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Disney's Kim Possible in

Sometimes There Isn't A Point

By Adam Leigh

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6. Judgment

"Thank you, Director," said Kim conciliatorily with a nod to the video holograph suspended atop her desk. The bust of James Tenor, the Director of GJ West Asia smiled back.

"No problem, Kim," he nodded. "I'm glad that we could clear up this misunderstanding before anything went wrong." He looked away for a moment then back. "I've got someone waiting in my office, I have to run. Let me know if I can help more."

"Thanks, Jim," said Kim, before ending the communication. The hologram vanished and Kim's desk returned to normal, displaying the last few communications she'd received from her 'mole.'

At the opposite side of the room, far away from the sensors that displayed the holographic view to the other speaker, a woman wearing a dark suit stepped over to the desk and sat at the chair opposite Kim.

"You see?" said Kim gesturing to where Director Tenor just was. "This goes to the top levels of each of the GJ branches in the area. They all deny it."

The woman in the suit put her head against her palm and stared at the desktop with her single eye. Her fingers thrummed against her cheekbone as she studied the reports. "This is worse than I thought when you called me," the dark haired woman known as Dr. Betty Director said.

"The part I can't figure out is," started Kim. "Why I haven't been approached? I mean, I've been here for, what? Over ten years now and never have I gotten a hint of anyone trying this crap around here. Meanwhile slowly, but surely, every other office in the last 2 years has started to feed me bogus intel."

"If the Syndicate is behind this it makes sense they would avoid you," said Betty. "Drakken knows you're too good to be bought, he may have done this so you're in the dark when he goes for a strike."

"Is the rest of GJ so easily bought?" asked Kim. "If not money, what does he have on them that he doesn't have on me?"

Betty was quiet for a few moments, seeming to contemplate her next words. "The same thing he never had on me when I was in charge, Kim," she finally said. Reaching over the desk, she called up an executive roster showing the directors of each of the GJ branch offices. Sorting the list, she showed it to Kim.

The current Director of GJ looked down at the list in confusion at first before she noticed how the listed was sorted by. At the bottom of the list was 'Kim Stoppable, nee Possible - US Midwest Branch.'

"A family?" said Kim, almost ghost-like.

"I never married, Kim, and certainly don't have any children," Betty said. "Until recently, you've been the same. All the other people on this list have spouses and children, people that can be leveraged for..." she trailed off.

"Blackmail," Kim completed. Her whole paradigm suddenly shifted as she came to a realization. "If I have children... they'll be targets."

Betty looked down. "Yes." She glanced back up to see Kim's stoic face. "It was one aspect of taking this position that I... neglected to mention all those years I was championing your succession. I'm sorry."

Kim looked ill and swiveled her chair away from Betty. The former director of GJ shook her head. "I was hoping it would never come up, but this Syndicate business is much more sinister than I expected. It hardly bears any similarities to Dr. Drakken's former MO. I can't believe he's actually in charge of it."

"I don't think he is," said Kim quietly, still facing away from Betty. "My mole's intel says he never appears in person, ever. Even my mole hasn't caught a glimpse of him, although video communication was used at one point. Of course, we know Drakken has technology to spoof video communication."

"You think he's been replaced?" asked Betty. "Usurped by someone worse whose using his name to do business?"

"It's quite possible. All I can say is that the lower tiers of men IN the Syndicate still think Drakken is pulling the strings, albeit more competently than he ever did when I was still a teenager."

"Hmm," mused Betty. "Is there anything else your mole can tell us about what they've been planning the last two years?"

"Not much," admitted Kim, still facing away. "The details are kept quiet, but the opinion of the mole is that it's a tactical particle laser. There's a facility somewhere underground in Czechoslovakia that supposedly houses a grand energy weapon and talk of a satellite mirror launch having occurred last year makes it an easy conclusion to make." Kim sighed. "Details on the location of either one is still unknown."

"You know, the Syndicate is making us seem like amateurs," said Betty, a little irritated. "We used to have the best intelligence network in the world."

"Things change," Kim said, whimsically.

Betty stared at the back of the chair facing her. "Kim," she ventured. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, you know," stated Kim before trailing off. "Just--just thinking." She was silent for a few moments. "You remember what I said to you when you offered me the chance to be you someday?"

"You said there were things you would have done differently than me," Betty recited, as if it had been yesterday.

"I was going to change things," explained Kim. "I wanted to focus GJ more on helping the little guy, on making the world safe, not just from nuclear animalization, but from thieves and school bullies."

Betty snorted, "I doubt you'd ever have much luck with that last one."

"I couldn't do it though," continued Kim. "All the power and money in the world and I never had any time to look past this nonsense with the super villains and the corrupt companies and the crime syndicates. Everything I took this job to do... I failed at."

Betty shook her head. "Kim--"

"No!" said Kim, finally turning back to Betty. Her eyes were red and her makeup was streaked with tears. Betty gasped. "Don't even try and offer me platitudes! Felix and Florence's kids can't go trick or treating during Halloween because they may get kidnapped! Tara's husband has been on a plane that was almost hijacked by terrorists! Zita does contractor work for the Department of Welfare and sends me staggering numbers of known homeless and orphan children, which she assures me is a mere fraction of the actual population." Her breathing was ragged. "And I ... I can't..." she tried to speak but she couldn't find her breath.

"Kim!" Betty yelled and ran over to the gasping woman. Kim waved her away as she tried to steady herself and pull cool air into her lungs. She rested her forehead against her desk and pulled several deep breaths in before finally looking back up to Betty.

"Should I call the physician?" asked Dr. Director.

"No," Kim shook her head. "I'm just a little dizzy, I'll be fine in a second."

"Dizzy for no reason is definitely worth the Doc looking you over--"

"It's not for no reason," Kim interrupted, holding up a hand. "It's normal."

Betty frowned. "Normal for wha-" she stopped mid sentence however. She looked closer at Kim's face. Past the redness and makeup she could see the change. She looked at her hair then at her chest to confirm it.

"Oh god," she said, putting a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Kim, I never should have said anything. It might not be the reason the other branches have turned--"

"No," Kim said softly. "No, you were right to bring it up. I was a fool not to have at least considered the possibility before." She leaned back in her chair and turned her head to the side, closing her eyes. "It's a terrible world out there, Betty," she said slowly. "I didn't make it a shade better."

The former director put her hand on Kim's shoulder. "There's still time," she said.

Kim sighed heavily and nodded, forcing herself to sit up. "There is little time, however, to deal with this Syndicate issue." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and picked up a bag beside her desk. She pulled a white cloth and wiped around her eyes and cheeks before finally facing Betty again.

"I need your advice," Kim continued. "GJ was designed to operate like one unit, but I obviously can't trust the actions of the other branches right now." She tapped her desk and called up a document to appear on it. Twisting the corner, she angled it to face Betty. "I've been drafting a procedure for making us independent of the rest of GJ, I'd like you to look at."

"Independent?" asked Betty, reluctantly returning to the chair opposite the desk. "What do you mean?"

"I mean cutting off all contacts from the other branches and operating independently."

"You can't do that," said Betty instinctually.

"Why not?" asked Kim.

"Well, for one," she started then had to stop and think. "Money. Our support comes internationally. You go rogue from the other GJ Offices and you'll be cut off from our supply chains."

"How much support do we have domestically?" asked Kim.

"A substantial amount, but not enough to cover all our operating expenses," admitted Betty. "Not to mention, if the other branches decide your little rebellion is an act of villainy, you'll have to face opposition from the rest of GJ. It might look bad for our supporters and they could pull out."

"There has got to be a way for me to mobilize this office without attracting the attention of the rest of GJ," said Kim, exasperated. "All of our systems are linked, if I start disconnecting those lines, they'll realize what's going on."

Betty leaned on her palm again and thought for a minute. Kim crossed her arms and did the same.

Simultaneously they looked up. "Wade," they said in unison.

"He could set up a mock environment of this office's systems," said Betty.

"And we could slowly move the connections to the branch offices over to the mock environment," continued Kim.

"That, that..." Betty struggled for the term. "That Othonix system he built years back, the giant data routing software could act as a switchboard between the systems here and the mock ones, making sure the right information gets through to them."

"Right," nodded Kim. "I'll get him on a line right away." She stood to run out of the room when Betty suddenly grabbed her shoulder. Kim spun slightly and looked at her strangely.

"Why don't you," Betty gestured to her face. "Clean up a bit more, I'll get Will to contact Mr. Load."

Kim nodded slowly. "Right," she said. "You're right."

Betty smiled and let go of Kim's shoulder. Betty headed for the door.

"You know," Kim said before Dr. Director had a chance to leave. "It's funny how as soon as you walk in here, I feel like a little cadet again."

"You were never a cadet, Kim," said Betty. "Regardless of what agent class you held. Don't be intimidated by me or anyone."

"Thanks."

Betty moved to leave but turned back a second time. "Just curious, but, when are you due?"

Kim looked confused then realization dawned on her. "November."

"Heh," mused Dr. Director. "My birthday is in November."

"I didn't know that," said Kim.

"Let's make sure little Stoppable is born in a world free of Syndicate," Betty said. "It'll be a good start on your dreams."

The redhead nodded, "I'd like that."