This is a revised release : I've been away from this story for quite a while, and now that I'm back, I've gone back through a tweaked a few things to better match what I've got planned. Sorry for the delays in continuing this story.
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KIM POSSIBLE: FUTURE IMPERFECT
Chapter Four
"Revelations"
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The cab screeched to a halt near the grassy field where Adrena Lynn's plane had been found. Stepping out of the car, Kim flashed a bright smile at the driver. "Thanks a lot, Señor Martisse. I really appreciate the lift."
The driver smiled back, eyes alight. "Ah, it is no problem, Señorita Possible. After all, you saved my family from that fire last fall. It was the least I could do."
"It was just a small grease fire, no big." she replied. "All I did was use the flour you had on hand to put it out."
Ron climbed out of the cab and stretched, several of his vertebrae audibly popping back into place. "I'm never going to insult another pretzel as long as I live." he muttered.
Peeking out from Ron's cargo pocket, Rufus yawned with a loud squeak. "Mmmm... pretzel."
Kim smirked. "Lunch is going to have to wait a bit, Rufus."
Both Rufus and Ron looked crestfallen. "Wait?"
"Sorry, Ron. But there's work to do first." Kim turned and looked towards a clump of trees near the center of the field, where several Spanish police cars could be seen, as well something else that made her raise an eyebrow.
"Isn't that one of those hover-whatchamacallits that Global Justice uses?" Ron asked, coming up beside her.
Kim nodded slowly, eyes narrowing. "Sure is. Wonder why they're interesting in Adrena Lynn's plane? Not like she was a major criminal or anything."
"Maybe it's a slow crime day or something." Ron volunteered.
"Somehow I doubt it, Ron," Kim frowned at him before starting off across the field. "C'mon, let's go."
Ron paused for a moment, face reflecting his concern. "I..." he began, then caught himself. "Right behind you, KP!"
Kim strode confidently up to the aircraft, which had been ringed with several circles of brilliant caution tape. As she approached, a brown-clad officer carrying an automatic weapon moved to intercept her. "I am sorry, señorita, but no civilians are allowed."
Ron stepped up and smiled. "Dude, this is no civilian you're talking to here. This is Kim Possible." At the officer's blank stare, Ron continued, "You know, teen hero? Saves the world on a regular basis? Has her own website and loyal partner? Hello?"
The officer eyed Ron coldly, then turned his gaze back to Kim, obviously uncertain. "Kim.... Possible? The name is familiar, but you are so... so..."
"Fashionable?" Ron said.
"Young," the officer replied.
"No big," Kim said, waving her hand dismissively. "I get that a lot."
The officer straightened, dropping the automatic rifle into a resting position as he did so. "Why are you here, Señorita Possible?"
Kim blinked at the unexpected question. "To help. I know... well, knew, Adrena Lynn. We've tangled before. And I've got plenty of experience investigating things. I figure I can help out."
The officer smirked. "I think we have all the help we need," he said, nodding towards the plane. "Global Justice is handling the primary investigation."
Kim gaped at the officer before turning her eyes to the plane. "But... I... hey! Will! Will Du!"
The Global Justice agent, who had just climbed out of the aircraft, turned towards her and cocked an eyebrow. Walking over, he nodded to the officer. "Kimberly, what a... surprise. Why are you here?"
Kim sighed irritably. "I came to help. You know, lend a hand?"
"I think we have all the help we need," Will stated.
"Why are you here, Will? It's not like Adrena Lynn was a major threat or anything." Kim frowned. "What, running out of serious criminals to chase around?"
"Actually," he said, glancing at her in that irritatingly arrogant manner that he did so well, "She's on our watch list. Has been for some time."
"What, like Global Justice keeps a file on petty criminals like Adrena Lynn?" Kim shot back.
"Global Justice keeps files on everyone." Will stated matter-of-factly.
"Even me?" Ron asked.
"Yes," Will replied blandly. "It's a very small file."
"Oh, well, that's.... HEY!"
"I hate to butt in or anything, but I really think I can help." Kim insisted. "I dealt with Adrena Lynn before, after all. And I did help out with Duff Killigan and Gemini, right?"
Will pursed his lips in thought. "Perhaps you can be of some assistance after all." He nodded towards the officer, who lifted the caution tape so that Kim and Ron could pass.
"So what have you got so far?" Kim asked as they walked towards the plane.
Will hesitated before answering. "Not much. No sign of the pilot or Adrena Lynn's cameraman. Interior of the plane is nearly spotless."
"Nearly spotless?" Kim inquired.
"Some signs of struggle, some blood spatter. Our forensics team just arrived to examine the interior."
"Glad to hear that you've got everything well in hand," Kim stated dryly. Ron muttered something beside her and she looked at him. "What was that?"
"A small file, he says," Ron muttered loud enough for her to hear. "After that whole 'Ron Factor' thing?"
"He was joking, Ron," Kim assured him. I think. Kim's train of thought came to a halt when they reached the plane. She peered up at the open door and felt a cold chill run down her spine. I know this plane, she realized. I've climbed these stairs before.
"Is there a problem?" Will asked, looking back at her.
She shook her head. "No, nothing." She waited until Will had climbed up the short stairway into the plane before following. Entering the cramped passenger cabin, Kim was struck by an unnerving sense of familiarity. She allowed her gaze to wander around the plastic and aluminum interior, picking out various details, searching for any clues. Evidence markers were scattered around the interior, pinpointing various things of interest. Peering closer, she realized that the majority of them were either small red droplets of blood or sections of the fuselage that had been partially melted.
All the while, the feeling of deja vu steadily increased, cold fingers of dread reaching through her chest.
"Could I get a DNA sample from one of these?" Kim asked, motioning to the evidence markers.
Will shook his head. "Not until after our own team has finished."
"Right." Her eyes fell upon the oval opening that separated the passenger cabin from the cockpit, and the icy grip on her heart intensified. She stumbled towards the cockpit, cold numbness tingling in her extremities. As she entered the cockpit, her vision blurred, faded to gray.
She sat quietly in the cockpit, monitoring the instruments as the aircraft reached the proper altitude. Behind her, in the passenger cabin, she could hear Adrena Lynn complaining loudly as she strapped on her parachute. The imposter glanced up at the window and caught her reflection, offering a thin smile to herself. Her eyes were hidden behind mirrored sunglasses, hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.
Setting the aircraft on autopilot, she rose from her seat and stepped into the passenger cabin.
Adrena Lynn looked at her, lips curled into a sneer. "What are you doing? Get back there and concentrate on keeping this damned plane level!"
"Oh, I don't think that I will," she replied, leaning against the fuselage. "I'd rather watch the fun back here."
"You're not getting paid to watch." Adrena barked.
She laughed. "I'm not getting paid at all."
Adrena glared at her, suddenly wary. "What?"
"The pilot had a bit of a personal problem and had to take some time to pull himself together." She chuckled a bit before continuing. "And it's been so long since I last saw you, I just had to come along to see you off."
"Who the hell are you?" Adrena demanded.
She reached up and pulled off the sunglasses that had hidden her eyes. "Recognize me now?"
Adrena Lynn exchanged looks with her cameraman before the two began slowly backing away. "Possible?"
"Yes and no," she answered, stepping towards the woman. "Let me demonstrate."
"Yo, KP!"
Kim jerked out of the trance that had overcome her, banging her head off of the doorframe as she did so. "Damn," she swore.
"Sorry, KP." Ron offered apologetically. "But you zoned out again. Really freaky-like, too."
Kim clutched her arms across her chest, trying and failing to suppress a shudder. "She was here," she whispered.
"What? Who was here?" Ron asked.
"The imposter." she replied. Ron looked at her blankly and she sighed. "Ron, the woman that we saw in the Avion Rapide security video." She waited a moment before adding, "The groupie."
"Oh, yeah, her." Ron replied, nodding quickly. "Why didn't you say so." He looked around the cockpit. "So, uh, where'd she go?"
"She's not here now, Ron." Kim hissed. "But she was. She was here, and then she... she..." She choked down the knot that had formed in her throat, staring out the cockpit window as she did so. "She must have t-tampered with the parachute. That's why it didn't open - she made it so that it wouldn't work."
Ron blinked at her. "Man, what a way to go. But, um, how do you know?"
Kim looked at him, mind racing. How exactly did she know? Was she supposed to tell him that she had a vision, saw it happening? That she was having dreams about it? Yeah, right. She stepped past Ron and walked back into the passenger cabin, eyes downcast. "I don't know. If only there was something..."
Adrena stepped behind her assistant and gave him a shove, propelling the now-screaming man forward into her, knocking them both back into the fuselage. The impact slammed her head painfully into a support strut.
Laughing gleefully, Adrena paused long enough at the open door to give her a wave. "See you later, Possible. And Michael, you're fired." With that, she leapt out the door.
She threw the unfortunate distraction across the room and slowly walked over to the door. "Guess she didn't examine her 'chute too well," she said, pulling the door shut. Turning towards the cameraman, who was scrambling backwards away from her, she flashed a gleeful smile as her hand began to glow with fiery plasma. "Now, what say we have us some fun, mister decoy?"
Kim staggered, knees buckling beneath her. "Not again," she growled. "What the hell is happening to me?"
"Kim!" Ron yelled, running to her side. "Kim, what's wrong?"
"I... uh... I slipped." she lied. "Wasn't paying enough attention, I guess." Climbing back to her feet with Ron's help, she gave him a kind smile. "Thanks."
"Any time." He smiled back. "Besides, I'm supposed to be the clumsy one."
Looking around, Kim realized that she was in the place where the "imposter" had slammed into the fuselage. "She banged her head here," Kim whispered. "I wonder..." Turning around, she reached down and pulled a pair of spectroscopic sunglasses from one of her cargo pockets.
Ron watched silently as she peered close to the wall. Suddenly, she leaned closer and grunted. "What is it, KP?"
Ignoring him, Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator. "Wade, I have what looks like a sample of hair here. Can you run a DNA scan?"
Wade's face appeared on the screen. "Sure thing. I've been itching to try out the new sequencing software that I downloaded last week."
Kim held the Kimmunicator up and waited as a bright blue beam lanced out of the device and washed over the small patch of crimson hair that had caught around a rivet. The beam faded, and Kim looked at the screen expectantly. "How long 'til you have something?"
Wade began typing furiously. "I have to access the government databases, as well as the national medical records. Could take a while. Depends on a lot of things."
Kim nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. "Let me know as soon as you have something."
"You'll be the first to know." Wade said before the screen blanked.
"Have you found something?" Will asked, walking over to the pair.
Ron straightened and puffed out his chest. "What if we have?"
Will eyed him evenly. "I remind you that your presence here is due to my influence with the local authorities. Influence that can easily be... redirected."
Kim groaned softly, her head beginning to throb. "We really appreciate you using your influence to let us stay, Will. We honestly do." NOT, she added silently. "There's a bit of hair here, snagged on a rivet. Could be important."
Will pushed up next to her and leaned close, his eyes narrowing. "This could be vital evidence. I'll have to ask you to step away." He straightened and motioned towards two white-smocked men, who quickly approached.
Kim and Ron dutifully stepped out of the way as the two technicians began examining the evidence. Talking softly to themselves, the two men probed the site with tweezers before pulling a few strands of hair free.
"Dude, what are they doing?" Ron asked, watching as the technicians placed the hair into the top of a cylindrical object studded with blinking lights, a long cable running down to a briefcase-sized black box.
Will smirked. "The latest technology from Global Justice R&D. A portable genetic analysis laboratory. With a built-in wireless link to access the Global Justice DNA library."
"Cool." Ron said. Leaning to Kim, he whispered, "What the heck did that mean?"
Kim smiled. "It allows them to examine the DNA of a genetic sample, Ron." She looked at him. "Like they do on CSI."
Ron smiled. "Ah, cool. I love that show. Don't understand it most of the time, but I love it."
The Global Justice device began beeping and humming, small wisps of vapor escaping from various ports and valves as it vibrated hard enough that it began moving across the floor..
"It's not going to explode, is it?" Ron asked, sliding over to stand slightly behind Kim.
One of the technicians looked at him. "No. That particular problem was corrected in the last upgrade."
The other tech cleared his throat. "Actually, that's slated for correction in the next upgrade."
"Oh," the first tech replied. "Well, the odds against it actually detonating are... what? Three to one?"
"More like one and a half to one."
"That's great, guys." Kim said, rolling her eyes.
A final loud beep sounded, then the lights on the device all began blinking green. The techs both grinned. "Ah, sequencing complete. Now accessing the Global Justice databases."
Will smiled triumphantly. "Excellent."
The Kimmunicator beeped loudly, and Kim excused herself and walked down the stairs, standing in the shade beneath one of the plane's wings. "Go, Wade."
Wade regarded her warily. "Kim, are you alone?"
"Yes. Well, Ron's here, but everyone else is busy elsewhere. Why?"
"I've got a match to the sample you found. A thirty-point match. Aside from some strange anomalies, we've got a positive ID."
"You rock, Wade."
"Yeah, well, maybe," the young genius said, averting his eyes.
Kim felt a sudden unease grip her. "Wade, what's wrong? You seem kind of... worried."
Wade swallowed. "Kim, the genetic sample matches your own DNA."
She felt her blood run cold. "What? How is that possible?"
"Did you get some of your own hair in the sample?" he asked hopefully.
"No," she replied, sinking to her knees. "You scanned exactly what I found. I didn't touch it."
"I was afraid of that. The DNA in that sample matches yours almost perfectly. More than well enough to stand up in any court." Wade looked away. "Way more than enough."
She tried to speak, found her throat unwilling to cooperate, finally managed to squeak out, "Almost perfect?"
Wade tapped at his keyboard before continuing. "There's some minor genetic abnormalities, mostly in the genes associated with reflexes and the senses."
Ron stepped up beside Kim, eyeing her with obvious concern. "What, the lady lacks sense? Sounds like my kind of girl."
"Wrong kind of sense, Ron." Wade sighed. "I was talking senses in terms of sight and smell and such." Wade looked up, staring straight at Kim through the Kimmunicator's small screen. "I'm running a full analysis of the DNA sequence. There's something about it that doesn't add up, and I'm going to find out what it is."
Kim nodded absently. "Thanks Wade. You're the best."
Ron frowned. "It has to be Drakken. You know how he is with cloning people. Especially you. Must be at it again."
Kim nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe you're right, Ron. That would explain it." Well, most of it. But what about the hallucinations I'm having?
Footsteps on the airplane's stairway brought her head around. Will Du walked over to where she and Ron were standing, his expression carefully neutral. "The DNA search is complete."
Kim nodded, rising to her feet slowly, a sudden leaden feeling in her belly. "Same here. Let me guess..."
"I think we need to talk, Kimberly." He motioned to two nearby policemen, who quickly approached.
Ron stepped in front of her, shielding her. "Now wait just a minute."
She touched his shoulder gently. "It's okay, Ron. I don't mind."
"But..."
"It's okay," she insisted. "I fight crime. I don't run from the law. And I didn't do anything, so there's nothing to be worried about."
Ron looked thoroughly unconvinced, but said nothing.
Will favored her with an unreadable expression. "Officer, we will need to utilize one of your... meeting rooms. If you don't mind."
Ron stepped up. "I'm coming too."
Will glanced at him. "I don't think..."
"Hey, we're a team. Team Possible. I may be nothing more than the distraction most of the time, but that doesn't matter." He puffed out his chest. "Where Kim goes, I go."
"Ron..." Kim blinked at him. Where did THAT come from?
Will cocked an eyebrow. "I see. As I was about to say, I don't think that will be a problem."
Ron had the sense to look sheepish. "Oh. Sorry."
Will motioned towards a nearby car. "This way, please."
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She crouched in the bushes, watching as her younger self climbed into the police car, followed by Ron, and then Will. Her heart gave a sudden thump at the sight of Ron, his hair unkempt, eyes following her younger self's every more. A dull ache suffused her as long-buried memories fought for release from the depths into which they'd been imprisoned. Turning from the sight of him, she savagely cursed under her breath, hands balled into trembling fists. Damn it, not now! He's not him! He's not MY Ron! He's not!
The car pulled away and turned onto the street, quickly accelerating and disappearing in the distance. Reigning in her emotions, she let out a breath and forced herself to relax, to focus on the immediate situation. Well, so much for worrying about getting in my own way. Although it might be interesting to take some time to sit and talk to myself for a while. She smiled at the thought. Well, maybe next time.
She slowly crawled backwards, easing away from the legal circus that had surrounded Adrena Lynn's aircraft, humming a Gaelic tune as she did so.
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End Chapter Four
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