Hi, everyone.The third chapter is finally here! Thanks for waiting. I promise to try and get things moving a little smoother now that I'm home again. I hope you all had an awesome summer, and are looking forward to...um...Halloween. I'd like to thank everyone who has reveiwed so far: you guys keep me alive. And this is your reward:

"Are you done yet?"

"No, Shego, I'm not. And would you please stop asking? You sound like a two year old."

Shego crossed her arms and scowled, "Listen, Doc, if you don't finish soon, you'll be wishing I was only 2 years old."

Wow, she thought, that sucked. But Drakken didn't seem to notice.

"Genius takes time," he muttered absentmindedly. He was busy putting the finishing touches on his bubblegum bomb.

Shego rolled her eyes, but decided that any comment she might make would throw off his concentration. She hadn't seen Kim for a week since their last encounter. She was restless. Incredibly restless. The idea of going down to Middleton and dragging the red head back to the lair had crossed her mind more than once. But Drakken seemed nearly done with whatever he was trying to do, so Shego considered it best to sit and wait.

"Red wire, blue wire, green wire," Drakken mumbled vaguely to himself, peering inside a large, candy shaped object, "Chartreuse wire, fuchsia wire, periwinkle wire..."

Maybe it was the absurdity of his words, or his manner of speaking, but either way, Shego felt herself drifting off to sleep to Drakken's usual silliness.

"Mom, Dad?" Kim called, walking into the kitchen with Rea in tow, "Can Rea stay with us for a little while?"

"How long is a little while?" Mrs. Possible asked as she washed the lettuce leaves under the running faucet.

"A couple days," Rea replied. She felt uncomfortable asking to stay with people she hardly knew, but Kim at least was willing to have her.

"Sure, that's fine," Mr. Possible smiled at the girls as he set the table, "If it had been during school, I don't think I would have allowed it, but it is summer." He straightened up and caught Rea's eye, "Where were you thinking of staying?"

Shrugging, she said, "At a hotel, I guess. I don't really know anyone in Middleton. I was relying on GJ to fix something up for me."

"Where are you from?"

"Uh..." she licked her lips nervously and took the plunge, "Chicago." Kim glanced at her, but said nothing.

"Oh, I love Chicago," said Mrs. Possible brightly, "I went there to for a seminar at the University. You have some great restaurants."

Rea grinned, looking very relieved.

"Well, dinner will be ready soon. We'll call you when it's time to come down."

Back in the living room, Kim fixed Rea with a hard stare, "You're from Chicago? Why didn't you tell me?"

Rea looked uneasy. She couldn't exactly say she didn't know if Chicago existed in this world or not. "I...well...I can't really explain that one. I'm sorry. I guess this makes me seem really untrustworthy."

Kim shook her head, muttering, "Damn right it does."

Rea turned her eyes toward the floor, feeling ashamed, "Sorry."

A knock at the door roused them enough to drop their awkward conversation. Kim crossed the room, and opened the door.

A tall man in a black suit stood on the welcome mat. He wore dark sunglasses and an ear piece dangled over his shoulder. He was smiling.

"Miss Possible?"

"Yes...?" Kim looked a tad suspicious.

"I'm from Global Justice. I'm here to drop off R.G.'s bags." From behind him, he produced a small, green luggage bag with wheels and a retractable handle, and a dark purple and black backpack.

"Thanks," said Rea, reaching forward and taking the backpack, which she slung over her shoulder. She grabbed the handle of the luggage bag, and hauled it over the threshold.

"Thank you," Kim said.

"No problem. We are still working out a place for her to stay. If you can keep her for a while, we'd greatly appreciate it."

"Yeah, ok," said Kim, glancing at Rea.

The man gave the two girls a small salute, a smile, and left. Kim closed the door behind him.

Jim and Tim came bounding into the room. They stopped just short of Rea. "Who's the suit?" they asked in unison.

"GJ guy," Kim mumbled, "No big."

"Boring," yawned Jim.

"How long is she gonna stay?" Tim hitched a thumb at Rea.

"Long enough to drive you crazy," Rea smiled, "I have a little brother at home. I know how to deal."

Tim and Jim matched her smile, "That brother of yours? He's got nothing on us." They sped off around the corner.

"You've got a brother as bad as them?" Kim asked incredulously.

Rea shook her head, "My brother couldn't be as bad as them if he tried all his life. Shallow threats don't seem to faze those two."

"If they did, they wouldn't be half as bad as they are," Kim picked up the green luggage bag and hefted it under her arm, "Come on. Let's put this stuff in the guest room."

Kim made her way to the stairs, Rea following her, staring intently at the crimson tresses cascading down her back.

"You must have really flippy hair," Rea said.

Kim paused and gave her a look. Rea grinned.

Up in the guest room, Rea knelt on the floor in front of her open luggage bag. Pulling out a rather full plastic bag, she looked over her shoulder at Kim, "You mind if I do some laundry?"

"You brought dirty clothes?" Kim asked, slightly disgusted.

"I made a quick stop before coming to Middleton. My location did not accommodate a washing machine." Or a bed, or an accessible bathroom, or hospitality...

"What did you stop for?"

"Research," Rea replied, in a tone that said, 'And now we drop it'.

"We can do laundry later," Kim said, "It's almost dinner."

"Girls?" an adult voice shouted up the stairs, "Dinner!"

"Coming," Kim called in response. Eyeing Rea, she added, "Try to be more truthful around my parents, ok? If you keep acting so shady, I'm not going to let you stay here anymore. You're still a stranger to me, and, as much as I'd like too, I can't fully trust you yet."

"I understand. I'll be good."

"Alright. Let's go eat."

"Thanks for letting me stay for a while, Mr. Possible," Rea said as she pulled her chair up to the table, "I know this was rather impromptu."

"It's no problem," he replied, passing her the mashed potatoes, "Since Ron left for summer vacation, Kim hasn't had many friends over."

Kim flushed slightly, "Dad, it's not a big deal."

"Well, I'm just saying you can invite friends over. We won't try and kick them out-"

"You might not," muttered Tim.

"You said you were from Chicago?" Mrs. Possible intervened.

Rea nodded, munching some salad.

Mrs. Possible smiled, "Are you thinking of attending the University?"

"Well, I haven't thought about it much yet. I'm going to be starting high school this year. College is kinda off my radar."

"So, you're a freshman?"

Rea nodded.

"You look older. I'd thought you'd be a sophomore, at least."

Rea smiled slightly, "I get that a lot."

Kim sat quietly during the meal, listening as her parents interrogated her new sidekick. She learned that Rea played the piano, and would be beginning guitar in the fall. Her favorite past times were reading, writing, and listening to music. Her favorite genre of music was indie rock. She used to play soccer, but she had decided it was become too competitive as she got older, and dropped it. She loved swimming and riding her bike. She had two brothers, an older one and a younger one. She liked cats, and had a large, orange one named Boomer. She hoped to get a kitten soon. Both her parents were lawyers, but not the typical, evil kind. Her dad worked in real estate, and her mom in divorce court. She had a slight OCD and was good at jigsaw puzzles. She was currently focusing on getting into her high school's freshman play and writer's showcase. She wanted to be a writer/actress/musician when she grew up.

"Do you play any sports?" asked Mr. Possible.

"I think you said that one already, dad," said Kim. "May we be excused?"

"Oh, sure."

She and Rea picked up their plates, deposited them in the sink, and sprinted up to Kim's room.

Rea let out a relived sigh as she sank down onto Kim's bed, "Thank you so much. I was worried they were going to start asking me what my shoe size is or if I've got a boyfriend, or something like that."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Kim asked, eyebrow raised.

Rea laughed.

"What?"

"Boys are as off my radar as college is."

"What do you mean?"

Rea caught Kim's eyes, and held them, "I'm gay."

"Oh." Kim dropped her gaze.

"Don't worry," Rea muttered, lying back against Kim's numerous pillows, "I'm not gonna come on to you or anything. I have self control. God, do I have self control."

"Huh?"

"I've been a couple situations were I could have easily flirted it up with girls I like. But I haven't, because I know they don't swing that way. I know other people might have gone for it, but I value the trust I have developed with my friends. I don't feel like ruining it."

"You get crushes on your friends?"

"Yeah, friends from school, friends from camp, friends from all over the place. I get crushes on friends more often than not."

"Do you get multiple crushes?"

"Not usually, no. I always have a new crush from camp each summer. And it depends with school, since I'm there for a longer period of time."

Kim frowned slightly. Rea shook her head, "It's no different than if I were straight, except for I might have less crushes on friends since less of my friends are boys."

"I don't know many gay kids," Kim mumbled.

"Well, here's one for the record."

Kim settled herself at the end of the bed, "I have been attracted to girls before."

"Really," Rea said, pushing up into a sitting position.

"Yeah, but I'd never thought of getting with a girl before. I just appreciate their beauty, you know?"

"I get that."

Kim nodded, "Like, I've always thought that my friend Monique is very attractive. And Shego..."

"You think Shego is hot?" Rea's eyebrows rose.

"Well, yeah," Kim shifted, looking a little uncomfortable.

"I mean, you're right, she is very good looking. I just didn't believe you'd think of an enemy that way."

"I guess, but she's more than just an enemy."

Rea cocked her head to the side, frowning, "What do you mean?"

"She's my equal. No, not my equal, she's my opposite. We...compliment each other. The yin to my yang or something. It's hard to explain."

"No, I get it. She represents the other side of you. Your darker side."

"Right. If I were evil, I'd be Shego."

Rea smiled, "That's pretty cool, to have someone like that in your life."

"Not always," Kim sighed, "We can really hurt each other sometimes. Our battles are so intense. Not that I don't like them. I always learn something when I fight Shego."

Rea removed her glasses, and wiped the lens on her shirt, "I hope I can fight Shego one of these days."

"I dunno, I think you still have a bit more to go before you go up against her. She's pretty amazing."

"I've been told I'm pretty amazing too."

The two looked at each other for a moment. Kim recalled their spar earlier that day, how Rea had surprised her. Her jaw twinged just thinking about it. The girl had shown some talent. But sheer talent was not enough against Shego. You have to be able to think on your feet, to react at just the right time, to make a quick recover in case you mess up. Kim considered herself an expert when it came to Shego. Rea was not an expert, but she could be taught. She just needed some time.

"We'll see," Kim said with a shrug.

"Shego."

"Mmmph."

"Shego!"

"Nuaa..."

"Shego, wake up!"

"What?" The raven haired woman opened one eye, regarding Drakken with a tired sneer.

"It's time."

She suddenly felt very awake. The sneer shifted to a smile.

"Awesome."

I hate writing talking scenes. But I have to do 'em.

Coming next chapter, we're going to dive right into the action when our dynamic duo pay Drakken a visit. What will happen? Only Rea will tell!