I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters in that series, or those from other media I may reference.

X0X0X0X0X0XX0X0X0X0X0X

One of the first things Kim noticed about the North Estate was that it did not resemble in any way the home of the Fearless Ferret on the TV show, though that had never been shown as more then a static picture on the program on any of the few episodes she had actually seen. His home in Middleton, on the other hand, did look like it had come straight from the program.

It then occurred to her that this home had probably been purchased by Timothy North when he had hit it big, not built for him. Which brought up another question, or questions: how rich was he? He still had that home outside Middleton, plus this place, long after his career had faded for all but devoted fans and convention goers.

She briefly wondered if GJ had any involvement in the upkeep of the place, but these thoughts faded as she instead began to focus on studying it's layout. It had a wall around it, at least nine feet tall along the length she could see. The gates appeared quite solid, and supported by a number of electronic security measures that any expert could spot. And almost certainly more that were not apparent, if Global Justice was involved.

They had had to sit outside the gate for five minutes after the chauffeur had requested admittance before the gates slowly swung open. During the wait, a small device of Wade's creation in the form of a locket had vibrated several times, indicating that they were being scanned by various sensors. No human or animal guards were visible, however.

The first thing she noticed was that the whole place seemed to be a single level, at least from the front. There was a high façade over the front entrance, but a large rectangular portal in it showed sky beyond, and no glass filling it. In fact, Kim thought there might be a frame of some sort missing. And of course, she should have qualified her analysis by saying there was only one level above ground.

She also noticed that the well-kept lawns were unbroken by any trees, hedges, or flower beds, though there were some small trees flanking the front entrance to the mansion. The house itself had an outward appearance of being made of white marble, significantly weathered. Kim had doubts that the marble was more then a few inches deep, if that much.

The front drive widened to two-lane width just inside the gate, which itself was not wide enough for two cars to pass each other. It ran somewhat less then a hundred feet before turning parallel to the front of the house and passing under an impressive portico extending across the drive, shielding the house's front entrance, which consisted of a solid looking double door reached after ascending three steps up from the drive, and a ten foot walk.

Kim noticed a small brass plaque affixed to the front of one of the columns supporting the outer end of the portico, but was unable to make out what it said before their car made the turn. She chose to assume, correctly as it turned out, it to read 'North'. And not the last name of the Fearless Ferret's alter ego, which she suddenly could not remember for the life of her.

As they pulled to a stop in front of the doors, Kim almost automatically reached to open the car door, but Brenda Core blocked her, with a faint grin on her face. Kim blushed, even though more than a little annoyed at the security precautions. Then she noticed Frederick Lipsky scowling past her and towards the front seat, while a look of amusement blossomed on Drew Lipsky's face.

Kim of course was the only one with her back to said front seat due to her sitting in one of the jump seats, intentionally leaving the rear seat free for her three elders. Except Brenda had taken the other jump seat instead. Now the girl tried to twist around and see what was happening, but only managed to catch the chauffeur directing an angry glare at Max Smarty, whom Kim couldn't see, before opening his own door and getting out. But not before tossing what looked like a cellphone back towards the front passenger seat. If anything was said, Kim couldn't hear it.

Once outside, the chauffeur waited patiently while Max sorted out whatever mess he was in and emerged on his side, where he promptly assumed an attitude of watchfulness, scanning the surrounding area(Which was all wide open and ending at the wall) with great care, then giving the Chauffeur a thumbs up signal. If there had happened to be any earth tremor at that moment, Kim thought that she would probably have attributed it to the chauffeur rolling his eyes.

At that the chauffeur opened the passenger door for them. Brenda was first out, moving towards the rear of the car, also on full alert. Frederick Lipsky followed her, moving just far enough to give Kim room to emerge next, then pass him to mount the bottom step up. At this point, the front doors to the house swung open, and a very familiar voice came to her ears.

"Well, that's the way it goes these days, Rupe! Trying to diversify the casting, and all that! I do wonder who else might be upset to hear that White Stripe is going to be portrayed...Oh! They're here!" Timothy North had emerged, side-by-side with his fellow actor Rupert Farnsworth. And North's expression of surprise suddenly morphed into one of concern. "I think I was supposed to get you to leave before..." He grimaced, "Oh, well, what's done is done...Mayor Lipsky, how good to see you again! Err...what are you doing here?"

Kim smiled slightly, though she did feel sympathy for Rupert, who stood there with a befuddled expression on his face. Then Frederick Lipsky stepped past her and approached Timothy North with his hand outstretched. "Greetings, Mister North, I'm Fred Pilsky, I believe we talked on the phone?"

The actor gawked for just a moment, then his manner changed completely. He smiled and shook hands, nodding courteously. "Of course! Pleasure to meet you, Fred!" Rupert's expression, however, showed a hint of suspicion, so Kim stepped forwards.

"Mister Farnsworth, so nice to see you again, how have you been? I heard you had some health issues at a convention last year?" The concern in her voice was genuine, of course.

Rupert's attention shifted to the girl, and his eyes widened. "Miss Possible! How lovely to see you again! And that was nothing, one of my allergies acting up...though I should have asked that young lady what exactly she put in her home-made Gribble Cakes!" Seeing a puzzled look on Kim's face, he smiled. "Oh, something from a Science Fiction show I did in the 70s, aimed at young audiences." He looked past her. "Isn't your boyfriend with you? I would certainly like to see him again, after what you two did for me."

Kim tried to suppress a grimace. "Oh, not this time, he's making up for lost time in school at the moment." She extemporized. "Which is actually what I should be doing!"

"Ah, ha!" Rupert smiled warmly, "I had to do quite a bit of that myself when I was his age!" At that point Drakken reached them. Kim noted that Frederick Lipsky and Timothy North had moved farther away, practically into the house, and were talking quietly.

"Mister Farnsworth, a true pleasure to meet you!" An honest smile graced Drakken's features, "My mother had quite a crush of sorts on you when I was in High School. I myself remember you from a Snowman Hank Christmas special you did one year, I was sorry you didn't return again, your character was very well done!"

Farnsworth nodded, smiling. "I'm afraid I didn't get along well with the people who took over the handling of those specials, overly obsessed with special effects rather then good storytelling! There was literally half as much actual dialogue spoken in the special the next year!"

Drew looked surprised, then thoughtful. "You know, you're right! I suppose I was too, I don't know, self-centered by then...no, I don't believe I have a recording of any of the specials after the one you did, though I'm sure I saw them...hmph!" Then he grimaced. "Forgive my manners, I didn't even introduce..."

Farnsworth interrupted him by waving both hands. "No need, none whatsoever! You're Drew Lipsky, 'Supervillain' turned politician...so many good jokes in that, no offense, but all the best ones have been done! You know, your success almost affected the script for the Fearless Ferret movie? I mean, the latest one, anyway!"

Drew regarded him narrowly. "You don't mean...But it's already been done!"

"So has the Fearless Ferret! This is Hollywood, Mr. Lipsky, nothing stays buried! Especially story ideas!"

Kim slipped past the pair to move towards Timothy North, having just remembered something. Frederick Lipsky had apparently said his piece, and they now appeared to be making small talk. North greeted Kim with a wide smile. "So nice to see you again, Kim! I hope this time things end up a little less exciting then they did the last time!"

Kim smiled weakly. "Well, Sir, they may, or they may not, there's something serious we have to discuss."

Tim's eyes widened. "Really? Sounds ominous! Well, go ahead, out with it!"

"Welllll..." Kim noticed that Frederick Lipsky was now moving away to talk with what appeared to be the butler for the estate, an Asian gentleman in his fifties, if Kim had to guess. "You remember those pictures Shego and I posed for, as part of the bargain for us to read those family papers of yours?"

North nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Actually, I feel a little guilty about that now, I should have just let you read them, then maybe ask for you to do it, rather then make it a condition!" Then he frowned, "Is there a problem about the pictures?"

Kim grimaced. "Well, the fact that they're on the Internet now, and Shego knows about it, could truly constitute a problem."

The man's face assumed a confused expression for a moment, then he nodded. "I see." He turned towards the butler. "Roy, do I still have that invitation to that golf tournament in Hawaii? I think maybe..." He saw his butler shaking his head. "What?"

"That was last weekend, Mr. North."

"Oh...flight is risky, anyway...just HOW could they have gotten on the 'net, anyway!?"

The butler, or maybe valet, maybe both, Kim thought, bowed slightly. "I still maintain that the interviewer from the Imposer Online spent far too long searching for the bathroom, sir! The pictures posted online are not the originals, they appear to be images of the ones hanging in your trophy room, taken with a camera then suitably edited."

North frowned, then shook his head, "Well if that's the case, my cousin Rob is just as likely a suspect!" He paused, "And Cousin Jack, Cousin Merwyn, and my two nephews from my sister Angelique!" He winced and turned to Kim. "I'm afraid I did a very poor job of keeping them a secret, though...Aha! It couldn't have been Merwyn, I didn't tell him who posed for them!"

Then he frowned and turned back to Kim. "Are you identified as the model for Ferretgirl, my dear?" Kim nodded. "Ah, I see...and Shego?" Another nod. "Well...I mean she travels all over, who knows how far away she is?"

"Two-point-six-five miles and closing, Mr. North! And may I say, I'm quite a fan!" Kim had almost jumped out of her skin to have Max Smarty speak practically in her ear. At the same time, hearing that the ex-thief and presumably Bernie were that close suggested that things had gone well at the rescue.

An appalled look that was quickly replaced by a truly sickly grin appeared on Timothy North's face. "Fan enough to serve as a pallbearer?"

"Now, Mr. North!" Drakken admonished, "I very much doubt that Shego would ever do anything lethal to you, under any circumstances! And between Miss Possible and myself, I think I can assure you that you'll be quite all right!"

A momentary touch of anger at Drakken including her vanished as Kim realized he was right, of course she'd stop Shego from hurting Mr. North. Though now unlike in the past, she would try reasoning with her first. How life had changed. So she gave Timothy North a reassuring smile as she nodded in agreement.

"For the moment, however, I suggest we move inside." Frederick Lipsky suggested, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mister Farnsworth." He then turned and stepped through the doorway before abruptly turning. "Maxwell, help Chamberlain with the luggage, if you please!" He then passed through the doorway, followed by Kim, Drakken, and Brenda Core.

"Of course, Sir!" Agent Smarty responded, then spun on his heel, began one step forward, then stopped cold. "Wait a minute..."

Another vehicle, a large town car, had entered through the front gates with a single occupant, the driver. He maneuvered past the limousine, then executed a three-point turn and pulled past the limo, which is the point where Max actually turned around and saw it. The driver popped out and ran around to open the door for Mr. Farnsworth as he exchanged farewells with Timothy North.

At which point Max came out of his momentary paralysis, and put his lead foot down. Yet he somehow seemed to have forgotten that he was going down the steps, and was caught off guard when said foot descended far more then he was ready for. The results were certainly painful as well as humiliating.

"You don't have to live up to the name, Max!" Agent Chamberlain muttered, even as he set Kim's and Drakken's bags back on the ground and went to help his fellow agent regain his feet.

X0X0X0X0X0X0X0X00X0XX00X

Now somewhat less then the 2.65 miles away that had somewhat alarmed Timothy North, Shego was the lead driver in quite a cavalcade. Her Barracuda was being followed by three black SUVs. The first two held Global Justice agents, the third had joined them about a mile back, and was causing Betty Director some concern.

Which Shego knew because Doctor Director, Will Du, their new alien 'ally' and Bernie shared the car with her. Which was why the top was now up, otherwise her reputation could really take a beating!

Du was seated next to her in the front seat. Bernie was directly behind Shego with their strange visitor beside her, and Betty on his other side. Betty was exchanging text messages with someone and occasionally looking through the rear window at the odd car. Bernie had her head back, suffering some symptoms of her concussion even though the alien's concoction was presumably working on her. As for the alien, he had been silent since leaving the movie studio, and hadn't so much as twitched.

Shego was half-tempted at a stop light to turn around and rap on his shell to make sure he was actually still in there, even though their previous experiences had suggested that he couldn't 'beam up' silently. Then that question was resolved.

Behind her, Bernie slowly tilted her head closer to the alien's. She could here some extremely faint buzzing that she was sure was not in her own battered head. After a moment's thought, she turned to the alien. "Is that conversation you're having mean that you're concerned about our uninvited followers, too?" She asked in a conversational tone.

Betty stopped texting and focused on the alien as well, while Will turned in his seat to try and find out who was addressing who. A faint whine which shifted pitch emanated from the subject of their interest. Bernie had an impression of something swiveling rapidly back and forth inside the helm, even if she couldn't actually see it.

"Who, me? Concerned about...what followers? No, wait!" Some louder buzzes and whistles came from inside his suit. Then he switched to English in a quite angry tone. "Well, I'm the one who's actually here with the so-called 'primitives', so I will decide how to handle it! As I believe was pointed out to you earlier, if you want things done your way, come out here and handle it yourself!"

More loud buzzes ensued. "Oh, really! Well, before you threaten to strand me here, take a look in your private collection, the one you hid in extradimensional storage bin(He then rattled of a string of almost musical notes that no one present could make sense of), and see if there aren't a few items missing! Now, leave me to conduct business, will you?!"

After about thirty seconds of complete silence, he spoke again. "In point of fact, yes, those people in that vehicle might be a concern to me, and to you, as well!"

"Who are they?" Betty asked, a slight frown of concern showing on her features.

"Well, they belong to a Top Secret organization funded by the United States government, the Joint Intelligence Panel for the Conduct of Operations Relating to Extra-Terrestrials, though how you're supposed to pronounce their acronym puzzles me, J, I, P, C, O, R, E, T?" When no one offered a suggestion, "Anyway, the leader of this particular team is one Treyvan...Coke?"

An audible groan escaped Betty's lips followed by a few muttered words Shego suspected should not be said in front of children. "That's all we need!" Then followed in a much clearer tone. She then began talking quietly into her comm.

Shego was fairly patient, waiting nearly thirty seconds before asking, "Are these guys going to try anything violent, Betts?"

That brought a serious frown, both for the interruption and the question. Then she shook her head. "There's no telling with Coke, he's an action junkie, but hopefully they've got someone on his team who can rein him in! JIPCORET is generally good at staying off the public's radar, and the only failures in that regard are because of him."

"But another problem is, they're an American agency, while yours is international, but operates under some restrictions here, right?" Bernie asked.

Betty's eyebrow rose. "That's essentially correct, they are supposed to have complete jurisdiction on all matters pertaining to alien life forms in this country! And I say supposed to because in fact they don't! Other agencies have had brushes with extraterrestrials, and not all of the details of those encounters have made it to JIPCORET, despite them raising quite a fuss over it!" She paused briefly, "And for the record, this is all just inter-agency gossip, got it?"

Shego smirked and was about to inquire what other kind of source could it possibly be, but their resident alien spoke first. "In point of fact, Agent Coke has tried to fabricate a number of scenarios to try and convince his team to take action, including ones involving their ignorance of exactly who you are, Doctor Director."

Betty scoffed. "Well, I've just taken care of that..." Suddenly her gaze focused intently on the alien. "You can hear what's happening in their vehicle?"

"Of course! And if you're interested, I can give you a full inventory of the weapons and equipment they have in their possession." There was a brief pause, "As well as all the weapons and equipment Agent Coke has requested be airdropped to them! Though, no one seems to be willing to agree to his requests without at least two of his fellow agents verbally agreeing to the necessity!"

"Definitely sounds like a loose cannon there, Betts!" Shego remarked, while trying harder to keep track of the JIPCORET vehicle.

"Oh, he is, trust me!" It took a moment for Shego to realize that the reply had not come from Doctor Director, but from Bernadette Barr! Which resulted in a quick mirror adjustment since spinning her head around 180 degrees was not one of her special abilities. "You know the guy?"

"Yes, but I'm not allowed to discuss how that came about, the whole thing was classified all the way to the top! And to be honest, seemed to be a complete fiasco as near as I could tell." She finished thoughtfully.

"Hardly a surprise." Will Du interjected, "That agency is sadly lacking in true professionalism!"

That caused an eyeroll from Betty. "But they do have their moments! Not many, but some, and a couple have been extremely vital as well as dangerous!" That drew an aggrieved scoff from Will, who returned his full attention to scanning their surroundings.

A red light, hardly the first they'd caught, brought them to a halt, with one GJ vehicle on their left, the other directly behind them. Then Shego saw the back door on the driver's side of the JIPCORET vehicle fly open. Even as she tensed up, someone tried to emerge from that door, only to apparently be physically hauled back inside. The driver then popped out and slammed the rear door before resuming his own seat.

"Looks like Mr. Coke isn't diet or decaf, he may be losing patience!" Shego commented archly, "As well as sound judgement and possibly sanity!" In the back seat Bernie noted that Will Du was making some effort to keep a straight face. And mostly succeeding.

Betty just shook her head. "The head of that agency doesn't suffer fools, so he must have a good reason to keep that man employed, I wouldn't keep him around for any reason!"

"He did seem to be the type to rub most people the wrong way, while actually thinking of himself as a great guy to have around." Bernie observed.

Betty nodded. "That about sums him up!" Then her attention was drawn to her comm and she scowled. "Of all the..." After nearly a minute apparently reading a text, she began typing her reply angrily.

"Dare I ask?" Came from Bernie. Who then started when the alien replied.

"Apparently his latest ploy involves the fact that Shego is in the vehicle, and he suspects that an Alien-Criminal alliance is keeping Doctor Director as hostage. So, he was planning to rescue her, or so he claims." Since they were once again at a red light, he became the sole focus of all the occupants of the car.

Betty was the first to speak. "Are you monitoring our communications?"

"I can see the screen on your communications device, Doctor Director, if that constitutes 'monitoring', then yes I am."

Betty may have blushed a little, though her cheeks had already been reddened due to her angry reaction to the message she'd received. "Well, please desist in reading my messages, if you please?"

"All you had to do was ask." The alien actually shifted his position, seeming to twist towards Bernie, who became wary. "Odd, the compound I gave you is working noticeably faster then expected, I wonder if you would allow me to scan you? There should of course be no cause for alarm, perhaps something in your genetic makeup is causing this beneficial irregularity?"

Bernie looked at him askance. "Just scan me, that's all? Well, at least you're polite enough to ask, I might have expected you to do it without my knowledge!"

A moment's silence followed, then the alien spoke. "I wish I could feel aggrieved at that, but based on your past encounters with us, I honestly think that would be a fair assumption! But no, I couldn't do that sort of scan with the sensors in my suit, just a moment..." There followed more of the buzzing and related noises indicating communications between the aliens.

Then with a brief buzz an object appeared in his lap, encased in a red glow that immediately faded. For a piece of extraterrestrial equipment it wasn't very impressive, and probably would have been scoffed at at any respectable Sci-Fi convention. It looked like someone had taken an eight by four metal box and affixed a smart phone at either end, screen out. And Bernie noted the red arrow on the top of the 'box' pointing towards one end, though not with amusement.

"Now..." The alien began, "You will have to remove your garments, so I can..."

"WHAT!" Bernie actually blushed due to her own shout, "You can't scan through them?!"

Whatever reply the alien would have made was overridden by Shego's "Whoa!" from the front seat. Her eyes were on her door mirror, watching the antics of the JIPCORET vehicle. It had suddenly accelerated and surged forwards, swerving into the far left lane as it did. But it's timing wasn't great, it actually clipped the rear fender of the GJ SUV behind the 'Cuda, and cut in front of a limousine that had to stand on it's brakes.

And then as it achieved the far lane it fishtailed and decelerated again, having pulled level with Shego and the second GJ vehicle on her left. And then they heard the siren...

"What caused that?" Shego exclaimed.

In the back seat, Bernie looked at the presumed 'scanner' in the alien's hand. "That appeared..." She trailed off and fixed the alien with a searching glare. And she wasn't the only one.

This time the sounds of something moving with the alien's shell were clearly audible. "Um...I had no idea the transport could be detected by human technology!" It protested. In return it only saw suspicious looks.

Then Betty shifted her attention to the sight of the JIPCORET vehicle pulling to the curb as a Beverly Hills PD Cruiser swung in behind them. She raised her comm to her lips. "Braddock, the police will expect you to stop and complain about the damage, so go ahead, we don't want them interested in the rest of us!" She received a quick but reluctant acknowledgement.

"Coke and Company don't have badges to flash, Betts?" Shego asked, "I mean I know their agency is Top Secret, but don't they have a cover to use, like Global?"

Betty smiled faintly and shook her head. "Their boss doesn't want to owe any favors to any other Federal Agency, so no, they don't!" She tried to suppress her amusement and satisfaction with the situation as the JIPCORET vehicle faded from view behind them.

Then the alien spoke up again in aggrieved tone. "As to your previous question, Miss Barr, everything isn't 'Space Passage', you know!" He paused, and Shego imagined him shaking his head inside his suit, "And we are on such a tight budget!"

X0X0X0X0X00X0X00X

And so I manage to continue this story. At least I have the urge to write again, and no disasters of the technical or health kind occurring, so here it is.