I don't own these characters; Disney does. I do own Trin, Shin, and Tatsu. Ryuijin and Mirage are owned by YogurthFrost. This story is based on a concept and several pictures by YogurthFrost.
4.1: Shots fired
Kim went to her apartment and discovered that it was totally clean. She had started the task of cleaning a mess that she had made when Shego was trying to help her get her memories back. She had gotten sidetracked when she gave in and sat down to look through all of the items that Shego left. It proved to be the smart move as her memories slowly came back, especially after she stopped fighting against them. There were still gaps, but she knew that and knew that she had to work on filling them.
"Hey, Bonnie, thanks for cleaning up," Kim called through the place.
"It was no problem. How did things go with Shego?" Bonnie replied, her voice coming from the kitchen.
Kim stepped over to the kitchen to speak with Bonnie face to face. "They went good. We're both in a better place now that we've at least started a dialogue and everything." She actually smiled because of that news. I'm happy be getting along with Shego? Who knew!
"I can't believe you treated Shego badly, but accepted me like I didn't do anything wrong. Shego's the world's Savior and I'm the Devil's wife."
"Hey, you're not guilty by association. Shego made that perfectly clear. She doesn't even recognize your marriage and neither do I. On this side of the world, you are Bonnie Rockwaller. Okay?" Kim pinned Bonnie with her stern gaze.
Bonnie nodded. "I know. I'm very grateful, but this is part of my point."
"I know. I get what you're saying. Really that shouldn't have been my first clue, but her pretty much giving you amnesty in front of everyone to make sure no one hurt you or gave you a hard time should've convinced me that this wasn't the Shego I wanted so desperately to make her out to be. This place was … is a huge adjustment for me," Kim admitted with a sheepish smile. I've got to start adapting better, too. I can't keep acting like I know what's going on when everyone knows I don't have a clue.
"That makes two of us," Bonnie said with a smile of her own. "It feels good to be able to smile and not have to worry about Junior asking why I'm smiling and then telling me about how he'll give me something to smile about." Bonnie shuddered and turned her attention away from dinner in favor of wrapping her arms protectively around herself.
"Hey," Kim said as she put her hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "Stay here. Stay with me. Don't go back to that dark place. He's not here," she reminded the shivering woman.
Bonnie nodded. "Thanks. This reminded me, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Will you come with me?"
"Of course. I doubt Trin'll have bad news, though."
"I know, but I still get nervous. Who knows what might sneak up on me? I mean, I was with him for twenty years and he did so many things." Bonnie shuddered and her eyes went wide.
Kim acted quickly, putting her arm around Bonnie and slightly shaking her free of her demons. "I think Trin knows since she is the expert doctor and all and she all but said you're out of the woods. Everything's fine, so stop thinking negative."
Bonnie laughed. "Damn you and your positive attitude."
"Gotta stay positive to stay sane. Now, what's this you're making?" Kim asked, moving deeper into the kitchen to see what was on the stove.
Turquoise eyes turned back to the pot. "Well, I followed the directions for chicken stew, but I'm not sure if the bird I got was chicken. I hope it tastes all right."
Kim smiled. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Before I came back here, I was living off of stuff in the wild. Trust me, everything here is better."
Bonnie laughed and nodded. "I know the feeling." And then suddenly, a serious expression overtook her face.
"You know you can talk about it with me," the redhead said softly.
There was a slight nod before Bonnie could speak again. "He actually gave me really good food for a while. It was probably a dozen years ago. The best of everything. Looking at how people struggle around here makes me almost ashamed of how I ate back then."
"Don't be ashamed. Everybody has their own struggles. Besides, he was serving you good food just as another means of torture. It was a way to mess with your mind."
Bonnie sighed. "I know … It worked. It wasn't like he was giving me this stuff to be nice because there were still beatings and rapes and other horrible tortures, but then there was this other stuff that was great. I never knew what the hell it meant."
"Don't worry. You don't have to think about what it meant or what he was trying to do. It'll get better with time."
"I know. It has already," Bonnie assured her friend in a quiet tone. Kim smiled and nodded in agreement with that sentiment.
-8-8-8-8-
Shego was smiling and she knew that she was. She could not stop and, really, she did not want to stop. Smiling felt really good, wonderful even. It had been far too long since she felt like that. The genuine, light emotion fluttered in her system and brightened her gaze.
"You keep smiling like that and someone's going to think you got laid. And you know Trin won't take that well," Wade teased as he appeared before Shego on a floating screen.
Shego snickered. "Hey, she's the one always suggesting that I need to get laid."
"That she is. You didn't, though, right?" he asked to be sure.
"Still as virginal as ever."
He chuckled. "You or Kim?"
"Don't way about that."
He shrugged. "I think it's safe to assume that something's going right in your life since you're smiling for, like, the first time in the history of history. Plus, you're talking to me again, which I count as a plus for now."
She scoffed. "I won't be for long if you're going to play around and try to get into my personal business. Now, do you want something or need to report something or are you just here to piss me off?"
"Bad news, unfortunately. We still haven't been able to get the Toltec online. It might just need a break or something."
Shaking her head, the western ruler sighed. "That only works out if Junior doesn't attack use while the suit's having a nap. Can Kim pilot one of the others just in case?"
"No, they seen to pick the one person they want and that's just it. I just want you to be aware in case something happens you know not to plan for the Toltec showing up."
"That's good to know. Keep working at it."
"You know I will. You lose the 'I just got lucky' smile before Trin wanders in," he chuckled.
Shego grunted as the screen vanished. She turned attention back to work, not even thinking about her smile. But, she sensed a disturbance in the force. Emerald eyes glanced up and to the left.
"You got something to say, Shadow Hand?" she asked. She could feel his eyes on her, but there was something more that she could not put her finger on.
"Nothing I can think of, except wondering when and why you thought it was okay to tell Kim who I am," he replied. "I know you want to help her and all, but it wasn't your place to tell."
She scoffed. "You need to pull your head out of your ass, pal. Will you just admit she's got your number and go talk to her? You're not me. She's not going to rip you asunder," she remarked with an amused glint in her eyes.
He grunted, but did not say anything further. She gathered his silence came from the fact that he knew she had not told Kim a damn thing. He had to know Kim was too smart to not figure out who he was.
"Maybe it's time for you to talk to her," Shego suggested in low tone as she turned back to her work.
"Maybe you should stop suggesting that," he huffed.
The pale ruler curled her lip, but did not say anything more to her bodyguard. She only focused on her work for the first time in a long time. She figured that she would get her work done and then tomorrow she would reward herself with some time with her Princess. Get some sweets or something. Her smile grew at the thought.
"Stop smiling," Shadow Hand huffed, speaking under his breath.
"Stop trying to piss me off. I'm gonna keep smiling. You stop being pissy. In fact, you're dismissed. Go do something productive. Talk to somebody about what you should do about your attitude. At least I never gave up."
Shadow Hand snarled, but he did as ordered. He and his attitude vanished in a puff of mist. Shego's smile remained unchecked, even though she was a bit worried about her bodyguard. He was tormenting himself because he had no clue what he wanted to do with Kim.
"As long as he doesn't want the same thing as I do," she mumbled.
Of course, she knew it was unlikely that she would get what she most desired, but that was fine by her. Kim was alive, well, and willing to at least resume their friendship. Apparently, something was going her way.
"It's about freaking time," she remarked under her breath. With that on her mind, she was able to push through her work.
-8-8-8-8-
Shadow Hand wandered the Obsidian Manor, stalking the shadows and running from his thoughts. Like Shego, he could not help wondering what he wanted from Kim. He did not know what he wanted. He did not understand all of the feelings that he burned through him.
"I should feel happy, which I do, but there's so much more when really there should be nothing. I shouldn't feel anything at all anymore," he growled.
Emotions and feelings had died within in him many years ago … or so he thought. He had never been numb or filled with anger. If anything, he would say that he was empty. He had been totally used up years ago, but now it seemed like he was wrong.
"Do I want to be wrong?" he wondered aloud.
"Talking to yourself? I thought I was the only person that did that out loud," Shadow Eyes remarked as she seemed to drop out of the sky beside him. She lacked her face covering, so he saw that she was grinning.
"You obviously don't know our fearless leader well," Shadow Hand countered. Shego talks to herself, argues with herself, answers herself. Totally out of her mind. Of course, it seems I'm not far behind.
Shadow Eyes smiled more. "The Savior talks to herself? At least I'm in good company. So, what's got you out here losing your mind?"
He waved her off. "It's none of your business and if I tell you every ninja'll know within the hour and then every Guard'll know within two hours. So, I think I'll keep it to myself to figure it out."
"Aw!" she actually pouted. "Way harsh!"
"You've been hanging out with Kim too much."
She snickered. "Funny you'd say that."
Brown eyes glared daggers at the smaller ninja. "Don't you have training to do?"
"Helping you is way more important than training!" she proclaimed, throwing her hands up to the sky.
"I don't need your help," he assured her in a calm tone.
"Your face doesn't say that," she quipped, giggling a bit at the lead shinobi.
He glared at her again. "Did you already try to help me by telling Kim who I am?"
Hana's face scrunched up. "Why would I do that? I blab about a lot of things, but I've never in my life betrayed a secret. I might start rumors, but I never drop secrets."
He did not argue that because as far as he knew that was the truth. Hana liked to run her mouth, but typically her gossip was just that. She did not make it a point to start trouble or drama with her mouth; of course, that did not mean that did not happen. She did not tell secrets, though, because she knew all too well how a guarded secret could save lives or a slipped tidbit could cost lives.
"Kim's a smart person and she's been asking around about her best friend. No one has said that best friend died or anything like that. She noticed I'm still hanging around and her new best friend looks a lot like her old best friend, so he's possibly close by," Hana reasoned.
He snorted. "And from those few clues I'm supposed to believe she just figured it out on her own?"
Dark eyes regarded him as if he were crazy. "This is the Legend, the woman that can do anything, and the daughter and sister of some of the greatest minds of our time. So, yeah, I think you should believe that."
He grunted. "She's not a god," he felt the need to point out.
"No, she's pretty human and so are you, which is why you should talk to her. It'll really do you both some good. She really misses you."
He snorted. "She doesn't know me. Don't tell her anything about me either."
Shadow Eyes held her hands up in surrender. "I haven't and I won't. That's for you to take care of. It's your peace of mind."
"Anyway, is there a reason you're out here?"
"Nope. Just out here, wandering. Actually, I was on my way to get something to eat. You want to come? It'll take your mind off of everything. I know how you like to eat." It was probably the one thing that had not changed about him.
Shadow Hand nodded, accepting the offer because he was hungry and food would shut Hana up. He might be able to figure out what he needed to do. He would try to figure out his reemerging emotions.
-8-8-8-8-
Bonnie and Kim arrived at Trin's examination room for their appointments. Trin did not say anything to them and motioned for them to sit down. She let them decide on who would go first. Bonnie ended being the one on the examination table first. Trin worked quietly until it was absolutely necessary for her to do so.
"How are you feeling? Anything hurts or stings or anything?" the blonde doctor asked, focusing on Bonnie's shoulder. Junior had heavily damaged the muscles and bones over the years and Bonnie had complained of pain after many of her other injuries had healed.
"It still hurts when I have to reach over my head," Bonnie answered.
Trin hummed in thought. "I'll give you a balm for it," she decided and glanced at Kim. "You'll be all right rubbing a balm on her shoulder every night until the jar is empty?"
Kim waved if off. "I'll take care of her," she promised as she did every time she was asked to do something for her friend.
"How will a balm cure my shoulder?" Bonnie asked curiously.
"It won't. Your shoulder's still healing. The balm will help the process, which is just being slowed because you're using your shoulder. It'll be fine. Anything else still having lingering pain? How's the kneecap?" Trin as her hand went to the aforementioned body part. Of course, it was not Bonnie's real kneecap anymore, but a replacement.
"It still gets sore when I walk a lot," Bonnie admitted.
Trin nodded. "It should be replaced. Are you willing to have the surgery?"
"You're the doctor. Do you think I should?"
"I wouldn't bring it up otherwise. I want to replace everything done while you were with Junior," the blonde replied. Nothing Junior had done medically for Bonnie was for anything beyond keeping her alive for him to continue abusing her. She had learned to live with the constant physical pain, but that was no longer necessary.
"Do you have the time for that? You can't get started on things like that and not finish," Kim pointed out.
"I know, which is why I haven't gotten started, but we can't worry about time forever. Something can always come up. We really should start removing everything done by Junior's medical team. We can restore movement to a lot of your body parts and get rid of a lot of the pain that you're experiencing."
Turquoise eyes lit up. "Really? You could do that?"
Trin nodded. "Certainly. So, whenever you're ready to fix things up, let me know and I'll get the team together."
"Okay," Bonnie agreed.
The doctor turned her attention down to her notes for a second and then turned her attention to her sister. Kim knew that meant it was her turn on the exam table. She and Bonnie switched positions. Kim's checkup went much faster than Bonnie's, but just as silent. Kim was physically perfect as far as she and Trin were concerned, but Trin preferred to keep a close eye on the redhead.
"Anything hurt or bothering you?" the blonde asked.
"Nope, no problems," Kim reported with a happy smile.
"No recent injuries from battle?"
The younger Possible shook her head. "Not unless you heal wounded pride."
"If I did, I'd have a lot more patients. How are the memories coming along? Should I do another MRI?"
Kim beamed. "No, my memories have been coming back steadily and I've stopped fighting them, just accepting that's how I was and how things happened. I even had hot chocolate with Shego yesterday."
Trin's face twitched, almost as if she were impressed. "Good to know. I'm going to set your next appointment a month from now, barring any surprises. Bonnie, I want to see you a week from now. Tell me if anything hurts more than usual. I want you to act in a more natural way from now on, so we can pinpoint what really bothers you and we can focus on those things."
Bonnie nodded and the pair of friends left after Trin gave them the balm for Bonnie's shoulder. They walked around, mostly because Bonnie was supposed to exercise daily to help strengthen her body. After a while, Bonnie needed to rest, so they sat on a bench.
"You okay?" Kim asked.
"Fine," Bonnie replied and then she forced out a small smile. "Kim, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Bonnie. We've been over this. You can talk to me about anything."
Slowly, Bonnie nodded. "I know, but I don't want to upset or offend you."
"You won't," Kim tried to assure her. She took Bonnie's hand in her own. Bonnie could not help looking down at their hands and the hero noticed. "Does if bother you when I touch you or at least do it without asking your permission?" Kim was very aware that sometimes victims of abuse did not like being touched.
"Uh … no, I don't mind. I trust you and I know you're not going to hurt me. You're not him," Bonnie replied. "You're not Junior."
Kim smiled slightly. "But, it wasn't just Junior."
"Yeah, but you're not any of those people either. You're you. You're the Kim Possible you've always been. Kind, forgiving, and a hero. I know I'm safe with you."
"I'm glad you feel that way. Actually, I hope you feel that way about everyone here," Kim said. "Everyone here wants you to be safe."
Bonnie nodded and was silent. Her eyes drifted back down to their joined hands. Her pinkie moved a bit, as if caressing Kim's hand. The redhead did not think anything of it. There were too many different reasons that Bonnie could have been doing that. Kim did not comment on the act and just let Bonnie do what she was doing.
-8-8-8-8-
Shego was finishing some work and planning to have a drink with Kim as soon as she was done, but that quickly became a dream. Wade appeared on a screen before her as their alarm began blaring. The western ruler sighed.
"Junior again? He just attacked a freaking week ago," Shego complained.
"Well, we know he has more troops now with the drones. We're not going to have the Toltec. It's still not online," Wade reported.
"Shit. Arm Kim with something since we both know she's going to come no matter what."
"You got it."
The screen vanished and Shego was left to dish out orders for the upcoming battle. As soon as she could, she left for the killing fields, as she grimly thought of battlefields. Her losses were always too great for her to consider the battles anything other than a slaughter, even if she won.
Troops were mobilized and units were sent out. Junior had once again targeted a weak section of the land of Kimber. It was not one of the refugee islands, but one of the smaller villages. They knew from past experiences that Junior had no problem with wiping villages off of the map.
"I'll bitch slap him before I let him kill another hundred innocent people," Shego vowed with a deep growl.
Arriving at the battlefield, the western ruler made sure to intercept Junior's forces before they made it to the village, which was being evacuated. From the air, Shego scanned the troops that Junior sent it. It looked like another wave of mixed forces – Bebes and drones.
"Fuck," the pale woman snarled as she dived out the plane. Igniting her whole body, she pretty much bombed their enemies with her own plasma-charged form.
The explosion that she created acted as a signal to her soldiers. Her units, under their commanders, attacked the areas that they had been ordered to hit. Kim charged in with Joss; both of them were with the ninjas for battle, even though Joss typically went off with Trin's troops.
The drones were wearing the same armor as before, so they were the same threat level as before. There seemed to be more Bebes than the last time, though. Junior had either managed to make more of the robots or had released more than the last time. Still, Shego's side fought as hard as always.
-8-8-8-8-
"Kim, duck!" Ryujin shouted before swinging his sword right where his aunt's head had been before she dropped down. He sliced through three drones that had been set to attack Kim's side.
Kim, meanwhile, swept the legs of several Bebes with a special staff that Wade supplied her with since the Toltec was down. The Bebes had been closing in on them, but the redheaded hero was able to stop them. As she popped back up, Ryujin turned his attention to other enemies. Kim ended up near her cousin again and fought back to back with Joss.
"It's like dancing," Joss chuckled as she fired shots at Bebes. As deadly as she was at martial arts, the auburn-haired warrior's favorite weapons were her handguns. The expulsive ammo was enough to stop Bebes if she aimed carefully enough. No matter what, if she hit a Bebe, the robot was at least slowed down.
"I don't remember 'shots fired' being a dance move," Kim remarked as she dropped a few drones using the energized tip of her staff. Wade had designed the weapon to get three different heat blades when she twisted the shaft a certain way. So, she had a spear tip, axe head, and a long blade.
The cousins were taking care of their area and handling their enemies when a familiar jet flew overhead. The pair had to dive for cover as the jet fired several shots of green energy. Joss growled and pulled a large rifle that had been attached to her back.
"Come on back around, so I can knock your ass right outta the damn sky," Joss said and she quickly got her wish.
The jet came in for another sweep, firing on the two Possibles again. Joss wasted no time returning fire, even when she had to roll out of the way of some of the ground troops. Kim moved to defend her cousin while Joss tried to shoot down the jet. The plane eventually got out range.
"It's coming back around!" the redhead called and decided to help Joss in her effort. Kim was not outfitted with heavy caliber projectile weapons, but she believed that every little bit helped. She had been given a wristband that carried weapons. She fired razor sharp discs from her wrist while Joss let loose several more shots.
"I got you now, you son of a bitch," Joss whispered as she got a feel for the aircraft's movements. Shooting one last time, the fierce warrior hit her target.
Joss' shot clipped the wing of the jet and knocked it balance. As if looked like the plane was going to crash, the suit transformed as it hit the dirt. Kim was running toward it before Joss even knew what was going on. Kim leaped at the suit and cracked the operator across the head with her bo. Her enemy fell off balance, but did not go down. Gloved hands ignited, glowing with bouncing green energy, and Kim could only wonder what she was dealing with.
"Maybe the gloves mimic Shego's powers," Kim considered as she dodged the blazing hands with surprising ease. She countered, finding her target not very difficult to fight with on the ground. The armor seemed to slow her enemy down.
-8-8-8-8-
Shego was finding out something similar with the other jet. It had taken a shockingly low tech weapon to ground Junior's latest deadly weapon. A group of griffins, deigned by Amy of course, took the thing by surprise and used their razor sharp talons to literally tear the jet out of the air. The plane landed right next to Shego and was already transformed by then. Hands flashed and the two faced off.
"You know, your plasma's just a cheap knockoff. Nothing ever compares to the original," Shego remarked with a smirk, turning her powers up a notch just for display purposes.
"I am the original. I'm the first one!" her opponent hollered before charging the western ruler.
Shego dodged every attack and countered with her own. Her plasma came into contact with an electronic shield. Snarling, she pushed her powers higher. The shield crackled and popped, but the super-powered woman did not get a chance to push further. Her opponent swung for the pale woman's head and Shego had to move out of the way.
As Shego settled her footing, her enemy came at her with a vengeance, slicing at the air with the intent of decapitating the former thief. Bobbing and weaving, each hit whizzed by Shego. Just as Shego flared her hands higher, planning to simply tear through the shield and suit, but did not get the chance. A retreat was obviously called as all of Junior's troops withdrew. Shego's opponent was gone almost as fast as the super speed moving Bebes.
"What the hell was that? The plasma caught me by surprise the first time, but whoever the hell that was has lost any edge. The suit makes him slow and his moves aren't complex enough to deal with me. Not to mention, his plasma is weak as fuck," Shego said.
-8-8-8-8-
"Why'd you call a retreat?" Kigo-one demanded.
"You don't question me! You only obey my orders! You and the other one need more training in the armor. I can see that in the footage already," Junior stated. He had called the retreat because Kigo-two was losing to Kim, even with the Bebes helping and Kigo-one had not been doing much better against Shego. Beside, they had done enough damage. Now, the retreat would leave Shego wondering what the hell he was up to.
The communication was cut. Kigo-one was left to a few curious thoughts, like if she was the first then how was there someone older than she was with the plasma powers? She would find out and then show that imposter what real power was.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Junior attacks again and that battle doesn't end how any of them expect it.