Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible. It belongs to Disney and its creators. If it was in the show, I don't own it. Any songs mentioned are the property of their respective owners and artists. I am not doing this for compensation, simply for enjoyment and practice.

Claimer: Krista Ruthie Stoppable is my OC. If you want to use her, please ask. Krysta-L (aka Krystal) was created by StormChaser90 and used with permission. If you want to use her, please contact him for permission.

TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains themes and vague descriptions of abuse and mild language.

After All This Time: Revenge

Chapter 10

Global Justice Headquarters, Location Classified

3 Days After Krista's Kidnapping

Kim paced the length of the conference room for the umpteenth time, arms crossed over her chest. "Where the hell are they?! They should be back by now."

Ron was leaning forward in one of the chairs at the end of the long meeting table, elbows on his knees, chewing away nervously at the skin around his thumb.

Finally, the door opened, and Dr. Betty Director entered, looking more than a little pissed. "They weren't there. It was a false lead."

Kim collapsed into a chair next to her husband. This had been the routine of the past three days. They would get a lead from an anonymous source, or a power spike would alert them to a suspicious location. A team of agents would be sent out on recon, and they would always return empty handed.

Drakken was toying with them.

Every location they had scouted was one of his known past lairs. He was orchestrating the power spikes and leaking false information to send them on a wild goose chase. With each recon mission, Kim and Ron became more and more amped up. Dr. Director didn't allow them to accompany the agents on the missions – they were too emotionally involved and could easily become careless.

So here they were, stuck in GJ Headquarters, with not even a trace of evidence as to where their daughter was. The waiting gave their imaginations free rein to run wild, and the thoughts of what Drakken and Shego could be inflicting on their daughter were soul destroying.

Kim buried her face in her hands. Ron placed a comforting hand on her back. Without looking up, she whispered, "We have to find her. We have to. I… I can't lose her again."

XXXXXXXXXX

Remote Arctic Lair, Location Unknown

Krystal entered the lab, an anxious expression on her face. She had spent the past several hours trying to come up with an explanation for the visions, but had come up with nothing.

Drakken looked up from a document he was studying with Dr. Whitman. "Oh, good. You're here. I need you to collect our prisoner and bring her to the evaluation room immediately."

Krystal grimaced. "The hell I am. I'm not going near her again." Drakken and Dr. Whitman looked at her. Even Shego glanced up from where she was filing her clawed gloves. Once the shock of the disobedience wore off, Drakken turned to face her completely.

"Afraid of a little girl, are we?" Drakken mocked.

Krystal bared her teeth. "Please. I'm not afraid of her. Have you seen her? She's pathetic and weak." She took a deep breath to calm her anger. "But something… happened." She described the visions, her unease around the event evident. But the more she explained, the more excited and curious Drakken seemed to become. When she had finished talking, Drakken began to pace. He was quiet for a few moments before turning back to Krystal.

"So you say the visions happened when she had grabbed your hand and you made eye contact."

"Yeah, I think so. Why?" He turned away, mumbling something to himself as he shuffled through a stack of papers. He studied one in particular, a low, maniacal laugh increasing in volume.

"Perfect! This is perfect!" he announced. Krystal and Shego glanced at each other, confused.

"Uh… what's perfect, Doc?" Shego ventured. Drakken turned, suddenly remembering others were present. A wicked smile spread across his face.

"Shego, please go fetch our guest and meet us in the evaluation room."

XXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes later, Shego half-dragged and half-pulled a panicking Krista into the evaluation room. She pushed her unceremoniously into a chair, then stood behind her with her hands on the girl's shoulders to hold her in place. Shego's sharp claws dug painfully into Krista's skin, and she knew at the very least she would be sporting a new set of bruises, if not drawing blood.

"W-why am I here? We al-already did t-tests today," Krista tried to sound brave, but her voice shook with fear nonetheless.

"Yes, of course, my dear, but we've made an exciting new discovery that requires further investigation," Drakken answered, barely able to contain the excitement in his voice as he shuffled around various papers and medical instruments on a table.

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

Drakken turned towards his prisoner, a chilling grin on his face. "It's come to our attention that you and your clone might share a certain… bond."

Krista furrowed her brow in confusion. "Bond?"

"Yes, a spiritual bond, to be more specific. Krystal told us all about the visions you both experienced." Krista glanced at her clone, but the older girl's face was impassable and gave away no emotion.

"This bond might be of use to us as we prepare for the cure, and so I propose a little… experiment." He gestured to Dr. Whitman, who began attaching leads to Krista's temples. Krystal attached leads to her head as well. Drakken rolled over a strange looking machine. He pressed a button to turn it on, and the monitor flashed to life. The screen was split in two with identical sets of moving, wavy lines on each side.

"This machine will monitor your brain wave patterns as we conduct the experiment. We will be attempting to recreate the conditions for your vision to hopefully replicate the incident," Drakken explained. Krista's head swam with all the information, and it took her a second to understand exactly what was about to happen.

"Wait a minute. No, I don't –" She was cut off as Krystal grabbed her hands and forced her to make eye contact. For a split second, the room faded to black and all sounds were silenced before a cold, dark room came into focus.

She lay on the floor, gasping from the pain. Finally, the electricity soaring through her body faded, and she was able to breathe somewhat normally again. Bright overhead lights switched on to reveal several makeshift concrete walls and metal walkways above her. She rolled over, coughing up blood onto the ground.

Her trainer entered, his hands clasped behind his back. He said several condescending remarks, then ordered her to rise and begin the course again. She pleaded with him to let her catch her breath, but the man only produced a remote and pressed a button, sending electricity slicing through her once again. She screamed, her hands latching on to the ever-present collar around her neck.

"No, Imposter. We do this on my timing. Again." Her trainer walked away without a second glance, and the lights faded once more. She was given only a few moments to catch her breath before being attacked again…

Drakken studied the monitors, scribbling several notes on his clipboard as the seconds ticked away. "Interesting…"

Krystal's vision had faded as well, the image of the evaluation room being replaced by a dimly lit bedroom.

Her heart pounded, and she cried out. Her memories haunted her every night. She sat up, wildly scanning her room for the danger she thought for sure was present. The door to her room opened, and her parents entered, kneeling by her bedside.

"It's okay, sweetie. You're okay. It was just a nightmare," her mother reassured her.

"You're safe, kiddo," her father said as he rubbed her back. It took her several moments to calm her breathing. Her parents sat with her for a long time, soothing her fears and distracting her with her favorite stories. Her fear faded away and was replaced by that warm, comforting feeling as she drifted off once more…

The visions ended suddenly, and Krystal severed contact with her original, breathing hard. Once again, she was perturbed by the cozy, warm feeling from the vision, a feeling she had never experienced firsthand. She ripped the leads off her temples and stalked to the other side of the room to pace her anxieties away.

Krista, on the other hand, was nearly inconsolable. Tears streaked down her cheeks and her skin still tingled from the electricity in her own vision. Her heart raced, her panic rising.

Drakken jotted a few more notes on his clipboard before turning back to the group. "Just as I suspected. My theory is that because you two are connected genetically, with Krystal being almost an identical copy, and because you both possess Mystical Monkey Power in your DNA, a spiritual bond has formed between you, allowing you to experience moments from each other's pasts. It is my belief that this spiritual bond can serve other purposes, as well."

"What kind of purposes?" Krystal asked, intrigued.

Drakken turned to the clone. "I believe you can use the spiritual bond to absorb some of Krista's power, thus strengthening your own and allowing you to protect your damaged organs for an extended period of time as we prepare for the cure."

Krystal looked at her original. In her grimy and torn clothing, trembling with tears streaking down her face, she looked so helpless and weak already. She felt a pang of emotion in her stomach… something she couldn't quite name.

She didn't like the feeling it gave her.

Shaking her head, she resumed her cold and calculating demeanor. "I'm game if it'll buy me more time."

"Excellent," Drakken said. "Now, Krystal, if I could have you stand here in view of the full body scanner so we can collect some data from the transfer. Krista, dear? Stand right here." Krista didn't move, her mind whirling with the sudden change of events.

"What's g-going to h-happen to me?" she asked.

Drakken grinned. "Only one way to find out." White-hot fear sliced through her stomach as Shego forced her to stand, pushing her towards the spot that Drakken had indicated. Krista looked around desperately, but could find no way of escape. Before she knew it, Krystal had her arm in a death grip, and she was pinned in place.

"Now, Krystal, focus on the transfer… focus on shifting Krista's energy to you," Drakken coached.

Krystal closed her eyes, imagining power filling her. Moments later, a blue glow had surrounded the girls. Even at first, the glow began to dim from around Krista and brighten around her older counterpart. Krystal felt a surge of strength as energy seeped into her every cell, while Krista's legs began to shake, her knees buckling as she felt herself weakening. She whimpered as she fell to the floor, severing contact and causing the glow to dissipate. Her vision swam for a moment before fading to black, dragging her into the void of unconsciousness.

A/N: Sorry for the late update. Life has been nuts. Look for the next chapter soon.