Kim paced her and Shego’s bedroom. Shego was spending the night in the hospital. Kim had left, knowing she would have to wait for tomorrow if she wanted answers from Shego. However, Kim found that she couldn’t sleep without Shego beside her… she had tried taking her Pandaroo from it’s hidden storage place in the closet, but even that wasn’t helping.
“I need answers.” she finally admitted to herself. With Shego unconscious at the hospital, that left Kim with one other option.
Much to Shego’s surprise, Wade had fallen into the role of her manager, just as he had used to ‘manage’ Kim… Acting as the interface between woman and the person who needed help, weeding out those who didn’t really need her services. If anyone knew who had hired Shego to fight in the Kimminator, he would.
The priority alarm coming from his computer system woke Wade from sleep. Yawning, he got up and went over to the computer system. Let’s see… he thought, checking the system. Ok, call from the Kim’s kimmunicator… Why would she be calling this late? Did something new happen to Shego in the hospital?
Wade activated the communication link and checked on the status of a sub-program. This sub-program was a low level ‘hack’ into the Middleton Medical Center, echoing the readouts of all the monitoring equipment Shego was hooked up to. As far as Wade could tell, everything was the way it should be.
“Hey, Kim. What’s up?” he asked. As the image cleared up, Wade noticed that Kim looked upset. Extremely upset. Uh-oh… he thought to himself. “Is something wrong with the twins?”
“Do you know why Shego’s in the hospital, Wade?” said Kim.
“Um, Kim, you need to talk to Shego about that.” said Wade. He glanced at the sub-program. “As far as I can tell, she’s going to be fine…”
“Wade, she could have died today. I need to know who she was having a aerial dog-fight with, and why.” said Kim.
“Kim, you know some of what Shego does is classified top security…” said Wade.
“Wade, you’re talking to ME.” said Kim. “We’ve been working together, saving the world, for years. So don’t give me any of that ‘I can’t tell you’ bullsh….”. Kim stopped, taking a breath to calm herself down.
Whoah… thought Wade. She almost used profanity… she IS upset.
“I know you know.” said Kim. “So it’s not that you can’t tell me. It’s either you WILL tell me, or you WON’T”.
“Kim, I’m not supposed to tell anyone! Shego told me not to tell even you!” said Wade, anguish on his puffy face.
“Wade, Shego’s in the hospital right now. You can either tell me why, or you can tell me goodbye.” said Kim. “If you won’t help me now, then our friendship is through.”
Wade felt a surge of panic. Kim Possible was one of the few friends he had, even if he mostly only saw her through a video screen. In many ways, Kim Possible was the person he wished to be… self confident, able to help people directly, and popular. Not an agoraphobic computer nerd with zero non-cyber friends his own age.
“I’ll talk.” said Wade. He sighed. “Global Justice contacted Shego about a month ago. Motor Ed stole a prototype from them, called the Aero-Space Strike Fighter…”
Kim listened to Wade as he poured out the story, describing all the information he had been able to find out. How the ASS Fighter’s own stealth systems had kept Wade and Global Justice from finding where Motor Ed was hiding the ASS Fighter. How the Kimminator was the only plane that had had a chance to stop the ASS Fighter from blowing up Middleton. And finally, how Shego had managed to at least temporarily stop Motor Ed, at the cost of a concussion and a limb broken.
When Wade finished, he looked at the camera image of Kim. For a moment, Wade felt a strange sense of deja-vu… the look on Kim’s face, he hadn’t seen in far too long. It was Kim Possible, the girl who could do anything, going into mission mode.
“Wade. Start putting out rumors on the net. About some new plane parts. Afterburners, sonic wrenches, I don’t care. Call Felix and Ron if you have to. Anything to distract Motor Ed and buy us time. Then set up an appointment with me and Dr. Director.” said Kim.
“Right on it.” said Wade. He blinked, feeling a familiar surge of addrenaline that he hadn‘t fealt in awhile, making up for his lack of sleep. He hadn’t even realized how much he had missed being part of this Kim Possible’s life, being the boy-genius who helped Kim Possible save the world. “I can get you in appointment at 10 AM.” reported Wade, having accessed Dr. Director’s electronic schedule.
“Good.” said Kim. “I’m going to get Shego from the hospital at 8 AM… and then we’re going to have a talk, before my meeting with Dr. Director.”
Shego sat in a wheelchair, puzzled as why doctors always insisted patients leave in a wheelchair. It was just her arm that was broken, after all, not her leg. The bruises on her body, where some of the straps on the Kimminator had dug into her too hard during particulary violent maneuvers, were already starting to fade. She just hoped that she’d be able to fly one handed. Even with her accelerated healing abilities, there was no way that broken arm would be healed before Motor Ed put his ASS back up in the air.
She turned eagerly to see Kim entering the hospital room Shego was waiting in.
Shego looked at the slightly younger woman and experienced a flash of deja-vu. The look on Kim’s face reminded Shego of other times, in Shego’s past… times when the cheerleader had found Shego and Drakken, committing some particularly heinous piece of villainy. The look that said ‘I am SO disappointed in you, and this is SO going to hurt’.
“I’m in trouble, aren’t I.” said Shego. She didn’t even try to make it sound like a question.
“Shego, why didn’t you TELL me?” demanded Kim. “We’re married! For better or worse, remember?”
“Kim, if I told you, you’ld have tried to fight with me.” said Shego. “You’re not a pilot, you couldn’t help in the cockpit… all you could do was get hurt.”
“Fine, I can’t fly.” said Kim. “But there’s other things I could do. If nothing else, I could be worried for you.”
“I didn’t want you to worry.” said Shego. “I didn’t want you getting hurt.”
“You don’t want me hurt? Don’t keep secrets from me.” said Kim. “Knowing you’re keeping secrets from me, that hurts. Not knowing when you go out whether you’re risking your life without telling me or not, that hurts. Knowing you don’t think I’m strong enough…”. Kim shuddered, unable to use words to convey how much that had hurt. Kim knew that having the twins had changed her, but surely not that much.
“Kim!” said Shego. She got out of the wheelchair, her one good arm wrapping around Kim. “Princess, you’re the strongest person I know. I just… I didn’t want to lose you.”
Kim lifted her hands to touch Shego’s face. She looked deep into Shego’s eyes, emerald green eyes locked with emerald green eyes. “Shego… there’s only one way you could ever lose me. And that’s by you putting me out your life. But as long as you don't shut me out, we’ll be together. Forever. I swear.”
Shego brought her unbroken arm… her left, and took Kim’s left hand in her own grip. She looked down, to see her gold wedding ring pressing against Kim’s wedding ring and the engagement ring Shego had bought for Kim. “With this ring, I thee wed…” said Shego, quoting from the ceremony.
Kim nodded, her lips moving as she softly echoed the words.
Shego took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, princess… it’s been so long since I was with family, I’d forgotten…”
“Well, I’m here to remind you.” said Kim. “And to tell you how we’re going to take out Motor Ed, together.”
Shego raised an eyebrow. “Um, Kim, hate to break it to you, but the odds aren’t good. I don’t remember all the details of the landing, but I do remember the Kimminator is probably in worse shape then I am, and that all I managed to do was scratch Ed’s fighter up a bit. He’ll have that plane back up in the air in a week, tops, blowing up cities. Starting with Middleton.”
“Oh, he’ll be busy for a bit longer then that.” Kim said confidently. “This is Motor Ed, remember? Wade’s feeding him rumors of super parts. Hopefully, we can keep him busy long enough for you AND the Kimminator to get back to full fighting trim.”
Shego looked at Kim. The red-haired woman seemed more excited, more alive, then any time Shego could remember since their honeymoon. “Some people would say stopping Motor Ed and his fighter would be impossible.”
“Check our names.” said Kim, grinning confidently. “Anything’s possible for a Possible.”
“Dr. Director, Mrs. K. Possible is here.” said Agent Du.
“How does she look?” asked Dr. Director.
Kim Possible leaned over Will’s desk and pushed the intercom button. “Oh, I think ticked off sums it up.” she said.
“I see.” said Dr. Director’s voice from the intercom. The door to her inner office slid open. Dr. Director got up from her desk and walked to Kim. “Will, please leave us alone.”
“Ma’am, I don’ t think…” said Will.
“Agent Du, leave us now.” snapped Dr. Director. “That is an order.”
“Yes ma’am!” said Will, reflexively saluting. He then hurridly left the office.
Kim and Dr. Director just stood that way for a moment, Kim glaring angrily. Dr. Director broke the silence.
“I’m sorry.” she said. “The Kimminator was the only thing I could think of to stop Motor Ed.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” demanded Kim. “Why didn’t SHE tell me?”
“Because she wanted you to be safe.” said Dr. Director. “She was afraid if you knew, you’d go back to being the pe… go back to risking yourself to save the world.”
“You were going to say, being the person I was.” said Kim. “Having the kids changed me. But it hasn’t made me weaker, hasn’t made me fragile.”
“I never said it had.” said Dr. Director. “I’d say, if anything, it made you stronger. Gave you something to focus on. A link to the future. Children always are. But it wasn’t my decision to keep you in the dark.”
“It wasn’t Shego’s decision to make either!” said Kim. “And now, thanks to Motor Ed and you, she’s in the hospital!”
Dr. Director nodded. “Are you angry with Motor Ed, with Shego, or with me.”
“All three of you.” said Kim. She sighed. “And myself also, I guess.”
Dr. Director sighed. “Kim, I know… I’ve always known, that sooner or later you’d come back to Global Justice. You’re too good at what you do to stay a house mother. But it had to be by your choice. Shego didn’t want me to hurry you. For Shego’s sake, and your own… I ask you to forgive her.”
“What about forgiving you?” demanded Kim.
“I’m the head of an international crime and terrorism fighting organization.” said Dr. Director, her face going hard. Her one eye glinted cold. “I’m used to being hated.”
Kim sighed and relaxed. The righteous anger filling Kim couldn’t stand up against the cold determination of Dr. Director, to do what was right no matter the personal cost. “What if I had taken a swing at you?” she asked.
“Wouldn’t have been the first time someone decked me.” said Dr. Director. She smiled. “Sometime, you should ask Will about the time he punched me in the gut.”
“Will Du? Boy scout boy?” said Kim, shocked.
“World saving isn’t a game, Kim” said Dr. Director. “The stress level is incredible… and sometimes, even the best of us need someone to blame.”
Kim shook her head. “Ok, I think I’ve found a way to stall for time. Wade’s got a list of parts put together, for Motor Ed to grab. We have to have real parts for him, though, or he’ll stop looking.”
Dr. Director nodded. “Good thinking. I’ll get the labs working, see what we can do.”
“What about getting the Kimminator back flying, preferably with some better toys this time?” asked Kim.
“Got a team of techs assembling now.” said Dr. Director. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to someone I was planning to put on the team, who I think will be a lot of help.”
Dr. Director led Kim into the bowels of the Global Justice building, to a room that looked like a cross between a garage and a lab. A giant touch-sensitive monitor was set against one wall, taking the place of a marker board. Several post-it notes were stuck around the edge of the monitor. Motor parts and model rockets were scattered on the work table in the middle of the room. In the corner, a man below average height was sitting at a computer workstation, working with a CAD program. He was wearing rather heavy clothing for being indoors, including a multi-pocketed jacket. A clear wall of bullet-proof plastic made up one wall of the lab, with the man’s back currently to the wall. A door, with a complex security lock, was built into the clear wall.
Dr. Director tapped on the wall. “Mr. Smith?” she called.
The man kept typing. Kim noticed he had a pair of over-sized headphones on his head, sort of like what air-port workers wore.
Dr. Director frowned and knocked hard. “Mr. Smith?” she called again, and then took a deep breath. “MOUSE!”
The man jerked upright and turned. He blinked, seeing Dr. Director, and quickly saved what he had been working on. Pulling the headset down, he came to the door and opened it. “Oh, hi, Dr. Director.” he said, his eyes hazel. “I was just working on that vectored-thrust amplifier. I told those guys on the ASS Fighter program that three engines was overkill, and…”
“Mouse, this is Kim Possible.” said Dr. Director. “She’s the co-owner of the Kimminator… the plane we were hoping could take out the ASS fighter.”
“Oh, hi.” said the man, shaking Kim’s hand.
“Um, hi, Mr. Smith.” said Kim, smiling back reflexively.
“Oh, please, call me Mouse. “ the young man shrugged. “I’ve been looking over the Kimminator… you know, I think you could get a speed increase of…”
“Mouse.” said Dr. Director, interrupting. “I want you and some of the techs to go help Miss Possible get her plane working, and putting in all the upgrades you can. WORKABLE upgrades, I don’t want a repeat of the Star Bolt fiasco.”
“Star Bolt?” said Kim, frowning.
“The math was sound.” insisted Mouse. “Um, just on the test bed it didn’t go up. More like… sideways.”
“More like, berserk.” said Dr. Director. “You were the only one of the testers who didn’t have to be treated for burns.”
Mouse shrugged.
“Were you working on the ASS Fighter?” asked Kim.
“That? No!” said Mouse. “Typical government contract. ‘We want the most high-tech plane we can, as long as it doesn’t use anything REALLY revolutionary’.”. He snorted.
“Well, here’s your chance.” said Dr. Director. “We need a plane that can outfly the ASS Fighter, and we don’t have much time. The Kimminator was banged up… one engine will need a total replacement… but it’s still going to be faster to upgrade it than build a new plane.”
“Don’t worry, ma’am.” said Mouse, grinning eagerly. “We’re going to kick the ASS Fighter’s ass!”
“Boss, are you sure about this?” said the henchman, standing outside a government lab.
“Dude, did you see the specs on this part? It is like, going to rock!” said Motor Ed. “Totally!”
“Why does a plane even NEED a rear spoiler? I thought that was just for race cars?” said the henchman.
“Dude, let’s break in there and grab it.” said Motor Ed. “We still need to plan our break in to get the combination flight angle indicator and dancing hula girl.”