“Two cups of coffee in one day. I see a bad habit forming.”
“You don’t drink much coffee, Ms. Kim?”
“I never used to need coffee, or any caffeine for that matter.” Kim grinned. “Getting old, I suppose.” The three women sat in the visitors lounge just down the corridor from room 302 and talked, settling down for the long wait.
“First of all, Ms. Kim, you are not old. You are only in your forties, yes?”
“Oh, yeah. Drive that stake in a little deeper, why don’t you.” Her expression softened her tone. “Good way to get in tight with the mother-in-law.”
“And second, if I look half as beautiful as you when I am your age, I will count myself as being most fortunate.”
“Kasy?”
“Yes, Ma’am?”
“She can stay.” This elicited a giggle from Kasy where she had been sitting behind Anna and was idly twirling a stand of the girl’s dark hair around a pale green finger.
To say that the younger redhead was the spitting image of her Mom would be incorrect; both girls carried an even blending of the parents’ genetic material so their overall appearance was a mixture of the two. They both had Shego’s pale green skin and the ability to generate and manipulate super-heated plasma fields from their hands, and their ability was apparently just as strong in them as it was with Shego. They were longer of bone than Kim and they stood almost two inches taller then she now that they were both in their late twenties, but were not quite as tall as their Momma. They did have Kim’s slimmer build, however, and their keen agility and dexterity more than compensated for any perceived lack of brute strength.
By a quirk of genetics, Kasy’s unruly mop of hair was bright red like Kim’s and Sheki’s was pitch black, which she let grow full and long like Shego’s own tresses. As the former villain had once observed, the twins had more of Kim about them on the outside, plus they were natural born heroes to the core. In truth they were the ultimate culmination of everything that their mothers could bestow upon them.
“Ms. Kim, may I ask you a question?”
“Sure, Anna. Shoot.”
“Why did you not accept the position of Deputy Administrator for Global Justice?”
“Who says I was offered the job?”
“Mother told me.”
“Did she…” Kim let the coffee swirl around in her mouth. “It’s funny… it was because of her that I didn’t take it.”
“She advised against it?”
“Nothing of the sort. She couldn’t have been more supportive or helpful in explaining to me the responsibilities of such a position.”
“But you did not take it. Can you tell me why not?”
“I didn’t want it.” Kim smiled at the girl; Anna’s face wore a puzzled expression so like her father used to wear that Kim was struck with a powerful feeling of nostalgia. While her final encounter with Drakken had been several years ago, here she was facing the living, breathing legacy that he had left behind.
Drew Lipsky had been her greatest nemesis for almost her entire career as a hero, both as a teenager when she first entered the world-stage and later when she became one of the first, and definitely the youngest, independent operatives ever to work in conjunction with ‘GJ’. Adopting the appellation of ‘Doctor Drakken’, his machinations and schemes for world domination and destruction were shortsighted and grandiose to say the least, easily toppled for the most part by the efforts of the original two-human, one-naked mole rat incarnation of Team Possible. If not for the mighty Shego as his erstwhile sidekick, Drakken would have stayed in prison forever. The man was thoroughly insane.
At some point before the scheme that had caused Kim to become pregnant, Drakken had fathered a daughter of his own, the unknown mother of whom was very likely dead. The unfortunate child was blessedly free of any deformities caused by the experiments that the man often performed on himself, so she was reasonable healthy. Other than that, she was raised in secret and with the barest minimum of human contact. She had been treated little better than an animal, her skin filthy and her hair shaved from her scalp, given just enough food and water to see her through her first three years of life but nothing in the manner of familial love of affection.
But then she was discovered and taken away by her uncle Motor Ed who, with Betty Director, late of ‘GJ’, had raised this shattered little girl as their daughter. Together they gave the little girl just as much love as they did their own son, Daniel.
Treated for mental abuse and educated across the globe by her new parents and several behavioral specialists, Anna Lipsky had not only recovered from the loss of her formative years, she had positively thrived. She seemed to have brought with her an inherent ability to instantly draft plans and scenarios that had been of great benefit to Team Possible, filling the void left by Wade Load after he joined ‘GJ’ as a full-time operative. She was also as inventive as her adoptive father, if not Drakken himself.
The most remarkable thing, however, was how she had reconnected with Kasy Ann Possible years ago, the first time in years since they had been tiny children… and had fallen in love.
“Why did you not want it? Is it not what you had invested your entire life in moving toward?” Similar skin, the same dark eyes and hair as her father, the same general facial expressions that gave her such striking features, Anna’s beautiful countenance shone in the lights of the visitors lounge. Only her European inflections from her education abroad kept her from sounding like Drakken.
“Anna, let’s just say that your mother had already been giving me reasons for years as to why I shouldn’t take the job.” Kim polished off her cup of coffee. “Otherwise, you’re welcome to ask Shego when she’s in a good mood.”
“Ask me what?” The three turned to see the tall form walking up the hallway from room 302; Shego idly strolled up to them and plopped herself down next to Kim.
“Feeling better?
“Better?” Shego stared back at them for several seconds, gauging the similar expressions on their faces before realization slowly dawned. “Oh, that. So not the drama.”
Kim and her daughter and Anna howled with laughter, much to the disgust of the former villain.
“That’s it, you three can officially kiss my ass for the next five minutes.”
“What’s Sheki doing in there all alone?”
“Kimmie, you get the right cheek and Kasy can have the left… Anna will have to wait.”
“Shego!”
“Ewww!”
“Double ewww!”
“Ok… a nurse came in to check her vitals, routine stuff. I was… feeling better and Sheki wanted to talk with Anna and Kasy again, anyway.” She leaned forward and looked around her wife. “So what are you two waiting for?”
“Thank you, Ms. Shego.” Anna stood first and moved around Kim to approach the pale green woman; Anna bent down and lightly kissed Shego’s forehead, blue on green.
“… welcome…” The oldest of the group seemed to want to say more, but stalled.
“Thanks, Momma.”
“You’re welcome, baby.” It was a more receptive Shego that accepted an identical kiss from her daughter and both she and Kim watched the couple walk back towards room 302.
“You’re not completely comfortable around her yet, are you?”
“No… and that makes me angry with myself.” Emerald eyes watched Anna take Kasy’s hand. “I’ve got nothing against her, it’s just…”
“Drakken.” This was not a question. It did have an answer, however.
“Drakken.”
The morning wore away towards Noon and Kim took a short walk back down to the ground floor and outside; she wanted to make a quick Kimmunicator call to Wade again and didn’t want to violate the ‘No Cell Phones’ rule of Middleton General. Wade answered her call but still had no news as to the whereabouts of either Motor Ed or Doc Betty.
“I did get a communiqué from the Tweebs, though.”
“Spank’n! Where are they?”
“Tim is using his company’s network of low-Earth orbit satellites to monitor activity around the city and Jim has already released a virus program that crashed the computer databases of all known criminal enterprises for this hemisphere.” Wade flashed her a smile. “They promise that no one’s going to harm the child until they get the chance to teach him some bad habits!”
“I can accept that.” Kim smiled back and she fully believed every word. “Send me a message via microwave burst if you hear any news of the errant grandparents, Ok?”
“Sure thing, Kim.” He nodded and signed off.
Kim was about to return to the building when she noticed a familiar profile at the rear door of an equally familiar SUV; it was a man kneeling to buckle the shoes of a redheaded little girl. There was also the silhouette of another child, a boy, seated in the back seat beside the girl. The man was tall and broad shouldered, lightly bearded with sandy blond hair and wearing a brown leather jacket. He was also sporting a light brown fedora. Kim grinned and crept up behind the tall man, silent as a church mouse, carefully keeping him between her and the line of sight of both children.
She moved up behind him and quickly reached up to cover his eyes.
“Guess who!”
“Hmm…” The man had tensed but had relaxed just as quickly. “Monkey Fist?”
“Nope!”
“Daddy, it’s Nana!”
“It’s Nana, Dad.”
“Oh, well then… Duff Killigan?”
“Guess again!”
“Daddy! It’s Nana! Hi, Nana!”
“Boy, I’m just no good at this.” He grinned beneath her small hands. “Oh, I know…” Two small children and one middle-aged woman waited expectantly. “Professor Dementor?”
“Daddy!”
“Bzzzzt! Sorry, wrong again!” Kim released him and backed away a half step, allowing Alexander Rockwaller to turn around and give her the second biggest hug that she’d had all day. Kim was gripped so hard that her feet left the ground as she was lifted up from the asphalt and twirled around a few times.
“Hello, sailor…!”
“… new in town!” He kissed her cheek as he set her down. “How long have you been here?”
“Not quite five hours.” Kim knelt down as Alexander moved aside to let three-year-old Sheila and five-year-old Ronnie scramble from the back seat of the SUV and charge at the older woman. “Oh, hello sweet pea! Hello, Ron-Ron!” She gripped both children tightly and they reciprocated.
“HI, NANA!” Sheila was the very image of Kim when she had been that age and a ball full of energy.
“Hello, Nana.” More reserved than a child his age should be, Ronnie took more after his paternal grandfather in appearance and mien. Kim caught herself mid-thought and reminded herself that there really wasn’t any other grandfather.
She also saw, for the thousandth time, how their skin tone was of a natural pink hue.
“And what have the two youngest members of Team Possible been up to lately?”
“I climbed a tree and got a time-out and there was a horsey and I got to ride him and I made him jump over a fence and got a time-out and when we went to the airport I ran up to where the pilot man drives the plane and he showed me how they do that and Mommy and Daddy were so upset and then we went swimming and I splashed Ronnie and he splashed me back and I called him a poopy head and got a time-out and…”
Kim was slowly turning beet red from her efforts not to laugh. Alexander rolled his eyes and tousled the red hair of his daughter. Even at the tender age of three, it was obvious that Sheila was cut from the same cloth as her Nana, Kimberly Ann Possible.
“Keep that up and your Nana will think that you do nothing but get time-outs!”
“Sorry, Daddy!” Her mischievous grin placed her apology in question.
“Ronnie?” Kim was gentle with the boy, coaxing him to approach her. “How have you been?” In truth, Kim had been at the home of Sheki and Alexander less than a week ago, but Ronnie was a quiet and painfully shy little boy and getting him to speak could be like pulling teeth.
“Ok.”
“Having fun like Sheila?”
“I guess.”
“Ronnie, why don’t you show Nana what Grandpa gave you?” The man stood back and let his son take center stage, the boy’s eyes lighting up at the suggestion. Ronnie reached into his pocket and unfolded his hand to display his recent present for all to see.
“Has our operative been transported back into the past?”
“Yessir!”
“Good… now it’s just a matter of time before we know if he’s suitable…”
“Ooh, that’s amazing!” Kim peered up at her son-in-law, sharing a wink with him. “I once knew a little boy that had one of those… and he grew up to be a big, strong adventurer!” Ronnie looked doubtful but impressed; Sheila covered her mouth with her hands and giggled. Their father scratched the top of both children’s heads lovingly.
“Is it just you, Shego, Anna and Kasy?”
“For now, yes. My folks won’t be by until later.” Kim let the man take her arm and escort her back towards the building. “The Tweebs can’t be here today but I have it on good authority that they’re watching over us!” She gave a mock salute to the skies.
“They have my gratitude!”
“Wade sends his regards and is still trying to contact Doc Betty and Ed. Daniel can’t make it because of his duties with ‘GJ’ but Wade will have already let him know the sitch.” Kim finished the mental roster. “Isn’t Kimberly coming?”
“Sure, with my parents in about another hour or so.”
“Alexander… this is a wonderful thing that you’ve done.” Kim held the strong arm firmly. “Not many men would agree to this.”
“Hey, what did I do?” He smiled. “I was just along for the ride.” This earned him a poke in the ribs.
“You know exactly what I mean!” Kim blushed. “And if you dare say anything like that around Shego I won’t be there to help you this time!”
“You can thank Sheki, she’s played the bigger role.” He grew serious. “When you told us the news about Anna and Kasy, well, she came to me with the idea the very next day. They deserve to share in the same happiness we’ve had with our horde…” He paused mid-stride to stoop and give his offspring a quick squeeze. “So whatever part I played, it was an honor.”
“They have a life time to thank you both.”
“They can do that by raising my nephew right.”
“Nevertheless, you’d better expect to get mobbed when we get up there!”
“Ahh, yes… the ladies always dig the fedora!” He reached up and cocked the brim jauntily.
“Nuts… that reminds me, I owe Shego ten bucks.”
“Oh, you gorgeous hunk of man!” Shego had started running towards the elevator doors as soon as she’d seen them walk out.
Only Kim had known what to expect and she moved aside to let her wife of almost twenty-five years skid to a stop and tackle little Ronnie, smothering him with kisses and then hold him upside down by his ankles. The cheering of his sister and the gratified smirk of his father accompanied all of this. While always claiming to have no affinity with children, Shego had never failed to prove herself anything less than the perfect mother and, later, grandmother.
“Grammie!”
“Ssh, sweet pea, there are babies sleeping here.”
“Sorry, Daddy.”
“Hey, sweet pea!” Shego scooped up the little girl and carried both children back to the lounge. Ronnie eventually giggled under the barrage of tickling and Shego’s roughhousing often getting more results than Kim’s soft touch often did, and Kim was all the more thankful for it.
“Ha! Kimmie, you owe me ten bucks!” She eyed the fedora. “’Throw me the idol!” She laughed as she spoke the words and leaned in, her hands full of children, to give the tall man a tender kiss. He in turn removed his hat and placed it squarely on her head.
“Throw me the whip!” He rolled his eyes at the joke.
“Will you take it in trade?” Kim sauntered up to the taller woman.
“You just let me find some talcum powder and we’ll talk.”
“It’s a good thing that the kids have no idea what you’re talking about.” He glanced down into their innocent, uncomprehending faces. “Hey, wait, I’m the one who wished that I didn’t know what you were talking about!”
“Alexander, I’ve never been in the protection racket but if you’d go back downstairs and get me a bottled water, I’ll protect you from the ‘Blue and Green Duo’.”
“Kim warned me that I’d probably get mobbed.” Calm for now, he still eyed the hallway suspiciously. “And they’d be where?”
“In with your wife.”
“MOMMY!”
“Sheila, hush, we’ll see Mommy in a minute.” He gave his in-laws a long-suffering expression. “Heaven save me from hyperactive redheads.”
“You ain’t kidding… OW! Pumpkin, careful of the children!” Kim’s elbow was hardly enough to make Shego drop her precious cargo, but it was worth the tweek. She let the smirk fade and she inspected the man that the offspring of their two most trusted friends had grown into.
“I hope that you know just how much they love you for this.”
“Why is everyone thanking me? Hello! No uterus here!”
“Because she’s your wife, Rockwaller!”
“And she’s your daughter! It was her idea!”
“You’re just not going to accept any gratitude for your part in this are you?”
“Well… if it’ll make you feel any better…”
“Yeah?” Shego eyed him warily. Kim kept silent.
“Remember ‘The Closet Incident’?”
“… yes…” Kim rarely saw her spouse looking as regretful as she did now.
“There was a closet involved.”
“Huh?” One emerald eye twitched dangerously.
“And a dining room table, and the chaise on the back deck and the shower…” Now it was his turn to inspect her. “Ms. Possible, is something wrong?”
“Hey, she takes after you, Shego!”
“Ok, if that hadn’t actually been funny, I’d kill you.” She raised her arms and let him see the children in her grasp. “But then these two trolls wouldn’t send us any more of those homemade holiday cards that we both love so much.” She gave them a loving shake.
“Grammie, let me down!” The boy’s laughter was music to them all. The group finally reached the lounge and everyone chose a seat, Kim beside Alexander with Sheila on his lap, then Shego and Ronnie.
“Oh, Shego, you’d better ask Ronnie what he has in his pocket.” Kim gave an assist in setting the boy on his feet, her spouse hunkering down to look the boy right in the eyes.
“Huh? What’s that? What do you have to show Grammie?”
Once placed in the spotlight again, the boy froze momentarily.
“Is it a toy?”
“No, Ma’am.”
“Plans for world domination?”
“No…”
“Gravy?”
“Huh?”
“Sorry, I got nothing.”
“Show Grammie, Ron-Ron!” Sheila squirmed in her seat. They all gather a little closer to wait as the little boy slowly placed his hand into his pocket again… and withdrew a tiny round wad of pink flesh.
“Ho-ly shi…”
“SHEGO!”
Time Centre was rife with anticipation.
“But… he’s just a baby!”
“It doesn’t matter! They’ve been without our help for far too long.”
“But what can he hope to accomplish in just one lifetime?”
“No more or less than ‘He Who Guides Us’. He had but a single lifetime… and the wheel has come around again.”
“Well, I guess that I’d better go and check in with the old ball and chain.” Alexander had been letting the children settle in and talk with their maternal grandmothers for several minutes. He stood and stretched, turning and kneeling back down to face his offspring.
“Daddy’s going to see if Mommy’s feeling Ok, so I’d like two volunteers to stay here…”
“Dad, when can we see…?
“I WANNA SEE MOMMY!”
“… and protect Nana and Grammie for a few minutes.” He took their hands. “It’s just for a little while, and then we’ll all go see her, I promise.”
“I will, Dad.”
“Thank you, Ronnie. Sheila, how about… Ghaa! Kim, I need a little help here!” His reflexes at their peak, he was still barely fast enough to cover his eyes. Kim, her reflexes also just as fast as they’d ever been, quickly removed the fedora from Shego’s head and placed it over her granddaughter’s face. “Young lady, what did we talk about the other day?”
“No pouting… but, Daddy, I wanna see Mommy!” Even muffled, he could still hear the potentially deadly effect of ‘The Pout’ in her voice.
“You will. We all will, but can you wait just a little more?” He readied his own ‘pout’ and nodded to Kim; she slowly raised the hat from Sheila’s face. “Pweeze?”
“Daddy, stop that!” She giggled. “I’ll stay with Nana and Grammie!”
“Please and thank you.” He tousled her hair. Raising his gaze, he addressed the older women. “Ladies, if you’ll please watch over my brood for a few minutes, I’d like to tell my wife how much I love her.” He accepted his hat from Kim and strolled down the corridor.
“Did he get his third PHD yet?” Shego asked.
“ABD”
“Sorry, I don’t speak ‘Monique’. What?”
“All but dissertation. He’s really got the whole ‘Indiana Jones’ thing down pat.” Kim cradled the tiny girl in her lap. “Anthropology, ancient civilizations… he’s a natural born scholar.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but he’s also more of a natural born adventurer than Ron ever was.”
“I know, but he’s not Ron. He’s Ron plus Bonnie, a unique being unto himself.” Kim shrugged. “Ron would be the first to agree with you.”
“Is he still planning to join Sheki on missions?” The tall woman waited and noticed a slight distraction in the emerald eyes of her favorite redhead. “Earth to Kimmie.”
“Mm? Oh, yes. I believe he does.” Kim had something else on her mind. Shifting Sheila’s weight on her thighs, she noticed that Shego was watching her a little too closely for her liking and that a diversion was called for. “Hey, look.”
“At what?”
“Him.” She cocked her chin down the hall. “Watch this.”
Alexander had reached the door to room 302 and straightened his leather jacket and fedora before gently rapping on the jamb with his knuckles. Not waiting for a reply from within, he slowly pushed open the door and then stood there in front of the open doorway with his head up, shoulders back and arms held out to the sides.
“Ladies, you can want me now.”
Within two seconds, the tall man was mobbed by a collective weight of roughly 260 pounds of green and blue babe-age. They climbed up his chest, held him tight and smothered him with kisses. For all of his strength and preparedness he was almost dragged to the floor.
“Every man’s dream.” Kim smirked in a very Shego-esque manner.
“It figures that it’d be him. He’s too da… darn lucky.”
“LET GO OF MY MAN!” Sheki’s voice roared from the open doorway and Alexander’s biggest fans quickly dragged him inside.
“Oops.” Kim’s smirk died. “His luck just ran out.” She ran her fingers through her short red hair and carefully lifted Sheila up from her lap and set the little girl on the floor before standing up from the padded seat. “How’s about I take these two downstairs for a snack and you wait here for Bonnie and Ron?”
“Oh… Ok.” Shego wasn’t quick to relinquish her hold on the boy and she didn’t let him go until she got a kiss from him, which he was more than willing to give her. She gestured to the little girl and Sheila was just as eager to give Grammie a smooch. “I’d like a bottled water, please.”
“You got it.” Kim added to Shego’s smooch collection and led the children down the corridor towards the elevators… for snackage and a third cup of coffee.
Dr. Mr. John Possible and his wife Dr. Mrs. Anne Possible were in the hospital cafeteria when Kim walked in with the children. They seemed relaxed as Kim walked closer to them and Anne took a sip of something with ice in it; John had a small paper tray in front of him filled with nachos and cheese.
“Kimmie-cub!” Not as fast as a man of sixty but certainly faster than a man of seventy-one, her father rose from his chair and drew her close. Still tall with only the hint of a stoop, his hair now totally gray and starting to become stark white at the temples, the tall man folded his arms around his only daughter. “You look wonderful for someone who’s been up since, what, five AM?” He offered his hand to Ronnie who accepted it, shaking it solemnly before taking a seat beside the older man.
“Four, actually, but who’s counting! Hey, Mom!” Kim moved to her mother, kissing the woman on her cheek. Blue eyes and a few inches difference in height aside, mother and daughter might have been twins themselves. “You look great, Mom.” Kim ruffled her mother’s short hair. “When did you get it cut?”
“Just a few days ago. Your father claims that it would improve the aerodynamic coefficient of the new convertible he bought.” Anne let a scampering Sheila climb up onto her lap.
“Dad bought a new car? Spank’n! What kind?”
“It’s a ‘Sloth XL’, Kimmie-cub.” He proudly withdrew a brochure from his pocket. “It has a cruising speed of sixty miles per hour…”
“This from the man who invents faster burning rocket fuel that’s taken men into space?”
“Welcome to my world, Kimmie. That’s why I bought a motorcycle.”
“Ooh, so the drama!”
“Vrooom!”
“Now you two just hold on.” John removed a few pieces of folded paper from his other pocket, smoothing them out to display extremely complicated algorithms. “It tops out at a maniacal seventy-two miles per hour and has more air bags than cup holders.” He nodded in pleasant vindication. “You can never be too careful on the highway.”
“That’s what our Dad says.”
“To true, Ronnie, too true. Smart man, your dad.” This managed to elicit the hint of a smile from the shy boy.
“So why are you two down here?”
“Well…”
“Oh, John, it’s Ok to tell her.” Anne shook her head. “Your father’s blood sugar was low this morning and he felt a little shaky.”
“Dad!”
“It’s nothing, Kim. I just forgot to eat anything this morning so I wanted to get some fuel of my own before joining everyone upstairs.” He pointed down at the cheese-covered nachos. “Do you know that I believe that Ronald was really on to something with this? They’re mighty tasty.”
“Ron didn’t invent nachos and cheese, Dad, but he is their biggest fan!” She would always worry about her folks, especially now that they were well passed middle age. They were great-grandparents, for crying out loud. “How do you feel now, both of you?”
“We’re fine! So, what brings you down here? Is all still quiet on the maternity front?”
“For the moment, but I don’t think that’s going to last long.” Kim looked to the children. “I was just going to get these little darlings a snack and a cup of coffee for myself before we went back up.”
“How many cups has it been today?” John knew full well of his daughter’s recent addiction to caffeine.
“This will be my first.” Kim’s face was open and honest.
“Not bad, but you’ll need to keep working on that.” Anne smirked. “Still not quite up to Shego’s standards yet.”
“Darn!” The younger woman giggled and collected the children. “Come on, you two, let’s get something that your parents wouldn’t approve of.” She winked at her own parents. “We’ll be right back.”
“Kimmie, wait a moment.” Anne had noticed Ronnie’s pocket move. “Is that what I think it is?” The older folks waited while the boy turned back to them and let his new pet climb out from his pocket and up onto his shoulder.
“It’s Ok, Ronnie. You can tell Great-Nana all about your new friend.”
“Grandpa brought him to our house a few days ago.” The shy boy seemed to slowly gain confidence as the tiny animal squinted around at the world from his perch.
“Well, I never! Isn’t that amazing, John.” Anne smiled at Ronnie but was looking at Kim.
“Kimmie-cub, I didn’t think that Smarty-Mart sold those any more.” John motioned the boy back to the table and slid his tray of snackage closer to the edge, the beast’s sensitive nose catching the enticing scent.
“That’s the weird thing… they don’t. Ron says that a floor manager came to him one day saying that the thing showed up in a shipment of guinea pigs. They thought that it was an unknown breed of hairless guinea pig until Ron went out and took a look for himself.” She placed her hand on the boy’s shoulder; Ronnie and the older folks were watching the animal slowly walk across the length of the boys arm towards the tabletop. Even Sheila was paying rapt attention.
“What’s his name, Ronnie?”
The naked mole rat, barely weaned, puffy and wrinkled and with eyes still half closed, sidled up to the paper tray of snackage and sniffed the contents with keen interest.
“His name is Walter.” Everyone watched as the creature reached in with a paw and grabbed a morsel, licking his digits clean once it had been eaten.
“cheez!”
“BOOYAH!” The voices of 2999 genetically enhanced naked mole rats carried the cheer throughout the primary control room of Time Centre. The room had erupted into overjoyed chaos.
“What in the Hell kind of name is ‘Walter’?” Rufus 3000 furrowed his brows and shook his head.
“Hey, man… you’ve got to flow with the time stream, man…” The rodent speaking wore a tie-dyed shirt and a tattered bandana over his tinted shades, his sparse whiskers just a little longer than was usual for his fellows. He faded back into the throng as suddenly as he had appeared.
“Who was that?”
“Rufus 1967, sir. He’s usually not so… lucid.”
“Damn hippy.” Rufus 3000 rubbed his eyes. “Alright… somebody add the name ‘Walter’ to the sacred records!” He massaged his temples and turned to leave. “Geez, I need a nacho.”
To Be Continued…