David Clark Allen, Shego Rocks!

FIVE

Ron looked bored as he sat waiting on Kim's front porch. But when he saw Kim and Shego arrive together, he perked up and smiled broadly, for he figured he had guessed correctly about Shego.

Kim put her index finger to her lips, gesturing for Ron to stay quiet. "Hey, Ron, cover for me. I'm going to try to sneak Shego inside with out the 'rents seeing her."

Getting Shego into the house unnoticed would be quite a challenge, for Kim's parents were hardly unobservant or unintelligent. Kim's father was a renowned astrophysicist, and her mother the head of the neurosurgery unit at Middleton Hospital; in short, Kim was the offspring of a rocket scientist and a brain surgeon.

Ron nodded to Kim. "Gotcha, K.P." He went in ahead of her into the living room, where Kim's dad was relaxing with the day's edition of The Examiner. Ron looked over and saw that Kim's mom was back in the kitchen, fixing the twins a snack. "Hey, Doctor P." He waved to see if he could catch the father's attention, but Kim's dad appeared to be too involved with his reading. When Ron determined that the coast was clear, he motioned to Kim. The two young women crept ever so quietly through the room, behind Kim's father.

"Oh hi, Kimmie. Hi, Kim's new friend." Dr. Possible's eyes had never strayed from the newspaper.

Ron scratched his head: how did he know they were here? Kim Possible and Shego were as quiet as the best ninjas on the planet.

"I'm a parent," Kim's father explained.

"Maybe Kim's friend would like some apple pie?" Kim's mom offered.

Shego stopped and blushed. "Well, uh . . . sure," she said. Shego whispered to Kim, "Your crazy clothes, and now this? What are you doing to me? Too many carbs!" Shego groaned as she turned and followed Kim's mother to the dining table.

Jim popped his head out the kitchen doorway. "Shego's here? And Kim's not fighting her?" He then turned to his brother. "You owe me a buck."

Kim led Ron upstairs to her bedroom, where she convened a private meeting with herself, Ron, and Rufus. Wade participated, too, via Kim's desktop computer.

"Okay, here's the sitch . . . this may freak you guys out, but I'm going to help Shego. Don't ask me why; I must be out of my mind. But she says she's not with Drakken anymore, and she wants to get a new identity and become a student at school with us. She promised not to commit any more crime. What do you guys think?"

Ron smiled. "Freak me out? No way! This is totally badical! It'll be one less villain we have to deal with. And Shego will make the coolest student!"

Rufus grinned and squeaked, "Cool!"

Ron's face lit up. "Ooh. And with a whole new identity! That rocks. Hey, it'll be like Prince Wally all over again!" Ron added.

"Peachy," Kim said sourly. "Prince Wally was just a scream. You do realize, Ron, that unlike Shego, Prince Wally was not wanted in eleven countries. And Prince Wally was not a ninja, capable of sneaking up on us with a deadly weapon."

"I still think Shego's changed. Think of all the stuff she gave us yesterday. And remember your motto: 'Anything is possible for a Possible.' You can do anything, K.P., including help turn Shego into a good person. Count me as one 'yea' vote for Shego."

Rufus scowled at him.

"Uh, make that two 'yea' votes for Shego."

Kim turned to the computer monitor. "What do you think, Wade?"

Wade shrugged. "It's your call, Kim. I trust your judgment. You've always been one to know what you were doing."

Kim folded her arms, and looked at all of them together. "Okay, okay. So we're going to do it. Remember, we're in this together. And not a word of this gets out to anyone . . . especially Middleton P.D. and Global Justice. Wade, I need you to scour for every piece of data that's out there on Shego. I'll get back with you about what to do with the info."

Wade acknowledged. "I'm on it, Kim. Talk to you later."

Kim put her computer to sleep and then led Ron downstairs to where Shego waited. Shego had finished a small slice of pie and retired to the study. She sat in a reclining chair, working on her nails.

"Okay," Kim announced to Shego, "we've got the ball rolling for you. We'll see you tomorrow."

Ron intervened. "Kim, we can't just boot her into the street. She's our guest. We ought to at least put her up for the night somewhere."

Kim stared at him, appalled. "What?"

Shego shrugged. "Money's no prob' for me, so I can lease an apartment tomorrow. And I can get a motel room tonight--"

Ron scowled. "That's what I mean, K.P. We're not going to force her to sleep in a cheap motel room. She should stay with us."

"Oh, I'm sure your mom and dad would love having a strange girl spend the night over at your place," Kim said sarcastically.

"No, but she can spend the night here." Ron's face brightened. "Oh, cool! You and Shego can have a sleepover. Rent some DVDs, pop popcorn, tell ghost stories--"

Shego grinned. "Yeah, and I can redo Kim's makeup so her colors actually match her outfit."

Kim rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "This is so wrong. Shego can't spend the night! Does it even faze you that keeping her here--while she's a fugitive--is sort of against the law?"

Ron gave a pitying look. "Oh, but Kim, look at her. She looks so sweet and innocent now. Isn't giving her a second chance at life worth the risk?"

"In a word? No! Besides, my mom and dad would never let me have a super-villain stay over!"

Overhearing her, Kim's father shrugged. "Of course Shego can spend the night. Any super-villain friend of Kim's is a friend of ours," he said, grinning. Her mother nodded in agreement.

Kim slapped her forehead. "All right, all right! She can spend the night. But she is not using my pillow and toothbrush."