Can I Be Your Sidekick?
Chapter 4
Rockets Are Go!
Time Stream Journal
Entry#07/1998h5
I have to make sure Kimmie becomes and stays the hero otherwise the plan goes south. She has to be prepared to deal with the consequences of her actions: even good deeds can spawn negative outcomes.
Good Idea/Bad Idea: Good idea - Team Possible; Bad idea - Team Zorpox.
The cold green eyes that had been gazing at the injured boy moved to look at the little redhead with grim satisfaction, 'Bawd, that was balls nasty; take out the time for Dumdum's rant and Princess nuked the spud in less than a minute…that's the edge I'm looking for, I knew she had it…figure like shewasholding back when she got older.' Kim speaking brought Shego back in the moment.
Her adrenaline still up Kim glared impatiently at Shego, "I don't care about any lame challenge, this was payback for what he and his buddies did. I did to them what they did to my friends; the only difference was I gave Arnie a dislocated knee instead of a shoulder."
Momentarily distracted by Zach's hasty and clumsy retreat through the bushes the girl noted that Nate had stayed, standing unsteadily yet quietly, nervously switching his gaze between Arnie, Kim and Shego. Kim turned her eyes to her foe whose sobbing had diminished to anguished moans and the odd painful gasp as he tried to find a comfortable position for his leg, "As for you Custer, you've always been a royal pain ever since pre-K but you've been especially jerkish for the past year or so. I'm really getting sick of this, when are you gonna learn to stay down?"
Arnie spat back, "The day you're finally sick of this will be the day I'll learn you to stay down and keep your place."
She crossed her arms over her chest and gave the boy a level gaze, "And what place is that supposed to be?"
"That a guy is always better than a girl. Bonnie knows it she knows how to show a man respect…."
Kim interrupted the boy's diatribe with a snort of derision, "Respect, Bonnie doesn't show respect to anybody unless she expects to get something out of…" With a sudden look of realization the girl gave Shego a questioning look, "Bonnie didn't do what I think she did; this wasn't her idea was it?"
"Hard to say." Shego narrowed her eyes at the boy, "And where, pray tell, did you acquire such an infinitely profound bit of wisdom about inequality of the sexes you misogynistic little brat?"
"My dad says so," he replied defiantly.
Shifting her weight to one leg and placing her fists on her hips Shego leaned forward, sneering, "First of all, Dumdum, Puddin's been playin' you, and your dad's full of it. Tell me, what's your dad gonna do when he finds out you've had your ass handed back to you again, by the same girl?" Noticing his eyes widen slightly with realization she mocked, "Yeah, I bet he ain't gonna be too happy will he?"
Shego's comment brought a sudden and chilling thought to Kim, 'Aw man! I'm so in it deep with Dad, I hope Mom backs me up: she did see what happened to Ron' She turned to the hero, "Let's get him to the hospital Jhessa; isn't that, like, what a hero would do, show compassion, even to the bad guy?"
Incredulous, Shego looked at the young girl as if she had two heads, a selection of sarcastic remarks awaiting release. Instead she bit her tongue and although not necessarily inclined to be especially gentle, she picked up Arnie and followed Kim to the house.
Watching the trio leave Nate was uncertain as to what to do at first. Despite everything the two combatants were to each other there was one thing he would concur to, if Kim said she was taking his best friend to the hospital then that was where Arnie was going. Feeling somewhat reassured the large boy limped home.
Upon arriving at the Possible home the duo discovered Ron, Amanda and Mrs. Possible had already left for the hospital. One of Amanda's older sisters, Sherri, who was entering her sophomore year at Middleton High and on the cheer squad, was hurriedly recruited by Ann to baby sit the Tweebs.
Sherri watched Jhessa put the injured boy into her car as she spoke quietly to Kim, "You did a real number on him, not that he doesn't deserve it after I saw Ron and Amy. Now his dad's gonna do a number on him for losing another fight, and to a girl no less."
Kim kept her voice down as well as she responded bitterly, "I hope he gets grounded for a month."
Sherri turned Kim towards her and looked at her with a melancholy face, "No Kim, Arnie's dad is gonna beat the crap out of him then his mom will have to take him down to Emerg and make up a story for the nurses like '…he fell out a tree…'. She'll have a hard time explaining the injuries from his dad's beating and the beating he took from you."
Incredulous Kim raised an eyebrow, "And you know this how?"
"You remember Marge, she babysat you a few times: she's Arnie's sister and she needs someone to talk to once in a while and she's my best friend. She's on the cheer squad with me; it helps to blame the tumbling routines for the bruises. And Arnie getting into fights at school and taking kung fu…just another way to explain away injuries."
Kim, her eyes wide open in disbelief, gave Sherri her full attention, "Marge gets hit by her dad too; why?"
"Her mom also gets hit, apparently for being disrespectful: the man is way beyond creepy, he's totally whack. When Arnie lost that fight to you last spring his dad got extra mad and punished him for losing respect to a girl."
"This stuff happens for real? I only see this stuff on TV and I figured they just made a big deal of it for the drama; it really happens around here?"
Sherri put her arm around the younger girl, "'Fraid so Kimmie."
"So why don't you say something to someone?"
"Like I said, Marge is my best friend and she made me promise not to say anything because she's afraid to be split up from her mom and brother. Although, if it gets too out of hand I will say something."
With a pensive look the redhead spoke with a small voice, "This is so sick and wrong Sherri, I can't even imagine my parents hitting me for any reason, and his dad is gonna hit him, not for starting a fight with a girl, but for losing a fight to a girl: to me. Aw man, that is so not fair, I'm beating him for being the bad guy and his dad hits him for not being bad enough, 'Maybe Dad's right about violence not solving things.'"
Although the young girls' conversation was inaudible to Arnie, it was easily picked up by Shego's sharp ears. 'Damn, I can't have Pumpkin second-guessing herself,' she thought after turning around and seeing the look of doubt on Kim's face, "Let's go Cupcake, I'm sure Ron would be happy to see you."
The ride to the hospital was uncomfortable for everyone.
As the trio proceeded to the emergency entrance they had to wait as three ambulances pulled up. Although Kim was normally interested in such happenings, she instead ran straight inside followed at a distance by Shego carrying Arnie. She ran up to one of the nurses at the triage, "Hi Nancy is my mom still here?"
"Hi Kimmie, yeah, she's in Observation Six with your friends. Stay close to your mom though, we just received three car crash victims and things are going to get a little funky for a while."
"You got it and thanks."
Kim had become quite familiar with the layout of the medical centre and had no problem reaching her objective despite having to dodge a couple of crash-carts on their way to Emerg. She found her mom and Amanda sitting beside Ron who was still in bed. Both friends' injuries were cleaned and bandaged up, the blond more so than the brunette; gingerly the redhead gave her friends each a hug. Kim noticed an IV attached to her best friend's arm and looked at her mother who explained, "It's just something for the pain; he'll be prescribed some pain killers. The ribs are only bruised, and with the shoulder he'll probably be excused from Gym for a while; I've already called the Stoppables and they're coming to pick him up."
Ron stared at Kim's arm; speaking through a swollen lip he asked his best friend, "What happened to Arnie, KP?" Following his gaze she realized there was sizeable spread of dried blood on her elbow from when she hit her opponent in the face. Kim suddenly felt sick to her stomach and bit her lip as she turned her eyes away from her life-long friend who, in turn, dropped his eyes in disappointment: the exchange was lost on neither Ann nor Amanda.
Just then Nancy poked her head from around the curtain, "Dr. Possible we could use your help in ER: we just admitted an injured boy but the paediatrician on call is busy with the child car crash victim. I know you're off duty but could you help for a bit, I've got a Sunshine Spreader to watch the kids."
Dr. Possible smiled, "No problem Nancy; you guys behave till the Stoppables come to pick up Ron. Kimmie, I'm sure Ron's parents will give you and Amanda a ride home. Sherri will stay until your father gets home."
As the two women walked to one of the treatment rooms Nancy kept the pace slow as she briefed Ann on the situation, whispering, "The boy arrived with head trauma including a broken nose, plus sore ribs and an almost dislocated knee. He says he fell out of a tree but I'm sceptical. You see, over the past year he's been almost a regular; he's often brought in by his mother for treatments of injuries we don't believe are just childhood misadventures. Not only him but on occasion the mother herself and an older sister; this incident is the last straw, I'm filing a report to involve Child Protective Services."
Grim faced Ann asked, "Did his mother bring him in?"
"No, strangely a young woman brought him in," whispered the triage nurse as they entered the room.
Upon seeing Jhessa, Ann looked over at the patient already dressed in a hospital gown, the blood on his face being cleaned off by an orderly, "Arnie Custer I presume." Upon seeing the startled boy nod she continued, "I haven't seen Marge in almost a year, she used to baby sit Kim and her brothers, how is she these days?"
The injured boy shrugged, "Okay, I guess."
The surgeon pulled the surprised nurse back into the hall and whispered, "You might want to hold off on the report for now Nancy, despite what you've been told I believe he is the one who hurt Ron; I also believe what happened to this boy is Kimmie dishing out payback."
Nancy's eyes opened wide, "Little Kimmie did that?"
The redhead crossed her arms across her chest, "Remember last year the big guy from the bar fight who tried to drag his 'buddy' from Treatment Two before I was finished with him? He made the mistake of getting between me and my patient; the fact he outweighed me by seventy-three pounds didn't stop me from decking him to protect my patient and myself. My little girl comes by it naturally and her temper's worse," after a moments pause the physician added conspiratorially, "you won't tell her about that; will you?"
Returning to the room Ann asked Jhessa to wait outside. Although complying willingly Shego felt it a good idea to listen in from outside the door. A few hours later Dr. Possible was consulting with the on-call orthopaedic surgeon as she examined an x-ray, "Hank, this looks like he had a spiral fracture on the right femur; aren't those caused by a violent twisting motion?"
Looking at the boy's file he answered, "Yeah, at fourteen months he allegedly fell off the arm of the couch onto his sister's dollhouse; however, it was the first time we saw him and his parents did some fast talking. Anyway, he'll be in a knee brace with crutches this time. The young woman who brought him in believes he fell out of a tree by the fitness trail, although she admits she didn't actually see the fall. She says she carried him out of the woods to the hospital. Since you seem to know her do you have any reason to believe otherwise?"
"I believe what she told the triage nurse is the truth," Ann responded carefully then added to herself, 'If not the whole truth.' Once it was determined that Mrs. Custer was arriving to pick up her son the surgeon collected the paperwork for signing and filing. Walking to the Emerg office Ann took her sitter for a short walk, "So, how many times did he fall out of this alleged tree?"
"Oh, about fourteen times," quipped Shego. She noticed Ann had not been impressed with that comment and elaborated, "Actually, that's payback, Kim style: she did that to him and took out his henchmen in just over a minute." In the background the two women could hear the faint monotone of a heart monitor flat lining followed by urgent voices and the sound of a defibrillator in action.
"Interesting how you used 'henchmen' to describe the other boys, Shego. What have you been teaching Kim these past few months, this episode makes me wonder. James and I thought we were making progress on Kim's anger management now this happens. And yet I'm torn. On the one hand I don't want my daughter to resort to violence to solve all her problems; on the other hand I could give her a high-five for giving Arnie a taste of his own medicine. Kimmie can get a little possessive and overprotective of those she cares about; I think she gets that from James and me and I'm glad to see she would be willing to stick up for friends and family when the need arises. I need to finish up here, you may as well go. After James and I talk about this we'll give you a call."
"Please, Ann, I wasn't being smart with the henchman comment because that's what Arnie is: his dad is the villain," explained Shego, "Kimmie can beat the crap out of Arnie till she rots; as long as his dad is there to provide impetus this situation will continue. Take it from me, when most henchmen have no one to prod them on they lose cohesion and are no longer effective. Give me a few days before you make any major decision." Kim's mother did not answer.
As the surgeon continued with her paperwork at the nurse's station she noticed how quiet the emergency ward had become; she looked up and noticed Nancy coming out from the trauma section, her eyes in tears, "Nancy, what happened?"
"We lost the young one from the car crash," replied the head nurse as she wiped away a tear.
Blue eyes gazed with compassion upon the head nurse and in a voice that Shego swore could have passed for a hug, asked, "How old?"
"About ten or eleven."
As she heard the news Shego suddenly felt all choked up and turned her head feeling tears form in her eyes, 'What the...maximum composure…as in total lack of…don't go all billy now Ravens, this feeling sorry for someone was Jhessy's thing not yours…time was you'd have somethin' smart-mouthed to say.' Her reaction was noticed curiously by Ann.
"Okay, Jhessa, you have till Labour Day, by then, in light of what just happened we'll want to set the ground rules for the new school year."
Outside the hospital Shego stopped and thought about Kim's expression before coming to the hospital, pulling out her cell phone she dialed her corporate office, "Kasey, set up a meeting for me at one o'clock tomorrow…yeah, call in a few lawyers…family law, criminal, and bring in Jonesy too…good girl." She contemplated further, 'Figure Cupcake and composure might have a falling out…don't need her boggins else momma might get all red-alert on me… Kimmie needs to learn connections…no shiv but Custer's old man's gonna get pegged radical.'
Kim sat dejectedly on the couch in the family room; she was awaiting some ultimate decree from her parents; however, she only saw them chat briefly and although her dad was obviously not happy he kept mum. Realizing some heavy drama was inevitable the Tweebs decided a discrete withdrawal to the workshop in the basement, to continue work on their super-top-secret project, was in order.
The girl was doubly so in a funk, not only was she unable to meditate to calm the turmoil in her head her favourite cartoon show since Pre-K, 'My Little Cuddlebuddy', had been finally cancelled. She remembered fondly how the show could be seen three times a day during the week and twice a day on the weekends. Then over the spring and summer the showings decreased to the point she could only catch an episode once a week and today of all days it was pulled off the air completely. For the time being she was watching an episode of 'Pinky and the Brain', a show Ron, Amanda and her brothers enjoyed watching immensely. As far as the little redhead was concerned the whole take over the world thing did not make any sense to her; she saw through the plans at the outset and easily figured out how it would fail. 'And don't get me started on the sidekick who can't stay focused,' Kim groused to herself.
However, the TV was the last thing on her mind, unfocused eyes not registering the images nor ears acknowledging the dialogue, as her mind spun around the aftermath of the fight and fretting over the, as yet, undisclosed consequences. Kim ruminated grimly, 'I definitely pushed Dad's peeve-button and ground his beans…mom and dad not saying anything is freaking me out…I'll probably get pulled out of kung-fu…I know there'll be a long conference with the 'rents …and there's the thing with Arnie and his dad…whenever I don't succeed Mom and Dad help me out and encourage me to try again… if what Sherri says is true, Arnie just gets punished for losing…but not for doing something bad like bullying people…that is so sick and wrong… it seemed so simple, stop the bully by telling the yard hag, he gets detention but by then he's already hurt somebody…but he doesn't mind detention because it doesn't hurt …to keep him from hurting others I have to hurt him first then he gets home and his dad hurts him for losing.'
A sudden realization gave Kim a sick feeling in her gut; pulling her knees up under her chin she wrapped her arms around her legs, 'Aw man, this is so wrong: because of me Arnie gets hurt worse by his dad.'
'Dammit, I wasn't fast enough!' Thought Shego in a panic as she restrained the struggling and belligerent man against the wall then called out to the stunned woman, "Mrs. Custer, listen to me, is Arnie still breathing…."
Shego awoke with a start sitting in her office chair. She looked around to get her bearings and noticed the legal brief her lawyers had prepared earlier, in her lap.
Shego worked quickly to take advantage of the time Ann gave her; Kim would be easy enough to mould however, if her mother was not on board it would be impossible. Thus she did everything she could to make this operation appear as legitimate as could be. Using Team Go and GoCorp assets she collected everything related to the Custer family; police and medical reports, notes from social workers, schools and employee files. She read through the reports, 'Bawd, no shiv but figure like my Attitude Adjustment Centers couldn't mess up these spuds this bad…Billy-Joe Jim-Bob Custer, heh, figure like Soulless Worker Drone wouldn't be an improvement.'
The best lawyers were gathered, family support prepared, surveillance equipment secretly installed in the house; Shego included a personal walk by the Custer home to get a feel for the neighbourhood. The overall situation was that the family was uneasily awaiting the return of the father from a fishing trip sometime just before school started. It was very important that Shego of Team Go be the attending officer. She sighed, 'The worst part about all this is if I pull this off Hego won't let me hear the end of how proud he was of me and how I boosted Team Go's reputation.'
After an early evening supper at the office with her personal assistant, Shego leaned back in her office chair. With her legs up on the desk, a cup of coffee in her hand, Shego watched her aide feeding the piranha, "What do you think Kasey, could we get away with a piranha-filled moat around the building?"
Kasey giggled, blue eyes shining with mischief, "To be sure you'd be the first on the block to have one, Miss Green; 'twould be a great way to hide evidence it would."
'Damn, I love that lilting Irish brogue; I practically hired her on the spot on that alone but she's got talent and worth every penny of the six figures I pay…what's creeping me out is the feeling I know her from somewhere, but then ever since Ann's story I'm constantly checking out tall redheads with blue or green eyes...but your sitch -I did not just say that - Kasey O'Clery, says something to me…you were raised in Ireland, but born in the States... four years younger than Ann and like her you don't come close to looking it…you're tall as me, athletically fit and smart as a whip...but what really pegs my composure ain't just that your hair and eyes match Ann's, the little spray of freckles across that nose and the smile could've been transplanted from Cupcake herself…or am I seeing too much into things… either way I'd be crushing on her if I was a guy.'
"Bawd, JJ, figure I ain't seen ya checkin' out legs all the time, especially my squeeze Kasey, when ya thought I wasn't lookin', an' I don't shiv;" sweetly giggled a voice from behind Shego.
"Oi, not this again; you boggins Jhessy, and I keep sayin' sure Kasey talks high school, but she walks post-grad," answered Shego wearily as she turned her head in the direction of her cloned sister's voice, and saw no one there.
Confused, the assistant turned to her employer, "Did you say something, Miss Green?"
Before the disoriented Shego could answer, the phone rang. Kasey skipped over to answer it, "Hello, Miss Green's office…hi Jonesy…of course I'll be tellin' her, bye love. Jonesy reports that Custer changed his itinerary and will be home any time now."
Shego cursed as she got up, "Shit, he's a day early; hold the fort Kasey." Picking up a pager-like device she spoke into it as she ran to get changed into her Team Go persona, "Jhessy, wake up."
A perky, youthful female voice responded, "Wattup big sis?"
"Spool up and wake up owl, turn to page three and hook me up to Boyfriend; I'm coming out now."
"Property damage?"
"9-1-1."
"Real cool, billy out in four minutes twenty-three seconds."
"Aces."
Kasey smirked, bemused, 'Who would' a thought I'd be workin' for a superhero who's takin' over the world…quite smoothly so far…and talks with her personal jet like they're twin sisters in high school…kinda like how me own little twin sisters talk…now if I could just figure out who else is in her head.'
On the roof beside the penthouse Shego sprinted to a small green and black jet, its twin engines idling. Having strapped in and adjusted her helmet the hero slid down the visor, activating the built in heads-up-display. Using voice commands she activates the aircraft's electronics, "Times seven… IFCS on…battle off…stab off…hydraulics on…emergency up…guns off…drift eliminated…observing to my front." With the last command she stared straight ahead, a small line of light scanning across the pilot's eyes from the visor.
The jet's computer system was an artificial intelligence programmed with Jhessy's personality. The AI chirped in cheerfully as it concluded the voice recognition and retina scan security protocol, "Good to hear from you sweetie; I could stare at those beauteous eyes forever."
Instinctively scanning the darkening sky around her the pilot directs her jet, "Hummingbird plus two hundred feet and owl out of Upperton, Jhessy, then billy out to Middleton; just follow the script on page three. Where's Boyfriend?"
"Figure like you ain't too bossy today ain't ya; I'll do it only 'cause I love ya and we're family," giggled the AI, the jet banking smartly as its course matched the directions of the programmed flight plan.
Shego spoke up as Agent Jones appeared in a small video monitor built into the visor, "Talk to me Jonesy; I'm flying in on stealth mode so I won't be transmitting much but I want to know if things go south."
"Right now he's ranting about the bad luck he had fishing, the wife and son are home but the daughter is at cheer leader practice for a while longer, ETA undetermined."
The flight to Middleton was not a long one, still Shego fretted somewhat, 'I hope Pumpkin appreciates this …can't let her stop from saving the world just because she's afraid of hurting an innocent in the process…'rescuing' Arnie might reassure Kimmie…gotta time this right, catching him hitting the wife won't get as good a result as him hitting the kid…but there's the trick, if the boy gets terminated Cupcake will be in a funk for a long time…I might lose her altogether.'
An incoming message from Agent Jones interrupted the reverie, "Ma'am, he's brandishing a pistol and threatening the boy, the mother is attempting to shield him."
"I thought you searched the place for weapons."
"This one came out of his camping gear he must've acquired it from one of his fishing buddies; he didn't stop anywhere to buy one."
"Stall him! If it looks like he's about to shoot knock on the door, phone the house, cut the power, something; I'm gonna pick up the pace. Jhessy, you're riding shotgun," with that Shego took over the controls, jamming the throttle into afterburner. She smirked evilly, 'No time for subtle now, sounds like spud's gone billy berserk…he pegs that kid he's gettin' a green enema…but then if he pulls the trigger my job's a lot easier.'
Less than a mile from the Custer home Shego shifts her jet to hush and hover mode, exiting her craft only a few doors down the street, "Ok Jhessy, find a park bench, keep your skirt down and your legs crossed."
The Jhessy-AI giggled, "You know I only open my legs for you."
'Funny girl,' thought Shego as she hopped lithely from her jet and ran quickly; expertly blending into the shadows of the lamp lit street. The sound of wind sighing through tree branches told the hero her jet had left to hide and stand by. 'Damn, three doors down and I can already hear the spud shouting,' she noted then tapped the throat clasp to her costume, activating the communications and recording equipment, which included a camera the size of a cigarette filter adorning the side of her mask, "I'm on the ground Jonesy."
"Acknowledged."
As she approached the house next door to her objective, the hero noticed a boy standing on the front porch, facing in the direction of the Custer home. Upon closer inspection she recognized him as Arnie's friend Nate and could see tears streaming down his face, 'Figure it's a regular evening program, eh spud…the shouting is so loud…he's ranting about the cost of the knee brace …lo-o-ser.' The sound of a pistol shot, followed by a scream, which startled the boy on the porch, galvanized Shego into action who sprinted into the neighbouring yard as she called to her support, "Talk to me Jonesy!"
"He's in the living room, he fired a shot into the ceiling and now he's taking aim at the kid."
Shego ran for the back door, 'Hego would probably walk through the wall, the idiot…I can't flame the door…guess I do this old school.' She padded through it quietly and glided quickly to the living room in time to see the man pistol whip his sobbing wife to the floor then take aim at his son. A concussive ball of green energy impacted on the shooter simultaneously with the pull of the trigger. The berserk man getting pinned violently against the wall by fury clad in green and black coincided with an anguished mother screaming her son's name.
'Dammit, I wasn't fast enough!' thought Shego in panic. Holding the struggling and still belligerent father against the wall she shouted to the stunned woman holding her son who had an apparent head wound, "Mrs. Custer, listen to me, is Arnie still breathing?" Not getting any coherent response she zaps the man unconscious. Moving over to the boy she is relieved to discover him still breathing shallowly; about to examine for any bullet entry point Shego hears a familiar clicking sound. She turned quickly and saw Mrs. Custer aiming the pistol at the still form of her husband.
Shego held out her hand, beckoning for the weapon however at the same time prepared to launch a shot of plasma, "Mrs. Custer, Susan, he's not worth it; if you pull that trigger I take you in next. Do you want your kids to lose both their parents tonight? Drop the gun now and I'll forget this, come keep your son comfortable while I summon help." Dazed, the mother drops the revolver and kneels next to her son to comfort him.
Shego stepped into the kitchen and contacted her support, "Did you get all that Jonesy?"
"Yes ma'am, the pistol whip, shooting at his son: the guy will fry," answered the agent with confidence.
"Ok, I'll wrap things up here and you get phase two rolling."
"Yes, ma'am."
Shego returned to the living room and pressed a series of numbers into her Gommunicator then assists with Arnie.
At the Middleton Emergency Response Centre one of the operators' reported to his supervisor, "Got a call about shots fired at 1315 St. James Lane, the Custer place."
The middle-aged man huffed wearily, "Ya know I left Go City to get away from shootings; I thought Middleton was supposed to be quiet."
The operator replied, "It's usually a domestic, the caller probably overreacted. Hobble is on tonight and he's dealt with them before…."
"What the hell?" suddenly exclaimed another operator, "I just got the funkiest 9-1-1 call about the same place."
"I didn't hear the phone, what are you talking about?" asked the man in charge.
"I mean the call came straight up on the screen but it's in some strange format," the operator continued by reading the monitor, "It says…REQUIRE POLICE, AMBULANCE / 1315 ST. JAMES LANE / SHOTS FIRED / ONE CASUALTY / SHOOTER DETAINED / AID TO THE CIVIL POWER PROTOCOL / ATTENDING OFFICER…and I'm not sure who, it might be an acronym…S-H-E-G-O. Is that some federal agency?"
The veteran emergency response officer practically tripped over himself dashing to that particular monitor, 'What the hell is she doing here in Middleton?' That's not an acronym, that's a superhero that goes by the name of Shego and she's part of Team Go from Go City. 'Aid to the Civil Power Protocol' means she's resolved something urgent and is requesting civilian emergency assets. Send three police units, a rescue unit and a paramedic unit, code three."
As they returned from a pre-season cheer practice, Sherri and Marge complained about their treatment by the team co-captains, Amanda's older sister being especially put out, "I can't believe, well actually I can believe Connie and Lonnie would kick me off the squad just because I dumped Brick Flagg. I mean, how could I not, the guy's a complete froob; he'll be lucky to graduate inside seven years. You know you didn't have to quit too."
The other girl snorted with derision and countered, "Please, there's no way I'd stay there without my best friend. Besides, as a cheer squad, it's a joke; it's just a social clique for the top of the food chain. Hell, the Lowerton Lemurs kicks their butt with their cheer routines. As for me, the only reason I got to stay was because the senior quarter back had the hots for me."
As the teens turned the corner onto St. James Lane they stopped, surprised by the collection of emergency vehicles further down the street. It took but a moment for them to realize the commotion was at the Custer residence; without a word or even a glance at each other they sprinted to Marge's house.
Seeing a familiar face as she approached her home the Custer girl went straight to Officer Hobble. With trepidation in her voice she asked, "Officer Hobble, what happened?"
"Miss Custer, I'm glad to see you're alright. I'm afraid your father's crossed the line tonight: he's been arrested and taken down to the station. Your mother and brother are at the hospital, Arnie got roughed up," explained the peace officer, "If you'd like I can get you a ride to the medical centre to meet up with your family."
The distraught teen's attention was suddenly drawn to the green and black clad masked woman who had been conversing with the officer. The bizarre looking woman spoke up, "Hello Miss Custer, my name is Shego. I'm the one who interrupted your father's less than stellar application of parenting skills. When you get to the medical centre there will be a social worker to help you out and a lawyer will visit you in the morning. I'll be footing the bill till it's all resolved and if you need anything let the worker know."
Marge stared at the masked woman: her mind suddenly wishing to retreat to a happy place, could only think to say, "Your skin is green."
A shushing, like that of wind blowing through tree branches, accompanied by a gust of warm air pushing dirt and litter caused everyone to look up the street. To everyone's surprise a futuristic looking fighter jet painted in a green and black dazzle pattern landed; moments later the hero was seen sprinting to the aircraft, leaping onto the wing and dropping herself into the cockpit. As the canopy closed, the jet lifted vertically and sped off. On the way back Shego could not stop scowling, "Jhessy, hook me up with Boyfriend."
"Sure thing JJ."
Within a moment Agent Jones came on line, "Yes ma'am."
In a baleful tone of voice Shego instructed, "Jonesy, make sure the word gets out to the wrong people in jail how Custer tried to shoot his own eleven year old son." After signing off from Agent Jones the hero realized she had been absentmindedly scratching at an increasingly itchy spot on her leg, the irritation spreading around her body, 'Damn, those pink rats tracked my energy discharge…don't know how they learned time travel, even more, why haven't they tried to bust me?'
Back at the Custer home, Sherri had noted the green hero's extraordinarily long black hair and the fact the face mask was not all that concealing, 'The Possibles have a superhero for a sitter. Heh, well if that's what it takes to handle those kids who am I to say anything?"
Behind the very large house at 1313 St. James Lane, a bluish-white disk of energy appeared. Two Rufus Series naked mole rats disappeared into the disc which closed up afterward.
A few days after the Custer incident the Possibles, minus the twins who were ensconced in the basement workshop, listened to Shego's post-mission summary. James sat at the head of the dining room table, glowering, unhappy to find out from his wife that their so-called sitter was in fact one of 'those circus folk' he saw on the news. Nonetheless he patiently listened to the young woman's discourse, "So Mr. Custer's in jail and facing charges and the rest of the family are staying with relatives for now. I've called in a few favours; Mrs. Custer is getting a lawyer, there'll be a new place for her and the kids to live when they're ready to move in and a job is waiting for her when she's ready, and I'm chipping in with a family counselor to help them readjust."
Hesitantly yet with a hopeful tone Kim spoke up, "So Arnie will be okay; he wasn't hurt?"
Shego answered reassuringly, "Not seriously Pumpkin, he managed to dodge his dad just as I got there; all he got was a cut on his forehead falling on the coffee table."
Placing his fists on the table and with brow furrowed Mr. Possible spoke in a disheartened tone, "Although I'm all for putting criminals behind bars and I'm glad things appear better for the Custer kids and their mother; I can't help feeling this was all contrived to make my little Kimmiecub feel less guilty about behaving like a vigilante and almost crippling someone. I'm just waiting for one of you circus folk to make a spectacle of my Kimmiecub by posturing about how heroic she was on the evening news tonight."
Already gazing in Kim's direction as James spoke Shego saw the girl wince and close her eyes at the mention of crippling, her father's disappointed tone coming through clearly. Taken by surprise by such a comment she looked over at Ann; the mother's blue eyes glared daggers at her spouse.
Ann rose out of her chair and grasped her husband firmly about the arm, yanking him out of his chair she spoke through clenched teeth, "Honey, we need to talk." With that she dragged James to their bedroom whereupon she sat him on the bed before slamming the door shut then turning to face him. Crossing her arms across her chest she glared at her husband,
"Are you trying to crush your daughter's spirit? What she did to Arnie was out of love for her best, best friend; she wanted to stop a bully from constantly hurting him and the other kids since no one else appeared able to do so. Police don't arrest ten year olds: parents are the ones who are supposed to moderate these kids' behaviours. Arnie learned from his dad to control people through violence and intimidation; we taught Kimmie a sense of justice, fair play and to be helpful."
"You ought to remember enough of your youth to know how much of the social interactions, for good or bad, were conducted without adult involvement. It was inevitable that Kim and Arnie would clash. Why, because we taught our daughter to be a hero and Arnie's dad taught him to be a villain. Shego cleaning up the problem at its source was a blessing as far as I'm concerned."
"You know, the campus at M.I.S.T had a somewhat provincial atmosphere as I recall; however, Upperton University was a little more cosmopolitan. I'll tell you something that happened at 'double-U' to Monnie and me: a story that I promised Monnie I wouldn't tell anyone about but I feel applies here. Let me tell you how a judicious application of violence on my part …."
Watching, in amazement, Mrs. Possible drag her husband away Shego's attention was diverted by the sound of sniffling. Looking over she saw Kim, hands gripping the seat of her chair and head hanging down, "Kimmie, you gonna be okay?"
Kim tried to contain her sobs, "The only time Mom and Dad go to talk in their bedroom is when they're mad at each other and they're mad at each other because of what I did. And I really disappointed Dad the most, I mean he's always proud when I do my best and I thought I did my best but instead he's disappointed in me."
Shego's eyes opened wide with a realization…Bawd, you boggins Ravens…sure Pumpkin goes to Mom for advice and support but she goes all billy if daddy isn't proud of her…he's the weak link, if he doesn't approve of her becoming a hero she'll never become one'
Moving over to comfort Kim, she widened her line of thought, 'Let's see, at this point in the original time stream Team Go was broken up so James wouldn't see anything much in the news and Kimmie became a hero on her own…with me back we've been more prominent and now he seems to have some disdain for costumed heroes which may influence her into not becoming a superhero…and Custer, his old man didn't start going billy-berserk till about a year and a half ago when he got fired after his company was taken over by a GoCorp subsidiary…did the Arnie thing even occur in the original time stream…am I pegging my own plan?'
Kim looked hopeful when she saw her parents return arm in arm, her mother smiling and her dad wearing a sheepish look while scratching the back of his head. Holding out his hand to his little girl James smiled, "Wanna go out in the back yard and show your old man how to light a fire?" Wiping away the tears from her eyes and smiling with relief she eagerly grabbed her father's hand and led him out back.
Shego looked questioningly at Ann who explained, "It's a healing/bonding ritual that began soon after Kimmie started Pixies and learned to light campfires. James is apologizing so he asked her to show him how to light the fire in the fire pit out back, then they'll sit there in front of the fire, feeding it, until they have things sorted out. Heh, sometimes they stay out there beyond that just to enjoy the quality time."
Looking out towards the back of the house, Jhessa felt envious; listening in for a time to the murmur of conversation she thought she caught the words, "...off the rack…."
The following evening Jim and Tim were in high spirits, not only were they almost finished with their super-top-secret project they had an unexpected bonus. Jhessa had come over to baby sit and had brought Chinese take-out for supper; on top of that Amanda was sleeping over and she was their best audience, finding their antics as amusing as Kim found them annoying.
In the basement workshop the twins were putting the finishing touches on an identical pair of working model rockets; each with wings tipped with cylindrical pods, a large dorsal fin running the length of the fuselage and a cockpit canopy. A successful test of the self-activating guidance system warranted an exuberant 'hoosha'. Flipping a few switches, Jim prepared to test the engine ignition circuit, "Okay, testing firing circuit…now."
Tim's look of anticipation suddenly turned to one of alarm, "No wait!" Unfortunately the warning was too late and both rockets launched with loud pops. With the engines hissing loudly the small craft circled the basement once before proceeding upstairs leaving two thick trails of grey smoke.
"Tim, why were the rockets fuelled up?"
"Mom was looking for a new coffee can so I cleaned out the J200 container and gave it to her; I had to put the fuel somewhere."
Hearing a loud crash upstairs Jim commented, "Sounds like they made it to the kitchen," almost immediately thereafter something hit the floor hard then a loud bang was followed by the sounding of the smoke alarm. With a look of concern the boy uttered a hesitant, "Hicka-bicka-boo?"
His twin confirmed the sentiment with a firm, "Hoosha," upon which they bee-lined upstairs grabbing fire extinguishers along the way...
At the end of Kim's bed Amanda lay, curled up, her arms clutching her stomach as she let loose with an unrestrained fit of giggling. Her redheaded cohort, sitting at the other end and rolling her eyes, uttered a more conservative chuckle, "Really Amanda, these are kinda funny, but not that funny."
"Okay," replied the brunette cheerfully, "just one more, please, then I'll stop."
With a small smile Kim began, "Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"Wuh, I think so, Brain, but where are we going to find a couple of rocket ships to launch ourselves into low orbit?" answered Amanda with another fit of giggling. After calming down somewhat she asked her friend, "How come Ron isn't over?"
"His mom won't let him out of the house till school starts because of his shoulder. How's the sore spot on your face; it's looking a bit better."
"Its fine, Terri says she can cover it with make-up if I want. Speaking of which she wants to give me a makeover tomorrow before starting school."
"Why?"
"She says middle school is where I should start socializing with boys so I have a boyfriend for high school. Terri said she'd give pointers, she's so totally into boys, Sherri not so much for now, she just broke up with her boyfriend. Still, I've got no idea where to start; at least you have Ron, you two are so tight dating is so the next step up."
"Me and Ron; eww, he's my best friend, dating would be way too awkwierd. Besides, I don't have time for boyfriends."
"What about Walter, he's pretty cute and you seem to like him, you two do hang around a lot together."
"I like him enough because he's a good team mate at sports and he isn't a jerk. I like him but I don't like-like him."
The brunette gave her friend a condescending look, "What you need is a big sister to set your head straight. Hey, maybe Jhessa could fill in; you two are pretty close and she's starting college and is absolutely gorgeous. I bet she's gone on a lot of dates; you should get her to help you out."
"I'm not looking for hel..." Kim's rebuttal was cut short by two loud pops from downstairs.
"What was that?" asked a puzzled Amanda.
In a suspicious tone, Kim muttered, "I'm not sure, sounds pretty tweebish though."
A thick hissing sound, getting progressively louder, caused Kim to become more alert. Hearing crashing, something going thud upon the floor below, a loud bang and the smoke alarm galvanized the girls. Kim grabbed the extinguisher from the upstairs hallway as she and Amanda ran downstairs...
The next evening Shego found herself back at the Possible's clearing the kitchen table of left over take-out Chinese food. Ann had agreed to let Kim have Amanda sleep over but had found herself tied up in Emerg tending to a patient with severe head trauma. James was already working late with some colleagues preparing a proposal for the Board of Directors regarding an ambitious project that would require a couple of years just to set up then maybe three years to develop. She thought, 'I wonder if it's the Hephaestus project…we are so gonna need that tech…I'll have my people make sure nothing interferes with it.'
Checking on the twins down in the workshop she noted their intense focus on the finishing touches to a pair of model rocket ships. Peeking in on the girls in Kim's room, Shego compared Amanda's carefree and somewhat maniacal giggle against the redhead's more conservative chuckle; she was reminded of her time with Jhessy and turned away with a sigh.
Upon returning to the kitchen the baby sitter proceeded to the coffee maker, picking up the can of coffee she smirked, 'I beginning to see where Pumpkin gets her cheekiness…mom's guilty pleasure is playing video games when no one's looking and she stores her coffee in an empty rocket fuel storage can…heh, what's next, brain loaf for supper?'
Shego poured a bag of fresh ground coffee into the can then began preparing a pot of coffee for the Possibles when and if they got home that evening, 'They should like this coffee, it's the best blend from South America.'
Leaning against the kitchen counter as the coffee percolated she continued her ruminations, 'I'm thinking I dodged the bullet yesterday… gotta be careful with events in the time stream… figure like mom didn't save the day…damn and I still have no composure around her, I boggins around her some nasty…now I'm checkin' out Kasey…who's next, Pumpkin…gaaggh that's balls nasty, she's so preschool, get that thought out of your head Ravens…think of something else; Drakken, Killigan, DNAmy, Custer. Shego's eyes narrowed and her mouth curled into a malicious smirk, 'Oh yeah, Jonesy said he's been in protective custody since word managed to get out of what he tried to do to his own son.'
Shego poured herself a black coffee, turned and strolled to look out the window by the kitchen sink, 'This kitchen is so-o-o seventies.' Outside, the sun had set and all that remained was the fading dusk. The sound of two loud pops followed by hissing caught Shego's attention, the mercenary in her identifying the sound as the firing of a pair of rocket propelled grenades. 'No way!' she thought to herself in disbelief.
The hissing, now very loud, seemed to be behind the sitter, from the reflection in the window she saw two projectiles entering the kitchen; a quick flick of the eyes to the floor confirmed she wasn't on a safe-spot. She turned quickly. The projectiles were recognized as the rockets the boys had been working on. As one crashed into the coffee maker and the can of coffee Shego dropped flat on her back to avoid the second one. Being able to look up allowed the hero/villain to see the second rocket arc around towards the opposite end of the kitchen. As it passed over, she destroyed it with a shot of plasma causing a large bang which was immediately followed by the smoke alarm sounding off.
As the kids stood in the door to the kitchen they watched a smoke smudged Jhessa, bearing nicks and minor cuts from shrapnel, slowly stand up. As the twins attacked the smouldering remains of the rocket and coffee maker with their extinguishers, Kim deadpanned, "There are the rockets you were looking for Pinky."
Just as dryly Amanda answered, "Narf."
Wetting a cloth the redhead began cleaning off her babysitter, "You're lucky dad wasn't hooking up the fire suppression system till next week: that's when the rest of the parts are supposed to come in."
'Suuuper,' groused Shego to herself then she turned to the Tweebs and gave them a baleful look. Absentmindedly scratching a leg with one hand she pointed at the boys with the other, exclaiming, "You two; you…spilled…my…coffee… YOU SPILLED MY COFFEE! And you smashed your parent's coffee maker and toasted five pounds of the most expensive coffee blend on the planet I bought for them." The boys slowly moved behind their sister. "You have one second to get to your room else I let Kimmie loose on you, no witnesses; understand? GO!"
Jim and Tim looked at each other, "Hicka-bicka-boo?" "Hoosha!" then made a quick exit for the upstairs.
After the evening's fiasco the sitter decided to take up Mrs. Possible's offer of the guest room to sleep in. Of course, Shego had not planned on sleeping over and thus had not brought any sleepwear. Not wishing to sleep either nude or in smoky clothes, she mentioned her dilemma to Kim. Ever helpful the resourceful girl ran into her parent's room and retrieved one of her mother's nightshirts from the dresser. After getting cleaned up for bed she donned Ann's nightshirt and hopping in bed Shego could not help but indulge in a bit of guilty pleasure as she curled her legs up under the hem of the slightly long, for her, shirt and snuggled under the covers. Not having felt this content for a long time, the middle-aged woman in her teen body fell asleep quickly.
Shego sprinted down the main hallway of her school trying to get to the gymnasium before the Cheer Regional's finished; the cheers, applause and booming music reverberating all around. The teen had promised to be there to watch her lead the cheer squad to victory. As the anxious sprinter rounded a corner and approached the gym doors everything became silent; suddenly overcome with loneliness the young woman realized she had broken her promise and missed the competition. Nonetheless the teen entered the gym, elbowing past the people leaving, making it inside just in time to see a flash of red hair as the door to the locker room closed. She heard a loud sharp whistle and the distraught teen turned to see her self out on the gym floor wearing a green and black cheerleader's outfit, clutching matching pompoms, her long hair done in a high ponytail with bangs almost covering her eyes. With an enthusiastic smile the doppelganger gives thumbs up before skipping jauntily off to the locker room. Shego turned towards the stands and locked gazes with an East-Asian man wearing a gold-trimmed red caftan, his dark hair done in a topknot. Feeling she knows the man from somewhere Shego decided to ask him his name; raising her arm and she opened her mouth…
…and let loose with a deep, lung cleansing yawn, her body stretching luxuriously in the Possible's guest bed. Laying there she pondered the dream, 'Well that one was different…that must be Jhessy in the dream, she always wanted to be a cheerleader when she got to college…the old guy I know from somewhere but the memory is hazy.'
Looking out the window Shego realized it was close to dawn; deciding to check on the kids she got up. She padded along on bare feet as she checked on the boys then proceeded to Kim's room. She looked inside to see the girls sleeping in the traditional manner for a sleepover, under a blanket tent on the floor. She approached the girls and saw them sleeping, each facing the other, Amanda's head tucked neatly under her friend's chin. Shego reached under the tent carefully, retrieved the flashlight and turned it off. She also picked up the tween magazine they were looking at and saw an article about an up and coming singer named Brittina and sighed with a slight feeling of loss and regret, 'Jhessy and me would do stuff like this all the time…why am I remembering all this now?'
Suddenly aware of a powerful need for caffeine, Shego proceeded quietly to the kitchen; although it had been cleaned up, the damage from the rockets was well evident. A bit of hunting on her part the night before had turned up an old style percolator. After filling it up she set it on the stove to boil, losing herself to the sound of the water bubbling rhythmically and the aroma of coffee brewing. So immersed was the teen in the brewing she did not hear Ann enter the kitchen, jumping when she heard, "That smells wonderful Jhessa, you're a life saver; I think I'll keep you," and with a mischievous smirk she added, "You know, that shirt looks pretty good on you, even if a little long."
Embarrassed the still groggy young woman explained, "Kimmie got it for me when I mentioned I had nothing to sleep in."
With a sly look Ann continued, "Did she give you the matching thong?" Shego's eyebrows rising to hide behind her bangs caused the redhead to laugh, "You might want to change out of that before James gets home, that's his favourite one." Looking around the kitchen as she approached the sitter the mother commented, "Hmm, looks like Jim and or Tim let a project get a little out of hand last night."
"Yeah, exploding rockets, destroyed coffee maker, smoke alarm…"
"…Jhessa, your face is cut."
"Yeah, Kimmie cleaned them up nice for me."
Taking Jhessa's chin gently with her hand and turning the young woman's head Ann peered closely at the teen's face, the surgeon expressing concern, "Yes she did. But why do the edges of some of the deeper cuts appear to be turning green?"
The first day of middle school was a mixed bag for the friends from Middleton Elementary. Although the excitement of exploring a new environment, meeting new teachers and making new friends was evident, there was also serious tension in the air. Word about what happened the week before between Ron, Amanda, Kim and Arnie had spread quickly; Arnie's absence explained by dramatic speculations of what Kim had probably done to him. Questions asked of the bully's closest friend, Nate, earned only silence further fuelling the gossip mill. Kim and Bonnie's dislike for each other was well known to their friends; however, the barely restrained animosity of the redhead to her acerbic rival that day was unprecedented. Bonnie was herself confused by the mutterings of something being her fault.
Things came to a head after school as Kim and Ron were passing Bonnie, with her posse du jour, under a tree, Bonnie making a snide comment about the blond's sling, "What happened, loser, fall out of a tree this summer?"
Already tweaked from the day's tension, Kim slammed her adversary into the tree; raising her fist she was pleased to see terror in the teal eyes, "It's your fault what happened to them!" Around her, the angry girl could vaguely hear a frantic chorus of "…no Kim, don't…." Suddenly the green-eyed girl felt someone grab her arm, yanking her forcefully away saying, "Come on KP, I've got something really cool to show you."
Ron managed, by hanging on with both hands, despite his school bag hanging from his good elbow, to drag the furious girl a good block and a half, all the while listening to a string of invective he had never thought her capable of. From her point of view Kim was surprised at the strength her best friend exhibited dragging her away; even though she began calming down he still kept a solid grip on her fist. He held her hand all the way to his house.
Upon arriving home the two friends went to the kitchen, Ron quickly grabbing one his pain-killers and swallowing it with a glass of juice. Suddenly noticing the sling hanging loose off her friend's shoulder Kim realized he must have used both arms to drag her away from Bonnie, "Oh Ron, your shoulder, I'm so sorry!"
"That's okay KP, let's just wait awhile before our next wrestling match, okay?" smiling at his best friend the blond grabbed some cookies and poured milk into a water bottle, "Let's go to the tree house and enjoy some snackage. You'll have to help me up though KP."
Scampering up the tree with the snacks Kim then let down a rope and with her usual strength easily pulled Ron up. With the blond sitting at the end of the old couch the redhead assumed her usual position, laying on her back with her head on her friend's lap.
After eating the two remained quiet for a time, Ron stroking his friend's hair and gently massaging her scalp to relax her.
"Thanks for pulling me away from Bonnie, Ron. Beating the crap out of her probably wouldn't have been a good start to the school year for my rep, you're the best; I'm really sorry about your shoulder too."
"That's okay KP you know I've got your back. Oh, by the way I really do have something cool to show you," reaching into his shoulder bag he pulled out a package and handed it to his friend, "It's from Walter, he saw it at the souvenir shop when his family went to Yellowstone and knew you would like it. He said he spent his whole vacation allowance to buy it for you."
Sitting up Kim took the package and looked at it curiously, "No way, this is from Walter?" The package had 'Souvenir of Yellowstone Park' on the outside; opening it she discovered a soft plush bear with antlers, "Spankin', a 'Bearibou', but why?"
"Duh; KP he's been crushing on you since last year, don't tell me you never noticed."
"Well I always figured we were friends but personally, I never gave the boyfriend thing any serious thought; why didn't he give me this himself?"
"He was going to give it to you after school but his mother picked him up early, something about a changed dentist appointment. He wanted you to have it today so he asked me to give it to you."
She looked at the Bearibou for several moments, then in a small voice, "His entire vacation allowance, Ron?"
"That's what he said KP."
Kim held the Bearibou to her chest as she sat back and sighed contentedly, eyes glazed over; inside she felt an unfamiliar yet pleasant little flutter in her stomach. She totally ignored her friend's random discourse as she contemplated the significance of this unusual happening and the strange feelings it engendered.
No sooner had the word 'summer' been uttered than the teal-eyed girl saw a blur of movement and Possible had her pinned against a tree, knocking the breath out of her and making her eyes see stars for a moment. As her vision cleared she saw a furious Kim with her fist poised to strike. The brunette may have considered herself the redhead's social and intellectual superior however she always knew that her rival could pound her into the dirt without breaking a sweat. She could hear voices asking Kim not to do it; however she was not counting on them holding any sway; for one of the few times in her life Bonnie Rockwaller was terrified. Suddenly, the loser did something useful for a change; he managed to drag his friend away.
A few minutes after, although still shaking, Bonnie assured the other girls she was alright, posturing about all the legal troubles Kim was in for assaulting her. Off to one side she noticed Nate looking at her while shuffling nervously; moving to him she demanded, "What are you staring at loser?"
Almost in deference he answered, "Arnie'd want me to see you was alright."
"Whatev', where is he anyway?"
"Dunno everything but I thinks his dad finally got him good 'cause I saw the police take him away and the ambulance take Arnie and his mom."
Teal eyes widening she demanded, "Tell me everything, start at the beginning."
"It was last week while you was gone to dance camp. Arnie decided to take your advice and call out Possible by beating up Stoppable figurin' she'd lose without teachers to back her up. Anyways, we got hold of Ron and Amanda and got em good."
"That's not what I said, the idiot. I said for him to pick on Stoppable on the first day of school to provoke Possible into taking a swing at him. Then she'd have the bad rep for the rest of middle school. I tried to sink it into his head, Kim doesn't need backup winning fights, she is that good; and Possible takes it very personal if someone hurts her best friend."
"Yeah, no kiddin'."
Impatiently and with a hint of desperation Bonnie prompts Nate, "So what's this about an ambulance?"
Nate scratched his head, "Well, all I knows is his dad was doin' a lot of yellin' then I heard gunshots, the cops showed up, there was this green lady with long hair…."
The girl suddenly felt her stomach drop in fear, "What do you mean gunshots? Do you know if Arnie's alright?"
"All I knows is he went in an ambulance and I ain't seen him since, 'though after the cops were done his mom came by a few times to pick up stuff."
Bonnie began to worry, "Do you think his mom might be there today?"
Nate shrugged, "Dunno."
Suddenly in a panic the girl dons her backpack and leaves Nate, jumping on her bike and racing for Arnie's house. Pulling into the yard and with faint hope Bonnie knocks on the front door. After several attempts with no answer she sits on the step feeling lost, eyes threatening to shed tears. Drawn to the approach of one of the next door neighbours, a very large, tall man with pale skin wearing large boots, Bonnie looked up. She always thought him pretty freaky although he was never less than polite and jovial.
"Hello there Miss; I've seen you before, you're a friend of Arnie's."
"Uh, hi. I sorta heard what happened; I was hoping to catch his mom to see if maybe there was a message for me or something."
"I'm sorry Miss, she came by this morning to tell me movers are coming to empty the house day after tomorrow; I don't think she and the kids are coming back."
In a daze the girl thanked the neighbour and rode her bike to the fitness trail; there she pushed it through the small path to Arnie's hideout. Dropping her bike she sat down at their favourite spot on a rock by a pine tree. Feeling sick to her stomach Bonnie tried to digest what she just heard that afternoon.
'I wish I knew what happened to you, where you are …are you even still alive…you may have been not much better than Stoppable, but you were still mine…yeah, you were a little creepy about women and such but I always thought that was just your dad talking,' looking down she examined her pedicured feet in flat sandals with teal nail polish to match her eyes, 'You gave the weirdest compliments, you said I had pretty feet; I actually went with mom to get a mani and pedi then wore sandals for school today…who am I gonna talk to now you're gone…you always listened to how horrible my sisters were to me, you even gave me a hug when I needed one…and you'd tell me how bad your dad would treat your family and show me the bruises…and the new bruises on top of the old ones and I'd get angry for the bruises Possible would add to those,' tears began to trickle slowly down her cheeks as she opened her backpack and with near reverence withdrew two particular items of interest, 'I knew you were always sore so I bought pain killers with my allowance and snuck them to you at school and some juice boxes to wash them down with...of course always yourfaves…'
'…I don't want you to leave…'
Alone within a copse of trees, clutching the small bottle of pills and box of juice to her chest, the little brown-haired girl sobbed quietly.
The present: the Yamanouchi Archival Reliquary
The master sensei of the Yamanouchi School stared incredulously at the apparent intruder to the supposedly most secure room at the school. A quick glance showed nothing appeared to have been disturbed, including the Lotus Blade. The visitor was an elderly man of wizened countenance, a clean shaven jaw and pate and wearing an identical red caftan with gold trim except for the sleeves seeming less voluminous: an archaic affectation that denoted one of lesser social status.
"Loremaster Chen, does your return from the Astral Plane suggest what I fear it does," queried Sensei.
Loremaster Chen bowed deeply, "Grand Loremaster Hayashimizu-sensei: the boon asked of Her Serenity the Dragon Empress by the Monkey King has been granted. The Empress has bestowed a Dragon Glowstone to the most recent descendant of Xi-Gau. Sensei, the Monkey Master's warden of the realms, the Dragon Ninja walks again and she has been using the Tempus Simia."
Operational Log
Wade Load, Overall Commander of The Resistance recording:
The Supreme One's interaction with a pre-hero Kim Possible is not only curious but confusing as well. The Supreme One's conquests at this point in time are near complete however there is no evidence of Kim's presence since her tween years. We can only hope she is just lost in the time stream and that nothing more serious has happened to her.
Summary of Neural Scan #8
I wish I could interpret the time scale between the peaks of activity of the ghost brainwave relative to JJ's. Although there are only two more, albeit very large, spikes before the ghost signals are done with these spikes of neural activity appear to have a very high emotional quotient. I fear for my niece's mental stability; Kasey and Agent Jones have reported instances when Jhessa seems to be holding small conversations with an imaginary person.
And then there is an unexpected factor to consider. Ann. Her inviting me for a coffee to unwind after saving JJ in emergency was unexpected enough and for all intents and purposes could have passed for a friendly chat…relaxing…almost soothing…at least for my part. Being smitten by her didn't help my case any. In reality it was a rigorous and pointed questioning of what exactly was happening with Jhessa's brain that night. That woman's knowledge of the inner workings of a human brain is astounding and some of her questions were barely within my understanding to even answer. I pulled the 'it's a superhero thing' card a number of times and I can only hope she accepted that at face value.
Ann Possible is too intelligent and perceptive by half. If her daughter is anything like her mother, between the two of them, my niece better watch her step.
A/N
Monica 'Monnie' Rockwaller: She has been a close friend to Ann since high school.
Sherri and Terri: Amanda's twin older sisters; Sherri is the older twin and more down to earth; Terri is gregarious and somewhat flighty in personality.
Bearibou: A Cuddlebuddy cross between a bear and a caribou.
Shego's pre-flight routine: 'spool up' – start up the jet engines; 'times seven' - G-force compensator which can handle up to fourteen G's; 'IFCS' - Integrated Flight Control System which allows voice input to control the aircraft; 'battle' - advanced combat features such as point defense lasers and force shield; 'stab ready' – weapons stabilization, allows pilot to aim weapons by turning her head and looking at her target; 'emergency up' - warms up a mundane, secondary flight control system in case of main computer failure; 'drift eliminated'- aircraft navigation computer has aligned itself, it is independent of satellite GPS; 'owl' – nickname for stealth mode; 'hummingbird' – nickname for hover mode; 'script' – pre-programmed flight plan
'Pinky and the Brain': © Warner Bros.
Disclaimer: Kim Possible belongs to Disney, only the story is mine, I'm just doing this for fits and giggles.
The plot bunny for this story was originally conceived by the last scene in "The Twin Factor" with additional inspiration from "A Sitch in Time" and "Stop Team Go".
Also, my thanks to all those who read and reviewed.