“Great,” said Shego, looking around. “All white and sterile. How lovely.”
“It's a lab, Shego, what did you expect?” Kim asked.
“I just don't like places like this,” Shego said. “And neither do you.”
“OK, so this place gives me the creeps as well,” said Kim. “But just a few more moments and then it'll be over.”
“Yeah…” said Shego.
“Haha!” Dr. Drakken laughed. “This time my plan for utter world domination is absolutely fool-proof.”
Shego rolled her eyes. She so wasn't in the mood for this.
“Well…?” said Drakken.
“Well what?” Shego asked, lying awkwardly on the couch, trying to read a magazine.
“Aren't you going to make some sarcastic comment? Or just ask what my fool-proof plan is?”
“Do I have to?” Shego asked.
“Well… technically it's not in your contract,” said Drakken.
“Good,” said Shego.
“Yes, but you're my sidekick. You're supposed to engage in witty banter with me!”
Shego raised an eyebrow. “Look, Dr. D., in case you didn't notice I got a few other concerns here right now.”
“Yes, well, I'm still saying that's all just in your head.”
“Whatever,” said Shego.
“Hmm. Well. Anyway. My brilliant plan this time is to…”
“I really don't want to hear it,” a familiar voice said.
“Kim Possi- blu- huhn- wuh?”
“Eloquent as always Dr. D,” said Shego, getting off the couch with some trouble.
“Shego? What happened to you?”
Shego carefully circled Kim, who circled right back. “Same thing that happened to you I'd wager.”
Kim scraped the floor with a hoof. “Weird. I thought waking up as a centaur was all part of some villainous scheme.”
“Apparently not,” said Shego, swishing her black tail. “Because here I am as well. But I gotta admit, Princess, equine looks good on you.”
“You're just saying that because I'm the only other girl in the world like you.”
“Hmm. Maybe,” Shego smiled.
Kim scraped with a hoof again and her tail twitched nervously. “Yeah, well, let's fight, OK?”
“Yes, I was wondering when you were going to start,” Drakken said. “It's not fair. Not bantering with me, but still engaging in conversation with Possible. Now get to the trampling.”
“Well, you heard the man.”
As Kim ducked into a defensive stance, or as defensive as she could with her horse body. Shego reared up, her hands and front hooves bursting into green flame. The sound that escaped from her lips was very nearly a neigh. Kim's eyes narrowed, her tensed body prepared to jolt either way depending on where Shego's hooves would come down.
“No! Shego! Stop!” Drakken yelled. “You'll burn holes in the carpet everywhere!”
A section of the sterile white wall turned out to be a sterile white door and slid open soundlessly.
Please enter the reallingment chamber, a dull, monotonous voice sounded from a speaker.
Kim, holding Shego's hand, began walking towards the door, but stopped when Shego didn't follow. She turned around as best she could, her body moving in a large half-circle, to see Shego trotting in place, her eyes wide.
“Shego?”
“OK, I admit it, I'm scared,” said Shego.
“Why?” said Kim. “We're just going to be turned back to normal.”
Please enter the reallingment chamber.
“Well, I've never really liked Global Justice,” said Shego. “Especially since they're the ones who did this to us.”
“What do you mean, you did this to us?” Kim asked.
“I didn't do anything,” said Dr. Director. “It was a project by one of my predecessors.”
Early morning fog still covered the park and in the pre-dawn silence, the sound of Kim's hooves was loud indeed. Kim and Dr. Director walked slowly, talked even slower. Sometimes, an early morning jogger passed them and invariable cast a strange look at Kim. But Kim had been getting those looks for weeks now and she didn't really care about them any more.
“It was during the height of the Cold War,” said Dr. Director. “The fear of war was great, so scientists were set to work to…”
“You're not seriously going to tell me that the government was trying to make super-soldiers, right?”
“That's exactly what I'm going to say,” said Dr. Director. “Not officially, of course. I have no proof and all records were destroyed in any case. All I have is the word of a scientist who fled to Iceland.”
“Uh-huh,” said Kim. “OK, go on.”
“Various promising individuals were… treated. I don't know the exact specifics. In any case, the project was an apparent success. The subjects got better hearing, better eyesight, greater strength, more athletic and so on and so forth. But the more the subjects began using their… enhancements… the more they began to change.”
“Change how?” Kim asked.
“I've seen a few pictures. Let's just say that 'chimera' doesn't even cover half of it. Luckily, you are a descendant of one of the subjects, so your change is less radical.”
“Less radical? I'm a centaur. I have reddish fur, two extra legs and a tail.”
“Yes,” said Dr. Director. “Your only mutation is horse-based. Consider yourself fortunate.” She sighed. “If only those records hadn't been destroyed. I always thought 'cheerleading practise' wasn't enough of an excuse to explain away your many extraordinary feats.”
Kim shrugged. “It sounded pretty good to me. Anyway, is there any chance of a cure?”
“Our scientists are working on one, yes,” said Dr. Director. “So please let Shego know next time you see her.”
“Shego?” Kim said, her tail suddenly moving from side to side. “Drakken is in jail. Why do you think I'll see her?”
Dr. Director gave Kim a Look, accompanied by a Smile. “Let's call it instinct, shall we?”
Another extremely early-morning jogger came jogging up the path and stopped near Kim and Dr. Director, jogging in place.
“Wow. I didn't know they were shooting a movie here.”
“Yes,” said Kim flatly. “We're in the middle of a scene. Please get with the jogging.”
“Wow. They've become really good at hiding the cameras, haven't they?”
Kim watched the jogger jog on and shook her head.
Stupid humans.
The reallingment chamber was just as white and sterile as the waiting room, except that it was round. And, Kim had to admit, it felt horribly, horribly wrong. Many things had felt wrong lately. She might have woken up with a centaur body one day, but her mind was still human. Had been human, at least. She wasn't sure she could still be considered really human. She didn't really care, but other people might.
Then again, other people had never had a horse body.
Faint blue light surrounded Kim and Shego and an unseen force pulled them up into the air.
Initialising initial scan.
“Well,” said Shego. “Guess this is it.”
“Guess so,” said Kim.
“Are you gonna miss it?”
“You know Kim, when you asked me to come hang out with you, I was expecting Bueno Nacho.”
“Oh come on, Ron, this is your big chance to ride a horse for once.”
“Yeah, but I've never been that big a fan of horseback riding.”
Ron sat on Kim's back, his arms firmly around the human part of her body. If only she wore a saddle. Things might've been better if only she wore a saddle. They probably wouldn't be, but they might.
“Can't see why not,” said Kim, trotting a few paces. “When you're gallopping at top speed it's like you're eating up the horizon. Everyone should feel like that at least once.”
“This, of course, coming from someone who actually gallops. However, as a member of the running community, I'm not that interested.”
Ron felt something wet hit his face and looked up. It was early evening, so it was getting pretty dark already. And, of course, the gathering black stormclouds only made it more dark.
“Uhm, KP, maybe we should head inside before…”
“Hey there Princess.”
“Shego.”
Through the fear of falling off, Ron still managed to note that Kim didn't say Shego's name in her usual way of aggressive suspicion. She almost sounded happy.
Shego cantered to Kim's side. “Letting people mount you, Princess? How unbecoming of a young girl.”
“Oh haha,” said Kim. “I'm just doing something nice for a friend.”
“Really?” said Shego. “He seems scared.”
“I am not,” Ron said, pretty sure he was going to get struck by lightning for such an outrageous lie.
“Hmm,” said Shego.
Rain began falling in earnest. Kim and Shego didn't seem to notice it, having a whole and completely incomprehensible conversation using looks, glances, hoof-scraping and tail-swishing alone. Ron, on the other hand, noticed it a lot.
“Yeah, it's getting really wet now,” he said. “Could we please go inside.”
“It's much nicer out,” said Shego. “Right, Princess?”
“I have to agree with her, Ron.”
“Well is it OK if I don't agree?”
“You can think whatever you like,” said Shego. “It's not like I care.”
“Shego, be nice,” said Kim.
“Oh, hey, did you catch the news last night?” Shego asked, turning to Kim in such a way that suggested Ron didn't exist and/or matter in her immediate universe any more.
“I don't really watch TV any more,” said Kim.
“Me neither, but this was a great report,” said Shego. “Apparently, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse have been sighted. Two of them at least.”
Ron sneezed. His clothes were getting seriously soaked here. He tapped Kim's shoulder, but she ignored him. Or maybe she just didn't notice him at all.
“You're joking, right?” said Kim.
“Nah, it's true. And they were totally serious about it too. Apparently I'm Pestilence and you're War.”
“Why would I be War?” Kim asked.
“I don't know,” said Shego. “Maybe they just think War is an attractive redhead.”
Ron got seriously jolted when Kim suddenly took two steps back.
“Shego…”
“Anyway, what I'm really here for is, how 'bout a race?”
“A race?” Kim asked.
“Yeah. Here to the state line. What do you think?”
“Is there a price for the winner?” Kim asked.
“If you like,” said Shego. “Ready?”
“What? No!” Ron yelled. “It's raining! It's dark! I need to be home in time. It's a school day tomorrow!“
“You're on,” said Kim. “Hang on Ron!”
There was no pain. No physical pain, at least. Then again, the transformation back hadn't really started yet. But already she began to feel as if she was losing something very important.
She'd never gallop again. Never again experience the sheer satisfaction of exhaustion at the end of a journey without purpose other than making it. But at least she'd be part of society again and be able to easily enter buildings.
Somehow it didn't seem like a fair trade.
“Shego…”
“Yeah?”
“Remember your idea?”
“Yeah. On three?”
“On three.”
Three counts later, four hooves slammed against the doors of the reallingment chamber. And they slammed against it again and again until the doors burst open and the centaurs broke through.
Dr. Director leaned back in her chair and looked at the little card in her hand. It looked like a business card, but one without a name or a telephone number or an e-mail address or even just a regular address. The only thing printed on it was a set of coordinates. Dr. Director had looked them up in an atlas and hadn't been surprised to find that it was the location of a plain, flat and vast and largely uninhabited.
To Dr. Director, the message was clear. If the world really needed Kim Possible to save it, she could be found there. But when it wasn't in danger she wanted to be left alone.
Dr. Director tried to wonder what that life would be like, out there in a vast nothingness with only one person by her side. It didn't sound like much of a life to her. But then again, she was Dr. Director and not Kim Possible and she was human and not a centaur.
Perhaps to a centaur, a vast plain and someone to share it with was all that was really needed.
Dr. Director twirled the little calling card between her fingers. Then she put it down on her desk and took a book of matches from her pocket.