My hard drive looks like a builder's workbench, or an artist's studio, full of half-finished stuff. My folder for the Heroine's Legacy story literally has more than 200 files, chpt's & chpt fragments.

All the reviews from chpt 1--y'all rock. I'll adress one here--in a way. My gal Alice Shade raises some good objections. They will be addressed as the story unfolds.

The guest list of Kim's funeral is by no means complete. I consider this at best a rough draft. But I promised my readers to give them the conversations between Kim Possible and her great-grandnephew, Ron Possible.

I will probably go back and revise--FYI.

The characters mentioned in this story are drawn from DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and the Kim Possible show.

You might be able to pick out the rough spots in this chpt. Thplotline for Bonnie and Brick is from my story A Time For Tenderness. The plotline for Wade's parents is from my story Three Redheads And A Spider.

chpt 2

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(For the first time in her sixty year confinement, Kim can see the confines of her prison for more than just a few minutes a year. It is almost like being free.

Kim had read when she was younger--it seemed like another person's life--the effects of sensory deprivation on people in isolation and solitary confinement. How it both sharpened their senses and drove them insane. She laughs sarcastically to herself. She is certainly no longer mentally healthy. But an amazing change has taken place in the last twenty-four hours--to her light-starved eyes, the cistern now almost seems less dolorous. It is almost--livable.

She hardly admits it to herself. She is excited about her great-grandnephew's anticipated visit. Will he keep his appointment? Or will he break his word--like his grandparents seem to have done?

She hears the sound of footsteps echoing down the length of the pipe. She hears the door to the pump room open.)

Kim: "Good evening, Ron--I assume it's evening."

Ron: (the voice makes his skin crawl) "Yes, Aunt Kim, it's nighttime."

Kim: "It's always mystified me, Ronald. Why your grandmother insisted on visiting me on Halloween. And at night, too. Your grandfather, I could see. He could be slow, but once he got fixated on something, there was no talking him out of it. He came to me every Halloween--because it was part of the routine--Bueno Nacho every Saturday and Naco Night, Snowman Hank every Christmas, the ghoul girlfriend every Halloween. It gives me some amusement, Ronald--on a variety of levels--if you can call what I feel amusement. A man keeps his former lover imprisoned in the basement--and his wife doesn't resent it. He visits the imprisoned lover once a year--and the lover doesn't resent it. You see the paradox? I think it's full of irony, Ronald--don't you?"

Ron: (quietly) "I think Grandpa would have switched places with you, Aunt Kim,"

Kim: "Tell me this, dear nephew. Would he have switched situations? If one of my old boyfriends--say, Josh Mankey--or even Erik Drake himself--the synthodrone--had tricked your grandfather into being buried alive--and for whatever reason that defies science and logic--didn't die a natural death--but became a ghoul--a freak--would he still be good? Kind? Considerate? Would he have kept his innocence? Because I sure didn't! The good little Pixie Scout? The girl who could do anything? Who could save the world? She died the night she looked into a mirror and saw a rotting corpse staring back her. And you know the reason I hate your grandmother--and everything about her--so much? Your grandmother was a damned coward! If she had hit me on the head while I was drugged--or poisoned me--but she buried me alive! She had enough evil inside her to plot my murder--but she was too weak-hearted to actually get her hands dirty with a little blood!"

(The hellish voice rises to a banshee scream. Ron hugs himself and tries to stem the gut reactions of panic. As his Sensei has taught him, he does not suppress the emotion. Instead, he lets the waves wash around him and past him. What he suppresses is the reaction to run and find shelter--to beg and plead--to grovel on the ground.

He recalls what Sensei Yoriko has said: "Remember, my student. Many things can take a man's life. A great calamity, like many armed men, or a natural disaster--or a small calamity, like illness, or old age. So therefore let not a thing fearful in appearance cause you fear. The end is the same, for all living things meet the same end."

And when Kim's rage is spent, Ron opens his eyes and looks around. He is not in the presence of a horrid creature. He is in the well room of the family homestead, conversing with his poor aunt, stricken with a tragic affliction.)

Kim: (chuckling evilly) "Still there, dear nephew?"

Ron: (in a steady tone of voice) "Yes, Aunt Kim."

Kim: "You weren't frightened off? Good. You've got the Stoppable stubbornness and the Possible nerve. Both our ascendants--all our common ancestors--would be proud of you, Ron. And forgive your old aunt for venting her temper."

Ron: "Of course I forgive you, Aunt Kim."

Kim: "Good."

Ron: "Will you forgive the children of Tara Stoppable? Will you let them off the hook?"

Kim: (in a warning tone of voice) "Don't push it, Ron."

Ron: (both wary and considerate) "Okay."

Kim: "So tell me what you did today, Ronald."

Ron: "I went to a Shabbat Eve dinner in Denver with cousin Rhonda."

Kim: "So it's Friday?"

Ron: "Yes, Aunt Kim. Friday, November first, 2070."

Kim: "Hmm. Odd. I can guess to the minute when your family will come for their yearly visit with their old friend and permanent guest--or old live-in spinster aunt, in this case. But I've lost track of the days of the week--"

Ron: (chuckle)

Kim: "Did I just hear a chuckle out of you, Ron?"

Ron: "Yes, Ma-am. You did. Sorry. It was just that comment about 'spinster aunt'. But--to reassure you, it's not that I want to make fun of you. It's your humor--as surreal as I think it might be."

Kim: "You're a lot like your grandfather, Ron. Humor and courtesy. He loved a good joke. He loved to prank me, too. Almost as much as your other grandfather, Tim. Him and his brother."

Ron: "You called them the 'Tweebs'."

Kim: "Yes." ( silent a moment) "Tell me about your cousin Rhonda."

Ron: "It's Rhonda Stoppable. Uncle Lon's and Aunt Lauren's youngest daughter."

Kim: "And your Uncle Lon is your grandparents' oldest."

Ron: "Yes, Ma'am."

Kim: "And Lauren is Josh and Liz Mankey's daughter?"

Ron: "Yes, Ma'am."

Kim: (laughing sarcastically) "Well--isn't that special? The intermarriage of the Middleton High alumni. They won't all become inbred, will they?"

Ron: (laughing quietly) "I think it's still a genetically diverse group, Aunt Kim."

Kim: "So tell your Aunt Kim about her good friend Tara--seeing how I've been her guest for the past sixty years!

Ron: "Well--after your disappearance, Grandma Tara helped in the massive search operation around Middleton--"

Kim: (her voice rising out of the pipe like a chilling toxic fog--quiet but deadly) "Are you kidding me, Ron? Is this some kind of sick joke? Trying to reinvent that little murderess into a concerned friend and citizen. You're indulging in some gruesome humor, boy--and I know both the sight and sound of gruesome."

Ron: (steeling himself and speaking blandly) "Aunt Kim--let me remind you--it was you who asked about your 'good friend Tara'. And since we both know what kind of person she was at heart--at least as far as her feelings about you--I just thought that I wouldn't waste time and slow down the story by constantly bringing it up. All I'm doing is giving you a straight narrative. I assume that you can read between the lines."

Kim: (silent a moment--then the frightening chuckle again) "You're right, Ron. You shouldn't have to highlight your grandmother's evil streak, as though I were feeble-minded and incapable of understanding. Yes, in spite of my body decaying, my brain hasn't turned to rancid--much as I wish it had. And let me applaud your nerve, young man. You're developing quite a backbone. Why only a couple nights ago, you couldn't talk to me without wanting to defecate yourself, I bet. And now, listen to you--hardly a tremor in your voice. Although, I wasn't so brave when the little bitch buried me alive. And I wonder if you--or any living person--would be as brave if I were standing in front of them--without a reinforced concrete barrier between us. Your grandfather was the last person to try that--and it took the Lotus Blade and the Mystical Monkey Power to fend me off."

Ron: (calmly) "I have both those facilities at my command, Aunt Kim,"

Kim: "But you've piqued my interest. Tell me about this search for me--or my body."

Ron: (sounding like a tour guide) "The biggest search in history was mounted. Global Justice coordinated it. The super hero groups joined. The Justice League, the Avengers--both East Coast and West Coast, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Team Go, Team Impossible--"

Kim: "Team Impossible? You're aware they tried to shut me down."

Ron: "I know. They were on your side this time. The international policing agencies joined. S.H.I.E.L.D., Interpol, the New Scotland Yard, the F.B.I., even the KGB. Even the mystics--like Dr. Strange, Dr. Fate, Dr. Druid, the Scarlet Witch, and Zantanna. There were the mentalists, like Professor X. All the speed freaks. The Flash. Quicksilver. All looking for you. You cast a long shadow, Aunt Kim."

Kim: "That's rather disappointing, Ron. All those super heroes. All those superhuman powers. Guess they didn't find me. Did they find anyone missing?

Ron: "They flushed out dozens of terrorists and crime lords in countries that didn't have an extradition treaty. Guys who jumped bail, guys who jumped alimony, children who had been missing for years. but not you. The Cheer Squad and Varsity Club made a human chain along with the rest of Middleton. Bonnie Rockwaller was a basket case. Hardly ate or slept for two weeks. Had to be hospitalized--at Meadow Acres."

Kim: "The psychiatric hospital?"

Ron: "Yes. She was put on tube feeding and sedatives. She took it hard, Aunt Kim. Said she had to make up for all the crappy treatment she gave you. For a while, the investigators wondered if she might not be mixed up in your disappearance. But she jumped at the chance to have a polygraph test. She cried like a baby at your funeral. Ron had to take her aside and assure her that it wasn't her fault."

Kim: "My funeral?"

Ron: "Uh huh. All the dignitaries came. The Vice President, the Governor, Dr. Director, special envoys from France, the United Kingdom, and other countries. There were heads of state. King Wallace, Prince Wally, the Prime Minister of Canada, and the Prime Minister of Japan. All your arch-enemies came. Drakken and Shego, Duff Killigan, Dr. Demense, Dr. Hall--big business moguls like Pop Pop Porter, Toru Nakasumi, Philippe Bullion, Tony Stark--celebrities like Britina, the OBoyz, Heather and Quinn, Elsa Cleeg, Timothy North, Adrena Lynn, Rudolph Farnsworth, Summer Gale--on and on.

Kim: (laughing) "Hah! When I was a kid, if all those important officials had gotten together around all those super villains, I would've been a busy little teenage heroine rescuing one group and fighting off the other! But--continue."

Ron: "The Knights of Rodighan insisted on being the honor guard. Señor Senior, Sr. asked Wade Load to post a notice on your website. He would pay the travel expenses of anyone who wanted to come to your funeral. He figured that all the hundreds of people in the world you had helped in your missions would want to come and pay their respects. He kept his promise."

Kim: "I'm curious--was there a casket?"

Ron: "Yes. Your parents insisted on one. They felt that people needed a visible thing to make a connection with."

Kim: "Not to rain on my parents' parade--but obviously there was no body--not even any parts of me--which if they had waited, they could've stuck some parts in after your grandfather cut me up. What the hell was in it?"

Ron: "Personal items. Your folks put in your old braces and your Pixie Scout uniform. Grandpa put in the belt you gave him for the Half-a-Versary. Things like that."

Kim: (sullenly) "How touching. It makes me feel nauseous. I hope to God your grandmother Tara didn't stick anything in--since she already put me in here."

Ron: "No, Aunt Kim. Let me reassure you--she didn't."

Kim: "I guess I'm cheered up--as much as I can be, put in here."

Ron: "Your casket was in state for a week. Thousands came. Rabbi Katz and Pastor Davis officiated. After the funeral , your parents, and brothers, and Ron stood in the receiving line for hours. They talked to each mourner. Everyone had a story. Wade stood it for as long as he could. His agoraphobia kicked in and he had to be taken home."

Kim: "And while all this was going on, Tara King was skulking around like a ferret?"

Ron: "She was with her family."

Kim: "She didn't try to plant herself next to your grandfather?"

Ron: "No. Yoriko had that spot. Grandpa insisted on it."

Kim: "Where was Rufus?"

Ron: "He was perched on Grandpa's Ron's shoulder for the entire funeral. He wore a little tuxedo jacket and bow tie. Mrs. Mahoney was there--in a wheelchair."

Kim: "The lady who gave Ron and me a ride to our first mission."

Ron: "Uh-huh. Señor Senior, Sr. paid for Baxter Barnes and four of his mules to be flown in from Grand Canyon, Arizona. His mule team pulled the hearse that your casket was in."

Kim: "Did Ron keep doing missions?"

Ron: "Yes. Monique and Bonnie started doing missions with Grandpa."

Kim: "What about Bonnie and Seňor Senior, Jr.? I remember Bonnie was just about to grab her diploma out of Mr. Barkin's hand at Commencement when he pulled back."

Ron: "While Bonnie was in summer school, Seňor Senior, Jr. sort of got involved with Francois."

Kim: (blurting) "Francois? The Parisian hair stylist?"

Ron: "Exactly. Francois kept his shop in Paris, but he himself became a stylist to the rich and famous. He would travel the world--in Seňor Senior, Jr.'s private jet--with Jr. going with him, of course.

Kim: "Huh. Well that's a surprise. I didn't know either of them went that way."

Ron: "They would fly to a private airstrip in places like Aspen, Vegas, Tahiti, Dubai, Rio, Singapore. And then people like Britina and M.C. Honey would take the limo out to the airport."

Kim: "Jeez. Poor Bonnie. How'd she take it?"

Ron: "Bonnie was devastated. But then Brick was on leave. They fell in love again. They had a single daughter. Frances Belinda Flagg. They called her Frankie. But Brick was killed in Iraq."

Kim: "What went on with the rest of the class?"

Ron: "I'm trying to remember who was Valedictorian."

Kim: "Felix Renton."

Ron: "Why wasn't it Justine Flanner? I've read some of her articles. She was brilliant."

Kim: "She disowned us. She wrote a very arrogant letter to the main office, saying she wanted nothing to do with Middleton High. She blew off Commencement and was going to spend the night at the Robot Rumble--even though its three biggest members, cousin Larry, Vivian Porter, and Ned from Bueno Nacho, were going to be attending Commencement. About the only people at the Rumble were her and Oliver."

Ron: (incredulous) "Oliver the robot? Designed by Dr. Porter?"

Kim: (laughing) "Yep. The very same."

Ron: "That was the night of the Lowardian invasion."

Kim: "She stayed there for a marathon session. She was determined to avoid people."

(In one of the most unusual pairings to arise out of Kim and Ron's Middleton High School class, Justine Flanner had invited Malcolm Needious to their senior year's Sadie Hawkins Dance. Justine got pregnant the summer after high school graduation and they were married by autumn. Their daughter Janice was born in the winter of next year.

Justine had her PhD. in Quantum Physics and Timestream Acceleration by the time she was twenty three. Malcolm made a good living writing gaming software--and raised Janice while Justine went on the international lecture circuit.

Janice was home-schooled. But her mother enrolled her at Middleton High so she would graduate with her peers--for the "socialization", as Justine said. Janice was rumored to be most obnoxious student in her class.

"In her class?" grumbled Steve Barkin, still teaching at M.H.S. "Make that the most obnoxious student in the history of the High School.")

Kim: (suddenly in a voice filled with concern) "Ron--what happened to my close friends? Like Monique? And Wade?"

Ron: (slow to answer) "Are you sure you want to know, Aunt Kim? It isn't exactly living happily ever after."

Kim: "C'mon, dear nephew. You and your family owe me this. This is as close as I'm ever going to get to begging. I refuse to ever say the word 'please' again."

Ron: "Well--you remember Wade was infatuated with Monique--so he invented a 'love ray'."

Kim: "I do. That ended up very embarrassing--but we all had some laughs. Monique and Wade stayed close friends. But--go on."

Ron: (slowly, somberly) "Monique went to the Community College. She majored in Wardrobe Design. Then she went to work for Coco Banana. He acquired Elsa Cleeg's company and put Monique in charge. She eventually began her own designer line. She married a pro athlete, LeMonde Jenkins. He abused her and cheated on her. So she left him. Like the good guy he was, Wade showed up. They were still crazy for each other. They married and built a house in West Lowerton, a newly incorporated municipality. They had twins. Wynan and Washonda. Wade's folks, Ophelia, and Lontaine, were still running the inner city ministry in downtown Lowerton.

"While Wade was home one night with the kids, Monique, Ophelia, and Lontaine were down at the Mission. (halting) A girl gang came in an trashed the place. They shot and killed Monique."

Kim: (in a stricken voice) "Ron! No!"

Ron: "I'm afraid so, Aunt Kim."

Kim: "Oh, God--dammit, Ron--Just like Wade's natural father."

Ron: "Wade sort of lost interest in life after that. He just spent the rest of his life in the house he had built for Monique. He raised the twins, with the help of the robotic nannies and his mother. And he still kept coordinating missions for Ron, and Joss, and your brothers. But he never stepped outside again. Not even for Lontaine's of Ophelia's funerals."

Kim: (sighing) "--Like me."

Ron: "Yes, Aunt Kim. Like you, in a way. And then one morning, when Washonda was going to visit, he simply wasn't there. Not a trace. Until they analyzed the audio-visual sequence from the home security system. He had collapsed during the night."

Kim: "What of?"

Ron: "They couldn't tell. Heart attack. Stroke. Broken heart."

Kim: "What happened to Wade's body?"

Ron: "The Wadebot took the body and put it in the nuclear incinerator. Wade's body was disintegrated to atoms."

Kim: "Did anyone check for clues?"

Ron: "Yes. The best minds at the Middleton Space Center and Propulsion Lab took the Wadebot apart."

Kim: "You mean my dad."

Ron: "Yes--and Dr. Vivian Porter. And your brothers. The Wadebot had performed a total memory wipe on itself."

(Ron continues. When Kim was a little girl, one of her favorite pastimes was to listen to Nana Possible tell family stories. And Ron Possible had the same gift.

Ron goes on for hours. Kim listens intently, fascinated. Her attention is absolutely riveted. It seems that she is transported beyond the narrow confines of her prison, and every moment of her sixty year-plus imprisonment is crowded with sights and sounds. It's like she was there.

At last he concludes. But her nephew's youthful enthusiasm is no match for his aunt's unnatural Undead endurance. She has not slept for sixty years. But one night has left him exhausted. He takes his leave.)

Ron: "Love you, Aunt Kim. Goodnight."

Kim: (sarcastically) "Don't kill yourself tripping on the stairs, Ron. The last person here can't turn the light out. And she doesn't have a cent to pay the bill with." (her sarcasm belies her astonishment--she and her nephew have had a rational conversation--and he will come back for more)

(And Kim listens to the sounds of the door closing and Ron's footsteps going up the stairs. The light bulb in the pump room remains on.

She stares starkly at the pipe. The story related to her in gentle voice of her great-grandnephew echoes in her mind. It has an effect on her she would have never anticipated. Faces appear in her memory--as clear and sharp as though she had seen them just yesterday.

Bonnie--you lost Brick--oh, Bon--I'm so sorry--I should've been there. Monique. My best friend in high school, next to Ron. If I weren't sealed up, I could've done something--maybe. Wade. Oh, God--Wade, I can only imagine. The terrible sorrow you must've felt. And then to die all alone--no one there with you--just tossed into the incinerator. What kind of way is that to pass out of this world? Even I had a zillion people who cared about me, who were looking for me. And a huge funeral--even though I was stuck in here

So much hurt on the lives of those she used to know. So much pain.

She sinks to her knees. A great loneliness blossoms in her soul, like the time her mother went to the hospital to give birth. Her father left her with her nana. Ron got to sleep over that night, too. But for the first time in her life, she really missed someone. As a little girl, she cried herself to sleep that night.

And now all are gone. Nana. Daddy. Mommy. I miss you. I love you. I wish I could've told you that before you died. Ron. I'm sorry. I didn't mean all those things I said.

She wants to throw herself back onto the thing that always been her protection against the awful ache of loneliness and rejection--her hatred for Tara, Ron, and all their children. But at the moment, she has not the heart for it.

Kim swallows a sob. She leans her head against the wall and sighs. Tonight there is no insane demonic loathing in her heart. Only dejection. She sits on the floor against the wall and draws her knees up to her chin.

Only gradually, over the next few hours, does it occur to her . And the realization is shocking. Not all were gone. There is someone who still cares. Her nephew--the grandson of her mission partner and high school boyfriend--the great-grandson of her parents. And even more shocking still--she cares in return. The feelings are reciprocated.

I want him back. I want to hear more. I need to hear more. I've got to know--please, God. There has to be some happiness out there in the lives of the people I used to know.)

to be continued

There you go. I've released some of my secrets. This began as a simple tale of rescuing Kim from the dark side. But it snowballed. I'll just be going along and the Muse (or Plot Bunny) will wink and say, "But what about this certain character?"

And grinning like a yokel, I'll say, "Sure!" Like Ron is baiting Kim, I'm hooked. And little by little, the answers unfold.

Your humble fanwriter begs his readers' patience. As my inspiration and strength persist, I will share it all with you.