First let me say Thank-you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter: Invader Johnny, Earl Allison, , readerjunkie, CajunBear73, screaming phoenix, princessvmlg, Mr. Wizard, and Reader101w. And let me say thank-you to everyone who has continued to read this story! Y'all ROCK! Looks like I'll be posting this on somewhat of a schedule now, the last 2 chapters should be posted on the next two Wednesday nights / Thursday mornings. (That is if everything works out)

Disclaimer: Same as always, neither kt nor I have any legal connection with the KP characters…

Chapter 2

When Kim finally dragged herself out of bed the next morning, she knew that it was going to be a long day. It felt like she only had about three hours of good sleep. Her morning cup of hot chocolate with mini- marshmallows didn't even give her the energy boost it usually did from the sugar. Kim started to give actual consideration to start drinking coffee. As a result, through most of the day, she was very testy and down right grouchy.

…x x x x…

During their lunch hour, Kim, Ron and Monique were sitting at their usual table. Both Monique and Ron were at least making an attempt to eat what was on their trays, but resigned to just settling for the dessert and the small carton of milk. Kim stirred the unpleasant gray mass with her fork for the umpteenth time and looked at the remaining half of roll she'd nibbled on. The only piece of food that was actually completely missing from her tray was the small chocolate cupcake. Sighing, she realized she hadn't eaten that much. All Kim did was yawn once again, and continued to poke at everything on her plate.

She didn't even notice that the gray glob on her plate now seemingly shied away from her fork while she poked and prodded at everything else. To the keen observer "Mystery Meat" always seemed to have that unique ability, but it had never been proven in the laboratory.

Both Ron and Monique noticed her slightly erratic behavior, and so did Rufus, who scampered over next to her hand and placed a small paw on Kim's forearm in what he thought would be a comforting gesture. Her reaction was not what anyone expected.

"Rufus…" She spat out and brought the fork around with a snap of her wrist, catching some of the gray glop and splattering him in the chest with it. "Get away from my plate!"

Three sets of eyes looked at Kim in shock. Rufus slowly back away from Kim holding his front paws out in an easy manner as if he was backing away from a dangerous and rabid animal. When he reached Ron's tray, the little guy picked up a napkin and wiped himself off, looking over his shoulder, just in case Kim decided to come after him again.

"What up, Girlfriend?" Monique asked with a disapproving look on her face. "You've been on edge most of the day. In fact, when Mr. Barkin asked you about your book report earlier, I couldn't believe you told him it was another snore-fest."

Kim's emerald eyes continued to narrow and then suddenly relaxed. The deep furrows in her brow also started to lessen. She brought two fingers to the bridge of her nose and gave a slight squeeze. "I'm sorry, guys, Rufus. I just didn't sleep very well last night, and I guess it's been putting me a bit on edge. Kinda like the snarky comments I get from Shego when we're fighting."

"I'll say." Ron said under his breath, but Kim heard him and gave Ron her evil eye, making him cringe back into his seat.

"Is there anything you want to tell us Kim?" Monique asked with concern in her voice.

The redhead opened her mouth, took a breath as if to say something, but then closed it and pushed the air out of her nose. She wasn't sure whether to tell her two best friends about this just yet. She didn't have any information from Wade at this time, so she decided to wait for a while before saying something and risk being called crazy, or something even worse... like being accused of living in la la land.

…x x x x…

Even cheerleading practice didn't improve her attitude much, as things just kept getting worse. The routines weren't coming together, and everyone's timing seemed a bit off due to her own miscues. But what drove the final nail in the coffin was that she let herself be caught off-guard by none other than Bonnie.

While standing with pom-pom's in hand over her head, Kim's eyes were half lidded when Bonnie slammed into her with a hip-check that drove the red head into the nearby wall. It really didn't hurt much, but the blow to her pride sure took a hit as Bonnie added, "C'mon K… Get the lead out! Geez… You'd think the team Captain would be smart enough to get enough sleep so she would be more alert. I'm just glad we weren't working on the pyramid again." Bonnie knew something was up when Kim's response was not what she expected.

"(Yawn)… I'm sorry guys. I'll be more awake tomorrow. I promise." She then gave another yawn. "Let's call it a day, OK?"

Bonnie's mouth nearly dropped to the floor. For the second time in as many years she couldn't believe that Kim didn't have a snappy comeback.

"But tomorrow's Saturday, Kim." Tara said. "Boy, you really are out of it when you forget what day of the week it is."

"Oh yeah… Saturday's tomorrow," Kim said while stifling yet another yawn.

Still in half a daze, the auburn haired cheerleader was led away by the entire Cheer Squad into the dressing area with Bonnie out in front of everyone..

…x x x x…

After the girls showered and made sure that Kim was more awake than she was at practice, they were walking out of the locker room when the Kimmunicator went off. Sleepily, Kim answered with a barely audible "Go, Wade."

"The diagnostic is finished Kim." He said.

Kim's eyes suddenly lit up like fireworks on the Fourth of July as she launched numerous questions at him.

"What's the sitch?"

"Did you find out anything?"

"Was I right!"

"Did you find anything on Ginny Larsen yet?"

She finally finished with "Well… I'm waiting Mr. Wizard."

Kim's rapid fire questioning took Wade totally by surprise. It wasn't until he asked her to calm down that she noticed she was gripping the communications device very tightly. In fact, the ambient pressure readings on the case were up by a factor of twelve according to Wade's system. Kim's definitely on an adrenaline rush, he thought to himself.

Thinking for a second on how he was going to respond he started out slowly. "Well… the diagnostic didn't find anything wrong with either end of the communication link, but…"

It was the hesitation in Wade's voice that caught Kim's full attention. "But what Wade? Either there's something wrong, or there isn't."

This time Kim caught herself, and took a breath trying to calm her self down a bit. She continued to walk and talk at the same time, her total concentration centered on the Kimmunicator's view screen. "I'm sorry Wade… I didn't sleep well last night, and I guess I've been jumping down peoples' throats all day."

"I'll say…" She heard Ron say as he walked up besides her, making her jump a bit. "Man, Kim… you really are on edge. You sure you still wanna do something tonight? I mean, if you don't want to…"

"No Ron… it's cool. I'm still up for our usual Friday Night out." She paused to take a deep long breath again, while Wade added that he would get back to her when he had more information. Then he closed the connection to the Kimmunicator. Kim returned it to her pocket before she asked her best friend, "So what's the plan for tonight, anyway?"

"Miniature Golf?" Ron said with a raised eyebrow. "I hear they redesigned the last hole. Now it's a dragon that has a moving tail. You hit the ball in its mouth and the ball comes out the end of its tail, so you have to watch where it's pointing. I hear it can be quite challenging."

"What time?" Kim asked.

"How about 7:30?" Was Ron's response.

"Cool… That will give me some time to work on a few things. See you then…"

Kim started to walk off on her own, and Ron found himself trying to hurry and catch up. "What's the rush, Kim?"

"Sorry Ron… Guess I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"OK, see you about a quarter after 7 then?"

"Huh? For what?" She said with an almost confused look.

"Boy, you really are out of it Kim." Her blond friend said. "For Miniature Golf? Remember?"

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'll be ready. Should we meet at my place or yours?"

"Come on over to my place. Dad should be able to give us a ride."

"Great…"

That was the last word out of Kim's mouth, as she was entirely lost in thought, going over the last two night's events in her head. Over and over and over again she re-played every detail, every word, every action in slow motion to make sure she didn't miss a thing while Ron endlessly droned on about school and the day's challenges he'd had.

By the time her best friends monologue had finished she'd come up with no more answers than she previously had. By now the two teens had arrived at Kim's front door, so they said their good-byes. Ron then walked back to his house, grateful that Kim had provided a listening ear to his day's drama.

…x x x x…

As soon as Kim walked into the house, she looked at the time. It was almost 5:30. As she ambled into the kitchen, she saw that her Mom was fixing dinner already.

"Early dinner tonight Mom?" She asked.

"Yes, Kimmie… Your father and I have that Line-Dancing contest tonight. Remember? The last time we went, we were such a hit they wanted us to compete." Anne Possible actually sounded excited about what her and her husband had planned for the evening.

"Aaaannnd?" Kim asked.

"Yes Dear… we know." Her mom said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. "We go by Wanda and Eugene Crumholtz. No relation to Kim Possible."

"Thanks again. You guys Rock… Wait… You don't need me to baby-sit the Tweebs tonight?"

"Nope…" Her dad said from the kitchen table. "They're going over to a friends for a sleep-over."

Kim breathed out a sigh of relief. Babysitting the Tweebs could be so the drama, and she really wanted the time to be by herself until she needed to go over to Ron's.

…x x x x…

The Tweebs had already gone over to their friends, so it was just Kim and her parents for dinner. They ate in relative silence, and then her parents left for the dance competition. She looked at the time again and saw that it was only 6:15.

While sitting on the couch in front of the TV, she pulled out her Kimmunicator and called Wade. "Hey Kim… Perfect timing. I was just about to call you."

"So did you find out anything on Ginny?" The young heroine asked.

"Not much. There are 3 families in Middleton with the last name of Larsen, but none of them have the name Ginny associated with them."

"Nickname?" Kim asked.

"I also did a search for the name Virginia Larsen, but that's where things get a bit weird." Her friend said from the small screen.

"How weird…" She said while tucking her legs underneath her on the couch.

"It's… an obituary, Kim."

"An obituary? But that means she would be…"

"Dead. Yeah, I know. But there are no other names that could be considered a variation on Ginny with the last name of Larsen. Looks like a dead-end Kim." The red head grimaced at the inappropriate phrase that Wade said without realizing.

"Can you give me the last known address of Virginia Larsen anyway?"

"What for?" Wade asked, not quite sure what Kim had in mind.

"It may not be the family I'm looking for, but I don't have any other leads. I don't suppose you have a ride?"

"No need. It's only about a quarter mile from where you live. You could walk there and back in no time at all."

…x x x x…

Kim verified the address that Wade had given her and walked up to the front of the house, carefully looking at it. It looked pretty normal as houses go. A front porch with railing, two-car garage, assorted trees and shrubbery… All pretty typical and nothing overtly threatening. Taking in a deep breath she marched up to the front door and rang the doorbell. There was a screen door in front of the main door, which opened up about 30 seconds after she had rung the bell.

"Yes? May I help you?" An older woman said in a friendly voice that welcomed her. She was no taller than Kim, and had long gray hair pulled up into a bun. Loose strands gracefully fell about her face. The lady almost reminded Kim of her Nana.

"I'm sorry Ma'am." Kim said. "But I was wondering if a girl named Virginia Larsen lives here?"

Immediately, the older woman's attitude went cold… ice cold… as if a nerve had been struck. All the feeling and happiness in the woman disappeared as an entirely different personality emerged. "I told you reporters before that that was a long time ago. I do not want to talk about it anymore. Now please, leave me alone!"

"But…" Kim started to say, but the door was slammed into her face, the sound punctuating the air with something Kim had rarely experienced, rejection. Taken aback, she pressed the doorbell once again, and knocked on the screen door.

Once again the woman appeared, but this time she was holding a baseball bat. "Look… I have very right to defend myself. If you leave now, I won't call the police."

"Wait…" Kim said quickly. "My name is Kim… Kim Possible, and I just wanted to ask about Ginny."

"What?" The old woman said, and dropped the ball bat to her side. "What did you just say?"

"I said I would just like to ask some questions about your daughter. She is your daughter, right?"

"You… you… just called her Ginny." The woman seemed to be flabbergasted.

"Yes… That's her name, isn't it?" By now a small niggle of a thought was starting to grow in the back of Kim's mind.

"She was the only one who called her self that…" The woman said with a shocked look on her face. She continued to stand behind the screen door just looking at the auburn haired teenager.

"May I come in?" Kim asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes… by all means, yes." The older woman unlocked the screen door and let Kim inside, who followed the old woman into what looked like a small living room with two easy chairs and a sofa.

"Please… have a seat." The old woman said as she sat in one of the easy chairs. Kim sat herself down in the other.

"Now, how did you know that Virginia called her self Ginny?" She asked as soon as Kim settled herself in.

"I…" Kim started to say.

A look of recognition suddenly passed over the old woman's features. "Land and Stars… You're Kimberly Possible, aren't you? You're the famous daughter of Dr's. James and Ann Possible aren't you."

"Yes, Ma'am, I am." Kim said, lowering her head a bit in humility.

"I'm so sorry about what happened earlier at the front door. You know how reporters are these days." Mrs. Larsen said with a look of humility.

"Yes, Ma'am, I do."

"Please, Kimberly, call me Dolores." She then paused and looked Kim over. "So why are you asking about my late daughter?"

"Well…" Kim started to say, but then realized just what Dolores had said. "Wait a minute, did you say… 'late' daughter?"

"Yes… Didn't you realize? Virginia has been dead for over 2 years."

Kim's head began to swim, and her eyes went wide. "This… but I… my Kimmunicator…"

"Dear…" Dolores said. "You're not making any sense. And you're as white as a sheet. Are you OK? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

A sudden chill passed over Kim, causing goose bumps to rise on her arms. She shuddered a bit, took a deep breath, and tried to will herself to calm down. She didn't want to sound crazy by telling this woman that she had received a call from her dead daughter on her Kimmunicator.

Thinking quickly Kim then said, "Can… can you tell me what happened?"

Dolores blinked, and then leaned back in her chair. "You really don't know, do you?" Kim shook her head. "Well, I don't wish to make this a long story, but basically, Virginia was kidnapped and killed a little over 2 years ago when she disappeared on her way home from school."

"Here in Middleton?" Kim asked. "I don't remember a kidnapping back then."

"Oh no, Dear. This was in Lowerton. Plus, it seems that kids are always disappearing these days, so it all seemed routine for the police. It took two days for the case to finally hit the news. After the police checked out a few leads, they were finally able to come up with someone, and discovered that it was a local man. Someone who lived just a few blocks from here, actually. He was an older 'gentleman', late 50's I believe. He had grabbed Virginia on her way home, and took her God knows where.

"It was during his interrogation at the police department, that something strange happened. He admitted to kidnapping Virginia, and he also said that she was dead and that he had done it himself. It was a full confession." By now, there were tears falling down Dolores' cheeks, yet she had a sad smile on her face.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to." Kim said.

"Maybe it's fate that you came here Kim. Maybe… maybe you… can find out where… where my little girl is." The older woman pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes.

"Her body was never found?" Kim asked, astonished.

"No… You see, after this man confessed, he clammed up and wouldn't say anything else. And then… that evening there was a small riot in the Holding Cells, and this man was… killed. He died before they could get any more information out of him."

"I do remember that the riot was in the news." Kim said with a lowered voice. "I'm so sorry, Dolores. They… searched for her at least, right?"

"Yes… They searched for 2 days and found nothing." Again, the older woman dabbed at her eyes, and then looked at Kim with an almost pleading look. "Maybe you can find her? Find out what the 2-1-3 is about her?

"I'm… sorry?" Kim said taken aback by the strange question. "2-1-3? What do you mean?"

"Oh I'm sorry…" Dolores said through her lessening tears. "All this talk about Virginia brought back an old memory of her. She would always ask, 'What's the 2-1-3?' It was her way of asking 'What's the information?' You know, like 4-1-1?"

Kim nodded as she continued listening. Why does that seem so familiar? She thought to herself.

"She was always a bit strange that way. When I asked her about it, she said that the numbers added up the same. You know what I mean?" Kim shook her head side to side, not completely understanding. "Add 4 and 1 and 1. What do you get? Six. Well, add 2 and 1 and 3, and you also get…"

"Six." Kim finished with a haunted expression that the older woman never noticed.

"Was there any other information you needed?" Dolores asked.

"No… That's all I needed. Thank you so much for telling me all this Dolores. I really appreciate it." By now Kim was starting to get out of her chair to leave.

"You're welcome, Kim. I do hope that this helps you. But tell me something? How is it you knew about Virginia in the first place? There hasn't been anything about her case in the last 2 years."

"A… friend told me about it." was all Kim could think to say.

"Huh…" Dolores replied, seemingly in deep thought.

"I really should be going, Dolores." Kim said, and noticed the clock on the wall behind the older woman, and saw that it was almost 8:15. She had missed the time she was to meet Ron by 45 minutes. I'm sure he will understand, Kim thought.

…x x x x…

Leaving the house with the additional information, Kim also had some more questions. Her mind was both reeling, and in a fog as she walked home. "There's no way I got a call from a dead girl, right?" She said aloud to no one.

When she got home, she never even thought about calling Ron to apologize for not making it to his house for Miniature Golf. All she could think about was the fact that something very strange was going on with her Kimmunicator.

Just as she lay in bed to try and get some sleep, at about 10:00, the Kimmunicator that had been running the diagnostics sounded its familiar chime.

"Sorry about calling you so late, Kim. You weren't asleep, were you?"

"No… I just found out some really strange information today, Wade."

"I did, too. You want to go first?"

"No… You can go first, Wade. So, what's the sitch?"

"This may be just some strange coincidence, but check this out. I went over the data again from the diagnostic. You actually were receiving a signal both times your unit went offline. It was a rotating signal, and that's why I couldn't detect it before. It rotated between 2.13 megahertz, 21.3 megahertz, and 213 megahertz. The signal was initiated on October 13th, at 2:13 in the morning, and it only lasted for 21.3 seconds exactly, each time."

Kim sat up in her bed staring at the small screen with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open like a hanger waiting for a 747.

"Kim?" Wade asked. "Are you all right? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

To be continued…

Things are getting quite interesting, aren't they?