I do not own any Disney characters named herein and am only borrowing them to tell a nonprofit tale meant for entertainment purposes only.
Kim Possible: Gifted
By LJ58
21
"Do you think we can trust her," James asked his wife as they lay in bed that evening.
"Kim? Of course, we can…."
"No, sweetheart. Not Kim. That Director woman," James said pointedly. "Something about her still seems…..troubling. Whatever else, I doubt that woman is watching our girl out of the goodness of her heart. Not after everything else we've learned."
"Well, she did say she was trying to help us settle that matter with the government over stealing our daughter. And Tara. I can't imagine how the Bennetts felt learning….."
"Yes, well, I still have to wonder. What's to say she just isn't another one that wants to exploit our daughter for her own reasons," she frowned.
"So far, she seems to be helpful. So long as she is, we'll accept her," Ann nodded at him with a smile.
"And if she changes," James frowned.
"Well," Ann smirked now. "Maybe we'll let the boys talk to her," she said knowingly.
"They do have a flair for making their points," he agreed proudly.
"Speaking of which," she sighed. "We do still have to talk to that Mr. Barkin about his car they launched into orbit last week."
"Right. Even I didn't think an anti-gravity pad that small could lift an entire SUV like that. Let alone, put it into orbit. It's really quite an achievement….."
"I think the fact it wasn't their car was the problem, dear," James was reminded.
"At least he wasn't in it," James declared practically.
"Maybe I'd better talk to him," she sighed.
"Whatever you say, dear. So, do you think this…change will make things easier for Kimberly," James asked.
"Well, at least she's stopped trying to wear those dreadful hoodies everywhere," Ann pointed out.
"There is that. I thought only gangsters wore those things. I can tell you, though, in my day…."
"Good night, honey," Ann told him firmly.
James chuckled.
"Good night, sweetie," he smiled and leaned over to kiss her.
"At least she came back safe," they both said as one before settling for the night.
~KP~
Jack Hench was a secret, underground provider who made billions his first year of providing goods and services to a community that most overlooked. He, a man of vision, had seen a need, and filled it, though. He now had contracts with a surprising number of up and comers, and some genuine madmen who were surprisingly scrupulous in regards to the contracts formed with his company unofficially regarded as Henchco to those in the know.
Of course, there were still those that liked to play fast and lose. Some that tried to actually steal from him.
Then there was the outright competition.
He loathed the latter more than thieves. Thieves he could understand and circumvent. Competitors were harder to manage.
He drummed his fingers on his desk as he regarded the files before him, and knew he could not overlook such a challenge. It was one thing to borrow, or even to seek secondary aid, but to try to undercut him completely. That just wasn't done. He was a businessman, and business was his life. If this pretender through he could just cut him out of his own venture, he was going to learn that Jack Hench was not a man to trifle with when it came to such matters.
Especially not with a man that had used him, and then took all he learned to grow his own version of his operations. That, Jack decided, was not to be borne. He needed to show the man his mistake, and in a timely fashion.
Stabbing a switch on the intercom, he smiled coolly as his secretary answered.
"Someone needs a lesson, Gina. Do me a favor. Call Camille, and tell her we need to chat. I have a very important job for her. Very important."
"Right away, sir."
Jack leaned back and smirked as he considered unleashing that lunatic on anyone. Still, if there was anyone that could teach even a psychopath like Sheldon a lesson, it was Camille Leon, the most vicious shapeshifting bitch with an attitude he had ever met.
~KP~
Kim yawned as she rolled over, and eyed the alarm.
She sighed and hit the switch in spite of the fact it had not gone off as yet. Not that she had any real schedule as yet, but she liked to be up early enough to help her family get ready for their day. It was her way of feeling part of the family she had missed for so very long. Still, this was the first morning she had woke before the alarm, and she didn't even feel tired.
If anything, she felt full of energy and ready for anything. It was as if she had already been up, and had been pumped full of adrenalin.
She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to be able to just lay there, so she climbed out of bed, and headed for the shower. She would wait about waking anyone else, though, as it was still pretty early. She grabbed her robe, and headed for the bath, trying to stay as quiet as possible.
Sometime later as she opened the door, she found Shego up, staring at her as she stood leaning against the far hall.
"Up early," the woman asked blandly, only wearing her robe, but looking as if she were still half asleep herself.
"I guess," Kim smiled, knowing the woman was grouchy and slow at times without her morning coffee. "I just woke up early, and figured I might as well get going."
"Figured yesterday would have had you sleeping in," she muttered and walked into the bath to shut the door.
Kim only smiled and headed to her room to dress.
When she came out again, she met her mother in her robe heading down to make coffee.
"Morning, Kimberly," she yawned. "You're already up and dressed?"
"Guess I just feel a little energized today," she smiled.
"I envy you," Ann told her daughter. "I have a sixteen-hour shift, so I'll need you to be here to help with the boys when they get in. Okay?"
"Sure, mom," she smiled. "I'd be glad to help."
"So, did you have any plans today?"
"Well, hopefully, all the loons out there got the message yesterday," she grinned, "So I figured we'd just wait on the school, like usual, and do some more sparring, or something," she beamed. "Shego wants to see if her new force field will let her spar with me with my plasma."
"Just be careful, honey," Ann sighed as Kim followed her down to the kitchen.
"I can make the coffee," she smiled.
"Sure," she beamed. "That would be a great help," she allowed. "Although it's odd the one thing you do well is something you don't care for just yet."
"Well, Shego said it's an acquired taste," Kim laughed lightly, "But so far, I haven't acquired it," she told her. "I do like that cocoa you made the other night, though," she said. "You have to teach me how to make that," she told her as she rinsed out the pot, and began filling it with water before taking down the ground coffee they used in the machine.
"It can be a little more complicated," Ann teased. "I don't use the instant mix. I like to make mine from scratch."
"Did you call the Bennetts yet?"
"No. I felt we should give them a little time first. Remember how it was when you first came back to us," Ann remarked. "And remember, poor Tara has apparently lost fourteen years she never realized were gone. She has some adjusting to do, too."
"Oh, yeah. I just wondered if I should go see her yet, or not."
"Well, she might like seeing you, and you could at least explain some of what happened to her and her parents. I'm not sure how much that woman might have revealed to them considering they were as….involved as you were in this government madness."
"Yeah," Kim grumbled, and finished prepping the coffee maker, and switched it on. "Walking back in that place yesterday was…. It was….weird. Part of me wanted to run away. Another part of me wanted to take that whole place apart so no one could ever use it again," she admitted.
"Well, I won't deny we weren't worried when we came in and found your note. Still, it's a good thing Shego was with you, and you two were able to get poor Tara out of there, too. To think those odious men kept you two away from your families all this time without saying a word."
Kim watched her mother making the bacon and eggs in two pans, moving smoothly between them without seeming to make a mess as she managed to do every time she tried to do anything. She and that stove just didn't seem to get along at all. She could make coffee. Use the microwave fairly well for simple things. Only if she turned on that stove, it seemed things just….went nuts.
"Mom, how long did it take you to learn to cook," Kim asked, still eyeing her easily turn the eggs, making them just as James liked them since he would be down soon enough.
Ann smiled.
"I grew up beside my mother, dear. I learned by watching and helping her, too. Of course, I was still young, so I had to grow up a bit before I could do some things. You just need time. I'm sure that you'll find your own way…."
"She's not cooking," Shego groaned as she came into the kitchen just then.
"I made coffee," Kim shot. "If you want to risk it," she added sourly as Shego glared at her.
"As bad as I feel this morning, I'll risk it," she teased with the faintest of smiles. "I feel like I didn't sleep at all."
"Why not," Kim asked. "I feel great!"
"Says the comet-powered loon that tried to stay up all night talking," Shego yawned.
Ann chortled at that as Kim blushed.
"You could have said you were tired," Kim sputtered.
"I did. Several times. I don't think you heard me."
Kim huffed and walked over to set the table now as Ann began filling the platters with eggs and bacon already cooked. Once the table was set, she sat down herself, and just eyed the two women in the kitchen with her.
"I suppose we will have to consider your unique metabolism does give you a higher energy level than most," Ann declared.
"I'll say. She gets any more energized and she'll be bouncing off walls."
"I am not that bad," Kim shot back, all but surging back to her feet.
"No, not you," Shego muttered and filled her mug before inhaling the fragrant steam before taking a sip.
"Does it pass inspection," Kim growled as she slowly sat back down as Shego moved toward the table with her mug.
"Barely. I'll manage," Shego drawled, and then smirked. "Teasing, Kimmie. It's great. It really hits the spot this morning. Seriously, we need to teach you to tell time. You can't keep staying up all night, and still get up…."
"I'm not the one still yawning," Kim shot back.
"It is possible that the reenergizing effects she experienced could have altered her sleep cycle," Ann nodded at them as she brought the platters to the table even as James appeared.
"Reenergized what," he asked, eyeing the table as Ann poured them coffee now before putting a jar of juice on the table for Kim and the boys.
"Kim doesn't seem to be very tired this morning, despite keeping me up all night."
"I thought it was the boys again that were up late last night," James murmured and finished filling his plate before lifting his mug to load it with cream as he favored. Even as he sipped from the mug, the sounds of running feet announced the boys' arrival, and they stormed into the kitchen babbling about something that made James grin and Ann frown.
"Not at the table, boys. Settle down, and eat. I have to go in early, and I'll be late this evening, so you need to listen to your sister."
Both boys started grinning, until James added, "Until I get home. I'll be in by five," he told them sternly. "So behave."
"Ah, dad, we behave," they said in their stereo way of speaking.
Kim only smiled, and asked Shego, "Say, are your brothers like them," she asked.
Shego looked over the brim of her mug, and growled, "Worse."
Kim only giggled.
To Be Continued…