Kim Possible: Final Masquerade

The Catalyst

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The satisfying sound of the boxing gloves smacking against the punching mitts echoed through the small gym. The only two occupants were the redheaded teen, and Special Agent Donald Riker. Both wearing workout attire, but the only one really putting her time in was Kim.

She quickly punched each mitt he put up at an incredible speed. She had been a lone wolf for so long now, she needed to be as fast and as strong as she could possibly be. Don himself wasn't very old, but keeping up with her was damn near impossible. He was getting just as much of a workout as she was, simply just by trying to throw her off.

She finally gave a few more punches and jabs, followed by a small variety of mastered kicks. He finally dropped his arms, and shook them out to regain the blood flow.

"You done?" Kim lightly smiled.

"Keeping up with you is a workout in itself. Damn." He breathed heavily and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Oh come on. You're just gonna let a teenage girl beat you up?" She finally laughed, and reached for her water bottle from the wooden bench. "When that girl is Kim Possible, then yes." He laughed back, and threw the punching mitts down to the ground. He too grabbed his water bottle, and took a quick swig.

"Seriously though, that's just amazing. I've never seen anybody move that fast. Not even some of our field agents." He gulped his water then easily patted the girl on the back. She smiled at his remark, then finished drinking her water. She sat it back down on the bench, with her smile instantly dropping. Donald walked back over to his mitts and put them back on, ready to let Kim go another round.

"Don." He then heard Kim speak up. He turned around as he strapped on the mitts. When he did, he noticed she didn't even look up at him from the floor. She sat on the bench right next to her water bottle.

"How long... do you think you're gonna be in this type of business..?" The question kind of threw him off. It was such a random question that he'd usually hear from his daughter or his ex wife. But to hear it from her? His favorite goober redhead? Something was off.

"Well... after I exited the military at 22 I started working at the CIA. That was 11 years ago. And I plan on doing the same thing for the next 11 years." He briefly answered and looked at her strangely. She still didn't look up from the floor mats.

"Why do you ask?" He finally questioned her. She hesitated to answer, and he noticed. He slowly walked over to her, and sat next to her on the bench. "Kim... what's going on?" He finally asked softly and continued to stare at the girl. She again hesitated.

"Come in Buttercup, what's bugging you." He asked again with his gentle voice. She finally built up the courage to look up from the floor. "I just... I honestly don't know."

"About?"

"About this. Me. How long I'll be in this business. I'm only nineteen—almost twenty—yet I've already been in this game for eight years. I've seen things.. things that people should either see in the military or in their mid thirties. *sigh* I just can't explain it.." She sighed, and finally stared straight ahead in contemplation. her head filled with nothing but the horror she has done to those men in that bank.

"Kim—

"And I've lost people. God I've lost so many people." That sentence made the agent go quiet.

"And I just think... how long before enough is enough? Before I finally give it up, or worse."

"Worse? What do you think could be worse than quitting what you love?" He asked, as he threw the mitts back off. It was clear they were probably going to be done for the evening.
She went silent for a brief moment. He knew the answer she was going to give wasn't going to be a good one.