AN: As you're no doubt aware, there's been yet another mass shooting, this time in Maine. It's a terrible and all-too-common problem in our society, and I thought I'd write a KP fic addressing the issue. Needless to say, this deals with a serious and touchy subject, so you may want to skip this one. Also, I don't own Kim Possible.

Jim and Tim were sitting in their English class, feeling extremely bored. The thirteen-year-olds were now high school sophomores, having been moved up a couple of grades as science prodigies. But while they loved math and science—in fact, they could even stump the teachers with their questions—they didn't like other subjects nearly as much. English was one of the boys' least favorite classes, especially since it was right before lunch and they were always feeling hungry throughout class. Tim had zoned out and was thinking of how good a cheeseburger would taste when his teacher called on him.

"Ahem. Earth to Tim Possible? Mr. Possible? Earth to Tim Possible?"

Jim elbowed his brother, quickly snapping the red-shirted boy out of his thoughts. Realizing that his teacher was calling on him, Tim sat up straight and tried to look more alert than he really was. "Yes, Mr. Wilkinson?" he answered.

"I was asking you about our reading in Animal Farm. What figure did Napoleon represent in the story?"

"Um—" Tim needed a minute to think about that one. He knew that Napoleon was a dictator, but which one? Those guys tended to run together in his mind. "Hitler?"

The teacher sighed. "No, Stalin. Next time pay atten—"

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Suddenly, for both the twins and the entire town of Middleton, Animal Farm was the last thing on their minds.

A Sitch Like No Other

Kim and Ron were enjoying pizza together at Kim's apartment. The boyfriend and girlfriend were both pretty busy from missions and their classes at the University of Upperton, but they tried their best to make time for "date lunches" when they would simply be together and enjoy each other's company. This was one of those lunches.

"I have to say, the local pizzeria's great!" Ron commented as he wolfed down a slice of pizza. "Way better than the national chains."

"I know, right?" Kim agreed. "A bit pricey, but definitely worth it."

After finishing his slice, Ron offered Kim the last piece. "You still hungry, KP?"

"Yes, but not for the pizza." Kim smiled seductively at Ron and was just about to take off her shirt when her Kimmunicator went off. Sighing in frustration, she picked it up and turned it on. "Wade, I thought we agreed this was—Wade? What's wrong?"

Kim could tell immediately that this was no ordinary sitch. The normally upbeat boy looked deeply shaken and almost on the verge of tears. He swallowed hard and looked at the redhead. "Kim, I—I don't really know how to tell you this, but there's been an attack at Middleton High. Some guy came in with an assault rifle and—"

Wade kept talking, but Kim didn't hear anything after "assault rifle". For all her work as a superhero, she had never in a million years imagined she would ever hear news like this. There had been a mass shooting at her old school. JIM AND TIM's school. Her brothers had to be scared out of their—oh God, what if they had been shot? Were they even still alive? Kim tried to concentrate on the task at hand and think like the superhero she was, but her emotions simply wouldn't let her. In that moment she could only think like a terrified older sister.

"What about Jim and Tim? Have you heard anything about them?" she asked desperately.

Wade sadly shook his head. "Nobody's accounted for yet. All I know is that a bunch of students were killed."

Leaping out of her chair so fast she knocked it over, Kim raced for the apartment door. "Ron, come on! We've got to get to the school! NOW!"

Ron was right behind her. The two of them raced to the Sloth, and Kim initially struggled to open the door—her hands were shaking too badly to use the keys. Ron gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Kim, maybe I should drive."

He had a point. Given Kim's emotional state, she probably wasn't safe behind the wheel. "O-okay," she agreed, handing him the keys. "But please hurry!"

Agonizing Wait

Even though Middleton High School wasn't that far away from Kim's Upperton apartment, and even though Ron drove well above the speed limit, the drive went much too slow for both of them. Kim spent the entire trip in tears, trying as hard as she could not to think about the worst-case scenario. Ron hated seeing her so upset, and he was fairly fond of the boys himself. The two of them could be wild and crazy, but they were good kids at heart.

About a block away from the high school, they noticed large amounts of cars parked on the street—clearly, other relatives and parents had come to the school to check on their loved ones as well. Ron managed to find a spot to park the Sloth, and then he and Kim raced to the school campus. State, county and city police were there in force, and Kim quickly spotted Officer Hobble at the perimeter.

"Officer Hobble!" Kim ran up to the local officer as fast as she could. "Officer Hobble, please, you've got to—"

The officer shook his head. "Ms. Possible, I'm sorry, but this is one situation we can't let you intervene in. You're not trained to handle active shooters."

Kim shook her head. "You don't understand! Both of my little brothers are in that school! I-I've got to know if they're okay!"

Officer Hobble's face turned grim. "Ms. Possible, I'm a father. I know where you're coming from, I really do. But there are fifteen hundred students at Middleton High School, and every one of them has family members who are just as scared as you are. Accounting for everyone is going to take time."

He was right and Kim knew it. There was simply nothing she could do except wait and hope for the best—but God, it would be torture. She reluctantly left Officer Hobble and made her way back to Ron. "They didn't say anything we didn't already know," she stammered to him. "We've just got to—got to—oh Ron, I love them so much!" She threw her arms around him and completely broke down sobbing, unable to speak any further. Ron held her and tried to comfort her as best he could, but there was nothing he could really do, either.

The two of them joined the large group of anxious relatives and started to wait for news. It wasn't long before James arrived and met up with Kim and Ron—Ann, he explained, couldn't be there because it was all-hands-on-deck at the hospital, but she was as terrified as everyone else. The wait continued. Eventually word was given that the shooter was dead, and police began to bring students out to be reunited with their parents. Jim and Tim were not among them. For three excruciating hours, the Possibles and Ron continued to wait.

Finally, a police officer approached them. "Ms. Possible," he said to Kim, "there's something we need to talk to you about." The tone of his voice made it clear that Kim wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. "You had mentioned to Mr. Hobble that your two younger brothers were in the school, correct?"

Too alarmed to speak, Kim only nodded.

"Were they younger than their classmates? Maybe twelve or thirteen?"

Kim nodded again, feeling an increasing sense of dread.

"Identical twins with brown hair? Was one wearing a green shirt and the other a red one?"

Tears were beginning to come to Kim's eyes as she started to realize what the officer was trying to say. "Y-yes," she stammered. "That's what they usually wear."

The officer took a deep breath, clearly upset. "Ms. Possible, I am so sorry to tell you this, but two dead bodies matching that description were found in one of the classrooms."

Kim immediately collapsed onto the ground. The worst-case scenario had come horribly true—Jim and Tim were dead. They would never have a chance to grow up. They would never become the renowned scientists she knew they would have been. They would never have girlfriends or become parents. All because of one cruel, heartless individual they didn't even know. "JIM! TIM!" she screamed as she sobbed hysterically. "JESUS CHRIST, THEY WERE ONLY THIRTEEN!"

Aftermath

The final death toll from the attack was 14 students, 3 teachers and the shooter, ironically one of Kim's least-feared enemies. Frugal Lucre had been able to get the gun despite his criminal record and had attacked the school to show he could be a serious villain, too—and it couldn't be denied that he had succeeded on that point. Not even Shego would have stooped this low.

Like the other families who lost loved ones in the attack, the Possibles were devastated as they turned to the grim task of planning a funeral for Jim and Tim. They decided that since the boys were so inseparable in life, they would be placed in a single large casket so they would always be side-by-side in death. The service itself was held in Middleton's historic First Baptist Church, and it was filled to overflowing with people who wanted to show support for Kim and her family in their time of grief. Even a few of Kim's enemies showed up to pay their respects.

After the shooting, the high school building was closed and demolished. A memorial for the victims was built on the site, and eventually a new high school was constructed adjacent to the middle school. With time, the people of Middleton resumed life as normal. But no one who experienced that terrible day ever forgot it.