A/N: The complete tag was a mistake. My laptop died and I'm using the app so I goofed. This update should fix it though. I hope.
One thing about this platform is that it is its own constrained writing challenge. You know besides working within the framework of the show. I have all this material posted and the story has shifted tracks several times through the years. Mostly because stuff doesn't feel right. And the material already up, either has to be re-written, or it becomes part of the exercise. Mating up what the track is now with what's already there. With minimal editing. So treat the first few chapters as a tv pilot. There are some real cringeworthy points of writing there, but how many pilots are exactly like the full show.
In any event, here is more. Hope you enjoy.
break
Kim zipped up her duffel as they heard a soft knock on the door jam. "Ready?" Peter said from the doorway.
Kim donned the jacket and zipped it part way. "More or less."
Bonnie donned hers. "Let's get the hell out of here." She stated.
Peter extended a hand with a small baggie of multi colored treats. Bonnie shouldered her bag, approached and took the baggie. She stuffed it into her bag and zipped it closed. They turned to follow Peter out. He led them down unfamiliar passages and outside. Boots crunched in fresh snow as he led them to an unremarkable SUV. Kim slid into the back while Bonnie took the front passenger seat.
Peter backed out and began driving. "So a couple of things." He started. "It's supposed to snow tonight so I will need you to shovel the sidewalk. Town ordinance."
"We can do that." Bonnie said buckling up. "And?"
They passed through the front gate with a wave to the guard. "Trash day is day after tomorrow. If you could take that out, too."
Bonnie grinned at Kim. "Rent sure is cheap. Done and done."
"Thanks." He stated. He reached forward and kicked on the radio. "Used to snow?"
Kim smiled to herself. "Colorado, so we have some experience." She looked out the window at the covered trees as they passed.
"Like, skiing area Colorado?" He asked.
Bonnie answered. "Not really. Away from those areas. Close enough to visit. Not close enough to get dumped on. We never had a ridiculous amount."
They soon entered the town proper and turned down a side street. "Tomorrow will be a good day for skiing and stuff. There's a decent place a couple of miles south. Good hills."
"We agreed to stay in the town proper." Kim said to the window. It really was pretty under the snow.
It sounded like Bonnie was looking at her when she responded. "Define town proper?"
Kim smiled as she returned the gaze. "Properly in the town."
"Party pooper." Bonnie returned to looking out the windshield with a pout.
They pulled into a driveway in front of a smallish ranch house. "Mi Casa." Peter said as he killed the engine. They got out and followed Peter inside. He stamped off his boots inside the door after flicking a light switch, illuminating the room.
Kim saw a tiled area for boots and beyond that an open area comprising a living room and kitchen separated by an island. A couch across from a tv and to one side a fireplace. Kim pulled the door closed beside them and doffed her boots and set them neatly beside Bonnie's. It was Bonnie who advanced into the room first.
She turned and pointed at the fireplace. "Please tell me that works." It had a small pile of wood already in it, but that could be plastic.
Peter nodded as he came in. "Fully functional. Really cozy on winter nights like tonight." He walked closer and pointed at the hopper next to it. "I have a couple of cords out back to stock up the hopper. Just keep it small please. You have central air." He pointed to a controller on a wall. "Cable." At the TV. "And down there are the bedrooms and the bath." He pointed down a hallway.
"To the right is our room. The left two are free." He went down the hallway.
Bonnie settled her bag down on the coffee table. "I think a crackling fire is definitely the way to go." She looked back at Kim who nodded. "I am seriously jonesing for some hot cocoa. Why don't you get that going, I'll get the wood."
Kim set her bag down next to Bonnie's and took off her coat. "Sure." Bonnie got her boots back on and disappeared out the back door that Kim hadn't even noticed. Kim turned to the kitchen area and clicked on the oven hood light, illuminating a microwave. Spotting a coffee pot she checked the cupboard above it and sure enough coffee cups.
She selected two and set them down. Looking around she was interrupted by Peter. "Um, the left one has the cocoa."
Kim turned to see him with his own duffel slung over a shoulder. "Thanks." She opened the indicated one to find powdered cocoa in packets. She pulled down the box and turned back to him. "High end chef and powdered cocoa?"
He smiled back. "Just because I can make velvety smooth cocoa from fresh cream and block chocolate, doesn't mean I want to after shoveling the driveway after a twelve hour shift."
Kim held a finger up. "Point taken."
He put his boots back on. "Okay, so there's coffee up there too and if you're the type to drink it you'll know how to make it. So… yeah. Take it easy."
"So you're being really kind here. Thank you." Bonnie said as she settled the arm of wood into the hopper.
He smiled broadly. "Well the wife's plan is to burn it down and blame you two, so I'd reserve that if I were you."
Kim just shook her head. Bonnie responded. "Well gotta love those insurance premiums them."
"Yes indeed." He scratched the top of his head. "In all seriousness, what are you gonna do? Steal the TV? And do what with it? Relax, have a quiet time." He turned to Bonnie, "Or loud, whatever you need to do."
Kim held up a hand in a wave. "Thank you." Peter nodded as he left. They heard the SUV start up and drive away.
They were struck by how quiet it was. "Well." Kim said.
"Yeah." Bonnie responded. She turned and found a box of matches on the mantle and bent down to start the fire.
Kim turned and filled the two cups from the tap put them into the microwave and started them to heating up. She walked to the couch and sat down to watch as Bonnie quickly had the small fire going. "Are you super quiet because of the box?"
Kim was struck by Bonnie's question. She mulled it over and Bonnie turned to hear her response. "I'm…" She didn't really know how to respond. "I'm way too quick to anger and I was biting people's heads off. So I just started shutting up. Mostly." She leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "Maybe my box was loud so I think I need to be quiet? I just don't know." She shrugged as she looked back at Bonnie.
Bonnie settled down on the other arm of the couch. "You wanna talk about it?" She asked.
Kim just shook her head. "Not really. Like you said, most of it was hallucinations."
Bonnie wrung her hands. "I um…" She looked up to Kim. "I left you hanging. To deal on your own." Kim started to deny but was cut off by Bonnie. "You, like immediately knew I needed something… and I just left you to deal…" She was visibly distressed.
Kim reached out and put a hand on her foot. "Forget about it." Kim smiled. "Pretty sure we already had this discussion about apologizing?"
Bonnie let out a long breath. "It won't happen again. It won't."
Kim smiled. "I'll try not to shut down on you like I did."
"See now that, I understand. Totally. You'll probably get to that edge again and so will I." She touched her chest. "It's completely understandable, but we won't leave each other to struggle like I did you."
Kim wanted to argue but settled on a nod. "In it to win it." Kim held out a fist.
The microwave beeped. Bonnie bumped Kim's fist with her own as she stood. "Got it." Bonnie walked backwards toward the kitchen. "Now that's settled. We can go forward with my plans for the night."
Kim unzipped Bonnie's duffel and pulled out the bag of candy. "And what would that be?" Kim opened the bag and took one of the candies and put the bag on the coffee table. She popped it in her mouth and bit into it. Sour apple, her favorite.
"Imma despoil me a virgin." The certainty and bravado just slapped Kim and she almost choked. She found herself smiling and laughing. Actually laughing at the absurdity of it out loud and it rolled into a genuine belly laugh.
Bonnie was laughing too as she sat back down handing a mug to Kim. Kim quieted down and took the mug. She looked at Bonnie over the mug as she took a tentative sip. "I appreciate the offer… but."
Bonnie too took a sip. "When was the last time you had a good belly laugh?" She asked.
Kim shook her head with a smile. "Too long."
"Good. My work is complete." She leaned back and took another sip of cocoa.
"So you, weren't?" Kim asked.
Bonnie shook her head. "I'm game if you are, but no. I really just wanted to make you laugh." And she waved a hand at Kim who smiled. Bonnie reached for her bag and saw the Gummies on the table. Her smile faded. "How many did you eat?"
Kim looked at her. Her smile too fading. "One. Why?" Only now wondering at the different taste.
Bonnie let out a relieved breath. "Okay good."
"What did I just eat?" She asked seriously.
Bonnie took one and popped it into her mouth. "A groovy bear."
Kim's heart sank. "Aww come on?"
Bonnie laughed and set a hand on Kim's knee. "Relax. It's just pot." Kim did relax. She was worried she had just taken another dose of LSD. "Groovy bears and Norwegian TV. Gonna be great."
Kim just sighed. She waved a hand toward the TV. "After you meistro."
Bonnie grinned and she took only moments to find the remote and clicked it on. Neither one could speak the language and it was quite a while before they nodded off on the couch. After several bouts of good laughter.
Kim awoke before Bonnie, her neck stiff from sleeping sitting up. She yawned and stretched. Bonnie had stretched out, face buried in the couch and her feet across Kim's lap. The only light from the TV still going and the small light above the stove. The fire had burned down to coals. Kim gently lifted Bonnie's legs and released herself. First she found the bathroom. Then she put some kindling on the coals and soon had a split log going again. It crackled softly against the backdrop of the news program on the television. She thought about turning it off then remembered that maybe Bonnie needed the sound.
The coffee pot was simple to get going and opening a few cupboards she settled on premixed pancake batter. Still probably somewhat stoned she though. She hadn't learned much in home economics from Ron, but she had learned how to make pancakes. And a packet of cocoa to the mix would make some excellent breakfast… dinner? She looked at the clock which showed it was partly after two in the morning. Kim worked in the low light not wanting to wake Bonnie.
Kim plated up three of the chocolate cakes and finished the batter with three more in the pan. Luckily she had set the spatula down or Bonnie's shriek would have sent it flying. Kim whipped around and saw Bonnie had snapped up as she screamed and her eyes were wild as she hunted around the room. Kim waited until those eyes settled on her and she held up the plate of done pancakes. "Hungry?" She asked softly, not acknowledging the shriek as abnormal.
Bonnie's wild eyes softened and she took several breaths and she looked around and nodded. "Yeah. Please." She rose fully from the couch. "Sorry…"
"Don't worry about it." Kim said. Kim turned and flipped the cakes in the pan. Then she opened the fridge to find syrup. She opened a couple of drawers before finding silverware and put a fork and the syrup next to the plate in front of Bonnie.
She had gotten up on the barstool and she picked up the fork and cut off a piece of dry pancake. "Chocolate?"
Kim smiled. "I mixed in hot cocoa into the batter."
Bonnie ate the piece. "Nice." Kim poured two cups of done coffee before plating up her own pancakes.
She savored her own portion. Kim pulled one of the stools around to sit to finish. Bonnie watched her work. "You really are okay with the silence." It was a statement.
Kim took another bite before she responded. "Wanna know a secret?" Bonnie nodded. "I've been around so many explosions, Tinnitus makes sure I can't know silence anymore." Bonnie gave her a questioning look. "When its quietest, I have this constant ringing that just never goes away in both ears. It's like a really small high pitched whistle all the time."
"Seriously?" Kim nodded. Bonnie ate another mouthful. "These aren't half bad."
Kim laughed. "I hope so, premade mix." Kim took a draw of coffee. "So what's the plan for today?"
Bonnie smiled. "You're lookin' at it."
"Stuffing faces?" Bonnie nodded. "I'm okay with that." She sighed. "I think I'm going to write some letters."
Bonnie finished her bite and looked at Kim. "What's the cover story?"
It was several moments before Kim could come up with a response. "Field trip?"
Bonnie nodded. "Anthropology 101. Dig practices?"
Kim thought about it before she nodded. "Out in the middle of nowhere out of communication for an extended period of time." She thought about it. She fished out the Token and spun it on the table. "Hey, boss? How long will we be gone?" She asked staring at the stone.
Kim felt it come. Smoother this time. 'Yes, little ones?' Kim noted that despite neither one physically touching the stone, now at least she could hear.
Bonnie repeated the question. "How long will we be gone?" And so could Bonnie as well it would seem.
'Until you feel you have gathered all you can. Learned what you can.'
Kim latched on to the correction. "Just what do you mean by bringing us to you?" Bonnie aimed her fork at Kim and nodded.
'Since I first touched you, I have prepared a family. Their physical form is very close to your own. I have taught the sister as best I can your language and she will translate. The brothers will be your vessels here, as your physical form there will be theirs.'
Bonnie got a confused expression on her face, but Kim remembered Draken and his brains switching machine. "Oh! Okay." Kim smiled. "Draken had a machine that could do that. Ron and I switched bodies for a while." She returned her gaze to the Token. "You can't physically bring us there so you're swapping minds across… the veil or boarder or whatever."
'Precisely. These people know magics which will help you, and they are still very heavily warriors in practice. You will learn all you can from them.'
"Does Dr. Brus know he will be babysitting us… uh these brothers?" Bonnie asked. "And couldn't you find sisters? Did they learn english too?"
'I am unsure what he knows. I cannot talk to him as I talk to you.' The Mistress paused. 'I only say brothers for you do not have the same terms as they do. I do not see how it matters. As far as language the sister has passed on what she has learned so they should be able to make themselves understood.'
Should not would, Kim noted. "What do you mean by magics?" Bonnie asked. It was Kim's turn to point and nod.
'Will made manifest.' Kim began thinking of matches making fire. 'Not… Not artifice. Each casting pulls on the veil, on me to effect a change in the realm of reality. The casting is an art, a weaving of though. As I willed your brain healed, little one. Though that was a small thing, its effort was great. With much less effort they can accomplish much more. You will learn how they do it and with my Token manifest in your world I believe you will be able to use what you learn in your world.'
Kim nodded and took a sip of her coffee. Again with believe rather than will. An unknown, which will get sorted after the trip. "Well, immersion in a foreign language on average is like three months so bare minimum there. I'll say six months to a year."
'It is good to hear you are eager, and sure of your capability to learn.' And Kim could feel it. A brightening in the smoke. 'The area is a large village. They boast an exceptional library so far from the seat of power for their people. It is easier to influence smaller populations, though you may still face disbelief. Not all worship as they should.'
The way she described it rubbed Kim wrong. "All this buildup from the Cult in the College and its pretty much the same. Just a more… a more talkative God?" Bonnie drank from her coffee cup then nodded. Her gaze drifting into the distance. Kim continued. "How different is the place you're plopping us into than say here?"
Bonnie's eyes refocused on Kim as the Mistress responded. 'Similar enough. Stronger solar wind buffets the world. I am led to believe the auroras are very beautiful. The people suffer the shatterstorm to admire their beauty quite often. Very active flora and fauna. You will find it very stimulating, and challenging.' That caused the brightness Kim sensed to dim. 'Do heed the warnings of your stewards. There is more I can do to protect you, but the jaws of a predator I cannot open once shut.'
Bonnie nodded. "Okay so not a complete waste, then."
'A waste?' The question rang in the smoke.
"Nevermind." Kim stated. She sighed into the coffee mug. "Do you have any idea how any of the others will be prepared?"
They were met with several moments of silence. 'No. I only know that there are more. The ripples say as much. I cannot even say how many have manifested in that place. Though the ripples are not far reaching.'
"So like, isolated to Earth?" Bonnie asked.
'I will try and discover that.' Again the uncertainty. 'I peer through a point on a fabric billions of light years across, from billions more away obscured by all that exists between. It is not a simple thing.'
"Fair enough." Kim said and she smiled. "Probably about as useful as us dumb apes trying to understand a creature existing across the expanse of a universe."
'Yes, how you perceive this voice as unique and feminine. Like the form you perceived me in in your mind, Kim.'
Kim's head snapped back and she looked at Bonnie dumbfounded. She recognized the voice. All this time masked by formal speech and her slower tone. "Its my goddamned grandma!" She slapped the countertop.
Bonnie began nodding. "Aunt Clara!"
"And you were that old ass cartoon character, but you made it realer." Kim shook her head as it snapped into focus.
'I speak to your mind through my point. You supply the voice.'
"This is so freaking weird." Bonnie stated.
Kim nodded. "Yeah, that's about right."
'How may I allay your fears?'
Kim looked at Bonnie. "You can't." Bonnie smiled and popped another forkful of pancake in her mouth. "We'll just have to roll with it."
'To overcome challenges as they appear is the essence of growth.'
Bonnie finished the bite. "Deep."
'May I withdraw?'
Kim nodded. "Yeah, thanks." And the wisp dissipated. Kim turned to Bonnie. "How do you feel the voice?"
Bonnie tilted her head side to side then she wiggled her fingers behind her head. "Like a fog kind of just drifting through. Same?" Kim nodded at her question.
Kim scraped the last of the pancake up and ate it. She got up and retrieved the stack of letters from her bag and a pad before sitting back down. "Just a day away from that crap, in the quiet and already I feel a lot better." Kim smiled at Bonnie.
"I will feel a lot better after a post box shower."
Kim wrinkled up her nose. "Okay so it was your feet."
Bonnie lightly cuffed Kim's arm. "Fuck you." They laughed. Bonnie leveled a fork at Kim. "So you and Ron switched bodies for a while?" Kim nodded. "So did you…"
Kim knew what she was asking. She shook her head as if she didn't anyway. "Did I what?"
Bonnie grinned. "You know?" Again Kim wouldn't give in. "You're gonna make me say it aren't you." Kim nodded. "Did you punch the clown, stroke the weasel, appease the purple headed yogurt slinger, jerk off!"
Kim had trouble stopping the laughter. It was several moments before she could respond. "I… uh I did."
Bonnie leaned back in mock shock. "Such betrayal of your childhood friend. I am shocked and appalled."
"It was so weird." She settled the pad facing Bonnie. "And before you ask I have no idea if he… if he returned the favor."
Bonnie cut in. "Flicked the bean."
"Yes, thank you." She shuffled the letters. "I will say that if he didn't, he's a better friend than I."
Bonnie took a drink of coffee. "He did. And you know he did." All Kim could do was nod. "So sister-wife, what's he got to work with?" Bonnie's eyebrows rose and fell suggestively.
Kim chuckled. "I am that good of a friend." Bonnie pouted at her. "More than you'd think, not abnormally big though, average."
Bonnie grinned. "Fair enough." She said. Kim settled Ron's last letter in front of Bonnie. "Oh right make me write a letter just after discussing his junk."
"Keep it PG." Kim grinned at her as she finished the pancake and slid the plate aside. Kim held up her stack. "Oh dear, one letter."
Bonnie's expression sobered. "Is it going to be okay for you, to lie in them?"
Kim inhaled and shrugged. "It feels wrong." She touched her chest. "Like, really wrong."
Bonnie just squeezed Kim's hand. Comforting her. "It won't take me long. I'll finish Ron's, then go shovel the walk. Let you have the quiet."
Kim smiled at her before taking a deep breath and wrinkling up her nose. "Then you definitely will need a shower."
Bonnie grined as she cuffed Kim again. "Bitch." She picked up the pen and began writing.
Dear Ron,
Still kind of strange hearing you working with Shego of all people. Keep an eye on her and don't let her get you wrapped up in villany. But like you said she would have to get Wade on board and I just don't see that happening. Good luck on your job interview. So if you didn't get it, better luck next time. And since you did get it, great job. You'll have sous chef in no time because you are a great cook.
So I'll be heading out on a field trip to the middle of nowhere for up to a year. Out of contact. No letters for a while. Anthropology. Going to learn how to properly go through a dig site, cataloging pottery and bones and stuff without damaging anything. I think its somewhere hot, but they're keeping it under wraps. I guess they've had students go rogue before. Rest assured if I do decide to go rogue I'll get word to Wade or you and hitch a ride back to Middleton. I'm not the meticulous type so I'm guessing that it will be one very very boring field trip.
Take care, Kim.
break (cause the bottom line is obscured by the app interface for some reason)