Kim Possible and all related characters and indicia are owned by the Disney Corporation. Supergirl and all related characters and indicia are owned by DC Comics/Warner Bros. This work of fan fiction is written for pleasure, not profit.
Drakken's Lair
Dr. Drakken was watching two computer monitors at once. One showed a stylized representation of a warsuit neural interface and how it reacted to the various inputs John Corbin was feeding it. The other displayed the program code that ran the interface. The two men had been wrestling with the glitch Corbin had discovered for almost four hours. It was well past midnight, and Drakken's eyes felt like they were full of sand, but he didn't want to call it a night yet. They were, he thought, very close to solving the problem, and he wanted it out of the way. Corbin apparently felt the same way, since he hadn't said a word about taking a break, just kept patiently simulating inputs and recording outputs.
The intercom buzzed. Drakken pushed the talk button. "What is it Shego?"
"You wanted a report on the Atlanta operation." It was a statement, but there was an edge to Shego's voice that made Drakken sit up straight.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable made it into the factory, but there's a problem."
"What sort of problem?"
"The surveillance cameras failed."
Corbin straightened, and Drakken blinked. "All four of them?" he asked in disbelief.
"All four of them," Shego confirmed.
Drakken looked at Corbin. "I think I need to look into this," he said, "Lets take a break."
"I think I'll join you, if you don't mind," Corbin replied.
"This is the image from camera two," Shego said. She touched a button and the video began to play. "You can see Possible and Stoppable moving into its field of view," she said as two familiar forms appeared on the screen. "And then…" the image dissolved into static.
"Rewind it and run it frame by frame," Corbin ordered. "Please," he added, smiling at Shego. Shego complied. As the video played Corbin peered intently at the screen.
"Stop it!" he barked. "Who is that?" He pointed at a shadowy figure at the edge of the camera's field of view.
Shego scowled at the image. "I don't know," she admitted. "I didn't see that before. Let me try to enhance it." The image became clearer, enough to show that the figure was a person, though no details could be seen.
"Why didn't our informant mention this third party in his report?" Drakken asked. "And do any of the other cameras show a clearer view of whoever it is?" Corbin added.
"As to the first," Shego said patiently, "He may not have thought it was important, but even if he did, our message format is fairly limited. After all, he can't just pull out his cell phone, hit speed dial and say, 'Hey Shego, Kim has company.' We had to use totally innocuous phrases with prearranged meanings. He sent us a message that said Kim was going to Atlanta. And that's all he could say."
"Can we ask him for more detailed information?" Drakken inquired. "Without risking exposing him of course," he added. Their mole in the FBI had taken years to cultivate, and Drakken wasn't inclined to be careless with him.
"Yes," Shego replied, "But it'll take time. As to the second…" The new camera view she displayed went white before they saw any sign of the mysterious third person.
"That's odd," Corbin mused.
"What is?" Drakken inquired.
"The way the camera failed. Shego, would you play that back again, slowly?"
"Of course," she replied, favoring Corbin with a smile. The image replayed. A bright white glare flared, and then the screen went to static.
Corbin looked at Drakken. "Those were CCD cameras weren't they."
"Yes," Drakken confirmed.
"CCD?" Shego asked.
"Charge Coupled Device Shego," Drakken explained. "A specialized microchip that detects photons and records their energy level. The chip takes the place of film."
"Like in a digital camera?" Shego asked.
"Exactly."
"Why is that important?" she demanded.
"It's important," Corbin said, "Because most CCD's have a narrow sensitivity range, and if you hit them with a light that's too bright, they burn out."
"What could do that?" Shego asked.
"A laser," Drakken said, and Corbin nodded.
"Well," Shego observed, "They always were clever. They spotted the cameras and took them out. I'm willing to bet that they found the teleportation unit and are already tracing where we sent the equipment."
"I agree," Drakken said. "I think it's time to set Phase Two in motion."
