The Protagonist System

We played for a short time before the flight crew saw what we were doing and joined in. I'm not sure where the pretzel twists came from; but, we agreed they were worth three pretzel sticks. After a few more hands and some voracious betting and snacking, someone threw in a handful of Cheez-its and said 'Call'.

“Hey, no hedge bets!” The guy next to him complained.

“Sorry, I ate all my pretzel sticks.” The guy said and showed us he had half a bag full.

I glanced at everyone and back to him. “Well, with new currency put in play, we have to agree their worth.” I said and smiled. “I vote they're worth 5 pretzel sticks.”

“Seconded!” Half of everyone else said.

“It looks like your call just became a raise! Ha ha!” My driver said.

The man groaned and the rest of us laughed.

We played for another half an hour until the clear winner ended up being Mr. Possible.

“When did you start playing?” I asked, because I was having too much fun playing and also trying to blatantly cheat with Tara to notice.

“If you looked away from your girl for more than a few seconds every round, you'd have seen me a while ago.” Mr. Possible said with a knowing smile and scooped up his winnings to hold out to the side. His sons seemed to appear out of nowhere, cheered and thanked him, then took off again. “It's been fun, gents. Thanks for the game.”

The guards and flight crew nodded or waved as he went back to his town car and entered the back.

I turned and looked at Tara, whom looked very pleased at having distracted me so well and for so long. “I think Mr. Possible has the right idea. It's time for a nap.”

“They moved S-235 to the medical bay for sutures, so the back seat is completely free.” My driver said.

“Partition up?” I asked and he nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

The man smiled. “You always do, Stoppable.”

I took Tara's hand and led her around the car and opened the door for her. As the driver said, there was no one else inside and Tara climbed in. I climbed in as well and closed the door.

“The windows aren't tinted, so we are actually taking a nap.” I clarified for her.

Tara gave me a cute little pout and crossed her arms.

I chuckled. “This does not count as being alone, Tara. We can't even lock the doors.”

Tara looked to see there were no buttons for that and sighed. I pulled her close and laid down, making it easy for her to snuggle up to me. She let out a soft sigh and rested her head on my chest.

“Don't worry. Once we reach the base and get debriefed, we'll have our own set of rooms and as much privacy as we can stand.” I said and kissed the top of her head. “You'll get your reward for being such a great girlfriend then.”

Tara nodded and let out another sigh and drifted off to sleep. I closed my own eyes and pretended to sleep, because I felt Kim slide down the access ladder and slink over to where the cars were. I used my X-Ray Vision to watch her and she peeked into the back window to look at us peacefully sleeping. There was a brief look of disappoint and then Kim slipped away and climbed inside the other car, where her mom started asking her where she was all this time and if she managed to apologize to me. Kim tried to deflect and Ann was having none of it as she pointedly asked what happened.

I held in my laugh as Kim said she found us in a compromising position and didn't want to interrupt, then she avoid us because she didn't want us to think she was stalking us.

“If they were just kissing, you could have interrupted them.” Ann said.

“Kissing...” Kim paused and slightly blushed. “Tara was kissing Ron in a way I've never seen before.”

“Even with all the boys you've dated?” Ann asked and Kim blushed fully. “I'm sure you've kissed them in a similar way, or close enough. There's not much variations when lips are involved.”

Kim opened her mouth and then closed it. “No comment.”

Ann laughed and patted her knee. “It's all right, Kim. I've kissed your father in many ways, too.”

“MOM!” Kim gasped and her blush turned to a flaming red. “I didn't want to know THAT!”

Ann laughed and laughed at her daughter's indignation, not realizing what she had just admitted to. Of course, I immediately fantasized about Ann on her knees and giving me the Tara treatment and I sprang right up. Tara was mostly cuddled to my side, with part of her chest and her head on my chest, so it didn't disturb her sleep.

With the memories Ron had of how he was treated by Ann, I realized that he loved her for it. She had been more of a mother to him than his own mom and she had earned a special place in his heart.

Now that would be a fantastic pick-up line if there ever was one. I thought with a smile and stopped using X-Ray Vision to watch Ann tease Kim over different types of kisses, fully embarrassing and possibly mortifying the girl over the implications that her sexy mom was not anywhere close to being a prude.

*

The guards and drivers were grateful when the plane finally landed and they had driven their vehicles to the Global Justice Network's base and their extended duties had come to an end. The moving vans were stored for a few days after the personal luggage and a few large cases of equipment were offloaded. The men went to their own on-base assigned rooms to rest and relax.

They had transferred custody of the extracted persons to the appropriate base personnel for their debriefing and only two of them felt a little bad about that. They liked their usual client and handing over responsibility for him was harder than usual for them, especially after spending some casual time with him.

Unlike nearly every other agent of their organization, that were mostly arrogant and believed they were more important than everyone else, Ron didn't treat them like background characters and actually appreciated their efforts on his behalf. To use his words, they appreciated it right back.

The one who appreciated it the most was Dr. Betty Director, whom had just finished reviewing the footage of everything that happened during the extraction. She had to admit the new girlfriend had some skill with how she handled things on the catwalk and Betty mentally thanked herself for allowing Tara to come along. It kept Ron Stoppable happy and distracted from his personal situation.

Betty was going to have to remind him of why they were there, however. She hit the intercom and asked for a sit-rep for the guests on the base and chuckled at the report of loud moaning and several screams of Ron's name coming from his suite, despite the sound dampening walls.

“I suppose his personal debriefing can wait for a few more hours. Thank you.” Betty said and ended the call. She was a little disappointed they weren't legally allowed to have cameras in the personal spaces of their agents for privacy reasons, because she wanted to know what he was doing to that girl to make her scream so much. “Maybe I'll just ask him. He seems like a very direct person.”

Her mind resolved, she went back to the endless reams of paperwork that an organization like hers always had going on. She worked diligently for another four hours and her alarm to eat went off, giving her an excuse to go meet their guests at the cafeteria for supper. She shuffled the last report off to the side after signing that she read it and left her office.

Betty nodded and saluted the various people she passed that did the same to her, which was everyone, because she was the boss and they all respected her. She had pulled their asses out of the proverbial fire more times than any of them could count, either personally or by using other agents, and they all appreciated her efforts to keep them all as safe as a spy could possibly be.

Betty arrived at the cafeteria and hid her smile at the obvious ruckus. The capable Ann Possible was herding her children to remain at their assigned table while Ron was trying, and failing, to keep Tara's hands from roaming places they shouldn't go while in public.

He must have really worked her over if she's that forward afterwards. Betty thought and she was sure she wasn't the only one thinking it, because quite a few people were giving them their undivided attention, including Kim Possible.

Betty went through the line and grabbed a plate of breaded chicken breasts as a main, french fries as a side, no gravy, and a bowl of pudding with a dollop of whipped cream. It was a guilty pleasure of hers and she would never tell anyone she was a bit of a foodie when it came to desserts. She walked over to the guest table and cleared her throat.

Everyone at the table immediately stilled, even the rambunctious twin boys, and both the father and Ron stood up.

“Gentlemen, ladies. Do you mind if I joined you?” Betty asked.

“Not at all, Director.” Mr. Possible said.

“You can have my seat, Dr. Betty Director.” Ron offered and pulled it out for her.

Betty let out the smile she was hiding, because Tara's hand was currently shoved into Ron's back pocket to make sure he could move more than a few inches away from her. “I believe where you sit has already been claimed, Mr. Stoppable.”

Ann chuckled and Kim looked embarrassed, because they could also see Tara's hand shamelessly groping Ron's butt. Tara on the other hand, looked quite happy about the whole thing, probably because not one single person was telling her to stop.

Betty sat at the end of the table near Ann and everyone visibly relaxed. Mr. Possible sat down and then Ron did as well, careful of the hand currently gripping him down there.

“I just wanted to check in with you to see how you're coping with the sudden change in the situation.” Betty said, probingly. Just that little bit was enough to open the floodgates.

They all started expressing their opinions about the whole thing. The twins thought it was a great adventure, Kim deeply regretted causing it, Ann regretted having to permanently leave the family home they loved behind, to be either wrecked by villains or sold to hide that it was their address, and Mr. Possible shared his wife's opinion while also saying that as long as they were together, material things could be replaced eventually.

Ron frowned slightly after hearing that, before stating that he agreed with Mr. Stoppable and that the house wasn't as important as the people living inside of it, since it was family that made a house a home. As long as the people he loved were safe, that was all he cared about. Everything else could be fixed or replaced.

Betty nodded at that and continued to eat. She observed them after the confessions and she was happy to see thoughtful looks on everyone's faces, even Tara's. Ron's opinion matched her own, actually. Material things were just that, things. If you couldn't save the people inside, what was the point of saving the house?

Before parting ways, Betty asked Ron to bring those cases to her office so they could do some business. He agreed right away. Tara, very reluctantly, allowed him to leave her sight for the next few hours after they reached their suite. Ron reminded her to call her mother and Tara kissed him soundly before going into the bedroom.

Betty sat perched on the edge of her desk and hadn't tried to tackle the paperwork again, because she knew it was never ending and it could wait. She had an important discussion to have with an agent that seemed to have no problem dealing with a threat permanently. She could definitely use someone like that, assuming he wasn't too affected by that Attitudinator helmet.

Ron carried two large equipment cases into her office and gave his spiel about the usage and how there were two versions, the expert one and the commercial one to be sold to the public. He could also set them for network exclusivity and they would only contact each other when necessary or could have them work with any other phone.

“Are you really only selling the expensive ones for a hundred dollars?” Betty asked with a knowing smile.

Ron laughed. “It's to get the rich and popular crowd to use them, then everyone will want them. Bonnie already sent several texts to Tara about buying a hundred of the exclusive ones for her father's company and a thousand of the public ones.”

Betty let out a chuckle. “Only one sale and it's almost a hundred grand? Nice work, Stoppable.”

“It's just the start.” Ron said and opened both cases. “Guess what I brought with me?”

“A hundred exclusives and a thousand public ones.” Betty said with a smile and he nodded. “I'll have the funds deposited in your account by the morning.”

Ron closed the cases and sat on them, gave her a searching look for a moment, then smiled. “So, what's on your mind, Dr. Betty Director? You don't usually handle arranging logistics deals yourself.”

Betty smiled back. “I wanted to gauge your willingness to do what's necessary when it's necessary.”

Ron sat there in silence for a few seconds. “Do you want a more detailed report than the debriefing?”

“Please.” Betty said and activated her personal recording device.

Ron started from the beginning, just as Kim had when talking to her mother about it, and went through all the events that happened, right up until Drakken absorbed a lot more evil energy than anyone expected, not even Ron. When he mentioned the mystical monkey powers changing Drakken, Betty asked for an explanation.

Ron went into details where he encountered Monkey Fist, the empowering statues, and learning about the ancient fighting powers and mystical mojo that could possibly corrupt the wielder if he wasn't careful, which was why Ron had been so reluctant to use the powers more than strictly necessary.

It was so easy to succumb to the dark side and let his anger and emotions run wild, which would put him entirely at the mercy of said powers. They wanted to be used and didn't care if it was for evil or not. It was the user that had limitations like the morality of right and wrong.

Betty had to agree that removing Dr. Drakken before he learned how to tap into that universal energy was the right choice. If just getting the powers had changed his body that much, then he would have become an impossible foe to defeat in a short period of time because he would have given in to the evil side as soon as possible. She told Ron this and he sagged slightly, clearly showing relief.

Betty walked over to him and paused for a second, then she pulled him to his feet and hugged him. She felt his arms go around her and he held on for a few seconds before he let her go. She smiled as she let him go and he looked grateful for both the gesture and the compassion.

“Why are you smiling?” Ron asked, curious.

“I'm wearing tight pants and you didn't grab my ass.” Betty said as her smile changed to a grin.

Ron looked surprised and then laughed. “I was thinking the same thing! Tara loves it when I wear these jeans.”

It took Betty a moment to realize he expected her to grab his ass instead and she laughed, too. That broke the tension and they both sat down on the cases and just talked about his career and some of the things she had to do when she made the difficult choices, which had Ron nodding along.

Ron agreed to read the files she had set aside, which were for people that were just a little too dangerous to allow free reign. He was to approach them with an offer of friendship first, since having them work to safeguard humanity was better than destroying it.

If they didn't accept or outright refused, or attacked him in any way, he was to dispose of them in a similar way to Drakken and she would take full responsibility for it. She even issued orders confirming that and retroactively added Drakken's new status as being covered under her authority.

“You didn't have to do that, Dr. Betty Director.” Ron said, gratefully.

“Yes, I did.” Betty said and reached over to rub his head. “Because I agree with you. Saving the people you care about is more important than anything else.”

Ron's face went a little red. “If I didn't know you were married to your work, I might have taken that as a pick-up line.”

Betty glanced down at his crotch and then back at his face. She let him see on her face that she knew exactly what he was packing down there. “I don't like having to wait in line. Thanks, though.”

“Is it a line when there's only one person in it?” Ron asked and stood up. “Have a good evening, Dr. Betty Director.”

Betty nodded and didn't tell him that Wade was monitoring a pile of cheerleaders texting back and forth about him constantly and there was definitely a line. “Good night, Mr. Stoppable.”