THE WHITE
White.
All Kim could see -- all she could feel was white. It was a warm feeling, and comforting. It was so much better than black and much better than … wherever it was she had been. The white was pure, innocent, unquestioning. It accepted her for what she was and simultaneously offered and denied her nothing. She tucked herself into a ball and tried to nestle against it, basking in its whiteness.
“Kim.”
There was a sound in the white. Kim heard it, but clearly it was non-white, and anything non-white was of no concern to her. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself in the white forever.
“Kim.”
The sound came again, more insistent this time. Kim was irritated, but continued to ignore it. Couldn't the non-white understand it had no place here? She willed the sound away and for several moments of emptiness, it seemed like it had.
“Please, Kim. Look at me.”
The sound returned and Kim couldn't stand it. Why wouldn't it leave her alone? How many times had she tried to run and hide only to be sought out again. It was too much. Too much for her to take. She was only so strong and she'd run past her limit. It was her time to rest now, and live in peace with the white.
“Kim. The world still needs you.”
The world always needed her; that was the problem. She tried to help, make it happy, but it never managed on its own. Despite all her trouble, she'd only taught the world how to rely on her, not solve its own problems. Well now it had ruined her, and she no longer had the strength to try.
“Fight it, Kim.”
Kim sobbed. Why wouldn't it leave her alone? When would it be enough? The white was good and encompassed everything. The sound was coming from the dark, the black, she knew it. She could feel it reaching out to her, attacking the white. She felt its draw but resisted. She was done with the black; she'd done her penance. The sound was wrecking it, though, dragging her to that place where she knew only pain.
“Kim, its time.”
The sound was suddenly different and coalesced around her as Kim listened. She felt the icy grip of the black but also something else, a strange other force, shifting her, nudging her in another direction, almost begging her to look up. Kim considered just taking a glance.
NO! screamed Kim's mind. The white was pure and innocent and it was heaven. She couldn't leave heaven. She couldn't turn her back on the only place that wanted nothing from her but her presence. She was welcomed and warmed here, not distained and shouted at. Not pushed down beneath the heel of the arrogant and egotistical. There was no need to struggle here, because the white provided and nurtured all.
But… if she stayed in the white, those she left behind in the black would suffer. There were people who loved her in the black, and by leaving she would rob them of their light, a light that only Kim could grant them. Love was sacred and scarce, but when found it was brighter than the heavens because it was borne of the black, and had the strength to persevere.
Kim flexed her muscles and felt the sores in her back and legs. She was not fit anymore, not ideal, but there was still strength in these old bones. Strength enough, perhaps, for one more rescue. Enough to save the world one last time.
Kim turned towards the voice, expecting the white to shatter but blinked in surprise.
Standing before her, in the whiteness, was three girls. Or rather, they were three versions of the same girl. One was young, maybe about 6 years old, in overalls and a dirtied shirt and sneakers. The next was older, maybe about tweleve, in an oversized sweater with large glasses. The last was older still, probably 17 or 18 years old, wearing a black belly shirt with olive green cargo pants and black boots.
They were all her, Kim, and she suddenly remembered.
“You… three,” Kim said, experimentally. Her mind was foggy, she felt somewhat disembodied. She knew she'd just put the PH device to her face and that she was caught in it's clutches, living a nightmare of betrayal and lies, but for some reason, it just didn't seem to matter. Like it was happening to someone else and she'd only been told. She did remember these three, though, coming to her before. And… a corn field? Or a farm of some sort?
“Yes,” said the eldest.
“I don't understand this,” said Kim, frowning. “We're… nowhere. And right now I remember you three giving me advice when I was having trouble with Shego several months ago, but when I'm … er… when I'm in the 'real world', I suppose, I can't remember this place. It's like it's a dream.”
“It is a dream,” said the middle one. “And like much of the world, you can't remember your dreams when you wake, only small fragments remain and the mind futilely tries to make sense of it.”
Kim raised a brow. “Are you three really…” she hesitated. “Me?”
The three glanced at each other for just a moment. “We are embodiments of aspects of your personality,” said the youngest. “But we are not truly of your mind.”
“Who are you then?” asked Kim.
“We are travelers,” said the middle. “Wanderers.”
“Observers,” insisted the eldest.
“We once had a home called Avalon,” said the youngest. “But we can no longer return there.”
“So we travel,” repeated the middle.
“Okay,” said Kim slowly. “So why are you in my dreams?”
“You called out to us,” said the eldest.
Kim blinked. “I did?”
“Your mind screamed out in pain,” said the middle one. “And it echoed throughout the dreamscape.”
“We came to see why,” said the youngest. “And found your mind in shambles, struggling to remain coherent.”
Kim's mind wandered back to figure out what they were talking about and suddenly snagged on something. “The first time the PH device was used on me,” she said.
“Yes,” nodded the eldest.
“You … helped me?” asked Kim. “You convinced me to fight it and break free of the device.”
“Yes,” nodded the middle.
“Why?” asked Kim. “What was in it for you?”
Another glance between them.
“We are… repentant,” said the youngest. “For evils done by our own hand. This is penance.”
“Penance,” repeated Kim, turning the word over in her mind. “Why tell me all this now?”
“You asked,” shrugged the middle one.
Kim grumbled.
“You must fight,” said the youngest. “For those you love will sacrifice themselves if you do not.”
“I know,” nodded Kim. “I will.”
“Then we have nothing more to talk about,” said the eldest. The three renditions of Kim raised their hands.
“Wait!” said the original Kim. “How do I get free of the PH device?”
“This time,” started the middle one.
“It will take care of itself,” finished the youngest.
The light from their hands glowed bright, even in the whiteness, and Kim felt her head get dizzy. She tried to peer through the spotlight and, for just a moment, she caught a glimpse of three tall, beautiful women in long white gowns each with long hair in a different shade.
DECEMBER 25TH
Kim opened her eyes and the images of her younger selves fluttered away in her mind as if on a mystic breeze so she could no longer recall. Then reality settled back over her and she experienced again every traumatic, nightmare the PH device was showing her. She saw flashes of red and green, and violent, sadistic encounters. She felt her flesh being torn from her bone and she saw… she saw the face of her attacker and it was filled with glee. It made her violently sick but she only had dry heaves on the luminescent floor.
“Kim!” a voice said, excited.
Kim rubbed her temples, trying to shake off the awful pain and tremors. She was sitting… well, nowhere really. There was white everywhere except for herself and the other figure in the white with her. She stood on… whatever ground she was on, and looked down at the boy with her.
“Wade?” she groaned, surprised.
“Thank god you're still there,” he said, relieved. “I was… I worried that I wouldn't be able to get to you in time, that you had spent too much time under the effect of the PH device.”
Kim shivered again. “I… oh god, Wade, its worse. It's so much worse this time.”
“Kim,” he said softly.
“I have so much more to lose now that I did two years ago,” she said. “I didn't think I did. But… Shego…”
“You saw her?” asked Wade.
“Yes and she was…” Kim felt tears on her cheeks. “She was…” she tried again but failed and collapsed in on herself.
“Kim,” said Wade sympathetically, but just looked on from afar.
Kim cried into her hands. “Not even knowing its fake helps,” she bailed. “It just gets worse and worse.” She convulsed on her knees from the sobs wracking her body. She tried to get a hold of herself, desperate to control her life again, but she just couldn't stop crying. No matter what she told herself, her body wouldn't listen.
“Kim,” Wade said again. “Please you've got to listen to me.”
Kim shook as she rose her head to look at Wade. Her eyes were bloodshot from the tears but she stared on, forcing her body to listen to her.
“Do you know where you are?” he asked, simply.
Kim moved her trembling eyes around. “I'm not sure,” she said. She clutched her own arms and pulled them tight against herself. When she paused and thought she could feel her body tingling and her eyes aching and dry. “It feels like I'm still in the PH device.”
Wade started then shook his head. “That's because… well, you are.”
“I … am?” asked Kim. Her lip quivered. “This is just another nightmare?”
“No! No… uh,” Wade stammered. “I hijacked the PH device. Sent an interrupt to clear everything. That's why it's all white.”
Kim blinked and tried to think about that but failed. “I don't understand.”
“I know,” said Wade. “I don't have a lot of time to explain it, but, it's your watch. The K-link.”
Kim looked down at her wrist and at the glowing square tied to her skin. “What about it?”
“I… I didn't tell you -- your brothers thought it would best be kept a secret -- but this is what it was designed for,” he said. “In case you ever got connected to another PH device, it would override the signal temporarily and substitute this program.”
Kim frowned. “Program?”
“Yes,” nodded Wade. “I'm not real -- I mean, I'm not doing this by remote. I'm just a program designed to explain this to you if it should ever occur.” He looked away. “And deliver my apology.”
Wade looked uncomfortably back. “Kim,” he started.
“You don't have to--” started Kim but the virtual Wade interrupted her.
“Please, Kim, I have to say this,” he insisted. “I'm not sure I'll get another chance.”
Kim bit her lip and listened.
“I'm not so arrogant to believe all of this is my fault,” said Wade. “But I'm responsible for a lot of it. Years ago, you came to me in person, and you explained to me in very clear and careful words, what you had seen. That the PossiBots were not doing what they should have been doing and that they were potentially dangerous. You knew, before any of us at GJ did, what was going on.”
“I was arrogant. I didn't believe you because I wanted to believe that nothing I created could cause such pain. I wouldn't listen to your story, and I convinced Dr. Director that everything was fine even when you went to her and told her what you'd told me. I let Maya send those machines out into the world. I let her … do what she did to Senior Senior Senior, because I was too bull headed to see what was in front of my own eyes.”
Wade looked down. “I put my pride before our friendship, and burned it all in one feel swoop.” He sighed. “I'm still a child.”
Kim frowned sympathetically. “You can't blame yourself for everything, Wade,” said Kim. She knew she was consoling a program, that the real Wade would never hear these words, but it was real enough for her.
“Even when you proved yourself right,” continued Wade, looking up with tears in his eyes. “When we knew Maya had deliberately repurposed the PossiBots, I still wouldn't let myself look bad. I attacked you for destroying the Bots, for not involving GJ in your takedown of Maya when you tried so many times to get us to help. I blamed you for betraying us when it was me. I was the one who betrayed you.”
Wade walked up to Kim and looked up at her. “I've been bitter for so long, I'd lost all perspective. Our friendship was so much more important than any of this, but I couldn't see that. I couldn't see until Maya came back and I realized that my actions had unleashed her a second time.”
Wade took Kim's hands. “I'm so… so very sorry. I will never live this down but I hope, someday, I can earn your trust again.”
“Wade,” Kim felt her tears returning again.
“GJ has…” he hesitated. “They know everything I've told you, and they know that I've been in contact with you, even sending you equipment, after the lockdown. They're not… entirely happy with me.”
Wade tried to keep a stoic face but his grief was occasionally coming through. “They've started a transfer process to move me to 'Effective Technologies' division. It's a… well, it's a secret place. Area 51-style secret. They don't… typically… let people who work there have contact with the outside world because of the sensitive nature of the work done there.”
Kim's eyes widened.
He chuckled sadly. “Yeah, GJ is a bit cutthroat sometimes.” He looked away. “Anyway, if you haven't heard from me in a while… that's what's happened. I can't say I know when you will see me again, but, hopefully in a few years?”
Kim's jaw dropped and she felt something caught in her throat.
“So this is my last goodbye,” he said formally. “When this program ends, the PH device will deactivate and you'll get one last shot at Maya. Use it well. Be careful though, the K-Link will burn out in the process, so don't get caught again.”
Wade's eyes softened slightly. “We're all counting on you,” he said with a smile. “I know you won't let us down.” Then he faded away entirely.
Suddenly the white vanished and Kim felt pain on her temples and her eyelids but no longer saw the nightmare. She reached up and pulled the metal box from her skull as it quietly released its grip and retracted its legs and pincers, returning to the box-like shape she'd first seen it as. Kim felt cold on her side and realized she was lying on the floor. She looked up to get a grasp on the situation.
Her mind raced. Her dry eyes protested but she looked everywhere as fast as she could, committing the scene to memory. She couldn't force herself to remember blueprints or directions or even cake recipes, but here, in battle, her mind naturally recorded the position of every person and item to be used.
She was still in the hall. Not much time had passed it appeared, as she had been dropped where she was once held and everyone else had shifted their attention elsewhere. Shego had been thrown into a cage to one side and still appeared safe, if unconscious. Most of the PossiBots had been placed in positions around the room in some sort of standby mode, as they weren't moving. But the rest were awkwardly dancing with Maya while she congratulated herself. The only moving person not celebrating was the StoppaBot, who looked on stoically near to the cage Shego was in.
There was no way Kim was going to cross the distance to Maya without being seen by the StoppaBot and even then she'd easily get crushed by the PossiBots. Shego was out of it, and unless Kim had some smelling salts there would be no green fire to help her. That left retreat -- which Kim couldn't be sure would help even if Maya didn't go back on her word and decided to PH device Shego or kill all of GJ -- and some remote means of taking her out.
Kim scanned the room again to see if she missed any detail, any secret wall or device nearby that could give her the--
Kim's eyes locked onto the discarded gun, just a dozen or so feet away from her. She didn't want to look at it, but for a single, strange second, she realized that it was a weapon given to her specifically for this purpose. But she couldn't. She didn't use guns, it wasn't right and you couldn't take it back. It was… final.
Kim grimaced but felt herself moving towards the gun almost subconsciously. She slid her body as quietly as she could towards the cold steel. She was going to do it. Dash had told her to, and she had almost promised. This was it, the moment of opportunity to end it all that he had begged her to be cognizant of. She could get the gun quietly, aim it, and shook Maya now and be done with the threat of Allucinere forever.
But she would have to betray everything she believed in to do it. She not only didn’t like guns, she deplored them. Nobody should be allowed to dish out their own form of execution so easily, it was criminal. Still, Kim found herself edging ever closer to the pistol.
It was just within her reach now as Kim carefully stuck out a sweaty palm and gripped the weapon. It was indeed cold, and much heavier than she had remembered. It hung limply from her hand as she brought it closer and adjusting her hold. She was a good shot. She already had a lot of practice with other equipment that equated to guns, but she'd never fired the real thing before.
She raised the pistol and aimed. She laughed silently at herself. After all the things she'd experienced, the pain and suffering at the hands of Maya, she was still afraid of killing her. She figured that's what really made the difference between her and Maya. No matter how angry she got, she still stood by her morals.
But there was a greater cause at force right now, the fate of hundreds in exchange for Kim's ethics.
She pulled the trigger.
click
The dancing suddenly stopped and all eyes turned towards the source of the sound. Maya's eyes were wide and surprised, shocked perhaps that Kim could be standing and cognizant only moments after getting connected to the PH device. Maybe she was surprised that she had left such an easy opening for someone strong enough to kill her, or that the gun she had carelessly tossed aside would be her undoing.
Or would have been her undoing, if the gun had any bullets in it.
click click
Kim frantically pulled the trigger with she realized the loud back and recoil she was expecting hadn't happened yet. She looked at the safety to see if she'd made a stupid mistake but saw that it was, indeed, off. Then she looked at the bottom of the gun and saw the large hole in the handle.
“Stupid,” Kim muttered to herself and threw the gun to the floor.
“I don't know how you keep surviving my PH devices,” said Maya as the crowd of PossiBots parted before her. She reached into her back pocket and then produced the clip from the gun Kim had just thrown away. “But you should have realized the gun was empty when you picked it up. This thing weighs several pounds.” She weighed the clip full of bullets in her hand and nodded satisfactorily.
Kim pushed herself to her feet again and then took a half-step back to get into karate stance. “I guess I'm not going to give up after all.”
“No need,” shrugged Maya. She threw the clip to the StoppaBot who caught it deftly. “StoppaBot, get the gun.”
The StoppaBot frowned but sluggishly did as he was told, slowly walking to where Kim had dropped the gun and picking it up, pushing the clip into the handle and then pulling on the shuttle to load the first round. He looked back to Maya once then watched Kim, careful to remain outside of her reach.
“Okay,” said StoppaBot.
“Shoot her,” Maya said.
The StoppaBot turned immediately around to stare at Maya. “Shoot… Kim?” he asked.
“Yes, Kim. Who did you think?” said Maya, sarcastically.
The StoppaBot froze but then reluctantly turned on his foot to look at Kim. His brow furrowed and he shook his head. “I'm… I'm sorry,” he said as his hand slowly rose.
Kim came up with a hundred permutations of the next thirty seconds and couldn't conceive of one where she didn’t' get shot. She knew the PossiBots had perfect aim and the StoppaBot was only a handful of feet away. There was no way he'd miss and there was nothing around them for her to hide behind to take cover.
Kim tensed her muscles to get ready to launch herself away. Thanks to the stance she had gotten into she didn’t need to shift her weight, and so the only visible cue of her plan was the small tensing of her leg muscles hidden beneath her clothes.
The StoppaBot seemed stuck for a moment as he aimed at Kim, hesitating to fire. Maya saw this and immediately yelled
“Do it now!” she called out.
Kim saw the StoppaBot flinch and she knew this was her chance. She leapt forward to close the distance between them and hopefully slip behind him as the only obstacle near her. Her muscles burned as she dove forward as far and as fast as she could to avoid the shot of the gun.
There was a loud bang but Kim felt no striking pain or sudden numbness. It had to have missed. Kim rejoiced in her mind but kept herself as focused as she could on getting to the side and then behind the StoppaBot, hopefully taking him down She felt herself soar to the side away from the gunshot and she twisted her hips to ready herself to make a second jump that would throw her behind StoppaBot.
Bang!
The sudden pain that struck Kim as she was mid jump caused her scream. She felt it that time, a burning hot drill being bored into her arm. The excess velocity spun her and she felt the world tumbling around her as she hit the ground hard, rolling in the direction of the bullet.
Kim saw stars as she clutched her arm and squeezed to staunch the blood flow. She'd been more than nicked but less than debilitated. The bullet had cut deep and wide but flew through cleanly, missing her bone and major arteries.
“Idiot,” scoled Maya. I didn't say to give her a flesh wound!”
“You…” the StoppaBot gritted his teeth as if fighting against some strong current. “You didn't specify where to shoot her.”
“You're supposed to interpret my orders,” returned Maya. “Not just follow them to the word like the PossiBots. You knew what I meant.”
“I must have been mistaken,” said StoppaBot looking down.
“Let me spell it out for you,” Maya said deliberately. “Finish her off by shooting her through the heart!”
StoppaBot rose the gun again, his hand shaking. He pointed the pistol directly at Kim's writing form and she looked up at him in horror. Lying on her back and bleeding onto the floor, she had no time to flee. Her eyes focused on the barrel of the gun as it waved then steadied.
“I can't go against a direct order,” the StoppaBot struggled to say. His finger tightened on the trigger while the gun pointed at Kim's heart.
Kim closed her eyes and suddenly felt a wave of heat rush over her, like a furnace had just ignited near her.
“Eeeyyaaggg!” came a scream and Kim was startled to find it wasn't her own. She opened her eyes to see the StoppaBot's arm blackened and smoking, his pseudo-skin blistered and flaking as if he'd just stuck it in that furnace Kim felt. She looked past the StoppaBot then and saw her standing there, one hand leaning against the melted remains of her cage while her other arm extended forward towards her.
Shego's hand danced with green fire and she gave a tired smirk. “I really hate that creepy gun,” she said, breathing.
“Shoot her with Drakken's ray!” yelled Maya as she ran towards the back of he hall.
The StoppaBot looked up at her like she was crazy. “This hurts, you know!” he yelled.
“No it doesn't, you're just simulating, pain, IGNORE IT and shoot her!” Maya called over her shoulder.
StoppaBot changed his demeanor immediately and reached his blistered hand into his back pocket to pull out the strange gun Kim saw a PossiBot on the portcullis use earlier. Kim knew that thing would take Shego down for the count.
Using her good arm as a pivot, Kim swung her feet beneath her and flung herself up to tackle the StoppaBot before he could bring the gun to bear. She had a hard time fighting the exceptionally strong StoppaBot with only one arm but she managed to kick away the gun after a few seconds of struggle.
The StoppaBot didn't stop struggling for an instant but he did look up at Maya's fleeing form and yelled. “She's getting away, you know!”
Kim looked up for a second to see he was right. She wondered if this battle with Maya would ever end.
Just then a wall of green fire erupted in front of Maya, stopping her in her tracks. Kim looked over to see Shego holding both her arms out which were glowing up to her shoulders in green while her eyes were burning so bright they looked white.
The StoppaBot finally got a good grip on Kim and pulled her up and held her over his head.
“Shego!” yelled Kim.
“Little busy,” struggled Shego. Her voice was echoed and strangely reverberated in her own chest.
Kim twisted her body and tried to weaken the StoppaBot's grip on her. She managed slip out of his burned hand and get her shirt torn in half in the process when his attempts to keep a hold on her only resulted in getting the collar of her top.
Kim flailed in the direction she hoped the floor was in to break her fall. She missed an struck the ground with her shoulder, sending bolts of pain through an old wound. Kim gagged but immediately rolled away from StoppaBot. He looked at her for a second then strangely turned away, looking all around at the ground.
Kim glanced back to see Shego sweating buckets and gritting her teeth. She was moving her hands slightly together and the fire where Maya was standing slowly began to curve into a cylinder with the villainess in the center.
Maya angrily approached the flames several times, hoping the bear the pain to get through but was repelled by the intense heat.
“PossiBots!” she yelled suddenly.
“Shut her up if you ever want to end this!” yelled the StoppaBot to Kim while he continued to search. Kim realized he must be looking for the weird gun that debilitated Shego and she started running to the area she kicked it to.
“My pleasure,” said Shego to the StoppaBot and twisted her hands slightly.
“Save m--” Maya started to yell but was suddenly muffled. She looked around in confusion then opened her mouth several times to no effect. Her eyes widened as she clutched her throat and began panicking.
Elsewhere in the room, Kim saw the brightly color gun first and dove for it, beating out the StoppaBot by only a microsecond. He started to advance on her but Kim just held the heavy plastic casing hard and then slammed in into the stone floor with all the strength left in her good arm. The plastic cracked and splinted and Kim rose it up for a second strike.
Her hand was suddenly grabbed and the StoppaBot wrenched the plastic gun from her fingers. She felt one of her digits crack and she hoped it only got popped but feared it was worse.
“Look out!” yelled Kim as StoppaBot brought up the cracked gun and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
The StoppaBot sighed in relief then suddenly the small toy started to squeak and whine in his hand.
“What the--” he started before the thing exploded, throwing him onto his back and filling the whole room up with a strange greenish light.
“Aurggg!” Kim heard Shego cry out but couldn't see her because of the light. The raging roar of the fire suddenly dissipated and Kim knew that Shego had lost use of her powers again. Kim felt around wildly while her eyes adjusted to the room after the glowing stopped. She tried heading towards where she thought Maya was but tripped on something and nearly smacked her jaw on the stone flooring. Kim looked down to see what had snagged her and as her eyes focused on the scene before she saw the blackened, battered pistol she'd failed to fire. She started to wonder if it was cursed.
“Kiiiiim,” came a wail. Kim recognized the voice as Shego's and headed in its direction. The candles in the chandliers had been blown out by the explosion so the hall was much darker than it had originally been. The only available light now was coming from the flood lamps outside pointing at the stained glass window.
Kim pushed herself forward towards Shego's voice before finally finding her, looking dazed and nauseous but generally alive. Kim threw herself on her and wrapped her good arm around Shego.
“Urrbb,” struggled Shego. “Easy, I'm not feeling so hot.”
Kim suddenly lurched up like a meerkat and looked around. “Where's Maya?”
Shego pointed wearily at the dais before the stained glass window. Kim looked and saw an unmoving body laying bathed in the colorful light from the huge window.
“Is she…” started Kim, but realized she didn't care either way. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I'll manage,” said Shego, pushing herself up to lean against one of the cages. She turned her head slightly and saw the unconscious form of Ron Stoppable… the real Ron Stoppable, inside the cage. He was asleep, but breathing, which was a good sign.
“Did we do it?” asked Shego.
Kim looked over at Maya and confirmed that she still wasn't moving. “Looks like,” said Kim.
Shego's eyes focused on Kim and then widened.
“Are you flashing me?” she asked with a goofy grin.
Kim looked down and noticed enough of her shirt had ripped to expose her bra underneath. She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I'm flashing you,” she said drolly.
Kim finally succumbed to fatigue and lied down beside Shego, covering her chest with her battered and slowly bleeding arm. She hoped someone would come for them soon to treat her wound since she didn't have the strength to leave on her own.
Kim looked up at Shego who looked down with an exhausted but satisfied face. “It's over,” she said.
“Not quite.”
Both Kim and Shego looked up to see the StoppaBot walking up to them in a labored fashion. His face was strained and covered in sweat but he generally looked better than either Kim or Shego.
Kim scowled, “StoppaBot.” She tried to push herself back to her feet.
“Please,” he held up a hand. “Don’t panic, I'm not going to hurt anyone or anything.” He looked sincere and Kim doubted she could do anything if he wasn't so she sat back down. “And, please don't call me StoppaBot. It's degrading.”
Kim blinked in confusion. “Well I'm not calling you Ron,” she said, motioning to the cage behind her.
The StoppaBot looked pensive then said, “call me 'Beta.' That's what Maya called me back when she was programming me.”
“What do you want, Beta?” snapped Shego, still cognizant that he had started this conversation by saying that the battle wasn't over.
“I just thought you should remember that the PossiBot army is still fighting GJ and Team Go out there.”
“Oh man,” Shego said. “Maya didn't shut them off.”
“Is there some sort of override or master disable?” asked Kim, hopefully.
“Yes,” nodded Beta. “It's nearby, but protected by a security system.”
“Great,” said Kim.
“Which I can break,” finished Beta.
Kim narrowed her eyes. She didn't like where this was going.
“So why haven't you turned them off yet?” asked Kim.
“Because I want to offer you an exchange,” he said.
Shego growled. “Exchange my ass, do it or get fried!” She made tiny fires appear in her plam and dance menacingly.
“What is it you want?” asked Kim.
“Let me go,” Beta implored.
Kim and Shego looked at each other in confusion.
“I'm a fully sentient being,” continued Beta. “As long as you keep Maya locked up and away from me, I don't have to do a thing she wants. I can just be a regular person.”
“A regular person with super strength, speed, and the ability to change his appearance at will,” added Shego, disdainfully.
“Well, maybe not 'regular,” said Beta. “But I … being programmed with Ron's personality, I couldn’t help but want to help you. But the hard coding Maya put in me kept me from doing anything that she directed me not to. I hate what I has forced to do and would never do it of my choice.”
“You're saying you want to live your life,” said Kim. “Without direction from Maya.”
“Yes,” nodded Beta. “I'll vanish. I mean, you'll never see or hear from me again. Just let me go and I'll live a lawful life.”
Kim sighed.
“We really can't stop you right now, you know,” Shego added to Kim's sigh.
“I know,” Beta nodded. “But it's important to me that you let me go, rather than running away. I… I want to believe I'm not just a drone.”
“You're not a drone,” said Kim. “I saw your anguish, your struggle to go against Maya's wishes. That's pretty real in my book.” Kim looked up at Shego who nodded once. She turned to look back at Beta. “Go. I accept your deal.”
“Thank you,” bowed Beta respectfully. He turned towards the front of the room. “Goodbye.” He dashed up to the front of the room and slowly slid aside a hidden doorway leading into some corridor filled with the hum of electronics.
Moments later the PossiBots in the room suddenly fell over, deactivated.
“Now its over,” said Kim.
Shego yawned.
“Now it's over,” she agreed.
The two leaned against each other and contemplated sleeping for a few years.
“Hey, we gotta get to that thing,” said Shego.
“Oh, right,” said Kim, then she paused. “Uh, when my legs start moving again.”
“Yeah.”
EPILOGUE
They didn't find Kim or Shego when they finally got to the large hall where Maya was lying. But all the cages had been burned open and their occupants carefully lying on the floor away from the debris. Will and Dash searched for many hours after the end of the battle, hoping to find Kim and Shego still alive somewhere, but there was nothing to be found. They had vanished.
Kim's family -- when they recovered -- and most of Team Go were worried that something had happened. There were a lot of villains out there, and the true details of Maya's plan was unknown to many of the combatants. Had someone interfered? A mastermind bigger than even Maya who was really manipulating things from the shadows.
“They're fine,” insisted Jason Kedar, for like the third time. “Just trust me.”
“They're missing,” stressed Raymond, his elder brother. “We have to find them.”
“They're not missing,” replied Jason. “Believe me, they're fine. They just don't want to be found right now.”
“What makes you think that?” asked Mr. Dr. Possible, frowning.
“Because …” Jason wanted to tread lightly or get caught up in something he didn't want to be involved with. “Because even heroes need a vacation,” he said finally. “And if they hung around, there would be questions and statements and TV reports and GJ debriefing…” he rattled on about a dozen more examples of hassle.
“He's right,” said Agent Will Du, walking up to the group. “She has a lot to explain to us.” He looked away. “Not that I endorse running from responsibility.”
“Please!” yelled Jason. “Don't you think, at some point in this endless crusade, Kim Possible has fulfilled her obligations to you? To society? When do the scales balance?”
Du narrowed his eyes and regarded Jason with a firm frown. “The price of freedom--”
“Is eternal vigilance,” interrupted William. “Well, we'll be vigil in her place. Right?”
Wesley looked surprised but nodded in agreement to his brother. William looked up to Ray and Jason who nodded as well.
“Good enough for you?” asked William.
Agent Du said nothing, then turned on his foot and walked back towards the GJ agents loading PossiBots onto a truck.
William felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see Mrs. Dr. Possible looking down at him satisfactorily.
“Thank you,” she said. She looked up at the rows of PossiBots. “I just wish I knew she was alright.”
“Oh. Well…” started Jason as he dug into his pocket and then pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Here. It was taped on the back of a PossiBot. I grabbed it before anyone noticed.”
Judy took the folded paper and opened it slowly. It said in simple letters:
“Tell the University I'll be back in the fall.”
It had a simple drawing of a heart and was signed 'Kim'.
Judy regarded the note, and felt a little irritated that there was no thoughts of concern towards her jailed family, but then remembered that she went through hell to save them and figured they all needed a break.
“Well, I hope Agent Du has arranged a flight for us back to the US,” said Judy.
“Oh man,” Ron suddenly said, looking around. “My break is half over and I haven't even gotten out of France yet!”
( KP )
Acting Director Beverly Cartwright did not like her job.
Well, that wasn't true. There was much about her role in GJ that she enjoyed, and the opportunity to become the Director of one of GJ's most prestigious branches was a chance she couldn’t turn down. Of course, she would be stealing it from someone who, in Cartwright's opinion, was probably the most dedicated, detail oriented, and intelligent agent ever to grace GJ's ranks. There was only one direction a replacement could go from the heights of someone like Betty Director and Cartwright wasn't pleased to be the symbol of that downturn.
Every time she walked down the halls of the facility she felt the eyes on her. Some human, some electronic, all prying and making detailed lists on how she wasn't as good as Betty. She didn't need to be told Betty was more accomplished than her, and she, of course, would never see those lists to know exactly in what areas she was viewed as deficient. It bothered her all the same. She wondered if she'd ever command the respect her predecessor did.
“Director,” said the tall man coming up to her as she walked. “These are the latest duty reassignments for your approval.” He held out a folder in his firm, steady hands. Cartwright gently took the folder and tucked it under her shoulder.
“Thank you, Commander Ferris,” she said in return. “How did they look to you?”
“As good as the last attempt,” he sighed and fell in step with her. “I don't think anyone is going to be happy and we may just have to endure the fallout until people forget.”
Beverly grimaced and opened the folder as she walked, glancing briefly over the assignments, wondering how many complaints would be generated by the reorganization. “Was she really that special?” she asked.
Ferris raised his eyebrows. “She founded this office,” he said. “Before that she led her own special investigative branch of Interpol, the youngest ever to do so. When she left to create GJ Middleton, over twenty officers of Interpol resigned to join her.” He smiled. “She commanded respect much like a messiah.”
“Her only weakness was her brother,” he continued, nodding. “He was the only one who constantly undermined her careful planning and forethought. But I guess that's how family is.”
Cartwright nodded and smiled a little herself. “I may be no Betty Director, but I do respect her. I want people to see that.”
“They will,” said Ferris. “After they get over their emotions. I've read about you and there's a lot to like. Give it time, they'll see your merits.”
“I hope so,” she said softly. She stopped. “This is my stop.” She motion to the door to the medical wing.
“Tromper?” asked Ferris.
Cartwright nodded. “Part of my new duties is to make sure all our long term stay patients are, in fact, still there.”
“A noteworthy precaution,” smirked Ferris. He nodded slightly and turned on his foot and headed back in the direction they had come from.
Cartwright looked up at the door and shook her head. She pushed through the entrance way and headed for the secured wing. A guard nodded to her as he checked her badge, retina scan, and password and then admitted her.
The long white corridor beyond the gated checkpoint was blindingly white and looked very similar to a normal hospital. Closer examination, however, would reveal the advanced locks and auxiliary security systems watching every inch of hallway and wall. It was a veritable fortress now, having been significantly improved from when Tromper escaped.
After a brief walk down the hall, she came to the door she was looking for. The chart on the wall outside the door read 'Agent Tromper, Maya.' Cartwright entered the room.
And saw another person in the room already who regarded her neturally.
“B… Dr. Director,” stammered Cartwright, immediately feeling foolish.
“Director Cartwright,” nodded Betty in return. She was dressed in simple clothes, with a black leather jacket over a navy blue shirt and dark brown pants.
Cartwright fought the urge to babble and simply walked up beside her to look down at the silent figure on the bed. Maya breathed slowly as the equipment diligently recording her unchanging status. She had suffered some minor brain damage from the oxygen deprivation but was expected to recover before she slipped back into a coma. It was strange…
But not nearly as strange as Betty Director standing in the room with her.
“GJ Command thinks you're missing,” Cartwright said, not looking up but addressing Betty.
“I know,” she said simply. “You can tell them otherwise but you won't find me again after today.”
“A--” started Cartwright but she stopped and then said nothing. She reached out and adjusted the blanket on Maya so it covered her completely and confirming she was real and not a hologram.
“She's still listed as an agent,” said Betty, breaking the silence.
“Yes,” nodded Cartwright. “She was never formally charged for her actions two years ago due to her coma, so she still has 'Suspended Agent' status. It's a technicality.”
“I like it,” she said, slightly smiling. “I don't blame her entirely for what happened. She was on the track to being a stellar agent.”
“Just a little nudge in the wrong direction is all it takes sometimes,” said Cartwright, somewhat whimsically. She finally looked up at Betty who had already turned to face her. “I'm not your enemy.”
“I have 'Suspended Agent' status too, you know,” reminded Betty.
“I know but… I don’t blame you either,” said Cartwright. “You're being made into a scapegoat for all this because you vanished after GJ went into lockdown, but I think it was wrong for Command to do that.”
“They did what was necessary to ensure the future of GJ,” said Betty. “I would expect nothing less.” She softened her hard expression. “I'm glad they sent you, though. Not some cocky sub-commander from New York or Munich.”
“Thanks,” nodded Cartwright. “I'm curious, though. Do you have any advice for me? This is really your shop, after all.”
Betty looked thoughtful then said, “Just do your best. You're already off on the right foot, and I'll stop by Ferris' on my way out to make sure the others know that I approve of you as well.”
“That's not reassuring,” said Cartwright.
“You shouldn't be reassured,” said Betty. “Don't let yourself get comfortable and don't be over confident in yourself, your agents, or GJ as a whole. If there are other people out there smarter or more successful than you, find out what they have to say. You're not a king. You don't have to appear above and beyond all you can see and hear. Get advice, bounce it off others, and find out how to integrate it, rather than simply follow it.”
“Isn't trust what got you into this situation, though?” asked Cartwright, knowing she was treading into muddy waters by accusing the great Betty Director of being mistaken.
“No,” Betty shook her head. “I convinced myself that I didn't need to have trust because I'd been right for so long. So many years of fighting the evils that be that I'd become… calloused. Insensitive to the things that were happening beneath my nose.” She looked down at Maya. “You'll sit in that chair for years but the people around you will constantly change. Take advantage of their fresh perspective.”
Betty smiled. “And if a kid named Possible ever tries to tell you something, listen.”
Cartwright smiled. “Trust, then.”
“Trust,” repeated Betty.
Cartwright nodded, then turned. “I need to check on the rest in this ward. I imagine you won't be here when I get back.”
“You won't see me again,” said Betty. “This is my last day in the fight.”
“It's a shame,” said Cartwright as she opened the door. “But we'll manage without you.” She slipped out of the room and closed the door.
Betty stared at the closed door for several moments before turning back towards the bed. “There's something else you'll need to know, Beverly,” she said, reaching into her jacket. “But unfortunately, it can't be taught. It can only be learned.”
She pulled her hand back out, revealing a thin syringe in her palm. She pulled the plastic cap off of it and tucked it into her pocket. With a fluid motion she stuck the needle into the IV drip bag and quietly injected the solution in. Once she was sure it had all entered, she pulled out the needle and threw it in the biological waste bin. The meters in the room suddenly came to life as the EKG measured Maya's heart suddenly racing.
“Sometimes, in the name of justice, you have to bloody your hands,” said Betty watching the machines go crazy. “You have to make a sacrifice, because the alternative is much worse.”
The EKG meter suddenly flat lined causing the machine to emit a high pitched tone in alarm. Betty silenced the alarm with a press of a button. “And always remember to tie up your lose ends, before you shut off the lights.”
Seconds later, the door to the room burst open as several nurses and Acting Director Cartwright came rushing back in, but all traces of Betty had gone.
( KP )
In the mists, three women stood on ethereal land and gazed upon the living world like trapped animals waiting for the day to be set free. Their stoic expressions looked upon the life of Kim Possible, seeing the effects of their intervention, and then nodding in satisfaction.
It was at that moment that the fourth woman appeared. She was not quite as tall as the three weird sisters, and not quite so plain. Her aurburn hair was wavy and circled her head down to her shoulders, framing her soft, rounded face, sprinkled with barely visible freckles and a pair of square rimless glasses. She wore a white turtleneck shirt with a knitted vest of browns over a long skirt in matching colors.
The new woman put her hands to her hips and, despite their near omnipresence, startled the three girls. “Are you done meddling?” she asked loudly.
The three girls turned and stared at the woman in brown. Sneering they replied in sequence.
“She was in trouble,” said the first.
“We helped her succeed,” continued the second.
“Now their world is better off,” finished the third.
The woman in browns walked over and peered down through the mists to see. “What did you do to help?” she asked.
“Drew her in the dream, we did,” said the first.
“Gave her strength through encouragement and hope,” continued the second.
“Then returned her home. Nothing more,” concluded the third.
The woman in brown raised her brows. She was impressed. They actually chose to help Kim Possible, despite all the varied sides and opinions that had brewed in the conflict below.
“We have done another good deed,” said the first.
“May we return home now?” asked the second.
“Return to Avalon?” added the third.
The woman merely shrugged. “We shall see,” she said.
The third of the girls looked angrily upon the woman. “You toy with us, witch. Greater beings than you have tried and suffered.”
“Lucky me I'm your jailor and not the other way around, then,” said the witch.
“We will not be captives forever,” said the first of the three.
“You will taste our wrath once freed,” said the second.
“Then you will have undone all the good you have fostered in my care,” said the witch, unfazed. “This is penance. You must learn to be better or it will never end.”
The sisters looked between themselves, unconvinced.
“So what happens next for her?” asked the witch, pointing down at Kim.
“Nothing of interest, her life becomes boring,” said the first of the three.
“Boring?” asked the witch.
“No more doomsday machines, no more saving the world. Her life never touches magic save from us three and this world's techno-magery will affect her never again.” The second of the three folded her arms.
“All she does is live with her lover, teach law at university, squabbles with her neighbors, and learn that her kids will never listen to her the first time she tells them something.” The third turned away from the vision.
The witch put her hand to her chin and appeared thoughtful. “Actually, sounds pretty exciting to me,” she said, wistfully. “Though not a life I'm destined for.”
“We can read you fate should you choose,” said the first of the three suddenly.
“Plain as day, we can speak it.”
“All we ask is to get home sooner.”
The witch looked at the three with a grin as if they were crazy. “Are you three ready to move on?”
“No,” said the second of three. “There is still one more thing to be done.”
“I thought you said she was boring now,” said the witch.
“She is,” replied the first of the three. “But there is one more thing to do in the past.”
“To allow this future to come to pass,” continued the third of the three.
“But we need to interfere,” said the second. “And we are forbidden outside the dreamscape.”
The witch paused and considered what they were asking. “Very well,” she said after a few minutes. “I'll do it. I owe at least one to Kim Possible. When must I go to?”
( KP )
Kim stared in shock as she leaned on the bar. They were in one of the most popular night clubs near to her university and for the life of her, she could not believe that Shego could dance for so long. Kim had gotten tired two songs ago but there she was, in her tight dark green top and painted on three-quarter pants, dancing up a storm. Every guy in the whole club must have danced with her by now. Where did she get the energy?
Kim finally reached the crowded bar and waved over Daren, the bartender. “Whiskey sour,” she said, holding up two fingers. Since Shego was busy being a sex magnet, she didn't get to choose this round of drinks which meant a thankful reprieve from the endless supply of lime vodka martinis.
Looking back onto the dance floor, Kim noticed Shego looking back over at her. Their eyes connected and Shego waved her back onto the floor. Kim grinned and shook her head, instead pointing back at Daren and her pending drink. Shego laughed and just kept on dancing. Her long black hair twirled around her body like a tornado, barely containing the fiery demon within. The combination of the delicate hair wrapping around the perfectly svelte frame was very alluring. Kim could almost feel how men were so attracted to her. It made her wish that she could be so attractive.
“Wow, does she ever give up?” came a woman's voice beside Kim. She turned to see a woman with mid-length brown hair tied above her head, slightly pale skin, and wearing a tank top over black pants. She nearly vanished in the dark interior of the club but the neon from behind the bar highlighted her body just enough to know she wasn't a floating head and shoulders.
“What was that?” asked Kim, confused as to why this woman just started talking to her.
“That girl in green with the dark hair,” she said, pointing at Shego. “She's with you, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” nodded Kim. “Yeah, she's a real animal.”
“Look at the crowd,” said the woman, sipping on her gin and tonic. “I never pull that many.”
“Well, she's knows just how to turn a person on, I guess,” said Kim. She imagined she had to become good a charming people to be a thief. Or was that a grafter? She couldn’t remember and she'd already had several drinks tonight.
“Really?” said the girl, tilting her head as she looked at Shego. “I don't see it.”
“You don't see it?” asked Kim, surprised.
“Nah, what's so hot about her?” said the girl.
“Oh, come on,” said Kim, laughing. “Her hair is perfect, and I mean ALWAYS perfect. I don’t know how she makes it so wavy and soft all the time considering the life she leads.”
“What life is that?” asked the girl, with a raised brow.
“Anyway,” said Kim, catching herself before revealing that Shego was a world-class thief to a complete stranger. “She's got a body to die for, which is easy to see since she always wears form-fitting clothes. I'll admit the greenish complexion is a little weird at first, but its easy to get used to, especially when she uses it to her advantage with that bold lipstick, almost like some sort of geisha.”
“That's just dressings though,” said the girl. “Anyone can put on her clothes and look like that. Why her when there are so many other equally attractive girls on the floor? You know, like me and you.” She laughed.
“No offense,” said Kim, smiling. “But who out there is more attractive than her right now?”
The girl swept her eyes across the dance floor, looking at all the guys and gals.
“I mean look,” said Kim, leaning on the bar but staring out into the club. “She's so primal sometimes it's almost savage but she's got restraint. Like a delicate line that frames something so pure inside it can't be contained by simple clothes or gestures. Guys see that stuff.”
“They do?” asked the girl.
“And look how she moves like she's ballet dancing but to this heavy rave beat,” Kim pointed. “She's got grace even when doing the same awkward motions that bleached blonde girl behind her is doing. She flows and turns the jerked motions into a balanced kata… a practiced form.”
“Hmm, I'm not those guys trying to cop a feel off her ass have noticed that,” commented the girl.
“And she loves it,” continued Kim. “Sometimes her eyes sparkle like she's having the best time of her entire life out there. She's in the open, in a city she doesn't like, hanging out with her worst enemy, and she so… pleased. Doesn't that just scream out to anyone who looks at her.” Kim turned to looked at the girl who had a half grin.
“Are you sure everyone can hear that?” asked the girl.
“What?” asked Kim, confused. “I just explained it.”
“I'm not sure,” said the girl. “It seems like the only one listening to that scream is you.”
“Huh,” started Kim. “I guess? Maybe I'm a little biased. I mean, I've spent a lot of time studying her, so maybe I just understand her a little easier.”
“Studying her?” asked the girl.
“We fight a lot,” said Kim. Then added, “um… I mean, spar. Yeah, we practice together. But it gets pretty intense so we both have to study each other to be able to read each other's moves before they happen.”
“Does it only work when fighting?” The woman glanced over to Shego again. “I mean, what would you read off her body right now?”
Kim stared at Shego and tried to think through the alcohol. After a second she blinked and shrugged. “I guess based on her posture and motions, attitude, something like 'come get me.' Like a feint or taunt used to lure someone into an attack.” Kim turned back. “The guys probably pick up on that subliminally.”
“Wow, do you attend the nearby university?” asked the girl. “'Cause a I didn't think they let in people so dense.”
“Hey!” yelled Kim. “I'll have you know--”
“The only person who can read the messages she's giving out is you,” said the girl plainly. She sipped her gin and tonic again.
“What?” said Kim. “Why would she be sending messages to me?”
“That would entirely depend on what the message being sent is,” nodded the girl. “In this case, in your words: 'come get me.'”
“She wants a fight?” asked Kim.
The girl slapped her forehead and muttered something under her breath. Kim didn’t catch it all but she said something about 'this dimension.' Kim frowned.
“She wants you,” said the girl motioning with her hands. “After that I don't think she cares what else.”
Kim finally pieced together what the girl was saying to her. “Oh, no way,” she said, shaking her head. “She's not a -- you know.”
“It seems like that doesn't matter to her right now,” pointed out the girl. “But hey, whatever, you know her best, right? You're the one who can tell what she's saying with her body, not me.”
Kim frowned and looked back onto the dance floor. Shego was dancing but not as energetically. She was looking back at Kim now, with a strange expression. Kim shrugged to ask what was wrong and Shego just shook her head, dismissing it. She went back to dancing her 'come get me' dance again. Kim wondered if she was just reading her wrong. It was a little cheating of her to be constantly dancing that way, working subliminally on the guy's minds.
“Hey, I'm bailing, it was nice talking to you…?” the girl beside her trailed off as if missing something.
“Kim,” said Kim, half-distracted.
“I'm Aurora,” said the girl, smiling. “Later.”
Kim stared at Shego's dance and started to get irritated. It was very distracting, and ruining the pickings for Kim. She would have to do something to get back at her. Some sort of lesson.
“Two whisky sours,” said Daren behind her. Kim nodded and handed him a bill, before taking a sip from one of the glasses. Her mind spun, but not from the alcohol. She'd decided the perfect way to get back at Shego, if she didn't mind being a little embarrassed in the process. But if Shego was gong to be bold, so could Kim.
Grabbing both glasses, Kim started swaying out onto the dance floor, using her well practiced grace to do her own version of the 'come get me' dance as she moved right towards Shego. Shego's eyes sparkled as she saw Kim approach, as if seeing the challenge. Kim knew she wouldn't back down from a fight, but she wondered how far she would go to prove she was better.
The two combatants finally reached each other and aside from the pout Shego made when she saw the whisky sour, they laughed as they danced against one another, spinning and bobbing to the beat. Kim was grinning whenever she wasn't laughing or drinking. Shego had to back down this time, not even she would let this go too far. And Kim would finally get to gloat.
Kim and Shego's eyes met while they danced and Kim could see the fire in her adversary's stare. Kim had never seen her so determined. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before.
Grinning, Shego leaned in close and whispered in Kim's ear. “Bring it on, Pumpkin.” Then she laughed, sending soft wisps of hot air against her cool skin.
CREDITS
The bar was not exceptionally large, but big enough to have included a nice sized stage upon which stood a drum set, several microphones, and three musicians. A pair of weak spotlights lit the stage as the drummer leaned forward to speak into his microphone. He smiled widely and held his hands loosely before him as if trying calm down a lion.
“Okay,” said Ron, clearing his throat. “So, a mafia man walks into a barber shop and says to the barber, 'I want a cut.'” He took a breath and then hesitated, his eyebrow twitching. “Er… wait, I told that wrong.”
The crowd in the bar laughed. A young black woman cupped her hands to her mouth a crooned with a smile. “Booo! Change the channel!”
“Yes, thank you, Monique,” said Ron sarcastically.
Kimberly Ann Possible
“Okay, okay,” said Kim into her own microphone calming the audience for a moment. She looked back at Ron with an amused expression. He just shrugged in response.
Kim looked back to the crowd and held the microphone with both hands. “So, this one is kinda old,” she said experimentally. “But fun, I guess, in a macho, mid 80's sort of way.” She laughed.
The audience murmured in approval and Kim smiled, then motioned to her side at the woman in green. “But it demands a little bit from our guitarist as it was originally written for more than one player, so cut her some slack.”
“Not a chance!” yelled a pair of laughing voices from the audience. They were twins, young men dressed in red.
“Fine, I don't need your sympathy,” said Shego into her mic. “Let's go.”
Lily “Shego” Kedar
Shego gripped the neck of her guitar and began to pluck the introductory notes to the song. They were simple, with nothing else playing to muddle them. The distortion on her guitar had been turned down enough that it almost sounded acoustic.
Then Kim stepped closer to her microphone.
“There's a story in my eyes;
Turn the pages of desire.”
Kim made her voice somewhat raspy while she sang, trying to emulate the rougher feel of the original, male singer of the song.
“Now it's time to trade those dreams
For the rush of passion's fire.”
A Period of Silence
Written by Adam Leigh
Shego quickly stepped on a petal on the floor and changed her grip to start playing chords.
Kim held the microphone tightly and looked to Shego as she sang.
“I can feel you tremble when we touch.”
Shego looked at her like she was being cheesy. Kim smiled and turned back to the audience.
“And I feel the hand of fate;
Reaching out to both of us.”
Shego played a loud note and Ron started tapping on his snare drums, building the energy in the song.
Based on Disney's Kim Possible TV Series
Created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle
and Directed by Steven Loter
Kim reached up and forcefully sang the last two words of the next line.
“I've been holding back the night.”
Ron started drumming faster as the beat picked up. Shego's guitar became louder and more overdriven. The crowds cheers started to get louder to match.
Also Starring…
“I've been searching for a clue from you…”
As Kim crooned, Shego moved slowly around the stage as she played, looking out at the audience and seeing her brothers were at a table fairly near to the front. She nodded to them and they cheer louder as a result.
TEAM GO:
Maya “Allucinere” Tromper
Raymond “Hego” Kedar
Jason “Mego” Kedar
Wesley & William “Wego” Kedar
Ron's drumming climbed in intensity and all three musicians were playing with all their might, filling the bar with music.
“I'm gonna try with all my might;
To make this storyline come true!”
In the audience a group of similarly dressed people smiled and tapped their drinks in beat with the music but were not bouncing or clapping like the rest of the crowd. They loved the performance mind you, but they tried to keep some level of decorum.
“Wooooo!” yelled Wade as he cheered loudly.
Well, most of them tried to.
GLOBAL JUSTICE:
Dr. Elizabeth “Betty” Director
Agent Willmore “Will” Du
Commander Albert “Al” Ferris
Agent Wade Load
Agent Dash Demond
Agent Crash Cranstin
Agent Burn Burmin
and
Acting Director Beverly Cartwright
Shego and Kim both walked up to the same microphone and sang in unison.
“Can ya feel me tremble when we touch?
Can ya feel the hand of fate,
Reaching out to both of us?
This love affair can't wait!”
Elsewhere in the bar, a longer table sat a family of cheering Possibles, even Nana had come along and was a surprisingly loud whistler. Jim and Timothy had constructed a series of small holographic and mechanical toys that were dancing along the table in tune with the music. Monique was sitting with them as well, having been temporarily adopted into the family while her close friend sang her heart out on stage.
Timothy Possible
James Possible Jr.
Dr. Judy Possible
Leslie “Nana” Possible
Dr. James Timothy Possible Sr.
Monique Montague
Ron Stoppable
Jack Hench
Kim went back to singing alone but strained to sing the chorus with all her might, beating out each word.
“I can't hold back, I'm on the edge.”
Ron and Shego quickly leaned into their microphones.
“I can't hold back!”
Then retreated, leaving Kim to sing alone again.
“Your voice explodes inside my head
I can't hold back, I won't back down
Girl it's too late to turn back now”
And Introducing:
The song belted into an instrumental interlude as most people in the bar got onto their feet to applaud and dance to the song.
Near to the stage Beth moved to the music and smiled at her former roommate at University. Kim smiled back and nodded as she moved around the stage, dancing to fill up the time in the song with no lyrics.
Unseen, at the back of the bar, a single figure in a leather jacket, short blonde hair and a series of scars on his right hand stood and smiled. He had to come see the spectacle but, noticing his counterpart as well as the combined management of Global Justice in the bar, he bid a silent apology and retreated into the shadows again.
Elizabeth “Beth” Corelia
“Beta” the StoppaBot
FBI Special Agent Elliot Gibson
The music suddenly quieted to just Shego's gentle strumming at the strings of her guitar again. She was estimating for the piano solo that was originally in the song. Kim sang softly along.
“Another shooting star goes by.”
And
Maya “Allucinere” Tromper
“And in the night the silence speaks to you and I.”
Special Guest Stars:
Special Assistant Brian Mason
(as he appeared in 'Bubblegum Crisis 2033'
Directed by Katsuhito Akiyama)
Ron and Shego returned to the faster playing they had done before.
“And now the time has come at last,
Don't let the moment run too fast!”
Suddenly the whole front area of the bar before the stage was brimming with people cheering. It took a few seconds before Kim realized they were two dozen Wegos. She laughed as a pseudo-mosh pit erupted before her.
And
The Weird Sisters
Phoebe, Selene, and Luna
(as they appeared in 'Disney's Gargoyles'
Created by Greg Weisman)
Shego leaned over to sing with Kim again.
“I can feel you tremble when we touch,
And I feel the hand of fate, reaching out to both of us!”
They leaned their backs together and rested their eyes against one another as they played and sang respectively. Behind them, Ron took it upon himself to embellish the drum part of the song, to reasonably positive results.
Ending Theme Song:
I Can't Hold Back
As performed by Survivor
Shego continued to sing with Kim, despite the song not calling for it. She was just having too much fun on stage and decided that was the whole point. Together their voices merged perfectly as they wailed.
“There's a story in my eyes, turn the pages of desire.
Now it's time to trade those dreams,
For the rush of passion's fire!”
Special Thanks:
Allaine - For getting me into KP fanfiction with your awesome 'Unacceptable Sitch' series…
Rinacat - …but not before this darling girl got me intrigued by the concept of Kigo with her charming DeviantArt comics
Creativetoo - for not only posting the very first review to 'Fling', but being the first to express interest in a sequel.
And everyone on the KPSlash forums who talked with me, as it can be very lonely as a writer sometimes.
“I can't hold back, I'm on the edge.
I can't hold back!”
Kim tapped Shego on the shoulder who nodded and stood up straight again. Her fingers began to glow as she played.
“You voice explodes inside my head.”
The front of the stage began to smoke and shimmer with a pale green light. Shego's hands glowed brighter as the light on the stage grew in intensity.
“I can't hold back, I won't back down,
Girl it's too late to turn back now!”
As the song started to conclude the light on the stage erupted into a huge blanket of green fire that writhed and shimmered, obscuring everyone on the stage. The burning wall pulsed and surged for only a second before vanishing on the last drum beat of the song.
When the smoke clear, everyone looked to see Ron twirling his drumsticks but Kim and Shego were gone.
Ron smirked. “Good night, everybody!”
THE END