I do not own any of the Disney characters named herein, and am only borrowing them for a tale told for entertainment purposes only.

Kim Possible: Devil's Child Redux

By LJ58

Part 2:

From: Emerald_Goddess-At-Flitmail/World-Com

Dear Elizabeth,

Wow, you would not believe the fight mom had last night.

Well, I can't really say why, but let me tell you even I have never heard some of the words she used.

I kind of understand, of course. We had some bad news. Really bad news, and mom did not exactly take it well. Especially when Kim said she was going to have to leave again. She had just gotten back, you know? She had this special weekend all planned out, and was really looking forward to things, but then this news broke, and boom! So did mom's temper.

She kind of accused Kim of ducking her lately, too. It does seem that way, but even I can see that Kim is just the sort that likes to stay busy. Definitely not the homebody like mom can be. I just hope they make up soon. Things are kind of bad here lately.

KP

"Tell me you're kidding," Kim swore as Dr. Director shook her head from behind her desk.

"I wish I were, Kimberly," Betty told her grimly as she handed over the file. "But we've both thought the man was dead before this. Twice now, considering you saw him blown up over the Atlantic when his shuttle exploded."

Kim nodded grimly, and sifted the file, her green eyes absorbing the details.

A string of dead bodies left by a blue-skinned man ranting and howling like a loon did tend to draw attention. Especially when he drove a police car into a ditch, then commandeered a taxi after tossing out the tourists inside with prehensile vines.

When Dr. Director had called her in, stating only that she had pertinent, but classified information that she needed to know. It was intriguing enough that Kim chose to go in to see her in spite of her own misgivings. Misgivings that Shego's reaction to the news did not help.

"It has to be the plant mutagen he was exposed to that time. It's the only thing that explains his survival. Now, or the last time we thought he was….gone?"

"Which means we need a way to neutralize it, before we can neutralize him," Dr. Director nodded.

"I think you're right."

"That's why I called you," Betty nodded her acceptance of his assessment. "You and Wade are the only ones in the world that still have viable samples of his pollinator serum after it was blacklisted."

"Yes, I remember when he tried to use it to help end food shortages. The FDA took a pretty dim view of his mutant carrots."

"Especially since they were carnivorous," Betty agreed with a grimace. "At any rate, I think we both know he didn't take that rejection well."

"When did he ever," Kim sighed, still studying the file as she absorbed the facts from the recent sighing.

"True," Dr. Director nodded.

"Rabat, hmmmm. He had an old lair there in the desert near the southern border. He's likely headed there."

"That's what we think."

"You have a team inbound?"

"Yes."

"Then why call me?"

"You're the only one we have with any real experience handling him, and what he's likely to try. I want you to lead them."

"Me? You do remember I quit?"

"Yes, and Van Dyke is still making a lot of noise about your…..suspect loyalties now that the threat of the recent Lorwardian return has passed."

"I'll bet. Why hasn't his country recalled that jack…..?"

"Ahem. In any case, I can still offer you a provisional authority. Like you used to hold before you went active. I'd rather not let him slip through our hands again, Kimberly. Not over something stupid like who holds what authority, or not. Can I count on you?"

"I'll have to call Shego. We had….plans. Looks as if I need to cancel them."

"Carmen? It's a great show. I'll arrange a rain check so you don't lose your tickets."

"I'm not going to even ask how you knew that. I don't suppose you can arrange some way to keep Shego calm, too? She's not going to like me bailing again so soon after that last sitch I had to handle."

"Sorry. I don't involve myself in domestic affairs."

Kim closed the file, dropping it on the desk as she noted Dr. Director stated that last with a completely straight face.

"Naturally. All right. I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile, I'd better get Wade back on that serum. If we can neutralize it, it'll be all the easier to take down Drakken for good this time."

"Just be careful. He's killing people, Kimberly. And not by accident this time."

"I never considered those other deaths accidents," she told him somberly. "After all, he built those robots, and inventions, and other things that killed his victims. To me, there was nothing accidental about his rampages."

"The juries didn't agree."

Kim's expression was less than understanding.

"But we don't make the law, Kimberly. We only enforce it. Remember?"

"I wasn't the one ready to kill Shego and Angela because some arms manufacturer feared their abilities to undermine their monopoly on doomsday tech," Kim told her wryly.

Dr. Director, as expected, had nothing to say to that as Kim turned to leave.

"Possible," Will met her at the door, holding out a small, leather folder.

She eyed it a moment, the took it from his hand. She opened it up, and noted it was the exact same badge she had carried before giving up her post earlier that year.

"Don't tell me you kept this just for me," she quipped as Will eyed her.

"Dr. Director said you'd be back. I've learned not to doubt her."

"Too bad you didn't feel that way when you stabbed her in the back."

"That was…."

"Yes," she asked, tucking the badge into her cargo pants as the agent still on administrative duties, and barred from field work simply fell silent.

"Nothing. Agent Possible."

"Lighten up, Du. You'll live longer," she shot over her shoulder as she headed for the door.

Will said nothing to that either as he simply watched her leave before he turned to enter Dr. Director's office.

KP

"Where are you," Shego demanded over the video phone as she fretted over the time. "The curtain goes up in….."

"I'm sorry, Shego. Something came up. Something seriously major."

"Damn it, Kimberly," Shego fumed. "You promised….!"

"We'll go Tuesday. I've arranged to exchange our tickets. Unless you and Angel want to go….?"

"No! We wanted you to go with us. That was the whole idea," she fumed as she noted the redhead on the screen was obviously distracted by something.

"Are you flying? You're flying! Where are you going, Kim? What is so damned important….?"

"Shego…. Is Angela with you?"

"She's still upstairs getting ready?"

"Good. I don't want her to hear this."

"Hear what?"

"Drakken is back."

Shego's expression was beyond dumbfounded.

Kim counted off a whole thirty-found seconds before the green-skinned woman blurted, "No way in hell! We blew that freak to atoms."

"Not enough. We think the mutagen in his system is what is letting his survive. And regenerate. We tracked him to his Moroccan lair….."

"Morocco…..? Kim, that place was abandoned because it was full of mutant….things. If he's there, he's leading you into a death trap!"

"I know. I helped seal it."

"Then you know you can't go back in there….!"

"Relax. I have backup. And I'm taking the new battle-suit. We have to find out what he's up to now, though. And don't worry, Wade is working on a plan to neutralize him."

"Kim, damn it…."

"Don't wait up. I'll probably be late."

"Kim, wait!"

Shego stared at the dark screen, and unleashed a temper she had not realized she still held. Screw the show. And the dinner reservations. Kim was heading into a deathtrap, and if her backup was the brainless wonders she recalled from Global Justice, the woman was in trouble.

"Mom."

The soft querying call from the hall behind her made her cringe.

"Uhm, how much did you hear?"

"Enough. She's not going to make it, is she?"

"No, honey," Shego sighed, praying those words weren't cryptic, and walked over and sank onto the couch, letting Angela sit down beside her. "I'm afraid not. She said we'd….try another night."

"Is she really going to be okay?"

"I hope so," she said, sliding an arm around her daughter who leaned against her.

"Me, too."

Shego said nothing to that.

"I didn't know you knew those kinds of words."

Shego cringed again.

"Let's not repeat those, shall we?"

"Mom. Still, seriously, this is Kim Possible, right? What could happen?"

Shego, unfortunately, didn't need much imagination to reply to that. She had helped Dr. D. cage some of those things he had created in his more manic stage after he had tried to one-up DNAmy back in the day.

Unfortunately, what he ended up with were creatures even he couldn't control. No surprise. Everything he built seemed to blow up, or turn on him.

Only this time, she didn't think it was funny. Not even close.

"Right," she murmured. "What could happen?"

KP

"Is that you," Kim and Shego both asked as one when Kim pushed the door open with a groan just after seven the next evening.

"It had better be," she moaned, one arm hanging limp at her side with a bloody bandage around her left forearm.

"Kim, are you….?"

"Fine. I'm fine. I had a medtech check me out before I was debriefed by Dr. Director," she yawned.

"What happened?"

"It was a trap," she shrugged. "Drakken wasn't even there, but he had left every cage and pit open, so we walked into a menagerie on steroids. A hungry one."

"I tried to warn you."

"I didn't really expect him to be there. I was hoping he had left a clue, though. Something to indicate what he might be up to next."

"Did you find anything," Shego asked, rising from the couch where she had spent most of the sleepless night, and the day.

"Nothing. If anything was there, he destroyed the evidence himself. The lab was in ruins, and the computers were literally rubble."

"Guess he is learning," Shego murmured as she walked over, pushed the door closed, and steered Kim to the couch. "Hungry? I left some food in the oven for you."

"Coffee," she asked with a yawn.

"Coffee? At this….?"

"Long flight."

"Couldn't your robot brain fly you home?"

"Of course," Kim huffed. "But I didn't get much sleep. I was collaborating with Wade on how to handle Drakken, and get rid of that plant potion of his."

"How about industrial strength weed killer," Shego grumbled, and headed for the kitchen.

Kim rose, chuckling softly, and walked after her, still yawning as she did.

"Are you sure you're all right," Shego asked her.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"How many did you lose," she finally asked far too knowingly.

"Just one," she said, sinking into a chair at the kitchen table as Shego went to the stove to pull out a covered dish. "We have nine critical, though. I'm afraid two may not make it."

"I told you not to go," Shego said as she put the still warm plate in front of Kim.

Kim stared at the food, and sighed.

"Shego….."

"Kim..."

Their eyes met, and Shego's lips thinned.

"I worry about you. Okay? You don't take care of yourself, I can see that, and stunts like this without proper backup…"

"I have managed to survive just fine all this time on my own," Kim huffed, reaching for a fork as she eyed the obviously homemade enchiladas.

"On coffee and pop tarts? It's a wonder you haven't collapsed from malnutrition."

"I eat more than that," she sputtered.

"When you visit your family? God, Kimmie, you are the most….."

"Is this about me, or Drakken," Kim demanded, dropping her fork.

"I'll make your damn coffee," Shego huffed, and turned her back on her.

"Screw the coffee. Are you still thinking about Drew? Is that what this is?"

Shego turned back to face her, and just glared.

"After all that's happened, would you risk going back to him…..?"

"Go back? Are you crazy? He tried to exploit my baby," Shego swore. "I'd like to barbeque him, and his plant thingies. I would make sure he was completely ash if I had the chance. But you, you don't have any real powers. And you take too many chances. You don't even have a real partner to back you any more. You've got a bunch of half-trained wannabe cops that are going to get you killed. And for what? A favor? Damn, Princess, when are you going to wise up…..?"

Kim said nothing as she stood up, stared hard at her, and left the kitchen.

"Aren't you at least going to eat," Shego demanded.

"I'm not really that hungry. I'm going to get some rest."

"You need to eat!"

"I need to sleep," Kim told her without looking back.

Kim didn't react to the just audible cursing from behind her as she left the kitchen, walked toward the hall, and paused at the stairs to her room. She had one foot on the steps as Shego came around the corner, and just stared at her.

She didn't look back. She just looked up the steps, and stood there as if in thought.

Then turned, and walked down the hall to slap a palm against a digital lock, and opened a hydraulic panel that let her go down into the basement where her lab was located. It wasn't her lunar facility, but it was still pretty well equipped for her needs. She closed the panel behind her, and Shego simply stared at the door, and sighed.

"Mom," Angela chose to come down from her room just then. "Did I hear Kim? Is she home?"

"Yeah, Angel," she sighed, forcing herself to smile. "She's fine. She just went to her lab to work on…something."

"Mom, are you okay?"

"Peachy, kiddo," she said quietly, turning back to the kitchen. "Just peachy."

To Be Continued…