I do not own any Disney characters named herein, and am only borrowing them to tell a nonprofit tale meant for entertainment purposes only.
Kim Possible: Stranger In The Mirror
By LJ58
4
"You wanted to see me, sir," the balding man in a white coat asked as he walked into a Spartan office bracketed by two men in uniform.
Eugene Hardgrave looked up from his paperwork, and eyed the man.
"We have a problem. I'm told you're the only one left alive that can potentially help solve it."
"I don't do R&D any longer, General Hardgrave," the man told him. "I'm in bio-genetics, and work as a medical doctor now. Not….."
"Let me finish," the stocky man with a silvery crew-cut snapped curtly.
"Sorry, sir. Please, go on," the scientist nodded.
"We have a serious snafu in play," the commanding officer finally said after eyeing him a few minutes. Obviously studying him with a scrutiny Dr. William Mangle had not seen in many of late. This man was a hardliner, he knew at once, but he wasn't sure just what cause he was pushing.
Yet.
"I'm not sure how I….."
"Operation Janus is loose."
William felt his own words choke off as he had a flash of memory, and he audibly groaned.
"You remember it?"
"I warned Flagg it was a stupid idea. It didn't work the way he envisioned, because it couldn't work. The man was adamant, though, and pushed ahead with his…..more avaricious researchers. In the end, I heard they buried it as a failure. I don't know how, but….."
"The host subject has been in cryogenic suspension for just over six years," Hardgrave told him curtly. "I'll tell you the rest, after you tell me just what the hell you people where trying to do. Because I need to know just how badly this is going to hit the fan since the subject managed to completely slip past all our cordons."
William grimaced again.
"All I can tell you is my role in the early stages. Recall the Neutronalizer built by Dr. Starke about ten years ago?"
"I recall it almost sent us into the Dark Ages when the last idiot in the White House tried to use it to extort Russia into playing his trade games," Hardgrave huffed. "We were lucky it malfunctioned, and exploded before it did."
"Yes. Well, not long after it was built, a certain….felon stole the device, intending to blackmail the whole world with it."
"How did he even manage to get….?"
"I cannot imagine. I do know, when we recovered the device, we found a cerebral digitizing sequencer at the same location. It was badly damaged, but it was obvious the synaptic recordins were still….."
"In English, Dr. Mangle," Eugene Hardgrave scowled.
"A brain-switch machine," he sighed. "Now, before you say anything, obviously you cannot literally switch brains. What you can do, however, is digitize the conscious mind, and transfer it to a new host body. In essence, literally overwriting the conscious mind and memories of the host in favor of the new program."
"I see. So, someone tried to….reprogram this Shego."
"Yes," William sighed.
"How? Because I can't get anything out of the C.O. who was running the defunct holding center except backtalk," the senior officer scowled. "So tell me something to put me on top before I have to go down there, and personally kick that shavetail's backside."
"Right. Well, I do know when we salvaged the digiti…. The brain-switcher," William amended when the general's eyes started to narrow on him. "We found a partial program still loaded in the undamaged core of the device. It didn't take long to figure out we had a virtual digital blueprint of Kim Possible's conscious mind. She's the one who recovered the Neutronalizer, by the way."
"I think I recall that now," Eugene murmured thoughtfully. "Go on."
"Someone had the bright idea of studying it. At the time, I was on the project. For several years, we made incredible leaps into the study of the conscious mind based on the digital download."
"And….?"
"And then your predecessor decided to use Shego, and Miss Possible's digital mind to create a super-weapon. At the time, Shego had just helped the woman save the world from the Lorwardians."
"I remember that one all too clearly," Hardgrave grimaced.
"Yes, well, General Flagg thought that if he made Shego a mental duplicate of Kim Possible, one he conditioned to obey him, he could create a super-weapon that would serve our nation. He also felt that Possible's moral code would keep the felon from turning on us again, which he was sure she would."
"Admirable motivation, but I suspect from your tone that you argued from the start. Why?"
"As I said. The overlay is purely conscious, sir," William told him. "Any student of the mind knows that the majority of the brain's work is involuntary, and subconscious. Now, the host might function for a time with the conscious overlay without issue. Long-term? All our theories suggested that forcing another personality into an already active mind would create….."
"A psychopath," Eugene frowned.
"At the least. It's still uncharted territory, of course, but the truth is, we weren't sure what might happen. General Flagg felt his addendum to her mental conditioning would overcome any issues. Recall, at the time all he saw was his super-weapon," William said in disgust.
"So, they failed, and had to put her into cryo," Eugene frowned.
"Actually, only part of the experiment failed. You see, we had managed to download the Possible imprint into Shego's brain."
"Okay. Then explain how she would have broken out, after kicking the snot out of a platoon of trained men without breaking a sweat?"
"Because, the secondary conditioning wouldn't take. We don't know if the willfulness was from Possible's own conscious mind, or from Shego's own subconscious, but she refused to listen to orders. Any orders. General Flagg was less than understanding when we couldn't find a solution. I didn't know they put her in cryo. I was booted about that time for failing him, and didn't know what happened afterward. It was about then I decided to keep my work in the medical field, and away from the….."
"Megalomaniacs," General Hardgrave suggested. "We do know what you think of R&D here, Dr. Mangle. Still, we need your help. As I said, Shego has thawed out. Frankly, the facility was all but shut down anyway, after the last budget cuts, and no one even realized she was still there. Until she came out of stasis, and broke through a steel door that exposed a bunker our current staff didn't even realize was in there."
"I see. And then what happened?"
"The effort apparent tapped her, from the lieutenant's report, and they put her in a special containment cell for initial observation. She was inside for three days when she woke up, and strangely enough, began demanding to speak to Dr. Director, from Global Justice."
"I suspect she was ignored?"
"Naturally. We didn't realize what Janus was about at the time. All we knew is that Shego had come out of nowhere in the heart of a near defunct facility. We weren't letting her go anywhere until we knew exactly what was happening. Unfortunately, we didn't get wind of the old project until someone thought to finally sift the records in the old bunker."
William resisted the urge, hard as it was, to comment on military intelligence.
"And, then?"
"By then, she had broken out, and disappeared. We haven't been able to find out where she's gone, or what she's planning. And from what you say, we have a ticking, comet-powered time-bomb out there that is due to go off at any time."
"Theoretically….."
"Just tell me something I can use. You said you had successfully implanted Kim Possible's memories?"
"Yes," William nodded.
"But you couldn't control her?"
"She was convinced she was Kim Possible, and kept trying to go home. She wouldn't take the tailored conditioning, as I told you," Dr. Mangle nodded.
"Tell me something, Dr. Mangle," the officer asked. "What are the odds that the woman is still operating under the belief that she is Kim Possible?"
William frowned.
"Considering the principles of the machine we found, and restored, I would have to say….pretty high," he admitted.
"Then she'll be trying to get to Middleton," the general nodded curtly, and stabbed his intercom. "Corporal, alert the local Guard units in the Middleon area. The Omega target is likely en route, or possibly already on site. They are to quarantine the area, and declare martial law. We will lock down the city, and if need be, the state, until we have her back. One way, or another."
"General, I'm not sure if that's a good idea," William said with a look of alarm.
"We are still dealing with a potentially dangerous felon, doctor," the stocky soldier snapped. "One you just admitted might be more than dangerous."
"Or she might just be trying to get home, or what she thinks is home, to understand what happened to her. But that isn't my concern."
"No?"
"No. You close in on Middleton like an invading army, and you're overlooking something else. Or someone else."
"What do you mean?"
"Team Possible," he said grimly. "Recall, they do still operate out of Middleton…."
"I heard Possible retired after that dwarf almost killed her," the general sniffed. "I doubt she's going to be an issue."
"Then you obviously don't know how Team Possible works. I've read between the lines, sir. They have a small army out there, and they're directly affiliated with Global Justice these days."
"Director," Hardgrave grumbled, already having dodged more than a few calls from her of late. "Just tell me one thing, Dr. Mangle."
"Sir?"
"How would you handle this? Because, frankly, I'm thinking special ops, or a drone just now. If that woman loses control on our own soil…"
"She did just wake up. I doubt the psychic stresses will be that great just yet. I projected….three to five weeks for a mental break. So, if we can get to her first, we could conceivably remove the alien imprint from her mind, and that should solve…."
"That solves nothing. It only frees the woman to continue her criminal activity. No, I think we'll go with my plan. A bullet will solve all our problems," Hardgrave snapped. "Corporal," he barked at his intercom. "You have your orders. Get the Guard in place, and call in Team Gamma."
William shook his head.
"If that's all…..?"
"Go. You've been more than helpful," the general waved his dismissal.
"I doubt that," he glared at him over his shoulder as he left the office, his bookends ensuring he didn't dawdle.
William Mangle was marched to the exit, and one of the soldiers nodded at the other, and said, "I'll see the doctor leaves the premises without causing any trouble," the tall, lean soldier in a perfectly groomed uniform told his companion. "Let's go," he nodded his head curtly to William once they stepped though the door.
"My car is….."
"Likely going to explode the moment you turn the key, Dr. Mangle," the young soldier told him. "Hardgrave is notorious for scorching earth when he wants to bury his secrets. I suggest you come with me."
"But….don't you work for….?"
The soldier pulled out a key chain from his inner pocket, and clicked it. Just to one side of the trees, a door opened in the air that suggested a cloaked vehicle was parked there.
"I'm Commander William Du, doctor. Global Justice. As I said, I strongly suggest you come with me. If you want to live."
KP
Betty sat watching Shego finish the steak, eggs, and biscuits she had cooked with a faint smile.
The woman had always had the appetite of a dozen normal people. Little wonder she was so thin if she had been trying to eat like Kimberly. She could tell that Shego was definitely in there, though. The little tics she spotted. The anxiousness over being in the presence of her primary jailer for so long was obviously starting to take a toll, even if neither woman saw it.
Unlike Kim, or Shego, Betty was used to spotting certain tells, though.
Shego might think she was Kim, somehow, but she was very definitely still Shego under that veneer of civility. Sooner or later, she knew, that veneer was going to rip, and when it did, Dr. Director wasn't altogether sure of just what might happen next.
She did know that the military wasn't going to sit around quietly after losing what was obviously some kind of mind-control experiment, though. She was very good at putting pieces together, and just now, they were the only pieces that made sense.
"Kimberly," she told the redhead after a moment, "Call your Team back in. You're going to need them."
"But…..?"
"This is likely bigger than either of us realize. Especially if the Pentagon is involved. Now, you tell me, what did they do the last time a rogue scientist exposed an unethical experiment?"
Kim scowled.
"But they fired that guy. He….."
"Figureheads don't change policy. You can bet something else is going on we don't yet see. I suspect it won't be long before the military is on her trail, and while they're slow, they aren't all incompetent. How long before they figure out that Shego came here for help? You tell me. Then what?"
Kim grimaced.
"Looks like I'm activating those auto-defenses after all," she said even as the PDA on Betty's belt buzzed.
"Report," she snapped.
"It's as bad as we thought," Will Du's voice spoke loudly and clearly as Kim listened. "The Pentagon apparently tried to turn Shego into a weapon by downloading Possible's brain into her head prior to some form of mind-control. Only they still couldn't control her….."
"Duh," Kim and Shego both quipped, making Betty eye them with an arched brow.
"Go on, Commander Du."
"I have one of the primary scientists involved inbound with me. They just blew up his car, and currently think he was inside it. They are also definitely moving to sanction Shego, and anyone else involved. Along with the entire town of Middleton, if necessary. They think Shego might…..explode, in both senses of the word. Either way, they don't want her blowing certain whistles on certain parites."
"Self-righteous….. I knew Hardgrave was lying to me. I knew it," Betty spat, and eyed the small image of her agent on her PDA.
"You say you have one of their people," Kim asked.
"Go ahead," Betty nodded at him when he paused.
"Dr. William Mangle. A chief bio-geneticist on the project that apparently recovered a computer core with part of Kimberly Possible's brain still in the core. That's how they tried to control Shego, by using it to try to turn her into a conscientious citizen they thought they could program to their liking."
"Mind-control," Shego murmured softly. Darkly. Her left eye twitching. "Why is it always mind-control with these freaks? Wait," she sputtered in the same instant. "Wait, are you saying…..? I'm really Shego? I just have….?"
She eyed Kim.
"I have your….memories, but…..I'm not really…..?"
Kim shook her head.
"I remember that machine," Kim told her gently. "It wasn't much fun living in someone else's body. I can only imagine how this must be for you….Anne, but we won't let them get away with this."
"Agent Du, you can bet they'll be cutting Middleton off soon. Get our own people in place, and I want a full strike team back in Billings to backtrack Shego, and find where she was being held."
"I could tell you that," Shego told her. "It's under a Radon Industries building, and you have to take a secret elevator in a broom closet to get to the cell where I was locked up."
"Sounds like a lead, Commander Du. Get Agent Sands….."
The PDA suddenly went blank.
"Will?"
Kim jumped up, and walked to the window. Looking outside, she grimaced.
"They're here," she said as the sounds of tanks coming closer began to fill the air.
A lot of tanks.
To Be Continued…