Shivering, Kim looked up at the tower looming over her in the dim moonlight. It wasn't from the cool breeze, even though she could see her breath very faintly. Becoming a slayer had improved her tolerance for cooler temperatures. It was something else. There was a presence here, something rubbing her nerves raw. If asked what it was like she would have described it as bitter and smoky.
Looking around and hearing waves beating against distant rocks, she knew she'd been here before, though she wasn't sure when or why. Taking a deep breath she carefully stepped forward, onto the gravel path that lead towards the recessed entrance.
"You can't go in," a small voice behind her said.
Jumping in surprise, Kim turned around. Watching her with a sad expression on her face was a slim girl dressed in a dark green blouse and black jeans. She couldn't have been more than ten, Kim guessed. Even in the dim light there was something distinctly familiar about her.
"Why not?" she asked curiously.
"It says 'No girls allowed'," she said, pointing behind Kim.
Turning around once more, Kim gasped in surprise. The tower had been replaced by a large, ancient looking tree, branches swaying slightly in the wind. A rough ladder, made from boards nailed to the tree, wound up its side. Perched halfway up the tree, where the trunk split into an octopus of large branches, was a treehouse. Tacked next to the rough door was the sign. As she looked up, the wind began to increase. Above the sound of creaking wood, Kim could hear the faint murmur of several voices.
"Who's up there?" Kim asked.
"My brothers," the girl said, dashing around Kim. "They won't come down." She reached up and grabbed one of the boards, pulling herself up onto the ladder. "Something bad is gonna happen."
"You can't help her," a voice said, a hand gripping her shoulder and preventing her from moving forward.
Looking down at the gloved hand, Kim followed it to its owner, surprised to find herself staring at Shego. "Why not?" Kim asked.
"It's already happened," Shego said, a pained expression crossing her face. "Watch."
Confused, Kim looked back at the tree. The girl continued climbing, barely holding on as the wind picked up. Kim struggled to escape from Shego. She wasn't sure what was going on but the girl needed her help.
"Let me go!" Kim shouted above the now roaring wind. Shego said nothing, her eyes glued to the tree and the figure struggling to climb it.
A flash of light blinded her seconds before a wave of heat knocked both of them off of their feet. Somehow, Shego maintained her grip on Kim's shoulder.
Struggling to sit up, Kim looked towards the tree. "Where'd it go?" she asked in surprise. She now seemed to be sitting in an empty yard. Dried, brown grass waved in a light breeze, all the way to a rusty fence. A mist obscured everything on the other side. "What happened to the girl?"
"She grew up," Shego said, climbing to her feet. Brushing dust from her clothes, she started walking away.
Standing up, Kim watched her disappear into the mist. "Shego?" Kim shouted. When there was no answer she shouted again.
"She can't hear you," a soft, musical voice said in her ear. Kim spun around in surprise, her hands raised defensively. Watching her was a barefooted woman with dirty blonde hair, a grassy meadow dotted with yellow flowers stretching out behind her into the distance. Crouched at her feet was another woman dressed in bits of hide and rags, dreadlocks only partially covering her painted face. Kim stepped back.
"Who are you?" Kim asked.
"I speak for those with no voice," the blonde said, a quirky smile briefly appearing on her face as if listening to a private joke. The other woman grunted in response and spit on the ground. The blonde leaned down and kissed the other on a paint covered cheek. "And Sineya has no patience for long winded speeches and pretentious prophets." she said as the primitive looking woman rose gracefully to her feet and circled Kim, sniffing at her but never touching.
"What does she want?" Kim asked, keeping her voice low to avoid startling her. There was something about her name that she knew she should know.
"She's curious."
"There's nothing special about me." Kim said. Sineya snorted and shook her head. Kim frowned.
"You actually believe that. It puzzles her."
"Why?"
The blonde woman shrugged. "You're different from other slayers she's watched. You aren't being modest."
Kim watched Sineya, pivoting on her feet as she turned to follow. She felt a small spike of worry in her throat as the woman took off at a run in the same direction Shego had disappeared.
"You can't follow her," the blond said. Kim turned back to her, no longer surprised that the scenery had changed again, this time to a barren, rocky plain. She could feel the hard, sharp ground pressing against her feet.
"Where's she going?" Kim asked.
"Hunting intruders."
"Shego?" Kim asked, worried.
"Your green friend came with you," the woman said. "There are other things here that weren't invited."
"What do you mean?" Kim asked, fighting the urge to follow Sineya into the mist. Before she could get an answer, she was engulfed in a swirling mass of hot air and dust. Shielding her face with her hands, Kim scrunched her eyes tightly closed to keep out the grit that was tearing at every inch of exposed skin. Sinking to the ground as the wind increased to a howl, Kim curled up into a ball. It was becoming difficult to breath. She could feel herself losing consciousness.
"Kim! Kim!" Ron's voice called to her.
"What?" She sat up with a start, pulling her jacket away from her sticky face. Looking around wildly, it took her a moment to remember where they were. They were on their way home after an exhausting trip up the Nile to foil Monkey Fist's latest attempt to steal a mystical monkey artifact. They'd dropped the Golden Monkey Mummy off at the Cairo museum and had turned Monkey Fist over to the local Global Justice office.
The lumbering C-130 they'd caught a ride on had seemed like the perfect place to catch up on her sleep. Now she wasn't too sure.
"Are you okay?" Ron asked. He and Rufus were giving her concerned looks from their corner of the small passenger compartment of the large cargo plane.
"Just a dream," she said. Unbuckling her seat belt, Kim stood up and stretched. Looking at her watch, she sighed. They wouldn't reach Middleton for another three hours, just in time for dinner.
"One of those slayer dreams?" Ron asked excitedly.
"Not sure," Kim mumbled, grabbing a bottle of water from the in-cabin fridge. Dropping back into her seat, she grabbed her kimmunicator to check in with Wade. "Hey Wade, what's up?"
Kim squinted slightly, trying to bring the distant red hills into sharp focus in the hazy afternoon sun. In the back of her mind, in the chilly semi-intelligent mechanical depths of her com implant, she could feel the faint electronic shadows of the rest of her team. With barely a conscious thought, she checked her com for their current status.
Wade was in low orbit just out past Phobos, monitoring everything from their cloaked ship. From the occasional bursts of data pinging her from their own coms just over the horizon, Ron and Yuri were having no luck as they searched the crumbling city they'd discovered the day before. Riding the air in his small, nearly invisible AV, circling lazily between her position and Ron's, Rufus was ready with all of the lethal firepower the Council could squeeze into it.
They were all too far away to show up as more than colored dots in her display as it appeared to float unsupported in front of her right eye. Frowning, she turned slowly in a futile attempt to find her team with her own senses. She'd been using some form of com implant for years now but she refused to rely on it completely.
Even with the most recent upgrades, now that the Council witch docs had figured out how to prevent the mystical slayer immune system from rejecting the com-brain interface on a regular basis, she preferred her own senses over the constant barrage of information the com was giving her. She wasn't foolish enough to defy protocol and shut down her com implants but she had convinced Wade to write her a filter that kept most of the useless, distracting data in the background.
And as much as she would prefer to go without them, her com implants had proven their worth over the years, giving her additional tools to hunt with. In her business, information was survival, but there were still times when she just wanted to turn them off and face the world in all of its raw beauty. There were times when she felt like they processed the data too much. Analyzed too much. Like now.
She continued to look around, focusing back on the hills, frowning at the faint red haze. Mars wasn't her idea of a vacation spot. The recent terra-forming had done little to alter her opinion of it, even if she no longer needed to wear the bulky rebreather. This was her team's first visit since just before the war but it still felt like a dusty wasteland to her enhanced slayer senses. The magic that seeped out of the ground was something totally alien and was well on its way to giving her a headache for the second day in a row.
Her senses were telling her that something was out there, watching her. She imagined she could feel it. Something dangerous. But her implant and the tech streams she was getting from Rufus and Wade still showed nothing. And they had a job to do.
Some ancient artifact of unknown origin was rumored to have been discovered in this area during the war. Rumors had been circulating for years among veterans of the nearby battles, claiming it had somehow wiped out an entire division that had stumbled on it. She wasn't sure what had convinced the Council that the rumors were true but they'd sent their best team in to retrieve it before any of their foes could discover it.
Team Possible just needed to find it and get out. The mystics had been able to narrow down its location to an area of one thousand square kilometers, right in the middle of an uninhabited tech dead zone. The only reason their tech worked at all was because most of it used some form of magical shielding to operate in hostile situations that caused straight electronics to break down.
The ancient city itself had been an unexpected find during their search. Wade believed it had been uncovered at some point near the end of the war by one of the heavier weapons used to smash the colonial rebels. Once they'd retrieved the artifact the Council would send in another specialized team to explore the city. Probably Bonnie, Felix and the Tweebs if they were back from Pluto.
They could have it. Kim just wanted to find the artifact and get off planet, away from the alien magic. The rest of her team would follow her lead even though they weren't affected by it like she was.
Kim made a note to herself. As amusing as it would be to see, she should probably let the Tweebs know that the 'rents were on the warpath again about the lack of grandchildren. Before she could think of it any further, she was enveloped by the feeling that she was standing in the middle of a thunderstorm, her senses suddenly going crazy at the power surge, something she hadn't felt since the Easter Island Hellmouth implosion.
"Wade?" She called, her com flooded by sharp static. She slowly turned around in a circle, focusing her senses outward, straining to identify whatever was causing it.
"Oof!" she involuntarily exclaimed, something knocking her off of her feet from behind.
"*Kim! Are you all right?*" Wade's presence was suddenly sharp, the static gone, almost as if he were leaning over her, the com translating his thoughts so that it seemed as if his voice was in her ear.
"Not sure," she muttered, rolling over to get her face out of the dirt she suddenly found herself wallowing in. The power surge was gone, leaving behind a strange metallic taste in her mouth. Cautiously sitting up, Kim looked around for whatever had knocked her over.
"*Rufus should be there in five,*" Wade said. "*What do you think it was?*"
"No idea," she muttered, getting back up and attempting to brush off the fine red sand that now coated her everywhere. "Gonna need a bath tonight."
"*Good camouflage,*" Wade said. "*Would have lost you if I wasn't already locked onto your com.*" A live video feed appeared in her com, showing her dust covered figure standing on a hill, her eyes the only thing not the same red as the hill.
"Gee, thanks Wade," Kim said, grumbling at the sight.
"*I do what I can,*" he told her smugly.
Before she could reply, Kim felt the presence again, her senses once more picking up some kind of power surge. Flexing her wrists, she armed herself with her force blades. "Wade? It's happening again. Are you recording this?" she said, hoping he could hear her over the returning static.
"*I don't see anything,*" he muttered. "*It's not showing up on any of our sensors.*"
"Even those experimental magic detectors?" Kim asked.
"*Nothing.*" She imagined she could hear him desperately typing away, even though he hadn't needed a keyboard for longer than she could remember.
"Where's Rufus?" Kim asked, looking around. His cloaked AV should have shown up in her com by now. She wondered if the continuing static was affecting her com.
"*Almost there.*" Wade reassured her.
There was a blinding flash of white, a squeal of feedback and her com went dead. "Wade? Wade?" She squinted, trying to get her eyes to focus but all she could see was white and even if she'd been willing to drop her knives, she didn't dare rub her eyes with her dust coated hands. "Wade?"
"He's not here." An almost familiar voice said, speaking to her left.
Pivoting towards the voice, Kim was surprised to see two women standing there on a featureless, white plain. A woman with short, blonde hair in a shapeless white shift stood next to another who was dressed in an odd assortment of bits of green and black cloth and scraps of leather. Her pale green face was painted like some primitive warrior below black dreadlocks. Her presence was the epitome of danger. There was something familiar about both of them. She'd seen them before, somewhere.
"Who are you?" she asked, tensing. "What's going on?"
"You have a very rich imagination," the blonde said, not answering Kim's question. "It should be useful, when you're ready for the next step," she told her cryptically.
"We've met before," Kim mumbled to herself. "Where am I?" she asked. She could feel the power rolling off of the blonde. Squinting and shaking her head in an attempt to engage her com, Kim frowned when nothing changed, her actions having no affect on her surroundings or the two women.
"Somewhere you shouldn't be yet," the blonde said. "It's too soon. We're here to make sure you get back home where you belong."
"Huh?" Kim stared at them in confusion. The green woman shook her head but didn't say anything.
"How can you tell when something is a dream?" the blonde asked.
"A dream?" Kim echoed, confused as the two women faded from view, leaving her standing alone.
"Kim! Time to go to bed." a familiar voice echoed across the empty plain.
"Mom?" Kim opened her eyes and looked around. The screen saver image for the DVD player was bouncing around on her parent's tv. Ron was slumped on the floor against the other couch, his face half in his bowl of popcorn, with Yuri curled up next to him and Rufus sleeping on her shoulder.
Wincing, Kim sat up and stretched. "We can't leave them like that, can we." she grumbled, feeling the need to blame Ron for the strange dream she'd had with the almost familiar blonde, again with the cryptic comments, and Shego dressed up like the First Slayer.
The only explanation for the dream that made any sense was the Governator sci-fi movie marathon he'd pressured her into sitting through. She was going to have to check with Wade in the morning to see if that many Arnold Schwarzenegger movies in one day was going to cause her to permanently lose any IQ points.
Kim's mother shook her head. "No, your brothers will be back from their field trip in the morning. This mess needs to be cleaned up before you pick them up at the airport."
"How about a couple pictures first?" Kim asked, grabbing her Kimmunicator. "This is excellent bribery material."
"Kim, stop stalling," her mother said. "Just wake them up."
Kim gripped the broom tightly between her legs, her hair pushed back from her face by the wind. She leaned forward as she raced towards the other end of the pitch. It wasn't a racing broom, just a basic training model she'd borrowed for the afternoon. She could feel the smooth wood trembling slightly under her fingers as she accelerated out of the turn, pushing it to its limits. From the way it eagerly followed her directions, if she hadn't known better she would have sworn that it was alive and could read her mind.
Aiming upward, she soared high above the pitch, the stands dwindling far below until they were just a small spec next to the large castle. Kim shivered as the air around her cooled with the increase in altitude. She'd been in outer space, traveled all around the world, done more things in the last year than most people would do in a lifetime but flying on a broom was a unique experience for the teen heroine.
If she thought too hard about it, about the way a skinny piece of wood was the only thing between her and the ground, she might wonder about her own sanity. But her motto wasn't just bragging. Anything was possible for a Possible, even if it meant ignoring the way magic seemed to bend reality.
Pointing her broom back at the ground, Kim raced downward in a huge spiral centered around the middle of the pitch. The wind increased, the G-forces pulled at her as she tightened the circle, tucking in her legs to increase her momentum. This was the only place she could attempt such acrobatic feats and she intended to take full advantage of it. Her parents supported her in everything, as they'd always done, but magic made them nervous. Discovering their daughter could do it, that she was a witch, had come as a minor shock. They'd eventually agreed to let her be tutored in the basics but only if it was under very controlled conditions.
She'd been discovered by Professor McGonagall one night in the middle of an intense battle with Shego in the heart of London. She couldn't remember why they'd been there. Probably some insane scheme cooked up by Drakken to use the Crown jewels to take over the world. Or maybe he'd wanted to have tea with the Queen. It didn't really matter anymore. She'd interrupted their fight when she'd seen Kim using magic to shield herself from one of Shego's plasma blasts.
Finding out later that she'd unknowingly been using magic for years had come as a shock, though oddly enough Shego hadn't been surprised when the cat that had wandered between them had morphed into the rather stern looking Hogwarts Headmaster. Shego's reaction was another in a long line of such. Kim suspected there was a lot more to Shego's past than even Wade had been able to unearth.
It was at times like this that she almost regretted not accepting the invitations from Salem Academy and Hogwarts to learn magic in a formal setting. But she'd been too busy helping people; too involved in traveling around the world to stop Drakken, Monkey Fist, DNAmy, and her other foes to take time out and really learn magic. It wasn't that she had any trouble believing in magic. She and Ron had seen too many things over the years to not. But it wasn't a priority.
Finding a couple weeks that first summer to visit Hogwarts had been difficult. The things she'd seen and learned in that short time had been amazing but she wasn't ready to abandon her current life. She didn't think she ever would. Helping people was too much a part of who she was. The wizarding world's isolation from the rest of humanity just didn't work for her. And not just because she would have had to leave the non-magical Ron, Rufus, Wade, and Monique behind.
She'd come away from the experience with a wand that she kept buried deep in a drawer where her brothers wouldn't find it, a better understanding of her anti-plasma spell, a love of flying, and a standing invitation to borrow a broom whenever she was in the neighborhood. And several days a month she would travel by portkey to Hogwarts and spend several hours with Professor McGonagall or one of the other professors learning to control her magic. The flying was her reward. Before heading home she would grab a broom and fly for an hour or two.
There were only two things that gave her a bigger rush than flying on a broom at high speed. One of them was jumping out of a plane and free falling for thousands of feet, breaking her fall at the last moment with a well timed opening of her parachute, the snap of the harness as it jerked her back from the ground at the last moment a feeling like no other.
The only thing that made her feel more alive than that was a no holds barred fight with Shego. Ten minutes of all out, adrenaline drenched effort, blocking punches, leaping over kicks, pitting her skill against Shego's. Nothing in her life so far could top that.
Kim shook her head to bring her attention back to where she was - twenty feet in the air, headed towards the ground, hanging onto a stick that was moving at speeds she rarely achieved on wheels. They could do wonders with magic at Hogwarts to fix broken bones but embarrassing herself by running into something while flying wasn't high on her list of goals for the day. Reaching the bottom of her spiral she shot off towards the furthest goal twice as fast as before, a huge grin on her face at the results of mixing physics and magic.
Feeling someone watching her, Kim leaned back, slowing down as she approached the goal posts. Hearing the soft murmur of voices, she spun around but couldn't see anyone. Puzzled, she continued to circle the pitch until her beeping watch reminded her that her time was almost up. Gliding down to the ground, Kim reluctantly dismounted from the broom. She was supposed to meet Ron at Bueno Nacho in an hour. Even with a portkey, she still had time issues. There was only so much of it to go around.
Turning around after putting away her borrowed broom, Kim thought she heard the voices again but their owners were still hidden. Picking up her bag, she started walking to the exit from the Quidditch field. Her progress was halted by Shego suddenly appearing in front of her.
"What are you doing here?" Kim asked, surprised.
"Doing here?" Shego frowned. "You tell me, it's your dream. I was minding my own business and suddenly I'm here." She waved at the empty stands. "With you."
"Dream?" Kim stared at her. Shego didn't look any different than normal. Her green and black catsuit seemed painted on, just like always, clearly revealing Shego's well developed physique. Her green tinged hair moved in the faint breeze. There was a vitality, almost a glow, to her favorite foe.
"Come on Kimmie!" Shego snorted in amusement, resting a hand on one hip. "Flying on brooms? Magic castles? What did you think this was, kitten?"
"Hogwarts." Kim continued to stare at her, wondering what game she was playing.
"So, you're at a school and there are no children running around?"
"They're in class." Kim said.
"On a Saturday?"
Kim shrugged. It was always like this when she visited. The only person she ever saw was Professor McGonagall. Before Shego could say anything else she heard the voices again. Once more turning in a circle she couldn't see anyone other than herself and Shego.
"How do I know this is a dream?" Kim asked skeptically. "Maybe it's something Drakken came up with to mess with my head. He was a bit tweaked last week when you set off the sprinklers while we were fighting and fried his death ray thingy."
"It was an accident. How many times do I have to say that!" Shego said, glaring at Kim. "Besides, it should have been waterproof. We were in an underwater lair. And why would I want to be here with you anyway?"
"I don't know." Kim said, attempting to step around Shego. "I've got to go."
"Not a very good host, are you." Shego said, stepping back so she could stay in front of Kim. "Invite me over and then you leave."
"I didn't invite you here!" Kim growled in frustration, once more tried to go around her. She'd been n a good mood after flying but Shego seemed determined to ruin it.
"Interesting," a soft, warm voice murmured behind her.
Kim spun around in surprise. Standing several yards away, watching them with a curious expression on her face, was the blonde woman she'd seen in her dreams several times before. "Is this another dream?" Kim asked.
"Who're you," Shego demanded, stepping to Kim's left.
Shaking her head, instead of answering their questions, the blonde threw something at them, a fine powder that glittered as it enveloped them. "Hey!" she shouted as the world started to fade away. Reaching out for Shego, Kim's hand passed right through where she'd been only seconds before.
Hearing her mother loudly ask, "What are you reading Kimmie?" Kim rolled off the couch in surprise, only her fast reflexes preventing her from banging her head on the coffee table. "Ouch!" She rubbed her hip, which had hit the floor first.
"It's a book for my summer class," she said several minutes later. Leaning over she picked it up off of the floor where it'd landed, glad she'd been able to find a copy without the garish cover. It didn't take a lot of effort to know how the Tweebs would react if they saw her reading this particular book.
Her mother frowned for a moment. "That on-line course about fictional heroes?"
Kim nodded, getting up from the floor and sitting back on the couch. "This week we're reading a 'Harry Potter' book," she said, hoping her mother wouldn't ask for details. It was actually a course sponsored by the Council and taught by Willow Rosenberg. It was supposed to teach new slayers like herself the differences between real magic and magic as depicted in books and pop culture.
Her mother sat down next to her. "I'm sorry I interrupted you."
"No big," Kim told her. "I needed a break."
"Good." Her mother smiled mischievously at her. "You can set the table. We're having a guest join us."
"Who?" She knew it couldn't be Ron. He was treated like family at dinner time.
"It's a surprise." Her mother winked at her before getting up and shooing her towards the kitchen.
Kim lay on her bed, her face covered with her pillow, trying to forget dinner and the evening that had followed it. She didn't know how Will Du had managed to get himself invited to dinner and how her mother had arranged for Ron to be absent, but she suspected Dr. Director had something to do with it. Maybe Wade would know, she thought. Groaning, she rolled over and grabbed her Kimmunicator from her bedside table. Pushing a button she waited for it to connect.
"Talk to me, Wade." Kim said, as soon as his face appeared.
"Hey Kim!" Wade greeted her cheerfully.
"Why didn't you warn me?" she asked, quickly debating the use of her secret weapon before deciding he didn't deserve that kind of treatment.
"Warn you? About what?" His fingers paused in mid stroke, Wade gave her a puzzled look.
"Will Du was here. For dinner and a walk." Kim said. "He gave me flowers. It was awkweird. Can you find out what he really wanted?"
Wade frowned at her for a moment. "Okay, give me a sec."
She could hear him typing quickly. Behind him she could see a very un-Wade-like room. "Where are you?"
"Where?" He stopped typing for a moment to give her a puzzled look before looking around. "Oh, yeah. We're wiring the Kim-lair this week."
"It's not the 'Kim-lair'" Kim protested weakly. No matter what she said, Ron's name for the Team's new digs in Go City had stuck.
"Right." He shook his head and continued typing. "I don't see anything in Dr. Director's files. I'll keep an eye out but it must be his own idea."
"Great." Kim sighed. "Let me know if you find anything." At his nod, she flipped the Kimmunicator off and tossed it onto her desk. Teenage boys she could deal with without breaking a sweat. Ron and the Tweebs had given her a lot of practice. Global Justice agents with delusions of Bond coolness practicing their moves on her? Not so much.
Tossing her clothes into the hamper, Kim grabbed her favorite pajamas from her dresser and pulled them on as she thought about her options. Hopefully she could stay out of his way until she moved to Go City. After that, there was always the Bonnie option. She was a slayer too. Wasn't it her duty to help Kim defeat the forces of darkness? Or at least the ones with ferociously wrong romantic ideas.
Whatever Will Du's plans were, they must be some evil Global Justice plot. She'd have to check with Wade to see what kind of leverage they had with Bonnie. She must have signed something to use the new training room.
Turning off her light, Kim set her alarm before pulling back her covers and slipping between the cool sheets. She didn't need the help waking up anymore but some habits were hard to break. Maybe she could get Shego to scare him off, was her last thought before falling asleep.
Trying to find a comfortable spot, Kim shifted nervously in her seat as she glanced at the other judges. They seemed to be such an odd group to help select the next Iron Chef. She wasn't sure why, other than her connection to Ron, she'd been picked as a judge. Traveling the globe in search of new thrills for her cable show "Possibilities" didn't leave her much time to sample much more than hotel or airport food.
At the end of the long table was the absent minded scientist, Doctor Drakken. She'd heard rumours that he insisted that any cook at any restaurant he visited use his mother's recipes. Seated next to him was Andrew Wells, a well known exotic foods critic and restauranteur. She'd never been to one of his restaurants, preferring more earth-bound food to his Romulan and Klingon specialties, but her cousin Larry was a big fan.
To her left, sandwiched between her and Wells, was the fashionista, Monique, who'd given her a horrified look earlier when they'd all been seated. She hoped it wasn't the seifuku that the producer had insisted Kim wear, the style making her feel like some anime school girl. She'd been looking forward to meeting her when she'd heard Monique would be one of the judges for the same episode that she and Ron would be appearing on.
"Allez cuisine!"
Kim jumped in surprise, having somehow missed Chairman Kaga's presentation of the theme ingredient. Listening to her rapidly speaking translator, hoping he would mention the ingredient, she watched Ron and Shego racing back to their stations with baskets of a small, round purple fruit. Hearing her translator spout something about passion fruit, Kim frowned. That wasn't what she'd imagined it would look like. Purple, lemon sized objects didn't say 'passion' to her not matter how hard she stared at them.
She couldn't imagine what the two chefs would do with it. Ron wasn't really a fan of subtle flavors, preferring to use spicy peppers as the basis for many of his signature dishes. Shego, on the other hand, or at least according to Ron, had built her signature Tokyo restaurant around a fusion of classic vegetarian dishes, sushi, and Greek and Japanese cheeses.
Kim had seen Ron practicing only once for the show. Then, as now, she's barely been able to follow him as he took a single ingredient and turned it into five dishes. If it hadn't been for her translator she wouldn't have had any idea what he was making. Give her a bungee cord, a parachute, and a two thousand foot sinkhole and she could find some way to have fun. Turning edible objects into spankin new dishes? Her mind boggled at the idea.
Frequently, as the clock ticked down the minutes, Kim would glance over at Ron's competition. Something about the green clad chef fascinated her. It wasn't the way she seemed to be in constant motion. Or the way her eyes seemed to glisten with excitement as she guided her assistants in the creation of new dishes. It probably wasn't even the way her form-fitting chef's uniform perfectly framed her beautiful face, Kim thought, absorbed in the drama.
They were all expected to provide commentary as the cameras followed the chefs as their dishes progressed. Kim didn't need to say much, with three other judges but she hoped she didn't sound too clueless when she was signalled by the director to say something.
If the competition was based solely on camera presence, Kim suspected that Shego would have already won. Ron was his usual goofy self. Sure, he could whip up a dish that would make other chefs jealous at its simplicity and ingenuity, but at the end of the day he was still her clumsy, amusing best friend. She hoped the other judges would be fair and judge his dishes on their own merits.
Kim watched in bemusement as the dishes produced by each chef were placed on a nearby table to be presented to the audience. Listening to her translator as he echoed what the announcer was saying as he described each dish, she wondered if the food would still be edible when she and the other judges would be given the chance to sample them.
Her question was answered when the judging began. A camera crew set up to film them as they sampled the dishes, recording every comment and facial expression. A separate crew filmed the chefs as they nodded in response to the judges comments. To Kim's relief, her translator explained that the director would take the best moments from all of the judges to produce the finished show.
They were given Ron's dishes to taste first. With only five minutes to sample each dish, she didn't have time to see what the others were doing, only vaguely hearing their comments. She looked at each dish in wonder as it was put in front of her. Even rushed, Ron had produced four culinary masterpieces.
His first dish was a thin crepe smothered in a sauce she assumed was made with passion fruit. The flavor wasn't bad, though the bite of the habenero peppers in the crepes was a surprise. Smiling at the camera, Kim did her best to appear positive, pointing out in a cheerful voice her impression of the dish.
Ron's second dish was a cold soup. Suppressing a shudder at the cold dish as the faint tart flavor of the passion fruit blended with yet another spicy pepper, Kim once more smiled for the camera. She couldn't imagine what the other judges were thinking. She at least was familiar with Ron's tendency to use liberal quantities of peppers, no matter what the dish. But cold soup and peppers? Definitely not a favorite. If she never tasted it again she would be happy.
Ron's third dish was simplicity itself. He'd grilled a passion fruit and had drizzled a bright red sauce over the top. Kim barely avoided a coughing fit when her first bite revealed that the red sauce was Bueno Nacho Diablo sauce. She couldn't even guess how he'd managed to get his hands on such a dangerous substance but she had to admit that it went well with the grilled fruit.
Ron's final dish was a dessert. Kim approached it cautiously. Gingerly taking a small spoonful, Kim was surprised at the total absence of Ron's signature flavor. As far as she could tell, he'd produced an actually edible sorbet without a pepper anywhere. Kim eagerly consumed it.
Relieved to be finished, Kim quickly scribbled notes on each of Ron's dishes. Although the judging was very ordered, she didn't have to turn over her scores until she'd tasted all of the dishes from both chefs.
They were given a ten minute break from judging while their table was cleared and Shego's dishes were brought over to them. Kim noted with interest that there were five dishes to Ron's four. And hopefully Shego hadn't used a single pepper in any of them. As much as she enjoyed Ron's cooking, his favorite ingredient was not hers.
Shego's first dish just barely qualified as one, in Kim's opinion, looking like a frozen margarita. But she'd managed to combine the fruit with just the right amount of tequila, just the way Kim liked it.
Her second dish was made from some of the tenderest sea scallops she'd ever tasted, covered in a light passion fruit sauce. She wondered how Shego had been able to produce such a delicate dish under the rough studio conditions. She couldn't suppress a happy grin as the scallops seemed to melt in her mouth. Or the blush that covered her face when she looked up from the scallops to see Shego gazing intently at her from her position next to Chairman Kaga.
The third dish puzzled her. It seemed to be a salad of some sort, though she'd never seen anyone mixing pineapple and tomatoes together. The salad dressing was an interesting combination of passion fruit and what seemed to be carrot juice and something else. Kim found herself eating the entire salad while attempting to figure it out.
Kim paled at the sight of Shego's fourth dish. Grilled sea urchins and passion fruit was not a combination for the faint at heart. Feeling adventurous as she tasted it, Kim was surprised at the light ocean flavor mixed with a faint hint of hickory.
Shego's final dish was also a dessert, though where Ron's had been light and fruity, her's was a decadent concoction of chocolate, passion fruit, and apple brandy. From Shego's wink as she consumed it, Kim suspected that her moans of pleasure where not as silent as she'd hoped.
It wasn't really a fair contest, in Kim's opinion. Although all of Ron's dishes had been interesting and eminently edible, Shego had surpassed him with her efforts. Her dishes were the embodiment of passion, just like the fruit they contained. Looking down at her score card, Kim frowned. She didn't want to hurt Ron. She knew how hard he'd trained for this opportunity. How much he wanted to be the next Iron Chef. Even though he'd insisted she judge them equally, she knew he expected to win.
Taking a deep breath, Kim wrote down her scores, hoping this wouldn't end her friendship with him. As she handed over the score card to the page, the world faded to a white mist around her, leaving her standing alone.
"We do things because they are right, not to keep friends." a voice said. "If they are truly our friends they will honor our decisions."
Startled, Kim turned around in a circle, trying to find the owner of the voice. "Who are you?" she shouted. "Where am I?" she added in a softer voice as the cold mist seemed to soak into her seifuku.
"Do you really need to ask?" the same voice said, seeming to come from everywhere.
"Yes!" Kim said. "Yes!" she insisted. "yes, yes..." she mumbled into her pillow. Rolling over, she threw it onto the floor. After a quick glance at her alarm, Kim laid back on her bed, staring at the curtains in her window as they moved in the early morning breeze.
Kim blinked. The orange haze disappeared but nothing else changed. She blinked again, and squinted for added effect. Still no change. Reaching up to rub her eyes, her right hand collided with something cold and wet. Looking down, she could see her wrist sticking out of the mouth of a large jack-o-lantern. She cautiously wriggled her fingers, grimacing as they touched the slimy insides of the pumpkin.
She tried to pull her hand out of the pumpkin, but the jack-o-lantern's teeth stopped her. No matter how much she tugged, even leaning back and pushing with her free hand, using what little leverage she could get, the pumpkin refused to move or let her go. It seemed to be glued to the stone fence. And it was a very solid pumpkin. With the force she was applying, it should have been mush by now.
Looking up, Kim could still see the dancing scarecrows out in the middle of the pumpkin patch. They'd stopped doing the limbo and were now line dancing. She suspected foul play of some sort. It was not normal scarecrow behavior. There wasn't a yellow brick road in sight. Dr. Dementor or even DNAmy had to be behind it.
"Kim?"
She turned around quickly, gasping in surprise at her sudden freedom. Grabbing Ron with both hands, she managed to keep herself from falling down.
"Sorry!" she blurted out, her pumpkin covered hand letting him go, leaving behind a large orange hand print on his tuxedo.
Sighing, Ron took a small brush out of a pocket and brushed the bits of pumpkin and pumpkin seeds from his clothes. Putting the brush away, he spoke over his shoulder. "Are we ready?"
"Ready for what?" Kim asked, catching sight of a long, low table behind him.
"The taste test."
"Taste test?" Kim echoed.
"You know, refreshments for the party," Ron said.
"What party?" Kim repeated, unable to help herself.
"It's our turn to host the Mad Scientist Halloween Ball this year," he said. "Don't you remember?"
"Why are we hosting it?" Kim asked, confused. "We aren't mad scientists."
"AMSOW made Wade an honorary member. He impressed them with his disintegration ray hair restorer and juicer."
"AMSOW?" Kim echoed Ron again, feeling a slight case of deja vu coming on.
"Association of Mad Scientists of the World." Ron shrugged, apparently unconcerned. "As the newest inductee, Wade had to spring for their next party."
"Okay..." Kim took a deep breath, knowing she was going to regret asking her next question. "So... what do you want me to do?"
"We need to find drinks for the ball." Turning he gestured at the table. It was lined with a dozen bottles of beer and half a dozen plastic gallon jugs. At the far end was a collection of oddly shaped containers.
"Is that beer?" Kim asked, frowning at him.
"And wine and a few other things." Ron nodded happily. "We'll do the beer first."
"I don't drink." Kim said, hoping she wouldn't have to explain why, since Shego had drunk Mr. Barkin, her father, and Drakken under the table at the last Snowman Hank video marathon, she hadn't touched anything stronger than lemonade.
"Yup that's why you're doing this."
"Huh?" She stared at Ron in confusion, unable to say anything else.
"Your taste-buds haven't been exposed to any of these flavors," Ron told her. Guiding her over to the end of the table, he pulled a chair out for her. "You won't have a favorite so we know you'll picked the ones that taste the best."
Shaking her head at his misuse of logic, Kim reluctantly sat down, wondering who'd given him the idea. "Hey Rufus," she said, seeing Ron's ever-present companion, who, for some reason known only to Ron, was also dressed in a tuxedo, though his was a deep reddish orange and not Ron's almost black purple.
"Rufus, the first one." Ron directed officiously, stepping towards the center of the table. Nodding solemnly, Rufus picked up a small glass and the first bottle and brought it over to him. Using his Official Team Go bottle opener, Ron carefully removed the bottle cap.
"Ron? That was a twist-off cap," Kim said, pointing out something even she could see.
"Shh!" Rufus whispered, shaking his small head as they watched Ron carefully pour beer into the glass and place it in front of her.
Sighing, Kim picked up the glass and stared at its murky contents. After sniffing it, she cautiously took a sip. It was cold, and mildly carbonated. The sour flavor was not a familiar one. Taking another sip, she grimaced. There was something of an aftertaste, sort of like squash. With a little bit of cinnamon. Not exactly pleasant tasting.
"Okay." Ron gestured at Rufus who dragged away both the bottle and her glass. "Now write down what you think of it." He handed her a pen and a small clipboard. After she finished writing he gestured at Rufus again.
The second sample was lighter in color, almost orange. Taking a sip, Kim found it almost indistinguishable in taste from the previous one. Until she'd put down her empty glass and the aftertaste snuck up and grabbed her taste buds in a firm grip.
"What was that?" she gasped. The bottle gave no clues. The label had been replaced by a large number.
"It's a local brew. Mr. Barkin insisted we include it." Ron shrugged.
"Did you try it?" Kim asked.
"Umm... no." Ron admitted sheepishly. "Was it good?"
"I wouldn't give that to the Tweebs." Kim said, shuddering as the aftertaste continued to assault her taste-buds. "It was like drinking rotten pumpkin. No more of those, please and thank you."
"Kim... this is a theme event," Ron said. "Halloween? Remember?"
"Which means?" Kim asked.
"These all have pumpkin in them." He waved at the rest of the bottles on the table.
"Even those?" She pointed hopefully at several jugs covered in condensation at the far end of the table. Wasn't cider a very Halloween thing? There was bound to be some for her to taste.
"Pumpkin juice." Ron said.
"Pmpk'n" Rufus added.
Kim groaned at the thought of more liquid pumpkin. "Ron, I'm so not in the mood for this," she said, pushing back her chair and standing. Feeling slightly off balance, she grabbed the table to steady herself. "I've got better things to do than drink pumpkin flavored... things."
"What could be more important than helping us help Wade?" Ron asked, giving Kim a confused look. "Beverage steward is a time honored occupation. Right Rufus?"
"Uh-huh." Rufus said, nodding in agreement.
"That!" Kim pointed across the lawn to where Shego was systematically turning the dancing scarecrows into green tinted torches. "If she keeps that up there won't be any scarecrows left to guard the pumpkin patch."
"Guard it for who?" Ron asked, using the tone that told her he was just humoring her.
"Gee Ron, Halloween? Great Pumpkin? Don't you remember last year?" Kim shook her head at her best friend. He couldn't have already forgotten that they'd helped that Linus kid the year before.
"That's just a myth." Ron said. "Right, Rufus? We never actually saw anything." Rufus shrugged.
"So?" Kim took a deep breath, counting to ten as she let it out slowly. It wasn't worth fighting over, she had scarecrows to rescue. "Let me know when you want to leave. I'll be over there."
"What are you doing?" Kim yelled, standing at the edge of the pumpkin field.
"What does it look like, princess?" Shego asked, a series of backflips and a cartwheel putting her less than a yard away from Kim.
"Ruining Halloween," Kim stated. "I have to stop you. You know that." she said, crossing her arms.
"You can try." Shego said, grinning in a way that reminded Kim of the cat that had just eaten the canary.
"Dammit, Possible! Wake up!" a familiar voice shouted in her ears.
"Just a minute," Kim said, shifting her weight. "Shego's been a bad, bad girl. She needs to be punished."
"Shego isn't here," the voice said.
"She's right there!" Kim waved a hand at her smirking, green nemesis.
"You're crazier than normal, Possible."
"I'm not crazy. I can prove it!" Kim said. On a sudden impulse, she leaned forward and attempted to press her lips against Shego's. She didn't think you could kiss a mirage. But before their lips could touch, a wall of freezing cold water separated them. Gasping in shock, her eyes tightly closed, Kim tried to step back but was stopped by a wall. "Make it stop!" she shouted, the water soaking her to the skin.
"It's your own fault." the voice said, as the water seemed to magically stop.
Kim could feel the water dripping from her hair and clothes. She cautiously opened her eyes. Standing in front of her was an equally soaked Bonnie with blazing eyes. She looked so angry that Kim was surprised there wasn't any steam coming off of her.
"What's my fault?" Kim demanded shakily, hoping she hadn't almost kissed Bonnie. "And why are we in the shower? Together."
"You were fighting a Dali demon and breathed in."
"So?" Kim asked, trying to ignore the effect of the cold water on Bonnie's white t-shirt. A difficult feat with Bonnie blocking the door to the shower.
"Two things, Possible." Bonnie said, leaning against the door so she couldn't escape. "One, you don't fight demons. We all agreed that's my job. If you see a demon you call me. And two, the blood of a Dali demon turns into a hallucinogen when air touches it."
"I can do anything." Kim protested weakly, starting to shiver. She wondered if the blood of this Dali demon also caused amnesia. And if it was why she'd tried to kiss Shego. She hoped the effect wasn't permanent. Kim had no memory of fighting anything. She'd definitely have to ask Wade when she got home.
"Even die," Bonnie said bluntly. "You're lucky I showed up."
"Um, thanks." Kim mumbled, suddenly embarrassed. "Can I have a towel?"
Stepping out of the shower, Bonnie reached to her left and grabbed a towel from somewhere, throwing it at Kim. Without saying another word, she started drying herself off with another towel that seemed to magically appear.
Staring at herself in the mirror, Kim carefully pulled her brush through her hair. It wasn't her favorite color combination but she didn't have much choice. The neon green blouse Bonnie had leant her, combined with the dark orange leather pants she'd found in her locker made her look like a Halloween decoration. And it wasn't even Labor Day yet.
"Very festive." a voice said, followed by a soft giggle.
Turning around, Kim found herself looking into the eyes of the blonde who'd been haunting her dreams for the last few months. "Who are you?" she asked, hoping for an answer for once.
"You'll know soon enough. But not yet," she said, stepping closer. Brushing several stray hairs out of Kim's face, she spoke softly. "Impatience must be a slayer thing." She pointed towards the mirror.
Turning back around, Kim stared in confusion. Two women were visible in the mirror, putting on a display of fighting techniques only a slayer could follow. Leaning in closer, Kim could see that one of them was Bonnie and the other was the primitive looking woman who'd accompanied the blonde woman into Kim's dreams in the past.
"What's going on?" Kim turned in a circle, trying to find Bonnie. She had to be somewhere nearby if her reflection was appearing in the mirror. By the time she'd completed the circle, Kim had discovered that she was alone. The blonde, Bonnie, the other slayer, and the mirror were all gone. "Where'd everyone go?" Kim mumbled, lying down on the large beach towel at her feet.
"Everyone?"
"Oh, hey Wade. What's the sitch?" Kim turned her head slightly, watching him approach from the rooftop entrance, the dim light from a street light several stories below illuminating his face.
"Time to go home," he told her. "I can put a cot in your room, Kim." he added. "It's better than being up here on the roof. The paint's been dry for days."
"No big. I can see the stars up here," Kim said. "Besides, it's great for thinking about things," she added.
"Like?"
"Just things." Kim shrugged. She wasn't ready to tell him about her newest dream, although it was definitely of the lucid, slayer sort. There was just something personal about it. She wanted to keep it to herself for now. Like the other ones. Shego in one of her dreams wasn't completely unexpected, she'd been popping up for months along with the cryptic blonde, but Bonnie appearing was new. She wondered what it meant. This and the other dreams all seemed to be leading somewhere.
"Kim?" Wade interrupted her thoughts. "If you want company, I can stick around."
"What?" She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. "Sorry, I drifted off for a moment. No, I'm good."
Nodding in reply, Wade gave her a small smile before leaving her alone once more on the roof.
Kim brushed her dripping hair away from her face and wiped the water from her eyes with her free hand. She tried to ignore the cold rain running down her nose, occasionally reaching her bruised chin. The sharp pain in the palm of her other hand where the rough metal railing dug into it was harder to ignore. If that had been her only means of support she would have fallen hours ago. Her feet were numb but still holding her up.
Any minute now Ron would show up and rescue her from this trap. Maybe this time he would still have his pants on. She couldn't remember who had created the trap - she'd been stuck here so long that details like that were a bit fuzzy - but she was sure it would come to her as soon as she was warm again.
The distinctive sound of wet rope slapping against the cement wall near her face almost caused Kim to jump back. Only her quick reflexes prevented her from plunging into the depths below. Reacting quickly, Kim grabbed the rope. It wasn't long enough to reach around her waist, the end just barely reaching her chin, so she wouldn't be able to use the end as a safety line.
Tugging on the rope with her hand, Kim tested it with her full weight. When she was satisfied that it would support her, Kim let go of the railing and grabbed the rope with both hands, dangling from it for several tense seconds before she started pulling herself up.
For every yard she climbed up, she slipped back a foot or two on the wet rope. It felt like she'd been going up for hours, up her very own Cliffs of Insanity but even if her watch hadn't been broken, there was no way she could check the time as she climbed.
Reaching the top, Kim flopped over onto her back in the muddy grass, every muscle and joint in her arms and shoulders screaming in agony. She lay there forever before she could move again.
Slowly getting to her feet, Kim looked around. The first thing she noticed was the rope she'd been climbing. It ended several feet in front of her. It wasn't tied around anything but just lay there in the grass. Reaching down she tried to grab it with both hands but as soon as her fingers touched it the rope started moving, hissing as its end flew towards the edge she'd just climbed over, roughly grabbing at her already sore palms.
In shock, Kim stared where it'd disappeared for a minute, flexing her hands against the stinging. Taking a shaky breath at the close call, she moved away from the edge. At some point she was bound to run into Ron and they could figure out how to get home.
Several dozen yards ahead was a large circle of light, aimed towards the ground like a spotlight. As Kim approached it, everything else seemed to fade away. Stepping into the light, she inhaled sharply as her clothes dried in a quick flash, enveloping her in musty smelling steam. Turning around, she tried to look back the way she thought she'd come but there wasn't anything visible in the dim light.
Turning the rest of the way around, the only thing she could see while in the bright light was a distant wall that seemed to shimmer, almost as if it were moving. Taking a deep, calming breath, Kim stepped out of the spotlight towards the nearest end of the wall. Her feet made no noise as she walked, random thoughts running through her mind about symbolism and metaphor and what everything meant. She was beginning to suspect this was another of those confusing, not quite lucid, slayer dreams. Now all she needed was Shego, the mysterious blonde and the scary neolithic First Slayer.
Approaching the wall, Kim discovered that it was covered in large tv screens, all of them showing something. The wall's movement from earlier now made more sense. As soon as she was close enough to make out what she was seeing they started to change. It was an almost discernible wave, going from short clips of Shego in mostly unfamiliar places, doing things she was sure she wouldn't approve of, to scenes from her own life. And not just fluffy moments.
More than one of the scenes showed times when she'd let the stress of juggling Team Possible, her family, her friends, cheerleading, and school get to her and she'd exploded in a huge emotional avalanche. Or when she'd behaved like the spoiled brat she tried so hard not to be. Sure, there was the occasional triumph - stopping DNAmy, or stopping Senior Sr. Senior and Senior Senior Jr., or stopping an alien invasion with Ron.
But the emotional baggage outweighed the good stuff. Laughing the first time Ron's pants had fallen down. Fighting with Bonnie over some trivial cheer routine. Monique telling her some home truths after her breakup with Ron. Discovering she was a slayer. And getting in over her head more than once trying to prove she was just as much a slayer as Bonnie.
She must have walked several miles, trying really hard to ignore the constant 'This Is Your Life' moments, before she noticed she wasn't alone. Staring up at the wall was Shego. And not a happy Shego. She could only guess what her sometime nemesis was seeing.
There was another shift in the visible clips as she got closer. Moments between Sego and herself started to replace the ones with just one of them.
Shego must have seen her at least a mile ago, Kim thought, taking in her tense stance, but she continued to stare at the monitors.
"It's your fault," Shego said, not relaxing. If anything, she seemed even more tense.
"My fault? What do I have to do with this?" Kim waved a hand at the wall.
"You've been dragging me into your dreams for weeks now," Shego grumbled, giving Kim a sideways glance.
"Have not!" Kim said. "And if it's my dream, you aren't really here anyway."
"Then this won't hurt a bit," Shego said, turning to face Kim, a small ball of green plasma floating above one outstretched hand.
"Shego..." Kim said, stepping back to give herself more room to maneuver. Real or not, getting in the way of one of Shego's plasma attacks could lead to a ferociously bad time. If it wasn't for the special shampoos Wade had cooked up for her, her hair would be permanently frizzy from all of the close calls.
"She's right. Partially," a familiar voice said, speaking from the darkness, startling both of them.
"Oof." Before she had a chance to react, Kim found herself knocked out of the way of Shego's plasma ball by the neolithic slayer. Trying to get up, she found herself pinned to the ground by the almost naked woman. And she seemed to be humming? "Hey! You can let go of me now." Kim mumbled.
"She thinks you smell nice." the blonde said, giggling as she stepped into the light.
"Tell her to smell someone else," Kim heard Shego growl.
Suddenly free, Kim rolled to her feet. The slayer was circling a confused looking Shego. Kim cautiously joined the blonde. "What's she doing now?"
"She's curious. She's never seen anything like your friend's powers in a non-demon," the blonde said.
"She's not my friend." Kim said, trying not to laugh at Shego.
"Really?" the blonde looked at her for a second before staring intently at Shego for a minute. "She's your something. Otherwise she wouldn't be here."
"Why is she in my dream? I didn't bring her here." Kim asked, wondering how long it would be before the blonde started being cryptic again.
"No, but a slayer's dreams are special. She wouldn't be able to travel here if you didn't want her to."
"See, it's your fault." Shego said, joining them, finally tiring of her shadow. "Interrupting my sleep."
"She didn't say that." Kim said, glancing warily at Shego's hands. "Right?"
"You'll figure it out." The blonde blew across her palm. A cloud of sparkling dust flew at Kim and Shego. "Eventually." Kim heard her mutter before everything went dark.
The sound of her kimmunicator woke Kim. Sitting up she wiped the water off of her face and pulled it out of its waterproof pocket. The storm had delayed her pickup by more than an hour and the barn she'd found shelter in wasn't much, giving new meaning to the word leaky. "Talk to me Wade." Kim said, flipping it on.
"Hey Kim. Looking soggy."
"Hadn't noticed." she said sarcastically, squeezing the end of her ponytail with her free hand, producing a stream of water he couldn't miss.
"Okay..." Wade said. "Your ride should be there in 10."
"Wade?"
"Yeah?" She could hear the tell-tale sound of his keyboard.
"Can you look something up for me?"
"Sure."
"Slayer dreams." Kim paused for a second. "It's no big but could you get the 411 on slayers sharing dreams?"
"Got it."
Looking up she could hear something in the air. "Looks like my ride is here." Kim said. "I'll talk with you tomorrow. Should be dried out by then." Not waiting for an answer, Kim shoved the kimmunicator back in its pocket and stepped out of the barn.
Kim leaned forward towards the crackling fire. She'd lost track of the time more than once watching the hypnotic movements of the flames roaring just feet in front of her face. She was either too close, her skin feeling like it was melting from the heat, or so far away that she could imagine the frost forming on her cheeks from the cold. There was no good place to sit. Trying to find just the right spot was tricky. The log she'd dragged closer to sit on was smooth, almost slippery, as if it had been the seat for countless others before her.
The vision quest had been Wade's idea, after she'd gotten in his way one time too many at their new Go City headquarters, and their contact in Cleveland had agreed with him. Then Ron, he of the short attention span, had also agreed with them that she needed to do something about her restlessness. It had been a shock. He was usually more tolerant of her quirks.
In her more petty moments, she wondered if it had anything to do with all the time he wasn't spending with Yuri. It was either that or he'd actually remembered some of that slayer management training from Cleveland. She suspected it was Yuri's influence. Sure, some of those missions had been really trivial. She hadn't really needed Ron's help with voter registration in Middleton or filling in during story time at the Library of Congress. But he was her best friend and she wanted to spend time with him.
But it really wasn't the same feeling she got from needing to take her slayerness out for a spin anyway. That was more like overdosing on caffeine and sugar. An hour or three in the gym or a fight with Shego helped blunt that feeling, but not this one.
The restlessness had been especially bad for the last week but Shego wasn't answering her phone, Bonnie was in Cleveland, and she couldn't go out and fight crime in the city to deal with it. Hego was already uber-prickly about Team Possible moving to his city.
No matter how many times she told him that they wasn't interested in taking over Team Go's territory he still got huffy when he saw her, a more common occurrence now that Ron had switched his allegiance to the Bueno Nacho that Hego managed. She wasn't looking forward to him finding out that Shego would be visiting her occasionally. Or that she had no plans to try to convince his sister to return to Team Go. Shego was barely civil now for some reason she refused to explain, even under the influence of her well honed puppy-dog pout.
With summer almost over and things calmed down from the excitement of her trip to Cleveland, Kim was once more having the feeling that she should do something more with her life than go to college and be a part of Team Possible. It wasn't that she was worried about the future of Team Possible, and she was actually looking forward to going to college, even if Bonnie was also going to be there. Even the upcoming move to Go City wasn't stressing her.
But something was out of whack. She'd been trying to figure out what was wrong for weeks. She was almost sure it was just that she had too much time to think. But everyone else thought a vision quest would cure her.
Which had led her to here, struggling to keep her eyes open, in a clearing in Silver Creek Park, Minnesota, the closest warrior's grove to Middleton. The fire had already been burning when she'd dropped out of the sky but she hadn't seen anyone when she'd landed. Or when she'd put up her small tent. She'd looked around after she'd finished folding her parachute and changed out of her flight suit into her more vision quest-ish mission clothes but hadn't found any signs of anyone else.
Now, according to Wade and Mr. Barkin, all she had to do was wait and she would get the answer she needed. She suspected it wasn't fourty-two. But maybe she would at least leave the grove in the morning with the question.
The sounds of thousands of voices racing towards her drowned out the whispering breeze. Opening her eyes, Kim looked around at a completely different landscape. While her eyes had been closed the trees that surrounded her had been replaced by rocks and sand. Lots of sand. A desert full.
Pushing herself to her feet, Kim looked around nervously. The voices still murmuring in the background kept her company as she circled the now roaring bonfire. Twice. Turning around to make a circuit in the opposite direction, Kim found herself facing the First Slayer and the mysterious nameless blonde.
"So? Do I finally find out who you are?" Kim asked, trying to ignore Sineya's inspection of her mission outfit. "Sineya is the First Slayer and in deep need of a new outfit. And a haircut. But you've never introduced yourself."
"Who I am isn't important," the blonde said, frowning at her. "Why are you here?"
Kim shrugged, not having a good answer. Her current problems seemed too trivial to involve this being and the First Slayer.
"Never mind, that was rhetorical." The blonde shook her head. "A vision quest is not always the best way to discover your purpose in life. It's not for everyone, no matter what certain Watchers think."
"So I can go?" Kim asked, trying not to appear too eager. "And do you have wisdom to share before I jet?"
"You're near a lake. She says you need to spend the day fishing," the blonde said, winking.
"Okay..." Kim looked at Sineya who gave her an encouraging nod and a shove. Out of the corner of one eye Kim could see the blonde throwing some kind of powder towards the fire before everything faded away. Kim was really getting tired of the whole mystic dust as conversation ender thingy.
A sudden shower dowsed the bonfire, the hissing steam waking Kim up. Getting up quickly, Kim dove into her tent. Wincing at the prickly feeling in her legs, Kim dug out her kimmunicator to check for any messages. If she called Wade now he would find her a ride. But she wasn't ready to leave yet. That could wait until she had a chance to use the advice she'd just been given. She wasn't sure what was so important about fishing but she was a Possible and fishing didn't scare her.
Pulling off her damp clothes, Kim crawled into her sleeping bag. There were still a couple hours until dawn. It wouldn't hurt to take a quick nap before she went in search of the lake and its fish.
She'd been walking all morning before she stumbled onto the dirt track. It didn't really qualify as a road but she'd seen worse. Hopefully she wouldn't have to climb a mountain to get to the lake. Assuming she'd picked the right random direction to walk in to find it. Her tent and parachute were made from some fancy high tech material Wade had found that folded up unbelievably small but her small knapsack was stuffed with clothes and other necessities for an overnight stay in the woods. Even with her slayer strength, a long hike would eventually wear her out.
She followed the track for almost an hour before it ended in a small clearing with a cabin to one side next to a lake. From a distance the cabin looked well cared for but unoccupied. Cautiously entering the clearing Kim headed towards the small lake.
Dropping her knapsack at the edge of the small dock, Kim rummaged around in it for a minute. Finding the small wilderness survival kit she'd started carrying the summer before, after a bad experience while tracking down one of Dementor's psych-warfare labs, she pulled it out, adding a couple energy bars for lunch. Sitting at the end of the dock, Kim opened up the kit and took out one of the fish hooks and some line.
Baiting the hook with a small piece of one of the energy bar, Kim tossed the end into the water and made herself comfortable as she ate. She didn't expect to catch anything this way but that wasn't the point. If the First Slayer thought she should go fishing she wasn't going to argue.
She'd been there for an hour enjoying the warm weather with no bites - of fish or mosquitos, when the sound of a truck interrupted the quiet. Glancing over her shoulder, Kim watched as a large SUV with Colorado plates pulled up to the cabin. It sat there for several minutes before two men got out and headed towards her.
"Catch anything?" the older, gray haired man asked.
"No," Kim answered, giving him a small smile, wondering if they were going to ask her to leave. Something about him was tweaking her subconscious. Not in a 'Danger, Will Robinson' kind of way but in a 'reminded her of Betty Director' kind of way. Someone who expected to be in charge.
"There aren't any fish in the lake." the younger one said, adjusting his glasses, reminding her of at least one Watcher she'd met in Cleveland.
"That's not the point Danny," the older man said, winking at her.
"Jack, fishing requires fish."
Jack ignored him. Turning to Kim, he said "You're welcome to join us for lunch Miss..."
"Kim, Kim Possible," Kim said, taking the hint. "No thank you, I ate earlier," she said politely. Before either of them could respond, the distinctive sound of the kimmunicator blared out. "Excuse me." she said, putting down her line before standing up to pull it out of a pocket.
"We'll be up at the cabin if you're interested." Jack said.
Kim nodded before turning away from them to answer the incoming voice call. Out of the corner of one eye she watched the two men turn around and head back to their truck.
"Hey Kim." Ron said. "How'd it go last night."
"Okay, I guess," Kim said. "I think I saw the First Slayer."
"Wow." She could hear the surprise in his voice. "Did she say anything?"
"She told me I needed to go fishing." Kim said, wishing she could see his face.
"Fishing? Aren't you in the middle of the woods?"
"There's a lake." Kim said. "But apparently no fish."
"How do you know that?"
"I've been sitting here for hours and I haven't caught anything." Kim said. "Besides, the old man who lives here says there aren't any fish."
"Okay," Ron said. "When are you coming back? Did you want to join us for dinner?"
"Us is who?" Kim asked curiously.
"Anyone in the 'lair. Bueno Nacho has a new delivery service." Ron told her excitedly.
"Pass." Kim said. "Mom is expecting me home for a late dinner tonight."
"Gotcha." Ron said. "Do you want Wade to arrange a pick-up?"
"No, I'll call him, thanks." Kim said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Later, Ron." Hanging up, Kim immediately called Wade.
"Hey Wade, I need some info. And a ride home."
"Sure thing, Kim."
"Can you check out this license plate?" She quickly rattled off the number.
"Why?"
"No big, just curious," Kim told him.
Kim could hear keys clicking away for a minute. She idly wondered if his keyboard was really that noisy or if it was just a sound effect.
"Belongs to a General Jack O'Neill. He works at NORAD outside of Colorado Springs. Their security is better than Global Justice's. His records at the Pentagon are blacked out even more than those Rangers who work with the Council. If you want me to dig up more it'll take some time."
"Any pictures?"
"Just a driver's license," Wade said, shrugging.
A picture of Jack appeared on the kimmunicator. "That's him." Kim said. "I was fishing near his cabin and he invited me to lunch."
"Fishing? You?"
"Yes. Me." Kim tried not to laugh at the astounded look on his face. "I'll explain later. Can you arrange that ride for me for late afternoon? Something inconspicuous? Please and thank you."
"You're the boss," Wade said, winking at her.
"We all know who's really in charge," Kim said, "and it isn't me."
"Rufus!" they both said at once. Giggling, Kim said goodbye and put away the kimmunicator before sitting back down on the dock. She still had a couple hours to find that non-existent fish and to figure out why Sineya thought she should go fishing.
"Help yourself to a soda," Jack said, putting a cooler down at the end of the dock, before heading back to the cabin. He returned five minutes later, fishing pole in one hand, folding chair in the other, along with his friend.
"So what brings you out here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be off at some Global Justice training camp for new agents?"
"Global Justice?" Kim felt her face go blank. Obviously the General knew who she was.
"Jack!" His friend burst out. "Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before you interrogate her?"
"Right." He shook his head at his friend. "The one with manners over there is Daniel Jackson. I'm..."
"General Jack O'Neill. U.S. Air Force," Kim interjected. "You do something for NORAD."
"Huh." Jack gave her a piercing look. "So, Global Justice."
"I don't work for Dr. Director." Kim said. "She'll send work our way but we're independent."
"You'll have to tell me how you escaped her clutches," Jack said.
"Some day." Kim said, taking a sip from her soda.
"Does anyone outside of GJ know you're a free agent?" Jack asked. "You must be drowning in recruiters.
"We're officially a non-profit NGO," Kim told him. "We're too busy to be recruited."
"Ah." Jack nodded, taking a sip of beer.
Kim turned to his friend while Jack set himself up on the dock. "So, Mr. Jackson, you didn't say what you do. Are you in the Air Force also?"
"Archeologist and linguist," he said. "I consult for one of Jack's projects." He looked at her intently for a few moments. "What brings you here?"
"Parachute." Kim said, winking at him.
"And?" He prodded, ignoring the exasperated sigh from his friend.
"My friends thought I needed to get away from everything for a few days." Kim told him. "But the whole vision question thing? Total bust."
"Vision quest? Is that common in your peer group?" Daniel asked, watching her curiously. "Usually it's something a shaman or holy warrior attempts."
Kim shrugged, having no desire to tell him how close he was with the 'holy warrior' idea. "No idea. Had the vision thing but the spirits were a bit tweaked that I was there and told me to go fishing instead."
"Smart spirits," Jack said.
It had been a rare stress free afternoon. Sitting on the dock, using a borrowed fishing pole, answering random questions from the general and Daniel. She even caught one of the fish that wasn't supposed to be in the lake.
She'd just released it back into the lake when her kimmunicator beeped to indicate her ride was approaching. "My ride will be here in a minute." Kim told them, "Thanks for letting me hang out today. I really needed it."
"Sure, You betcha," Jack said.
Packing her bag, Kim could hear the low pitched whisper of a Global Justice helicopter running in stealth mode. Looking up, Kim could just barely see the outline of the machine against the sky.
"Fancy ride," Jack told her. "If you ever feel like you need a different challenge give me a call."
"Thanks," Kim said, frowning at the rope descending from the helicopter. "Hopefully they'll take me straight home," she muttered. Grabbing the rope, Kim stepped into the loop at its end, waving at the two men as it pulled her up into the sky.
Vi dropped a loaded paper plate in front of Kim before grabbing a stool for herself. Kim stared down at the pile of oblong objects. They were almost the same color as twinkies but skinnier, with long sticks coming out of one end.
"Are these what I think they are?" she asked, tentatively poking one. A vaguely familiar odor, mixed with the distinctive smell of something deep fried, wafted up to her sensitive nose. "What do they taste like?"
"What?" The other slayer stared at her like she'd suddenly sprouted horns and a tail. "You've never eaten a corndog?"
"Umm, no," Kim admitted, watching her companion dipping one of the things in a large puddle of mustard on her own plate, its edibility in question. Especially since Ron, Wade, and Rufus were all fans of the things. "I try to avoid fried foods. What's in it?"
"Hotdog on a stick. Dipped in cornbread. Deep fried," Vi said, taking a large bite from one end before using the corndog as a visual aid. "Try one. Multiple uses. Faith approved."
"Multiple uses?" Kim stared at the corndogs trying to imagine what could be done with one besides eat it. Especially with that shape and a Faith seal of approval. "Eww..." she blurted out, blushing as one such use occurred to her.
"Gutter much, Possible?" Vi said, smirking at her. "I knew you weren't as innocent as you claimed."
"Hey!" Kim protested. "Just because everything's possible for a Possible doesn't mean I do that!"
"Just eat the thing," Vi said, shaking her head. "It's a hotdog, not anything else."
"Okay." Kim gingerly picked one up, cautiously sniffing it. Her stomach gurgled in encouragement. She could do this, she told herself. It had been a long time since lunch.
"It won't bite," Vi told her. "Don't be shy." Before Kim could take a bite, Vi snapped her head around towards the other side of the midway. "Feel that?"
"Maybe..." Kim said, looking in the same direction. "Vampires?"
"Yes." Pulling the rest of her corndog from its stick and stuffing it into her mouth, Vi grabbed a couple more and gestured for Kim to take the rest before walking nonchalantly in the direction they'd sensed vampires.
Hoping to calm her stomach, Kim quickly ate one as she raced to catch up.
"Ready?" Vi whispered as they approached the funhouse they'd just seen several vampires enter.
"Weapons?" Kim asked, hoping Vi could produce something they could use since they'd had to leave their stakes in the car.
"Corndogs." Vi told her with a small smirk.
"Corndogs?" Kim looked down at the three she was holding.
Vi waved the one she was currently eating and showed Kim the pointed sticks she held in her other hand.
"Oh! Got it. Why didn't you say so earlier?" Her stomach growling in protest, Kim started to pull the corndogs from their sticks, nibbling on them before throwing them into a nearby trash barrel.
"Save one." Vi ordered before Kim had finished. "Part of the disguise." she added at Kim's confused look. "Ready?"
Kim nodded, swallowing a bite of corndog and following her through the entrance.
"What have we here?" the large vampire said as Kim and Vi came around the corner into a large, mirror covered room.
"Are redheads really spicy like they say?" one of the others asked as they encircled the two slayers.
"Like buffalo wings but the fear makes them better," another one said, his yellow eyes gleaming in the dim light.
Vi continued eating her last corndog, her face radiating innocence. Kim knew Vi was poised for action only because she'd spent the last week training with her. Trying to follow her example and nibbling on her own remaining corndog, Kim wondered how Vi could appear so calm when they were outnumbered. She hoped the vampires didn't see the corndog sticks in her other hand.
"What do you guys want?" Vi asked them. Kim marveled at the faint tone of fear she was able to inject into such a simple question.
"I'm the big, bad wolf," the large one said. "I'm going to eat you and your friend right up. But first I'm going to make you scream." His threat was followed by an almost inaudible screech as he turned to dust when a corndog stick imbedded itself in his heart.
"My momma always told me not to play with my food." Vi said to Kim. "Ready to stick it to them?"
Before Kim could answer, the remaining vampires disappeared in balls of green flame.
"You need better material," Shego said, stepping out from between two mirrors just behind Kim.
"That's cheating!" Kim said, turning around to confront her. "And not fair. I wanted to slay a vampire. It was my turn. Right Vi?" Kim look back over her shoulder. "Vi"? Confused, Kim looked around but both Vi and Shego had disappeared and she was all alone in a large room that seemed to be one large mirror.
"Stupid dreams," Kim grumbled, collapsing onto the floor. Closing her eyes, she tried to think her way out of it. Usually, by this point that blonde would have shown up and ended the dream for her. Maybe this wasn't one of those kinds of dreams? But why had Shego shown up if it wasn't? While she was trying to figure it out the floor started to shake and she could hear something being whispered in one ear.
Kim groaned and batted at the noise, trying to ignore both the shaking and the whisper. "Go 'way!" she grumbled.
"I hope she's had her shots," a familiar voice said.
"What?" Kim sat up quickly, blinking in the bright light.
"You were drooling," Ron said helpfully. "Shego was asking if you'd had your rabies shot yet."
Kim glared at her sometime nemesis who just smirked at her. "I don't think she's ever going to get close enough for it to matter." Kim told him, rubbing her eyes. "Why's she here? Open House isn't for another week. And she's not invited."
"I was in the neighborhood," Shego said, in a bored voice. "Thought I would check out the lair and see how the other half lived."
"It's not a lair." Kim said, trying not to grind her teeth together as she spoke, looking around for something to throw at her grinning, soon to be ex, friend.
"So slayers are cute, fluffy flower children?" Shego asked, idly twirling one of Kim's stakes.
"No..." Kim mumbled a not so snappy comeback, not used to the idea of having an actual semi-civil conversation with Shego yet. "Gimme that!" she said, making an unsuccessful grab for the stake.
"You may not be a sexy super-villain like myself," Shego began, ignoring Ron's muttered 'minion', "but a slayer is a hunter, a predator. Top of the mystical food chain. Not a Girl Scout with a vampire slaying merit badge. Correct?"
"Well, yes." Kim said, reluctantly agreeing with her. It wasn't something she really liked to think about. It wasn't how she thought of herself. The Girl Scout idea was closer to how she saw herself, no matter how untrue.
Shego nodded. "Predators have lairs. Simple."
"Ron!" Kim said, giving him another glare as she stood up. He must have told Dr. Drakken at some point, probably the last time he'd gotten into a hair-pulling contest with the blue miscreant. And Drakken couldn't keep a secret from Shego if his life depended on it.
"I didn't say anything!" Ron loudly protested, holding up his hands. Rufus poked his head out of a pocket at the noise, and seeing Shego, squeaked before adding his two cents.
Kim shook her head at the pair before turning back to Shego. "So, why are you here again?"
"Guided tour?" Shego asked in an amused tone. "Or I can come back later and do the self-guided thing with Drakken."
"Off limits." Kim told her firmly.
"Yeah." Ron added. "No mad scientists in the Kimlair."
"Dr. D will be so disappointed," Shego said, tossing the stake at Kim.
"It won't kill him," Ron said, leaning against the door.
"Why are you really here?" Kim asked, sitting back down.
"Shoo, boy wonder!" Shego waved a hand in Ron's direction.
"Hey!"
"This is between Kimmie and me." Shego said, her hands starting to glow.
"We're going, we're going." Ron shouted, racing for the door.
"So... where were we..." Shego muttered, stalking over to Kim.
"Scaring Ron."
"Before that," Shego muttered. "Oh yeah..."
Watching Shego leave in her hovercar from the second floor lab window, Kim gave the nearest Dweeb a deadly glare. "That's the last time I let one of you pick out dinner." Kim growled. "I so didn't need to dream about hotdogs on pointed sticks."
"Don't be dissin' Pop Pop Porter's culinary magic." Ron said, causing Kim to groan.
"What did Shego want?" Wade asked, his voice blaring from the inter-com.
"You didn't listen to our convo?" Kim asked, feigning amazement.
"She said she'd burn us out if I did." Wade told her.
"And you let her order you around?" Ron asked.
"This is Shego we're talking about," Wade said. "Bad attitude and plasma balls."
"Oh, yeah." Ron visibly shivered. "So what did she want?"
"It was personal." Kim said, blushing at Ron's wide-eyed look. "Not personal personal," she added. "But I promised I wouldn't say." Not that she thought they would believe Shego's request anyway but a promise was a promise and a Possible didn't break a promise. She would have to involve one of her friends at some point but preferably not one of the testosteronely challenged. Maybe Monique?
Kim stood on the rocky shore watching it burn. She'd run as fast and as hard as possible to get there even though she'd known she would be too late to stop what had quickly become a funeral pire. She'd felt her death through their connection. A sharp blast of pain and love. And then nothing. For an infinitely long second Kim's heart had stopped. She wasn't even sure if it had started up again.
The pillar of smoke had been visible more than a kilometer away. Now, so close she could smell the distinctive odor of burning leather and flesh, and hear the roaring flames, the dragon head on the boat's prow was barely visible as it rocked slowly in the incoming tide. Burn marks, from both blasters and plasma, were revealed by the shifting wind.
There was smoke everywhere and flames everywhere else. The occasional jet of green flame would reach upward as the fire reached something flamable. The charred remains of their enemy's minions bobbed like apples in the surf.
Even as recently as a century ago she would have hurled herself into the blaze, unwilling to go on without her, but she'd grown since then. They'd been together for a long time but Kim had been under no illusion that Shego would live forever. The comet power that had fueled her existence could only keep her going for so long and there had been recent signs of it weakening. But not like this. They hadn't even had time to say goodbye.
Kim knew she would have plenty of time to curse her own immortality later. But first there was the matter of revenge. Only one person would have dared to attack them here.
She'd been chasing him for decades, from one planet to the next, but he was slippery. No matter how often she thought she'd cornered him, he always managed to escape. Along the way she'd picked up the occasional scare that her quickening wouldn't heal, her body honed to a single purpose.
It was a small backwater planet. Looking down from the orbiting station, it was like looking at an empty Earth. There was a huge automated C Corp transfer station and a few small mining settlements. But nothing to indicate why he'd led her here.
Kim instinctively dropped to the deck at the familiar humming-buzzing sound of a light saber cutting through the space where she'd been standing milliseconds before. Before she stopped rolling to her left, her own light saber was gripped in her right hand, its green blade blocking the downward chop of her assailant's weapon seconds later.
"We meet again, Kim Possible!" her old foe Zorpox hissed, his blue skin glistening in the harsh light of the upper docking bay.
Kim merely grunted as she pushed him back to give her enough room to stand. Witty banter could wait.
She couldn't completely prevent a reaction to the sight of a large troop of syntho-drones standing behind him. Escape had now become a priority. She desired revenge, not suicide.
"Not so confident now are you." he said, grinning evilly, detecting her dismay. "You should have died with her," he added. "You're nothing without her. A nuisance. Not worth my time."
Behind her was freedom, of a sort. The center of the station was weightless. All she had to do was jump off the walkway into it and the rotation would take her out of his reach. If she could avoid getting shot by one of his minions or missing and falling twenty levels to her death. It was only ten meters in light gravity.
Keeping her light sabre pointed at Zorpox, Kim prepared herself for the jump. Just as she flipped over the railing, Zorpox darted forward, slashing at her with his weapon. Everything went black for a moment.
Wondering how she'd so misjudged the distance, Kim rolled over onto her back and pushed herself up, surprised she wasn't splattered all over the lower level. Shakily getting to her feet, she looked around. The place was featureless. Everything was white. It was a huge, empty room. A warm breeze blew in her face. Maybe she was dead, she thought.
The ceiling was far above her head, the walls way off in the distance, and the floor below her. And it was so quiet she could hear herself breathing. It must be heaven, or some place in between, Kim thought, going back over the last thing she remembered - the sharp pain, the smell of flesh burning, and the weightlessness of free-fall. And then nothing. She wondered if it had been another dream. Her memories of her life with Shego and chasing Zorpox were already fading.
She looked down at herself. She was dressed in a long, flowing gown. White like the room. Not her normal style or color. And no signs of what must have killed her in the dream, if it wasn't the fall. She had all of her fingers; she counted all of her toes. Pulling at the collar, she looked at herself. Nothing. Not a scrape or bruise.
And no sense of time. She'd had to develop a good sense of time over the years. Knowing how long they had before a villains lair was going to self destruct; or how long to get somewhere when she couldn't look at her watch had come in handy over the years. But in this place, it was like all of the clocks and timers in her head had stopped.
"Good imagination, kid," a voice said, in a distinctive accent.
The sudden sounds caused her to jump, landing facing the person who had suddenly appeared.
"Good reflexes too," He said with a smirk.
"Who are you?" Kim asked. He just grinned at her. It wasn't a comforting look, reminding her of some of the more disreputable minions she'd run into in the past.
"Whistler!" a familiar voice said, in not quite a yell. "What did you do!"
"Hey Blondie," he said, turning so that he was facing both the blonde and Kim. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Why did you bring her here," she demanded. "She's not one of yours. Leave her alone."
"They were curious," he said, winking at Kim. She wondered who 'they' were. She assumed the oddly dressed man was called Whistler.
"They aren't going to play their games with her," the blonde told him.
"The only one playing games is you," he said. "They have just as much right as the others."
"No, they really don't." Blondie said, stepping between him and Kim.
As they started to argue, the room around Kim started to fade away
Sitting up, Kim wiped the drool from her cheek. It'd been risky taking a nap in Wade's office but the only other options were to go home or sleep in her car. Hopefully she'd managed to turn all of the cameras off. She'd hashed out rules about her privacy with Wade years ago but his office was a grey area. She really didn't want pictures of her sleeping showing up on the Internet.
"What's that?" Kim asked, getting up. Wade was looking at pictures containing familiar, though much younger faces.
"It's a new history of the Council of Watchers," he told her. "These are the original Scoobies."
"Who's that?" Kim asked, pointing as a picture of Willow Rosenberg and a very familiar looking blonde flashed by on the screen.
"Willow and her first girlfriend," Wade said, pausing the slide show. "She died the year before she activated all of those slayers."
"I've seen her before," Kim muttered. "Does she have a name?"
"Yes."
"Well... ?" Kim prompted impatiently.
"Tara Maclay."
"Thanks." Kim thought for a moment. "Could you check something for me?"
"Sure. What do you need?"
"Can you look up someone called 'Whistler' for me?" Kim asked. "Please?"
"Just a name?" Wade asked, his fingers flying over his keyboard.
"He's short, dresses like a refugee from 'Flashdance'." Kim said. "Sort of like the boyfriend of the main character's sister. And some kind of East Coast city accent. I didn't hear enough to know exactly."
"Flashdance?" Wade looked at her in surprise.
"It's Mom's favorite musical." Kim said, her fingers crossed behind her back, hoping he would believe her. She didn't want to explain why she was watching 80's dance-porn. That way led to badness. And green plasma in potentially sensitive places.
"If you say so, Kim." Wade winked at her.
Kim looked down at herself, frowning in confusion. A white tuxedo jacket in a heavy, soft material covered a white silk blouse. A cream colored cummerbund, with just a hint of light green, encircled her waist. Her pants were also white, silk from the feel of it. Just from the way the jacket and pants encased her body, she could tell they were tailored just for her. Soft leather shoes in a green so dark it was almost black covered her feet.
A faint murmuring dragged her attention away from her self examination. Her breath stopped for a moment when she realized she was standing at the front of some kind of church. Light poured in through the distant glass roof . Though she couldn't make out the details from her position, the windows seemed to contain scenes with figures that were very familiar.
She could hear Ron nervously whispering to Rufus to her left. Looking in his direction, she could see Rufus sitting on his right shoulder. They were dressed in identical purple tuxes with sun glasses and high-tops.
Turning her head slightly, she could see the pews on the right were full of people, none of whom she recognized. On the left she could see her father, mother, and Nana Possible. Behind them were her Uncle Slim and cousin Joss.
Filling out the rest of the rows were a lot of people she remembered helping over the years. At the head of each side, dressed up as ushers in the same dark green as her shoes, were the Tweebs, for once behaving themselves, Jim on the right and Tim on the left.
There was a rustle at the back of the church and a solemn song she didn't recognize started playing. Seconds later, a parade of familiar faces began walking up the center aisle.
Leading the way were Monique, Bonnie, Yori, and Dawn Summers, dressed in identical black leather mini-skirts and green silk blouses. Each carried some kind of medieval weapon. Dawn was armed with a small crossbow, metal fittings reflecting the light; Monique carried a small mace, gingerly held in front; Bonnie and Yori both carried spears, their silver metal tips glittering in the colored sunlight pouring in through the stained glass windows.
As they reached mid-way, Kim recognized half of the couple they were escorting. Mincing up the aisle, Doctor Drakken was dressed in a blue tuxedo so dark it seemed to absorb any light that came in contact with it. His movements exaggerated as if he were too close to a ticking bomb, he escorted a woman dressed in a dark green wedding dress, her identity barely concealed behind a veil.
Reaching the front, Monique stopped and moved to Tim's side. Following her example, Dawn turned and stood next to Jim. Stopping between the pews and Kim, Bonnie and Yuri turned to face each other, leaving room for Drakken and the person he was escorting to pass between them.
"Ladies and gentlebeings, we are gathered here to affirm the partnership between these two women," a soft, familiar voice said, her words echoing across the church as the green clad woman and Drakken came to a stop next to Kim.
"Partnership?" Kim blurted out, looking towards the voice, only slightly surprised to find out it was the blonde woman she'd been seeing in her more lucid dreams, Tara.
"Damn it, Possible!" an angry sounding Shego said, lifting her veil. "What'd you drag me into now!"
"Me? I didn't do anything," Kim said, looking around the church in search of a sympathetic face but everyone seemed to have turned into wax statues.
"Well, it wasn't me," Shego groused. "I'm working on my tan and suddenly I'm in an episode of 'I Married My Enemy' without the cameras or prize money."
Kim cautiously stepped back from the angry super-villain sidekick. "Why would I want to marry you?" she asked. "You're not exactly my type."
"Ladies?"
"What!" Shego said, turning back towards Tara.
"Take a seat."
Kim could tell it wasn't a suggestion but there weren't any chairs. "Umm, Tara?"
"Yes, Kim?" The blonde didn't appear surprised that Kim knew her name.
"Where?"
Tara silently waved a hand. Kim stared as their surroundings were replaced by a familiar looking fire, sand, and a star covered night sky, leaving only Kim, Shego, and Tara standing there. On the edges of the clearing Kim could sense something, almost like the feeling she got from another slayer being nearby, but rawer. She suspected it was Sineya but the First Slayer normally didn't hide when she appeared with Tara.
"Impressive. Not." Shego said, looking bored. "Now where are we?"
"Sit," Tara said, pointing at a log set back from the fire. "Both of you."
Kim gingerly sat at the end of the log, as far from Shego as possible. It wasn't that she was afraid of her, especially in a dream, but Shego in an obviously bad mood was someone to give space to. Lots of space.
Stepping between the log and the fire, Tara frowned at them. "This needs to end," she said.
"Not my dream," Shego grumbled.
"I didn't invite you," Kim added.
"Not the dreams," Tara told them. "They are a gift from Sineya."
"Who's Sineya?" Shego asked.
"Her!" Kim said, pointing at the woman who'd suddenly appeared between them on the log.
"She can have her dreams back. I don't need them." Shego said, waving a glowing hand at her.
"She finds you amusing," Tara said, gracefully sitting on the sand in front of them.
"Good for her," Shego muttered. "Don't expect me to ask for any fashion tips. That look is so stone age."
Tara sighed. "You're like the worst of Buffy and Faith combined."
"You said something had to end." Kim said.
"There's a prophecy. Or two."
Kim looked at her in surprise. She'd learned enough about being a slayer to know that a prophecy was not a good thing.
"So?" Shego said, making a big production of yawning.
"They can be rather fluid. The first one could be about the two of you. You do have that comet connection."
"Comet connection?" Kim glanced at Shego so see if she understood what Tara was talking about.
"A coincidence," Shego said, getting up from the log.
"Maybe," Tara said. "But it fits the first prophecy."
"What's the connection?" Kim asked again. Shego seemed to be in her own world, somewhere far away.
"You were born the same day the comet appeared," Tara said, watching Shego.
"Oh." Kim thought for a moment. "And this prophecy? What does it say about us?"
"The wording doesn't really matter," Tara said.
"Two foes, daughters of the comet, yada, yada..." Shego said.
"You knew about this?" Kim asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Superstitious nonsense." Shego said, wandering back to the fire. Her back turned towards Kim, she started tossing small plasma balls into the fire.
"What's the rest of it?" Kim asked them.
"It doesn't matter," Tara repeated. "It's no longer accurate."
"And the second one?" Kim waited for one of them to say something.
"Standard end of the world prophecy," Tara said. "Self sacrifice, the whole nine yard. The two prophecies go together. You've managed to escape the first one so the second no longer refers to the two of you."
"But it'll still happen? The world will still end?" Kim asked. "Shouldn't we be trying to stop it?"
"You'll be part of it, just not the way the Powers That Be wanted, or when." Tara smiled at Sineya as if she'd said something funny, though Kim hadn't heard her say anything. "But..."
"But what?" Kim asked.
"The Powers may be too fond of manipulating slayers but they are correct. There is a definite connection between you two. There's the potential for more between you than occasional sparing partners. These shared dreams should have shown you that. But you need to do something about it if you don't want them to continue trying to meddle in your lives."
"What, kiss and make up?" Shego asked sarcastically. "Have an orgy so a bunch of voyeuristic beings who like to play god can watch?"
"That's one approach," Tara said. Kim caught her winking at Shego. "But whatever you do, Sineya thought it would be better if it were your own idea and not an idea planted by them."
"Aren't they in charge?" Kim asked, trying not to blush at Shego's suggestion, vaguely remembering something she'd been told.
"Willow broke their direct ties to all new slayers several years ago. They can only whisper in the back of your mind now; feeding you suggestions."
"Do we want to know what they wanted us to do as part of this prophecy?" Kim asked.
"No." Tara told them. "No," she repeated firmly at Kim's raised eyebrow.
"So what happens now?" Kim asked.
"You both go back and get on with your lives. And you take Sineya's advice."
"That's it?"
"That's enough," Shego said, dragging Kim to her feet. "Send her home. Now!" she told Tara. "She'll keep us here all night with her attempts to understand this crap if you don't."
"Shego! Don't you care?" Kim whined.
"I care that when I wake up I'll probably have sunburn because of you." Shego told her.
"You won't burn," Kim protested. "You play with hot plasma."
"Not the same," Shego said.
"Don't forget to write," Tara told them with a grin, tossing a handful of sparkling dust in their direction.
"Ugh! I hate majorly weird dreams like that," Kim grumbled, reflexively rubbing her arm where Shego had been gripping it just before the end. "And why do I have to get along better with her! She's a crabby, anti-social, sexy, and violent bad girl deluxe."
Rolling over, Kim slipped out of bed and headed to her shower, idly wondering where Shego was that she get some sun so early in the morning.
"Why are we here girl?" Monique asked, looking around.
"Because Shego asked for my help and I asked you to come with." Kim murmured. She really hoped no one who knew her parents had seen her enter the store.
"She's a big girl. Can't she just come here herself?"
Kim shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant. "It's a family thing."
"Her family? 'Cause if it's yours there's something you've forgotten to tell me," Monique said gesturing at the displays of leather clothes.
"It's not what it looks like," Kim whispered.
"We're in the most exclusive leather boutique in Go City," Monique whispered back. "You could buy everything in a Club Banana for the price of a glove here."
"They sell other things," Kim protested as they approached a discretely positioned oak desk near the back.
"Can I help you, Miss?" asked a voice from behind them.
Kim tried not to laugh at Monique's involuntary squeak. Not everyone had slayer hearing. She'd heard the soft footsteps behind them almost as soon as they'd entered the store. Turning around, Kim found herself looking up at a tall man, the store lights reflecting off of his bald head and his 'Manager' tag. He couldn't have been much older than her father, she thought, though he made her feel short, Buffy Summers short.
"We're here to pick up a package for a Miss Go," Kim said, using the smooth, low voice she'd recently discovered worked almost as well as the puppy dog pout in getting her what she wanted when she wanted to appear more mature than the pout made her look. "She said you'd have it waiting."
"Miss Go?" he said, his voice seeming to pause before he said 'Go'.
Kim wondered about the faint, closed off look that briefly appeared on his face. She really hoped he knew what she was talking about. Shego was in for it if she'd sent them on a wild goose chase. Taking a slow, deep breath, Kim counted to ten. "Locker 314." she added firmly. "Please and thank you."
Nodding, he silently turned around and headed to the back. Kim and Monique followed him, stopping at a desk in the back while he left the room through a nearby door.
There was a slight snorting sound to her right as they waited for him to return. "What?" Kim asked, looking at Monique.
"Where did you learn that one?" Monique shook her head. "Locker 314," she said in a deep voice, attempting to sound like Kim. "Lethal." She smirked.
Kim shrugged before answering, "The pout's lost its punch. Even Ron is immune now. Thought I'd try something less kiddie-pop."
"That voice is def'ntly the thing girl," Monique told her. "They'll be lining up like nerds for some Indy-lovin."
"Here you go Miss," the manager said, handing Kim a small metal box the size of her old Kimmunicator before she could respond to Monique's gibe.
"A green box?" Monique said, eagerly reaching for it. "What's in it?"
"She wouldn't tell me. She just said it was family stuff," Kim said.
"So... what are you waiting for?" Monique asked, her hands twitching as if aching to grab the box. "Let's see what's in it."
"I can't do that!" Kim protested "Shego will kill me."
"You can take her," Monique said in a low voice. "You've got that whole mystical warrior thing going for you."
"So does Ron and he can't beat her," Kim reminded her.
"That boy needs some serious help. Just be glad Yuri took him off your hands. Now open it up."
Kim looked over at the store manager, who'd been silently watching them argue, to see if he would object. His silence wasn't a yes or no. Shrugging, Kim looked at the box, trying to find the opening. Other than a small indentation on one side it was smooth and featureless. "Any ideas?"
"Press on that?" Monique leaned over and pointed at the indentation.
"Okay," Kim said. Holding it like a garage remote, she pressed down with her thumb. A low cascade of notes erupted from the box as a line appeared along its circumference. Kim carefully pulled it apart to reveal its contents.
"What is it?" Monique asked eagerly.
"Jewelry. And a picture." Kim looked down at a pair of earrings and a slim ring that seemed to glow with a faint green light.
"Huh." She reached for the box to get a closer look.
"I don't think we should touch them," Kim said. It was bad enough that they'd opened it in the first place, she thought.
"Who's that? Shego's BFF?" Monique asked.
The manager reached over and took the box from Kim before she could object. "That is Miss Sarah," he told them, closing the box and returning it to Kim.
Before Kim could ask him how he knew her, a loud familiar voice came from the front of the store.
"Uncle Aiden! Are you here?"
"Yes, Hego," he answered with a long suffering sigh that Kim only caught because of her enhanced hearing.
"Kim Possible!" Hego blurted out in surprise as he reached the back of the store.
"Hey, Hego."
"Shhh!" He said making a silencing motion.
"Oh. Right." Kim leaned over and whispered in answer to Monique's silent question, "Shego's brother. He has secret identity issues."
"What brings you here, Kim? Is Uncle Aiden going to make you a real uniform?" Hego said in an attempted whisper.
"Uncle?" Kim said almost silently in surprise.
"Uniform?" Monique asked.
"His are the best. He's been making our Team Go uniforms since we became a team."
"No offense, but Monique designs all of my mission gear," Kim said giving her friend a quick smile.
"Oh." Hego frowned at them, obviously now wondering what they were doing there.
"Gotta jet." Kim said quickly. "Thanks for that thing." she told Aiden. "Later Hego."
Nodding at Kim, he reached over and handed a business card to Monique.
"What was that about?" Kim asked as they stepped out of the store.
"Check it out," Monique said excitedly, handing the business card to Kim.
"It's a business card," Kim said. "What's the big?"
"He sells clothes to super heroes. He knows I design your mission threads. Add it up girl!"
"That's cool. You going to call him back?" Kim asked, giving her friend an excited hug.
"We'll see," Monique said. "I just got that raise at Club Banana."