And You And I

Chapter 16: You and your friend

Kim had awoken on Saturday morning to the incessant beeping of her alarm clock, a headache and a sharp pain in her right-hand side; it had been 6:00 am. The former she grudgingly acquiesced to, while the latter two were promptly told to fuck off; after a trip to the bathroom for a singular codeine. Even though it was Saturday and one of her ribs was broken, she still dragged herself out for her morning run. After deciding on the life of a full-time hero, she'd committed herself to a strict exercise regime in order to keep herself in peak condition. It included both a run and workout before breakfast and was only deviated from if she had been particularly banged up or had been out on a mission all night. Needless to say, minor hangovers and pain that had dulled somewhat from a single painkiller fell into neither category. Besides, she'd felt a strong need to put last night behind her and so returning to her norm seemed like the best way of doing that.

There had been a light drizzle outside, with a thick bank of dark clouds moving in ominously; there would be a thunderstorm later, of that she had been in little doubt. After a much-needed shower, breakfast had been served at eight-thirty and consisted of cereal, fresh fruit salad, a bowl of yoghurt and a craving for toaster tarts that she did not have. Yeah, sometimes she looked after herself too well. Regardless, it had been a surprisingly quiet morning. All thoughts of Shego and last night seemingly having been pushed out of her mind. Like they had been locked away inside a box, which had a dragon; that oddly resembled Mr Barkin, coiled around it. In fact, anytime her brain came close to trying to think about it, she heard the Barkin-dragon bark, "don't even think about it, Possible."

It was now just going on nine-am and Kim stood in front of her balcony doors, staring out at the picturesque mountains and their ominous backdrop of black clouds; cell phone in hand. While she had to go over to her parents later in the afternoon and stay for dinner; plus two hours afterwards, that was only half her day. Before then, she needed to deal with the damage Drakken's death-ray had caused to her hair and when out on her run that morning, she'd had a brilliant idea. It would require cashing in some favours, but would hopefully kill three birds with one stone. She scrolled through her contacts and hit dial when she found the right one.

"Hello," a man with a thick Spanish accent answered.

"Hi, Raul, it's Kim," she replied.

"Kim?" the man on the other end asked quizzically, like he was searching his brain in an effort to place the voice and name.

"Kim Possible."

"Ah, Miss Possible," Raul replied, his tone suddenly becoming bright and animated. "I cannot thank you enough for that time you rescued my models from the clutches of that nasty blue-skinned man. Urgh, he was a fashion disaster. The very idea of my beautiful ladies trapped in his company is still too much to bear."

She remembered the incident well. Drakken had kidnapped a series of hair models and planned to use them in a rigged contest in another effort to shift his supply of brainwashing shampoo. "I'm just sorry I couldn't get both Alexandrea and her hair out in one piece," she replied. The woman in question had got her hair stuck in a door that had sealed behind her and Kim had been forced to slice it off using her laser lipstick.

"No, no, that was not your fault," Raul said swiftly. "Besides, you were the perfect stand-in."

She could recall that part too. With the model now lacking enough hair for the stylist's design, Kim had volunteered herself as a last-minute replacement and won him first prize in the flaming locks category. "It was nothing, really," she said, knowing full well what the response would be.

As expected, Raul did not disappoint, "no, no, no, you were the star of the show. I cannot thank you enough. If there is ever anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask."