DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kim Possible. This story is just for fun. The characters of Firefly/Rebecca Shaw, Isabella Shaw, and Robert Gibbs are OCs I created for this story.

A/N: Also, the real names of Team Go I created for this story, too. It came to me one night and I decided to go with it. Many thanks to my brother Talon and my friend Cyendrea for the help with developing this story, and for their future help in developing it.

Kim Possible

Red Flame

Chapter 1 – Not Meant to Be

Middleton, Possible Residence

Kim Possible used to think that balancing her globe-trotting teen hero lifestyle with her school life was hard. She used to think that fighting Shego had been hard, even if she enjoyed fighting the green-skinned woman. Not anymore. It was the Saturday after the prom – and the Saturday after one of the worst nights of her life. She was actually so bothered by what happened the day before that even though it was the middle of the day she was still in her pajams from the night before – and still in bed. In fact, she hadn't even moved except to go to the bathroom. Other than that, she just lay in her bed, the covers pulled over her, staring out her window. Her mom had come into her room a couple of hours ago and tried to talk to her, but after a quarter of an hour without Kim saying anything – or even reacting to her presence – she'd left. She'd heard her parents talking outside of her room, and heard her mom tell her dad to make sure that Jim and Tim – her twin younger brothers – didn't even think about bothering her right now.

Her behavior wasn't just due to that the first boy she'd really, truly liked had turned out to be a synthodrone. Nor was it just due to the fact that Drakken had played her so perfectly. And the fact that Drakken had kidnapped her dad as well as Shego's satisfaction at what had happened wasn't the sole cause, either. The dark satisfaction she'd felt of beating the older woman so completely, so decisively, by kicking her into an active (and short-circuiting) electrical tower wasn't the only reason for the way she was acting. Rather, it was all of them at once.

I'm not like this, she thought. This isn't how Kim Possible is supposed to act. She sniffed a bit. I'm supposed to be the 'girl who can do anything,' after all. Dealing with all of this is supposed to be so not the drama. Tears gathered in her eyes. But it is. Drakken and Shego had hit every button she had, and had done it so well that she never saw it coming. And then when she'd gotten free she'd sunk down to their level. Sure, she'd saved the day, and Ron had gotten Drakken to finally say his name, but she felt like she'd lost. She was supposed to be the hero, the do-gooder; when she'd beaten Shego, though, she'd cast all that aside for revenge. When she'd fought the older woman, the only thing she'd wanted was to beat her once and for all. To prove that she, Shego, was nothing compared to the Kim Possible. And she had. She'd proven that Kim Possible was better than Shego. But in doing so, she now felt that she'd lost what had made her . . . her.

And then there was Ron.

He'd been her best friend since pre-K. He'd been there throughout her whole life. When she'd gotten her braces locked in her first kiss, he'd been there. When she'd gone on her very first mission and defeated a supposedly impenetrable security system as a pre-teen, he'd been there. And he'd had her back from the very first moment she'd started truly becoming 'the girl who can do anything.' He'd been the best friend she'd ever had – and that's all she felt for him. Nothing romantic at all. She'd hoped to change that at the prom, when they'd danced together and she'd kissed him for the first time. But there'd been nothing at all. Nothing except a feeling of disappointment.

Right then, her kimmunicator went off.

"Hey, uh, Kim?" came Wade's voice.

"Go away," she mumbled. The kimmunicator's mic was sensitive enough to pick up her response.

"Kim . . . you can't hide in your room forever," he told her.

"Why not?" she replied morosely. "You've been doing it for your whole life."

"I'm agoraphobic, Kim. You're not. This . . . this isn't you."

"How do you know?" she said, actually turning over to stare at the device. "Maybe this is who I am, and it took what happened yesterday to bring it out."

"Do you know how disappointing this is to me? I may not have known you as long as Ron has, Kim, but in all the time I have known you, I've looked up to you. I look at you, at the things you do, and I feel envious that I'm not like that. I may be a prodigy with technology and all that, but I'm too smart for my own good. I have more than enough intelligence and imagination to imagine some pretty horrific and terrible things that could happen to me outside of the one environment I can control that I'm afraid to leave. You knew that, even back when we first 'met' and you never judged me. You accepted me for who I was and never forced me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with. But now?" She heard him sigh. "Now it's like you're not even Kim Possible anymore."

"Damn it, Wade," she growled, actually shocking him by cursing. "I don't care, okay? I fell head-over-heels for a guy who turned out to be a synthodrone whose only purpose was to trick and distract me while Drakken nearly conquered the world, my arch-rival rubs it all in my face, and then without a second thought or a hint of remorse I kick her fucking ass into something that could have killed her! And I enjoyed it, Wade! That isn't what Kim Possible is supposed to be like!" She was yelling by the end, and was lucky that her family was out for a few more hours. She suddenly collapsed upon herself and slouched on her bed; which brought to her awareness the fact that she had been up on her knees. "I'm sorry, Wade," she said softly, staring down at her hands. "I didn't mean to go off on you like that. Nothing's been right since last night. Not even Ron and I."

"I-It's okay, Kim," Wade said, taken aback by his friend's outburst but determined to be a friend still. "I . . . I didn't mean to . . . to, well, judge you."

"You didn't."

"It's just that . . . you and Ron are really the only friends I have that aren't strictly online. I don't want to lose that, but I also want to be a good friend to you. And speaking of Ron, he's been trying to get a hold of you."

"I haven't been in a mood to talk," she grumbled, but not rudely.

"Aren't you two going out now?"

"That's him and everyone else seems to think. All we did was show up to prom together, dance a bit, and share one meaningless kiss."

"Meaningless?"

"I felt nothing from him, Wade," she pointed out. "Except for the fact that it was with Ron, and it was on the lips, I bascially had the same feelings that I'd get from kissing my mom or dad on the cheek." She shrugged, knowing he could see it with the kimmunicator's camera. "It was no big to me, and nowhere close to being even a little drama."

"He sees it differently, Kim. He loves you, you know."

"And I love him. But I'm not in love with him. He's my best friend, that's all. Nothing more and nothing less."

"You're going to have to let him know, then," the boy genius told her. "And soon before it gets too late to save your friendship."

"Let him know I'll meet him at Bueno Nacho," she replied in a monotone. "Might as well do this now and get it over with."

Middleton, Bueno Nacho

Ron and Rufus were sitting in their usual booth at Bueno Nacho with a Grande-sized naco in front of them. He'd come straight there after Wade had called him up and told him he'd finally gotten a hold of Kim. He thought something had sounded different about Wade, but he was too happy about seeing Kim again to pay any attention to it. As soon as he'd heard that Kim would meet him at their favorite restuarant, he'd shut off his kimmunicator and hurried over to Bueno Nacho. He and Rufus were actually on their second grande naco.

"I thought Kim would've been here by now, buddy," Ron said, stuffing some of the naco into his mouth. Rufus chittered a response and the blond nodded. "Yeah, you're right. She did have to get ready. And she did say she'd be here." Just then, the retuarant's door opened and Kim walked in. Ron saw her and waved her over. Again, he was too happy about seeing her to notice that something was very off with her. She walked over to the booth and sat down across from him. Not once had she looked at him but he didn't really notice. Rufus, however, did. The little naked mole rat could instantly tell something was wrong.

"You gonna get something, KP?" Ron asked.

"I'm just not hungry, Ron," she replied. "You go ahead."

"Sure thing," he agreed and dove into his naco. Rufus, as much as he liked eating the same foods his owner did, didn't join in. "You know, I was thinking, KP," Ron said around a mouthful of naco, "maybe when we're done here we could go see a movie or something."

"Ron," she began, but he kept right now on talking.

"We could go see a romance movie, or maybe a comedy," he went on, "but not an action one. I think yesterday was enough action for the weekend."

"Ron," she tried again.

"That whole Li'l Diablo thing was just sick-wrong! I mean, using the toys from kiddie meals to take over the world? Not right! But I finally got Drakken to say my name! Boo-yah! And you totally kicked Shego's butt! That was-"

"Ron!" Kim snapped, her emotional state causing her to lash out at her best friend harsher than she'd intended. He looked at her in shock, the rest of the naco stopped halfway to his mouth. "I'm sorry, Ron," she apologized, "but we need to talk."

"About what, KP?"

"About . . . us."

"We don't have to go see a movie, Kim. We can just hang out here, or at the mall." He smiled at her in what he probably thought was an endearing and romantic way, and added, "I'm so glad you're my girlfriend, Kim."

"That's what we need to talk about, Ron," she told him. "We're not . . . you never asked me out."

"Oh, man! I didn't know I was supposed to that!" he exclaimed. "I'll-"

"Ron! You're not listening!" She sighed and rubbed her face. "If you'd quit interrupting I could actually tell you what I'm trying to say." Looking at him, she found herself wishing that The Kiss hadn't happened. "Last night was the worst night of my life. I find out that the boy I'd been crushing on, the one who seemed perfect for me, was actually a synthodrone created by Drakken. For the only purpose of keeping me distracted from figuring out his scheme."

"But Kim-"

"Ron, please. Let me finish. You don't realize just what that did to me. It . . . it tore me up inside. And as far as kicking Shego's ass? That wasn't to stop her and Drakken. I only did it because I wanted to beat her, to . . . to punish her for what she'd helped Drakken do to me. I wanted revenge."

"But that isn't like you, KP."

"I know it isn't, and that's the point, Ron. I've been depressed about it ever since I got homee," she agreed. "And now for the part about us." She took a deep breath and let it out. "Ron . . . this isn't easy for me to say. I know we've been friends since pre-K, and that you've always had my back. You're goofy, funny, and in some strange way adorable. You're a great friend, Ron, and I know you were hoping things would be more, that we'd be . . . more."

"What are you saying, Kim?"

"Ron . . . I'm saying that we're not boyfriend and girlfriend, and that there won't be a chance for that to change. I love you, Ron, I do, but only as a friend. I don't care about you in that way."

"No, Kim," Ron said, disbelief in his voice. "You . . . you can't mean that."

"I do mean it, Ron," her voice sharper than she'd wanted but unable to take it back. "You're my best friend, and I don't want to hurt you, but I don't – can't – love you the way you want me to. I just don't see you that way. I'm sorry, Ron."

"You can't . . . you can't do this to us," he pleaded.

"There is no us, Stoppable, didn't you hear me? I'm not into guys in general, and you in particular." As soon as she'd said that, Kim realized it was one of the truest things she'd ever said. Her mind cast back over the last few years as Ron's face went slack. She'd crushed on more than a few boys – Josh Mankey and Brick Flagg being two of the more prominent ones – but those relationships had never really gone anywhere. She didn't really think about it at the time, either continuing her crushing or moving on to the next cute boy. Now she realized that it may have been due to the fact that she might not be straight. Abruptly Ron stood up, Rufus's squeal drawing her attention.

"I've got to go," he said flatly, though it was obvious that he was angry and upset. "C'mon, Rufus."

"Ron, wait," Kim said, standing up herself.

"No, Kim," he replied. "Ever since our freshman year, I've waited for you. I've waited for you to see me like all of those other guys you've crushed on. And now that it finally seemed to have happened . . . you're telling me you've never felt that way about me and never will. I've been your best friend ever since pre-K. When we got to highschool, I was hoping things would change. Would become more. I'm tired of waiting. I'm going now. Goodbye, Kim." And with that, he walked to the doors of Bueno Nacho and left, leaving Kim standing there staring after him, feeling as though her world had not only been turned upside down, but had also been yanked out from under her feet.

Classified Location, Global Justice Ultra-Max Prison "The Crate"

Shego was pissed. It wasn't that she was in jail; she'd gotten used to being imprisoned after one of Drakken's schemes had been derailed. It was the fact that Kim Possible had so thoroughly kicked her ass. She wanted to put it down to Kimmie wearing that teched-up suit and her not being prepared for it and what it can do. She wanted to, but didn't. She thought she'd seen the teen's A-game already. If she had, then last night must've been her taking her game up to an A+. The battle suit had given the young redhead an edge, that was for sure, but it shouldn't have given her that much of an edge.

"Damn it! How could I let her just do that to me?" Shego snarled, punching the wall of her cell. She'd have lit up, but the bracers on her arms prevented her from igniting her plasma. Pounding the wall again, she whirled around and walked back over to her bunk. The Crate, Global Justice's Ultra-Maximum Security Prison, was designed specifically to hold super-powered criminals as well as those villains who didn't have super powers but were classed by GJ as super villains. "When I get out of here, Princes," she said to herself, "you'll be lucky if I don't cause any internal injuries." She sat down on her bunk and stared at the wall opposite her. I wouldn't be in here if it weren't for Drakken's schemes always failing, she thought. If he was even half as smart as he always claims he is, we would've already taken over the world by now. I'll admit his Li'l Diablo scheme nearly succeeded. But this is it. I'm done with him. I don't care that he pays nearly as much as Clark Richard makes. I don't care that I'm basically free to come and go as I please unless he's working on some scheme. I'm fucking tired of ending up in jail every time his schemes fail. And it's either Kimmie stopping us, or her dumbass sidekick tripping the self-destruct. Just then, she realized she was glowing. The astonished expression on her face slowly morphed into an evil and satisfied grin. The bracers may prevent me from generating plasma, but not from generating heat.

Closing her eyes and concentrating, she began generating a thermo-kinetic field around her forearms. She knew that as the bracers heated up to higher and higher temperatures until they overcame their melting point, they would severely burn her skin and that would hurt like hell. But the super boost given to her body's natural healing by the meteor would let her recover faster and without any scarring. She wasn't aware of the time, but after seemed like hours the bracers' hinges and locks melted enough that that they fell off her arms. For the whole time, as she had increased the heat, she hadn't made a single sound. Not even when the ceramic-metal composite of the bracer's began burning her. When they dropped off of her arms, she let out a sharp, pain-filled hiss that became a grown when she saw her arms.

No matter, she thought. It's worth the pain. Summoning her plasma, she blasted a hole in the wall. Or, rather, attempted to. The blast did damage the wall, and set off the alarms, but it wasn't holed. Concentrating, she clasped her hands together, extended her index fingers, and forced out a thin beam of plasma. It lanced from her fingers and into the wall. She watched as smoke rose from the beam's point of impact and kept pushing her power. After a few seconds, she heard a loud crack! and saw no more smoke. Keeping her concentration steady, she carefully and quickly moved her hands around in a large circle. The cut section dropped the few millimeters down, but didn't fall in or out; what mattered, though, was that it wasn't connected to the rest of the wall. Shego ran at it and threw herself into it as hard as she could. Both the wall and herself fell out and down, but coming to a stop about two stories later. She knew, of course, that Drakken had also been taken to The Crate, and that he would expect her to get him out, too. She snorted, picked herself up and went to find the hanger.

Although she had to dodge Global Justice agents looking for her (she actually just wanted to get away this time; if she stopped to fight each team she saw, she'd get bogged down and then recaptured), she managed to make it to the hanger. Luck was with her again as not only was the hanger door open, but there was actually a jet prepping for take-off. There wasn't any cover between her position and the jet, so she'd have to act fast. Throwing caution to the wind, she dashed out towards the jet and began shooting plasma at any GJ agents she saw. The pilot of the jet saw her coming and tried to hurry up to take off. Not that it would've mattered, as she was more than qualified to operate any of the aircraft in the hanger. He failed to do more than finish up the take-off procedures before she vaulted into the cockpit feet first, knocking him out. Undoing his restraint harness and taking his helmet, Shego tossed the pilot out and strapped herself. Donning the helmet, she advanced the jet's throttles to their stops and rocketed out of the hanger. Patched into the GJ frequency, she found herself laughing at their alarm and dismay.

Once she was out of visual range of the prison complex, she shut off the jet's transponders, radars, and every piece of equipment that would actively transmit, then dropped down to just three feet above the surface of the water and carefully altered her course. She would only use the jet until she reached land, where she would ditch it and find an alternate means of transportation. Then she planned on going to one of Drakken's many lairs and getting one of her spare catsuits. And after that, she thought, I'll beginning planning my revenge agains you, Kimmie.

Middleton, Possible Residence

Once again, Kim found herself in her room. Only this time, she was truly depressed. Perhaps more so than before. Ron's response to what she'd said had been completely unexpected and heartbreaking. She'd thought . . . she didn't know what she'd thought. She'd hoped that he would at least be a little supportive, if only because they'd been friends for so long and he'd want to understand why she had decided that. It had never occurred to her that he'd reject her, and then abandon her. Well, he hadn't exactly abandoned her; he'd just walked out on her after she'd admitted what was in her heart and never looked back. Even now, three hours after that ill-fated conversation, she hadn't heard from him. Her kimmunicator had gone off quite a few times since she'd somehow stumbled back home and went to her room. Right now she was curled up on her bed in a fetal position, hugging her legs to her; she'd been that way since she'd gotten home. She'd heard her family come back, but hadn't reacted to it. Her mom had come up to check on her, and when she'd asked if everything was alright Kim had just burst into tears. Ann Possible had sat down on her daughter's bed and done her best to comfort her, but to no avail.

Staring at one of the wall's of her room but not seeing it at all, Kim tried to shake herself out of the funk she was in, but nothing was working. Of course, she wasn't really trying that hard because she had no energy to try at all. She dreaded going to school on Monday. Pretty much the whole student body believed she was going out with Ron, though she knew that very few would even care whether or not she continued. Bonnie would definitely rub it in her face either way. But even the thought of that didn't pique her interest. She also dreaded seeing Ron in school on Monday after what had happened. She was certain that she wouldn't see him over the rest of the weekend at all. She heard someone come into her room but didn't care enough to look.

"Kimmie?" she heard her mom say. She didn't respond. She did, however, feel the bed shift slightly as her mom sat down, and felt her hand come to rest on her.

"Kimmie?" Ann Possible repeated. "Please answer me." Kim didn't say anything, and heard her mom sigh. "Kim, we're worried about you. You haven't come down at all since you got home last night. Except for when I come up here to check on you, no one's seen you. Did something happen at the prom?" No response, not even a twitch. "Is everything okay between you and Ronald?"

"I told Ron I only liked him as a friend and that I was gay," Kim said so softly that Ann wasn't sure she'd heard her.

"You're gay," her mom repeated

"Not like it matters," the teen mumbled.

"Of course it does," Ann replied soothingly. "Your father and I may not understand right now, but I want you to know that we will accept you no matter what. I promise you that it doesn't matter whether the person you love is a boy, a girl, gender-fluid, or whatever; only that you find someone you love and who loves you back." Then something occurred to the elder Possible woman. "When you did you tell Ron this?"

"Today. I met him at Bueno Nacho earlier while you guys were gone. I don't remember getting back here, though." A sigh escaped the girl. "He doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"You don't know that, Kimmie. You and Ron have been friends for a long time. I'm sure that if you give him some time he'll come around." No response from her daughter this time. Ann sighed, and gave her daughter a loving pat. "Just give him some time." Then she got up and left her daughter's room. Kim just continued to lay there, even as her kimmunicator went off again. It doesn't matter, she thought. It doesn't matter because everything's changing and my world is falling apart.

Pacific Ocean, Global Justice Headquarters

Doctor Isabella Shaw sat in her office at Global Justice's HQ. As head of the Global Justice Advanced Research and Development Division (GJARADD, or "Arid-2"), she had the unenviable responsibility of not only running and reporting on her own projects, but those of the entire division as well. She did have a staff to assist her, of course, but she had to go over their reports in order to ensure no mistakes. Which meant comparing those reports to the ones that had been submitted to them. It wasn't an easy job, of course, but she had expected that when she'd joined Global Justice roughly 17 years ago. Sighing in exasperation, she leaned back into her chair and stared at the ceiling. Things hadn't been the same since she'd divorced her husband, Robert Gibbs, and ended up losing everything. She'd lost her old job, her home, and custody of her kids. Her ex-husband had successfully prosecuted a campaign against her that painted her as an unfit mother and wife. After the divorce, she'd left Go City and moved to Upperton, where – fortunately for her – she'd run into her old college roommate and girlfriend (although that was after roughly a week of being in Upperton and unsuccessfully looking for a job). They'd talked for a couple of hours, reminiscing about old times, and catching each other up on their lives.

A smile graced Isabella's still-beautiful face as she said, "And if it wasn't for you, Elizabeth Director, I'd probably be working as a waitress or something in Upperton instead of now being in charge of an advanced research division within a world-wide law enforcement agency." Knowing that her reports wouldn't write themselves, she sat forward again with a groan. As her gaze swept across her desk, her attention fell on one of the few framed photos she kept on it (the majority being on the walls of her office). It was a photo of her and her family (sans her ex-husband). One of the last they'd had taken together before the divorce. In it was, of course, herself, but also her oldest son Harvey, her only daughter Samantha, their younger brother Mark, and her youngest children, the twins Walter and Westly. The last time they'd been a family. As part of the divorce, she'd lost the right to see her children. In spite of the sadness, she smiled at the photo of her children. Her smile widened as her eyes fell upon another photo on her desk. This one was of her standing next to what looked a 10-year-old girl who looked like a younger version of herself; except the girl had black hair that shimmered red in the light, paler skin, and reddish-orange eyes. Then there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she said as pulled her gaze away from the photo. The door opened, and in walked a teenaged version of the girl in the photo she'd just been looking at. Which wasn't surprising considering they were the same person. What was surprising was that while the girl now before her looked like a 16-year-old teenager, the photo of her 10-year-old self had only been taken two years ago. "Rebecca," she said, standing up and coming around to hug the girl.

"You weren't at home, mom," Rebecca Shaw replied, returning the hug. "Working late again?"

"Not much of a choice, Firefly," Isabella told her, stepping back a bit. "I have a lot of reports to go through."

"It's been over an hour since you'd said you be home." Isabella had a rather expansive suite in GJHQ.

"I'm sorry, dear. Have you eaten yet?"

"Nothing more than a snack. I was waiting for you to have dinner."

"Well, let me save my work and then we'll go get something to eat."

"Okay." As Isabella walked around her desk again, her daughter asked, "What were you working on?"

"When you came in?" the raven-haired woman asked. "I was actually typing up a report on my personal project."

"You mean me, right?" Rebecca Shaw said with an innocent and endearing smile. Both she and her mother knew what she really was and what she was capable of. But because she'd been raised completely within the GJARADD's facilities within GJHQ, she was actually rather innocent of the outside world – in spite of having access to both internet- and satellite-based resources.

"Yes, dear," her mom said with a chuckle. She saved her work and then locked her computer behind a series of surprisingly powerful firewalls before severing its connection to the GJ mainframe. "Now," she added as she stood up, "let's go get dinner."

"Will mother be joining us?" the young woman asked.

"Probably not tonight. If anything, she probably has far more to deal with than I do."

In a different part of GJHQ, Elizabeth Director was also staring at her computer. But whereas Isabella Shaw had been studying genetics and technical reports, Betty was looking at a report she'd just received from the Officer-in-Charge of the Global Justice Ultra-Maximum Security Complex, known world-wide as The Crate.

"Damn," she said as she finished it. The report, when boiled down to the utmost basics, essentially said that Shego had escaped from The Crate, causing minor structural damage in the process, then stole a GJ aircraft – which had subsequently been found, abandoned, at an airport in Guam. Rubbing her remaining eye, she let out a frustrated sigh. What surprised her about the report was that Drakken was still imprisoned at The Crate. Shego my have broken out, but she'd left her employer behind. Which doesn't bode well, she thought. Shego with Drakken was threatening but predictable. Shego without Drakken, on the other hand, would be nowhere near predictable. And considering what had happened to land the super-powered woman in The Crate instead of a 'normal' maximum security prison, Doctor Director had absolutely no doubts that while she would be aggressive and chaotic, the only predictable thing about Shego would be her going after Kim Possible. Closing her eye in thought, she reluctantly came to a decision a moment later. Picking up the internal line phone on her desk she said, "Put me through to Doctor Shaw."

"I'm sorry, Doctor Director, but Doctor Shaw has left for the day," came the voice of someone from the GJARADD a moment later. "She and her daughter went to the cafeteria, I believe."

"Then have her report to my office as soon as they're finished eating," she said. Setting the phone back in its cradle, she looked up at her door and said, "Just enter, Du." She could sense the pause at the door before the knob turned and Agent William Du walked in. Though young compared to her, he had proven himself time and again as one of her most capable agents.

"It never ceases to amaze me how you can tell who's outside your office," he said as he came in and shut the door. "Have you seen the report from The Crate."

"I just finished reading it," she replied. "We'll need to get in touch with Kim Possible."

"I'm afraid that may be impossible, Doctor."

"Explain."

"I've been in touch with her tech support, Wade Load, and he says she hasn't responded to her . . . kimmunicator . . . all day."

"Is something wrong, then?"

"He wouldn't say, although he has confirmed – via contact with Miss Possible's mother – that she is at home."

"We'll have to worry about her later, then," Betty said reluctantly.

"With all due respect, ma'am, we need Kim Possible. She's the only one who can stand against Shego."

"I believe that Kimberly may be temporarily unavailable for now."

"We can't take down Shego without her."

"Will, we do have a means of dealing with Shego other than relying on Kim Possible." She sighed, and in her next words Will heard a great deal of reluctance. "I'm going to formally activate Project Firefly.

E/N: And there it is. The first chapter of a brand-new story. Kim seems to be in a deep depression now, after confessing to Ron that she isn't going to be his girlfriend. She also seems to be dealing with the guilt and emotional trauma of the Li'l Diablo incident, though not very well. Shego's just broken out of the most secure prison in the world, and is out to take revenge on Kim Possible.

And exactly who – or what – is Rebecca Shaw? Is she really Isabella's daughter, or is there something more going on here? What is Project Firefly? Will Kim recover and go back to saving the world again? These questions and more will be answered in the next chapter of Red Flame, "Shadows of a Broken Soul."