FULL POTENTIAL: a Kim Possible fanfiction
by Ranger Thorne
Ron hid in the trees near the lair until he saw the hovercraft leave. Suddenly a high-pitched version of the usual Deet-deet-dee-dee! Caused both him and Rufus to flinch. After taking the time to undo the modification, he switched the device on.
"Ron, you okay? Where's Kim?" Wade looked worried.
"I think Drakken hit us with the antidote to the biochemical mutagenic inhibitor," Ron said glancing to where Kim still lay, breathing but otherwise unmoving.
"I was afraid of that. Hey," Wade looked closely at the screen, "when did you start using words like that?"
"Like what?"
"'Mutagenic inhibitor.'"
"Uh," Ron looked confused. "Hey, I know what those words mean!" The confusion turned to a serious expression, "How do I know what those words mean?"
Wade looked at something on a monitor, "And when did you learn how to make a sonic laser?"
"It, it just came to me," Ron shrugged. "It worked, right?"
"And there are about a thousand different industries who'd literally kill to get their hands on it," Wade told him.
"I thought they'd be more interested in the plasma gun I made," Ron replied.
Wade's eyes widened, "I thought you didn't remember any of that."
"So did I." Shaking his head, Ron told him, "We need to get Kim home."
"I'll call a ride. Is she okay?"
"I think so," Ron said. "She passed out, but she doesn't look like she's gonna explode or anything." He shook his head, "I just wish I could quit imagining that I hear her screaming."
Ron, help me! The voice in his head yelled. It hurts!
"You sure it's in your head?" Wade asked. "It could be a part of her mutation."
"It couldn't be," Ron said, shaking his head. "She's out cold."
"Well," Wade scowled, "your ride should be there soon."
"As KP would say, you rock, Wade," Ron told him.
"Hopefully, she'll say it again soon," Wade told him. "You sure she's okay?"
"Physically, she's fine." A car pulled up. "Hey, that's Mr. Summers. KP and I rescued him when he was being chased by those dogs." Ron rubbed his leg, "I had to get stitches on that one."
"He's your ride. I'll check in later." The kimmunicator went blank.
The ride into Middleton was quiet. Ron sat in the back with Kim's head in his lap. As he again brushed her long hair from her face, he heard Rufus giving directions to the Possible home to the driver.
It'll be okay, KP, he thought to his friend.
Help me, came the reply. Ron, I can't wake up. Something's happening to me. It's like all my strength is being gathered for something. I don't want to do this!
Ron looked at her. Then, as he opened his mouth to speak, Summers turned in his seat and announced, "We're here."
"Thanks, Mr. Summers," Ron told him.
"Hey, after the way you two led those dogs away, how could I not give you a ride?"
"Hey," Ron said, trying to not think about the pain of a dog biting into his leg, "we just kept them distracted for a bit. No big." At least I actually helped on that one, he thought.
"You need help getting her inside?" the man asked.
"Nah," he carried her in his arms.
"Good thing it was just sleeping gas," Summers said.
"Yeah. Knowing those two, it could have been anything." Ron smiled and shrugged a little, "Of course, if I hadn't hit that valve, it wouldn't have sprayed her." Make the hero look good, Ron. "Thanks again, Mr. Summers." As the car pulled away, Ron turned to head up the steps.
"Kimmie?" Kim's mother burst through the door and rushed to Ron's side. Taking a wrist in her hand, she frowned, "Her pulse is steady, but weak."
"Uh, Mrs. Dr. P, could I get her to the couch before the physical?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry, Ron." Dana Possible followed him inside, closed the door behind him, then watched until her daughter was placed gently on the sofa. Then, the doctor took over as she checked vital signs. "She seems okay, just sleeping," she muttered more to herself than Ron.
I can't wake up, Ron, Kim's voice sounded in her head. And now it feels like I have a cramp all the way around my chest.
"Mrs. P," Ron said, "do you believe in telepathy?"
"Why?" the woman turned to look at him.
"Because I'm hearing Kim in my head. She says she can't wake up and she's got a cramp in her chest." He looked at her, "Could that be real?"
The brain surgeon looked at her daughter for a moment. Then, "Ron, do you remember where Kim keeps her swimsuits?"
"Uh," he thought, "she keeps a couple in her underwear drawer in case of emergencies." Seeing her look, he explained, "She was packing for a vacation and I saw them. I made a joke, and she explained." When the expression didn't change, he went on, "Eh, the rest are in a box in her closet."
"Go get me the strapless black one, please."
"Sure thing, Dr. P." Turning, he left the room.
"Hated to lie to him like that," Dana muttered as she reached around and under the black top to undo Kim's bra. Then, with a swift motion, she removed both articles of clothing. Grabbing a nearby throw, she covered her. Then, after folding the cover down, she began to examine Kim's chest.
"She lied to me," Ron said as he entered Kim's room. "Why would she do that?"
Hey, she lied to me, too, Kim's 'voice' said, sounding strained. But in this case, she just wanted you out of the room so she could examine me. I do have a strapless swimsuit, though.
"Yeah, the blue one." He opened a drawer, "It's the one I saw when you were packing." Smirking, he added, "Should I be wearing gloves?"
Very funny. OW!
"KP?" Ron pulled the top of the swimsuit from the drawer as he looked around. I'm starting to believe this is real, he thought.
Ron, it is. Ow-ow-ow!
Tearing down the stairs, Ron called out, "She's hurting!" Coming into the room, he saw Kim's mother pulling the throw back over Kim's torso. The black top was inside out on the floor, showing the bra straps. So that's why she wanted me out of the room. "I found a blue one," he offered as he came closer.
"Thanks. Now , you said she was hurting?"
A loud grunt escaped from Kim. Her back arched suddenly, nearly throwing her into a sitting position. The cover started to slip, causing her mother to grab at it.
PAIN! OH GOD IT HURTS! MY BACK IS EXPLODING! The volume of the mental voice was enough to stagger Ron. Dazed, he made a motion of tossing the top to the doctor, but ended up just dropping it in the floor.
"Ah, she's screaming!" Ron fell to his knees while holding his head with both hands.
At that point, Kim's eyes opened and she did, indeed scream. In a spastic motion, she rolled off of the couch and onto the floor, nearly knocking her mother over. Her back muscles twitched and writhed as the doctor looked on.
"Oh, no. Not my baby." The woman put a hand on her daughter's arm, "I'm here for you, Kimmie."
Kim's hand clenched into fists, and her eyes were squeezed shut. She had propped herself up onto her elbows, and the throw had somehow gotten caught between her arms and her chest. Her legs trembled as the top half of her back began to ripple beneath the skin. Then, her upper body seemed to widen slightly, as if something beneath the skin had suddenly grown.
"Something's happening," Ron warned. He moved to put a hand on Kim's other arm, then looked at the parent. "I hope you're not about to panic."
"Why?"
"Because I am!" Kim screamed again. "I'm right here, KP!" he called to her.
"Ron," Kim gasped, "it's happening." She gasped, "It's -- AH!"
As Ron and Dr. Possible watched, the muscles on Kim's back seemed to gather at the bottom inner edge of both shoulder blades. There was a sound like tearing skin and breaking bone as two lumps seemed to grow. Then, with another ripping sound that was joined by Kim's scream, two objects burst from her back. Dana, who had been beside her daughter, was knocked aside by one as they continued to grow from her back. Then, after almost a minute of growth, they drooped as Kim fell unconscious and dropped completely to the floor.
Kim awoke facing the wall. She felt weak and her chest was sore. As she tried to focus. She glanced down to see she was topless, but covered by the bed sheet. A slight rustling from behind her caused her to glance over her shoulder. Two seconds later, she was standing in front of the full-length mirror. "Oh, no," she groaned.
Kim could see that her chest was more developed. Her breasts hadn't grown, much, but the muscles on her chest looked like she had spent her entire life lifting weights. It was what was behind her, though, that caused her to stare. Two wings now attached to her back. The feathers were white, giving her an almost angelic appearance. "A half-naked angel," she muttered.
Modesty screaming in her ear, she dug around until she found a top that went around her waist, then buttoned around her neck, leaving her back bare. It was tight, but it fit. Standing in front of the mirror again, she tried to move the wings, only to flinch when they obeyed her. They really are attached, she thought, trying not to panic.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs as Kim's mother entered the room. "You feeling okay, Kim?" she asked, concern in her voice.
"As well as could be expected, I guess." With a final glance in the mirror, she turned on her mother.
Before she could say anything, however, the woman held up her hand. "I know you're about to launch on me and your father. And, we deserve it. But, we just got chewed out by Ron for the past hour, so I'm asking you for a little break before you take your turn."
"Ron chewed you out? Ron Stoppable?" Kim was incredulous. "You sure it was him?"
"Who else would be so worried about you that they'd rip us both a new one like that?" Managing a slight smile, Mrs. Dr. P. added, "And we had it coming."
"Yeah, you did," Kim said, putting her hands on her hips. "So, what do we do now?"
"Well, it's obvious that we'll have to make some adjustment," the doctor shrugged. "And I'd like to take you to the hospital for some tests."
"Tests?" Kim stepped back, "Mom, I don't want to be cooped up." She grimaced, "Ugh, coop. Bad pun."
"I didn't notice. Look," she shrugged, "we need to know if the . . ." she paused, seeming to gather her courage, "mutation is finished."
Glancing over her shoulder, Kim grumbled, "How much worse could it get?"
"We don't know. That's why we were trying to stop it." When her daughter turned to glare at her, she sighed, "Come downstairs and we'll try to explain it. Okay?"
For a few seconds, Kim considered refusing. In the end, however, curiosity over what had caused the sitch she was in won out. "Okay," she said. Then, with another glance at the mirror, she added, "If you can help me get there without knocking anything over."
When Kim and her mother arrived in the living room, they found her father and Ron sitting in an uncomfortable silence. Both stood, however, when she came into the room.
"KP!" Ron exclaimed, rushing over to hug her. He stepped aside, quickly, however, as Kim's father embraced her.
"We were worried," he admitted as he released her.
Embarrassed, she waved a hand at them and said, "Eh, genetic mutation. No big." When the others chuckled, she relaxed. "So," she said to her mother, "you said you were going to explain things?"
"Yeah," she replied. Then, gesturing toward the couch, she suggested, "Why don't you sit down?"
It took Kim a couple of tries before she could sit without her new wings being uncomfortable. Finally, she was able to stretch them out along the back of the couch and feel at ease. Ron sat next to her, but didn't lean back onto Kim's new limbs.
"Ah, yeah." Dana looked at her husband, then turned to her daughter.
Before she could speak, however, James Stoppable said, "You're mother and I are very sorry you had to find out like this, Kimmie."
She rested a hand on her husband's knee before adding, "To be perfectly honest, we hoped you'd never have to find out." Holding up a hand, she went on, "Before you go flying, uh," she shook her head, then went on, "flying off the handle, let us explain."
Kim, who had been ready to do precisely that, sighed, leaned back, and said, "Okay."
"When your father and I first got married, we were both working for the government. I was in research. Some of it was in genetics. Shortly before we found out I was pregnant, there was an accident at the lab, and I was exposed to some toxins that caused your DNA to mutate." Glancing at James, she continued, "We had tests run as soon as we found out you were coming."
"Some of your mother's colleagues wanted us to terminate the pregnancy," her father growled as a deep anger momentarily surfaced.
Taking his hand, Dana smiled, "Obviously we didn't. But," she went on, looking back at her daughter, "I did leave government service."
"That's when we moved to Middleton," her father added. "Your mother was able to get a job at the hospital, and I went to work at the space center."
"But I kept working on how to keep you from mutating. And, just before you were born, I came up with the biochemical mutagenic inhibitor. We kept it under your bed so you'd get a dose every time you went to sleep."
"So, it's been there my entire life?"
"Yes, Kimmie, it has," her father answered. "Your mother was able to figure out that, if we kept you from mutating until you reached your full maturity, you wouldn't mutate at all. So," he shrugged, "we never told you."
"Never told her?" Ron pointed, "Mr. P, what about her kids? Wouldn't they be mutants, too?"
The adults looked at each other for a long moment. Then, with a sigh, the doctor said, "Actually, it's very unlikely that Kim will ever had children of her own."
Kim flinched as if she had been struck. "What? Why?"
"Because, more often than not, genetic mutation results in sterility." Dana looked at the floor.
"So, you kept all this from me?" When her parents reluctantly nodded, Kim stood. As she did, her wings folded up behind her. "I trusted you all this time, and you were keeping this secret. How can I trust you again?"
"We were trying to make sure you never needed to know," James said. Then, looking at his wife, he said, "Your mother wanted to tell you, but I kept talking her into putting it off."
"We started to tell you on your 12th birthday," she said. "But you had just gotten back from some mission or other."
"And on your sixteenth," he added.
"And on a bunch of others, too," Kim admitted. "In fact, I'm almost always going to or from one mission or another." Some of her anger faded. "But you should have told me I wasn't normal."
"Hindsight is 20/20," James said, "so it's easy to say that we screwed up. But we did it for the right reasons."
Kim's wings wrapped around her like a cloak. "I think I need to think for a while. Excuse me." She turned and fled the room.
Ron started to follow, but stopped when Kim's father spoke, "Ron, I think she wants to be alone."
"I'll leave if she asks me too, Dr. P. But I need some answers of my own."
Kim was sprawled on her bed, face down. "KP?" Ron asked as he reached the top of the stairs.
"Please leave, Ron," came the muffled voice.
"I will after we talk."
Kim began to roll over to face him, only to stop as her wings protested. "That's okay," Ron said, kneeling next to the bed. "This'll work."
Turning her head, she looked at him. "Mom said you were lecturing them for about an hour before I woke up." He could see where tears were forming, and one leaked from her eye as he watched.
He turned a slight pink, "I'm afraid I let my temper get the best of me."
"You know, the only time you ever do that is if I'm involved." She reached out and put a hand on his arm, "Thank you."
"Hey, the worst they can do to me is kick me out," he grinned. "They can ground you."
"That's a lot more of a problem than it use to be," she said, sounding tired. "God, I don't want these things."
"I know how you feel, KP," he said. "I've been hearing things since that gas got us."
"Like me?" she said, timid.
"You knew about that?" His eyes went wide.
"I could hear you, a little. After we got home, I could hear you pretty good." Kim swallowed, "Ron, I'm scared." After some work, she got herself seated on the side of the bed. Again, her wings were stretched out behind her. As Ron moved to sit next to her, she asked, "Would -- would it be bad if I wanted someone to remove them?"
"Remove them?" Ron stared at her. Then, with a few blinks, he recovered. "I don't know if that's a good idea, KP. I mean, it looks like your body had adapted to them pretty well."
"I just want to go back to normal," she said, looking at her room. "I want to wear normals clothes, and do normal things."
"KP . . . Kim," Ron took one of her hands in his, "you don't do normal any more than I do." When she looked at him, he explained, "Saving the world is so not normal. Neither is doing as much stuff as you do."
"I meant my normal," she explained. Leaning over, she rested her head on his shoulder. In a small voice, she said, "I miss my normal." Ron put an arm around her, then was surprised when her wing draped itself over his shoulder.
"You know," he whispered, "you might not like them, but these wings put a jet pack to shame."
"Jet pack?" She looked at him with a dawning comprehension. "Oh, you mean I can fly?"
"Who knows?" He pulled her head back to his shoulder, "After things get settled, we'll go somewhere and find out, okay?"
"Yeah," she muttered, taking comfort in her friend's presence, "get settled."
Slowly, Kim became aware of her surroundings. Opening her eyes, she saw that she had rolled onto her back. There was a slight pull at the area of her back between the wings, but it wasn't too uncomfortable. "Next time," she whispered, "I'll put a cushion between them." After some experimentation, she found a way to get her elbows onto the mattress without having her wings between them. Sitting up, she sighed as she realized that the night stand was now devoid of any of the items that usually rested there. "Great, I must have swept it all off with a wing," she mumbled.
Standing, she made her way to her closet. As she began to go through her outfits, Kim slowly began to move farther into the small area. Muttering to herself, she finally stepped back, holding a few tops. "Looks like I'm going backless," she declared as she tossed the clothing on the bed. She put a hand to her head, then frowned, "Ugh, I need a shower. But," she looked over her shoulder, "how do I clean these things?"
It took the young woman fifteen minutes on the Internet to find what she needed. "Great," she muttered as she turned off the machine, "I can't use soap without removing the oils." Sighing, she added, "Well, I'm still washing my hair."
By the time she returned to her room, Kim had managed to kill almost an hour. To her embarrassment, she had knocked the shower curtain down when she had, instinctively, ruffled the feathers of her wings at the same time she had shaken the wings, themselves. The direct spray of the shower on her back had brought about the action. And, to add to the embarrassment, she had enjoyed the feeling of the water in her feathers.
Wet wings, though, didn't hold much water. By the time she had finished fixing the curtain, her wings were almost dry. She had fixed the shower curtain, cleaned up the spilled water, then retreated back to her room. She started to drop the towel, then stopped and glared at her dresser.
It took her almost as long to find a bra as it had to find a top. Finally, she found a strapless one that would fit under the top she had picked out for the day. "Like it or not," she mumbled as she dressed, "I gotta get some different clothes." Then, the reality of what she had just said hit her in the face. Her eyes wide, she asked herself, "Wait a minute, when do I not want to go shopping?"
As Kim entered the kitchen, something finally registered. "Mom," she asked the woman who was standing by the stove, "where are the tweebs?"
"Oh," Dana shrugged, "we asked the Johnsons if they could spend the night. They'll be home after school today."
"School?" Kim froze.
"Not for you, Kimmie," her father said from his seat. "You're going to the hospital with your mother." He looked up from the paper, then stopped.
"Something wrong, Dad?"
"Kimberly," he muttered, "your eyes."
Her hands flew to her eyes. They felt the same. Now, though, her mother had turned and was staring as well. "What's wrong?" the teenager asked.
Dana stood in front of her and looked at her daughter's face. "Your eyes have changed a little." She smirked a little, "Don't worry, they're not pink or anything. In fact, people pay a lot of money for contacts that do that."
"Do what?"
"Your pupils are like a cats," came the explanation.
"Cats? You mean," Kim thought for a second, then went on, "they're slits?"
"Yeah."
"You know," James said, "now that I'm over the sudden shock, they look pretty cool."
"Hmpf," Kim replied as she draped a wing over each side of her chair and sat down.
"Here's some cereal, honey," her mother said, putting a bowl and a carton of milk in front of her. "And don't worry," she added with a half-smile, "I won't make any bird-seed jokes."
"Thanks for small favors," Kim grumbled. She was almost finished when there was a familiar knock on the back door.
"Hey, Possible family," Ron said, leaning his head inside the door. "Minus the twins, of course," he amended as he came in.
"Hi, Ron," 'Mrs. Dr. P.' replied. "Had breakfast?"
"Yeah," he said, walking up next to her. "But I'm thirsty for some reason. Could I have some water, please?"
"Sure thing," she told him. "You know where the glasses are."
Nodding, Ron smiled, "Yep." After finishing off two large glasses of water, he put the glass in the sink, then sat next to his best friend. "How you feeling, KP?"
"Like I'm trapped in the Twilight Zone," she told him as she swallowed the last bite of cereal.
"Ooh," he replied, "been there. In fact," he frowned, "I'm still there."
Kim looked over at him. "You don't look any different," she told him.
"It's all up here," he said, tapping himself on the temple. "It's getting kinda freaky."
"That's right," Dana said, sitting across from them, "you were exposed to that gas, too. What are the symptoms?"
Ron scowled as he gathered his thoughts. "Well, I could hear KP's thoughts when she was out cold," he said, finally. "But I haven't heard her think anything since she passed out in the living room." Kim could tell he had held back something, but let him continue. "My memory of what happened when I was turned evil not long ago is back." He turned slightly pink, "That was an embarrassing thing to have happen."
"It wasn't your fault, Ron," Kim reminded him.
"I meant wanting all the world's nacos," he admitted. "They would have gone bad long before I could have eaten them." Seeing Kim roll her eyes affectionately, he looked back at her mother. "I also can hear what sounds like chittering in my head."
"Chittering?"
"Well," he shrugged, "I was exposed to something called 'Mystical Monkey Power' once. It might have something to do with that. Maybe the gas boosted whatever was left."
"Sooo," Kim asked, "you think you're hearing monkeys?"
"ALL monkeys," he corrected. "And what's worse, I'm starting to understand what they're saying."
"Ronald," Kim's father said, "monkeys don't talk."
"No," he agreed, "but they do think. And I'm starting to understand what they're thinking about." Before anyone could comment, he went on, "And the more I understand it, the quieter it's getting. And, believe me, the fewer monkey thoughts I have, the better."
"Can't argue with that," Kim said, nudging him with an elbow.
"Anything else, Ron?"
"Well, Mrs. Dr. P.," Ron frowned, "it kinda goes with the evil thing. You see, when I turned evil, I could suddenly do things I couldn't before. Like," he shrugged, "build a death ray or a mega weather machine." He looked over at Kim, "I know how I did it. I even think I can do it again."
"You're not going to try to take over the world, are you?" Ronald Possible asked.
"No way, Mr. Dr. P." He waved a hand, "I like being one of the good guys."
"Well," Dana said, standing, "I think you should come with us to the hospital. I'm going to run some tests on Kim to see if her mutation is complete, and if it's caused any problems we need to deal with."
"Duh," Kim said, pointing over a shoulder with her thumb, "what do you call these?"
Ron reached out and stroked the one closest to him. "Soft," he told her. "I call them soft."
Kim tried to glare, but his grin caused her to soften. "I didn't ask you," she said in a lighter tone than she intended.
He stroked the wing some more, "But they are soft."
Kim started to tell him to stop, but found the sensation of having her wing gently caressed to be very relaxing. "Ron," she said, snapping out of it, "you're distracting me."
"Oh," he blushed a little, "sorry."
"Uh, Mom," Kim turned to her mother, "I have a wardrobe problem. Could we go shopping later?"
"What's wrong, Kimmie?" her mother asked. Then, rolling her eyes, she said, "Of course. I should have realized. We'll hit the mall when we finish at the hospital. Fortunately," she said as she picked up her purse, "I don't have much scheduled for today. Oh," she looked at Ron, "we'll call your folks from the hospital."
"No problem, Mrs. Dr. P.," Ron replied. Seeing that Kim was about to stand, he tried to scoot his chair to give her more room, only to have it fall over, dumping him into the floor. "Or," his voice came from under the table, "I could just wait here."
Sandra Darling looked through the microscope a final time before looking up at Dana Possible. "From what I can tell, her body has stopped changing. But she's anemic and probably running on more momentum than anything else."
"I wondered about that." Dana crossed her arms, then leaned a hip against the table. "But she's bound and determined to go shopping later."
"What girl isn't at her age?" Sandra grinned up at her friend.
"No kidding." Returning the grin, Dana leaned over and said, "Remember that time in college when we both got those gift certificates for Christmas?"
Sandra chuckled, "Oh, yeah. We spent two weeks trying to figure out how to spend about ten bucks, each."
"But we had about a hundred dollars worth of fun," Dana reminded her after a chuckle of her own.
"That we did." Turning serious, the woman pointed to another slide, "I looked at the boy's blood sample, but all I see is that it looks like his blood has been filtered, somehow."
"Filtered?"
"Yeah. Whatever happened to your daughter must have kicked his liver into high gear." She slid the slide of Kim's blood out of the microscope, then replaced it with Ron's. "There's not a trace of cholesterol or any other harmful substances." Shaking her head, she leaned in to look, "I wish my blood was this clean."
"Hmm," Dana took her turn, looking at the sample. "I wonder if everyone would be effected this way?"
"So," Shego asked Drakken as they listened to the rain outside of the French villa they were currently hiding in, "how long do we hide before we go back and finish Kim Possible once and for all?"
"Shego," he replied with a scowl, "it's only been a day. Besides, we want the heat to die down a little."
"You do, maybe," Shego told him as she pulled a nail file out of her boot.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips.
"Huh?" she looked up at him, then back to her nails. "Oh, just that you always run at the first sign of trouble."
"I do not."
"I'm afraid you do, Doc."
"Do not."
"Do."
"Do not."
"Do. Wait," Shego held up a hand, "I'm not doing this with you. Even if you have a hundred henchmen, you still wilt under the police."
"They have guns." Even to Drakken, this argument seemed silly. "Oh, okay, then. We'll go back tomorrow and see to it that Kim Possible and that," he struggled for words, "buffoon, whoever he is . . ."
"Stoppable. You know, easy to stop?"
"I can never remember that!" He frowned, "Anyway, we'll go back tomorrow and use Kim Possible's mutation to destroy her once and for all!" Grinning now, he looked at Shego, "And you wanted to just hide out here." Turning, he walked away.
"I gotta find another line of work," Shego said without looking up.
"What's wrong, KP?" Ron asked as he sat up from tying his shoe. The two were sitting in Kim's mother's office, waiting for her to return.
"The words are blurry," Kim said, holding out the magazine.
"They look fine to me." He looked at her, "Maybe it's your eyes."
"Ron, why would my vision get worse?"
"Hey, I'm not a geneticist. But," he shrugged, "it is possible that your eyes have adjusted more along the lines of a bird of prey." As he took a breath, he didn't see Dr. Dana Possible step into the doorway. "If that's the case, then your distance vision may have increased at the cost of your close-up vision. So, you could be farsighted." Seeing his friend staring at him, he asked, "What?"
"You mean I could need glasses?"
"You know, Kim," Dana began from behind Ron.
"AAHH!" Ron leaped to his feet.
"Sorry, Ron," she grinned at him.
"Uh, that's okay, Mrs. Dr. P." Ron sat down as he turned pink.
"You were saying, Mom?" Kim asked as she grinned at Ron.
"There is an optometrist at the mall." Dana sat in her chair, then added, "If Ron's right, you might just need them to read. And I've seem some really cute reading glasses."
"I've never worn glasses," Kim protested. Then, slumping in her seat, she sighed and said, "After all this, though, needing glasses are the least of my problems."
"Uh, Dr. P.?" Ron looked worried.
"Yes, Ron?"
"What did the lab say?"
"Ham on rye, hold the onion." When the teens looked at her in confusion, she shrugged, "They thought I was the deli down the street." When the two looks became glares, she smirked and went on, "Sorry, I've been waiting a month to use that on someone."
"Yeah," Ron told her, "but now I'm hungry."
Rufus stuck his head out of the pocket he had been in long enough to say, "Hungry!" Then, he vanished again.
"Sorry, Ron. We'll grab something later." Looking at her daughter, she asked, "You feeling okay?"
"A little tired."
"Yeah. Your bloodwork shows that you're a little anemic. We're going to pick up a multi-vitamin that will help with that. It does look, though, that you're body has stopped changing."
"That's good news," Kim told her.
"Can't argue with your, there. Still," she cautioned, "we don't know what kind of changes might have been done that won't show up on an x-ray. Speaking of which," the doctor stood and went to the wall, where a series of lighted panels waited. A large brown envelope was in her hand, and she removed two x-rays from it.
"This is what your back looks like, now," Dana told Kim as she and Ron moved to look at it. "It looks like the wings have their anchor where the inner corner of your scapula was."
"My what?"
"Shoulder blade," Ron provided. When she looked at him, he shrugged and said, "My Aunt Rita broke hers once."
"Anyway," Dana went on, "the scapula now has a semi-circular area that has been removed. In its place is the first joint of the wing." She turned off the machine and took down the x-rays as she continued, "It also looks like the muscles of your torso have adapted to having the wings attached. Although," she warned, "they aren't as developed as the muscles you've been using all your life."
"Meaning . . ." Kim thought for a second, "they'll get tired faster."
"Bingo."
"Hey," Kim shrugged, "having a doctor for a mom rubs off sometimes."
"Too bad cleaning your room never rubbed off," Dana teased. "Kimmie, in time, you might be able to fly or do some other wild things. But, for now, you need to keep your feet on the ground. You could do yourself permanent damage if you don't work your way up slowly."
"Okay," Kim said, nodding.
"As for you, Ron," she scowled a little. "Well, it looks like every impurity in your body has been purged."
"Purged?" He looked ill, "That sounds like one of those medical things they do to clean you out."
"Not, nothing like that. It's like your system was completely cleaned of anything that wasn't supposed to be there. It could be what allowed your memory of what happened to you return."
"Oh."
"Mom," Kim tried to lean forward, but was stopped when her wings caught on the arms of the chair, "is Ron in any danger of developing, uh," she gestured over her shoulder, "these?"
"No. Your DNA has been trying to grow wings for years. It was the mutagenic inhibitor that stopped it. When you were given the antidote, it caused the mutation to spring forth all at once." Dana nodded toward Ron, "Ron's DNA shows no sign of mutation."
"If it's any consolation, KP," Ron said, "I'm really kind of jealous."
"Sure, Ron," she replied. Actually, she had to admit, it did help that her new appendages were something other people might want. "Are we done, Mom?"
"Yeah. Just give me a few minutes to tell everyone I'm leaving a little early and we'll get out of here."
As Kim's mother left the room, Ron saw his friend slouch a little in her seat. "Tired, KP?"
"A little," she admitted. "But I want to get some shopping so I won't have to worry if I'll have something to wear."
"You know," he grinned, "you could always go for the long robe look."
"I am not dressing as an angel," she protested.
"Hey, this could save you a lot of time at Halloween."
"I knew you were going to say that," she said, rubbing her eyes.
Monique sighed as she watched two of the cheerleading squad leave Club Banana. They haven't seen Kim or Ron, either. I hope they didn't get caught on one of their missions. I don't know how I'd deal if something happened to Kim. Or, she grinned a little, how I'd deal with Ron if something happened to Kim.
"Hey, Monique," came a familiar voice. Turning, the African-American was surprised to see that Kim was wearing a long coat that was riding very high on her shoulders. It was almost like she was wearing some kind of backpack.
"Hey, Kim," Monique smiled. "You okay?" She saw that Ron was waiting outside with a red head old enough to be . . . "That your mom?"
"Yeah. She and Ron agreed to let me shop in here on my own."
"Everybody's wondering what happened to you at school today," Monique told her.
"Long story, Monique." Kim looked around, "Uh, is there somewhere private we can go for a minute?"
"You ain't got a rash or something, do you?"
"I wish. Look, I just don't want people to see why I'm having to do so much shopping all of a sudden."
"Let me guess," Monique said as she led the way to the back, "your brothers did your laundry so now everything you own is pink?"
Kim laughed. "Actually, my Dad did that we I was seven. I kinda liked it."
"It was last week, and so did I." Monique led Kim into the small break room. As she closed the door, she heard a rustle of cloth behind her. "Now," she started to turn, "let's see what -- HOLY!"
"Nice choice of words," Kim said as she draped the coat over a chair. She stretched her wings slightly, then folded them up against her back.
"Uh, Kim," Monique walked around her friend, "where'd you get these?"
"I'm a genetic mutation," Kim explained. "My folks rigged my bed to give me a shot of something to keep me from mutating, but Drakken found out and gave me an antidote. So," she shrugged, and her wings shrugged with her with a rustle of feathers, "I mutated."
"Wait," Monique squinted at her, "you mean they were supposed to be there all along?"
"According to my DNA, yeah."
"Girl, I'd hate to see what's behind DNA door number three."
"But, you can see why I'm here, and why I don't want to wander the racks trying things on." Instead of pointing at her wings, she spread them, "I think I'd be a danger to other shoppers."
"Not to mention the displays I spend the weekend putting together." Monique put her right arm across her chest and tapped her chin with her left hand. Then, she walked around Kim a couple of times. Finally, she stopped and asked, "How much do you need?"
"Everything," was the reply.
"Wait here, I'll be right back. Just leave everything to me."
"Really, Mrs. Dr. P," Ron protested, "I'm good. I'm fine."
"Ron," Dana told him, "you mother said it's been a while since you've had your eyes checked."
"I, uh," he frowned, "I really don't like those things they put on your face."
"Kim's in there now," the doctor told him. "When she gets out, it's our turn. Your mother's orders, got that?"
"Okay, okay," Ron gave up. "I know I can't win against one parent. When you gang up I'm really in trouble."
A few minutes later, Kim came out of the room, followed by a disturbed doctor. He was a little over six feet, with receding dark hair and a bit of a paunch. His eyebrows were trying to mate as he watched Kim walk to her mother.
"Her distance vision is excellent," he reported. "But, it's just the opposite up close."
"So she does need reading glasses," Ron stated.
"This is not a good time to be proud of yourself," Kim told him with a scowl.
"Well, your brother is right," the doctor told her. "Did I say something funny?"
The three chuckled for a second, then Dana said, "Oh, he's just a friend of the family."
"Oh. Sorry about that." The optometrist handed the clipboard he was holding to the woman behind the counter. "This prescription is one the lab can have ready in an hour."
"Great," Kim said, "glasses."
Looking at her for a moment, the doctor walked over to a selection of frames. Pulling one off of the display, he came back and handed them to Kim. "These frames are, supposedly, indestructible. And, they come in a little case that should fit nicely on that belt you wear when you go out and save the world."
"Recognized me, eh?" Kim said, slightly embarrassed.
"I have a niece that has a collection of stuff that you wouldn't believe. Every time there's a new article or story about something you did she's all in a tizzy over it." He grinned, "It'll kill her when she hears I did your exam."
"It's no big," Kim said, waving her hand. "I just do what I can." Ron took a step away, then another.
"But most people don't," the man told her. "That's what makes you different. Even more than those," he gestured to the coat she had on again, "uh, things, there." Ron was almost to the door.
"An excellent point," Dana said to her daughter. "Ron, stop where you are and get in there so he can check you out."
"Ah, man," Ron grumbled. "I almost made it."
"You must be Mr. Stoppable," the doctor said. "Don't worry, this doesn't hurt."
"That's what you all say," Ron grumbled as the door closed.
As Kim looked at the frames the doctor had suggested, there was a sudden exclamation from inside the office.
"What in? Geeze, what is that thing?"
"I guess he met Rufus," Kim said, grinning.
As night fell, Kim retired to her room and collapsed face-down onto the bed.. The bags of clothes she had purchased had been put away with some reluctant help from Ron.
"But, KP, shouldn't you be putting your, uh . . ." he had protested.
"They're call 'bras,' Ron," she had chided. "And I'm not in them, so it's no big."
"Yeah," he had turned away, beet red, "not in them. Right."
I shouldn't have tormented him like that, she thought, grinning. We might not be romantically involved, but he's still a boy with hormones. I bet he had to take a cold shower when he got home.
She could hear her twin brothers talking as they passed by the doorway to her room. Rolling her eyes, she thought of their reaction to seeing their sister.
"Cool!" they had cried out in unison. "Hey, Mom," Jim had asked, "are we gonna get wings, too?"
"No," she told them. "Your sister's DNA is the only one mutated. You two are normal."
"That's a matter of opinion," said the older sister.
They had examined her wings closely, but were careful not to hurt her. Then, they had left, talking about doing genetic manipulation on themselves to grow horns or bat wings.
"No genetic experiments in the house!" their father had called after them. Then, shaking his head, he had raised the paper in front of him and said, "Boys."
"The tweebs want wings," she muttered into the pillow. "Wonderful." As she lay there, she let her wings stretch out and flap slowly. "Hmm," she whispered, "the breeze feels good."
She was flying. Far below, trees and fields passed by at a leisurely pace. The beat of her wings kept rhythm with the beating of her heart. The wind flashed past her face, bringing tears of joy to her eyes . . .
Unwillingly, Kim's eyes opened. She was still lying on her stomach, but the sun had long since gone down. Kim looked out of her window and down the hill.
The wind flashed past her face, bringing tears of joy to her eyes . . .
As the dream came back to her, she thought of her mother's words, "But, for now, you need to keep your feet on the ground." Reaching into her pocket, Kim pulled out the case for her new glasses. Standing in front of the mirror , she took them out and put them on.
They were frameless, with the pieces for the ears and nose screwed onto the lenses themselves. There were, in fact, almost invisible. Kim had to admit that they didn't look bad.
"I can do everything but read without glasses," she muttered as she put the glasses back into their case, then put them away.
"But, for now, you need to keep your feet on the ground."
Kim looked out the window again. Finally, she turned to sit on the bed. She flapped her wings once, and nearly blew the pictures off of the wall. Curling them around her, she looked away, lost in thought.
Finally, she folded her wings back behind her as she stood. Then, she put on her mission clothes, with the exception of a black top she had just purchased. Her trip through the house was as quiet as she could make it. As she slipped out of the door, she whispered, "Sorry, Mom, but I've never been good at keeping my feet on the ground."