After a while Kim went outside via the back door to look for Jenny. She found her sitting on a lawn chair facing the sunset. She opened another and sat down beside her. Neither said anything for a while, watching the sunlight slowly fade.
"This always happens," said Jenny at last.
"What's that?" asked Kim, pretty sure she already knew.
"It's karma, or fate, or something," said Jenny, "Never in my entire life have I been as happy as I've been over the last... what, nine months? Even that deal with Monkey Fist didn't entirely kill my good feelings."
Kim was silent as Jenny gathered her thoughts.
"And now, for nine months of bliss, I have to pay with nine or ten years in prison," she said, and tears formed in her eyes. "Sooner or later, my bad luck always catches up with me, and spoils whatever good deal I've got going."
Once again the bad-luck charm fell silent, and Kim held her peace.
"But what if, this time, I fight for what I want?" she mused.
Alarmed, Kim looked at her friend, her not-sister. "Um. Would you explain that, please?"
"I'm not going back," replied Jenny, simply.
"And that means...?" said Kim.
"It means kicking Starfire's butt, and sending her back empty-handed. After the life I had there, I deserve to be left alone and find my own way," she said.
"Do you really think that's the right thing to do?" asked Kim.
Jenny shrugged.
"Do you think you could kick her butt?" asked Kim.
Again, Jenny shrugged.
"I really wish I had some advice for you, but I don't. I'm still trying to take it all in," said Kim.
"I understand. It's a shock for me, too," Jenny said, then sighed. "I guess I should say that I haven't really made up my mind yet about what I'm going to do. I want to give it some thought, then get some advice before I decide."
"I think that's wise of you. Don't be rash. We might be able to settle this without any violence," said Kim.
"I guess we'll see..." said Jenny.
Kim got up, gave Jenny a brief hug, then went back inside.
Jenny sat and thought, and watched the fireflies as they danced in the bushes and air.
kpkpkp
It was fully dark by the time Jenny came back inside. Wade had not heard back from the Global Justice head, and Mrs. Possible was still stunned at what she had learned about Starfire's anatomy.
Kim made room, and Jenny sat down between her and Ron. Her not-sister and not-brother both hugged her tightly, and reassured her they would stand behind her, whatever decision she finally made. Rufus got in her lap, and added his support.
"Thanks for the support, guys, but neither of you have any idea of what Starfire can do. I have. I fought her on several occasions before I gave myself up, and she has powers she hasn't yet shown you," said Jenny. "She's way out of your league when it comes to fighting."
"Well, we did get a glimpse of her throwing green energy bolts like Shego," said Kim, "In fact, that's who I thought had saved us from Amy's Snow Beast."
"I'll give you a heads up. She can fly, she's very strong, and very tough. Her people can survive in space with just a source of air." Jenny sighed. "We became friends when I gave up evil and worked with Kid Flash. You might have noticed she's very passionate and very emotional. I believe that's typical of Tamaranians. When she accepts you as a friend, she does so with no reservations or restrictions. She will trust you completely. And betraying her trust and making her mad is not a wise thing to do."
"You speak the truth, friend Jinx," said Starfire, coming in the door to the living room, "My people have a warrior culture, and lying is considered a very disgraceful act. I have had to learn how while on earth so I can know when I am a victim of it, but I am very bad at doing it.
I would very much like to have you, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, as my friends too. But we are in opposition on the matter of friend Jinx, and I understand how you feel. You are heroes, and I do not wish us to become enemies."
Kim glanced at Ron. "Starfire, believe me when I say we don't want that either. Is there any way we can change your mind?"
"There is none that I know of," she replied, unhappily, "But we do not have to depart right now. Perhaps we shall discover some way out of this situation with the stickiness."
"We're getting in contact with the person we work for. She's the head of a worldwide crime fighting organization. I'm hoping she'll be able to help," said Kim.
"I sincerely wish that as well," answered Starfire.
"We just have to wait for her to call us back," said Kim. "In the meantime, come on, I want to show you something." She and Ron got up, but Jenny sat there, pointedly ignoring the alien girl.
Starfire and Ron followed Kim up to her room. Kim logged into the GJ database, and called up Jenny's mission records. Then she stood up, gesturing for Starfire to sit. "Take a look at these. They'll show you what she's been doing here."
Starfire nodded and sat. She read the written reports, and watched the video when it was available. She marveled at the creative use of friend Jinx's bad-luck powers to prevent the evil-doers from prevailing. As claimed, Jinx had given up evil, and was devoting herself to good.
That made Starfire feel even worse, knowing she had to take the other from a promising career.
kpkpkp
Jim and Tim came home soon afterwards, followed some ten minutes later by Mr. Dr. Possible. All three were surprised at the new arrival.
Upon learning Starfire was a real alien, Mr. Dr. Possible plied her with questions about faster than light travel. He was disappointed when she told him ofthe principles behind the technology.
"But that wouldn't work! It's physically impossible!" he objected. "The mass-to-speed ratio is wrong.And the thrust derived from a chemical fuel would be impossible to reach,too."
"But that is how it is done," replied Starfire, then brightened. "Perhaps the laws of the physicsare different here."
He thought for a few seconds. "Yes, you may be right." Disappointed, he sat in his chair and fumed a bit.
Jim and Tim had one question: "Are all the girls in your universe as pretty as you and Jenny?"
Jenny put a hand over her mouth to hide a smile, while the question both embarrassed and confused Starfire. Embarrassed because it was a very direct question, and confused because they had both asked it at the same time. She had no idea how to answer.
When they found out why Starfire was there, the room turned decidedly chilly. Aware of that, Starfire turned to Mrs. Possible. "Since I have arrested friend Jinx, I will need to be near her until we return home. This means I will have to stay here, or both of us will need to go elsewhere."
Mr. Possible opened his mouth to reply with a sharp retort when Jenny put a hand on his arm. "It's okay... dad... she can stay with me. I don't mind."
Controlling his temper, her not-dad nodded.
Just then the Kimmunicator beeped, and Kim answered it to find Dr. Director herself on the other end.
"Team Possible, I want to commend you on your quick thinking today. You were right-- there were far too many animals for just the three of you to handle," she said.
"Did you catch Amy?" asked Jenny.
"No, unfortunately, she had an escape route and had taken it by the time we got there," was the answer.
"Jenny, on the subject of you being taken back to your universe, I would like to see you and the rest of Team Possible, along with this... Starfire in my office at nine tomorrow morning," she said.
"We'll be there," replied Jenny, and the screen went dark.