--

PART V: War of the Worlds (2/3)

--

The younger Shego woke up to the empty apartment of her elder, native counterpart, but found that the silence began to drag on her after a few minutes. She'd never had issues being on her own before and she was confused by her reaction to the feelings of isolation, but rather than waste time psychoanalyzing herself, she gathered up her few belongings and borrowed some clean clothes to wear out of the apartment. The elder Shego was not all that different in size to her and she found the clothes to fit as well as anything she'd worn since encountering that damn drill.

Taking a moment to fix her hair, Shego stepped out into the city and observed the madness of morning rush hour. It was still early enough that people were heading to work or school or whatever it was that working people did in the AM hours. Shego had never really been part of that world after she left high school and found she had little real desire to be part of it now. The consistency of it bothered the rebel deep in her core, and the thought of knowing your schedule for the next thirty years was not a pleasant one to her.

Pulling out the small fold of cash that her counterpart gave her last night, Shego decided she easily had enough for some coffee and a paper, and decided that was how she was going to start the day. Kim and she had learned early on their trip that the paper was the easiest way to get a real bearing on how a world was different than the one they mutually knew. Current events, style, market knowledge, politics, technology, all in one neat package with minimal investment.

After getting her extra dark and Middleton Ledger, Shego sat by the window of the coffee shop she'd entered and settled down to read the morning news. A minute later she began to get the weird feeling she was being stared at making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She looked around the coffee shop discreetly then turned her eyes to the window. After a few seconds of search her eyes locked onto something and her jaw dropped.

Across the street, on the side of a building was a billboard depicting perfume or fragrance of some sort called 'Cassiopeia.' Beside the bottle and name was a young dark-haired female model, as Shego would expect to see in such an advertisement. However, staring at the model, she was more and more convinced with each passing second that she was looking at an eighteen-year-old version of herself.

But she'd already met the version of herself on this world and she was far from sixteen. So who was this?

--

Drs. Kim and Ann Possible walked out of recovery room three to find the younger Kim that had arrived the day prior and Will Du waiting in the curved hallway outside. Kim and Will were talking but quickly stopped and turned to look at the two generations of doctors as they approached.

"How is our patient?" asked Will, glancing subtly past Dr. Kim at the closed door.

"She was suffering from extreme malnutrition and dehydration," said Ann, glancing at the chart in her hands. "Also what looks like a couple of untreated broken ribs that luckily had not punctured any organs. We've got her hydrating and feeding her intravenously. We'll take some more x-rays later to see if we need to operate."

"Has she said anything?" asked Kim.

Dr. Kim glanced down then shook her head. "Not yet. She gained consciousness for a little while but didn't even react to where she was or my presence. She may have some psychological damage."

"Is it serious?" asked Will.

"We'll need a professional to tell us more, but if she really is the only survivor of that world and she had to watch everyone else die... I don't know how well any of us could take that." Dr. Kim sighed. "For now, she needs rest and we'll see about talking to her later."

"Let me know the minute you're able to talk with her," said Will.

"All right," nodded Dr. Kim. Will turned and quickly walked off towards the staircase out of the medical area. "Sorry if we interrupted anything."

Her counterpart yawned. "We weren't talking about anything important... just something about Shego needing authority before taking guests off-world."

Dr. Kim laughed. "He complains a lot but he knows there's no one better than Shego at this sort of stuff."

"Nobody who isn't retired, anyway," said Ann with a smirk.

"Mom," chided Dr. Kim.

"I still recall the trinity," Ann said with reverence. "And it wasn't Shego, Shego, and other Shego."

"I still remember fighting the villain Shego as a kid too," said Dr. Kim. "That doesn't mean she can't be one of the most important heroes in the multiverse right now."

"I'm just trying to remind you that she doesn't stand alone," said Ann patting Dr. Kim on the shoudler. "No matter how much she thinks she does." She handed over her chart to Dr. Kim and left towards the higher numbered recovery rooms.

"Sorry about that," said Dr. Kim to Kim. "Didn't mean to make you feel awkward. Mom's never completely comfortable with Shego these days, and whenever we have more than one around she gets edgy."

"Something happen between them?" asked Kim.

"A few things," sighed Dr. Kim. "Nothing violent or anything. They had a bit of a... falling out after Zita died, though. I think Shego blames her and mom doesn't take it well when she loses patients."

"Zita? I heard she died off-world," said Kim.

"She did," nodded Dr. Kim. "Mom was still active with the field unit, she was there when they got the call and tried to save her. It was way too late though, and I know Shego knows that. But it's hard to lose someone you care about."

"Wow..." said Kim slowly.

"Yeah, like I said, sorry to burden you with this."

"No, it's okay, I asked," said Kim, yawning again.

"You should get some sleep."

Kim raised a finger to protest then dropped it. "I guess I should, no sense in arguing with myself." She smiled.

Dr. Kim laughed politely. "That joke gets old around here, just so you know."

"I imagine," laughed Kim. "All right, I'll head back to the room Will set up for us. Let me know if that Kim wakes up, I'd like to talk to her."

"I'll put you on the list," said Dr. Kim, nodding.

Kim turned to leave then stopped and looked back. "Hey, what happened to Shego?"

"She was with you," reminded Dr. Kim.

"No, no, my Shego," Kim clarified.

"Oh... at our Shego's apartment, I guess. She hasn't shown up at the agency yet today that I've seen."

Kim nodded. "Thanks." She turned and headed lethargically out of the medical ward.

--

Shego had lucked out when she found the advertising agency who had created the ad shown on the billboard was local to Middleton. It didn't mean the model herself was anywhere near the city, but it at least gave her a means to question someone more forcefully than the phone would typically allow. It would also give her the opportunity to leverage her feminine wiles if it was necessary.

She walked into the lobby of Simon, Sullivan, and Westerman Marketing and was greeted by a simple room of simplistic design. Squarish looking furniture was carefully organized in facing rows on either side of the lobby with a long grey rug leading up to a stone receptionist desk with a glass top. An imposing woman with short dark hair, frameless glasses and a stern face sat at the desk talking on the phone. So much for feminine wiles.

Shego strode up to the desk purposefully and the receptionist put her call on hold to address her. "Good morning," she said in what was probably supposed to be a friendly manner but was more like restrained hostility.

"Hey," Shego said, being curt as she felt anything else would be a wasted effort. "I want to know more about an ad on a billboard I saw on--"

"Here," said the receptionist as she lifted a thick binder and placed on the glass surface of the desk. She then turned her eyes away from Shego and picked up her call again.

Shego blinked then opened the binder to discover a page with three reduced advertisements on it and staff and contact information beside each one. Turning the page, she found more of the same, but not the advertisement she saw downtown. She continued paging through the book.

"You can take that to a seat if you want," the receptionist suddenly said towards Shego. It sounded less like advice than it probably should have. Shego picked up the book and moved to one of the chairs and continued paging through it. A minute later something caught her eye but it wasn't the billboard advertisement.

The reduced picture was hard to be sure, but as Shego squinted and brought the book up to her face she could swear that the movie poster she was looking at had a twenty-year-old Bonnie Rockwaller in it, Kimmie's high school friend. Shego checked the date on the advertisement which put it at last year. The Bonnie in this universe should be in her forties like Kim, how was a twenty-year-old in this picture? Did this world have some sort of miracle reverse-aging crème or something? That might explain Bonnie but not the Shego of this world, who did not look anything like sixteen.

Shego filed the matter in her mind and continued looking through the book. A few pages later she found what she was looking for, the 'Cassiopeia' ad. The information on the side was sparse and listed a modeling agency, contact information for the company that makes Cassiopeia, and a date of the first placement of the advertisement. The model's name was not listed, much to Shego's annoyance.

She started to close the book to return it to the desk when she hesitated. Something was bothering her and she decided to look through the rest of the book in case something else caught her eye.

Twenty minutes later she'd gone through the whole book and no less than twelve pictures confused her. Six were all (she believed) shots of the same teenaged Shego model she'd seen earlier. But then she found two more Bonnie shots, a decidedly out of place non-monkeyfied Monty Fiske in an ad for a TV series on South African archeology, one of Kim's brothers aged about 14 in an ad for Upperton University and again in his twenties for a computer repair store, both of which were made within a year of each other.

Shego closed the book and frowned. Her confusion was starting to subside as an explanation rose to the surface of her mind. She didn't need to find the model at all, there was someone else who would have the answers she needed, someone she already had access to.

In a flash, Shego realized her counterpart had already confirmed her theory. In discussion last night, she'd mentioned the existence of Wades.

--

Dr. Kim Possible was checking in on their newest patient when she heard the knock behind her. Startled, she turned just in time to see the figure in an expensive gray suit dart from the doorway and grab for her. Instincts taking over, Kim spun and swung out to use the attackers momentum against them and fling them towards the empty bed. It was a good gambit but the attacker knew her too well and had anticipated the move by adjusting his approach so that when she tried to spin to the side, she actually landed right in his arms.

With flowing gracefulness, the attacker pitched to the side and swung his weight to throw Kim off her feet and pushed her onto the bed, holding her down with his weight and looking right into her eyes.

Dr. Kim looked up and sighed. "You've still got it, handsome," she said. She raised her head slightly and kissed the man gently on the lips. After a second she broke the kiss and looked into his blue eyes. "Were you worried?"

"Worried? Me?" said Ron Stoppable with a grin. "Nah, you know as long as it's not a monkey, clown, has fur, four legs, two legs, an exoskeleton or a spine I'm smooth sailing."

Dr. Kim rolled her eyes. "My hero," she said sarcastically.

Ron kissed her on the nose. "That was always more your department," he said. He rolled off of Kim and helped her back to her feet. "Though to be serious, I am concerned that somehow Will thinks we've got some magic power that is going to counteract the fact that we've been out of practice for like, forever."

"I wasn't terribly happy with his plan either," said Dr. Kim, straightening her lab coat. "At least Shego's still in the game."

"Yes, sometimes I wonder if that meteor gave her endless energy," said Ron.

"She looks better than I do," grumbled Kim. "And she's six years older than me."

"Nah, you still look as young as the day ... um... well, you don't look that young," mused Ron.

"Jeeze, thank Ron," Dr. Kim said, annoyed.

"N-no, wait!" stammered Ron. "I-I mean, you do look young, I was just-- I was going to say 'young as the day we met' but, you know, we met in kindergarten and you definitely look older than... I mean-- you look older than our kids, is what I'm saying... but that not that... much... older." Ron trailed off into gibbering.

Kim's frown faded as she looked upon Ron's adorable mental scrambling. He was now talking himself into circles about age and time paradoxes and various other random things from TV. In the years since she and Ron were in school there had definitely developed a 'new' Ron that was more mature, calm, collected, and responsible. Kim was definitely proud of this Ron because he was great with the kids, excellent at his job, and someone she could rely upon when her work was overwhelming her. But she fell in love with the old Ron, the goofy guy in high school who could not prioritize his day but never failed in his duty as a friend, so seeing him emerge every now and then warmed her heart in a way nobody who didn't love him like she did could understand.

"Ron," Kim interrupted his jumbled thoughts. She smiled at him widely. "It's okay."

"Uh, yeah," Ron managed. "Sorry."

"I hope you don't fall apart like that when on the floor, Congressman," Kim teased.

"Only when we're debating bills about my personal life," said Ron. "Which has yet to happen so I'm probably fine."

Kim stepped up to Ron and pressed herself against him, looking up into his face. "Well, maybe we should practice more so you'll be ready next time."

Ron gently reached down and embraced Kim again, kissing her gently for a few seconds. They held each other for a few seconds more, just savoring each other's presence, before Ron finally broken the silence.

"So, who's our new guest?" he asked, looking at the sleeping form on the other bed.

Kim gently slipped from Ron's grip and turned to look at the girl. "We're not sure yet. She's been unconscious pretty much the entire time she's been here. We're not even sure what happened to her world."

"New branch?" asked Ron.

"Yeah," nodded Kim.

"Is this related to the Grand Commander?"

Kim hesitated then shrugged. "I'm not sure, I don't think so. He should still be behind the barrier so he couldn't have done this."

"Assuming the barrier still works," noted Ron. "It broke once already."

"Lets hope it's working this time... for everyone's sake," said Kim, darkly.

Ron shook his head. "You know, after twenty years of this it's really hard to keep looking over our shoulder for the phantom of the Director Wars."

"Just because time has passed, doesn't mean the threat is gone, Ron," said Kim. "We don't know what triggered it or when it started, only that it happened once and we can't let it happen again."

"'Or the whole multiverse is at risk,'" said Ron. "I know the official line as well as you do, I've just come to doubt anything we do in our little piece of the multiverse can really impact the infinitely large parts of the 'verse we can't get to."

"Does it have to?" frowned Kim. "Isn't it enough to be vigilant to save our world?"

Ron looked to the side. "Of course it is," he said. "I just wonder if we've crippled a world based on the possibly delirious ravings of a dying woman, even if she was a Kim Possible."

"We can never know for sure, you know that," said Kim.

"I know," nodded Ron. "All I'm saying is that if we're going to do something, let's do it because we believe it's right, not because we've heard tales of the boogeyman in our youth."

"It's better to be safe than sorry," said Kim.

"There is such a thing as too safe, though," pointed out Ron.

--

Will Du looked at the tall pile of papers on his desk. He was certain that he had signed off on a work order to make the Agency paperless. That had to be at least five years ago. Why was he still inundated with paper? Money was spent. Technology was installed. Staff was hired. Training was performed. Migration processes were checked and double checked. Why was he still receiving paper reports? Something had gone terribly wrong.

He missed Vicki, his assistant. He'd voluntarily given her up to the research department when she completed her graduate degree, no longer feeling comfortable keeping such a talented woman in a role little better than a glorified butler. He never got around to replacing her because he felt he could handle it on his own and, privately, he doubted anyone could ever match her ability. Since then he'd never known a quiet day as the work continued to build up and it took him all his time just to keep it at manageable levels.

Sighing, Will shook his thoughts of the past from his mind and picked up the top folder on the pile of papers. It was a report on P9X-766, one of the off-world mineral mining facilities showing production levels dropping steadily as the vein narrowed. Pretty soon it wouldn't be worth the power consumption opening the gate to get workers and materials back and forth and it would go back onto the list of 'uninhabited, no-return-team' worlds.

Will flipped to the last page and signed the report, acknowledging he'd read it, and tossed it into his filing box for records to pick up later.

He grabbed the next folder and started to open it when he heard his office door open. He looked up to see Shego -- the one who'd arrived recently with Kim -- walking up to his desk. He pushed the folder to the side and folded his hands calmly.

"Shego," Will said. "I don't think we've met face to face yet since you arrived. I'm Will Du. I keep track of things around here." He smiled slightly, and hoped his casual demeanor and speech would avoid the typical Shego-type reaction of--

"It said that on the door, genius," Shego replied. So much for trying to avoid her tendencies for conflict.

"So you say," nodded Will, dropping the veneer and deciding to deal with her in a straightforward manner. "Then you must realize I'm very busy."

"Well you yanked us out of the world we were in to bring us here, so I imagine you'll make some time for me," said Shego.

"Well, then, what can I do for you?"

"You let people stay here, don't you?" Shego said more than asked.

Will nodded slightly. "If by 'stay here' you mean we have some permanent off-world guests, then yes, that is true. It's all voluntary; we don't have any prisoners in this reality."

"Why would people stay?" asked Shego. "Especially people like me, or Bonnie, or Kim's brothers. People with lives on their home worlds."

"Not all of them, or you, do," said Will. "Just as some of you might die or turn evil or good, some versions of you and the people you know are ... for lack of a better term, 'normal.'"

"If they're so normal, how do they end up here?" asked Shego pointedly.

Will made a half-smile. "Well, you've got me there. It would be odd for us to have guests who aren't involved in their world's trans-dimensional affairs. Though there are more than a few exceptions."

"How many people are here, then?"

"Hard to say." Will shrugged and looked up and to the side for a moment. "Probably over a hundred, maybe two."

"Holy..." said Shego, stunned.

"They're not all from different worlds," explained Will. "Sometimes we bring people here in groups as... refugees."

"Refugees? How do you hide so many people?"

"A variety of ways," said Will. "I really can't go into specifics, but I'm assuming you've already run into a few which is why you're coming directly to me. We give them new names, identities, and let them find news lives for themselves."

"You watch them?" asked Shego.

"For a while," nodded Will. "Once we know they're adapting well we just do periodic check-ups, make sure they're not in any trouble. All things considered it's a step above witness protection."

"That's hardly a pleasant comparison," said Shego.

"No, but I'm trying to get you to understand. We aren't kidnapping, we aren't forcing people, we're just taking care of the people who fall into our hands."

Shego frowned and looked away. "Like me and Kim."

"Yes," said Will. "Though you two are easy. A simple gate opener and you're on your way again. We've just been busy and it's taking us a few days to make one for you."

Shego sighed and walked slowly towards one of the walls of the office. There was a long, wooden filing cabinet against one wall, covered with strange gadgets gathering dust, a few pictures, and some papers that seemed to have spilled over from the desk. She idly looked at the unkempt trinkets. "What if..." she started then trailed.

Will focused more of his attention on Shego now. Her demeanor had suddenly changed, she almost seemed vulnerable. She hadn't come to be a trouble maker, there was honestly something on her mind. He stood and suddenly felt guilty for not greeting her properly when she came in. He came over to stand a short distance behind her.

"Why don't you have a seat?" he said and motioned to the couch near the center of the office. "Would you like some coffee or water?"

Shego picked up a strange spherical device and turned it over in her hands. "No," she said simply.

Will nodded silently then moved over to the couch and sat on one side. He wondered if she needed to see him sit first before she would relax but, knowing Shego types like he did, he imagined she needed the standing advantage to feel in control.

"The world," Shego started and stopped in short succession. She turned and leaned against the cabinet while holding the sphere in her hands. "Doesn't anyone notice there's a bunch of clones walking around?"

"Not really," said Will. "There's a fairly common axiom about being one in a million. That's pretty much all the uniqueness most people desire. Three or four duplicates amongst a population of 400 million people in the US aren't a big deal. And Shegos tend to go to the Middle East."

"My father was Jordanian," said Shego. "I've often wondered about going there."

"Apparently many of your counterparts in other worlds have thought the same thing," said Will.

Shego nodded and walked slowly back towards Will's desk, and put her hands on the edge of the desk, staring off through the window behind his desk at the IDM slowly spinning in the room beyond. Will watched her quietly and waited.

"What if..." started Shego. She turned her head slightly to the side but didn't look at Will. "What if I wanted to stay?"

Will let her words hang for a moment before responding. "There's paperwork involved, and some profiling, but, if it's what you want, you'd be welcome to. I have to ask, though, why?"

Shego turned the rest of the way and leaned slightly back against the corner of Will's desk. "I'm... not interested in going through any more of this. It's not worth it."

"The traveling?" prompted Will.

"Any of it," Shego said sternly. "The annoying trips through the void, the worlds where we have no idea what's going on or what the rules are, the people..." she trailed off suddenly, nearly frozen in place. She seemed to be struggling to articulate her words. After a minute she breathed out slowly and continued. "Watching people with my face make the same mistakes over and over again. It's Hell, being reminded of my failures over and over again, and there's nothing waiting for me in our damn world that is worth putting up with that."

Will considered what she said as he gently tapped his fingertips together in succession. "You've been to several other worlds now," he said slowly. "You could have stayed in any of them. Why here?"

Shego looked slightly annoyed. "Is this part of your profiling?"

"It contributes," nodded Will. "It's not an easy or cheap process to make up records for someone who comes from off-world. I would like to get some sort of understanding as to what you like about this world and whether it will be worth the effort to naturalize you."

"Hmph," grumbled Shego, putting the device down on Will's desk. "Forget it." She started heading for the door.

"Wait!" Will called out before she left. Shego went to the door but slowed and turned back before leaving. Will stood to face her but didn't approach. "I may not have phrased that properly. It's not a cost benefit ratio, I just want to know if you really want to stay or if you just want a break. We can work out an arrangement either way."

Shego sighed and looked Will in the eye. "I want to be a better person," she said slowly.

"That's certainly an admirable goal," nodded Will.

"But in that last world... I think I... influenced a suggestible AI into becoming our enemy." Shego looked away. "I didn't even mean to, I was just being myself and talking about bucking the system and..." She trailed off and looked silently at the wall."

"Shego," said Will quietly.

She turned her head rapidly back to look at Will. "I'm making it harder for her... putting her in danger she'd be able to otherwise avoid." Shego shook her head. "It's safer for Kim if I stay here."

"Is that what Kim wants?" asked Will.

"She's gotta be sick of it by now," said Shego. "But she'd never say it."

"Maybe she's not sick of it then?" suggested Will.

"Dammit," Shego said loudly. "I'm trying to do the right thing, be the better person. Kim has a better chance of finding the drill and getting home without me. Besides... I kind of owe her one. It makes sense for me to stay behind."

"And if she finds the drill and can get home?" asked Will. "What then?"

"She should use it," said Shego. "There's nothing for me back home, it doesn't matter if I stay here."

Will looked down for a second then up to face Shego again. "I think you should talk this over with Kim," he said. "But, you're your own person, so I won't press the matter. I'll start preparing the forms for naturalization. I'll let you know when they're ready."

Shego released her held breath and nodded. Without a word, she exited the room. Will watched after her and sighed.

--

Kim woke to the feeling of someone else in her room and she bolted upright, blinking rapidly, trying to focus on the other figure walking through the bedroom.

"Easy, Princess," Shego said walking slowly over to the second bed and collapsing into it.

"Shego?" asked Kim as the young woman in black and green came gradually into focus. Her long dark hair was spread out over her head and the bed as she laid face down in the comforter.

"Nnng," was the reply.

"You alright?"

"Meh."

Kim rubbed her eyes and yawned, lying back down on the bed. "Did you get along with Shego?"

Shego picked her head up and looked at Kim through the curtain of hair over her face.

"The other Shego," added Kim.

Shego put her head back down again but turned it to the side so she could look at Kim. "Not really," she said softly.

"Sorry," said Kim. "We'll get going as soon as Will gets us a new TDF, okay?"

"Don't worry about me," said Shego, closing her eyes.

"Don't let her get to you. This place is a little weird."

"It's not her," grumbled Shego. "It's... nothing."

Kim frowned and sat up again, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "Is everything alright, Shego?"

Shego gave Kim a glare. "No, it's not. But that isn't exactly a change of pace from the last few weeks, now is it? Or were you confused at my reaction to being tortured for hours on end until I was an inch away from the end of my life? Or at being unintentionally exiled from our world? Or being kidnapped and held prisoner by a self-aggrandizing nerdlinger?"

Shego pushed herself upright again. "Me. I was kidnapped. And held ransom. And was rescued by you. That is not at all the relationship we're supposed to have, Pumpkin. I am not your sidekick. I am not some substitute for the buffoon, and I am not one of your pathetic hanger-ons. I am not supposed to be rescued by you. So, no, to answer the question, everything is not 'alright.'"

Kim froze, stunned into silence by Shego's sudden outburst. She tried to look Shego in the eyes but found it awkward and after a moment, she looked away.

"I ... didn't mean to--" started Kim, but Shego cut her off.

"No, of course you didn't! You never mean to--" Shego stopped herself and breathed deliberately. She then stood and quietly left the room.

Kim fell back onto the bed and sighed. A few minutes later she heard the sounds of Shego rooting around in the kitchenette, clinking glasses and the opening and shutting of the fridge. Then stomping feet and the opening and shutting of the apartment door.

--

Shego walked swiftly back out of the building where the hotel-like apartment had been set up, across the sky bridge to the embarkation building. It was the late afternoon and the sun hung low in the sky, bathing the Agency campus in reds and browns. She slowed her pace and gazed at the ground stretching into the infinite vista. Behind her the sky would be getting dark and the lights from the buildings downtown would glow like a hundred eyes peering from the twilight. Shego didn't bother to look.

With a slow breath, she stopped the endless stream of profanity running through her mind with a single thought: it wasn't Kim's fault. While Shego had needed less than a justified reason to blame others for her problems, the fact was that Kim was going through the same nightmare she was. They were both exiled from home. They were both being tortured by seeing the consequences of their choices marched before them. But for some reason, Kim was taking it better, enduring without as much complaint, and that made Shego angry.

It wasn't fair, but Shego cared little for that distinction. What she did care about was that it was distracting her. She had intended to tell Kim her decision to stay and for some reason, seeing her acting normal as if this was some sort of day trip instead of a twisted twilight zone version of reality, just made her see red. She couldn't possibly be enjoying this endless trip, so why couldn't she just drop the prim-and-proper act?

Because I'm a hero, Shego almost heard Kim's voice reply. If I let it get to me, I won't be able to help everyone in the whole world twice over like the prissy princess I am. By the way, have I told you that all the world is filled with good people but some are just a teensy bit misunderstood?

Shego smiled slightly at her caricature of Kim then shook her head. When did she turn into the brooding anti-hero? Being around her feel-good, go lucky counterpart from this world was a bad idea. It reminded her of several things she disliked about Kim except it was ten times worse seeing it in herself.

And maybe another ten times worse after that because she could understand why she became that way.

Turning away from the sunset, Shego moved swiftly the rest of the way across the skybridge and into the medical bay of the embarkation building. The sterile white halls and fluorescent lights were a striking difference from the burnt orange glow form the sunset. She squinted for a second to help her eyes adjust, then continued towards the staircase leading down to the ground floor.

She got halfway around the curve of the hall in the medical bay before she saw a head of messy red hair peek its way out of one of the recovery rooms. Shego frowned and slowed her pace, looking at the mop of hair as she approached. Before she reached the doorway she was looking out of the rest of the figure emerged from the doorway and looked around, eventually turning to see Shego.

As she guessed from the hair, the girl was a version of Kim, maybe sixteen years old, though she looked slightly frail beneath her hospital gown. Her hair was unkempt and her face was roughed up but healing. Her bold green eyes shined the same as any Kim Possible Shego had ever seen and she locked onto Shego's own pair of emeralds.

Immediately the Kim looked scared and retreated slightly back into the room, but left her head out to stare at Shego. She pulled at her hair absently, raking it with her hand like a heavy bristled comb to try to calm the tangled mess. Finally she licked her chapped lips slightly and slowly opened her mouth.

"Hello," the girl said in a raspy voice that sounded far from Kim's typical lyrical notes.

Shego stopped a few paces away from the Kim and looked at her skeptically. "Hey," she said in reply.

"Where am I?" asked the girl.

Shego sighed. This was not her job. She did not work here and she did not care how they treated their 'refugees.' "This is the Agency," she said instead. "It's... complicated."

"Oh," said the girl. "Are you..."

"Shego," said Shego. "I guess you're Kimmie."

The girl shook her head. Shego blinked in surprise. "No?"

"Everyone calls me Cassie," said the girl.

"Cassie, huh?" asked Shego. She looked at the girl questionably. She looked like a Kim, but Shego supposed that of all the differences they'd seen across the worlds a name was hardly the biggest change. "So where are you from?"

"Middleton," said Cassie.

"Well, yeah, I know, but..." Shego realized she had no frame of reference to even begin this conversation. "Alright, well, whatever. Just hang around; someone will come for you soon. See you later."

Shego waved and started heading for the stairs again. Less than a dozen steps later, however, she felt something grab her arm. She stopped and looked down to see the girl holding gently onto her.

"What?" asked Shego.

"You're the only person I've seen in over a week," said Cassie. She gently let her hand slide off of Shego's arm. "Can you... stay around, just a little while, until someone else comes?"

Shego looked into Cassie's eyes. This wasn't her responsibility. She didn't work for the Agency and she sure as hell didn't care for the mental well being of some version of Kim Possible, regardless of what trauma she may have gone through. She was Shego. She was a villain. She did evil and she was proud of it. Proud! Even if it could end in her death. Even if it could end in the destruction of the world. Even if she dragged all of Middleton into misery and tragedy. This was who she was. And she liked who she was, right? Right!?

"Okay," Shego said quietly.

--

Dr. Kim burst into Will's office in a bit of a huff and strode right up to his desk. He, in turn, looked up slowly from his pile of paper and blinked. "I have a phone, you know," he said.

"You never answer it," said Dr. Kim dismissively. "The new Kim Possible is missing."

"Missing?" asked Will, straightening. "Stolen or walked away?"

"Probably walked away," said Dr. Kim. "Can you put the word out that we're looking for her and get someone to check the security cameras?"

Will tapped a panel on his desk causing it to light up beneath the avalanche of paperwork. He pushed a few folders to the side and typed directly on the surface causing a square of information to appear. "Sixty-five... thirty-two?"

"Sixty-five sixty-five," corrected Dr. Kim.

Will nodded and typed again causing the window to vanish. He looked up. "Security will look for her. Go down to the station outside the IDM room and check the logs to find her."

"Thank you," nodded Dr. Kim. She started to turn to leave but paused, looking at the pile of work on Will's desk. "Are you going to get another assistant any time soon?"

"It's on my list of to-do's," Will shook his head.

"Where's that in your inbox?"

"Somewhere near the bottom." He looked at the stack of folders. "I think."

Dr. Kim smiled and looked kindly down at Will. "It was a nice thing you did for Vicki, but nobody is going to think you're tarnishing her reputation if you find someone new."

"I don't have the time to train anyone," Will said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"You never will until you get a new assistant," said Dr. Kim. "I'll talk to HR and set up some interviews for you."

"Kim..." warned Will.

"With your permission, of course," Dr. Kim said sweetly.

Will sighed. "All right. Just find that patient first."

Kim nodded and walked swiftly out of the office leaving Will to his paperwork. He buckled down again to read the open folder in front of him but only three minutes later his door opened again. This time Dr. Kleiner came in, flanked by two Wades in lab coats. One was about sixteen, the other twenty. Will struggled to remember their names. That was the problem with having so many people with the same face around, it was impossible to tell people apart.

"Gentlemen," Will said, aiming for ambiguity. "What brings you up here today?"

"We have a theory on the attack," said Dr. Kleiner.

"The 'supposed' attack," added the twenty-year old Wade on Kleiner's left.

"Right, the supposed attack," amended Kleiner. "Well, it was definitely an attack, just not an attack on us, per se, unless we're misinterpreting the diffusion, which is definitely--"

"Doctor," interrupted Will, fighting off a headache by now. "Why not just tell me what's going on?"

"Right," nodded Dr. Kleiner. He pulled out a folder from under his arm and laid it out on top of Will's desk. Will looked at it and sighed quietly. More clutter, more paper.

"The initial conclusion was that it was some sort of wide area attack or directed void explosion that caused the sudden burst of void particles into our reality." Dr. Kleiner opened the envelope and showed the BODAR imagery from the prior day. "Most of those assumptions were based on the conical shape of the trail left in the void. A large volume of void particles flew from the east of the axis, and struck this first world then ours."

"Okay," nodded Will. "Makes sense."

"We thought so too," said the sixteen year old Wade on Kleiner's right. He went by the name 'Spyre,' if Will recalled properly. He still couldn't remember the other Wade's chosen name. "But then the research team that went to 616 -- the branch of 399 caused by the event -- took additional BODAR readings and we noticed that it wasn't a cone shaped trail at all. It was actually two crossing beams."

The Wade named Spyre turned the page in the folder and showed a high resolution BODAR scan that showed the cone to be two solid lines with some cross-bleed that made it look like a single conical shape. Will shook his head. "Okay, but what would that mean? Two beams would have to come from two sources, and that means two worlds working in sync. That's cross-dimensional communication, it's not possible."

"It may be possible," said the older Wade. "We just haven't seen anything do it yet."

"Until now," said Dr. Kleiner.

Will stared at the two beams spreading out like a wedge, hitting 399 and then continuing on to nick the edges of their own world. He traced the lines back and noted that they crossed over another dimension.

"Wait, this wasn't an attack on either of us it was on this world here," said Will. "We just got caught in the crossfire. Do we know where the beams originated?"

"It's outside our BODAR range," said Spyre. "We'd have to get closer and set up our scanning equipment, maybe P3X-840 or 861." He paused and looked over at the other Wade for a moment. "Or..."

Will waited a second. "'Or' what?"

The older Wade smiled slightly. "We could use the Argo."

Will's eyes widened. "It's ready?"

"Almost," said Spyre. "We still need to find or make a dimensional core for it. I'm hoping we find one in the ruins of 616 and then we'll be good to go."

"But we can push it into the void without one," said the other Wade. "We can use the IDM to send it out, then use the BODAR on the Argo to scan further into the multiverse. Without our own branches getting in the way we should have a much further imaging radius."

"But the ship will be stranded there," said Will.

"Well, until we get a core, yes, but we could still travel back and forth from it."

Will considered the prospect as he stared at the BODAR imagery showing the two beams. He looked closer at the picture where the beams intersect. "What's this world?" asked Will pointing at the dimension where the beams crossed.

"P3X..." Dr. Kleiner turned the image over and looked at the naming list. "111."

Will froze. He looked up at the three. "P3X-111?" he said with a hollow voice.

"Yes," nodded Kleiner, pointing at the serial number. "It's a branch of--"

"I know what it's a branch of," Will cut him off. "It's the Grand Commander's reality."

Kleiner frowned. "No, that's P3X-233. This is just an uninhabited, mineral depleted world."

Will stared at Dr. Kleiner. "The computers have filters in place to obscure the identifier for the Grand Commander's world so nobody can even try to go there intentionally. I'm the only one who knows its real identifier." He looked down at the image again then snapped his head back up. "Go back down to the IDM room and set us at full readiness. We're doubling the compliment of agents in the gate room."

"Y-yes sir," said Dr. Kleiner who stumbled over himself to rush for the doors.

The older Wade looked awkwardly between the departing Doctor and Spyre. "About the Argo--"

"No time now," said Will curtly. "We need to make sure the Grand Commander is still locked up. We'll talk about Argo later."

The Wades looked disappointed but reluctantly turned and headed for the door. After they were gone, Will pushed a pile of folders off his desk and began typing furiously on the virtual keyboard beneath them.

--

"So where are you from?" asked Cassie as she put a piece of pancake in her mouth and chewed.

Shego considered what to say. She and Cassie had gone to the Agency's cafeteria get some dinner but the Kimmie-clone wanted pancakes. She said that after so long eating scraps, she wanted something she loved. Fortunately the cook on the line didn't complain and quickly whipped up a batch of pancakes from the next morning's supplies. Shego indulged as well, seeing as the pancakes were already being made and... well, there was nothing wrong with pancakes.

"It's complicated," said Shego, falling back on her old standby.

"You said that already," said Cassie, pointing with her fork. "Are you going to have more bacon?"

Shego shook her head and watched as Cassie indulged. It was sort of cute, the way she was so eager to eat, like a child of much younger years. She figured anyone would be like her if they'd been nearly starved for a week, but it still was somewhat adorable.

"I've been around," Shego finally said. "Kimmie and I have been, anyway."

"Kimmie?" asked Cassie.

"She was traveling with me. She looks like you, only a year or so older." Shego folded her arms and leaned back. "We were accidentally thrown out of our world and have been trying to get back."

"Oh," Cassie paused in her eating. "Can't they do anything for you here? They seem to have a handle on this world traveling stuff."

"We're too far from home," said Shego. "They can't find our world on their maps. It doesn't matter, though."

"Why not?" asked Cassie.

Shego put on a small smile. Her problems were her problems, she wouldn't bother this girl with them. "It's not that bad out here," she lied. "I'm in no rush to get back." With a whimsical shrug she looked down at Cassie.

Cassie looked back silently.

"What?" asked Shego with a raised brow. Cassie just looked down, returning to her food and poking at her pancakes for a minute. "What is it?"

"You don't have to act so tough. You know?" said Cassie, cutting up the last pancake. "It could be worse."

"How?" asked Shego.

"You might not have a home anymore to return to," said the girl. Her voice seemed distant.

"Cassie..." Shego started but was interrupted.

"I'm alright." The girl looked up at Shego then and the latter could see the slight wetness around her eyes. "I'm alive," she said with a slight lift in her voice. "So are you."

Shego stared. "You're a brave kid," said Shego, finally. "Braver than I thought possible." They said nothing for almost a minute, just staring at each other.

Finally, Shego returned to business. "Finish up your food, we need to go see Will about getting a room for you."

--

The elder Shego, Dr. Kim, Senator Stoppable, Administrator Du, and Gordon with the rest of Team Three stood in Will's office looking ominously between him and the pulsating IDM beyond the glass window behind him. Technically only Shego, Kim, and Ron could fit in the office in front of Will's desk, but Gordon stood in the doorway and the rest of Team Three was in the lounge area in front of the glass door.

"We need to push up our plans a little," said Will after everyone settled.

"I knew you were going to say that," said Dr. Kim, shaking her head. "What happened to schedules and timing?"

"Hey, it's fine with me," said Shego. "A little randomness will hopefully keep the old GC off his guard."

"If he's loose, he could be ready for anything, it might be better we hold back and prepare more," said Ron. "Get a bigger team maybe."

"I doubt that's an option now, given the situation," said Will. "If what we've seen is right, then it's likely that one of the realities just outside our reach has developed a 'cross-dimensional radio', for lack of a better term. They've apparently used this radio to stage a jailbreak."

"The barrier?" asked Dr. Kim.

"We sent out a carrier check not too long ago," said Will. "There was no response from the barrier around P3X-233. It's either down or so weak we're barely getting any readings. Either way it means he's got the ability to travel and if the coordinated attack is any sign, he's got friends."

"Do you think he can trace us here?" asked Shego.

"The Kim and Shego we pulled out of 233 before we restored the barrier didn't have a lot of useful information as far as his technological growth is concerned. That being said, without any void particles to use as reference before now I find it hard to believe they'd even understand a void bridge trail let alone follow one." Will tilted his head down. "Now his allies could be another story altogether."

"Which is definitely why we should delay," said Ron. "If he's got the chance of a pseudo army out there we need to make sure we understand what we're getting into."

"No, we should go now," said Shego. "Before he learns too much from his new friends. He shouldn't have a suitable singularity this soon to anchor incoming gates, which means we stand the best chance of arriving outside of his sight."

"Not for long," said Kim. "Kim said that they had an ability to track travelers, which is how they found her and Shego."

"How?" asked Shego quickly.

"I'm not sure," shrugged Kim. "Maybe residual void particles from the--"

"Hang on," Ron interrupted loudly. Everyone turned to look at him. "We're getting ahead of ourselves. I don't think you've considered all angles of this."

"I know you've been out of the game for a while, Stoppable," said Shego. "But you don't need to panic."

Ron ignored her and looked directly at Will. "What do you intend us to do if we're found?"

"Get away," said Will simply.

"You're dodging the question," Ron shook his head. "What do we tell him? Why are we there? What message is he supposed to get if he discovers we're trying to spy on him?"

"Don't say anything," said Will, shrugging.

"Dammit, Will!" Ron said angrily. "Listen to me. I'm not a field agent anymore but I'm an expert at shoveling and understanding other people's bullshit. What do you think the Grand Commander will think if finds spies?"

Will paused for a second. "That we're worried about him."

"Right," nodded Ron. "Now, what will THAT mean to him?"

"That he's a person worth worrying about," said Will. "Which will either make him bold, or make him scared."

"Both of which will result in action," said Ron. "You know that, as a soldier, you know that fear and power motivate people to action. So if he takes action, what do we do? Tell him to stop?"

Will furrowed his brow and grimaced. "And if he doesn't stop on his own, we have to stop him."

"Which means a war," Ron said. "And if you think the US government has been a pain before, just wait until they find out you're starting a war, on your own, that nobody but a handful of congressmen and the president's staff knows about, and could result in the destruction of the world."

Will slowly turned his chair around and looked out the glass to the IDM. He sighed slowly after a minute. "No matter what political garbage gets dumped on us, we can't let the Grand Commander run wild. Eventually it will come back to us, even if he doesn't realize we're watching him."

Ron nodded. "I agree, actually," he said. "But, give me time to fly to DC and talk to the President. I can even get us military support so if things turn bad we have the men to fight the Grand Commander off."

"We don't need G-Men snooping around and setting up shop here," Shego said, irritated.

"No, he's right," said Will. "We'll need the military's support if this gets out of hand."

"We've done fine without them for twenty years!" Shego yelled. "We've fought fights out there, big ones, and we've never gone crawling back to the Man for help."

"Shego..." Kim said wearily.

"The Grand Commander has always been the greater threat," said Will. "And probably the only one we know what we're getting into with."

"Bullshit!" snapped Shego. "According to Kim he's a kid with a god complex. We've built him up to be some grand evil because of what that dying Kim told us fifteen years ago, but all we have is her word that it is going to happen. We don't even know if she did time travel, she could just have been crazy."

"Shego--" Ron started to warn her.

"No, it's true," said Will. "We don't have much proof that the Grand Commander is as great a threat as we've heard." He spun around to face everyone again. "But he could be. And managing our interactions with him is the best way to keep him from becoming one. I can't fault Ron for wanting to be careful. And I don't blame you, Shego, for believing he's not the threat we've built him up to be."

Will folded hands on his desk. "But the truth is everything we've heard from the Kim and Shego who went to that world points to the Grand Commander being not only dangerous, but well equipped and frighteningly intelligent. Look, it's only been two days our time since we put the barrier back up and he's already found a way to break it."

"With help," added Shego.

"Yes, with help, but how did he even get that help?" asked Will. "No, he's dangerous. Dangerous enough that we shouldn't take any risks." He looked up at Ron. "Go to the President, find out what he says."

"Okay," nodded Ron.

"This is bullshit!" Shego said again loudly and pushed through the crowd in the office to leave. Will watched her go with sympathy. Ron just shook his head.

"She's regressing in her old age," he muttered.

"Ron," started Will.

"Come on, she thinks she can take on the world on her own, what kind of attitude is that?" asked Ron.

"Ron, she doesn't want to do everything herself," Will explained. "But she wants to be involved. She wants to help." Will looked to the side. "If the government becomes involved in the Agency... they're not going to let her, a former criminal, be involved anymore. She'll be shut out."

Ron opened his mouth but then paused as the anger drained out of him. He turned to look back but Shego was already gone.

--

Shego and Cassie were approaching Will's outer office when the doors opened and a deluge of people walked out. First a series of agents dressed up as soldiers filed out followed by a man in a white labcoat, and finally Dr. Kim and Ron. The bulk of the group ignored Shego and Cassie's presence but Dr. Kim immediately lit up upon seeing them and rushed over.

"There you are!" said Dr. Kim suddenly and rushed to stand in front of Cassie, looking at her none too discreetly.

"She was hungry," Shego offered simply then shook her head. She wasn't sure why she said that, she could care less about the concerns of the doctor.

"Are you alright?" asked Dr. Kim directly to the girl. She bent slightly and gently took Cassie's arm to feel her pulse. Ron came up behind her and smiled warmly at the girl.

Cassie seemed to consider the question for a second and shrugged. Kim checked her watch then nodded to herself and stood. "I hope you didn't eat too much," Kim said in a gently scolding tone. "Given your condition when we found you, your body is not going to be able to handle a sudden huge amount of food."

"Give her a break, dear," said Ron, patting his wife on the arm. "She probably hadn't eaten in days."

"She controlled herself," Shego offered, again unintentionally.

After a few seconds of silence Dr. Kim looked between Shego and Cassie. "Does she talk?" Dr. Kim asked frankly to Shego.

"Occasionally," said Shego, again shrugging. "Her name is Cassie."

"Nice to meet you, Cassie," said Dr. Kim. "If you're feeling up to it, I'd like to ask you a few questions about what happened to you and your home."

"Okay," nodded Cassie.

"Great," said Shego. "Have fun." She turned to head back towards the stairs. She didn't get more than a step away before someone grabbed her arm. She paused and looked back to see Cassie holding her wrist and looked up at her expectantly.

"What?" asked Shego. Cassie looked slowly over at Dr. Kim and Ron, then over at Shego again. Her face had a look of skepticism on it. Shego could hardly say she didn't sympathize. "You can go with them, they're good people," she said instead.

Cassie arched an eyebrow. Shego felt herself break a small smile at this girl so easily seeing through her. "Seriously, if they were going to do something to anyone, it'd be me. I'm a real trouble maker."

The girl furrowed her brow but smirked.

"Fine," said Shego, letting herself laugh once. She turned back and stood beside Cassie. "It's not like I'm doing anything but killing time here, anyway." She looked up to Dr. Kim and Ron, who were staring at the two of them with puzzled expressions. "What now?" Shego said, frowning.

"Did you two just have a discussion?" asked Kim.

"Without talking?" added Ron.

"I'm pretty sure I was talking there," said Shego. "Maybe you should check your hearing."

Ron blinked. "You were, but she..."

Dr. Kim patted Ron reassuringly on the back then looked to Cassie. "Alright, why don't you come this way," she said and then motioned down the hallway.

--

The elder Shego was pulling her uniform and equipment out of her locker in the prep-room outside the IDM room when she heard the door open and hard heeled shoes go ka-cluck on the concrete floor.

"Go away," Shego said, angrily. She pulled out an empty duffel bag and began shoving her stuff into it roughly.

The ka-clunk continued. Will came around the corner of the lockers and paused when he encountered Shego's glare.

"Not a word," Shego warned, waving a finger at her.

"Let me explain," Will said calmly.

"God dammit, Will!" Shego made a fist with her hand and gritted her teeth in frustration. "I don't want to hear your explanation! I don't want to hear anything but the sound of you turning around and walking out. Right now. Go."

Will stared back. After a second he leaned slightly against the lockers.

Shego slammed her locker shut with enough force to cause the entire row to rattle beneath Will's shoulder leaning against it. "Fine. You stay, I'll go." She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder as she stormed past the object of her ire.

"I still need you to do something for me," said Will as Shego approached the door.

"Too bad!" Shego called out as she opened the door and swept into the hall. She turned towards the stairs that would take her down the garage level so she could get her bike. She didn't feel like leaving it behind this time.

"Shego!" Will's voice called from behind her, but Shego kept walking. The klup-klup of jogging behind her got closer.

"You know, I'm a pretty dangerous person," said Shego as Will caught up with her. "With hands that can burn as bright as the sun. And a short temper." She paused. "And a history of taking hostages."

"I'll take my chances," said Will, matching Shego's pace.

"You've got a damn death wish," grumbled Shego.

"Just listen to what I have to say," Will said curtly. "You're contractually obligated to while you're in my facility."

"I am not," Shego said defiantly.

"Didn't look at that contract too closely, did you?"

"It doesn't say that," insisted Shego. "I've read it closely."

"We can go check," offered Will. "I've got them all in my office."

Shego looked at him, unfazed. "I get it. Either way I gotta put up with your crap for the next five minutes. So you might as well tell me what you wanted to say."

"Before Ron gets back I want to send you out on a covert operation," said Will.

Shego slowed and turned to face Will. "A 'covert operation'?"

"You and a partner," said Will. "I appreciate Ron's perspective on this matter, and I agree with how the Grand Commander might interpret our presence, but there is another avenue I want to pursue before we've got Uncle Sam breathing down out necks."

"Uncle Sam who you just invited in," said Shego, angrily.

"Get over it already," said Will, dismissively. "If the Grand Commander invades we're going to be much better off with the marines at our backs. But there's something else that's been bothering me about all this."

"Oh, yeah?" Shego said, drolly. "What's that?"

"The two worlds that helped him escape."

Shego frowned. "They're outside our BODAR range."

"That's why I want you to go out to the fringe and gate there," said Will.

"Is the Argo done or something?" asked Shego, confused.

Will shook his head. "Actually, it's an idea I stole from our current guests. A portable gate generator designed to piggy-back on the trail left by a void particle beam."

"You want me to trace one of the beams back to the source," said Shego, furrowing her brow.

"Find out who the Grand Commander coordinated with," said Will. "It'll give us a better picture on what his goals and assets might be, since he probably had to trade something for being set free."

"And you don't want Ron and Kim and the rest of the Agency to know?" asked Shego, surprised.

"It's better in this situation that you act alone," said Will. "It'll be easier for you to move around and easier to deny any connection to us. But I doubt Kim or Ron would like it very much if they knew I sent you out there by yourself, and who knows what the government's opinion on it will be."

Shego sighed and shook her head. "This was all a game to make them think I'm at home sulking, wasn't it?"

"I don't even have to explain why you're not here tomorrow," said Will. "They'll all come up with convincing reasons on their own."

"I think you've studied your enemy too much," said Shego.

"Come on, you know you're the best for this sort of work," said Will.

"Don't flatter me, it just makes this seem more weird." Shego looked down for a few seconds then said softly. "Fine, I'll do it." She looked up. "But I want someone off Team 11."

This time Will was taken aback. "The survey team? Who do you... why do you someone from there?"

"If I'm doing this, I'm doing it my way, no questions."

Will narrowed his eyes slightly but acquiesced. "Fine. Who do you want?"

"Dr. Robin Chen," said Shego quickly.

"Very well." Will reached into her pocket and pulled out a small notepad and a pen, subsequently using the latter with the former. "But if you're using this just as an opportunity to go on a date--"

"Come on, Will," dismissed Shego with a wave of her hand. "Robin was one of Zita's friends."

"Uh-huh," said Will, finishing his note and pushing the notepad back in his pocket. "And how does that statement answer whether or not you're trying to seduce her?"

Shego frowned. "It doesn't. It's supposed to remind you it's none of your business either way."

"Right," said Will. "Departure time is at 4am, between the third and first shift."

Shego nodded. "I'll be back in time," she said. She turned and continued to head towards the garage. This time the sound of Will's boots got softer as it trailed away.

--

Shego, the younger Shego who had arrived several days earlier, laughed.

She wasn't sure why she was laughing, or when it had really started, but here she was, laughing. Out loud. With two versions of Kim Possible around laughing with her. If she had walked in on this scene just an hour earlier she would have been appalled. She might still get appalled later, but right now, oddly, she felt like laughing. How long had been since she felt like that?

Shego swallowed back her giggling long enough to say what was on her mind. "And -- eheh -- I, I mean, your Shego, let you get away with that?"

Dr. Kim, who was red in the face both from embarrassment and the mutual laughter, chuckled slightly and shrugged. "Well, Zita and Ron were standing right there. There would be, you know... witnesses." Dr. Kim shook her head. "Though for the next six weeks I kept finding green Jell-O stuffed in the pockets of my lab coat."

Cassie and Shego laughed again as Kim sat there blushing with a smile on her face. They were all in the medical lab while Kim was doing a physical on Cassie to make sure she wasn't suffering any long term effects of her malnutrition. Cassie was sitting up on an exam table while Shego sat on a chair nearby. Kim, between stories, was monitoring a blood sample she was taking from Cassie's right arm that was now almost done.

"How about you Shego?" asked Dr. Kim as the laughed slowed. "Anything interesting happen with you and your Kim?"

"We don't really work together," said Shego. "Well, very frequently, anyway. Most of the time I just have to put up with Drakken. Which is a chore in and of itself, I might add."

"Ah, Drakken," said Kim oddly fondly. "It's been a long time since I've seen him."

"What happened?" asked Cassie, watching as Kim pulled the needle out of her arm and pushed a cotton swab against it to stop the bleeding.

"He left, in a particularly Drakken-esque way," said Kim. "Our Drakken is no longer on this world."

"World as in... planet or world as in...?" prompted Shego.

"He left through a gate," nodded Kim. "We were never able to figure out where to. He had this crazy idea that connecting the Pan Dimensional Vortex Inducer to a plasma turret would create some sort of gravity gun he could use against us. He accidentally mixed up the wiring in the hovercraft he mounted it on and it ended up being routed through the stereo. It tore open a gate briefly and he sort of dissolved into it before the whole thing exploded." Kim labeled the blood sample she took from Cassie before looking up. "Since his equipment was trashed we couldn't piece it together to trace his path. This was back before BODAR was invented."

Shego blinked in surprise. "Woah."

"Yeah," Kim said slightly sadly. "Didn't mean to ruin the mood. I just hope he made to wherever he was heading."

"No, I mean that same thing happened to me and my Drakken, only it was a TV instead of a radio."

Kim looked at Shego. "He keeps a TV in the hovercraft?"

"No, it was never on a hovercraft, it was just in the lair," said Shego, explaining. "Tried to hook it up but crossed it with a cable line and it created a gate that pulled us into the television."

"Into the television?" asked Cassie.

"Yeah, it was a nightmare," said Shego. "Flipping between insipid programs and reality shows and -- worst of all -- children's programming." She shivered dramatically.

Cassie laughed.

"Were you actually... inside of the TV?" asked Kim.

"I dunno," shrugged Shego. "Some alternate dimension based off the cable signals I think is what Dr. D said it was. It collapsed shortly afterwards and we barely escaped in time. No thanks to you. Or, my version of you, anyway."

Dr. Kim was quiet for a moment.

"You don't think he's..."

Shego stared. "You're actually worried about Drakken?" she said, astonished.

"I'm..." Kim hesitated. "I've never wanted anyone to die."

"Well, there are a lot of people who deserve it," Shego said casually. Kim shot her a look in response. "B-but Dr. D is not one of him. I mean, he's a danger to himself and others but ... well, I can't actually say he means good, but lets say not many of the bad things he's done have been permanent."

Dr. Kim sighed.

"Listen, Kimmie," said Shego plainly. "If there has ever been anyone who has the devil's luck when it comes to avoiding death, it's him. I'm sure he found a way to survive."

Dr. Kim nodded then smiled. "You know, it's odd to hear you call me 'Kimmie.'"

"Your Shego doesn't call you that?" asked Shego, surprised.

"No, she does, but she's... you know... older than me," finished Kim.

Shego raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I see," she said knowingly. "It's weird because you've turned into a old lady and I've maintained my youthful vigor and not at all because you think just because you're older than me means you're somehow better."

Kim laughed and shook her head. "Of course, that must be it," she said. She finished labeling the test tube in her hand and then gently patted Cassie on the shoulder. "Okay, we're all set here."

Cassie nodded with a small smile and hopped down from the exam table. She looked up expectantly at Shego.

"I guess we'll see what Will has set up for her," said Shego. "Then maybe I can finally ditch the fan club." She looked down at Cassie with a smug look. Cassie stared back for a second then frowned. Shego rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, come on."

Shego let Cassie out of the examination room leaving Dr. Kim behind to gather up her paperwork.

--

It was clear for anyone to see that Dr. Robin Chen was not field agent material. She was not muscular or even all that athletic. She was slim, but in a somewhat spindly sort of way that seemed to indicate less time at the gym and more time in the lab forgetting to stop for meals. The latter was more or less the case, though thankfully in the last couple years her co-workers had become a little better at reminding her to stop once in a while and eat a power bar. Initially, when Robin had first come to the Agency, they were intimidated by her, and hesitant to remind her of something she had probably already known. But a couple inconvenient fainting spells in the lab had cleared up any confusion. She was the sort of person who forgot basic things like eating when in the thrall of an experiment and any help anyone could give her in remembering was met with gratitude.

The ignoring of basic bodily needs was not Robin's only quirk, and in fact it was probably one of her milder ones. The one that tended to interfere more often in day to day operations in the science labs at the Agency was that people tended to be afraid of her. This fear had nothing to do with her appearance, of course, seeing as few people are scared of beanpoles. It had little to do with Robin's personality either, apart from the mild fear that every time she picked up a beaker she might faint with it still in her hand. And it had next to nothing to do with her position within the Agency, being a third tier analyst and a member of Team 11 meant that only staff researchers reported to her and that was only if she remembered she had a staff.

No, the simple fear that Robin instilled in her co-workers was that after spending a few days with her it became apparent to all of them that they could easily be out of a job. Robin was smart, that much was known, but she was smart in just about every way possible. Math, chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computers... just about every field that mattered to the Agency apart from diplomacy. She could never be a research team on her own, but it was pretty apparent that she could easily have replaced anyone in the sciences department and probably have done their job a little better than they ever did.

She wasn't an encyclopedia, by any means, rather, she was somewhat forgetful half the time and practically absent the rest. But when she focused on a problem, her mind worked like no other, and she could process data faster than even the Wades. Many of the solutions to technology or analytical issues presented to the sciences department were derived from moments of inspiration that Robin had. She was the shining -- if somewhat wearily watched -- gem of the Agency's sciences department, so when Will came down into the research labs to draft her into a long term off-world mission he was treated only slightly better than a thief breaking into a Zurich bank.

"No."

Will stared. "No?"

"No," reiterated Dr. Vance, a tall, thin black man with graying hair said sternly. He had a black cane in his right hand that he was leaning on and gripping firmly. "You can't have her."

"Oh," said Will, slowly. "Is there a particular reason why not?"

"You don't deserve her," the doctor said plainly.

"Huh," said Will, frowning. "I'm a little confused."

"I'd say."

"I'm still in charge of this Agency, right?" asked Will.

"Do I need to answer that?"

"Not really, this whole line of questioning is just for dramatic effect," admitted Will. "We can skip to the end to save time if you'd like."

"Let's."

"Give me Dr. Robin Chen for this mission," said Will, repeating himself from earlier.

"No," repeated Vance, just as adamantly.

"Now, see, I knew we should have gone through the line of questioning," Will shook his head.

"Robin is a key member of her team," said Vance.

"Which team?" asked Will.

"All of them," nodded Vance.

"I don't think you've set up this department very well," commented Will.

"We let you borrow her for Team 11 activities because you aren't going to find someone better for the survey missions," explained Dr. Vance. "She is, to put it simply, brilliant, and you'll not find someone better."

"I'm somewhat aware of that," said Will.

"She's exactly who you need for your Team 11 missions," said Dr. Vance. "But you don't want her for a Team 11 mission, you want her for a Team 1 mission, and that means front line, firefights, booby traps, and super weapons."

"You know our missions don't typically go like an Indiana Jones movie."

"You're going to put her in danger, Will, and I have to look out for her," said Dr. Vance. "She's not used to being in those situations. I don't think she'll handle it well. You should take a Wade."

Will sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, Eli, the short of it is that I can't take a Wade, it's gotta be Robin. So I'm not really giving you much wiggle room here."

"You're not giving me any wiggle room," noted Dr. Vance.

"Well, I'm in charge, so I get to do that from time to time," said Will. "Or do you feel like the vast latitudes I grant for R&D are too constricting for you?"

Dr. Vance looked angrily at Will. "She's not cut out for the action. She book smart but not field smart. I don't want her to get hurt and I also don't want her to be a liability to the top agents you have working on Team 1. All she cares about is the puzzle, Will. I can't tell you what she'll do when she's suddenly under fire."

"We're going to find out," said Will. "I'm sorry. All I can say is that she'll be in good hands."

Dr. Vance grimaced and looked out across the large lab. It was getting late so some of the scientists had left for the day but Robin was still working quietly at the computer hooked up to the volumetric printer. She never seemed to get tired. "I hope so," said Dr. Vance quietly.

--

Shego stealthily re-entered her and Kim's apartment set up in the Agency building. It was hardly something she needed to think about anymore, years of training and experience had trained her to move silently almost naturally so it was far from unusual for her to slip inside the door and close it with an almost inaudible click behind her. When she looked up afterwards and saw Kim sitting on the two person couch in the small living space outside the bedroom she suddenly felt guilty, like she'd been caught doing something she felt was wrong. It irritated her.

Kim, conversely, looked guilty, which immediately washed Shego's irritation in confusion. "Hey Shego," said Kim, softly.

"Hey," said Shego, impassively.

Then they sat, decidedly not looking at each other, for almost five minutes. It was a peculiar silence, one peppered with a variety of unsaid things that hung in the air like ripe fruit waiting to be spoken. Finally it was Shego who picked a particularly low hanging topic to end the silence.

"I'm going to bed," she said simply, then started to walk away.

"I'm sorry," said Kim before Shego could escape from the room of unsaid fruit. "I know this is far beyond anything you would have signed up for."

Shego looked down, sighing. She wasn't really upset with Kim, apart from her usual level of irritation about the teen hero. She hadn't been upset with her before either, really. She'd just transferred her own frustrations about what she was planning on doing onto what had always been an easy target for her. Kim shouldn't be apologizing, she rationalized. It was Shego's bee in her proverbial bonnet.

There was an easy way to end this stalemate of guilty looks and statements, and Shego was never one to back away from an easy end. "I'm not going to come with you when you leave," she said. She turned and looked plainly at Kim, trying not to seem evasive.

Kim's mouth dropped open and she stared. "W-what?"

"Will... the Agency is able to set up people to live in this world if they don't have a way to get home," explained Shego. "They'll get me a place to stay and give me time to find out... what I want to do. Will's already agreed to let me stay."

This didn't help Kim's devastated appearance any. "Why?" she asked, unsure of how to phrase her questions any other way.

"Because it's not worth it," said Shego, slightly shaking her head. "We have a harder and harder time in each world we go to, and who knows if we're anywhere closer to that drill. We could search forever and never find it."

"Or it could be in the next world we go to," posited Kim.

Shego's lips made a thin line as she carefully considered her words. "There's nothing in that world that's worth all this trouble. This is a normal enough world. It's good enough for me. You can keep looking for home if you want, but leave me out." She nodded to herself and turned towards the bedroom again.

"Too hard? That's it?" said Kim.

Shego paused by the doorway. She glanced back slightly, so that Kim could only see one weary eye. "Let's... not do this, okay?" Without waiting for a response she disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Kim behind alone.

--

"Um... Shego?"

The elder Shego turned as she was snapping together her black nylon field vest filled with pouches to look at the slightly younger Dr. Robin Chen behind her. She was putting on her own vest and had managed to get her latches tangled. Shego smiled and shook her head. "Here, let me," she said, drawing near.

"Thank you," said Robin as Shego started to untie the mess. "Team 11 equipment vests are slightly different."

"More spanners and rulers?" asked Shego jokingly.

Robin looked down at the series of bulging pouches along her left side. "Fewer explosives," she said, sighing.

"Don't worry," Shego said, finally undoing the knot and starting to snap together the two sides of the vest. "You won't need them. This will go smooth as silk and no one will ever know we were their."

"I'm... not really a stealth person," said Robin uneasily.

"Just follow my lead, I'll keep you safe. There you go." Shego pulled the straps to tighten the latches and patted Robin on the back. "Nothing to it." She turned away again and finished latching together her own vest. Afterwards she put a fresh radio in her pocket and snapped a rifle onto the sling under her arm woven into the vest. She checked the clip and the safety before letting it hang at her side.

"I have to ask," Robin suddenly said as Shego double checked her gear. "Why me?"

"I know you," shrugged Shego. "I'm not on good terms with most of the Wades. I'd rather work with someone I'm already friendly with."

"The needs of the mission should take precedence over personality issues," chided Robin before she could stop herself. "Sorry," she added, flushing.

Shego smiled again. "I know that too. And I'll need your talents as well."

"Oh."

"As long as I'm listing things I know," continued Shego. "I know you're not used to this sort of work. Your comfort zone is clearly in the lab, and I respect that. But you're a quick learner, and I know you'll get the hang of this faster than you think."

"I'd rather not, to be honest," said Robin. "I like my lab."

"Aw, come on, you gotta stretch your legs if you ever hope to grow," said Shego. "You ready?"

Robin looked down at herself. "Not really. But I am fully dressed now."

"Come on," said Shego.

The two left the locker room and quickly moved through the corridor into the IDM room. Will was standing at one of the gate consoles while Gordon from Team 3 was at the embarkation room door. The rest of the room was empty.

"Wow, I didn't know it ever got this empty here," said Shego looking around.

"Between shifts, like I mentioned earlier," said Will. "I also called away several of the interim technicians so we have as few witnesses as possible. Gorton will open the embarkation room door and wipe the security logs when we're all done."

"Very clandestine," Shego nodded appreciatively. "I like it."

"I don't," Robin said hesitantly. "Rules exist for a reason."

"I wrote those rules, so I can break them if the circumstances are right," said Will. "We don't have a lot of time, though, so if you ladies can head into the embarkation room."

Shego nodded and walked towards Gordon, who was standing casually by the double doors. "Late night?" she commented.

"You know it's a round-the-clock party here," smiled Gordon. He turned and entered in his passcode to open the doors. The light above the entryway flashed green once and the doors slid apart, revealing the embarkation room, directly beneath the IDM. Sitting in the room on a table to one side was a small, squarish device beside a slim, black backpack.

Shego walked up to the table cautiously and picked up the square device. It had a keypad and a screen on as well as a speaker and microphone embedded, resembling a cell phone. Shego pressed a button on the keypad and the screen lit up showing a menu with several options including a top one that read 'Activate.' At the top right hand side of the screen was a small battery icon beside bold text that read "100 - 00:00:00 Remaining."

Will's voice crackled through a speaker in the embarkation room. "That'll be your gate dialer," he said. "It's already set to follow the void trail left by the northernmost beam. Just activate it and it'll open a gateway to the next world in line with its path."

"Sounds straightforward," said Shego.

"What's the backpack for?" asked Robin, looking at the bag she was certain she was going to be asked to carry.

"The battery in the gate dialer can only handle one trip before it has to recharge," explained Will. "We want you to move a little quicker than that. The pack has enough charge for three jumps before dying."

"How do we recharge the pack?" asked Robin.

"You can't," said Will. "So you can dispose of it once you use all three charges. The Wades made it as basic as possible and still be able to power the gate generator, that's why it's so big."

"Why would they do that?" asked Robin, lifting it experimentally.

"So we don't end up inadvertently advancing the technology level of whatever world we dump it in," said Shego as she pocketed the gate generator. She paused and looked over at Will. "Weren't you making this for the Kim and Shego that we yanked from 233?"

"Our need is greater right now," said Will quickly.

"Riiight," said Shego.

"We only have a few minutes to finish this up, sir," said Gordon at the doorway.

"Right, button them up," nodded Will.

Gordon shut the large doors, sealing Robin and Shego in the embarkation room. Shego lifted the battery backpack and tossed it over her shoulder. She pulled the straps tight as she looked up at Robin and noticed her look.

"You didn't really think I was going to make you carry this thing did you?" asked Shego.

"I... uh..."

"You guys must really trade some terrible stories about us field teams," smirked Shego. She turned to look out the window into the IDM room. Will was standing outside by the main control panel and staring back in. Shego gave him a thumbs up.

The speaker in the room crackled briefly. "Gate activation in ten."

"You ever gate to a world without a stabilizer on the other end?" asked Shego.

"No," said Robin. "Why? Is it different?"

"Five seconds."

"Uh... nah, you know, it doesn't matter," said Shego nodding. "No different."

Robin sighed. "You're lying."

"Really doesn't make a difference at this point," said Shego.

The speaker crackled again. "Gate activation."

The room sizzled with energy causing Robin's hair to stand on. The tingling on her skin surged and suddenly a blade of silvery light stabbed down from the ceiling then dilated to form a shimmering oblong pool of blue-white energy. Robin stepped back slightly from the gate and bumped into Shego who had come up behind her.

Shego put a hand on her shoulder. "Easy there, nothing to worry about."

"I know," nodded Robin, breathing deliberately. "I've done this a hundred times before."

"That's right and it's going to be same this time. No one's going to be shooting at us when get through, we'll just gate out and find a place to hide."

Robin nodded and then forced herself to put one foot in front of the other, building speed until she jumped into the gate. Immediately she felt like a million tiny hands were grabbing and lifting her and she soared through the void bridge. The colorful light around her pulsed and flowed smoothly like water. She felt like she was traveling at a million miles an hour as a distant speck of light grew in size as it neared.

In an instant, however, Shego was there beside her and quickly moving to get ahead of her. Her face had lost the jovial quality it had in the embarkation room and was now completely serious and almost scary. Her hands were balled like fists, ready for some action that Robin could only speculate on. With a move like a fish in water Shego surged ahead and disappeared into the approaching light. Robin, unsure of exactly how Shego was controlling her movement in the void bridge, waited the extra few seconds to arrive at the gateway naturally.

As she passed through the brilliant light the world snapped sharply into focus around her, immediately switching from the bright liquid to the grim and shadowed reality of a new world. She returned to the speed she was moving at when she had first jumped into the entry gateway and stretched her legs out to land gracefully, taking a few extra steps to slow her speed.

Robin smiled. She looked over to Shego with a smile. "That wasn't so..." her smile faded.

Shego's hands were glowing with great balls of green fire casting eerie emerald shadows across her already pale skin, but her eyes, Robin noted, were wide and unmoving. She was stunned or scared into stillness and Robin followed her line of sight forward until she saw... oh.

"Shit," Shego said.