Disclaimer; Kim Possible is Property of Disney. This is a work of fan fiction for fun, not profit. "The Trace Without," a work by S3Cubed aka Six-string Samurai.
Chapter Three – That We Left Behind (part 1 of 2)
"Here is good, pull over," the redhead intoned, still insistent, but missing something unidentifiable in her voice. At least, that was how it sounded to Shego, who was in the driver's seat. It was her own car after all, and she wasn't about to let a ghost from the not so recent past put a dent in it. She'd seen the redhead driving, and it left room to be desired.
"Here," the noirette asked, arching a brow even as she guided the vehicle over to the shoulder. They were outside the city, and out on a service road, as per the Kimposter's guidance. "Now what? You're actually going to explain what the hell is going on, because that would be fucking swell," Shego ground out, putting the car in park and letting it idle on the side of the road.
The weather hadn't improved any, and it was beginning to snow again, much to Shego's mounting displeasure. If that was the word for the twisted heavy feeling in her gut. So far, her passenger hadn't said more that the bare minimum to guide them to this particular spot. Aside from the virtually empty lanes coming and going, and the fact that she could see most of the city laid out below the small rise the car was on, there was nothing special about it.
"There, just watch," the redhead, still bundled up in a slightly oversized gray hoodie, said, pointing out the windshield. It was still light enough out that the sky was visible beyond the glass, though the faint snowfall was going to get worse before it got better.
"What am I looking for, exactly? I can't see jack with all that crap drifting around," Shego turned on the wipers to clear the view, though it mostly just smeared melting flakes across where she was supposed to be watching.
"It's about to happen," the redhead stated, head turned toward whatever she was expecting.
"Just tell me already," Shego's impatience was cut into pieces as far above the skyline a small orange blossom burst into being for a brief moment, before drifting downward, dying out with much the same feeling of detachment. "The hell is that," the pale woman found herself transfixed, understanding just what it was she was witnessing even as her mind struggled to come to terms. A muffled crack, almost but not quite like thunder, reached the car as the glow faded from the clouds.
"There was an explosion in the fuel tank, it was due for retrofitting, but the maintenance was pushed back a month due to the high traffic season," Kim's voice sounded flat even in the small interior of the car.
"I don't understand, what," Shego stumbled over her own thoughts, trying to make some sense of what she was hearing, all the while, blinking away the phantom fireball that floating in front of her eyes.
"There were no survivors, and casualties all over the city, from the debris. Parts of the engine landed near a school, but did only property damage. The fuselage, some of it landed outside city limits, but a large piece hit your neighborhood, smashed into four houses."
"How do you know," Shego found herself gripping the steering column with enough force to make her hands ache.
"It crushed your house too, Shego," the redhead said with a certainty that would not be denied. At this, she finally turned from the lights beyond the passenger window, and the small flares that were springing up down at ground level.
"How the hell do you know," the comet-powered woman grit out, letting go of the wheel and reaching elsewhere. Her shaking hands found purchase on the shoulders of a girl she thought gone from this world. But, she found only solid reality beneath her palms. One that met the wild look in her eyes with only a semblance of expression, and perhaps, something approaching sadness.
"You were supposed to die," the almost weary voice said from Kim Possible's lips. "But, I was sent to stop that from happening. So, I did."
"You were sent to stop...oh god. All those people, why didn't you just stop that from happening," the noirette hung her head. It was all too much to try and digest in one fell swoop. "One person isn't worth all that. You, you should know that. You're supposed to be the hero, damn it! What did you bother coming back for," Shego spat, hanging her head.
This wasn't Kimmie, this was just some sick joke. The feeling in her gut tightened, and she blanched, distantly wondering if the Vietnamese she'd eaten was about to decorate her upholstery. All those people...