A/N: This chapter is mostly in Kim's POV, interchanging to general.
It was an extreme rarity for the whole Possible family to celebrate Christmas together with the younger generation working all over the world. But that one year they managed to get together to spent a special Christmas in a picturesque lodge, practically in a middle of nowhere. Everything was perfect until the Kimmunicator signaled an incoming message.
Kim left the room where the family was gathered under the scorning glances of her parents and looked at the message. Its summary was the following: lengthy corruption among the professors of a certain university is leading to a theft of an unpatented invention with the aim to patent it by a person who didn't design it. The theft was going down that night. The invention is not yet complete and can be extremely dangerous in the hands of those, who do not understand its inner workings.
The message was unsigned. The university in question was an hour flight away. How dangerous could be to stop a professor who doesn't know anything about crime execution? Easy-peasy. She can return in time for Christmas dinner.
Kim signaled Ron to keep the fort. The signal he was, unfortunately, too used to by now. Kim jumped into her very special car, that could now change colors to blend with the environment and flew to campus of the university mentioned in the message.
Upon lending near the main building, Kim was sent a map to the room where the invention was located with detailed directions. Suddenly, the mission was smelling like a trap. But everything was possible for a Possible (the name that she still kept after marriage, but their kids had Ron's last name. Reaching a compromise is the corner stone of any happy marriage). Kim delved into the dark corridors of the campus and reached the marked room in mere minutes. A grand argument was taking place behind the closed door. Two men were yelling about the better way to move 'it', which Kim assumed was the invention.
She crept into the room – didn't even need to pick up the lock, easy-peasy indeed – and crept towards the arguing men. She was almost upon them when another two joined them and the yelling intensified. Kim's theory was that each of them wanted the invention and didn't want to share. Suddenly the argument became physical – one of the men was pushed against the nearby machine, bringing it to life. The machine started to shoot lasers in random directions. The men started to fuss over the controls pushing at each other. It was madness. Madness that was turning into a real dangerous affair, since the lasers were only growing more powerful and beams were multiplying by the minute.
The only way out of it was to take down the men, which Kim proceeded to do. She expertly somersaulted in-between laser beams to reach the men at the control panel. They were completely distracted by the beams and each other, but when the first one was knocked out, they scuttered. Kim went for another one, but while she was chasing him, she noticed another shadow moving between the beams. It moved so similarly to her, Kim assumed it was her own shadow, but she changed her opinion when she stumbled on a knocked-out man, whom she did not even touch. What was going on?
She managed to get another one, but found the fourth one already out. She dragged him toward the door where the beams have yet to reach and found the other three already there. Was it some Christmas magic?
Whatever. The next part of Kim's mission was to disable the crazy machine. Now that was considerably trickier. Whenever Drakken's invention malfunctioned, she and Ron just ran for it until it exploded with various levels of destruction. Which, come to think of it, was not particularly polite. But Kim couldn't run now. If the machine blows, it could take down at least half of the building and then there was debris and who knows what else… She had to shut it down. But how?
"Need some help with that?" came from behind her.
Kim turned on her hill and automatically stroke a defensive pose, but then just froze. She was not hit to have a hallucination or double vision so… "Shego?"
"No, but close. Can you move, so I can shut it down?"
Kim had no choice, but to step to the side in a trance and watched like a girl, who was a Shego's copy, started to furiously type on the control panel. The other girl, who was another Shego's copy, stood beside the first, looking around as if checking for possible intruders. Staying guard? WHAT WAS GOING ON?
The beams disappeared one by one and then the machine became silent.
"We thank you for answering our call. We didn't know how else to bring our evidence to proper authorities," the first Shego's copy said, handing Kim a memory stick.
"You put the request? And who are you? Some kind of clones?"
"No, we are Jana and Tara Radford. Shego is our mother, so we are her clones to a degree. We have been having an internship here for the last four months. Unfortunately, my invention was too good for the teachers here and they decided to make it their own. A lot of shady stuff is going on here. We didn't tell dad, because you know dad, we'll be out of here in an hour, but I wanted to finish my creation. It is the principle of the thing. It's a laser cutter and a 3-D printer on a large scale if you are curious."
Kim's mind short-circuited at the mentioning of the girls' parentage, so she was not that curious about the machine. Those were Drakken and Shego's daughters?! The likeness made it unquestionable but how are they so grown up? Was she that old? Well, she was just over forty and Ron's constant talk about retirement from prancing around the world was not falling on death ears… But seriously…
"It isn't safe to let something like this be turned on just by pressing the button. Hasn't your father's experience taught you that?" Why in the world has she just insult the girl? Some knee-jerk reaction to bringing Drakken up?
"It was only for today. Those beams were just an elaborate light show. They knew, we are planning to move it tomorrow, so tonight was the night. It was a perfect bait. The truck will arrive in about an hour, I need to stabilize it before it could be moved."
"Why don't you turn in the evidence yourselves?" Kim asked of the other twin, who has been silent so far.
"We are just interns and underage. Nobody would believe us. You have connections and authority, Missis Possible."
"I can't just drag those four to the police without even reviewing the files."
"Nobody asks you to. We will move tonight and you can present the evidence to the police or the Ethics Board when you so choose. My sister's invention will be safe regardless. It's her fifth patent, you know. Somewhat of an anniversary. I have only three so far."
Eight patents between the two of them?! Interns and underage Kim's foot.
"Are you spending Christmas with your family, Missis Possible?"
The question took Kim by surprise, but she saw no harm in answering it. "Yes, I left just before Christmas dinner and plan to return to it right away. You are not spending Christmas with your… family?"
"Tara needed to finish her… well, it doesn't have a proper name yet. We just call it 3D laser for now. Which is completely wrong, but it's not the usual mouthful of names for devices. Or anything really. We were planning to join everybody after the move, but… would you mind introducing us to yours?"
The feeling of the laid-out trap returned. And if it was, it was a very elaborate one. Who knows what was on that stick? Maybe everything was a lie, and the twins were the ones stealing the… whatever it was? Were they planning to hurt her family? Her kids?!
"Why do want to meet them?"
"You don't have to…" the girl instantly backpedaled, obviously hearing Kim's warning of not tolerating any funny business.
Their conversation was interrupted by the roar of a huge engine. Kim glanced at the door to check on their possible criminals, because something like that would most definitely wake them up, but there was nobody there. Must've scattered in fear. Well, one less problem for tonight. One of the girls pushed the red button to open up the warehouse gate which revealed a dark cave of the open body of the truck. From the darkness emerged two men driving forklifts.
"Hey there, girls! Have another one ready, hah? Your daddy is going to be so proud," one of the men greeted enthusiastically. Kim could only assume he was one of the staff from Drakken's lab. Although he sounded too cheerful for a job there. Drakken's sidekicks were always kinda goofy though.
The forklifts' drivers expertly padded the two parts of the machine (how did Kim miss them being disjoined?), loaded them and disappeared into the darkness as mysteriously as they appeared. The gate shuttered shut with a bang after them.
The girls joined Kim in a strangled silence. "So… I'll check the files after Christmas and if the evidence is solid-"
"Can we come? Just for a couple of hours? Plea-a-a-ase… We swear, we mean no harm," they outright pled.
The sorrowful look on the girls' identical faces broke Kim's resolve. They just didn't want to be alone on Christmas. Nothing more. "Alright. My car is-"
"Oh, don't worry, Missis Possible, we have our means of transportation. And we do have licenses. Well, for driving a car. But we prefer something more attuned to our needs and character. Let's meet at the main gate."
What met Kim's turbocar was slick, black and resembled a flying Ferrari. Very chick. Kim became just a bit jealous. She should ask her dear brothers for an upgrade. Kim made a U-turn and took course to the current location of her family, praying she was not making a mistake. A gentle purr of the engine from behind was the only indicator she was being followed.
They both landed in front of the lodge. That way Kim's family should be warned about the uninvited guests. They disembarked at the same time and Kim headed towards the girls to do some prep about how the things would go down, when the door burst open and her brothers ran out, moreover without even coats on. Kim was surprised by such welcome, particularly since when she saw her tweeds during recent years, granted, it was not much, they were strangely sullen and generally kept to their workshops behind their parents' house. They were particularly down after leaving Drakken's lab- Wait a second, they worked for Drakken, they must know Shego's copies…
Kim confirmed her suspicions, when the tweeds froze about two meters in front of the brunettes, their faces braking in two by the smiles Kim hadn't seen in years.
"Our parents are not against us, so we thought that if we meet yours… we could persuade them… that we are not evil? And we have enough chaperones here, right?"
"Of course, you are not evil, Tara. They are just a bit prejudiced. But your plan was brilliant as always. Booking this particular lodge was not that easy, but we managed."
"So it was a set up!" Kim exclaimed, breaking up the shockingly happy reunion.
"Well, not exactly, dear sister. Tara told me about her suspicions, when they started their internship, and I advised her to gather evidence and give it to you. The opportunity to actually meet and spend Christmas together was a pleasant byproduct. Let's get in, we are dying for you to meet everyone."
"Well, it was you, who jumped out in the cold without proper clothes, so don't blame us for your deaths," Tara quipped, to which Tim just beamed even more.
Kim shook her head to snap from another illusion, this time of hearing Shego's voice. How many times did she hear Shego snap at Drakken in the same manner?
Well, it was Christmas and the situation was out of Kim's hands. The ball was in her parents' court. And to yet another surprise, her parents handled the new pair of twins with polite decency. Ron was… Ron, fascinated by them and questioning them about the inherited traits and the differences from their longtime foes. The kids just marveled at the new faces who arrived in a flying car, they thought only their mum had.
At some point in the evening Kim heard Jana sigh with relief, as if a calamity of world's proportion was avoided. "Something the matter?"
"I texted dad half an hour before we arrived that we will be late, because we are going to spend a couple of hours with the Possibles. I also told him that everybody will be here and nothing inappropriate is going to happen. I am sure, they both blew the top between then and now, but he has just texted me back, saying it was okay and that we shouldn't fly in the dark."
Firstly, Kim had to get over the fact that Drakken was called 'dad', but then she did, she managed to squeeze the next question, "So you are staying over?"
"Of course not, we'll leave around two, I suppose, and put it on autopilot. It will already be dawn when we reach any dangerous terrain."
"You sound like a confident flier."
"We have been flying since ten, so I am. Mother-daughter bonding time and so on."
Kim smirked at that. Her bonding time with her mother was talking about boys, at least in later years. "And what else did you do to bond with…eh, your mother?"
"Fighting drills, of course."
"Oh, yeah? You think you can take me on, girly?"
"I can, Missis Possible, but I don't want to upset the hosts who so graciously invited us to their table." There was a certain falsity in that response; Kim didn't like it at all.
"Oh, can you now?.."
"Give up, sister, they don't only have strength and agility, they are also crazy strategists. They know all your weak points before they throw the first punch. Not to mention the age difference."
"Now listen here, Jimmy-" Kim wanted to insult her little brother right back, but snapped her mouth shut by the seriousness of his expression.
"Not now, Kimmie. If you don't believe me, I have some training videos to show you. Once we didn't have time to wait for a dozer to take down a wall, so they did it by a synchronized kick. Don't mess with those girls, sister."
"I asked you never to defend me, J. And that kick was at full power. We never fight at full power, only at a quarter, just like mom."
Shego at quarter power was the bane of her existence. If those girls were the same… "So why exactly do you want my parents not to think of you as evil?" Because with that kind of power… Damn, they can just try to take over the world and succeed.
"We turn eighteen in 102 days, we don't want any animosity when we and your brothers start dating."
Kim's world turned on its head once again. First, Drakken marrying his power-hungry sidekick, now their daughters dating her brothers… Has she missed the announcement about the end of the world somewhere? And the blank expressions on her parents' faces told her that they heard the announcement loud and clear.
"I think, the kids need more ice cream. Can you help me, mom?" Kim began her attack the moment the kitchen door closed behind them, "You knew?! You knew and didn't tell me?! They are children! Moreover they are… they are…"
"Kimberly Ann Possible! First of all, yes, we've known for three years now. Secondly, the love life of your brothers is no concern of yours. Thirdly, they will be of age in three months. Fourthly, when was the last time, you saw your brothers as happy as they are now? Yes, those girls are a bit bossy and arrogant, but your brothers love them and it's mutual. And did you ever expect the twins date some average run of a mill housewives? Not to mention, their cousins are superheroes, if you haven't heard. Your brothers made gear for them, while at Drew's employ. Those girls were like specters in our life since the twins' first vacation. Year after year they told us stories about their shenanigans, breakthroughs, inventions, their first flight and crash. They were the only thing twins talked about. We thought nothing of it, just some funny stories, but then they left the lab… Left the place they loved, girls they loved, because a real relationship was impossible. Don't you think that shows the seriousness of their intentions?"
"They don't have Shego's glow, but nobody mentioned Drakken's plant. Surely, that messed up their genetics too."
"There was no plant when they were born. And I know that, Kimmie, because I removed it myself. And that's a story for another evening. Let's enjoy time with our guests some more."
The party continued well into the night. The kids were put to bed at a reasonable time, of course. At some point in the night, Kim started to warm up to two Shego's copies. She saw both Drakken and Shego in the girls' looks, mannerisms, way of speaking, the same way she saw herself and Ron in their kids. Why then should she carry over her opinions and feelings towards their parents onto the girls, who, to her knowledge (and Kim Possible knew a lot about the world of crime), have yet to commit any misdeed? And the twins were clearly besotted with them, so they must have some redeeming qualities, beside crazy smart brains.
"So too chicken to give your future girlfriends a proper good bye kiss with your parents present?" Kim teased her brothers, when they returned after sending the girls off. She watched from the window like they chastely kissed them on the cheek, before the Radfords (and nobody still had explained the last name change!) boarded their extremely cool vehicle. "You don't need a parental consent for a kiss."
"We can't make them feel faint before flying for such a long distance."
"Faint? You are so confident in your kissing abilities? When was the last time you even kissed a girl, Tim?"
"Almost three years ago, Kim, when I kissed Tara and she fainted in my arms."
"The same for me and Jana. It's a hereditary condition. Brain is overwhelmed with expression of physical affection, when the person is in love. But it fades eventually."
"Sounds serious, you tweeds."
"Oh, it is, we already bought the rings, but we do want to date properly first. Doctor D won't surely stand for less."
"And you sure want to please him."
"Well, Ron knew you practically since the cradle, he didn't need to jump the hoops with dad. You two were practically married since the moment you finally started dating. The Radfords are the antonym of conventional, but they'll if not kill then seriously mess up anyone who hurts their golden girls. So we need to do this dating thing properly."
"Why do you keep calling them that?"
"Oh… sis… How can you be so out of touch with the news about your former nemesis? Doctor D took Shego's maiden name when they married. Shouldn't you know such things?"
"One doesn't ask for maiden names when one tries to kick their way out of the tough situation, Jim."
"Maybe if you had, there wouldn't be a situation in the first place?"
"Don't be naïve, Tim. You don't know the Drakken from before. I believe your words about him changing his outlook on life and yes, his vest has been protecting me for years, but not back then… And Shego… she was crazy tough and ambitious."
"Still is. But she did teach us some moves to defend ourselves. She teaches anybody who asks. Has a class two times a week and everything. And runs the kindergarten. It does resemble a bit of a bootcamp at times, but it's fun too. You must know that having children changes a person. It just can't not to."
Her brothers gave Kim a lot to ponder. About Drakken, Shego and herself… She couldn't settle in bed almost till morning.
"What is it, KP?" Ron murmured half-asleep, embracing her from behind, instantly making her feel his love and devotion that has been constant for years under any circumstances.
"I am retiring. I want to be with the kids more. I don't want them to grow up without me."
"This is the best Christmas present you could give us, Kim."