The Present (Saturday Afternoon):

Kimberly handed Barkin the last of her tests. A few had been rather challenging, but most of it had been things she remembered from her classes over the previous years.

Barkin told her, "We'll contact your parents with the official results in a few days, but so far it looks pretty good. If I didn't know your origin, I'd think you were some sort of child prodigy..."

"I'm still surprised you believed me and my parents so easily."

"The Doctors Posssible are not known for lying; and I've become used to unusual things occurring around Kim Possible..."

"Oh, come on. Only a few strange things have happened to me."

When Barkin just raised an eyebrow at her, she added, "That I didn't walk into by fighting some super-villain, anyway..."

"Indeed. At any rate, I assume it would have been the same in your original timeline, but don't expect preferential treatment because you're a hero – or a child – and if you go off on any missions to save the world, be prepared to make up any work you miss."

"Of course."

"All right then, that'll be all."

"Okay. I'll see you later, I guess." Kimberly headed out of the classroom to meet with her father.

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Sitch Five:

Questions of Maturity

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The Past:

A van drove up to Paisley manor.

Inside the van, Kim said, "Thanks, Mrs. Mahoney, for driving us all the way to Upperton."

Mrs. Mahoney said, "It's the least I can do since you saved Cabby from that tree."

Kim shrugged, and said, "No big," as she, Ron, and Shego got out. "See ya."

As the van drove off, Kim glanced at Shego. "Remind me again why you're here?"

"Because I'm an adrenaline junkie?"

Ron said, "Because the three of us are team – even if she has been keeping some stuff from us. Not to mention the fact that a former super-hero could come in really handy in a rescue mission!"

Kim said without any enthusiasm, "Right..."

Moments later, the three stood in front of the gate to the Paisley Estate.

Kim asked, "You sure this is the right place, Ron?"

Ron nodded. "Yep. Someone's trapped in there."

Kim said uncertainly, "I don't know. This sounds like something the police should handle."

Shego rolled her eyes. "The police handle something like this? You've got to be kidding me."

Ron said, "Truth in advertising. Your website says you can do anything."

Kim commented, "Now it sounds braggy. …okay, first step – get inside."

Ron bubbled with excitement. "Hey, I've got a little something that might help."

He pulled a pink blob of flesh from his pocket.

Kim recoiled. "What is... that?"

Ron said gleefully, "A naked mole rat! I just got 'im yesterday at Smarty-Mart."

Shego said, "Eesh! They're even uglier when they're young."

Kim wondered, "A naked mole rat?"

Ron, not noticing the rather dismal reviews his pet was receiving, continued, "I named him Rufus. Ain't' he cute? .. say, Rufus, buddy, you think you can open these gates?"

Rufus nodded and, when Ron put him up to the gate's control panel, climbed inside.

Ron commented, "Naked mole rats – pets of the future."

Shego said, "Yeah... Hate to break it to you, but as someone who's seen the future, I have to tell you they ain't gonna be catching on anytime soon."

A shower of nuts, bolts, and other parts fell out of the control panel, followed by Rufus, and the gate opened.

Kim commented, "A naked mole rat – gross, but handy."

Ron asked, "Wanna hold 'im?"

Kim said with a shudder, "Pass."

Shego said, "I'll hold him."

Kim gave her a funny look as Ron handed Rufus to Shego.

Shego looked Rufus over, and said quietly, "Hey, little guy. Sorry about calling you ugly – but let's face it, looks like yours require a bit of getting used to. Anyway, you have a lot of potential. How about you and I be friends?"

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The Present (Sunday Morning):

Kimberly sifted through the racks at Club Banana, looking for things in her size and style. To her disappointment, the selection of clothes her size wasn't very good.

"Club Banana isn't exactly known for it's kids' clothes," teen Kim pointed out.

Kimberly sighed. "I know. It's just, this is my favorite clothes store... I was really hoping they'd have something I liked for my size..."

"Face it, you're not in their target age range anymore. Why don't you give up, and we'll try some other stores."

Kimberly's eyes narrowed. "I'm not giving up until I've looked at everything they have!"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Am I this stubborn?"

Just then, a dark-skinned girl in a Club Banana uniform walked up. "Can I help you?"

Kimberly's eyes lit up. "Monique!"

Although she was wearing a name-tag, Monique didn't expect a girl as young as Kimberly appeared to be to be able to read. She glanced at Kim, then gave Kimberly a strange look. "Do I know you?"

Kim said, "No," while Kimberly said "Yes."

Kim said, "You go to Middleton High, don't you?"

Monique nodded.

"I thought I'd seen you there before. I'm Kim Possible."

Monique smiled. "I know. I've seen you on the news. I'm Monique." She glanced at Kimberly. "Babysitting?"

Kim shrugged. "Sort of." It was true, in a way. Kimberly had wanted to do some more shopping, but Mrs. Possible had been busy, so she had asked Kim to drive Kimberly to the mall and provide the appearance of a chaperon. Neither girl had been particularly happy with the arrangement.

Kimberly looked back and forth between the two of them. "Wait. You mean you two don't know each other?"

Monique gave her another strange look. "No. Should we?"

"Yes! In my timeline, you were my best friend after Ron!" Kimberly put her hands to her mouth. She hadn't meant say that out loud.

Kim laughed nervously. "She's watched a few too many episodes of 'Space Quest'", Kim "explained".

Kimberly crossed her arms and scowled, in a pout she was unaware looked rather cute. "So maybe just blurting that out wasn't the best way to explain things to Monique. That doesn't mean my counterpart had to make me sound like I was playing pretend! And really, there's no reason we have to keep the Time-Travel and Juvinator a secret!"

Kimberly sighed, and continued thinking. "..It would have been hard enough building something similar to my old friendship with Monique if she was friends with my counterpart and knew who I was. If she thinks of me as both a stranger and a little kid..." Unbidden, tears began to form in her eyes.

Monique crouched down near Kimberly. "What's a matter, kid?"

"I..." Kimberly shook her head, knowing anything she said right now would come out sounding childish, and not wanting Monique's pity.

"It's alright. You can tell me."

Kimberly found she couldn't hold it in any longer. "I wasn't just pretending! And I want to be friends with you in this timeline too, but that won't work with me stuck as a kid! And... and I can't even find any clothes I like!" (The fact that she had found clothes that she liked at other stores when she was shopping with her mom the other day was irrelevant in her current mood.)

Both Kim and Kimberly were shocked by Kimberly's breakdown. The fact that Shego had found her emotions stronger and her self control weaker after having been in child form for a while had never came up before, so Kim didn't have a clue what was going on. Kimberly meanwhile had noticed that her reactions were not always the same as she expected, but had managed to brush it off as a result of being unsettled by the changes she was facing; only now was it beginning to occur to her it might be more than that.

"There, there," Monique said, comforting Kimberly. "So you come from another timeline, in which you and me were BFFL? Well, I don't know you enough to be your best friend in this timeline, but I don't mind being your friend. Would you like that?

Kimberly knew she was being humored, and hated it, but in her emotionally weakened state she couldn't help but latch on to the offer. Wiping away her tears, she nodded.

"My name is Monique... but then, you already knew that, didn't you...?" Monique's voice trailed off, as she realized that she still didn't know how the girl knew her name – and as she also realized that the girl's story of being from an alternate timeline, while strange, would explain that mystery. Putting the thought aside, she asked, "Anyway, what's your name?"

"Kim.... I mean, Kimberly."

Monique glanced up at Kim Possible, then back at the younger "Kimberly". Monique noted that in many ways Kimberly looked like a child-aged copy of Kim Possible. And Kimberly's talk of "timelines" implied time-travel or something similar... "It's probably just a coincidence," Monique tried to tell herself.

Turning her attention back to Kimberly, "Well, Kimberly, I know this store like the back of my hand, so why don't you tell me what you're looking for and I'll see what I can do to help you..."

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The Past:

Kim, Ron, and Shego stopped at the end of the hall, looking out into the large room crisscrossed by glowing red lines. To avoid the beams, the salesman was balancing on one foot, while Mr. Paisley was standing on his head; neither could see the pre-teens standing in the hallway.

"What are those red things?" Ron asked.

Kim answered, "Lasers."

Shego rolled her eyes. "Duh."

Mr. Paisley, hearing the conversation, told them, "Yes. We would like to have those shut off. Please!"

The salesman said confidently, "Paisley, you can relax. Team Impossible can handle this."

Ron said uncertainly, "Uh... Yes, that's us!"

Shego rolled her eyes, while Ron elbowed Kim and whispered, "Good name... we could use that."

Kim spoke up so Mr. Paisley and the salesman could hear her easily. "Just tell me what I need to do!"

The Salesman answered, "Get that remote! But avoid the beams at all cost!"

"Um... Okay." Kim backed up a bit, then ran forward and jumped over the beams near the hallway. Landing in an open spot, she immediately jumped again, using acrobatic jumps and flips to make her way through the maze of beams. Finally she landed near the remote, and reaching between the beams with her leg, pushed the button with the toe of her shoe.

The lasers immediately shut off.

Mr. Paisley got to his feet, and the salesman put his foot down in relief. Looking at his savior, the salesman said in shock "A young girl?"

"Hey, I'm not that young!" Kim protested.

Ron and Shego walked over. Ron told him, "That'd be Kim Possible. She can do anything!" He put his hand on the salesman's shoulder, but the salesman immediately removed it. Undaunted, Ron continued, "Look us up online – we're world-wide, baby!"

...Meanwhile, in a room just off the room with the laser defense grid, the pre-teen Drakken and Killagain watched the goings on.

Drakken whined, "We missed our chance! Where is Monkey Fist?!"

Killagain complained, "He has the power of time-travel, and he's late!"

Just then, a red portal opened up, and the (fully adult) Monkey Fist stepped out. "Calm yourself, Killagain. I've returned, and I've brought a little piece of the past with me."

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The Present (Sunday Afternoon):

As Ron and Rufus dug into their Nacos, Kimberly said with a strange combination of relief and disgust, "It's nice to know some things haven't changed..."

Ron, Kim, Kimberly, and Shego were all sharing a booth at Bueno Nachos. Ron and Rufus each had a large plate of Nacos, while Kim and Shego had slightly more balanced meals (as balanced as a fast-food restaurant's fare can get, anyway).

Kimberly looked at her own meal and scowled. "I can't believe you got me a kid's meal, Kim!" she growled.

Kim shrugged, "Actually, Shego ordered it for you. Blame her."

Kimberly turned her scowl on Shego.

Shego smiled. "Hey, you're a kid again, you should enjoy it while it lasts."

"I don't want to be a kid!"

"Tough. I didn't want to be a kid, either, but neither of us had or have any choice. So you might as well learn to make the best of it."

Kimberly turned to her meal without answering and started eating, the scowl on her face making her look like a typical petulant child.

Shego focused on her own food for a minute or two, then she turned back to Kimberly. "Speaking of enjoying – or at least accepting – being a kid again, I really think you should reconsider this whole jumping back into high-school thing. So what if you have the grades for it? There's no way the other high-schoolers are going to accept an apparent four-year-old as their equal; and meanwhile you'll be missing out on the opportunity to have fun with kids your physical age, playing in ways adults are discouraged from doing."

Ron added, "I'm a bit jealous. Getting to act like a kid again sounds like a lot of fun."

Kim teased, "But you still act like a kid!"

Ron pouted. "Do not."

Ignoring their antics, Kimberly argued, "I don't want to have to go through years of school all over again... And have you thought about how boring going through the early grades again would be like? ...Heck, you don't have to think about it – you lived it!"

"Yeah, I did. And it wasn't as bad as I expected. You'd be surprised how much you've forgotten or missed the first time around..."

"It can't be enough to justify taking ten years out of your life to relearn it. And don't tell me you weren't still bored most of the time."

"Well, yeah, I guess I was... but that just gave me more time for goofing off."

"Some people prefer to spend their time productively." Kimberly countered.

Kim cut in. "Don't tell me, in addition to being a goody-goody, you're also a workaholic and an overachiever?"

"I'm not a workaholic!" Kimberly protested.

Shego raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you do for fun?"

"...Er... Well, I watch a little television, and I listen to music...." Kimberly failed to mention that in the old timeline she had precious little time for even those two forms of recreation between school, missions, cheer practice, and volunteering.

Ron asked (wanting to have some part in the conversation), "Really? What shows, and what music?"

"Well, a few daytime soaps (I used to tape them to watch after school)... And during their heyday, I was a big fan of the Oh Boyz..."

Kim buried her face in her hands. "Soaps? And the Oh Boyz?! Can you get any more stereotypical or shallow?"

"And this is better than you, still watching cartoons?" Kimberly shot back.

Kim scowled at her. "I'll have you know the Anime I watch these days is all made for teens and adults!"

Shego shook her head. "Anyway, as I was saying, you've got a once-in a lifetime opportunity here, one most people don't get. I just think you should give serious consideration to taking advantage of it."

Kimberly sighed. "Look, I've already discussed this with my parents, and taken the placement tests. I'll keep what you said in mind if things don't work out, but I really want to try this."

Shego shrugged. "Suit yourself."

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The Past

"Is that a Flamingoat?" Kim asked Mr. Paisley. "They're the rarest of cuddlebudies – they only made --"

Paisley and Kim said together, "Ten!"

Kim said, "This so blows my pandaroo out of the water. I never thought I'd even see one of these. My life is complete!"

Drakken stepped out. "Good. Then you won't mind if we end it!"

Shego assumed a fighting stance, and growled out, "Dr. D."

Cracks spread across the wall, and a stone golem burst through the wall, it's form that of a gorilla with glowing eyes and brandishing a stone sword.

Ron said in fear, "Giant monkey! Ahh! Sick & wrong!" and started running around mindlessly. Shego slapped her forehead.

The security salesman said, "Mr. Paisley, I think we should be going."

Monkey Fist called out, "Kim Possible, meet the stone guardian of Setsuma… or, should I say, 'Meet... your doom!'" He gave a monkey laugh at his joke.

As she dodged the Gorilla's sword, Kim said, "So let me guess – you're here to kill me because of all the times I beat you in what is my future and your past."

Drakken's jaw dropped. "How did you know that?"

"After Shego told us about her past, it wasn't hard to figure out."

Shego leaped at the gorilla, sending blasts of plasma ahead of her. "Hey, tall-dark-and-stony! Try picking on someone who can fight back!" The blasts didn't seem to particularly damage the gorilla, but they did get its' attention. Shego followed the blasts up with a couple of plasma-enhanced punches that left small cracks in the giant stone golem's chest. The gorilla golem then slapped Shego away with its' free hand, but Shego rolled in the air and landed on her feet.

Monkey Fist growled out, "Shego, you traitor! You're supposed to be helping us kill Kim Possible – not defending her!"

Drakken explained, "She was a little angry we left her behind in the past."

Monkey Fist shook his head. "That's the trouble with hired help. They just don't understand that the needs of the leader outweigh the needs of the follower. That's why I prefer the company of my Monkey Ninjas."

While the gorilla was distracted by Shego, Kim darted in and kicked at it. "Ow!" She complained as she backed away. "Okay, kicking a statue was not the brightest of ideas..."

Killagain placed a golf-ball on the ground, and took aim at it with his golf-club. "It be one thing if ye just quit on us, Shego... But interferin' in our plans? Fer that ye got ta be punished!" He swung, sending the ball Shego's way. Alerted by Killagain's monologue, Shego noticed the ball in time to dodge out of the way of the explosion.

While the Stone Guardian of Setsuma returned to swinging its' sword at Kim, Shego was forced to dodge a series of Killagain's exploding golf-balls. Meanwhile, Ron continued to run around in terror.

Realizing Kim couldn't do anything on her own to damage the stone gorilla, Shego made her way towards the giant as she dodged, eventually tricking Killagain into sending several golf-balls towards the giant. When Shego dodged out of the way yet again, the balls exploded against the giant's back, making several larges cracks in it and causing the giant to stumble.

The giant turned and scowled at Killagain.

Monkey Fist screeched at Killagain, "Watch where you're aiming, you idiot!"

"Shut ye trap, ye mangy mongrel!" Killagain said angrily, swinging his club at Monkey Fist, who leaped back out of the way.

"How dare you?!" Monkey Fist demanded, stepping forward inside Killagain's swing and punching him in the eye.

As Killagain and Monkey Fist brawled, Drakken said quietly, almost afraid to be heard, "Um, guys? Shouldn't we be focused on Possible, Shego, and the Buffoon?"

Meanwhile, Kim took advantage of the gorilla's distraction to catch her breath. With the gorilla looking away and not doing anything, even Ron calmed down enough to stop running around aimlessly.

Kim called out to her companions, "We need a strategy!"

Shego charged up her fists, taking her glow to a more intense level than she usually did when facing people. "How about this one? We hit the statue as hard as we can until it falls!" She ran around behind the gorilla and fired her blasts into the cracks in its' back. The giant shuddered, then swung around and brought its' sword down where Shego had been standing. Shego leaped out of the way, then tried to run around behind the giant. However, the Guardian turned with her, continuing to attack.

Hoping to distract it, Kim darted in and leaped up, kicking the gorilla in the chest where Shego had punched it earlier. Her attack didn't cause any visible damage, but she did get the Guardian's attention. Reminded of it's primary target, the Guardian returned to attacking Kim – which gave Shego time to get behind the Guardian again.

Shego leaped onto the Guardian's back and began pounding the cracks with her plasma-enshrouded fists. Slowly the cracks began to widen. The Guardian spared enough attention to her to swat at her with it's free hand, but Shego just threw herself off its' back, tossing several more volleys of plasma into the cracks even before she landed. The Guardian stumbled and fell to one knee.

Meanwhile, Ron was focusing on anything but the giant monkey. Spotting the three villains, he considered trying to capture them or something; but abandoned that idea when he realized the level Killlagain and Monkey Fist were fighting each other at was far beyond what he'd been able to pick up from his lessons with Kim and Shego.

As his eyes continued to wander, Ron spotted the remote for the laser array. "Gee, it's kinda dangerous to leave that lying around. Someone could accidentally turn it back on. ...Wait a minute..." Ron dashed over to the remote, and picked it up. He then stepped over to a spot he thought he remembered being safe, and called out, "Kim, Shego, duck!"

Kim and Shego glanced at him in time to see him press the button on the remote.

Kim and Shego looked around themselves as quickly as possible as the lasers started to form, and leaped to safe locations. Ron discovered he hadn't quite judged the safe-spot correctly, but luckily the only casualty was his pants (and his pride). The Guardian wasn't fast enough or small enough to do the same even if it had understood what was going on. Within moments the lasers had carved so many holes in it its' hide resembled Swiss Cheese.

As the remains of Ron's pants hit the floor around Ron's feet, leaving Ron in his boxers, Rufus crawled out of his pocket sleepily, and asked, "Huh?"

The glow in the Guardian's eyes cut out, and it fell to the floor, the lasers carving it up into rubble as it fell through them.

Ron pressed the off button, then quickly scooped up Rufus. "Are you alright little buddy?" The mole-rat nodded, and snuggled into his hands.

Meanwhile, the sound of the Stone Guardian of Setsuma falling to pieces hadn't distracted Killagain and Monkey fist from their fight, but the silence that followed did.

The two bruised and battered villains looked up to see Kim Possible and Shego advancing on them menacingly (and a pants-less Ron Stopable following the two reluctantly).

"Uh-oh..." all three villains intoned.

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The Present, Tuesday:

"Make room and hand over the remote, little sis!" Jim said. Tim added, "Yeah, you got to sit around and watch TV all day; now it's our turn to use the tube!"

Kimberly moved over to make room, but then crossed her arms. "I'll have you know I have plenty of other things to do with my day than just watch television!"

"Such as?"

"Practicing my martial arts, reading the textbooks from the classes I want to join this year so I don't fall behind, personalize my room, and doing chores to help out Mom and Dad."

"What, you mean you haven't snooped around Kim's room yet?" Tim said incredulously.

"Er..."

Jim added, "I mean, you've got to be curious about the differences and similarities between the two of you."

"Well, I am curious, but I couldn't invade her privacy like that..."

"How much?"

"Huh?"

"What do you want in exchange for what you've found out?"

"I told you I haven't looked into her stuff!"

Jim and Tim said together, "Riigghhtt, sure you haven't."

"Look, do you want to watch TV, Tweebs, or what?"

Jim said, "If you insist." Tim added, "But if you really haven't yet, you should do it soon, before Kim thinks to threaten you like she did us."

Mrs. Possible stepped into the room. "I'm afraid Kimberly isn't going to have much time for sibling espionage. I just got word back from the school today. Kimberly's been accepted into Middleton High! She starts next Monday."

Kimberly said happily, "Yes!"

Jim and Tim rolled their eyes. "It figures," Tim said. Jim finished, "our little sister's more of a prodigy than us!"

Mrs. Possible said, "Don't complain. You know you could skip a few grades if you would put more effort into English and Social Studies."

The twins looked at each other. Tim asked Jim, "Maybe we should put that extra effort in so we can keep our sisters company all day. What do you think?"

"Hicka bicka boo!" Together they said, "Poo-sha!", jumped off the couch, and ran up the stairs.

Kimberly slapped her forehead. "Just great."

Mrs. Possible smiled, "Don't worry, even for them raising their grades enough to transfer to Middelton High will take months. And seeing as this seems to be something they came up with on a whim, I doubt they'll be able to keep it up long enough – though I must admit I wouldn't be disappointed if they did manage it..."

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The Past:

Drakken turned to Monkey Fist. "Quick! The Tempus Simia!"

Monkey Fist started to reach into his shirt, but Shego cried, "Oh no you don't!" and threw a ball of plasma at him, forcing him to dodge. Shego ran at him and began to trade blows with him.

Meanwhile Kim walked towards Killagain. She might have been intimidated by his muscles, if it weren't for her martial arts training and the fact that he was currently disheveled and bruised from his fight with Monkey Fist. "Just give it up, Skirt-Boy. I beat you in the future, and I even beat all three of you at once back in Pre-K. You don't stand a chance."

"Ach! We'll see about that, lassie!" Being in too close quarters for using his golf-balls, he instead swung his club at Kim. However, just as with Monkey Fist, Kim was easily able to dodge, thanks to her gymnastic skills.

Ron walked over to Drakken. "So, you're a super villain... and according to Shego, Kim and I are going to be non-super-powered crime fighters... So I guess I've gotta try and capture you, huh?"

Drakken smirked. "That's what you think! I've almost beaten you before, when you were older. So I actually stand a pretty good chance of beating you now!" Drakken lunged at Ron, his hand raised to deliver a mighty slap. However, Ron stepped to the side, grabbed Drakken, and used Drakken's momentum to send him flying.

Drakken landed hard over a yard away. As he got his feet, he whined, "No one told me he knew martial arts!"

While continuing to fight Shego, Monkey Fist rolled his eyes. "I don't know about this time period, but in our own he was a Master of Tai Shing Pe Kwar, much as myself!"

Ron blinked. "A master of what?"

Shego explained, "Monkey Kung-Fu."

Ron shuddered. "Eew! Why would I want to learn that?!"

Drakken approached Ron cautiously, hoping that if he didn't go rushing in, he'd fare better. However, Ron charged him this time. Drakken was punched several times in the face and chest; then before he knew what was going on he found himself on the floor, with Ron on top of him holding Drakken's arms behind his back painfully.

"Give up?" Ron asked.

"Fine, fine!"

"Boo-ya! You know, after sparring with Kim and Shego, I thought my skills were pretty lame – but compared to a non-fighter like you, my skills are awesome!"

Meanwhile, Killagain continued to swing at Kim, while Kim dodged around the swings as best she could and darted in when there was an opening to punch or kick him. He was now sporting several new injuries, and was starting to waver on his feet, but he had gotten a few blows in too; one blow to her right forearm still hurt and was likely going to leave a nasty bruise, while a glancing blow to her head had given her a headache and might have taken her out of the fight if it had hit at a different angle. (It was a golf-club designed for use in battle, after all.)

Shego and Monkey Fist were trading punches and kicks; Monkey fist was also occasionally pulling out knives and shuriken to use against Shego, while Shego was also using her plasma in both short-range and long-range capacities.

"As a master of Tai Shing Pe Kwar my skills in the martial arts are far superior to yours; I also possess the Mystical Monkey Power," Monkey Fist taunted Shego as he leaped away from a swipe of Shego's claws. "You have no hope of beating me!"

Shego took a moment to wipe some blood away from the corner of her mouth and assess the situation. She knew she had some cuts from Monkey Fist's knives, as well as a few future bruises. Meanwhile, Monkey Fist was disheveled and he and his gi bore cuts and burn marks from her own attacks. Thus far the battle had been pretty much even.

"My martial arts may not be as exotic as yours, but they get the job done just the same. And in case you didn't notice, I have some powers of my own." She lit up her her hand for emphasis.

"I suppose I'll just have to prove my superiority then, by beating you to a pulp!" Monkey Fist launched himself at her again, and Shego met him halfway with her blazing fist.

Meanwhile, Kim had managed to wrestle Killagain's golf-club away from him, and brought the fight to a conclusion by applying it to his head in a similar manner to how he had attempted to apply it to hers.

"Man, I wish I had brought some rope," Kim said. "It would be nice to have him restrained if he wakes up before the Police get here." Deciding to improvise, she pulled off his shirt and used it to tie his arms.

She turned and saw Ron on the floor, still keeping Drakken from running. "Eew!" she said, quickly turning away. "Just use his shirt to tie his arms, like I did, Ron! Seeing you lying there on top of him like that without any pants is... well, to borrow one of your phrases, 'sick and wrong'!"

"Huh?" Ron asked cluelessly; he looked down at himself and Drakken; after a moment it struck him and he jumped up away from Drakken. "Eww! Eww! Eww!"

Shaking her head, Kim turned her attention to the battle between Shego and Monkey Fist. She wanted to believe Shego would win, but the battle looked rather even. More frightening was the fact that Monkey Fist was using real weapons, and both were fighting with the intent to cause serious injury, maybe even death.

Kim frowned, and tested the weight of Killagain's club, still in her hand.

Shego came at Monkey Fist with the claws on both hands. Monkey Fist grabbed her hands with his own, and tried to get in the proper position to deliver a kick. Before he could, Shego inflamed her hands, forcing him to activate the glow of his Monkey Powers to protect his hands. Shego pushed with her hands, trying to get at him with her claws, but he resisted, and kneed her in the stomach. This knocked the wind out of her, causing her to loose the strength to her attack. Monkey Fist let her go, backed up, and delivered a kick to the same spot on her stomach, sending her to the floor.

The wind still knocked out of her, Shego forced herself to her knees, and tried to get to her feet. Meanwhile, Monkey Fist walked towards her, smiling cruelly at her weakness. ...Then a titanium driver hit him in the head, sending him into darkness.

Shego looked up at Kim, who was standing there holding the club and grinning.

Shego's smile said "Thanks," but the words that came weakly from her mouth were, "I could have beaten him on my own."

Kim shrugged. "I was getting bored waiting for you to finish with him," she said, though her expression answered Shego's with a "Your welcome."

Shego made her way over to Monkey Fist, reached into his gi, and pulled out a stone idol of a Monkey. "And here's the cause of all this trouble..."

Kim eyed the idol. "So that's the Tempus Simia, huh?"

"The same."

Ron came over to look at it, then quickly backed away. "You didn't say it looked like a monkey!"

Shego gave a sly smile and shrugged. "You didn't ask."

Ron scowled at her.

Kim asked, "So... what are you going to do with it...?" Kim tried not to let the fear and uncertainty she felt over the prospect of Shego leaving for what Shego considered "the present" come out in her voice; but she didn't quite succeed.

Her voice far more casual than Kim's, but masking equal uncertainty, Shego shrugged again and said, "I haven't decided yet."

Ron spoke up. "By the way, while I was tying up the blue guy, I found this. This must be that Juvinator thing?" He held up a device made of a white rod surrounded by colored rings.

Shego breathed in sharply. "Be careful with that thing. You could turn yourself into a toddler if you hit the wrong button."

Ron looked offended. "Of course I'm being careful with it. I'm always careful!"

Shego shook her head. "Look, just leave it with Doctor D, and let the police figure out what to do with it."

Kim looked surprised. "You haven't decided yet what you're going to do with the monkey idol, but you already know you're not going to use the Juvenator?"

Shego paused for a moment, then shrugged."I've gotten used to being a kid. Plus, Little Boy Blue's devices have a bad habit of not working as advertised; I'm not sure I trust it to transform me back right, especially seeing as how I've aged seven years since I was first transformed. ...Besides, I can always steal it back if I change my mind."

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The Present (Thursday Afternoon):

"What will it take for me to get back to my old skill?" Kimberly exclaimed in frustration from under Shego's foot.

"Don't sweat it too much, Princess. You actually held out surprisingly long considering I've had twelve years to not only recover my skills but expand on them, and you've only had your new body for a week or so."

Kim, who had been watching, nodded as Shego helped Kimberly up. "In fact, I think you're good enough now that if you want to go on missions with us, you could."

Kimberly's eyes widened. "Me, go on missions with you guys...?"

Shego shrugged. "Sure, why not. We already put up with Ron; another deadweight won't make much of a difference."

Kim put her hands on her hips. "Ron is not deadweight!"

Shego considered this. "I suppose you're right. Someone needs to carry Rufus around, after all."

Kim rubbed her forehead. "That's not what I meant."

Kimberly said, "Look, I'm honored you think I'm ready, and getting back into the world-saving business does sound good... It's just, I'm not sure what to think of doing it for money..."

Shego replied, "Hey, don't knock it until you've tried it."

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The Past:

Mr. Paisley told the Police, "Officers, take them away!"

As they were herded to the van, Monkey Fist complained, "But, you can't leave us here in the past!"

Killagain agreed, "Aye, we'll face years of deja vu!"

Drakken added, "It will throw the timestream into chaos!"

As he pushed Drakken into the van, one of the officers muttered, "Mmm... yeah, like I haven't heard that one before."

Nearby, Mr. Paisley had turned his attention to Kim, Ron, and Shego. "I'm really grateful to you three for stopping those hoodlums – who knows what they might have done if you weren't there?"

Ron blinked. "But they were--"

Shego elbowed him. "Don't interrupt."

Mr. Paisley continued, "I'm especially thankful to you, Miss Possible, for rescuing me." He frowned, and said quietly, "So how much do I owe you?"

Kim looked surprised, and said, "You don't-- mmph!" Shego covered Kim's mouth with her palm.

Shego thought quickly, then answered, "Five hundred each for the three 'hoodlums', another five for Kimmie's laser dance, and a thousand for the giant stone monkey."

Shego removed her hand from Kim's mouth while Ron and Mr. Paisley tried to calculate Shego's prices out in their heads.

Kim said quietly, so only Shego could hear. "I would have done it for free."

Shego asked equally quietly, "Would you have babysat for free?"

"No. But that's different, no one's life is on the line when I babysit."

Ron finished calculating, and his eyes widened in shock.

Continuing the quiet conversation, Shego pointed out to Kim, "In case you've forgotten, your life was on the line – and you deserve to get something back for taking that risk."

Kim had to concede that point. "But still... Three thousand dollars?! Isn't that a bit much?"

"He's rich. He can afford it."

Mr. Paisley spoke up. "While I admit your services were quite impressive, not to mention necessary, my funds are a bit low thanks to having just put in that laser defense system... and I'm going to need to devote some funds to repairing that wall... How about fifteen hundred and each of you gets to pick out a Cuddlebuddy – other than Flamingoat of course."

Kim glanced at Shego, and whispered, "You said he could afford it."

Shego pulled out a nail file and began filing her nails. To Kim, she whispered, "He can; he's just being stingy." To Paisley, she said, "Ron and I aren't Cuddlebuddies fans..."

Paisley offered, "Two thousand, two hundred fifty, and Miss Possible gets to pick out a Cuddlebuddy other than Flamingoat?"

Shego glanced at Kim, and raised an eyebrow.

Kim turned to Mr. Paisley and nodded. "Deal."

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The Present (Friday Afternoon):

Kimberly looked around Kim's room nervously. She was home alone again, and it would be several hours before Kim and the Tweebs got home from school. So long as she didn't disturb anything and left before they got home, no one would need to know she had even been in here.

To tell the truth, she wasn't quite sure why she was in here. Her curiosity about her counterpart was certainly a factor... And the Tweebs had practically dared her to snoop around in the room (not that she intended to reveal to them anything she found). There was also the fact that this was her last chance to snoop around in Kim's room – over the weekend there would always be some else home, and come Monday she'd be starting school.

She started by just walking around the room, looking at everything. She'd seen most of it that first night and morning, when she'd slept in the room, but there were details she'd missed. ...For instance, Pandaroo wasn't the only Cuddlebuddy on Kim's bed.

"A Owligator?! How the heck did she get one of those?!" Owligators were among the more rare of Cuddlebuddies; Kimberly had never seen one in the stores, and they were known to go for several hundred dollars at auction...

Kimberly felt a pang of jealousy looking at this Cuddlebuddy. "Was she just in the right place at the right time? Did she buy it with the money she makes on missions? ...She better not have stolen it..."

Kimberly crossed her arms and frowned. "It's bad enough she's stolen my life, now she has stuff I would have liked to have but never did!" Kimberly's eyes widened at this mental slip-of-the-tongue. "Stolen my life? Is that how I think of her?" In some ways it was true - Kim had taken the place she was familiar with in school, in the world-saving business, in her friendship with Ron, and in her family. However, Kimberly knew in her head that Kim wasn't at fault in this, and that Kim had as much if not more right to those places than Kimberly; there also wasn't any reason she couldn't build new places for herself. She hadn't realized until now that her heart wasn't listening to the wisdom of her mind.

Even before meeting Kim, Kimberly had been annoyed by many of Kim's choices in life - stealing, taking money for good deeds, trusting Shego; and the list just grew after meeting her. Kim's attitude also grated on Kimberly. Kimberly had assumed these facts were why she resented Kim so much; now Kimberly realized there was another level to it. But how could she convince her heart it was wrong, that Kim wasn't at fault for taking Kimberly's place?

"I could always just focus all the blame on Shego.... She was the one who changed history." This was familiar territory; she had mentally raged at Shego many times since arriving in this timeline. However, now that she thought about it, blaming Shego was just as illogical as blaming Kim. Shego had been trapped in the past and had done what she needed to survive; considering her knowledge of the future and her disposition (not to mention eventually getting her hands on the Tempus Simia), Shego had really behaved herself. (On the other hand, Shego could be blamed for being a bad influence on Kim...)

"Well, at least I can blame Monkey Fist, Killagain, and Drakken for coming up with the crazy time-travel plot and for leaving Shego behind in the past... Although, now that I think of it, I could have let them go, gotten Shego myself, and let Rufus 3000 track the others... Okay, well, I can still blame them for coming up with the scheme... and Drakken for juvenating me." Kim's eyes narrowed. Not having a place in the timeline hurt a lot, but she was starting to realize that the main fault there lie belonged not to any person, but to temporal mechanics. On the other hand, her juvenation was completely the fault of her version of Dr. Drakken. "Oooh! When I see you next time, you're really going to get it!"

Forgetting entirely about her tentative plan of snooping around Kim's room, Kimberly headed downstairs and outside to vent her anger with some martial arts practice.

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The Past:

Shego sat on her bed, contemplating the stone monkey idol in front of her. With it, she could return to the present – except she knew that with the changes she'd made, the world and life she'd left behind wasn't there anymore.

Undoing the changes in history she'd made wouldn't be that hard – all she had to do was go back in time and "rescue" her past self right after she'd been abandoned... However, they'd need to retrieve the Juvinator, and one of them would need to risk using it if either of them wanted to resume her place in what they used to think of as the "present".

The risk of using the Juvinator wasn't what made Shego hesitate to go through with this plan, though. Rather, it was the fact that it would mean leaving behind the Kim and Ron she knew, and returning to a world where they were her enemies. Although the pre-time-travel Shego would have been shocked by it, Kim and Ron had become very close friends to her, friends she couldn't bear the thought of abandoning. ...As if this wasn't enough to dissuade her from restoring the old timeline, there was also the fact that to fully restore the timeline Clarice and Andrew Gonzales would have to be allowed to be killed by the rainbow comet...

Of course, there were other options as to what she could do with the Tempus Simia.

She could get rich by putting money in a bank in the past and letting interest accumulate over decades, or by using knowledge of the future to play the stock market. The fact that this would be considered "cheating" by many didn't bother her in the least – after all, the thrill of breaking the rules was one of the things that had attracted her to thievery in the first place. On the other hand, thievery had lost it's thrill over time, leading to her adding "hired muscle" to her resume; she suspected "making money through time-travel" would eventually loose its' thrill too. ...Besides, she would be limited in the types of transactions she could make and what she could do with her money until she was out of foster care (or unless she used the Juvenator to become adult)...

If Shego had gotten her hands on the Tempus Simia back when she had been working for Drakken, she might have considered using it to put herself in a position to conquer the world. Certainly it would go well with the "making money through time-travel" scheme. However, having spent seven years without the company of megalomaniacs, she could no longer remember why conquering the world ever sounded like a good idea. Once she had it, what would she do with it?!

On the other side of the spectrum, if the Kim from the old timeline had the Time Monkey she would probably use it to learn about tragedies and catastrophes, and go back in time to prevent or lessen them. In a way, this was what Shego had done when she prevented her parents from being killed by the comet. However, even if Shego was selfless enough to go out of her way to rescue strangers when there was no profit involved for her (and she wasn't that selfless), countless tragedies happened every day across the world, had been happening since the dawn of time, and would continue to happen as long as there were people for them to happen to. There was no way a single person could right every single wrong that ever had or would occur, even using time-travel, and that being the case how would one decide which ones were worth correcting?

In the end, Shego decided it all boiled down to the fact that while things were far from perfect, she was happy with her life, something she hadn't been able to say for many years, and those problems she did have (such as meddling foster parents) couldn't be solved by time travel without causing even more problems. So she wouldn't be using the Tempus Simia any time soon, if ever.

This left her with the question of what to do with it. She couldn't just store it in her room, or donate it to some museum. (And she definitely couldn't sell it!) It was too dangerous to allow to fall into anyone else's hands. Not only were there many out there who would seek to use the Tempus Simia for evil should they know of its' powers (herself once having been one of them), but even if someone with good intentions were to use it, they risked undoing what Shego had created.

Nodding to herself, Shego used her claws to pluck out the idol's gemstone eyes. She then went over to her closet, removed several boxes, and pried up a loose floorboard. Reaching into the hole, she pulled out a four-by-four-by-eight-inch metal box. She picked the lock (the box had no key) and opened the box to reveal several gems and pieces of jewelry she had stolen in this "lifetime". She deposited the eyes of the Simia in the box, satisfied that while she would be able to tell them from the other gems, no one who hadn't seen the Time Monkey would know they were any more valuable than anything else in the box. She closed the box back up, locked it, and placed it back under the floorboards. She closed the floor back up, then put the rest of the contents of her closet back in place, except for an old, beat up backpack.

Shego put the eye-less Tempus Simia in the backpack, then headed down to her foster parents' garage. Grabbing a shovel, she then headed out for a "walk".

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The Present (Friday Evening):

In an underground bunker outside of Middleton, two figures waited at a table in a small room. The walls and door of the room were high-tech, with strategically placed keypads & screens. The table and chairs were designed to fit this decor.

On one side of the table and requiring a chair big enough to monopolize two spots was what appeared to be a man - however, few men ever grew to his height, or attained muscles as bulky as his. Those bulging muscles seemed to cover every inch of his body, and the veins that could be seen running over them seemed to wriggle and squirm whenever he moved. He wore red pants and black boots , and the only hair on his body was a short beard..

Across from the huge man sat someone who looked like an older version of Monkey Fist - the top of his head was bald, his skin had some wrinkles, and his hair and fur was mostly gray with some traces of white.

The door swished open mechanically, and a figure in a dark blue trench/lab-coat walked in. His eyes were yellow and slitted, while his skin was covered in blue scales.

"Monkey Fist" sneered. "So, you're finally here. I find it ironic that you should be the last to arrive when you were the one who called this meeting."

The muscle-man nodded. "Aye. So what did ye want to discuss?"

The blue lizard-man smiled, revealing pointy teeth. "The time has come to begin the final stage of our plan..."

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Next: Firsts... and Lasts

Author's Note: We're nearing the finish line; I predict one, maybe two chapters more.

The inspiration being so close to done gives me might just be enough to get the next chapter out in a few weeks. However, given the fact that I still need to refine the plot for the next chapter, and that I was thinking of getting in new chapters to a few other fics, a few months is a more realistic timeframe.

...I'll try not go years between updates again if I can help it.