FULL POTENTIAL: a Kim Possible fanfiction

by Ranger Thorne

This story was started before So The Drama was aired. This is a revised version, with the intent to fix the spacing problems and any other problems I found. Thank you for keeping your interest in the story. Special thanks to the White Lady Of The Ring.

"Shego, what's that?" Drakken asked as they flew off in the small helicopter. The flashes of light from the exploding lair reflected on the windows, reminding them of another defeat.

"This?" Shego pulled some long hairs from her clawed left hand. "I caught some of Kimmie's hair when I swung at her. Hey!" She protested as the mad scientist grabbed them from her. Frowning, she warned, "Remember what we said about cloning, Dr. D?"

He was confused for a second. Then, he shook his head, "Shego, this isn't about cloning. It's about something I saw that finally registered." With no change of expression, he added, "I guess watching Sports Center before Kim Possible showed up actually did some good."

Drakken looked at the hair, forgetting to operate the helicopter. Seeing this, Shego reached out and took over the controls. "I'd rather be driving anyway," she muttered to herself. To the blue-skinned genius she asked, "Okay, what did you finally notice?"

"Our dear 'basic, average girl' has a vertical leap of almost twenty feet." He grinned at her, "No normal person can do that."

"I can," Shego pointed out.

"You can do a lot of things normal people can't do," Drakken countered. "No," he looked at the hairs, "I strongly suspect that Kim Possible is either a mutant or has been mutated."

"And the difference is?"

"A mutant, Shego," he told her, "is born with the genetic mutation built in. Someone who is mutated is altered after conception. Like you and your brothers." Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a small bag. He placed the hairs inside, then sealed it. "I'm going to find out which. Then," his grin became larger, "I'll know her deepest secret."

Skeptical, she asked, "And this will help us how?"

Rubbing his hands together, he looked out the window of the helicopter. "Think of it, Shego. A teenager who has a secret like that revealed would be shunned by everyone around her. She'd become an outcast. Feared and hated by the world at large."

"Gee," Shego frowned at him, "I wonder what that's like."

He turned to her, "You quit the hero biz for a reason, right?"

A light suddenly went on. "You mean," she began to grin, "once Kimmie's secret is out, she'll stop trying to save a world that suddenly hates her." Removing a hand from the controls, she patted him on the arm, "That might almost work."

Suddenly serious, he asked, "What do you mean, 'almost?'"

"You forget about how devoted her family is. And Stoppable, too."

"Who?"

Shego rolled her eyes, "The sidekick."

"Oh. I can never remember his name." Drakken frowned, "Well, with the fallout of the big revelation, there's a chance that her family would be ruined. And," he began to grin again, "since they're still minors, the buffoon's family might keep him from helping her on her little missions."

"Meaning she'd be on her own in a world that doesn't want her anymore."

"I think," he eyed the bag with his maniacal grin reaching from ear to ear, "this might be the best day of my life."

Smirking, Shego tried to sound hurt, "And here I thought that was the day you met me."

He glared at her for a moment, "I'm trying to be serious here."

"Ooh," she replied, undaunted, "I'll just sit back and watch the show."

"Listen up, people," Barkin snapped from the front of the room. "Miss Elliot will be back tomorrow. So, I'm going to make sure you have something to give her to say 'welcome back.'" He leaned over the desk, "Now, any questions before we get to work?"

Just one, Ronald Dean Stoppable thought, where'd you get the bad John Wayne accent? As usual, he was finding the class boring. He tried to keep up, though. If for no other reason that the teenage girl sitting next to him. Don't want KP to be disappointed. Out of habit, he glanced over at her as she sat with her pen ready to take notes.

Kimberly Ann Possible was a redhead with green eyes and a figure that, Ron knew, drove most of the guys in school crazy. It wasn't the abundance of cleavage, but the overall athleticism of her physique that he'd heard commented on many a time. She was dressed differently from normal, in a long-sleeved button down blouse to hide a large bruise on her right arm. Otherwise, she was in her usual blue pants and sneakers. Her long hair reached to the middle of her back, framing her expressive face perfectly. She's almost an angel, Ron thought. An avenging one if she gets her hands on Shego. Her head is still sore from that near miss.

"Stoppable!"

"Huh?" He perked up as he heard the teacher call his name.

"You seemed out of it for a minute. You think you could pull yourself together long enough to answer the question?"

"Sure," he lied. "Uh, what was the question again?"

As her best friend tried to fake his way through the interrogation Mr. Barkin was giving him, Kim sighed. I know he studied last night, she thought. So why does he always seem so unprepared? An eyebrow shot up when she heard him finally stumble through the correct answer. Okay, I guess he was paying attention after all. She turned to look at the teacher, having long ago figured out that he preferred to call on those not looking his way. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she glanced at Ron.

He was thin, almost gangly. But, Kim knew, was stronger than he looked or acted. He's like the Hulk from the comics he use to read. He gets stronger when he's mad. But, she reminded herself, everyone gets that way. Adrenaline and all that. He was dressed the same as always. A red jersey worn over a long sleeved black shirt. His cargo pants moved slightly as his pet naked mole rat, Rufus, shifted in his sleep. With a sigh, Ron ran a hand through his short blond hair. He's got big hands for his size, Kim thought. He ever grew into them he'd be eight feet tall. She looked back at Barkin just in time to see him move his gaze from her to a girl in the front of the class who was looking almost asleep.

"Miss Flanner!"

I don't think Barkin can look up a question Justine can't answer, Kim thought with a grin. Sure enough, three minutes later, the sandy-haired girl was still lecturing the teacher. She kept the attention of the class long enough for the bell to ring.

"Nice job, Justine," Kim congratulated her as they got out of the class.

With a shrug, the girl replied, "I didn't want the extra homework. Besides," she frowned, "I have three patents in gravity field technology. For him to ask me about what gravity was is insulting." Turning, she left the redhead standing in the hallway, smirking.

Deet-deet-dee-dee!

Reaching into her pocket, Kim pulled out the source of the notes. The blue 'kimmunicator' looked a lot like a pda, but with more features than a room full of gadgets. The screen lit up to show an African-American boy of about 10. He looked at her and grinned, "Hey, Kim. I just wanted to tell you that Global Justice has finished cleaning up the mess Drakken left behind." The reproduction quality was so good that it sounded like he was standing next to her.

"Thanks, Wade. Any leads on where they headed?"

"The helicopter vanished heading South. Could be Shego insisted on a vacation somewhere warm." He raised an eyebrow, "Also, I got a hit on the sight. It seems someone stole some equipment from a lab in Miami last night. That's odd," he added as his fingers flew across the keys. "This looks more like DNAmy than Drakken."

"Genetic equipment?" Kim closed her eyes.

"Genetic equipment?" Ron, who had just walked up, glanced at Wade. "Is Drakken back in the cloning business or did DNAmy show up?"

"No," Wade told him, "she's still in federal custody. In fact," he glanced at a different screen, "she's even started a Cuddlebuddies Fan Club for felons."

"Hey," Ron grinned at Kim, "if you ever go off the deep end maybe they'll let you join."

"Ron, that is so not funny," she glared at him. Turning back to Wade, she saw him try to hide his grin. "That goes for you, too, Wade. Besides," she smirked, "if I did 'go off the deep end,' I'd take both of you with me."

"I never thought otherwise," Ron told her.

"Same here," Wade agreed. "Anyway, I'll look into what was taken in Miami and see if it looks like Drakken's work."

"Meaning Shego," Ron interpreted.

"Yeah," Wade's eyes widened. "Catcha later."

"Yeah, later Wade." As the screen went dark, Kim went to scratch her head, then flinched. "Ow!"

"Head still sore?" Ron asked her.

"Yeah." She rubbed the spot. "I guess I should be glad she didn't leave a bald spot."

"Yeah, after all, it's the guy who's supposed to go bald, not the girl."

"Are you saying you'd rather go bald than me, Ron?" Kim grinned at him, then added, "That's so sweet."

Confused, he blinked at her as they moved down the hall. "Is that what I said?" he finally asked.

Rufus popped his head out of the pocket of Ron's cargo pants and glared at Kim. Seeing this, Kim smiled at him, "Not that there's anything wrong with being bald, Rufus. It's just that some people just don't look right that way." Rubbing her head, she added, "Like me, for instance."

Rufus glared for a moment, then ran a paw over his head and said what sounded like, "Baldy." A moment later, he was back in his home away from home.

"There!" Drakken rubbed his hands together as he looked at the computer screen.

"Huh?" Shego started from across the room. She had her feet up on the table and had actually been asleep. Now, blinking quickly, she stood. "What? Who's here?"

Confused, Drakken watched her for a moment. "Shego," he finally asked, "what are you doing?"

"Oh," she sat back down, "I thought maybe Possible had shown up or something." She yawned, "I'm going to go back to sleep, then."

"Here I've made the discovery that will get Kim Possible out of our hair once and for all, and all you want to do is sleep?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Shego agreed. Seeing his unhappy glare, she gave up and sauntered over to him. "Okay," she asked, "what's this big discovery?"

As usual, his mood swung in an instant. Now almost giddy, he pointed at the screen, "I was right. Kim Possible is a mutant."

"I thought you said she 'might' be a mutant." Shego put her hands on her hips, "Either that or mutated."

"I meant," he was irritated again, "that there had to be something different about her DNA."

"Oh," she nodded. I just love getting him riled like that, she thought to herself. "So she was born with this mutation?"

"Oh, yes." Back to giddy. "I can tell from the way the mutation is nestled into the DNA. You, on the other hand, have a mutation grafted onto your otherwise normal DNA strands."

"Hey," she threatened, "watch who you're calling 'normal.'"

"Uh," he backed down, "sorry." He scratched his head, "The one thing I can't figure out is this biochemical mutagenic inhibitor."

"A what?"

Drakken shook his head, "It's a chemical that's keeping her from fully mutating."

"You mean she's not?" Shego leaned against the table, "And you said it's artificial?"

"That's right." He rubbed his chin, "Either our little Kimmie is trying to keep from mutating, or someone else is working to prevent it." Looking at his henchwoman, he said, "Shego, I want you to find out which."

She scowled, "And how do I do that, ask her?"

"No," he smirked, "you break into her home while she and her family are away. Search her room for clues, then the rest of the house if you need to. But bring me the source of this compound."

"I don't know," she said, putting a finger to her chin. "Is it possible we're better off with the status quo? I mean, what if she becomes too powerful to stop or control?"

"Then she'll be an even bigger outcast," he grinned.

"And if she decides on revenge?"

His grin faded. For a moment, fear was visible in his eyes. Then, after a shake of his head, he said, "Nonsense. She'll be too busy hiding from the world. Now," he made shooing motions with his hands, "go on and find me that mutagenic inhibitor."

Ron leaned back against his locker and closed his eyes. However, as he slowly began to slip off to sleep, the handle on the locker dug into his arm, waking him up. "Ah, man," he whispered, "I can't catch a wink."

"Hey, Ron," Kim said as she approached. "You okay? I was kinda worried when you didn't come by the house this morning."

"Late start," he explained. He could see her looking him over, and knew what she'd see. He was exhausted. "I didn't sleep well last night," he explained. "I kept having these weird dreams, and when I'd wake up it would be like I'd been running a marathon."

"That's kinda strange," Kim replied. "I didn't think the last mission was that odd."

"No," he shook his head, "that's not it. It was like I was," he paused, then shook his head, "I don't know where I was, but it was weird."

"You gonna make it through the day?" she asked, concerned.

"I'll be okay, KP," he said with a grin. The, after a yawn, he added, "Just keep me awake. I was so sleepy this morning I forgot Rufus."

"Now that is a bad sign," Kim told him. As she turned away to head to class, she felt herself missing the naked mole rat. I guess I've gotten use to having him around.

Deet-deet-dee-dee!

Pulling the Kimmunicator from her pocket, she hit the switch, then asked, "What's the sitch?"

"Kim," Wade's face carried a frown, "I just got word that your home's alarm system was just activated."

"Someone's breaking into KP's house?" A suddenly very awake Ron asked.

"That's not all," Wade said, hitting a button. "Those security cameras your dad installed caught the intruder on film." The image changed to show a black and white figure creeping into the back yard. Before they had been on screen for more than a few seconds, Kim and Ron had identified her.

"Shego?" the asked in unison.

"That's her, all right. I don't know what she's doing in there, since there aren't any cameras in the house."

"Yes, there is," Ron interrupted. "There's one on KP's computer."

"But the computer has to be turned on," Kim reminded him. Then, she squinted at Wade. "Or does it?"

"Hmm," Wade rubbed his chin. "Computers don't usually shut down completely. They have to keep their clocks up to date. Let me try to see if I can get it running. Maybe I can get it to record, anyway." He looked at Kim, "You might want to get over there and stop her before she can set any traps or something."

"You're right, Wade," Kim said, frowning. "Thanks for telling me." She shut off the device and put it into her pocket. Then, she turned to leave.

"I take it we're not going to History?" Ron asked as he fell into step beside her.

"I'm going to make Shego history if she's done anything to the house," she hissed in reply.

"I don't get it," Ron said as he looked around Kim's room. "You say nothing's missing?"

Standing in the middle of a mess that had previously been a bedroom, Kim took a visual headcount of her belongings. "I don't see anything," she told him. "Wait," she held up a hand, "I hear something."

"It's your Dad," Ron told her. A few seconds later, Kim's father stuck his head up into her room.

"Kim?" he asked, seeing her. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Wade told me Shego broke into the house," she answered. "What are you doing home?"

"The security alarm went off," he explained as he came up into her room. "Must have been when she broke in." He glanced around, "The rest of the house okay?" he asked.

"Other than she took the leftover Chinese from the fridge," Ron said, looking annoyed.

"But, why would she break in?" Kim asked. She looked at her bed and stopped. Her bed had been propped up, using the chair to hold it in place. "Does she think I'm going to really sleep at that angle?" She reached out to pull the chair from the mattress when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Leave it," Dr. Possible told her. Looking at him, she was startled to see anger and panic mixing in his eyes. "You should go back to school. Your mother and I will help you clean it up later."

"Okay," she said. "Let me just . . ."

"Now, Kimmie," he said, sounding stern. Looking at Ron, he added, "You, too, young man."

"Uh," Ron nodded, "sure." He took his friend's arm, "Come on, KP. We can still make math."

He waited until he was sure they were out of the room before he swallowed hard and moved next to the bed. Kneeling, he reached beneath the bed for something. When his hand came back empty, he swallowed again. Then, standing, he looked around the room before heading down the stairs. As he did, the small light on the computer blinked off.

"I can't believe it took all weekend to get this back in order," Ron said, sitting on the foot of Kim's bed. "You really don't need all those clothes, do you?"

"Ron, how many clothes I have is so not the issue," Kim reminded him as she stood in the center of the room. "It's how they got thrown around that's the issue."

"A point I am not arguing," Ron told her. "I was just saying that, if you didn't have so many clothes, you wouldn't have to spend an entire weekend putting them back in the closet."

"It's kept my mind off of killing Shego," Kim pointed out. Then, she began to pace, "If I ever get my hands on that little harpy, I'm gonna . . ." she stopped and growled, "I'll tear her head off!"

Deet-deet-dee-dee!

"What's the sitch?" she asked Wade as she held up the kimmunicator.

"Kim, are your folks home?" Wade asked, looking nervous.

"They're downstairs," she told him. "Why?"

"I have something to show you, but I don't think it's something you want them to know you've seen."

Despite her confusion, she glanced at Ron, "Let's go for a walk."

They finally settled on a bench in a remote area of the park. "So," Kim said as she looked at Wade's image, "what don't you want my folks to see?"

"Well," he looked guilty, "I managed to get the computer to record off of the web cam just as Shego got into your room. Look at this." He hit a switch and his image was replaced with a video of Shego entering the room. She frowned, then headed to the closet. A few seconds later, Kim's clothes were strewn about as the villainess searched. After searching the closet, she went through all the drawers in the room.

"I thought I was mad when I saw the mess the first time," Kim grumbled.

"Oh, it gets weirder," Wade warned. "Here she goes." As if on cue, the figure on the screen looked at the bed while rubbing her chin. Grabbing a chair, she wedged it under the side of the mattress. Then, lying on her back, Shego slid under the bed as if working under a car. She bent her right leg while she struggled to get leverage on something under the box springs, then seemed to flinch. A small cloud of something puffed out from under the bed just before Shego climbed madly from beneath it. Coughing, she waved a hand in front of her face.

"What's that in her hand?" Ron asked.

"I've augmented the image. Here," the footage was replaced with a still shot of Shego's hand holding what looked like an oversized CO2 cylinder.

"What's that doing under your bed, KP?" Ron asked the redhead.

"I didn't know it was there," she admitted. "Wade, do you think she put it there?"

"Then why would she wander around trying to find it?" came the reply. Before Kim could reply, he went on, "Besides, I also got this." Kim saw herself and Ron standing in the room talking to her father. After the two left, a worried look appeared on his face. Then, kneeling, he reached under the bed as if searching for something. When his hand came back empty, he looked even more worried than before.

"Hey," Ron said, picking up on something at the worst time, "Mr. Dr. P knew there was something under your bed."

She scowled at him, "Thanks, Ron, I never would have guessed." Glancing at the screen, she saw that Wade was once again looking out at her. "Any idea what that was, Wade?"

"No idea," he admitted. "But, if your folks put it there once, they might have replaced it."

"You mean," Ron said, looking spooked, "I could have been walking right by this," words failed him, "uh, whatever it is?"

Standing, Kim seemed to hold the kimmunicator in a death grip, "Let's find out."

Nervously, Ron followed Kim as they walked into the house and past the living room, where the parents and Kim's twin brothers were watching television. Going up to her room, they looked at each other before Kim pulled the chair next to the bed.

"Okay, now," she told Ron, "when I lift the bed, you slide the chair under it. Then I want you to stand watch."

"You - you got it, KP," Ron said, saluting. Grabbing the chair, he watched at Kim braced herself, then lifted the bed high enough for him to slide the chair under the frame. Being careful to seat the bed solidly on the chair, she let it down.

"I'll stand watch," he said, pointing toward the door. Behind him, Kim nodded as she lowered herself to the floor.

As he stood watch, he heard his best friend grunt twice. Then, after a low growl, she hissed, "Help me with this."

Coming back, Ron again watched as Kim lifted the bed. After he moved the chair, she set it on the floor. Then, she showed him what she had discovered.

"It's just like the one Shego found," Ron remarked.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Only this one has some markings on it from the space center."

"You mean your dad brought this home? Okay, I'm confused." Kim turned from him to lift her mattress. "What's up now?"

"This," Kim pointed to a plate that was resting between the box springs and the mattress. "I wonder what it does?"

"Maybe Wade can tell us," Ron suggested as he motioned toward her computer.

"Good idea," she replied. A few seconds later, the 10-year-old was frowning.

"Looks like a pressure pad," he reported. "And what you've described sounds like it was set up to release a set amount of whatever is in that tube whenever you went to bed at night."

Holding up the cylinder, Kim asked, "Think you can analyze this?"

Wade thought for a long moment. Finally, he said, "I could, but I'd need it here."

"Road trip to Wade's house!" exclaimed Ron.

"But, what if your folks check your bed again?" Wade asked Kim.

"I'll take my chances," she said, looking angry. "If they think I took it, maybe they'll tell me what's going on."

"You know," Ron told her, "you could always ask." Seeing the death-glare, he stepped back, raised his hands in front of him, and said, "Just a suggestion, KP. Someone had to say it."

"They've kept it a secret this long, I'll keep what I know a secret for a while." Crossing her arms, she grumbled, "There had better be a good explanation for this."

Wade looked at the readout, then shook his head. The gas that had been in the cylinder had been so complex that it had taken him days to break it down and analyze it. And he still didn't believe it. But, he knew from the call he had gotten from Kim only an hour earlier that she wasn't going to just let it go.

"This isn't going to be pretty." Turning to his main system, he pulled up all he had on his friend's DNA. "Hmm," he frowned, "I've never really looked at the specifics of it before." His eyes widened as he ran a test. "Oh, no. Does Kim . . ." Wade sighed, "She couldn't know. If she did, she'd know what this was for."

For the first time in his life, his room felt crowded. "Maybe she'll get too busy to call," he hoped aloud.

". . . And, like magic, there was a new one there the next day," Kim said as she glowered at Ron.

"Hmph," came the reply as Ron grunted through a mouthful of food. To Kim's near-delight, he waited until after he swallowed to talk. "It just doesn't make sense, KP. Why would your parents have this stuff under your bed? I mean, if it was something to slow you down, I could understand."

"Slow me down? Ron," she asked, confused, "why would they want to slow me down?"

"You know," he waved the hand not holding his soda, "to keep you from going out and risking your life."

"Oh," she comprehended him, now. "If they wanted to keep me from saving the world they could have put something in there to make me more docile."

"'Docile,'" Ron looked away as he thought. "That's a school word, right?"

Same old Ron, she thought with a fond smile. "It means making me more calm and controllable."

"Can't see that happening," he said with a grin. "Too much Kimness. If it didn't get out you'd explode!"

"Explode," agreed Rufus from the middle of a rapidly shrinking pile of cheese nachos.

"But that brings me back to my original problem," Kim frowned. "If it wasn't for that, what was it for?"

"Wade ever get it ana," he frowned, then tried again, "figured out?"

"After the way he glared at me when I asked a few days ago, I'm almost afraid to call him," Kim admitted. "He looked like he was going to try to hit me with something." With a sigh, she crossed her arms on the table and let her head fall onto them. "Maybe I'm just too wrapped up in this."

A crunching sound preceded a muffled, "Maybe," from Ron.

"After all," she said without looking up, "it could just be some kind of vitamins or something, right?"

"Never thought of that." More chewing sounds made Kim decide to not look up.

"And they are my parents. They love me, and wouldn't do anything to hurt me, right?"

After an audible swallow, Ron said, "Yeah. I mean, if they were going to do terrible things to you, they'd have done it by now, right?"

Not knowing if he was serious or kidding, she looked at him. "You've watched too many late night movies, Ron."

"Always helps to be prepared in case of alien takeover," Ron replied with a grin. Then, he pointed at her, "You've got cheese in your hair, KP."

"Perfect end to a perfect day," Kim grumbled as she grabbed a napkin.

"Shego," Drakken ordered, "hold still."

"I don't need a shot," she protested. She was sitting in a chair, wearing a long green and black flannel nightgown. Over her shoulders was draped a black blanket. "I just need to get over the effects of that gas." Scowling, she looked up at him, "What were those long words you used, again? A bio-metagena-something?"

"A biochemical mutagenic inhibitor," he told her. Then, with a shrug, he placed a small hypodermic needle on a small table. "And it seems that it's ability to inhibit mutation has caused your mutation to go dormant." Looking wistful, he added, "Powerful stuff."

"Yeah, yeah," say the raven-haired criminal. "Any idea when I'll be back to normal?"

"If you'd just let me give you an injection of my biochemical mutagenic inhibitor neutralizer," he explained,"you'd be right as rain in a few minutes."

"Well," she glowered at him, "why didn't you say so?"

He looked hurt, "You wouldn't listen."

Her argument grown feeble, she held out her arm and grumbled, "It's just that all those long words makes my head hurt. Ow!"

"There," Drakken, who had bent over to give the shot, straightened up. Then, reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a lollipop. "Here, better now?"

Shego glared at him for a moment, then, grabbed the lollipop. Keeping herself wrapped in the blanket she unwrapped the lollipop and put it her mouth. Then, as she sucked on it, she grumbled, "Peachy."

Wade knew as soon as his computer beeped that he had run out of time. A rock settled in his stomach as the redhead appeared on the monitor. His equipment showed that she was using the computer in her locker instead of her kimmunicator. "Uh, what's up, Kim?" he asked.

Smiling politely, Kim shrugged and said, "Oh, just wondering if you'd had enough time to analyze that mixture I brought you."

"Yeah," Wade looked nervous.

Kim glanced at Ron, who was staring over her shoulder. "This must be a bad thing," Ron whispered to her.

"Wade," Kim asked, "is this something I'm going to regret knowing about?"

"Probably," he grudgingly admitted. "But, if Dr. Drakken and Shego knows about it, you should, too." He pressed a button, causing the printer on the computer to start printing. "My analysis shows that the gas is a biochemical mutagenic inhibitor."

"Woe, woe," Ron waved a hand. "What was that?"

"For once I agree with Ron," Kim said, confusion on her face.

"It's a chemical compound that keeps mutations under control."

"Mutation?" Ron's eyes widened, "You mean like Gill?"

"Actually," Wade grinned, "I think this stuff is the base used to reverse the mutations caused by Wannaweep. It comes from the military. And, get this," he leaned forward, "I checked the records, and there's a D. Cleese listed as the creator."

"Cleese," Kim rubbed her chin, "why does that sound familiar?"

"Duh," Ron chimed in. "KP, isn't that your mother's maiden name?"

"Yeah." Her eyes bulged, "Wait, Dana Cleese? Wade --"

"I checked, it's her." Shrugging, he said, "Most of what she did was so classified, I don't think it's even on a computer."

"So why is this under KP's bed?" Ron asked him.

His face fell before Wade answered, "It's to keep her mutation in check."

"My WHAT?"

"KP," Ron leaned slightly on his friend, "keep it down. You don't want everyone to hear this."

"Uh," she glanced at the empty hallway, then glared at Ron, "Ron, there's no one there."

After looking around himself, he shrugged and said, "Hey, there could have been."

Rolling her eyes, she looked back at the monitor. "Are you saying I'm some kind of mutant?" The look in her computer guru's eyes answered the question. "But," she argued, "I can't be a mutant. I mean," she looked down, "I'm perfectly normal."

"That's probably because of the biochemical mutagenic inhibitor," Wade told her.

"Can we just call it the gas?" Ron requested. "Those long words are giving me a headache."

Wade glared at him for a second, then looked back at Kim. "The mutation is unusual. It could just be something like heightened speed or maybe your leaping ability."

"You mean I could just be a super athlete?"

"Or you could turn green if the," he glanced at Ron, "gas wears off."

Kim felt a chill run down her spine. When she spoke, her voice sounded small, "But I'm normal."

"KP," Ron said, gently, "how many normal girls can slam dunk a basketball while flipping over the top of the goal?"

"I never really thought about it," she admitted. "I just thought I was in great shape. That, and being a cheerleader . . ." She seemed to slump, "I'm a mutant."

"You're Kim Possible," Ron corrected, nudging her with an elbow. "And you're still my best friend."

"Hey," Wade also protested, "nothing's changed here, either." With a sigh, he added, "I should have seen it earlier, though. Sorry about that."

"You didn't have a reason to look," Kim told him as she pulled the paper out of the printer. "I take it this is the specifics of my DNA?" She asked, all business.

"And the chemical makeup of the gas. I figured if you wanted to talk to your folks you might want something to bring you up to speed."

"Hey, wait," Ron asked. "This stuff stops mutations, right?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't Shego get a face full of this stuff?" When Kim and Wade stared at him, he asked, "Well, she did come out from under that be with a cloud of smoke."

"But it's temporary, right?" Kim asked Wade.

He smiled, "Oh, yeah. I'll have some of it whipped into a dart you can use on her by the end of the day."

"Please and thank you," She smiled back. As the screen went dark and she closed the locker, however, the smile faded. "Well," she groaned as she leaned her head against the door, "at least I might have something to stop Shego with."

"Kim," Ron put a hand on her shoulder, "you okay?"

When she looked up at him, he was shocked to see a couple of tears on her cheeks. "Ron," she said in a rough voice before stopping to swallow, "I'm not a 'basic average girl.'"

"No," he agreed as he leaned a shoulder against the locker next to where she was. "If you really were, KP, would you have been able to help all those people?"

She thought about it. "I, I guess not." Then, the straightened, "Ron, if that stuff was keeping me from mutating, but I was still able to do everything, what will happen if I let this stuff wear off?"

"Uh," images of the mutated Gill and himself flashed through his mind. Then, with a shake of his head, he suddenly had a flash of an image that was there, then gone.

"You okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure."

"You looked out of it for a second."

"Hey," he protested with a grin, "we're worrying about you here, remember? And don't worry about me, KP. With your luck, you'll probably look like a supermodel, only better."

A smile crossed her feature. "Thanks, Ron. It's nice to know I can count on you to be blindly optimistic."

"Eh," he shrugged, "we all have our roles to play in life."

"Something from Everlot?"

"Fortune cookie."

"Mom, Dad?" Kim talked to herself in her room. "Why didn't you tell me I'm a mutant?" She shook her head, "That's too forward. Maybe," she shook her head again, causing her red hair to fly around, "stupid." She sat on the bed, only to jump off of it a second later. Kneeling, she felt under it and frowned. "Still there," she whispered as she turned and sat on the floor.

Deet-deet-dee-dee!

Pulling the kimmunicator from the backpack next to her, she leaned her head back as she said, "What's the sitch, Wade?"

"I think Drakken has set a trap for you," he said without preamble. "He's moved back to one of his old lairs in Middleton. And he's been very careless about it."

"You think he's figured out the bio --" she paused, then went on, "the gas?"

"If he's figured it out, there's a chance he might have developed an antidote."

"Antidote?" Kim looked at him and blinked. "Why would there be an antidote?"

"Well," he shrugged, "if Shego got a whiff, he'd need it to get her back up to speed so she could be there to protect him. And," he looked at her with sympathy, "he could be trying to cause your mutation to develop spontaneously."

Smirking, Kim said, "Ron would ask if they were trying to make me explode." When Wade grinned, she went on, "You really don't know what's going to happen, do you?"

"No idea. Sorry." He shrugged, "DNAmy might be able to figure it out, but I don't think she's going to want to help you out any time soon."

"Yeah." Standing, she asked, "You know where Drakken is?"

"Like I said, Kim, it's a trap."

"Well, if he thinks that I'm going to spend my life afraid of my own genes, he's wrong." Her face stern, she said, "I'll get Ron."

"Are you really sure this is a good idea, KP?" Ron asked as they approached the building.

"I'm not letting Drakken scare me into not coming after him," Kim repeated again.

"I was referring to taking the same way in we used last time."

She stopped and looked at him. "He would think we'd go the same way," she mused.

"How about we try the front door?" When she looked at him with skepticism, he smirked and said, "They wouldn't be expecting it."

With a smirk of her own, she answered, "Why do you think going in the back way keeps working?"

"Oh," he nodded. "He keeps expecting us to use the front door to be different." His smirk turned into a grin, "So I guess it's the usual way, then?"

"Hey," she shrugged, "the front door is the normal way to do it."

Ron looked stricken for a moment. Then, as they began to circle around to the side of the building, he pulled out his grappling gun and said, "You're right, KP. 'Never be normal,' is the Ron Stoppable motto."

"That and pass the naco," she teased.

"Hey, I'm a growing boy."

"Uh, huh." Holding up her own grappling gun, she said, "Well, 'growing boy,' let's go get the bad guys."

"Right with you, KP."

"Uh, Kim," Ron whispered a short time later, "where is everybody?"

"Waiting for us to fall into the trap?" she replied.

"I thought that was a bad thing," Ron said, frowning.

"Oh, it is," a different voice said. As the wall next to them slid down, transparent ones rose to box the two heros in. Drakken grinned wildly as he looked at the two. "Trust me, this trap is a very. Bad. Thing."

Kim noticed a figure standing behind Drakken. "What's the matter, Shego, afraid to take me on by yourself?"

Shego blinked at her for a moment. Then, she walked up to the transparent wall and said, "After this, we'll see."

"After what?" Ron asked, looked from the villains to Kim.

"A little gene therapy," Shego said with a smirk. Looking back at Drakken, she said, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"But I hadn't ranted, yet," he protested.

"How about you do it as they get the gas?" She suggested. "It'll be nice and dramatic."

"An excellent idea, Shego," he said, grinning again. Holding up a small remote, he pressed the button. A slight hissing noise began, but nothing visible appeared.

"Uh, KP," Ron looked at her, "is gene therapy a bad thing?"

"It is if he's figured out an antidote for Mom's inhibitor," came the reply. She started to reach for something in her pocket, only to find the room suddenly beginning to sway. "R - Ron," she managed to say as she started to fall.

Ron caught her before she could strike her head on the floor. As he finished lowering her to the ground, he shook his head. "Where'd this noise come from?" he yelled as he put his hands over his ears.

"Noise?" Drakken looked at Shego, "You think he's a mutant, too?"

"No, he's just weird," Came the reply. Frowning, she said, "You were right, Dr. D. That stuff did take her down quick."

"Invisible and without a scent," Drakken said, proud. "You know, I almost put in a bit of a fresh scent. You know, so the lair would smell better." Seeing the glare from the woman, he shrugged, "But I didn't did I?"

"Good choice," Shego growled. Then, she grinned, "Now, let down this wall so I can finish them both off."

"Shego," Drakken looked stricken, "that's not how we do things. Besides," he grinned, "I want to see what happens."

"Then how about we tie them up?"

"Sounds like a plan," Drakken said as he held out the remote and touched a button.

Ron had managed to listen through the din in his head. It was like a million monkeys were chittering at him while he could hear Kim screaming. If they reach us, we're done for, he thought. When the idea struck him, he nodded once, then reached for the Kimmunicator.

The modification took only seconds. But it was long enough for the wall to come down almost all the way. Holding the device away, Ron activated it. The sonic backlash was terrible, but the invisible beam of sound cut away at the ceiling, causing it to crash down between the villains and the incapacitated teens. Then, he cut down one of the other walls that had them boxed in. As he shut it off and shoved it into a pocket, Rufus popped out of his pocket to glare at him.

"It's loud, I know," Ron told him. "Look, I need you to find the door so we can get Kim out of here."

"Okay," replied the hairless rodent. Jumping to the floor, Rufus took off down the hall. As Ron draped his friend over his shoulder, the naked mole rat returned. "This way," he said as he sat back and pointed.

"Lead on, pal." Holding onto Kim, he followed Rufus toward what he hoped was a safe getaway.