Kim Possible copyrighted by Disney, etc.

Chapter 7
Sensei and Sensibility

Ron turned around, the Lotus Blade changing back into a sword. 'It's about time you Yamanouchi yahoos showed up!' he sneered. 'Honestly, what kept you? I had to write that song just so you could have more time to get here!'

Frozen in her battle-suit, Kim could only move her head and she glanced to either side. There were about a dozen black-suited ninja flanking her chair, and with a start, she recognized one of them.

'Yori?'

Yori looked down at Kim. 'Do not be afraid, Possible-chan.' she said. 'We are not affected by Stoppable-san's machine.'

One of the ninja flashed out with a swipe from his katana, and the Mega Feedback Modulator fell from Kim's ankle, severed neatly into two sparking pieces. Kim rose up. Ron stood, covering his mouth in a feigned yawn. Kim could see no bracelets on the wrists of any of the ninja. 'But how...?' she started.

'It was my doing, Kim Possible.' said a deep, soothing voice. Master Sensei stepped forwards. 'Our keenest hunters have been scouring the globe ever since the Lotus Blade was stolen. However, that proved unnecessary when it was seen in the hand of Stoppable-san during his broadcast. We came to Middleton at once - all who were able.'

'D'oy!' said Ron. 'I knew the meditations and mental discipline you teach would protect some of you from the effects of the Transducer!' he said. 'Doesn't look like many, though. I guess most of your students have been skipping their homework!' he shook his head and tsked in mock disappointment.

Sensei simply stood frowning. 'Did you truly believe that the Yamanouchi School would allow the Lotus Blade to be used for evil?'

'Of course I didn't.' said Ron. 'And yet that's exactly what's happening! Sen-sorry to disappoint you.'

'You were the chosen one.' said Sensei. 'You once fought for good and justice. Return to the light so the Lotus may bloom in peace once more.'

'Mmmmm no....' said Ron, looking thoughtful. 'You see I expected you and your students to show up eventually, so I think I may as well add one more to the mix....' He snapped his fingers.

With a blur of motion, Grimm leaped and flipped over Ron, landing between him, Sensei and his advancing students. 'Hello master.' said Grimm with a smile. 'Aren't you going to say konnichi wa?'

'Grimm.' said Sensei, and for a moment, his brow creased in unmistakable anger before his normal calm expression snapped back into place. 'It is you who set these events in motion.'

'Not at all.' he said, going into a ready stance. He didn't seem afraid that he was facing a master and a dozen of his students. His face was as calm and smug as ever. 'I admit only to succeeding where you failed - in helping your 'chosen one' realize his potential. Beyond that, I did nothing.'

Sensei gestured to his students and they parted, leaving a clear space where he and Grimm squared off. But both stood quite still. Kim could feel the tension between them like a firecracker waiting to explode. Still, neither of them moved.

'Come on, Sensei.' said Grimm, smiling faintly. 'I know you better than that, and you know me. I learned directly from you that when you force your enemy to come to you, you give yourself a number of advantages. If you think I'll surrender those advantages to you, you're gravely mistaken.'

Sensei stared coldly at Grimm, but his eye flicked to the Mega Synaptic Transducer. 'You may as well make that first move, Sensei.' Grimm continued. 'You can stand there waiting until doomsday for all I care - but with your chosen one in control - doomsday is coming a lot faster that you might guess.'

Ron stood behind them, glaring impatiently. 'Will you two just get on with it?' he yelled, waving his hands.

Sensei's eyes narrowed even more, and he let out a sigh. Then he stepped forward cautiously, his arms raised and ready. Grimm stood waiting. Sensei lashed out, but Grimm countered and blocked, shifting his stance.

Sensei struck once more, and once more he was blocked. He struck again, and was blocked again. There was a silent pause. Then suddenly Sensei was striking with blinding speed, moving smoothly and gracefully. His arms and hands were dealing out strikes and kicks, and yet he did so with seemingly little effort. His face was a study of concentration and calm.

But Grimm was moving just as quickly, matching Sensei in both speed and grace. His look of relaxed calm vanished, replaced with a dark expression of total focus.

'You have taken one who is pure in heart and twisted him.' Sensei said calmly, even as he continued with a relentless number of attacks.

Grimm's eyes narrowed. He continued to match Sensei, countering his moves, though he was visibly exerting himself. 'Pure in heart?' he said, 'That's a dodge your school teaches so you can fool yourselves into thinking all the time you spent meditating wasn't wasted. Every person has good - and evil. It's ingrained in each of us - no matter how much we try to fight it, or what laughable philosophies are concocted to deny it.'

'Grimm was one of Sensei's students?' Kim said. 'Talk about mega-weird!'

'He was one of the Yamanouchi School's most adept.' Yori said. 'But eventually Sensei discerned the darkness in his heart, and banned him from the school. It would seem that he has continued his study of Tai Shing Pek Kwar outside of Yamanouchi.'

'But Sensei can beat him, right?' Kim said.

Yori frowned. 'I do not know. He was nearly an equal to Sensei when he was cast out. He seems even stronger now.'

Sensei feinted smoothly, ducking under one of Grimm's countering moves, and it seemed as if he would land a telling blow. But Grimm shifted, and though his block missed, there was a flash of orange light that streaked from his hand and Sensei's blow was deflected. Kim stood, so tense it felt as if the Mega Feedback Modulator was around her ankle again. Grimm's suit had the same defensive capabilities as her own. Sensei may have more skill, but Grimm's battle suit gave him a number of abilities that leveled the playing field.

'I know it upsets your apple-cart, Master.' Grimm continued, his face shining with sweat, 'But the Chinese hit closer to the mark when they came up with the philosophy of the Yin-Yang. The fact is, there are two voices in all of us. One light - and one dark.'

Kim could not stand by any longer. She stepped forward, but Ron shook his finger. 'Uh-uh!' he said. 'No audience participation in this performance!' He tapped his belt, and the lasers which he had used to make the lightshow for his song suddenly glowed bright. They fired a series of shots which landed just in front of Kim and the Yamanouchi students, blasting craters into the stone floor. Kim gritted her teeth. There were at least a dozen laser guns mounted near the ceiling, leveled at them and ready to fire.

Grimm was still fending off Sensei's attacks. 'In every heart there's a dark voice that whispers and encourages us to lie, to cheat, to steal.' he said, his own teeth clenched in concentration as he managed to keep pace with Sensei. 'It's the super-villain in all of us. But the voice of light almost always buries their dark side. Only an extraordinary few have that situation reversed, where the dark side is dominant and suppresses the light. Your chosen one is now an extraordinary person.'

Sensei shook his head. 'I should never have taught you, young Grimm.' he said. 'You have proved a very great disappointment.'

'A disappointment?' Grimm smirked. 'They say a teacher's proudest moment is when he's surpassed by a student.' he said. 'I hope this day to make you proud!'

Kim stepped slowly forward until she was ahead of Yori and the other Yamanouchi students. She whispered to Yori out of the corner of her mouth. 'There's a control console on the other side of the warehouse.' she said softly, and Yori nodded. 'You have to find a way to shut off Ron's machine. I'll do what I can to make sure the lasers don't touch you. When I signal, go for the controls!'

Ron stood glaring at Kim across the way from where Grimm and Sensei continued their duel. A knowing smile was on his face and he gestured at Rhonda, who looked nervous, but nodded slightly.

At that moment, Sensei caught Grimm with a solid strike in his chest. Grimm flew back, skidding across the floor before flipping to his feet, his face scowling.

'Go!' Kim shouted. Yori and the other ninja bolted to the side. As they did so, the laser cannons fired. Kim formed her hand module and caught one of the laser shots that fired out, throwing it back towards the cannons. One of the lasers exploded, and she raised her shield, the remaining shots repelling from her.

Kim could see the Yamanouchi students, with Yori at the lead, racing across the warehouse towards the main console. But ahead of them all was Rhonda Fatigable. Kim caught another laser shot, making sure the cannons stayed focused on her, and cast it back up toward the laser batteries where another cannon exploded in a bloom of red light. She spun and cartwheeled gracefully, catching and throwing back another blast while small explosions flared around her and at her feet, but by keeping up a rhythm of her hand module and shield device, she remained untouched. Finally, the support beam which held up the laser array tore loose, and the other cannons spun wildly, some blasting each other, before they all crashed to the warehouse floor and shattered.

Kim stood panting, pausing for one moment, but then she saw a metallic flash. She raised her shield just as a fist smashed into it, propelled by the writhing tentacle of the Lotus Blade. She was flung backwards, skidding across the floor.

'Audience participation!' said Ron. 'What did I just say?'

Kim rose up, seeing Ron striding unconcerned around Grimm and Sensei, who were still battling intensely. He stood in front of her, pointing the Lotus Blade at her. Kim stood at the ready, prepared for anything.

Then Ron suddenly put the Lotus Blade in his belt and cracked his knuckles. 'Too easy.' he said. 'I know you like that hands-on touch....'

Kim stared at him. He wasn't a match for her skill in a straight up fight, but she knew that Ron hardly ever went into a fight unprepared - at least when his evil was in control. She advanced slowly. 'I don't want to fight you.' she said.

Ron snorted. 'Oh please!' he said. 'How many movies has that been in? You're supposed to be able to do anything, try coming up with some decent lines!' He raised his hands, moving in the style of Monkey Kung-Fu.

Kim reacted quickly, leaping high, her foot raised in a flying kick. She hated to do it, but she had to take him down before he decided to use the Lotus Blade again. If she could remove him from the fight, then Team Probable would go down quickly.

Ron raised one gloved hand and Kim slammed into it. But his arm was so solid it felt as if she had kicked a concrete wall. She felt his fingers clench around her heel and he whirled around, spinning her in his grip, then flung her as if she weighed nothing. Kim gasped, but spun and rolled with her new trajectory, landing as softly as she could. She slid nearly twenty feet after landing, barely able to keep her balance.

Ron was walking towards her again, grinning softly. Kim stood at the ready again. 'So you had your Wheaties this morning?' she said, frowning.

Ron chuckled. 'Actually it was Coco-Puffs.' he said. 'It's important to tank up on nine essential vitamins and minerals before using Mystical Monkey Power!'

Kim started towards him again. She had never actually had to go up against Ron's Mystical Monkey Power, but if the Lotus Blade was any indication of the danger it presented, she could not give him the chance to use it again.

Ron shook his head as she rushed towards him. 'Gonna have to put my foot down, Kimberly Ann...!' Then he raised his foot and Kim saw that his blue skin wasn't just blue colored. It was suddenly lit with a blue glow that surmounted his whole body. He stomped on the warehouse floor and there was a thundering boom.

Kim felt herself thrown backwards as a shockwave slammed into her like a solid wall. As she got to her feet, she found herself standing side by side with Grimm. They both glanced awkwardly at each other. Both of them were sweating, both of them short of breath, and both looked worried. While Grimm was holding his own against Sensei, he was clearly not winning against him.

Ron and Sensei were standing side by side as well. Ron looked at Sensei, who was still relaxed and untouched. He glanced over at Grimm. 'More than you can chew?' he said.

Grimm squared his shoulders, looking back at Sensei. 'No.' he said, though his voice sounded more grim than cocky.

Ron smiled. 'Holler if you get stuck!' Then he charged at Kim, just as Sensei charged at Grimm.

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Just before the Yamanouchi students began their run for the control console, Ron had waved Rhonda off and she had dashed ahead of them. She and the Yamanouchi students ran along either side of the Mega Synaptic Transducer. One of the ninja leaped at the Transducer with a Bo staff, but several feet before he reached it, he was flung back with a cry, bouncing off the protective shield. Rhonda chuckled for a moment, but her laughter was short-lived. She was barely a dozen yards ahead of the other students.

'Why do I always wind up getting chased by ninja?' Rhonda thought, her heart pounding. 'Am I covered with ninja-nip or something?'

She reached the console, all twelve of the Yamanouchi students coming after her. She stopped at the top of the short stairs and turned to face them, her face pale but resolved. The ninja students and Yori approached her cautiously.

'What'sa matter, Yori?' said Rhonda tauntingly. 'You mad about what's happened to your 'chosen one'?'

Yori stared at Rhonda, her face showed no emotion, but her eyes glittered. 'He is not my chosen one.' she said. 'He and I share a...'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah, bond of honor.' Rhonda mocked. 'Come on, ninja-girl! You may have told Ron you were OK with he and Kim dating, but between us girls? We both know it's not that simple!'

Yori gritted her teeth. 'You and Grimm have brought disharmony and imbalance by your actions! We are here to set things right!'

'Right?' said Rhonda. 'Yang has been in control of things for ages. How is that 'balanced'?' It's Yin's turn to run the show!'

Yuri scowled. 'Take her!' she said, and the ninja surged forward.

Rhonda smiled. 'Your sensei likes talking in riddles, so here's a good one.' she said with a grin. 'How do you take out a dozen ninja in one blow?' She tapped a button on the console. In this brief instant, Yuri noticed that Rhonda was standing on a small yellow circle, while all the rest of the floor on which they stood was grey...

A surge of electricity charged through the floor. The ninja cried out in pain and collapsed, stunned. After a moment, Rhonda shut off the current. 'With gusto!' she said. She tapped another button and from beneath the feet of each Yamanouchi student an orange circle lit up. With a hiss, a large plastic cylinder rose from beneath each ninja and the tops of them had lids which snapped shut like the iris of an eye, imprisoning each of them. Rhonda giggled. She hadn't had this much fun in ages. She'd been worried when every Yamanouchi student had come after her, but Ron had been right. So far he had been right about everything....

Suddenly, Rhonda saw Yori drop from the above. She had leapt up just before the floor had been electrified. Rhonda reached for the button again, but just before her hand reached the glowing square, the button was shattered by a throwing star. Rhonda gasped. Yori was staring coldly at her, taking out her kunai chain.

'You are filled with such anger,' said Yori. 'Why?'

'Because Kim made a play for my Grimm.' she said, her pretty face now snarling. 'Yeah, she was faking it, but what kind of pathetic doormat just stands by and lets another girl go after her BF? Oh wait - I don't have to ask - do I Yori?'

Yori whirled her kunai chain and advanced. 'Your words will not protect you from me.' she said, a definite blush of anger in her cheeks.

'Then how about this?' Rhonda smiled and tapped a glowing dot on a thick bracelet she had on her left arm. A circle in the floor opened, and with a hiss, a platform rose up. On it stood what looked like a skeletally thin robot. Its eye socket glowed green and it stood up, going into a ready crouch. Rhonda shouted down to Yori. 'Say hello to the Mega-bot 1.0!' she said. 'Who says the first off the production line isn't the best?'

The Mega-bot charged at Yori with a grating, metallic cry. It moved with amazing speed and Yori flipped out of its path just as it struck with a perfect karate strike. She rolled and twisted to the side. The Mega-bot pursued, flipping, rolling and matching her with equal agility.

From the top of the platform, Rhonda cheered. 'Go, Mega-bot! Kick her scrawny ninja butt!'

Yori gritted her teeth as she blocked several attacks. The Mega-bot was skilled, agile and strong and it kept her on the defensive. She dueled with the machine for several minutes, finally seizing it's arm and trying to flip the robot as she somersaulted, keeping a tight grip. But as she landed, she saw the Mega-bot still standing firm on its feet. Its arm had rotated in its socket with Yori's roll, and with a whirring click, it rotated back, snapping neatly out of Yori's grip.

The Mega-bot lashed out with another strike, followed by a foot sweep as Yori ducked, and Yori found herself landing on the floor with a thud that knocked the wind from her lungs. She rolled to the side just as the Mega-bot's foot stomped into the floor with a lethal sounding crunch.

She rose to her feet and dashed to the side, seeking a better vantage point from which to strike. But the Mega-bot raised its arm and a module snapped up from its forearm. There was a sudden burst and a whirling sound and Yori flattened into a crouch as a throwing star whizzed over her head. She leaped up and rolled in mid-air, the Mega-bot still firing shuriken at her.

Yori sent out her kunai chair and managed to lash it tight around the Mega-bot's forearm, squeezing closed the slot from which the shuriken were being fired. But the Mega-bot quickly twisted its wrist, gripping the chain and giving it a sudden yank.

Yori felt herself flying towards the Mega-bot, which raised its fist to strike. Yori gasped and rolled, twisting into a desperate kick which connected to the Mega-bot's head. There was a flash, and a robotic head spun across the floor. The robot's body stood in place, frozen for a moment, before it listed to the side and collapsed, several wires trailing from it's neck like strands of sparking spaghetti.

Yori rose to her feet, panting. She stared up at Rhonda, who stared back at her with a wicked grin. Rhonda raised her hand, pointing two fingers into the air. Then she slowly brought her hand to her left arm, hitting two more of the many small buttons which studded her bracelet.

On either side of her, Yori saw two more holes open in the floor. And two more Mega-bots rose up, their eye sockets glowing green....

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Kim lashed out with a punch, but Ron took it with only a slight grimace. Kim followed up with several smooth strikes and a kick, but Ron blocked her. He didn't block nearly as skillfully as Grimm, but Kim could sense through her blows that Ron felt as solid as an iron statue and was unhurt. Grimm was similarly struggling against Sensei. While he was still holding his own, it was clear that Sensei had the greater level of skill.

Ron lashed out with an outstretched palm, and so did Sensei. Both Kim and Grimm flew backwards, skidding on the soles of their feet and crouching to stabilize themselves. Both glanced at each other again, and they both growled before charging forward, returning to the fray. Both sets of opponents continued in a fight in which the strikes were performed similarly, like a bizarre synchronized swimming event.

Kim stared at Ron's blue face as she struggled for some weakness. But while he didn't seem as skilled as she was, he seemed much stronger and more durable. She could sense that he was just toying with her, and that he might lash out with another shockwave of super-strength at any moment. She marveled for a brief instant why he had never used Mystical Monkey Power on any of their missions together.

'I admit only to succeeding where you failed - in helping your 'chosen one' realize his potential.'

Those had been Grimm's words. She thought bitterly that in all their time together she had rarely pushed Ron to explore that potential. But Grimm had unlocked it simply by turning him evil. The sight of the shattering capsule containing Ron's good side flashed through her mind. If only his good hadn't been lost, the tide of the battle would turn in their favor.

And as Ron blocked another of her strikes, she saw a flash of white on his wrist. He was wearing a bracelet - identical to the one that was protecting her from the Mega Synaptic Transducer. And as if she had suddenly seen the answer to a frustrating riddle, she knew what to do. The Mega Synaptic Transducer reversed good and evil. Ron was evil. Without the bracelet - he would be good again, and Team Probable would lose their most powerful weapon. She braced herself, forming a new plan of attack.

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In the meantime, Grimm and Sensei continued their duel. Grimm was still fighting him to a standstill, but his face now seemed as frustrated as Kim's had been while she was fighting him.

'Your skills have grown, young Grimm.' Sensei said with his ever-calm voice. 'But like a bird who knows it must one day leave it's nest, even you must see the eventual outcome of this battle.'

'I'm seeing lots of things more clearly than you, master.' he answered. 'Did you like my substitute for the Lotus Blade?'

Sensei frowned, but lashed out with a blindingly swift strike. This time, Grimm took the strike in his chest, but a flash of reddish orange flared, and the force of the blow was absorbed. Grimm swiftly spun, slipping something out of his belt pouch. He did not return an attack, but instead he made as if to seize Sensei's wrist. There was a click, and Sensei drew back, a thick metal bracelet locked tight around his forearm. He glanced at it, then turned to face Grimm again.

From the side, Ron lightly tossed an identical bracelet, which whirled through the air, hooked around Sensei's other wrist, and clamped shut. 'About time!' he crowed.

Grimm shrugged and tapped one of the glowing buttons on his belt. There was a mechanical humming, and Sensei's hands began to slowly come together. He trembled, visibly struggling, but soon the manacles around his wrists came together with a loud clank.

'Electro Magnets.' said Grimm, approaching Sensei again. 'I must say, it's nice to see them on someone else. I know you can fight most normal people with both hands tied. But how about me?' Grimm charged forward, on the attack this time. With his hands bound together, Sensei was not able to react as quickly. He was still able to fend Grimm off for some time, but as the battle continued, Grimm snapped another manacle onto Sensei's left ankle when he used a kick to block one of Grimm's attacks. It hummed, and Sensei's arms were pulled slowly downwards. As he struggled against the powerful pull of the Electro Magnets, Grimm slid across the floor and hooked another one to his right ankle.

Unable to resist the combined strength of each manacle, Sensei was brought to his knees as each Electro Magnet was pulled together. He stared up at Grimm, his expression unreadable as he was bound hand and foot.

Grimm kicked Sensei in the chest and he flew into the chair that had held Kim. Grimm tapped another control on his belt, and the Electro Magnets released Sensei's hands and feet from being locked together, but clamped irresistibly to the arms and legs of the metallic chair. Grimm bowed to Sensei. 'Sit back and relax, master.' he said, 'You worked so hard to have Ron trained while he was at Yamanouchi - now you can see the results from the best seat in the house.' Then turned to face Kim and Ron.

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The twin Mega-bots raced toward Yori. Still winded and bruised from her battle with the first Mega-bot, she barely managed to dodge in time. The Mega-bots smoothly pivoted and turned, rushing at her again.

Yori threw the bladed end of her kunai chain, but the second Mega-bot caught it in his metal hand. The other one gripped his own left hand with the right and pulled. The left hand snapped loose, a chain slithering out from it's forearm, and with a swift whirl, he cast his hand at Yori. She rolled to the side, still gripping her own chain, tethered in place by the second Mega-bot, and landed on her feet.

The Mega-bot pulled hard, but this time Yori was ready. She released her chain and took out her fans, and the Mega-bot took Yori's kunai chain and neatly coiled it in it's own hands, readying for a strike. The other Mega-bot's extended hand slid neatly back into place, retracting with a mechanical whirr.

They charged again, and Yori cried out, blocking their strikes. She landed a solid kick into the chest of the second Mega-bot, but there was a loud clunk, and the Mega-bot was unaffected. They both struck at the same time, and Yori deflected with her fans. But at the same instant, the Mega-bots extended their other hands outwards on their chains.

Each of Yori's wrists was clamped tightly in the clawed fist of a Mega-bot. She struggled briefly, but the robots heaved and Yori was pulled towards them like a ball on a string. She tried to roll and kick again, but this time the Mega-bots countered and lashed out with kicks of their own. One deflected Yori's strike, the other struck Yori neatly in the chest, sending her sprawling backwards across the floor.

Yori slid for some distance, and got painfully to her feet. She braced herself from another charge from the Mega-bots, but they remained still. She glanced towards Rhonda, who grinned and tapped another button on the console. It was then that Yori saw she had been thrown right into the center of another orange circle on the floor.

In a splintered second, another cylinder hissed from below, being capped from above with a steel lid. Yori struck with all her strength at the tube which now held her sealed, but she was as helpless as the other Yamanouchi students.

Rhonda was up at the console laughing down at her. 'Didn't I tell you when I came back I'd beat your whole school?' she said. 'Didn't believe me, did you? Hail to the all-powerful Ninjella!!'

Yori gritted her teeth, recognizing her at last.

'Rueful - victory dance!' Rhonda said, and Rueful scampered to her side. Rhonda did some taunting steps and Rueful mirrored her perfectly. 'That's ri-ight! We wooon! It's mah-birthday! It's mah-birthday! Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh!'

Yori struck uselessly at her prison as Rhonda and Rueful turned and dashed back towards the center of the warehouse.

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Kim saw Sensei shackled to the chair and Grimm turning to face her. He did not make any move to join Ron in fighting her though. He simply stood, watching. Kim blocked Ron's next punch with her shield device, but his blow was so powerful, she could feel the shield getting weaker.

'Booya ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!!' he laughed, striking out with each ha. Kim managed to dodge and weave aside. The longer the fight continued, the weaker her shield would get. But she smiled inwardly. He was toying with her, his strikes seeming more relaxed - and careless.

Finally, she was in the perfect position, and his next blow was with the left arm. The white bracelet on his wrist flashed beneath her chin as she shifted to the side. Her hands were perfectly placed. She seized his wrist with one hand and hooked his bracelet with her fingers using her other hand.

With a flash of blue light, she snapped the white band and leaped backwards, pulling his bracelet off and holding it firmly in her grip.

Ron fell to his knees, letting out a long, breathy wail. He hunched over, clutching his hands over his face and was soon cringing and shuddering as his shout squeezed the last of his air out. Kim ran to him and grasped his shoulders.

'Ron!' she shouted. 'Ron... can you hear me?' She gently pried Ron's hands from his head and knelt in front of him.

Ron raised his head slowly and Kim saw behind his red goggles that he was still glaring with slitted eyes.

'Psyche!' he grated. He tucked and rolled, his feet lashing out in a backwards kick that sent her sprawling.

She rolled and got to her feet. Ron had the Lotus Blade in his hand again and Kim saw a metallic fist lashing toward her from the left. She shifted and blocked, but the tendril of the Lotus Blade shot past her, then came from the right, then from above. It was changing form so quickly that Kim couldn't keep track of it...

With a sharp pain, Kim was sent rolling as the fist struck a glancing blow on the back of her shoulder. Her suit's protective field absorbed some of the impact, and she got to her feet, staring at Ron.

Ron was sliding down the cloth of his left glove. 'What's the key to the success of any good engineer?' he said, grinning. Kim saw another white bracelet peeking out from beneath his glove. 'Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy!'

The Lotus Blade was flashing towards her again. Kim leaped high and flipped towards him, but in mid-air, she collided with Grimm, who had leaped to meet her. Both their shields flared and they both rolled backwards....

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Sensei watched as the battle raged, unable to move in the vice-like grip of the electro-magnets. Then he looked to the side, seeing something moving towards him. 'Hmm...' said a friendly voice. A dark figure loomed over Sensei, staring down at him. Other shapes were moving behind him. 'They look like electromagnetic clamps. I can deactivate them easy enough, but seriously - whoever did this needs to mellow out with some soothing coco-moo!'

Behind the figure came an exasperated voice. 'Will you please stop saying coco-moo?'

Sensei smiled.

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As Kim landed, she heard harsh metallic cries and saw two Mega-bots charging at her. She fired her grappling line, trying to tangle their legs, but the Lotus Blade flashed from the side and cut the line in half.

With a shout, she rolled to the side and the Mega-bots overshot her, but as she came to a stop, she found herself facing Rhonda. 'This is for holding Grimm's hand!' she shouted, and she grappled Kim, sweeping her leg and rolling with a judo toss that sent her flying. But Kim rolled with the throw, using it to gain more height to her leap.

She saw a blur of black and reddish-orange beneath her and her shield flared again as Grimm kicked up from beneath. As she came to the height of her jump, she slowed briefly before descending, and saw a metallic flash from the side.

The Lotus Blade had formed into a wide barrier and she slammed into it with a heavy thud. She scrabbled at the wall the Blade had formed in front of her, trying to slow her fall, but the wall vanished almost instantly and she saw the Mega-bots waiting beneath her. There was nothing to stop her from falling into their waiting arms. She raised her hand, gritting her teeth as she saw the frayed end of her severed grapple line.

Desperately, she used her fall and put all her strength into a kick that smashed the head off the neck of one of the Mega-bots. But the other Mega-bot neatly pinioned her arm. Grimm seized her other arm and Rhonda grasped her legs with a flying tackle.

Kim struggled, but there were too many holding her to break free. Ron stepped forward. 'Gift-wrapped hero, my favorite!' he cackled, pointing to the floor a few feet in front of him. 'Put it right here!'

Kim found herself being thrown down at his feet. Grimm and Rhonda took their places behind Ron. Kim struggled to her knees. She had played her last trick, but Ron had seen right through it. Sensei and the Yamanouchi students were out of the fight. She was out of options, and out of ideas.

'Bravo!' Ron said, holding up the Lotus Blade. 'I applaud you for lasting this long, but now it's game over!'

'Ron....' she said, gasping for breath.

'Farewell, Kim Possible!' he screeched. 'As adversaries go, you were always a cut above the rest!' The Lotus Blade glowed and was lancing towards her. She threw up her hands, hoping the battle suit's defensive shields would hold....