Author's Note
I do not own Kim Possible. All Rights to the rightful owners.
This stands as a short sequel to The Doomsday Children. While you can read this without reading that one first, it'll probably be a little confusing.
Kim gnawed on her pencil and turned the page of her book. Even after three years, there was so much in the world to learn. They had been kept away from all of it. It still all felt like she was scrambling desperately to catch up.
"Oh man, homework? From your parents? During summer vacation?" Ron asked.
She shrugged. "It's not homework. I'm just learning."
"Without the imminent threat of punishment?" Ron shook his head. "You guys really are weird in all kinds of ways."
Kim growled, showing off her sharpened teeth. "One day this might be important."
"You know what else is important?" Ron flopped down on the floor beside her, rolling onto his back. "Chilling."
"We are chilling," Goldie said.
"You're reading books; that's not chilling!"
A rocket shot over his head, looped a quick circle, and plunged towards him. Helios raised a hand and a forcefield formed over him. The rocket slammed into it and shattered into pieces. Goldie tugged Flare aside before the green skinned child could be pelted with them.
"Jim!" Kim shouted. "Tim! No rockets in the house! Dad'll ground us for a month if you blow another hole in the ceiling!"
"It wasn't our fault!" Jim called back.
"Yeah, Winter set it off!" Tim agreed.
Kim groaned. "Winter, what have you been told about being careful?"
"Sorry!" Winter called. "Accident! Too much juice!"
Kim rolled her eyes. "Just be careful! I don't wanna be grounded again!"
Ron sighed. "My parents never let me play with rockets."
Helios glanced at him. "Ron, the last time you tried to fire a rocket, you fired it into your parents' bedroom window."
"That was an accident!"
"No rockets for you."
Ron groaned and laid his chin on his hand. "You guys are gonna figure out how to have fun one day, right?"
"We have fun," said Kim.
"You stay home all day, and instead of chilling, you– You read books and build rockets!"
"That's not true," replied Kim.
"We also learn kung fu," said Goldie.
"I will never understand you guys."
By the time Anne's car pulled into the drive, the Possible siblings (and Ron) had relocated from the dining room floor to the sitting room floor. The twins were sadly trying to rebuild their rocket, with little success.
"Did you have to smash it so good?" Jim complained.
Helios shrugged. "I didn't smash it. You crashed it into my shield."
"You smashed it!"
"I did not."
"What's going on in here?" Anne called.
"Nothing!" shouted Jim and Tim, gathering up the rocket remnants.
A tall figure in a white coat and blue scrubs appeared in the doorway. A doctor! Kim snarled and sprang to her feet, firing off a blast of orange light. Anne shrieked and jumped aside. Kim's blast shot past her and slammed into the wall, cracking the already damaged plaster. Anne jumped out of sight. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kimmie. I didn't have time to get changed."
Kim growled softly. "Don't do that!"
"I know, I'm sorry, honey. I'll just go and get changed. I brought food!"
"Score!" shouted the twins.
They had never quite adjusted to just… having food whenever they wanted it. In the laboratory, it had only ever been a reward for doing well. They had spent most of their lives hungry.
"Set the table then!" Anne shouted as she headed upstairs.
None of them – except maybe Flare – had ever seen the point in cutlery. Their hands worked perfectly well. But James and Anne insisted on it being there, just in case they wanted to learn to use it. One day.
They took their seats in their usual pairs, and Ron snagged the seat opposite Kim, what might have been–
No.
They never made it this far.
Anne had brought pasta, and they filled their plates, quickly beginning to devour it.
"Chew before you swallow, don't choke yourselves," Anne scolded.
Helios paused and curled his lip, displaying his fangs.
"Yes, you've got very nice teeth. Now use them."
"Hey, Mrs P?" Ron asked. "Have you ever… like, thought about teaching them some chill? Or some games? They need to learn to chillax."
"Oh, Ron. They just relax in their own way."
"Yeah, and it's weird! Teach them to be normal."
Helios pulled his legs up onto his chair and leant forward to whip his tail against Kim's arm. "Does anything about us look normal to you, Ron?"
Ron rubbed his head. "Well, now that you mention it… I mean, not that that's a bad thing, but… You do have a mouth full of fangs."
"Would 'normal' mean going to school?" asked Kim.
"Well, yeah, that would be a start! I can teach you aaaall about being a normal teenager. Instead of…" He waved a hand. "Well, this."
"What's wrong with… 'this?'"
"Nothing, nothing. Nothing at all."
Kim stuffed the last of her pasta in her mouth and reached out for another helping. "School could be new."
"Another laboratory," said Helios.