complete her actual objective.
As the guards pursued the green thief, Kim got up. Her hands were gingerly cupping a bloody nose, attempting to keep it from getting any worse. It was probably broken, but that was nothing Mrs. Dr. Possible couldn't solve. Setting the cartilage would hurt, but it was probably the one operation she did most around you guys.
If only from all the times you landed flat on your face before.
The rest of the mission was concluded shortly afterward. You preoccupied yourself with getting some TP from a bathroom to give Kim something else to stop the bleeding. As you walked back in, you saw her getting congratulated by the director for her quick thinking with the alarm (seriously, does no one notice you!) before thanking you for helping. With a weak smile, Kim apologized for the problem and promised to get the gem back when they found it while trying to gingerly plug her nose with the paper you provided before leaving. Wade already had another transport ready to bring you guys home as you exited the building.
The ride back was spent in silence. You knew Kim wanted to talk about the whole Bonnie threatening you sitch, but didn't want to make her own mood worse at the failed mission. The whole time was spent as Kim replaced the little pieces of paper each time. When the vehicle finally settled down in front of the Possible house, Kim was immediately dragged away by her mother, who had the patented "For anything Possible" first aid kit. She gave you a smile before going off to set the nose in place and talk to Kim about the mission while she worked. With that, you decided to walk home and take the rest of the day to yourself.
You had something important to do tomorrow, after all.
There wasn't even really a doubt in your mind beyond the idle thought that suggested you wouldn't on the mission with Kim. She was your best friend and helping her out was your number one obligation. Sure, you'd lose in the end. That was just how things were with these sorts of missions, but if being there could stop Kim from even a fraction more harm than she might have gone through without you it would be worth it.
Even then, you made a promise. You were hesitant to break it when you'd already managed to gather a decent amount of people to help you out. You hopped your way down the stairs, trying your best not to fall down them while putting on the black turtleneck that you always used for missions. When you hit the first floor, you quickly grabbed a yogurt in the fridge before rushing out of the door towards Kim's house before promptly turning back once your accidentally bare feet hit the rough gravel. Slipping on your shoes a hastily as you could, you resumed your run through the pavement towards the Possible home.
Surely enough, there was a helicopter waiting there right above Kim's house. As you neared, you could make out the shape of a rope ladder hanging below it. If the thing hadn't landed to get you guys, it must have meant this time things were really serious. Once you got there, you climbed the rungs as fast as you could with one hang (the other still carried your precious breakfast) until you reached the inside of the vehicle. As you flopped down onto the nearest seat, yogurt held victoriously in the air, you heard a small giggle from where Kim had chosen to sit down.
"Happy to have remembered Breakfast this morning, Ron?"
Oh come on! That was only on- twice that you'd forgotten to eat something before you went on a mission. Sure, the second time the stomach rumbling gave away your position but that was one time.
"I'll have you know Kim that I am proud of remembering to get something and will enjoy this yogurt under the knowledge that, just this once, Ron Stoppable got everything right." With a smirk of triumph, you peeled back the thin foil lid of the awaiting yogurty goodness, taking your time to slowly lick off the sweet little bits that stuck on it. After crumpling that and throwing it into a trash bin the pilot had, your hand entered the left pocket to go get the spoon you brought. Only to find nothing. Taking your hand out, you searched the left pocket in vain for the plastic utensil set your mother had got for you when she learned about the missions you went one. Giving Kim a nervous smile, you patted down the back pockets of your cargo pants, hoping against everything that you'd actually tried to use them for once.
"Forget your spoon, Ron?"
And now Kim was trying to stifle her giggles at your accidental failure. It was no big, but you still couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. You'd gotten so close to getting it right and you just forgot the final step. With a sigh, you resigned yourself to the old "crush the cup method" of yogurt delivery when a small sound from the cockpit got your attention.
The pilot had one hand held behind his back, and in it was a plastic spoon. With a look of gratitude, you seized the utensil with a grateful nod. Newly-acquired spoon in hand, you dove into the creamy breakfast you'd tasted, enjoying the pleasant surprise of the cherry flavor entering your mouth. It was good, better than the weird flavors your dad would sometimes get at the supermarket.
You'd hoped you'd never taste black licorice yogurt ever again..
The ride continued in silence as you devoured the small breakfast, and for a short while afterward. The rides, even when they were on stuff like supersonic jets or similar vehicles tended to take a long time. After a little more silence, Kim decided to initiate a conversation with an uncomfortably sly grin plastered across her face.
"Soo, how's Bonnie doing, Ron?"
Uhh, what? You didn't think anyone knew about what you talked about there! Bonnie even went out of her way to isolate the two of you so people wouldn't hear. You stared at Kim for a few seconds, the confused/astounded look on your face showing before she continued.
"I mean, its good but Bonnie? Really? You could do way better than her, Ron."
Sure, Bonnie wasn't the great to be around but she was a good cheerleader. There wasn't really much higher you could go to when asking for help.
"And not to mention skipping lunch to make out with her! I was worried!"
….
….
What.
No, no you must have heard her wrong. Kim wouldn't have suggested that you and Bonnie... together. Urgh, the very idea was just sick and wrong on so many levels.
"What, Kim?"
She gave you a sympathetic look, probably registering the utterly flabbergasted look before starting again.
"I mean, I know that a lot of people seem to think that you aren't dating material but I'm glad someone saw the good in you. Even if it is Bonnie."
She really meant that. She thought you were dating Bonnie Rockwaller of all people. Queen Bee, highest on the food chain and eternal archnemesis of a certain loser! Sure, she was working with you right now but that was because she threatened you in a locked closet! The entire thought itself was preposterous, it'd be as ridiculous as Kim suddenly announcing she was dating Shego. It just wouldn't happen in any sane world.
Faintly, you could hear as small noise. Dazed as you were by the thought of dating Bonnie, you couldn't help but focus on the sound as it grew louder. After a few seconds, you realized it was Rufus snapping his tiny fingers near your face. Huh, you didn't think you were that out of it. Turning to Kim, you gave the most direct reply you could.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Wow, you didn't mean to yell that. After flinching a tiny bit from your outburst Kim shifted back to a more comfortable position in the vehicle's seat.
"... Okay, I guess I was mistaken. So what did she drag you into a closet to do?"
Okay, you couldn't talk about the hunting stuff. Not when you were on a mission. The last thing you wanted to do was distract Kim by giving her more on her plate right now. Then again, you just didn't feel like lying about something like this. Looks like a half-truth would be the way to go.
"She just wanted to threaten me Kim, it's no big."
The look she gave you was almost scary, really. Sure, getting threatened was bad but you didn't think that it was worth her doom glare. It just didn't seem like a big deal when you'd regularly been held up for your lunch money up until freshman year.
Then again, they did stop after Kim happened upon the two guys and had a "serious chat" with them. With the stare she was throwing, you think she might have wanted to do the same to Bonnie. Had it been any other week, you would have been perfectly fine with that. Not now, unfortunately. She opened her mouth to say something at the same time you did. Before either of you could utter a word though, the helicopter rumbled as it started to near the ground. As the vehicle finally touched the earth, Kim began to exit but not before making it clear that the two of you would talk about the issue on the way back.
Well, out of the frying pan and into the plasma-fire. Following her lead as usual, you climbed out of the machine, though not before giving the pilot a thumbs up for his badical bit of help with the yogurt. Maybe you'd talk to Kim about trying to work with him a bit more. Of course, with your face turned towards the man, you didn't see the little gap in the floor you were supposed to step over.
As you hand spiraled to the ground, you could only conclude that it was going to be one of those missions.
After you managed to recover from the embarrassing spill you moved right next to Kim. Though she did give you a sympathetic smile, she was already busy talking with a man in a white lab coat to comment on your misfortune. As the two continued to talk about the object the two of you had been called in to protect, a rare gem of some kind that had been transported here to be used for a laser of some sort. Honestly, once you got the basics of the situation you just tuned him out and started to scan the environment. Kim would sweat the details, and you'd look out for weirdness.
The lab itself was rather nice, actually. Most places you'd been called to protect had very little to see beyond the occasional landscape painting or motivational poster on a sterile white wall. Such was probably the function of top secret bases. This lab wasn't really much different, but it seemed one of the staff cared enough about appearances to have brought some plants into the building. There was a mall bed of flowers centered around a large skylight that practically screamed point of entrance for someone like Shego. The man led the two of you further in, down a sparse hallway you were used to before coming upon what looked to be an office. If you had to guess, it was either where the person who ran the place was, or where the gem was kept. It could also be both, though. The man who guided you through there moved aside a picture of some building to reveal a safe in the wall. He put in the combination, but at that point you were more occupied picking out all of the little things you'd seen before in movies. So far you had the skylight, the safe hidden behind a picture carrying the item, you wouldn't doubt that the place probably even had a security system of lasers that could alert the police about a break in after it was too late and needlessly loud alarm sirens too. Oh, and air vents that were way too big to be practical for anything but letting people get through.
You'd seen way too many of these places to believe otherwise. The man finished, and sat back down. Kim turned to leave the room. After the two of you got out of the stuffy little office, you turned to her, waiting for her to give you the sitch.
"So, he just wants us to stand here and guard the room until professionals come to take the diamond. I guess that shouldn't be too hard, right?" She gave you a weak smile, before showing what you both knew but were unwilling to admit. You'd been through thick and thing with Kim here, and each of you understood it well enough that the two of you would die of boredom before anything of note happened on a mission like this. Even worse, there was even a chance that the Shego alert was false, and neither of you would be able to do anything other than act as if everything was perfectly fine.
This was going to suck.
some time later
"So, when exactly are the people who'll pick up the gem going to get here, Kim?" The two of you had been just standing in that one position for what seemed like hours, simply trying you best to keep alert despite everything else. The boredom ground you down bit by little bit as the clock wore on, destroying you as eve-
"They'll probably be here within an hour or two like the director said, Ron. It's only been ten minutes."
Yeah, you hated being put on guard duty.
"Well I hope they get here sooner rather than later. I'd like to get back home."
"I know this is going to be really boring Ron, but this is what we do. You can't have excitement all the time, even if you're a hero." Yeah, and you understood that. Heck, you shuddered a bit at the images of the body you'd found only five days ago baring through you mind, showing you why having crazy things happening was not always good.
It didn't change the fact that you hated just standing around, though.
"So Kim, what do you think Drakken wants to make this time? I mean, its always something crazy but do you have any ideas?"
"I don't know Ron, maybe something like the laser they plan to use here to melt into something."
"I'd bet money he just wants to get into another safe, and thought this was the best way to go about it."
"That does sound needlessly complicated and convoluted enough to be something he'd come up with. However the Sidekick is wrong." The all too familiar voice came from the room you were supposed to be protecting. With a crackle, Shego's plasma encased hands ripped through the fragile frame of the doorway. At the very sound of the attack, Kim had rolled to the side much like you did. Looking back towards your enemy, you saw the Green clad figure of Shego in a wide stance, both hands glowing with neon green energy.
"What? Have you decided to skip the inevitable thrashing and hand yourself in?" Not one to be dissuaded by the threatening posture, immediately leaped forward, trying to stop the criminal with a swift kick.
"Not a chance, Princess. I just got sick of climbing through those stupid air ducts. Beating you up is just my way to de-stress." Hah! You couldn't help but give a little chuckle at that as she quickly sidestepped the blow, aiming to counter with a blast of her own; however her outstretched claws met nothing but air as Kim smoothly ducked under the incoming attack.
As the combat continued, you took the opportunity to check the room, hoping on the small chance that Shego got impatient and decided not to grab the item like she was hired to. The melted metal carcass of the safe combined with the prone for of the director on the ground put that idea to rest easily.
Behind you, Kim gracefully avoided the glowing claws of Shego's hands as the mercenary did her best to rend through her nemesis. With a small roll, Kim attempted to throw another kick at her enemy, only to have her mission boot passing harmlessly to the side as Shego dove away. It was then that you glimpsed a small bag looped around her belt, likely containing the jewel. It went back out of sight as she spun through a punch Kim threw towards villainess' face, deflecting the force of her attack and using the momentum to throw Kim against a wall.
"So it looks like you were right, Kimmie. This beating was bound to happen." Disoriented as your best friend was by the wall slam, Shego took the opportunity to pin her enemy and get in position to deliver a plethora of brutal blows.
You'd wanted to go protect Kim, but you weren't stupid enough to put yourself in the middle of a fight between the two. It was then that you had an idea.
You knew the battle was lost, and you knew that Shego would get away with the gem. The best thing you could do was stop her from hurting Kim any more. The only way to do that was to somehow distr-
Wait, all your other guesses had been right. If the trend held, that meant there was one thing you could do. Running into the room, you searched for something that would alert the guards at the facility. Rufus crawled out from the pocket he was in, dashing toward the man's desk for anything. A triumphant squeal indicated that he had found what he was looking for, and with the press of a red button you final guess was proven correct.
The alarm sirens were waaay too loud if people wanted to catch thieves. The first roaring drone was enough to startle Shego, who responded by gracelessly dropping Kim and running away to complete her actual objective.
As the guards pursued the green thief, Kim got up. Her hands were gingerly cupping a bloody nose, attempting to keep it from getting any worse. It was probably broken, but that was nothing Mrs. Dr. Possible couldn't solve. Setting the cartilage would hurt, but it was probably the one operation she did most around you guys.
If only from all the times you landed flat on your face before.
The rest of the mission was concluded shortly afterward. You preoccupied yourself with getting some TP from a bathroom to give Kim something else to stop the bleeding. As you walked back in, you saw her getting congratulated by the director for her quick thinking with the alarm (seriously, does no one notice you!) before thanking you for helping. With a weak smile, Kim apologized for the problem and promised to get the gem back when they found it while trying to gingerly plug her nose with the paper you provided before leaving. Wade already had another transport ready to bring you guys home as you exited the building.
The ride back was spent in silence. You knew Kim wanted to talk about the whole Bonnie threatening you sitch, but didn't want to make her own mood worse at the failed mission. The whole time was spent as Kim replaced the little pieces of paper each time. When the vehicle finally settled down in front of the Possible house, Kim was immediately dragged away by her mother, who had the patented "For anything Possible" first aid kit. She gave you a smile before going off to set the nose in place and talk to Kim about the mission while she worked. With that, you decided to walk home and take the rest of the day to yourself.
You had something important to do tomorrow, after all.
Prelude Finale: the First Meeting
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
You woke up Sunday morning with a strange mix of feelings. You were terrified about what would go down in the meeting. About half of the populars were going to be in the same room as you without Kim to help you. Heck, you'd even invited Mr. Barkin of all people to this thing even though the two of you were like oil and water. You weren't sure what would happen, much less that they'd do anything more than laugh you out of the building for saying such crazy things. After all, who'd believe the loser who told tall tales all the time, right? It hurt to think of things like that but you weren't one to deny reality.
One the other hand, part of you was excited beyond what you even thought possible. You wanted to tell someone, anyone about what happened and to be taken seriously. You knew you couldn't do this alone, and you hoped they'd believe so you wouldn't have to. Luckily, Mr. Barkin at the very least seemed to take your claim at face value for once, which was strange in and of itself really but you weren't going to look that gift horse in the mouth too hard if it meant he was going to work with you for sure.
The morning itself was kind of dreary. Clouds covered the sky, shielding the world from the sun as you prepared to get dressed. You thought about what to wear for a while, before deciding on using the spare pair of mission clothes you had. You hoped that if you dressed as if this was a serious matter, the group would understand that. Not to mention that it was kind of cold out and the turtleneck was toasty for mid-January when with a jacket. After you got that finished, you made some toast with jelly to tide you over.
It didn't take long for your scooter to get you to school, and as you parked it, you noticed that there were a couple different cars in the mostly empty lot. Mister B's old beater was there, but so was an expensive convertible you'd seen Brick tooling around in, as well as a well cared for minivan Tara had taken to cheer practice once or twice. Bonnie must have hitched a ride, because you couldn't believe that she'd miss this after the rant she'd hit you with on Thursday.
You found them in Homeroom. Bonnie, Brick, and Tara were sitting together in their usual seats, their faces a mixture of bored and confused. Mister B sat at his desk, holding a full manilla folder.
"Stoppable," he said loudly, "Glad you could finally join us!"
He gestured at the empty classroom, "Take a seat. I've prepared a briefing."
That got him some odd looks from the populars you'd recruited. You weren't really sure what that meant yourself. You knew that Mr B talked a lot about his time in the armed forces, but he was never really ...specific about it. You didn't even know what branch he'd served in, though whether that was because he hadn't said or you hadn't bothered to pay attention was beyond you. Still, he seemed to have... something planned, which was more than you did right then. You took a seat as he moved to the overhead projector at the back of the classroom.
As Mister B flicked the machine on, he started talking, "Alright people, you're all here because Stoppable thinks you've got what it takes." He looked over the room, eyeing each of you in turn. "I'm not so sure, but you didn't run screaming or think he was lying so that's a point or two in your favor."
Reaching into his folder he took out the first slide, and an image of the alley that was still giving you nightmares a week later shone onto the board.
"This is the last known location of our target. If you think that chalk outline looks strange, then you're right. That is because the thing we are hunting is a Vampire."
He took off that transparency and replaced it with another, a picture you'd never seen before. It was horrible! It was gnarled and twisted, with great big pointy teeth! Rufus' chompers had nothing on this freak! It was ugly as sin! It was... not at all what you'd seen in the alley? Granted, you hadn't gotten a good look at the thing, but you didn't remember it looking anywhere near as obviously inhuman as Mister B's.
As you blinked in sudden confusion, you took a moment to see how the rest of the room was reacting. It was sorta a mixed bag. Brick looked serious for once, his eyes had narrowed and he was staring at the board with what looked an impressive amount of anger on his face. Tara looked seriously freaked. Come to think of it you hadn't ever actually told her about the whole Vampire thing had you? Bonnie though, she just looked skeptical.
She turned her head sharply to look at Mister B, "Yeah, vampires exist. Just like foundation goes great with water. Who'd you get to stage this picture? The same one who got the shots of that 'Yeti' during the ski trip?""
"Well then, Miss Rockweiler, why don't you point out all of the things that show this picture was faked," Mister B said, "It should be easy for you since vampires don't exist." Bonnie stared at the picture projected on the wall for a minute, but didn't say anything.
"Having trouble?" Mister B asked, "Here, I'll make it a bit easier for you. This one's trying to look human." He took off the slide of the creepy thing that should not be and replaced it with a different one. It was still wrong. It looked human, but it... it wasn't. There was just something about it, eyes too far apart, nose not quite the right shape, it was like whatever it was knew what a human was supposed to look like, but couldn't quite manage to copy it.
You sat there, as the silence grew, and solidified. Bonnie couldn't come up with anything, and you could see the frustration growing on her face. This new thing was almost as bad as the last, just in a totally different way. Well... it still wasn't a MONKEY though...
"Now then," said Mister B, "If we're done arguing? These are vampires. This picture is of one that's trying to hide what it is. It's not particularly good at it, as you can see that something isn't right. Unfortunately, some of them are indistinguishable from a normal human. They aren't all Nosferatu."
He switched back to the picture of the crime scene. "Now, the first thing you have to be aware of is that regardless of their appearance Vampires eat humans. We are their FOOD. A lot of them try and disguise that, dress it up, or otherwise make it look like they're 'misunderstood.' THEY ARE NOT! THEY ARE MONSTERS WHO WILL EAT YOU ALIVE!"
It wouldn't be Mister B if he didn't start yelling at some point. Still, while this is a great presentation and all, and you really want to know where he got his pics, you still need to know how to fight these monsters.
"Uh, Mister B?" you ask, "I get that this is a monster, heck, I saw it eat that poor person," and isn't that going to give you nightmares for the rest of your life, "but how do we fight it? What do we need to know to do that safely?"
"Alright, Stoppable," Mister B replies, before changing the slide again to a bullet pointed list, "Everyone knows what kills a Vampire. Fire, stake through the heart, yadda yadda. Extreme physical trauma works too, but unfortunately for us that's usually more trouble than it's worth."
The slide clicks over again.
"Beyond that, you should be concerned about enhanced physical abilities, like strength or stamina, as well as outright supernatural powers. Some Vampires can hypnotize you, some can shapeshift, and others have literal magic. We don't know WHAT this particular blood sucker can do, so we'll need to be careful."
He switches to a new slide, "Job one for something like this is Confirm. No one wants to be the guy who busts down the door of a really dedicated LARP group. I've done that before, and it was… unpleasant. However, since Stoppable came to me about this problem, I have taken the time to check and what you are dealing with is, in fact, a real vampire. Next, we need to figure out what exactly this thing is, where it's hiding, and deal with it, in that order. We can do that a few different ways, but I'm not the one who started this."
Mister B stops there and looks at you. It seems like everyone's looking at you. Bonnie's still not convinced, Brick's got a look of determination you don't think you've seen on him off the Football field, and Tara, well, Tara still looks majorly freaked, but she's also got something else in her eyes that looks familiar, like, Kim familiar.
"So, Stoppable," Mister Barkin asks, "What's the Plan? Please take note that I will be busy making sure this little club becomes a bit more official, so I won't be able to help you for the moment. Think of this as a sort of test for you. If things go wrong I'll help, but if they don't I'll be impressed."
Major category- Team Actions As Mr. Barkin noted, spending every Sunday just talking about what you'd been doing each week would get boring quickly, not to mention that you all had time to do more constructive things in the morning. He has asked for your input on what the five of you should do together next week, given it will likely be the only time all of you can feasibly spend time in the same area together. (choose one below)
Major category- Assignments: Everyone has a role in here, and Mr. Barkin suggested that you assign people to where you think they'd fit the best in the hunting process. However, since he wants to see what you can do, he's not giving much in the way of advice. (assign Bonnie, Brick, Tara and Ron to actions. Mr. Barkin is currently unavailable for anything but the hunt)
Major category- Free time: For a Vampire hunter in training, you still have a lot of needs to get through every day. Your daily cheese intake has even fallen below acceptable levels! Rufus is even turning a bit pale from the lack of delicious gooey goodness recently. Every man needs some time to themselves, and you do have a few ideas on how to spend it. (choose one)
One the other hand, part of you was excited beyond what you even thought possible. You wanted to tell someone, anyone about what happened and to be taken seriously. You knew you couldn't do this alone, and you hoped they'd believe so you wouldn't have to. Luckily, Mr. Barkin at the very least seemed to take your claim at face value for once, which was strange in and of itself really but you weren't going to look that gift horse in the mouth too hard if it meant he was going to work with you for sure.
The morning itself was kind of dreary. Clouds covered the sky, shielding the world from the sun as you prepared to get dressed. You thought about what to wear for a while, before deciding on using the spare pair of mission clothes you had. You hoped that if you dressed as if this was a serious matter, the group would understand that. Not to mention that it was kind of cold out and the turtleneck was toasty for mid-January when with a jacket. After you got that finished, you made some toast with jelly to tide you over.
It didn't take long for your scooter to get you to school, and as you parked it, you noticed that there were a couple different cars in the mostly empty lot. Mister B's old beater was there, but so was an expensive convertible you'd seen Brick tooling around in, as well as a well cared for minivan Tara had taken to cheer practice once or twice. Bonnie must have hitched a ride, because you couldn't believe that she'd miss this after the rant she'd hit you with on Thursday.
You found them in Homeroom. Bonnie, Brick, and Tara were sitting together in their usual seats, their faces a mixture of bored and confused. Mister B sat at his desk, holding a full manilla folder.
"Stoppable," he said loudly, "Glad you could finally join us!"
He gestured at the empty classroom, "Take a seat. I've prepared a briefing."
That got him some odd looks from the populars you'd recruited. You weren't really sure what that meant yourself. You knew that Mr B talked a lot about his time in the armed forces, but he was never really ...specific about it. You didn't even know what branch he'd served in, though whether that was because he hadn't said or you hadn't bothered to pay attention was beyond you. Still, he seemed to have... something planned, which was more than you did right then. You took a seat as he moved to the overhead projector at the back of the classroom.
As Mister B flicked the machine on, he started talking, "Alright people, you're all here because Stoppable thinks you've got what it takes." He looked over the room, eyeing each of you in turn. "I'm not so sure, but you didn't run screaming or think he was lying so that's a point or two in your favor."
Reaching into his folder he took out the first slide, and an image of the alley that was still giving you nightmares a week later shone onto the board.
"This is the last known location of our target. If you think that chalk outline looks strange, then you're right. That is because the thing we are hunting is a Vampire."
He took off that transparency and replaced it with another, a picture you'd never seen before. It was horrible! It was gnarled and twisted, with great big pointy teeth! Rufus' chompers had nothing on this freak! It was ugly as sin! It was... not at all what you'd seen in the alley? Granted, you hadn't gotten a good look at the thing, but you didn't remember it looking anywhere near as obviously inhuman as Mister B's.
As you blinked in sudden confusion, you took a moment to see how the rest of the room was reacting. It was sorta a mixed bag. Brick looked serious for once, his eyes had narrowed and he was staring at the board with what looked an impressive amount of anger on his face. Tara looked seriously freaked. Come to think of it you hadn't ever actually told her about the whole Vampire thing had you? Bonnie though, she just looked skeptical.
She turned her head sharply to look at Mister B, "Yeah, vampires exist. Just like foundation goes great with water. Who'd you get to stage this picture? The same one who got the shots of that 'Yeti' during the ski trip?""
"Well then, Miss Rockweiler, why don't you point out all of the things that show this picture was faked," Mister B said, "It should be easy for you since vampires don't exist." Bonnie stared at the picture projected on the wall for a minute, but didn't say anything.
"Having trouble?" Mister B asked, "Here, I'll make it a bit easier for you. This one's trying to look human." He took off the slide of the creepy thing that should not be and replaced it with a different one. It was still wrong. It looked human, but it... it wasn't. There was just something about it, eyes too far apart, nose not quite the right shape, it was like whatever it was knew what a human was supposed to look like, but couldn't quite manage to copy it.
You sat there, as the silence grew, and solidified. Bonnie couldn't come up with anything, and you could see the frustration growing on her face. This new thing was almost as bad as the last, just in a totally different way. Well... it still wasn't a MONKEY though...
"Now then," said Mister B, "If we're done arguing? These are vampires. This picture is of one that's trying to hide what it is. It's not particularly good at it, as you can see that something isn't right. Unfortunately, some of them are indistinguishable from a normal human. They aren't all Nosferatu."
He switched back to the picture of the crime scene. "Now, the first thing you have to be aware of is that regardless of their appearance Vampires eat humans. We are their FOOD. A lot of them try and disguise that, dress it up, or otherwise make it look like they're 'misunderstood.' THEY ARE NOT! THEY ARE MONSTERS WHO WILL EAT YOU ALIVE!"
It wouldn't be Mister B if he didn't start yelling at some point. Still, while this is a great presentation and all, and you really want to know where he got his pics, you still need to know how to fight these monsters.
"Uh, Mister B?" you ask, "I get that this is a monster, heck, I saw it eat that poor person," and isn't that going to give you nightmares for the rest of your life, "but how do we fight it? What do we need to know to do that safely?"
"Alright, Stoppable," Mister B replies, before changing the slide again to a bullet pointed list, "Everyone knows what kills a Vampire. Fire, stake through the heart, yadda yadda. Extreme physical trauma works too, but unfortunately for us that's usually more trouble than it's worth."
The slide clicks over again.
"Beyond that, you should be concerned about enhanced physical abilities, like strength or stamina, as well as outright supernatural powers. Some Vampires can hypnotize you, some can shapeshift, and others have literal magic. We don't know WHAT this particular blood sucker can do, so we'll need to be careful."
He switches to a new slide, "Job one for something like this is Confirm. No one wants to be the guy who busts down the door of a really dedicated LARP group. I've done that before, and it was… unpleasant. However, since Stoppable came to me about this problem, I have taken the time to check and what you are dealing with is, in fact, a real vampire. Next, we need to figure out what exactly this thing is, where it's hiding, and deal with it, in that order. We can do that a few different ways, but I'm not the one who started this."
Mister B stops there and looks at you. It seems like everyone's looking at you. Bonnie's still not convinced, Brick's got a look of determination you don't think you've seen on him off the Football field, and Tara, well, Tara still looks majorly freaked, but she's also got something else in her eyes that looks familiar, like, Kim familiar.
"So, Stoppable," Mister Barkin asks, "What's the Plan? Please take note that I will be busy making sure this little club becomes a bit more official, so I won't be able to help you for the moment. Think of this as a sort of test for you. If things go wrong I'll help, but if they don't I'll be impressed."
Major category- Team Actions As Mr. Barkin noted, spending every Sunday just talking about what you'd been doing each week would get boring quickly, not to mention that you all had time to do more constructive things in the morning. He has asked for your input on what the five of you should do together next week, given it will likely be the only time all of you can feasibly spend time in the same area together. (choose one below)
Major category- Assignments: Everyone has a role in here, and Mr. Barkin suggested that you assign people to where you think they'd fit the best in the hunting process. However, since he wants to see what you can do, he's not giving much in the way of advice. (assign Bonnie, Brick, Tara and Ron to actions. Mr. Barkin is currently unavailable for anything but the hunt)
Major category- Free time: For a Vampire hunter in training, you still have a lot of needs to get through every day. Your daily cheese intake has even fallen below acceptable levels! Rufus is even turning a bit pale from the lack of delicious gooey goodness recently. Every man needs some time to themselves, and you do have a few ideas on how to spend it. (choose one)
Meeting Two: Start of the Hunting Club!
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
So the first meeting between you all ended in the most normal way possible. You all exchanged contact information including phone numbers, addresses and emails that you could be reached at in case anything huge happened at any time.After that, you gave people their basic tasks. Bonnie and yourself would work on gathering information about the enemy whatever way you found possible. Tara would start asking around the neighborhood on the subject of disappearances and strange activities at night to get some results. Brick would start gathering the requisite materials to actually hunt a vampire. Finally, and you sure enjoyed this, you ordered Mr. Barkin to start developing a list of teambuilding activities and little fun exercises for next week so you could begin working with each other rather than being members of a club. Knowing he was a teacher, it'd probably be something boring like trust falls or talking exercises but you were sure every little bit that you got to know the four people around you would help keep them alive.
Later that night, you thought to test out the numbers you were given by sending each one of your group's members at least one text. It was useful to see if you got that confirmed before anything else. You started with Mr. Barkin.
Ron: Thanks for helping set this up.
Mr. Barkin: No problem, Stoppable.
He was concise, though it did take him a strangely long time for the reply to get to you, but he was a busy man with the whole 'setting up the club' thing going on along with the other teacher stuff, you guessed. Next you shot one text to Bonnie, hoping to open some sort of dialogue between the two of you.
Ron: I forgot to say in the meeting, but I'd like like you to talk to Mr. Barkin about the Vampire. Maybe you could get something of substance?
You waited a bit for her response, but after you sat around for a good ten minutes you figured she was rightly mad at you for the whole "didn't tell your best friend about vampires" thing. It was understandable, really. After her lack of response you sent a message to Brick.
Ron: Hey, just checking to see if this is yours, Brick.
Brick: It is.
And you honestly didn't really expect much more. He was direct, and you could tell that his text was almost the closest thing he could get to a grunt without being offensive. After that, you sent another text to Bonnie, because maybe the first message you sent didn't get through.
Ron: Okay, so I just wanted to make sure that this is your phone, and that you got my message please reply.
After that, you put down Tara's number and thought about how to start this dialogue, especially with how hard you screwed up. After a few minutes of careful consideration, you finally settled on the greatest opener you could muster.
Ron: Hey.
Tara: Hi Ron.
The sound of a tiny palm hitting a small face gave enough indication of what Rufus thought of your admittedly terrible first message. Before you could respond with an apology your carelessness, the phone buzzed with a new message.
Tara: So… Vampires?
Ron: Yeah.
Tara: Scary, huh?
Okay, now you just felt guilty. It seemed like a good idea back then, you needed someone to drive and she was nice enough to say yes but you couldn't help but feel that you'd been scummy to her.
Tara: Wanna talk about it?
Nah, this wasn't something you could just do over the phone. If you wanted to apologize to her you were doing it right, just like your dad taught you to.
Ron: Sure, but let's do that later. How's Tuesday sound?
Tara: Cool! I'll met up with you after school's out.
And that was that, you sighed with relief that Tara was such a badical girl. You'd be able to talk this through and finally just lay that whole nest of guilt to rest. As you prepared to continue with your day you found your phone ringing.
Bonnie: K loser.
It looks like you could work with these people after all.
Unfortunately, you don't manage much. Between school, Bueno Nacho, and everything else you've got going on, you can only find the sort of things that everybody knows about Vampires, Stake through the heart, vulnerable to sunlight, feed on blood, that sort of thing. Still, it's better than nothing, and at least there aren't any curveballs. Yet. Okay, why the heck is Ron looking up Vampires? He does know they aren't real, right?
Before you knew it, Monday had passed and Tuesday was right there along with your plan to meet Tara. Kim could tell that you'd had something on your mind throughout the day and even though she did attempt to needle you about the only response you'd give her were noncommittal noises and denials. No way were you starting another rumor related to you getting into a relationship with a popular, especially when people probably still thought you were somehow in a relationship with Bonnie! You'd probably be lynched on the spot by the entire student body. After all, no one could question the benefits of a daily dose of Ronshine.
The school day ended much more quickly than you usually thought it could, and after that you found yourself waiting in the library of your own free will for once in your life while Tara went through Cheerleading practice. While she was training, you found yourself on the internet once again, looking up anything you could about the bloodsucking fiends. Though you'd had some good leads, there was still so many wild claims and unsubstantiated rumors mixed in that you didn't really feel like you'd gotten much of anywhere.Ok, I know that Kim said it was no big that Ron was looking into this but he's really looking hard. Maybe I could help him?
After the hour or so of turning up basically nothing, you heard the noise as cheerleading practice ended and decided to go meet with Tara. The ladies mostly greeted you with rolled eyes or dismissive grunts. Except for Kim, she gave you a wave and a smile. Soon enough you found who you were looking for. The Blonde Cheerleader was naturally sitting next to Bonnie, who greeted you with hostility though it was less pronounced than Sunday. After seeing you, her face lit up and she grabbed you by the arm before leading you out of the building. She took you to her car and started up the engine as you buckled into the passenger seat. As she prepared to pull out of the school's parking lot, she looked over to you.
"So, is there anywhere you want to go where we can talk?" You almost yelled Bueno Nacho at her, but stopped yourself. There was a time and a place to make the location decision yourself, and this was not it. You were apologizing to her, so it should be her choice. Besides, people knew you went there and they'd be watching if Bonnie hadn't killed those rumors yet.
"I'm not really feeling anything, pick wherever you want to go." It hurt to say that lie, but your integrity was worth more than the gooey goodness of nacos. Tara nodded at that as she shifted the gear into drive and pulled out onto the streets. She seemed to think about it for a few seconds, before making her decision.
"Nasty Burger it is then." At that, you couldn't help but stare at the petite blonde before you. You'd never actually been to one of the infamous food chains, nothing could ever beat the greatness that were tacos in you mind, but you'd heard enough about their reputation to question why any of the cheerleading squad would go there. You continued to stare at her in confusion as she drove along, humming a happy little tune as her focus remained squarely on the road ahead. Within a few minutes, you finally approached the diner-like building, and as Tara parked she finally noticed that your eyes were boring into her in confusion. At your obvious query, she simply shrugged.
"Hey, it's my cheat day and I wanted the double slaughterhouse bomb. You had your chance." The horror on you face must have been evident, since she chuckled a little at the name before dragging you in to order.
The double slaughterhouse bomb was apparently two cheeseburgers topped with bacon and was actually quite good now that you'd gotten one yourself. Of course, it had nothing on Mexican goodness, though the chili cheese fries were great. After you finished with that, you finally got to the real reason you were here.
"So, I forgot to tell you about the Vampire part of this when I invited you…" Well, there were better openers. Taking a moment to grab another cheese fry, Tara slowly nodded.
"Then I'd like to formally apologize. I messed up really bad and got you into something you might not have even wanted to think of if it wasn't already too late. That was super wrong and I really hope that you don't hate me for that." There wasn't really much to say beyond the truth. You bowed your head down as low as you could and prayed it was enough for her to forgive you.
"Ron," you looked up to see her smiling at you with a bit a cheese sauce on her cheeks, "it's okay. I was a little bit shocked when I heard it but with you and Mr Barkin here to help us I think that everything will be ok. It might even be fun, trying to be heroes like Kim and you!" You noticed the little hint of a frown that was on her face when she completed that sentence not matter how she tried to hold it back.
That was a way of looking at it, and one you didn't disagree with. To an extent, taking down these guys was like trying to defeat a supervillain. It was just that you lead the charge, not Kim. But she had faith in you, and you wouldn't let her down. She wasn't 100% okay with this yet, but you weren't sure anyone was. It was good enough that she'd try to handle it.
After that, you finished up the food and Tara dropped you off in front of your house. You didn't do much that night beside getting some proper fast food in you and watching a few reruns of Captain Constellation with your dad.
The rest of the week is pretty uneventful. You do your best to root out every shadowy corner of the internet looking for information. You're not Wade, but you think you do OK. The real tough part is figuring out whether or not anything you find is real. There's so much information out there, and you've got next to no way of determining what's a random jerk trying to impress the faceless hordes of the web and what's legitimate information on the supernatural. Okay, he really needs to start verifying links. I'll just check these out: kid in his apartment, goth wannabe, bad hacker, 4channer. This is honestly kind of boring.
It's not easy, but you do figure some things out. Apparently there's a lot of different supernatural nasties out there, Werewolves, Vampires, and goodness only knows what else. You don't have time for that though, and focus on Vampires. As far as you can determine, there are a few different types of Vampires....aand now he's using TOR. I'm surprised he remembered how to get there much less listened to me during that speech. Let's just check in on who he's talking to a-
Your best information comes from this group in the deep bowels of the internet, the places that Wade once taught you to look for when he was bored one evening. He called it the Dark Net, the secret, unpoliced underbelly of the web that sorta functioned as a black market for information and interaction. He'd only shown it to you because you'd asked how Drakken kept getting those condo's when he always blew them up. The Dark Net has weird Credit Ratings. System erasure? How'd they get past my personal antivirus programs?!
You find one group down there that seems OK though. They seem to know what they're doing. They've got a full run down on the five primary types of Vampires, a general idea of what to expect from each of them, and a whole bunch of stuff that newbie hunters should be aware of. You still aren't sure if they're on the up and up, but it's far and away the best source that you've been able to find. You wish you could just get Wade to do this though, he's always rocked the tech. Oh, this means war. I don't know who you are, Network Zero, but welcome to my hit list!
Eventually, Sunday rolls back around, and you find yourself back in school. In the Morning. On a weekend. Seriously, why did you think this was a good idea again? Right the whole, homicidal supernatural monster thing. Anyway, you're there, the populars are there, and Mister B is standing in front of the room again looking like he wants a debriefing. Man, before you did some research you would have thought that involved one of your pants malfunctions.
Surprisingly, Brick goes first, looking pretty anxious too. "Yeah, so, I had some problems," He says, "I managed to sharpen up some stakes in woodshop, but other than that I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be doing. Is garlic effective? Do we need holy water or crosses or something? I mean, I got the stakes, but beyond that I kinda had no idea what to do, or what to get."
There's silence at that. The first week, and you're already having problems? Still, something's better than nothing and you were the one who didn't give Brick enough Info. It's your screw up, and you own your screw ups. Sometimes they're all you've got!
You speak out, "Thanks Brick. That's my bad. I didn't know what we needed, or anything, that's why I did some research and asked Bonnie to as well. We'll know what we need now Brick, and we can get what we need."
You'd taken some inspiration from Mister B's presentation last week, and brought a couple pictures for the overhead projector. The first one is a picture like the one he had, but a lot more blurry. Still, it was one of the best ones you could find on your own.
"As far as I could find out," you start, "Vampire weaknesses are pretty typical. No major variations from the whole cliche. Stake through the heart, decapitation, fire, the whole nine yards."
You switch to the next slide which is a grainy image of what looks like a humanoid figure holding a car over its head. "Unfortunately, their strengths are about what you'd expect as well. They're stronger, faster, and more durable than your average, normal, everyday human being. So we'll have to be really careful about how we go about this. I've got some more detailed info in some packets for everybody if you want 'em, and we should probably all read them before we go hunting." Your piece said you sit down.
Tara and Bonnie look at each other for a moment. Bonnie's looking smug for some reason, but it can't be that bad because she just waves Tara to go first. Tara walks up to the podium at the front of the classroom with some papers and stands there for a moment, looking nervous. If you didn't know she was way awesome at the cheer squad you'd think she might have stage fright or something! After a few seconds though she squares her shoulders and starts talking.
"Alright,so, I found some places, but I'm not sure which one is the right one," She pages through her notes for a moment, "I asked the police, canvassed the area, and tried to figure out as much as I could. It was a lot of info though, so I still need to narrow it down." You look at her worriedly, she was wandering around the hunting ground of a vampire alone?! You must not have been the only one worried about that though, because Tara looks around the room and frowns, "Jeez guys, I didn't do it at night. I was careful to only go anywhere near there during the day, way before sundown. Give me some credit!" You're not the only one nodding a bit sheepishly after that.
"Anyway," she says, "I've got four or so places I think are the most likely, and we can look at them together," her eyes swing right over the room and she freezes for a moment, "After Bonnie's done!" She scurries back to her seat.
Bonnie slouches to the front of the room in response, a disinterested smirk on her face, and a folder of her own in her hands. "The Loser wanted me to ask Mister Barkin about things. Naturally, I got way more information than him." She smirked and held up her folder, "Mister Barkin was nice enough to work up a full dossier on the Vampire in question. I got everything we need to know about this guy. Actual strengths, detailed weaknesses, good ways to take him down relatively safely, the whole shebang." She smirks at you, a familiar look of arrogant condescension all over her face. At least she's taking this seriously?
Mister B nodded along with Bonnie's statements before standing himself, motioning her back to her seat, and taking his customary place at the front of the classroom.
"Alright people, not bad for your first week on the job," he says, "You were smart enough to ask someone experienced for information," he looks at Bonnie, "try and verify that information yourself," he looks at you, "get the lay of the land," he looks at Tara, "and recognize when you didn't know what to do," he looks at Brick.
"Now," he says, "Before we go over all the information everyone's got, I think this is the perfect time for a teamwork exercise!"
Oh great, trust falls, or whatever other lame thing he's got planned. Well, at least it shouldn't be too much hard work?
"Uh, so, what are we doing, sir?" asks Brick.
The grin that appears on Mister B's face at that question will haunt your nightmares. His response? One word.
"Paintball."
The following three hours were some of the most horrible of your life to date. It was almost as bad as Wannaweep! Apparently, Mister B had some contacts that let him A) get full sets of Paintball equipment for all five of you, and B) locate and secure a training area.
You thought you knew what life and death combat was, you went on Missions with Kim against mad scientists and Super Villains for pete's sake! Worthless! All of it! Mister B was a whole other level of danger! You'd never seen a hench move like him!
At first, you'd thought things would be OK, it was just paintball after all, like laser tag but with a bit more pain, right? Yeah. No.
Mister B had ordered everyone else to team up against him, and he had slaughtered you all. Mercilessly. No matter what you did, no matter how you tried you could not get the drop on him! You had no idea how a guy as big as him could move that fast! The first round was just embarrassing, as everyone tried to do their own thing. Brick had barrelled in, Bonnie and Tara had struck off on their own looking for the high ground, and you'd floundered. Total failure. Mister B had taken you down one by one.
The second round was just as bad. You'd all had the necessity of working together beaten into you, but actually doing that? Easier said than done. You weren't used to being in any kind of command position, but you were the only one with anything resembling combat experience. Brick and Tara deferred to you pretty quick. You had no idea what their strengths and weaknesses were, but at least you were working together. The real snag was Bonnie. She would not listen. Once a loser, always a loser to hear her tell it. She ran off on her own at the start of the second round and got taken out quick. You and the others lasted a bit longer, but Barkin still picked you apart. He was fast, quiet, and scary accurate. The only time you heard him was when he used his annihilation of you as a teachable moment, yelling explanations as he vanished into the trees.
"Rockwaller! Never abandon your unit!" pht pht
"FLAGG! You're an easy target when out of position!" pht pht
"KING! Eyes on the field, not on Stoppable!" pht pht
"Stoppable! Your team is DOWN! WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING!?" pht pht pht pht pht
So. Much. Bruising. You shudder at the memory.
Still, it wasn't all bad. After the utter beatdown of the first two rounds, Bonnie was finally willing to grudgingly get with the program by round three. She listened, kept in position, and your team, in Mister B's words, "Actually managed to stay in formation long enough not to die horribly." It was far from perfect, but it was a start.
"Given you opponent was me, I'll rate that as a satisfactory showing. I expect you to perform better the next time we do this. Given time is running out, I'd like to thank you all for coming back to the first official meeting of the Middleton High Hunting Club." And with a nod, the teacher turned to leave you all to your own devices.
After cleaning what remnants of the slaughter Mr. Barkin brought off of you clothes, you pooled your information with everyone else, went over Tara's target's, Bonnie's evaluation, and your general information. You even made sure that Brick knew exactly what he needed to get this next week. Now it's time to decide what you're going to actually do:
Major Category - Team Actions (choose one)
Major Category - Assignments (assign Bonnie, Tara and Ron. Brick is locked in)
Missions
Information Gathering
Preparation
Major Category - Free Time
Later that night, you thought to test out the numbers you were given by sending each one of your group's members at least one text. It was useful to see if you got that confirmed before anything else. You started with Mr. Barkin.
Ron: Thanks for helping set this up.
Mr. Barkin: No problem, Stoppable.
He was concise, though it did take him a strangely long time for the reply to get to you, but he was a busy man with the whole 'setting up the club' thing going on along with the other teacher stuff, you guessed. Next you shot one text to Bonnie, hoping to open some sort of dialogue between the two of you.
Ron: I forgot to say in the meeting, but I'd like like you to talk to Mr. Barkin about the Vampire. Maybe you could get something of substance?
You waited a bit for her response, but after you sat around for a good ten minutes you figured she was rightly mad at you for the whole "didn't tell your best friend about vampires" thing. It was understandable, really. After her lack of response you sent a message to Brick.
Ron: Hey, just checking to see if this is yours, Brick.
Brick: It is.
And you honestly didn't really expect much more. He was direct, and you could tell that his text was almost the closest thing he could get to a grunt without being offensive. After that, you sent another text to Bonnie, because maybe the first message you sent didn't get through.
Ron: Okay, so I just wanted to make sure that this is your phone, and that you got my message please reply.
After that, you put down Tara's number and thought about how to start this dialogue, especially with how hard you screwed up. After a few minutes of careful consideration, you finally settled on the greatest opener you could muster.
Ron: Hey.
Tara: Hi Ron.
The sound of a tiny palm hitting a small face gave enough indication of what Rufus thought of your admittedly terrible first message. Before you could respond with an apology your carelessness, the phone buzzed with a new message.
Tara: So… Vampires?
Ron: Yeah.
Tara: Scary, huh?
Okay, now you just felt guilty. It seemed like a good idea back then, you needed someone to drive and she was nice enough to say yes but you couldn't help but feel that you'd been scummy to her.
Tara: Wanna talk about it?
Nah, this wasn't something you could just do over the phone. If you wanted to apologize to her you were doing it right, just like your dad taught you to.
Ron: Sure, but let's do that later. How's Tuesday sound?
Tara: Cool! I'll met up with you after school's out.
And that was that, you sighed with relief that Tara was such a badical girl. You'd be able to talk this through and finally just lay that whole nest of guilt to rest. As you prepared to continue with your day you found your phone ringing.
Bonnie: K loser.
It looks like you could work with these people after all.
Unfortunately, you don't manage much. Between school, Bueno Nacho, and everything else you've got going on, you can only find the sort of things that everybody knows about Vampires, Stake through the heart, vulnerable to sunlight, feed on blood, that sort of thing. Still, it's better than nothing, and at least there aren't any curveballs. Yet. Okay, why the heck is Ron looking up Vampires? He does know they aren't real, right?
Before you knew it, Monday had passed and Tuesday was right there along with your plan to meet Tara. Kim could tell that you'd had something on your mind throughout the day and even though she did attempt to needle you about the only response you'd give her were noncommittal noises and denials. No way were you starting another rumor related to you getting into a relationship with a popular, especially when people probably still thought you were somehow in a relationship with Bonnie! You'd probably be lynched on the spot by the entire student body. After all, no one could question the benefits of a daily dose of Ronshine.
The school day ended much more quickly than you usually thought it could, and after that you found yourself waiting in the library of your own free will for once in your life while Tara went through Cheerleading practice. While she was training, you found yourself on the internet once again, looking up anything you could about the bloodsucking fiends. Though you'd had some good leads, there was still so many wild claims and unsubstantiated rumors mixed in that you didn't really feel like you'd gotten much of anywhere.Ok, I know that Kim said it was no big that Ron was looking into this but he's really looking hard. Maybe I could help him?
After the hour or so of turning up basically nothing, you heard the noise as cheerleading practice ended and decided to go meet with Tara. The ladies mostly greeted you with rolled eyes or dismissive grunts. Except for Kim, she gave you a wave and a smile. Soon enough you found who you were looking for. The Blonde Cheerleader was naturally sitting next to Bonnie, who greeted you with hostility though it was less pronounced than Sunday. After seeing you, her face lit up and she grabbed you by the arm before leading you out of the building. She took you to her car and started up the engine as you buckled into the passenger seat. As she prepared to pull out of the school's parking lot, she looked over to you.
"So, is there anywhere you want to go where we can talk?" You almost yelled Bueno Nacho at her, but stopped yourself. There was a time and a place to make the location decision yourself, and this was not it. You were apologizing to her, so it should be her choice. Besides, people knew you went there and they'd be watching if Bonnie hadn't killed those rumors yet.
"I'm not really feeling anything, pick wherever you want to go." It hurt to say that lie, but your integrity was worth more than the gooey goodness of nacos. Tara nodded at that as she shifted the gear into drive and pulled out onto the streets. She seemed to think about it for a few seconds, before making her decision.
"Nasty Burger it is then." At that, you couldn't help but stare at the petite blonde before you. You'd never actually been to one of the infamous food chains, nothing could ever beat the greatness that were tacos in you mind, but you'd heard enough about their reputation to question why any of the cheerleading squad would go there. You continued to stare at her in confusion as she drove along, humming a happy little tune as her focus remained squarely on the road ahead. Within a few minutes, you finally approached the diner-like building, and as Tara parked she finally noticed that your eyes were boring into her in confusion. At your obvious query, she simply shrugged.
"Hey, it's my cheat day and I wanted the double slaughterhouse bomb. You had your chance." The horror on you face must have been evident, since she chuckled a little at the name before dragging you in to order.
The double slaughterhouse bomb was apparently two cheeseburgers topped with bacon and was actually quite good now that you'd gotten one yourself. Of course, it had nothing on Mexican goodness, though the chili cheese fries were great. After you finished with that, you finally got to the real reason you were here.
"So, I forgot to tell you about the Vampire part of this when I invited you…" Well, there were better openers. Taking a moment to grab another cheese fry, Tara slowly nodded.
"Then I'd like to formally apologize. I messed up really bad and got you into something you might not have even wanted to think of if it wasn't already too late. That was super wrong and I really hope that you don't hate me for that." There wasn't really much to say beyond the truth. You bowed your head down as low as you could and prayed it was enough for her to forgive you.
"Ron," you looked up to see her smiling at you with a bit a cheese sauce on her cheeks, "it's okay. I was a little bit shocked when I heard it but with you and Mr Barkin here to help us I think that everything will be ok. It might even be fun, trying to be heroes like Kim and you!" You noticed the little hint of a frown that was on her face when she completed that sentence not matter how she tried to hold it back.
That was a way of looking at it, and one you didn't disagree with. To an extent, taking down these guys was like trying to defeat a supervillain. It was just that you lead the charge, not Kim. But she had faith in you, and you wouldn't let her down. She wasn't 100% okay with this yet, but you weren't sure anyone was. It was good enough that she'd try to handle it.
After that, you finished up the food and Tara dropped you off in front of your house. You didn't do much that night beside getting some proper fast food in you and watching a few reruns of Captain Constellation with your dad.
The rest of the week is pretty uneventful. You do your best to root out every shadowy corner of the internet looking for information. You're not Wade, but you think you do OK. The real tough part is figuring out whether or not anything you find is real. There's so much information out there, and you've got next to no way of determining what's a random jerk trying to impress the faceless hordes of the web and what's legitimate information on the supernatural. Okay, he really needs to start verifying links. I'll just check these out: kid in his apartment, goth wannabe, bad hacker, 4channer. This is honestly kind of boring.
It's not easy, but you do figure some things out. Apparently there's a lot of different supernatural nasties out there, Werewolves, Vampires, and goodness only knows what else. You don't have time for that though, and focus on Vampires. As far as you can determine, there are a few different types of Vampires....aand now he's using TOR. I'm surprised he remembered how to get there much less listened to me during that speech. Let's just check in on who he's talking to a-
Your best information comes from this group in the deep bowels of the internet, the places that Wade once taught you to look for when he was bored one evening. He called it the Dark Net, the secret, unpoliced underbelly of the web that sorta functioned as a black market for information and interaction. He'd only shown it to you because you'd asked how Drakken kept getting those condo's when he always blew them up. The Dark Net has weird Credit Ratings. System erasure? How'd they get past my personal antivirus programs?!
You find one group down there that seems OK though. They seem to know what they're doing. They've got a full run down on the five primary types of Vampires, a general idea of what to expect from each of them, and a whole bunch of stuff that newbie hunters should be aware of. You still aren't sure if they're on the up and up, but it's far and away the best source that you've been able to find. You wish you could just get Wade to do this though, he's always rocked the tech. Oh, this means war. I don't know who you are, Network Zero, but welcome to my hit list!
Eventually, Sunday rolls back around, and you find yourself back in school. In the Morning. On a weekend. Seriously, why did you think this was a good idea again? Right the whole, homicidal supernatural monster thing. Anyway, you're there, the populars are there, and Mister B is standing in front of the room again looking like he wants a debriefing. Man, before you did some research you would have thought that involved one of your pants malfunctions.
Surprisingly, Brick goes first, looking pretty anxious too. "Yeah, so, I had some problems," He says, "I managed to sharpen up some stakes in woodshop, but other than that I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be doing. Is garlic effective? Do we need holy water or crosses or something? I mean, I got the stakes, but beyond that I kinda had no idea what to do, or what to get."
There's silence at that. The first week, and you're already having problems? Still, something's better than nothing and you were the one who didn't give Brick enough Info. It's your screw up, and you own your screw ups. Sometimes they're all you've got!
You speak out, "Thanks Brick. That's my bad. I didn't know what we needed, or anything, that's why I did some research and asked Bonnie to as well. We'll know what we need now Brick, and we can get what we need."
You'd taken some inspiration from Mister B's presentation last week, and brought a couple pictures for the overhead projector. The first one is a picture like the one he had, but a lot more blurry. Still, it was one of the best ones you could find on your own.
"As far as I could find out," you start, "Vampire weaknesses are pretty typical. No major variations from the whole cliche. Stake through the heart, decapitation, fire, the whole nine yards."
You switch to the next slide which is a grainy image of what looks like a humanoid figure holding a car over its head. "Unfortunately, their strengths are about what you'd expect as well. They're stronger, faster, and more durable than your average, normal, everyday human being. So we'll have to be really careful about how we go about this. I've got some more detailed info in some packets for everybody if you want 'em, and we should probably all read them before we go hunting." Your piece said you sit down.
Tara and Bonnie look at each other for a moment. Bonnie's looking smug for some reason, but it can't be that bad because she just waves Tara to go first. Tara walks up to the podium at the front of the classroom with some papers and stands there for a moment, looking nervous. If you didn't know she was way awesome at the cheer squad you'd think she might have stage fright or something! After a few seconds though she squares her shoulders and starts talking.
"Alright,so, I found some places, but I'm not sure which one is the right one," She pages through her notes for a moment, "I asked the police, canvassed the area, and tried to figure out as much as I could. It was a lot of info though, so I still need to narrow it down." You look at her worriedly, she was wandering around the hunting ground of a vampire alone?! You must not have been the only one worried about that though, because Tara looks around the room and frowns, "Jeez guys, I didn't do it at night. I was careful to only go anywhere near there during the day, way before sundown. Give me some credit!" You're not the only one nodding a bit sheepishly after that.
"Anyway," she says, "I've got four or so places I think are the most likely, and we can look at them together," her eyes swing right over the room and she freezes for a moment, "After Bonnie's done!" She scurries back to her seat.
Bonnie slouches to the front of the room in response, a disinterested smirk on her face, and a folder of her own in her hands. "The Loser wanted me to ask Mister Barkin about things. Naturally, I got way more information than him." She smirked and held up her folder, "Mister Barkin was nice enough to work up a full dossier on the Vampire in question. I got everything we need to know about this guy. Actual strengths, detailed weaknesses, good ways to take him down relatively safely, the whole shebang." She smirks at you, a familiar look of arrogant condescension all over her face. At least she's taking this seriously?
Mister B nodded along with Bonnie's statements before standing himself, motioning her back to her seat, and taking his customary place at the front of the classroom.
"Alright people, not bad for your first week on the job," he says, "You were smart enough to ask someone experienced for information," he looks at Bonnie, "try and verify that information yourself," he looks at you, "get the lay of the land," he looks at Tara, "and recognize when you didn't know what to do," he looks at Brick.
"Now," he says, "Before we go over all the information everyone's got, I think this is the perfect time for a teamwork exercise!"
Oh great, trust falls, or whatever other lame thing he's got planned. Well, at least it shouldn't be too much hard work?
"Uh, so, what are we doing, sir?" asks Brick.
The grin that appears on Mister B's face at that question will haunt your nightmares. His response? One word.
"Paintball."
The following three hours were some of the most horrible of your life to date. It was almost as bad as Wannaweep! Apparently, Mister B had some contacts that let him A) get full sets of Paintball equipment for all five of you, and B) locate and secure a training area.
You thought you knew what life and death combat was, you went on Missions with Kim against mad scientists and Super Villains for pete's sake! Worthless! All of it! Mister B was a whole other level of danger! You'd never seen a hench move like him!
At first, you'd thought things would be OK, it was just paintball after all, like laser tag but with a bit more pain, right? Yeah. No.
Mister B had ordered everyone else to team up against him, and he had slaughtered you all. Mercilessly. No matter what you did, no matter how you tried you could not get the drop on him! You had no idea how a guy as big as him could move that fast! The first round was just embarrassing, as everyone tried to do their own thing. Brick had barrelled in, Bonnie and Tara had struck off on their own looking for the high ground, and you'd floundered. Total failure. Mister B had taken you down one by one.
The second round was just as bad. You'd all had the necessity of working together beaten into you, but actually doing that? Easier said than done. You weren't used to being in any kind of command position, but you were the only one with anything resembling combat experience. Brick and Tara deferred to you pretty quick. You had no idea what their strengths and weaknesses were, but at least you were working together. The real snag was Bonnie. She would not listen. Once a loser, always a loser to hear her tell it. She ran off on her own at the start of the second round and got taken out quick. You and the others lasted a bit longer, but Barkin still picked you apart. He was fast, quiet, and scary accurate. The only time you heard him was when he used his annihilation of you as a teachable moment, yelling explanations as he vanished into the trees.
"Rockwaller! Never abandon your unit!" pht pht
"FLAGG! You're an easy target when out of position!" pht pht
"KING! Eyes on the field, not on Stoppable!" pht pht
"Stoppable! Your team is DOWN! WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING!?" pht pht pht pht pht
So. Much. Bruising. You shudder at the memory.
Still, it wasn't all bad. After the utter beatdown of the first two rounds, Bonnie was finally willing to grudgingly get with the program by round three. She listened, kept in position, and your team, in Mister B's words, "Actually managed to stay in formation long enough not to die horribly." It was far from perfect, but it was a start.
"Given you opponent was me, I'll rate that as a satisfactory showing. I expect you to perform better the next time we do this. Given time is running out, I'd like to thank you all for coming back to the first official meeting of the Middleton High Hunting Club." And with a nod, the teacher turned to leave you all to your own devices.
After cleaning what remnants of the slaughter Mr. Barkin brought off of you clothes, you pooled your information with everyone else, went over Tara's target's, Bonnie's evaluation, and your general information. You even made sure that Brick knew exactly what he needed to get this next week. Now it's time to decide what you're going to actually do:
Major Category - Team Actions (choose one)
[] Let's go on a fieldtrip! Mister B said that one of the best way to understand the mind of a predator is to witness one in action. He talked about possibly setting up a special extracurricular field trip to go study the hunting patterns of local wildlife, and possibly talk about more... human hunters too. It would be a badical way to get some extra credit, and would let you see if anyone else would be interested in eventually doing some hunting on their own.
[] Marching Orders If you're hunting supernatural creatures, you're going to need to plan ahead. Once you've found it what are you going to do? You've got a rough idea of everybody's strengths and weaknesses now, so work out some plans. They may not last long after contact with the enemy, but the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle, right?
[] There's no I in Team redux. Alright, so Mister B utterly destroyed you guys this time. Still, no matter how much of an embarrassment you all were, you made progress bythe end and that's gotta be a good thing. Spend some more time working with your teammates to try and be less of a trainwreck.
[] Marching Orders If you're hunting supernatural creatures, you're going to need to plan ahead. Once you've found it what are you going to do? You've got a rough idea of everybody's strengths and weaknesses now, so work out some plans. They may not last long after contact with the enemy, but the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle, right?
[] There's no I in Team redux. Alright, so Mister B utterly destroyed you guys this time. Still, no matter how much of an embarrassment you all were, you made progress bythe end and that's gotta be a good thing. Spend some more time working with your teammates to try and be less of a trainwreck.
Major Category - Assignments (assign Bonnie, Tara and Ron. Brick is locked in)
Missions
[] The First Hunt: There's a vampire running around, and it's still out there hurting people. You don't know where it is right now, but if you and a few of the group too to the streets you might be able to find it and stop it before the thing could hurt anyone else. (Ron Stoppable must be included in any assignments for this)
Information Gathering
[] Tricity Cartography. Middleton and her sister cities are a bit on the huge side. You need to research where things are, and what the layout's like if you're going to be hunting. Knowing the terrain is important for this kind of thing.
[] To catch a (supernatural) predator. You've got a man eating homicidal vampire. That's great! You've even got an idea of where it lives, but more information is always good!
-[] Ask Around. You've already got a good idea of what you need to know, but asking the people near the scene of the crime about weird activity or people in the area will get you verification. The information won't be as fresh as it could have been, and someone will have to sift through all of the conflicting stories to get a real idea of what happened. Check: Social Difficulty: Easy, Complexity: Simple
[] To catch a (supernatural) predator. You've got a man eating homicidal vampire. That's great! You've even got an idea of where it lives, but more information is always good!
-[] Ask Around. You've already got a good idea of what you need to know, but asking the people near the scene of the crime about weird activity or people in the area will get you verification. The information won't be as fresh as it could have been, and someone will have to sift through all of the conflicting stories to get a real idea of what happened. Check: Social Difficulty: Easy, Complexity: Simple
Preparation
[X] Stakes and Crosses and Cloves oh my! You're hunting a vampire. Unless you want to do that with your bare hands, you're going to need equipment. Brick made some progress last week, and with the information you and Bonnie managed to gather, he knows exactly what he needs to get. Check: Mental, Difficulty: Easy, Complexity: Direct
-[X] Brick
Locked in from previous week
[] Recruitment Still not the time to recruit new people Stoppable. Walk before you can run.
[] Take a Break. Often overlooked among all the other things you could have someone do, resting is still one of the most important ways to prepare to fight monsters. Making sure someone gets a day or two off would help guarantee both physical and mental health.
-[X] Brick
Locked in from previous week
[] Take a Break. Often overlooked among all the other things you could have someone do, resting is still one of the most important ways to prepare to fight monsters. Making sure someone gets a day or two off would help guarantee both physical and mental health.
Major Category - Free Time
[] We're still getting Extra Credit for this, Right? It looks like you're the founding president of the Club Mister B has set up. What does that entail? Does it come with any responsibilities or perks? And does Mister B have any advice for how you can do better at this whole... hunter thing?
[]What's the Sitch? Just because you've found out that supernatural monsters are after your precious bodily fluids doesn't mean you can shirk your responsibilities. Kim's still your best friend, and she still needs you. Whether at the mall, or on a mission, you'll be there for KP.
[] The Man in your Corner Pocket. So, you maybe kinda dropped the ball with Brick this past week. It's hard to blame the guy for not knowing what he needed to get, when you explicitly had two other people researching that. Maybe you should make it up to him, and try and make sure that doesn't happen again?
[] Official Ceasefire. It's official, you're stuck with Bonnie. She enjoyed showing you up way too much to quit now. Maybe you should work on that before your inability to work together causes more problems in training and in the field like it already has. Maybe you can even get a handle on the whole 'dating' rumor. She probably finds it as sick and wrong as you do!
[] Cheat day discussions. You made things up with Tara, Kudos! Unfortunately, things aren't quite perfect. She still seems a bit shy around you, and it affected her performance in training. Maybe if you spend some more time with her she'll get used to you? The whole "Hunting" thing was an unpleasant surprise for her, so helping her over the hump is probably the right thing to do.
[]What's the Sitch? Just because you've found out that supernatural monsters are after your precious bodily fluids doesn't mean you can shirk your responsibilities. Kim's still your best friend, and she still needs you. Whether at the mall, or on a mission, you'll be there for KP.
[] The Man in your Corner Pocket. So, you maybe kinda dropped the ball with Brick this past week. It's hard to blame the guy for not knowing what he needed to get, when you explicitly had two other people researching that. Maybe you should make it up to him, and try and make sure that doesn't happen again?
[] Official Ceasefire. It's official, you're stuck with Bonnie. She enjoyed showing you up way too much to quit now. Maybe you should work on that before your inability to work together causes more problems in training and in the field like it already has. Maybe you can even get a handle on the whole 'dating' rumor. She probably finds it as sick and wrong as you do!
[] Cheat day discussions. You made things up with Tara, Kudos! Unfortunately, things aren't quite perfect. She still seems a bit shy around you, and it affected her performance in training. Maybe if you spend some more time with her she'll get used to you? The whole "Hunting" thing was an unpleasant surprise for her, so helping her over the hump is probably the right thing to do.
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
Well, no one has voted here, so I guess the winning vote from SB is victorious. It has 4 votes and here it is for completeness' sake
[X] Get it together team
[X] There's no I in Team redux. Alright, so Mister B utterly destroyed you guys this time. Still, no matter how much of an embarrassment you all were, you made progress by the end and that's gotta be a good thing. Spend some more time working with your teammates to try and be less of a trainwreck.
[X] Tricity Cartography. Middleton and her sister cities are a bit on the huge side. You need to research where things are, and what the layout's like if you're going to be hunting. Knowing the terrain is important for this kind of thing.
-[X] Bonnie
-[X] Ron
[X] To catch a (supernatural) predator. You've got a man eating homicidal vampire. That's great! You've even got an idea of where it lives, but more information is always good!
-[X] Ask Around. You've already got a good idea of what you need to know, but asking the people near the scene of the crime about weird activity or people in the area will get you verification. The information won't be as fresh as it could have been, and someone will have to sift through all of the conflicting stories to get a real idea of what happened. Check: Social Difficulty: Easy, Complexity: Simple
--[x] Tara
[X] Official Ceasefire. It's official, you're stuck with Bonnie. She enjoyed showing you up way too much to quit now. Maybe you should work on that before your inability to work together causes more problems in training and in the field like it already has. Maybe you can even get a handle on the whole 'dating' rumor. She probably finds it as sick and wrong as you do!
[X] There's no I in Team redux. Alright, so Mister B utterly destroyed you guys this time. Still, no matter how much of an embarrassment you all were, you made progress by the end and that's gotta be a good thing. Spend some more time working with your teammates to try and be less of a trainwreck.
[X] Tricity Cartography. Middleton and her sister cities are a bit on the huge side. You need to research where things are, and what the layout's like if you're going to be hunting. Knowing the terrain is important for this kind of thing.
-[X] Bonnie
-[X] Ron
[X] To catch a (supernatural) predator. You've got a man eating homicidal vampire. That's great! You've even got an idea of where it lives, but more information is always good!
-[X] Ask Around. You've already got a good idea of what you need to know, but asking the people near the scene of the crime about weird activity or people in the area will get you verification. The information won't be as fresh as it could have been, and someone will have to sift through all of the conflicting stories to get a real idea of what happened. Check: Social Difficulty: Easy, Complexity: Simple
--[x] Tara
[X] Official Ceasefire. It's official, you're stuck with Bonnie. She enjoyed showing you up way too much to quit now. Maybe you should work on that before your inability to work together causes more problems in training and in the field like it already has. Maybe you can even get a handle on the whole 'dating' rumor. She probably finds it as sick and wrong as you do!
Iandude0
BEST RANGER
- Location
- Milwaukee
Rolls will be happening in 4 hours. The room for it is over here: Roleplaying Dice Roller · Rolz
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
ROLZ IS HAPPENING! FINAL WARNING!
Meeting Three: Doing the Groundwork
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
Ultimately, you decide to refrain from hunting down any vampires this week. You're in a better position than you were, but you need equipment. Thankfully, the information you and Bonnie got together is enough for Brick to get exactly what you'll need.
That being so, you decide to spend the week finishing off your preparation. Brick knows what the group needs now, so he'll go finish that. Tara did a great job getting information last week, so you ask her to keep at it and get some more information from human sources. Finally, there's Bonnie.
It's pretty clear that when she wants to she can be pretty capable, like last year when she managed to snake the Cheer Captaincy from Kim for a couple weeks. That was, until all the work that that required was too much for her and she quit in a huff. You could see her talent in the information she'd gotten from Mister B. Unfortunately, you could also see that she's still got big problems with you. If she's coming along on this mess, then you're going to need to work on that.
Accordingly, and against what you think might be your better judgement, you assign her to help you map out the Tricity area. If there's anything that today's Paintball matches taught you, it's that you need to know your ground. You'll also be able to kill two birds with one stone, and maybe work out some of your differences with Bon-Bon.
About the only one who looks happy at that choice is Mister B. Everyone else? Well, at least Brick's nonchalant about it. Tara's got a look on her face that looks like it might grow into something like Kim's Puppy Dog pout if you're not careful, and Bonnie herself is frowning up a storm. Before anyone else can react though Mister B starts yelling.
"Alright, people, you've got your assignments. I'm sure none of you want to spend any more of your weekend in School than you have to. Everybody OUT!"
Brick doesn't need to be twice, and given you think he was everyone else's ride Bonnie and Tara chase after him, though not without giving you some odd looks on the way out. As you make your way towards the door though, Barkin speaks up again.
"Not you, Stoppable. I've got something for you."
He hands you another information packet like the ones that Bonnie had prepared for today.
"This is a preliminary after action report on today's teamwork exercise. I want you to read it, learn it, and do better before next week."
Great, more homework. As if you didn't have enough on your plate! Still, you guess he's just trying to help, so you take the papers with nothing more than a nod.
"Alright Stoppable, Clear out."
You walk towards the door, already bemoaning the ridiculous amount of homework you've got. Internally of course, since you don't want to piss Mister B off. Rufus isn't fooled though and he runs up your side to perch on your shoulder and pat your head consolingly while chittering comfortingly at you.
As you head out the door Mister B sighs, "Stoppable, if you have any questions about that, you're welcome to call me during the week. You kids didn't do too badly today, and I want to encourage this whole responsibility thing you've started on."
That's ... huh. You don't think you've had a teacher say something that approving since Pre-k. Usually, they're all "Live up to your potential Mister Stoppable," or "Stop Slacking Mister Possible," or even "Be more like Miss Possible Mister Stoppable, she's a straight A student!" As though you didn't know Kim was awesome. This is the first time that you've actually had a teacher, y'know, encourage you. You're not sure how you feel about that, but you guess it's kinda nice.
You nod to Mister B and head out, with a bit more of a spring in your step and a bit less doom and gloom cluttering your thoughts.
XxX
The week itself for you was filled with mapmaking and canvassing of the Middleton area. You had an excuse to do so, actually.
"Okay, I think I've got it this time! Ron, does the green or the yellow jacket go better with this top?" Next to you, Kim was busy trying to match up clothing as you tried your best not to look at the price tags and assorted Banana patches of this abomination of a clothing store. As you looked over the outfit, your best friend tossed the clothes aside for another group of fabrics she deemed as "totally hot right now".
You'd complain about even being here, not to mention the stupid prices especially since you knew smarty mart had the exact same clothes for a fraction of the cost. It was crazy that she didn't realize this, even going so far as to calling you delusional for denying the importance of a single tag! God, that was one of the few things you'd just admit was a fundamental truth. When it came to clothes shopping, you were right and Kim was wrong.
...Not that you'd ever let her hear that while you were around. You'd never hear the end of it, well not after at least an hour of torture on how club Banana products were obviously superior make and quality in comparison to the 'trash' at Smarty Mart. You were sorry Rufus was there the one time it happened, given that he was so mad he quietly chewed off the Banana tags on her jeans in retaliation. Of course, you scolded him publicly for that bout of nastiness before secretly giving him a double order of Nacos that night.
He earned it.
However, this bit of suffering did serve a purpose. Well, two purposes. You knew you'd been kind of distant to Kim ever since the whole 'Vampire Hunter' thing started and that she knew you'd been getting distant. So you asked her if she wanted to hang out pretty much all week after school. It was Late October after all, and you wanted to check out people putting up Halloween decorations soon. It was coming around next week, and checking out the area would be a good way to help get a feel for what major places were in Middleton. Today, a Monday, you were in Middleton Mall. You'd planned to take a walk around once you'd gotten past the little bit of window shopping KP always dragged you through. Once that was over, you spent the rest of the day together, looking through the major attractions and sights of Downtown Middleton before finally retiring for the day. With that over, you opened the cheaply colored map of the tricity area you bought and started drawing lines throughout the the roads and markings of the place, updating it with the knowledge you now possessed.
Tuesday was more of the same, though this time you questioned your life choices as you walked up the slopes of mount Middleton. In the distance Kim was soldiering on without a break in her step, passing by cute little paper ghosts and bats that were really well-made if you said so yourself. No matter how necessary this was, you couldn't help but feel like everything else was pressing down on you the more you walked upward. By the time you got to the peak, where one of the rangers had set up a small table with water and punch on the table for the few brave souls who managed to be crazy enough to go up there. Kim was busy chatting with the guy, who seemed kind of lonely right now since you were pretty sure you were the first two to actually make the climb. While she talked, you sat down at the peak, and tried working out how the borders would look in your mind with a cup of punch in your hand and Rufus wheezing beside you even though you knew he was in your pocket the whole time. Minutes later, you found Kim sitting by your side.
"Hey Ron, ready to make the descent?" You were pretty sure the groan was enough of a response as you stood up and tried your best not t-
Yeah, why did you think you wouldn't look down?! It was going to be a long day…
Wednesday was when you went to the frou-frou areas of Middleton, looking out at the posh and wealthy people's decorations before going to one of the area's more well-known haunted houses- The Lair of the Monkey King. Kim was surprised you even suggested going to a haunted house in the area, much less this one, however you had things to do there and needed an excuse. No matter how much the thought of running away at the very thought. She could tell you were freaked. No, you were pretty sure everyone in the area could tell you were freaked if the ceaseless shaking was any indication. In response, she grabbed your hand as you walked forward to reassure you before the two of you walked into the first room of the house.
---five horror filled minutes later---
Let it be said that you would never, EVER do that again. Of course, leaving in the second room screaming wasn't the best showing anyone had ever thought you could give, but it was better than you expected. Your pants were dry and you fled at the sight of a surprise howling monkey like any sane man would. Sure, it was a cheap plastic cutout but it looked real enough and you weren't taking any chances. Stupid things would probably lull you into a false sense of security before BOOM, Monkey Fist attack! The only positive was that you had the info you needed, and would hopefully never do this again.
Thursday was the most relaxed of them all, probably because Kim knew you weren't exactly up for much after the horror show that had been Wednesday. There wasn't much done beyond checking out the Possible house, having brain loaf for dinner with them and going with everyone to see the best setups and comment on them all. It was nice, and Mr. Dr. P even invited you to go with the family to the little Halloween party the Space Center puts on which meant you'd be able to get somewhere you'd planned on begging Kim to let you visit without any problems. All in all, it was a pretty good day after the events before. You continued updating the map in your room, getting very close to a complete picture of how Middleton looked. After texting Bonnie that you wanted to meet up on Saturday to compare notes, you went to sleep happy that your progress was almost complete.
Friday was… nice. You got to see Ms Dr P in her Frankenstein suit, Mr Dr P with his Mad scientist impression and Kim was without battle armor this time around, so that was already a plus. Neither of you dressed up, she was too busy with schoolwork to care, and you didn't really feel anything yet. You knew that Kim wasn't on board with pair costumes since what happened last year so those were out, and you didn't want to do something predictably silly like going as a taco or a hotdog.
Maybe a ninja this time? Shaking your head, you went back to looking out of the building's ceiling and trying to get an idea of the area. Kim left, Wade said something about the heist that he wanted to talk to her about before getting cut off by his mother who was screaming something about indecency and disappointment. Kim left to go check if the little dude was okay. It was a bummer-once you'd finished getting an idea of the place you'd thought you'd be able to go have fun at the party afterward. You knew that the rest of the Possible clan would be disappointed, but beyond Kim there really wasn't much else to do here and you had work to get done.
Saturday was different, though. You refrained from meeting up with Kim again, and instead found yourself going to the Middleton Beach to map out the final part of your area. That Bonnie was there would make very little of a difference in the end. Heck, maybe you'd get more done if she wouldn't distract you! Taking the opportunity to dress warmly, you proceeded to the destination.
Only to be shocked at the bikini clad form of Bonnie sitting on a tanning bed, sunglasses and all. Really, did she want to catch a cold or something?! It was 50 degrees out for crying out loud! Ignoring her… less than smart fashion decision you approached the place she was sitting. As you sat down next to her, she looked at you briefly before turning her gaze back to the tanning mirrors she had been using. You waited for her to greet you, but after a few minutes of nothing you decided to initiate.
"Hey Bon-bon." WIth a snap the tanning mirrors closed and she heaved an annoyed sigh pointed in your general direction.
"Hello, Loser." Okay, you thought that the two of you had gotten past that! You were working together and she was your ally, however odd that sounded for the girl who was basically the Supervillain Queen of the Middleton High. With a disdainful look, she focused her attention on you as she stood up. You almost swore you heard her snort at your classic combo of jersey and pants! Of course, you were willing to give her the benefit of the do-
"So it seems someone's been sacrificing fashion for speed these days." Oh, wow. You were not going to let that one slide.
"Yeah, what do I know? If you turn enough heads then someone'll probably call an ambulance when you get hypothermia, right?" Seriously, if fashion meant losing your toes you much prefered being laughed at by everyone else.
"Whatever, loser. Lets just get through here and get this done." And with that, she started walking around the area, a notepad coming from the small strip of fabric you assumed had to be a purse that cost more than you spent in a year. She flipped through the pages, surprisingly filled with notes and diagrams before getting to a blank one and beginning to write. Similarly, you started to take note of the surrounding area and creating a mental image of the place in your mind to be used for later, a space reserved for vampire hunting, supervillains and challenging video game levels. It took minutes of focused silence and walking for the two of you to get everything you needed in the area. You made sure to figure out the general borders of this place for when you marked it on the map.
By the time it finished, you were following her lead, she went to what a car you swore was worth more than your parents' house and motioned for you to get in. Awkwardly, you sat in passenger's seat, doing your best not to damage or even make it look like you'd been in here at all.
"God, don't be so stiff, Loser. My dad has, like, ten of these." With a sigh, you tried to relax back into the seat, but really this whole situation was crazy. You were driving in a sports car with Bonnie, who was clad in nothing but a bikini. It was insane, this just seemed too surre-
"For someone who's all about owning who they are you're sure taking the crazy guy thing by the balls aren't you?" Okay, you didn't think you were doing too bad around her but sure you'd stop whatever it was you were doing. There was a derisive chuckle from her before she turned her attention back to the road. Middleton faded in the distance as she drove on and the skyline of Upperton approached. As you got closer, Bonnie shifted her car to an exit that you were pretty sure lead to the National Park nearby. A few minutes later and the vehicle was in parked and the two of you walked through the trails decorated with leaves of red and yellow. It was pleasant, though the two of you spent most of the time in silence. You'd started mapping the place in your mind, trying to fit it in on your giant map of the Tricity area. After an hour of walking, you'd gone back to the car and gotten ready to leave.
As Bonnie pulled out, you finally pulled up the courage to talk to the Queen Bee of Middleton.
"You know, you're kind of alright Bonnie." Your compliment was rewarded with an amused snort as you cruised down the highway toward Middleton again.
"And you're not pond scum, loser. You had enough common sense to talk to Tara before going to me. Good call, bread mold." Well, it was a start.
"Sooo, truce?" You held out your hand to seal the deal. Bonnie just rolled her eyes at you.
"If that's what you want to call it. Now how do we get to your house so I can drop you off?" She still didn't want to shake your hand, though, and you were getting really kind of tired of it staying in that one position. Really, she was someti-
Oh, right. Moving car. Retracting your arm, you sheepishly gave her the directions to your humble abode. After ten minutes more of driving, you got out of the car and waved at her as she left to the gawking crowd. Some were taking pictures, probably because you didn't see cars like that every day. Heck, you probably would too. With a pep in your step, you opened to door and finished off the rest of the day by updating your map and finally going to sleep happy.
You buried the hatchet with you worst enemy, and that was good enough for now.
xXx
Finally, Sunday rolled around again. It was weird. You were almost starting to look forward to these meetings. You weren't really sure why, maybe because people actually listened to you at them? Kim was your best friend, but she wasn't exactly Miss Listener. Seriously, how she failed to understand the glory of the Naco after all the times you've explained it to her is beyond you!
Anyway, when you hit the school parking lot this time it was deserted except for Mister B's old junker of a car. Guess the whole applying yourself was making it easier to get up in the mornings. Truly, that vampire will be shaking in his boots at your ability to be up and functional before noon on a Sunday.
You made your way to Homeroom and found Mister B sitting there waiting, going through some notes.
"Stoppable," he said as you walked in, "What were your thoughts on those AAR analyses I sent you?"
Oof, the homework on top of the homework. Going over that stuff had not been fun. Rufus had had to help you with some of the more complicated stuff, but you'd made it through. "Mister B," you grinned, "I have read all of your stuff and I think you'll be surprised by how we do this week!"
"Hmph," Mister B grunted, "We'll see Stoppable. While we wait for the rest of your team to show up, why don't you give me a run down of what you've found."
You've got no problem with that. After this past week you feel like you know the Tricity area like the back of your hand, and you say so. You talk about high crime areas, danger zones, cop patrol routes, and everything else you were able to find. You even looked into the areas where the Ambulance companies work out of, so you'd know the ETAs for EMTs in a crisis.
Mister B actually looks a bit surprised at your thoroughness. "I'm impressed Stoppable, that's good work." he says with a smirk on his face, "Keep this up and you'll be ready before you know it."
That... that was an unvarnished compliment. A teacher had said... something completely positive about you and your work. The shock of it stuns you for a bit, and by the time you're paying attention again, Tara's waving her hand in front of your face and calling your name.
"Ron," she says worriedly, "Ron, are you okay?" It looks like while you were in lalaland the rest of the Hunting Club had shown up.
"Yeah, sure," you reply, "I'm fine Tara, just... had a bit of a weird moment," She doesn't look too convinced at that, and Bonnie's got that condescending smirk on her face again. At least Brick takes what you said at face value, though Mister B looks like he's hiding a small grin himself.
"Alright, People," he says from the front of the room, "Who's first?"
Brick stands up immediately before anyone else can, "Yo," he says, "I am DONE!" He reaches under his desk and brings out a HUGE bag that clanks when he drops it. "I've got stakes, I've got incendiaries, I've got anything and everything we need to take the fight to a bloodsucker! We are good to go!" He grins. Looks like having an actual list of things instead of vague unclear directions makes Brick productive.
Mister B walks over to the bag and looks through it for a moment. "Very Nice Mister Flagg," he says, "You've got everything I could expect a High School student to pick up for this. More actually!" He reaches into the bag and pulls out.... Is that a gun?! "Where'd you get the Flare Gun?"
"I raided some camping supplies. We haven't gone camping in a couple years, but I test fired it yesterday and it's good to go. My dad taught me how to use it back when he bought it, but I think that was the first time it came out of the box since."
"Very nice," Mister B says. He turns a gimlet eye to the rest of you, "Who's next?"
You're about to stand up when Tara raises her hand, "Ooh!" she cries, "Me! Me next!"
She bounces to the front of the room and smiles at you all. "It took me a lot of work, and I had to cover a lot of ground, but I think I know where it is. It took talking with this one really groddy old guy who would not stop talking, but between his testimony and the police reports I got last week, I think I know where the Vampire is hiding out!"
You stare for half a second. That, that was way more than you were expecting. Tara came through! "Way to go Tara!" you yell at the top of your lungs.
Tara goes bright red at that. Huh, guess you embarassed her, she must not like the attention. You'll have to be more careful about that in the future!
"Well said Stoppable, well said," Mister B cuts in, "You want to go next?"
"Ah yes s-sir," You stammer as you make your way to the front of the room. You pass Tara on her way to her seat and give her a grin and a thumbs up. She goes nuclear again, and man you are not good at this whole discretion thing! Gonna have to work on that.
You give the whole group a rundown of what you put together. Bonnie nods along here and there, and puts in her two cents. You'd done a lot of legwork, but she had a bit of a different focus than you. You'd been concerned about stuff like EMS and danger areas, but she'd looked into things like traffic patterns and where people actually went regularly.
With her input, you manage to paint a picture of the Tricity area that is about as complete as you can make it. Mister B takes it all in impassively, but Tara's grinning at you, guess she's impressed by your mad cartography skills! Though, she does shoot an odd look at Bonnie now and again for some reason. Brick just nods along with what you're saying, unsurprised.
After you're finished, Mister B takes the stage again. "Alright People," man he likes saying that, "Before we get to planning for next week, it's time for a rematch!" His face contorts in the most evil grin you've ever seen, "Let's see what you've learned."
xXx
It turns out, more than Mister B expected! You actually manage to be cohesive this time. Nobody runs off on their own (Bonnie), focuses on any one team member more than the rest (Tara), or ignores orders (Brick). You even manage to take a few hits for the team, and make sure everyone stays in until the end!
After you've gone a few rounds Mister B even looks satisfied even if you were the only one to tag him, and even then only the once. "Hmph," he snorts, "Guess you actually paid attention to your homework Stoppable."
"Yessir Mister B, I am Mister Homework!" Oh god what has gone wrong with your life that that's true. You wince for a moment at the loss of your innocence. You're actually... gasp/shudder/cringe ...responsible.
You all adjourn back to the classroom, a bit more colorful than you left it, but a lot happier overall. Everybody's feeling the improvement from last week. The reduction in screaming invective made for a nice change.
Before Mister B can ask you though, you actually take the initiative for the first time.
What's your Plan, Naco Boy?
Major Category - Team Actions
Major Category - Assignments (assign Bonnie, Tara, Brick, and Ron)
Missions
Information Gathering
Preparation
Major Category - Freetime
That being so, you decide to spend the week finishing off your preparation. Brick knows what the group needs now, so he'll go finish that. Tara did a great job getting information last week, so you ask her to keep at it and get some more information from human sources. Finally, there's Bonnie.
It's pretty clear that when she wants to she can be pretty capable, like last year when she managed to snake the Cheer Captaincy from Kim for a couple weeks. That was, until all the work that that required was too much for her and she quit in a huff. You could see her talent in the information she'd gotten from Mister B. Unfortunately, you could also see that she's still got big problems with you. If she's coming along on this mess, then you're going to need to work on that.
Accordingly, and against what you think might be your better judgement, you assign her to help you map out the Tricity area. If there's anything that today's Paintball matches taught you, it's that you need to know your ground. You'll also be able to kill two birds with one stone, and maybe work out some of your differences with Bon-Bon.
About the only one who looks happy at that choice is Mister B. Everyone else? Well, at least Brick's nonchalant about it. Tara's got a look on her face that looks like it might grow into something like Kim's Puppy Dog pout if you're not careful, and Bonnie herself is frowning up a storm. Before anyone else can react though Mister B starts yelling.
"Alright, people, you've got your assignments. I'm sure none of you want to spend any more of your weekend in School than you have to. Everybody OUT!"
Brick doesn't need to be twice, and given you think he was everyone else's ride Bonnie and Tara chase after him, though not without giving you some odd looks on the way out. As you make your way towards the door though, Barkin speaks up again.
"Not you, Stoppable. I've got something for you."
He hands you another information packet like the ones that Bonnie had prepared for today.
"This is a preliminary after action report on today's teamwork exercise. I want you to read it, learn it, and do better before next week."
Great, more homework. As if you didn't have enough on your plate! Still, you guess he's just trying to help, so you take the papers with nothing more than a nod.
"Alright Stoppable, Clear out."
You walk towards the door, already bemoaning the ridiculous amount of homework you've got. Internally of course, since you don't want to piss Mister B off. Rufus isn't fooled though and he runs up your side to perch on your shoulder and pat your head consolingly while chittering comfortingly at you.
As you head out the door Mister B sighs, "Stoppable, if you have any questions about that, you're welcome to call me during the week. You kids didn't do too badly today, and I want to encourage this whole responsibility thing you've started on."
That's ... huh. You don't think you've had a teacher say something that approving since Pre-k. Usually, they're all "Live up to your potential Mister Stoppable," or "Stop Slacking Mister Possible," or even "Be more like Miss Possible Mister Stoppable, she's a straight A student!" As though you didn't know Kim was awesome. This is the first time that you've actually had a teacher, y'know, encourage you. You're not sure how you feel about that, but you guess it's kinda nice.
You nod to Mister B and head out, with a bit more of a spring in your step and a bit less doom and gloom cluttering your thoughts.
XxX
The week itself for you was filled with mapmaking and canvassing of the Middleton area. You had an excuse to do so, actually.
"Okay, I think I've got it this time! Ron, does the green or the yellow jacket go better with this top?" Next to you, Kim was busy trying to match up clothing as you tried your best not to look at the price tags and assorted Banana patches of this abomination of a clothing store. As you looked over the outfit, your best friend tossed the clothes aside for another group of fabrics she deemed as "totally hot right now".
You'd complain about even being here, not to mention the stupid prices especially since you knew smarty mart had the exact same clothes for a fraction of the cost. It was crazy that she didn't realize this, even going so far as to calling you delusional for denying the importance of a single tag! God, that was one of the few things you'd just admit was a fundamental truth. When it came to clothes shopping, you were right and Kim was wrong.
...Not that you'd ever let her hear that while you were around. You'd never hear the end of it, well not after at least an hour of torture on how club Banana products were obviously superior make and quality in comparison to the 'trash' at Smarty Mart. You were sorry Rufus was there the one time it happened, given that he was so mad he quietly chewed off the Banana tags on her jeans in retaliation. Of course, you scolded him publicly for that bout of nastiness before secretly giving him a double order of Nacos that night.
He earned it.
However, this bit of suffering did serve a purpose. Well, two purposes. You knew you'd been kind of distant to Kim ever since the whole 'Vampire Hunter' thing started and that she knew you'd been getting distant. So you asked her if she wanted to hang out pretty much all week after school. It was Late October after all, and you wanted to check out people putting up Halloween decorations soon. It was coming around next week, and checking out the area would be a good way to help get a feel for what major places were in Middleton. Today, a Monday, you were in Middleton Mall. You'd planned to take a walk around once you'd gotten past the little bit of window shopping KP always dragged you through. Once that was over, you spent the rest of the day together, looking through the major attractions and sights of Downtown Middleton before finally retiring for the day. With that over, you opened the cheaply colored map of the tricity area you bought and started drawing lines throughout the the roads and markings of the place, updating it with the knowledge you now possessed.
Tuesday was more of the same, though this time you questioned your life choices as you walked up the slopes of mount Middleton. In the distance Kim was soldiering on without a break in her step, passing by cute little paper ghosts and bats that were really well-made if you said so yourself. No matter how necessary this was, you couldn't help but feel like everything else was pressing down on you the more you walked upward. By the time you got to the peak, where one of the rangers had set up a small table with water and punch on the table for the few brave souls who managed to be crazy enough to go up there. Kim was busy chatting with the guy, who seemed kind of lonely right now since you were pretty sure you were the first two to actually make the climb. While she talked, you sat down at the peak, and tried working out how the borders would look in your mind with a cup of punch in your hand and Rufus wheezing beside you even though you knew he was in your pocket the whole time. Minutes later, you found Kim sitting by your side.
"Hey Ron, ready to make the descent?" You were pretty sure the groan was enough of a response as you stood up and tried your best not t-
Yeah, why did you think you wouldn't look down?! It was going to be a long day…
Wednesday was when you went to the frou-frou areas of Middleton, looking out at the posh and wealthy people's decorations before going to one of the area's more well-known haunted houses- The Lair of the Monkey King. Kim was surprised you even suggested going to a haunted house in the area, much less this one, however you had things to do there and needed an excuse. No matter how much the thought of running away at the very thought. She could tell you were freaked. No, you were pretty sure everyone in the area could tell you were freaked if the ceaseless shaking was any indication. In response, she grabbed your hand as you walked forward to reassure you before the two of you walked into the first room of the house.
---five horror filled minutes later---
Let it be said that you would never, EVER do that again. Of course, leaving in the second room screaming wasn't the best showing anyone had ever thought you could give, but it was better than you expected. Your pants were dry and you fled at the sight of a surprise howling monkey like any sane man would. Sure, it was a cheap plastic cutout but it looked real enough and you weren't taking any chances. Stupid things would probably lull you into a false sense of security before BOOM, Monkey Fist attack! The only positive was that you had the info you needed, and would hopefully never do this again.
Thursday was the most relaxed of them all, probably because Kim knew you weren't exactly up for much after the horror show that had been Wednesday. There wasn't much done beyond checking out the Possible house, having brain loaf for dinner with them and going with everyone to see the best setups and comment on them all. It was nice, and Mr. Dr. P even invited you to go with the family to the little Halloween party the Space Center puts on which meant you'd be able to get somewhere you'd planned on begging Kim to let you visit without any problems. All in all, it was a pretty good day after the events before. You continued updating the map in your room, getting very close to a complete picture of how Middleton looked. After texting Bonnie that you wanted to meet up on Saturday to compare notes, you went to sleep happy that your progress was almost complete.
Friday was… nice. You got to see Ms Dr P in her Frankenstein suit, Mr Dr P with his Mad scientist impression and Kim was without battle armor this time around, so that was already a plus. Neither of you dressed up, she was too busy with schoolwork to care, and you didn't really feel anything yet. You knew that Kim wasn't on board with pair costumes since what happened last year so those were out, and you didn't want to do something predictably silly like going as a taco or a hotdog.
Maybe a ninja this time? Shaking your head, you went back to looking out of the building's ceiling and trying to get an idea of the area. Kim left, Wade said something about the heist that he wanted to talk to her about before getting cut off by his mother who was screaming something about indecency and disappointment. Kim left to go check if the little dude was okay. It was a bummer-once you'd finished getting an idea of the place you'd thought you'd be able to go have fun at the party afterward. You knew that the rest of the Possible clan would be disappointed, but beyond Kim there really wasn't much else to do here and you had work to get done.
Saturday was different, though. You refrained from meeting up with Kim again, and instead found yourself going to the Middleton Beach to map out the final part of your area. That Bonnie was there would make very little of a difference in the end. Heck, maybe you'd get more done if she wouldn't distract you! Taking the opportunity to dress warmly, you proceeded to the destination.
Only to be shocked at the bikini clad form of Bonnie sitting on a tanning bed, sunglasses and all. Really, did she want to catch a cold or something?! It was 50 degrees out for crying out loud! Ignoring her… less than smart fashion decision you approached the place she was sitting. As you sat down next to her, she looked at you briefly before turning her gaze back to the tanning mirrors she had been using. You waited for her to greet you, but after a few minutes of nothing you decided to initiate.
"Hey Bon-bon." WIth a snap the tanning mirrors closed and she heaved an annoyed sigh pointed in your general direction.
"Hello, Loser." Okay, you thought that the two of you had gotten past that! You were working together and she was your ally, however odd that sounded for the girl who was basically the Supervillain Queen of the Middleton High. With a disdainful look, she focused her attention on you as she stood up. You almost swore you heard her snort at your classic combo of jersey and pants! Of course, you were willing to give her the benefit of the do-
"So it seems someone's been sacrificing fashion for speed these days." Oh, wow. You were not going to let that one slide.
"Yeah, what do I know? If you turn enough heads then someone'll probably call an ambulance when you get hypothermia, right?" Seriously, if fashion meant losing your toes you much prefered being laughed at by everyone else.
"Whatever, loser. Lets just get through here and get this done." And with that, she started walking around the area, a notepad coming from the small strip of fabric you assumed had to be a purse that cost more than you spent in a year. She flipped through the pages, surprisingly filled with notes and diagrams before getting to a blank one and beginning to write. Similarly, you started to take note of the surrounding area and creating a mental image of the place in your mind to be used for later, a space reserved for vampire hunting, supervillains and challenging video game levels. It took minutes of focused silence and walking for the two of you to get everything you needed in the area. You made sure to figure out the general borders of this place for when you marked it on the map.
By the time it finished, you were following her lead, she went to what a car you swore was worth more than your parents' house and motioned for you to get in. Awkwardly, you sat in passenger's seat, doing your best not to damage or even make it look like you'd been in here at all.
"God, don't be so stiff, Loser. My dad has, like, ten of these." With a sigh, you tried to relax back into the seat, but really this whole situation was crazy. You were driving in a sports car with Bonnie, who was clad in nothing but a bikini. It was insane, this just seemed too surre-
"For someone who's all about owning who they are you're sure taking the crazy guy thing by the balls aren't you?" Okay, you didn't think you were doing too bad around her but sure you'd stop whatever it was you were doing. There was a derisive chuckle from her before she turned her attention back to the road. Middleton faded in the distance as she drove on and the skyline of Upperton approached. As you got closer, Bonnie shifted her car to an exit that you were pretty sure lead to the National Park nearby. A few minutes later and the vehicle was in parked and the two of you walked through the trails decorated with leaves of red and yellow. It was pleasant, though the two of you spent most of the time in silence. You'd started mapping the place in your mind, trying to fit it in on your giant map of the Tricity area. After an hour of walking, you'd gone back to the car and gotten ready to leave.
As Bonnie pulled out, you finally pulled up the courage to talk to the Queen Bee of Middleton.
"You know, you're kind of alright Bonnie." Your compliment was rewarded with an amused snort as you cruised down the highway toward Middleton again.
"And you're not pond scum, loser. You had enough common sense to talk to Tara before going to me. Good call, bread mold." Well, it was a start.
"Sooo, truce?" You held out your hand to seal the deal. Bonnie just rolled her eyes at you.
"If that's what you want to call it. Now how do we get to your house so I can drop you off?" She still didn't want to shake your hand, though, and you were getting really kind of tired of it staying in that one position. Really, she was someti-
Oh, right. Moving car. Retracting your arm, you sheepishly gave her the directions to your humble abode. After ten minutes more of driving, you got out of the car and waved at her as she left to the gawking crowd. Some were taking pictures, probably because you didn't see cars like that every day. Heck, you probably would too. With a pep in your step, you opened to door and finished off the rest of the day by updating your map and finally going to sleep happy.
You buried the hatchet with you worst enemy, and that was good enough for now.
xXx
Finally, Sunday rolled around again. It was weird. You were almost starting to look forward to these meetings. You weren't really sure why, maybe because people actually listened to you at them? Kim was your best friend, but she wasn't exactly Miss Listener. Seriously, how she failed to understand the glory of the Naco after all the times you've explained it to her is beyond you!
Anyway, when you hit the school parking lot this time it was deserted except for Mister B's old junker of a car. Guess the whole applying yourself was making it easier to get up in the mornings. Truly, that vampire will be shaking in his boots at your ability to be up and functional before noon on a Sunday.
You made your way to Homeroom and found Mister B sitting there waiting, going through some notes.
"Stoppable," he said as you walked in, "What were your thoughts on those AAR analyses I sent you?"
Oof, the homework on top of the homework. Going over that stuff had not been fun. Rufus had had to help you with some of the more complicated stuff, but you'd made it through. "Mister B," you grinned, "I have read all of your stuff and I think you'll be surprised by how we do this week!"
"Hmph," Mister B grunted, "We'll see Stoppable. While we wait for the rest of your team to show up, why don't you give me a run down of what you've found."
You've got no problem with that. After this past week you feel like you know the Tricity area like the back of your hand, and you say so. You talk about high crime areas, danger zones, cop patrol routes, and everything else you were able to find. You even looked into the areas where the Ambulance companies work out of, so you'd know the ETAs for EMTs in a crisis.
Mister B actually looks a bit surprised at your thoroughness. "I'm impressed Stoppable, that's good work." he says with a smirk on his face, "Keep this up and you'll be ready before you know it."
That... that was an unvarnished compliment. A teacher had said... something completely positive about you and your work. The shock of it stuns you for a bit, and by the time you're paying attention again, Tara's waving her hand in front of your face and calling your name.
"Ron," she says worriedly, "Ron, are you okay?" It looks like while you were in lalaland the rest of the Hunting Club had shown up.
"Yeah, sure," you reply, "I'm fine Tara, just... had a bit of a weird moment," She doesn't look too convinced at that, and Bonnie's got that condescending smirk on her face again. At least Brick takes what you said at face value, though Mister B looks like he's hiding a small grin himself.
"Alright, People," he says from the front of the room, "Who's first?"
Brick stands up immediately before anyone else can, "Yo," he says, "I am DONE!" He reaches under his desk and brings out a HUGE bag that clanks when he drops it. "I've got stakes, I've got incendiaries, I've got anything and everything we need to take the fight to a bloodsucker! We are good to go!" He grins. Looks like having an actual list of things instead of vague unclear directions makes Brick productive.
Mister B walks over to the bag and looks through it for a moment. "Very Nice Mister Flagg," he says, "You've got everything I could expect a High School student to pick up for this. More actually!" He reaches into the bag and pulls out.... Is that a gun?! "Where'd you get the Flare Gun?"
"I raided some camping supplies. We haven't gone camping in a couple years, but I test fired it yesterday and it's good to go. My dad taught me how to use it back when he bought it, but I think that was the first time it came out of the box since."
"Very nice," Mister B says. He turns a gimlet eye to the rest of you, "Who's next?"
You're about to stand up when Tara raises her hand, "Ooh!" she cries, "Me! Me next!"
She bounces to the front of the room and smiles at you all. "It took me a lot of work, and I had to cover a lot of ground, but I think I know where it is. It took talking with this one really groddy old guy who would not stop talking, but between his testimony and the police reports I got last week, I think I know where the Vampire is hiding out!"
You stare for half a second. That, that was way more than you were expecting. Tara came through! "Way to go Tara!" you yell at the top of your lungs.
Tara goes bright red at that. Huh, guess you embarassed her, she must not like the attention. You'll have to be more careful about that in the future!
"Well said Stoppable, well said," Mister B cuts in, "You want to go next?"
"Ah yes s-sir," You stammer as you make your way to the front of the room. You pass Tara on her way to her seat and give her a grin and a thumbs up. She goes nuclear again, and man you are not good at this whole discretion thing! Gonna have to work on that.
You give the whole group a rundown of what you put together. Bonnie nods along here and there, and puts in her two cents. You'd done a lot of legwork, but she had a bit of a different focus than you. You'd been concerned about stuff like EMS and danger areas, but she'd looked into things like traffic patterns and where people actually went regularly.
With her input, you manage to paint a picture of the Tricity area that is about as complete as you can make it. Mister B takes it all in impassively, but Tara's grinning at you, guess she's impressed by your mad cartography skills! Though, she does shoot an odd look at Bonnie now and again for some reason. Brick just nods along with what you're saying, unsurprised.
After you're finished, Mister B takes the stage again. "Alright People," man he likes saying that, "Before we get to planning for next week, it's time for a rematch!" His face contorts in the most evil grin you've ever seen, "Let's see what you've learned."
xXx
It turns out, more than Mister B expected! You actually manage to be cohesive this time. Nobody runs off on their own (Bonnie), focuses on any one team member more than the rest (Tara), or ignores orders (Brick). You even manage to take a few hits for the team, and make sure everyone stays in until the end!
After you've gone a few rounds Mister B even looks satisfied even if you were the only one to tag him, and even then only the once. "Hmph," he snorts, "Guess you actually paid attention to your homework Stoppable."
"Yessir Mister B, I am Mister Homework!" Oh god what has gone wrong with your life that that's true. You wince for a moment at the loss of your innocence. You're actually... gasp/shudder/cringe ...responsible.
You all adjourn back to the classroom, a bit more colorful than you left it, but a lot happier overall. Everybody's feeling the improvement from last week. The reduction in screaming invective made for a nice change.
Before Mister B can ask you though, you actually take the initiative for the first time.
What's your Plan, Naco Boy?
Major Category - Team Actions
[] Let's go on a fieldtrip! Mister B said that one of the best way to understand the mind of a predator is to witness one in action. He talked about possibly setting up a special extracurricular field trip to go study the hunting patterns of local wildlife, and possibly talk about more... human hunters too. It would be a badical way to get some extra credit, and would let you see if anyone else would be interested in eventually doing some hunting on their own.
[] Marching Orders. If you're hunting supernatural creatures, you're going to need to plan ahead. Once you've found it what are you going to do? You've got a rough idea of everybody's strengths and weaknesses now, so work out some plans. They may not last long after contact with the enemy, but the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle, right?
[] Marching Orders. If you're hunting supernatural creatures, you're going to need to plan ahead. Once you've found it what are you going to do? You've got a rough idea of everybody's strengths and weaknesses now, so work out some plans. They may not last long after contact with the enemy, but the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle, right?
Major Category - Assignments (assign Bonnie, Tara, Brick, and Ron)
Missions
[] The First Hunt; There's a vampire running around, and it's still out there hurting people. You think you know where it lives, and what it can do. You and your team can stop this thing before it hurts anyone else. Who knows? Hunting on Halloween may even help!
Information Gathering
[] Tricity Cartography Part Deux! You've successfully gotten the lay of 2/3 of the land. All that remains is the scum of hive and villainy that is Lowerton. Alright, it's probably not that bad, but it's still too close to Wannaweep for your peace of mind.
Preparation
[] Take a Break. Often overlooked among all the other things you could have someone do, resting is still one of the most important ways to prepare to fight monsters. Making sure someone gets a day or two off would help guarantee both physical and mental health.
[] Practice makes perfect. You've got the knowledge, you've got the equipment, but you know what you haven't got? Experience! Get together with team members to make sure everyone's on the same page and you're all as prepared as possible.
[] Practice makes perfect. You've got the knowledge, you've got the equipment, but you know what you haven't got? Experience! Get together with team members to make sure everyone's on the same page and you're all as prepared as possible.
Major Category - Freetime
[] What's the Sitch? Apparently, Wade, in between some really angry sounding mutters, has figured out where Drakken's going to strike next! Apparently, he's after something called Project Phoebus. Time for you and Kim to head out and stop him!
[] We're still getting Extra Credit for this, Right? It looks like you're the founding president of the Club Mister B has set up. So far he hasn't said anything about it, but what does that entail? Does it come with any responsibilities or perks? And does Mister B have any advice for how you can do better at this whole... hunter thing?
[] The Man in your Corner Pocket. So, turns out when you give Brick direction he excels! Maybe you should get to know him a bit better if you're going to be hunting supernatural critters with him? There's got to be more to him than your stereotypical jock right?
[] Keeping the War Cold. You may have managed to setup a truce with her, but that doesn't change the fact that you're stuck with Bonnie. She enjoys showing you up way too much to quit now. Hang out and maybe you can even make... friends? Yeah, you're not going to accidentally wreck a thing as good as this now.
[] Cheat day discussions. You made things up with Tara, Kudos! Unfortunately, things aren't quite perfect. She still seems a bit shy around you, and while it's not affecting her as badly as it was, you could still stand to work on things. Maybe if you spend some more time with her you can get her used to you? She's done a great job helping out so far, and it doesn't seem right that you can't say anything nice to her without her clamming up...
[] We're still getting Extra Credit for this, Right? It looks like you're the founding president of the Club Mister B has set up. So far he hasn't said anything about it, but what does that entail? Does it come with any responsibilities or perks? And does Mister B have any advice for how you can do better at this whole... hunter thing?
[] The Man in your Corner Pocket. So, turns out when you give Brick direction he excels! Maybe you should get to know him a bit better if you're going to be hunting supernatural critters with him? There's got to be more to him than your stereotypical jock right?
[] Cheat day discussions. You made things up with Tara, Kudos! Unfortunately, things aren't quite perfect. She still seems a bit shy around you, and while it's not affecting her as badly as it was, you could still stand to work on things. Maybe if you spend some more time with her you can get her used to you? She's done a great job helping out so far, and it doesn't seem right that you can't say anything nice to her without her clamming up...
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Hunt One - Final Preparation
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
There were a bunch of idea-excuses, really- running through your head on what to do this weekend outside of going to go kill the Vampire. There was always more prep work you could do, and Kim would need you for the mission, and the map of the tri-city area wasn't complete yet, and you could keep going on and on about it. You knew the truth of the matter, though.
You were scared. This wasn't some sort of supervillain like Drakken who couldn't get an invention to work to save his life or even Monkey Fist whose only real target was you. You saw the blood pooling around your sneakers again, and the body lying there as the creature drank its blood. That thing was a killer, something even scarier than monkeys! There was no way yo-
A hand clasped your shoulder in a firm grip, tightening in a bit of offered reassurance. The face of Mr. Barkin stared down at you, a strange mixture of sympathy and understanding written on his face. Looking through the room, you saw similar expressions on everyone there, even Bonnie who hid it behind a sneer. You could do this, you weren't alone and you couldn't allow it to hurt more people. With a smile and a small sigh, you looked up.
"We're going to go for this thing on Friday, all of us." Everyone in the room gave your a different response at that. Tara's smile fell slightly, but she did her best to keep it up. Bonnie rolled her eyes at the statement, but her fists tightened around the skirt she was wearing. Brick simply nodded, looking totally okay with what was happening despite what it entailed. Beside you, you could almost swear Mister Barkin gave you a ghost of a smile before looking away from you to the rest of the group.
"You heard him, we'll meet here Friday afternoon to do this. Any questions?" It was a plan, then. Being Halloween weekend, you did have the day off and it wasn't like any of the parties were starting before six so no one else could complain. Heck, you could even try to get Kim to trick or treat with you again this year! If not, you're sure that you could convince the twins to help you get the best sweet stash like you did before. It's not like you were going to be go to any of those lame parties even if you were invited and no one here would like to go with you to ring up the neighborhood's houses for candy. Still, there was one thing you wanted to do before the mission, now that you thought about it.
"Hey, you guys mind meeting up one more time before we do this? Like, Wednesday night after cheer and football practice or something? I think it would be smart to figure out an action plan before we go do this, you know?" You found yourself greeted with a chorus of assenting nods, each person in the room seemingly okay with taking a bit of extra time to straighten things out. After that, the five of you left, and you went home to prep for Monday's algebra test.
Man you hope you didn't fail that. For all Mr. Barkin seemed to like you, it only made you feel worse when he gave you the "I know you can do better and I'm disappointed in you" stare. What's worse was that you were honestly starting to believe him. You were actually feeling confident about getting homework done! What high-schooler did tha-
The buzzing of your cell phone in Kim's special ringtone put a stop to any other thoughts you had.
XxX
Okay, so studying was much more interesting than you'd thought. Well, it was more that you were doing so while in a boat going down the Congo that made it such but you'd take what you could get to make it through this. On the ride back, you remained stuck in your work, hoping against hope that you'd manage to not fail with one day of studying.
But hey, Kim didn't need to for an A and you were like 60% sure you could get a D with a few hours of hard work. As the teacher pushed the slips of paper to each student, you watched with dread as judgement approached. You looked to see Ms. Whisp's lips in a sadistic curl, as if she was about to break into a maniacal laugh at your destined failure. Turning over the sheet, you looked into your do-
Oh, a B-. Awesome. You gave a thumbs up to Kim, who returned the favor. As you turned around, you noticed Tara giving a weak smile at a C and Bonnie smirking triumphantly at the A+ on her desk. Class ended a little latter and as you walked back to your locker with Kim you couldn't contain your enthusiasm.
"Wow, I'm glad you managed to get a B, Ron. See what happens when you actually study and apply yourself?" Okay, so maybe this studying thing had merits even though you didn't want to think about recursive functions ever again.
"I'm just glad I managed to pass. I mean, I'm not like you, you know." With the Kim puffed up and looked at you quizzically.
"And what is that supposed to mean, Ron?"
"I mean, you were able to get an A- in the pop quiz without even needing to study! You're way better than I'll ev-" Okay, what did you do wrong here? You were just stating facts and she dope slapped you?! Looking over, you saw your best friend gripping her face while both grimacing and trying to hold in laughter.
"Were you literally so absorbed in your studying that you didn't notice I was cramming for the test right next to you?" Had she, all you remembered was going on a very long journey to find X as the pilot tried to find Middleton.
"In my defense Kim, shutting you out got me a B-. Maybe there's something in that?" You teased back, as her she finally failed to contain her laughter at your somewhat bad joke. Coming up to her locker, she looked back to you.
"Well I'm just glad you're finally living up to your name, potential boy." As she opened up her locker, Wade's face greeted you.
"Hey guys, I've got some news on a break-in at a government lab. Something about a project Phoeb- Kim is that a B- you're holding?! What happened?" Even vigilant, Wade skipped from the supervillainy stuff to the really important bits. If you saw her holding a B- you'd be asking what the problem was too. Some time during your walk, she must have taken the thing to see how she could help you improve.
"Oh, this is Ron's test!" She proudly displayed the name to your hacker friend, and he gave you a big smile.
"Good job, man! I knew you had it in you! Now, the reports have come in that Shego and Drakken have broken into the lab of something called project Phoebus. I've already got a helicopter en route. They'll be able to pick you up in about three minutes."
"You'll have to put a hold on that, Stoppable." Turning around, you saw the form of Mr. Barkin looming above, his stare boring into you. Even if he was on your side now that still creeped you out. He looked to Kim and Wade before speaking again.
"I'm here to bring Mr. Stoppable in for a long talk about his priorities in life." You looked over to Kim, hoping for some excuse to escape from this lecture you knew was coming from that statement alone! He even winked at you evilly as you desperately looked for help. Kim looked at you, and shrugged.
"If you think that's necessary, though I do think that he's been turning a new leaf," she brandished the test like a shield, "He even broke his streak in Algebra!"
He looked at the thing, showing a surprising lack of surprise at the revelation before turning to you again.
"And this is why I need to talk to him, Ms. Possible. This is about helping him be better than he was rather than slip back into bad habits." Okay, so not totally bad like you'd been thinking. And the way he stared at you like it was particularly important meant that you should probably go with him, even if it was to flake on a mission. However, you could help her out a bit, opening your backpack, you looked down to Rufus.
"Hey there, I have some stuff to take care of but Kim's got a mission. I need you to look out for her where I can't, buddy." He nodded before quickly scurrying into one of Kim's pockets and giving you a thumbs up. You were confident they could make do without you as you followed Mr. Barkin away from them.
And it was Dr. Drakken, how hard could it be for Kim to beat his blue butt again?
XxX
Kim Possible plummeted through the air, just another day, another mission. Though admittedly, this was the first one in a long time where Ron wasn't coming along with her. It didn't feel right. Still, detention was detention, and even if he wasn't focusing on Ron the way he used to, Mister Barkin still wasn't someone you wanted mad at you. He could tank a student's grades in any class! Sadly, missions waited for no one, so Kim was running solo today. A high pitched shrill of worry broke the air over Des Moines. Well, not totally solo. Rufus was there to tag along where Ron couldn't.
She had been impressed at Ron's Algebra grade though. He'd finally broken his string of F's! Actually studying on that river boat ride down the Congo after the mission in Central Africa finished must have totally helped him. It was good, if a bit weird, to see he was finally realizing his potential. It was just ferociously bad luck that Barkin had grabbed him while Wade was giving them the skinny on the mission.
Kim hit the ground running, with Rufus' squeaking in her ears and flapping off her shoulder like a flag. Once she got in she was a bit underwhelmed. Apparently, nobody onsite knew what Project Phoebus actually did! And they were completely locked out of the main room of the Project! Still, Rufus was on the job. He scurried into the vents and let her in in record time.
There she was, facing off with Shego and Drakken for what felt like the millionth time, and Shego had to open her big fat mouth. "Aww Kimmie, no Sidekick today? What, did the little weirdo have better things to do than hang out with little miss perfect?" Shego smirked.
That actually put Kim off her game. Ron had been a lot less present lately, almost...pulling away and Shego of all people picking up on that... well, it pushed her buttons. So, she might be forgiven for ignoring everything else and bull rushing the plasma wielding supervillain. It wasn't the smartest choice, but for a pissed off teenager in a high stress situation it was pretty understandable.
The fight was a bit more brutal than usual because of that. Kim ignored every quip or sneer aimed at her, and focused on taking Shego down. As a result, Rufus was alone with Drakken. You'd think a grown man would be able to take a tiny hairless rodent, but apparently not. Drakken flailed across the room, shaking all his limbs and screaming at the top of his lungs as Rufus scurried up and down the blue man's body. Eventually, both fights had to end.
After what seemed like forever, Drakken finally managed to fling Rufus away from him, and fell back into a strange device that looked like a salon's hair drying chair. Rufus flew across the room and crashed into a control device, which immediately started sparking. Almost simultaneously, Kim's furious assault ended with a flying kick that threw Shego into Drakken, just as the salon chair started to glow blue.
The collision caused the chair they'd been tangled with to explode, launching both of them out of the room towards the large drilling device they'd used to break in. Oh no, Kim thought, This can't be good. She rushed over to the destroyed chair and caught a glimpse of the disappearing mole device. Whatever had happened to the two supervillains it hadn't stopped them from fleeing the scene of the crime. Kim had other priorities just then though.
"Rufus!" Kim cried out, "Are you alright?!"
"Ahuhahuh," squeaked Rufus as he ran up to Kim, and climbed up her leg.
Kim picked him up and held him in her hands, before taking a look around at the scene of devastation that surrounded her, "I hope that chair wasn't anything important..."
xXx
Minutes after being pulled aside, you found yourself being dragged into the English room that you had recruited Mr. Barkin in about month ago. It was between class blocks, and Mr. Ansel was out sick today so there was absolutely no one there when the two of you walked in. Taking care to close and lock the door while using his other hand to pull down the blinder, Mr Barkin sat in the teacher's desk before motioning for you to go on the other side of the piece of furniture. Grabbing a nearby chair, you did just that.
"Stoppable, I said we needed to have a conversation about your priorities. So, let's talk. How do you feel about being a Hunter?"
...You know, you never really thought about that until now. Sure, you were pretty darn dedicated to it but that was because people were in danger and you wanted to help them as much as you possibly could. You were afraid of pretty much everything to do with this. Heck, you weren't sure you'd ever stop being terrified of the whole idea of hunting vampires. It was like Kim said, really: 'you can't beat your fears, you live with them'. Of course the only reason that you remembered that was because it was the first time either of you had gone for an airdrop and you screamed so much you passed out a little.
But you got better then, and you'd get better now. It was really the only option. It wasn't like you could just not help people. That would be wrong and you could only imagine Kim giving you her best 'you tried' smile which really, really sucked since you wanted to do this so much.
And that was your answer, wasn't it?
"I… kinda like it, Mr B. I mean, beside the whole unending terror at the thought that literal vampires could eat me whenever or that there might be more things out there that want to make me lunch and, AND that some of those monster might also be monkies because they're evil and only monkeys can be so truly malicious! I MEAN, I WILL FREAK IF I HAVE TO FIGHT ONE OF THOSE TH-"
Okay, time to stop yourself. Breath in, breath out. Beside you your teacher's stony face displayed nothing but one raised eyebrow and an amused look in his eyes. Once you managed to get yourself back under control, he motioned for you to continue.
"And despite all of that, I'm still here. I think that says a lot." He nodded, completely in agreement with what you said before beginning to speak himself.
"It does. The work you've displayed in the past few weeks has been admirable and I'm not just talking about in Hunting. Ever since this started, I've heard of an almost unthinkable change in you from the other teachers. You're not a stellar student like Bonnie or Kim, but you're definitely not the fourth musketeer of D-Hall anymore. Do you even realize that I haven't had to keep you after school for this entire time?" Really, have you been so far out of the norm that you hadn't had detention in the past few weeks? Looking back, the most recent time you had visited that boring room after school hours had been when things went wrong…
"Putting it that way makes it sound like everyone thinks I've turned a new leaf." Really, was it that hard to think that Ron Stoppable could do well if he put his mind to it?
Mr. Barkin shrugged at the idea. "Most do. People went from lamenting a good student who never applied himself to seeing someone who could score a B- on an algebra test while still thinking he failed. You have changed, and I think that Hunting Vampires has helped you make a turn for the better."
"Well, thanks? I don't think what I've done is that amazing though..." There wasn't much more to be said. It was honestly kind of embarrassing.
"It is, Stoppable. I think that you could do great things as a Hunter and as a leader. It reminds me of myself when I was younger," Eugh, everyone knew teachers started out at thirty and only got older, " and more to the point everything you've done so far has shown an impressive amount of aptitude for this job. With that in mind, I would like to talk to you about two opportunities I have considered opening up to you."
He paused before rifling under the desk and pulling out a pistol?! You weren't even allowed to think of someone bringing them into schools, much less watching a teacher you knew and sort-of respected to pull one out right in front of you!!! You almost flipped the chair back and started running the moment he pulled it out. With a chuckle Mr Barkin put the thing on the table.
"There's no need to panic. It's unloaded and I have the safety on. Your reaction was good, though. You should always treat a gun like it can kill someone, even if you know it's empty. Considering the club we have is for hunting, I will be opening my schedule on the weekends to include courses in basic gun safety and use. On the surface, it sounds like a responsible teacher giving students the basic foundation to hunt things like deer. In reality, I'd expect you use them for more dangerous prey. The second opportunity is a bit less open, but it's still one I think you should consider. You know career day is coming up soon?"
You nodded, who didn't want to go be the one to go meet with the lady whose job it was to make delicious pastries or cooked the best food? Really, anything chef would be pretty awesome to go see and shadow.
"Well, I've been keeping contact with an old friend of mine who has been very interested in the formation of your group. The two of us have talked a lot and he seemed more than happy to volunteer to work with you on career day if you so choose. Now you will get to make that choice as there have been a few rather… interesting clients asking about you but I ask you consider the offer given. I know Captain Black would love to work with a bright young Hunter such as yourself. Now, I'd like it if you help me plan out the meeting on Thursday..."
Well, you did suggest the group meet so it was only fair you helped him out. Dang, and you thought you'd be able to get some nacos after this was done...
XxX
Kim stared at her open Locker, at the mug shots and the computer and wondered where things had gone wrong.
Kim's week... hadn't gone so well. To recap, Wade had finally found out what Drakken was up to. He'd been having trouble lately with his parents for some reason and hadn't been in contact as much, but he'd still figured things out and gotten ahold of her. Unfortunately, Ron hadn't been able to come with, and things had gone bad. She couldn't remember the last time that happened.
It had been a complete disaster. Shego and Drakken had gotten away, and Project Phoebus had been totally destroyed. She still didn't know what that thing did, but she really hoped it wasn't anything too dangerous. To top things off, Ron's weirdness had kicked into overdrive!
Usually, this close to Halloween, he would have said something! Especially after the debacle last year with the Hephaestus Project, and the lying, and Josh Mankey. Instead, Kim hadn't heard a peep about trick or treating. It was almost like he wasn't planning to spend Halloween together, which would be majorly freaksome. Maybe he was still messed up because of that Monkey Haunted House they'd gone to last week? He'd been so sure he could handle it, but then he'd been so utterly freaked out afterwards... Kim would have to ask when she had a chance.
If she had a chance...
Which only sent her spinning back into a depression, because seriously, this whole mess was Not Cool. She'd never failed a mission like this before! And Ron was getting so distant that even when he wasn't there Shego could see it! SHEGO!
She'd even seen a picture of him with Bonnie of all people in a bikini. BONNIE! They hated each other! He'd just said it was something for a club, and what was all that about, Ron and Bonnie in the same Club? What in the world did those two have in common?! What was going on with him?!
Kim sighed. Really, she should fix this the way she fixed things last Halloween, with honesty, but she just wasn't in the mood. Maybe next week, when things were a bit less raw and she wasn't so stressed out. Closing her locker she turned to go to class. Hopefully things would look better later. She held her head up, of course they would!
Anything was Possible for a Possible!
Including Failure.
xXx
Wednesday night came around faster than you thought possible. Kim came in on Tuesday pretty beat up but otherwise okay around you. She said the mission was rough, and that things really didn't go as planned but she was pretty sure everything was totally okay since Wade hadn't come to either of them screaming about Drakken suddenly unleashing his most destructive doomlaser/weathmachine/self-destructing device yet. It was depressing to see her at anything but her best though, and you hoped that she'd get better. It was one mission gone wrong, it wasn't really the end of the world.
Elsewhere, a pale skinned black haired woman wearing a lot of green sneezed loudly
As cheer practice ended and the students departed, you waited in the Cafeteria with Mr Barkin and Brick, whose football practice ended ten minutes earlier. As Bonnie and Tara made it into the room, Mr. Barkin began to speak.
"On Friday, the five of us will be going to hunt a Vampire. You are all here because the best way to guarantee no one here gets hurt is to make sure everyone knows what they'll be doing. Of course, that requires a solid plan of action." He motioned for you to continue, just like he said he would on Monday.
"Well, there's two ways we can realistically do this. He's a vampire, so we need to stake him. That means we'll need to go into his house. The real question is how we do it. We can try to sneak in, being as quiet as we possibly can until we find the guy in his bed and hopefully asleep before we kill him really quickly with a stake to the heart. However if he catches us we're in trouble since we need to pack lightly if we don't want to get caught. On the other hand, we can break in forcefully and just try to whack him as hard as we can. It's more dangerous than just going in there but we'll be better equipped for the fight since we won't be trying to sneak."
Mr Barkin took control again. "For any of these options, Ms Strong will be the one ready to get us out if things go wrong," Tara sighed and sagged back in relief before she realized what she was doing and straightened up again, "Stoppable, Rockwaller, Flagg and I will all be doing the majority of the fighting should it come to that. Any questions?" Out of all the people, Bonnie raised her hand.
"Uhh, why do we have to do either of those? I mean, Vampires get killed by stakes, but you told me they also don't like sunlight. Why don't we just bring him outside?" Mr Barkin shook his head.
"That's not possible. We can't trick the enemy into going outside and he won't just do it by himself. Unless you want to burn the house down, that's not really a working strategy." She shrugged at his rebuttal.
"Why don't we? I mean, it's not like there's anyone else living in there right? The Vampire dies, nobody gets hurt." She was right, no matter how crazy that sounded. It would work, though you couldn't help but feel she was missing something.
"Won't the cops come if they hear about a house burning down?" The last thing you wanted to do to Kim this week was having to explain to her why exactly you'd been put in the slammer for arson if you got caught. That would not be a fun way to celebrate Halloween at all.
"It is a viable way to go about this and if we can get out fast enough then they won't be a problem anyway."
"It could work, and I can get enough gas to light the place if that's how we want to go about it. However, it is Stoppable's choice seeing as he is the leader here." Everyone looked over to you.
"So how are we going to do this?"
[] Go Quiet: Sneak into the house, stake the guy, leave. If everything goes well, that means there's not going to be any fight. If things go wrong we'll be left less armed than would be best for the fight. It wouldn't make the whole thing untenable, but it would make it a whole lot harder. The real question is whether or not we think we'll be able to get in and stake the vampire without alerting him.
Loadout: Mr Barkin- Pistol, Bonnie- Stake, Ron- Stake, Brick- Stake, Tara - Flare gun
Danger- Low if undetected, High if detected
Subtlety: High
[] Go Loud: No subterfuge here. We break into the house, beat the vampire up and stake him when he can't fight any more. It's dangerous but you're going in looking for a fight. The cops might respond if someone files a noise complaint, but that may not happen..
Loadout: Mr Barkin- Shotgun, Bonnie- Stake, Ron- Stake, Brick- Sledgehammer, Tara- Flare Gun
Danger- Medium
Subtlety: Low
[] Go Fiery: Even less subtle than going loud, Mr. Barkin said he could get his hands on some gasoline to light the entire house up if that was the way you wanted to go. It would keep everyone out of harm's way but the cops will be coming if a house is one fire. The big concern here would be getting out before they find us.
Loadout: Mr Barkin- Rifle, Bonnie- Gas can/stake, Ron- Gas can/stake, Brick- Gas can/stake, Tara- Flare Gun
Danger- Low
Subtlety: Non-Existent
You were scared. This wasn't some sort of supervillain like Drakken who couldn't get an invention to work to save his life or even Monkey Fist whose only real target was you. You saw the blood pooling around your sneakers again, and the body lying there as the creature drank its blood. That thing was a killer, something even scarier than monkeys! There was no way yo-
A hand clasped your shoulder in a firm grip, tightening in a bit of offered reassurance. The face of Mr. Barkin stared down at you, a strange mixture of sympathy and understanding written on his face. Looking through the room, you saw similar expressions on everyone there, even Bonnie who hid it behind a sneer. You could do this, you weren't alone and you couldn't allow it to hurt more people. With a smile and a small sigh, you looked up.
"We're going to go for this thing on Friday, all of us." Everyone in the room gave your a different response at that. Tara's smile fell slightly, but she did her best to keep it up. Bonnie rolled her eyes at the statement, but her fists tightened around the skirt she was wearing. Brick simply nodded, looking totally okay with what was happening despite what it entailed. Beside you, you could almost swear Mister Barkin gave you a ghost of a smile before looking away from you to the rest of the group.
"You heard him, we'll meet here Friday afternoon to do this. Any questions?" It was a plan, then. Being Halloween weekend, you did have the day off and it wasn't like any of the parties were starting before six so no one else could complain. Heck, you could even try to get Kim to trick or treat with you again this year! If not, you're sure that you could convince the twins to help you get the best sweet stash like you did before. It's not like you were going to be go to any of those lame parties even if you were invited and no one here would like to go with you to ring up the neighborhood's houses for candy. Still, there was one thing you wanted to do before the mission, now that you thought about it.
"Hey, you guys mind meeting up one more time before we do this? Like, Wednesday night after cheer and football practice or something? I think it would be smart to figure out an action plan before we go do this, you know?" You found yourself greeted with a chorus of assenting nods, each person in the room seemingly okay with taking a bit of extra time to straighten things out. After that, the five of you left, and you went home to prep for Monday's algebra test.
Man you hope you didn't fail that. For all Mr. Barkin seemed to like you, it only made you feel worse when he gave you the "I know you can do better and I'm disappointed in you" stare. What's worse was that you were honestly starting to believe him. You were actually feeling confident about getting homework done! What high-schooler did tha-
The buzzing of your cell phone in Kim's special ringtone put a stop to any other thoughts you had.
XxX
Okay, so studying was much more interesting than you'd thought. Well, it was more that you were doing so while in a boat going down the Congo that made it such but you'd take what you could get to make it through this. On the ride back, you remained stuck in your work, hoping against hope that you'd manage to not fail with one day of studying.
But hey, Kim didn't need to for an A and you were like 60% sure you could get a D with a few hours of hard work. As the teacher pushed the slips of paper to each student, you watched with dread as judgement approached. You looked to see Ms. Whisp's lips in a sadistic curl, as if she was about to break into a maniacal laugh at your destined failure. Turning over the sheet, you looked into your do-
Oh, a B-. Awesome. You gave a thumbs up to Kim, who returned the favor. As you turned around, you noticed Tara giving a weak smile at a C and Bonnie smirking triumphantly at the A+ on her desk. Class ended a little latter and as you walked back to your locker with Kim you couldn't contain your enthusiasm.
"Wow, I'm glad you managed to get a B, Ron. See what happens when you actually study and apply yourself?" Okay, so maybe this studying thing had merits even though you didn't want to think about recursive functions ever again.
"I'm just glad I managed to pass. I mean, I'm not like you, you know." With the Kim puffed up and looked at you quizzically.
"And what is that supposed to mean, Ron?"
"I mean, you were able to get an A- in the pop quiz without even needing to study! You're way better than I'll ev-" Okay, what did you do wrong here? You were just stating facts and she dope slapped you?! Looking over, you saw your best friend gripping her face while both grimacing and trying to hold in laughter.
"Were you literally so absorbed in your studying that you didn't notice I was cramming for the test right next to you?" Had she, all you remembered was going on a very long journey to find X as the pilot tried to find Middleton.
"In my defense Kim, shutting you out got me a B-. Maybe there's something in that?" You teased back, as her she finally failed to contain her laughter at your somewhat bad joke. Coming up to her locker, she looked back to you.
"Well I'm just glad you're finally living up to your name, potential boy." As she opened up her locker, Wade's face greeted you.
"Hey guys, I've got some news on a break-in at a government lab. Something about a project Phoeb- Kim is that a B- you're holding?! What happened?" Even vigilant, Wade skipped from the supervillainy stuff to the really important bits. If you saw her holding a B- you'd be asking what the problem was too. Some time during your walk, she must have taken the thing to see how she could help you improve.
"Oh, this is Ron's test!" She proudly displayed the name to your hacker friend, and he gave you a big smile.
"Good job, man! I knew you had it in you! Now, the reports have come in that Shego and Drakken have broken into the lab of something called project Phoebus. I've already got a helicopter en route. They'll be able to pick you up in about three minutes."
"You'll have to put a hold on that, Stoppable." Turning around, you saw the form of Mr. Barkin looming above, his stare boring into you. Even if he was on your side now that still creeped you out. He looked to Kim and Wade before speaking again.
"I'm here to bring Mr. Stoppable in for a long talk about his priorities in life." You looked over to Kim, hoping for some excuse to escape from this lecture you knew was coming from that statement alone! He even winked at you evilly as you desperately looked for help. Kim looked at you, and shrugged.
"If you think that's necessary, though I do think that he's been turning a new leaf," she brandished the test like a shield, "He even broke his streak in Algebra!"
He looked at the thing, showing a surprising lack of surprise at the revelation before turning to you again.
"And this is why I need to talk to him, Ms. Possible. This is about helping him be better than he was rather than slip back into bad habits." Okay, so not totally bad like you'd been thinking. And the way he stared at you like it was particularly important meant that you should probably go with him, even if it was to flake on a mission. However, you could help her out a bit, opening your backpack, you looked down to Rufus.
"Hey there, I have some stuff to take care of but Kim's got a mission. I need you to look out for her where I can't, buddy." He nodded before quickly scurrying into one of Kim's pockets and giving you a thumbs up. You were confident they could make do without you as you followed Mr. Barkin away from them.
And it was Dr. Drakken, how hard could it be for Kim to beat his blue butt again?
XxX
Kim Possible plummeted through the air, just another day, another mission. Though admittedly, this was the first one in a long time where Ron wasn't coming along with her. It didn't feel right. Still, detention was detention, and even if he wasn't focusing on Ron the way he used to, Mister Barkin still wasn't someone you wanted mad at you. He could tank a student's grades in any class! Sadly, missions waited for no one, so Kim was running solo today. A high pitched shrill of worry broke the air over Des Moines. Well, not totally solo. Rufus was there to tag along where Ron couldn't.
She had been impressed at Ron's Algebra grade though. He'd finally broken his string of F's! Actually studying on that river boat ride down the Congo after the mission in Central Africa finished must have totally helped him. It was good, if a bit weird, to see he was finally realizing his potential. It was just ferociously bad luck that Barkin had grabbed him while Wade was giving them the skinny on the mission.
Kim hit the ground running, with Rufus' squeaking in her ears and flapping off her shoulder like a flag. Once she got in she was a bit underwhelmed. Apparently, nobody onsite knew what Project Phoebus actually did! And they were completely locked out of the main room of the Project! Still, Rufus was on the job. He scurried into the vents and let her in in record time.
There she was, facing off with Shego and Drakken for what felt like the millionth time, and Shego had to open her big fat mouth. "Aww Kimmie, no Sidekick today? What, did the little weirdo have better things to do than hang out with little miss perfect?" Shego smirked.
That actually put Kim off her game. Ron had been a lot less present lately, almost...pulling away and Shego of all people picking up on that... well, it pushed her buttons. So, she might be forgiven for ignoring everything else and bull rushing the plasma wielding supervillain. It wasn't the smartest choice, but for a pissed off teenager in a high stress situation it was pretty understandable.
The fight was a bit more brutal than usual because of that. Kim ignored every quip or sneer aimed at her, and focused on taking Shego down. As a result, Rufus was alone with Drakken. You'd think a grown man would be able to take a tiny hairless rodent, but apparently not. Drakken flailed across the room, shaking all his limbs and screaming at the top of his lungs as Rufus scurried up and down the blue man's body. Eventually, both fights had to end.
After what seemed like forever, Drakken finally managed to fling Rufus away from him, and fell back into a strange device that looked like a salon's hair drying chair. Rufus flew across the room and crashed into a control device, which immediately started sparking. Almost simultaneously, Kim's furious assault ended with a flying kick that threw Shego into Drakken, just as the salon chair started to glow blue.
The collision caused the chair they'd been tangled with to explode, launching both of them out of the room towards the large drilling device they'd used to break in. Oh no, Kim thought, This can't be good. She rushed over to the destroyed chair and caught a glimpse of the disappearing mole device. Whatever had happened to the two supervillains it hadn't stopped them from fleeing the scene of the crime. Kim had other priorities just then though.
"Rufus!" Kim cried out, "Are you alright?!"
"Ahuhahuh," squeaked Rufus as he ran up to Kim, and climbed up her leg.
Kim picked him up and held him in her hands, before taking a look around at the scene of devastation that surrounded her, "I hope that chair wasn't anything important..."
xXx
Minutes after being pulled aside, you found yourself being dragged into the English room that you had recruited Mr. Barkin in about month ago. It was between class blocks, and Mr. Ansel was out sick today so there was absolutely no one there when the two of you walked in. Taking care to close and lock the door while using his other hand to pull down the blinder, Mr Barkin sat in the teacher's desk before motioning for you to go on the other side of the piece of furniture. Grabbing a nearby chair, you did just that.
"Stoppable, I said we needed to have a conversation about your priorities. So, let's talk. How do you feel about being a Hunter?"
...You know, you never really thought about that until now. Sure, you were pretty darn dedicated to it but that was because people were in danger and you wanted to help them as much as you possibly could. You were afraid of pretty much everything to do with this. Heck, you weren't sure you'd ever stop being terrified of the whole idea of hunting vampires. It was like Kim said, really: 'you can't beat your fears, you live with them'. Of course the only reason that you remembered that was because it was the first time either of you had gone for an airdrop and you screamed so much you passed out a little.
But you got better then, and you'd get better now. It was really the only option. It wasn't like you could just not help people. That would be wrong and you could only imagine Kim giving you her best 'you tried' smile which really, really sucked since you wanted to do this so much.
And that was your answer, wasn't it?
"I… kinda like it, Mr B. I mean, beside the whole unending terror at the thought that literal vampires could eat me whenever or that there might be more things out there that want to make me lunch and, AND that some of those monster might also be monkies because they're evil and only monkeys can be so truly malicious! I MEAN, I WILL FREAK IF I HAVE TO FIGHT ONE OF THOSE TH-"
Okay, time to stop yourself. Breath in, breath out. Beside you your teacher's stony face displayed nothing but one raised eyebrow and an amused look in his eyes. Once you managed to get yourself back under control, he motioned for you to continue.
"And despite all of that, I'm still here. I think that says a lot." He nodded, completely in agreement with what you said before beginning to speak himself.
"It does. The work you've displayed in the past few weeks has been admirable and I'm not just talking about in Hunting. Ever since this started, I've heard of an almost unthinkable change in you from the other teachers. You're not a stellar student like Bonnie or Kim, but you're definitely not the fourth musketeer of D-Hall anymore. Do you even realize that I haven't had to keep you after school for this entire time?" Really, have you been so far out of the norm that you hadn't had detention in the past few weeks? Looking back, the most recent time you had visited that boring room after school hours had been when things went wrong…
"Putting it that way makes it sound like everyone thinks I've turned a new leaf." Really, was it that hard to think that Ron Stoppable could do well if he put his mind to it?
Mr. Barkin shrugged at the idea. "Most do. People went from lamenting a good student who never applied himself to seeing someone who could score a B- on an algebra test while still thinking he failed. You have changed, and I think that Hunting Vampires has helped you make a turn for the better."
"Well, thanks? I don't think what I've done is that amazing though..." There wasn't much more to be said. It was honestly kind of embarrassing.
"It is, Stoppable. I think that you could do great things as a Hunter and as a leader. It reminds me of myself when I was younger," Eugh, everyone knew teachers started out at thirty and only got older, " and more to the point everything you've done so far has shown an impressive amount of aptitude for this job. With that in mind, I would like to talk to you about two opportunities I have considered opening up to you."
He paused before rifling under the desk and pulling out a pistol?! You weren't even allowed to think of someone bringing them into schools, much less watching a teacher you knew and sort-of respected to pull one out right in front of you!!! You almost flipped the chair back and started running the moment he pulled it out. With a chuckle Mr Barkin put the thing on the table.
"There's no need to panic. It's unloaded and I have the safety on. Your reaction was good, though. You should always treat a gun like it can kill someone, even if you know it's empty. Considering the club we have is for hunting, I will be opening my schedule on the weekends to include courses in basic gun safety and use. On the surface, it sounds like a responsible teacher giving students the basic foundation to hunt things like deer. In reality, I'd expect you use them for more dangerous prey. The second opportunity is a bit less open, but it's still one I think you should consider. You know career day is coming up soon?"
You nodded, who didn't want to go be the one to go meet with the lady whose job it was to make delicious pastries or cooked the best food? Really, anything chef would be pretty awesome to go see and shadow.
"Well, I've been keeping contact with an old friend of mine who has been very interested in the formation of your group. The two of us have talked a lot and he seemed more than happy to volunteer to work with you on career day if you so choose. Now you will get to make that choice as there have been a few rather… interesting clients asking about you but I ask you consider the offer given. I know Captain Black would love to work with a bright young Hunter such as yourself. Now, I'd like it if you help me plan out the meeting on Thursday..."
Well, you did suggest the group meet so it was only fair you helped him out. Dang, and you thought you'd be able to get some nacos after this was done...
XxX
Kim stared at her open Locker, at the mug shots and the computer and wondered where things had gone wrong.
Kim's week... hadn't gone so well. To recap, Wade had finally found out what Drakken was up to. He'd been having trouble lately with his parents for some reason and hadn't been in contact as much, but he'd still figured things out and gotten ahold of her. Unfortunately, Ron hadn't been able to come with, and things had gone bad. She couldn't remember the last time that happened.
It had been a complete disaster. Shego and Drakken had gotten away, and Project Phoebus had been totally destroyed. She still didn't know what that thing did, but she really hoped it wasn't anything too dangerous. To top things off, Ron's weirdness had kicked into overdrive!
Usually, this close to Halloween, he would have said something! Especially after the debacle last year with the Hephaestus Project, and the lying, and Josh Mankey. Instead, Kim hadn't heard a peep about trick or treating. It was almost like he wasn't planning to spend Halloween together, which would be majorly freaksome. Maybe he was still messed up because of that Monkey Haunted House they'd gone to last week? He'd been so sure he could handle it, but then he'd been so utterly freaked out afterwards... Kim would have to ask when she had a chance.
If she had a chance...
Which only sent her spinning back into a depression, because seriously, this whole mess was Not Cool. She'd never failed a mission like this before! And Ron was getting so distant that even when he wasn't there Shego could see it! SHEGO!
She'd even seen a picture of him with Bonnie of all people in a bikini. BONNIE! They hated each other! He'd just said it was something for a club, and what was all that about, Ron and Bonnie in the same Club? What in the world did those two have in common?! What was going on with him?!
Kim sighed. Really, she should fix this the way she fixed things last Halloween, with honesty, but she just wasn't in the mood. Maybe next week, when things were a bit less raw and she wasn't so stressed out. Closing her locker she turned to go to class. Hopefully things would look better later. She held her head up, of course they would!
Anything was Possible for a Possible!
Including Failure.
xXx
Wednesday night came around faster than you thought possible. Kim came in on Tuesday pretty beat up but otherwise okay around you. She said the mission was rough, and that things really didn't go as planned but she was pretty sure everything was totally okay since Wade hadn't come to either of them screaming about Drakken suddenly unleashing his most destructive doomlaser/weathmachine/self-destructing device yet. It was depressing to see her at anything but her best though, and you hoped that she'd get better. It was one mission gone wrong, it wasn't really the end of the world.
Elsewhere, a pale skinned black haired woman wearing a lot of green sneezed loudly
As cheer practice ended and the students departed, you waited in the Cafeteria with Mr Barkin and Brick, whose football practice ended ten minutes earlier. As Bonnie and Tara made it into the room, Mr. Barkin began to speak.
"On Friday, the five of us will be going to hunt a Vampire. You are all here because the best way to guarantee no one here gets hurt is to make sure everyone knows what they'll be doing. Of course, that requires a solid plan of action." He motioned for you to continue, just like he said he would on Monday.
"Well, there's two ways we can realistically do this. He's a vampire, so we need to stake him. That means we'll need to go into his house. The real question is how we do it. We can try to sneak in, being as quiet as we possibly can until we find the guy in his bed and hopefully asleep before we kill him really quickly with a stake to the heart. However if he catches us we're in trouble since we need to pack lightly if we don't want to get caught. On the other hand, we can break in forcefully and just try to whack him as hard as we can. It's more dangerous than just going in there but we'll be better equipped for the fight since we won't be trying to sneak."
Mr Barkin took control again. "For any of these options, Ms Strong will be the one ready to get us out if things go wrong," Tara sighed and sagged back in relief before she realized what she was doing and straightened up again, "Stoppable, Rockwaller, Flagg and I will all be doing the majority of the fighting should it come to that. Any questions?" Out of all the people, Bonnie raised her hand.
"Uhh, why do we have to do either of those? I mean, Vampires get killed by stakes, but you told me they also don't like sunlight. Why don't we just bring him outside?" Mr Barkin shook his head.
"That's not possible. We can't trick the enemy into going outside and he won't just do it by himself. Unless you want to burn the house down, that's not really a working strategy." She shrugged at his rebuttal.
"Why don't we? I mean, it's not like there's anyone else living in there right? The Vampire dies, nobody gets hurt." She was right, no matter how crazy that sounded. It would work, though you couldn't help but feel she was missing something.
"Won't the cops come if they hear about a house burning down?" The last thing you wanted to do to Kim this week was having to explain to her why exactly you'd been put in the slammer for arson if you got caught. That would not be a fun way to celebrate Halloween at all.
"It is a viable way to go about this and if we can get out fast enough then they won't be a problem anyway."
"It could work, and I can get enough gas to light the place if that's how we want to go about it. However, it is Stoppable's choice seeing as he is the leader here." Everyone looked over to you.
"So how are we going to do this?"
[] Go Quiet: Sneak into the house, stake the guy, leave. If everything goes well, that means there's not going to be any fight. If things go wrong we'll be left less armed than would be best for the fight. It wouldn't make the whole thing untenable, but it would make it a whole lot harder. The real question is whether or not we think we'll be able to get in and stake the vampire without alerting him.
Loadout: Mr Barkin- Pistol, Bonnie- Stake, Ron- Stake, Brick- Stake, Tara - Flare gun
Danger- Low if undetected, High if detected
Subtlety: High
[] Go Loud: No subterfuge here. We break into the house, beat the vampire up and stake him when he can't fight any more. It's dangerous but you're going in looking for a fight. The cops might respond if someone files a noise complaint, but that may not happen..
Loadout: Mr Barkin- Shotgun, Bonnie- Stake, Ron- Stake, Brick- Sledgehammer, Tara- Flare Gun
Danger- Medium
Subtlety: Low
[] Go Fiery: Even less subtle than going loud, Mr. Barkin said he could get his hands on some gasoline to light the entire house up if that was the way you wanted to go. It would keep everyone out of harm's way but the cops will be coming if a house is one fire. The big concern here would be getting out before they find us.
Loadout: Mr Barkin- Rifle, Bonnie- Gas can/stake, Ron- Gas can/stake, Brick- Gas can/stake, Tara- Flare Gun
Danger- Low
Subtlety: Non-Existent
An Evil Super Genius Interlude
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
You are Doctor Drakken, Evil Scientist! No, Evil Genius! No! EVIL SUPER GENIUS!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Ahem.
And you have successfully appropriated the Mind-Enhancing power of Project Phoebus for your own Nefarious Purposes! It's been a few days since you returned victorious! to your Time Share Lair, but over time you've felt your evil intellect growing, expanding! Soon, you shall create your very own Doomsday Device! The world will Cower before your Awesome Might! COWER!
BWAHAHAHAHAH!
Now, if only you could actually come up with an idea. Isn't that always the way? Evil super genius with a mind more powerful than a thousand Cray Mainframes and no inspiration. That stupid machine clearly didn't enhance all the parts of your brain equally, but no matter! You shall think of something! Eventually...
"Uh, Doctor Drakken?" one of your insipid henchmen calls to you, what does he want? "Uh, you need to read the quarterly review, and approve our 'bonuses'" Heh, bonuses indeed, who doesn't love Cocoa Moo?
"Very Well" you say, "If I must." This won't take you but a moment, and then, BACK TO THE DOOMSDAY DEVICE!!!
You make a few annotations, a number of alterations, really you were clearly having an off day when you wrote this out. It's needlessly complicated and byzantine. Just a little fix to the pay structure here, and a quick change to the cash flows there, and you're done. You've no idea why you put that off so long, it must have only taken you five minutes to actually do!
"Here!" you slap the paperwork into your slack jawed henchmen's hands, "Now leave me! I have EVIL SCIENCE TO DO!"
Yes! EVIL SCIENCE! Your true calling in life! That therapist had really been on to something when he'd suggested the whole Supervillain career path to you! The world will rue the day it mocked DOCTOR DRAKKEN! Just as soon as you get an idea. Darn it! Why can't you think of anything! A mind enhanced and perfected by the very best technology the US government can develop and you've nothing to show for it! RAAAAGH!
In a fit of anger, you cast your papers and plans away and stand up, knocking the desk you'd been working at clean over. You stalk around your office, trying to come up with a suitably evil and impressive idea for a Doomsday Device. You bet Dementor never has problems like this, the tiny teutonic twerp! Ooh, alliteration! Nice.
As you cast your eyes around your office, they alight on an advertisement for Hench Co, Jack Hench's little super villain support organization. Hmph, the very idea! As though you needed support of any kind! YOU WERE DOCTOR DRAKKEN! EVIL SUPER GEEEEENIUUUSS!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Still though, hmmm, you eye the advertisement. It might pay to have an inside track on the supervillain community as a whole. Lord knows that most of those fools wouldn't recognize genius if it blasted them in the head with an anti-matter powered death ray. Your streamlining earlier has freed up some funds too. Really, were you drunk when you set up your operation? You'd been paying sub-par industry rates with minimal fringe benefits to SHEGO of all people! That was a quick way to a hot time with some green plasma! It wasn't all roses and rainbows having a competent sidekick!
Clearly, no matter how smart you were, and BOY WERE YOU SMART, you needed more information, so you wouldn't make idiot mistakes like that again. Can't make a Doomsday Device unless you know your physics and engineering! Groundwork is important! You nodded to yourself and called for one of your henchmen. You'd get Shego to do this, but she'd disappeared earlier in the week muttering something about weak links. Well, you didn't begrudge her her hobbies. Still, it meant you had to work with your garden variety Henchmen instead of your Sidekick. Truly, the life of an EVIL SUPER GENIUS was rife with complications!
Your henchman comes running into the room, and you throw a pen and a piece of paper at him. Surprisingly, he catches them without any problem. You'd half expected him to let them hit his chest and fall to the floor like an idiot. "Take some dictation!" you yell, "We're going to be investing in some alternate markets! We need a few extra revenue streams, and I know exactly where to find them."
Ah, Logistics, your old bane. Well, at least you were getting this done with quickly. You lay out a multi-tiered plan to your henchmen, help him with the long words, check he's got the right numbers and proper spelling, and send him on his way to carry out your orders.
NOW!
BACK TO YOUR DOOMSDAY DEVICE!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!
Ha.
Drat! Still no ideas!
Ahem.
And you have successfully appropriated the Mind-Enhancing power of Project Phoebus for your own Nefarious Purposes! It's been a few days since you returned victorious! to your Time Share Lair, but over time you've felt your evil intellect growing, expanding! Soon, you shall create your very own Doomsday Device! The world will Cower before your Awesome Might! COWER!
BWAHAHAHAHAH!
Now, if only you could actually come up with an idea. Isn't that always the way? Evil super genius with a mind more powerful than a thousand Cray Mainframes and no inspiration. That stupid machine clearly didn't enhance all the parts of your brain equally, but no matter! You shall think of something! Eventually...
"Uh, Doctor Drakken?" one of your insipid henchmen calls to you, what does he want? "Uh, you need to read the quarterly review, and approve our 'bonuses'" Heh, bonuses indeed, who doesn't love Cocoa Moo?
"Very Well" you say, "If I must." This won't take you but a moment, and then, BACK TO THE DOOMSDAY DEVICE!!!
You make a few annotations, a number of alterations, really you were clearly having an off day when you wrote this out. It's needlessly complicated and byzantine. Just a little fix to the pay structure here, and a quick change to the cash flows there, and you're done. You've no idea why you put that off so long, it must have only taken you five minutes to actually do!
"Here!" you slap the paperwork into your slack jawed henchmen's hands, "Now leave me! I have EVIL SCIENCE TO DO!"
Yes! EVIL SCIENCE! Your true calling in life! That therapist had really been on to something when he'd suggested the whole Supervillain career path to you! The world will rue the day it mocked DOCTOR DRAKKEN! Just as soon as you get an idea. Darn it! Why can't you think of anything! A mind enhanced and perfected by the very best technology the US government can develop and you've nothing to show for it! RAAAAGH!
In a fit of anger, you cast your papers and plans away and stand up, knocking the desk you'd been working at clean over. You stalk around your office, trying to come up with a suitably evil and impressive idea for a Doomsday Device. You bet Dementor never has problems like this, the tiny teutonic twerp! Ooh, alliteration! Nice.
As you cast your eyes around your office, they alight on an advertisement for Hench Co, Jack Hench's little super villain support organization. Hmph, the very idea! As though you needed support of any kind! YOU WERE DOCTOR DRAKKEN! EVIL SUPER GEEEEENIUUUSS!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Still though, hmmm, you eye the advertisement. It might pay to have an inside track on the supervillain community as a whole. Lord knows that most of those fools wouldn't recognize genius if it blasted them in the head with an anti-matter powered death ray. Your streamlining earlier has freed up some funds too. Really, were you drunk when you set up your operation? You'd been paying sub-par industry rates with minimal fringe benefits to SHEGO of all people! That was a quick way to a hot time with some green plasma! It wasn't all roses and rainbows having a competent sidekick!
Clearly, no matter how smart you were, and BOY WERE YOU SMART, you needed more information, so you wouldn't make idiot mistakes like that again. Can't make a Doomsday Device unless you know your physics and engineering! Groundwork is important! You nodded to yourself and called for one of your henchmen. You'd get Shego to do this, but she'd disappeared earlier in the week muttering something about weak links. Well, you didn't begrudge her her hobbies. Still, it meant you had to work with your garden variety Henchmen instead of your Sidekick. Truly, the life of an EVIL SUPER GENIUS was rife with complications!
Your henchman comes running into the room, and you throw a pen and a piece of paper at him. Surprisingly, he catches them without any problem. You'd half expected him to let them hit his chest and fall to the floor like an idiot. "Take some dictation!" you yell, "We're going to be investing in some alternate markets! We need a few extra revenue streams, and I know exactly where to find them."
Ah, Logistics, your old bane. Well, at least you were getting this done with quickly. You lay out a multi-tiered plan to your henchmen, help him with the long words, check he's got the right numbers and proper spelling, and send him on his way to carry out your orders.
NOW!
BACK TO YOUR DOOMSDAY DEVICE!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!
Ha.
Drat! Still no ideas!
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
As a note to the, perhaps 3 people, following this thread, voting will be over the next 26 odd hours, closing at Midnight on Friday the 18th.
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
Alright, as a result of the Complete Lack of players and discussion here, which I'll take as a signal sign of SV's disinterest, I'm going to cease updating this thread. If someone actually wants this back up then I may restart it, and the quest is going to continue on SB and SV. You can find the latest update on SB here: Down the Bad Road (H:tV/KP quest) | Page 7