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: Impossible Journey
By LJ58
8
James Possible frowned as they neared the set coordinates for the last known sighting of his daughter.
"The regular compass is definitely acting more than a little off," he told his boys. "Double-check that gyro-compass."
"Still on track, and showing the same path the mole took," Tim told him. "Ron, anything on the frequency for Kim's Kimmunicator?"
"Nothing," the monkey-master told them, "But all these gizmos and things are showing all static and fuzz anyway," he reported.
"It looks like a serious jamming signal," Bonnie remarked. "See the patterns in the static? I saw something similar in a device the old man used once when he was trying to take over satellite communications."
"I remember that one," Jim nodded. "That was when Junior borrowed his satellite controls to try to kick-start a global party," she sniggered.
Bonnie sighed.
"Yeah. Junior could be fun, but he was never really a deep thinker."
"Yeah, not touching that one," Tim smirked. "Okay, dad, five degrees starboard, and bring up the nose point-nine degrees, and we'll be back on track….."
"Contact," James said as he felt the lurch as the drill stopped abruptly, and yet they were still moving.
"Slowing engines," James said, easing back on the yoke. "We are definitely in some kind of massive tunnel system."
"Sonar is showing a straight path," Tim agreed, "But we have no other signals. Just that static."
"So, either something natural is throwing out a lot of electromagnetic interference, or….."
"Someone else is down here playing games," Ron said grimly.
"I know I like to think anything is possible," James said, shooting him a glance, "But just now, that's a disturbing thought, Ronald. Do you think someone else came after our girl?"
"I'm just wondering if someone else was down here all along," Ron admitted.
"That….sounds interesting," Jim murmured.
"Hoo-shaa," Tim nodded his way.
"Okay, enough with the doom and gloom looks. Can we find K, or what," Bonnie demanded.
"Okay," Tim nodded. "Calculating last settings, and updating genetic coding based on the blood samples the mole detected."
"Entering organic parameters, and filtering out any possible anomalies," Jim added, looking his way as they quickly moved to another console yet to be activated.
"Warming up the bio-scans, and….."
"We are on track. Kim and Shego definitely came this way," Jim finished. "If we can't use a frequency, we'll just track them the same way the mole is doing it. With genetic patterns. We should enter Shego into the matrix, too, just in case. Her comet power may make a strong beacon all by itself. Straight ahead, dad," he added, "We'll tie in the bio-scan to the gyro-compass, and it should lead us right to Kim."
"Quick and easy," Tim agreed.
"Wait, you have Shego's genetics on file," Ron asked them.
"She did hang around the house for a while there," the boys grinned slyly.
"Then, let's go," Ron told them.
"Ahead, one-quarter power," James reported even as he moved the yoke again with a hopeful smile. "It shouldn't be long now."
"Is it getting lighter ahead," Bonnie asked, noting the filtering light that seemed to be growing around them as the plexi-steel portals that acted like windows let the exterior light into the cabin.
"We're approaching that jungle we spotted before the mole's transmitters went down," James said, reporting over the radio himself. "You get that, Felix?"
There was only a crackling sound over the speaker on the dash before him, and James glanced around.
"Check all our coms now."
"Interior coms are good. Remote transceivers check out. Something is just keeping our signals from getting out. We're broadcasting to ourselves," Jim told everyone.
"So, Felix may not even know where we are," Bonnie asked fretfully.
"Oh, he knows," Tim smirked.
"We put a fusion tracker in our gear so that Renton can track the reactor in this baby no matter where it goes. We may not be able to talk, but he'll be able to see exactly where we're headed," Jim nodded.
"Smart one, boys," James grinned. "Say, that might help out with a probe we were wanting to send into a black hole next month. I'll need to see your tracking gear when we get back," the scientist told his sons.
"Sure, dad. So long as we can see the telemetry, too."
"I think we can manage…."
"Can we stay on track here," Bonnie demanded irritably.
"Nervous, Bon," Ron asked her somberly.
"Practical," she shot back. "If someone is really jamming us down here, don't you think they might try to do something else if they realize we aren't stopping?"
"And that's why we brought weapons," Jim and Tim both declared.
"Weapons, boys," James Possible demanded imperiously.
"Nothing serious, dad. Just narco-darts, high amplitude tasers, and a few mini-missiles with…minor payloads."
"Define minor," James demanded.
"Never mind. I think we have officially arrived," Bonnie said as the nose of the tunneler left the long tunnel, and they were suddenly surrounded by thick, lush greenery.
"Holy….."
Everyone was staring as Dr. Possible stopped the tunneler, and they just crowded around the cockpit seats to stare outside.
"She was definitely here," Jim said quietly, and pointed to one side of the massive probe turned drill.
They all saw the mess made of a rough clearing where it looked like someone had squatted for a time before leaving. There were heaps of broken branches, piles of withering berries the size of large melons, and more than a few piles of leaves that were likely used as bedding.
"Genetic scans are strong here," Jim nodded. "But it shows they went….twenty degrees port, dad."
"So, they were building something," Ron asked, seeing the broken branches, and vines in that messy clearing.
"A raft," James, Jim, and Tim all said as one. "Just like in the book. We must be near the sea Lidenbrock found."
"The one with the monsters in it," Bonnie asked uneasily.
"They can't stop this baby," Tim assured her.
"But Kim doesn't have a space drill," Bonnie told them.
"She has Shego," Ron reminded her.
Everyone gave him a peculiar look.
"I'm just saying, those two have had a weird….thing since forever. I think the only thing that ever made Shego madder than Drakken screwing with her, was someone trying to hurt Kim. Why? No clue. Go figure. You try to hurt Kim, though, and that crazed woman would…."
"But she tries to hurt Kim," Bonnie frowned.
"I used to think so, too," Ron nodded. "But think about it. Shego is sneakier than anyone alive. Can get anywhere she wants without being seen. Add to that the freaking glowing hands that peel steel like paper, and do you really think Kim stands a chance if Shego really wanted to just hurt her, or put her down?"
"That sounds….weird," both boys said as James frowned darkly.
"Are you saying….that woman secretly likes Kimmie-Cub?"
"That's what I am guessing," Ron nodded at the rocket scientist. "Maybe she knows it….?"
"Kim, or Shego," Bonnie asked with a confused frown.
"Either of them. Maybe she doesn't. Let's face it, Kim is lousy with relationships, and knowing what's in front of her. I'm not even going to guess about the crazy woman with the bad temper," Ron admitted. "But I do know Shego can be insanely protective about Kim at times."
"Then why did she push her in the hole," Bonnie sputtered.
"That's something I don't know," Ron admitted. "Yet. We'll find out when we find them."
"Then let's get moving. Prep aquatic mode, boys," James told them. "I get the feeling the water isn't that….. Whoa," he said, all of them gaping at the wide, dark blue sea ahead of them.
"That is one massive storm," Ron hissed, seeing the darkness rising before them on the far horizon, and flashes of lightning all about the clouds.
"That storm hits us, and it might still do some damage," Tim warned.
"Prepare to go to submarine mode," Jim shouted, and rushed back to his own station. "We are doing to dive!"
"Oh, God," Bonnie moaned, and quickly buckled herself back in as Ron and Tim both took their own stations as James turned the nose to line up with the genetic scanner, and headed for the beach just ahead.
"Half power to engines," he said, holding the yoke, and flipping switches even as he did. "We're going down, boys. Get ready!"
"Best ride ever," the twins shouted as Bonnie only moaned as the ship began to hum with power once more.
~KP~
"They still out there," Shego asked quietly as they huddled in another tree high over the forest floor.
Dangling from a rope-vine was a small pack with their provisions.
They had gathered meat from the tree primitives, dried and smoked it after it was cooked, and managed to make a rough, waterskin to add to the single gourd they had rescued. It helped that they had found their vine-ropes, and found a few stone knives that Kim had fashioned with her laser early on.
The primitive men had watched them prepare for days after they had returned to the big central tree with their few scavenged supplies. Some of them seemed genuinely interested in what they were doing, and one of them had filched some of their smoked and dried meat early on to test it. He had then jabbered endlessly to his companions before the men started trying to replicate their efforts themselves.
"Wonder what your alleged caretakers out there are going to think of you helping evolution along here," Shego had mused back then.
Finally, as prepared as they could be, the two woman had left one morning before even the men rose, and headed in the general direction of the cliffs.
Kim didn't intend to be obvious, though, and kept a meandering route that led them past a few nests with very large eggs. Considering what they likely were, they had kept going in another direction. Eventually, they encountered a smallish meadow, considering, with at least a score of mastodon grazing, though they didn't see the giants the book had claimed tended them.
Now, some five days away from the tree, they were still essentially taking a circling path toward the cliffs without being obvious. At about noon of their third day, a few of the men had appeared. They stayed in the trees, and mostly hid themselves, but they were obviously watching them.
"They're out there," Kim sighed.
"I hate this place, Kim. I mean, I really hate this place. Can't we just head right for the cliffs?"
"As much as I wouldn't mind doing just that, I'd rather not push our luck," Kim advised her.
"You think the hairballs would attack us? I already laid them out once."
"No. I don't really worry too much about them now. I still think they're mostly just curious. I'm more worried about any other guard dogs, and their masters," the redhead admitted.
"You really think….?"
"The more I think about it, the more I'm sure they have to be out there. Or were out there. Even if they did leave this….lab, or whatever, they likely had some kind of defenses left behind. It only makes sense if we go that route."
"So, more guards like the lizards that chased your Kimmunicator?"
"Yeah. I'd rather not find out there is still more out there. Not without some warning," Kim pointed out.
"Sooner or later, the dimmest of whoever or whatever is going to figure it out."
"So why warn them early on? I figure two, maybe three more days of circling this region, and we're going to be in place for a quick run right for the cliffs. Then, well, we'll see what comes next."
Shego turned, blinking against the glare of the diamond sun overhead that penetrated the foliage, and faced Kim now as the redhead lay there on her back in their makeshift tree bed.
"Something else on your mind?"
"I have been thinking about it. What you said. I… I don't think you deserved to be shoved in here," Shego told her. "Not now."
"Well, I could have missed this adventure, and been pretty happy," Kim admitted with a crooked grin.
"I figured you were enjoying it," Shego quipped, "I mean, from the way you were acting…."
"I'm just trying to stay positive, keep my head, and keep us moving toward a way out," Kim admitted. "I'll be the first to admit that this science fiction bit is way over my head. And very far from what I'd prefer."
"Yet you fight mad scientists, and loons like Drew?"
"To keep them from making things worse, yeah. Could you really imagine a world in Drakken's hands," Kim asked her.
Shego sighed.
"Seriously? No. He'd get bored, and move on to something else inside a week of conquering the world, and leave a mess for someone else to clean up," she grumbled. "Probably me," she added in an even more sour tone.
"Unlike Dementor, who would probably be outfitting everyone for slave collars the first day," Kim scowled. "If he didn't just kill everyone. And that is why I fight."
Shego sighed, and rolled onto her back.
"Did you really try to invite me," Shego finally asked.
"Ask… Well, when we get back, you can ask anyone. If I had known where you were, I would have invited you personally. I did start to think of you as a friend, Shego."
Shego grimaced.
"After all the crap I've done," the green woman sputtered.
"After all the good you've done. I'm not as blind as I was at the start," Kim turned to eye her. "I know you helped us a lot in those later missions. I know you helped sabotage a few of your idiot boss' plans, and spread a lot of misinformation out there for us. In my favor."
"Not really that much. You have a pretty big rep yourself, Princess," Shego turned to smile at her. "And you do deserve that."
"If I'm successful, it's because…"
"Don't bring up Stoppable. I won't say he hasn't matured, somewhat," Shego sniffed, "But let's face it, that guy almost got you both killed more than once at the start."
"Yet he hung in there, and helped save the whole world when it counted."
"Oh, yeah. That mystic mojo of his definitely came in handy. We could use it now," she admitted. "But Stoppable, on his own? I still see the clown in him."
"Only because he lets you. Ron's good about hiding his own gifts if you don't know him well," Kim smiled.
"So, you're still….fond of him?"
"Ron? He's still my best friend since forever. Just…not much else. Like we talked about earlier, we kind of both realized we didn't have the spark we needed for anything more."
"Hmmmm."
"Something else on your mind?"
"So, you're still not seeing anyone else?"
"College, work, and missions. I haven't really had time. You probably know, too, that the kind of guys that want to date me aren't the kind I'd care to see," the redhead sighed.
"Been there, burned the tee-shirt," Shego muttered.
Kim only chortled.
"What about you?"
Shego looked up at the sky through the branches, and only sighed.
"Hey, you started the topic. What kind of guy do you have? Or want?"
"None," she sighed.
"Really? But I thought…. I mean, you're gorgeous," Kim blurted, and promptly blushed crimson.
Shego grinned, but only sighed as she looked up again.
"Kimmie, I'm green."
"I….I know that. But that doesn't really matter…."
"Not that many people overlook that kind of thing. Then there is the whole impenitent felon bit. And let's face it, I do have a bad temper, and most people don't have a chance if they get on my nerves. Which most of them do," she admitted.
"Okay, I can see that. But surely you have someone you'd like…."
Shego sighed, and looked away again.
"Let's just drop it. Okay, Princess," she grumbled.
"Okay. So, tell me this…?"
"What," Shego grit out.
"Well, you've really been on edge since this whole misadventure started. I thought you'd be…. Well, that you wouldn't be so shook up over this. You really seem…."
"Kimberly," Shego sputtered. "We fell into a damn hole in the planet! We almost died then. Then you find this underground playhouse full of monsters and evolutionary throwbacks, and you hint there may have a puppet master out there playing god. Do you not feel just a little nervous about all that," she exclaimed.
"Well, a little, I guess. I just figured after all the mad science and villains you had seen on both sides of the law that you'd be a little more…."
"Look, Drew's insanity. Garden variety. I can handle it. Miles deep holes in the planet with genuine prehistoric freaks? Not so much," Shego spat, and glared now. "Can we drop it? Completely?"
"Okay. I was just curious. I mean, you always seemed so tough. You even took on those Lorwardians without blinking."
"Look, I was…. Well, I was trying real hard not to think of who, or what they were. I just imagined them as oversized Drews," she admitted, making Kim snigger. "I mean, seriously, they were about as smart."
"You have me there," she grinned. "You know what I really miss just now?"
"Hot baths, and toilets," Shego muttered.
"My mom," Kim admitted.
"Your mom?"
Kim sighed, and blushed again.
"Need someone to tuck you in," Shego couldn't help but grin.
"No," Kim sputtered. "But….I miss her hugging me. No matter what was going on, or how bad things got, I always knew one hug from mom, and…."
Shego impulsively rolled over, and pulled the slender redhead into her arms, hugging her fiercely.
"I know I'm not Anne, but….maybe…."
Kim gave a suspiciously subdued sniff, and then gave a tiny laugh, and then her hands rose awkwardly within the circle of Shego's arms, and returned the embrace.
"Actually, I think it's really the thought that counts here. Thanks, Shego. Honestly, if you hadn't been with me, I might already have died several times."
"No," the green-skinned woman sighed, and started to roll back over only to find Kim still holding onto her. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be here."
"I think we can both honestly say this is all on Drakken," Kim told her somberly, and moved to lay her head on Shego's shoulder.
"What are you….?"
"I'm just glad you're okay, too, Shego. Honestly. I am. I really can't think of anyone else I'd rather have at my side down here. Even if lizards do scare you."
Shego sputtered, and glared down at the redhead just under her chin.
"You will pay for that one, Kimmie," Shego growled. "I don't know how. I don't know when. But mark my words, you will pay."
Kim only giggled.
Shego was starting to sound much more like herself again, and that was exactly what they both needed. An unnerved Shego was anxious, and ironically careless. Next to useless, Kim had to admit. A sardonic, vengeful Shego was someone who was thinking, and getting ready for action. That was what they both needed out of her.
And, Kim had to admit, it actually felt rather good to be hugged by the comet-powered woman who felt rather warm.
"Didn't realize you were so warm," Kim sighed, and snugged up to her now.
"Hey! I'm not a damn electric blanket!"
Kim only giggled, and snuggled closer.
Shego didn't argue, and for all her grumbling, she didn't turn away.
To Be Continued…..