What the Molerat Saw

written
by
Andy Stoffel

Disclaimers:
All things Buffy come from the feverish mind of Joss Whedon and the writers at the late lamented Mutant Enemy. Kim Possible was created by Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley and is owned by The Mouse. This is a derivative work. The crossover story idea/plot is mine, everything else belongs to them. Other crossovers will be noted as/if they occur in the story.All rights reserved where legal.
Rating:
Potential Adult Situations and Some Violence. But nothing too extreme. (If we were using the US movie rating system it would be PG-13. But they get testy about that - so we're not.)
Summary:
Kim Possible is not quite so average anymore. Good thing she's not alone. A variation on a theme (Someone becomes a slayer), with very minor Kigo subtext. Starting mid-way through KP and Ron's senior year in high school.
Spoilers:
This story assumes that you've seen all 7 broadcast seasons of BtVS (a total of 144 episodes.) and the episodes of Angel that occurred during the same time period that crossover with BtVS. You should also have seen all four seasons of Kim Possible (87+ episodes) though some aspects of Season 4 are seriously AU before the crossover begins.).

Any events in the final season of Angel, the Buffy Season 8 comic book, the original Buffy comic book series, the Angel comic book series, and any and all BtVS or Angel novels do not occur before, during or after this story and will not be referred to and have no bearing on this story.

Distribution:
Ask first please. I might say yes. Or not. It depends.
Notes:
I'm experimenting with writing dreams. The quality and style varies. These ficlets do not contain explicit femmslash. However, it is KiGo centric series. If that kind of fic offends you... you might want to read something else.
Word Count:
38,240

Prologue - Are you ready?

"Well Princess, looks like this just isn't your day." Shego whispered into Kim's ear, her warm breath tickling with each word.

Kim glared at Shego as she silently continued trying to escape from her grasp. With Shego's right hand pinning her arms above her head, she had very little room to maneuver. It didn't help that Shego was waving her other hand in Kim's face, close enough for her to feel the heat from the glowing appendage. Or that she seemed to have been backed into something sticky. Whatever it was, her back and legs now seemed to have become glued to the wall.

She couldn't believe she'd been caught like this. Trapping someone by gluing them to a wall was such a cliche. One she hadn't been subjected to in years. If Will Du and those other gossipy agents at Global Justice ever found out she would never live it down. Unlike Ron, and his perpetual falling pants distraction routine, she liked to think that she had some dignity left to preserve. Speaking of which...

'Where are you Ron!' she thought desperately. 'A rescue would be nice right about now!' They'd been separated almost as soon as they entered Drakken's newest lair. She wasn't really worried about his safety. At least not any more than normal. He had a tendency to land on his feet, and for all their posturing, the mad scientists and super-villains she and Ron fought on a regular basis might 'play' hard but they didn't go out of their way to kill. Their booby traps were usually meant to delay pursuit, and demonstrate their cleverness, not maim. She liked to believe that her regular foes were a cut above the ordinary criminal, with a code of ethics.

Not as idealistic, Ron always laughed at her ideas of noble foes. She knew he was probably correct, that Drakken, DNAmy, Monkey Fist, and the others never intentionally killed anyone because they preferred to go against the non-lethal agents fielded by Global Justice, instead of any number of US and non-US government entities who would have no qualms about using deadly force to stop them. But she preferred her own optimistic outlook. Attributing their behavior to something less selfish made it easier for her to deal with them.

"What am I going to do with you?" murmured Shego, smirking as she leaned closer, her breath now blowing in Kim's face.

"Let me go!" Kim demanded, feeling a very faint panicky feeling deep in her stomach. Sure her face was red from the fruitless struggle, she tried to ignore how Shego's alcohol and licorice smelling breath flooded her nostrils. They were so evenly matched with their fighting abilities now that she tended to forget that Shego wasn't just a skilled opponent but also a lot stronger. When it came to brute strength, Kim couldn't compete.

"Not your decision, Kimmie." Shego said. "Any minute now Stoppable or Drakken will accidentally hit the self-destruct button and blow us up. If you want to leave before that happens you'll have to cooperate. Or I can just leave you stuck to the wall like a fly."

Kim continued pulling against her green and black clad foe. All she needed was to get one arm free. Her Kimmunicator was just out of reach in a pocket but if she could get to it she was sure she could signal Wade that she needed Ron. Even Rufus would be welcome at this point. Anything to distract Shego, who seemed intent on pushing her into the wall with her entire body. She could feel the glue as it soaked into her shirt. If she could get loose before it hardened she had a chance to escape.

"Well?" Shego asked, wiggling slightly, the friction causing Kim to gasp in surprise.

"Get off me!" she sputtered as parts of Shego touched her in totally unexpected places. She couldn't imagine what Shego was up to but it wasn't proper enemy behavior. It wasn't even proper behavior for close friends, which Shego certainly wasn't.

"What's in it for me?" Shego asked, grinning at Kim as alarms started to go off and flashing red lights flooded the room. "The clock is ticking Kimmie. If I leave you here I won't have to worry about you and Stoppable getting in our way ever again."

Kim stared into her eyes, scrunching her nose, trying to figure out Shego's odd behavior. "You didn't get hit with a moodulator chip again, did you?"

Shaking her head, Shego sighed, the disappointment clear in her voice. "Tsk, tsk, you don't think I'm going to fall for that do you?"

"Fall for what?" Kim asked, confused.

"Tricking me into doubting myself and letting you go." Leaning back from Kim, Shego ran her free hand down Kim's side. "Don't you feel the adrenalin? Doesn't the fear of being blown up excite you? Make you want to do something"

"Excite me?" Kim was sure she was missing something but she wasn't sure what. Shego should have been running away, not keeping her prisoner.

"Or feel something else?" Shego winked at her.

Before Kim could answer, not really following the direction this increasingly bizarre conversation was taking, there was a horrendous explosion and the world seemed to fall in on her.

Kim groaned, her head pounding. Breathing in a lungful of dust, she coughed, trying to clear her throat. Her face felt like it was coated with dried mud. She struggled to open her eyes, blinking furiously to get rid of the dust and dirt coating them. Looking around blearily in the dark, through watering eyes, as far as she could tell she was still glued to the wall.

She could barely move, something warm and immovable was pinned to her chest. One hand, her left, was free but the other was numb; like something heavy had been pressing against it for a long time. The free hand was resting against the warm thing in front of her.

"Shego?" she asked as loudly as she could while trying to avoid inhaling too much dust. Getting no answer she tried to feel around with her free hand. It must be Shego she thought, blushing, her hand encountering a breast as she tried to determine the state of her companion.

Stretching out as far as possible, her free hand encountered another wall on the other side of Shego. Working her way up Shego's back she cautiously felt the back of Shego's head, trying to find something that would explain why she was unconscious. Kim grimaced when she encountered a wet spot at the back of Shego's head. She must have been hit by something when the lair exploded. "Shego?" she said, slightly louder than before, but there was no response.

Maybe Ron would find them? Soon, she hoped. There seemed to be plenty of air and it wasn't cold. But an unconscious and bleeding Shego, no matter how weird she'd been behaving before the explosion, wasn't good. She didn't think she could get them both out of there on her own.

Kim struggled to reach down and retrieve her Kimmunicator. She could feel it pressing against her right leg in its usual pocket but there wasn't enough room to get to it. Closing her eyes she concentrated on listening for any sounds of rescue but all she could hear was Shego's shallow breathing.

She had no idea how long they'd been trapped in the lair but it had already been a long day before she and Ron had been called out on the mission and Kim could feel herself starting to drift off. She struggled to stay awake but it was a losing battle. Just before succumbing, she thought she heard a voice in her head. "Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?" it whispered.

"Everything is possible for a Possible." she mumbled semi-coherently. The thought that being stronger would certainly be useful at the moment had just barely crossed her mind when Kim felt something go through her. It was almost like she'd been zapped with another one of Drakken's inventions. A warm feeling swept through her body. It started with her toes and moved up through her legs, past her knees and hips, leaving them tingling in its wake. It enveloped her chest and flowed out through her arms. Lastly it bathed her face in a warm breeze.

Re-energized, Kim wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, not that she was prone to looking in a horse's mouth. Flexing her stuck hand, she was able to wiggle it enough to pull it loose. She winced as sharp pains radiated from it as blood started circulating through it again. Her movements must have loosened something, she thought, blinking in the sudden light. Turning her head slightly, she could see Shego's bruised face. From the colors of the bruises, she suspected they must have been stuck there for several hours.

Reaching out with both hands, Kim braced herself and pushed against the wall that was pressing them together, just above Shego's shoulders. It moved slightly but not enough. Wiggling her hips she tried to loosen her legs. They were longer and stronger than her arms. Even one might do it. As she struggled to loosen herself, Kim noticed that one of her legs was only held in place by her pants. If they wasn't still glued to the wall behind her it would be free.

Taking a deep breath, Kim kicked out to the side in a move only a cheerleader turned martial artist could have even considered attempting. It took several tried before she achieved the results she was looking for. With a loud rip, Kim's leg came free of the wall, leaving a strip of material behind. "Hope there's a Club Banana nearby," Kim said.

Bracing herself again, Kim pushed against the wall with her free leg. She could feel the strain but it was moving very slowly away from where she and Shego were trapped. She could hear things falling as it tilted away from them. As it moved to a point almost too far for her leg to reach, Kim gave it a hard kick.

The wall fell with a large, dull thump that seemed to shake everything. No longer jammed between Kim and the wall, Shego started to collapse onto the ground. Seeing a wave of thick dust headed their way and feeling small bits of stone hitting her head and shoulders from somewhere above them, Kim grabbed Shego before she could slip any further and shielded her face, breathing shallowly as the dust cloud enveloped them.

"Ron!" she shouted after the dust had cleared. And again. She waited a few minutes but there was still no answer. Ron might be almost indestructible but he usually took less time to find her than this.

Surprisingly, Shego wasn't very heavy but Kim knew she needed to put her down. She suspected the only way to get off the wall was to get out of her clothes. Not something she could do holding an unconscious Shego. There wasn't a lot of light in their corner of the lair. Why Drakken had picked an old mountain mine for a lair again was beyond her.

Kim slowly loosened her grip on Shego, using her loose leg to guide her down to the floor. Panicking wasn't something she did well but she was starting to worry about her nemesis. She'd always thought of Shego as tough but she must have been unconscious for hours.

Kim squirmed in her clothes. If she pulled too hard they would rip like the one pant leg and the chance that she would find anything her size or even wearable in the remains of the lair wasn't very likely. She couldn't reach her pants to undo them so it was going to have to be shirt first. Fortunately it was stretchable. As long as the glue hadn't soaked into anything else it was a piece of cake, like all those times she'd had to change into her spare clothes in the back seat of a car on the way back from a mission.

"Yeow!" Kim screeched involuntarily as a small patch of bare skin on her back that had also been glued to the wall was pulled loose as she struggled out of her shirt. It was like pulling off a band-aid. A large band-aid. "Man, Rufus has the right idea. Hairless is the way to go!"

After unzipping her cargo pants to give herself more room, Kim bent at the waist and touched the floor with her palms. 'That's going to hurt!' she thought, brushing as much dirty away as possible to give herself a smooth surface. Taking a deep breath, Kim leaned forward onto her hands while trying to kick off with her feet. Seconds later she found herself following the wall, tumbling over onto her back in a heap instead of the handstand she'd been hoping for. Rolling over onto her hands and knees, Kim shakily pushed herself to a sitting position.

The distinctive beep of her kimmunicator startled Kim from her daze. Giving a quick glance at Shego, who still seemed to be out, Kim stood up and retrieved her kimmunicator from the remains of her pants. Putting her thumb over the kimmunicator's miniscule camera, she turned it on.

"Hey Wade, what's the sitch?" she asked, ending her question with a cough.

"Are you alright, Kim? Your kimmunicator seems to be broken." She could hear the faint sound of Wade doing something.

"I'm fine. Mostly." Kim said. "I'm doing a lot better than Shego. The explosion must have knocked her out." Pointing her kimmunicator at the remains of her clothes on the wall she removed her thumb. "Wade? I'm having clothes issues right now. Can you fix them?"

"Oh." A faint red light bathed her clothes for a few seconds. "Hmm, that looks familiar. A hypersonic phase disruptor should get them down." She could hear the click of keys as he typed.

A high pitched noise suddenly flooded the dusty room, forcing Kim to drop the kimmunicator as she attempted to protect her ears. When it stopped her ears hurt and her clothes were lying in the dirt. Ignoring Wade's muffled voice, Kim dashed over to them and after giving them a quick shake, quickly pulled them on. Frowning at the rip in the one leg, she took a quick glance over at the still unconscious Shego before picking up the kimmunicator.

"Wade, I need you to scan Shego for me," Kim asked.

"What am I looking for?" he asked.

"I don't know. Maybe one of Drakken's mind control gadgets?" Kim suggested. "She was acting ferociously odd right before the lair exploded. And I don't think she should still be unconscious."

"That was a huge explosion, Kim," Wade told her. "Half the mountain is gone. The only thing left of the lair is the room you and Shego are in."

"Oh..." At his words, Kim couldn't help counting her fingers and toes, even though she thought she would have noticed if they were missing. She pointed the kimmunicator at Shego and waited for the scan to finish. "Anything?"

"She's been drinking," Wade said. "But other than that she seems normal. For Shego anyway."

"I'd noticed." Kim muttered, recalling the smell of Shego's breath just before the explosion. "That's one of the odd things." she told him. "I don't think she drinks while she's working. Can you tell Global Justice that we're going to need a stretcher to get her out of here?"

"Already taken care of," Wade said. "They should be there in a few minutes."

"And Wade?" Kim asked.

"Yes Kim?"

"Where's Ron?"

"He was tangled up in Drakken's escape balloon," Wade told her. "Global Justice is bringing him back."

"Okay. Can you tell him I'll need my spare pants? Between the explosion and the glue they aren't doing too well. Please and thank you!"

"Got it." Wade answered. Kim pretended not to hear his snicker.

Sitting down on a large chunk of concrete next to Shego, Kim idly brushed the dust from her foe. She hadn't said anything to Wade about her sudden increase in strength but that could wait until later. It wasn't like the boost she'd gotten that one time from Hego. No glow or any other visible sign. She still felt like herself, just stronger. It would probably go away on its own.

Kim looked at the two pieces of her calculus book in her hands in dismay. All she'd wanted to do was her homework. It had been six hours since she'd been rescued from the remains of Drakken's lair and her strength still hadn't returned to normal. In fact, her hearing seemed to have been getting better since then. She was sure she was just imagining it but Kim thought she could hear the Tweebs discussing some plan to embarrass her in front of Bonnie and the rest of the squad and her parents whispering things to each other that she really didn't want to know.

Putting the pieces of book down, Kim stared at her hands. They didn't feel any different. But the bruises on her wrists where Shego had squeezed them? They had already faded to a faint yellow. Surprised, Kim started looking in vain for scratches and other bruises she remembered getting during her fight with Shego and when the lair had exploded.

The familiar beeping of her kimmunicator interrupted her examination.

"Hey Wade. What's up?" she asked, looking towards the small device in its charging stand.

"Shego escaped." Wade told her.

"Did she take Drakken with her?" Kim asked.

"Of course." Wade said.

"Who won the pool this time?" Kim asked. She refused to participate herself but she was aware of it. Global Justice never seemed to learn. She suspected that someone at GJ intentionally made it easy for Shego to escape but Wade had found no proof, though he didn't allow any GJ agents to participate just in case.

"We don't bet on her escape times." Wade protested. "Tim won." He added.

"Wade?" Kim asked. "I need a big favor."

"What kind of favor?" He asked, clearly puzzled.

"I need you to keep a secret for me for a little while." Kim said. She wasn't sure what was compelling her to keep this a secret but it felt important.

"Sure."

"I think Drakken hit me with a strength ray at the same time he did whatever made Shego act strange."

"Global Justice didn't find anything wrong with Shego." Wade said.

"Can you scan me and tell me what you find?" Kim asked nervously. "Whatever he did hasn't worn off yet." Grabbing her calculus book she waved the pieces at the kimmunicator's camera.

"Sure." His fingers flew over his keyboard as a red beam scanned her, starting at her head and slowly moving down to her feet.

"Well?"

"Sorry Kim. Nothing. Maybe it's just adrenaline left over from this afternoon?" he suggested.

"Promise you won't tell anyone." Kim said. "I'm sure it'll go away in a day or two. I don't want to worry anyone."

"Okay."

"Thanks Wade. Talk with you tomorrow." Reaching over, she turned off the kimmunicator before making a note to herself that she needed to get a new calculus book first thing in the morning.

Of Cheerleaders and Nacos

At the end of a long day, whether it involved fighting Shego, dodging exploding golf balls, or foiling another attempt by Bonnie to prove she was the better cheerleader, there was nothing better Kim liked to do than to cuddle up with her Pandaroo and get a good nights sleep. Except that had become almost impossible in the last few months since that lair explosion.

Some nights she woke up before sunrise, shaking from barely remembered dreams involving almost Klingon-like creatures with yellow eyes and teeth that would make a movie vampire proud. The dreams weren't always the same. They seemed to come in three horror movie-like varieties. In some of them she was being chased by those creatures until she died from exhaustion; In others a friend or relative, or even Shego, was turned into one of them and then started chasing her; Or more commonly, some unknown girl was fighting them with little more than a sharp stick.

On other nights she found herself waking up and wandering around Middleton in the dark, long after everyone else had gone to bed. It wasn't sleepwalking or insomnia. After an hour or two of randomly wandering the empty streets and sidewalks she would find herself near home. Sneaking into the house and crawling into bed, she would sleep soundly for the rest of the night. She could have sworn she also saw Bonnie wandering around more than once, but not wanting to give her any more ammunition in their continuing battles she hadn't dared approached her about it. She could just imagine what Bonnie would say.

So far, only Wade knew about her strength issues. With Ron still smarting from their breakup she hadn't found an easy way to let him know about the changes that she was going through. If she thought he wouldn't take her keeping this from him personally, she would have just told him. And Wade still hadn't found a reasonable explanation for why whatever she'd been hit with at Drakken's lair hadn't worn off yet, or even proof that she was any different than before. But at least there'd been enough evidence of her new strength that he couldn't deny that something had happened to her.

On the other hand, he'd clearly thought she was losing it when she'd asked him about the creatures she was seeing in her dreams. He'd promised to research the descriptions she'd given him but he'd obviously not believed her. He'd even suggested she talk with her mother.

Tonight was no different, another night that she couldn't stay asleep. When she had a lot of homework to catch up on, thanks to some mission taking her around the world on a school night, the little sleep she was surviving on came in handy. But for once she would have liked to spend an entire night in bed.

Grabbing a jacket and her kimmunicator, Kim slipped out of the house. The sky was clear and the full moon bathed everything in an eerie silver light. Breathing deeply, Kim felt extra energized by the cool air. With no real destination in mind she started walking towards Middleton High.

Something about the football field called to her as she reached the school. Wandering out into the middle of the grassy field, she turned in a slow circle. There was something there, something that was setting off alarm bells in her head. Something that was making her feel slightly nauseous.

The slap of flesh against flesh echoed across the grass, followed by the sound of something harder hitting a soft object. This happened several more times before she was able to get a bearing on it and track it down.

Standing in the gate between the parking lot and football field, all Kim could see was the flat, dusty parking lot. There was nothing there, no signs of life or movement of any sort. Confused, she jogged towards the light in the center of the lot. Looking around, she could see signs of a scuffle in the dirt with a trail leading towards the road. They weren't so much footprints as smudges that came to an abrupt halt. Puzzled, Kim squatted down, noticing a small pile of fine, grey dust.

Checking her watch, she pulled out her kimmunicator, hoping that Wade was still up.

"Hey Kim. Still having problems sleeping?" he asked.

"Yup. I've found something odd." Kim said.

"How odd?"

"Do we know anyone who uses a real disintegration ray?" Kim asked. "I thought I heard someone fighting but all that's left is this pile of dust."

"Nooo... they're all too big to carry around." Wade frowned. "And they don't leave dust behind. Point your kimmunicator at it."

Pointing her kimmunicator at the pile of dust as he'd directed, she waited for him to analyze it.

"Any idea?" she asked.

"I'm going to need a real sample." he told her. "I don't get anything."

"Okay." She pressed the side of the kimmunicator. A small vial popped out into her hand. Kim carefully scooped up as much of the dust as possible into it. Before slipping it into a pocket, she made sure the lid was on tightly. "I'll drop it off on the way to school," Kim told him. "'night Wade. Thanks."

"All part of the service, Kim." Wade told her with a wink.

"You rock, Wade." Kim said, grinning back at him before turning the kimmunicator off. Sighing, she headed home, wondering what she was going to do about Ron. She didn't know what she would do without either of her guys.

Giles looked up in annoyance from the crumbling manuscript he was attempting to translate at the sound of his phone. His life had become so busy since he'd become head of the reformed Council of Watchers that he treasured the few hours a week that he could spend revisiting one of his passions. Researching the history of slayers, looking for proof of their existence in non-Council documents, was something he could only do when he was in the London office.

That and his singing were among the few things that kept him sane. When the pressure and guilt of sending his adopted family, Buffy, Faith, Willow, Dawn, and Xander, and the younger slayers and watchers they guided out into harms way got to be too much, Giles retreated to his office with an old manuscript and his phone muted. Something he'd obviously forgotten to do that morning.

Reaching over he put his office phone on mute, ignoring the flashing lights. If it were a real apocalypse or emergency the other phone next to it would have been howling at him or Buffy or any of the others would have called his cell phone.

"Hey Boss!" His assistant yelled from the door.

"Yes?" He'd given up trying to get Toni to either call him by his name or use something more professional.

She'd been the only survivor of a vampire attack on a Cleveland mob boss but how she'd gone from being a gangster's secretary to becoming his personal assistant continued to baffle him. He didn't see the humor in it that Buffy and Dawn did, but then he was still unsure how exactly she'd ended up working for the Council.

When Andrew had decided to work in the Cleveland office on a permanent basis he'd needed someone to keep track of his appointments but she wasn't anything like the kind of person he'd had in mind. She didn't appear to have any of the tact and social graces he expected from the Council Head's Secretary, let alone an assistant. But slayers and watchers didn't intimidate her and she was the epitome of efficiency, so he'd resigned himself to her quirks and odd humour.

"There's a Doctor Director on line 2 in the holodeck for you." she said, stepping completely into his office.

"It's not a holodeck." he corrected. He knew he shouldn't have let Andrew give her a tour of the office when she'd first started.

"I know Boss. It's a 3D phone video conference room thingy." Toni said, winking at him, in an almost perfect imitation of a certain shopaholic slayer. "She said it was extremely important."

"Thank you." Giles said, quickly putting away the manuscript. "I'll be right there."

"Why am I here again?" Buffy asked, looking around the Middleton Bueno Nacho in distaste. Ever since her days at the Sunnydale Doublemeat Palace she'd stayed as far away from fast food as possible, especially the international franchises. If she was going to eat something cheap she preferred to see it being cooked. And after a long trip she could use something more filling than nachos.

"Didn't you read any of the things Giles sent you?" Dawn asked, shaking her head before taking a bite out of something the menu called a naco. Buffy was sure it was a certified health hazard, if only because it looked like something Dawn would think up on her own.

"I've been in Australia for the last two weeks. When would I have time to read something that is probably sitting on my desk in Cleveland?" Buffy grumbled. She liked to think she lived a simple life, for a slayer anyway. It was early pre-apocalypse season. Giles or Willow would send her plane tickets. She flew to wherever it was, killed a few demons and moved on.

If she got lucky she stopped any apocalypse plans said demons had in progress so the new Council only had one big one to deal with when apocalypse season really hit. And afterward she could take a break from the traveling and spend the summer in Cleveland with her sister, running the slayer mini-camps for the newbies who weren't going to work for the Council but who needed to learn how to deal with their new abilities.

"You're here." Dawn said, pointing out the obvious.

"Willow sent me tickets and hotel reservations. Said it was important that I meet you here." Buffy said. "She didn't explain why."

Dawn leaned over and spoke in a hushed voice. "Giles got a call from Global Justice last week."

"What'd Betty want this time?" Buffy asked. "She knows we don't lend out slayers." Global Justice had come calling weeks after Sunnydale collapsed, looking to recruit a few of the new slayers. It had taken Giles quite a bit of string pulling and reminders of old favors due before Betty had backed off. But that didn't stop her from asking on a regular basis. Willow claimed she had a thing for Giles and that it wasn't really about the slayers but Buffy was still suspicious.

"No." Dawn agreed. "Have you ever read the agreement between GJ and the Council?" she asked curiously.

"No." Buffy knew better than to ask Dawn the same question. "What does it have to do with this meeting?"

"If GJ asks, we're supposed to train any of their special affiliate teams in how to deal with vampires and minor demons."

"How is that any different from what we do now?" Buffy asked, confused. One week out of her summer was reserved for special training for any needy government agents and Faith did the same thing during the winter.

"These are teams that don't officially work for GJ. They're mostly part time volunteers." Dawn said. "GJ helps them out but they prefer their independence."

"Some kind of Global Justice neighborhood watch?" Buffy asked. "Doing it because they want to help?"

"Sort of. They're pretty much like Willow and Xander when they started helping you." Dawn said. "They can't not try to help."

"And you found all this out how?" Buffy asked, smirking.

"Giles wouldn't agree to it unless Global Justice sent us profiles of the teams first." Dawn blushed. "I might have borrowed them. It's fascinating reading."

"For you maybe." Buffy shook her head, watching her sister finish off her first naco.

"They don't fight the same kinds of things we do but some of them are supposed to be very good at what they do." Dawn said. "I think we should help train them no matter what."

"At least teach them enough so they know when to call us." Buffy said, agreeing with her.

"Yup." Dawn said, "Do you want that?" She pointed at Buffy's nachos.

"No. I'll eat something later." Buffy pushed her tray across the table.

"Thanks." Dawn said, mumbling around a mouthful of food.

"Okay. So who are we meeting? And whose idea was it to meet here?" Buffy asked, looking around. This certainly wasn't where she would have picked to meet someone herself.

"Team Possible. This is their unofficial headquarters." Dawn said. "Today is just the initial meet and greet."

"Who are they and why did Giles need me for that?" Buffy asked, glaring at her sister. "You could have brought along any of the newbies and Andrew for show-n-tell."

"Team Possible specializes in stopping mad scientists. They called GJ asking for info on vampires and Betty called Giles and asked for you specifically." Dawn said.

"Why me? Why not Faith?" Buffy asked. From the grin Dawn was giving her, she wasn't sure she was going to like her answer.

"Their team leader is a cheerleader. Betty wants someone her precious darling can relate to."

"Precious darling?" Buffy stared at her sister in horror, images of some of the beauty pageant bound spoiled brats she'd run into during her own brief career as a cheerleader running through her head.

"Oh yeah. Willow hacked GJ's records." Dawn smirked. "Betty has big plans for her. She isn't supposed to know it but they've been grooming her for a role at GJ when she finishes college. Willow says it looks like they try to steer her towards a certain kind of villain."

"That sounds a bit manipulative." Buffy muttered. "I wonder if she knows that?"

"If she doesn't the guy who runs her website might. Willow thinks she caught him trying to hack into the Council last fall and she says there were traces of him in the Global Justice computers."

"Okay." Buffy thought for a minute. "So we have a cheerleader who fights mad scientists, she's got a website and some hacker to run it. And she needs to know about vampires for some reason." Reaching over, Buffy grabbed a handful of chips. "What else can you tell me about Team Possible before they get here?"

"Well... there's their leader, Kim Possible. She's the cheerleader. She also has some kind of martial arts training. But she didn't burn down her high school gym."

"So the name isn't just something cute they thought up." Buffy said, ignoring the shot across her bow.

"Nope." Dawn said. "She has a sidekick, Ron Stoppable, who might be her boyfriend or was at some point. GJ's records aren't too clear on it. Willow says they seemed a bit confused about his role. And then there's her research guy slash hacker, a certified super genius."

"Reformed mad scientist?" Buffy asked curiously.

"Nope. He's just barely a teenager. He's her Q." Dawn said. "Fancy gadgets and everything. He's already working on several PhD's."

The sound of her kimmunicator was loud in the empty locker room. Making sure she was alone, Kim pulled it out and flipped it on without her usual flair. Wade wouldn't be happy if she accidentally broke another kimmunicator. It was her third that week. Super strength was deadly on Wade's current kimmunicator design, though he'd promised her a tougher one soon.

"Hey Wade! What's the sitch?" Kim asked, giving him that look, the one she used to indicate that he really should haven't called her right then. The one she'd begun perfecting the first time he'd called her in the girls locker room.

"Kim. Don't worry, you're all alone." Wade said.

"And if I was still getting dressed?" Kim snapped.

"I checked first." He grinned at her like a slightly naughty cherub.

"Wade!!" Kim trusted him with her life and he knew things about her that not even her own mother did, but he was still a teenage boy, a geek even, a cheerleader's natural enemy. Kim sighed. "What do you have for me?"

"You wanted vampire experts." Wade said. "They're waiting at Bueno Nacho to meet you."

Kim nodded. He'd initially been skeptical when she'd described the creatures she'd been seeing in her dreams ever since she'd been caught in that lair explosion with Shego several months ago. But when she'd run into a real one in Paris a month later he'd come through like he always did.

"Where'd you find them?" She asked, picking up her gym bag.

"Global Justice." From his smirk she knew that he'd outwitted someone at GJ to get the information.

"They have people who hunt vampires?"

"Not exactly." Wade smiled back at her from the kimmunicator, obviously pleased with himself.

"Well?" Making her way out of the school on autopilot, Kim headed towards Bueno Nacho.

"GJ has an agreement with an old monster hunting society. They've promised to train anyone who works for GJ in how to deal with vampires." He said.

"How many favors did you have to call up to get them here?" Kim asked curiously. "We don't exactly work for Global Justice."

"None." Wade puffed out his chest.

"Huh?" Kim stopped and looked down at his image.

"You know Doctor Director wants you working for her when you finish college." Wade reminded her.

"She wants all of us." She corrected. "You didn't tell her we know about that did you?" Kim asked cautiously. Wade had stumbled onto Global Justice's plans for Team Possible the year before and had been able to use that knowledge to their benefit more than once when bargaining with GJ.

"Not a chance." Wade said. "She wants a closer relationship with these monster hunters, the Council of Watchers."

"How'd you find that out?" Kim asked. "And who exactly do they watch?"

"I read Doctor Director's reports to her boss. She's really good at twisting words around. Almost as good as your brothers." He winked at her. "The watching part doesn't make much sense." He admitted. "They go back a long way but they haven't had computers for very long."

"So...?" Kim perched herself on a fire hydrant. If there was something on a computer, nothing could stop Wade from getting to it eventually.

"They've got a really good firewall. I'm still working on it." He shrugged.

"Okay." Kim frowned for a minute. "So, who am I meeting?"

"They sent two people."

The scene on the kimmunicator switched from Wade to the inside of Bueno Nacho. Two women, a blonde and brunette, were discussing something.

"The blonde is Buffy Summers and the brunette is her younger sister Dawn." Wade said.

"Anything I need to know about them?" Kim asked.

"Buffy travels a lot, almost as much as you. Dawn goes to college in Cleveland. She's in a prep course for Oxford." Wade said.

"Anything else?"

"Global Justice has records on them and a bunch of other people from this Council but they're protected by the same software as the Council computers." The scene switched back to Wade shaking his head. "I'm still digging."

"Let me know what you find." Kim said. "Is Ron going to be there?" Yori had picked him up the night before for some special ninja training thing.

"No, he won't be back until late tonight. If you can leave the kimmunicator on I'll record the meeting for him."

"Okay." She slid off the fire hydrant and, putting the kimmunicator back in her pocket, resumed walking.

They hadn't been given an exact time to meet Team Possible but Buffy could feel her patience wearing thin. She was about to go for a walk to burn off some excess energy when she felt it. It wasn't as strong as the feeling she got from Faith or any of the slayers called in Sunnydale but it was unmistakable. There was a slayer somewhere nearby.

"I don't remember a slayer being stationed in Middleton." Buffy said to Dawn.

"A slayer?" Dawn looked around. "Where? Willow didn't say anything."

"Coming this way." Buffy pulled out her phone and pushed Willow's number. The door opened as she waited for Willow to pick up. "That's her." Buffy whispered to Dawn.

"Buffy..." Looking towards the door, Dawn stared for a moment. "That's Kim Possible."

"Willow? Stupid voice mail." Buffy shook her head as she waited to leave Willow a message. "Willow, we need to talk about the new slayer in Middleton. Give me a call." Closing her phone she stuffed it back into a pocket.

"We can't recruit her." Dawn said, the warning clear in her voice. "She's too well known."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Buffy agreed. "And, if she doesn't know it already, say nothing about her being a slayer."

"No?" Dawn looked at Buffy, clearly surprised.

"I need to talk with Willow and Giles. I don't want her working for Global Justice." Buffy said. "Don't say anything about it."

"Why?" Dawn looked at her sister, eyebrow raised.

"Later." Buffy said, standing up and waving Kim over to their table.

Walking into Bueno Nacho, Kim was hit by a strangely familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't a new feeling, but it was totally unlike the one she'd gotten the few times she'd run into Shego after the lair episode; or the disturbing feeling she now got from Rufus. Or even the nauseous feeling she'd gotten from that creature Wade had later confirmed was a vampire.

Looking around, she saw Wade's contacts looking in her direction from the other side. Before she could start heading in their direction, the blonde one stood up and waved her over.

"Hey." She stopped at their table and held out her hand. "Kim Possible."

"Buffy Summers." The blonde said, confirming her identity. "That's Dawn. Have a seat."

"Aren't there more of you?" Dawn asked as Kim slid into the seat next to her.

"More of me?" Kim asked, laughing. "I hope not. That whole clone thing was supposed to be a one time deal."

"Team Possible?" Buffy asked her, giving her an odd look.

"Oh." Kim nodded. "Ron is out of town until tomorrow and Wade is where he always is."

"When did you find out about this meeting?" Dawn asked. "We were told you would all be here.

"After practice today." Kim said. Pulling out her kimmunicator, she put it into conferencing mode and called Wade. "Wade?"

"Yes Kim?"

"When did you find out about this?" She waved at the two women who were watching her actions curiously.

"Global Justice posted the request on your website this afternoon." He said, the curiosity plainly visible on his face.

"Figures." Buffy muttered in a whisper that Kim barely caught. "Is it okay to talk here or did you want to meet somewhere more comfortable?" she asked in a louder voice.

"Here's fine." Kim said. "Wade? Can you put up a privacy shield? Please and thank you."

"You got it." He said, the sound of his fingers dancing across a keyboard in the background. "How's that? I added some improvements. It'll even keep out Global Justice's laser snoopers now."

Kim could detect a faint haze surrounding them but the high pitched whine that had been bugging her for the last few months when they used the privacy shield was finally gone.

"Spankin'" She said, smiling at him. "You got rid of the noise."

"You're the only person who could hear it." He reminded her.

"Don't forget to record this for Ron." Kim added, more for the other's benefit. She was pretty sure that Wade recorded everything sent over her kimmunicator anyway.

"That could come in handy." Dawn said, nodding happily.

"So, what did you want to know first?" Buffy said. "You're cleared for everything we tell Global Justice." Dawn choked on her drink in apparent surprise.

"I've been having these strange dreams for a few months." Kim said. "Horror movie stuff. Some people thought it was just exhaustion and that I needed to take a vacation." She rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Sorry, Kim." Wade said. "But you have let things get out of hand before."

"Type A, huh." Dawn said.

"It's a family thing." Wade said, happily agreeing. "Her father's a rocket scientist and her mother's one of the best brain surgeons in the world. If it wasn't for Ron and Monique she would have burned out ages ago."

"Wade!" Kim protested.

"You know it's true." Wade said. "It's too bad the boyfriend thing with Ron didn't work out."

"Buffy's the same way." Dawn leaned towards the kimmunicator and spoke in a fake whisper. "Serious burnout city if it wasn't for her best friends."

"Anyway..." Kim interrupted while she still had some dignity left. "Ron and I were on a mission in Paris when I saw it. Just like in my dreams. It was trying to suck the blood from one of DNAmy's creatures so I tried to stop it."

"Sucking blood? Sounds like a vampire." Buffy said. "Did you get any pictures?"

"Yes, I scanned it with the kimmunicator." Kim said.

"The light wasn't too good," Wade said, "but it matched Kim's descriptions from her dreams." A gray, grainy picture replaced Wade on the kimmunicator. They watched the vampire drop the creature and head towards them.

"Definitely a vampire. How'd you get away?" Buffy asked.

"I stabbed it with a broom handle." Kim said, shivering at the memory of the creature's yellow eyes and deformed face. "I think I got lucky."

"Very lucky." Dawn said. "They are a lot faster than most humans."

"Did you just want information or did you want Buffy to show you how to be more than lucky when fighting one?" Dawn asked.

"I would like to know what is going on." Kim said. "And how to fight them if I run into them again. All Wade could come up with were you guys." She could feel Buffy looking at her at more than a surface level but it wasn't uncomfortable, more like the feeling she would get from her mother after returning from a long mission.

Buffy turned from her and looked at Wade. "If you ask nicely, or maybe offer her instructions on how you made your privacy shield, Willow might let you have access to our online library. Unless you really want to keep trying to hack into it?"

"I do like a challenge." Wade said with a smirk. "But it saves time not having to dig for something."

"You can work out the details later with Willow." Buffy said with a nod. "Go ahead Dawn."

"It's really simple." Dawn said. "Demons are real. Magic is real. Vampires are demons who kill people and take over their bodies. The Council of Watchers, us, was formed to stop demons from taking over the world. There's a lot more to it but that is the basic idea."

Kim just nodded. After watching Ron struggle with the mystical powers given to him during his encounters with Monkey Fist, she couldn't deny the existence of the mystical, even if most of her other foes were scientists.

"You don't seem surprised." Dawn said.

"We've run into a few odd things." Kim told them, not elaborating. They didn't need to know about Ron's brush with mystic forces.

"What exactly are you watching?" Wade asked.

"Me." Buffy said.

"Huh?" Kim looked back and forth between Buffy and her sister.

"That isn't literally true anymore." Dawn told them. "Thousands of years ago, the demons were winning so these sorcerers called the Shadowmen decided to make things more even."

"They sacrificed a young girl, turned her into a demon hunter." Buffy said.

"We don't know what their motives were; why they picked that specific girl." Dawn continued, giving her sister a glance. "But they did something to her; something that gave her the strength and certain abilities to survive fighting these demons. They called her a 'slayer'. And when she died, that power went to another girl. And to the next, over thousands of years, one girl after another."

"Until it landed on me." Buffy said, grimacing. "And like all mystical destinies, the recipient doesn't have much choice."

Kim was sure Ron would agree, even though he wasn't there.

"Until Buffy got it." Dawn continued, ignoring her sister's interruption. "The Council of Watchers was set up centuries ago to take care of these girls. To make sure they had enough to eat, a place to stay, and weapons and knowledge to fight the demons with. They weren't strong enough to fight demons themselves so... they mostly watched."

"Most slayers were nice little soldiers. They followed orders. They didn't think for themselves. They died young." Buffy said. Kim could hear just barely suppressed anger in her voice as she talked. "You've worked with Global Justice. I'm sure you've run into that type."

"Yes." Kim grimaced. "Global Justice keeps trying to figure out what makes us so successful compared to their agents but they never seem to get it. It's our flexibility and the way we work together. I usually get the credit but it's the four of us, myself, Ron, Wade, and Rufus together who make Team Possible a success."

"You get the credit because you deserve it. It was your idea in the first place." Wade said. "And there's that whole cute, sexy cheerleader thing."

"Wade!" Kim blushed.

"Rufus?" Dawn asked. "There wasn't any mention of a Rufus in the information Global Justice sent us."

"Rufus is hard to explain." Kim told her. "You'll meet him when you meet Ron. He's an integral part of the team."

"When I became the slayer, they didn't quite know what to do with a teenage LA cheerleader." Buffy continued. "I was more about the shopping than the destiny."

"So you're the only one?" Kim asked curiously.

"Not anymore." Dawn said. "There was a loop-hole in the creation of slayers. They didn't have to stay dead."

"I don't recommend dying." Buffy added.

Glaring at her sister for interrupting again, Dawn continued. "The exact numbers are a secret but a couple years ago we had an emergency, of the end of the world sort, and the only way to stop it was to make every girl who could become a slayer, into one."

"Well, that isn't quite true." Buffy corrected. "There are limits on the number of slayers existing at one time. The Powers That Be only allow so many to be running around at once. Too many would apparently be too much of a good thing. They claim it's all about their precious balance."

"The Powers That Be?" Kim wondered out loud.

"The mystical beings who keep an eye on things." Buffy said. "Not really sure who they are but they are hard to argue with since you can't talk with them directly. They think dreams and cryptic prophecies are the best way to let us know what is going to happen."

Kim looked at Dawn, hoping for a better explanation.

"We try to stay away from religion." Dawn said. "Our library is full of long explanations trying to reconcile different beliefs with the things the Council has observed over the centuries." She shrugged. "Things get complicated really quickly when you run into creatures who call themselves gods or who have powers you can't explain. We believe there are powerful beings of some sort who promote what we see as 'Good' and that there are others who are 'Evil'. There's a third group that tries to manipulate things to keep a balance between the other two. The balance guys are the ones we tend to refer to as the Powers That Be. They see slayers as one of their tools to keep evil from taking over."

"So, what about God?" Wade asked.

"Vampires aren't going to be stopped by a debate on the existence of God." Buffy said. "I'm more into mystical pest control and use whatever tools I can find."

"Okay, so you and a bunch of girls fight vampires and other demons?" Kim asked, steering the discussion back to the reason they were there. Philosophy and Bueno Nacho were a combination that gave her a headache.

"Yes, that would be me, Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"And her demon killing minions." Dawn added with a smirk.

"And you can teach us how to fight them also?" Kim asked hopefully.

"For self defense purposes, yes. There are more things than vampires out there and they are very dangerous. We don't expect or want you to start hunting them yourselves." Dawn said. "If you have a real vampire problem or you run across something while on one of your regular missions call us and we'll take care of it."

"Can it wait until tomorrow after Ron gets back?" Kim asked.

"Not a problem, we were going to be in town for several days anyway." Buffy said.

"I can reserve the gym for you after practice tomorrow." Wade told them.

"Okay." Buffy agreed, getting up from the table. "We'll see you then." Kim also stood up to allow Dawn out. After shaking hands they headed towards the door. Watching through the window she could see them get into a small, nondescript car and drive off.

"So... what do you think?" She asked Wade, picking up the kimmunicator. "Do you think these slayers really exist?"

"I don't know. We've seen weirder things." Wade replied thoughtfully. "That certainly gives me a direction for further research. Let's see what happens tomorrow with this vampire killing training. A demonstration would be useful."

"Okay. Thanks Wade, I'll talk with you tomorrow." Shutting off her kimmunicator, Kim slipped it into a pocket and left Bueno Nacho, heading for home.

Would all slayers please stand up?

"What's going on?" Dawn asked in that whiney voice that could get on Buffy's nerves in ten seconds flat.

"I'll explain after I talk with Willow," Buffy said, pulling into their hotel. Dealing with check-in with the ruthless efficiency of experience, Buffy refused to say anything until they were in their room.

"That privacy gadget would certainly come in handy," Dawn told her, flopping down onto her bed.

"Just something else to break," Buffy muttered, lying back on her own bed before pulling out her phone to call Willow.

"Hey Willow!" Dawn yelled.

"Yes, we're in Middleton. Let me put you on speakerphone." Buffy pressed a button on her phone before propping it up on the small table between the two beds.

"Hey Dawn," Willow said, her cheerful voice flooding the room.

"Hey Willow, why didn't you tell us there was a slayer in Middleton?" Dawn asked.

"And why doesn't she show up on our active slayer rolls?" Buffy added.

"So, you've met Bonnie? She kind of reminds me of an early Cordelia." Willow said. "With evil stepsisters, but without the growing up on a Hellmouth vibe. She's even a cheerleader."

"Bonnie who?" Buffy asked, confused, looking at her sister. Dawn shrugged.

"Bonnie Rockwaller. She's the only slayer in that area. She's one of our reserves. Kennedy's been keeping an eye on her. She doesn't have to do much. There's some secret government project over near Colorado Springs that keeps the area clear of most demons and some teen hero type who scares away the rest." Willow said. "I think Bonnie has issues with her, sort of like Cordelia did with you."

"Great," Dawn grumbled, covering her face with her pillow. "Just what we need."

"Willow?" Buffy asked, shaking her head at her sister. "Do you have any idea why we're in Middleton?"

"It's another round in the Giles, Doctor Director dance," Willow said, giggling. "She wanted a favor, he agreed."

"Not how I would have put it," Buffy said. "But close. We're here because the local teen hero is one of Betty's pet projects and she wants to learn how to fight vampires."

"Local teen hero? Not the one Bonnie hates?" Willow asked, the concern in her voice clear.

"If it's Kim Possible, yes," Buffy said.

"Crap!" Willow grumbled. "Umm... Buffy?"

"Yes?" Buffy answered in a very sugary voice, that sent Dawn into a fit of giggles that was only partly drowned out by her pillow.

"If you didn't know about Bonnie, who are you talking about?" Willow asked as soon as Dawn calmed down.

"Guess," Dawn said, from under her pillow, loud enough for Willow to hear.

"Double crap!" Willow swore. "How did that happen?"

"You tell me," Buffy said. "I'm just a poor country slayer. You big city witches are in charge of such things."

"Okay, we've had competing slayers in the same town before, haven't we?" Willow asked. They both ignored Dawn's snort of amusement.

"Only if you count Faith and myself," Buffy said. "Of course, we ended up trying to kill each other. But I think we've got bigger problems."

"Like what?" Willow asked.

"Do you remember doing any research on 'Team Possible' last week?" Buffy asked. "Before you sent me the tickets?"

"Yes..."

"What would happen if Doctor Director found out her precious Kim Possible was suddenly a slayer?"

"We'd never hear the end of it," Willow said. "And she would finally get her hands on a slayer."

"Exactly. I need you and Giles to figure out a way to keep her out of Global Justice's hands before Betty figures this out. The sooner the better. Tomorrow even."

"Got it," Willow said, her tone now sober. "What do you plan on doing?"

"We're going to have to wing it tomorrow. Betty knows we're here but I don't think it would be a good idea to send anyone else. Which is too bad, we could really use Xander for this one, he's much better with the parent thing." Buffy sighed. "Dawn and I'll have to keep a lid on things when we explain this to Kim. Her parents are supposed to be geniuses. Hopefully we can convince them this is a good thing."

"You're dreaming," Dawn muttered, her comment ignored.

"Okay." Willow said. "Anything else?"

"Yes. Have Kennedy pass a message to this Bonnie. We're going to be at Middleton High School after cheerleader practice. Tell her and her watcher to meet us there. I'm assuming she has a watcher of some sort?" Buffy asked.

"Not as such," Willow told them.

"Which means?" Buffy asked, feeling the urge to reach over and throw her phone across the room.

"Buffy, you know we don't have enough real watchers to go around," Willow said. "Besides, she's just a reserve, in a place that has fewer demons than the Vatican or Hawaii."

"Tell me she at least has someone she can call in an emergency?" Buffy said.

"Of course! We even found her a local trainer," Willow said. Buffy could almost see the pout she heard in her voice. "Riley recommended him."

"Riley?" Buffy choked. "Tell me we don't have someone from the Initiative training one of our slayers."

"Not exactly," Willow said. "He gave us the names of several people who retired when Maggie Walsh took over. One of them just happened to be living right there in Middleton. He agreed to help Bonnie out."

"What did Kennedy think of him?" Buffy asked, ignoring Dawn's surprised expression. In Buffy's opinion, a little Kennedy went a long way but she had an amazing and almost scary ability to analyze the probable success of Watcher candidates. Not that she would ever tell her that.

"She said he was like one of the retired drill sergeants that used to visit her watcher when she was growing up," Willow said. "Rough around the edges but she couldn't be in better hands."

"Okay." Buffy yawned, the last week finally catching up to her. "I would definitely like to meet him."

"I'll take care of it," Willow said.

"Great. I'll talk with you tomorrow afterward." Buffy told her. "Bye." Reaching over, she closed the connection and flopped back on her bed.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Dawn asked her. "Meeting this Bonnie and Kim at the same time tomorrow?"

"No, but it's all I've got right now," Buffy said, yawning again. "Hopefully they're just friendly competitors."

"Buffy?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah?" Buffy rolled off of her bed and started digging through her suitcase.

"You do remember being a teenager, don't you?"

"Yes..." Buffy wondered where she was going with this.

"And you were a cheerleader back at Hemery."

"Stating the obvious..." Buffy said, pulling out her favorite shampoo.

"Do you really think Kim and this Bonnie are just friendly competitors?" Dawn asked, shaking her head.

Buffy gave her the only reasonable response she could think of. Sticking out her tongue, she grabbed her pillow and threw it at her sister.

"Woah!" Kim blurted out, coming to a stop just inside the gym door. There were mats all over the hardwood floor, though she suspected they were there to protect the floor and not the two women using it.

Walking towards the stands, Kim couldn't take her eyes off of the action in the middle of the floor. Yori and Buffy seemed to be everywhere, in constant violent motion.

They used the walls, the stand, even the ropes. Everything seemed fair game, though they avoided the small section of stand containing their audience. Every move Yori made in the signature Yamanouchi style, Buffy countered with something that looked familiar to Kim but she couldn't quite place.

She'd actually spent some time researching the Yamanouchi school the previous summer, after she'd found out Ron's connections to it. Its disciples weren't into fancy moves like so many modern martial arts. It was the ultimate in stealthy fighting, which made sense since the Yamanouchi school turned out some of the best ninjas in the world.

Kim had never had the opportunity to spar with Yori herself but from the way they moved, almost dance-like as they attacked and counter attacked, she suspected she might have met her match.

"Who's that with Bonnie and Mr. Barkin?" Ron asked, peaking over her shoulder. Hopping up onto his shoulder, Rufus muttered "Uh-huh, Bonnie." before diving back into a pocket.

"Did you know Yori was going to be here today?" Kim asked, turning and giving her best friend a piercing look, his comment not really registering.

"Maybe?" Ron said. "She might have said something about being here for summer..." He looked puzzled for a minute. "But it's still spring."

Kim groaned. "Ron?"

"Yeah?" he said, following her over to the bleachers, keeping Kim between Bonnie and himself.

"Did you look at that video from Wade when you got home last night?" Kim asked. "At all?"

"Watched it on the plane." He told her proudly. "Can't wait to meet all those cute girls who hunt vampires. I think they're going to like the Ronster."

Kim shook her head at his comment. "And you remember the names of the vampire hunters we're meeting with today?" she asked.

"I believe they call themselves 'vampire slayers'" Ron corrected. "Something Summers? Oh... yeah." Kim could almost see the light coming on over his head as he connected the name with Yori's comment.

Trying to ignore Bonnie's unexpected presence, to say nothing of Mr. Barkin, Kim focused on Yori and Buffy. As their bout progressed she could see the strain appearing on Yori's face while Buffy looked as if she were out for a stroll. In the background she could hear Buffy's sister having a quiet chat with Ron and Rufus, occasionally giggling at something one of them said.

Out of the corner of one eye she could see that Mr. Barkin had his eyes glued to Buffy, the expression on his face approaching awe, or as close to it as she'd ever seen. She wasn't sure what to think about Bonnie sitting there next to him. They seemed like such an odd couple. The moment the thought crossed her mind, Kim blanched. That was just so wrong, she thought.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Bonnie this nervous looking. If she didn't know better she would have thought she was even terrified of something.

It wasn't until Yori and Buffy were finished, and were once more in the middle of the floor and bowing to each other, that Kim acknowledged the presence of Mr. Barkin and Bonnie.

"Hi Mr. Barkin, 'B'," Kim said, before taking out her kimmunicator.

"'K', Stoppable," Bonnie muttered, otherwise ignoring them.

"Miss Possible," Mr. Barkin murmured in his gravely voice.

"Bonnie! Your turn!" Buffy called out, to Kim's surprise.

"Bonnie?" Ron squeaked.

"Watch carefully, Stoppable." Mr. Barkin growled, giving him a look Kim recognized as the one he usually reserved for someone who was speaking in detention. "You might learn something."

Nodding to Bonnie in passing, Yori seemed to almost float, a huge grin on her face, as she settled into the space between Ron and Kim.

"You did well." Dawn told her from her position on the row above them.

"It is always my honor to be defeated by such a one as she," Yori said.

"You know Buffy?" Kim asked.

"Yori spent some time with us in Cleveland last year." Dawn said. "Buffy was on a trip for most of it but she promised Yori a chance to test her skills the next time they met."

"What's Bonnie doing out there?" Kim asked, turning back to the center of the gym where Buffy and Bonnie seemed to be discussing something.

"Pep talk." Mr. Barkin said bluntly, watching them intently.

"Pep talk?" Kim echoed, not sure what someone like Buffy could have to say to one of her least favorite people.

"It'll make sense in a minute," Dawn said.

"Uh, huh!" Rufus added.

"You know?" Dawn asked Rufus. He nodded his head vigorously before jumping from Ron to her shoulder. Reaching up, she gently rubbed his head before offering him a cracker.

"He likes you," Ron said, grinning at her.

As far as Kim had been able to discover, there were two things Ron was powerless to resist. Bueno Nacho and girls who fell for Rufus. Kim shook her head, turning back to where Buffy and Bonnie were still talking and trying to hide her smirk. But even with her very sensitive hearing, Kim couldn't make out what they were saying. It was almost as if they knew how good her hearing was and were intentionally talking too low for her to hear.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her kimmunicator. "What's up Wade?" she asked in a low voice.

"Hey Kim." Wade smiled at her like he knew something she didn't. "Can you put the kimmunicator up where I can see everything?" he asked.

"Sure thing." Looking around, she pointed at the bleacher row above Dawn. "How about there?"

"Good." A few clicks and the kimmunicator sprouted a clawed foot. When Kim put it down, it grasped the bench, rotating until the small camera pointed towards the center of the gym. "Thanks." Kim nodded, turning back towards the action herself.

They started out very slowly. Buffy would move and Bonnie would follow with a counter to the move. Kim had the feeling that Bonnie could tell what the move was almost before it started. It was as if she was already moving seconds before Buffy. It could have been choreographed. Where the bout between Buffy and Yori had been an acrobatic ballet, this session was more like a waltz.

As Kim watched, she listened with only half an ear to Dawn as she narrated, naming each move in a language that vaguely sounded like a cross between Portuguese and Norwegian. She couldn't believe her eyes as Bonnie easily kept up, their movements speeding up to a pace that was almost a blur. Something very strange was going on.

"And this is where those of us who aren't slayers have to stop watching and rely on modern technology." Dawn said, pointing to a small video camera nearby.

"You've been recording them?" Kim asked, taking her eyes off of the action for only a moment.

"Yup," Dawn said. "Sometimes it's the only way for us ordinary mortals to keep up."

"What are they doing now?" Kim asked, as the style shifted and became more like a kick boxing match than a dance. She winced at the sounds. She could almost feel the blows as Buffy blew past Bonnie's guard time and again.

"That would be the lesson in humility part of the exercise." Dawn said, wincing herself at an especially loud sound as Buffy knocked Bonnie into a wall.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Ron asked, looking slightly pale as Bonnie somehow returned the favor.

"They're slayers," Dawn said. "It isn't safe to interfere in their dominance games."

"Games?" Kim said, not turning from the brutal spectacle. "Bonnie's just a cheerleader. Like me. Mostly."

"She's also a slayer who doesn't get much chance to use her skills," Dawn said. "Middleton isn't exactly hopping with the supernatural night-life."

"She needs this," Mr. Barkin added gruffly, his attention not wavering.

"This is as much for your benefit as hers." Dawn told Kim.

"My benefit?" Kim stared at her, finally pulled away from watching Buffy and Bonnie.

"We know you had no idea what a slayer was until yesterday," Dawn said. "And I'm sure that finding out Bonnie is one is a surprise."

"Major," Kim admitted, turning to watch them again. They weren't fighting any longer. Buffy was standing there watching Bonnie pace back and forth in front of her ranting about something. She wondered how she'd missed the signs that Bonnie was different.

"Bonnie's a vampire slayer?" Ron blurted out. "What about him?" He gestured at Mr. Barkin.

"Uh-huh. Slayer." Rufus interjected. "Scary."

"We know the four of you," Dawn gestured at Kim, Ron, Wade, and Rufus, "are good at what you do. You have the whole world traveling, crime fighting circus gig. But when it comes to the supernatural showing up in the Upperton-Middleton area, Bonnie's the closest expert. You're going to need to learn to work with her."

"Why does she get Middleton?" Kim asked. She wasn't sure what she was feeling but it sure wasn't jealousy, but it was her job to do things, not Bonnie. "We live here too."

"Because she's the slayer for this area." Buffy said. Obviously not having heard her approach, Ron squeaked in surprise. Kim jumped in reaction to Ron's reaction but she hadn't really been surprised. She'd somehow known that Buffy was behind her. "But she's not going to prevent you from helping out in an emergency, right Bonnie?"

"Yes ma'am," Bonnie grumbled. "As long as they don't get in the way."

A polite, respectful Bonnie being almost as rare as unicorns, in Kim's opinion, she stared in amazement at her, a number of wildly different thoughts running through her head.

"How come no one ever told us about Bonnie." Ron asked. Kim nodded in agreement.

"Does Clark Kent advertise?" Mr. Barkin asked. "Does the concept of 'secrecy' elude you Stoppable?"

"Gotcha." Ron said, ignoring Mr. Barkin's tone. "Secret identity. The no-credit plan for world saveage." Kim covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her giggle. Ron and Mr. Barkin had a very unusual relationship, like the gruff uncle and his annoying nephew.

"We don't advertise where our slayers live." Buffy told them, her voice firm. "It's dangerous enough without every evil creature in the neighborhood interrupting dinner."

"I don't know." Dawn said. "You used that as an excuse to get out of chores more than once."

"So, you're a master of Tai Shing Pek Kwar." Buffy said to Ron, ignoring her sister's comment. Grabbing several bottles of water, she kept one for herself and threw the other to Bonnie.

Ron blushed, something Kim hadn't seen him do in years. "It comes and it goes," he said.

"Yori seems to believe in your abilities," Buffy told him.

"Stoppable-san is much too modest," Yori added. "Sensei is very pleased with his progress."

"Kim does all of the real fighting," Ron protested. "Rufus and I are just her sidekicks."

"I'm sure Kim doesn't see you that way," Dawn said. "Right, Rufus?"

"Well, he is my official sidekick." Kim said, winking at him.

"If I understand it correctly," Dawn said, "isn't that just how things work in your profession? There's the hero and sidekick versus the super villain and their minions?"

"It is traditional, though we usually call them henchmen." Kim agreed. "And most of our foes are big with the tradition."

"Except Shego," Ron said.

"Shego's different." Kim agreed. "So, what are you going to show us?" she asked, quickly changing the subject, not wanting to discuss Shego.

"Let's see what you have first," Buffy told her, putting down her bottle.

Kim grinned. She didn't think she was as good as Yori but she certainly was better than Bonnie, even if she didn't have whatever it was that made Bonnie a slayer. She did fight Shego on a regular basis after all. She wouldn't be surprised if Shego was at least as strong as a slayer.

Kim followed Buffy out into the middle of the gym. "How did you want to do this?" she asked, thinking about the completely different ways Buffy had sparred with Yori and Bonnie. If there had been any rules, she'd missed them.

"The goal is simple. I want to assess your current level of training." Buffy told her. "But I'm not concerned about any specific style. How many black, blue, or green belts you have in whichever forms of martial arts you prefer doesn't matter here. I want to know your chances of surviving against a super strong foe that has no problem with killing you."

"You mean like vampires?" Kim asked, sobered by the sudden seriousness.

"Yes," Buffy said, kicking off her shoes. "Those are the kinds of supernatural creatures you are most likely to run into."

"And then you're going to teach me how to kill them?" Kim asked skeptically, watching Buffy wiggle her toes and fingers. She couldn't quite see herself as a teenage Van Helsing. That was more of a Ron fantasy thing.

"Not necessarily." Buffy gave her an enigmatic smile. "The first goal is to improve your chances of surviving. If you and your friends encounter any demons you need to know what to do. Demon hunting is a very dangerous occupation. My understanding is your future involves other things that you are better suited for."

"You've been talking with Dr. Director," Kim said, frowning unhappily. "She has all these plans for us."

"The Council of Watchers, of which I'm a member, doesn't exactly see eye-to-eye with Betty." Buffy told her, stretching as she talked. "She thinks slayers would make excellent agents. We don't agree."

"Wouldn't they?" Kim asked curiously, removing her own shoes and socks to keep things fair. "You are super strong. With Global Justice training there aren't many criminals you couldn't defeat. If Global Justice had slayers, Team Possible could retire."

"There are certain things you need to understand about slayers." Buffy said, taking a swing at Kim that she easily dogged.

"Like what?" Kim did a backflip to give herself more room.

"We're mystical creatures. Destiny and prophecy aren't just fairy tales to us." As she talked, Buffy threw another punch that Kim easily blocked, followed by a combination of punches and kicks that Kim just barely avoided. "We go where our dreams take us. In the long run, what a slayer does will hopefully benefit humanity but we don't really play well with others."

"You mean like Bonnie?" Kim asked, smirking slightly.

"Yes." Buffy agreed. "Or you." She didn't give Kim any time to think, driving her back towards the far wall with a number of very quick kicks.

"I play well with others," Kim protested, attempting to keep her breathing even. She hadn't had to work this hard to defend herself against anyone other than Shego in years.

"Do you?" Buffy asked, blocking a kick to her stomach. "If we asked Ron or Wade would they agree?"

Shrugging, Kim jumped up and grabbing one of the poles supporting the backboard, flung herself away from Buffy, cartwheeling back into the middle of the gym. Even as she stopped, she could feel Buffy right behind her. Diving to one side, she swung almost blindly behind her where she thought Buffy would land. Her hand hit a soft but immovable object, jarring her entire shoulder. Pivoting around her trapped arm, Kim managed to turn herself around.

"Clever," Buffy said, gripping her wrist tightly. "But you can easily break a shoulder that way."

"So slayers don't take orders well?" Kim asked, thinking she got the point about Global Justice.

"Exactly. Slayers are loners. It's in our nature. The younger someone becomes a slayer, the worse that tendency is." Buffy said. "That lone wolf tendency is there no matter how much we try to deny it. Even when we have a group of friends, a pack, we still think of ourselves as alone and expect to do things our way."

"Which means Dr. Director would only be able to trust them with missions they could do alone." Kim said.

"Yes." Buffy smiled at her, making Kim feel proud. "And what kinds of things would a government entity like Global Justice use the loner, James Bond type for?"

"Well, I don't think they would need to have assassins." Kim flipped Buffy, though she didn't end up on her back like Kim expected. In a maneuver that would have done Shego proud, Kim found herself flying across the room, once more ending up against a wall. Ducking down, she just barely dodged a foot that was aimed at her chin.

"No, that's exactly what dear old Betty wanted some of my slayers for." Buffy told her. "And that would be bad for a number of reasons that we won't get into right now. Fortunately, we managed to come to an agreement. We would train her people to survive the run-of-the-mill demonic creatures..."

"Vampires?" Kim frowned at the thought of Dr. Director being ruthless enough to need assassins. Sure, if she thought about it, ninjas like Yori were actually trained assassins but she seemed so innocent, and not very assassin like.

"And some of the other minor demons, hell hounds, that kind of thing." Buffy continued, attacking even as she spoke. "She agreed to leave our slayers alone and not try to recruit them. It took some arm twisting but she finally saw the light. Giles tends to win in the end."

"Giles?" Kim gasped out as she dodged another blow.

"Rupert Giles, the head of the Council. He used to train slayers, now he runs it for us." Buffy said.

Thinking about the things Wade had discovered in GJ's secret files concerning Team Possible, Kim wondered if they could get this Giles person to help them out with their own negotiations.

"And now there's you." Buffy said. "Our agreement with Betty is going to need some adjustment."

"Me?" Kim squeaked out, jumping over a low kick.

"I think we've warmed up enough," Buffy said, not answering her question. "Why don't you show me how strong you really are."

Afterward, Kim couldn't really remember every move, kick, and punch Buffy threw at her. The rest of the world became a blur as she struggled to keep up with the insane speed Buffy was exhibiting. Kim didn't think about how to fight back. It was like some of the fights she'd had with Shego. Her reactions were all on an instinctual level. Thinking was a luxury she didn't have.

Kim lay on the floor for a minute, not sure how she'd ended up there. It wasn't the most comfortable place to be. She could feel her sweat covered back sticking to the mat under her.

"You'll do," she heard Buffy say. Blinking her eyes to clear the sweat from them, Kim looked up to see Buffy standing over her. Grabbing the hand she was offered, Kim shakily pulled herself to her feet.

"Thanks. I think." Kim mumbled as she gingerly followed Buffy over to the others, hoping none of the new bruises she was feeling would show when she got home.

"Wow!" Ron said, the expression on his face closely resembling the one when he'd received his first naco royalties check from Bueno Nacho. "You were moving really fast there Kim! Like Bonnie."

Rufus chittered to himself for a few seconds before saying, "Uh-huh, slayer too."

"What?" Kim looked at them, confused. "I'm not a slayer." She then glanced at the others to see what they were thinking. Dawn grinned at her; Bonnie looked bored by the whole thing; Yori nodded to her as if to an equal, for the first time; Mr. Barkin seemed to be watching all of them very carefully.

"You're in luck." Buffy told her, squeezing her shoulder in a comforting grip. "In the old days, one of the ways the Council proved to someone that they were a slayer involved sharp pointed objects flung in their direction. If you survived you believed you were a slayer."

"Or knew you had very good reflexes." Dawn said. Kim shuddered as the image of a rain of knives and arrows crossed her mind, like some demented Monkey Fist trap.

"Don't worry, we have better ways now." Buffy told her. "The easiest is this." She pulled a small box out of a pocket and tossed it to Kim. Opening it up, Kim found a small clear crystal. When she touched it, it flared with a bright, almost neon, red light. "If you pass it around, you'll see that it gives off different colors, or no color at all."

Kim handed the crystal to Ron. It glowed a faint yellow in his hand, turning green when he handed it to Dawn. When Rufus touched it, it emitted a faint purple light. Kim noticed that nothing happened when Yori and Mr. Barkin touched it but when Bonnie reluctantly took the crystal it glowed a solid red. When Bonnie handed it back to Buffy it turned an even deeper, almost blood red.

"What do the colors mean?" Kim asked, handing the small box back to Buffy, who put the crystal away in another pocket.

Buffy gestured to her sister for an answer. "It measures the level of magic a person has. Yori and Steve have no discernible magic, though I'm kind of surprised." Dawn shook her head at something before continuing. "I've never seen it turn yellow before so I can't tell you what that means."

"Mystical Monkey Power," Ron said, grimacing.

"Okay..." Dawn raised an eyebrow in obvious question. Kim wasn't surprised when he shook his head and didn't elaborate. "Green, blue, and black are magic wielder colors - witches, wizards, sorcerers, mystics, and others who can manipulate magical forces directly cause it to glow those colors," she continued. "I'm a green, which means I can do a little bit of real magic, though I prefer to stay away from the really hard stuff. The purple was a surprise."

"Why?" Ron asked, frowning at her.

"It's the color for neutral or non-evil demons. Rufus must have some demon ancestry." Dawn paused for a moment to drink from her own bottle and give Rufus a sip. "And red is the color we see with slayers."

"Why the different shades of red for them?" Ron asked, trying to look at all three of them at once, switching his eyes quickly between Bonnie, Buffy, and Kim until he became cross-eyed.

"Because Willow wanted it that way?" Dawn answered with a shrug. "And as our head magic user she usually gets her way. The different shades of a color have different meanings. For a slayer it tells us how long they've been active, compared to other slayers anyway."

Kim could hear Wade's keyboard clicking away as he searched for something she couldn't see. "So it isn't exact?" she asked. "It doesn't tell you when someone becomes a slayer?"

"It's useful after that happens. It isn't really a warning system." Dawn said.

"We have other ways to pinpoint when and where a slayer is called." Buffy said. "That's how we found Bonnie."

"Okay, given the shade it gave off when Kim touched it, and when she became a slayer..." Wade mumbled, his fingers flying faster.

"You know when?" Buffy asked, frowning in the direction of the kimmunicator.

"Yes." Wade said.

"Wade?" Kim said, trying to keep her tone even. "I never told you that. And I'm not sure I believe it anyway."

"A slayer has increased strength. Correct?" Wade asked. "And speed, sense of smell, better hearing..."

"Correct" Dawn answered while Buffy gazed at Kim curiously.

"Strange dreams of vampires?" He continued.

"More or less." Buffy agreed. "You said yesterday you've been having dreams?" she asked Kim.

"Of vampires and other things." Kim admitted, wincing at the hurt look that crossed Ron's face as he realized she'd been keeping things from him.

"So... when?" Dawn asked, opening up her laptop.

"January 14th." Wade said, still typing away. "Kim and Shego got caught in a lair explosion in New Mexico. We thought she'd been hit by one of Drakken's experimental weapons but I couldn't find any proof."

"Huh." Dawn mumbled, staring intently at something on her screen, her fingers joining Wade's in the keyboard dance.

"For those of us not you?" Buffy asked, prodding her sister for more than a grunt.

"Several slayers disappeared in Siberia that week. Faith went looking for them but she couldn't find any trace of them." Dawn sighed. "Every other slayer is accounted for that month and no new slayers were called around then, as far as Willow could tell anyway. She's been waiting for them to turn up. Guess she was wrong."

"Someone died to make me this way?" Kim asked, her voice rising. "Take it back!"

"Can't" Buffy told her sadly. "I warned you it was a dangerous profession. The only way for someone to become a slayer is for someone else to die. And the only way to stop being one is to die yourself."

Kim slumped down next to Ron. He automatically wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Following his example, Rufus jumped from Dawn's shoulder to hers and started rubbing his head against her chin. "Not die." He stated.

"Not if we can help it," Buffy agreed.

"So someone died to make Bonnie one too?" Ron asked, his voice barely audible.

"Not exactly," Dawn said. "That was completely different."

"Wow!" Wade exclaimed. "Based on when Kim became a slayer... Bonnie..."

"You want the exact date and time I became a member of the short life-span club? Not something you forget." Bonnie asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"The same day Sunnydale disappeared." Wade announced, ignoring her response.

"It's an honor to be chosen." Yori said, frowning at Bonnie.

"It's not a statue, or money for new clothes, or a scholarship." Bonnie said dismissively. "I don't see people lining up for the honor."

"I wasn't too happy about it myself." Buffy told Kim. "But it was different then. I was the only slayer for a while so I couldn't refuse. But I tried."

"Not sure I really believe it..." Kim mumbled, rubbing a sore spot on her right hip where Buffy had gotten through her defenses.

"What more proof do you need?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know." Kim admitted, leaning back from Ron.

"There's one other way." Buffy said.

"What?" Kim asked.

"One of the things a slayer has is sort of a sixth sense about people." Buffy said. "We all have it to some degree or other. You should be able to pick out demons from a crowd of normal people. They feel different."

"So... it's normal for a vampire to make me feel nauseous?" Kim asked, remembering her reaction to the one vampire she'd killed.

"Yes. That's a good example." Buffy said. "We all have it to some degree or other."

"Angel." Dawn muttered under her breath.

"And, as Dawn is trying to point out," Buffy said, giving her sister a sharp look that surprised Kim by not drawing blood, "it can take a while to develop."

"Huh?" Kim looked at them, wondering what she was missing.

"One of Buffy's old boyfriends was a vampire." Dawn said, smirking. "She totally missed that he was a vampire when they met. Very clueless."

"But I made up for it with my keen fashion sense." Buffy winked at Kim. "It was almost a year after I became the slayer before I could use that sense reliably."

"Can other things cause similar feelings?" Kim asked. "Besides demons?"

"Yes. With experience you should be able to sense who is or isn't a slayer."

"You knew I was a slayer yesterday?" Kim asked, drawing the logical conclusion.

"Yes." Buffy admitted. "Though it was a complete surprise."

"Willow is still trying to figure out how we missed you." Dawn said, closing her laptop and putting it away.

"Buffy?" Wade's voice interrupted. "If my calculations are correct... you've been a slayer for around ten years?"

"Sounds about right." Buffy said. "Can we keep him?" she asked Dawn in a stage whisper. "Willow's gonna be impressed at our recruiting skills."

"No." Kim said, glaring at her. "He's an integral part of Team Possible."

"No poaching. Got it." Buffy winked at her.

"How is this sixth sense going to prove anything?" Kim asked, in an attempt to distract them from further plans for Wade.

"Really simple." Buffy stood up. "Dawn, do you have that blindfold?"

"Yup." Dawn pulled a long strip of black material out of a pocket. "And some ear plugs."

"What do you want from me?" Kim asked warily after they'd proven she could pick out Buffy, Bonnie, and even Rufus by the feelings she got near them, even with her eyes covered and ear plugs.

"I'm not going to train her," Bonnie protested.

"I'm not asking you to." Buffy said.

"Why not?" Ron asked.

"Middleton doesn't need two working slayers." Buffy told him, sitting down in front of them. "The whole state is close to being a mystical dead zone. Bonnie has more than enough skill and experience to take care of the few demons who wander through. Besides, according to Global Justice Kim already has a full schedule doing something important." Bonnie sniffed at her pronouncement, causing Buffy to shake her head.

"But, if it won't interfere with your own training schedule, we would still like you to work with Bonnie several times a month." Buffy said to Kim. "She could use someone to spar with who can keep up with her. Your style is very different from what she's learned. It'll do you both good. Steve can work out a schedule with both of you."

"How does this affect Team Possible?" Ron asked.

Buffy looked at them carefully. Kim noticed she even looked at Wade in the kimmunicator. "We would like you all to keep an eye out for any unusual activity. You see any vampires, strange creatures, anything you can't explain using your usual methods, let us know and we'll investigate it."

"So, no vampire hunting." Ron asked sadly.

"Definitely not." Buffy said firmly. "We're just giving you the basics because you'll need them now that Kim is a slayer."

"Slayers attract the strange." Dawn added. "If you lived anywhere else you would have noticed it already but slayers are magnets for the supernatural."

"And this summer, I think you, all of you," Buffy included even Rufus in her look, "should attend one of the slayer familiarity sessions we give at our training school in Cleveland. We can discuss any future involvement of Team Possible in Council business after that."

"Anything else?" Wade asked.

"Don't sign anything from Global Justice." Dawn said.

"Oh yeah, that's very important," Buffy agreed. "Betty isn't going to be too happy with any of this. She'll think we're interfering with her plans for you, so she'll probably try to force the issue. If she does, call us. Hopefully we can work something out with her before that happens. You fall into a very grey area in our agreements with Global Justice."

"And we need to speak with Kim's parents." Dawn added.

"My parents?" Kim squeaked. She hadn't even thought about how to explain this to them.

"You're not eighteen yet, and you live at home." Mr. Barkin said. Kim looked at him in surprise. He'd been so quiet for the last hour that she'd almost forgotten he was there. She wondered if it was Buffy's presence that had kept him so subdued. "There are strict rules."

"We'll be here tomorrow also so you don't need to tell them tonight." Buffy said. "Why don't we go over the basics now? It'll take just a couple minutes."

Kim nodded, getting to her feet and following Buffy back out onto the floor. Ron was right behind her, Dawn and Yori each pulling on an arm, while Bonnie and Mr. Barkin moved further away and started discussing something Kim couldn't make out.

The Truth Is Out There

"Rupert. What can I help you with?" the blue clad figure asked, watching him intently through the video link.

Giles smiled. Betty Director could be ruthless at times but she was his kind of ruthless. Her first priority was the survival of mankind and she wielded her troops with an amazing finesse in pursuit of that goal. And, though he would never admit it out loud, he found her more than pleasant to look at.

"I need to invoke the employment clause in our current agreement," he told her, getting straight to business.

"Really? I don't believe there are any slayers on our payroll nor do we have any plans to hire one." Betty said, frowning in thought.

"It has come to our attention that you are actively recruiting a slayer," Giles said, shrugging as if it weren't a big deal. He knew she wasn't going to be happy with the news but there wasn't much she could do about it. She was well aware of the drawbacks of hiring a slayer. Her Psych-Ops team had been the ones to finally convince her that slayers were mentally unfit for any of the roles she had in mind. The political ramifications if any of the governments with close ties to the Council had found out were secondary, something he knew she would have eventually worked around. But he suspected that losing this one, someone she'd been nurturing for years, would set her plans for Global Justice back years, if not decades.

"Not that I'm aware of." Betty said. "Just a second." His screen went blank for a minute. "There doesn't seem to be any record of that. Do you have a name for me?" she asked when she returned.

"Kim Possible." Giles told her with only a small amount of relish. The relationship between them was built on such seemingly minor wins. He would win one point one day, she one another day.

"Kim Possible?" Betty stared at him in undisguised shock. "How did that happen?"

"In the normal fashion." Giles said. She didn't need to know that this had shocked the Council seers also. Given the quality of person that was Kim Possible, according to their predictions she should have been activated as a slayer back during the final battle in Sunnydale. Even now they were madly digging through the Council archives looking for an explanation.

"Rupert! That isn't what I meant," Betty told him with a slight growl. "Did you lose anyone important?"

"They are all important," he said. Betty's position didn't allow her to become as attached to her agents as he did to his people but her slight nod was enough to tell him she understood. "No one you would recognize. Several of our European slayers disappeared without a trace during a trip last January. We believe it was one of them. We're still searching for them so we can't be sure which one it was."

Betty nodded somberly at him. "Has she already been assigned a Watcher?"

"No. Not yet." With a push of a button he sent her the publicly consumable report on Kim Possible that Dawn had prepared for him. "It is the general opinion here that she would make an outstanding slayer. In some ways she is much better trained than a number of our active slayers; she can think on her feet and improvise under the most stressful situations; and she thinks of others first. All traits we look for."

"However?" Betty prompted when he paused.

"It is felt by some that it would set a bad precedent if we attempted to integrate her into the Council at this point." Giles said.

"One of your people objected? Why?" she asked.

He could almost see wheels turning in her head at the glimpse he was giving her into the decision making processes of the current Council's inner circle. He frowned for a moment, hoping to give her the impression that he was reluctant to part with the information. She didn't need to know that the Inner Council had decided to use the Kim Possible situation to test the feasibility of forging a deeper relationship with Global Justice.

Even Buffy had seen the necessity of sharing some of their secrets with Global Justice as part of the test. After years of dealing with Buffy's refusal to plan ahead, preferring to rely on serendipity, he was impressed with how she now seemed to be developing the long view of history necessary for the Council's survival.

"We have certain rules that apply to all slayers," he told her. "We can't ignore them just because we could use the skills of one of them. There would be a revolt."

"And one of these rules applies here?" she asked.

"Several actually. The one that primarily concerned our evaluators is the negative value rule," Giles said.

"Negative value?" Betty leaned back in her chair, the camera following her movement.

"It can best be stated as - Would the world benefit if a new slayer left their current occupation and took a full time position in the Council. They felt she is already providing a valuable service to the community and couldn't be easily replaced. At this point we have an adequate number of experienced slayers. Her uniqueness would be wasted in their ranks." Giles said.

"Wouldn't more slayers be better?" She asked. "You would have a better chance of completely wiping out your opponents."

"We seem to have reached a balance, or as Willow calls it - a 'steady state' in the last year. At any moment in time we have a third of the known slayers in training, a third on our active duty roster, and a third in reserve," Giles said. "As much as we would like to do as you suggest, all we would accomplish would be to bring about the true 'End of Days' and none of us are in any hurry for that to happen."

"How does this 'steady state' affect Kim Possible?" Betty asked.

"We hope she'll agree to join our reserves at some point, but we won't push the issue," he said.

"What would she gain from that?" Betty asked. "I've been working on her for two years now to join Global Justice after college but haven't had much luck. She's become extremely skilled at avoiding any commitments to us."

"We believe it is in our best interest at this point that she maintain her independence and operate as she sees fit, but slayers on reserve do have access to Council resources when necessary," Giles told her. "Which I believe she cannot get from Global Justice unless she becomes a full time agent. Something we would prefer not to see happen."

"I see," she said. "Would you object if we continued to make use of her services, as we do now?"

"No. That's really her decision." Giles watched her closely "Is she aware that a large portion of the requests for her services are really planted by Global Justice?" His curiosity was satisfied when she visibly flinched. "That's what we thought. We will expect you to either cut back on those types of missions or to be honest with her about their source."

"So, business more or less as usual?" Betty asked, nodding. "Except now she's your problem, not ours?"

"Yes." Giles said. "We'll let the lawyers hammer out the details."

"That'll be fine," Betty said.

"One last thing," Giles added. "Whatever agreement we eventual make with Kim Possible, we expect it to apply to her cohorts. One of her strengths is her team."

"Anything else that you want?" Betty asked. "We're having a sale on mad scientists and their associates this month. Shego would make an excellent training partner for some of your slayers."

"Shego? You don't like her?" Giles asked, puzzled at how much delight Betty seemed to get from the idea. The name sounded familiar but Dawn's briefing hadn't gone into any real detail.

"She's an interesting character. I suspect that her motivation for the crimes she commits has something to do with Kim Possible, but there's no concrete proof. And she doesn't stay locked up long enough for us to ask her." Betty laughed, an oddly husky sound that Giles found endearing, though he would never tell her. "If you ever convince Kim to join the Council, expect to see a lot of Shego. I'll let our lawyers know the Council will be contacting them." Betty said, ending their conversation. "Have a good evening Rupert." Before he could reply, the screen went blank.

"All done?" Giles looked up in surprise at the question. Just out of camera range, Willow, Buffy, and Dawn sat smirking at him.

"So, you didn't tell her that we have future plans for her Kim." Willow said.

"Our Kim now," Buffy reminded her. Dawn nodded in agreement.

"I didn't believe it was necessary. She'll find out when she needs to. And anything can happen in a decade." Giles said, joining them away from the camera.

"But you do agree with Dawn's assessment?" Buffy asked.

"That Kim Possible would be a valuable asset for the Council in a capacity other than just as a slayer? Yes." Giles said. "We'll have to be careful, to say nothing of subtle, to guide her in that direction. I don't want to scare her or her team away like Betty appears to have done."

"Giles, I've been thinking about the best way to approach this." Dawn said, handing him a deep green folder. "I've outlined a few ideas for you to look at."

"On paper?" Buffy said, clearly indicating her disbelief that her geeky sister would use an actual pen.

"Definitely. We're going to need to be extremely careful with what we put in the Council records concerning her." Dawn said.

"Her geek?" Buffy asked.

"Yup. Wade." Dawn looked at Willow. "He's very good. If he could use magic he'd be at least as good as you are."

"Better." Willow told them. "His role as part of Team Possible has given him a breadth of knowledge in areas I have barely even heard of."

"You'll see some notes on Wade also." Dawn said. "Even without Kim Possible I think we should cultivate him. Assuming we can cure him of his hermit tendencies."

"And this Ron Stoppable?" Giles asked curiously, looking through the folder. "I see he's spent some time at Yamanouchi."

"He's her Xander, more or less." Dawn said. "They've known each other forever. There's currently some friction between them for some reason but he seems to instinctively know how to deal with her personal issues."

"Ex issues." Buffy added. "According to Bonnie they were a couple for a few months. I won't repeat her explanation for their break-up. She seemed a bit biased and was probably exaggerating."

"You're holding out on us!" Willow said, pouting.

"What about this so called 'Mystical Monkey Power' you mentioned?" Giles asked, ignoring their interruption.

"It's another one of those legendary mystical martial arts." Dawn explained. "We don't have any useful information on it in our archives. We do know it gives him some abilities he wouldn't otherwise have."

"The Yamanouchi School wouldn't take him just on the basis of that." Buffy said. "There must be something special about him. I have a few ideas for things I want to try when he comes to Cleveland this summer with Kim."

"Ew..." Dawn shivered in an exaggerated manner. Giles struggled to keep a straight face at her antics. "He's just a kid."

"Not like that!" Buffy protested. "Even if he was old enough he's so not my type. Though you seemed to have him eating out of the palm of your hand when we were in Middleton."

"No, that was Rufus." Dawn said.

"What kind of demon is he?" Giles asked, leafing through the folder.

"Not really sure. A hybrid of some sort. Very intelligent." Dawn looked at Buffy. "But definitely some demonic ancestry."

"It's very faint. If it hadn't been for Willow's crystal I wouldn't have known." Buffy said. "You'd have to touch him to feel it."

"Have we already invited them for one of our summer sessions?" Giles asked. "I'm assuming we want all of them here at the same time."

"No, we were waiting until you'd talked with Betty." Willow said. "Speaking of which..."

"Have you asked her out yet?" Dawn asked.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Giles said, successfully suppressing a blush that would have been very embarrassing at his age.

"Not fooling us, Giles," Buffy said, shaking her head. "Not sure what you see in her but the sparkage is obvious."

"I don't know." Willow murmured. "There's something about a woman in uniform. And that eye patch is kind of sexy."

"Better watch out Giles or Willow will snap her up when you aren't looking." Dawn giggled. He shook his head at their behavior but stayed silent, not foolish enough to give them any more ammunition.

Standing up, Buffy pointed at her sister. "Come on Jolly, as much fun as this is we have a plane to catch. You have classes tomorrow."

"Jolly?" Dawn mumbled, as she followed her sister out of Giles' office.

"They're getting along much better now." Giles said, helping Willow to her feet.

"In small doses." Willow said, agreeing with him. "They seem to have found a formula that works."

Lying in the middle of the football field, Kim stared up the stars, the smell of the damp evening grass flooding her nose in the slight breeze. This was the one place that almost no one thought to look for her. Wade could find her if he really needed to but he never seemed to bother her here. It was a good place to just think. And she had a lot to think about.

A month from graduation and she wasn't any closer to deciding what to do about the newest twist in her life. She and Ron were off to Go University in the fall, attending part time so they could keep Team Possible a going concern. Kim admitted freely to being addicted to the rush she got helping people. She wasn't ready to give it all up in pursuit of an education she wasn't sure she was going to really need.

The Council of Watchers had been extremely helpful so far. With the assistance of their lawyers, Team Possible was now registered as a non-profit corporation, with Kim, Ron, and Wade as permanent employees. They still needed to appoint a Board of Directors but this first step would protect them from attempts by any of their foes to sideline them legally, now that they were considered adults. Even Jim and Tim had approved of the agreement between Team Possible and Global Justice that the Council lawyers had helped them with, claiming it was a work of legal art. It left them with enough freedom to continue working with Global Justice without being at their beck and call.

Team Possible's future relationship with the Council, on the other hand, was still extremely vague, something she and Wade hoped to fix during her summer trip to Cleveland. For now, having their support with no visible strings attached was good enough.

Wade was going to spend the summer looking around Go City for a place he could use to run their new operation from. Ron had begun calling it the Kim-lair as a joke and to Kim's annoyance it had stuck. She just hoped Shego didn't hear about it.

Closing her eyes, Kim thought back to the day her parents had been told about slayers, magic, and her inclusion in one of the oldest existing organizations on the planet. They hadn't been immediately convinced but it hadn't been a complete disaster. She could imagine other things she could have told them that would have gone over a lot worse, running off with one of her arch foes being high on the list.

It had been a difficult night. For once she hadn't had any dreams, but thinking about how she would tell her parents had made sleeping even more difficult than normal. Not even a long midnight run had helped. She had no idea how they would react. She'd tied herself in knots trying to predict their reaction but nothing she'd done before came close to becoming a slayer. About the only thing she was sure of was that they would eventually be supportive.

"Mom? Dad?" She said, sitting down with a bowl and a box of her favorite sugary cereal.

Her father looked up from his paper, giving her his fullest attention as she filled her bowl with cereal. "Yes, Kimmie-cub?"

"Kim?" Her mother put down the medical journal she was reading and looked at her curiously.

"I need to talk with both of you," she said, nervously pouring milk into her bowl. "Tonight, please."

"About what?" her mother asked, giving her father a concerned glance that Kim intercepted.

"Do you remember when I was in that lair explosion last January with Shego?" Kim asked. "And, Mom, remember I asked you to run those extra tests, but you didn't find anything?"

"Yes. Shego escaped before we could examine her." Her mother said. Both of her parents stared at her intently, waiting for her to continue.

"I found some things out yesterday. Things that I think you need to know about." Scooping up a spoonful of cereal, Kim watched the milk dribble back into her bowl.

"What, exactly?" Her father asked.

"Things." Kim said. "Can it wait until tonight?"

"Okay." Her father said, her mother nodding in agreement.

"Thanks." Kim said, once more scooping up a spoonful of cereal. This time it ended up in her mouth and not back in the bowl.

"You have our undivided attention, Kimmie." Her father said after dinner that night. "What did you need to talk with us about?"

"Umm..." Kim stood in front of them, her back to the tv. "Well... you know how I accidentally broke that broom, and the doorknob to the Tweebs room? And you remember all those knives and spoons that looked a little bent a couple months ago?"

"Yes..." her father said, frowning in thought.

"And Mom? Do you remember all those blouses I had? The ones that needed to have their buttons replaced?"

"Kim?" Her mother replied, matching her father's frown.

"I really didn't mean for all those things to happen." Kim said. "But I couldn't really help it."

"What do you mean?" her mother asked.

Looking around, Kim spotted a poker next to the fireplace. Picking it up she showed it to both of them. With a hand on each end, she started to bend the poker, not stopping until it was folded in half. "I've sort of been having strength problems," she told them. "I'm not super strong like Spiderman or Superman but I am a lot stronger than I used to be."

"Oh, Kim, why didn't you tell us?" her mother asked.

"I thought it would wear off. But it hasn't." Kim shrugged. "And since you and Wade didn't find anything wrong with me I kept it to myself."

"There are experts we could call." Kim's mother said. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I don't know." Kim admitted. "It wasn't hurting anything and it made missions easier. And I didn't want to become a lab rat. If anyone could figure it out Wade or you could."

"I'm glad you have such confidence in your mother but I don't think you should ignore this." Her father said. "You don't know what that increase in strength will do to you in the long run. Your bones aren't designed for those kinds of changes."

"Doesn't seem to have hurt Bonnie." Kim mumbled before she could help it.

"What does Bonnie have to do with this?" Kim's mother asked.

The doorbell rang before Kim could answer her.

"Kim! It's for you!" Tim's voice reached them from the front door.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." Kim said, hurrying out of the room.

"Hi Kim." Buffy said. "Are we too early?" she asked, looking around curiously.

As Kim hung up their jackets, she noticed that they were both dressed in expensive, hand tailored suits, a detail that her mother wasn't going to miss.

"No, you're just in time." Kim said gratefully. "I've done the strength display like you suggested but haven't had a chance to explain."

"Your brothers are cute." Dawn whispered to her.

"Careful Dawn. We don't have room for them at home." Buffy winked at Kim as she ushered them into the living room. "If I didn't keep an eye on her she would have us drowning in cute kids and animals."

"She can have them." Kim said. "I can have them packed and out the door in five minutes."

"Who is this?" Kim's mother asked. "And you cannot give away Jim and Tim. Even if they shouldn't be listening to this."

"Awh, Mom!" the Tweebs grumbled, popping up from behind the couch. Kim's mother glared at them, pointing at the door until they left.

"This is Buffy Summers, and her sister Dawn." Kim said. "My parents, the Dr's Possible." she said, introducing them.

"And your brothers?" Dawn asked, winking mischievously at them.

"The Tweebs." Kim muttered.

"I'm Jim." "I'm Tim." they said, smirking at her from the doorway.

"Nice to meet you." Buffy said, Dawn nodding to them before they disappeared.

"They can explain the strength thing." Kim told her parents.

"We run a school in Cleveland for women and girls with Kim's abilities." Buffy said, idly straightening the poker and putting it back down on the coffee table she'd picked it up from. Kim's mother frowned at the casual demonstration of strength.

"We're funded by the Council of Watchers. It provides funding and scholarships for those we invite to attend." Dawn said.

"What is the 'Council of Watchers'?" Kim's mother asked.

"It's a fraternal order involved in a number of areas of research," Dawn said. "It received its first Royal charter in 1579 from Queen Elizabeth. It has also provided assistance to the American government since 1865. But it's much older than that."

"We would like Kim to attend one of our summer camps this year." Buffy told them.

"Why?" her mother asked. "And what does this have to do with her strength problem?"

"We believe we can provide her with an opportunity to hone her new abilities." Buffy said.

"Kim's a Possible, and anything is possible for a Possible." Her father said. "There are a lot of schools she could go to with her abilities."

"We're rather unique." Dawn told him.

"Can you return her strength to what it should be?" Kim's mother asked. "That can't be normal."

"It is what it should be." Buffy told them. "It's perfectly normal."

"Normal for what, exactly?"

"The official term is 'vampire slayer'" Dawn said. "And Kim is one."

"Vampires aren't real." Her father objected.

"Vampires are real, magic is real, all sorts of things in fairy tales are real." Dawn told him bluntly. "The Council of Watchers, which has existed for millennia, has chronicled their existence extensively."

Kim sighed as her mother's face took on the expression she reserved for quacks and faith healers. "Why did you tell my daughter such nonsense?" she asked.

"It isn't nonsense, Mom." Kim protested. "I saw a real vampire."

"Kim? Maybe you were imagining it?" Her father suggested.

"No." Kim said. Pulling out her kimmunicator, she contacted Wade. "Hey Wade."

"Doing the big reveal?" He asked.

"Yup. Need a little backup." Kim said. "Do you have a recording of that vampire I ran into?"

"Not a problem. If you can hook your kimmunicator to the tv..."

"Got it." Walking over to the tv, Kim pulled a cord out of her kimmunicator and plugged it in. A large image of the creature Kim had run into appeared on the screen for several seconds before disappearing in a cloud of dust.

"That was quick." Dawn commented. "Hey, Wade?"

"Yes, Dawn?"

"Can we have a copy of that for our archives?" she asked.

"Sure."

"That doesn't prove anything." Kim's mother said stubbornly.

"Wade?" Dawn asked again. "Do you have access to our London archives yet?"

"I might have decrypted them this morning." Wade said, his smiling face briefly filling the screen. "The Red Witch has some amazing security."

"She does." Dawn said. "She must like you. Are you sure you don't want to work for us?"

"Nah, I'm happy working with Kim and Ron." Wade said.

"Red Witch?" Kim asked, puzzled.

"That's what hackers call Willow, our head witch." Dawn said. "You'll like her. She has red hair also."

"And a temper to go with it, like our Kimmie?" Kim's father asked, grinning.

"James!" Kim's mother protested faintly. Kim relaxed slightly. With few exceptions, her mother eventually followed her father's lead. From her tone she was close to giving in. "That isn't enough proof."

With a loud beep that captured everyone's attention, a graveyard appeared on the screen. In the silvery light, a large number of tombstones were clearly visible.

"That doesn't look familiar." Dawn said, in a whisper that only Kim and Buffy heard.

"It's in Bath." Buffy said. "A lot of old watchers are buried there. Even their tombstones are stuffy."

Three creatures appeared at one edge of the screen for a second before the camera focused on them directly, panning across their deformed faces, their eyes glowing with an unearthly light. Kim could hear her mother gasping in surprise as the camera pulled back to reveal a small female figure standing to their left. The small figure gestured and said something the camera didn't record. The vampires, apparently angered, yelled back.

"No sound?" Dawn asked, her disappointment clear. "How'd you manage that?"

"Ancient slayer secret." Buffy said.

"What did you say to them?" Kim asked, the identity of the woman obvious to her.

"The usual." Buffy said, shrugging.

"Lame quip, insult, insult, lame quip, some comment about their clothes." Dawn added. "She's been using the same method to distract them for years."

"Have not!" Buffy protested, before adding "If it works, why change it?"

"That's Ron's theory also." Kim said, smirking. "They still haven't figured out that he's only pretending to be incompetent."

The action on screen quickly degenerated into a brawl. There was nothing elegant about it. One minute there were three vampires; the next there was only one left and Buffy appeared shrouded in dust. Kim watched in amazement as Buffy blocked every blow and systematically demolished her target. The fight ended as a long pointed object appeared in her hand and was quickly plunged into the vampire's chest.

"A little more brutal than the one I would have picked but it gets the point across. No pun intended." Buffy told Kim's shocked parents.

"You expect Kim to do that?" her mother asked. "To fight these things and kill them like someone in a horror movie?"

"Hunting demons is a time honored profession." Buffy said.

"Not for my daughter." Mrs. Dr. Possible said firmly. "She is going to college and doing something important with her life."

"Mom, Ron, Wade, and I are already doing something important." Kim said. "This is just a little more specialized."

"Why Kim?" Her father asked, wrapping a comforting arm around her mother.

"Vampires have been around for a long time." Buffy told them. "Someone has to protect mankind from them. Your daughter has been chosen to be one of those people."

"Well, unchoose her!" her mother said.

"It doesn't work that way." Dawn said. "Once someone is chosen there is no way for them to give it back."

"What do you want from us?" Kim's father asked them. "How can we help Kim?"

"At this point? Even if she wasn't a minor, due to Kim's unique situation we aren't asking her to join our organization." Dawn said. "But we would like your permission to stay in contact with her. We have other girls who have gone through the same thing who can provide advice and support. And this summer, before she goes to college, we would like her to attend one of our training sessions."

"I don't know." her mother said noncommittally. "We'll have to discuss it further."

"We understand." Buffy said, standing up. "Here's our contact information if you have any questions." She held out a business card before leaving the room, with Dawn following.

"Kim, go see them out." Her mother told her.

Walking out of the room, Kim stopped at the door, watching Buffy and Dawn put on their coats.

"I'm sorry," she said. "They aren't too happy with this."

"It isn't a problem. They reacted better than some parents would." Dawn told her.

"They are familiar with strange things happening to me." Kim said. "It's part of being in Team Possible. But vampires? They can't pretend I'm just out baby-sitting."

"We were prepared for a worse reaction than this." Buffy said, giving Kim a hug. "Your parents are reasonable people. They'll just need a little time to get used to the idea."

"It could have been worse," Dawn added, opening the door. "Our mother threw Buffy out of the house when she found out."

"That was different, Dawn." Buffy said. She shook her head before explaining to Kim - "There was an apocalypse going on at the time. I didn't really have time to explain to her about the vampires I killed in front of her. You have our number if you need anything. And Wade knows how to get ahold of us."

"And there's always Bonnie and Mr. Barkin." Dawn added. "I'm sure they would be glad to answer any questions you might have."

"Uh-huh." Kim muttered skeptically. "Thanks for coming." she said with ingrained politeness, wishing she could go with them, or that Wade would call with a mission before she had to return to the living room and face her parents.

"We probably should have brought Xander. No matter what the Betty situation was." Dawn said, stepping outside. "He has this whole charm thing going for him. Mothers can't resist him."

"We didn't know we were going to need him." Buffy objected, following her sister out into the night.

Turning around, Kim headed back to a conversation she was dreading. Her parents gave her a lot of leeway with her missions but this was completely different. She just hoped they didn't find out about the whole death thing any time soon.

Sighing, Kim stared up at the stars again, trying to forget that particular conversation. It was over and done with. Her parents weren't happy with the slayer thing but at least her mother had stopped insisting that Wade find a way to put her back to normal, although it had taken a lot of evidence from doctors and scientists who were familiar with slayers before she'd been completely convinced.

The few times Kim had run into Bonnie during her night-time wanderings she'd noticed how she seemed to make almost no noise. If it weren't for the slight tingle she now noticed in Bonnie's presence, she wouldn't have known she was there staring down at her.

"Making a habit of this, Possible?" Bonnie asked, sitting on the grass next to her.

"It's private and I can think without anyone bothering me." Kim said defensively.

"You have a big target on your back now. Demons will be licking their lips at the chance to eat you." Bonnie told her maliciously. "You can't be so predictable."

"Eww!" Kim sat up to give Bonnie the full force of her glare. Finding out they had something else in common hadn't deepened their relationship, they were just more careful to keep their rivalry to themselves. They weren't even remotely friends. Kim wondered if Bonnie knew about the research Wade had discovered in the Council archives about rivalry between slayers. If one of them had been an adult, she suspected the Council would have moved them to another town in their territory.

"What did your parents think of the whole slayer thing?" Kim asked her curiously.

"My father was out of town on a business trip when Willow Rosenberg and her girlfriend Kennedy showed up. All my mother heard was 'scholarship' and 'clothing allowance' and she agreed to every thing they wanted. The training center in Cleveland wasn't finished so twenty of us spent the summer learning everything we could at someone's mansion in the Hamptons."

"Scholarship?" Kim asked. She vaguely remembered Dawn mentioning that but with Wade's inventions over the past few years, Ron's naco money from Bueno Nacho, and a trust fund her Nana had set up for her years ago, Kim wasn't worried about paying for college.

"The Council is really big with education." Bonnie said. "Reserve slayers get a full ride to the best school they can get into near them. The Council is paying for me to go to Go University this fall. My parents are sending my sisters to a Swiss finishing school with the money they saved."

"Wade's been digging into Council history for the past few months." Kim told her. "Are all the older slayers like Buffy?"

"I don't know. I only met Buffy that once and I've never met the other really old slayer, Faith." Bonnie admitted.

"Isn't this Kennedy an old slayer?" Kim asked.

"Not in the same way." Bonnie told her. "There are a bunch of girls who were training to become slayers before they destroyed Sunnydale. But they didn't become slayers until the very end of that."

"At the same time as you?" Kim asked.

"Yes." Bonnie stood up, brushing dirt from her pants. "They just have more experience and training."

Kim looked up at her. "Is Middleton really that different from other places?"

"You mean boring?" Bonnie shrugged. "They see more vampires in Cleveland in a night than I've seen so far this year, but there are other cities with twice as many vampires and other demons as that. I don't mind. I spent a month in London last summer and this year I get to spend it in Cleveland. That's enough excitement to last me a year."

"Oh. Will I see you while I'm there?" Kim asked.

"They keep the newbies busy while they're there." Bonnie "You're going to be too tired to socialize. Besides..."

"Besides what..." Kim asked.

"You're forgetting we aren't friends." Bonnie told her bluntly. "Getting stuck with the same crummy fate doesn't change that." With that parting shot Bonnie disappeared into the night, almost too fast for Kim's eyes to follow.

"Thanks for the lift, Bubba." Kim said as she and Ron hopped down from the back of the large Harley.

"It's the least I could do after you rescued my cape," he said, his warm smile a faint reminder of the power he'd had in his prime.

"No big. Anyone could have won that singing contest," Kim said, smiling at him, glad that Wade hadn't gotten a recording of the event to put on her website. The world really didn't need to see her dressed up in a poodle skirt and bobby-sox.

As soon as he'd disappeared from sight, Kim followed Ron up to the large iron gate, holding back laughter at his bumbling attempt to impress the girl waiting to take them and several others up to the Council's training center.

What are we going to do tonight?

"Gee, Brain, what are we going to do tonight?"
"The same thing we do every night, try to take over the world!"

Shego watched Drakken storm out of the bar in a huff. She wasn't sure why he was so upset. It had been his idea in the first place. She'd felt completely justified in pointing that out. She had been on her best behavior for the last hour. They were in town to do a quick job and get out, not to go bar hopping.

Just because this place had been mentioned in the same issue of Supervillains Quarterly that had put Drakken on the cover didn't mean they actually had to make an appearance. She suspected that Kim's geekboy had been behind that cover. There was no way anyone in their right mind would give Drakken the 'Supervillain Strategist of the Year' award.

Shego shook her head at the foolishness of mad scientists, something she'd become well acquainted with in the years since she'd escaped from Go Tower. The one eyed bartender had barely glanced at them when they'd entered the bar and Drakken had felt slighted at not being given the recognition he felt he was due. She found it amusing, actually preferring the anonymity the bar provided.

Even if it was called the best place in Cleveland for neutral meetings between sworn enemies, it was unlikely that any of her numerous enemies would be in this part of Ohio at the same time as her. Or, if they were, that she would want to meet with them. They were her enemies for a reason. The less she saw of them, the better.

It was as unlikely as Hego ever apologizing for coming up with that lame excuse for a villain the day of her prom, forcing her to break her date with the one person in high school who'd treated her like a normal person. Or of Kim Possible dropping the goody two shoes act and joining her in a crime spree that Shego was sure Kimmie would enjoy more than interfering in some pissing contest between Monkey Fist and Duff Killigan like she'd been doing the last time they'd run into each other.

She'd tried to steer them towards a table in a quiet corner where she could have some control over him. Drakken's behavior was outrageous enough when he was sober, she didn't want to deal with him drunk. But he'd ignored her hints and had grabbed a table right in the middle of the bar. She hadn't tried to fight him over it. There'd been something about the several tables of women scattered around the bar that had set off alarms in her head. Discretion seemed wise, especially when they hadn't accomplished what they'd come to Cleveland for.

Of course, that was before the cocoa-moo embarrassment. Drakken had been on very thin ice already, enthusiastically telling her what his plans were for Kim Possible. As soon as they had all of the things needed for his current so called plan to take over the world, he had loudly told her, he was going to prove once and for all who was 'all that'. Like a lot of his plans it hadn't made much sense.

She'd ordered the vodka in an attempt to forget the look the barmaid had given them when Drakken had ordered his "cocoa moo" in that mama's boy voice he thought was so cute. Supposedly the best vodka in the place and she'd barely felt anything from it, even after half the bottle, though it did have the effect of making his plan seem even less likely to succeed at that point. Tired of listening to his delusions, she'd decided to get him out of the bar. At least then they could go steal the stupid cape and she could go home. If she was lucky, Kim would show up and she would get a nice workout. It had been pathetically easy. In less than five minutes she'd gotten him angry enough to leave, thinking it was his own idea.

But now that she was sitting at the bar, waiting for him to realize she had the keys to the hovercraft and it wasn't going anywhere without her, she was becoming even more annoyed at him for dragging her there. She just wasn't in the mood for it any more.

The bar was too clean, almost as if it had just been remodeled. There were too many red heads, and no dancing. And the other patrons were too well behaved, not a single fight had happened since she'd walked in the door. The food fight between Stoppable and Drakken at the last annual Possible Snowman Hank Christmas party had been more exciting.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the bartender asked her the next time he wandered by. She grimaced at him, repressing an automatic growl. She could do without the traditional bartender confessional. Smelling the varnish on the top of the bar reaching its combustion point she looked down to find she'd started leaking plasma.

She really needed a vacation, Shego decided. Maybe she could go somewhere fun after Kimmie inevitably stopped Drakken's stupid plan. She wondered if the Princess would object to being kidnapped instead of going home with Stoppable. Dismissing the idea as foolish, she took a deep breath and concentrated for a moment on getting her plasma under better control.

"Xander." He introduced himself, wisely keeping his hands to himself. "I find talking about your problems can put them into perspective."

"Do you annoy everyone like this?" Shego asked, idly lifting her right hand and watching the faint glow of green plasma flowing across it.

He smiled at her and shrugged, apparently immune to the glare she used to turn Drakken into a frightened, quivering heap whenever he involved her in one of his stupider schemes to defeat Kim Possible.

"Too many redheads around here." She muttered finally, waving at him to refill her glass.

"You have a problem with red hair?" Xander asked, stepping to one side so she could see the framed photo on the wall of him standing next to a redhead.

"They're nothing but trouble," Shego said, shaking her head. "Don't deny it."

"Around here?" Xander asked, motioning subtly to one of the tables she'd noticed earlier, one that seemed to contain nothing but redheads. "I wouldn't be foolish enough to agree."

"They have hero complexes, all of them," she grumbled. "They start out small, baby-sitting and dog walking. Before you know it they're interfering in your plans to take over the world."

"What do you do with the world once you have it?" he asked. "I've always wondered about that."

"You know," Shego said, "I've worked with a number of mad scientists and megalomaniacs over the years. Follow-through seems to be a big problem with most of them. They never think about after."

"Maybe you should go into another profession?" he suggested. "Become one of the good guys."

"Been there, done that." Shego said. "Burned the t-shirt. I prefer being evil. It's more fun."

"You aren't evil." Xander told her, his tone telling her it would be pointless to argue with him. Kim Possible had the same deluded belief in her goodness, no matter what she did to disabuse her of it.

"I like what I do." she grumbled, shaking her head in disagreement. "Sure, it's Shego get this, Shego steal that, Shego - why don't we have spinning tops of doom they they do; but the pay is great and the hours - not too bad. It's even challenging occasionally."

"Let me guess," Xander said, "the occasionally is because of a redhead."

"Shego!" Drakken yelled from the door before she could answer. "Time to go!"

Shego sighed, sliding from her stool and dropping several twenties on the bar. "I'll be back later. Need to go deal with a redhead and her sidekick when they show up to stop this week's plan for world domination. Only an idiot would think a cape worn by the King could be used to take over the world. But at least he's my idiot. And the princess is always good for a laugh before she stops us." she said before heading for the door. The bartender laughed nervously, as if he wasn't sure whether to believe her or not.

Stepping outside, Shego headed towards the hovercraft, which was shimmering slightly, more visible than normal. The cloaking device had started giving off a high pitched whine on the trip to Cleveland. She was going to have to get it fixed soon before it failed completely. Drakken certainly wasn't going to do it. A cloaking device was useless if you could see through it.

"Did you get the recipe?" Drakken asked as she strapped herself into her seat.

"Recipe for what?" Shego asked, looking at him in disbelief.

"For their cocoa-moo of course." Drakken said. "It's as good as Mom's but she won't give me the recipe." Drakken pouted.

"No!" Shego growled, throwing the hovercraft into gear and taking off without warning, throwing him back in his seat. "You can get it when we're done."

It's Just Rock-n-Roll

Still feeling slightly euphoric from the quick ten kilometer run and almost scaldingly hot shower, Kim looked around the small cafeteria, searching for any of the other women who'd also been dragged out of bed at 5 AM that morning by a sadistically cheerful redhead. She wondered if Ron had even gotten out of bed yet. The invitation to the early summer slayer mini-camp had been for the entire Team Possible. As she'd expected, Wade had declined but Ron and Rufus were somewhere in the complex, though they wouldn't meet up until lunch.

The camp schedule had been clearly laid out for them the night before when they'd checked in. With the exception of the instructors, all of the slayers attending the camp were new or untrained reserves. None of them were expected to become active slayers, except in an extreme emergency. Though it was never directly stated in anything the Council had sent her parents, Kim suspected that there were different levels of urgency. Determining which reserves would be brought in for extra help in an emergency couldn't be that simple.

It was yet another thing on the long list of things Wade was researching for her. It wasn't that the Council was intentionally hiding info from them, Wade would tell her, but that anything in their computer systems that dated to before the destruction of Sunnydale was so badly organized that it was almost useless and often unreliable.

Even with those problems, Wade had already begun to put things into categories for her. There were things he believed she needed to know now, things she only needed to know if she ran into any number of a slayer's natural enemies, and things she would probably never need to know directly but he was compiling anyway for his own reference. All of which was extremely difficult with the current state of affairs.

And on top of that mess, the Council was working feverishly to move all of their remaining physical records online as soon as possible. Whenever Wade mentioned it, Kim could almost hear his desperate need to jump in and fix it all for them. Only the mountain of things he needed to do for Team Possible before school started in the fall was keeping him from applying his genius to the problem.

Comparing her schedule to Ron's, before they'd split up to go to their rooms on separate floors in the guest dorm, Kim had been dismayed to find out that they wouldn't see each other until at least lunch for the entire three weeks. Following the required morning run, she would be spending most of her time with Council instructors in what her schedule called 'Slayer Physiology - the Basics' which appeared to include physical awareness training, slayer fighting techniques, and basic demon hunting skills.

Most of the physical training wasn't completely new to her but she'd already been warned that her hard earned fighting skills were actually going to put her at a disadvantage. Her training over the years had emphasized disabling her opponents, and attempting to do as little permanent damage as possible in the process, expecting them to return the favor.

But the goal of a slayer was to kill their prey as efficiently and as quickly as possible while staying alive themselves. Survival was more important than being able to trade Christmas cards afterward. She was going to have to unlearn a lot of ingrained behavior, paying special attention to learning when deadly force was the appropriate response to a problem. Even if she determined that it would be almost never, she still needed to be able to make that judgement call with confidence.

For semi-Watchers and slayer companions such as Ron and Rufus, the mornings would be taken up with how to deal with having a family member or friend who was now a slayer. So Ron's schedule was full of a bunch of things like 'First Aid for the Accident Prone Slayer', 'A Survival Guide to Living With a Slayer', 'Slayer Feeding 101', and 'Hiding Tips'.

All of which were things that were intended to give him and Rufus a crash course in what Dawn Summers jokingly called 'the care and feeding of cranky slayers'. She didn't envy them. They weren't expected to become experts but they only had three weeks to become at least familiar with what full time watchers took years to learn, most of which couldn't be found in some book.

And after a long discussion between Wade, herself, and Mr. Giles, several weeks before the trip to Cleveland, it had been decided that Ron wasn't just going to learn about slayers while they were there. The Council would provide him with a mentor, someone who could show him how to do more than play the clownish sidekick, a role he'd perfected.

She wouldn't be directly supported by the Council, or Global Justice, and Team Possible wouldn't be hunting demons any time soon, but Buffy and Mr. Giles had made it clear that she needed some sort of support system, someone to give her advice and provide a bit of sanity checking. After Yori had provided them with reports on Ron from his time at Yamanouchi, he had been volunteered. He was obviously more competent than even he gave himself credit for. Team Possible was still hers but it was time for him to outgrow the sidekick role.

Afternoons were slightly better for all of them. They would get to spend time together on things like 'Demon Spotting for the Novice Slayer', 'Shades of Grey', 'Teamwork and Apocalypses' and 'Dream Interpretation for the Skeptic'. All she had to do was make it to lunch.

Joining several girls she recognized from her run in line at the buffet, Kim tried not to stare at the large variety and quantities of food on display. Ron and Rufus were going to be in heaven, she thought, if they ever made it to breakfast. Kim loaded up her tray with more than she would normally eat in a day, her appetite kicked into overdrive by both the early morning run and the wonderful smells.

"Kim! Over here!" A voice yelled.

Looking around, Kim spotted Vi, the slayer who'd taken them on their run, sitting with Dawn Summers, a battered looking brunette she didn't recognize, and another redhead who'd introduced herself as Tracy during their run, and who must have been a foot taller than her. Reaching their table, Kim slid into one of the remaining seats.

"Morning." Kim said, encompassing all of them with a quick smile before staring down at her packed tray. "This is way too much," she mumbled as she picked up her fork.

"You haven't been a slayer for very long, have you." the brunette said, putting down her own fork and winking at Kim, her eyes wandering lazily down from Kim's face to her plate. "After a year or two of slaying that will just be a light snack. And you'll still have that gorgeous figure, and the slayer sexiness that you've got now just gets better." she said, her voice taking on a husky tone.

Kim's jaw dropped at the comment and the almost Shego-esque tone. She never really thought about her looks, even though she'd known for years that it wasn't just her athletic skills that had gotten her onto the cheer squad. "Slayer sexiness?" she echoed, looking at the other women at the table for an explanation. She could see that Tracy was just as confused. Vi just shrugged and popped a handful of grapes into her mouth.

"Kennedy, no flirting with non-girlfriendy redheads!" Dawn said, waving her fork at the brunette.

"You know she can't help herself. It's the red hair. Very Pavlovian." Vi said, giggling. "Willow has her well trained. She worships at the feet of the Red Witch. Why else would she be here at the 'redhead' table?"

Kennedy mock glared at her before returning to her own breakfast.

"You're Willow's Kennedy?" Kim asked, remembering something Bonnie had said. She'd been hoping to meet Willow while she was in Cleveland, if only because Wade seemed to have been developing something of a geek crush on her. "Is she around? Can I meet her?" she asked eagerly.

"Nah, she had to go to a coven thing in London this month." Kennedy said. "And I couldn't go, I've got to go Watcher watching next week." she grumbled.

"I don't have red hair, I couldn't go either," Dawn said a few minutes later, pouting. "Willow said her thing was redheaded witches only, though she might have been kidding."

"You're an honorary member." Vi said, patting her head in a patronizing fashion. "We had a ceremony and everything. Don't you remember?"

"You're just trying to butter me up," Dawn said, shaking her head. "But it won't work." She picked out a piece of French Toast and started piling different things on it.

"Do you have to do that?" Kennedy asked. "That is so wrong. Scrambled eggs, grape jelly, and pickles just don't go together."

"You're just jealous." Dawn said, putting another slice of French Toast on top. "I bet this one is worth millions."

"Millions?" Tracy asked, staring in confusion at the two.

"There's big money in food. Just ask Kim! Her boytoy, Ron Stoppable, invented the naco. I bet he's rolling in it now." Dawn said, winking at Kim.

"Err... well, Bueno Nacho does pay him royalties." Kim admitted. "But he's not my 'boytoy' now, just a good friend." she added with a blush.

"There you go Dawn. I bet the inventor of the naco is into experimenting with food. In all sorts of ways. And if Kim doesn't want him anymore..." Kennedy's voice trailed off.

Kim almost blushed when she caught the innuendo. Deciding to join in, if only in self defense, she told Dawn playfully, "You might have to fight Yori for him. She's been spending a lot of time with him lately."

"The ninja chick? You can so take her!" Kennedy said, sliding out of her chair. "Or just sic Faith on her. No one can resist her, not even Buffy."

Dawn gave Kennedy a disgusted look. "I did not need to hear that kind of thing while I'm eating."

Kennedy laughed. "I'll catch up with you later, I need to get to the infirmary. You know how Doc gets bitchy if you keep her waiting." Nodding to the others, she strolled out of the room.

"Kim, Tracy, you two should head over to the small gym. You wouldn't want to be late for your first Buffy speech." Vi told them, getting up from the table herself. "I'll meet you there." Waving to someone at another table, Vi bounced out of the cafeteria.

"She's very cheerful this morning," Dawn said.

"She woke us up at 5." Tracy said. Kim nodded, getting up and grabbing her tray.

"Ah..." Dawn laughed. "I think I'll stay here. I've heard my share of Buffy speeches." Taking a bite of her odd sandwich she waved them away.

Sharing a mat with Tracy and several other women, Kim looked around the small gym. Curious about the backgrounds of the other members of her training group, she wondered if Wade would be willing to get bios of them for her. She suspected she would have it easy compared to most of the other women in the room. As far as she could tell from information the Council had made available to Team Possible, and that she'd managed to keep away from her parents and the tweebs, most of the skills taught here were enhanced versions of the things she already knew, but with weapons and expectations of mayhem and possible death.

She already spent a lot of her free time in the gym staying in shape for cheering and the missions Wade sent them on. In the early days of Team Possible she could get away with the exercise that came with cheerleading but as she got older she'd realized that she needed something more focused. In her chosen profession, where even a momentary weakness could be deadly, she couldn't afford to become sloppy.

The door opened, pulling Kim away from her thoughts. Looking towards the front of the room she watched in anticipation as Buffy Summers entered the room. When she'd met Buffy Summers that spring she'd seemed very approachable and not the distant figure she'd heard whispers about. Kim was used to being around confident and powerful women, from the scientists her father worked with, to her mother and Nana, and even Shego so she hadn't been intimidated by her take-charge attitude.

But now, seeing her walk confidently into the room, Kim could feel there was something different about her, something she hadn't noticed in her earlier encounters. Power, something chaotic and wild, seemed to radiate from her. Without a word, everyone in the room began to stand up at her entrance. Even though she wasn't alone, all eyes were now glued to her face.

"Good morning, slayers." she said, waving them back down. Like a wave in reverse, they all returned to their spots on the mats.

Tracy frowned and raised her hand.

"Yes, Tracy?" Buffy asked.

"I thought we weren't all going to be slayers," she said, nervously rubbing her hands together. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

Kim, seeing the quick grin Buffy gave all of them, suspected the question wasn't entirely unexpected.

"One of the things I expect you all to learn while you're here is that, no matter what, you are all slayers." Buffy said, addressing all of them, not just Tracy. "It isn't a job title or a profession. It's as much a part of you as your hair or your height. You can no more stop being a slayer than you can give me a few of those spare inches you have." Buffy waited for the giggles from the younger women in the room to subside before continuing. "Even if you never stake a vampire again after you leave here in three weeks, you are still a slayer." She looked each one of them in the eye before continuing.

"Our goal here is not to turn you into perfect little demon hunters. That's a years long process. What we want to do is to make you comfortable in your own skin again. Becoming a slayer changes you, both mentally and physically and if you don't learn how to deal with those changes you are a danger to yourselves and others."

"Take a look around the room." she said. "You are all unique in some way. Whether it's your backgrounds, your plans for the future, your personalities, or your ages, you are all different. Some of you are going to clash. You won't always get along with each other. But you all have something in common. You have been chosen to participate in the defense of our planet against evil. You are all descendants of Sineya, the first slayer."

"For most of you this was a surprise. How many, before this happened, said 'I want to fight, and probably die, in the struggle between Good and Evil?" She nodded when no one raised their hands. "Me neither. But how many of you are in professions that help other people? How many of you plan to be or already are doctors, cops, firefighters, or teachers?"

Kim looked around in surprise as almost everyone in the room raised a hand. Until today she'd never really thought about what kind of person became a slayer. She wondered how Bonnie, who always seemed to be motivated only by self interest, would have answered that question.

"And the rest of you?" Buffy asked. Not sure how to respond, Kim could feel more than a few eyes on her. "The need to help is ingrained in all of us. It's part of being a slayer. How many of you have found other ways to help people, to make the world a better place?"

Kim raised her own hand, uncomfortable with the sudden attention. There had been a few in her group who'd recognized her that morning before their run but they'd seemed to be willing to accept her as just Kim, future college student. The next three weeks would be much easier if it stayed that way.

"Before the end of camp you are going to know each other very well." Buffy told them. "You'll know each other's dreams, strengths, and skills. You'll know who you can work with, and who you can't. I believe you'll find the process worth it. Any questions before we get started?"

The room was silent for a moment before everyone spontaneously started to clap.

"Good." Buffy reintroduced them to the other woman who'd come in with her. "Vi will be your guide through the next three weeks."

Kim sat quietly in the back of the small black SUV as they returned to the Council complex. The Cleveland Hellmouth had not been what she'd expected. She wondered if the slimy, oily feeling would ever go away. Rubbing her hands together and against her pants, she couldn't see or feel anything.

"You've been slimed with the big stinky evil." Vi told her, looking over her shoulder as they waited for the light to change. "Too bad it's all in your head and won't really wash off. The magic geeks have come up with all sorts of words to describe the feeling but the classics are still the best."

"How do you get rid of it then?" Tracy, the tall redhead asked the older slayer who'd just taken them on their first 'slayers only' field trip to the Hellmouth.

"You do get sorta used to it after a while. And before that, adrenaline burns it off pretty quickly." Vi said. "Of course, the fossils don't even notice it anymore."

"Fossils?" Jody, a tiny brunette shorter than even Buffy, asked, frowning.

"Buffy and Faith, though you didn't hear that from me." She grinned at some private joke.

"It's like being able to sense evil, isn't it?" Kim asked. "Some of us have it stronger than others?"

"Yup. Exactly like it." Vi said, as she put the SUV back in motion with the green light. "We have a scale based on how long you spend in the shower after your first trip to this Hellmouth trying to wash it off. Rona has the record so far. She spent two hours in the shower that first time."

"Rona?" Tracy asked. "She's one of the slayers from Sunnydale isn't she? Have we met her yet?"

"She doesn't come to Cleveland if she can help it." Vi told them. "She runs a hunting team out of LA."

"Oh." Tracy said.

Kim wondered what a slayer hunting team was like but before she could ask she heard the distinctive beep of her kimmunicator. Blushing at the sudden attention from the others, Kim pulled it out of her pocket.

"Talk to me Wade." she said. "Didn't I have this turned off? You know I'm not taking any missions while Ron and I are in Cleveland."

"You did say that," Wade said, agreeing with her. "But this one's special. I think you'll make an exception."

"What's the sitch?" Kim asked, not bothering to lower her voice, knowing her curious companions were listening in and would hear their conversation unless she turned on the privacy shield, something she'd never tried in a moving vehicle. And no matter how talented Wade was she wasn't ready to do that test right now.

"Shego and Drakken are in Cleveland." Wade said.

"What would bring them here?" Kim asked. "There isn't anything special about Cleveland." She heard Vi cough loudly. Looking up, she noticed that they were no longer moving. "Well, except for the Hellmouth, but Drakken is all about taking over the world with science. He wouldn't know what a Hellmouth was if he fell in it. Is there some secret weapons research lab in Cleveland?"

"A couple." Jody spoke up. She shrugged nonchalantly at Kim's surprised expression. "Sorry, science geek here. I start a summer internship at one when we're done with camp."

"That's not where Drakken is." Wade said. His face was replaced by a vaguely familiar scene. "Sorry."

"Where is that?" Kim asked. "Tell me it's not..."

"It's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." Wade said. "Looks like he's going for something specific."

"The Hellmouth." Kim groaned. "We were just there."

Without any prompting from Kim, Vi quickly turned the SUV around, the tires screeching with the sudden movement.

"Where's Ron?" Kim asked. "How soon can he meet me there?"

"Yori picked him up for their date a couple hours ago." Wade said. "They're still at least an hour away."

"Not soon enough." Kim grumbled. She didn't begrudge Ron personal time, especially when they were officially on vacation from missions for another week. At least he was with Yori and not one of the Cleveland slayers. They would eat him alive. But still, facing Drakken without him felt strange. "I can take care of Shego or Drakken on my own, but not both." she said to herself.

"You've got us." Vi said. Jody and Tracy nodded eagerly.

"These aren't demons. You can't kill them." Kim said. They nodded at her warning. "Wade? Do they have anyone else with them?"

"It's just the two of them." Wade said. "They must have left the syntho-drones at home this time.

"Okay, we'll take care of it." Kim said. Shutting off the kimmunicator she shoved it into a pocket, just as Vi stopped the SUV next to the loading dock in back of the Hall of Fame.

"How do you want to do this?" she asked, looking back at Kim. "I'm assuming these are people you run into a lot."

"Yeah. There aren't that many mad scientist super villains." Kim said as she climbed out of the SUV. "Enough to keep Team Possible and Global Justice in business but they aren't dripping out of the woodwork like they are in the comic books."

"Andrew will be so disappointed." Vi said, laughing. "How do you normally deal with these two?"

"The blue guy, Drakken, is easy." Kim said. "He's only dangerous because he's so bad at planning. He doesn't think things out too well and they blow up in his face. He's like a little kid playing at being a villain." She added. "But dangerous. Ron usually stops him."

"So can we just knock him out?" Jody asked, joining them at the door.

"Yup. Just watch out for whatever weapon thing he's using." Kim said. "I'll take care of Shego."

"Anything we should know about this Shego?" Vi asked.

"She's Shego." Kim said, noncommittally. "She likes to pretend she's evil but we figure she's really in it for the fighting. She's really good. I can usually stop her but she's also really strong."

"How strong? Slayer strong?" Vi asked, unlocking the door and ushering the others inside.

"I'm not sure. I haven't really fought her since the whole slayer thing happened. She's been avoiding me." Kim admitted. "She can also throw balls of plasma."

"Plasma?" Jody asked, her eyes seeming impossibly, almost anime-ishly big in the dim light. "You mean like fire?"

"Kind of." Kim said. "It's some kind of mutant thing she got from a comet."

"Hopefully there's only one of her," Tracy murmured as they slipped into the main lobby.

"She has brothers," Kim said quietly. "With issues from the same comet."

"Brothers? With this plasma power thing? Are we gonna run into them also?" Jody asked nervously.

"Nope. They have different powers." Kim said, lowering her voice to barely a whisper at Vi's glare. "They're also superheroes."

"No way!" Tracy said. "Why's she a supervillain then?"

"Not sure but things were a bit tense between them the one time I met them." Kim muttered. "I was ready to do something uncivilized to them myself after only five minutes in their company."

"Enough." Vi hissed. "Tracy, you and Jody take care of the blue guy. He's in the Elvis room. I'll keep an eye on the kid while she deals with the other one."

"I'm not a kid." Kim grumbled. "I've been doing this for years."

"Whatever." Vi said, rolling her eyes, "I'm still responsible for you. Now go!"

"Hey Kimmie. It's been a while." Shego said from her perch above them as they entered the lobby from the back. "No Stoppable?"

"He had a date." Kim said.

"He ditched you? Poor Kimmie. Who are your new playmates?" Shego asked, her hands starting to glow.

"This is their turf. They don't appreciate trespassers." Kim said, ignoring the Ron comment and looking for a way to get up to her. Her grappling hook hadn't seemed appropriate for a vampire hunting patrol so she'd left it in her room, along with most of her other gadgets.

"Tough!" Shego said, smirking.

Following an impulse, Kim raced towards Shego. Not bothering with the steps, she jumped up onto the railing and ran along it, her feet finding purchase quickly and without thought. Shego's surprise lasted only a few moments but it gave Kim immense satisfaction to see it just before she propelled herself from the top of the railing right at her foe.

And then there was no time to think. After two weeks of sparring with women who made her feel like an amateur, Kim knew she was possibly in the best shape of her life. Where fighting with Shego had in the past had felt like she was only one step from disaster, no matter how prepared she'd been, this time she struggled to keep a large grin off of her face at the fun she was having, now that keeping up with Shego felt effortless. She didn't think Shego would appreciate being taken so lightly.

The fight seemed to take on an almost surreal aspect when she started hearing Vi in the background coaching her, pointing out the flaws in her and her opponent's moves, much as she'd done for the two weeks. A month ago she might have been annoyed at comments from the peanut gallery but today she let Vi's words flow into the back of her consciousness, following her advice when it made sense.

The upper level of the Hall was too cramped for their usual battle style. Kim was finding herself using some of the newer moves she'd learned from Vi and the other slayer instructors. They were more appropriate for tight spaces, though she was a little concerned that they were deadlier than her usual style. If she could just get Shego out into a more open area it would work out much better.

Dodging a high kick, Kim lunged forward under a swinging, flaming fist and grabbed Shego around the waist.

"Getting a little grabby there, kitten." Shego whispered into her ear.

"Grab this!" Kim said, twisting and heaving with all of her new strength. "Hope you can fly." she said, spinning around and letting Shego go as she faced out into the lobby one story below. Kim rushed over to the railing right behind her. If she did it correctly, Shego would be waiting for her down below. If not, she was going to have to call an ambulance.

Using the railing once more, Kim slid down to the lobby, Vi close behind. Standing in the middle of the lobby was Shego, eyes flashing as she looked back and forth between Kim and the two women standing guard over an unconscious Drakken over near the main door.

"You could quit now." Kim said, coming to a halt just out of range of Shego's lethal fists.

"I haven't even begun." Shego said, her expression grim as she threw plasma balls at Kim for the first time that evening.

Kim dodged, tumbling out of the way. Rebounding off of the nearest wall, she aimed for Shego's head with a deceptively light kick that just barely brushed past her foe's face, throwing her off balance as she backflipped out of the way. Kim kept up the pressure, using the momentum of her missed kick to bounce herself over the top of Shego's head.

"Kim!" Vi shouted. "Finish it up. We need to get back for the debrief."

"Taking orders now, Kimmie?" Shego gasped as she ducked under another kick. "Do they know you're a control freak who doesn't play well with others?"

"It's all about the potential, Shego." Kim said, quickly blocking a plasma drenched fist, using her slayer enhanced speed to touch Shego only long enough to avoid getting burned. "I had it, you didn't." Smirking at the confused look Shego gave her, Kim sped up her blows, forcing Shego to keep up with her to avoid being pulverized.

Even with her increase in speed and strength, Kim had the sneaking suspicion that Shego should have been able to keep up. This was probably the only time she would be able to dominate Shego so badly in a fight. Next time they met Shego wouldn't be so off balance and wouldn't hold back.

In the back of her mind was the question of just how much Shego had been holding back in the past. The previous winter it had taken a combination of Wade's research and a lot of videos of Shego in action to convince her that Shego tended to reign in her strength when they fought. So she needed to finish this now while she had the upper hand.

Focusing on her goal the way they'd been teaching her, Kim reached inward, towards that center of energy she could almost taste it was so close. In a burst of kicks and punches, too fast for a normal person to follow, Kim bored through Shego's defenses, wearing her down faster than she could recover. With one final kick, Kim knocked Shego off of her feet, where she lay out of breath, struggling to get up.

"Here." Vi threw a pair of handcuffs at Kim where she stood over Shego. "She can't get out of these."

Squatting down behind the exhausted and barely conscious Shego, Kim quickly closed the cuffs around her wrists. "Sorry about this." She whispered, giving her foe's shoulder a surreptitious squeeze.

"Next time Princess." Shego growled, letting Kim pull her to her feet. Stumbling over to Drakken she kicked him several times. "Get up." She told him, giving him another kick. "Our ride is here."

Nodding briefly to the SWAT team cautiously entering the lobby, Vi led Kim and the others back out to the SUV. Kim sat silently, deep in thought, for the rest of the trip back.

Dancing

Kim floated on her back in the pool, staring up at the stars. It wasn't quite her favorite patch of grass but it was one of the few places she'd found while in Cleveland that gave her enough privacy to think. The Council tended to frown on any slayers not on the duty roster aimlessly wandering around Cleveland at night, especially ones like herself in town for initial reserve training. That she wasn't actually a reserve slayer didn't make a difference.

It was a Saturday night and the other women in her training group had either gone out to a club or headed to a bar owned by the Council that was a favorite with the Cleveland slayers. But she wasn't old enough to drink and she wasn't really in the mood to dance. She had too much on her mind.

Maybe if Monique had been there, she would have considered going dancing instead. Or doing something with Ron, if he hadn't gone out with Yori again. She was in Cleveland for the next week and Ron was making the most of the opportunity before they had to head back to Middleton. He'd invited her along, but not only did she have no interest in being a third wheel, but Yori had given her such a pleading look that she had turned him down. Ron might claim that he was just friends with Yori, but Kim could read the signs. She suspected that Yori was going to become an unofficial member of Team Possible before the end of the summer, if not sooner.

Kim wasn't sure how she felt about Ron and Yori. And that was part of her current problem. Seeing them together or thinking about them caused a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach and occasionally the urge to cry, though she'd managed to avoid that so far. The only person she'd told had been Monique who, in her usual bracing fashion, claimed it was just regret that she and Ron hadn't worked out and that Kim really needed to move on.

The encounter with Shego the night before was something else she couldn't let go. It had been different somehow. The first time they'd really fought since she'd become a slayer, there'd been a different feeling to their fight that she hadn't noticed before. And hints that Shego was looking for something from her. She'd been so absorbed in their encounter that she'd almost forgotten about their audience until the end. She really needed someone to talk to about Shego but didn't know who she could trust.

"What's bothering you?" Vi's voice carried across the water. Kim sank under the water in surprise, sputtering as she resurfaced.

"Nothing." Kim said, swimming over to her. "Just wanted to be alone."

"I can see why you don't want to join us full time," Vi said, grinning at her. "You and the green girl have something special going on. You'd have to give her up."

"Shego? There's nothing special there," Kim protested, though she wondered if anyone else had noticed whatever Vi had seen. "We fight whenever Drakken tries to take over the world. I win, she runs away. Usually."

"If that's how you want to see it..." Vi snorted. "If you have a chance, watch Buffy and Faith fighting some time," she added with a small grin.

"Why?" Kim asked. The legendary Faith had been used a number of times by some of her instructors, including Buffy, as an example of both the good and bad aspects of the slayer lifestyle, but Kim never expected to actually meet her.

"You'll have to see them going at it. I can't explain it." she shrugged. "You and this Shego have the same sort of vibe. It's not really fighting."

"It feels like fighting to me." Kim mumbled, idly running a hand through the cooling water.

"If you weren't a slayer I might agree. But we all know what fighting does to us." She smirked at Kim. "The two of you were dancing. And not like you just met."

"We've been doing it for years." Kim said, not comfortable with the idea that there might be something more to her reaction to Shego when they fought, even if she'd begun wondering herself. That other people seemed to see something she was missing made her even more uncomfortable.

"The fossils make wonderful examples." Vi told her. "For all sorts of things. Talk with Dawn some time about the semi-reformed bad-boy thing her sister has."

The faint sound of her kimmunicator interrupted any reply Kim might have had. "Excuse me." she said before slipping back into the pool and swimming over to where she'd left it.

"Hey, Mom! What's up?" She said, shaking her head at Vi in response to her shouted suggestion that she join them at the Council bar downtown.

Shego wasn't sure why she'd stayed in Cleveland after escaping from the rather pathetic excuses for holding cells they'd put her and Drakken in. Once she'd freed him, Drakken had gotten out of town as fast as possible. She'd been in no mood to listen to his complaints about Kim's new playmates, who'd knocked him out less than a minute after appearing with Kim, not even giving him a chance to go through his traditional villain speech. She'd been tempted to knock him out herself and send him off in the hovercraft after only five minutes of his whingeing.

She was curious about them herself. It had been a strange experience. The older of the three women, a redhead like Kim, had kept up a running commentary as they fought. From the way she'd critiqued every move both of them made and had given Kim advice, Shego'd felt like she and Kim were exhibits at the zoo. Or that she was the practice dummy for some new training program. Not a comfortable idea. It didn't help that Kim was able to seamlessly put the advice she was getting into action.

And as they fought, Shego had begun to notice a distinct change in Kim's style. The finesse she'd always found so fascinating was still there but Kim now seemed to have a lot more strength to back up her hits. Add in more than a few new moves that could have been lethal to anyone except herself, and after an embarrassing ten minutes she had been the one who had begun to fade, not Kim. She'd been thinking about nothing else for the last few hours.

Either Kim was a lot stronger than she used to be or she'd taken her training to a much higher level since they last fought. Either way, Shego knew that if she wanted to keep the advantage she currently had over the teen from narrowing, she would have to step up her own training regimen.

From her corner at the end of the bar, Shego covertly looked around. She been in the bar once before, right before Drakken's latest plan was foiled by Kimmie and Co. She hadn't really noticed the atmosphere in the bar then but she did now. In one corner near a dartboard, an oddly dressed, blue and white woman was holding court, talking to some creatures who would have been at home working for DNAmy. At a table near the door, another creature that looked like the result of a botched gene-splicing accident with a beagle was discussing something with someone dressed like a mime.

She'd been in other bars where she wasn't the strangest person in the room but this was the first one where she actually felt safe. She hadn't had to defend herself even once since walking in the door. She wasn't sure if it was because of some kind of futuristic security system but she'd noticed when several patrons had started fighting that there'd been a flash of light and they'd disappeared, though she thought she could hear their argument continuing outside. After that she could see why this bar had a reputation for neutrality if it could enforce its no fighting rule so efficiently.

She wasn't in the mood to get drunk, not when half the city police force was probably out looking for her. She'd been nursing her drink for a while before she noticed the bartender's odd behavior. Whenever someone came in he would glance over at one of several small screens mounted below the level of the bar top. She wasn't sure what it was telling him but she could see it glowing a faint color. For the next hour it became a game as she tried to figure it out. After he asked one new patron to leave their weapons at the bar, she suspected it was a sophisticated version of a weapons detector.

She changed her mind when her redheaded critic from the night before walked in and the detector flashed a deep red. Several other young women walked in minutes later, causing the detector to flash with a lighter red. She watched curiously as they joined several women at a table in a dark corner. There was something about their bearing as they walked by that looked very familiar, though she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

Shego watched people come and go for a little while longer before becoming bored with the whole thing. But she wasn't ready yet to head to the lair of the week and Drakken. Sighing, she took out her small iPod and scrolled through her collection of videos. It was only a small portion of her collection. At some point, she couldn't remember when, she'd started collecting short videos of Kim Possible fighting various foes, including herself.

Some of them were grainy shots from security cameras that had somehow made their way onto the Internet. Others she'd retrieved from the security systems in different villain's lairs destroyed when Team Possible had stopped the occupants in some failed world domination scheme.

But her current favorite was the one video in her collection where Kim wasn't fighting anyone. She wasn't sure what had prompted her to do it, but she'd snuck a remote control camera into her favorite teen foe's school and had filmed her graduation. She couldn't use the excuse that she needed to study Kim's moves for their next encounter.

It was like watching the end of an era. She was certain that at the end of the summer Kim would be off to college, dropping the whole teen hero gig. She wasn't sure what she would do with herself at that point, who she would have to challenge her, to make jobs exciting. Getting Drakken to relocate his operation to wherever Kimmie was going to college had possibilities, as long as it wasn't Go City, but it was just delaying the inevitable.

"Interesting little video." An unfamiliar voice said over her shoulder.

Growling, Shego turned off her iPod and shoved it into a pocket. Turning around, she found herself looking into the cold hazel eyes of a short blonde woman. "It's none of your business."

"Someone stalking one of my girls? That's my business," the blonde said.

"I'm not stalking anyone." Shego said, mildly affronted. "And she's not yours, she's mine." Standing up, Shego attempted to stare down the woman, fighting the urge to light up her hands. She'd put a lot of effort over the past four years into Kim Possible and no one else was claiming her.

"No, she's one of mine," the blonde said, not giving an inch, her cold eyes sending shivers down Shego's back. The annoying critic stood next to her, winking at Shego before whispering something in the blonde's ear. The blonde laughed, shaking her head, her expression changing to a more friendly one. Turning to the bartender, who'd been anxiously watching their encounter, she said, "Xander, give her another one of whatever she's drinking. Put it on the Council's tab."

"Okay, Buff."

"I'm leaving." Shego muttered, not interested, unsuccessfully attempting to step around her. It was like running into a wall. But that wasn't going to stop her. She was a world renowned thief and some short blonde bimbo, no matter how strong, wasn't going to tell her what to do.

"You're staying." Blondie told her with a small smirk. "Vi and the girls here will keep you company until I get back. And no tricks."

Shocked, Shego watched her stride purposely out of the bar. Remembering how the bar's security system kicked out anyone who was fighting, Shego started to shift her weight, trying to find the best position for her plan. All she had to do was get outside and she was free.

"That won't work on us," Vi told her, almost as if she could read Shego's mind. She and the others fenced her in. "It's our bar. Just be glad the boss isn't a Betty Director fan."

'Cough' The bartender put a drink down in front of her.

"Sorry, Xander," Vi said, grinning at him. "It's Xander's bar," she said, correcting herself.

"Just don't break anything. Again." He told her, shaking his head before going down the bar to help another patron.

"So, what else do you have?" Vi asked cheerfully, guiding Shego back onto her stool with a tight grip on her shoulder that she couldn't get out of without more than a little violence. Deciding to wait and see what was going on, it didn't even occur to her until that moment that she could have used her plasma to escape.

Walking around back to the Council's outdoor pool, Buffy ran several ideas over in her head, not sure yet what she was going to say to get Kim to go back to the bar with her. She couldn't tell her who was waiting there. She probably shouldn't even tell her where they were going. Kim, if the reports were to be believed, had no real vices. She didn't smoke, swear or drink anything stronger than coffee. The only drug, other than cold medicine, that she'd probably ever taken on her own was caffeine.

Buffy was sure that Giles wouldn't be too happy with what she was about to do. Willow, on the other hand would be cheering her on, if she wasn't in London for the rest of the month. Dawn had taken an early flight to London to join her and could find out when she told Willow. She just hoped this didn't blow up in her face. But this opportunity, one that she wished she and Faith had been given years ago, was too good to miss.

Kim Possible and this Shego obviously had issues to deal with and they needed some neutral location to start the dealing. She didn't really care what the issues were or how they resolved them as long as Kim was stilling willing to work with the Council afterward. They had to find some way to come to some sort of professional understanding. If they didn't, now that Kim was a slayer with all of the competitive, territorial, and aggressive baggage that came with it, one of them would most likely kill the other if they kept fighting the way Vi had reported.

If Kim accidentally killed Shego, Buffy suspected it would destroy her. According to Vi, there was an obvious connection between them. She really needed Dawn to finish her research on the prickly green woman. Buffy suspected there was more to her than her obvious fighting skills and disdain for property laws. There had to be some reason why Betty thought she could use Kim to keep Shego contained. Something they weren't seeing yet.

Buffy looked around the pool area. Kim was there somewhere, she could feel her. Hearing a small splash from the pool, Buffy looked down in surprise. Swimming across the bottom of the pool was Kim Possible.

"Is it working?" She asked when Kim came up for air several minutes later and swam over to where she was standing.

Kim breathed deeply for several minutes before answering. "Is what working?"

"Burning off all of the extra energy." Buffy said. She'd already gotten reports that Kim could be found late at night either out here swimming or running herself to exhaustion. She hadn't been too surprised. Take someone like Kim who was already very active, throw in the mystical energy that powered a slayer and you ended up with someone who verged on manic, with more energy to burn than most would consider safe. Keeping her cooped up for the past two weeks, except for the trip to the Hellmouth, probably hadn't helped.

"Getting there." Kim said, climbing out of the pool, water pouring off of her.

"Get dressed. We have places to be." Buffy told her, stepping back when Kim shook her head, spraying even more water everywhere.

"Go? Where?" Kim asked, even as she started towards the locker room.

"You'll see." Buffy said.

Kim couldn't keep the grin off of her face. She was sure there was something wrong with her for enjoying the mayhem of the short tour of the Cleveland demon underground Buffy had taken her on, but she couldn't help it. They'd worked their way through three cemeteries and a demon bar. She'd even staked two vampires herself. Sure, they were newbies but they'd put up enough of a fight that staking them had been more than a formality.

The demon bar had certainly been an eye opening experience. The smell was something she certainly wouldn't forget any time soon. The way the bar had become deathly quiet as Buffy stepped through the door had been impressive. Seeing demons scatter as they approached the bar had been amazing. The bar, more than anything, impressed upon her the power inherent in being a slayer among what could only be described as their prey.

But she wasn't going to delude herself. If she'd been alone it would have been suicidal. Buffy had a dominating presence she couldn't begin to imitate. The success of her missions often depended on her ability to get along with almost anyone, not something she suspected Buffy had to worry about. "What's next?" she asked, matching her stride to the shorter woman's.

"I need to stop for a minute at 'Nights' and see someone." Buffy told her. "You can get something to drink while we're there. Xander has a large selection of post-patrol non-alcoholic drinks."

Ordinarily she would have declined but she was with Buffy Summers, and she was wired. At this point a real bar wasn't going to phase her. "Sure," Kim said, still grinning.

Shego wasn't sure when she'd lost control of the situation. It was like being surrounded by a bunch of gossipy girls. Girls who were at least as strong as she was. She'd managed to retrieve her iPod but not before they'd gone through all of her videos. While some of their comments had been amusing and they'd gleefully pointed out some of the same flaws she'd noticed in Kim's fighting style over the years, she could only take so much of the cheerful perkiness.

So now she was back to watching people and other things come in the front door, trying to figure out what the colors on the monitors meant, and pretending to ignore her guards. At least that's what she'd quickly assumed they were. There was always at least one of them on either side of her and several others nearby trying to act casual. But if she made even the slightest movement towards the exit they were almost on top of her.

Finally giving in to curiosity, Shego motioned the bartender over. Pointing at one of the monitors, "What do the colors mean?" she asked in a low voice, hoping her guards wouldn't notice over the noise.

"It's a mood ring. Kind of. I like to know what to expect when someone walks in. Are they happy, sad, that kind of thing." He told her. She snorted at the obvious lie.

"It's part of a system to detect the mystical abilities of any creature that walks through the door." An older man said, sitting down at the bar next to one of her keepers.

"Hey Giles. We weren't expecting you back this week," the bartender said. "Your usual?"

"Yes, thank you Xander." He turned and looked at Shego and then glanced at the women keeping her there. Shego wondered why her keepers, especially the annoying Vi, were looking at him so nervously.

"Who's idea was this?" He waved at Shego and the women surrounding her.

"It wasn't mine," Shego said, wondering if this was her escape.

"Buffy's up to something." the bartender said with a shrug.

"I'm not surprised." He said, sighing. Removing his glasses he carefully cleaned them before turning to Vi. "Where is she?"

"She had an errand to run. She should be back any minute now." Vi said, the others nodding in agreement.

"And Miss Shego?" He looked at her, making it clear that he recognized her.

"Just Shego," she told him. He nodded in acknowledgement.

"Buffy said to keep her here until she got back," Vi said.

"I see." He looked over at Xander. "Is the back room available?"

"Yup, it's an off night."

"Good, we'll take this back there when Buffy returns," Giles told him.

"Do you want me to get Willow?" Xander asked. "I can set up the speaker phone."

"No need to disturb her. I'm sure Buffy, Vi, and myself can take care of this without involving her talents." Giles said. "Your input would be welcome if you can join us." He added.

"I'll have to catch you later for an explanation," he said regretfully. "I don't have anyone to watch the bar for me tonight."

Stepping through the door, Kim looked around curiously. She'd been in clubs before, there were several good ones in Middleton and she and Monique were definitely going to check out a few they'd heard about in Go City when school started in the fall. But going into a bar, a place just for drinking, was a new, adult thing for her. It seemed very clean. She let out a sigh. She'd taken a deep breath before entering, hoping to avoid choking on the smoky air she'd always assumed filled a place like this.

"Crap." Buffy muttered, staring towards one end of the bar. "Come on." She grabbed Kim's arm tightly, almost as if she were afraid she would run away.

"What's wrong?" Kim asked. When there was no response, Kim took a closer look at the group of people they were heading towards. There were an awful lot of slayers in the bar. She was being inundated by the slight tingling feeling she'd gotten used to back at the school. But underneath it was something else. Something she'd felt the night before. Kim stared in surprise. Surrounded by a group of women, some of whom she recognized as slayers she'd met that week, was Shego. And she didn't look happy.

"Can we go now?" Kim asked, tugging hard, trying to get Buffy to let her go. Before Shego noticed her. "I need to make a phone call."

"No." Buffy said, tightening her grip. "You and she have unfinished business."

"No we don't!" Kim said, tugging harder, to no avail, not even wondering how Buffy knew why she was trying to leave. "I stopped her last night, she escaped. Nothing unfinished there. Happens all the time."

Kim looked everywhere except at Shego as Buffy dragged her to the end of the bar, desperate for any excuse to stop and run away. Spying the distinctive head of the Council sitting at the bar, Kim dug in her heels, bringing Buffy to a stop. She greeted him, hoping to delay the confrontation with Shego. "Hi, Mr. Giles."

"Miss Possible. Buffy." He said, addressing both of them.

"What brings you here?" Buffy asked, attempting to shield Kim from Shego and the slayers obviously guarding her. "I thought you were going to be in London all month.

"I was expecting to speak with Miss Possible on Monday. We need to discuss a few things before she heads home next week." Removing his glasses, he rubbed his eyes.

"Okay. Run along," she said dismissively. "I'll make sure she sees you then." Buffy turned towards Shego.

"Buffy," Mr. Giles said, "With both of them here, I believe now would be an excellent time to discuss some of our other plans."

"But..." Buffy grumbled, turning back to face him.

He held up a hand, stopping her before she could continue. "I'm sure you have a very good reason for bringing Miss Possible here. However, it can wait." He turned to the bartender, whom Kim recognized as one of the legendary 'Scoobies'. "Xander, we'll take the back room now. If you can get Miss Possible something to drink and bring it back with you?"

"Sure." He said, turning to Kim expectantly.

"She'll have a glass of warm milk." Shego said loudly as Vi and several other slayers herded her past them. "The kitten's not old enough to drink."

Kim blushed in embarrassment. She hadn't planned on anything stronger than a diet soda but she didn't need her nose rubbed in it.

"Root beer. Please and thank you." Kim told him primly, pretending she hadn't heard Shego before she followed Buffy and Mr. Giles to a door at the back of the bar. Entering the room, she could see Shego already sitting at a large round table in one corner.

"So, what's the deal, Gramps?" Shego asked, not waiting for them to sit down. "Why is Kimmie here after curfew instead of at home in Middleton in bed?"

"I don't have a curfew!" Kim protested, picking a seat as far away from Shego as she could get without directly facing her.

Sighing, Mr. Giles put his drink down in the spot directly across from Shego. "I'm not aware of the reason for her presence here, though I'm sure I'll find out later. However, her presence in Cleveland was at our request."

"And you are?" Shego asked, with all the enthusiasm Kim had seen her give Drakken when one of his plans had done just what she'd predicted, blowing up in his face.

"Rupert Giles," he said. "And I believe you've met Buffy, and Vi. And Xander," he added as he placed Kim's root beer in front of her.

"We weren't formally introduced," Shego said.

"Ah." He looked disapprovingly at Buffy, who seemed oblivious. "We are the Council of Watchers," he told her.

"Hey! Didn't you guys get blown up in some 'terrorist' attack a couple years ago?" Shego asked, frowning in thought.

"You've heard of the Council?" Kim blurted out.

"Bunch of English guys sitting on piles of priceless or useless artifacts in the middle of London?" Shego shrugged. "It was Fort Knox and Aladdin's cave all rolled into one."

"Did you ever break in?" Vi asked eagerly. "What! You all wanted to know..." she muttered at the glares she received.

"Do I look stupid?" Shego asked sarcastically. "A challenge is one thing. Guaranteed suicide? Not my thing."

"The old Council did treat attempts to break into the London office rather harshly," Giles agreed.

"So... what do you guys have to do with the Princess here?" Shego asked, leaning back until her chair touched the wall.

Looking around the table, Kim wondered if they would actually tell her. She suspected that Mr. Giles had a different reason for speaking with Shego than Buffy's reason for bringing her here.

"It's up to you, Kim." Buffy told her. "I would recommend we tell her, it'll save you problems in the future. But if you don't think it's a good idea..."

Kim could feel Shego's eyes boring into her. She wasn't sure she wanted to give up any advantage she might have over Shego if she didn't know she was a slayer. Especially without knowing why Buffy felt she should be told.

"Why?" Kim asked, hoping for something insightful. She couldn't quite suppress her disappointment when Buffy just shrugged.

"Just a hunch." Buffy said, though from the look she gave Vi, Kim suspected there was another reason they were keeping from her.

"Go ahead." Kim took a large drink of root beer in an attempt to hide her anxiety.

"What do you know about vampires?" Mr. Giles asked Shego.

"They're pests. They like to infest unused lairs." Shego said, holding up a glowing hand. "A little shot of plasma usually takes care of them."

"You know about vampires?" Kim asked, her surprise causing her voice to squeak.

"I know a lot of things." Shego said, smirking. "I even know your bra size."

"Shego!" Kim yelped, sure her face had turned red.

"Not helping." Buffy said, glaring at Shego.

"What!" Shego muttered. "She's easy."

"I'm not!" Kim protested. "I'm not the one who dresses like...like... that!" Kim finished lamely, unable to think of something suitably catty in response.

"Ladies, if you don't mind saving that for later," Mr. Giles admonished them.

"Sorry, Mr. Giles." Kim said, not surprised when Shego remained silent.

"So you're aware of demons and other things then?" he asked.

"You hear rumors," Shego said, shrugging. "But I've never seen anything to prove they exist."

"There were a couple out in the bar," Kim muttered. Even she'd noticed that.

"How about magic?" Buffy asked.

"You mean that mystical mumbo jumbo Monkey Fist and Stoppable are into?" Shego asked.

"That is one type of magic," Mr. Giles said. "There are more powerful kinds."

"Okay... still not seeing the Kim connection," she said, rhythmically tapping her fingers on the table.

"Are you sure you like her?" a bemused Buffy asked Kim. "She's sarcastic, violent, and a bit dense."

"I never said I liked her," Kim protested. "But she does have her moments."

"I'm not asking her to like me," Shego muttered.

"We're getting ferociously off track here," Kim said, starting to get angry. "It's really simple, even Ron got it." Kim stood up and glared over at Shego. "Whether you've ever seen one or not, there are things out there, things that are truly evil, not supervillain evil like Drakken, Monkey Fist, or Dr. Dementor. And they want to wipe us from the earth. Vampires may seem like pests to you but they are right up there on the evil scale, though more because they are soulless, ruthless, impossibly strong killers who look mostly human and multiply like rats."

"And?" Shego said, appearing bored, which made Kim even angrier.

"And, thousands of years ago a bunch of old men decided that the best way to stop demons from wiping out humanity was to take a girl and force the power of a ruthless demon predator into her and send her out to kill vampires and other demons. It must have driven her mad." Kim said, forcing her voice to remain steady. The story of Sineya had struck her as very tragic. "And when she died the power went to one girl and then another. And somewhere along the way those old men turned into the Council of Watchers. They called the girls 'slayers', because that's what they did." Kim started pacing back and forth, not sure where the anger was coming from but she knew she needed to get it under control.

"Vi, why don't you take Kim for a walk?" she heard Buffy say. "Bring her back when she's calmed down."

"I'll be fine." Kim said.

Buffy shook her head and pointed towards the door. Getting up, Vi took Kim by the arm and guided her towards to door.

"She took you hunting before coming here, didn't she?" Vi asked in a low voice when the door had closed behind them.

"Yes." Kim said, grinning slightly as her anger started to subside. "I had fun."

"I bet." Vi shook her head. "She should know better. You're going to be on edge for hours. Let's see if we can get Xander to give you something stronger than that pop he was serving you."

"Sorry, Giles, that was my fault." Buffy apologized.

"You took her out tonight?" Giles asked, wiping his glasses.

"She was bouncing off the walls. She needed it." Buffy said. "The only real action she'd had all week was when the two of them went at it last night." She nodded at Shego. "Vi says she's doing really well learning our techniques, but she needs more of a challenge at the physical end."

"What do you have planned?" he asked. "Her emotional control seems to need a bit of work."

"That's not completely her fault." Buffy said. "But we're working on it."

"What are you doing to Kimmie?" Shego asked, having stayed quiet longer than Buffy thought she would.

"You heard the story," Buffy told her. "The Council of Watchers guides demon hunters with special abilities who happen to be young women. They are faster and stronger than ordinary humans. The old Council managed to get rich while doing it. The new one, the parts that survived that 'terrorist attack' isn't so rich but still does the demon hunting thing."

"The Council had been around for a long time before the London office was destroyed," Giles added. "They had power, and as you should know from your profession, power leads to wealth. All of those objects in the Council's treasury were paid for with the blood of girls like Kim Possible."

"You've made her into a demon hunter, one of these slayers?" Shego frowned at them.

"We didn't make her one." Buffy protested. "It may not have been conscious but it was her choice. One of our slayers died and whatever picks new slayers chose her."

"It was your fault." Kim said to Shego, walking into the room at that moment. Vi followed her, slipping quietly into her seat.

"My fault?" Shego stared at her. "My fault that you are stronger?"

"Your fault that I'm this way until I die. Until something bigger and stronger tears me into tiny little pieces." Kim said, sitting down again. "Because slayers? They don't live too long."

"We haven't asked you to be an active slayer." Giles protested.

"You know that doesn't matter," Kim said. "I travel all over the world helping people. Eventually I'm going to run into some demon while I'm doing something else that'll go after me because I'm a slayer and it's going to beat me. I guess I could go live in a monastery but even that wouldn't be safe and I've put too much into Team Possible to abandon it now."

"What does that have to do with me?" Shego asked.

"We were stuck in that stupid lair." Kim said. "I thought you were going to die so when a voice asked me if I wanted to be strong... I foolishly agreed. That's when I became a slayer. Because of you and that glue trap."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Shego asked. "I didn't ask you to save me."

"Nothing." Kim whispered, staring down at the table. "I don't want anything except to stop feeling guilty that someone died so I could be like this."

"Kim?" A gentle voice broke the painful silence.

"Yes, Mr. Giles?" She looked up.

"Could you call your friend, Mr. Load? I have several questions for him."

"Sure." Kim pulled out her kimmunicator and flipped it on, glad for a distraction.

"Hey Kim! What's up?"

"Mr. Giles has several questions for you." She propped up the kimmunicator so it had a view of everyone at the table.

"Kim? Is that Shego?" Wade asked. She could hear his keyboard clicking.

"Yes." Kim said, not feeling like explaining her arch foe's presence.

"Okay..." Wade mumbled.

"Mr Load?" Giles said.

"Wade, please." Wade corrected.

"Wade. How did you know Shego was in Cleveland yesterday?" He asked, staring over the top of his fingers.

"An anonymous tip on Kim's website."

"Hmm..." He murmured. "You've been given access to the full Council archives. Correct?"

"Almost everything you have online." Wade agreed. Kim wondered what he still couldn't access. She'd have to ask him later.

"The agreement between the Council and Global Justice. I assume you've read that?" Mr. Giles asked.

"Yes."

"There should be a list of locations around the world that the Council is responsible for. Global Justice has agreed not to interfere with anything that happens in them unless we request their assistance. What does it say for Cleveland?"

"There are three." Wade's fingers moved so fast that Kim could barely follow them. "The Council training center, some kind of bar, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Council owns the first two but is also in charge of security for the Hall of Fame."

"Correct." Mr. Giles said. "And, no offense Miss Possible, but the Council would not have contacted Team Possible to deal with a simple matter of theft."

"So who contacted us?" Kim asked.

"Someone who knew you were going to be in Cleveland and keeps track of Shego?" Buffy suggested. "I think I smell a Betty."

"A Betty?" Shego stared at her.

Kim tried to hold in a laugh. It had been such a stressful night that she knew if she started laughing she wouldn't be able to stop. Buffy's dislike of the head of Global Justice was a badly kept secret among the slayers.

"Betty Director, the head of Global Justice." Vi said.

"Global Justice doesn't track me," Shego said, protesting.

Kim was a little more cynical, remembering things Wade had discovered about past Global Justice activities. "Wade?" she asked. "Assuming it was Global Justice, how did they know where Shego was last night?"

"Umm... there's a good chance she's been chipped."

"Chipped?" Shego said. "There's no way, nerdlinger."

"It's either you or something you always have on you." Wade said. "You'll need to stand up."

"Scan her, Wade. Please and thank you." Kim said.

A blue beam moved up and down Shego's body several times.

"Well?" Shego asked, impatiently tapping her foot.

"Looks like they managed to tag you." Wade said. "It's one of their early designs. From that and the type of signal... it was over four years ago."

"Where is it," Shego demanded.

"Your right hip," Wade said.

"Kimmie, give me that knife you've got hidden in your blouse." Shego ordered, holding out her hand.

"Why?" Kim asked, surprised Shego had spotted it. Everyone in her group had gotten one at the end of their first trip to the Hellmouth. It was supposed to be invisible, even to metal detectors.

"Need to do a little surgery." Shego said, rubbing her hip.

"Wouldn't it be better if Wade just turned it off?" Kim asked, not thrilled with the thought of Shego's blood on her new knife. "That's how the one in Ron works."

"Kim, I designed Ron's chip myself. This one has a nasty self-destruct. Zapping it might kill her." Wade said.

"We do have an infirmary," Giles told them.

"I'm not going anywhere until it's out," Shego said, glaring at them.

"I'll do it," Kim said, "Just tell me where."

Buffy sighed. Shego was reminding her of a certain Boston resident right now. She was probably just as stubborn. "Vi, go get the first aid kit out of Xander's office. The big one. And Giles, you should leave. If this is Betty's work you shouldn't be here. No need to be a rebel."

"Understood." Giles said, grimacing. "We still have several things to discuss. Let me know when you're finished." Standing up, he left the room, almost colliding with Vi as she rushed back in.

"So how do you want to do this," Buffy asked. "And that's gonna have to come off." she waved at Shego's signature outfit. "Or we'll have to cut a hole in it."

Ignoring the throbbing in her hip, Shego stared at the small plastic object sitting on the table. She couldn't believe it had been in her for so long. Someone was going to pay, as soon as she found out who put it in her.

The look on Kim's face when she'd started to strip had almost been worth the brief pain of having it removed. Too bad the other redhead had stopped her fun when she'd given her the large flannel shirt she was now wearing.

"So, now what?" she asked while they waited for Vi to return with the old man, who seemed to have wandered out of the bar.

"Giles does his thing and then you two need to talk," Buffy told her.

"We don't have anything to talk about." Shego grumbled, glancing quickly at Kim.

"The elephant in the room doesn't agree with you." she said. "Before you leave Cleveland, you and Kim need to do more than dance around each other. I'll keep you here the rest of the week if I have to."

"Buffy..." Kim started to say before being interrupted by Vi and Giles returning. "Why do people keep interrupting me." She grumbled under her breath.

"So? You have something else, Giles?" Buffy asked.

"One more thing, the rest can wait until Monday." He said, sitting down. "The Council has a need for Shego's services."

"Her services? She's a thief!" Kim said, choking on her drink. "You want her to steal things for you?"

"Exactly." Giles said. "It doesn't happen often but there are times when, for whatever reason, we can't retrieve a dangerous artifact legally and must use other methods."

"What are you proposing?" Shego asked. "I already have a full time job baby-sitting Drakken."

"We would like to put you on a retainer." Giles said. "I understand that you have other commitments so I would also like you to train some of our people for those times you aren't available. There are several whom I believe would make excellent students." He tilted his head subtly in Kim's direction.

"Giles?"

"Yes, Buffy?"

"Shouldn't you ask the rest of us before you hire her? If something goes wrong Betty's going to try to throw us all in jail."

"It was her idea," Giles said, "though I expect she's forgotten about it."

"Doctor Director told you to hire Shego." Kim said, her disbelief clear.

"She actually suggested that Shego would make an excellent training partner for our slayers." Giles said.

"That has possibilities." Buffy said. "What do you think, Vi? You've seen Shego in action."

"Maybe." Vi said. "Teaching isn't the same thing as fighting."

Shego watched Kim. She suspected that if it had been physically possible, her head would have been spinning at the idea that her new friends were interested in employing someone like herself. But maybe, just maybe, this was what she needed when Kim retired Team Possible to become one of those slayers. Which she could see coming a mile away.

"What are the benefits?" Shego asked. "Why would I want to do this? I'm not exactly underpaid now."

"You would have access to the full resources of the Council for any jobs you do for us. Including our lawyers. We have a similar agreement with Team Possible." Giles said. "But there would be several conditions."

"Of course. Should I get a lawyer?" Shego asked, half jokingly.

"If you wish," Giles said.

"What are the conditions?" she asked, adopting a poker face.

Epilogue

Kim watched Buffy, Vi, and Mr. Giles leave the room. She would give almost anything to be leaving with them. Instead, she was stuck here with Shego, with orders from Buffy to 'figure it out' though she hadn't been too clear on what 'it' was. She'd even taken the kimmunicator with her so there wouldn't be any interruptions.

'It' could be almost anything but she was pretty sure it was a 'why', 'how', or 'what' of some sort. It could be why she'd gotten angry at Shego earlier; it could be how she felt about Shego after fighting her for so many years; it could even be what she thought about Shego doing things for the Council, things where they might have to work together. But whatever 'it' was she knew it was something to do with Shego. Who was sitting with her feet up on the table looking more bored than usual. Staring at her, Kim wondered why Shego looked truly alive only when they were fighting. Not that she could ask her that kind of question. That wasn't one of her 'it's.

"So..." Kim murmured, at a loss, not sure how to start, a rarity for someone who claimed to be able to do anything.

"That old man is pretty clever," Shego said. "I bet his plans always work."

"He grew up learning that kind of thing. The Council was like a big family in the old days." Kim said, shrugging. "If you didn't get your plans right, people died. If you really screwed up the world could end. Not like with us. When one of us screws up we're usually the ones who get hurt."

"What do you want me to say?" Shego asked, getting up and pacing back and forth. "This slayer thing... not sure what to think about it."

"Nothing. There's nothing you can say. It was my choice, though kinda not." Kim said. "You were acting so weird before that explosion..." she tried to explain.

"Didn't know you cared." Shego muttered, not offering Kim an answer to the question she hadn't asked.

"Of course I care." Kim said, staring at her in surprise. "Even if we're not friends, why would I want something to happen to you?"

"Because you wouldn't have to worry about Drakken anymore?" Shego said, her expression showing her confusion at Kim's answer.

"I don't worry about him now." Kim said, wondering in dismay if their thought processes were really that far apart, if they really saw things so differently. "When was the last time he had a workable plan?" she asked. "Besides, he's mostly harmless. He just needs supervision to keep his schemes from killing anyone."

"I'm hurt. If he's harmless, what does that make me?" Shego pouted.

"I don't know. There are times when I wonder why you stick with him." Kim mumbled, trying not to laugh at the pout. "I had fun last night. We haven't done that in a while."

"Might have been fun for you but I could do without the losing." Shego said, plopping down in the chair across from Kim. "And the bruises."

"Are you going to do it?" Kim asked cautiously.

"Do what?" Shego asked.

"Work for the Council. You didn't actually say yes." Kim said. "It would be major cool to spar occasionally when neither of us is in a hurry."

"I'm not giving up Drakken." Shego said, firmly shaking her head. "And I'm not going legit."

"But..." Kim looked at her in confusion. "They've got Global Justice approval."

"Were you actually listening, Kimmie?" Shego sighed in obvious disappointment. "Global Justice wants your friends to keep me locked up here so they don't have to."

"That's not what Mr. Giles said." Kim said, protesting.

"It was implied." Shego said. "And I didn't hear anything about a pardon or amnesty for any of my 'activities'. Did you?"

"No..." Kim said, wondering how she'd missed that.

"If they thought there was a good reason to remove me from the picture they would." Shego said, her approving tone making it clear to Kim that she would do the same thing in their place. "You know they don't view the world through your rose colored glasses, don't you? If they are really involved in some brutal war against evil they don't have that luxury."

"You think I see the world all in black and white, like Hego!" Kim said, crossing her arms and leaning aggressively towards Shego. "You're wrong. I know things aren't perfect out there, that saving the world sometimes means doing things that are illegal or distasteful. And not just because the Council said so." She wasn't the perfect, one dimensional goody two shoes Shego thought she was. She had depth, she just knew it. She could feel some of her earlier anger returning.

Getting up, Kim stomped around the table, stopping when she reached Shego. Looking down at her green clad foe, Kim glared at her obvious amusement. Stepping closer, into her personal space, Kim angrily shoved her out of her chair, onto the floor.

"Temper tantrum, kitten?" Shego said, laughing as she rolled cautiously to her feet, not turning her back on Kim.

Glaring even more, Kim pushed an unresisting Shego up against the wall. She could feel Shego's pulse beating under her hands where they pressed against her arms. Something about her cocky expression caused Kim's chest to ache. It was an invitation for something, though she wasn't sure what.

"You like being on top, Kimmie?" Shego asked, her voice huskier than Kim was used to hearing.

Kim leaned forward, her fingers digging into Shego's arms, fighting the urge to push her through the wall. Shego's only visible reaction was a raised eyebrow and slight tightening of her lips. Feeling heat radiating from her captive, Kim dragged her eyes down Sego's face and chest, pausing briefly at the sight of her pulse throbbing in her neck.

Continuing down her body, Kim's eyes stopped again when she reached her hips, her eyes drawn to the slight bulge where Shego's catsuit covered the bandages where the chip had been. Breathing deeply, Kim could smell fresh blood mixed with Shego's own unique scent. With each breath, she could feel herself losing control, a red haze beginning to cover the edges of her vision.

"Kim? What do you need?" Shego asked softly, her voice dropping another octave.

Kim's eyes jumped back to her face in surprise. Growling, Kim reached up and trapped Shego's face between her hands, roughly pressing their lips together. Even through the haze, she knew it was only technically a kiss, as she tried to pour all of her anger and frustration into the action, tried to force some kind of response from Shego.

It last only a second and forever. Kim lost contact with her when Shego broke her grip and pushed her violently away, the backs of Kim's thighs colliding with the table. With the separation, the haze seemed to drain away, leaving her shocked at what she'd done. Kim stared at Shego for a moment, pleading for an explanation with her eyes, before she turned and ran from the room.

Slamming the door closed behind her, Kim shakily leaned against it, trying to slow her rapidly beating heart, her lips burning. "What was that all about?" She whispered to herself staring down at her hands in confusion, looking for a clue, horrified at her own behavior. "What's with the drama?" Hearing a faint sound, she glanced up to see Buffy several feet away, looking back at her.

"Figure it out?" she asked gently.

"I'm, I'm not sure..." Kim mumbled, cautiously touching her bruised lips.

"Vi will give you a ride back," Buffy said, attempting to move Kim away from the door.

"What are you going to do?" Kim asked, briefly resisting.

"Nothing you need to worry about," she said. "I'll leave her in one piece," she added before slipping into the room.

Kim stared at the door for a minute before quietly following a subdued Vi out of the bar.

Entering the back room, Buffy looked around for Shego. From the shocked look on Kim's face and her dark, puffy lips she could guess what had happened but now wasn't the time to confront her about it. The immediate question was, what was she going to do about Shego?

"You've got her twisted into knots." she said, quickly finding the green woman sitting on the floor near the table, her back against the wall. "And she really has no clue why."

Shego looked up in surprise, apparently not having heard her enter. "I didn't do anything to her," she protested, rubbing her lips.

"We've thrown you into the deep end of the pool, haven't we." Buffy mused, grabbing a chair. "Kim has had a few months to get used to the idea and to the big changes. But you have no idea what affect this has had on her, do you."

"Why don't you tell me." Shego said.

"A slayer is a rather unique creature, take it from someone who knows this intimately." Buffy said. "It's like everything is cranked up to eleven. Your strength is ten times an ordinary person's; your other senses are way up there; you get this mystical ability to learn how to use almost any weapon that is handed to you; and you can pick up fighting styles just by watching them."

"Sounds like the perfect little soldier." Shego muttered.

"Some seem to think so. Of course, they don't see the whole down side to this, how much becoming a 'slayer' screws you up. We won't go into my own sob story, because I'm sure you don't care, but I've had all of the bad to go with the good, so I have some idea what she will go through."

"Like what?" Shego asked, rubbing her hip.

"There's the shorter life span, because every evil thing that knows what you are is trying to kill you. The constant emotional roller coaster because so much of your power is tied into your hormones. Thinking you'll always be alone, because finding a partner who is your equal, someone who can understand how power screws with your head and can help you deal with it without both of you losing your sanity, is close to impossible." Buffy shrugged, standing back up. "Of course, that short life span used to be much shorter so most slayers didn't live long enough to have that problem. Slayers become extremely territorial. Don't try to get between a slayer and someone they love. We protect what is ours. Add in the aggression that comes with the package and we're talking guaranteed emotional train wreck."

"Charming." Shego muttered.

"And there's a lot more to it but for completeness, let's throw in on top of that the real prize. The one thing that makes it all worthwhile. Children. There are no records of any slayer having children after they've been called and only one recorded case of a slayer successfully becoming pregnant before becoming a slayer."

"I would think that was a benefit." Shego said.

"For some of us, yes. But how do you think our Kimberly Anne Possible, Miss Girl Next Door, will react when she finds out? We don't advertise it because there's no physical explanation, but her uber geek is working his way through centuries of Council records as we speak. If he's as smart as we think he is, he can't miss it. Do you think this is something he'll hide from her?"

Shego shook her head.

"I don't think so either," Buffy muttered. "We try to prepare them. We have a dozen counselors on call to help them adjust. But we can't be there all of the time."

"Why are you telling me this?" Shego asked. "I'm her only real enemy. You're telling me how to defeat her."

"Kim can handle you." Buffy said. "And she's been dealing really well with the whole slayer gig. Until now."

"What happened?" Shego asked, leaning forward, her face showing more interest than she had so far.

"You," Buffy said. "You throw her off balance. You probably have for a while but she was able to ignore it until she became a slayer. Before she lost some of her control. How long has she been more than a thorn in your side?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"When did fighting her turn into fun, something you looked forward to?" Buffy asked, shaking her head at Shego's sudden blank look. "When did you start collecting those videos? Which, gotta say, really is a bit stalkerish."

"I don't remember, it feels like always." Shego said, glaring at Buffy as if daring her to say she shouldn't feel that way.

"I know how that goes," Buffy said softly. "I've got someone like that myself. But those feelings can take you only so far. They don't fill those empty spaces."

"What do you want from me?" Shego asked belligerently.

"Nothing too complex. In addition to the agreement with Giles, which you will sign," Buffy said firmly, "there are several rules concerning your behavior around Kim."

"What makes you think I'll follow them?" Shego asked.

"I'm much stronger than Kim and I've been fighting things for almost a decade that would give you nightmares. And there are over a hundred women just like me. And we won't need a chip to find you. You really don't want to fight us." Buffy said. "The rules are simple, really."

"What?"

"Give her three months. No fighting, no spying. Nothing. With that chip gone Global Justice isn't going to be able to force you together as often as they like. If you run into her while you're 'working' don't push things. Do whatever you can to get away but don't goad her into a fight. And don't hurt her if you can help it. I don't want to get out my black dress for either one of you any time soon. Her team is moving their operation and she's starting college. Let her settle into things, calm down a bit."

"That's it?" she asked.

"No." Buffy smiled. "She needs someone to train with that she'll listen to. Someone willing to challenge her. Someone dangerous. We don't have anyone available. You're moving to Go City."

"No way." Shego sat up suddenly. "Not happening."

"You will if you want to be involved in her life in any way." Buffy said, looking her in the eyes, refusing to be swayed by the panic she saw there. "It's non-negotiable. Bury hatchets, join the Y. Rob a bank. Whatever personal issues you have with Go City? Fix them."

"What else do you want," Shego asked, "while you're ruining my life?"

"This conversation? Didn't happen." Buffy said, standing. "Kim doesn't need to know we talked about her. If she asks, the Go City thing was your idea." Buffy looked at her sympathetically. "You know, some day she will get it. She'll see who you really are. But not today. Or any time soon."

"I'm evil. There's nothing more she needs to know." Shego said, getting to her feet and walking around Buffy. Crossing the room, she stopped at the door. "I'll follow your little rules, for now."

"Odd thing about slayers. We have really good evil detectors. We can almost taste the stuff." Buffy said, watching Shego intently as she stopped briefly in the open door. "And Kim has that ability as much as the rest of us. You can't fool her. She knows you aren't evil." Shego ignored her, slamming the door closed behind her. Shaking her head, Buffy stared at the door for a minute, listening as Shego's footsteps faded away.

"Heard enough?" she asked the apparently empty room.

A small pink head popped up, seemingly out of nowhere. "Uh-huh. Messy." Rufus muttered, jumping up onto the table and waddling over to her.

"Yup." Buffy nodded. "You guys are going to have your hands full with those two this fall. Do you want a ride back now or do you want to hang out some more?" she asked, smiling down at the small creature. She wondered if the rest of Team Possible realized just how smart Rufus really was. And cute. She'd have to agree with Dawn on that one.

"Ron, Y'ri" Rufus said, waving his arms enthusiastically. "Slayers cute. Nachos."

"Ron's picking you up? And you're hanging with the cute slayers you came with until he gets here?" Buffy asked, hoping she was understanding him correctly. "We'll have to see if Xander can make you nachos."

"Uh-Huh. Hang'n." Rufus said, jumping onto Buffy's outstretched hand and running up onto her shoulder. Nodding, Buffy walked back out into the bar. If she was lucky, Giles would have left already. She needed time to think about the Kim - Shego situation and how she could make use of it before he gave her his opinion.

End notes