Meeting the Folks.
Upstate New York.
Kim and Ron got out of the car that Ron had rented. Wade had gotten them a ride on an airforce high speed transport, and sandwiched between MRE's and disaster relief packs, they'd made the trip quickly—parachuting out of the plane to save more time. Ron had pointed out that there were benefits to wealth—as the rental car attested—Kim sighed as the automatic massage unit took over.
"We should buy one like this…" Kim said. Ron grinned,
"Well, we could—between you and me, this would be pretty small potatoes…"
"Small potatoes for you…" Kim replied grinning, "I'm not the King of the Naco's."
"True…but we probably should get a car." Ron said seriously, "the Ninja isn't always a good ride…like in the winter."
All comedy ceased when they swung by the hotel, to see Kim's mother exploding from the doorway, looking around frantically, her hair mussed.
"Thank God!" Andrea said.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
"No time to explain," her mother said, swinging up into the car.
"Here, go to this address." Andrea continued, "we have to find Shego."
"She'll be here?"
"Oh yes." Ron looked concerned, and immediately swung out of the parking lot.
Shego, what's wrong?
When Kim, Ron and Andrea got to the house, Andrea's brain had finished gibbering out the worst that could have happened and had started again on "A." on the list. But the house was there in the morning light, no cops, no fire, no… nothing. And then, Andrea caught a glimpse of green and black and turned to see Shego standing across the street. Shego made a motion to walk across, then stopped and turned around, as if to walk back to the hotel, then turned to look at the house, wringing her hands.
OK…doctor, score one for Shego—she hasn't done anything. Andrea's greatest fear hadn't been violence… not on Shego's part at least, but fear for Shego, especially if she had been violently rebuffed. She didn't think suicide was a danger, but still…
"Kim, you and I have to go to the house… Ron… could you keep Shego company?"
"Sure…" Ron said, pulling over. Andrea got out and walked with Kim.
"Kim." Andrea said,
"Yeah Mom?"
"There's a…young girl in the house, If her parents allow it, I need you to talk to her…about Shego."
"Um…why?"
"Because I think I saw a Kim Possible action figure tied to her belt."
"When did-"
"When she was running away from Shego…there's been a terrible misunderstanding, and I hope you can convince her that…"
"Yeah?"
"Shego isn't evil." Kim blinked at that.
"Of course she isn't!" Kim said hotly.
"And if you only had your website and maybe the news to go off of?"
"Ouch."
"Right." Andrea said. Then, "Kim… I can't tell you why…it's not my story to tell. But this is important… as important as what Shego did for you and Ron." Kim nodded soberly.
"OK, Mom… no questions…and Shego isn't evil." She paused, "But-"
"I can't tell you why, Kimmie."
"OK." But it might help me figure out what to say in here…
Ron had gotten out of the car and walked up to Shego…and Shego didn't notice him…that was bad. Very bad. Normally sneaking up on Shego was about as easy as tap dancing on thin ice. This time, the raven haired woman didn't even turn until he was right on top of her.
"Ron?" Shego said in a thready voice quite unlike her normal confident sound. Ron blinked, looking at her as she turned to face him.
Shego had been crying. Ron realized, he never thought he'd See Shego cry—according to Kim's mom she hadn't even cried, not in the hysterical sense, when she'd been brought in after Monkey Fist's beating and torture. Given that, her red eyes and the way her body trembled was even more shocking. Ron didn't bother to say anything, just took Shego in a gentle hug.
"Hey Shego, we're here. " He said quietly. Shego didn't resist, holding onto Ron and laying her head on his shoulder. He could feel the trembling in her body, a combination of exhaustion and fear.
What the hell is happening here?
Kim and Andrea walked up to the front door of the house, which they both saw was an annex to a small church.
"Is this the right address Mom?" Kim asked.
"Yes…" Andrea replied. What if she moved? No, that was Shego's child here. Maybe the church was remodeled into the house.
Andrea touched the bell, and after a few moments, a young black man in his early twenties answered the door, looking at the two. Close cropped black hair and a stocky build framed a pair of blue eyes and an open friendly face. He was in the uniform of the local police, but without his equipment belt, although Kim saw the impression of a bullet proof vest under his shirt.
"May I help you-you're Kim Possible?" He said in shock.
"You recognize me?" Kim said.
"With all the times Cally has made me watch shows about you…yeah." He said. From his look Kim got the feeling that not all of those watchings had been voluntary.
"She's going to be so freaked out!" he said, "Especially after she thought she saw Shego-hey… is that why you're here?" Andrea intervened.
"Well… ah,"
"Oh! Sorry." He said, "I'm James." He grinned. "I'm just in for a quick break—so much craziness happened that we're still busy, even if crime is way, way down right now." He sighed, "Won't last."
"Oh?" Kim said, surprised. He gave another one of those brilliant smiles.
"You get a forest fire, a burning house…people come out and rise to the occasion…but people can't keep that tempo going." He laughed at himself, "Still, dad's right, I shouldn't borrow trouble, or keep guests on the front porch. Come in, Come in." Kim nodded and let her mother in first. Andrea smiled.
"I'm Doctor Andrea Possible…Kim's mother." James nodded.
"Hello Ma'am." He said. Andrea paused, "Are… Cally's parents home?"
"Yes Ma'am—Mom, Dad! We have guests!" James called as he led them down a short hallway to the living room. Kim looked at the pictures on the wall. Nice family, kind of remaindered her of her own—at least in the photo wall thing. Then they were into a nicely (but not richly) appointed living room, with a man and woman rising to greet them. The man was an older version of James, rising with the aid of a cane, while the woman was a petite Asian, her night black hair done up in a tight bun, somewhat younger.
"Dr. Possible, Kim, these are my parents, Michael and Izumi Lincoln" James said formally. The two blinked, than Michael gave a soft laugh.
"Well, you don't look twenty feet tall…but to hear Cally say it, that's your height."
"Um…" Kim said, "She…keeps track of me?"
"If you were a criminal and she was an FBI agent, you'd have no hope of escaping." Kim's lips twitched at that. "Can we get you two something—coke, water, coffee?" Andrea nodded, "Coffee for me, please…Kim?"
"Um…water if that's okay." Kim said.
"Certainly." After Michael and Izumi had settled them all down in the living room, he continued. "Cally's upstairs…and I think that you're not only here for a chat and a drink so before we get bombarded…" He paused meaningfully, "I figured you might want to have a chance to talk quietly." Kim didn't notice the gaze Andrea shot her way, but Izumi did, and she picked up on it.
"Michael… if Cally finds out that Kim Possible is down here, and she is up there, we will never, ever get any peace." She told her husband. He nodded thoughtfully.
"You're right about that." Kim smiled.
"How about if I go up and talk to her."
"That'd probably keep us alive in the future," Michael said, "If you wouldn't mind?"
"No big." Kim said. That was easy. As she and Izumi walked up the stairs, Michael and James looked over at Andrea.
"Now…" Michael said, "What's so important that your daughter can't hear about it."
"It's ah… about Shego." Andrea quietly said.
"Shego? Here?" Michael said. "I thought that Cally had scared ten years out of some woman just looking for directions to the church." Andrea shook her head.
"No. It was Shego… I'm her doctor and well-"
"Given that the last time I heard she was in the business of trying to take your daughter down, that's kinda odd, if you don't mind me saying so." James commented.
"Well….er…. things are kind of changing." Andrea replied. "Shego helped." Oh to hell with it.
"I'll answer all your questions but in brief, eight months ago Kim was assaulted and had a…well, breakdown. I didn't see it happening, my husband didn't see it—only Ron, Mr. Barkin, her school principal.. and Shego saw it coming. If it'd been up to us, or the law, when the dust settled Kim would have been in jail or in a mental hospital for maybe a long time —Shego was the one who took action to help Ron get her to where she could be healed…. during the craziness, and if you want to know what was really happening on that score I'll tell you about that as well, Shego was almost beaten and tortured to death, by confronting the man that started all the global insanity. Later while all of the craziness was in effect mobs of people kept attacking the hospital in Middleton. During this time Shego got out of intensive care and managed to help protect everyone who was inside the hospital. I owe her my life, but much more importantly, I owe her my daughters life, sanity and happiness,." She finished almost defiantly.
"And…" Michael said, "That doesn't' explain why you're all here?"
Oh boy.
"Shego became pregnant approximately 8 years ago." Andrea said in her professional voice, "She was told the child died in childbirth—that her own comet powers had resulted in the baby growing too fast and being stillborn." She paused, "That turned out to have been a lie. The child was adopted out the same day she was born…and only in the last few days did we find out about it."
"I see…" Michael said. Izumi had come back down the stairs, alone.
"So what…" Michael's wife said.
"Cally is that child." All three adults looked stunned at that.
"Cally? Our Cally?"Izumi said, her eyes wide.
"How old was Shego?" James asked.
"16." Michael nodded.
"So that's why she acted so oddly yesterday according to Cally." Michael said. "If that was Shego…well no way could Cally have just, run away."
"Shego wasn't trying to catch her." Andrea said. "In fact, we were coming here, but she saw Cally and recognized the resembalance…and well…" She didn't need to say anything else to the parents, and no amount of explanation would enlighten James until he had children of his own.
"Things didn't go well."
"No."
"And why didn't you come to the house?"
"Shego…wasn't really in any condition to talk." Michael nodded at that, thoughtfully.
"Is she here now?"
"Yes…across the street." Husband and wife looked at each other.
"Well, don't keep her waiting out there…"
"Oh, Good, Ron's with her." Michael paused. He'd caught the tone Andrea used. Ron's with her… because she needs someone to be with her.
Kim was going over what she was going to say as she walked up the stairs behind Cally's mother.
Nope. That won't work, how about tha-
"Cally?" Izumi called, "There's someone here to see you."
"Who mom?" The girl asked, opening the door to her room.
"Hi Cally." Kim said. Cally looked then her eyes got HUGE.
"Kim….Possible?" She asked. Kim grinned.
"That's my name."
"OH!" She squealed. "You're here! You're here!" Kim smiled at that. Cally reminded her of a younger Joss.
"Um…Cally, how about if you let Kim in and I'll let you two alone." Izumi said, clearly wanting to go back down stairs. Cally blinked.
"oops." She said and opened the door. When Kim entered she saw posters of herself, books, a computer… but she found herself staring at Cally.
Lambent green eyes looked back up at her, and the night black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, as Cally quickly cleared a place—mostly involving moving a few books—the room was neat. That didn't matter.
Cally could have been a younger version of…Shego. Abruptly Kim went cold. This was Shego's daughter, she was certain of it. Even though she understood her moms reason for not telling (and in matters medical Dr. Possible could no more violate her oaths then Kim could fly by flapping her arms)…
Thanks mom.
"Oh my gosh! Why are you here?" Cally asked. Then she paused and her eyes got even wider. Then, like all kids her age, an idea took hold. "Could you?" She asked indicating the Webcam on top of her computer. Kim nodded, smiling, and within moments a quick video of the two waving at the screen was recorded. "Everbody's going to be sooo jealous." Then, back to the subject, "It was Shego, wasn't it?"
Oh boy. Cally had referred to Shego like you might a killer robot…
"The lady you met yesterday? Yes, that was Shego."
"She's not a lady…she's a criminal." Kim had no children… that was off so far in the future that she couldn't even envision it…but even so…
God Shego, if she is your child, no wonder you melted down.
"Well, um…that's not quite the case." Kim said. "Shego isn't a villain…not any more, not really."
"But the website!" Cally said,
"I haven't updated it in a while." Kim said, and smiled, "Things have been a little crazy." Cally nodded earnestly.
"That's for sure Daddy got all of us and a lot of the other kids and families and put us into the church while James (he's my brother) and the rest of the police went out. I mean, Daddy used to be a police officer, but he became a pastor." Kim nodded. Family of policemen. Shego. Oh Boy.
"Was it scary?"
"Kinda, but Daddy had the kids sing and the adults took care of the kids…except for Miss Slocum."
"Miss… Slocum?" Cally nodded earnestly.
"She had a can of gas and a flare and she said the world was coming to an end."
"She…did?" Kim said, fascinated.
"Yeah, but Daddy took the flare and gas away from her and made her sit down. He said that if it was the end of the world, the Good Lord didn't need her help." Kim smiled at the image. It also left her an opening.
"Things were crazy where I was too…but they'd gotten crazy a while earlier." She paused, "I…" Kim thought a moment. She could think about it now—it wasn't pleasant, but the fear that had dominated her wasn't even a whisper now…but on the other hand, there were things eight year olds didn't need to be told.
"Before that… well some pretty…bad things happened to me."
"To you?" Cally Breathed, "You can do anything!" Kim, sitting on the bed beside the girl, smiled.
"Not always…" Kim said, "Not without friends…and that's where I, uh, messed up." She looked around the room, "I decided I could do it myself…and that hurt me, and then I hurt some other people." She paused, "and that's where Shego came in."
"She attacked you?"
"Nah." Kim said, "When I was going to hurt some other people, Shego stopped me from doing it….then she helped Ron take me to a place where I could get better."
"Shego?"
"Yep… without her…things wouldn't have worked out." Kim paused, "I wouldn't have gotten better."
"Didn't Ron do anything?" A pause, "Does he ever do anything?" Kim laughed softly.
"Oh, more than I could imagine…he's the reason I'm here…" She paused, "And when all the craziness was going on?"
"Yeah?"
"I didn't stop it. I couldn't. If it had been just me, we'd have lost. Ron stopped it."
"He did?"
"Yes." Kim quietly said. Ron and Monkey Fist, joined by the sword, the howling energy rising up, twisting darkness from Fist and a light so pure as to be agonizing to anything mortal from Ron…or through Ron, from a place where death didn't obtain. Kim shook her head back to the present. "Oh yeah…he did." It was then that Cally looked down at Kim's hand and her eyes got even bigger.
"Is that a?"
"Ring? Yeah." Kim said.
"You're getting married? To who?"
"Ron."
"That wasn't on your website!" Green eyes sparkled in joy. "That means I know something nobody else does!" Cally said happily. Then, "When are you getting married?"
"Um…not for a while—this is an engagement ring."
"Oh.… James said dad didn't marry mom for a while… they knew each other at work."
"Oh? What does your mom do?" Cally looked proud.
"She's the deputy district attorney!" Kim wondered if anyone would notice her at the window frantically waving off Shego and Ron.
Outside, Ron was no longer hugging Shego, but the older woman did have her arm tightly linked to his.
"What's taking them so long?" Shego said. Then, the door opened, and Ron could swear he felt a tremor through Shego, as if she was about to bolt right then.
At the door was a stocky man, skin burnished obsidian, next to Dr. Possible and a shorter Asian woman.
"C'mon in, everyone." He called, in a deep cheerful voice that also had a note of command to it.
"I can't." Shego said.
"You can." Ron said. "Because if you don't I'll knock you on the head and carry you in there." That got a brief betrayed look. Ron smiled. "Shego—payback time—Kim couldn't help herself alone, I couldn't have helped Kim without your help. So let us help. Please." Shego gave a jerky nod, and then the two walked towards the door.
To be continued.