Thanks to captainkodak1, CajunBear73, sharper1988, JCS1966, Comet Moon, Mr. Wizard, Quathis, campy, Katsumara, daywalkr82, bigherb81, screaming phoenix, Eddy13, spectre666, Classic Cowboy, Jillie Rose, Molloy, whitem, Shrike176, noncynic, Nutzkie, and Boris Yeltsin for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

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Special thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter.

KP © Disney.

All original characters © the author.

I.

“Ron’s still waiting for his acceptance letters,” Kim said in response to Halsey’s question concerning the teens’ college plans. “Once he gets them, we can make a decision about the fall.”

“That assumes I get any,” Ron said sourly, prompting a puzzled look from Halsey. “Seems the college admissions people are more focused on my Gentleman’s C average than my badical sidekicking and rushing records,” he explained.

“Even so, I’m sure you’ll get in somewhere,” Halsey said encouragingly.

“Maybe,” Ron replied without much conviction, “but Kim shouldn’t wait to make her decision. She can go anywhere. Me? I’m probably going nowhere.”

Kim sighed. “Will you please stop worrying? Everything’s going to work out. You’ll see.”

“That’s easy for you to say, KP. You’ve been Chauncey with the colleges for weeks.”

“Chauncey with the colleges?” asked Halsey.

“I started receiving acceptance letters weeks ago …” Kim answered, her words trailing off as she had a sudden, awful realization. “Nice work, Possible,” she muttered.

“KP?” Ron asked.

Kim looked at him for a moment, then back to Halsey. “Do you think you could show us to our quarters? I think my BF and I need to talk.”

II.

Anne and James hurried from the guestroom into the living room where they were met by Ron’s parents and Nana Possible, all of whom had come rushing down the stairs. They were soon joined by a giggling Hana, who was gaily skipping on the ceiling.

“Where are Jim and Tim?” a curious Mr. Stoppable asked.

The Doctors Possible exchanged a knowing glance, then sighed in unison.

“Come on,” Anne said to her husband. “We’d better find out what they’re up to.”

“I just hope Steve Barkin didn’t have a third car,” James said wearily as he followed his wife out the front door. “I don’t have that much insurance.”

III.

“It’s the Colorado, sir,” the communications officer said to Cochrane.

“Give me your headset,” the captain replied.

The man did as commanded and rose from his seat, allowing the CO to take up his station. “Cunningham, this is Cochrane. What’s going on?”

“We’ve picked up something big on sonar,” Cunningham reported.

“How big?” Cochrane asked.

“Bigger than anything we or Ivan ever deployed.”

“What about the Chinese? They’ve been spending money on weapons like a congressman seeking re-election.”

Cunningham snorted. “Maybe, but I can’t imagine they’d just leave something like this out in the middle of the Pacific, especially where we could find it.”

“Good point. You think our out-of-town visitors left it behind?”

“Unfortunately, that’s the best theory I could come up with.”

“Great,” Cochrane sighed, considering the implications should the unidentified object prove to be alien technology. “Okay, hold your position and keep me posted if anything changes. I’m going to put a call in to the pneumatic tube guys.”

“Got it,” the sub skipper said. “Cunningham out.”

Cochrane removed the headset and looked over his shoulder at the communications officer. “Raise Global Justice. And make sure it’s on a secure line.”

IV.

Betty Director shook her head in amazement as she read the latest situation reports. Given the scope and scale of the Lorwardian invasion, the absence of a single battle casualty was nothing short of miraculous. It was as if she was living in some cartoon world where no-one ever really got hurt. Still, even if nobody was injured or killed, the reports made for sobering reading: there were dormant alien walkers equipped with highly advanced technology strewn all over the globe. And parts of Middleton, the epicenter of the invasion, were devastated.

Needing a break from recent events, the GJ chief set aside the after-action reports and turned to some personnel files. She had just started reviewing Will Du’s folder when the blue light began flashing on her secure phone.

She picked up the receiver and answered without ceremony. “Director here.”

“Hi, Bets,” a familiar voice said.

“Tommy?” she replied, her voice softening.

“Yep,” Cochrane replied warmly.

“I’m assuming this isn’t a social call,” she said, thinking of the line on which he’d rung in.

“I’d like to say it is, but we’ve got a problem …”

Betty Director listened attentively to Cochrane’s report, making notes as she spoke. When he was done, she said, “I’ll send my number one agent immediately.”

“Thanks, but I have an idea I’d like to run by you. If you approve, we could start our investigation now, rather than waiting for your agent to arrive.”

“Shoot,” Director said. When Cochrane finished, she was smiling with satisfaction. This unforeseen development might help her address a long-standing concern sooner than expected. “That’s a great idea, Tommy, though I have one request.”

“Sure,” he said. When she explained what she wanted, he agreed without hesitation.

“Keep me posted,” Betty said.

“Will do,” Cochrane replied. “Oh, and Betty?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be surprised if you get that social call sooner than you expect.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” she said. “And Tommy?”

“Yes?”

“Good luck.”

V.

Kim sat cross-legged on the bunk, facing her boyfriend. “Ron, I owe you an apology.”

“Don’t worry,” he said with a wave of the hand before he frowned. “Though it did kind of tank when you pulled me away from my chimerito.”

Kim smirked, though her bemused expression was soon replaced by something more serious. “Ron, I’ve been receiving college acceptance letters for weeks and I never said anything to you.”

An uneasy silence rapidly descended over the quarters.

“Yeah,” he said nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “I was kind of wondering about that.”

“First my applications, now this …” she said, feeling awful.

“Does this mean we are breaking up?”

“What?”

“Well, this is the most ginormous thing going on in your life and the only reason I know about it is because I walked in on you as you were sorting through that grande-sized pile of letters and then in the sloppy hall—”

“Mess hall,” Kim corrected him.

“You sure?” Ron asked, eliciting a nod from her. “Well, anyway, you said we needed to talk. The Ronster can do the math.”

Kim resisted the temptation to roll her eyes; given the situation, her boyfriend’s weird logic actually seemed reasonable. “Ron, I love being your girlfriend and I meant what I said the other day at Bueno Nacho – we’re not breaking up. The thing is, I also loved getting into all those schools.”

“Okay, you’ve lost me,” he said.

Kim sighed. “I want to be with you but getting into schools in Hong Kong and London has been spankin’. And as long as I didn’t say anything, I didn’t have to deal with the university sitch. I just could enjoy being your GF and daydream about college.”

Ron gulped. “Did any of those daydreams involve me?”

Kim nodded. “Yes,” she said with a smile, recalling reveries about sitting with Ron beneath a large, leafy tree on a generic college quad. “But,” she added with a frown, “I also didn’t see how with your grades you’d be able to go to the schools I really wanted to attend.”

“Sorry about my gradage, KP,” he offered apologetically.

“Apology accepted,” she said. “Though if you mean it, you’ll spend more time in the future with Shakespeare and less with Space Squid.”

“Man, I love Space Squid,” groaned Ron without thinking. Seeing the expression on his girlfriend’s face, he added enthusiastically, “But what I’m really all about is the Shakespeare!”

“Good answer,” she said with a smile and a cocked eyebrow.

“So, uh, maybe I missed something,” Ron said as he rubbed his chin, “but I’m still not clear on why you didn’t tell me about your college offers.”

“I guess I didn’t want to deal with the possibility that we might not be in the same place in the fall. As long as I put off talking with you about my letters, I didn’t have to,” Kim explained.

Ron shook his head. “Okay, I never thought I’d say this, but you’ve been spending too much time with me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Kim Possible procrastinating?” he observed. “Next thing you know, you’ll be marinating!”

Kim snorted, then smiled. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Just being you,” she said, taking his hand. Then, frowning, she observed, “This is all so ferociously confusing.”

Ron considered Kim for a moment. Then, steeling himself, he looked her in the eye. “It doesn’t have to be, KP. I meant what I said at the football stadium. You’re heading to the stars and I’m stuck here on earth. I’m cool with whatever happens. I, I don’t want to hold you back.”

“That’s sweet, but ferociously flawed,” she said, caressing his cheek. “And it so doesn’t help and not just because you couldn’t hold me back.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember I told you I had a confession to make?” she asked, eliciting a nod from him. “I never told you why I was scared.”

Ron reached over and took her hand. “I’m all ears,” he said, earning a smirk from Kim.

“Good,” she said reaching up so she could gently run a finger along his right earlobe. “Because I like your ears.”

“Coolio,” Ron said. He gently cupped Kim’s cheeks in his large hands and drew her in for a kiss – only to be interrupted by someone knocking on the door to her quarters.

“Man, can’t we ever catch a break?” he whined.

“Tell me about it,” she groused. “Come in,” she called out as she rose from the bunk, expecting to see Halsey. She was surprised, as was Ron, when Captain Cochrane entered.

“Miss Possible, Mister Stoppable, I know you’ve had a full day and it’s late, but your country needs you to go on a mission …”