Future (Divergent Timeline A)
The future version of Kim that had visited her younger counterpart, stumbled out of the time stream. She barely managed to avoid falling face first into the floor. There was no light in the room she had stepped into. Clearly, she had gotten to her time during the night, making it far more difficult to see. She grabbed a hold of the couch that was to her right side, catching herself. There was a chuckle from behind her, dark and throaty.
"Care to explain why you though time jumping was a good idea?" the owner of the chuckle asked.
Blushing, Kim turned around to look at the Shego of her timeline. This future self was not unlike the younger Shego. The only difference was the streak of grey that ran through her hair. Her attire was much more relaxed, like her younger self. She wore a pair of black jeans, paired with a dark green cardigan. After going to the past and briefly locking eyes with that time's Shego, Kim smiled inwardly at knowing she had been able to get the woman on her side.
"Uhm… Just making sure things were going correctly… Paradoxes fixing themselves and all," Kim replied. She walked towards Shego, giving her a soft kiss. "Wade was saying that there was something funky going on in the time stream… I believe he made a references to Star wars."
"A disturbance in the force?" Shego asked, this time with more concern in her voice. If the nerd was bringing it up to Kim with enough urgency that she had decided to time jump without telling her, there was need to worry.
"Yeah… From what I saw, there has been someone else making their way to that time. It's almost as if the paradox is fixing itself by causing memory loss. My younger self collapsed in on herself after seeing me, while you didn't appear to be effected by me at all," Kim explained. She rubbed the back of her neck as she flopped into one of the armchairs. "I don't know how to explain the rest. Clearly, they haven't found the Time Monkey yet…"
"Well, when did you travel to?" Shego asked. She sat on the coffee table just across from Kim, placing her hand on the woman's knee.
"From the way that I looked… I want to say after Bonnie semi-confessed to me. I remember that day clearly, but there was something different in that timeline…" Kim mused about seeing her younger self having a panic attack. That never happened to her, making Kim curious about the different choices her younger self had made to get there.
Shego watched as Kim's face contorted from concern to enthralled before returning to a state of concern. The way that Kim's eyebrow twitched and the wiggle of her nose as she thought had Shego smiling softly. She rubbed her wife's leg gently, hoping to soothe the storm of thoughts that were working through the woman's brain.
Kim shook her head, trying to not think too hard about what could be going on in the past. She didn't want to alter the past, since that was a huge taboo. Yet, there was something a miss about what was going on. From what Wade had told her, there were multiple openings happening at various points in time. Some of the openings were sending off Time Monkey energy, while others were using the synthesized energy that mimicked it's power.
"You doing okay in there, Cupcake?" Shego asked, a lilt of humor in her voice. She had been busy watching Kim deep in thought, that it had eased her concern a fair amount.
Kim had been gazing off into the distance, her eyes snapping to Shego. "Yeah, just trying to work out what could be going on…"
"I'm sure you will be able to figure it out after some rest," Shego stated, taking Kim's hand and tugging her gently out of the chair. "And if the world starts collapsing in on itself, Wade will let you know."
"You're right…" Kim mumbled as she allowed herself to be brought to bed. If anything was to go wrong, Wade would alert her immediately.
KP+KP+KP
Present
It was a week after Christmas and Shego was blankly staring blankly from her seat in the lab. She was watching Drakken scamper around the area, trying to make it look presentable for their guests. She wasn't sure who was coming by, but it clearly had Drakken in a tizzy. Throwing her feet up onto the table in front of her, Shego decided to just read her magazine. She hadn't heard from Kim since the holidays, just the random text here and there. It wasn't unusual for that to happen with them, but it did cause small worry.
The noise from Drakken finally calmed down after a while, leaving the lab silent, other than the clicking of a keyboard. Shego popped her head around the chair to see Drakken working away at his computer. On the large screen in front of him was the picture of a stone monkey. It looked massive on the screen. The image set something off in Shego's memory, an echo of something she had heard before.
There was a sudden clenching in her chest as she stared at the image. Her head started to throb, causing Shego to close her eyes. In her mind's eye, she could clearly see the memory of talking to herself, but a much older version. It was telling her to take the statue, use it to take over the world. When the throbbing subsided, Shego opened her eyes, blinking away tears. The bout of pain she had experienced had caused the tears. Quickly, Shego got out of the lab, heading to the bathroom.
Once there, Shego splashed water on her face. Her face was paler than normal. She could feel her heart thundering against her chest in such a way that her ribs started to hurt. Taking a deep breath, Shego tried to calm herself. The dormant memory was something that she remembered trying to hold on to, but somewhere in that, it had disappeared. It freaked her out, but made her realize something about what had been going on with her and Kim the last year and a half.
"SHEGO! Come back to the lab!" Drakken shouted from outside the bathroom.
It caused Shego to jump, getting angry with the man for being so abrupt. "One second," she growled out. She heard the rapid steps of Drakken heading back to the lab. As she wiped her face down, Shego looked at her reflection. There was something about seeing herself with grey in her hair that set her on edge. It wasn't something that normally bothered her, but the small gap between her and Kim suddenly bubbled up in the back of her mind. Groaning, Shego tried to put the thought back where it belonged as she exited the bathroom. When she got back into the lab, Shego halted at the sight before her.
Sitting around the large table in the main section of the lab were Monkey Fist, Duff Killigan, and Drakken. In the middle of the table, there was an image floating from a projector placed in there. They seemed to be discussing the stone monkey. As she approached the trio, Drakken turned to look at her, goofy smile on display.
"Thank you for hurrying to join us, Shego," he said. "You know Monty and Duff."
"Aye… we 'ad a runnin' with the lass a few months back," Duff interjected when Shego went to speak.
"Yes, it was rather annoying having to clamber over her to get what we needed from Kim Possible," Monty added.
Shego clenched her jaw at the remark, but chose to ignore it. She sat down at the table next to Drakken, the other two villains across from them. Drakken turned everyone's attention to the image.
"Before you returned, Shego, we were discussing this statue. It was brought to my attention a while ago. Coincidentally, Monty has been looking into in the recent years," Drakken explained.
"What is it, anyways?" Shego asked. She was going to play dumb about the Time Monkey. It seemed that the knowledge she had was not meant to be reality yet.
"It is an ancient simian artifact," Monty replied. "It holds the power to travel through time once the head and body are brought together."
"So, is a Time Monkey?" Duff asked. Clearly he was the least versed in the subject.
"To put it in layman's terms, yes," Monty said with a sneer. "We need to pinpoint the location of the body before we can find the head. The body is going to be our tracker for the final piece."
As Shego listened to the plan the three men were planning, she focused on the image of the Time Monkey. She was now determined to get her hands on it, if only to figure out what had been happening to her and Kim with the strange episodes. The resurfaced memory was now a driving force for Shego. She knew it would be frustrating to be with the three men around her for long periods of time. Seeing as Drakken was a goof, Duff was all brawn and golf puns, and Monkey Fist was arrogant.
It took the better part of an hour for the trio to figure out what they were going to do. Drakken was tasked with uncovering more research in regards to the knowledge that Monkey Fist already had. Duff was put in charge of the weaponry that might be needed if anyone were to catch wind of what they were doing. The last part was to find the location of the body, which landed in the lap of Monkey Fist and Shego. She frowned at having to work with the man, having to be around a bunch of monkeys in ninja costumes was not her ideal work detail.
"Trust me, Shego, you are not the most ideal person I would like to be working beside either," Monty said, nose turned up. "Your tactics are rather… barbaric and clumsy."
"Barbaric and clumsy?" Shego echoed as she stood up from her seat, hands igniting in green flames. "I'm a renowned thief, and before working for this dumbass," a flaming finger was thrust at Drakken, who dodged out of firing distance, "I doubt I would have been caught by the police. And let's not forget, I can hold my own against a fucking teenager, unlike you and a horde of monkeys."
Monkey Fist gulped audibly as he listened to Shego's tirade. He was set on edge when her plasma lit up, which he smugly thought proved his point about her being barbaric. Shego being fueled by her emotions was something Monty believed to be a downfall in the thief. He had a theory when it came to the woman, and it came from their bout in Paris with Kim Possible. When he was trying to get the chip from the pesky mole rat, Monty noticed that the fighting between Shego and Kim seemed lax, almost as if they were merely sparring and not going all out. He assumed it to be a trick of the eye, because when he turned back after catching Rufus, their fight was going much harder than previously.
"Indeed…" Monty finally said after Shego finished snapping. "I will contact you when I need your services."
That earned Monty a glare from Shego as he left the lair. Duff and Drakken poked their heads out from their hiding spots. Both knew how fierce Shego could get when she was angry or poked into annoyance. They carefully made their way into the open area. Duff grabbed his golf bag, cramming the papers he had written notes on into it. Drakken approached Shego warily.
"Uhm, S-S-Shego, can you…" Drakken started to stammer, until he saw Shego's hands fizzle out, revealing shaking fists. "Can you look over the research we have, just in case myself or Monty have missed something?"
"Yeah, whatever," Shego growled out, grabbing a stack of papers from the table. She went to the kitchen, grabbing one of the spare bottles of whiskey. The plus side to the research was that she was one step closer to understanding what was happening to herself and Kim.
Future (Divergent Timeline B)
Shego blinked as she felt a twinge of pain flicker through her body as she looked out onto the green and black world she had created. The pain was something she hadn't felt in a very long time. For Shego, it had been almost a year since she had met with her past self. She knew the flow of time was subjective. Especially since she had the ability to go forward or back whenever she felt like it. She figured the pain was from what she had been thinking about. Kim.
Since her take over of the world, Shego had not seen the girl once. She knew the reason why though. Kim had gone into hiding after the first large scale battle with the rebels of this future. There had been many losses, one being Kim's younger brother, Tim. Shego was in the throes of fighting with Kim when it happened. When the other brother, Jim, howled out in agony on the field, the crowd of people parted to show the fallen twin in his arms. Kim stopped fighting long enough to see what had happened, before turning her anger and agony on Shego. It had taken a week to heal from the injuries Kim had inflicted.
Heavily sighing, Shego placed her right hand over her chest. The pain had faded once more, nothing but a dull whisper of the past. If Shego was honest with herself, she missed feeling the annoying twinge in her chest. It was almost like a piece of Kim was still with her, even if the red head was furious with her. And what pained Shego the most, was that there was nothing in the world she could do to fix what had happened. Sure, she could mess with time, but over the few times she had tried, things always ended up the same. Tim would continue to die, Kim would continue to hate her.
For Shego, there wasn't much she could do other than wait for the opportune moment to make amends with Kim. The future she had created for herself was Shego's own personal hell. She had taken over the world, one plus to the never ending cycle of self hate and heartache. It was only a matter of time before those things over took her. Sometimes she considered just relinquishing her control and spending the rest of her life in the solitude of a cell. Yet, she knew that wouldn't be enough to make up for the sins she had committed.
With another sigh, Shego turned her attention away from the city scape. She was tired of not having much to do at night other than stare longingly in the direction of the rebel camp. She headed back through the balcony doors to the bed that was set up close by. The room that lead to balcony was originally a living room, but now it was Shego's hide away from the worried of the world that she had created. The distant lights from the rebel camp were the reminder to Shego that she still had something good to cling to.
KP+KP+KP
Present
It was a week before the new semester and Kim was sitting in a restaurant, waiting for Bonnie. The place they had agreed to meet at was just outside of Middleton. Small and secluded, even though it wasn't Kim's choice. Bonnie had said something about not wanting to possibly be seen by her sisters. Kim wanted to shrug it off, but she was concerned at the way Bonnie flinched away from her siblings. It made Kim wonder if Shego had any family that she spent time with. She hadn't mentioned them before, except when she had deposited the money into her account, so Kim never really thought to ask about it.
While lost in those thoughts, Kim didn't notice Bonnie walk into the restaurant. The brunette looked around the large room, noticing Kim sitting in a far corner. The vibrant red hair was always a good way to find the girl. Bonnie approached the table, noticing that Kim was zoned out on her drink. It brought a small smile to Bonnie's face. There were things about Kim that made her heart flutter, but she had spent so long ignoring the feelings that they felt foreign. She took the seat across from Kim, which startled the girl.
Kim's head snapped up when someone came into her peripheral vision. She saw Bonnie, blushing slightly at her reaction. Bonnie was covering her mouth to hide the giggling. Kim huffed before taking a sip from the coffee she had ordered.
"Didn't think the seat was taken," Bonnie laughed.
"Warnings are always nice," Kim mumbled.
"I thought you were more aware of your surroundings, hero girl."
"I'm not always prepared to fight someone."
"I wasn't suggesting that," Bonnie said. She was trying not to be bitchy like normal, but it was hard to do. "I wanted to talk to you about your driving lessons…. Well, more about what happened after I told you…"
"After you told me that you hate me because of your sisters?" Kim finished. There was a cold bite to her tone when she spoke., which took Kim aback.
"Yes… that…"
"I wandered off to the forest area near my house, ended up blacking out from a panic attack. I don't remember much after that. Woke up in my room…" Kim explained. It wasn't a complete lie, she was just leaving out the time travelling future self stuff. Thinking back on it, the memories of her talk with Shego were fractured even then.
"I asked Ron about what happened," Bonnie said once she realized Kim wasn't going to give her any more information. "He said they found you because of Shego." The name was whispered as to not make the obvious known. "I… did you have any questions for me?"
"Part of me wants to know why you let yourself get manipulated into just abandoning our friendship and why bring it up now. The other part doesn't care to know since it is already too late to really change what happened," Kim replied.
Bonnie remained silent for a moment. Her thoughts were a cluster as she tried to think of why she had bowed down to what he sisters had suggested. Yes, she was popular and had friends. Hell, she was even dating one of the most popular guys in school, even if it wasn't her fortay. Kim was always in the back of her mind, what could have happened if she hadn't listened to her sisters, the friendship they could have had. Yet, Bonnie would always back pedal and remember that there were things in life that were just meant to be.
"I was scared," Bonnie began, "My sisters, if you remember them at all, are very intimidating. And as a young kid, I just wanted to make them and my parents proud. So, I walked the path that would best get me there. I know saying all of this now doesn't change anything, nor does it make up for the years of bullying that you had to endure from me. I'm hoping that we can try and work on being friends again, Kim."
Kim took another sip of her coffee, briefly wondering if moments like these were a reason to start drinking. She remembered how Shego had smelt like whiskey the first few times she had snuck into Kim's room. As much as she wanted to slap away the hand of rekindled friendship Bonnie was offering, Kim couldn't bring herself to do it. There were things that she missed from their time as kids. The friendly competition and lack of ridicule were just pluses to the situation. Clearly, Bonnie knew that it would only be friendship since she had found out about her relationship with Shego, so there didn't seem to be an issue with trying.
"Sure," Kim responded.
"Hmm?" Bonnie hummed. The girl had gotten lost in her own thoughts, which mainly if Kim was going to respond well to her offer.
"Yes… we can try being friends again… I don't expect it to be instant. Realistically, behaviours don't change overnight, but it is a step in the right direction to try, yah?"
Bonnie brightened up at the answer. She nodded her head frantically at Kim's question. "I don't expect us to have sleepovers and talk about girls… but thank you, Kim… for hearing me out and giving me another chance."
"Just don't burn the bridge for no reason this time," Kim mumbled as the waitress came to take their order.
KP+KP+KP
Second Semester, Sophomore Year
The first cheer practice of the semester went off without any problems. Ron was making his first debut as the Middleton Bulldog, shaking his head as he wore the custom mask he had made. It sent whipped cream over some parts of the gym floor. This earned a groan from some of the girls. Bonnie, although she and Kim had come to a truce and were working on their friendship, rolled her eyes at the boy's antics.
"Who invited him back this semester?" Bonnie grumbled as she watched Ron clean up the mess he had made.
"Bonnie, Ron is a member of the squad, like it or not," Kim replied. The two were still somewhat hostile towards each other at school, which was something that Kim had figured would happen. Ron waltzed over with a large smile.
"You got it going on, Bon-bon," He said with some added finger guns.
Bonnie rolled her eyes again as she walked away to the locker room. Kim huffed as she followed. Since practice landed after school had finished, she was happy to just leave after getting cleaned up.
Ron was a bundle of excitement as they walked out of the school. He was listing off all the things that were excellent about the semester. "First practice of the new semester and I was in the zone!"
"Booyah!" Rufus echoed from Ron's pocket.
"KP, our future is bright! I predict this is going to be the best semester ever."
"I guess it's off to a good start," Kim replied as they walked towards Ron's. She was feeling a little down about everything since she hadn't seen or heard from Shego since Christmas. She fiddled absently with the heart pendant around her wrist. Kim had made a makeshift bracelet out of it, so the jewelry could be easily hidden.
"Good start?" Ron parroted, "It hurricane rocks! I mean we have all our classes together. ALL day together. It's like a Pre-K flashback."
"Minus nap time," Kim interjected with a smile.
"Ah nap time… you don't know what you got until it's gone."
"I have a feeling the nap time void will be filled by Latin class. Which reminds me, we're taking Latin class, why?" It had been a bit of an argument when they were picking their optional classes. Kim didn't see the point in knowing Latin. It being a dead language and all.
"I can't wait for Latin class! The salsa dancing, the salsa eating…"
"Ron, you do know the class is about the language, the very dead language," Kim replied, trying to hide her amusement as Ron's face fell.
"No J-Lo?"
"No J-Lo."
Kim continued to head towards their destination as Ron came out of his funk. She heard him run up behind her, his arm wrapping around her when he got closer."No biggie. What matters is that we are in this together."
As they continued walking, Kim could see something strange in the distance on Ron's front lawn. It looked like a sign, but she couldn't make out what it read just yet. She allowed herself to get preoccupied with Ron's excitement over the new classes and one of the girls at the school talking to him. She didn't catch the name since he was talking so fast.
"For once in my life, all signs are good!" Ron said as he walked by the aforementioned sign Kim had been staring at. In large red letters it read, FOR SALE.
"Uh… Ron?" Kim questioned as she stopped walking. "What's with this?"
"For sale?" Ron squeaked.
As if the universe was playing a cruel trick on Ron, a man in a redish suit and brown slacks walked up. He was holding a magnet in his hand as he approached the sign. "So sorry, there's been a terrible mistake here." He slapped the magnet on, which read 'SOLD'.
Before the relief could wash over Ron, he was stunned into silence once more by the sign. "Sold? I'm… moving?" He said in shock. Before Kim could try and console him, Ron was running into his house to see if it was true. Kim stared at the sign for a bit longer before she followed behind him. She could hear Ron and his parents in the living room upon entering the house.
"Why didn't you tell me!?" Ron asked. He was in anguish as he sat on the couch, his parents stand near him.
"Actually, sweetie, the sign was our way of telling you," said.
"We thought it would be easier this way," added. Ron gave them a perplexed look, as if telling him right before it happened would make the situation easier to handle. "For us," his dad added.
"You see I was offered a fabulous new job…" Ron's mom began.
"But what about dad?" Ron asked, he was hoping to win in this moment, but it failed.
His father explained that his job could take him anywhere if needed, so long as there was a dollar value on human life. Ron was stammering as he tried to understand the situation better. His mom got a new job, his dad could go with, but why did he have to leave? Kim was silently watching as things unfolded. From what Kim gathered, Ron's mom was being sent away to the home office to be closer to her boss. Which, unfortunately was in Norway. So, that meant the whole Stoppable family had to pack up and go.
Once Ron had calmed down, Kim took him to Bueno Nacho. Unfortunately, it took the boy until dark to calm down. He rapidly went through the stages of grief, although when he hit acceptance, the cycle started over again. Kim was able to get him out of the house while he was going through grief again.
"It's not the end of the world," Kim was saying as Ron moped. He had barely touched his Naco, giving Rufus the chance to start munching on it.
"Are kidding?" Ron pouted, "This will alter the course of life as we know it."
"Exaggerate much?"
"Ugh, okay. It's the end of my world. Perfect semester just went down the tubes and the Possible/Stoppable team is right behind it."
That was something Kim hadn't thought of as she raised an eyebrow at his comment, "What are you talking about?"
"Think, Kim," Ron started, accentuating his point by pressing his finger on the table, "How are we gonna make this work from different continents?"
"Well… it will be tricky, but doable," the optimism was starting to fizzle out, but not enough for Ron to notice.
"You really think so?"
"Ron, I couldn't save the world without you," Kim said sincerely. A sinking feeling started in Kim's chest after she said that. Ron was supposed to leave in the next few days based on what his parents had told him. They would find a way to make it work, Kim was almost sure of it.
The few days that Ron had left in Middleton flew by. He had moped around the school for most of it, barely paying attention to any of his classes. The final morning he had with Kim was a heartbreaking one. They went to Bueno Nacho for a farewell meal, both rather silent through the ordeal. They remained silent until they got back to Ron's house, moving truck in the driveway and his parents waiting eagerly to get a start on their travels.
"Well, Kim… I uh… I guess this is it…" Ron choked out, rubbing his toe into the lawn.
"Yeah… I guess…" Kim mumbled as she looked away from Ron. It was hard to say goodbye to her best friend. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a duplicate Kimmunicator. "Here, I had Wade make make this up for you…"
Ron took the device, smiling widely. "My own Kimmunicator."
"Correction, Ron-nunicator. You can call me or beep me. Y'know if you wanna reach me," Kim said with a small smile.
"I'm not gonna cry…" Ron choked out. Rufus was being dramatic in Ron's pocket, already flailing and crying himself.
The horn honked as Ron's dad called him over to the truck. The friends looked at each other, embracing in a long hug before another car honk made them pull away from each other. Ron entered the truck, tears rolling down his cheeks as he waved goodbye to Kim from the passenger's seat, Rufus mimicking his actions. From her spot on the lawn, Kim waved back at him as she tried to hold back her own tears until the truck had disappeared from view.
KP+KP+KP
It had been an entire day of sporadic calls from Ron as he flew to Norway. Kim's mom thought it was amusing that the boy was consistently calling her daughter, while Kim was starting to get a little on the annoyed side. She didn't think it would be that much of a problem giving Ron a Kimmunicator, but it turned out to be a bit of a hassle. It was roughly midnight when another call from Ron came through. He was asking inconsequential things about school. Kim was able to cut him off before he got too far into it so that she could sleep for the following day. Not even five minutes later, the familiar sound of the Kimmunicator went off, jerking Kim from sleep. This time it was Wade, along with Ron.
"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked groggily, "And can it wait until morning?"
"No can do Kim," Wade responded in urgency, "Someone is breaking into Tri-City Museum."
"I'm on it," Kim said, suddenly awake. If she was being honest with herself, she needed something to distract herself from Ron leaving and the sudden ghosting from Shego.
"Me too," Ron said. He had been listening from his end, trying to gather what he might need to get there on time to help Kim.
"Ron, you're halfway around the world," Kim questioned. She was thinking saving the world together was gonna be harder than they thought.
"Kim, you said we would still be a team. So, no matter what it takes, I'll be there," Ron countered before hanging up. Wade gave Kim a look of confusion and worry before he went about finding Ron transportation that was fast enough.
KP+KP+KP
Kim got to the museum in just enough time to see Monkey fist hanging from the rafters. She was waiting for the opportune moment to catch him off guard. From behind one of the dinosaur skeletons, Kim could just make out the writing on the display that Monkey Fist was hovering over. It read 'Tempus Simia'. On the podium was the body of a stone monkey. Kim felt something like realization hit her before it faded away. Monkey Fist was about to put his hands on the statue.
"Back off, Monkey Fist!" Kim shouted as she revealed herself.
"Oh, super," Monty said with a smirk, "The cheerleader."
"At least I have human hands and feet," Kim retorted.
"Right. Too bad, I rather fancy a real challenge," Monty remarked before flinging himself at Kim.
The two shared punches before Kim was able to launch Monty backwards. She felt confident, but something wasn't sitting right with Kim as she moved around to land a kick square in Monty's stomach. The man seemed more confident in his ability to beat Kim than he normally was. The kick didn't land, overstepping Kim towards a totem pole. She grabbed onto the wing of the lowest totem, spinning on the relic before landing before Monty once more.
Realizing he wasn't going to win this fight fairly, Monty jumped onto one of the overhangs for an exhibit. He moved from there to the pterodactyl skeleton hanging from the ceiling, using the ribs like bars to place himself on the skull of the T-Rex. With Monty perched up there, Kim thought quickly, smiling up at the man as she pulled out her grappling hook. She used it to take out one of the leg bones of the skeleton, sending it tumbling down. The skull snapped open upon falling, causing Monty to get jumbled up in it. It closed shut, locking him between the teeth.
"Say Uncle, Monkey," Kim quipped as she approached the skull, "Or Monkey's Uncle. I'll accept either."
"Not likely," Monty growled as he looked to his left.
A golf ball whiffed through the air before clatter across the floor and beeping. Kim looked down at it. Gasping as she realized that Monty wasn't the only one here, Kim leapt back as the ball exploded. She hid behind one of the cases that contained the relics on the top. Peaking around the corner, she saw Monty wiggle his way out from between the jaw of the skull.
"I practically gift wrapped her for you," he scolded, "How could you miss?"
Duff Killigan came out from behind a cabinet, raising his club in anger, "Argh, the lassie can nevah stan still!"
"Duff and Money Fist… working together?" Kim mumbled to herself in confusion.
A gloom was cast over Kim before she could register the situation properly as Duff and Monty tried to sneak up on her. She jumped out of the way in enough time, making the men slam into each other. She flipped in the air, landing in a fighting stance. Duff and Monty shook themselves off, Duff charging after Kim first. He swung his club, aiming for the girl's head. Kim ducked, using a back kick to send Duff tumbling into one of the bird exhibits. Kim moved her attention to Monty.
The cross chop that Kim slashed down was blocked by Monty as he went on the defensive. They traded blows as Duff tried to get up from the collision he had. Kim was trying to keep an on on the man as she fought the one in front of her. She was used to multitask fighting, but normally Ron was there to distract the other assailant. She stumbled a little bit when Duff got in on the fight again, swinging his club at her again. It hit the ground with clank that echoed through the room.
"Two against one?" Kim said with a chuckle, "How exciting." She was backing up from the two as they advanced on her.
Kim had noticed a large fish bowl on a podium as she was fighting Monty. It was now placed behind her, giving her the chance to trap both villains. She backflipped over to it, sliding when she was close enough. Her foot hit the bottom edge of the podium, knocking it over and sending the bowl up end towards Duff and Monty. Since they were close enough to each other, the bowl landed on their heads, trapping them with the rim tight around them. Monty was scowling, seeing as two of them couldn't stop Kim. Duff, on the other hand, was smirking.
"Oh, darlin'. Is nah jus' the two o'us," Duff said as Kim walked over to them.
"And I'm supposed to be surprised that Drakken is behind me?" Kim asked.
In fact, Drakken was behind Kim, arms raised and ready to grab the girl. "Oh…" He grumbled, "How does she do that?"
"A ninja, you're not," Kim quipped.
From behind them, a slender shadow rushed by. The faint whoosh that followed it had Kim turning to see what or who had moved by them. Before she knew it, there was a glowing green fist knocking Kim back into an open sarcophagus. Kim grunted has her back hit the hard stone, knocking the wind out of her. Kim got a glimpse of the smug look Shego had on her face before Drakken shut the sarcophagus on her.
"Ah ha!" Drakken shouted as he walked over to Shego with his hand up, "But, she is! Ha Ha! High Five!?"
Shego was glaring at him with her arms crossed. She left Drakken hanging as she went to help Duff and Monty out of the bowl. Drakken was complaining about the lack of being congratulated, even though he didn't do anything. "I thought it would be nice if somebody here looked competent," she said.
"Don't get lippy, Shego," Drakken grumbled.
"Can we just get the monkey thing before her goofy sidekick shows?" Shego questioned. She had spent the last few weeks in a place with barely any cell service or form of relaxation, pouring over the documents that gave her all the information she needed on the Time Monkey. Well, all the information she could get her hands on. Monty carefully lifted the body from its place on the podium. Once gathered, the group made their leave, questioning where Ron was in all of this. Shego thought it strange that Ron hadn't been there, but that was something that she would find out about later.
It was morning by the time Ron made his way into the museum. He was dressed in a parka, panting as he looked around the room for Kim. "I'm here, Kim! Kim?" Ron was confused as he looked around more before getting spooked by the rattling and shouting coming from the sarcophagus that Kim was trapped in. He panicked when Kim shouted his name, hiding behind one of the taller statues. His Kimmunicator went off, showing a very disgruntled Kim on the screen.
"Ron, open the sarcophagus," Kim snapped. She had spent the entire night trying to get out of it.
Ron ran over and opened the coffin, he smiled meekly at Kim as she scowled. "Sorry about that, KP."
"Yeah… better late than never…" She grunted as she exited the confined space. She was slightly pissed at him for not being there to help, but she tried to curb it. Ron was all the way in Norway and the trip was not going to be as quick as her's.
The duo hadn't noticed the curator come into the room until the man gasped. He was standing at the podium that once held the body of the statue. "The idol! The Tempus Simia Idol…" He groaned. He had to steady himself on the podium as to not faint.
"Yeah, bad news on the headless monkey front, sir," Kim said before it clicked with her what the name meant in English. There was something in the back of her mind that was giving her warning alarms.
"Headless monkey? Man, what did I miss?" Ron asked.
"The Tempus Simia was said to have dark, mystical powers," The curator started. Although neither Kim nor Ron had asked out right about it. "Centuries ago, the head was taken to a far corner of the globe and hidden away forever. Many believe if the Tempus Simia was ever made whole, it could be used for unspeakable evil."
"And now Monkey Fist has it," Ron said while slamming his fist on the podium.
"And Drakken and Killigan," Kim added.
"No way!" Ron gasped, "The villains teamed up and I missed the whole deal. So much for the bright future."
"So not the drama, Ron," Kim replied with reassurance, "We can make this work. I'll see what I can dig up on this Tempus Simia thing and you… well, you'll uh…"
"Be in Norway," Ron grumbled as he walked out of the museum with his head hung.
Kim watched as Ron made his way out, she was upset that he couldn't be in Middleton with her. Yet, there were more important things to deal with and she wasn't sure how much time she had to figure them out.
