I do not own Kim Possible, or the Disney characters named within. I am only borrowing them for a story parody, not for profit, but purely amusement purposes.

Kim Possible: Devil's Child

By LJ58

Part 1:

"Recon flight, report."

"This is Hawk II to Mother. We've got five small islands below, as reported. One looks scoured. Two are nothing but mountainous peaks. Two possibles. Repeat, two possibles."

"Roger, Hawk II," another voice broke in. "This is Hawk III. Switch to IFR and motion sensors. Check for life signs, and any electronic presence."

"Recalibrating now, Hawk III," the second voice replied.

"Hawk V," the first voice replied. "Are you in position to confirm Hawk II's results?"

"Roger that, Mother. We are coming over the site now, and have the two possibles in sight.

"Circling to commence scans now."

"Passive scans only," the third voice reminded them. "We don't want to trigger….."

"Inbound! We have two bogies inbound," Hawk V reported, his voice raised a bit higher than normal.

"Retreat to suborbital posture, and use full shields," Hawk III radioed.

"Going vertical," the high altitude spy plane replied as it did just that with a roar of engines built both for speed and power by its designer.

"Hawk III spots two missiles tracking. Repeat, two missiles tracking."

"Shields up now," Hawk III shouted into the radio. "Hawk V, do you copy? Shields….."

The explosion was deafening. The second obscuring the first, and after a long, tense moment, a faint static burst and crackle filled the coms. "Hawk V reporting. The shields held. Thanks, Hawk III."

"No big," the female voice replied. "Hawk II," she went on. "Passive scans only. Repeat that."

"Roger that, Hawk III. Passive scans only."

"Orders," Hawk V asked.

"Stay suborbital, and out of the way. If you were spotted, then something on your ship is malfunctioning."

"Roger that Hawk III. Hawk V is babysitting."

"Hawk III, report status?"

"We are inbound, and approaching the lagoon," Hawk III reported to 'Mother.' "So far, all defenses were neutralized, or failed to detect us. With a little more luck, we'll be on the beach in five minutes."

"Roger that," Mother replied. "Remember who we're dealing with here, and stay tight."

"How could I forget, Mother," Hawk III replied with a rather sardonic drawl. "We've only been after Alpha One for eleven years."

"Just remember what happened to everyone else that got this close."

"No big," she replied again. "I've been ready for this sitch for twelve years," she shot back.

"Don't get cocky, Possible," a male voice shot back. "This is a team effort. Let's remember that this time."

"Like you did in Hong Kong," she retorted at the new presence on the coms.

"Behave children," Mother spat.

"One minute to the beach. I've definitely detected an electronic barrier. Firing our EMP emitters," Kim Possible, agent of Global Justice told Dr. Director, still the top seat in the U.N. agency for combating terrorism and alpha level threats across the world.

"Hawk II. Hawk V. Wait for my signal to land," Hawk III replied. "We're going up…..now!"

KP

Of all the things Kim expected as the GJ submersible that held a strike team of thirty men hit the beach, it was not a ten year old child rising from her sand castle to gape at them before turning to run into the jungle screaming, "Mommy!" at the top of her lungs.

A green-skinned child with thick, black hair.

"Was that…..?"

"Focus on our primary target, gentlemen," Kim snapped, and grabbed a special rifle she had built just for this job. Every man on the team held one already cocked, and ready. "And if the child is hers, treat her accordingly if she becomes hostile."

"But…..she's just a kid."

"So was the target when she was first mutated, and she was dangerous even then. Remember that."

They burst from the hatch in three teams of ten, Kim leading the second.

"Team two," she pointed. "Focus on the child. Contain and secure as necessary. Team three, flank and support. Team one, you're with me. We go right for the habitat."

"Roger," the squad leader replied said, looking a little too trigger happy for her liking, but this was a truly dangerous mission, and every one of them knew that fact. Men had died hunting Shego these past few years. If that really were her kid, she could almost understand.

Almost.

All three teams split up, and raced through the jungle. Wary of traps, they were still fast, and weren't more than two minutes behind the kid when they spotted the porch.

Shego stood on the top step, her once dark hair almost all white now, her face paler than usual. She wore only a thin, green sundress, and the child stood just behind her, staring at them with wide, frightened eyes.

"Just….go away," Shego said when Kim signaled her men to stop. "Please."

"Changing tactics, Shego," Kim asked grimly. "It doesn't matter. You're coming with us."

"I…..I can't," she said wearily, and shook her head. "I have to stay here….."

"I'm not stupid, Shego. I can see the reason you would rather not fight. But you are coming with us. One way, or another."

"Don't hurt my mommy," the little girl screamed, and raised one hand to point at the man Kim had worried about being a loose cannon.

He had lifted his weapon, firing the expanding foam-treated cords that wound around Shego's waist and body and upper thighs, pinning her hands down, and immobilizing her. In the same instant, an explosion of green flame cored a charred hole through the squad leader's chest, and dropped him where he stood.

"Don't," Shego cried, still not moving, which confused Kim enough that she held up a hand when her men all raised their weapons to fire at once.

"Calm down, Angel," Shego was speaking to the girl, and she realized her scream had actually been for the girl. "Calm down. Okay? Deep breath. Remember? Just like we practiced….."

"But, mommy," the girl whimpered, staring at the men.

Kim had been an agent for seven years now. Ever since graduating college. Still, she retained sharp instincts, and they had never mislead her. She hoped they weren't now.

"Everyone," she spoke, glancing behind her only briefly, "Stand down."

"But, Hawk…..!"

"Stand down," she hissed.

"Awaiting your signal," a voice crackled in her ear.

"Stand by," she radioed back.

"I figured you'd show," Shego smiled weakly as Kim slowly approached her, the little girl growing visibly tenser as she did.

She stopped at the foot of the stairs, put her rifle aside, and eyed the little girl.

"I only want to talk. Okay, Angel? Is that your name?" Her green lips thinned into a tight line.

Kim looked to Shego, who looked as if she were sweating as if she had just run a marathon.

"Shego?"

"She….doesn't talk to strangers, Kimmie. I think you can…guess why," she added in that sardonic tone that was still the same.

"Are you hurt, Shego?"

"Honestly," she smiled. "I'm dying. So how about you go home, and leave me and my little girl alone."

"I can't do that, Shego. But I will hear you out."

"Commander Possible," one of the voices in her ear shouted. "You will carry out your orders."

"Unless you want another dead strike team, you will stand by, and shut your mouth," Kim spat back at the radio after Will Du all but screamed in her ear.

"It was her, wasn't it? She scoured that island," Kim asked quietly, glancing at the child.

Shego smiled. "She's not ready for the world, Kimberly," the obviously suffering woman told her. "When they surprised us last time…..she panicked. Lost control. Her powers…..they're different from mine. Sort of. She channels a hotter, deadlier energy wave than I ever did."

"Did?"

"Do you think I'm standing her for my health," she said curtly, still half bound by the energy-resistant wraps she couldn't break.

"What happened?"

"Doy. What do you think? Drakken."

Kim eyed her, and then pulled out a small, silver rod she pointed at Shego, and the chemically-treated bonds went limp, and fell from her. Shego almost fell, too when her legs were tangled by the falling bands. Kim caught her before she could fall, and Shego grinned.

"Still pretty fast there, Princess. But, blue? Trust me, it is not your color," Shego grinned as she eyed the uniform she wore, and tottered over to a porch chair to sit with a wheeze. Angel stayed very close to her mother, her eyes literally glowing with the energies contained within her. It was obvious that the child had yet to fully calm down.

"Let's talk," she suggested as Kim leaned against the railing, gesturing for her men to circle the house, but continue to stand down.

"Why not? Frankly, I'm not going anywhere. I doubt even you have anything that can hold my little Angel when she throws a tantrum," she smiled at the girl.

"We've been ordered to bring you in, Shego. The U.N. wants their alpha list cleared. So tell me what's going on? Maybe I can help."

"Like I said. I'm dying. But I'm trying to hang on long enough to teach Angela to control her powers before she does something….like that island….in the heart of a city."

"We do have new containment technologies…."

"Not for her. Trust me. We checked into them. And that should tell you how desperate I am myself. Angel has to learn to control herself. If she gets scared, or angry, or someone sets her off…..nothing, and no one, is safe in a ten mile radius when she let's go."

"I see."

"It's involuntary, Kimberly," she told her quickly. "It's not her fault. It's like…..fusion. It builds, and it just….."

"What about….chemical treatments? Behavioral drugs?"

"Yeah, because they worked so well on me," she huffed.

"Point taken. How does Drakken figure into this," she asked. "Is she….?"

"No," Shego growled, guessing what she was intimating, and looking horrified. "God, no!"

Shego stared at Kim's earnest expression, and saw beneath the gritty agent the do-gooder she remembered from years ago. Still, even she wasn't going to trust her with her darkest secret.

The night, just over ten years ago, when she woke up after being bound and drugged by new henchmen looking for a thrill. They chose to amp their own reps by putting the infamous Shego 'in her place.' They drugged and raped her most of the night. One after another. Fifteen low, scummy thugs. When she woke up the next morning she was still tied to one of their bunks. The men were all drunk, and badly hung-over.

She was past furious.

There wasn't even ash left when she walked out of the guard's barracks in the lair. But they left her with a reminder. She walked out of the lair, and never looked back.

"So," Kim asked quietly, seeing the bleak expressions flit across her face. "What is Drakken's connection here? So far as we know, he disappeared about about the same time you did. We finally found him, but he was dead when we did."

"Let me guess," she smirked. "Another experiment blew up in his face?"

"Literally," Kim nodded.

"No surprise there," she sighed, leaning her head back and closing her eyes for a moment.

"Shego?"

"Fine," she sighed again, looking back at the redhead. "It's not a big secret in my circles anyway. I'm surprised you haven't already heard. I lost my powers. Yeah, I'm still green, and have great fashion sense," she smiled, "But….everything else? Poof! Gone. Finito. You can see why I'd stay low, even without my little pumpkin here," she smiled at the child who beamed back at her mother, starting to relax, though she knew that could change in an instant as fast as she had seen that kid move earlier.

"Just around eleven years ago," she sighed. "I found out I was pregnant. I told the Doc I was quitting, but I was worried about my baby, too. I mean, poster child for normal, I am not," she smiled wanly. "He did a lot of tests, and finally figured out a way to turn off the bio-plasma in my body so there'd be no potential birth defects, or anything like that. Funny thing, I didn't miss the powers. But….not long after she was born, I….noticed things. I was getting weaker. I had….spells. I saw specialists for a while. God, I saw specialists. They all agreed. I'm a walking dead woman. I'm literally living on borrowed time now," she admitted, and Kim heard Angel whimper and sniff. "I've just held out for my kiddo here. She's worth more to me than anything in the world. And she needs my help."

"I can see that," Kim agreed.

"So….short version….I can't leave," she told Kim flatly. "Frankly, Angel isn't going to end up in one of Cyclops' damned labs, or cells. Not that she'd stay long. And they'd end up killing her if they couldn't control her. And they can't. So they would kill her. We both know that, Kimmie."

Kim said nothing to that.

"So….I just hold on, and try to teach her all I know…..about controlling herself, and her power. But she's still a kid, Kimberly. And she still gets scared. Your fascists don't help," she added, glaring at one of the men. "They're the reason our last home is toast. They came storming in like an invading army, and grabbed Angel right out of her bed. I didn't even realize what happened until the next morning when I woke up lying next to her on that crystallized beach."

"So, you can still survive her….. outbursts?"

"Barely. I'm getting weaker. I doubt I could take another full blown…tantrum."

"I won't do that, mommy," Angel touched Shego gently. "I promised."

"I know, sweetie. But mommy knows you still need help. Especially…..after I'm gone."

She turned back to Kim, eyeing her grimly.

"That's why I let you guys find us. I knew sooner or later they'd send you."

"Me," she asked. "What do you want from me, Shego?"

"Just two things," she smiled.

"I'm listening."

"To be allowed to stay here, and live out what remains of my time with my baby. And for you to take care of Angela when I'm gone. Not Global Justice. Not some damn orphanage, or government lab. Not anything like that. Just….you."

"You're asking a lot."

Shego sighed. "I know. Remember….? Remember the old days," she sighed. "You used to trade favors? Stuff like that?"

"Yes," she nodded quietly, a part of her missing those simpler times.

"Well, in the end, I recall you saying you owed me a few. I'm a proud woman, Kimberly Anne, and you know it," she said quietly, leaning forward to stare at her with overly bright green eyes. "But I'm asking you…. Begging you. Let me live my final days with my daughter. And take care of her for me afterward. I….I know it's a lot, but….you're the only person I can trust. I don't want her mixed up in our world. Not on either side. I just want her to have a chance to live a…..normal life. Is that so wrong," she asked, tears starting to fall.

"Mommy," Angela suddenly whimpered as the air began to fill with the whine of turbojets.

Kim cursed as she looked up without following the girl's finger.

"Damn him," she growled.

"Hawk II, withdraw. I repeat, withdraw. This is a direct order."

"You cannot command a senior officer, Possible," Will spat as his voice sounded over her earpiece. "We've heard enough to know Shego is neutralized, but her child remains a viable threat. You are hereby ordered to sanction her immediately."

"What," Kim and Shego both hissed as one, his voice having been loud enough to carry over her earpiece.

"You heard me, Possible. Terminate both targets. That is a direct order from the top."

"Mother, come in. This is Hawk," she called as Shego scooped her child up and clutched her to her as she looked at Kim, obviously close to panic.

"Mother confirms the order," Betty's voice finally replied wearily. "It's out of my hands, Possible. The council wants them both neutralized."

Kim glanced at the pair, and knew this had gone too far.

"The council can go to hell," she spat.

"Possible," Will's voice shouted as the hovering VTOL turned, a hatch opening as he appeared in it. "You will carry out that order."

"Since when did Global Justice turn into a band of assassins," she demanded.

"For the public good….."

"Hawk II, do you copy," Kim asked after a long, stiff silence.

"Possible," Will growled.

"I'm addressing you, James. Do you copy?"

"Roger, Hawk III. Hawk II copies."

"Hawk II, you have five seconds to vacate this airspace before I release the electronic locks on the island's G-T-A defenses. Do you copy?"

"You're bluff……."

Will's outrage was lost in a wail as the jet went vertical at almost full throttle. The pilot had worked with Kim before now. He knew she didn't bluff.

"This is Hawk to all strike teams, scrub this mission. Fall back to Hawk III, and take the sergeant's body, too. Once you are aboard, await my orders."

The men looked at one another, collected their fallen comrade, and turned to leave the area without a single protest.

"Mother, do you copy?"

"Mother copies, Kimberly. But you're really handing them your ass this time."

"I've survived worse mistakes. Besides, do you think those people could stop me if I chose to really fight back?"

"No, Kim, and that's what scares them."

"Well, what scares me is when the U.N.'s ruling council sends me in to kill a helpless mother and her child. That isn't what I signed on for, Betty," she called her pointedly. "No wonder Ron turned his back on you. Apparently, his instincts were better than mine this time."

"Kim. Give me some time. I'll try to….reason with them. But are you sure this is how you want to play it?"

"I'm not playing, Betty," Kim shot back. "But I'll give you thirty minutes, because I know who is on the council this year. Hawk III out."

"Thank you," Shego told her.

"I haven't done anything yet, Shego," she said grimly, shutting off her radio completely before she sagged against the railing, and sighed before grinning and adding, "Except maybe given them another target."

"Somehow, I don't think you'd go down as easily as I would just now," the older woman smiled.

Angela stared at her, still obviously frightened, but managing a faint smile when she looked up at her.

"Are…. Are you going to help my mommy?"

"I'm going to try," she said, smiling at the child who had spoken directly to her this time.

"Can you make her better?"

"Better," she asked quietly.

"You're her? Kim Possible? Right?"

"Yes," Kim nodded.

"Mommy says you can do anything," Angela sat up, looking more confident. "Can you save her, so she don't have to die?"

The little girl's plea struck right at her heart, and she looked at Shego with a knot in her chest. "Angela," she told her. "If I can do anything, I promise, I'm going to try."

Angela smiled happily. "Yaaaay!"

"Why….? Why don't you…..go get mommy and Ms. Possible some lemonade, honey," Shego said raggedly, her lower lip trembling.

"Okay. I'll be right back," she said, and skipped into the open house.

"She's a pretty child."

"She is," Shego smiled. "I have tried to help her, Kim. To….ready her for living…..alone, but….she's still so young."

"I can't say I know what you're going through, Shego, but you have my word. I'm not going to let anyone just murder either of you."

"Thanks, Kimmie. Considering our past, that's…..that's pretty decent of you."

"Well, like you said," she smiled, "I do owe you a few favors."

Shego laughed weakly.

"Is it….that bad?"

"Some days….not so much. Others are a real….."

"Lemonade," Angela announced as she came out with three glasses filled with icy beverage. "I made it myself," she smiled at Kim.

"Thank you, Angela," she said, taking the glass, and not realizing how thirsty she was until she drank half of it in a gulp.

"You like it?"

"I certainly do," the uniformed redhead smiled. "You make very good lemonade."

The girl beamed like any girl her age.

"So, commander," Shego grinned weakly. "You're really going to take on GJ for us?"

"Honestly? I was fast getting to this point already. That tin-plated general I just ignored has been pushing my buttons for the past three years. Still, they're just upset because I won't let GJ into my armory."

"Your…..armory?"

"Well, let's just say, I'm as much the genius as my parents or brothers. And one of only four people in the world who can work with Lorwardian tech, and get it to function."

"Ah, now I get it."

"I thought you might."

"I bet I can guess the other three."

"You probably could," she smiled, glancing at her watch. "Ten more minutes. So, Shego. What about your brothers? Did you ever consider asking….?"

"Hego? God, no. Worse than Drakken, if he were still around. Remember I said I didn't want her in my world. That includes his. The goofball would be all over her with his moronic notions of heroism the minute he saw her."

"I can understand that," Kim smiled blandly.

"So, Ron skipped the whole GJ thing?"

"He had other obligations anyway, but I don't think he trusted the council. Not with Somalia's warlords running the thing at the time."

"Money does buy anything," Shego nodded sagely, knowing how they had gotten into the U.N. at all.

"Not in my world."

"See, that's what I want her to learn. Even at your worst, you always kept your principles. I've admired that, Princess. I always have."

Kim blushed.

"Wow, and you still blush, too," Shego teased, laughing weakly, but Kim could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes.

"One minute," she said, and switched on her radio.

"This is Hawk III, standing by," she reported.

"You were off station twenty-eight minutes," Mother replied crisply.

"Private discussion. You understand."

"Anything of merit I should know."

"Nothing that would interest GJ," she pointed out firmly.

"All right. I managed to sway Councilman Van Dyke. But you might not like the terms."

"Just tell me what he said this time."

"You can forego the sanction if you remain on the island until Alpha One is expired, and then you are expected to bring the secondary….. The child to us."

"Not happening, Betty. She's a little girl, not a science experiment."

"I told him you would say that, too."

"And he said?"

"That if you didn't, you would be considered the perennial guardian of the child, with the understanding neither of you ever left that island. Not alive. I've even been ordered to prepare an initial quarantine of the entire region to ensure that happens if you prove….recalcitrant."

"So, now we're assassins, and tyrants. Outstanding, Betty. Truly. Outstanding."

"Kim…."

"Betty, tell Van Dick I resign. Furthermore, tell him that Shego and her child are under my direct and personal protection. We will stay here for now, because it's safer for them that way. Am I very clear here, Betty?"

"Yes," the woman said quietly, sounding much older than usual, which was something, since Shego knew she was getting pretty old herself. Or that was how she felt just then.

"They won't take this well, Kimberly."

"Tough. I'm pretty sure you saw it coming. But one more thing, Betty."

"Yes?"

"Tell them to stay out of my armory. If anyone tries to break my security, they won't go home happy. In fact, they won't go home."

There was silence on the other end for a long moment, then Betty said, "I will relay your….advice back to the council. You should know, however, pursuant to operating protocols, our frequencies will be switched off, and deactivated on this link in three minutes after you have announced your resignation, commander. But, you are still under a secrecy oath….."

"Goodbye, Betty."

"Goodbye, Kimberly. And…..good luck."

"Back at you. Hawk III, this is Possible. Copy?"

"Roger, commander. Standing by."

"I'm sure you monitored all that chatter, Owen. Withdraw back to the mother ship. Mission is a scrub. Understand?"

"Understood, commander. And….good luck, ma'am. Sorry about the verdict."

"Me, too, Owen. Watch your backs, guys. They may scrub you next."

She pulled off the radio, and shoved it into a uniform pocket. "So much for that. I really was ready to quit anyway."

"Were they getting that bad?"

"You have no idea," Kim sighed, shaking her head.

"Are the bad men going away," Angela asked quietly as she sipped her own lemonade, standing very close to her mother.

"They will if they're smart," she told the little girl.

"So, what next?"

Kim smiled back at Shego. "Supper? I'm starved."

"Oh, no. You're not getting near my kitchen," Shego looked panicked again.

"Hey, I've improved" Kim sputtered.

"I can cook," Angela told her.

KP

"Is she always this tired," Kim asked Angela who stood by her side in the bedroom door, looking at Shego still napping after their lunch four hours ago.

She had been happy and animated in the kitchen, cooking a quick, simple meal with her daughter, and chatting about nonsensical things as Kim watched, and occasionally commented. They ate in a fairly relaxed atmosphere considering they had once been at one another's throats on a near daily basis, and then Shego declared she needed a nap.

"Sometimes she sleeps for days. That gets scary," Angela admitted quietly. "She was happy today, though, after the bad men left. She hasn't really smiled in a long time. Not really. I think she's really glad you're here. You know, she even has your picture. It's kinda burned up, and old, but I know it's you. She stares at it sometimes, and looks kind of sad. But happy at the same time. Isn't that weird?"

"Well, maybe she's just remembering another time when she was happy," Kim suggested, surprised to learn Shego had any picture of her.

"Maybe," Angela sighed as they turned from the room.

"I'm just glad I could help," Kim told her as she followed the girl, still stunned to find not only was Shego a mother, but that she was dying. It was just so….unlikely.

"Do you think you can help her get better now?"

Kim stared down at the little girl.

A girl who had burned a hole right through a man without batting an eye for attacking her mother. One who had apparently vaporized most of an entire island just by losing her temper after she was frightened. One that just wanted her mother to get well, and take care of her.

She thought of her own mother, dead just two years now, and thought of how she felt at the time.

"I'm going to try, Angela. I gave you my promise, remember? In fact, I have a friend I'm going to go call. So don't be scared if someone new shows up later, okay?'

"Is he the monkey man?"

Kim smiled at that description as they left Shego to her nap.

"No," she laughed. "He's another friend. His name is Wade."

"The nerdy one."

Shego had apparently talked about her a lot.

"Well, he's very smart," Kim smiled. "But I'll bet you are, too."

"I guess," she sighed. "But I feel really dumb sometimes."

"We all do, Angela," Kim assured her. "Trust me. It's part of growing up."

She left Angela to watch a DVD on the surprisingly state-of-the-art entertainment center, and stepped outside to raised her left wrist, and pull back the cuff of the blue uniform she still wore. "Voiceprint authorization, KP1. Activate."

"Voiceprint accepted, Kimberly. Standing by. Orders?"

"Close on this location, and await further orders," she told the AI controlling her recently modified transport vehicle few would even recognize as the old Roth Coupe her father had given her so many years ago. Only the general frame was all that remained of the original vehicle.

The rest was all upgraded.

"Relay to Armory Control," she spoke again after touching a small switch on the band she wore. "Full defensive posture. Implement full containment measures."

"Armory Control online. Containment procedures activating. Authorization code?"

"Delta, Delta, Pi," she spoke into the bracelet that was Wade's newest Kimmunicator design that house very advanced nannite-driven bio-armor that GJ would be drooling over if they knew it existed. That was another surprise they weren't going to be getting this Christmas she decided.

"Code accepted. Procedures online. Armory is now in full defensive mode."

"Okay, then. One last thing. Give me a coded channel through any active satellite link, please."

"Checking. Checking. Checking," the linked AI on the Roth reported. "Secure link is open. You may proceed."

"Wade, it's Kim."

"I can guess. Betty is really burning some ears, and asses, girl. Do I need to ask?"

"I'm sure you already know. Wade, I need something. Something special," she told him.

"All you have to do is ask, KP," the now lean, muscular giant that had grown up into a prime specimen smiled over the small digital screen. "You know that."

"I know, Wade. But you're going to have to bring it to me. And, you'd better go super-stealth on this one."

"Understood. It may take a few days to get there, though."

"I hope we have them," she said quietly as she closed the channel after relaying her request.

Angela came out of the house even as a small, sleek coupe dropped out of the darkening sky before it landed beside her.

"Is that him?"

"Actually, this is just my car," she smiled, and opened the door to reach into the back. "I had a hunch I might need an overnight bag before long," she told her, and pulled out the small case. "Okay, Annie, find a secure location, and go full camo."

"Affirmative, Kimberly," the AI replied, and rolled off into the jungle, vanishing as it did.

"Your car talks! And turns invisible!"

"Well, it's actually the AI that runs my car," she smiled. "I call her Annie, after my mom."

"That's so cool. It's kind of like the computer that….."

Angela suddenly fell silent, realizing she had been about to blurt out things her mother said not to talk about to anyone.

"Let me guess. Your mom also has a computer running the defenses for your home, and the other stuff on the island?"

"Yeah," she nodded reluctantly with the air of a child expecting a scolding.

"Don't worry. Shego knows I'd figure that out. I expected it before I got here. That's how I managed to sneak up on you."

"You sure did scare me," she admitted, smiling again. "Can I ride in your car someday? Mommy used to take me for rides in her jet, but she gets so tired now, she never goes anywhere anymore."

"We'll see. First, why don't you show me your computer?"

Angela hesitated again.

"I'm only asking so I can see if it needs work to make it do a better job of taking care of you and your mother. After all, I'm afraid some of those people that left might try to sneak back."

Now Angela looked worried again.

"Don't worry. With me and Annie, you and your mother are going to be safe. So, how about showing me the computer so we can work on it," she smiled.

"Okay. But if mommy gets mad, I didn't say nothing," Angela said flatly, proving she wasn't completely without guile of her own.

"It'll be our secret," she winked at the child, who dangerous as she seemed, was also eager to please, and obviously happy to have someone with her.

To Be Continued……….