I do not own the Disney characters named herein, and am only using them for a nonprofit tale meant to entertain only.

Kim Possible: Rogue

By LJ58

2

"Tell me we've got eyes on the Center?"

"I'm tapped into every cam, and interface I can find," the more muscular young man that occupied a virtual nest of interconnected communications and computers told her as Dr. Director entered the hub of the local Global Justice Headquarters. GJ, after all, was all about fit bodies, as well as clever minds. "How did it go with Ron?"

"Nothing confirmed. He's playing inscrutable," Betty scowled at the young genius she had once saved from the NSA, and immediately put to work herself once he turned sixteen.

"Ron?"

"Trust me, Wade," she told him, taking a file an agent handed her to eye the data. "He's not the same boy either of us knew. He's…..grown."

"We all do," Wade murmured, simultaneously typing commands on two different keyboards.

"Well, you didn't see him last night. He took down four of Hench's best in an eye blink, and then threatened to blind one of them when he wouldn't talk."

"He didn't do it, though. Right," Wade paused to eye her. "Right?"

"No. But….I honestly think he would have done worse if that man hadn't talked."

Wade frowned at that.

"That doesn't sound like Ron."

"As I said," Dr. Director signed the file, and handed it back to the waiting agent. "He's changed. Has anyone heard from Commander Du?"

"He's still inbound from Marsalis. He did report that the latest lead was a bust, and that nothing was there," the agent near the map where they were plotting active missions replied. "We were played on that one," he had to admit.

"Damn. I thought for sure we might finally find something. Next time Brotherson tips us, remind me to hold him until we get confirmation of his Intel."

Wade didn't bother to point out he had suggested that very thing. Even he knew when not to annoy the boss, though.

"This is getting ridiculous. We can't find anyone any more. We can't keep up with half of what's going on. We can barely keep up with the usual fires and emergencies of late. Now we find out that Viper is about to carry out a hit right under our noses, and no one saw this coming," Dr. Director complained.

"Ever since the political fallout in D.C., a lot of the agencies refuse to cooperate with outsiders any longer," Wade told her. "It's worse than ever, in fact, if you are trying to track certain felons across state lines. Even local agencies don't interact the way they once did. Everyone is too busy…."

"Covering their own backsides, while the world burns down around them. And that idiot is the Whitehouse is so busy letting everyone do their own thing while making nice with people that don't care, or are exploiting his naiveté, that we can't get anything done."

"Speaking of which," another agent, a lanky female with golden hair cut in. "The case against Dr. Revile was thrown out yesterday, ma''m. They claim our surveillance wasn't legal, and had all our evidence thrown out. It left us with only a jaywalking charge. Which was suspended."

"The man tried to poison an entire city with a highly toxic mutating agent," Betty sputtered. "Are you telling me….?"

"Apparently, he's a misunderstood victim of society, persecuted by those that envy his intelligence. Or that was the defense they used," the equally disgusted blonde told her.

Betty covered her face with one hand.

"Do we have any good news?"

The agents around her simply stared.

"Anything," the senior agent demanded.

"We….may have a lead on Shego," Wade told her.

Betty groaned.

"What now?"

"She hit a hardened installation in the northern Rockies early this morning."

"What did she take now?"

"We're….not sure," Wade admitted.

"Not….sure?"

"The commanding officer refuses to tell us. However, whatever it was, I did note a faint, but obvious radioactive signal that led away from the site just after Shego allegedly hit it. I managed to follow it to the West Coast, and then it started to fade. It disappeared just off the coast of Alaska."

"Radioactive?"

Wade nodded at her.

"Whatever it was, it had a very blatant signal. I don't think it so much faded, as it was masked. That initial trail was too strong for the gradient to have…."

"I get it. Someone get me a channel to the commanding officer. And get me a cup of coffee," she barked, wishing she had gotten more rest than she had by the time they finally cleaned up the scene of her near death.

KP

"Ronnie," Hana grinned as the door opened, and the young girl lunged to hug him even before his hand dropped from knocking.

"Hey, Sis. Where's the folks?"

"They went to town. Dad had to finish up something in the office, and mom said she needed to pick up something she forgot for your welcome home party."

"Really?"

"You know mom," Hana grinned, and stepped back to let him enter. "So, why do you smell like smoke?"

Ron lifted a sleeve, and sniffed. He had changed back out of his ninja gear on the way home, but all his things did still have the unmistakable odor of smoke from his close call.

"Someone targeted my ride. We were almost blown up on the way in."

"We?"

"Dr. Director. She wants me to join her."

"Again," the young, but surprisingly mature young girl sighed.

"Well, obviously, she'd like us both. But this is something else. Did you know Kim disappeared over two years ago?"

Hana frowned.

"I knew she wasn't around," the young Japanese girl murmured. "I thought she had just….gone elsewhere."

"Turns out," Ron said, dropping his nylon tote on the floor near the chair he dropped into after crossing the still-familiar room. Four years, and not much had changed. "Kim graduated in uber-speed. No big surprise there. Only right afterward, she just vanished. No one has seen her since. Dr. Director wants me to try to find her."

Hana frowned, and sat down on the floor, cross-legged, in front of him. Fortunately, their mother had stopped trying to force her into dresses, and she was currently wearing gray slacks with a pale green blouse. Her concession to fashion, since she had already started favoring all black when given a choice. Only those that didn't know her thought she was going Goth.

"That does sound odd," the young ninja murmured, looking up at her brother. "What about her family. Mom still talks to the Possibles, but I don't think I've ever heard….. Well, anything."

"Apparently, she hasn't been in touch. According to what Dr. Director does know, she supposedly boarded an aircraft after graduation, and promptly vanished. No one knows when, or how she vanished. They only know she wasn't on that plane when it landed."

"Weird," Hana murmured. "She couldn't have jumped without anyone seeing her. They certainly would have noticed someone opening a hatch on a commercial flight."

"Definitely."

"Are you going to look for her?"

"We have something else to occupy us just now."

"Sensei sent another challenge," she asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Not this time. At least, not yet," he admitted, and Hana sighed in disappointment.

"But I found one myself. Remember I said someone tried to blow up Dr. Director's car?"

"I just figured you handled them."

"The Henches, yeah. Some poser calling himself Viper wants to take me out before some big deal he's got set up at MSC in a few days. I need you to stick close to the folks. He may still come after me, but it's a sure bet he's the kind that might try for hostages if he can't get to me."

"Not while I'm around," Hana said coolly, her eyes glittering.

"Good. Because I'm going to have step out tonight. Do some snooping. If I can shut him down before anything happens, we can all relax."

"Going to try to bring back Kim, too?"

"I am….curious about that. I know we didn't exactly part on the best of terms…."

"Yeah," Hana grimaced now. "You know what I think?"

"No. What," he asked, having learned not to discount the Han's instincts. Not when she was an unstoppable force of mystic energy herself. Or would be when she matured enough to claim her own destiny. Meanwhile, it was his job to protect her, and to ensure that the Han grew to follow the path of Justice. Not Evil.

Hana tapped her oval chin, her perfect features already making some of her classmates quite envious. And, at times, a bit spiteful. Fortunately, she was secure enough that she didn't bother responding to their often juvenile sniping at her.

If she ever did, Ron knew the elementary school would likely have to be rebuilt.

Literally.

"I think…. She was scared. I think what happened threw her, and she probably set up that whole meltdown just to make you walk away first."

"Why would she…?"

"So she could bow out without anyone calling her a coward," Hana said with a nod.

Ron eyed her, saying nothing as he considered her judgment, and all that had happened just over four years before their summer had ended, and their storybook romance with it.

"I know Kim's had issues with her ego sometimes, but…. I've never known her to be scared of anything."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I saw those pictures, too, Ron. I heard people talk. Kim got beat. Bad. How long did it take for her leg to heal after that warrior grabbed her, and tossed her around like a rag doll?"

"Almost eight weeks. And she let everyone know about it, too. I think she actually burned her cane once she could walk without it again," he mused somberly.

"She was scared," Hana nodded.

"I never said anything, but…. She said….I think she was worried she was becoming the sidekick, and that no one would take her seriously any longer."

"You are a hard act to follow," she told her big brother with a faint grin.

Ron said nothing to that. Then they heard her car pull in, and Hana jumped gracefully to her feet as Ron rose to his own to head for the door.

"Let's not say nothing to mom about the posers. Like I said," he told his sister. "I'll go out tonight, and check things out."

"Cool. Need some help?"

"Yeah. Here. Remember, if they come after the folks, these aren't the kind to play nice. They've already killed one person trying to get to me."

Hana sobered.

"Not Dr. Director?"

"Her driver. He never had a chance."

"Oh. Oh," she murmured, then forced a smile in place as the door opened, and their mother came into the house just as they reached the door.

"Ronald," Mrs. Stoppable cried, and quickly set her bags aside to hug her son. "Oh, I missed you so much!"

"So did I, mom," he smiled, hugging her back. "So did I."

KP

Wade frowned as he eyed the inventory lists that Dr. Director had finally gotten out of the Pentagon after going through so many channels he was pretty sure they were just running her around in circles. Then he opened the fifty-sixth file, and began sifting the data, and froze.

"No. That can't be right."

He rechecked the files. Rechecked the listings. Then rechecked a few old files from one of his personal computers he accessed through a virtual keyboard he brought up with the portable, wireless connection built into oversized belt buckle.

He ran through the old files, and quickly tapped out a few commands that brought up a file that was so encrypted that no one else even knew it existed.

Or so he thought.

"No, no, no," he rasped, and stared at the files.

He quickly downloaded the data, and then brought it over to the open Pentagon file. He did a quick compare and contrast, and swore vehemently as the data lined up like tin soldiers on a battlefield.

Shutting everything down, he jumped to his feet, and shoved the desk chair back, and headed for the door.

He walked down the long hall, didn't bother to knock, and tapped in the keycode that he knew opened Dr. Director's private office. The secretary was new, and was genuinely shocked that anyone could have opened that heavy security door without her, or Dr. Director authorizing it.

He ignored her, too, and walked to the door of the private office, and the personal command center inside.

"Sir, you can't go….."

The door opened at his approach, and he looked at Dr. Director with both fear and anger as he closed the door behind him.

"I assume you have a valid reason for interrupting a top secret debrief," she demanded as Will Du, and two agents she didn't know stood staring at him.

"Matrix," Wade said curtly.

Betty's eye rounded, and then narrowed, and she turned to the two agents with Will.

"Another time, gentlemen. Something critical just came up."

"Dr. Director?"

"Finish the debrief in your office, Will. I need to handle this one….personally."

"As you say, ma'am," the senior field agent nodded. "Come along, gentlemen. This shouldn't take much longer."

The door closed after them before Wade turned back to Dr. Director.

"You lied to me."

"Since I don't know what you're talking about, maybe you'll explain before you start tossing around accusations after using Omega level code-words," she shot back.

"Matrix was in that installation. You told me it was destroyed. You swore," Wade spat at her.

"And it was. I gave the order myself. I saw it carried to the Pit for demolition."

"Then someone lied to you, too. This is the file from the Pentagon. Note the spectrums, and the base energy levels, and the exact elemental isotopes," he spat, and raised his left arm to activate his virtual keyboard in the oversized 'watch' he wore, and took over her computer to download the information he had been sifting.

"Are you saying….?"

"The exact same levels and readings that let me track Shego northwest yesterday," he told her. "Now," he went on before she could interrupt. "My own personal analysis from scanning Matrix when we first found it."

Wade tapped in a few codes on Betty's own computer using his wireless, virtual keyboard that hovered over his special 'watch,' and Betty saw the exact same data come up to mirror the information already on the screen.

Betty's jaw clenched, and frowned.

"We were obviously both lied to here, Wade. But there's more involved. And it's far more troubling than you may have realized."

"Having Matrix in Shego's hands is bad enough," he sputtered.

"Think past the moment, Wade. Someone not only hid it from both of us, lying about its destruction, but someone else knew about it, too. Someone that obviously pointed Shego at it. The implications are disturbing. Especially when we still don't know who is pulling her strings, or why."

"True," Wade finally murmured. "All we know for certain is that she has been gathering a lot of hardcore armor and weaponry, in addition to a lot of very cutting edge technology. It's almost as if….."

"She were building an arsenal," Betty concluded.

"Why would Shego need an arsenal," Wade pointed out.

"Exactly," Betty murmured. "We not seeing all the pieces, Wade. Once again, we're lagging, and if we don't find out what's really going on….." She paused to eye him. "Matrix may be the least of our worries."

"You'd better talk to the Army, and find out what was really going on in that installation. They had Matrix over four years. I'd like to know why, and what they were doing. It might have something to do with whoever is out there now. Maybe….a disgruntled scientist, or someone let go?"

"Trust me, I'll find out. Meanwhile, you keep trying to track it. Consider it your new top project. We cannot let that thing stay in the wrong hands."

"I thought we agreed that any hands were the wrong hands," Wade said quietly.

"Exactly. So find it. And this time, I'll personally destroy it if necessary," she told him as Wade shut down his keyboard.

Wade eyed her again, started to turn away, and then stopped at the door.

"We might want to bring Will in on this one."

"Are you certain?"

"He does have a flair for finding patterns most miss. Right now, we could use any help we can get. The longer our mystery person has Matrix, the more I fear what might be done with it."

"Point noted. I'll update him myself once he's finished with the Berlin debrief."

"There is….one more thing, though."

"There usually is," Betty remarked dryly.

"Ma'am, someone told someone about Matrix from the start. Or how did anyone know to be ready to intercept it before disposal?"

"Which means…."

"We likely have a mole," Wade nodded. "A deep one."

"Phoenix Protocols, Wade. As of now."

"I'll start at once."

"Good. Use the randomly generated codes we agreed upon from the start."

"I understand. Let me know what you learn from the Army. If they can get around to getting their heads out of their…."

"I'll handle the Brass. You find Matrix."

"I hope I can," he frowned and muttered as he walked out.

Even Betty knew that if Wade was worried, they were all in trouble. A lot of trouble.

"Susan," she buzzed her aide. "Yes, I know. Wade is authorized for entry at any time. Now, get me General Flagg at the Pentagon. Tell him it's an Black Omega alert."

She heard the aide gasp, and then sat back in her seat again to consider all she had just learned.

None of it good.

And they still didn't know if Ronald was going to help them, or not.

KP

"Predictable," the sandy-haired man in black murmured as he knelt over the skylight, and peered down into the seemingly abandoned warehouse.

Only abandoned warehouses didn't have armed guards at every exit. Or lights that came and went at odd moments. Not unless you were hiding something, or had roaming sentries too dumb to use night vision instead of flashlights on their rounds.

He rather doubted anything was actually inside the warehouse, but he would have bet his entire DVD collection of Monster Classics that something was under it. Which meant there was something worth guarding.

He used a dagger to break the lock, then easily crept inside to land on a thin, metal railing after he dropped down inside the shadowy warehouse.

On cue, he saw a wavering light, and two men came around the corner of a large crate using a flashlight to ensure no one was around.

Okay, so the large crates suggested the warehouse was being used for something. Only he still bet that was just a blind. Something else was going on if some hotshot assassin was making plans to take on the most secure science center in the Western United States. Maybe even the nation.

He considered some of the brains he had met there, and amended that to 'maybe the world.'

He hunched down as a helicopter flew over just then, and lights played around the skylights, filling the shadows with murky, gray lights. He blended back into the darker shadows, and waited for the aircraft to leave before he moved again.

By then, the sentries had moved on, and he spotted the flashlight of a second team on the far side of the warehouse where nothing had been earlier.

Where, according to the schematics he had already memorized, only a couple of bathrooms should be.

Or, maybe a hidden entrance to an underground lair.

He raced along the narrow, steel beam, conscious of the two patrols, and dropped down atop one crate nearest him when he paused near the far wall. He flipped down from there, landing lightly on his feet, and ended up between the men's and women's restroom doors.

The light had first appeared to his right.

The women's room.

Okay, either they were indifferent over which room they used, or it was a clever blind.

He pushed the door open, and stared around him at the usual stalls of a usual restroom.

Sliding a special visor over his brown eyes, he noted the recent high traffic to the middle stall.

He walked into the cubicle, saw nothing out of the ordinary, but then noted the toilet wasn't quite like the older fixture. It had a push button on the back of the apparent feed pipe to the toilet.

He pushed the chrome button, and a faint hum sounded as the entire stall jerked, then began to descend into the floor.

He jumped off the floor the moment he had room, and hid himself in shadows as he noted the brighter chamber below the heavy supports around the elevator platform. He used the scaffolding to descend, getting closer to whatever was below without showing himself, but there was a clear dividing line, and he could now make out a whole lot of bodies.

At least fifty Henches, all practicing with heavy rifles.

Was this supposed to be an assassination, or an invasion?

He moved closed, dropping to the back of the scaffolding before landing on the floor. He moved carefully forward, well aware that just a few feet ahead the chamber was too brightly lit to just sneak over to whoever, or whatever was behind all of this.

His gut told him that the door on the far side of those fifty men was where he wanted to go, though.

He eyed the door, glanced up, and saw nine, covered fixtures that were putting out the light. Covered with something heavy, he guessed. And wires over the covers, too. Someone was clever. It would have been easy to just break the lights, and move on. He guessed that even a pinpoint strike wouldn't immediately break the fixtures, or the lights. The attempt, though, would alert everyone to the try.

As the descending platform alerted them by now as it only then reached the floor, and several men turned from their drills to see the empty space.

"Hey, who turned on the lift?"

A lot of heads shook.

Someone was obviously competent, because the lights suddenly turned red, and someone shouted, "Intruder," even as a klaxon went off.

To Be Continued…..