Her head is fuzzy. She doesn't know what hit her, but it was strong. It isn't that painful, surprisingly enough, just incredibly overwhelming. She feels her skin shift at speeds that aren't possible, and her bones crack and condense. If anything, she might just be losing her mind. That's fine. She's lost it before. No big and all that.

When she comes to, it takes Kim far too long to realize that she's not on her knees, but standing on both feet. Everything seems bigger and now pain is settling in; her head throbs and pulsates as she looks around the room warily.

It's a lab, a gigantic lab in some kind of warehouse with some kind of death ray at the center. Death ray is deactivated though. It was easy enough to do.

There are people in red costumes running about and a man with a blue face leering at her from a few yards away. She's supposed to know his name. It takes a second.

Drakken .

Kim steps forward, and it's her bare feet that plod along the metal. It's cold. It creases upward where the crooked steel panels meet, and she bends her foot around one to feel it. Why is she barefoot though? She should have shoes and socks on.

Kim looks back dimly, and sees most of her clothing on the floor behind her. Pants, utility belt, combat boots, everything. How did they fall off? She looks down at her body and sees her purple tunic hanging off of her shoulders like a dress. That doesn't make sense either. Something's wrong.

Who am I again?

The blue man—Drakken—she has to remind herself, and the green lady—Shego?—come towards her. Both of them are laughing up a storm. She's not sure what's so funny. She marches towards them, trying to look as serious as she can. She has to fight them (probably.)

Something wrong happens again. Drakken and the green lady are way too big. Kim has to look up at them to meet their eyes, like way up. And that's when she notices her hair isn't touching her shoulders. She claps a hand to her head and it's short, really short. Like a buzzcut. The bad guys are still laughing.

"What did you do to me?" Kim says in a small voice that cracks like a teenage boy's. Everything is going wrong today. Drakken howls, and pounds Shego on the back. Kim doesn't get what's so funny, so she strolls past them, but she doesn't get far. Shego stops Kim by gently pushing against her chest. Her flat chest. Kim touches it to confirm. Flat. Kim touches her cheek. Soft. Round.

Hand small too. She holds one out. Wrist is thin and skinny.

She whispers something to herself. Speech is slow, cadence is soft, voice is high.

She takes in a deep breath, and speaks clinically. "You turned me into a child, didn't you?"

Drakken stops laughing and flashes a dark look at her. "Aw boo, you just love to take the fun out of things."

"This is boring," Kim deadpans and turns away, plodding over to the staircase where she can leave to go home and figure out how to undo this. The age regression thing is boring. Kim's gone up against it before, heck, she's even used it to do undercover work. Her memories are starting to come back in.

Just don't let it get to you, Possible. These things always come with a mindfuck. Stay stable and they can't mess with your brain chemistry.

There's a loud twisting sound that pricks Kim's ears up. She looks back to see Drakken adjusting a dial on his big dumb machine. Sighing, Kim walks back over to him and stares at Drakken, then cracks into an ugly smirk. "You're terrified of me."

Even with her high pitched voice, it's chilling. Kim's been scary for the last twenty years of her life; she's been the perfect agent ever since her parents died of cancer the same year her brothers died in a car crash, which was about three years ago now.

The same year she snapped and had to take the divorce after twenty years of marriage. Doesn't matter. She feels bad for Ron, but she has to be the perfect agent, and to create that you need tragedy.

"You have destroyed me, Drew," Kim spits. "You've hurt so many people I loved. But you haven't broken me yet. I love watching you try though, I laugh everytime I get home and wipe the blood away. Go ahead, turn me into a twelve year old girl. It doesn't change anything."

There. Good soldier.

Drakken continues to twist away at his gun. "You are so wrong. You're not a twelve year old girl."

Kim raises an eyebrow. "I know my body."

"Do you? Because you're not a girl anymore," he laughs and the gun glows up again. "And I've decided twelve is far too old for you."

"Do your worst—"

The beam hits her again. She blinks and stumbles into a metal railing behind her. Her skin's shifting and this time she fights hard enough to stay conscious, she knows what she's dealing with now. She takes one step forward just as the blur leaves her, and she's smaller. It's going to take a moment for her to—

—she gets so small the tunic slips off her shoulders and she sees her tiny skinny bare body that's—that's—no no, she's not a boy, no, that's not right. Cold air hits her hard and she yanks the tunic out of the air, pressing it over her little body. Drakken and Shego are massive to her and she bites back a scream, her voice so high it hurts her ears.

It's not even over yet, she grabs an iron bar besides her for support and she feels it run under her fingers as she regresses more and more.

She thinks about Ron, she thinks about the planet she's supposed to protect, and tries not to cry because she's about to let them down.

Kim's mind shatters.

Her whole life fades, like it was all just pretend. She's scared and on the floor, crying.

She shakes, teeth chattering. Her voice is really high and she doesn't know how old she is, but she knows she's really, really little. Kim doesn't like being little, she doesn't like not being in control.

No that's not why she's so scared, she's always been little. She's a little girl, no that's wrong too.

She's a boy. She touched her um, thing, and it was different. Yep! He remembers now. He's a little boy and… he doesn't know where he is. That's why he's upset?

No, no, that's still not it. Confused. So confused.

The mean blue faced man rips the tunic off him—and the cold air hits him so hard. He screams and sobs, nails catching on the tunic before it's gone. He pulls on it. "Imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry—"

"So much for laughing at me, huh?" The scary man lets go of the tunic and it falls back over Kim.

Kim scrunches up and shakes. It's so cold.

The man leers at him. "What's 5 times 5?"

Kim blinks back tears. He doesn't know the answer to that. He hasn't learned that in school yet, no no, he has, he just—his head hurts so much.

Everything is leaving his mind so fast.

Kim. Focus. Please. Remember. Betty trained you for this. Hang on.

I'm forty years old. I've been with Global Justice for 22. I have a responsibility. I owe people so much.

I need to live. Please.

"Hey lady, " a little boy in her head squeaks. " C-can you help me? I'm scared."

Kim almost punches the air. She fucking did it. She fucking pulled it off. She split her new consciousness into two people. It won't last forever though.

Now go.


" I'm really cold and I don't think these mean people like me, " the little boy says.

" That's okay, " Kim tells him, " You're safe with me, I can protect you. Just listen to my voice, okay? "

" Are you one of my imaginary friends? "

" No, I'm you. It's complicated. Stay with me, I need your help.


Kim learned this at work a long time ago—trauma breaks minds. Hold on to something if you're falling. Take something with you. Don't let go.

Kim focuses and takes her imploding brains and smooshes them together. She can't transfer everything, but she can leave some nuggets behind for her new self to hold onto. The brain pools visualize into two massive rings in an abyss pressing together, and creating a—


"Ooh! Ooh! I know this, this is a, um, venn diagram! We use these in school!"

"It's not a venn diagram, those are wait, no I can use that. Yes honey, it's a venn diagram."


The circles touch and an oval appears at the center. It's small but limited. Pass the knowledge into that oval, Kim, you don't have long.


Kim thinks. She needs to be precise. " I'm a woman, I know he keeps saying we're a boy, but I'm a girl. Do you understand? "

" Ooh, but he's not talking to you, lady. He's talking to me and I'm a boy. "

" Right ," Kim winces. Go slow. You can't just tell someone they are trans and expect it to stick. You need him to trust you. " We're the same person, I promise. I'm feeling everything you are. I also feel little and scared and —"

She feels even her adult mind shrink into itself, regressing too. She starts to feel the same fears as the boy as the pitch of her voice rises. "— I wanna cry too, but I needta get this done with you first, okay?"

That's okay, Possible it's okay, breath in. You need to be a kid to befriend your new self.

" Okay, I didn't know you were little like me."

"Yes, we're both kids. Sorry for confusing you, " Kim feels her mind threatening to turn into mush. It takes everything she has to keep it afloat. "Can I control our body for a second? Will you let me?"

" Okay, can you tell them I'm really cold."

"Of course, honey."


"How old are you?" the blue man, um, Drakken snaps Kim, the real Kim, out of her moment.

Kim panics, her fingers twitch in and out as she shuffles back. "I'm a grown up!" she spits out. She really hopes she's right.

"Don't lie to us, little boy."

Wait he said she's a boy, is she a boy? No no, she just figured that out. Fuck, this is hard. She understands why the boy is scared, she's terrified right now. Maybe she wasn't even a grownup to begin with. She remembers being twelve earlier.

"S-s-s-sorry, I'm, I'm, twelve."

Drakken smirks. "Liar."


"Ha ha, liar liar pants on fire!" the little boy laughs.

"Stop!" Kim screams, trying not to cry in front of this little boy making fun of her. "It's not funny, I don't know. I can't remember, can you help me?

"Okaaaay… what's four plus five?"


Nine. Kim knows that. She can add numbers real good. "I turned nine a week ago!"

"Good boy. Shego, I think we should ."

Kim blinks. She should know what they're talking about, but they're grown-ups and they do grown up talk and… she doesn't understand anything they're saying. Try as she might, Kim is just a dumb kid now. This is happening too fast, she needs more time.

Her head hurts so fucking much.


"Don't be so sad, Kimmie," the little boy says. "We're gonna be ok."

"No we're not! I can't 'member anything and—and—what did you just call me?"

"Kimmie! I think it's cute."

"Kimmie. Kimmie. My name is… Kim..berly Ann Possible."

"Ooh. Mine's —"

"Don't say it, it's going to mess my head up. Listen to me, our name is Kimberly Ann Possible."

"Ew, that's a girl's name."

"I know, but we're a girl. Anyone can be a girl, okay? Please trust me."

"Grosssssss…" Then something changes. The little boy's voice lifts with curiosity as her whole self is altered by this one idea Kim successfully plants.

It's working. It's actually working.

"Really? I'm a… girl. I always thought about that an' stuff but I was scared I'd get beat up if I told anyone!"

Kim smiles. "I'm really proud of you for telling me, being a girl is fun, isn't it?"

"Okay… okay! Yeah, we're a girl, so I'm Kim Possible too?"

"Yep!"


Okay good, those are two seeds. She got her name and gender through.

The gap is closing, she knows in the real world right now she's curled up on the floor screaming. The mean lady is trying to pick her up and she keeps thrashing her off.

She tries not to think about it, it's making it hard to get this done.


"I have bad news, focus on me, okay?" Kim urges.

"'Kay."

"Our mommy and daddy died a few years ago, they had um, I don't 'member they were sick."

The child doesn't say anything at first, and then a twinge of anger comes to her voice. "...Why are you lying to me?"

"Huh? I'm not lying! My mommy and daddy died and —"

"No, Kimmie, they abandoned us," the little Kim says as the brains start to make sense of this new world. " Then somebody beat me up at the shelter I hadta go to and I got really scared —"

"No stop that's not true —"

"Yes it is!" the child screams. " I don't have a home, I sleep in boxes, and… and…"


Kim clamps the sides of her head as even more knowledge, as even more potential washes away. But she can't stop it. It's her head telling her the truth.

She's never been to school because no one had the chance to make her go. She doesn't know how to read or write, most words are too big for her. She has no friends, she doesn't really know what it's like to talk to people. She's super immature because of that, so far removed from the real Kim.

Another shift. She doesn't live anywhere, she sleeps in alleyways and eats very little. Her brain flares waves through her body that change everything.

Her body shrinks rapidly as she gets skinny and bony. Her lips go dry and she feels incredibly hungry. Kim shrinks more and more, becoming weaker and frailer as the lack of any kind of healthy nutrition majorly stunts her growth. She shrinks to the size of a kindergartener even though she's still nine.

She tries to regain control, but it's so hard, she can't stop thinking of how hungry she is.

Kim hears her own uncontrollable weeping, knows it's not really her, and squeezes in tighter. She needs to regain control.


"Our little brothers are gone too," Kim interrupts the child's tantrum, but still her voice shakes. She's starting to get kinda scared of the kid, she's tryin' to be nice but they keep getting upset and, and, maybe it's because she's a bad friend. She's always been a bad friend, she's no good.

"Little? I don't 'member them. That's so sad, they musta been really little, because we're so little, Kimmie."

Stupid Kimmie, always wrong about stuff. "Oh, you're right. Maybe they were our big brothers. I'm sure of it. Sorry. Our big brothers died." That doesn't sound right, but she's being dumb and then—

—absolute—

—excruciating—

—pain.

She's dying. She howls and cries and when it's over, Kim, the real Kim, giggles mindlessly. " I think I was pretendin'! I was lyin' about being an adult earlier and knowin' all this stuff, do you want to play?"

"What?" the other Kim seems a little concerned at the sudden change. " I'm confused, I thought you wanted to take care of me."

"How can I? I'm a little kid, come on let's play! " Kim giggles.

"No you're not, you're not little, I promise. You been spendin' all this time tryna tell me about this stuff you know, Kimmie."

"Oh, um. Okay, I'm… I'm really scared."

Kim can't remember anything now. Her parents' names, whether or not they were big or little brothers, the fact that she used to save the world, what town she's from… wait, there's one thing. It's a boy. His name. What's his name?

" We don't have a mommy and daddy to take care of us, " Kim whines. " I don't 'member enough, I'm 'sposed to save the world a-a-and…"

"It's okay, Kimmie, " the other Kim coos, snagging Kim's waning confidence from her. " You're really smart, and really brave. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, we're um —" the other Kim hesitates, she may be nine, but something in her little noggin is telling her to protect the little girl. That's what Kim Possible does. "— I'm going to protect you, okay? No matter what happens, we're in this together."

"Thank you," Kim squeaks. " I remembered something. It's really important."

"Okay, little Kimmie. I'll 'member it too."

"Our best friend is still alive. He kinda hates us but um, he can help. His name was… um… um… oh no. No no no no no no…"

"Don't cry, sh sh sh… it's okay, we're going to be okay. Let's take a nap."

"NO! How could I forget his name?! He was my best friend!"

"We'll figure it out! 'Kay? We're Kim Possible! We can do anything! Right?"

"You're right, thank you for being nice to me. I'm kinda sleepy, I think I have to go now. Can ya do me a favor?"

"Of course I will, silly!"

"Can you help me save the world?"


The merge closes and never reopens.

This is Kim Possible.


Little Kimmie snaps back and she sees herself looking up at the big lady's chin. She's being cradled like a baby. She looks around at the passing scenery, tears dry on her cheeks. Her head is whirling. She was talking to herself for so long in her head, maybe it was one of her imaginary friends. That was mean of them to distract her for so long.

"Sorry it had to be like this," the lady says, setting Kimmie down in a room and opening up a locker near them. "Doc said it's the only way, holy shit did you regress even more?"

Kimmie doesn't know what that word means, she just wants to go home, wherever that is tonight.

"How old are you?" the lady snaps.

"I'm n-n-n-nine," Kimmie winces, hands gripping onto the tunic eclipsing her, squeezing it tight. "I th-think, n-n-no one celebrates my birthday anymore."

"You sure?"

"Yes, m-m-a-a-a-a'am. I'm just really small for my age."

The lady raises an eyebrow. "That… doesn't seem right. You're not supposed to be a small kid…"

Kimmie doesn't know what that means but she doesn't want to ask. "I've always b-b-been-n really l-l-l-little, m-ma'am."

"You're not supposed to be a nervous wreck either," the lady adds on.

The lady groans and tosses Kimmie some rags. Kimmie eyes them, and scampers over, doing her best to put them on. But they're way too big for her, everything's always too big for her. They tumble off to the floor and she starts shaking in the cold, teeth chattering.

"D-do you have anyth-thing sm-smaller? I'm s-s-sorry, ma'am. I really appreciate y-you h-helping me."

The lady scoffs and tosses some other rags at her. Kimmie hurriedly puts it on. It's still slipping off her shoulders, and she remembers it's cold outside. She thinks she had a nice jacket earlier, she wants to ask if she can go find it but she doesn't want to get yelled at. And this lady seems sad too, Kimmie doesn't want to bother her. But it's so cold.

"C-c-can you h-help me tie my clothes down a little?" Kimmie asks sheepishly. "I think we can make it fit me good that way! I just don't know how to tie my knots…"

The lady gets down on her knees and helps her, Kimmie tries to watch her hands to memorize it but the hands block the actual knot and she doesn't learn anything. It's really hard for her to follow along, even if she concentrates.

Kimmie's head kinda hurts but she's pretty sure she broke into this scary place to get some food. That has to be it. But she didn't even find any food, because she's such a dumb loser. She starts to cry.

The lady looks at Kimmie all sad like and shakes her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "Kiddo, don't worry. You have parents to go home to, right?"

"No," Kimmie sniffles. "They h-h-h-hate me, they kicked me out when I was l-little," she sniffs a huge booger back in and she thinks she swallows it through her nose. "I don't have anywhere to go! I ran away from the sh-sh-shelter because the other kids were m-m-mean to me a-and… please don't make me go back out there. I'm really hungry."

The lady looks so angry now, and squeezes the bridge of her nose. "This isn't funny anymore. Come on. Are you a boy or are you a girl?"

Kimmie hesitates. She doesn't want to get hit for lying. "I'm a g-g-girl, I kn-know I don't look like one, ma'am, b-but I'm a girl a-and..."

When the lady doesn't say anything, Kimmie keeps talking. This might be her chance to find a home, even though this lady is kinda mean. "I'm really sc-sc-scared. I—I don't have any food, I dunno where I'm gonna sleep tonight… can you please help me? My mommy and daddy—"

" SHUT UP! "

Kimmie flinches, expecting to get hit. But when she looks up the lady is crying.

"Please," Kimmie tries again. "Please help me. E-everybody h-h-h-hates me a-and—" she hiccups. "I'm so hungry—"

The lady lunges at her and Kimmie flinches, covering her head and ducking. But she doesn't hit her. Kimmie winces anyways and looks at her.

"Kim, is that you?" the scary lady asks. "Are you still in there?"

Kimmie likes that name a lot. But she's too scared now to speak, she doesn't like it when mean people touch her. The woman shakes her and it hurts. "Y-y-y-y-y-you're h-h-h-holding-holding m-m-m-me t-t-t-t-t-t-toooooo—" Her jaw locks in and her eyes water, she fidgets to get away. The lady finally lets her go and Kimmie backs off, jaw still not letting her talk. She just stares now, hoping the lady will help her.

"This is so fucked up. Stay there, sweetheart, okay?" the lady says. "I'm gonna get my friend. He's going to bring you back, okay?"

Last time someone told Kimmie that they'd bring her back, it was to the shelter where she got bullied all the time for being so tiny and girly.

She's really weak and it's not easy for her to run, but she has to. She's a—a—

" You're a survivor ," her imaginary friend tells her. She sounds sad. " You can do anything. "

Kimmie doesn't want to run, she wants to hug her imaginary friend and tell her she's going to be okay too, but she doesn't know how to. And she's still too scared to speak.

" Kimmie. It's okay. You're okay. I'm going to do my best to protect you. We're best friends, alright?"

Kimmie nods and pretends her imaginary friend is with her, runs away, and doesn't look back. When she finally finds a box in an alleyway to hide under, she works up the nerve to speak again.

"You're a survivor too, Kimmie," she tells them. "We both are."