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: Dark Destiny
By LJ58
4
Kim sat in the park, breathing deep, and just enjoying the clean air, and the laughter of children around her. More than a few waved her way, and a few even wanted her autograph. She was liked here. Loved. It was a very heady thing.
She had gone through the other Kim's room, surprised at the similarities, and differences between them. She found her website on a personal computer the emperor would have never allowed anyone to keep, and after getting over being astonished at the open availability of knowledge, she proved a quick study. She quickly got up to speed on what that other Kim had been doing, and all but gaped at the life she had led. Even in her biggest dreams she couldn't imagine half of what that daring redhead had pulled off, and then apparently shrugged off.
She saw pictures in the other Kim's photo albums, and created a timeline of sorts from them, and newspaper archives.
Nor was this Kim a dummy either. Her transcripts, and college letters all showed a sharp, intuitive mind that could get right to the heart of a problem in short order. Ironically, as smart as she was, as conditioned as she had tried to make herself, she was nowhere near a match for this Kim.
So, she now considered, how did she continue to pass for a woman that literally saved the world on a daily basis?
She was sitting there, pondering that very issue, when a woman came over, and sat down beside her.
"Kimberly," the one-eyed woman in a blue jumpsuit greeted her curtly. "I need you to come in with me."
"Uh, why," she asked, knowing from her studies of Kim's life that this had to be Dr. Director. A martyr on her world. A still living super-agent here.
"Not here. Follow me," the woman instructed her.
"Uhm, okay," Kim said, deciding to go along. She could always beg off if something looked too hinky later. Because one thing she did know, and that was that there was no way she could pull off filling in for the other Kim here. Not just now.
She had never even been in cheerleading.
The emperor had outlawed that activity soon after coming to power for reasons that likely only made sense to him.
"This way," Dr. Director said, and walked out to the sidewalk, and waited for her to join her.
When Kim reached her side, she yelped, and howled when the entirely block just tipped, and they went down into a black pipe that seemed to suck them into the ground.
For a moment, she was overcome by nausea as she fell/flew through a stygian dark, then landed in a dimly lit room on all fours as the other woman landed lightly on her feet beside her.
"Sorry," Kim moaned, fighting the urge to vomit. "That….surprised me."
"Indeed. Follow me," the woman said again, her single eye glinting as she led her down a long, well-lit corridor with many doors after leaving that darker room.
Dr. Director opened a door with a digital keypad, and then sat down behind a desk after gesturing her to a chair. She simply stared at Kim for a moment, and Kim fidgeted nervously as the woman just studied her.
"So…..what can I do for you," Kim finally asked when the unnerving gaze of the woman just studied her.
Dr. Director nodded, then cleared her throat.
"You can tell me who you are, and where the real Kim Possible is. Before I bury you," she added curtly.
Kim felt all the fear and anxiety that had slowly been bleeding away since coming to this world slam right back into her, and she grimaced.
"I….. I don't know."
"And that is your answer to which query," the woman deadpanned.
Kim sighed, and dropped her head.
"You won't believe me."
"Try me," the woman said.
"First….. First….. Tell me what gave me away?"
"I've been fighting alongside Kimberly for several years now. I followed her career from the start. You, woman, are too soft. You have no scars. You've turned down five recent calls for help, and have yet to even speak to Wade all week. You, obviously, are not her."
Kim smiled ruefully.
"Actually, I am. I'm just not your Kim."
"Explain," the woman demanded without batting her eye, which remained focused on her with an eerie intensity.
Kim had the feeling that if she made the proverbial wrong move, this woman would take her out faster than Shego. She couldn't help but wonder if her own world's counterpart had been this good. And why she still died if she were.
"It started last week, on the night of my….. Our birthday. I think it had something to do with that landslide."
"I recall. A minor tremor cracked the dam, which created a mudslide, that fueled a greater landslide. I understand you were there, and helped save a lot of lives that night. You just haven't been yourself since."
"No. No, I think it had something to do with…..what happened. Because, and I'm serious, I am Kim Possible. Just….not this world's Kim Possible."
The woman still didn't bat her eye.
"Explain," she echoed, and Kim went on, telling her what she had experienced, and learned since waking up that fateful morning.
"I'm telling you the truth," Kim finally said when the woman just stared at her. Hard.
"Unfortunately, I believe you. Tell me of your world."
"There's not much to tell," she said more quietly now. "Four or five years ago, by your count, Emperor Drakken rose to power…."
"Emperor?"
"He killed everyone that could stop him, or try to stop him. He pretty much rules over half the world. What parts he can't rule, he just destroys. There are a few holdouts, but he's wiping them out more each day. There are parts of the world that nothing can live in because of him, let alone people."
Dr. Director just stared at her again.
"And you believe Kimberly…. Our Kimberly….. Is now in your world? In your place?"
"Yes," she nodded.
"I see. Asking for more details is obviously useless just now. Still, until we find Drakken, our Drakken, we can't do much else. Wade?"
"Wade," Kim frowned, not recognizing the name.
"I just finished a complete genetic scan, Dr. Director," the stocky, black genius appeared on the monitor of her desktop just then. "She's almost a complete match for Kim."
"Almost?"
"There are a few anomalies that suggest she isn't quite human. Or, not quite human by our standards. Still, that could have been caused by transversing the dimensional phase, too."
"I'm guessing you're the local genius," Kim asked uneasily, staring at him.
"I've been my Kim's best friend, and partner for years," Wade told her somberly.
"Indeed, and we now have a problem, Wade. As she is, this Kim can't possibly stand in for Kimberly. But we still need her. If the wrong people think she's MIA, the consequences could be catastrophic."
"Agreed. You're thinking of Boot?"
"Boot," Kim frowned.
"No. I'm thinking VIT."
"That's still experimental," Wade countered. "And she's obviously not a physical match for….."
"She will be," Dr. Director said. "Because until we can get our Kimberly back, we have to work with what we have. Set up the chamber. I'm bringing her in myself."
"Uh, what's VIT," Kim asked uneasily.
"Virtual Immersive Training. It's a holographic training program that subliminally fills you with whatever you want to learn. From diffusing bombs, to martial skills," Wade told her.
"And since Kimberly is already a master of over twenty martial arts, it would look odd if she suddenly couldn't defend herself. Warm up the chamber, Wade. We have no choice but to use it."
"Twenty….martial arts," Kim sputtered. "Really? Wow!"
"Let's go. And if we cross paths with anyone, say nothing. As of now, you are going to be Kim Possible. Now, let's get to work."
"Uh, look, I wouldn't mind helping. Really, but I'm not really a fighter. Or…"
"You will be," Dr. Director cut her off. "Now, zip it, and follow me."
"Yes, ma'am," she cringed, used to following orders.
Dr. Director only frowned all the more at that.
KP
Kim Possible stood in the middle of the huge, private gym, wearing a version of Shego's own costume, and feeling very comfortable in spite of herself.
Five days of sex, sparring, and a very slanted view of world history and politics had her head spinning, but she was starting to figure out this world, and it didn't take much to realize the entire human race was in trouble.
The serious kind of trouble.
Drakken didn't seem to see it, but his social meddling atop all else had the globe's population reduced by over a third from the start. With current trends, and his ongoing quest to destroy anyone that even mocked him, he was going to devastate the population by another half if he continued at he was now. That, combined with the current global ecosystem, or lack of same, meant wide scale starvation, and worse in the years ahead. That trend was always showing, and increasing exponentially from what she could see.
With everyone around them focused on weapons, and war, no one was really working on how to solve the real problems. Like growing famine, water and air contamination, and a very real chance that they were all looking at the end of the world.
For humanity, at least.
"I know that look," Shego said, relaxing her own stance as Kim's thoughts cascaded as she put together all the pieces she was learning.
"What look?"
"I've seen it in my mirror far too often," Shego admitted, relaxing rather than pressing their sparring session, and walking over to take her by the shoulders. "Talk to me, Princess. What's worrying you now?"
"Drakken's new attacks on Europe."
"Business as usual. So?"
"Shego, even you have to see that if things continue, the human race is facing the very real possibility of extinction inside of fifteen years. Maybe….less."
Shego stared at her.
"Yeah. I figured that out myself, too," she finally told Kim. "Drew, though. He's an obsessed little freak. Can't let a slight go. If it's not the Chinese, it's Dementor, and his European holdouts. I won't even get started on the African nations."
"So what? You just let him blow up more of the world, when we're already facing wide scale famine in this country?"
"Believe it, or not, I've been thinking of how to stop it, but since you can't stop it by just taking out, Doc, the next obvious play is getting rid of the five leaders that still annoy him, giving him no more reason to play bully on the block."
Kim glanced away, and frowned, but said, "I guess that does make sense. Only, why haven't you taken him out? I mean, seriously? If you don't respect him, which I can see you don't….."
"Drewbie's also smarter than you might think. Two years ago, he hooked his own heart to a special pacemaker. If his heart stops, every nuke in the world fires. Every…..single…..one. No winners. No losers. Nobody gets out."
"Talk about a sore loser," Kim scowled.
"Yeah. But, what can you do? So I keep the idiot alive, in spite of himself, and try to keep the damage to a minimum. Hell, I'd have gone after those five myself by now, but let's face it, these days people can see me coming more than mile off. I'm too closely watched to even get out of the country these days without the entire world going on alert. By the time I could get near a target, they're already running."
"I can see that," Kim murmured.
"You know, though," Shego smiled at her. "No one knows you."
Kim stared back at her.
"What are you suggesting?"
"A test. And a chance. You take out Dementor, and we not only calm down the momma's boy for a while, but we get a breather. Maybe a chance to save a few lives, for a change. What do you think? Think you can handle sneaking into a foreign nation, and….kidnapping a world leader?"
"Wait. Dementor? Is a world leader?"
"I thought you knew that," Shego drawled blandly. "He's been in charge of the surviving European Union for the past three years. His scientific genius is likely unparalleled, though Drew would never admit it. It's what has kept him in power, and Europe alive all this time."
Kim murmured thoughtfully at that.
"That might not be a bad idea," the redhead finally decided.
"It'd take planning. And a lot of daring," Shego murmured, testing the girl.
"Tell me everything you know," Kim told her. "About him, and his defenses."
Shego studied her, then nodded.
"Come with me."
Kim followed without arguing.
KP
Kim stood next to Dr. Director, deep in Global Justice Headquarters, now dressed in the other Kim's mission gear.
She had been given a crash course on her gadgets, tools, and usual ploys. Then she had been given what seemed like a metal band not unlike the scanners Drakken used. Only she was told it was just to use inside the VIT Room. It would allow her to interact with the room, and give two-way sensory feedback so they could better track her, and guide her, as well as allowing her to assimilate the training feed Wade was going to give her. In short, she would learn by doing while the base knowledge was planted in her head.
"She really knows twenty kinds of fighting," she asked the senior agent as the walls around the door she was about to enter seemed to hum, and vibrate.
"She's working on twenty-one," Dr. Director told her.
"You know, when I first realized what had happened, I stayed quiet because I hoped….. I really hoped she might save…..my world," she told the woman earnestly. "That's the only reason. You can't know how bad it is there. Really bad."
"Then here's your chance to repay the favor," Dr. Director told her. "Because I'm sure she's doing just that. So you need to make sure she doesn't lose her world while she's gone."
"Do you really think….. You can switch us back?"
"As our Kimberly is fond of saying, "Anything is possible….."
"For a Possible," Kim murmured. "My dad used to say that, too. Before Drakken killed him."
"Then here's your chance to avenge him. It's ready," she said as the humming leveled off. "Just step inside."
Kim nodded, her mouth dry, and her throat tight, and stepped through the door that opened abruptly with a hiss. Then clanged shut before she could even look back.
To Be Continued…..