Discoveries

Then: Kim

One nice thing about dealing with people the world assumes are crazy- if they claim that Kim Possible has turned into a super intelligent monster, not many will believe them.

Kim would have smiled, if she could have- but the visit had been very profitable. Not only had she properly equipped herself, she'd confirmed, both by examining Amy's computers and the woman's own reactions to her, that DNAmy had nothing to do with the transformation virus.

Which unfortunately reduced the number of likely human sources for the virus to 0. Even Amy was a long shot, but without her...

Kim thought carefully while trotting at a brisk 30 miles an hour. The holographic screen she'd put together kept her invisible, while she stayed carefully away from any crowded sections. Her final touch, a scent neutralizing chemical, kept dogs and similar annoyances from noticing her.

Drakken couldn't have made this virus on his own. He's not that skilled and is constitutionally unable to avoid taking short cuts. She thought as she continued moving. So he stole it. From someone or something. Shego was stealing diamonds and...

I'm an idiot. Kim thought without pausing, Of Course Shego stole some diamonds from the museum- she's greedy and likes to flaunt her abilities. That wasn't why she was there- Drakken sent her to get something else, because he almost always uses money as a means to an end, not the end itself.

It could have been something taken earlier, but Kim didn't think so. Drakken hadn't even hinted at this capability before Kim had charged in after Shego to get the diamonds and was captured. Ergo, he didn't have it before.

Slowing up, Kim leaped straight up, grabbing the edge of a buildings wall and went swarming up the five story building until she hit the top.

Good. Once secure, she established the wireless connection from the systems she'd built at DNAmy's- her Kimmunicator, now modified beyond anything Wade could imagine, folded out, giving her a holographic image while she quickly typed in commands.

Fine, Museum closed, due to damage... artifacts of Ancient Egypt...

Canopic Jars and mirrors that were found in a pre-dynastic tomb. The low resolution picture was badly done but the figures on the jars... Kim paused, thinking very, very hard, even for her. Well, it was only a few minutes worth of work to confirm or deny and it was a very good lead- better than charging in, or manipulating someone into charging into all of Drakken's lairs. Just in case, Kim put in a data miner program, seeking out any information about similar changes, unexplained illnesses, or anything relating to Shego or Drakken.

Now:

"Ronald Dear. " Nana possible, just in from Florida, said quietly. "You need to calm down."

"Running all over the place ain't gonna help, Squirt." Slim Possible agreed. "She's been in worse situations than this."

"I know, but why isn't Drakken talking about it? You think he'd be crowing."

"I'm worried about that myself, Ronald." Nana replied, looking at the rest of the clan, Joss, and the Tweebs looking like they were living in a bad dream. "I think that Dr. Drakken's proven with the Diablo's that he can be quite clever at times- and this may be one of them. Think of how much energy we're expending looking for Kimberly... which may be what he intends."

"Is she alive?"

"I..."

"I think she is." Anne Possible cut off her Mother in Law. "Drew likes big complex traps..which give the victim time to escape. I don't think he has it in him for cold blooded murder- at least I hope not."

Kim:

It took Kim about 30 seconds to blow through the museum security and 20 of those were convincing herself that yes, it was that easy and not some complex trap set up to get the over confident. Moment's later she was on the ground, the cameras being fed a loop of the last hour, and the other alarms ignoring her- not turned off mind you. It would be very poor form to leave such an obvious red flag.

The gem collection was still walled off by police tape, the plasma burns and holes in the wall giving mute witness to the fight they'd had. Kim shook her head at that.

Inefficient.

Moments later, Kim was in the Ancient Egypt section and behind her mask like face was calling the curators every name she could imagine or make up. How anyone could have decided this was just another example of early human art...

In fact, I think I'll have to invent a new language to properly curse...those brainless, idiotic...ARRRRGGGGHHHH.

The Canopic Jars were very, very early- and didn't have very much in the way of commonality with the ones that came later. The plague described the art on them, talking about they were obviously some early king who had suffered from severe arthritis, and in keeping with many traditions had been depicted as a bird headed god.

Or, something looking very much like Kim. The brain case was smaller, the body looked more streamlined, but it was definitely from the same line. Kim pulled out a sensor and quickly scanned the jars and got another surprise.

Inside they had the dried remains of fruit- something that looked a bit like a yam.

Well. One of the jars had a tiny hole drilled in it, and analysis indicated it had been done in the last week in a half.

So that's where Drakken got the virus. Kim thought, as she carefully scooped them up and put them in her backpack.

The 'bronze' mirrors were another example of human failing, she thought. Nobody had considered that making three mirrors, each one identical to within the micron in size might be a bit difficult for a group barely beyond copper? What had they been thinking?

Maybe they didn't want to be tarred with the new age brush? Humans, after all, were very good at ignoring or discrediting inconvenient truths.

A quick check showed that their temperature was the same, no hot spots, no variations in the surface, no ridges or cracks- Kim quickly ran a few other tests.

The atomic bonds were enhanced. She thought, impressed. Those small objects, no more than six inches on a side and less than a pound apiece could survive the fireball of a fusion warhead. Someone wanted them to survive.

And the reason was obvious. Kim turned a laser on one of them, waiting while the object gradually heated- and there it was. Symbols.

Fine. Prime numbers, some geometric symbols- that's obviously representing the base periodic table... It's a primer. Change the temperature and you get other pages. You can start low tech, but I bet the deeper in you get the more you need in the way of heat or radiation to access it.

Nice. You don't waste someone's time by handing them info they can't make use of yet.

Kim cocked her head at the page, now showing another page full of symbols- almost too small for human eyes to examine, but not hers.

STL? If they were restricted to slower than light travel they'd have to have things like this- to account for possible linguistic drift.

But that didn't make any sense. The Lowardians obviously had FTL which indicated it couldn't be that difficult- Kim could think of three or four possible methods right off the bat.

So maybe not that. A time capsule? As a memorial...or a way to survive. Of course, Kim didn't know if the data slabs came from the same source as the root, or if the being on the canopic Jars had intentionally handed them over or if they had been taken after it's death...though if it was anything like her...it'd be very difficult for Egyptians to kill.

On the other hand, after this period, the Egyptians developed an entire mythology based around 'dying' and rising again...hmmmm...

While she was considering this, Kim was deciphering the language, even as she left the museum as tracelessly as she had entered it. Several miles away, in an abandoned building, she squatted, pulling out some of the carrots she'd taken from DNAmy and munched on them while she continued to extract pages from the book. She didn't need to use the same method the book expected now that she knew how its data was stored- the sensors she built were extracting it, archiving it and flashing it in front of her eyes.

Here we go. This looks like a history. Kim read it for several minutes.

Oh. Hell. Drakken had to have found this. Utter disaster was the general term for the outcome of most of his plans, but this...

At least now she knew her name.

Protector.

"My problem, Shego." Drakken crowed, "was that my henchmen were too greedy, too much of a group of loners. That's why this group has some specific qualifications.

"Yeah, and when the princess shows up to wreck this plan..."

"She won't- why do you think I left my first lair- and i've never used this lair." The blue mad scientist smiled. "By the time she finds us again, even if she recovers from the dose of my super soldier virus, I'll have a hundred strong, powerful soldiers. If those legends are right, they're stronger and faster than any human-without having to use Dementor's rings!"

"Whoo-ho. And your qualifications?"

"I need to make certain they work together, and have a strong ethic...so each and every one of these volunteers has children. They're all family men, and they know they need to do their best to get this pay. Think of it Shego- an army of 100 super soldiers working for me to bring home money for their kids!"

TBC.