I do not own the characters named herein from Disney, and am only using them for a tale meant for entertainment purposes only.

Kim Possible: Darker Destiny

By LJ58

3

"Pssst," Bonnie tensed as she heard the soft hiss as she trudged slowly home. Not wanting to go, but hardly having anyplace else to go, she was in no hurry to get there.

It didn't help that her mother was one of many who were a willing, and eager drone for Drakken's stooges.

It didn't help that she had just confirmed she was now locked into a life she had hoped to evade. She had studied harder than anyone, made all the top scores, and she was still locked into vice for the 'glory' of the emperor.

As if that blue freak knew about her, or Middleton.

No, she told herself, what really frightened her was that not twenty minutes ago she had literally been face-to-face with death itself.

She had seen the vids. Who hadn't? Drakken put himself and his personal Enforcer on every channel.

But to actually stand right next to Shego, the emperor's deadly personal Enforcer, was something else entirely.

She didn't expect her, or think it could truly be her when she first spotted Kim Possible, the class ghost who didn't stand out in looks, or brains. If the redhead could have gotten away with not even showing up at all, she was pretty sure she would have tried. Only truancy was now punishable by death under Drakken's new laws. It made a lot of kids eager to attend class that might have otherwise ducked out. Especially considering how lame they had gotten after the emperor had changed everything from science to history to suit himself.

Considering Kim's own mother, she didn't even have the brains, or the looks to end up one of the favored kids. Bonnie had tried mentoring Kim for a time, and they had even got close for a time. Kim was strange, though. Ever so often, she would just vanish, and no one knew why, or what she was doing. When she came back, though, nothing changed. Not really.

Considering her brothers, Bonnie half expected to learn they were experimenting on her. The evil little trolls were the kind to do it, too.

She sighed, and shook her head.

So how had Kim Possible of all people managed to interest Shego?

How had she managed to bring that evil creature all the way from the Emperor's palace to take a special interest in her.

The look that freakish creature had been giving Kim had been obvious, too. She was all but drooling over that mousy redhead. Her! Yet she had looked at Bonnie as if… As if she were nothing. A bug to be crushed under her heel.

Then, just when she thought that was about to happen, Kim had actually stood up for her. Stood up to Shego herself. She had never seen that girl do anything for anyone. Not in this life. Yet Kim had stood there, putting herself between them, and argued with death itself to let her go. After she all but insisted that Shego, the real Shego, spare her life.

When Barkin's security let her go, she fled the city square, and didn't look back.

She didn't know where Kim and Shego had gone afterward, but she had not cared. She was only interested in escaping what had been certain death at the time.

Walking blindly, and in no hurry to get home to admit her new vocation was just what her mother had expected, Bonnie paused as she heard the hiss again.

"Bon-Bon," the voice rasped.

"R-Ronnie," she gasped, looking into the nearby alley, and glancing around uneasily.

"We need to talk."

"Not here. Oh, God, if anyone sees you…..!"

"They won't. Tonight, the old tree house. Can you make it?"

Bonnie shivered at the fear that still coursed through her, refueled by the chances she was taking.

"I can make it," she murmured, covering her loitering by kneeling down to retie a shoe already tied. "Around eight. I can't be out after ten. They raised the curfew with Shego's visit."

A few people eyed her as they went past, but didn't give her a second glance.

Well, not her face.

She didn't have to call out to know he was already gone.

She swallowed hard.

Rising to her feet, she was suddenly aware of every law officer, and security enforcer on the street.

Did they notice her?

Did they notice the shadows in the alley that weren't real shadows?

Did the heard anything.

One enforcer looked her way, but his expression was blatant, and never rose above her chest.

Which reminded her of her future.

Maybe she should run away. Like so many had. Or were forced to do. Only Bonnie had to admit the truth even to herself. Especially to herself.

She was a coward. One that could never survive as others had apparently done if Ron were any judge. Not out there.

She might help Ron, but only because she feared what might happen to them if someone caught him, and her name were mentioned. Or worse, if someone came for her family. As much as she sometimes hated her own family, they were still hers. Without them, she had…..nothing.

No real friends. No real place in life at all.

When, she wondered, did she first realize how little meaning her life had?

Sighing, she thought of the career posting in her pocket, and trudged home.

Tomorrow night would be the first official night of her new career. Her new life. Maybe she should ask Ron to carry her off with him this time. Maybe…..

Only she knew she wouldn't.

She didn't have that kind of courage.

KP

"You're late," Vivian snapped when Ron finally made it back to the colony.

"We were delayed," Ron said grimly. "And you're going to want to hear this one."

"Report," she said, not bothering to call the others in just then. It was well after midnight, and her people needed their rest. Things had been tense enough with their major defender away, and rumors of Drakken's new testing in the area.

"Shego was there. Whatever she did, all it did was create a massive landslide that cut off Middleton for a few days. We had to slip into the work crew to get in and out without notice. It worked, though, so don't worry."

"In. You went into Middleton," Vivian hissed. "Are you insane? If anyone spotted you….?"

"I saw Bonnie."

"I'm still not sure I trust that one. She could turn on us."

"She is too afraid to talk. She fears….everything," Yori told her.

"Exactly," Vivian Porter spat. "She'd be the kind to turn on us to save her own skin."

"No, she'd be too afraid to say anything to anyone for any reason," Ron added. "Besides, in her way, she is a friend. And she told us something….interesting."

"How interesting?"

"Shego came back to Middleton after the test."

"To see how it went, no doubt," the former robotics expert huffed.

"No. To secure a Glyph. One she chose to take back with her."

"A Glyph," Vivian exclaimed. "In Middleton? Who?"

"Kim Possible," Ron said.

Vivian stared.

"James and Ann's daughter," she recalled the quiet, little girl that had once been so boisterous. "She's a Glyph?"

"There's more. Rumor was, she fought Shego to a standstill. Barehanded," Ron told her.

The woman gaped at him.

"You have to be….."

"And Shego is listening to her. When Bonnie encountered them when Shego was about to drag her off…. Or, more accurately, carry her off, Kim saved Bonnie's life. Shego seems to be….listening to her. Even called her…..a princess."

Vivian scowled.

"A princess? Did anyone know this woman could fight? Or fight so well," she sputtered.

"No clue. I saw her around in the early days. But she was….a nonentity. Then I went to Japan, and lost touch."

"James. James must have done something to her in secret," she decided.

"Or the twins. Rumor claims they can do some pretty crazy things," Ron said grimly. "Who knows what those two are up to lately? I still haven't forgotten the time they sent out those mind-controlled suicide bombers. Drakken may be bad, but those two are real evil."

"No argument," Vivian cut him off. "What of Kim? You said Shego dragged her off….?"

"More like carried her off. As in, this is Bonnie's own words, she was drooling over her."

The blonde frowned again.

"So, Possible can fight, and Shego likes her because….why? That makes no sense," she frowned all the more.

"We heard a lot of gossip while we were on the work crews that confirm Bonnie's words. We also heard something else interesting just before we got out."

"Yes?"

"Barkin was fired. Jake Hobble is the new regional governor as of now."

"He's not too extreme. This may be in our favor," Vivian murmured.

"Hai," Yori nodded. "He has already changed a few things. At least, as much as one dares in this mad world."

"What do you mean?"

"He relaxed the labor cycles, stopped jailing people on minor offenses, and is apparently ending the curfews except for civil emergencies." Ron drew a breath, and added, "He also pointedly looked away when he spotted Yori loading the medical supplies we…..borrowed into the cart we dragged back," he admitted.

"Medical supplies?"

"They seemed to have spare resources at the site of the landslide being unused," Yori remarked. "It occurred to us we might have greater use of them. We both know we didn't bring back near enough on our last run."

"And he let you go," Vivian frowned.

"Pointedly looked away, and didn't look back," Ron admitted. "Maybe he remembered me. I don't know. But we made sure there were no tails all the same."

"That's good news, I suppose. But let's not push our luck. He might be just trying to lure us in so he can take us all out easier than Barkin could," she pointed out.

"This, too, occurred to us," Yori told her.

"Meanwhile, we have a cart load of medical supplies we just dropped at the clinic. Should be good for a few weeks," Ron told her. "Now, unless there is something else, we need to rest."

"Of course. Thanks, Ronald, and….I'm glad you both made it back okay."

Ron only nodded.

"Meanwhile, I'd better talk to Dash. His people might be able to tell us what is going on inside the palace. After all, while no one stays inside, even Drakken has to have support staff during daylight hours," she grinned.

"I did wonder how his contacts got in and out," Ron murmured.

"Carefully," Vivian admitted. "I won't bother to tell you how many people have died in that madman's employ."

"I'd rather not know," Ron admitted. "The body count is already higher than it should be."

The scientist said nothing as Ron and Yori stepped outside, and he looked up into the hazy sky.

"Hope that's not rain. That's the last thing we need just now."

"Hai. Still, it would make anyone trying to follow hesitate."

"That's true. This would be so much easier if I could just…..find the Lotus Blade."

"You are not yet ready," Yori told him quietly. "The spirits will know when you are, and release it to you. I have much confidence you will one day be the warrior you are meant to be, Stoppable-San," she assured him.

Ron said nothing to that, because he knew what made him unworthy.

As unworthy as Monkey Fist.

Because he wanted power. But only so he could kill a few people. He wanted to stop madmen, true, but in the end, he wanted death. Wanted it badly.

And the mystic sword was not going to come to someone who was so fixed on such base things.

A true catch-22, he knew, because he was trying to help the world, but the only way he knew to do it was to kill.

Too bad mystic swords didn't have a clue.

KP

Shego sat in a nearby lounger, watching the redhead sleep on her bed where she had left her after a very long, and very sensuous workout.

That following a genuinely strenuous workout in her private gym.

Seriously, she had never been pushed so far, or so hard, as when that crazed girl came at her as if she were indestructible. Honestly, she could have vaporized her in like…..three seconds. Maybe two. Yet, one-on-one, face-to-face, Shego had never met anyone that could stand up to her, and take her on with her skill-set alone.

Until now.

This woman, she realized, did not even come close to matching the available civil files on her.

Then there was that very disturbing anomaly that popped up when she covertly had the girl scanned when they first entered the palace. Adding that to the comments the surprising redhead had already made when she had likely felt Shego had not been paying attention, and Shego, no genius, was still smart enough to put some pieces tighter.

This girl was not the girl she should be.

Or rather, she wasn't the girl that had been living here. She was, somehow, from another….place.

She should be locking her up.

Or just bug-zapping her, as usual.

Instead, she found herself enticed on a level she had not felt in…..a very long time.

If ever.

She ignored Drew's pages, nothing new there, and kept watching the little redhead that had met her with a challenge from the start, and didn't seem to know how to slow down.

Until she finally crashed not long ago.

Now, sleeping, and helpless, Shego could easily put her down.

Only she found she didn't want to try.

She just wanted to…enjoy her.

"Princess," she murmured, and simultaneously wondered if she weren't going soft.

She heard Drew's summons again on her personal PDA now, and realized she had better go talk to him. He might be an idiot, but he was an admittedly smart idiot. Even he might put a few things together in time, and she didn't want him interfering with the little redhead that she had found.

She'd face him as usual, and knowing him as she did, knew just how to distract him.

Besides, it occurred to her that this surprisingly competent Possible might just be someone they could use.

She didn't consider that she was already looking for excuses to keep her.

She was Shego. The emperor's Enforcer. She didn't make, or need excuses.

Besides, she had been getting seriously bored of late, and even Drew knew how dangerous that could be.

For everyone.

To Be Continued….