Warmth. She felt it all around her, a very calm and comforting warmth, liking being wrapped up in a blanket. She also felt very light as if her body was floating. Floating inside the warmth as the only way she could describe it. It was all very relaxing, like being in a bathtub or a pool. In fact, she could swear she could even feel the water around her. All around her. Even over her head. Like she was beneath the water!
Kim’s eyes snapped open. Panic quickly started to rise within her when she realized she was in fact underwater. Or at least something that resembled water. It was a green liquid encased in a glass tube. She tried to take in her surroundings, but the wavy distortion from the liquid made it hard for her to make out any details. All she could tell was that she was in some kind of lab. Inside the tube, however, it was all-too-easy for her to tell that whoever had abducted her had also removed her clothes. The breathing apparatus over her nose and mouth made it obvious that they wanted her alive, but for what she didn’t know nor did she intend to stay and find out.
She struck out as hard as she could with her left fist, but only succeeded in hurting her knuckles as they bounced harmlessly off the glass. She shook her now throbbing hand to try and sooth the pain, then studied the glass more closely. Placed her right hand against it and moved it along it’s smooth surface. It wasn’t very thick but the liquid she was in slowed down the force of her punches just enough to where she couldn’t do any real damage. The very small amount of room she had to work with didn’t help either. Still, she had to get out. She laid her palms flat against the other side of the tube to brace herself then carefully brought her feet up and began to kick the glass in front of her as hard as she could. Unfortunately, it still refused to so much a crack, but the force of her kicks was beginning to rock the tube. Seeing that as some progress, she continued her actions until the tube finally broke free of it’s base and fell to the floor. A loud shattering sound filled the lab as it practically exploded open, sending pieces of glass and green liquid everywhere. Kim yanked off the breathing device and took in a deep breath of fresh air, before she struggled to her feet. By how much her muscles ached in protest of this simply action, she gathered that had been in that tube for quite awhile now. She took unsteadily as she looked around the laboratory while waiting for her strength to return. It was pretty much like every mad scientist’s lab she had been in over the years. A few consuls here and there, machining humming in the background, very poor lighting, the works. The thing that did stand out, however, were the series of tubes identical to the one she had just broken free off scattered throughout the room. It meant whoever had done this to her either planed to do it again to other people or had already done it to other people.
One of those other people, it turned out was someone she was very familiar with and was floating in the tube next to hers. She stared at the body in disbelief as she wobbly walked over to the other tube, ignored the pain from the tiny bits of glass she was stepping on. She placed a hand on the glass cylinder as she continued to stare at the figure floating almost lifelessly in front of her. Although she couldn’t believe it, there was no mistaking that pale green skin and the luxurious black hair that was slithering around her as if it was alive.
“Shego,” Kim whispered in concern.
Drawing on her quickly returning strength, she wrapped her hands together and held them above her head, intent on smashing the glass open. Her rescue attempt was thwarted, however, when she heard a door from the far side of the room slide open and muttered voice combined with rushed footsteps coming her way. Acting out of instinct, she quickly dove for the nearest console and hid behind it, until she could see who her abductors were and, more importantly, how she would beat them. She was a little surprised when she found that the three men who had entered the room were dressed in the red and white uniforms of W.E.E. agents, but quickly pushed it aside. At least now she knew she could take them, she just needed to wait for the right moment.
“Oh man, I can’t believe she escaped. Gemini’s gonna have our heads for this,” one of the agents moaned.
“No kidding. You guys see a trap door anywhere around here?” another one asked, looking around frantically.
“No and if we find her and put her in one of the other tubes before anyone notices we won’t have to worry about it. So start looking!” the third agent barked.
The other two nodded eagerly before the three split up and started to search the lab. Kim crouched down even further was one of the W.E.E. agents walked near the console was she hiding behind. She waited until he almost passed by it before launching herself forward and clamping a hand over his mouth so he couldn’t scream. She then kicked the back of his knees to bring him down to the floor before completely knocking him out with a punch to the forehead. She dragged the unconscious agent behind the console and began to remove his uniform.
“Sorry about this, but right now I need this a lot more than you do,” she remarked.
After a few…creative alterations, she was able to get the suit to fit her as best she could. It still wasn’t perfect, but at least it was a set of clothes. Even if she couldn’t fit into the boots. With that issue resolved, she took a moment to properly assess the sitch. She was in some kind of W.E.E. complex where she had been a prisoner for who knows how long. There was a good chance that more than just the three agents in the room knew about her escape and she had no way of knowing where the Kimmunicator and her gadgets were if they were even there at all. Not to mention the fact that she still wasn’t up to 100 yet. The only good news was that it appeared that Ron and Rufus hadn’t been captured. At least if they had, they weren’t being held in the lab.
Not really the most encouraging sitch, is it? she thought. I hate to do it, but I’m gonna have to come back and get Shego. I just hope Ron and Wade are still OK so they can help. Or at least get me contact with Global Justice. Looks like I might need help on this.
She then paused and let out a soft, horrified gasp as a freighting thought occurred to her.
Oh God! If they capture me and Shego then there’s every chance they got…Shin, she realized, tears starting to well in her eyes. Please no. Please don’t let that be true. She can’t go through that again, not after she was just born. She shook her head violently to clear those thoughts. I can’t think like that. I have to stay positive. Right now I need to concentrate and get out of here then come back later.
She looked to where Shego’s form was still floating inside her own tube.
“I’ll come back for you. I promise,” she whispered.
She scanned the area for the other two agents that were still in the room and seeing that the coast was clear, made a beeline straight for the exit, which thankfully was still open. She found herself in a long corridor stretching in both directions. She looked one way then the other for a few seconds before finally deciding to go left. This led her to another fork in the road in which she decided to go right. This pattern repeated itself several times over, the entire complex seemingly one large mazed designed to confuse and disorientate anyone inside it. But she knew there had to be a way out, because even Gemini wasn’t crazy enough to keep his own people locked up in some labyrinth. She just needed to find someone to give her directions.
She leaned against the wall to another corner and caught her breath as she peered around to spot a lone W.E.E. agent standing next to a door. It could be the exit, but she knew her luck wasn’t that good. Still, it was a start. She ducked her head back around the corner and waited until she was done catching her breath before striking. She jumped out into the hallway and ran at the confused agent as fast as she could, catching him in the chest with a flying kick and sending him spiraling to the ground. Before he could recover from the unexpected attack, Kim jump on top of him, burying her knee in the small of his back and grabbing the collar of his uniform.
“You really don’t want to make any sudden moves,” she warned quietly.
“Please don’t hurt me,” he pleaded. “I just started here last week so I don’t really know anything important.”
“Do you know the way out?”
“Yeah?”
“Where?”
“Down that hall,” he pointed to the one in front of them, “take a right and then a left at the first doorway, can’t miss it.”
“Do I need anything special to open the door?”
“Just this,” he replied, holding out an ID card wrapped around his neck by a chain. “Take it!”
“Please and thank you,” she said as she pulled it off him. “And I’m sorry about this but I am going to have to knock you out.”
“It’s not going to hurt it is?”
“Just for a little bit.”
Before he could make any other comment or sound, Kim gave him a swift judo chop to the neck that knocked him out cold. She stood and followed his directions until she found herself standing in front of a large steel door clearly marked “Exit” by a bright red sign above it. She smiled at the fact that even villains had to follow fire codes, then looked at the card swiper stuck on the wall to the left of the door. She looked at the card in her hand hesitantly she before swiped it. She was rewarded for her effort by a slight buzzing sound and the door sliding open. She shielded her eyes from the bright light of the afternoon sun until they refocused. When she got her first good look at the outside world, her shoulders slumped a little in dismay. Rather than being in the middle of a major metropolitan area or even a small town like she thought, the W.E.E. complex was in the middle of the woods.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered, casting a glance down at her bare feet.
“There she is! Get her!” a voice from behind her called.
Kim looked over her shoulders to see a new group of W.E.E. soldiers running after them, this time armed with laser rifles. Pushing aside the thought of all the pain she was about to go through, she raced out the door as quickly as her feet would take her, avoiding blaster fire as she did so. Thankfully, even in her weakened state, she seemed much more versatile in traversing the forest terrain than her pursuers and quickly lost them in the tangle of fallen trees and shrubs. Unfortunately, the only clearing the woods opened up into was that of the edge of a cliff. Kim stopped herself just in time before falling off the edge into the dark ocean waters below.
“Oh come on!” she cried out in annoyance.
She considered going back the way she came, but the sound of a twig snapping and some muted conversation quickly brought an end to that idea. She looked around for anything that would be useful for her to hide behind or use as a weapon but found nothing. The only options she had were to either be taken back to the lab where they were doing God-knows-what on her or jump off the cliff and hope she survives the fall. Not too keen on getting back in W.E.E.’s clutches she looked over the cliff again.
“Well it doesn’t seem that high,” she tried to reassure herself. “And there don’t seem to be any rocks around so hopefully I won’t snap my neck.”
“I see her! She’s over there!” one of the agent’s voices called out.
“Cliff it is!”
She took off running and jumped over the edge right as the W.E.E. agents came into the clearing. They watched dumbstruck as the saw the last wisp of her hair disappear from view. Kim wouldn’t have noticed their expressions even if she had been facing them as she closed her eyes the second she took flight. Normally she free falling wasn’t something that really bothered her but normally she had a parachute on when she did so. She just hoped that someone somewhere was looking out for her and that she could survive this fall.
Her wish seemed to be granted as the cool rush of air flowing across her body gave way to the even colder feel of the ocean water suddenly surrounding her. Though the impact felt more like she landed on those small blue pads in gym class rather than water, she didn’t feel like anything was broken, so she took that as a good sign. A bad sign, however, was the fact that the impact what little strength she had and her body was refusing to cooperate. For the second time that day she found herself surrounded by heavy liquid, only this time she didn’t have a breathing device with her. With great effort she finally forced her arms and legs to move so they could at least carry her to the survive. She let out loud gasp upon breaking through then partially fell back into the water so she could at least keep her head above it as she floated with the current.
“Have…to…swim. Have…to…get…help,” she ordered her body weakly, but it simply refused to listen.
She stared up into the bright, yellow sun for serval minutes, maybe even hours, as she just laid back and floated with the current. She knew she should try to swim to the nearest patch of land, but she didn’t know where that was nor did she have the energy to even try. She just wanted to lay back and rest for awhile. Then she would found her way back to land and come back for Shego.
“Yeah. Just…a…little…snap,” she muttered as her eyes slowly fluttered closed.
They snapped back open when she felt herself being moved around and could hear people talking to her. As she slowly came back to reality she realized that she was no longer floating in the water, but laying on damp wooden blanks. She looked around frantically as the blurred faces staring down at her, as everything slowly began come back into clarity.
“Where…where…?” she tried to asked.
“Don’t try to talk Kim,” a familiar voice advised.
She focused on it and found that it belonged to an larder woman with spiked brown hair who had a water slicker over a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans.
“B-Bernice?” she asked, unsure if she actually was seeing her frequent ride giver.
“It’s me Kim,” the woman reassured her. “How did you get out here? Where did you come from?”
“I…I was…” Kim started as she held her head and tried to sit up.
She took a better look around and noticed that she on a small fishing boat surrounded by a small group of sailor who all looked like they had seen better days. Of course, she was sure she looked like that herself. Escaping from a terrorist group’s secret lab, being chased by their goons and jumping off a cliff would do that to a person.
“Wait that’s it!” she shouted, suddenly standing up.
“What’s it?” Bernice asked as she helped her stand.
“I was captured. So was Shego. Shego. She’s still there, I have to…” she started to walked forward but a bout of dizziness stopped her.
“You don’t need to do anything but get to a hospital,” Bernice suggested.
“No! Home! I have to get home,” Kim protested as the world started to spin. “Just…have to…get…home.”
Those were her last words before she blacked out once more.
The next few hours passed by in a daze for Kim. She remembered fighting vehemently with Bernice about taking her home instead of a hospital, getting a new set of clothes that fit a little better than the tattered remains of the W.E.E. uniform and then…well after that it really started to get fuzzy with the combination of the fall and the usual jet lag.
Now she found herself in an old beat up car staring half consciously at the front door to her house. She knew she had to get out of the car, walk across the lawn and up to the front door, but right now that seemed so very hard. As she tried to find her energy, she was vaguely aware of someone talking to her. She rolled her head to the left when she realized was the driver talking to her. She stared at the rotund man in orange for a moment, concentrating on his mouth to try and put the words together.
“What?” she finally asked.
“I was asking if you’re OK,” he repeated. “Are you?”
“I’m-I’m fine Coach McGuirk,” she stated, trying to convince herself as much as him.
“Really? Cause you don’t look it,” the soccer coach said as she looked at her. “Are you drunk?”
“No! I’m just…tired is all. I’ve had…a long day.”
“A long day of drinking.”
“I’m haven’t been drinking!” she protest again, indignation replacing her fatigue.
“Well…you should start. It’s a great way to take the edge of a bad day like the one you seem to having.”
“No thank you. I’m not even hold enough.”
“How old are you?” he asked, looking her up and down again.
“Not even old enough for you,” Kim stated as she finally pulled herself up and out of the car.
She started to walk towards the house, but stopped with a sigh and slowly turned around.
“Thanks for the ride,” she said begrudgeingly.
“Hey don’t worry about it. Just make sure you tell your brothers to make it to practice on time. And that they better start running the ball!” he screamed from his car before driving away.
Kim shook her head as he left and was surprised at how disorientated the simple act made her. She staggered a bit before she found her footing again and made her way uneasily up to the front door. She only got one half hearted knock out before the door swung violently open to reveal her mother standing there with a paniced look on her face.
“Oh God Kimmie, are you alright?” she asked frantically. “When Bernice called and told us how she found you…”
“I’m fine mom, really,” she tried to reassure her mother, though her shaking legs gave her away. “Shego’s what’s important. She’s still…we have to…”
Her voice trailed off as exhaustion over came her once again. Ann Possible reacted quickly and reached out to catch her daughter.
“Kim?!” she cried out as she gently tried to shake her awake. “Kimmie?!”
Shego drummed her fingers on the counter top as she read the directions on the back of the Homestyle Bakes box. While her culinary skills were slowly improving, she still didn’t trust herself to make anything big from scratch. Cookies, brownies, small things like that? Those she could do no problem. But actual meals…she wasn’t quite ready for that yet. In fact, the only time meals like that got made in the new house she shared with Kim was when Stoppable came over. She had begrudgeingly accepted the fact that he was a better cook than her and even forced herself to sit through some of his lessons, which were actually quite helpful. So helpful in fact that she couldn’t understand why Kim wasn’t able to pick any of it up. It just seemed that anytime she stepped into the kitchen to make anything it ended in near disaster and them having to order take out. That, in turn, led to the house rule that Kim wasn’t allowed anywhere near the appliances other than the microwave and even then Shego felt the need to keep an eye on her.
Right as Shego peeled back the box top, the phone rang causing her to let out an irritated sighed.
“Of course,” she muttered as she tossed the small piece of cardboard onto the table before going over to the phone. “If this is another telemarketer…” She let the sentence go unfinished as she picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Shego,” Ann Possible’s paniced tone came through the earpiece. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Shego replied, feeling a bit confused. “What’s going on?”
“I got a call earlier today from one of Kim’s frequent rides that she had been badly hurt during a mission and when she finally got home she said something about you before she collapsed. Considering the shape she’s in I thought something might have happened to you or Shin.
Now Shego was throughly confused.
“Uh…Ann, I can’t think of a polite way to ask this, but are you high?!” she remarked.
A disgusted gasp made it’s way over the phone.
“Shego this is no time for jokes!” Mrs. Dr. Possible admonished.
“I’m not joking,” the pale woman replied as she walked out of the kitchen and down the small hall to the living room. “Kim never got a call for a mission and unless I missed something she’s been here all day.”
“Are you sure?”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead she peaked her head around the corner to find Kim sitting on the couch gently jangling her keys above Shin who cooed happily at the simply entertainment. Satisfied at her finding Shego snuck back around the corner before answering.
“Pretty sure.”
“Well…then who’s over here?” Ann asked.
“Good question. We’ll be over in a bit to find out.”
“Alright. I…I guess we’ll keep an eye on her until you two show up.”
“See ya in a bit.”
“I suppose so.”
Though Ann couldn’t see it through the phone, Shego gave her a slight nod before pressing the “Off” button and lowering the phone to rest at her hip. She looked around the corner again and watched quietly as Kim continued to play with Shin. It was a true scene of domestic bliss that she couldn’t help but smile at. That smile quickly fade into a regretful sigh when it struck her that she had to go break it up. She didn’t want to, but duty called.
“Hey,” she greeted softly as she set the phone down on the coffee table.
“Hey,” Kim returned as she kept dangling the keys above Shin. “You know I can’t believe this actually works. But look at her. Guess it’s just one of those simple joys, huh?”
“Yeah,” Shego breathed with a small grin. “Unfortunately, we’re gonna need those to start the van.”
“What’s up?” the redhead asked, her face suddenly going serious.
“We need to go to your parents house.”
“OK, not that I don’t mind visiting them, but what’s at my parents house?”
“You apparently.”
Kim stared at her blankly for a second.
“I’ll get Shin’s car seat,” she said as she stood up and tossed the keys to Shego.
The pale woman nodded and picked her up daughter as she readied herself to solve the mystery of this other Kim.
When they reached Kim’s parent’s house, she stopped just enough to ask them where they put this other her. After they told her she was in her old room, Kim nodded then made a beeline straight for it. Shego, on the other hand stopped a bit longer to ask them a few favors.
“Here, can you take Shin?” she asked Ann.
“Uh, sure,” the confused woman replied as she took the baby.
“Thanks. Now you got any soda?”
“It’s in the fridge, but I hardly thing now is the right time-” Mr. Dr. Possible started to protest, but it fell on deaf ears as Shego was already half way to the kitchen.
The two elder Possibles spared each other a glance before looking down at their granddaughter and not for the first time, wondered exactly what kind of life she was born into.
Once Shego grabbed a can of soda from the fridge, she followed Kim’s example and headed straight for the red haired girl’s old room. She slowed her march when she got to the top of the small stairway leading into the room and saw Kim standing beside her bed. She walked up behind her looked down at the person currently occupying the bed. Just as Ann and said, she looked exactly like Kim, except for the fact she was dressed in an ill fitting pair of jeans and a T-shirt and seemed blissfully unaware of their presence as she slept. The disheveled state of her hair as well as her bandaged feet told them that she had some kind of ordeal already, which may have been why Kim was hesitant to wake her up.
“She looks exactly like you,” Shego said, feeling like she was stating the obvious.
“I know,” Kim replied in a far off voice. “And I can’t shake this feeling of deja vu.”
“Well you have done the whole clone thing before. Remember Drakken’s lame attempt?”
“Yes I do and that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Then…what?”
“I don’t…know,” Kim admitted as her face scrunched up in concentration. “It’s like something right on the tip of my mind that I just can’t quite place my finger on.” After another few seconds of thought she finally shook her head to try and focus on the matter at hand. “I’ll worry about that later. Right now we need to figure out who she is.”
“I’m telling you, she’s a clone,” Shego insisted.
“We’ll see what Wade has to say about that,” Kim remarked as she pulled out the Kimmunicator and flipped it on. “Wade.”
“What’s up Kim?” the boy genius asked.
“Can the Kimmunicator do a bio-scan thingie?”
“Of course. Who do you need to scan?”
She turned to the Kimmunicator towards the bed. “Her.”
Wade stared wide eyed at the exact replica of Kim laying in the bed.
“Who is…?” he started.
“That’s what we want to find out,” she insisted.
“Uh, right. Just hold the Kimmunicator steady.”
She did as instructed and both she and Shego watched as a beam shot out from Kimmunicator’s screen and scanned the other Kim up and down. The display only lasted a few seconds before the beam retracted and the sounds of keys clacking could be heard. Kim turned the Kimmunicator back towards her and anxiously awaited Wade’s findings.
“Well,” he started after a few seconds. “From what these scans tell me she’s…you.”
“We figured that much out,” Kim retorted. “But what exactly is she, clone, robot, me from another reality?”
At that last question both Shego and Wade gave her an odd look.
“What brought that up?” Shego question.
“I…don’t know,” Kim replied, her face taking on its earlier look of confusion and concentration.
“Well I can rule out robot right away, because these scans show she’s definitely human,” Wade chimed in. “And I don’t think she’s from another reality.”
“How do you know?” Kim asked.
“I don’t really, but the theory behind alternate realities is that they all have their own unique frequency that allows them to exist in the same space/time as ours and yet still be billions of miles apart.”
“Yeah, that’s fascinating,” Shego deadpanded.
“Shego!” Kim admonished before looking back at the screen. “Go ahead Wade.”
“Thanks. Anyway, if she was from another reality, the scan would have revealed some kind of oddity because of the different frequency. But there’s nothing. She’s just an exact copy of you.”
“So then we’re back at clone.”
“Which means I was right,” Shego stated with a smug look. “And if that is the case…”
She let the sentence hang as she began to shake the can of soda in her hands. She then walked over to the bed and pointed it towards the sleeping girl. She popped the top and with a loud hiss, a stream of high volatile soda shot out of the can and sprayed the girl in the face. The sudden onslaught jolted her awake with a hacking cough as some of the drink slipped down the wrong pipe in her throat.
“Shego!” Kim shouted, as she rushed forward and pushed the can away from her double and inadvertently shut off the Kimmunicator.
“What?!” Shego shouted back.
“Was that really necessary?”
“Yeah cause it proved something.”
“What’s that?”
“That she’s obviously not one of Drakken’s cause otherwise she would have turned into a puddle of goo by now.”
“Right, on my bed!” Kim cried out in disbelief.
“Well it’s not like you use it anymore!”
“I do plan to come home sometimes and I might need a place to sleep.”
“What’s going on?! Who are you?!” the other Kim shouted, cutting off their argument.
They turned their heads to find her now standing rather unsteadily in a fighting pose and eyeing Kim with suspicion and confusion. From the way she was shifting her weight from foot to foot it was obvious to them that her injuries were still bothering her and there was no way she could put up a decent fight. And yet she was still willing to try.
“Yep, she’s definitely you,” Shego muttered.
“I know,” Kim replied with a bit of awe. “It’s kinda freaky actually.”
“OK, who wants to start explaining things?” the other Kim prompted, still locking eyes with the original.
“First off all, we’re not going to fight you so you can relax.”
“After the day I’ve had, I don’t think I’ll be relaxing for awhile. Now what’s going on here?!”
“You’re a clone of Kimmie here,” Shego stated flatly.
Kim sighed and looked over at her partner. “You know, you’re really gonna need to learn about this thing called ‘tact’.”
“I know all about it, I’m just not in the mood to play twenty questions with your clone over here.”
“Stop saying that!” the other Kim shouted angrily. “How do you know that she’s not the clone?!”
“Because I’ve been with her all day,” Shego retorted. “You, however, seemed to have shown up at the Possible’s doorstep out of nowhere so I think that makes it pretty clear you’re the clone.”
“But we could have been switched in the middle of the night.”
Shego snorted at that. “Yeah right. Like anyone could break into our house and neither one of us would notice? Not likely.”
“She’s got a point,” the first Kim said.
“Well…then…” the second Kim stalled trying to come up with a counterpoint. “Wait! Shego was there too! You two could both be clones!”
“Oh someone had better not have cloned me!” Shego growled.
“Calm down,” Kim requested, playing a hand on her shoulder. “Where did you see this other Shego? Was it where you came from?”
“Yeah,” the other Kim replied, relaxing a little as she tried to remember. “It was…some kind of lab. There were W.E.E. everywhere when I broke free.”
“And do you remember how you got there?”
She closed her eyes and placed a hand on her forehead as she tried to search through her fogged memories.
“No, I…I can’t,” she whispered.
“What is the last thing you remember?” Kim prodded.
“Shin being born. The hospital. Then…waking up in the tube in that lab.”
Kim and Shego glanced at each other for second at the revelation then looked back at the other Kim.
“If your memories go that far up,” Kim started.
“Then whatever sample they got to clone you was pretty recent,” Shego finished.
“I…guess that makes sense,” the Kim clone nodded as she relaxed fully. It was then she finally noticed the state she was in. “Why am I wet and sticky? And reeking of soda?”
“You can thank Ms. Tackless over here,” Kim replied, jerking a thumb towards Shego.
“Hey, it worked, didn’t it?” Shego protested.
Kim looked like she was going to say something, but stopped and just shook her head before turning back to her clone.
“Look why don’t you go get a shower to wash that stuff off. I’ll head home and get you some clothes that’ll fit you better,” she offered.
“Back home? But…” the clone started.
“I’ll explain later.”
The other redhead nodded and walked silently down the stairs, giving only a slight nod towards the two as she did so. She kept her focus on the bathroom door in hopes of avoiding not only Kim’s family but also any pictures on the walls that might trigger latent memories and send her reeling again. It was only after she got into the bathroom and closed the door that she allowed herself to let out a long sigh as she leaned against it. For a moment she just stood there and stared at the bathroom that was so familiar and yet so alien.
What am I going to do? she wondered. It’s not like I can stay here. Can I? Maybe if I ask… she shook her head. No that doesn’t seem right. I just…don’t know.
She pried herself off the door then walked over to the toilet and lowered the top seat before sitting down. She brought her right foot up to her left knee and slowly unraveled the bandages to examine it. There was only a few cuts and bruises that had mostly healed by now and wouldn’t be too much of a problem. She had survived worse.
No, Kim’s survived worse, she reminded herself. I just have her memories of those injuries. These are the first real ones I’ve ever had.
She sighed again before she unwrapped the other foot then stood and began to removed the borrowed clothes. It was easy enough for the pants as they practically fell off as soon as she undid the belt.
“Now I know how Ron feels,” she muttered as she stepped out of them.
She tossed the T-shirt over top of them as she walked over to the bathtub. After pulling back the curtain, she started the shower and turned the handles until she felt it was at the right temp. She stuck a tentative hand in to verify it and feeling that satisfied it was, she stepped into the bathtub, pulling the curtain closed behind her. The first thing she did was wince as the water washed over the still healing cuts on her feet, but she quickly pushed the pain aside. She lowered her head into the stream to wash off dried soda then turned around and let the water pelt her back for a bit. She let out a slight moan as the warm water helped to relax her tense, knotted muscles. It seemed that spending her first few moments of existence being chased by W.E.E. agents and jumping off cliffs really didn’t agree with her. Once her muscles stopped aching, she turned back around and once again placed her head underneath the water stream. She leaned forward until her forehead was touching the cool titled wall then closed her eyes as the water washed over her.
So I’m a clone, she thought in dismay. So what does that mean for me? It means I get to spend the rest of my life knowing that I’m just a copy of someone else. That all these memories floating around in my head aren’t even mine. All those feelings and experiences, they belong to Kim, not me. What are my real memories? Being chased down, falling off a cliff, saved by one of Kim’s rides then coming to her house and waking up to a can of soda to the face. That’s it. Great life so far. And what am I suppose to do with it after all this is straightened out? Follow in Kim’s footsteps and try to my hand at the world saving thing? But then, that would just prove I can’t be anything buy a copy of her. Maybe I should just go to college and try to live a normal life. But…that just seems too boring. Maybe I could stay here. No…that wouldn’t be fair to Kim or her parents. I just…I just don’t know what I’m going to do.
A light knocking at the door startled her out of her thoughts. It was only then that she realized that at some point during her inner monologue she had slid down until she was sitting in the tube with her knees held up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs while still under the water stream. She shook her head to refocus, her wet hair flinging water around as she did so, then stood up and turned the shower off. She pulled back the curtain a bit to peer at the door.
“Yes?” she called out.
“Uh…Kim?” the real Kim ventured from the other side of the door. “I brought some clothes like I said. I’ll leave them here by the door for whenever you’re ready.”
“Oh. Thanks!”
“No big. When you get dress meet me up in my…our…bedroom and we’ll talk a bit.”
“Alright. I’ll be there in a bit.”
She waited until the sounds of Kim’s footsteps faded before stepping out of the tub and wrapping a towel from the nearby rack around her body. She grabbed another one for her hair and after wrapping it up, she cracked open the bathroom door. Out of habit she glanced from side-to-side to see if anyone was around then quickly snatched up the pile of clothes and closed the door again. She set them down on the counter top near the sink then went about drying herself off as quickly as she could.
After a bit of fussing with her hair, she finally felt dry enough to try on what Kim had left for her. Aside from customary undergarments Kim let her borrow a pair of black caprice and her blue, sleeveless hoodie along with sneakers and socks. When she put it all on and fixed herself up a bit, she looked at herself in the mirror and decided that she looked…well she looked like Kim but Kim on a very good day. She ran her hands down the side of the pants a bit to straighten them out and as she did so she felt a slight lump in one of the pockets. Reaching into it, she found a small hair tie and with a shrug she pulled her hair back and wrapped the tiny rubber band around to kept her hair held in a ponytail.
She flashed herself a quick, satisfied grin before leaving the bathroom and heading up into Kim’s room. Upon reaching the top step she spotted Kim sitting on her bed and slowly made her way over to it, drawing Kim’s attention in the process. The redhead looked like she was about to say something, but suddenly stopped and cocked an eyebrow.
“I decided to tie it back to help people tell the difference between us,” the Kim clone explained to the unasked question.
“Ah,” Kim nodded.
The Kim clone took a seat next to the original on the bed and for several seconds the two simply sat there in silence.
“So,” Kim started.
“So?” the clone asked.
“How much do you actually remember?”
“I think all of it, but it’s all kinda jarred together. Hazy really.”
Kim nodded again. “But you do remember Shin and being in the hospital.”
“That’s about where they stop, yeah.”
“Then that means whoever got that DNA to create you got it from the hospital. But Jen was there and she said she didn’t see anything suspicious.”
“Well I doubt they’d walk in there wearing W.E.E. uniforms and carrying laser rifles,” the Kim clone pointed out.
“Good point,” Kim conceded. “They had to be dressed as doctors or nurses or something.” She leaned forward and rested her head on her hands. She stared off into space for a second as she took in the information. “And you say there’s another Shego out there too?”
“Yeah, I saw her in the tube next to mine.”
“Did she look…?” Kim asked, ending the question by leaning back and making a rounded motion over her stomach.
“Not from what I saw. But I didn’t get much of a chance to stay and look,” the other Kim replied before a concerned look covered her face. “Kim we have to find out where the lab is and go back and save her. Who knows what they’re doing to her and if they did find away to clone her while she was pregnant…”
“I know, I know!” the redhead shouted as she sprang off the bed. “I was thinking of that all the way to and back from my house. I can’t even begin to imagine another Shego and Shin out there and let alone what that weirdo Gemini could be doing to them.” She took a breath to calm herself before turning back to look at her clone with the most comforting look she could muster. “We’ll get Shego, and if they have her Shin, out of there I promise. But we need to think of a plan first. And you look like you could still use some rest.”
“I do still feel a little out of it. But really I think I just need some time to think and clear my head and some,” she stopped when a low growling sound could be heard.
They both looked around to see if maybe Rufus had somehow snuck into the room or perhaps something W.E.E. sent to attack them. It was only after it sounded again that they realized it was the Kim clone’s stomach. She place a hand over it as she lowered her head in embarrassment.
“Sounds like what you really need is some food,” Kim said with a smirk.
“Uh…yeah,” the clone replied, her cheeks still a bit flush.
“Well then come on. Dinner’s just about ready and I’m sure mom and dad won’t mind an extra mouth at the table. Especially one that’s…well familiar.”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
“It’s no big. What are sister’s for?”
This time it was the other Kim who quirked an eyebrow. “‘Sisters’?”
“Well…why not?” Kim asked with a shrug. “I mean we do share the same DNA, so I guess in a way that does make you my sister.”
“I guess so.”
“Yeah. So come on sis, dinner’s a-cookin’.”
The Kim clone smiled as she stood up and followed her newly dubbed “sister” down the stairs and to her first meal in…well ever.
Over the years, the Possible family dinner table had seen many strange things. From Jim and Tim’s numerous rockets to Ron and Kim swapping brains(with Dr. Drakken’s body there no less) to Kim and Bonnie being stuck together and of course the first time Shego sat down with them as a family when she showed up, a lot of things from Kim’s world saving adventures carried over to the table. So it was with no great surprise that they family now found themselves sharing dinner with an exact copy of their daughter. In fact what considered the Possible parents the most was how much and how fast she was scarfing down the food. Kim herself even seemed a little put off by the sight, but remained silent along with the rest of her family. The only one who did speak up, again to no one’s surprise, was Shego.
“So is this what we have to look forward to when Shin starts eating solid food?” she ‘whispered’ to Kim.
“Shego!” Kim hissed, elbowing her partner’s ribs. “Be nice! She’s obviously gone through a lot today.”
“Yeah a lot of food.”
“Sorry,” the Kim clone spoke up as she stopped eating and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I’m just really hungry right now.”
“Obviously,” Shego remarked, earning her another jab in the ribs. “Princess, do that again and you’ll lose that elbow.”
“Then just be quiet,” Kim insisted.
“No it’s OK, I guess I was making a bit of a pig out of myself,” the other Kim replied.
“Yeah, a real oinker,” Jim mocked.
His brother followed suit by making pig noises.
“Jim! Tim! There will be no mocking of your sister’s clone,” Mr. Dr. Possible reprimanded.
“But it’s not fair!” Tim countered.
“Yeah we’re suppose to be the only twins around here. Then Kim goes and gets yourself cloned!”
“It wasn’t my idea!” Kim remarked.
“Now, now, let’s not start a fight,” Mrs. Dr. Possible said in attempt to calm her children down. “It doesn’t matter how she got here it only matters that we treat…” she paused and looked at the other Kim. “I’m sorry what exactly are you calling yourself?”
“Well I…haven’t really thought about that actually,” she replied.
“Well we’re going to have to do something about that.”
“How about Double Ugly?” Tim suggested.
“Or Annoying Sister Part Two?” Jim added.
“No!” both Kims shouted.
They blinked and looked at each other.
“Jinx you owe me a soda!” they said in unison again.
“Didn’t you already get a soda today?” Shego retorted with a sly grin.
“Yeah thanks for that. Can’t wait to repay you,” the clone Kim replied ominously.
“Well if that’s how you feel then maybe I won’t tell you my suggestion for you name,” the pale woman huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head to the said.
“I know I’m going to regret this, but what is it?”
Shego looked back at her with a Cheshire grin. “Kim 2: Electric Boogaloo.”
Both Kims groan.
“First off all, we’re sooo not calling her that and secondly, have you been hanging out with Ron behind my back?” Kim asked.
“Pffft! Please! Don’t insult me.”
“What if we just call her ‘Ann’?” Mr. Dr. Possible spoke up. “It is your middle name after all Kimmie and it’s a way to honor your mother.”
“But wouldn’t that be confusing with mom in the room?” Kim asked, nodding her head towards her mother.
“Then how about Anna?” the clone suggested. “I mean I would like to have a say in my own name. Plus it can only be temporary until I think of something else.” She then looked up at Mrs. Dr. Possible. “Uh…no offense.”
“Oh none taken,” the elder female Possible waved it off. “And I think Anna is a beautiful name even if it is just a place holder.”
“Then Anna it is,” Kim said happily.
The newly christened Anna smiled then went back to her meal, eating in a far more civilized manner this time. Dinner proceeded fairly well after that with the only other two occurrences being Shego having to excuse herself to breast feed Shin and Jim and Tim…acting like their usual mischievous selves. After dinner was over, Kim and Anna offered to help wash the dishes but Mrs. Possible shooed them away, saying that it was Jim and Tim’s turn to help with them, much to the Tweebs’ dismay. With seemingly nothing else to do, Kim informed her parents that she, Shego, Shin and Anna would be going back to her own house for the night.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?” Mrs. Dr. P. asked Anna.
“No thanks. It would just seem to…weird right now,” she replied.
“Besides, this a perfect excuse to try out our guest room,” Kim spoke up.
“Well alright. But if either of you two need anything just give us a call.”
“Yes mom,” they said in unison.
Anna then blinked then started to scratch the back of her neck nervously.
“Uh…sorry about that,” she said sheepishly.
“It’s alright. I mean Kimmie’s already named you her sister, right?” Ann Possible asked.
“Yeah. Kinda.”
“Then you can go ahead and think of me as your mother.”
Anna couldn’t help but smile as she looked between the other two redheads. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised at how quickly they had adjusted to her presence given some of the things Kim had gone through already in her life, but to basically adopt her into the family like that…she felt touched. And it helped her feel that she might actually belong somewhere. Unfortunately, her mood was once again broken by Shego.
“So if this little Kodiak moment is done, I gotta Shin already loaded up and I’m ready to get out of here,” she said from her place in the front doorway.
“Thanks Shego,” Kim replied a bit snarkily before giving her mother a goodbye hug. “We’ll be in touch and let you know the minute we get this all straightened out.”
“Alright Kimmie. Just be careful.”
“Always,” she whispered as she pulled back.
Anna simply gave Mrs. Dr. Possible a polite smile as she turned and left. Or at least she tried to.
“And where do you think you’re going?” the Possible matriarch demanded.
“I was just-” Anna started but was cut off when Ann caught her in a motherly hug.
She stood still from shock for a second then returned the hug once she recovered. When they pulled back Anna gave her new mother a rather awkward smile before she turned and followed Kim out onto the front porch. She stopped when they came to the driveway and her eyes fell upon the maroon colored min-van sitting next to the Possible family cars. While it wasn’t unusual to see such a vehicle in the driveway of a family their size, the sight of Shego behind the steering wheel was a little off putting.
“Wha?” she tried to say.
“I know, I know,” Kim sighed. “Not exactly what I expected for my first car either. But then again I never expected to be a mother right out of high school either.”
“So how did you get it?”
“It was mom and dad’s graduation present for me. They said it’s the best on the market for families.”
“O…kay,” Anna remarked as she walked around to one of the side doors.
She slid it open and after hoping into the back seat, notice Shin sitting her in her car seat next to her. The young baby stared semi-blankly up at her with a vague hint of recognition on her face. She then titled her head towards the front of the car where one of her mother’s sat and stared at her as well before turning back to the person sitting next to her. Anna gave her a friendly, if uneasy, smile as she brought up her left hand and waved at her. Shin smiled back and cooed excitedly.
Shego caught the whole exchange as she adjusted the rear view mirror couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned for the welfare of her child.
She’s going to need so much therapy, she thought.
The drive back to Kim and Shego’s house was surprisingly peaceful and short, despite them living across town now. It might have had something to do with the fact that it was starting to get late and Middleton was never really known for having a very active nightlife. Whatever the case maybe, Anna felt slightly off guard when the van pulled into the driveway of a ranch style home with a red brick foundation and a slightly darker red paneling around the rest of the house. She had a feeling all the red was a compromise between Kim’s favorite color; pink and one of Shego’s favorite color; black. The house still looked good and she was amazed that they were able to afford it. She was surprised again upon entering the house and being greeted by a very spacious livingroom. The dark green carpet covering the floor spoke of Shego’s doing as did the large plasma screen TV resting in the middle of the entertainment console on the far end of the room. A black couch sat a few feet from the TV flanked by two recliners on either side, one green the other pink and each with stand up lamb behind them. An oak coffee table sat in the middle of the arrangement and was in perfect reaching distance from either the couch or one of the chairs.
“Pretty spankin’, huh?” Kim asked once she noticed Anna’s admiration of her house.
“Yeah,” Anna replied nearly breathless.
“Glad you like it, just don’t start drooling over it. We have enough problems with that with Shin here,” Shego said as she held up the now sleeping baby up a bit. “And speaking of whom, I’m gonna go put her to bed. Seems our little drive knocked her out.”
“Always does,” Kim smirked. “Just be careful not to wake her when you put her in the crib.”
“I think I can handle it Princess. I mean I did carry her around for nine months.”
“I know, I just don’t want to have to drive around anymore tonight.”
At that Anna gave her an odd look.
“Driving around always seems to put Shin to sleep,” Kim explained. “Sometimes it’s the only thing.”
“Which means when she’s old enough to get a job she’s going to repay for some of the gas we’ve wasted on her,” Shego joked as she headed towards an archway on the other side of the room.
Kim let out an irritated sigh at the fact that her partner had been able to get away with the last word, knowing that any kind reprimand she could have dealt out would have waked Shin. Instead she just shook her head and resigned herself to getting Shego back for that one later.
“So how can you afford all this?” Anna asked, breaking Kim of her thoughts.
“Well…” Kim started a little sheepishly. “I’m kinda ashamed to admit this but because of Shego.”
“Shego?”
“Yeah, she found the place and put the down payment on it. My parents helped out a bit too, but as far as furnishing the place and fixing it up, it was pretty much all her.”
Anna let out a low impressed whistle. “She must have quite a fortune stashed away to afford all this. No doubt from all her time a thief.”
“Oh please tell me we’re not going to start that conversation again,” Shego pleaded as she walked back into the room.
“Well it’s true, right?”
“Yes it’s true. I got all my money from my time as a thief and henchwoman. Despite all his numerous other flaws, Dr. D was really good at setting aside money to pay his crew. And since I was his #1 I got the biggest paycheck.”
“For hurting people,” Anna replied, placing her hands on her hips.
Shego rolled her eyes at the all too familiar posture.
“Feel free to jump in here at anytime Kimmie,” she remarked.
“Anna, we’ve discussed all this already and we’ve reached an agreement,” Kim started to explain. “Once she’s back to her ideal weight, Shego’s going to make up for buying the house and everything with her villain money by getting back into the hero business as a member of Team Possible.”
“Really?” Anna question. “I…guess that works. What does Ron think about all this?”
“He’s…less than enthused, but willing to work with it.”
“Yeah, so now Stoppable will have two competent, kick ass women making sure he doesn’t get himself killed.”
“Shego!” Kim scowled. “What have I told you about making fun of Ron?”
“Not to do it when you’re around,” Shego replied in the tone of a bored child.
“I said not to do it at all.”
“Whatever,” she shrugged as she headed for the couch.
Kim sighed as she turned back to Anna.
“So anyway, that’s the preliminary plan and pretty much what’s going on around here right now. I do feel a little bad about not being able to help out more finically but well…it’s not like I can go babysit anymore.”
“You could always do that thing I suggested,” Shego muttered as she flipped through a magazine.
“I am not going to start charging people!” Kim protested.
“Why not?” the raven haired woman countered, half turning to look at her. “Team Impossible does it. You little friend Jen does it. Hell, even Global Justice collects paychecks from the UN.”
“And that’s great for all them, but Team Possible doesn’t collect money from the people we help.”
“But just think about how much we could make! It’s a goldmine! Don’t you think so?” she asked, looking over at Anna who, not surprisingly, had an identical look to Kim’s on her face. “Wrong person to ask.”
“Well this is all been…interesting, but I think I’m gonna go to bed myself. Still a little tired from everything that’s happened today,” Anna explained.
“Right. Here, let me show you the guest room,” Kim said as she lead her clone out of the room.
They walked through the same archway Shego had gone through earlier which Anna found out opened up into a small hallway with two doors at either end and another one in between the two. Kim lead her towards the one at the right end of the hall and stopped just short of the door.
“Well here it is,” she announced. “You’re gonna have to tell me what you think of it cause…well you’ll be the first person to stay in it.”
“I’m sure it’ll be just fine,” Anna replied as she looked around the hallway.
She stopped at the door the was only a few inches away from the door to the guest.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Uh…bathroom,” Kim admitted. “Shego said she didn’t want to hear it when either one of us or a guest went to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Or…ever.”
“So you stuck the poor guest with having to listen to it?”
Kim hung her head in shame and remained silent. Feeling a little guilty, Anna placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to manage as comforting a smile as she could.
“Hey don’t worry about it. At least if I have to go the bathroom I don’t have go that far,” she said half heartedly.
Kim took the comment as best she could, since it was essentially coming from herself, and returned the smile. She was about to let Anna go into the room when something suddenly occurred to her.
“Oh! Wait here!” she instructed before dashing towards the other end of the hall to her bedroom.
Anna watched as Kim rifled through a few dresser drawers for a moment then came back towards here with another bundle of clothes. This time it was just a pair of sweat pants and a small blue tank top with a green star on the front.
“Just in case you want to sleep in something more comfortable,” Kim explained as she handed the clothes to the other girl.
“Thanks,” Anna replied as she took them. “For everything.”
“Like I said earlier it’s no big. And I promise you, no matter what happens tomorrow we’ll get this all straightened out.”
The cloned girl nodded then said her goodnights to her host before pushing open the door and stepping into the guestroom. It was a med-sized room that more than served it’s purpose as a guestroom and in fact could probably hold someone full time with little difficulty. The green carpet continued inside, disturbed only by furniture resting on top of it in various places around the room. A full size bed sat in the far right corner with a window off to it’s side so that the sun could shine in on a person’s face if the blinds weren’t drawn. At the other end of the room was a sliding mirror door for the closet which actually reflected most of the room back to give it the appearance of being even larger. An oak dresser the same style as the coffee table sat with it’s own mirror on the wall adjacent to the bed while a very small night stand was right next to the bed.
Anna smiled as she kicked off her shoes and set the sleeping attire down on the edge of the dresser.
I don’t know what Kim was worried about, this place looks real nice, she thought as she pulled the hair tied out. Definitely won’t mind staying here for the night. Maybe a little longer.
She tucked that thought away for later as she took off the hoodie and caprice and replaced them with the tank top and sweats. After carefully placing the clothes in the top drawer of the dress she walked over to the bed and pulled the pink sheets and comforter back. She fixed the pillows a bit to a style that looked comfortable to her then laid down and pulled the covers back over her. It was a soft and supportive bed and certainly something she could find herself sleeping comfortably on.
That is if she could ever get to sleep. Despite her body’s fatigue her mind simply refused to settle down. Her fears from earlier in the day came back and she once again found herself wondering what she was going to do after everything with this W.E.E. business got straightened out. Part of her still wanted to stay here with Kim, especially after how welcoming her family had been, but another part of her wanted to go out and do something for herself. Maybe go see the world and really enjoy it instead of having to save it all the time. Maybe just go to college and get a degree in some form of law enforcement. She could always join Global Justice as well since she knew they’re looking to add Kim to their roster. She would probably change her name though, for while Anna was a good name she wanted something that was a little more her own. Something that would separate her from Kim.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it? No matter what she did or what she called herself, in the back of her mind she’d always know that she was nothing more than a copy of Kim Possible. Not even a real person, just a thing created in a lab somewhere for who know’s what reason. All the early memories she had would never be her own and even her way of dealing with things would come from experiences based on what Kim had done. If that was the case, then could she ever truly find her path or was she destined to just follow the path that someone else had created?
“Being a clone sucks,” she muttered haplessly.
To Be Continued…
Author’s Notes: And there you have it, the beginning to the official second story in the “Maternal Instinct” universe. Probably not how you all expected me to proceed, but what can I say I’m a sucker for a good clone story. At least I hope this is a good one. Let me know how I did in some reviews.
Oh and I can tell you this the name Anna is just a holder name for the most of the fic and the Kim clone will get a new one by the story’s end. I just didn’t want to call her Kim2 or the Kim clone throughout the whole thing. I think the name will be sound familiar to some as I plan on using something that’s a bit of a homage to another famous clone. Won’t got into details who though. You’ll just have to read and find out. As will you have to come back to see what will happen with the Shego clone.
Til next time. Later!