"Hello, Kim."

Kim Possible froze as she heard the familiar voice sneering her name out into two syllables.

This had been a bad idea. She'd known it was a bad idea. First thing in the morning on a bright, shiny summer day in the middle of the work-week or not, there was still a chance of running into someone she knew at the mall.

Someone other than Monique, of course, who she'd planned on meeting, and who was currently standing in front of her with a pair of blue jeans in her hands and a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face.

But no, she just needed to have some new Club Banana for back to school, and she'd taken the chance.

And lost. Big time. Crashed and burned. The worst had happened.

"Hello, Bonnie," she said, forcing her voice to stay even.

"So she's finally come out of hiding," Bonnie said, haughtily, to Kim's back. "Where's the loser?"

Kim gritted her teeth, but didn't turn around. Instead, she "casually" picked up a blouse, as if whatever was going on behind her was somebody else's business. She also managed to avoid Bonnie's trap. "Who?" She asked.

"You know," Bonnie pressed. "Where's your sidekick? Where's the pants-dropping clown? Where's the waste of a classroom seat who's been following you around like a pathetic little puppy dog who needs to be put out of his misery since – "

Kim whipped around. "That's enough, Bonnie!"

Bonnie instantly raised her hands in surrender. "Okay. Where's Ron?"

Kim glared at Bonnie for a long moment, breathing hard and forcing herself to resist the urge to kick Bonnie biscuit in a way that she would never have even considered on her own behalf. Finally, she got the urge under control. "Ron," She growled. "Is running some errands for his mother this morning. Do you care?"

"No," Bonnie shrugged. "I just wanted you to turn around."

Kim gasped in horror, her eyes widening. She'd just handed Bonnie the very victory she'd been trying, however hopelessly, to escape.

She wasn't ready for this. She'd known it would have to happen sooner or later – she couldn't not go back to school, and she couldn't avoid Bonnie at school – but she couldn't deal with Bonnie's gloating now, not on top of everything else.

Well, it looked like she had to. It was coming. She braced herself.

Instead of splitting into her usual nasty grin, Bonnie's face hardened. She actually looked…angry?

"So this is why no one's seen you since you got out of the hospital. Was that whole thing about being in training to deal with a supervillain emergency just spin?"

Monique started forward. She stopped when she was standing beside Kim, but Kim put a hand on her shoulder anyway, just in case. She was fairly sure that Monique would get fired if she kicked a customer's ass while on duty. "Spin?" Monique shouted. "Spin? She's training up so she can fight that CGB! Remember? The one she saved all of us from? Including you?"

Bonnie's expression didn't change. "Good," she said. "I'd hate to think Kim was lying to us again. Her parents would have to ground her for another month. Now come on." She pointed to the back of the store. "Changing rooms. I want to talk to you, and I want some privacy."

Kim shot her one last glare, then spun around and marched to where Bonnie was pointing.

Bonnie ignored a similar glare from Monique until the other girl physically grabbed her arm as she walked past.

"Bonnie, I don't know who the hell you think you are, but if you – "

"Hurt Kim, you'll kick my ass. And so will Ron. And Felix.And that gross pink rat-thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What are you, her father? She can take care of herself." With that, she shook off Monique's grip and walked away.

Monique started after her, but then another hand settled on her shoulder.

"Hold on a second, Monique. Kim really can take care of herself. I think we should let her."

----

Bonnie entered the changing room where Kim was waiting for her, pacing as best she could in the tiny space, and locked the door behind them.

"Okay, Bonnie," Kim snapped. "What's this about?"

"I've been hearing rumors," Bonnie said. "All summer long, I've been hearing rumors about you. Well, some of them that I've heard have turned out to be true." She gestured at Kim's face. Unconsciously, Kim raised a hand to her scarred cheek, realized what she was doing, and defiantly lowered it again. "Now I have to wonder if some of the others I've heard are true, too."

"What others?" Kim demanded. Her mind raced feverishly behind her bravado. What kind of rumors could there be about her when she'd been in a coma for the first third of the summer?

"I've heard that you're planning to not even sign up for cheerleading in the fall. Now, I want the truth, and I want it straight from you."

Kim blinked. Was that it? Was that all? With the battle with a hyper-powered Shego looming over her like an avalanche that could fall at any time, such a thing seemed totally insignificant. Besides, cheerleading was something she'd given up on as lost the first time she'd looked in a mirror. Her parents, Ron, Monique – they'd tried to tell her otherwise, but even if they weren't just being nice, she knew better. She'd gotten used to the idea. Kinda.

"Well…yeah," she said, confused at Bonnie's intensity. "Yeah, it's true."

Bonnie's eyes widened and her nostrils flared. She took a deep breath. She looked furious. "I thought you cared about the squad," she said in a very deliberately calm and level voice.

Now it was Kim's turn to start getting angry. "I do," she said. "That's why I'm quitting. Maybe you haven't noticed, but this – " She pulled up her right sleeve, revealing the webwork of scars from the glass-cuts she'd suffered. "And this – " She pulled up her left sleeve, revealing her smooth, shiny burn scars. "Aren't exactly very inspiring anymore."

"That's where you're wrong."

"What are you – "

Bonnie leaned in very close, nose to nose, and stuck a finger in Kim's chest. Kim tried to back up, but there was nothing behind her but a carpeted wall.

"Shut up. Listen to me very carefully, because I'm only going to say this once, and if you ever tell anyone that I said it, I don't care how tough you are, I will find a way to kill you. Do you understand me?"

Her eyes very wide, Kim nodded.

"I am not your parents, I am not your loser boyfriend, and I am not your friend. I don't even like you. So when I tell you that you are the best cheerleader that Middleton High School has ever had, you had better believe me, because it causes me physical pain to say it out loud. The rest of us could win Sectionals, but you're the reason we take Regionals. We may go to State this year if you're with us."

She grabbed Kim by the shoulders and turned her toward the mirror. "No, your arms and legs and face are not pretty anymore. But they are inspirational. The teams are going to see you out there, cheerleading with these scars," She grabbed Kim's right arm, its angry red web still visible below the rolled-up sleeve, and shook it toward the mirror. "These scars that they know you got saving their lives, and they're going to think: 'If she can do that, then I can do this.' They're going to crush everyone in their way this season as long as you're on the sidelines, and the parents in the stands whose kids you've saved are going to tear the roof off. If you're out there with us. So if you give even a little bit of a damn – "

"Okay!" Kim yanked free. "Okay, okay! I get it!" She paused and stared at her nemesis as both of them took deep, calming breaths. "I'll think about it, all right?"

"If that's the best I'm going to get."

Kim didn't answer that. Instead, she fixed Bonnie with a suspicious eye. "Question, Bonnie."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you trying so hard to help me? All you have to do is nothing, and the team is yours. Why try and get me back?"

Bonnie's chin rose imperially, and she looked straight down her nose at the other girl.

Kim just crossed her arms and waited.

"Maybe it's because I care more for the team than our rivalry," Bonnie said at last.

Kim's right eyebrow – the one with a scar through it – rose.

Bonnie deflated. "Okay, fine. It's because I hate you."

The eyebrow rose further. "Because you hate me."

"Right. I don't want to win the race because somebody broke your legs – that's something my sisters would do. I don't want any asterisks or footnotes next to my victory. When I beat you – and I will – I want to beat you at your best."

The eyebrow rose a little further, but Bonnie didn't say anything else.

Kim just kept watching her. And watching. And watching.

Then she grinned. "Should've taken advantage of the broken leg, Bonnie. There won't be any asterisks or footnotes, because there won't be any victory. I'll see you in the fall."

With that, she turned around, unlocked the door, and walked out.

Bonnie sat down on the booth's bench with a sigh of relief. That had been harder than she'd thought it would be. She felt like she'd just come off the first day of double sessions. She'd need a minute to –

Then the door opened again.

"Dr. Possible!" Bonnie said, startled. "I didn't know – "

"Kimmie needed someone to come to the mall with her," The older woman said, her voice thick and shaky. "She didn't feel like she could face being out in public alone. Ron couldn't make it, so…" she shrugged.

Bonnie got up. "Dr. Possible, are you all right?"

Colleen Possible held out her hand – Stop – but but her eyes were starting to glisten. "Monique just went on lunch break, and the two of them went off to the food court. They were talking about…"

Her voice broke, and she reached out to pull the girl into a much fiercer hug than the one they'd shared in the hospital.

"I heard what you said," Colleen Possible said.. "Every word. I knew something was happening and I didn't want to interfere – Kim has always been able to stand up to you before – but I couldn't just ignore it, and…and…" Her voice broke again. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you."

Then, another difference from their hug in the hospital: this time it was the woman who started to cry, and the girl who stroked her back and made comforting noises until the tears dried up.