""A Green Apple, but not rotten to the core""

By Eoraptor

AN: Kim Possible is owned by Disney, not myself. All characters used under fair-use provisions. This is a fan work, and not for profit.

"Sit down, Special Agent Possible." Doctor Director, her hair more iron than brunette, indicated the chair across from her desk.

Inwardly, Kim winced. The S.A. was only appended to her name when she was in trouble, or up for an award; and Doctor Director did not look like she was in a certificate-giving mood. Sadly, being the head of the Special Problems Elimination Asset Recovery division did not insulate the redhead from being in trouble. Even with SPEAR's wide latitude, there were still lines she could not cross.

Without any preamble beyond "sit down," Doctor Director pressed a button, and dimmed the room. Between them, a holographic display appeared. Kim recognized it easily. She'd seen their like before.

This one was from Ron's helmet-mounted camera point of view. It was a bit jarring to see herself literally through someone else's eyes, but the redhead had grown used to it over the past few years. Just like she'd gotten used to other changes, like carrying a stop-watch instead of her kimmunicator, and having three more people on the team.

The translucent image of Kim was holding her hand up in front of herself in the universal "stop" signal. The hologram began to move, and sound joined Kim's form, "I said let her go. We got what we came for, and no one got hurt, well too badly anyway. Besides, Scagliotti has a broken knee, and I'm sure she wants to get some pain killers."

"Got that right, Boss," came the voice from outside the field of view, which Kim knew belonged to the neon haired intelligence officer.

"But Kim!" Ron whined from behind his helmet. He was the only one on the team who wore one, which Doctor Director was thankful for, because it always made these images so much clearer than those taken off a gun barrel. "She's getting away! We had her!"

"We're done, Ron." Kim's voice on the holo was growing slightly tense, "Drakken foiled, Item recovered, Day saved. Claudia, I'm sure, would like the use of her leg back, and you, I'm sure, would like your wife walking before the end of the month."

This effectively shut down Ron's voice as the holographic image shook with his nod of agreement.

"Later Losers!"

On the image, and in the chair, Kim grit her teeth at Shego's parting shot, as the image looked up with Ron, to Shego escaping in the hover-pod, her hair snapping in the wind.

"Agent Stoppable was correct, Special Agent Possible." Doctor Director's face was tight with irritation as the lights came back up and the hologram dissolved back into her desk. "You had Shego dead to rights. Your arm clasped on hers, her power reserves spent. Why did you let her go."

"I really didn't have a-,"

"Don't lie to me Kimberly." There was a chilled edge in the Director's voice as she gave her agent a hard look. "You had a death grip on her arm. I've seen you take down people twice as strong as Shego with less steady a grip."

In the past few years, it had become a poorly held secret that Shego's plasma abilities had their limits. She could release as much energy as she wanted, make it as hot as she wanted (evidenced by her destruction of a Lorwardian Scuttler tank during the Invasion), but she had her limits. After about ten minutes, the heat Shego generated would overcome her very-human body, and she had to stop using her glow, or risk giving herself heat-stroke.

Kim chewed her lip slowly, and sighed, knowing the Director had her over the barrel on this one. She had let Shego escape.

"She saved my life. And like I told Ron," Kim finally explained herself as she looked up, "NO reason to risk further injury fighting Shego directly."

"You mean aside from her outstanding warrants for theft, assault, and Super Science Control Act violations? She didn't save your life Possible. I've personally seen you escape far more perilous situations than hanging from that catwalk." Doctor Director pushed a button and the holo appeared again, this time dimmer, as the room lights were still on.

It showed the seconds previous to the ones they had just watched. Kim was dangling from the cat walk sixty feet above the floor of the Field Museum in Chicago. Shego and Kim had death-grips on each other's forearms as Kim swung back and forth. Finally, with Ron's heavy breathing playing in the background, Kim managed to scramble back up onto the platform, huffing and puffing. Shego stood over her, breathing a bit heavy, but otherwise standing and glaring imperiously down at the redhead; before turning and running unimpeded down the rest of the catwalk.

"I would have died," Kim reiterated as the footage paused there and dissolved away again.

"I watched the images, Special Agent Possible. I know your skills, and the equipment you carry." The director was just short of glaring at her now. "You could have caught yourself."

"With what?" Kim barked back now, defending herself and her decision, "Did you even read my report?"

"Of course I did, Kimberly. I read all of your reports." The director's eye narrowed at the challenge.

"Then you know that ten minutes before the catwalk twisted under me, I had already used my grapple, and it was left behind in the chase." Kim narrowed her eyes and glared back.

"Rocket roller-blades then."

"Not this week. Museum… no roller skates allowed."

"Jet-pack backpack."

"Never indoors."

"Wrist swing."

"Not since you started making me wear a stop watch."

"Monkey Magic?"

"The money is on its monthly retreat, first quarter moon."

"Pogo jeans,"

"Are a myth we perpetuate to cover our real capabilities."

"Battle Suit,"

"Doesn't include a helmet."

The Director sat there for a long moment, looking at Kim Possible, and then at the mission folder. Frowning, she finally looked up, shaking her head. "I'll have to consider this, Special Agent Possible. Dismissed."

Kim inclined her head slightly at the Director, frowning, but rose up smoothly from her chair and exited the office of Doctor Betty Director.

-KP-KP-KP-KP-KP-

"Possible, please, sit down." The greeting was more cordial, but the Director's face was still inscrutably cold.

Kim did as she was told, folding herself into the chair before the Director. She was somewhat past the age where fidgeting was appropriate, but she still had to fight the urge. At twenty-seven, she was the youngest division head in Global Justice, and only the second youngest in its history. Opposite her sat the first youngest.

"You allowed Shego to escape because you felt you owed her your life." Doctor Director began simply enough. "I understand that. I can sympathize with it. She certainly didn't have to catch you and even if she did, she didn't need to be inclined to lift you all the way back onto the catwalk platform and stand over you until you were stable."

Kim looked up. That was a dead on assessment of those few seconds. She was a little surprised the Director saw it that way given her report stated that she merely climbing back up with Shego's help. She was, in reality, almost wholly lifted up by the mercenary.

"However, you were incorrect in allowing her liberty to escape." Doctor Director continued before Kim could give voice to her thoughts. "Shego is wanted on multiple serious charges, and saving the life of one agent does not mitigate them; not entirely, not even nearly."

"What about the time she helped save the planet?" Kim pressed, still frowning. "Seven billion lives aren't enough?"

"She was one of four, which makes her share only one point seven five billion. And for that she was given a full pardon. That was almost nine years ago and she has committed numerous crimes since then, Kimberly." The Director's expression was unreadable, even to Kim, who was adept at reading the one inscrutable eye. "Agent Possible, Shego is dangerous, she is powerful, and she is an evil lieutenant. You had an opportunity, an ~obligation~ to apprehend her."

"For what? Theft? Punching some people in the face while they tried to put her in handcuffs? Having superpowers?" Kim's temperature was rising as she was questioned for the second time in two days on her judgment.

"This is not about the SSCA, Kimberly," Betty Director held up her hands, heading off that argument before it began. "Debbie Horowitz having superhuman abilities and using them in the committing of a crime has no bearing on the rest of her warrants."

The Super Science Control Act had been enacted shortly after a rash of super-criminal incidents in the wake of the alien invasion. Among other provisions, it stated that any person or group, who had access to abilities either intrinsic or material, classified as super-scientific, and used those abilities in the commission of a crime, were subject to much harsher penalties. It was an act that Kim and Ron had had passionate opinions on, and ultimately, it was what had brought to a head their personal differences and broken off their engagement.

Sure, they were still tighter than tight, but no more did they think the world rose and set around one another. Of course, a few months later Kim and Ron formed the core of the new SPEAR division of Global Justice. They had taken on Claudia Scagliotti to replace Wade, and Ron had gone head over heels for the alt-girl hacker. The feelings were eventually reciprocated, and everyone went home mostly happy at the end of the day, except for Agent Will Du, who had also had feelings for the ersatz agent and computer genius.

The reason Ron and Kim had fought though, and why they had been forced to replace Wade, was because Wade, Kim, and Ron were all classed as meta-human. As of course were the Horowitz siblings, including Shego.

Ron became angry that Kim tried to refute her classification as "beyond normal," feeling that she was denying her remarkable abilities. It didn't help that Wade refused to stay with Kim and Ron when they became attached to Global Justice as first deputized, and then full, and finally in Kim's case, Special Agents. He felt compelled to take his super-genius elsewhere rather than to serve people who enforced a law he fundamentally disagreed with.

"Then what is it about? Shego is not evil." Kim asserted after a moment's consideration.

"Isn't she, Special Agent Possible?" the corner of Doctor Director's eye tightened slightly. "She tries to take over the world on a semi-annual basis."

-KP-KP-KP-KP-KP-

Since the previous day, when Kim had realized that this discussion wasn't over, she had put her mind to the task of defending her action, and moreover, her point of view. The Global Justice shrink said she experienced Axis II Cluster C Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, a list of perfectionist personality traits. She preferred to think of herself as dedicated and goal oriented.

In either event, she had prepared her arguments, and particularly to this one of Shego's supposed all-consuming evil nature. She had to remind herself; start small, then go big. It wouldn't do to go for the heart of the argument right off the bat.

"Consider this, Shego has the ability to melt through steel doors, alien manacles, and concrete, yet she has never burned anyone." Kim nodded

"Broken noses, broken teeth, dislocated shoulder, knees, ankles, and then there are the thirty three people killed by the Diblo-bots." The director nodded.

"Which were Drakken's sole creations, which the courts proved Shego knew nothing about." Kim sighed at the old charges, "The point is, she has the capability to do a lot more serious damage than she does."

"That doesn't make her less evil, Kimberly, just highly efficient. And what about the tens of thousands of dollars in bank heists she has pulled, just in the nine years since the invasion?"

"Yeah, because that's somehow le- you know what… never mind." Kim cut herself short of pointing out how evil some of those banks were and shook her head. "Yes, she robs banks. But banks aren't our jurisdiction."

The Director nodded, acquiescing to that point. "You have yet to prove to me Shego is any different than the rest of that criminal rabble. Nor have you even addressed her numerous counts of aiding and abetting fugitives, first Drakken, and then Señor Senior Junior in addition. Plus breaking and entering, theft and/or destruction of several priceless artifacts, and then there's the unhealthy obsessions with Greenland and Australia."

The redhead sighed heavily and rubbed her face with her hands. This was not going according to plan. Finally, she decided she would have to use her heaviest argument, the only one she had with any sort of solid evidence.

"Fine, if Shego is not any different from them, how am I?"

Doctor Director's eyebrow arched slightly. The answers were utterly obvious, even to a one-eyed woman. Yet Kimberly had brought it up, so she must think differently. "You obey the law, Special Agent Possible. Not only that, you go out of your way to enforce it."

"Is that so?" Kim did her best not to scoff. "Let's see here… For one thing; everything I ever did on the Senior's Island violated international treaty and was breaking and entering, both before and after I joined Global Justice… Right up to sinking it, which I'm sure have to violate some environmental laws…"

Continuing without letting her director interject, Kim began ticking off fingers, "Not to mention at least a dozen hot extractions from hostile countries, which constitute clear diplomatic breaches if not outright acts of war. Oh, and then there's the whole beating up legally employed private Hench-co security contactors on a weekly basis. And there's my jet pack backpack, and the power core on my battle suit,"

"Both of which Global Justice obtained environmental waivers for, Miss Possible," Doctor Director said through slightly clenched teeth.

Sitting back for a moment, Kim eyed her supervisor. "Doctor Director, Do you know what my GJ file says about me, aside from my supposedly having OCD?"

Seeing the director's eye tighten slightly in irritation, the heroine pressed on, "Oh don't be so surprised, Wade Loade was my intelligence analyst for five years, you never once thought he would locate my files and share them with me while I was still a contractor?"

Receiving no response, Kim continued, "Before he left for New Zealand, Wade showed me the file your psychs had done up on me. The one written after my graduation from high school, when Ron and I dropped off the grid for three months."

Pulling up her phone, Kim thumbed to the appropriate document and opened it, quoting, "'Miss Possible fits practically every superlative applied to her. Forthright, Loyal, and a maverick operator.' Gee, sounds a lot like Shego so far… 'She shows a remarkable adaptability to any tactical situation she finds herself in, and is something of a social chameleon, with powerful acquaintances in many circles.' Hmmm, sort of like the Seniors, and Martin Smarty, and Fishy Joe Gilman the shrimper."

Kim didn't look up from her miniaturized report as she got to the most pertinent part, "However, Kim Possible also has some frightening drawbacks. She has a situationally aware ethic which can make her unpredictable. She also is prone to controlling behavior, pointing out flaws in others, and pressing others as hard as she presses herself, neglecting whether or not they can actually rise to her levels. (see attachment one, Ron-factor reports; attachment two, Middleton Junior Soccer League.)"

Looking up, Kim chuckled, "Oh yeah, I had forgotten little Billy Martin was the son of one of your gadeteers. Moving right along… 'She makes a powerful ally in all operations, but she is a dangerous opponent, as demonstrated during the Bueno Nacho Super Soldier Program recovery. Psychological makeup indicates that her domineering personality traits could lead to,' Well, you know the rest."

"I'd ask you to delete that file, and any other copies you have," Doctor Director began after a moment of regaining control of herself that the exposing of a nine year old intelligence report of the highest clearance levels, "But we both know you wouldn't. Now, how does that have bearing on your allowing Shego to escape?"

"Well, aside from my being 'Situationally ethical'," Kim made air quotes, "It reads almost identically to the Horrowitz report from the last days of Team Go. The sections on Shego are just about verbatim in places."

"…and?"

"All this intelligence, the psych evaluations, and the reports, but you never asked once, Doctor Director, why Shego and I are different." Kim leaned forward slightly in her seat, "Why I am a white night and she is a black hatter?"

"You were raised better, Kimberly, You have better morals, and a higher calling, as clichéd as it sounds." The director shook her head, sighing softly.

"Was I?" She leaned forward, a small, dangerous grin forming on her face, "Maybe I was. Maybe I wasn't… Remember, my Grandmother Possible was both OSS and BUDS, Grandpa Kredible did dirty tricks for Churchhill during the second world war. Hardly a shining example of femininity and proper behavior on either side."

"What is your point, Special Agent?" Doctor Director's eye was dangerously narrow now.

"You call Shego evil, and say she's dangerous, and attempting to take over the world." Kim was still watching Betty as she grinned.

The Director didn't like it.

"Now, my file says that you were afraid I would decide that I could run the world better than everyone else." She smirked dangerously, "Which is understandable. I had, and still have, ready access to any number of doomsday scenarios, and the right friends to pull them off. Our own profilers claim I am controlling and domineering, with a 'frightening streak of anger which while normally well restrained, could cause her to snap under specific circumstances'. And you know what, I've thought about it. How easy it would be; how to coerce or remove the various military and civilian officials, which strategic threats to issue, which demonstrations to make of my resolve."

She grinned. It was well hidden, but she say Doctor Director's skin pale, and her pupil dilate in surprise. Sitting back, the dark gleam in Kim's eye evaporated, and all that was left was the normal, loyal, forthright Special Agent Possible. "Now, if I could do that, Doctor Director; how am I good, and Shego evil? You see, I'm the first to admit, Shego outclasses me at times. She can do everything that I do, except maybe the dating… Plus, she's got more experience, she has a psychology degree, and she has superpowers; real ones, not just 'abnormal endurance and physical dexterity' like me."

"Now, that should make it pretty easy for someone like Shego to take over the world. I'd be hard pressed to stop her, with all of SPEAR at my disposal, if she really set her mind to it. She's not Evil, Doctor Director… She's just… bored."

"Bored?"

Kim sighed and shook her head. "You have all the psych reports in the world, but I've been up close and personal with Shego for over a decade. She's a classic bored genius. She knows every flaw in every Drakken plan and every Senior plot, and really, how to correct them too. She twice turned Señor Senior junior into a real criminal threat. I think it's a game for her. See how accurate her predictions of failure are, how far she can push the broken system."

"And Beuno Nacho was the one time she was outside the loop, and had no gauge of failure. Which is why she played along so aptly, instead of dealing out her usual ration of grief to Drakken and his henchmen."

"Now you're getting it!" Kim laughed, and then cleared her throat, reigning herself in.

After a long moment, Doctor Director shook her head, "Very well then. I've made my decision on this matter and your future with Global Justice. Kimberly Anne Possible, you are no longer Special Agent in charge of Special Problems Elimination and Asset Recovery."

"What?"

-KP-KP-KP-KP-KP-

"So you're a made woman?"

"Assistant Director Kimberly Anne Possible at your service."

"So wait a minute, that makes you…"

"Yup, nine months younger than the previous youngest Assistant Director."

"Does this mean you'll stop complaining about your showers?"

"No, this does not mean I will stop strenuously objecting to your bathing me in very questionable amounts of radiation.

Kim shook her head as she pulled on her blouse. "It also does not mean I am going to take off my bra for them, no matter how many times you ask."

"Hey, just being thorough, Princess…" Shego shook her head slightly. "You know how metal conducts heat."

"No, you're being a pest, Shego. I wear a 32 B cup… I do not need underwire." The redhead rolled her eyes after the usual anti-bug sweep the mercenary had done to her, irradiating her with enough plasma to kill anything electronic clinging to her or her possessions.

"So…?"

"So it means that our little rendezvous need to stop, we're getting too comfortable around each other." Kim shook her head as she pulled out the red wine from the picnic basket, "The Director had a lot of questions about why I let you go."

"And you went with righteously indignant Special Agent?" Shego simply smirked, holding up her glass.

"No, actually," Kim sighed and poured the wine, "I went with the 'I'm only a good girl because I want to be' explanation."

"Oh, really? So you let her see the darkness within huh?" Shego arched a brow over the rim of her glass. "Ballsy move Possible. She could have handed you your ass."

"I think I frightened her," the redhead laughed into her own glass.

"Yeah, well you scare the shit out of me too."

"Don't start with me Debbie…" Kim laughed lightly, "I promised I wouldn't try to turn you to the side of good, don't make me commit a truly evil act."

"Too late, you've already spoken my name aloud." Shego winced and shook her head.

"I couldn't help it, the director kept bringing it up. It kinda got stuck in there." Kim breathed out, momentarily fogging her glass.

"So, Princess, and heir to the throne… Why did you come, if we can't meet up like this anymore and reminisce?" Shego looked out across the beach vista on the remnant of Senior's island as she sipped her drink.

"Simple, I had to find out who your new girlfriend is."

Shego gave the redhead a level look. This was going to be the last time two of the most dangerous women on earth met for quite a while, and Kim wanted to know… "My girlfriend?"

"Yes… we were discussing social lives, and I got the distinct impression that there was someone serious for a change." She shrugged slightly.

"Awwwe, but Pumpkin, you know I only have eyes for you…" Shego whined and threw her arm around the redhead's shoulders.

Kim didn't squirm away, but this was not the first time she wondered how much of the thief's declarations were calculated to unseat her, and how much of them were true. Even after five years solid of these little meetings, ever since the destruction of Junior and Senior's island and Bonnie Rockwallers mysterious disappearance, there were times when she wondered Shego's motivations.

"Yeah… sure… because when you broke it off with Junior you were so not totally devastated." She rolled her eyes and pushed Shego off in the moment. "I'm so obviously first in your heart."

She saw the mercenary wince, but at the moment felt no impulse to apologize. Shego led a very easy life, in the redhead's opinion, and deserved a bit of strife from time to time to keep her at least a little honest. It apparently did work on occasion, the catwalk being one example.

"Hey, I kept you from marrying the buffoon, I consider that to be my good deed for the century." Shego retorted after a moment, lifting her nose haughtily in the air, "Anyways, I am not telling. You won't share yourself body and soul with me, why should I let you know who took your place?"

"Fine fine… I'll find out on my own, I always do…" Kim sighed and shook her head. "And here I thought you'd like to hear about this cute guy from Central Intelligence."

"A spook? Kimmy you wound me! I thought you had better taste than that?"

"Hey, he's totally not spooky! He's an analyst!" Kim whined.

"Oh god, first the buffoon, and now you? What is it with SPEAR agents and their geeks?"

The two women talked into the Mediterranean evening, and promised each other they would not meet to reminisce again for fear of destroying one another's careers…

Until the next time at least.

Commentary:

Yes, Agent Claudia Scagliotti is pretty much ganked straight out of Warehouse 13, with the name being a combination of the character and her actor. Betty is channeling a bit of Director Vance from NCIS herself. There are a few blatantly reused ideas in this story. I created S.P.E.A.R. for crow76308, GJ's answer to Marvel Comic's "S.H.I.E.L.D.," and a response to the flexibility Kim has which they don't (it also appears in "Lineage"). And Shego's real name is reused from "A Flipped Sitch," and the Field Museum setting for Shego and Kim's Duel comes out of "Aries." Otherwise... feel free to comment. Much like my oneshot "Survivor's Guilt", this story sprung wholly from my mind without much preamble, and invites all sort of speculation. So feel free to speculate on the events surrounding, and what you think. Remember:

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