Chapter 09: Left Behind.

"She left me."

"Ron, you've said that. Where did Kim go?"

"She left me behind." The repetition had a hollow sound to it.

"Ronald: focus!" Dr. Possible barked.

"She didn't take me with her."

It took a lot of self control not to grab the young man by the shoulders and give him a good and proper shake. 'Though,' the Director of Global Justice thought, 'that would be kicking a man when he's down.'

Ronald Stoppable was in quite a state as he stood there before the two adults and the computer screen. He didn't make eye contact with any of them but chose to stare at his feet, tugging at his shirt in a lost kind of way while his naked mole rat perched on his shoulder, patting the boy's hair with a soothing sound. Ron ignored him as much as he ignored Dr. Possible who was all but standing on top of him.

"Ronald," the scientist growled. "Either you tell me where my daughter went or some experiments involving high velocity will be done... And monkeys..."

Ron looked up for the first time, his eyes as mournful as a puppy's in a pet shop. "I don't know Dr. P," he said. "She left, she told me to stay here. I couldn't go with her... she didn't even make it easy for me to follow her. She..." He touched his cheek and blushed suddenly, his freckles becoming more prominent on his pale face. "She just totally ditched me. So much for the Possible-Stoppable team." He sniffed and rubbed at his nose.

Dr. Possible took a frustrated step forward but Betty stopped him and motioned to one of her agents to come over. "Why don't you go and make us some coffee Dr. Possible?" she suggested. "Although I appreciated their hospitality, I do not want to give your boys the opportunity to try their skills again."

Dr. James Timothy Possible gave her one of the sharpest looks she'd had to endure in quite some time. "I will not be dismissed in my own house," he snapped. "Not here, not now – not when it concerns my daughter."

She took a careful breath to try and absorb his anger and carefully lay a hand on his shoulder. "Please Dr. Possible," she said simply. "I would like some coffee."

The man looked at her, his gray eyes desperately trying to find the weakness in her gaze. Yet eventually she saw his resistance crumble as his shoulders slumped. Maybe he was used to not asking questions, to be automatically kept out of the loop of his daughter's life. Or maybe he was just too afraid to ask in fear of the answers he'd receive. For whatever reason crossed his mind, he pulled back and quietly went to the kitchen. Jim and Tim were nowhere in sight, though she had it on good authority that they were both still in the vicinity. Their spy cameras had their uses, especially when it came to trying to keep tabs on the youngest members of the Possible family.

'Something has to be done about those boys,' she thought as Dr. Possible closed the kitchen door behind him. 'If the wrong person got their hands on them and coerced them to turn evil with the promise of all the free rocket fuel that they wanted, the world could be in serious trouble.'

She touched her temple and briefly fingered her eye patch before she turned back to Ron. He was staring after Dr. Possible with a miserable expression on his face. Next to him on the table Wade Load was staring at his friend, his dark eyes lined with a worry beyond his years. Ron had stumbled into the house about fifteen minutes ago, looking like a kicked dog. Betty, who had been napping in the one recliner, had given him one look and knew immediately that Kim was gone. She had moved a section of her Global Justice team to the Possible residence so that she could keep an eye on Kim and was furious that her team of so called experts had failed again. Sighing softly to keep her frustration below the surface, she laid a hand on Ron's shoulder and led his stiff-backed body over to the couch. She tried to get him to sit down but he resisted her urging. Wade's face appeared on the laptop on the coffee table where she and he had had a brief conversation about the penalties of hacking into Global Justice's satellites the night after Kim had gone to bed.

"Where's Kim Ron?" The teen-genius demanded again. "Where did she go?"

The older boy looked at him and sighed, rubbing his elbow. "She left," he answered again, unable to look at them.

Betty tried a different approach. "What happened to you Ron?" she said. "Where have you been?"

The blond boy glanced at her and grimaced. He touched his cheek again, then sighed and allowed his hands to slump to his sides.

"I was watching her bedroom window," he said. "I was in the tree house see? And, I saw her leave – so I followed her and eventually caught up with her at old Mrs. Wilson's house." He nodded in the direction. "I asked her where we were going and she... she left me."

They had to get away from those three devastating words.

"What did she tell you Ron?" Betty asked quietly, her insistent voice forcing the boy to look at her. "Did she tell you where she was going?"

Ron closed his eyes and shook his head. "No," he said, his voice suddenly turning to anger. "She just left and it's your fault! If you hadn't kept us out of the loop or expected her to sit on the side and do nothing she wouldn't have felt the need to take matters into her own hands! Now, she's out there somewhere having a meeting with god knows who and she didn't take me with her! Who's going to watch her back? Doesn't she know what happens to heroes without their sidekicks? They get caught, hurt, and bloody converted to the dark side! I'm supposed to be with her!" He stopped suddenly, more surprised by his tirade than they were.

Betty blew out a slow breath and looked to Wade. "Did she tell you anything of this?" she queried. "Did you set up this meeting?"

The genius's eyes were wide as he looked on his computer. "No," he said. "I didn't arrange it. Ron?"

Ron crossed his arms sulkily. "Don't look at me," he muttered. "She left me."

Betty barely managed to stop herself from growling. "What did she say Ron?" she asked through gridded teeth. "What were her words exactly?"

Ron sighed and looked out of the window. "She said she was following a lead that Wade didn't know about, and she said that she was meeting someone who would only show up if she was alone." He looked at them. "She didn't want any of you to know. Not until it was too late to find her I guess. I waited there, in the street, until it was dawn. For her."

Betty felt her heart go cold. "So, she's had a couple of hours' head start?" she queried. "Did she say who she was meeting?"

Ron shook his head again. "No," he said simply. "I don't think it's any of our usual allies."

Betty blew out a long breath and closed her eye before she turned to Wade. "Intercept all of her communication lines," she said. "And try to find out who she's contacted and how. I want to know who it is. We have to find her before she does something stupid."

Wade grimaced and typed up a few things on his computer. "I think she already has," he said. "The Kimmunicator's been stationary in the same spot for the past two hours or so. That can only mean one thing, either she's been lying there all morning or she dumped it. The address is..."

&&&

The jet was surprisingly quiet.

Kim looked out of the window, taking note how slowly the clouds seemed to move by. She knew it was all an illusion though, if she looked at the ground she knew she would see the world speeding by.

Much like her impulsive thoughts, really.

She couldn't believe what she had done.

Looking over to Shego, Kim hugged herself and studied the woman. Her emerald eyes were focused on some spot on the horizon, her hands comfortably resting on the sensitive steering equipment. She had taken off her jacket when she slipped into the seat, revealing for the first time the white tank top that she was wearing. Her pale arms were still thin, Kim realized as she watched the muscle and tendons move under her light green skin as she manoeuvred her equipment slightly to change course. Kim could still see faint marks from the various needle puncture wounds that had decorated her arms in hospital. She swallowed and looked up at the woman's face. She tried to find any trace that Shego had looked at her or was even aware of her presence but there was none.

The super villainess was keeping her silence.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Kim cleared her throat and looked back out the window.

"Where are we going?" she queried softly, her voice sounding like a clap of thunder in the silent cockpit. She turned to look at Shego but found that the woman had not shifted in her pose.

"Would it change anything if you knew our destination?" Shego asked sharply.

Kim flinched at her tone and sighed, shaking her head. "No," she admitted. 'But I'd feel more comfortable.'

Shego nodded sharply as if her point had been proven. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride Pumpkin," she said. "We're almost there."

Kim bit her lip and tried not to think of their destination anymore. Instead she once again found herself studying Shego, taking in every contour of the woman's face and body.

"How have you been Shego?" she asked quietly, feeling the need to break the insistent silence. "Since leaving the hospital I mean. You had a couple of broken ribs."

For a second, Shego's stoic demeanour flickered into a flinch. She glanced down at her hands, and then shrugged half heartedly.

"You know how it is Princess," she said sounding tired suddenly. "The first week with broken ribs you think that you've died, the second one you wish that you've died and the third week you have come to terms with the fact that you won't die and you have to somehow find a way to cope with them. I'm fine now, just..." Her jaw clenched. "I need to be careful."

Glad that Shego was talking and relieved that it didn't sound as if she was picking a fight, Kim quickly tried to continue with the conversation. "I'm sorry about what happened, Shego," she said quietly. "And about your ribs."

The older woman snorted and shook her head sharply. "You had nothing to do with it," she said. "Don't be silly."

Although her tone was sharp, Kim started to feel more comfortable. She could deal with this side of Shego, they had had a lot of practice in hospital. With the silence looming she quickly grabbed at another topic.

"Have you been safe?" she queried.

Shego snorted in what she suspected was a bout of laughter.

"It sounds as if you're asking me about my sex-life Kimmie," she stated, making the teen hero blush scarlet.

"No I..." Kim stammered. "What I meant was... Gosh. I mean..." She quickly gathered herself and tried to adopt a more sombre tone. "What I meant was have you... I mean... Has Teryl Adamson's company approached you again? Or... Teryl? Have you heard anything of her?"

Shego stiffened visibly and didn't look at Kim. "No," she said simply. "To all."

The silence flooded the cockpit like a bad odour as suddenly Kim didn't know how to continue with the conversation. She didn't have to though as Shego sighed softly and closed her eyes.

"Have you?" she queried, still not looking at Kim.

Kim grimaced and shook her head. "She was transferred out of the hospital about a week after you left," she said. "I don't know where she's gone and if Global Justice knows they are not sharing. Leanne's working for Betty Director now."

Shego snorted in what might've been amusement. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," she stated. "Though with them you never know which is which. How is the good doctor?"

Kim frowned slightly. "You mean Dr. Director?" she queried and, when Shego nodded, she carried on – her tone slightly tense. "She's fine I'm sure. She just took over this thing with my mother. She is such a..." She couldn't quite say it.

Shego raised an eyebrow and glanced at her for the first time. "She was probably doing you a favour Kimmie," she said blankly.

Kim growled suddenly and shook her head. "Don't you start," she snapped. "Nobody's doing me any favours in keeping me out of this. I won't have it. And, I don't trust Global Justice, they are two timing..." When Shego smiled she stopped suddenly, checking her words. Her green eyes latched onto hers and there was an uncomfortable amount of understanding in them.

"So you turn to a criminal?" Shego queried. "You're reasoning makes a lot of sense Cupcake."

Kim looked at Shego, unable to think of what to say. Quite suddenly the silence seemed like the better option so she chose to remain quiet. Shego smiled at her and turned her attention back to the horizon.

"We start our descent in half an hour."

&&&

Dr. Ann Possible stared at the blank wall in front of her, studying the way the weak light filtered in from underneath the door. She shifted slightly, aware of the soft, yet foreign texture of the tracksuit she had found in the room and became aware of the sounds outside. She sniffed and pulled herself into a small bundle, swallowing against the rising sense of dread and fear she felt as she heard footsteps come closer to the room. They paused outside the door for a few seconds and then turned into a soft knock.

"Dr. Possible?"

It was Adrian Stewart's voice.

"Ann? Are you awake?"

She shifted slightly and turned to look at the door. There was a murmur of voices outside. "I know," she heard Adrian say. "Just give me a minute... Ann?"

He opened the door and stepped into the darkened room. Ann remained still as she watched him close the door and switch on the light. When he turned towards her he blinked, startled to see that she's awake. They stared at each other for a few seconds before he moved closer.

"Did you sleep?" he queried softly.

Ann nodded and tried to smile at him. Adrian Stewart was a kind man and she got the feeling that because he was the only male around, he had the testosterone driven need to protect them. She appreciated that and she realized that she needed that unconscious support to lean on. Besides, she had a feeling that she would need him later to keep Sandra Johnston calm. Although it was understandable, the woman was a lot more fragile than they were.

"I'm not sure for how long," she admitted and pushed herself up. "How are things?"

Adrian sighed softly and rubbed his head. "That woman is back," he said. "The old man wants us to start."

Ann sighed softly and shook her head. "They don't seem to grasp the meaning of 'no,' do they?" she said and hesitated. "Any... Signs that my daughter might be here? Any wild screams of panic coming from outside or a naked mole rat perhaps?"

The man frowned and shook his head. "I'm sorry Ann."

The doctor sighed and shifted her legs off of the side of the bed. "I had hoped," she admitted. "How are you doing Adrian?"

Dr. Stewart sighed and shook his head. "I'm worried Ann," he said. "When do you think your daughter will come? Shouldn't she be here by now?"

Ann swallowed and slipped her feet into some comfortable trainers. "It depends on where we are Adrian," she admitted. "I can't tell you how quickly or how slowly they normally do this. I rarely ask my daughter about her afterschool crime fighting life."

Adrian moved forward to give her a hand in getting up. "Why is that?" he asked as he pulled her upright. "Don't you want to know?"

Ann snorted, surprised by the frankness she could express in the company of this stranger. "No," she said directly. "I don't. I never... approved of this lifestyle. I never wanted this for my daughter. But my husband and his mother encouraged her, or rather – let her be. I decided to do the same. The problem with children Adrian is that, from the moment they hit their teens, you become their enemy and you have to do everything within your power to keep them by your side. Not stopping Kim from going out, but rather encouraging her and giving her the means to defend herself in the dangerous world she dove head first into was the only way I could hold onto her." She sighed. "Now that I've let her go, I find that I would rather not like to know what I let her go into. It's selfish and poor mothering perhaps but it is all that I can bear."

Adrian frowned at her then shook his head. "I'm glad I don't have children," he said quietly. "Though, it would've been a nice thought to know that somebody out there is looking for me." He frowned and looked at the door. "What are we going to do Ann?"

The woman grimaced before she set her jaw to a determined expression.

"Stall," she said. "Stall as much as we can."

&&&

She shouldn't have been surprised that they landed the jet in a parking lot filled with private aircraft but she was. Looking around the space, Kim hopped out of the jet and frowned at Shego who had made, she had to admit, a perfect landing.

"Where are we?" she queried.

Shego glanced at her and shook her head. "If I told you Cupcake," she said dryly. "I'd have to kill you."

Kim snorted and grinned at her because she used the cliché but blinked suddenly when she saw the expression on Shego's face. "You're serious?" she queried aghast.

Shego locked up the jet and started walking towards a door. "Of course," she said. "The people here value their privacy as much as I do mine. They come here to escape, have some time for themselves away from the usual public eye. Some of them live here purely because it allows them to have a discrete life amidst the flare of wild publicity." She sniffed. "We respect each other's privacy."

Kim's eyes went wide suddenly as a thought dawned on her. "This is your home?!" she queried.

Again, Shego stopped and gave her that look. "No Princess," she said. "I won't take you there. This is a retreat of some sorts. But yes, it is private and yes, I do stay here occasionally." She sniffed and seemed a bit agitated. "So you respect my privacy and act with discretion."

Kim's mouth went dry at the thought of seeing the woman's private residence, even if it was just a temporary one. She realized without a doubt that she was about to learn more about her arch-nemesis than she had ever dreamt that she could and the thought was as daunting to her as it was to Shego.

"Of course," she said quickly to confirm her cooperation. "Of course Shego, thank you for bringing me here."

The woman snorted and carried on walking. Kim, feeling a bit self-conscious without her shoes or backpack, followed doggedly behind her. They went through a set of doors and into a key activated elevator at the end of a short corridor. Kim was surprised to see that there were only ten floors, numbered from 0 to 9, but soon realized that the floors were security code labelled instead of the conventional numbering. Shego keyed in a code and waited patiently for the elevator to reach its destination. Kim tried to judge how far they travelled but the journey was very quick. When the elevator doors opened Shego took a hold of Kim's arm and guided her to the end of a nondescript hall. There she opened a door and pushed Kim into the dark apartment. Kim stepped into the darkness, her heart thundering in her chest and her senses open as if she expected to be attacked at any moment. The feeling vanished though the moment Shego flipped a light switch and closed the door behind them. The room was, as far as she could tell, windowless though the lights cast a surprisingly natural glow around it. Decorated to accentuate the feeling of space the open plan room provided, Shego's furniture whispered 'internal decorator'. Kim watched dumb struck as Shego walked over to a glass topped dining table and picked up the mail that had been placed on top of it.

"You have to tell me your shoe size," she said without looking at the teenager, her eyes scanning over the various envelopes. "We'll send for some and some clothes. You can't go walking around like George of the Jungle. I have a catalogue..." She paused, having opened a letter, and quickly scanned its contents with a frown. "...that you can page through." She finished her sentence and quickly sorted the mail into two piles.

Kim watched her and shifted awkwardly, aware of the faint smell of leather furniture that lingered in the air.

"What are we going to do now?" she queried.

Shego glanced at her and held up the one pile of mail. Without warning her hands ignited, burning the bundle to ash. "As I told you," she said. "I don't know where your mother is and I don't know who took her. So, I'm going to try and set up a meeting with someone who might."

Kim's mouth was very dry as she swallowed. "Until then, what are we going to do?"

Shego sighed softly and glanced at the ash on her table. She started to push it around then abruptly straightened up and walked to the one corner.

"Wait," she said. "And sleep. I've been awake for a long time and I suspect that you have as well. There's a clean bathrobe in the bathroom and I'll give you one of my shirts. There's only one bed here but you can have it, I hardly use it anyway." She touched a hidden button and a soft humming noise filled the room.

Kim watched in fascination as the whole wall started to move. Within seconds a window that stretched all around the room was revealed. Unable to help herself and aware that she looked a bit like Bambi trapped in headlights, she moved forward to admire the view. She stopped in front of the black leather couch and stared across the unknown city. They were several stories up and the view was fantastic. She swallowed and noticed that, although it had only been about two hours since she and Shego had departed from the lot, the sun was already setting. They must've crossed several time zones to come here. She swallowed again, feeling a bit out of her depth and turned to look at Shego. The raven haired woman was looking at her, her green eyes unreadable. Kim shifted and rubbed her elbow, looking at her socks hidden in the high pile of the white carpet. "Ah..." she hesitated. "Bathroom?"

Shego pointed her in the direction of two doors. "Would you like anything to drink?" she queried still in the same indifferent tone that she had been talking in ever since they entered the apartment. "I've send a grocery list ahead so we should have food in ten minutes so there's no milk but I think there should be some coke and beer in the fridge."

Kim blushed and started to move in the direction of the bathroom. "I ah..." Her stomach turned nervously. "I don't drink."

Shego snorted and went into the kitchen. "Of course not," she said as she opened the stainless steel fridge. "This should be more to your liking then." She tossed something at Kim and only her quick reflexes stopped it from crashing into her. Kim looked at the bottle of flavoured mineral water in her hands and sighed.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm ah... going for a shower."

Shego didn't look at her as she too opened a bottle of mineral water for herself.

"Sure," she said. "I'll put that t-shirt and catalogue on the bed. I'm briefly going out after that, just make yourself comfortable. If the groceries have come, help yourself to anything to eat."

Kim nodded and started moving again. Shego still wasn't looking at her but instead had opened the bottle of water and was taking a sip, staring at the closed fridge. The teen wasn't sure if she should thank her or offer to help with anything. She felt terribly uncomfortable in Shego's personal space and a bit disappointed at the anticlimax that the word 'wait' had been. But, they were still doing something even if it was doing nothing together.

'Not like Global Justice,' Kim thought as she finally made it into the bathroom. She had a choice of bath or shower but she decided to take the latter. She couldn't quite make herself relax in the woman's company and figured that she'd be able to handle anything Shego threw at her better standing up in the shower than lying down in the bath. She heard Shego move around in the room next to the bathroom and without warning, just as she had slipped out of her cargo pants and crop top, a door on the other side of the bathroom opened. Kim yelped and grabbed for her discarded clothes but the only thing that appeared was a brief show of Shego's arm and a gray t-shirt that she dropped on the floor.

"Relax Pumpkin," she heard the woman say through the closed door, her voice barely hiding its mirth. "Or, this is going to be a very long mission."

&&&

To Be Continued...

AN: And, home safely. For the first time in almost two years I can live in the certainty that I won't be moving again for at least six months. I cannot tell you what a strange thought that is. Anyway, here I am. Not much to say about this chapter, only that I'm once again indebted to my Beta for doing this. I'm not always an easy author, lol, and he's had to figure out a few really odd sentences with this one. But, he made it flow, so thank you. :)

Please read and review! And keep safe. :) If you don't, you can't come back and read and review again ;).

Peace everybody,

Alyssa
3-;--