Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible, and other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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At Global Justice, Charley was twitching restlessly in her sleep...

"Excuse me, you must be new arrivals? My name is Steven Barkin, Vice-principal of this institution of 'higher' learning, and may I ask, what the devil is going on here?!" Charley and her friends turned to be confronted by a familiar...face. "That's the human the Ar'Ithane in the 'classroom' impersonated! Wait a minute, how is this working?""Um, how do you mean, Sir?" "And that's my voice! Is this a dream? I don't believe it is, it's a memory from my Point of View, but it's new?"

"Well, at least you're polite! I was referring to these metal skulls floating around you, are these some sort of fad?" "I Know this place, but I've never been here! It's called Middleton High School." They were standing in the hallway, students flowing past them, looking at papers in their hands, checking room numbers. "First day of the school year."

Charley heard herself reply, "No Sir, these are all mine. They're remote video sensors."

Mister Barkin's brow furrowed, "Well, whatever they are, they have no place here, Miss..."

"Cob, Sir, with one 'b'. And I have a case to make for keeping them around, if I may?" Barkin didn't reply, but nodded. "The truth is, thanks to an experimental procedure, I can see through these 'skulls'. I can see everything they can, and since that gives me opportunities to do unethical things, I think it's best if I keep them in plain sight at all times, at least in sight of the faculty members, so you won't suspect me of cheating by using them to spy or anything." "Okay, this is an odd approach for me, but then again, how am I offering commentary on my own dream?"

Barkin's face screwed up comically as he worked through Charley's argument. "I see! Well, providing you can prove your claim, I might see fit to make an exception to the rule against...against unauthorized decoration of self!" He looked up at the clock. "However, there's no time now, you had better all find your homerooms, First Bell is in ten minutes! It would ill behoove you to be late on your first day at a new school!" "In my case, my first school!"

"Yes, Sir!" came the snappy replies, sincerely enough to cause Barkin to hesitate and study them suspiciously before nodding and marching off. As he did so, the four girls started up the hall in the opposite direction. Almost immediately, a familiar voice rang through the hall. "Man, this Tanks! Having to repeat Senior year is so massively unfair!" "Ron? But, somehow, I'm not recognizing him? No way to tell 'visually', but I can 'feel' it!" None of her three companions seemed to recognize the boy either, but watched him and his companion with curious interest.

"I'm Sorry, Ron!" "No recognition of Kim, either?"

Ron's head snapped around to look at the redhead besides him. "No! I didn't mean to say...It's not your fault, KP!"

"Of course it is! If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have gone on that mission, we wouldn't have been hurt, we wouldn't have missed so much school that we failed! There's no way this isn't my fault!" "Hurt on a mission? Don't remember any reports of serious injuries in the GJ Database. Again, how am I analyzing this?" "We're a year behind our class, all because I took a mission I shouldn't have!" "Shouldn't have? Why not, and when?"

Charley and the other girls were passing by the couple, and Ron suddenly spotted the skulls. His eyes popped wide, and he elbowed Kim in the ribs. The girl looked up and had the same reaction. "Weird! What kind of classmates do we have this year, KP?" Ron tried to whisper, but it was clearly audible to Charley and friends. "Kim's got a scar on her left cheek, and another showing under her collarbone. Ron's got one across his chin, as well as a slight limp." Ron grinned widely as he now addressed them, "Hi! The name's Ron Stoppable, and who might you ladies be?" "Thought him and Kim were an item, or is that just in the stories? Whichever, he certainly is giving Belle and Beth a look their father probably wouldn't have appreciated!"

"Charley Cob, and these are my friends, JJ, Belle, and Beth! Pleased to meet you! But, we'd better get moving, we need to find our homeroom before the bell rings, right?" "Well, I'm not paying full attention to him, definitely something running in my head besides homeroom! So, if I can 'feel' my emotions, why can't I 'hear' my thoughts?"

"Aw, we've got plenty of..." Ron began to look mildly panicked as he consulted his watch, "Oh, No, we don't! Come on, KP, we need to find our homeroom, fast!" He started tugging Kim down the hall, but she tugged back.

"RON! After four years here, can't you remember the numbering order? We need to go that way!" Kim turned to Charley and company and smiled. "Kim Possible, nice to meet you, sorry to rush off, but..." She shrugged apologetically, and winced slightly, as she tugged Ron in the right direction. "Some of those teeth aren't her original equipment, I think she might have had her jaw rebuilt, there are very faint scars, which the 'me' in the dream is probably studying through the boys' eyes, but I can't really tell, only getting the input through 'my' eyes."

Ron's last comment drifted back to them as he was led away. "Aw, KP! A couple of hot twins, and I have to rush off! Oops, do you think they heard me?"

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And Charley Cob woke up, in the GJ Infirmary, to find a nurse staring at her. "Something wrong?" Charley asked her.

The nurse smiled hesitantly. "No, it's just...you seemed to be dreaming, but...your eyes opened, I think, several minutes before you actually woke up!"

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Ron Stoppable opened his eyes and shook his head. "Man! That was one weird dream! Taking Senior year over? Ewwww!" He was lying in a sleeping bag on Thundagirl's deck.

The three girls were lined up alongside him, with Rufus on the other side of them. "Man! I hope this pans out, coming back here to Thailand! If we can find one of those bugs that stung Kim, maybe we can find out how to make sure she's cured, I sure don't trust the Rani!"

He heard a noise and turned to see Belle Reeder propping herself up on one elbow. The girl looked at him, half awake, then said with a faint smirk, "Hot Twins, Ron?"

Ron's jaw practically hit the deck...

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"Morning, Sweetheart!" Anne Possible entered her daughter's hospital room with a big smile on her face. "Should I even ask how you're feeling?"

Kim's return smile was a little weak. "If pincushion wasn't such a cliché..." Kim had just finished up her breakfast, and set her tray aside as her mother came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Several data leads disappeared under her hospital gown, and she was truly tired of having an IV hub on one hand or the other. "I think they let me get an hour's sleep between blood donations, and everything else they wanted from me. Did you get any sleep, you look a little tired."

Anne pulled a chair close to the bed. "Not much, and neither did poor Amy! I stayed with her all through her physical examination, like I promised you I would. She'll be in as soon as she gets out of the bath."

Kim's face fell. "I wish I could've..."

Anne nodded, "I know, Sweetheart, you want to do it all for her, you don't want to share those experiences with anyone else, except...well, there you just had to be different! I was going to say the father, but...I believe 'awkweird' is the word I'm looking for?"

Kim grinned, "That is the word! I keep wishing that her life would be normal, or as normal as possible...but, she's a Possible! I guess weirdness comes with the bloodline!"

Her mother rolled her eyes, "Oh, Yes! No such thing as a normal life for us!" She pulled a chair up and sat down, taking Kim's hand and looking her daughter in the eyes. "Sweetheart, are you sure you want to go through with this press conference today? I'm not trying to discourage you from holding it, but why so soon?"

Kim sighed, "It was more or less Charley's idea, but I sort of agree with her, my appearance will give my story more authenticity, it's going to be hard enough to not outright lie to all those people, while trying to protect all these secrets! Also, I want to get this all out in the open, before too many rumors and stories pop up that people will want to believe rather then the truth!" She looked up at the TV set mounted on the opposite wall. "I've been afraid to turn that on, afraid to hear what they're saying about me, what they're speculating about."

Anne grimaced, "Well, it's not all good, the bits I've heard. I mean, a lot about yesterday's rescue, of course, they're wondering who the girls are, where you got Thundagirl, that sort of thing. Lots of compliments on your courage, but...also questions, are you getting more young women involved in your lifestyle, after all that's happened to you lately! How much of a toll is all this taking on your body, and your mind? Of course, that's a question I'd like to know the answer to, as well."

Kim flopped back on her pillows, and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, this has certainly been 'Big', one long stretch of bad road, as Ron would probably say! And it has taken a toll, I just don't know how much, yet! But, I'm going to get it all back, whatever I lost!" Kim snorted, "Well, the physical part, anyway! Some things you can never get back, I know. I'll have to decide what to do about college, and I don't have that much time to make that decision anymore!"

"You could take a year off, before starting, you know."

Kim shook her head, "I'm not the first single mother to go to college with a baby in tow, Mom! I can make it work, I just have to decide what else I can do! Team Possible, I have to cut back there, at least my participation. So maybe having those other girls isn't so bad, if they can do missions." The lack of conviction in her voice didn't fail to register with her mother.

"Let others go on missions while you stay home? You honestly think you'll be able to live with that, Kim?"

Kim made a face, "I may have to, Mom! One of the prices of growing up, isn't it? Having to give up some things you love, for your responsibilities?"

"Yes, it is, but sometimes you replace those things you love with other things you come to love as much, if you're lucky!" At that point the door opened to admit a nurse carrying Amy. "And here may be a case in point!" Anne finished with a wide smile.

Kim pushed herself up into a sitting position as the nurse handed Amy to her. Despite the handling, the little girl was sleeping soundly. "Looks like you should have some peace and quiet for a bit, we sort of wore her out, sorry!" the nurse said, apologetically.

Kim didn't take her eyes off her daughter's sleeping face as she answered softly, "No Big, just having her here is enough for me!"

"Well, expect her to wake up hungry, if you need any help untangling yourself to feed her, just buzz, okay? We ran that check on your milk, no sign of any drugs in it" Kim just nodded in response, and the nurse slipped out.

Anne waited for a couple of minutes, before breaking the mood. "I hear you had some nightmares last night?"

Kim frowned, "A couple. Funny thing is, I didn't have any at all when that drug was running through my system, or at least none that I can remember having! Only good thing about it, other then curing me...except it didn't, did it? The Rani cut the cancer out of me, just when the medicine was starting to work. Of course, that means I could always have taken that option!"

Her mother shook her head, "I don't know how 'she' did it, but from what I understand, that wouldn't have guaranteed getting all of it, Kim! If we had made a proper study of what you were afflicted with, rather then relying only on those notes of Doctor Pharm's, We'd know better if it would have worked!" She smiled wryly, "It would also be useful to figure out how you regenerated so much tissue so quickly, but telling people about this 'healing power' you share with Shego would lead to all sort of complications! Never mind, we're getting off topic, what were these nightmares about, or can you remember?"

Kim made a sour face. "Too well! The first was weird, I was the target for a knife-thrower, the circus kind? I was tied to one of those spinning wheels, while...Armand Macheles threw knives at me. There was someone else there, handing him the knives, and Shego, dressed as a clown! Weirder still, I was wearing my old mission outfit!" She shuddered, "The second one was...when the Rani interrogated me. Except, I was dressed in the cheerleader outfit I first wore at Middleton, the old, conservative one? And I couldn't understand any of the questions she was asking me! And Shego was sitting in a playpen in the corner, with the girls. And someone I couldn't see spiked a volleyball off Shego's head." She broke off and looked at her mother, who looked slightly dazed. "You asked!"

Anne blinked, then shook her head. "Yes, I guess I did! But, what made you wake up, screaming?" When Kim looked away, she frowned, "What aren't you telling me?"

"Mom...um, I turned into a little girl again, in both of them, and in the first, I wasn't tied to the wheel anymore, I was...you know!" Anne paled, but nodded, "And in the second, two of the Rani's big monsters started having a tug-of-war with me, and..." Kim grew pale, too, and swallowed hard. As if sensing her mother's distress, Amy opened her eyes and began to fuss, drawing Kim's attention, and banishing her bad memories. "Oh! Good Morning, my good girl! I'm so glad to see you awake, did you miss me last night? Did Grandma take good care of you?" Kim's smile widened when she caught the slight start from her mother when the word 'Grandma' came up.

Amy responded to the smile with one of her own, but it didn't last long. "Oh, Dear, I guess the nurse was right, you're hungry! Can you give me a hand, Mom?"

"Sure, Sweetheart! Hmm, this is a lot of wires, is all this strictly medical, or a new form of surveillance?"

"I think they have a separate monitor covering every one of my vital organs, and a line to match! Careful with that one! Pretty sure Wade isn't plugged in here anywhere! Then again, he's surprised me before! Oh, by the way, after those nightmares, I had one weird dream!"

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"To tell you the truth, Shego, you don't surprise me at all telling me that device was non-terrestrial technology!" Jack Hench sat with Shego in one of the reception rooms at Henchco, having decided on a more comfortable place then his own office to meet the thief. "The rest of this information is interesting, however!" He was studying Shego as intently as he could without giving offense, noting some changes in the woman's measurements, and a new youthfulness in her face. "Shego doing plastic surgery? That makes no sense, she likes looking older, and harder." The short haircut was also odd, considering Jack knew a couple of people who had learned to their cost the price for messing with the long black locks that had previously flowed down her back. "No chance she's losing her vanity!" As to the loss of her green skin, Jack was still ignorant. Shego had visited him in disguise before.

"Didn't tell you just to 'interest' you, Jack! It's more of a warning, actually, I have reason to believe the guys behind it don't like people knowing their secrets, or using them for their own purposes!" Shego was perfectly aware of Jack's assessing her, and was pretty much correct in guessing what he was thinking. "Can make points by telling him some of the truth, since Kimmie's going to blow the lid off later today, but not sure I'll ever be back here! Still, wouldn't hurt to keep some friendly contacts on the dark side."

Hench spread his arms in an expansive gesture. "Well, as to the original device, that's gone! In fact, we only had it for two weeks before someone managed to snatch it right out of one of our clean rooms, a fully secure one!" Shego's look in response was half-impressed, half-wary. "It's true! One tech in the room, he leaves, and the video shows the object vanishing, right off the examination table! Room automatically sealed, gas was pumped in, ultrasound, the works, and nothing! No tricks with the video, either, everything checked as to timing, the works!"

"But, you learned a few things first, and came up with the Attitudinator?"

"Liza...Eliza found out several things, but not the whole package, obviously! Of course, she already had health issues..." He hesitated, sighing deeply, "I miss her, Shego, she was my only female friend, only woman I could tolerate for long outside of bed! Well, except for family members, of course!" He qualified, then returned briskly to the original topic. "We only knew what the machine did to people, or seemed to do, anyway! We did test it, of course! On volunteers, I swear! Oh, and I didn't mean you yourself are intolerable to me, you understand?"

Shego waved his apology off. "No sweat, Jack, I know what you mean. The problem of course is that you aren't boosting someone's natural potential, you're engaging in behavior modification, so the ethics are a bit different. And you do have ethics, Jack, I know that for a fact!"

"Yeah, Yeah, don't say it so loud, though!" Then he grinned and smacked his hands together. "Let's change the subject! What's happening with you?"

"I've got a daughter. Actually, two!" "And that's a clear jaw-drop, Jack!"

"What!? You're kid..." He looked her over, "Okay, that might explain...No! No Way! You were here just two months ago, no way you could have had a kid!"

"Way, Jack! Tell me, you ever hear of a Doctor Elizabeth Reithan?"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "DNAmy's new apprentice, another genetics nut!"

"Amy's dead, Jack." Barely a flicker of shock appeared on the man's face. "Reithan killed her, and fed her to her monsters. Reithan's monsters, that is, she also killed all Amy's 'Cuddlebunnies'. It seems she knew a few things about manipulating time, as well. She impregnated me, and made me go through nine months in just over two days. She also did the same to Kim Possible. In fact, she mixed our DNA together to make the babies." To Shego's surprise, Jack didn't go into shock at receiving all this information.

But it did take him nearly three minutes to sort it all out, and ask the question most important to him. "You kill Reithan, or is she still out there with all that knowledge?"

"Well, here's me doing old cyclops a favor!" She thought wryly as she replied, "I didn't kill her, Jack, but that's only because she had a rather unique means of escaping my notice! So she isn't dead, as far as I know. She's hiding though, because she has attracted a whole lot of attention in certain circles, and by the end of today, she'll have a lot more!"

"I see. Well, don't want to get on your bad side, but she does represent an interesting business opportunity." Then he frowned, "But, why more attention after today?"

Shego grimaced. "The story's going public this afternoon, Thanks to the Princess. Also, all the regular law enforcement agencies are being brought in on the hunt for her." "And Kimmie is hanging herself out for target practice!"

"I see. I wish you had brought this information to me sooner, I would have liked a head start, Shego."

Shego met the stern tone with a look of feigned shock. "Hey! I've only been free for three days, Jack! And I got bombed again, which distracted me slightly!"

Jack's frown deepened. "The mystery bomber? That's twice for you, then, isn't it? Three times for Gemini, or at least WWEE! Think it's personal?"

Shego shrugged. "What about you, Jack? You supply villains, and this nut job seems to be targeting villains, so..."

Jack waved her concerns off. "Not to worry, that bomber gets near any of my plants, it's going down!"

Shego looked doubtful. "It's a stealth bomber, Jack! Or, do you have some inside knowledge that would help you detect it coming?"

"Let's just say I have a system, but it's not portable, okay?"

"You have any idea who stole it? Just yes or no will do, not buying info today."

"No idea at all, and believe me, I'm trying to find out, that bit of knowledge is worth a lot of money to some people!" Jack Hench's frustration clearly showed on his face. "Even Big Daddy Brotherson has come up dry on the subject!"

That caused Shego's eyebrows to raise slightly. "Well, how about who lost it? Pretty sure I already know, but nice to have confirmation."

"Well, the Air Force, obviously! Specifically, one Major General Edward Lawrence Vincent Dray, the first blot on a distinguished 25 year career. Guy's been involved solely with the Top Secret stuff for the last ten years. His right hand man is a Colonel Mandley, twenty-two years in, very capable guy, been hitched to Dray's star at least the last seven years, maybe longer."

Shego nodded thoughtfully. "Well, a perfect record probably means he just found other people to pass the blame to up until now! Was it an inside job? Any sign any of the regular independent contractors were involved?" "Dray's probably Pentagon based, don't think I want to try sneaking in there!"

Hench waved his hand dismissively, "Sorry, just gave you a chunk of free info, that's all you're getting off the cuff. Seriously, though, if you're out for revenge, you might want to consider hooking up with Fiske, he's hot on that trail, too!"

Shego scowled, "Monty? Not on the best of terms with him! And 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' logic doesn't fit my plans." She smiled at Jack's curious look, "Which I'm keeping strictly to myself for the time being! Oh, one more thing, you heard about any leaks from inside Global Justice? They found out where I lived, and three hours later I was bombed!"

Jack thought for several moments, tapping himself on the knee with two fingers as he considered his answer. "Well, Global Europe lost a man last week during an attempted sting operation, supposedly after some kind of vigilante group tried to recruit him. He told Global's Internal Affairs Division that he didn't think he was the first of their agents to be recruited. They tried to catch the recruiters, but lost the agent, instead."

Shego frowned. "Vigilante groups don't generally steal bombers...and usually only get such recruits because they're frustrated by their own organization's lack of success, at least from their own viewpoint. Global hasn't been that ineffective!"

Jack wagged a finger back and forth, "Ah! But last year, Global Europe, not to mention several intelligence agencies, failed to identify a threat that could have wiped out all mankind, did you know that? If it wasn't for someone passing the 'crazy' scientist off for Kim Possible to handle, we might all be dead right now! And no, I'm not exaggerating, guy really wanted to wipe out humanity, completely!"

Shego just stared at him a moment, trying to decide if she was being kidded. "And Kimmie stopped him? Really, truly, saved the world?"

Jack nodded. "And has no idea she did, she didn't take him seriously, either! Flew straight back home to help organize a Bake Sale or something, raising money for new playground equipment for a local Kindergarten or pre-school, something like that."

Shego mused on that for a minute. "If I found out I'd done something like that, I'd probably never let people hear the end of it! But if Kimmie found out she'd done it, it'd probably retroactively scare the hell out of her, just because she didn't take it seriously at the time!" Then she returned her attention to her host. "Change of subject, Jack! I'm getting out of the villain business, if I can. Not going all the way straight, maybe, but I need to worry about my daughter. My contract with Doctor D was voided when I had her, so I have no obligations there. I don't want to lose touch, but I don't want you trusting me this much in future, some joker might try and get me to try and help set you up, or something, as the price for my past being 'erased' or some such nonsense."

Jack Hench's eyebrows rose, and he nodded, "Fair enough! And very grateful for the warning, shows I was right to trust you as much as I did! Sorry to hear you're changing sides, or are you going to try walking that 'thin line between good and evil'?"

Shego shook her head, "No, you try and follow a narrow path, and someone can push you off it too easily! Or block it, and force you to go one way or the other. No, think I will be on the lighter side, Jack, but never expect to see me all goody-goodie, not going to happen!"

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"People misunderstand we Ar'Ithane with regard to whether we recognize indebtedness. We do recognize debts we owe others, we just do not actively seek ways to repay those debts, but if any opportunity to do so comes to us, we do honor our debts, and repay them to our best ability." The memory of those words, but no clear memory of where she'd first heard them, echoed in Charley Cob's mind as she stared at the ceiling above her hospital bed, her face set in a frown. "I'm missing something! No, I'm missing several things, several pieces of information! I need to talk to the other girls, I need to talk to UNIT. But I really need to talk to the Doctor!" She pounded the mattress with her clenched fist in frustration. "Something is going on! Something has been going on, from the beginning, and maybe...before? I think we're all being caught between clashing agendas, but whose?"

Her eyes drifted to the television. Replays of the footage shot the day before were being shown with the banner: "New Team Possible!" Charley watched JJ fly across and land nimbly on the bracket above one car, and Beth skillfully use a grapple to access a second. "And where did they get so good with those, so fast?" She shook her head violently, frowning, "Something is confusing my memories, in fact I'm not sure my memories are even my own!"

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"Ack! Oh, Damn, just a normal snake, not a mutant!" Ron muttered, sweeping his wrist mounted light across the interior of the chamber where the Rani had once had her lab. Everything was gone now, down to the last nut and bolt, spirited away by UNIT for analysis and safekeeping.

"You say something, Ron?" Came the voice of one of the twins over the comms.

"Nah! Just talking to myself, I do that a lot!" They'd been searching the abandoned lair now for nearly forty minutes, and against all rules regarding the searching of creepy places, they'd split up, using their comms both to talk and allow Wade to scan for 'bugs'. The boys were about, as well, searching narrow places and holes. Except for Walt, who should have been with Kim, and George, likewise with Shego.

"So, Ron, Yamanouchi wasn't exactly like you described in your stories!" A twin again, but he couldn't tell which. They'd stopped off there to return the Lotus Blade earlier.

"Well, Duh! 'Secret Ninja School', right? Not much of a secret, if I put the truth on the 'Net!" "Not to mention Sensei would probably kill me..."

"True! I liked 'Yori', though I noticed she looked kinda irritated when you introduced her by that name, I'm sure it's not her real one, either?"

"Of course not! She was irritated because that was just a 'cover' name she had when I first met her, and she'd kinda like to forget the job she was holding then. Used it in my stories to needle her a bit, I guess, but didn't realize how much it had!" Ron shown his light into a narrow crevice, while standing well back from it, lest something spring out.

JJ's voice now came over the link. "I noticed you had a moment of hostility when she mentioned Kim's troubles in Go City, that seemed to be directed at her! You buried it quickly, but it was there, Ron."

Ron closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "Yeah, that was ferociously unfair, but for a moment, I did blame her for me not going with KP on that mission!"

"Why, Ron?"

"It's too long a story...Ah, what the hey! Just before Kim went on that mission, me and my parents headed out to attend a basketball game, my Dad's old Alma Mater versus their arch-rivals. Anyway, Kim came over to babysit Hana, my little sister, have I mentioned her?"

"Four or five dozen times, Ron!" One of the twins again.

Ron reddened slightly. "Oh, heh! Anyway, since we expected to be back late, depending on traffic, Mom told Kim to feel free to sleep in one of the rooms if it got too late. Well, our guest room is too far from Hana's room, and Kim couldn't bring herself to sleep in my parents' room, so she went up to the loft and sacked out on my bed. I think she must have pulled the comforter over her, considering what happened next. Wait a sec, checking something!" Going by Wade's scan, Ron found the switch to open the secret door in the back of the room. Doing so, he moved into the cross-corridor.

After sweeping both ways, he continued his narrative. "Anyway, we got back at about one-thirty. Dad and I were in the back seat, sound asleep, worn out cheering and celebrating, I guess. Maybe Mom wanted Kim to see us like that, because she left the car in the driveway and went inside. She went upstairs quietly, then suddenly heard a big commotion coming from my room in the attic. She went up there, and found Kim and Yori facing each other. Kim was barefoot, and Yori was just...bare."

Incredulous silence reigned for a moment, then four voices at once. "Oh...My...God!...She was naked?!...Way to go, Ron!...Wade? Man! I forgot you were listening!...You mean, she mistook Kim for you, and tried to climb into bed...No! I mean, I don't know!"

"Indeed she was, and Indeed she did!" Came Rufus' voice.

Ron was momentarily shocked before realization dawned."Oh, Man! I forgot you were there too, Rufus!"

"I was, and sound asleep, as well! Until Kim screamed as if...well, not important! I woke to see the comforter in midair, though I failed to recognize it until Kim turned on the light! The two were exchanging words when your mother arrived, and I wondered if I would need to get used to a new owner, soon!"

The sounds of Wade's snickering was all that was heard for half a minute, before Ron spoke again. "I woke up in the backseat of the car, to see Mom, Yori, and Kim looking at me as if..." he shuddered, "Well, I was grounded until graduation, including missions, and Kim didn't put up much of an argument! So, that's one reason I wasn't there when she needed me. And maybe why I tried to do everything myself yesterday, rather then call for help like I should have!"

JJ responded,"You didn't call for help because it's been you and Kim alone for such a long time, Ron, you see saving her as your job. And you expect her to save you in return. Hope you don't mind if we do that occasionally!"

Ron grinned, "Well, I may be able to get used to that!"

"Yeah, why wouldn't he want a pair of 'Hot Twins' to rescue him?" Came from one of the Reeder sisters.

"Huh?" came Wade's voice, "Hot Twins? What are you talking about, now?"

"Oh, nothing! Except, we all had the same weird dream this morning!" Ron replied. "Except we don't think it was a dream at all." The group had had a long, and freaky, discussion regarding the dream.

"Then what was it? All four of us had it, exactly the same, and you said we described your high school perfectly, but we've never been in it!" One of the twins, again.

"Actually, all five of us had it." Rufus spoke up, "Though I only have audio memories, I believe I was in Ron's pocket, yet some of the words I heard clearly match your accounts."

"Whoa! You guys aren't pulling my leg, are you?" Wade asked. Before anyone could answer, Wade suddenly became excited, "Guys! I think Roy's found what we need! Head for the TARDIS room, it's hiding in a burrow in the south wall!"

"Booyah! On our way, Wadester!"

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Shego opened her eyes as she felt the commuter flight she was flying on begin to descend. She'd been remembering the strange man with the umbrella outside the gallery in Go City on that rainy night. "He didn't lie, did he? And I don't think he was one of those Ar'Ithane, or whatever! I'm beginning to think someone's playing games I've been caught up in, and they aren't over, yet!" She double checked her seat belt, then looked out the window. "No connection between the bomber and this other stuff that I can see, either! And with all the things I've seen, coincidence is not really out of the question. But I don't believe this is a coincidence, two attacks where I was on the bullseye, the second time the only villain in their sights!"

Her thoughts then turned to another subject, Kim Possible. "Kim's mom hit it right on the nose, I've somehow gotten 'comfortable' with her. Can't actually say when it happened, I really wasn't around her much during her 'treatment' at the Yucatan house, I found excuses to leave that all to Eliana. So, did it all happen in the Rani's lair? Was it all hashed out by our subconscious minds? I've seen and done weirder things, and had them done to me, but the big question is, where does it lead!"

Nearly thirty trying minutes later, she unlocked her rental car and got in, pulling out her cellphone. "Hi! Back in town, how's my little girl doing?" She listened a moment, then grinned, "Yeah, I know, don't let George bother you, I told him to watch her, and he apparently takes orders very literally." Another pause, "No, I think I'm going to have to ask you to watch her a little longer, I've decided to do something else while I'm in the area. Will that be a problem?...Good! I promise to be there before nine, barring something going completely south on me. Later!"

Starting up the car, Shego maneuvered out of the parking lot and onto the street. "Long time since I navigated this area on wheels, instead of in a hovercraft! Hope I'm not late!"

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"So, what are your real feelings about these girls, Kim? They seem to be sincere about joining your team." Anne Possible cradled her granddaughter as Kim dressed for her press conference. A nurse had systematically disconnected Kim from all the monitors, then left after the girl declined help with her clothes.

"I...I have some reservations, Mom. I mean, they may be my age, more or less, but they've done things I've never dreamed of! I mean, they've traveled in space, they've been to other worlds, they've..." she trailed off as if reluctant to give voice to her concern.

So Anne did it for her. "Killed people?"

"No! I mean, yes, they have, and I guess that bothers me! I mean, it should, shouldn't it?"

Anne waited until Kim pulled her top on before replying. "Well, yes, it should, but how much does it bother you?" Kim gave her a indecisive shrug in response. "I don't know why I need to point this out to you, Kim, but there is a difference between a Killer, with a capital 'K', and someone who has killed. Well, maybe I can put that better..."

Kim shook her head sharply. "No, no, I do get it, they were put in a sitch where they had to do it, or get killed themselves, I don't blame them, I really don't! It's just that, how easy is it for them to do, now? I guess I can't count the Rani's monsters as a true sign, But...when I was trying to hold the ones back in the storeroom, I still couldn't bring myself to think of killing them, as long as Shego and Amy got away! The girls were right in what they did, but I don't know if anything could have made me do the same thing! I want to think I would for Amy's life, or Ron's, but I just don't know!" She threw her arms up to express her frustration.

"You really can't be sure you can do something like that until you have to, Kim!" her mother responded firmly. Amy stirred in her arms, but remained asleep. Anne smiled at the little girl fondly. "Wake up, fill up, and right back to sleep, just like her mother!"

"Mom!" Kim regarded her daughter while pulling her sandals on. Then curiosity got the better of her. "Really? I was the same?"

"Oh, yes, more often then not! Convenient for the middle of the night feedings, mind you, but..." Anne was interrupted by the door opening just then to admit another nurse and the hospital's Public Information director, Mister Edson.

"Well, well, ladies! Everything is ready for the press conference, and the reporters are gathering!" the thin, balding man announced.

"And I'm just here to complete the information on this young lady's birth certificate, Miss Possible!" Added the nurse.

Kim frowned, "What's missing?"

"Middle name, if she's going to have one?"

"Oh! Well, I think I've decided on Celeste!" Seeing the surprised look on her mother's face, Kim grinned and shrugged, "I mean, if she was a he, I might make it Ron, for all the times he saved me, hmm, Rhonda? No, I think I'll stick with Celeste!"

"Amy Celeste Possible? All right, I'll put it in the system, um, I was told the 'father' part might be hard to fill in?" The nurse tried to keep her look neutral, but she was clearly curious.

"Not so much hard, as hard to believe! Don't worry, she has another loving parent, and two of the best grandparents a little girl can have!" Anne blushed slightly at the praise. Kim stepped into the bathroom briefly, as the nurse left, to look at herself in the mirror. And winced at the sight. "Wouldn't take much make-up to make me look half-decent...but that's the point, to look like I've been through an ordeal. And I certainly do, though the cynics can probably claim I just had an eating disorder, and am making this all up to cover for it!" She grinned at the notion. "And there would be people willing to believe it! After all I've done, I'm still just another teenage girl to so many people!"

She emerged from the bathroom and smiled at the PI Director. "I'm ready, lead the way, please and thank you!" The man looked dubious, and her mother quirked an eyebrow, but Kim just stood there patiently, until Mr Edson gave a slight bow, and turned to open the door for her.

"You sure you don't want me there, Kim?" Her mother asked, "You did want to show Amy to the press, before."

Kim shook her head, "No, not while she's sleeping, stay here in case she wakes, I'll be back soon." She stepped back to give Amy a quick peck on the forehead, then followed Edson out, her walk slow, but steady.

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"So, Charley, what's bothering you today, you seem much more...together, I guess, then you were the last time we talked." Doctor Director stood at the foot of the girl's bed, having walked up without drawing Charley's attention from her thoughts until she spoke.

Charley nodded decisively."Oh, yes ma'am, I think so, at least enough to start thinking about some things again, remembering things more clearly. I'm sure there is something wrong in how I've interpreted things so far, but I don't have enough information, I need to talk to other people, Shego, the girls, UNIT! I made a mistake giving in to my problems when I did, right in the middle of all this!" The rush of words startled Betty, and the choice of words made her frown.

"Charley, stop it!" She snapped, causing the girl to start in surprise. "You didn't 'give in', you had nothing left! Trying to continue would have been a mistake, you'd never have been able to function, or figure anything out, in that state!" Betty took a moment to calm herself before continuing. "Now, what do you mean? You don't think this business is over with, now that the Rani's in custody?"

"Not completely, ma'am, no!" Charley explained about the Rani's misadventure with the Emergency Dematerialization Control. "So, she didn't know an instructor's pass code, or she would have been free of it earlier! Now, I no longer have the downloaded knowledge in my head, I only remember those bits I actually told people about. But one of those was, the Trainer TARDIS is meant to be operated by two people, an instructor, and a student. Now, obviously the Rani herself was flying it around solo, so I wondered if I misinterpreted the two person requirement. Then, I got an idea! I thought of the possibility that the Instructors didn't want any students joyriding in the trainers, so they were probably only flyable after an instructor activated them, by entering the same pass code. And if that idea was true, then how did the Rani escape Gallifrey?"

Betty nodded, "Well, if your supposition is correct, then she had to have had a companion, who knew the code. But, there are other possibilities, a different code for each purpose, or the Rani 'hot-wired' the TARDIS in question."

"True, and the Time Lords have been known to make things more complicated then necessary, but why complicate the codes, especially when one use was an emergency measure? And if the Rani 'hot-wired' the TARDIS, then she had to bypass the code mechanism altogether, and wouldn't have had trouble with the EDC at all. But, you might be right, I did say it was just supposition, but I'm convinced the Rani didn't flee Gallifrey alone."

"You're saying there's another Time Lord on the loose, who might be a threat?" The displeasure that possibility caused Betty was abundantly clear on her face.

But Charley shook her head. "No, the Matrix told me there were only two true Time Lords left alive. The Doctor and the Rani are those two, so I have no idea who, or what, the Rani's companion could have been! That's why I have to get in touch with UNIT, maybe they can get a message to The Doctor, and ask him to come back and see me!"

"What about Shego and the girls? Why do you need to see them?" Betty asked.

"Generally, I think all of us have pieces to a puzzle, and if we don't get all of them together, we'll never figure things out! And also, I need to tell you why the girls didn't use the boys to teleport all those people to safety, yesterday!" Then she blinked again, a scowl forming on her face. "See, my presence is necessary for them to move large objects, like people. There's an interface in my head...well, you know about that, but it's for more then seeing their visual inputs, it also allows them to use an...ability I have, a psychic ability." She peered at Betty's face for some sign her story had been accepted, then shrugged, "That's the best explanation I can honestly give you, I suddenly feel as if there are gaps in my memory, or something weird."

Betty's gaze sharpened slightly at the last words. But then she nodded her understanding. "Well, that explains a few things, and I never assumed you had told us all your secrets.." She smiled slightly as Charley blushed, then she switched topics. "Okay, I'll try and arrange for you to talk to UNIT. As to the others, I have no control over Shego, and for the moment, the girls, either!" Charley squirmed a little at those words.

"Doctor Director!" one of the GJ Nurses walked over. "Thought you might like to know, Kim Possible's press conference is about to start, want me to put it on this set?"

"Please, I'd like to see how it goes." Betty scowled. "Try not to put me in a worse situation then I already am, Kim! All the secrets you and those three made public yesterday...well, to be honest, most of those secrets were theirs, more then ours." Then her attention was drawn to the television, as Kim appeared on it.

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The room was large, and mostly used to teach public classes in CPR and First Aid, Lamaze, and other health topics. There was one exterior door, through which the press had entered, and two interior, both connecting to the same hallway, at either end of the room. A table and chair had been set up, with a cluster of microphones now in place on the former, along with a pitcher of water and a disposable plastic glass.

Chatter among the reporters ceased as Kim entered, and they all studied her. The girl was pale, but seemed to be steady on her feet, though she walked slowly, paying more attention than normal where she stepped. She was neatly dressed, in jeans and a short sleeved top. Her loss of weight was all too obvious, but she had a cheerful expression on her face. Combined with the rest of her look, most of the reporters decided that had to be forced.

Mister Edson and an intern stood at the doorway Kim had entered through, the intern being there to call a halt to the conference if Kim showed signs of distress. For purposes of the conference, Edson had insisted on the most photogenic candidate for the job. The winner was a willowy blond who had made an obvious effort to give off a 'take me seriously' vibe.

Kim reached her seat and sat down, trying hard not to fidget as she studied the crowd. This was her third press conference ever, but the first two had been impromptu, and in one she had shared the spotlight with several others. The big difference, though, was this time she couldn't tell the whole truth, and would have to be careful not to lie outright. She became aware that everyone was waiting for her to begin. "If the boys could still teleport, I'd have Walt under my chair right now! Oh, stop it, Possible! No running away now!"

She took a deep breath before speaking. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, thank you very much for coming, and putting up with any inconvenience I may have caused you. My health obviously isn't at it's best, and one problem in particular is being unpredictable as to when it hits me, so I want to apologize in advance if this gets cut short. I know you have a lot of questions, and I hope I can answer them, but let me try and tell you the story, first, and then I'll take questions, Okay?" Some reporters responded with signs of consent, others remained still. "Okay, here we go!"

"This began when I stumbled into something unexpectedly. A woman calling herself Elizabeth Reithan, R, E, I, T, H, A, N; who represented herself as a geneticist, among other things, ingratiated herself with Doctor Amy Hall, also known as DNAmy, pretending she wished to 'apprentice' herself to the doctor. In actuality, she did it to gain access to Doctor Hall's hidden laboratory facilities. She eventually betrayed and imprisoned Amy Hall."

"Amy had a house in Middleton, which she occasionally visited, in defiance of the fact that she was a fugitive from justice. I sometimes made a visit to the house, to see if there was any sign of her presence. "Now we step on the high wire!" "I met Doctor Reithan, but had no reason to be suspicious of her at first. She managed to take me by surprise, and take me prisoner. She took me to Amy's lair, where she...interrogated me, and conducted some experiments...with me as her guinea pig." Some murmurs ran through the crowd. Behind Kim, the intern suddenly started, reached into her pocket, and produced a cellphone. Opening it, she ID'd the caller, then stepped out of the room.

"She also captured Shego, who for her own reasons was trying to help me." More murmuring, a bit louder now. "And decided to conduct another experiment, something that demonstrated a knowledge of considerably more then just genetics. The experiment was to see if physical skills could be passed to a child genetically, and with me and Shego, she had two subjects with impressive skills, if you'll forgive my sounding conceited!" this got a chuckle or two.

"To accomplish this, she...impregnated us." Shock, and interest, appeared in mixed amounts on her audience's faces. "But what I can't explain is just how she did it, because she accomplished this by mixing my DNA with Shego's to produce the babies, there was no 'male' involved!" Some open disbelief now appeared on some faces. "How she accomplished the skill inheritance part of the experiment is again beyond me, but the next thing she did makes all before it look credible!" That certainly focused their attention.

"In a way even my father can't explain...yet, she managed to accelerate time inside a chamber, causing me and Shego to experience our full pregnancies in just a bit more than two days. She then delivered in an unusual way two healthy baby girls, one from each of us. That was all the use she had for us, and we were dumped back in our cell, where I would have died if not for Shego. She's always been able to heal fast, and somehow during the experiment she gained the ability to heal me, as well. Otherwise, I would have died from internal bleeding, and the aftereffects of the other ordeals Doctor Reithan put me through."

Her audience was stunned for a moment, then many reporters began whispering in their microphones, or scribbling furiously in notebooks. Behind Kim, the intern had vanished completely, but Edson was as absorbed in Kim's account as the reporters, and didn't notice.

"As to why Shego would have wanted to help me, which must be one of your questions, after the events in Go City, a distinct change occurred in her personality. This wasn't an affectation, which I myself suspected. Tests showed a distinct change in her brainwaves, compared to tests taken when she first gained her powers. The explanation for this isn't known yet, and may never be. In any event, and I would be an expert on this, trust me, she has changed significantly in her behavior. Not going to go out on a limb and say she's reformed, but after these events, I'm inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt." "Just realized I'm talking a little too 'grown-up', not like the other times, hope it doesn't matter!"

"We did manage one escape attempt, and made common cause with DNAmy to do so, but it failed, and Amy was killed trying to protect the babies from one of Reithan's creations. You see, Doctor Reithan created a large number of monstrosities in the labs, from insects like the one which stung me, the venom from which is apparently still in my system, up to things that could have starred in a Bigfoot movie. Anyway, I have named the baby I bore Amy Possible, after the woman who died protecting her." It would be impossible to list the full range of emotions that announcement generated in her audience.

"We were finally rescued by the combined efforts of my Team Possible teammates, especially Ron Stoppable, and some military personnel, some of whom died in the battle. Also, there were four young women who had a team of their own, who have asked for our teams to merge, with me as leader. They are not amateurs, though their previous exploits have been classified for very convoluted reasons, to which they have agreed. There was some evidence that Reithan suffered that very clichéd fate, being killed by her own monsters, but subsequently that has been determined to have been false, she's definitely still at large, unfortunately!"

Kim paused to drink some water. "One of our new members was seriously injured in the battle, and we all send our best wishes to her, she hasn't been moved here yet. We all took a beating, but thought we had gotten off lightly, until yesterday. I'm so glad I was able to save that little girl, and all the pain in the world was worth it. The ship we arrived in came with the new girls, but I swear I didn't let them join just because of the cool new ride!" That received some polite laughter in response.

"It's one of a kind, unfortunately, since the inventor of many of it's systems is not with us. It's also sentient, though under the law a licensed pilot has to be aboard in order for her to fly. Hopefully we can do something about that. Well, I think I hit all the highlights, so I guess it's time to take questions!"

Whatever inclination the assembled press might have had to take it easy on the girl had vanished as the list of questions stacking up in their minds grew higher with each revelation.

There were just too many sensational things in her account that had to be questioned, and the honor of asking each specific question first was much sought after. It didn't help that the first simultaneously asked questions came from two reporters who were bitter rivals.

"Miss Possible, you are claiming to have given birth in the last few days, yet you show no signs consistent with that claim, save for your enlarged...um."

"Miss Possible, you thwarted a serious terrorist threat yesterday, yet you have not accounted for how you disarmed the explosives that were seen being removed by the bomb squad..." Both reporters broke off to glare at each other.

Kim tried to field both questions, what she understood of them. "We think that a lingering effect of the accelerated time experience combined with Shego's healing factor to restore our bodies, and the explosives were disarmed by a method we need to keep secret..." Kim hadn't gotten past 'healing', before more questions came at her.

"Miss Possible, how do you feel...these 'monsters' you claim were created...are you validating the claims of the victims of Armand Macheles...whether you have fully recovered from the emotional ordeal...accepting this baby of yours as legitimate...a coincidence that you received some sort of high-tech craft...that your family may now be under threat of death...what military forces assisted your escape...are you in favor of a pardon for Shego, your greatest enemy...claims you were seen at a clinic in California...Miss Possible, will you answer the question?...answer my question...are you avoiding my question...against God and Nature...something your partner would write online...Miss Possible, will you answer?"

Kim managed to utter a few words, partial replies, as her eyes grew wider, and she pulled her hands close to her chest, perspiration beading her forehead. To their credit, some of the press noticed her increasing distress, and fell silent, one or two even nudging the oblivious, those who were so full of themselves and their mission to realize what was going on. Mister Edson suddenly became aware that he was alone, and looked quickly into the hall, spotting the intern talking angrily on her cell, thirty feet down the hall.

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"Someone has to stop that!" Charley practically shouted. Doctor Director nodded, face angry. "I should have had that conference covered, Dammit!"

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Anne Possible, Amy in her arms, bolted out of Kim's third floor room and dashed for the elevator. "I knew they'd do this, I knew it, I should have stopped her, I'm her mother, for God's sake!"

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Kim was starting to hyperventilate when her view of the crowd was suddenly blocked. Someone knelt across the table from her and seized her hands, locking gazes with her. The sudden intervention caused the reporters' voices to still. Two emerald eyes met Kim's own pair.

"Kim, listen to me! You're all right, it's not her! It's the press, it's not her, you don't have to answer everything. You won't be hurt if you don't answer, you're safe! Just calm down, you just tried too much, too soon!"

"I'm sorry!" Kim said, so softly she wouldn't have been heard if the room wasn't silent, and the microphones so close. "I asked them here, I should answer them! I want them to know I really love Amy, I don't care how I got her, it's not her fault!" Tears started down her cheeks. "I never want her to think I was ever ashamed of her, not even for a minute! She's part of me, they both are, and I'm part of them, what more is there?"

"Nothing! It's all they need to know! Now, let's take you back to your room, you need rest!" Shego rose and began to help Kim to her feet, but the girl resisted.

"No! I asked them here, I don't want them to be...angry, disappointed, I don't know! I should be polite, I should try to answer them, please?"

"Kim, I don't think you should, you just had a flashback to...Kim, I heard you screaming from the cell, and you screamed for a long time! You had an experience you weren't prepared for, one that has severely affected stronger people than you, and you haven't spoken to anyone about it to try and come to terms with it! I know why you thought you had to do this so soon, but I thought and still think this is a bad idea!"

"I told her everything she wanted, I betrayed people's secrets, to stop her from hurting me!" Kim was crying openly now. A couple of photographers tried to get a better view past Shego, but security guards kept them back.

"Not the first time, you didn't! There was nothing she wanted to know that was worth the pain! She just made you more vulnerable for the second time, and then she threatened the babies, too!" Shego felt her own suppressed anger rising. "I have to find someone to take all this anger out on, after I get Kim out of here!" There was movement behind her, and she tensed up.

"Miss Possible, please don't worry, we understand, and would rather you speak for yourself when you're well." One reporter stepped forward as she spoke. "Some of us get carried away, and deserve the term 'feeding frenzy' being applied to us. And we showed little respect for your condition, I'd like to apologize for those of us that actually agree with me, I'm sorry."

Kim, a little less wide-eyed, nodded, but couldn't speak. With Shego on one side, she made her way to the door, just as her mother and her daughter appeared. Several cameras tracked onto the new arrivals, but their appearance was brief. As soon as the Possibles and Shego were out of sight, the television reporters began to disperse to find locations where they could do their wrap-ups undisturbed.

Speculation ran rampant. Shego's appearance had confused many, though some assumed she was disguised. That is, those who actually identified her. One or two theorized that the whole thing had been a set-up, but were told by another that Kim wasn't that good an actress.

Another pronounced Kim's reaction a normal one for someone who had been tortured, and not come to terms with it emotionally. And most wondered, and offered opinions privately and publicly, on whether the girl was 'used up', 'washed up', or had been broken beyond recovery. Optimists reminded people that it was early, the teen had had a lot happen to her, and tried to do too much, too soon.

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"What do you think, Charley?"

Surprised by the question, the girl looked up at Doctor Director. "About Kim?" Betty nodded. "She'll be okay, if she takes the time to work through things." She stated with surprising confidence.

"I hope you're right, Charley!" Betty looked away. "But I've had agents with that look in their eye, that were never 'right' again! That's also the end of any chance of Kim becoming an agent here, I'd never get approval now!" She turned back to say goodbye, but Charley's mind was obviously a million miles away, so she left without speaking.

"Kim will be all right, I just hope it's soon enough! Something is going to happen, but the question is, how soon?" Charley mused.

Betty barely made it back to her office before Abby rushed in. "Du's done it! But, he hasn't left us much time, he's bringing Dementor in late this afternoon! Three hours from now, in fact!"

Betty dropped into her seat. "Great! Let's hope this goes smoothly, but I'm not betting on it! Start making arrangements, be sure he gets a cell well away from Drakken!" She suddenly wished she had a window to stare out, video monitors just didn't substitute. "So tempted to say something that would jinx this, heh! Not that fate needs tempting, lately."

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