CHAPTER 2 – A New Threat
Global Justice headquarters, near Middleton. The next morning.
Elizabeth Director, Head of Global Justice, looked up from her desk at the sound of knocking on her door. "Come in" she called.
The door opened and a red-haired teen walked through, looking tired.
"Hello, Dr. Director. You wanted to see me?"
"Thanks for coming so soon, Kim," the older woman answered, indicating that Kim should sit down on the comfortable chair at the conference table across the room. She gathered up some papers from her desk and joined Kim at the table, sitting directly opposite her. She looked appraisingly at the girl, noting the dark shadows under her eyes.
"First things first. Any injuries from your mission?" she enquired carefully.
"No, nothing to speak of. A few scratches and bruises when Drakken's gizmo exploded. Nothing a hot bath couldn't put right. Shego didn't even get a near miss on me this time." She smiled at the memory.
And if she had hit me, her plasma balls would have stung like fury. Shego's firepower may not be lethal but she can certainly be painful.
It was a good job that Global Justice didn't realize how close she had come to some serious pain last night else they might ban her from further missions with them. Shego appeared totally out of control in a way that she hadn't seen before. She seemed genuinely angry and frustrated, which was no fun at all.
Fun? Yes, fighting Shego is fun. Strange I'd never realized that before. It's like a dance with her – we seem to be playing at trying to hurt each other. No one else comes close to matching me.
Does Shego deliberately hold back? The thought popped unexpectedly into Kim's head.
The teen hero had not slept well last night. After she had typed up her mission notes and emailed them to Global Justice, it was almost 11 pm. As she tried to sleep she kept seeing Ron, with arms flailing, falling onto the control console.
Why did I get so angry? I should long be used to Ron's antics by now. I know he messes up sometimes, but no-one else is there to have my back. And he means well. It's just ….
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft cough from the GJ boss sitting opposite her.
"Sorry, Dr. Director, just wool-gathering," she apologized.
"You look exhausted, Kim. Is everything all right?" Kim nodded, but the GJ chief was not fooled. Elizabeth took a maternal interest in her freelancer. Something was on the young girl's mind.
This life plays havoc with relationships – romantic and platonic. I should know. If I know Kim Possible, she's worrying about boyfriends. Or a date to her Junior Prom. I've seen the signs too often with my younger agents.
Am I pushing her too hard? The thought passed through her mind, not for the first time.
But now was not the time to go into that.
Dr. Director opened a manila folder in front of her. Kim recognized a copy of her mission note from last night.
"I read your report. Very thorough as always. I see that you gained access without being detected. Drakken's device was neutralized. Any threat it posed was removed. So it looks as though the mission went largely to plan then?" She paused. "Apart from blowing up the lair. That was not supposed to happen was it?" She looked carefully at Kim, noting the furtive look that flashed momentarily across her features.
"Your report says that one of Shego's blasts triggered the self-destruct mechanism. That isn't what happened, is it Kim? I'll warrant that Stoppable had something to do with that. A trip again?"
Kim's hesitation told Dr. Director all she needed to know.
"This isn't why you brought me in here is it? You didn't need me in front of you to review my report". The teen hero looked evenly at her case officer.
Elizabeth planned to return to the subject of Ron Stoppable at a future date, but she had a different motive for pulling in Kim to see her.
"No, Kim, you're right. I need your assistance. And I don't mean a mission."
Kim looked puzzled.
"What I am about to tell you is highly confidential. It's only because it directly affects you that I can mention it at all."
Dr. Director looked seriously at the teen as she opened a second folder marked SECRET, and pulled out a letter marked with the distinctive crest of the United Nations. She began.
"This is a letter received from the UN last week, informing us that the Global Justice budget is under review as a result of funding withdrawals by the BRIC countries. It seems that Brazil, Russia, India and China feel that far too much of GJ's work is for the benefit of the US and its government. They are skeptical about what they see as spurious threats of world domination by lone madmen, and want us to focus on organized crime, especially financial crime. They claim financial stringency at home."
Kim looked shocked at the older woman. Didn't these people realize that the threats she dealt with on a daily basis were real and would affect all the world's governments? Surely that was what GJ was set up for? Interpol and similar agencies could deal with the more conventional threats.
Director could read the expression on Kim's face. "I know it seems crazily short-sighted but that's what you get when you are funded by an international organization. Especially when times are tough. You'll appreciate of course that if word got out to the criminal community that GJ was strapped for funds, all manner of mayhem would ensue. It is essential that this information remain secret and on a need-to-know basis only."
"Of course, I can see that. So where do I come into this?" Kim asked warily. "Are you saying you can't justify having me any longer?"
"No Kim. Though some of the GJ Council were querying your value for money, I pointed out to them that we don't pay you a salary, and your expenses are insignificant compared to the costs we would incur if we used our own people exclusively. They saw the light fairly quickly."
Elizabeth noted the look of relief on Kim's face. She was aware that Kim very much valued being connected to GJ, even though she fiercely guarded her independence.
Just the qualities we need for a future director of Global Justice.
"No. To cut a long story short, we are going to be very squeezed on resources in future, and we will need to prioritize our activities, focusing our efforts on the most dangerous threats. I am proposing to downgrade Drakken and Shego's threat status from Grade B to Grade C but before I finalize this decision, I wanted to ask your opinion of the threat posed by Drakken. You have encountered him more than any of my own agents, and I trust your judgment."
She turned to the wall behind her and pressed the button on an intercom. "Doctor Du, can you come to my office right away, please."
Kim paled. Not Will Du as well! And since when did he become a PhD?
Turning back to Kim, she explained. "Dr. Du is one of our leading psychological profilers. I want her to hear your words as well."
Her?
She turned as the door opened, admitting an attractive brunette woman who looked to be aged around 25, carrying a clipboard. She was wearing a smart business suit, paired with blue-sheened stockings and comfortable shoes. A white blouse buttoned up to her neck gave her the appearance of severity, but this was belied by the brilliant smile that lit up her face as she saw Kim.
"Kim Possible! I've heard so much about you from my brother. He is a great admirer of yours!"
Your brother? And an admirer? Am I going mad?
Elizabeth looked amused at Kim's discomposure. "Will is not all he may appear, Kim. Off duty, his true feelings come out. But let me introduce you to his sister, Dr. Candace Du."
"My friends call me Can," the newcomer hastened to add. "Please feel free to do the same."
Dr. Director called them both to attention. "Kim, give us your opinion of Drakken."
The teen hero thought carefully before responding.
"Well, he clearly is some sort of genius if he is able to invent these crazy devices all the time. However, he relies heavily on Shego to source him parts for his inventions. Without her help he would be just a raving madman, to be honest. If you could separate them, get Shego back on the straight and narrow …"
"Is he a threat? With Shego. Not that we haven't thought about how to split them up," Elizabeth prompted.
Kim paused for thought.
"He's never got close to succeeding. He doesn't seem to be able to think through his plots. We are able to out-think him every time. It seems to me that he has a need to prove something to the world. I know that he bears a grudge against Dad and his other school-mates and he appears unable to get past that."
She recalled the look on his face last night as his lair went up in flames.
"He's actually a rather pathetic character. He seemed yesterday to be on the verge of packing it all in."
She considered, and summed up her view.
"I don't think his heart is really in villainy. He's still a potential threat at some level, but if I were you I'd redirect your efforts elsewhere. And maybe try and open a channel to Shego."
Dr. Director nodded, satisfied. Turning to Can Du she asked. "What do you think about what Kim has said, Dr. Du?"
"I concur" said the psychologist. "Kim's comments are consistent with our profile." She looked down at her clipboard. "Childish, easily distracted, but surprisingly empathetic …"
Why does that remind me of someone?
"… narcissistic, paranoid, squeamish about receiving or inflicting pain, a mechanical genius but with limited social skills. Unable to follow through. However, with the potential should he ever get his act together, to be a great force for evil .. or for good."
"And what about Shego? Could we prize her away from Drakken?"
Candace Du considered her notes. "Shego has given hints that her powers are stronger than she lets on. When roused to anger, as evidenced by Kim's report on last night, she can cause some serious damage. Her angry temperament indicates many unresolved past issues, probably related to her brothers. She is extremely bright – perhaps even at Drakken's level – but she is able to apply this in a way that Drakken seems unable to do, making her potentially a greater threat than him. However, she appears to be in the villain business purely for financial reasons, rather than evil per se and is also surprisingly loyal to her boss given that she has put up with his idiosyncrasies for so long. Given the right inducement, in particular immunity from prosecution and a promise of leniency for Drakken, I consider that she would be prepared to give up the villain life. But it would be a significant risk and she would need to be monitored closely for at least a year."
"Thank you, Doctor. You and Kim have confirmed my own assessment. We will put the two of them on a watch list but for the time being we will not take any proactive action to locate them. You may return to your work, Doctor Du."
"Yes, Ma'am," Can Du smiled at Kim as she turned towards the door. Once she had left, Dr. Director returned her attention to Kim.
"Kim, now that we have that out of the way, I want to turn your attention to a greater threat."
She indicated a third file in front of her.
"About three months ago we started getting indications from our deep-cover contacts that Professor Dementor was planning something spectacular. What it was remains unknown, except that his known associates were identified as seeking to acquire a substance called JT-3 from a renegade Chinese general in Shanghai. We have been unable to establish what JT-3 is or why Dementor would want it. Dementor himself has completely gone to ground. Attempts to find his whereabouts have proved fruitless. He has completely dropped off the grid, which is very unusual for the man."
She pushed the file across to Kim. "Take this to the safe room and read it – it contains all we know about Dementor. Then bring it back here. I've already sent a secure copy to Wade. Though I suspect that he had it already."
She looked at Kim. "After that, go home and take a week out. Forget about Drakken and Shego, and leave Dementor to us for the next few days. I'm sure you have friends and family to catch up with. And haven't you got the Middleton Days parade coming up? "
Kim reddened. And isn't that going to be fun, with Bonnie flaunting her new relationship with Brick Flagg. Even Monique seems to be getting closer to Felix – I wonder if the boy will realize her interest in time for the Prom?
A pang of guilt assailed her as she remembered that she hadn't yet said anything to Ron about Tara's interest.
As Kim left the room, she did not notice the troubled look on Elizabeth Director's face.