Having jumped from airplanes, fallen from cliffs, and being thrown through the air, Kim was more than a little used to being propelled at high rates of speed with little or no control. This, however, took the cake.
The remaining fuel from the ‘Moon Doggie’ was shooting them up the walls of this natural chimney like a bullet through the barrel of a gun. It was fortunate that there was a slight incline or else Kim’s back would have been battered and torn by the rock walls. As it was, she would still have some interesting bruises… if they survived.
What had been a faint pinprick of light above them was growing in size and brightness. Shego had lost consciousness shortly after take-off; apparently her limited exposure to the faintest rays of sunlight had been enough to jump start her power, but the effort of generating a plasma blast had been too much for her.
The actual flight time could be counted in seconds, but it seemed like an eternity as they lifted towards safety, riding a column of flame.
Almost without warning, the world exploded in light. Kim was prepared for this and gave a tug on the trowel-spear. This caused a critical knot in the bindings to be severed and they fell away from the board.
Blind and fighting to keep her wits, Kim kicked their bodies away from the board, letting it continue its upward flight. They, on the other hand, were falling back to earth. Kim’s only chance was to have pushed them clear of the open end of the earthen chimney.
The breath was driven from her lungs as Kim hit the ground. She rolled a few times, still forming a protective shield around Shego’s body. When she came to a stop, she still had a firm grip on Shego, but was face down on something soft and yielding. It was a few heartbeats before she realized that it was grass.
Being trapped underground had forced her senses had become tuned to the limits of her environment. Light, or the lack thereof, was the most obvious. Another was sound. Kim had grown used to the echoes and the oppressive stillness.
Now her ears were being assaulted by the openness of her new surroundings. But then she heard a bird. And then she heard a voice.
“They’re here! Up here!”
Kim had never let go of her wife’s hand. She crawled closer and embraced the older woman’s still form and sobbed.
“We’re home… we’re home.” Kim heard and felt movement all around them, and quickly found that agents of Global Justice were surrounding her. Most were apparently part of the medical division, as she could recognize from their uniforms.
“Don’t try to move. Let us take a look at you ad check for fractures. You two landed pretty hard just now.”
Funny, Kim thought, didn’t this adventure start with a hard landing?
“Shego… see to her first… I feel alright… ”
“We’ll be the judges of that.” The voice was not unkindly, but it was firm and boded no argument. There were hands all over her, including one that wrapped itself tightly around her own hand.
“Kimberly? This is Will. Keep still and let these folks work on you. Don’t worry about Shego; she has her own little fan club right now.”
“Will… Agent Du. I’m OK, really. I can stand on my own feet.” The medical technicians confirmed that Kim suffered no broken bones and that there was no indication of any internal injuries. She was gently helped to her feet and guided towards Shego.
Everyone present was surprised to see Kim using a long spear to help give support to her tired legs. It was an odd thing, almost looking like a weapon, having a sharp spade at the end…
The glare from the sun was still painful against Kim’s weakened yes, but she knew that this would quickly improve. Kim spoke to the med-techs administering to the unconscious Shego, giving them her observations from the past few weeks on Shego’s deteriorating condition. Although Kim could not see it, the med-techs listened carefully and nodded their understanding. They quickly altered the method of treatment and made plans for getting Shego moved to a Global Justice medical facility for care.
“Kimberly, please let me take you to the ambulance.”
“I won’t leave her. Please let me ride with her to the hospital.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have thought to do otherwise. The med-techs will be bringing Shego along momentarily. They are just fitting her with an IV.”
“Kimberly… Kim, ‘GJ’ will eventually schedule a briefing to record the details of your rescue operation, and also to update our security forces on the source of the subterranean threat. Not to mention finding out how the two of you managed to survive down there for so long.”
Apparently sounding too cold and analytical to his own ears, Will softened his tones. “Believe it or not, what I am attempting to tell you is that everyone back at ‘GJ’ Headquarters is immensely proud of you. We had no idea that what we intended to be a simple rescue would turn into something like you and Shego must have experienced.”
Knowing that this was Will’s best effort to be comforting, Kim reached out gave him a one-armed hug.
“No big.” Kim laughed at herself; old habits never really die, do they? Even after a time of living the life of a homemaker, she was able to fall right back into her role of heroine.
In the act of laughing, Kim caught a scent that was wrong… somehow. She turned in an involuntary motion towards the clustered med-techs. What were they doing to Shego that smelled so bad?
Fighting against the searing pain in her eyes, Kim raised the ‘Trog’ binding from around her eyes to see what was going on. Squinting through the glare, Kim saw…
… med-techs being swatted aside like flies.
… the beast responsible for the attack dragging its fetid bulk up from the jagged hole that was the opening of the chimney.
… talons he size an shape of scythes reaching for the inert body of Shego, lifting her, raising her towards its slavering maw.
The events were happening so fast, and so silently, that no one would have noticed the attack in time to save Shego. Will gasped, having also turned around, but only to inquire of Kim what was wrong. He’d had no hint of what was happening behind him until Kim had moved.
Will drew his standard issue firearm, but could not fire for fear of hitting Shego. And even though Kim did not see them, there was a contingent of ‘GJ’ assault agents just a few yards away, armed with both light and heavy armaments. This threat could probably be neutralized with one blast of a stinger missile, but only at the cost of Shego’s life.
In no more than the span of a heartbeat, Kim was in motion. Eyes streaming with tears, but only from pain and not from panic, Kim used her trowel-spear to vault over the fallen med-techs and landed right on the shoulders of the creature.
The beast was small, much smaller than the ones Kim had fought against less than an hour before. How it could have climbed the chimney so fast was a mystery, but only its lesser bulk must have permitted it to fit inside.
Kim began to attack the creature with a ferocity that caused it to shriek with anger and pain. Will Du was shocked at the sound; it was if a steam engine was tearing itself apart. Even more shocking was that he could clearly hear Kim screaming down at the beast over the cacophony of its bellowing.
“DON’T… YOU… TOUCH… HER… YOU… DAMN… FILTHY… SON… OF… A… BITCH… ”
Each word was punctuated with a blow from the spade of her weapon. Over fifty battle-hardened warriors and medical personnel, each having served their country to fight against evil in all its forms, watched in stunned silence as a 110-lb. woman barely in her twenties beat a raving monstrosity down into a hole in the ground.
One particular blow caused gouts of blood to spurt from one of the beast’s massive nostrils. The creature suddenly began lowering itself back into the earth; it had apparently had enough.
Kim leaped away from the nightmare and rolled across the ground. She located Shego where the tall woman had been dropped and quickly dragged Shego to a safe distance.
This was Will had desperately been waiting for. He had not been idle during the pitched attack and finally issued the orders that had been fighting to get around his clenched teeth.
“Close that hole!” Agent Du spoke and fifteen rocket-propelled grenades responded. When the dust cleared, there was nothing left of the chimney opening, just blasted earth.
The next several hours were a whirlwind of activity, with Kim and Shego in the center. The satellite tracking equipment of Global Justice had exceeded all expectations. The progress of the two women had been monitored ever since Kim had gone down into the pit to rescue Shego. ‘GJ’ had used seismic charts and cave maps to plot a likely point of egress, but at the last stage were forced to wait.
When the signals had remained in a fixed location for a few days, ‘GJ’ had searched the area for caves and had found many. The problem was which one, if any, the girls might use to reach the surface. When the ‘Moon Doggie’ had shot from one particularly unlikely looking hole, the rescue team was as surprised as anyone. But they got to work immediately.
The medical staff of Global Justice had made quite a study of Shego’s abnormal genetic structure during her tenure with them. They diagnosed extreme vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and a minor infection that was only a concern because of her current weakened state. Shego had lost weight, as had Kim, making the both look worse than they really were, all things considered.
Shego remained unconscious for two days before showing signs of awakening. The doctors assured Kim that this was mostly a natural reaction to Shego over-exerting herself with that final plasma blast down in the cavern. The ministrations of the ‘Trogs’ had apparently worked wonders.
Kim was also being treated at the hospital; she would have demanded to share the room with Shego regardless. Her own health was much better though she was also under nourished and received a mild antibiotic.
Both women were absolutely covered with grime, taxing the hospital staff’s abilities to clean them up. Once their shredded uniforms were peeled away and the layers of caked earth scoured off, Kim and her doctors were given a mild surprise.
In the prolonged absence of exposure to the ultraviolet light from the sun, Kim’s skin had become bleached to a pale white color. Other than missing the faint greenish undertones, she could have been Shego’s sister, not wife and lover. A few simple tests were evidence enough that she would regain her normal tones after a few days in the sun.
When Kim’s eyesight had become strong enough and she could withstand normal light levels without protection, she would spend hours inspecting herself in a mirror. She did this when it was late and she was supposed to be sleeping. She would sneak into the bathroom, careful not to disturb Shego. As bizarre as it seemed, she gained pleasure from seeing this added resemblance to her twin daughters, as short lived and artificial as it was.
There were many visitors, but Kim met with them in a nearby conference room so as not to disturb Shego.
One of the first was Dr. Director. It was she who personally conducted the briefing of Kim’s encounter with the ‘Trogs’. It took quite a bit of convincing to make the administrator accept that these little creatures were no longer (in fact, never had been) a threat. They were only protecting themselves.
Dr. Director also gave Kim hearty congratulations, although she was much better at it than Agent Du. The older woman wasn’t able to stay long, but surprised Kim by given the younger woman a bear hug and tender kiss on the forehead.
“You handled yourself admirably by any standard.”
Kim shrugged in her loose-fitting gown and robe.
“Fortune favors the well-prepared. We were able to make he best use of the resources we had.”
“Very true, but there was something that you needed most and we couldn’t give it to you. It’s called hope. You had to make your own.”
Dr. Director stood to leave. Kim’s family was due to arrive within a few minutes and she didn’t want to mix he two halves of her world right now.
“Kim, you have always been one of the most successful non-agents the ‘GJ’ had.” Director caught herself, visibly regretting the word. “That ‘GJ’ has… but do you understand why the distance between you and the agency has grown?”
Kim nodded. “Yes, I’ve chosen another life.” She had barely noticed the use of the word ‘had’. She wondered why it didn’t hurt like it would have a few weeks ago.
“Can you guess that maybe you had become a part of what ‘GJ’ was established to protect? Can you accept that your friends and family, that I and the agents from ‘GJ’ that you’ve worked with over the years, love you for what you are, not only for what you’ve accomplished?”
Kim had a flash back to a particular morning in the kitchen of a house she’d not seen in a long time. She remembered the feeling of emptiness she’d had. But she was sure that she didn’t feel that way now. Why not? Kim would have to think about this for a while.
“If I ever walked up to your door and asked to become an agent, would you take me?”
“Faster than you can say ‘Jack Robinson’.” There had been no hesitation.
Kim smiled and breathed easy. “Than you, but I think I’ll stay at home and school for awhile. I’m happy.” Kim acknowledged how right that had sounded to her. “Yes, I am happy.”
Dr. Director snapped to attention. “Well, now. I must submit your report to the Board of Inquiry for review. I suspect that they will huff and puff over it for a spell but will eventually let the matter rest. If these ‘Trogs’ as you call them are truly of no further threat, then there is no longer a cause for concern.”
The older woman walked to the door of the conference room and paused before leaving. Due to her eye patch, she had to make almost a full turn before meeting Kim’s grateful smile.
“I must also see to the overhaul and refit of the ‘Moon Doggie’. I understand that you put it to good use and that it was of benefit to you. Very good.” With that, she left.
When her family arrived, Kim greeted them outside of the hospital room that she was sharing with Shego, who was still not fully recovered. Her parents, Dr. Mr. Possible and Dr. Mrs. Possible, were there, as well as were Kim’s daughters, little Kasy and Sheki. Kim’s two younger brothers were there; Jim and Tim, themselves twins, were too choked up to speak.
Kim had made contact with her family within minutes of rescue, but hadn’t seen them yet. Only after many assurances that she and Shego were really OK would they agree to give them time to rest. Kim wanted nothing more than to see her children and have her children see their two ‘mommies’ after so much time apart, but Shego still hadn’t fully recovered.
Kasy and Sheki were not at all happy about their mother’s new skin tone.
“Mommy pink!” Sheki demanded, as if she could command an instant change.
“I will be soon, baby. This is just for a while. See, I look like you now!”
“Mommy pink soon?” asked Kasy. Sheki held Kim’s hand. “Real soon?”
“I promise, I’ll be pink again, real soon.” This elicited many kisses from the tiny girls.
In the hallway, there were hugs and tears and Kim thought her brothers would crack her ribs they held her so tight. Fighting as they had over the years, as siblings often do, there was only love in the Possible family.
That love had expanded to include Shego as well. The little girls were led into the hospital room only after they had promised to be quiet. Shego had been making signs of waking up for the last hour and Kim wanted their daughters present when it happened.
Shego drifted on a black sea. There was no land in sight and no light whatsoever. Her mind was rebuilding itself as her body had been, and her diminished resources were almost restored. First light and then sound entered her awareness. She was on a soft bed. The lights were dimmed and there were two small miracles sitting beside her.
“Hey… who’s got a smooch for Mom?” It was weak and slurred, but crystal clear to those who could listen with their heart, as well as their ears.
Being very intelligent and well behaved children, and understanding that their Mommies had been ‘sick’, Kasy and Sheki gently snuggled with Shego and dozed with her on the narrow bed.
Shego relished this moment with two of the reasons she had to keep on living. She searched the dim room for the third miracle in her life, her other reason to live.
“Princess… ”
Kim moved closer and took Shego’s hand.
“… ”
Kim leaned in closer. “I didn’t hear you, baby.”
“Thank you… ”
Epilog I
Kim spent most of her free time at the hospital for a few days but eventually home life called. The girls needed their Mother and they needed to be back at home. The medical staff, both civilian and those from ‘GJ’ eventually agreed that Shego could leave in another day.
Shego was an active woman, used to regular exercise; this enforced inactivity was driving her nuts. She wanted nothing more than to get out of this damn room and damn bed and back to her home with Kim and the girls.
She found it odd that she missed the flowers Kim had planted in the yard.
Bored and fidgety as she was, she still heard the door quietly open.
Although her eyesight was now at full strength, it was late and the hospital had dimmed the lights in the corridors so as not to disturb sleeping patients. Shego’s room was also kept dimly lit, so the identity of the newcomer wasn’t immediately obvious. Shego was thinking of faking sleep so she could avoid unwelcome conversation, but then she noticed who it was.
The red air was pulled up in a bun, leaving only a few loose strands to fell over the tight collar of the white lab coat. A pair of large reading glasses, rarely used, was helping their wearer to fill out data on a medical form attached to a clipboard. The slight form stood at the bottom of Shego’s bed, focusing its attention on the medical form.
“Hi, Dr. Mrs. P.” Shego greeted her mother-in-law. Even in the darkened room, the profile was familiar and welcome. Kim’s mother, Anne Possible, was a renowned brain surgeon. Kim had obtained the necessary clearances to allow the physician access to Shego and her records. Since the marriage of her daughter to Shego, Anne had become very close to Shego.
“So, will I be able to dance the tango again?” Shego wondered why her visitor was so quiet.
The red haired women glanced up at Shego, and then back to the clipboard.
“Hmmm… ” She sighed doubtfully.
Wondering what was going on, Shego started to raise herself up to a sitting position when her visitor set down the board and lifted the bed sheets from Shego’s legs.
“What… ” Shego never finished he sentence because Dr. Mrs. Possible was climbing onto the foot of the bed and had covered herself with the sheet.
“Whoa… whoa! I, uh… ” Shego felt the weight of the woman crawling up the bed towards her. Shock restrained her from leaping from the bed or taking action.
Dressed only in a hospital smock, the contact between their bodies was making Shego crazy. She was further stunned to realize that, at some point, her sudden bed mate was crawling up Shego’s body within Shego’s smock!
If the pale woman had still been attached to a life monitoring system, the nurses’ station would have sounded like a Las Vegas casino by now.
In a few seconds, when Shego was certain that the pounding of her heart must be audible from the entire building, the silent visitor reached Shego’s face. Their eyes met and the red haired woman claimed Shego’s mouth with her own.
Shego was too shocked for words, but then…
Then the fierce embrace was returned, long, pale green limbs encircling the shorter woman’s body. The two bodies twisted this way and that, several times coming so close to falling from the narrow bed. There was touching (there, and there) and a few bites, but nothing that would leave serious marks.
Eventually they broke the passionate embrace.
“The doctor” panted Kim Possible “is in.”
Shego laughed for the first time in what seemed an eternity, even before their latest adventure together.
“That… was amazing; and a little awk-weird. I do not deserve you, Princess.”
Kim sat up on he bed and began to straighten out her disguise. She made a show of primping and arranging her outfit, like a move star leaving the make up table.
“So not the drama. I used my mother’s identity badge to get in.”
“You mean you stole it?” Shego’s jaw became slack. “You stole it!” Shego threw her arm over her eyes in mock sorrow. “My evil influence has corrupted the woman I love beyond redemption!”
Kim giggled and kissed Shego on the cheek.
“I came to help you pack your stuff. Then I’ll stay the night. The girls are with Monique tonight. They only let me leave when I promised that I was bringing their ‘mom’ back with me. The front desk will have questions about how I got in here without signing in, but I can handle anything.”
Shego was watching her wife as she spoke, and now had some words of her own to share.
“Kim, what I said a moment ago was true. I really don’t deserve you.”
Kim started to reply, but was silenced by a pale hand gently covering her mouth.
“For years my life was filled with hate; hate for Drakken, for my family, for the people I stole from, and hate for you. But now I know that the hate was for myself.”
Tears begged to flow from Kim’s eyes. She let them.
“Then here I am with a family of my own; someone who I’m very proud to call my wife and someone who bore the only children that I might ever have. I know that sometimes you feel trapped at home, and no one would blame you. Blame me, because if anything, I was the one that trapped you.”
Kim would stay silent no longer. “If this is a time for honesty, ‘trapped’ might be a little too strong a word for it.”
“Maybe, Kimmie, but do you remember that morning in the kitchen? I said that I would lock you away in an ivory tower? Please understand that the only reason I say such things is because there is nothing more valuable to me than you.”
The tall, raven-haired woman was also crying freely. Tears do not hurt if they are out of love.
“When I get out of this room tomorrow, I am your slave for life. Your wish is my command. Do you want the Sun? Do you want the Stars? Say the word and they’re yours.”
They could both tell that all wounds were healed nicely. They were both ready to return to the world above ground.
“Or maybe a small island nation? Then I could make you a Princess for real.”
Kim signed. ”I’ve got lessons starting again in a few weeks, sorry. How about the Moon? I’ll take that.”
For the second time that week, Kim wondered why everyone wanted to break her ribs.
“You’ve got it. And if you ever decide to take over the world, I’ve got your back.”
“You are silly. Let’s get some sleep.”
There was some sleep that night, but not much.
Epilog II
It was a month since Kim and Shego had emerged from the underworld. Home life had returned to normal and routines were reestablished. There was once tiny bit of mystery when Shego said that she had to disappear for a day. Kim wondered if it was some clandestine ‘GJ’ business, but Shego was home the next morning and didn’t seem the worse for wear.
Kim had debated a ‘Welcome Home’ party for Shego, just as Kim’s family had debated having one for Kim and Shego themselves. The only concern was the ‘Shego Factor’.
Shego was well known as not being particularly social, but she surprised everyone by making her own suggestion that a party would be nice. She was very specific about the exact date that the party should be held. Family and friends stopped by, including several Global Justice agents, and everyone had fun.
The day ended early because everyone was tired and feeling good for the first time in many weeks. Kim and Shego had cleaned up what little mess remained in the back yard and their daughters were tucked into bed.
Some chaises were out in the yard and there were still a few hours of daylight left; the women were determined to enjoy every last ray of sunshine since their adventure.
“The perfect end to a perfect day, right baby?”
“Eh, not perfect yet, Pumpkin.”
Kim leaned up onto one arm. “You having something more planned for this evening?”
Shego didn’t move from the chaise, but her hand reached over to stroke Kim’s thigh.
“I seem to recall an offer to chase me around the sack. Still game?”
Once inside, they each took turns proving that their stamina levels were back up to full strength.
Later that night, long after the sun had set and the moon had risen, Shego lifted the sleeping form of her young bride from their marriage bed. She gently carried her outside and set her down.
“Kimmie, wake up.”
Kim stirred, only slightly startled at finding herself outside. If Shego was with her, how bad could things be?
“What’s he sitch?” Kim shivered in the night air, but Shego quickly wrapped a robe around her shoulders.
“Here… this is for you.” Shego turned Kim’s head until she could see a dark framework standing in the middle of their backyard. It was about nine feet tall and had a large tubular extrusion pointed at the night sky.
“A telescope?”
“Not exactly. I have to return that to the observatory tomorrow. Go look through it.”
Kim got to her feet and padded over to the device. It certainly was a telescope, a very large and powerful one. As she lowered her eye to the eyepiece, she could already see that it was pointed at the full moon. The familiar cratered surface of Earth’s only satellite was very clear in the lens.
“Remember when you asked for the moon? Here it is; it’s yours.”
Kim looked back at where Shego stood. “Thanks, I’ll take it.”
“No I mean it. It’s yours.” Shego walked over and checked the settings on the digital tracking motor. Then she turned the magnification up to its highest level.
“Look at the north rim of the Plato crater, right above the Sea of Rains.”
Confused, Kim looked again.
“Oh, my… SHEGO, you didn’t!”
“Guilty as charged.”
“How??”
“Remember that plan to fire a laser around the moon using parabolic mirrors? I called in a favor and got a certain blue someone (that shall remain nameless) to fire it up for me.”
“Someone will see! Someone will notice!”
“Let them.”
Kim looked again, wondering even no if her eyes were playing tricks on her. There on the surface of the moon, carved in letters miles high that were still almost invisible except to those who knew where to look, were written the words:
KIM + SHEGO
Epilog III (the last, really)
The battle was over. Hundreds of his children had perished so that the hive would be safe. It was the way of things. He had been badly wounded, and pondered the cost of his victory
When the Queen chose her suitors from the best of the warrior class, the two Kings would fight to the death for the right to be Sire. When the Leader had lost that duel so many years ago, he lost more than his arm; he had lost his genetic immortality.
Then the beasts came, ravaging thousands of his kindred and slaughtering warrior and drone alike. The Queen was in jeopardy and the hive faced extinction.
Less then a King but more than a General, the Leader had been permitted to contribute to the breeding of more warriors, the offspring of an unprecedented union between he and the Queen. There were never unions other than that between the Queen and the Sire… until now.
Left behind to guard the way of the retreating hive, the Leader and his children built a not-hive, an outpost to watch for the marauders and kill them if they followed. And they waited.
They learned to raid the dwellings of the surface beings. These creatures of the light were very adept at making tools that could kill.
Then came the two not-Queens. They had been weak and close to death, but so much like a Queen as to make his blood burn at the thought of abandoning them to the fates. Once made healthy, the one fought alongside him like ten warriors. He felt sorrow to see them leave, but glad in his heart to have helped them.
There was a moment of dread when the Leader saw two beasts follow the not-Queens in pursuit, but then he saw the larger one die, its head blasted into fragments. There was little hope that the smaller beast would be of much danger, even as he watched it climb after them.
Now he was tired. What few children that survived helped him and their siblings to follow the ancient path towards the hive.
The Leader stopped. He had become aware of a change in the air of the tunnel. Something welcome, something desired…
He could smell the hive. It was close.
Standing away from the offspring that had been assisting him, he began walking forward using only his trowel-spear as support. The rest, bolstered by his determination, followed closely behind. The future lay ahead of them. They would soon be in the loving arms of their Queen.
The End.
Author’s Note: There is a repeated theme in a few of the Kim/Shego stories: Kim’s role as parent and homemaker have eroded her self esteem and made others see her as something less than her former self. I felt that they (and Kim) needed to be reminded of her value and strengths as lover, mother, and heroine. Those people closest to her needed to be reminded exactly what she was STILL capable of, even after having chosen a life of semi-retirement and raising a family.
Final Note: It was by pure chance that I discovered Kim/Shego fan fiction. I’d never watched Kim Possible nor had I ever red “slash” fiction for that matter. However, I will not deny that its imagery and concept cut right to the hopeless romantic inside me. The strong sensuality, the eroticism, blended with bittersweet introspection, passion, irony and innocent love make what I’ve seen some of the best material I’ve ever found on the Internet.
Did it rock? Did it suck? Please let me know! I’d appreciate the comments, please. I already have plans for more stories. Be well!