Can I Be Your Sidekick?

by Old Soldier

With the help of a time travelling monkey idol, conquering the world's no big; Shego's done it six times already. The sitch...hanging on to it. Seventh time's the charm? Maybe; perhaps training a new sidekick is in order. Slightly AU. Some Kigo later, Kimmie's only ten now.

5. Her Emerald Radiance

Can I Be Your Sidekick?

Chapter 5

Her Emerald Radiance…

Journal

She gets up promptly in the morning at the first buzz of her alarm; I'm quite sure snooze buttons are a foreign concept to her. Facing the day with gas tanks full and batteries fully charged, she takes on the day with gusto; cheerful, focused and always ready to lend a hand, she does not stop until she chooses to. Even when she's rushed she still has a grip on everything within her sphere of influence. And here I thought I had my act together. I swear she has a fusion power reactor in each leg. And Kimmie is no different except she's a little slower out of the sack, her temper is worse and she can't cook.

However, I sense there is an underlying 'something' to this frenetic pace the Possible women maintain. I don't need them to burn out; I just might assign my Psi-Ops people to keep an eye on them.

Khmer Yu stood forlornly in the security centre of the last bastion of what had been one of the most powerful factions in a criminal cartel that controlled the bulk of illicit activity in Southeast Asia. This particular site had been chosen for his seat of power because of its strength, having been a series of military bunkers and tunnels dating to the civil war back in the seventies, declared 'surplus' by the corrupt general of the local military district. It was pretty much invulnerable to attacks by rivals or the barely adequate military and law enforcement, the network of tunnels, chambers and bunkers providing ample space for his seat of operations. And up until recently he was at the top of the food chain, second only to the overall boss of the entire cartel. Now he awaited the last push into his compound by strange foreign mercenaries.

Things had begun getting complicated when the higher level political functionaries within his domain, although still taking bribes, began redirecting said funds into social programs for the population; curious. Sometime later those same self-indulgent governments developed a social conscience and began cracking down on his operations, his moles slowly being revealed and arrested; enforcers sent to remind said crusaders of the errors of their ways met with, at best, mixed results.

Yu's fortunes really started going downhill after a large and intimidating Chinese business man by the name of Simi Yan announced he was now in charge of the entire cartel through a hostile takeover, the claim backed up by the presentation of the severed heads of the former boss of the cartel and the local provincial governor. The new crime tsar demanded the retrieval of a certain priceless artefact in the form of a jade monkey idol as a gesture of Khmer's loyalty.

Uncharacteristically intimidated, Khmer sent a group of his men to raid an ancient temple hidden away in a remote part of the Cambodian jungle. It seemed strangely devoted to the worship of some monkey god. Exploring the temple was expensive as several men fell to cunning and brutal booby traps; yet in the end they retrieved the desired relic. An ancient monk who was apparently minding the temple was also brought back. He called himself Chen, caretaker of the ancient shrine. The ascetic warned the theft of the idol would incur the wrath of the Monkey Master who in turn would direct his warden of the realm, Her Emerald Radiance the Dragon Ninja Xi Gau, to retrieve it. It was foretold a great evil would beset the earth and the Mystical Monkey Master, with his companions, Her Crimson Brilliance and Her Emerald Radiance would sally forth to meet and defeat the darkness; the jade idol was pivotal to the Monkey Master's efforts.

Although sceptical, Khmer Yu was aware of the local legends and figured if the government got wind of it they might use this occurrence as an added excuse to rally even more public support for a concerted crusade against his operations. He decided to secret the idol in his deepest bunker, terminating with extreme prejudice any man involved in the recovery, keeping the old monk alive for leverage just in case, all the while waiting for the return of Simi Yan.

Not long after, all government operations against his facilities stopped abruptly, replaced by what seemed at first to be an international law enforcement agency; Global Justice they were not for this organization worked with efficiency uncharacteristic of that overly bureaucratic entity. Within weeks his lower level endeavours had all but disappeared; drug labs, slave trading, gun runners and countless other assets. It did not appear to be a simple takeover, for every facet of his infrastructure was systematically obliterated instead of captured, his people disappearing without a trace. After a while he began thinking it was the new cartel boss double crossing him, especially since getting hold of him proved fruitless; however, with each loss came rumours of green and black clad 'dragon' soldiers throwing green fire from their hands.

The local monks took the stories and ran with it, telling the grass roots population that the Dragon Ninja had returned to purge the evil operating from the shadows, and that the Monkey Master would soon follow to return peace and prosperity. Khmer Yu was a cynical yet practical man, realizing that as improbable as the stories were to him he was aware of how strongly the people believed and that would be a problem. The stories could not be verified to his satisfaction since none of his of his people seemed to escape these operatives. His best guess being particularly adept mercenaries with lots of money behind them; again, his informants were disappearing without a trace and he was operating practically blind.

The raids on the larger and better fortified facilities came with even more bizarre stories of an actual dragon appearing out of thin air and blasting everything with its green fire; even the subterranean strongholds were no match for the so-called dragon's breath. Again, everything was flattened into useless rubble. Observers claimed to have seen the dragon alight upon the ground only to change into a beautiful woman with glowing green eyes and hands, her body covered in dark green and black scales which seemed impervious to conventional weapons.

The soon to be deposed drug lord glanced down on the desk before him at what could pass for a large mah-jong tile made of jade, inlaid with a five-talon dragon claw of onyx surrounded by an emerald inlay of green flames below which was written in Chinese ~Return the sacred monkey~.

Sighing, Khmer Yu returned his gaze to the security monitors. As soon as word of dragon disciples reached the ears of the henchmen in his group the ones composed of local thugs vanished leaving him with only the professional mercenaries in his employ. Being more stalwart and practical they figured the dragon to be a stealth aircraft of some sort since, in their professional opinions, actual cloaking was still relegated to science fiction shows; once it showed up they were prepared to down it with shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles.

Khmer Yu watched the developing battle on his security monitors. His opponent's henchmen were the ones referred to as Dragon Disciples, dressed in green and black body armour with gloves firing very effective and long ranged bolts of green energy. However, even the cameras could discern the gloves to be high tech devices; the soon-to-be-former drug lord was impressed yet still unconvinced as to the supernatural nature of his opponent. That is until he actually saw the dragon itself while observing the raid on his lair.

A shimmering in the air directly in front of one of his cameras caught his attention. Focusing those cameras, he watches what appears to be a long, sinuous Chinese dragon materializing directly in front of his larger bunkers. Although it had the basic body there were major differences. The head was that of a pale skinned woman with flaming green eyes and a fang-filled mouth outlined in black, her raven mane trailing from her head along the spine to the end of her tail. The scales seemed of an odd colouration of dark green and black arrayed in a strange pattern, the sunlight scintillating along them as it flowed its way lithely through the air; the whole anatomy enrobed in lurid, wispy flames of translucent green.

No sooner did it appear than its maw opened wide, as if to swallow the world whole, from which a large emerald green fireball spewed forth; the sphere, speckled within by roiling black bubbles, steadily grew larger, an angry verdant blossom spreading its petals until the screen showed nothing but green. The video feed disappeared the moment a deep, crashing boom was heard followed closely by the ground trembling as the mysterious weapon hammered into his compound. The dragon disappeared as quickly as it appeared, the impact of the weapon obliterating its target.

It took less than a dozen such passes for the dragon to flatten his stronghold, annihilating his external facilities. Not long after, frantic radio reports of the dragon reappearing and landing in the rubble of the compound began coming in. The sporadic attempts to shoot at it proved ineffective and only managed to draw the attention of the Dragon Disciples as dozens of green energy bolts converged on the shooters. Even more incredible were the ensuing reports of the monster disappearing again only to leave behind a dragon woman standing in its place. The crime boss had trouble believing the radio reports since video coverage of that area of his compound was gone however he began puffing more nervously on cigarettes as his people sent messages of the dragon woman, allegedly impervious to small arms fire and dealing out green energy more powerful than those of her troops, leading the assault into the remains of the bunkers and tunnels.

Now, with all escape routes closed off and most of his troops neutralized all he could do was to await the inevitable.

The sound of fighting drew the middle-aged man's attention to the entry of the security chamber and tunnel beyond. He could hear shouts, yells and screams of pain among the staccato burps of submachine guns, the loud pop of pistols, the sharp bang of hand grenades and the dull crack and thump of the energy gloves. However, there was now a strong female voice shouting as if giving orders and loud whooshing immediately preceding tremor inducing crashing booms. Silence ensued after a few more similar detonations.

The underworld tsar looked about the chamber at the hostages guarded by a squad of his best men, the most important captive being the ancient monk; behind a computer console lay a strongbox containing the jade monkey. A sudden motion from the doorway caught his attention and he beheld a shapely female form in black and green step quickly into the doorway, and to his shock, a volley of green bolts flew from outstretched gloveless hands rather than the usual single burst. Having taken out six of his twelve men she pulled back to the corridor, from where a sibilant voice spoke in Chinese, "~Return the monkey idol. ~"

Grabbing hold of the monk and pointing a pistol to his captive's head Khmer Yu called out in a hoarse voice, "~One more shot and I start killing hostages, send someone in to negotiate. ~"

A few moments later a male voice responds from the corridor, "Okay loser, we're sending someone in to negotiate."

Presently the crime boss perceives the same shapely female form step quickly through the doorway. His eyes widen as he realizes she appears to be the human form of the monstrous creature he had seen earlier. The scales merged seamlessly with pale skin, lightly tinged with green, at the neck, the face being a similar colour, her hair being a luxurious black mane shimmering with green highlights reaching to below her hips. The only item of clothing the drug lord could spy being a thin belt sporting a slightly oversized round buckle, and a small green pouch attached at the left ankle. He had no sooner thought to himself…"This must be the so-called dragon bitch"…when she cast her countenance upon the captor. The criminal leader was shocked to see the dragon's face before him, her eyes flaring angrily with a solid emerald green, there being neither pupils nor iris', accompanying a fang-filled feral grin and gloveless; clawed hands wrapped in translucent verdant auras. So distracted, he just barely noticed in time one of her clawed hands quickly point at him. His panicked shot at the scale-covered woman ricocheted off a faint, shimmering orange energy shield; the next colours he saw was the green that enveloped his world and the all encompassing black that ensued….

Some weeks earlier

The young CEO of GoCorp walked hesitantly out of the bedroom suite to her office in the penthouse atop the corporate tower and glared balefully at Jonesy and Kasey, "I am not a hundred per cent on this costume Jonesy; it pinches and the suit is a little too supple for my liking 'cause it clings a little too intimately to certain sensitive parts of my anatomy. And this outfit better breathe well; you do realize how hot and humid Cambodia is. And why did it have to be scales, I hate reptiles…snakes, lizards, alligators…everything I imagined was under my bed ready to eat me when I was a kid… Shego shuddered involuntarily, "And this whole plan sounds too much like something Drakken might've come up with. If I hear the words 'It's simplicity itself…."

Still under his employer's glare the top operative replied, "That hurts ma'am. I concluded that authenticity was paramount; there has to be no doubt as to the veracity of the individual who claims to be the Dragon Ninja. Any clothing could be construed as part of a costume, hiding any discontinuities in the outfit thus raising doubts. Under close scrutiny the outfit's ability to conform to each body contour will enhance its appearance as a skin of scales and a light application of your Team Go makeup will complete the ensemble."

With a smirk Kasey added, "And besides, we took an idea from that shape-shifting girl in that Mutant Men movie and made sure all the naughty bits had a few more scales added to cover them up." Slinking up close to her boss the redhead adds with a sultry voice, "Miss Jhessa, I'm wondering if I could ask a favour; I know Hallowe'en is still a couple of months away but I don't know if I'll be able to get a date."

The costumed woman's eyes widened in surprise, "You want me to be your date?"

"Well not really but we'd sure be a sight with you as the dragon, me as the damsel in distress with Jonesy here as the valiant white knight."

Taken aback the CEO responds, "Umm, I already promised to help the Possibles with their first annual 'Scare for Care' Hallowe'en haunted house."

From behind she heard Jonesy cough discretely as he reflected upon how well the scaly body covering clung to every single physical contour intimately, "Far be it for me to sound prudish ma'am, but your attire leaves maybe less than five per cent to the imagination. Perhaps a modest amount of clothing to cover the bare essentials might be in order if you plan to be around children for a time."

The scaly-skinned woman rolled her eyes, "Doi, I'm supposed to be a college student studying to be a teacher, remember? Anyway, let's focus here."

Shego's secretary held up a small box, "Here are some reptile eye contacts to complete the outfit Miss Jhessa."

The costumed woman smirked, "Got one better for ya." She briefly closed her eyes and upon opening them they glowed a solid emerald, "Not bad, huh?"

Even the normally unflappable Agent Jones appeared impressed, "How did you learn that?"

"Don't know; I woke up really stressed from a bad dream a little while ago and when I looked in the mirror on my dresser my eyes were glowing…anyway, what's the deal in Cambodia?"

Looking at a dossier in his hands, Agent Jones reported, "As you well know, ma'am, it was an amazing coincidence the pacification of Cambodia's government with the Mark III Neurocompliance Chips ran consecutively with the study of the ancient texts of the Mystical Monkey Power; we would not have noticed the acquisition of the monkey idol by Khmer Yu."

Shego's brow furrowed as she began pacing, the padded soles to her outfit silencing her footsteps, "That's what's got me tweaked; in all the previous time streams Monty found and acquired all the idols and in a few of them Kimmie helped retrieve the last one…as happened originally. All Monty worried about was paying off a local drug lord and the provincial governor and once that was done he was left alone. Someone else having the idols throws everything off; there must be some reason. So who's this Simi Yan joker?"

"All we know is he commandeered the overall cartel in a extremely hostile takeover and renamed it the Yono Consortium about a few months or so ago; since then the focus of the organization is on terrorism," Agent Jones cocked his head in thought for a moment, "Actually, it's more like random destruction; there appears to be no pattern to the scope of these acts and apparently he's not showing any fear of neither police nor military responses. Even Brotherson is at a loss concerning Yan's origins and motives other than his showing up about a year ago…"

At the mention of Yono the young woman ceased her pacing her face took on a grim cast. As Jonesy continued his discourse her mind went back to the time stream Monkey Fist awoke the Yono; not only did the creature destroy her empire, it was obliterating the planet.

"…and with the Neurocompliance Chips in place we 'encouraged' all the local governments to launch an offensive against the criminal operations within their jurisdictions. We manipulated the general population with the legends of the Mystical Monkey Master sending his servant, the Dragon Ninja, to rescue a sacred monkey idol and punish the defilers. By inserting our covert ops units as 'Dragon Disciples' to assist the government troops we're reinforcing the veracity of the legends. As it stands now, federal law enforcement and the military are holding positions; only the three biggest compounds controlled by Khmer Yu are left."

The young CEO recovered enough from her funk to acknowledge the conversation, "Yeah, yeah I get it Jonesy; if the people, and more importantly the monks, see the Dragon Ninja rescue the sacred idol and return it to the temple they will more likely be cooperative. So I ask them to guard the idol more diligently against all but Monty and Kimmie. I know how important it is for Monty to find and collect the idols. I know how very important it is for Kimmie to retrieve that last idol for him and it's beyond critical for the buffoon to get the Mystical Monkey Power. I think I know more than anyone else. Jonesy, you were with me during the Lorwardian invasion in the other time stream; no shiv but it was a balls nasty fight back to the Time Monkey. If the Lorwardians came in that time stream they will in this one, it's only a matter of when. And now you're telling me we may be dealing with Yono. We'll need Kimmie and the sidekick more than ever now because together they…are…that…good. With the holographic projector on Jhessy to disguise her as a flying dragon and me with my glow and Zorpox belt buckle shield projector we should make a convincing impression when we make an appearance at each takedown."

"Yes ma'am. The psi-ops people assure us playing into the legends will capture the people's imagination; encouraging and supporting them in the removal of undesirable elements from society will instill a sense of accomplishment. The improvements in their standards of living through our standard socio-economic development protocols will be quietly accredited to GoCorp with subtle insinuations of the divine beneficence the Monkey Master thus enhancing the loyalty base."

"So what's gonna be the take away from Yu's operations, Jonesy?"

The top corporate operative of GoCorp flips to another page, "The liquid assets measure up to just north of half a billion including hard currency, precious metals, gems, stocks and bonds. Assuming our manpower estimates of Yu's operations are correct we could come away with a few thousand worker drones; I believe we have more than enough obedience collars and Mark I Neurocompliance chips…."

The agent's discourse ceased as Kasey responded to the buzz of the intercom, "Yes?"

A male voice replied, "Its Dr. Marconi. I have the technical summary and the new prototype as ordered."

The red haired receptionist replied cheerfully with her lilting Irish brogue, "Come on up luv."

Shortly after, the elevator could be heard opening from the reception area below the penthouse office suite. The wide-eyed, stunned expression of the scientist as he reached the top of the spiral staircase and entered the office level was too much for the costumed woman to ignore. Eyes still aglow, she flashed a predatory, fang filled grin and sashayed over to hiss in his ear, "Well hell-llo, doc-tor."

With a gloating laugh, the emerald eyed woman adroitly snatched a slim box about a foot long and a tablet computer from the arms of the man as he collapsed in a faint; walking back to her assistants, she notices Agent Jones' cocked eyebrow and the disapproving glare of her receptionist, "Hey, I'm in charge, I can have some fun once in a while if I want. Ya got a problem take it up with the union…ooo…wait we don't have a union…too bad."

Placing the box on her desk Shego begins reading data from the tablet, interspersing impatient hand twirling with a mumbled 'blabbedy-blah-blah'. With a smile of anticipation the young woman trades the computer for the box and opens it to reveal a pair of supple black gauntlets made of Kevlar with the back of the hand covered in what appeared to be a fine weave of glass-like fibres. She looked with approval at the shiny new prototype in her hands; it was the latest version of the power glove which mimicked her glow. The first production models were heavy gauntlets which had a tri-lithium power source attached to the top of the glove behind the wrist with the projector at the knuckles. The new version resembled her gloves right down to the claws. The glass weave was a modified solar powered self perpetuating power core which charged a capacitor woven into the gauntlet above the wrist.

The young CEO addressed her assistants, "I was in one of the cafeterias downstairs having lunch a while back going through brochures on new sunlamps. So anyway, this young intern from Marconi's department sits down across from me and we end up talking lamps and how therapeutic a good toasting was. After a little bit he got this far off look to his face then buggered off."

"Basically, I like the sun; I really get a boost from spending a day catching rays and I mean sun-up to sundown because I don't sunburn and most interestingly my glow is stronger. However, I tend to wear one piece swimsuits because if I wear something like a bikini I tend to…how shall I say…get a little too toasted…." Shego stops talking when she notices Kasey unsuccessfully attempt to stifle a giggle, "Okay, what's up with you?"

Trying to speak coherently through her mirth Kasey explains, more for Agent Jones' benefit, "Oh we're talking so beyond toasted; had I not been with Miss Jhessa the entire time I would've thought her drunk. I might add she gets a little frisky as well."

Watching her boss' eyebrows attempting to migrate to her scalp the office manager continued with a smirk, "In the French Riviera she was wearing a one piece and late in the afternoon managed to pick up this French hairstylist from Paris named François; she loved what he did with her hair…among other things. Another time was in Greece, same thing only the fellow's name was Midas…she apparently also likes men with big hands. Samoa was a little more fun. We played truth or dare the night before a planned beach outing the next day and she accepted a dare…to wear a microkini on the beach the next day." Noticing the sudden glaze to her male compatriot's eyes Kasey quips, "Yes luv, our boss in a microkini…haul your tongue back in, keep your teeth together and try not to drool."

With a smug look the secretary continues, "Well, by early afternoon the lewd comments about the male beach goers was most entertaining… you know, she can make up rhymes off the top of her head…and our employer has a rather broad vocabulary when it comes to assessing eye candy."

A sudden groan from a slowly recovering Dr. Marconi catches Shego's attention prompting a quick bolt of kinetic plasma to knock him out again, "Sorry doc, private talkie here."

Shaking her head Kasey continues, "Anyway, by the late afternoon she begins assessing the women as well and what's worse is she's acting like some giddy high school girl. Then she wants to head to muscle beach to check out the weightlifters, you know, maybe pick up a nice buff guy for the weekend. Anyways, after embarrassing all those two-legged steroid cocktails with her apparently 'au-naturel' power-lifting prowess she leaves with a classic Polynesian beauty no less."

With a glint of mischief in her blue eyes Kasey skips over to her compatriot; with a smirk she puts her hands behind her back. She leans close to the agent's ear and keeping a watch on her employer speaks with a stage whisper, "She had a beautiful smile and an engaging personality…fine black hair in a loose ponytail that hung halfway down her back…about five foot three or four with a slim figure with all the curves in the right places…a little small up top but that didn't seem to bother our boss at all. She was very fit and the way she cheered Miss Jhessa on I tagged her for a cheerleader; it turns out she's a personal trainer and loves putting her clients through their paces until they get it perfect, or so she said."

Kasey turned to her employer, "Needless to say picking up that girl, whose name is Janet by the way, was a breeze after that demonstration…heh, after that demonstration she was just drooling to find out what made you so good. That's the last I saw of you for the rest of the weekend."

Shego was incredulous, "Wait a minute; I admit that weekend is somewhat of a blur, but first of all I don't swing that way and second I'm sure I'd remember that 'cause right now I sure as hell don't…unless I was drunk…but I can't get drunk."

"Well Miss Jhessa it seems to me you like to cross the fence once in a while and that's not the only time...and besides, I have pictures."

"Wait…what?" responded Shego weakly as the glow dissipated from her eyes.

"Between the two of you and copious use of the timer function you two topped up a couple of memory cards…I have them in protective custody for now."

With an impish grin the blue-eyed receptionist moves her lips close to the ear of the now dazed man, her words a mere breath, "Imagine me boyo, photo after photo of two athletically toned nubile young women, graceful limbs intertwined in ways one would not think anatomically feasible…long silky hair disheveled and matted to skin drenched in sweat…reveling in the gentle ministrations of hands, lips and tongues…faces expressing in turn lust, pleasure, contentment, bliss…."

Clenching her fists by her side the green woman growls her frustration, "Rrrgh…okay Kasey, I think we get the picture and I think you just broke Jonesy's mind…I don't think we need to hear anymore…"

"…I could stand to hear a little more…" the security operative muttered flatly, his eyes having taken on the thousand yard stare. At that moment it dawned on Agent Jones that thought was the kind that should not have been expressed with an outside voice, the realization pointedly punctuated by the sudden gush of giggles from the redhead compounded by the balefully withering glare of his boss and green glowing hands.

"…or maybe not."

"Okay, digressing…time to focus now," said a clearly irritated dragon lady. Turning to her desk she takes the pair of gauntlets and tosses them to her personal assistant, "Put these on."

"Sure, Miss Jhessa, but why?"

"Because I need someone who's not a trained and experienced fighter and you're the only one here that qualifies and is conscious at the moment. Tell me how they feel after you put them on."

With a skeptical expression Kasey dons the gauntlets, "Other than a brief tingling at the wrists they're light and very supple."

The former mercenary explained, "The current gloves issued to the special ops guys use a battery and although it packs a punch can only provide discrete kinetic bolts as a ranged weapon and of course it eventually needs recharging. After our conversation on sun lamps that intern I spoke to got the idea of collecting the sun's energy directly without converting it to electricity and storing it in capacitors integrated within the gloves. They've always had a hard time reproducing the energy signature of my green glow, something about it comprising of several different frequencies going down to subatomic levels and other wachyamahooey they said shouldn't even exist naturally. The young guy stumbled upon a solution just from discussing sun lamps."

Turning to her receptionist Shego raises one of her hands, "Kasey, hold your hands up."

As soon as this was done the green woman lights up her hand, a few moments later the new gloves are encompassed within their own glows causing the older woman to jump with a shriek. Grinning broadly the CEO douses her plasma and enjoys the panicked expression on her employee, "Kasey, just think about turning it off."

After the new gloves switched off the costumed woman leads her cohorts to the adjoining exercise room where a specially constructed target was built into one of the walls. Raising one arm she fires off a weak kinetic bolt at the bulls eye, "Repeat what I just did Kasey…just think about it a bit." Both assistants were surprised when a similar bolt fired from the new glove on Kasey's hand, although the bull's eye was missed.

As she lit up her left hand Shego grabs her black ops facilitator's hand with her own and sticks it into the glow.

Jonesy's initial discomfiture turned into confusion.

Holding the man's hand firmly Shego looks at her top agent, "What do you feel?"

Still startled the man answers in awe, "Umm, I thought it would burn; all I feel is really intensely uncomfortable pins and needles and only a little warmth."

Shego explained, "This is the easiest version, I can light up my hands like this with little more thought than I give to walking and maintain it indefinitely. It's basically a kinetic enhancer, it's like having a hundred pound dumbbell in my fist when I punch something. I can make it softer or harder with no more thought than if I chose to walk faster or slower. Launching a bolt is hardly any more difficult but I still have to practice my aim on a regular basis, just like a major league pitcher. There are no incendiary effects, it merely beats through stuff like a big hammer on steroids; it's the easiest setting to fight with since I barely have to think about it."

"Kasey that tingling you felt at the wrists was the new neural interface that Marconi's department modified from a mind control chip only it works in reverse. Its operations are designed to deal only within the operating parameters of the gloves so it kept down the complexity. The old gloves were fired by pressing a trigger and the batteries could only shoot bolts; now the power collector with the capacitor allows the development of an actual plasma glow around the fist giving the troops an advantage in melee. The whole point of the exercise is to have some of the flexibility I have."

Jonesy piped in, "What about the times I've seen you cut stuff with your glow?"

Releasing his hand Shego's plasma shifts from a light green translucent flame-like sphere to a dense, dark green glow surrounding a finger tip, "If the kinetic force came as easily as walking the cutting plasma is like going jogging; as simple as walking but takes more effort. And, just like jogging, can be done with little thought other than where you want to apply it but it is a little more physically demanding and of course I can apply it at range. R and D can't replicate it; had I put your hand in that they would be calling you lefty. Marconi says the energy signature isn't just complicated, he swears it's not from this reality. Trying to create the effect with how we generate power, even with the new glove idea, he says is like trying to run a fusion reactor on a cup of kerosene. Follow me, very few have ever seen this before."

Going out to Jhessy's landing pad the scale covered woman turns to face away from the building. Cupping her hands close together she focuses briefly and creates a brightly glowing, neon green sphere of energy. Shego tosses the globe high in the air where it explodes with an intensely bright flash and thundering boom, the blast wave clearly and strongly felt by all on the roof.

Turning to her stunned cohorts the raven-haired woman explains, "No more complicated than walking but now I exert like I'm running a hundred yard sprint with the expected effect, I'll start feeling wiped out if I continue making bombs over a period of time. As you can see the results are spectacular; it detonates on impact or if I think of a delay interval when I create one. But if you leave it the energy will just bleed off gradually and dissipate. I haven't played with it enough to figure out my limits yet."

"Jonesy, you remember us fighting through the Lorwardian lines to get back to the Time Monkey…I didn't have that much trouble taking out the support troops…it was the front line infantry who were just plain tough. They could take a beating from my kinetic glow but I could still take one down with a lot of work…unfortunately there were always more than one around. On the other hand, even though their battle walkers were immune to artillery, missiles and armour piercing rounds made of depleted uranium I could punch through their hide with a glowing fist…my Go Team glow is the only weapon that has shown any effectiveness so far."

"Oh yeah… Kasey? Email Employee Compensation and tell them to add a zero to the paycheques of Marconi's department as a completion bonus; add another zero on top to our good doc for having the good form of giving credit where it's due and three zeros for our intrepid intern…for that matter email Human Resources and have him hired on fulltime...and I want those memory cards."

Walking to her nearby jet Shego gazes at a streamlined pod attached to the belly. Looking up she speaks, "Jhessy?"

"Yeah sis?"

"What's the downlo on the new toy?"

"Other than the fact I feel like a pregnant whale carrying this weapon pod attached to my belly…like couldn't they make it fit my weapons bay?"

"Jhessy," groused Jhessa.

"Composure sis, its aces for the most part; but keeping the capacitors charged for a firing sequence means I can't owl if we want to hammer something; as it is playing dress up will be borderline during an attack. We'll be visible for the time it takes to apply property damage but unless the spuds are quick on the draw we can billy out before they regain composure. And I love the holo projection of me as a dragon; it's so totally coo-oo."

With an evil hiss and flaring eyes Shego responded, "Aces Jhessy, let's go have a blast."

The offensive against Khmer Yu's remaining facilities went almost flawlessly with casualties among the Dragon Disciples minimal. Shego with Jhessy, provided air support; the new weapon when set at maximum proving effective at smashing its targets, regardless of the hardness or depth of the fixture. A milder burst on a wide spread could neutralize troops in the open for subsequent capture. The raven-haired former mercenary's Dragon Disciples affectionately referring to the green ball of energy as 'The Hammer'. To enhance the drama the acting dragon would descend cloaked whereupon the costumed battle captain would disembark. As the cloaked aircraft lifted vertically the departing cloak would lift with it, exposing Her Emerald Radiance as if she appeared out of thin air. As much as she loved to fly, the green-eyed woman loved to scrap even more, mixing it up alongside her dragon disciples, knowing all too well leading by example only enhanced the image she was trying to present to the locals. Shego wanted to make sure she was at the head of her troops upon cornering her prey….

The scaled leader looked over the destroyed remnants of the last defensive position before Khmer Yu's security control room, casually noting her people affixing obedience collars to the captured henchmen prior to leading them away. Marching ahead, Shego saw the lead squad deploying around the entrance to the last hold-out of the crime boss and approached the team leader, speaking through her fangs with an eager hiss, "Ok spud, now that we're through playing silly bugger, what's the sitch?…damn, I did not just say that again; no shiv but Princess' tween slang is gonna billy my composure…."

The Dragon Disciple, dressed in the trademark black and green assault armour turned a ruggedly handsome, tanned face toward his employer, his greenish-blue eyes in a permanent squint from many years in the outdoors; raising a power-gloved hand he pointed with his thumb towards the entrance of the security room, "Just got set up boss, haven't had a chance to count bullet sponges yet."

Nodding, the glowing-eyed woman stepped around her trooper and glanced quickly into the room then stepped back, "Seven on the left and five on the right."

Moving rapidly back into the doorway Shego launches a volley of kinetic bolts into the room. Returning to stand against the wall next to her mercenary she remarked, "Four on the left, two on the right." Turning her head to the doorway she shouts in Chinese, "~Return the monkey idol~".

Khmer Yu's response was not surprising, "~One more shot and I start shooting hostages; send in someone to negotiate~".

The raven-haired boss glanced casually at her underling, "So Norman, you feel like developing those communication skills of yours?"

"Boss, my negotiating skills stop at shoot first and ask for more ammunition; besides I don't speak Chinese never mind Cambodian."

"He understands English."

Getting a silent stare from his leader the trooper rolls his eyes in exasperation, "Fine, whatever." Turning to the door he yells out, "Okay loser; we're sending someone in to negotiate." He looked back to face the raven-haired woman and quirked an eyebrow.

With a condescending nod…yeah, okay…and a wry smirk Shego powers up her hands and steps smartly into the control room….

Arm extended, Shego examines her handiwork. Satisfied Khmer Yu was out for the count she glances at the remaining six guards, "~ Anyone else want to negotiate? ~" Weapons were immediately discarded.

The Dragon Ninja called the all clear which brought the lead squad of her troopers swarming into the room. Approaching, Norman smirked at his leader's handiwork as he glanced at the unconscious Khmer Yu…loser, "So boss, where did you learn your negotiating skills?"

"High school," she replied flatly, "Is the registration team here?"

"Yeah, boss."

"Right, I want collars and Mark One's on all of these spuds except for Yu, he'll probably be more stubborn so he gets a Mark Two. I want collars first then I'll give a motivational speech before the chips are applied for interrogation." The squad leader's shout brought two un-armoured troopers carrying satchels hustling into the room. They immediately set about the task of affixing red collars to the necks of the hostages and guards; taking out electronic devices to scan and record the bar codes inscribed.

The monk bowing deeply caught her attention...Grovelling; yes, grovelling is good, we've missed it…and with a regal gesture indicated he should straighten.

"~May we speak in private Your Emerald Radiance? ~" the old man requested.

"~Shortly. ~"

About ten minutes later the last of the collars were affixed Shego spoke, "~Alright everybody, eyes on me. You used to work for Khmer Yu, now you're working for me. ~"

She opens the small cover to the large belt buckle at her waist and presses one of the buttons for about five seconds. The screams of agony are accompanied by the smell of singed flesh. "~Obedience collars, you'll learn to love them; not that you have a choice. ~ Okay boys, make with the chips."

The screams of agony as the collars were activated startled the venerable cleric as he retrieved the case to examine the jade monkey carefully. The ascetic, bald with a wispy goatee and wearing a red caftan trimmed in gold, smiled slightly as he spoke in English, "Your mastery of Chinese is commendable, however I believe for our discussion you would be more comfortable speaking English; would it not?"

"O-kay," responded Shego cautiously as she leaned back on one leg, placing hands on hips and dimming her eyes back to their normal state.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Chen, Mystical Monkey Monk and Senior Loremaster of the nearby Monkey Temple of the South Winds." Glancing over he observed Shego's people affix what appeared to be a little square stamp upon their foreheads and watched curiously as the eyes of the hostages turned a pale lavender, the iris' glowing a dull white. "First of all, if I may be so bold, to what purpose is that treatment of the hostages and guards?"

"Innocent hostages would most likely be drawn from the local population and aren't likely to be wearing expensive clothing and accessories from the Club Banana flagship store. These were Yu's best lieutenants, accountants, enforcers and chemists. Pretend they're hostages and they have a good chance of getting away to set up again and free their boss somehow." The young woman's explanation was interrupted briefly by a nearby technician scanning a bar code on the collar of one of the captives.

Glancing at the scanner he stated to the captive, "~You are now identified as soulless worker drone number 1445 and will answer to that designation; do you understand? ~"

With eyes that glowed an eerie lavender the new captive responded in a strangely upbeat tone of voice, "~I am now soulless worker drone number 1445. ~"

Noticing the questioning look from the monk Shego graced her visage with an evil smirk, "Whether they like it or not, they're under new management."

"Slaves?"

"They're just recently out of work. I'm providing a new job opportunity."

The squad leader shouts, "We're all done here boss, anything else?"

"Just make sure the nerdlingers check out the hard drives in here, Rockwaller."

Looking askance at the woman the elder continued his original discussion, "Since you have been perusing the ancient scrolls of the Mystical Monkey Master please allow me to be quite candid; you are not Her Emerald Radiance, Xi Gau, since she ascended approximately twenty-seven hundred years ago. However, from what I've seen of you recently and over the past number of time stream ventures, I firmly believe you are her descendant. And although she did have a very pale skin, with a hint of green, as you do, she did not have scales and even though she tended to dress provocatively her attire was certainly somewhat more modest by comparison."

"Say what?"

"Some thousands of years ago, a party of companions was sent by The Mystical Monkey King to this realm, through a round glowing white portal, to defend it against a looming evil. Your ancestor, Her Emerald Radiance Xi Gau, was one of them. The others were the Mystical Monkey Master, Te Raun; Her Crimson Brilliance the Princess Qei Pi,; their closest friends The Raven Mau Ning, an oracle whose gaze demanded 'tell me everything' and the court wizard Wei Da the Erudite. The last was a gifted healer, a young woman known as The Han. "

The old man continued, "I am one of five dedicated to the protection of all lore pertaining to the Mystical Monkey Master. Four of us each tend to a temple protecting a jade monkey idol. Collectively these edifices are referred to as the Monkey Temples of the Winds each one named for a compass direction; I tend to the Monkey Temple of the South Winds. The fifth, and most secret location, is in Japan where our Sensei and Grand Loremaster guards the secrets of the Lotus Blade."

"Yeah, I seem to remember old hairy hands ranting about some sword."

"Of course you know about retrieving the head and body of the Tempus Simia and joining them in a ceremony in the African Monkey Temple and you have been using it ever since. What you never knew was that we loremasters were made attuned to the Tempus Simia by enchantments cast by Wei Da and Mau Ning. It was their intent that any excursions by any of the Companions be recorded thus we were given the ability of astral projection to observe; although unable to physically intervene we could communicate. Despite our attempts to be unobtrusive our presence has been noticed by you in dreams."

"Yeah, I remember seeing one of you in one of them; so, you're stalking me in my sleep….wait a minute…Tempus Simia is Latin and I thought Monkey Kung Fu came from China; what gives?"

"To answer your first query, we were merely observing for the purposes of keeping a record of time stream travellers. It was The Raven's command; 'Tell me everything'. As for the name of the idol it was bestowed by the Companions themselves for they spoke their own divine language."

Placing the jade monkey idol on a nearby table Chen continues, "Had the original time stream been left undisturbed the dark forces meant to destroy this realm would have arrived piecemeal and uncoordinated and in the end defeated by the Companions. When, in your quest for world domination, you broke up the Companions you denuded this realm of its champions. Whenever you returned to the past, the future you created still existed with its people still living their lives. The dark minions eventually arrived and without the Companions to confront them the realm fell to chaos, destruction and eventual obliteration. Your frequent use of Tempus Simia aggravated the stability of the time streams. To illustrate, this time stream has already become an alternate reality to all your other time streams; of we five loremasters only Sensei should exist at this point. While the Tempus Simia is in use the loremasters record everything the traveller does and what happens around them; new scrolls are then deposited, one copy to each of the five locations. When the head is removed we four senior loremasters are returned to the Astral Plane, dormant, until reassembly of the idol recalls us to our duty. Simi Yan should not be here either for he is a demonic minion of the Yono and was originally defeated by The Han at the battle which imprisoned The Destroyer in his temple; yet he appeared in this time stream simultaneously with your arrival."

"Monkey breath told me dismantling the Time Monkey would prevent others from travelling with other Time Monkeys." The young woman watched the monk spit on the floor in disgust, "I take it from that reaction old hairy hands is full of it. So let's pretend I believe you; what should I be doing to avoid said catastrophe."

"Your endeavours to unite the world under one rule is the right idea, however it was being done for the wrong reasons. The world does not need a general, it needs an empress. Your bloodline is that of the dragon, strong, intelligent, a fierce fighter and excellent general; however, although basically good at heart the dragon is also vain, arrogant, condescending, sarcastic, and if not engaged in a challenging endeavour, prone to hedonistic pursuits. At this point you are engaged in taking over the world, a formidable undertaking you have proven adept at; however, this is a trust and at its completion the newly re-united world must be handed over to the hereditary ruler, Her Crimson Brilliance."

"Are you telling me I got to work my tail off taking over the world only to turn it over to Princess?"

The monk cocked his head in momentary consideration, "Interesting, Xi Gau often referred to Qei Pi in the same tone of voice. The Princess Qei Pi, as she was eventually referred to by the common people, who were merely following your example, was wise in such a way that all could abide by her pronouncements; a kind soul who loved the people and loved by the people; and yet such a fierce warrior even demons despaired to face her in battle. She never thought of herself as royalty; at most she considered herself governess of the lands. As she did for the masses the masses did for her; to see need amongst them vexed her sorely. If any of the people were in distress it seemed against her nature to ignore them. She constantly encouraged the population to improve themselves, strive for perfection and to ever meet a challenge head on. However, you do not necessarily have to set Qei Pi's descendant upon a throne, she need only be an inspiration to others when times become dire."

"What about the Resistance; where do they fit in all this?"

"As you probably know already, the Resistance was ably led by Wei Da's descendant; the young wizard created his own artefacts to travel through time, befitting since it was his own ancestor who crafted Tempus Simia. Currently, the Resistance as you know them is no longer in existence in this future having only recently succumbed to Yono and the Lorwardians. Please note however, there are operatives from other time streams who were sent to temporal locations that were before you began influencing events. All they know is they lost contact with their leaders in the future, not being aware your last venture effectively cut them off. Remember though, they are, of course, still following their original orders and may prove a nuisance at least."

As the aged cleric returned to examining the monkey idol he resumed his discourse, "As you recall, the events of the initial time stream was the first proof of the difficulty in keeping the bloodlines of Qei Pi and Te Raun apart. After the decoy Tempus Simia was destroyed and you retreated to the past, they stayed to help against your simulacrum whom they believed to be you. Alas, the Pretender managed to petition the aid of Yono and without the Han that future failed. It is still debated amongst us whether the key members of that resistance cell were vanquished or maybe survived by escaping into the time stream. The second time stream…."

Shego shuddered involuntarily, "Yeah pops, that's not something I want to see again. Even when we used to fight Kimmie's green eyes were bright and full of spirit. To watch her wreak bloody vengeance for the murder of the buffoon by monkey-breath was creepy. During the time I took over the world we saw nothing of her; suddenly she pops up and starts offing all the villains. The look in her eyes, when she shot her grapple through Drakken's chest, looked to me like black empty pits, as if she'd lost her soul."

The monk nodded, "And she had at that for The Mystical Monkey Master and Her Crimson Brilliance are soul mates. They have a bond with each other that has no equal; each lived only for the other and together they were inseparable. Ron Stoppable's demise ripped her soul in two and crushed her heart leaving her with almost no will to live. After you managed to retreat, Kim Possible lived in her own personal darkness mindless of the love and support of family and friends. When the Lorwardians attacked in that future, she launched herself against them in what amounted to a suicide attack; it did little to slow the inevitable."

"I kinda figured Princess and doofus would get hitched at some point, they seemed that close."

"Being soul mates often can lead to becoming a breeding pair however that is not the exclusive result; being soul mate to one person does not preclude breeding with another. It was understood by each Companion that their bloodlines had to continue so their descendants would rejoin to fight the impending evil as foretold by the Raven Mau Ning the oracle whose relevant descendant will be known to Princess Kimberly as Monique. The only Companion who did not take a mate was Han and the reason for that is unclear, however, Sensei has been investigating the matter."

"Known to all as Han the Healer she was also a strong warrior with an unbridled zest for life; just to be in her presence refreshed the soul. She was the antithesis of Yono the Destroyer. It was noted by all the Companions that Yono's demons tended to shy away from her. According to the young healer, the Mystical Monkey told her in a dream she was a beacon of life, vitality and renewal which was the opposite of what the evil hordes represented. Han explained the ability to sway demons could be had by any Companion who chose the healing arts as a life's calling as she did."

The lore master's eyes seemed to take on a far-away look as he continued to reminisce, "The wizard and the oracle were a unique and complimentary pair: Wei Da knew the-what and crafted great magic's; Mau Ning discerned the-who and saw into the truth of things."

"Your third venture involved turning Master Ronald into a being of pure evil with a device called the Attitudinator, your intention being to use him as an ally to counter Princess Kimberly. Unfortunately the conversion went beyond even your expectations and he supplanted you as Supreme One, calling himself Zorpox the Conqueror and relegating you to a minor status. His constant public humiliation of his one-time best friend bothered you after a while and you befriended her. I believe you recall his perception of your betrayal of him and the subsequent punishment meted out…."

Casting her eyes to the side as she hugged herself Shego murmured quietly, "I thought I didn't scare but Zorpox terrified me after a time, especially after discovering he found a way to neutralize my power…I still can't bring myself to go to a public aquarium…."

"Then you believed having an evil Kim Possible at your side would ensure success thus you employed another artefact referred to as the Reverse Polarizer. During the time it took to conquer the world, in order to assuage your paranoia, you had created an animated male mannequin to court her and at the same time spy for you. She considered you an intimate friend and her discovery of your betrayal incensed her. She destroyed the artificial lover then tried to assassinate you by kicking you into a highly energized tower near your citadel. Playing with her emotions nearly proved your undoing."

Crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow Shego responded with disbelief, "You're trying to tell me that Kimmie is capable of murdering someone?"

"Indeed; however remember this Kimberly or Kimila as she called herself, was completely evil and apparently did not wish to share dominance of the world. Had it not been for your powers you would have been killed. As it was you barely managed to retrieve the Tempus Simia and after retreating to the past, spent months recuperating."

"Why don't I remember any of that?"

"I do not know, although from my point of view, the event appeared quite traumatic for you."

The raven-haired young woman's eyes grew distant as she tried to fathom the import of the news she was given…Kimmie tried to kill me…. "So after that is when I kept them apart?"

"Indeed, instead of trying to eliminate or coerce Stoppable and Possible you merely made sure they never met. That Kimberly was less restrained and more headstrong, lack of judgement on her part resulted in her having a child at fourteen and never becoming a hero; although a few years later she met young Stoppable who was an exchange student from Norway; they became attracted to each other, his personality being a calming influence for her and in a few years they wed. Nevertheless, Kimberly's innate personality came through and she organized a resistance to your rule as the Supreme One; although her rebellion created havoc for your empire it was not enough to topple it. On the other hand you were never able to quell the resistance movement either. That Team Possible ventured into the time stream on a mission and were never heard from again. With them gone you became complacent; Monkey Fist, the pretender, managed to successfully petition the aid of Yono the Destroyer and together with the Lorwardians who believed they were following the Great Blue, proceeded to destroy not just your empire but the entire world."

"Yeah, that was balls nasty; everywhere they went followed black clouds that suffocated the land, with orange lightning that destroyed anything standing. And what's worse, they were making a beeline to the Time Monkey. I learned my lesson though; I kept Possible and Stoppable apart in the same way on the next trip and kept closer supervision on the minions. Unfortunately, I didn't keep close enough tabs on Monty's disciples. One of his students, some kid named Fukushima, petitioned the Yono and the process repeated itself."

The old monk spread his hands out, "And here you are now, doing what you were destined, indeed quested, to do however you've been doing so for the wrong reasons; have I proven my veracity? Tell me, what kept you from simply killing Princess Kimberly and Master Ronald?"

Shego's brow furrowed, unable to answer she merely stared dumbfounded at the loremaster.

"Tell me, descendant of Xi Gau, or should I simply call you Shego, disregarding the new body you inhabit, how old are you?"

The young woman looked askance at the old man, "Forty-three."

"His Most Erudite, the Court Wizard Wei Da discovered there is a misperception of time when one uses the Tempus Simia repeatedly. You are indeed one hundred and forty-seven years old; the fact that you aged approximately twenty years with each time stream simply did not register in your mind. I make note that an average person would most likely have died of old age by the end of your fourth time stream. However, the original Companions, although still human, were extremely long-lived individuals, their life-spans stretched over millennia in order to build up this world's civilizations in preparation for the Dark One's next attack."

"Even diluted by thousands of years of mundane human blood the very fibre of your bodies are of greater substance; you are all stronger, faster, more intelligent, insightful, tougher and of course longer lived; although certainly not in terms of millennia. And the bloodlines of the Companions spread out over the many years, their descendants investing every corner of the world; if you ever encounter someone with a strong resemblance to yourself, chances are you are both descended from the same Companion. In fact it was believed the Companions were reuniting about a hundred years ago when the bloodlines of the Master, Qei Pi, Wei Da and Xi Gau intersected in Middleton. Unfortunately, the reunion was not to be for Xi Gau's descendent had, at the time, a predisposition to evil and no powers and regrettable misunderstandings caused the bloodlines to diverge."

Tucking his hands into the voluminous sleeves of his caftan the loremaster continued, "Please allow me to relate a small anecdote from the first time stream venture. At that particular moment you were retreating from a failed attempt to break the spirit of a four year old Kimberly. The older Kimberly attempted to stop you by diving from the top of a tall sign into the temporal vortex the four of you had just stepped down into. The vortex closed and she landed face first onto the pavement."

Shego flinched involuntarily, "Ow."

The monk nodded, "That is precisely what she said after sitting up and rubbing her sore cheek."

After a moment's thought the green-eyed woman questioned the old man, "Wait a minute; if I'm descended from this Xi Gau why was I not born with my powers?"

"Because, in the original battle many years ago Simi Yan, who had petitioned the Destroyer, had just been defeated by the Han and made to follow the path of the Yono forcing him into the dark temple. Xi Gau sacrificed her powers to seal the edifice whereupon the Master turned the Lotus Blade into a mattock, splitting the canyon floor and dropping the evil structure within. The Han then healed the crack in the ground and Wei Da conjured a sandstorm to conceal the site and warded the area with several arcane abjurations. The Master petitioned the Mystical Monkey King to have Xi Gau's powers restored; the arrival of the Mystical Glowstone to impart the powers to her descendant is a strong indicator that the oracle's prognostications are coming true and the destiny of the Companion's descendants is nigh."

"Along with the reinstatement of your green powers the Mystical Monkey, in his beneficence, felt it appropriate to further gift you with additional powers in recognition of your ancestor's sacrifice. The first was the ability to create numerous simulacra of you in order to accomplish many tasks at once or to be in more than one place at a time…"

"…Oh no…" muttered the green woman as an unnerving realization began to take shape in her mind…Kevin and Kyle.

"…The second was to allow you to compress your body to such an extent that one not versed in such ability would believe you invisible…"

"…Oh please no…" implored Shego, cringing as the realization developed…Ian.

"…The third granted you super strength…"

"Henry! You mean I was supposed to have them all" Exclaimed the incredulous ex-villain. "Not that I know how to in any case, but there's no way I would 'a shared those powers with those dolts…they don't deserve them!"

"Curious, it had always been a source of great musings between us loremasters as to why it appeared that way."

Growling in exasperation, Shego's temper explodes, a pair of highly charged kinetic bolts slamming against the far wall of the bunker, creating two rather large gouges. With fists and eyes blazing ferociously she paces the room throwing random blasts at the interior of the room, clawed, energized hands taking out chunks of reinforced concrete. The handful of dragon disciples who ventured to examine the disturbance stopped suddenly when they saw their boss' mood and decided discretion was the healthier choice, retreating smartly into the corridor.

After several minutes of ranting and demolition work the angry woman turned to the loremaster who had been standing quietly during the tantrum, "Gaaggh! Are you trying to tell me but for an accident in timing I would've had all the powers at once? That was the day Henry decided to revoke the 'no girls' policy for the tree house and it was my first time up there." Shego growled, "Rrrrrr! So, had I gone to the movies that day like I had planned I would have all the powers now?"

"You merely needed to be beyond two arms length away; for example the base of the tree would have been sufficient distance if they were high enough in the branches."

The green woman groaned loudly, "We were practically shoulder to shoulder in that tree house; I had Kyle in my lap and Ian was bitching about not having enough room to put his soda down."

After a moment's pause the mercenary leader looked expectantly at the monk, "Is there any way the powers can be transferred?"

Caught by surprise by the concept the old man took several minutes to compose his thoughts, "In all the ancient texts there is nothing written that suggests that such transference has ever been contemplated never mind acted upon. I am personally not even privy to any discussion whether formal or not amongst the Companions. However, I will bring the matter up with Sensei."

Green eyes narrowed in thought.

Caressing the monkey idol with a hand Chen begins speaking, "I must leave presently so the idol can re-attune itself to the temple before the traps can be reset in time for the arrival of Princess Kimberly in a few years so I must touch upon some very important points before I leave."

"Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, the constant flux of the time streams has caught the awareness of the Destroyer even though he is confined within his temple. It is now aware that a descendent of Xi Gau is fulfilling her destiny and it is determined to hinder those efforts. It appears to us that Simi Yan is his proxy; he will attempt to take the turmoil in your mind and use it as leverage to assault it with nightmarish visions bent on shredding your soul with overwhelming despair. Unfortunately the Han is not available and there are no descendents of hers to apply healing and protections to your mind."

"What about Kimmie's mother; she's a surgeon and part of the bloodline. You said a descendant of a Companion who has a career as a doctor can ward off demons."

"A descendant of a Companion practised in the healing arts might be of some help. Suffering nightmares sent by the Dark One is not quite the same as a direct assault by a minion of Yono; this is undocumented territory so by all means investigate the matter."

"Secondly, the Tempus Simia must be destroyed; how events turn out depends on who destroys it. However this only works if the Tempus Simia is assembled; to reassemble the idol you need to repeat the ceremony at the Temple of the Tempus Simia. If Yono succeeds in that task he will take the released energies to unravel the very fabric of the universe and forever end its existence; Sensei is of the opinion Simi Yan is quested to somehow bypass Wei Da's enchantments and release Yono. According to Sensei's 'elder cousin', the Lorwardians are unwitting pawns whose purpose is simply to provide the distraction for the evil quest."

"If a mortal destroys the Tempus Simia then everything returns to what it was. All memories of all time stream events by all concerned will be erased as will anything created or altered. You will no longer be the Supreme One but revert to being a disillusioned hero who turns to villainy."

"The middle option is to leave the head off the idol. Doing so essentially causes the mystical emanations to cease thus stabilizing the time stream. Without the flux in the time stream acting as a beacon the Tempus Simia will be almost impossible for Simi Yan to find without mundane help. In a sense you become a 'smaller target'. This approach may force you into treating Simi Yan as your primary foe so that Princess Kimberly's advancement as a hero proceeds unimpeded."

The monk ceases his discourse and wondering if there is more Shego breaks the silence after a few minutes, "Okay pops, before my headache gets any worse are there any other bits of wisdom to overload my synapses?"

"Princess Kimberly must learn to kill." Replied the Mystical Monkey Monk flatly.

The mercenary gone corporate gone college girl ruminated as she drove through the suburban streets early on a school day before classes, getting frustrated at the annoying habit of school buses suddenly appearing in front of her to commence their stop and go routine. The weather still had a summery feel to it despite it being close to mid-September, the students she saw walking to school still dressed in light clothing.

The past several weeks had been very busy; the events in Cambodia proving interesting, entertaining and profitable however the plans against the Mathter got put on the back burner because of it. Chen's rather foreboding pronouncement that Kimmie learn to kill kept running through her mind; the situation with Custer illustrated the potential difficulties when her attempt at insinuating a modicum of ruthlessness into the young girl fell flat…and then there's the question of whether I'm gay or straight as an added distraction…I still haven't seen those photos! For the time being however, the young woman needed to focus on the task at hand; all first year child development students were assigned a field placement twice a week at a pre-K or kindergarten. As she turned the last corner Shego could not help but laugh out loud, this was not just any pre-K it was Kim's alma mater, ABC Pre-School.

Getting out of her parked car the college student reminisces back to the first time stream venture; there was the big tree where the juvenated trio, Drakken, Monty and Duff tried to beat up the buffoon and got their asses handed to them on a silver platter by a ticked off four year old Kimmie. She remembered watching through binoculars a very pregnant Anne Possible standing by the front entrance…no shiv but even pregs she was a looker.

Turning around Shego looks across the street at the parking lot in front of the mattress store where she tangled with the teen Kim. The young woman notices the sign in front of the store…damn, that sign must be two, two and a half stories…if Chen can be believed Kimmie landed face first on the pavement from the top of the sign…peg me for a spud but if she could survive that she's tougher than I give her credit for…At that moment the pale skinned teen remembered what the monk said, "…the very fibre of your bodies are of greater substance…." The germ of a thought nagged at the back of her mind, however she could not pin it down at the moment...damn, I gotta start paying more attention to Uncle Percy.

With about half an hour till the children would arrive, Jhessa checks herself over before entering…sundress, check…nice shade of green, prim and proper…black, canvas flat shoes, check…book bag with two tons of school crap and miscellaneous odds and ends in it, check…Reaching up she caresses, almost reverently, a small gold crucifix attached to a fine gold chain around her neck…good luck charm from momma, check...demure college girl ready…With a smirkthe young woman proceeds into the building…okay Ravens, let's do this…let's play teacher.

Within the lobby Jhessa is assailed by a whole rainbow of familiar smells; modeling clay, wax crayons, glue, freshly washed floor and, surprisingly, that indefinable yet distinct new school year smell, the marble floors still gleaming from the fresh coat of wax applied at the end of the summer. To the left and straight ahead appeared to be offices and resource rooms …teacher's lounge must be down that way, I smell coffee…I wonder if I can snag a cup before starting, some java would help with the nerves…, the classrooms were down the corridor to the right with the doors at the end obviously leading to the playground.

Feeling overwhelmingly nostalgic she ambles to a wall covered in class photos. It does not take long before the young woman locates a certain one, Kimmie's pre-K class photo, noting the young redhead sitting on the far left and Stoppable on the right, each waving cheerfully…this must've been taken before they became friends otherwise they'd be sitting side by side. As the college student continued idly studying the photo her mind indulged in a flight of whimsy…I wonder what it would've been like to be her classmate, to have grown up together…a small, dreamy smile, unbidden, graced her visage.

The raven-haired teen's reverie was broken by the arrival of a smiling woman with grey hair, glasses and a flower print dress, "Hi, you must be Miss Ravens from Lowerton Community College; I'm Edith Sagloski and I'll be your mentor. We still have a few minutes, let's grab some coffee and head to our classroom so I can brief you before the horde arrives."

Suddenly feeling a sense of pride Jhessa points to Kim, "I baby sit her on a regular basis along with her younger twin brothers."

"Really, I'm impressed; we should trade war stories about Kim Possible. I haven't met her brothers though; if they're anything like their sister you must have your hands full. If you can handle them then these kids will be easy-peasy for you."

Later, as the children filter into the classroom, the college student notices an Hispanic boy wearing a cowboy hat approach. After staring at her intently for a few moments, the boy raises his arms towards her in the universal child's request to be picked up. With a welcoming smile Jhessa picks up the tot and, with surprising adeptness, balances him on a hip, "Oh me oh my; who's this little guy?"

The young lad does not answer, instead he spends the next few minutes carefully scrutinizing the young woman's hair, gently caressing and prodding her skin, tracing the contours of her face with short little fingers and gingerly studying the gold necklace.

Jhessa patiently endures the examination as she speaks with her mentor, "Okay Edith, I know letting the kids get comfortable with you at their own pace can be a good thing, but this is starting to weird me out."

"His name is Zeke and he's pretty quiet but a good kid. I'm totally floored by this, either you've got some secret rapport with children or there's something about you he finds fascinating. He does understand English but he responds well with Spanish; can you speak it?"

"Sure."

"Well, just try something and see how he reacts."

The young woman smiles at Zeke, "Hola mi pequeño vaquero."

The little boy's face brightens immediately with an ear to ear grin as he wraps his arms around Jhessa's neck in a tight hug, "Hola mamá!"

A few months later in Drakken's lair

Becker was new to Drakken's organization, having been on the payroll for only a couple of weeks. In that time he appreciated the fact his uniform was made of Kevlar and wore ballistic eye protection; on his first day he was present when one of the boss' inventions exploded. Although he was still a little sore from having been thrown against the wall by the explosion, his outfit protected him from the ensuing shrapnel. The harness each henchman wore came in handy, being able to pull two of his injured co-henchmen out of the chamber at the same time. Exploding machinery appeared to be job hazard number one.

Job hazard number two was the boss' lieutenant, a mercenary psycho-bitch with a mean temper and an imagination that ranked high in the sick and wrong category. There was no doubt the woman knew her stuff , she never failed a mission and she had no problem tossing around those unfortunate enough to get on her bad side…and, unfortunately, it seemed she had a lot of bad sides. In short, the boys recognized her as grade-A badass who deserved a lot of space.

For the moment Becker was heading to the lieutenant's quarters with a delivery from Henchco. Arriving at her closed door he knocks discretely.

"WHAT?"

"It's Becker ma'am; I have a package for you from Henchco."

"Fine, bring it in and put it on the table."

Upon entering his gaze was drawn immediately to a corner of the room where a sunlamp shone upon a well muscled, very shapely and very naked female form laying face down upon a massage table, her head turned away from the door and long hair pulled aside so her body could soak up the warmth unimpeded. Mesmerized by the sight the henchman forgot for the nonce to set the delivery upon the table until she spoke.

"Put the package down dufus. Since I'm feeling really mellow right now I'll forego beating the crap out of you for ogling me…so scram before I decide to get cranky."

Without a word and breathing a huge sigh of relief Becker beats a hasty retreat, deciding that he would cherish the image in his mind; yet with a strong sense of self preservation decided to keep such memories to himself.

With the closing of her door the young woman gets up from her toasting, long hair draping her slim athletic body, and pads languidly to the table to examine the delivery.

Opening the box she finds a pair of gauntlets, one black, one deep yellow, the both made of a supple material incorporating talons at the fingertips and a strange weave of glass-like fibres lacing along the back of the hands. She reads with curiosity a note included in the box; following the directions she dons the gloves and stares at them. A moment later each glove is encased in a flaming gold sphere of energy. The blonde teen gazes with delight at her new toys, smiling an evil smile she breathes out one word to herself, "Freaky."

Operational Log

Umm, hello…is this thing on? Yeah okay, there's the little light. Uh, this is Brick and this is an operating log. Its Labour Day weekend and I found some really hot chicks to party with while I waited for that brainy chick Justine. I think I missed her cause she ain't showed up yet. Maybe I'm doing sumthin wrong cause I can't hold of you guys maybe one of them Rufus dudes can help me figure this out but I ain't seen more than a couple for a while now. Man, I just realized I got a message on this thing…I'll try and get back to ya later after I figure out how to pick up this message…maybe it's Justine. Later.

My thanks to all those who've read and special thanks to Orchamus, Dalxein, Gaga's little monSTAR, and Love Robin for leaving a review last chapter.

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 "ASiT" and "Stop Team Go".

AN

Yeah I know it's been a long time since the last update but RL and other projects intervened. As you may have noticed this is pretty much a Shego chapter, the next one will focus on Shego as well before we get back to Kimmie.

The idea for the lavender colouration to the eyes of someone under the influence of a Mark I Neuro-Compliance chip (the basic mind control chip from the ep "Twin Factor") comes from an excellent drawing by Fitzoblong on Deviant Art and used by generous permission; check my profile for the link. In the story there is also a Mark II which is the same only stronger for those victims of stronger will (I figure Kim and Shego would have eventually overloaded the circuits as their strong wills eventually poked through).

"Hola mi pequeño vaquero."…"Hey there, my little cowboy!"