I do not own Kim Possible, or any other Disney character. I'm just borrowing them for my own view of alternative tales.

Kim Possible: Legacies

By LJ58

VII

Kim froze as the dragoness abruptly reached down and snatched her up off the floor in one huge hand so fast she didn't have time to react, let along cry out.

Then she was being lifted up to eye level as the great head cocked slightly, and the dragoness seemed to regard her a moment as Kim found her balance in the palm of that now splayed hand, and realized if she wished, the dragoness could crush her simply by closing her hand.

"You, Kimberly, are far more than a p'n'ch'ssa. Before I decide what is to be done with you, however, I must see my daughter through your eyes. Just as I have already seen you through hers."

"Uhm, sure," Kim said, and found herself staring into that huge, golden eye as the other hand rose, and that huge nail pointed right at her, giving Kim a very good feel of what Shego had experienced earlier.

Right before it seemed her life rewound in turbo, and she found herself living her memories in reverse at high speed.

Her head went spinning, and then she found herself sitting on her backside, shaking her head as she tried to clear it even as the dragoness' free hand lowered.

"Now I see. You are not truly a simply p'n'ch'ssa at all, are you, Kimberly?"

Kim said nothing as she stared up into that huge, amber eye.

"I see a crossroads before you, Kimberly. But, I warn you, whatever you decide to do carries unimaginable burdens with your choice. Shall I tell you what is best? Or what your choices are, and leave you to manage the consequences?"

Kim swallowed hard, and then said firmly, "Tell me everything."

The dragoness seemed to smile as she gave a faint nod.

KP

"We have contact," the man on the monitor told the assembled team in GJ's command center as Wade checked and rechecked everything as the NASA shuttle moved to intercept the massive asteroid-ship that was now obviously slowing as it approached the planet.

It could settle into orbit, but his own best guess had it landing somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. Anywhere between the Atlantic and Africa.

He was guessing Africa.

He could not see anyone of any intelligence landing in the ocean. Unless they were amphibious. Which was, he admitted, unlikely.

"Tell them to keep camera and audio on when they intercept," Dr. Director ordered the NATO commander who was on monitor as the multi-national crew moved their ship to land near what was obviously a metallic hatch of sorts on one side of the massive rock that was more cylindrical than not.

Whatever it was, it had obviously been pointedly shaped.

Which only added to the theory of intelligence.

"My men know their jobs," the uniformed general shot back, even as he turned from the monitor for a moment, obviously gesturing at someone off-camera.

"Given their speed, and trajectory," Wade reported just then. "They are obviously not going to orbit. They're landing. Your men have less than twenty minutes to find a way inside, and then they have to get off the surface," he told the officer.

The man said nothing to the young genius who was just a teen now, but Wade was a known factor even to high-ranking generals. He did relay the orders, and the men leaving the shuttle headed straight for the hatch as the pilot announced they were launching to parallel the course, rather than risk the ship by remaining on the surface.

Four men, heavily armed, headed for the metallic hatch, and even with the digital delay, the images they transmitted were clear and the rasp of their breathing audible.

"We're approaching the apparent entry point now. Looks like it's a manual device. No apparent electronics. Straight lever design. Hope they don't have it locked, the team leader joked grimly as he moved to wrestle the angular control to open the hatch.

To his relief, and concern, it immediately opened without much effort.

"Looks like a standard airlock here," the commander said as he peered into the circular chamber. Big enough for three, but not four. We'll go in pairs. Drebbins, you and Sanders wait. Rollins, you're with me. Safeties off," he ordered as he stepped into the open hatch.

There was a tense moment as the two men stepped inside, closed the hatch, and then looked for an interior egress.

Then he realized the hatch was under their feet. He moved to tug at the angular bar on the inset panel, and the floor dropped open before them.

"You get this, Sanders," he asked, noting the short drop. Not more than nine feet. "Give us time to get down, and them come in. Can't tell if there's atmosphere, but….."

There was a rush of movement as he dropped down after Rollins, and then the screams filled the speakers even as the cameras went blank after that initial rush of movement turned first into darkness, and then into static.

"Fall back," the general's voice barked. "Imperion," he barked at the shuttle. Evac the men on the surface. Repeat.. Evac now. Newcomers are hostile!"

"What happened," Betty demanded of Wade as the man was already scrambling to loop, and evaluate the brief seconds of footage before the men died, and all went blank.

"Assessing now, ma'am," he told her. "Meanwhile, it definitely looks like an African landing. Smack in the middle of the Sahara. Why they chose it, if they did, escapes me."

"Never mind. Can you give us anything from the commander's footage," the grim agent asked.

"Just one still image. You're not going to like it."

"What is it," Will asked, frowning at the image before him as Wade moved to clear the still, and zoomed out.

"It's teeth," Wade shuddered. "Whatever they are, they…..ate…..those men. They swarmed them, and ate them. Gear, and all from the look of it."

"Broadcast Omega-3 alert," Betty turned to Will. "Whatever forces are in place, or moving, are to take no chances. I'm authorizing extreme sanctions."

"Agreed," the general added from his monitor, all of them watching as the shuttle risked a now very dangerous approach to take the two remaining astronauts off the asteroid. "If necessary, I asking the president to authorize nuclear standby!"

"No," Wade shouted back. "We don't even know the nature of what we're dealing with here. We start throwing nuclear missiles around, especially in that region, and you could ignite a firestorm. Not to mention we could instigate even more deadly retaliation from these…..visitors."

"The young man has a point, General Hawkings. Until we know the nature and tech of these creatures, we aren't going to do anything presumptuous here. Especially anything that might cause the locals to start rattling their sabers. We're all concerned about the planet here. So let's do this by the numbers."

"This is Ron," a distinctive voice cut in just then. "Wade, you there?"

"Right here, buddy. You back?"

"Korea was a cakewalk. Bon just told me about the new updates. We're inbound over India now, so give me the coordinates, and I'll rendezvous with whoever is out there."

"Transmitting now, but be careful. We just lost two men….."

"Bonnie filled me in. I'll assess them myself, and go from there. Considering how easily they took on armed Marines, you might want to warn everyone to hold back until we get a good look at what we're dealing with here."

"Agreed," Betty stepped in. "We'll let you make contact, Stoppable. Keep your channel open, and try to find out whatever you can about these….guests. Do not, and I stress, do not take any unnecessary chances."

"Don't worry, Dr. Director," the somber young man replied before the screen blanked. "I know what I'm doing."

Then he was gone.

"Should we be worrying?"

Wade eyed the woman, and shrugged. "He is the mystical monkey master. And, remember, Team Go is still with him. Frankly, they're probably better suited to investigate than any of the local militia."

"Keep us linked. I want to know what they find, when they find it."

"I know. It's coming down now. It'll land in…..fourteen minutes," he told her grimly.

"When will Ron arrive on site?"

"Nine minutes. He'll be there waiting when they touch down."

"Fourteen minutes," Betty echoed grimly, and glanced at the telemetry on her own monitors. "Will, organize every hard team we have in that region. They're to rendezvous with Stoppable, and await his orders. He's on-site commander for this one."

"Yes, Dr. Director," the man nodded, and turned toward communicators.

"And, Will. Have them go heavily armored."

No one questioned that decision as they all waited for whatever was coming to land.

KP

"Hey, Kimmie. Nice digs, aren't they," Shego grinned as Kim walked into the large, spacious chamber where she lounged on what seemed an extended lounger build for an obviously larger body.

Behind her, Lady Gyrzza stood silently, having escorted Kim to her 'mistress' after the Great Lady had finished speaking with her.

Kim said nothing as the silver dragoness bowed to Shego, then turned to go.

"Where's she going?"

"She has her own session with our host now that I'm delivered back to you as promised," Kim said somberly.

"Kim? What is it? What did the queen lizard say?"

"It's more like what she offered," Kim said as Shego rose, padding over to stand before her as she remained in the door, still numb with the words the dragoness had spoken to her.

"What….did she offer?"

"She said…..I have three choices before me. But whatever I decide, it's for good. I can't go back. I can't….change my mind later."

"What….choices," Shego asked her quietly.

"Well, one. Obviously. I can go home. Now. By myself."

Shego stared at her. Hard. Then she took her by the shoulders, and even as she pulled her close, said, "Go. Whatever else, you deserve to get back home. I'll probably get back sooner or…"

"No! No, Shego. She said….if I go, I have to forget you. That even if you do return later…. I won't be…..worthy of you."

"I think I get to decide….."

"Wait. You have to hear the other choices," Kim told her. "I want you to know."

"Did you….decide yet?"

"No. Like you, she told me to wait, and to consider my options."

"Okay," Shego sighed, relaxing slightly as she released her again, but gestured for her to come over and sit with her.

Kim did, sitting on the edge of the large lounger next to her.

"What else, Princess."

"Second, I could become a…..proper pet. It would be one of the only two ways to remain at your side. Apparently, they really do have…rules here about such things."

Shego glowered. "So, what? We just…."

"Shego. Think about it. This is some kind of intergalactic alliance. Thousands, maybe millions of species working together with the….dragon's as their…..mediators. It must work, because….let's face it, could you have imagined that ship we were on? Could you imagine any two or three nations on Earth working together even half so well? Yet it works here. So…. Much as I hate to admit it, we can't fight them over their own laws and traditions."

"But I do not want you….."

"There's a third option," she told her. "Remember?"

"What is it," Shego asked somberly, looking less carefree just then.

"I stay with you. But as….an 'official' guardian."

"Like I need….."

"It would be more like an aide from what the Great Lady described. A defender, companion, consort sort of role. One that would be considered…..worthy to stand at your side."

"And why can you not stay like that anyway without….? The whole pet thing?"

"Because the charge is for life. It comes with a charge from the head dragon herself. I would be expected to remain with you wherever you go. No turning back. It's a lifetime post from what she told me."

Shego sat silently for a moment, then eyed her.

"Kim, go home. We can work out anything else later."

"And if there isn't a later," Kim asked mournfully, putting a small hand on her green and black clad leg.

"Since when have I ever played by the rules…..?"

"Shego, you have at least three weeks here. Maybe longer. What's to say you won't be changed by the time they are finished….instructing you? What's to say you won't…..care any longer by the time you do manage to get home?"

"Kim….."

"I'm going to stay. With you. I'll do whatever I have to do, Shego."

"If this is some kind of misplaced gratitude," Shego started to growl now.

"No. This is me, admitting I love you. Just like I did when I thought we only had seconds to live. Now, we have years. Maybe. But I'm not wasting this second chance," she turned to look into Shego's eyes. "I don't need a day, or even a year to think about anything. I'm going with option three. And you're not going to get rid of me that easily."

"God, you're stubborn," Shego sighed, and welcomed her embrace. Just as she had on that space station. "Must come with that red hair."

"Look at yourself lately," Kim chuckled softly as she leaned into her companion.

"I don't know have red hair," Shego sputtered, and Kim laughed at her as she fell down atop the woman on the lounger as Shego pulled her with her into a kiss. "So, I'm not getting rid of you, am I?"

"No chance," Kim growled, then deepened the next kiss.

"I'm glad," Shego murmured quietly, hugging her fiercely.

"Me, too."

"So, what happens to the mouthy poser?"

"Don't know. Guess we'll find out, though. It looks like we have an appointment with her tomorrow."

"Who? The boss again?"

"No, the mouthy poser."

"You're kidding?"

"No. Just before she dropped me off, she pretty much suggested I have you ready for your first tutor at dawn."

"Dawn? Wait, she suggested?"

"Well, it did sound pretty much like an order."

"Since when have we taken orders," Shego grinned.

"Your meal is ready, Lady Shego," Sigseetz appeared just then, and to her chagrin, Kim realized she could still blush.

It was hard to tell if the insectoid did.

But his chittering reaction to their embrace did make her wonder.

KP

"Any movement," the woman in GJ blue asked as she came up behind Ron as he stood atop a sand dune overlooking the now deep crater gouged into the sand, and deep into the rock below by the impact of the asteroid-ship's landing.

"Not yet. The surface is cooling, though. IFR isn't picking up much any longer," he said, briefly lowering the goggles to his eyes before pushing them back up before taking the coffee she handed him.

"Good."

"Thank your friend. I can't boil water."

Ron chuckled. "Kim was like that," he murmured.

"Possible? Oh, right. You two were…."

"Old history," he told her. "Well, not that old. But it reminds me every day the dangers of our job."

"Yet you let that civilian follow you around?"

"Bonnie doesn't fight. She's more….."

"Support?"

"She's a surprisingly good information officer," Ron told her quietly as the moon hung low and fat in the night sky as he watched the alien ship as the combined international forces surrounded the crater. Waiting. "And she makes great coffee," he added, holding up his cup.

"You think maybe they are diurnal? You know, waiting for daylight?"

"It's possible. Wade figured out they didn't seem to move at all until the astronauts' lights filled the corridor, or whatever it was they were in. Then they….swarmed."

The young woman shuddered.

"I heard they were….eaten alive."

"I don't know about that," Ron lied smoothly. "I do know they died. Fast. So stay back, stay alert, and if something happens, don't hesitate to shoot," he warned her, eyeing the weapon at her side.

She grimaced. "I'm not even really a field agent. I got pulled out of the library because we were shorthanded just now. I only fired this thing to qualify for my rating. I never….."

"Just keep your head, and you'll be fine," Ron told her.

"Thanks," she smiled wanly. "Want me to get you more coffee?"

He glanced back at a man approaching them, and said, "I'll get it. My relief is here anyway. You'd better get some rest yourself. You may need it tomorrow."

"Mr. Stoppable?"

"Call me Ron," he told her as the black-clad ninja that had come with him walked up to stand beside him, saying nothing.

"Oh. Okay, uh…. Do you think….. Do you think they're like the Lorwardians? I mean, only here to…..?"

"We'll all find out tomorrow. Go to sleep, Agent Winters. Tomorrow will come soon enough."

The two waited for the woman to leave before Ron turned to Hirotaka, asking, "What did you find?"

"As you said. No movement. The friction obviously heated and welded the few hatches we could find shut, so unless they burst out somewhere else, they aren't going to be using them. We could not detect movement with any of the instruments supplied, as the rock is too thick. I do believe, however, there is an option overlooked."

Ron, who had come to respect his senior ninja ally nodded thoughtfully. "What are you thinking?"

"What if they aren't looking to come out? Not, at least, up here. What if, instead, they are going to emerge….downward?"

"Like the Mole People of Century Prime," he exclaimed grimly, recalling an old movie.

"I do not know these Mole People, but the fact they are not moving to the surface implies they may simply be going elsewhere. I rather doubt they came all this way to sit in a hole."

Ron agreed.

"Wade, you up?"

"I am now," he yawned.

"Thought it was daylight over there."

"Trust me, for techs, it's always night. Now, what is it?"

"Wade, Hiro made me wonder if we're looking in the wrong place."

"What do you mean," Wade frowned.

"What if they aren't coming out because they already have? Not up, but down and out?"

"Holy….! Why didn't I think of that? I'm recalibrating area scans now. Too bad we don't have some seismometers on site….."

"Wade?"

"Heat signatures, Ron. Satellite scans have massive heat signatures under your feet. Move everyone back. The whole crater is on the verge of collapsing. They're tunneling underneath you!"

"Warn the east camp," Ron shouted, flinging his cup aside, and bolting for the west side. "Pull everyone back a half mile minimum now!"

Hiro didn't waste breath replying. He was already running.

KP

"I feel like I'm back in school," Shego groaned, limping back into the quarters they now shared on the fourth day to collapse on the lounger as Sigseetz and Kim appeared on cue to help her relax.

"That bad?"

"Worse. Sometimes I think on the verge of understanding something, and then sometimes I feel like I'm standing naked in front of the class."

"Yeah, I've had those dreams," Kim smiled at her.

"Trust me, this is no dream," Shego muttered sourly as she accepted the wine from Kim even as Sigseetz set up a tray for the meal he had made for her as if knowing in advance exactly what time to have it ready.

Shego decided he probably did, the little toady.

"Poor, Shego," Kim smiled, and sat down at her feet, smiling at her. "Other than that, how was your day?"

Shego glared. "So, has the big shot called you back yet about your decision?"

"She sent a message this afternoon," Kim said, her smile fading slightly. "We're both supposed to come back to her place at dawn."

"I thought I had another two weeks before….."

"I know. But that was what Gyrzza told me. First light. Both of us."

"Wonder what's up now," she sighed. "Or maybe they're kicking me out, having found out how really hopeless I am with 'lizard-school.'"

Kim rolled her eyes at that.

"Pushing for some extra sympathy tonight," she guessed.

"Is it working," Shego smiled hopefully.

"Eat. Then we'll have a hot bath, and retire early."

"I'm not sleepy."

"Neither am I," Kim smirked at her, using one of her own expressions.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh."

Kim only smirked all the more.

To Be Continued…..