Kimberly Ann Possible was furious. She stormed out of the large country mansion she lived in and struggled to run in her hoop skirt. She didn't want to sit around and look pretty like she had been doing for her whole nine years she was alive. She didn't want to sit and learn how to be a proper lady and take etiquette lessons while her four year old brothers got to do whatever they wanted and run around the plantation. When Kimberly was four, she didn't get to take her shoes off and get dirty. She didn't get to climb trees and scrape her knees. She didn't get to jump in the lake on hot summer days or eat at the neighborhood barbeques. Instead, Kimberly got to sit there, sit up straight, smile, and look pretty with her unique red hair put up in place by a girl about her age with dark skin.

Even though she was the oldest sibling at nine years old, her four year old brothers would inherit everything. Kimberly would collect nothing and she was slowly realizing this as she observed southern society in rural Georgia. She heard her mother calling her name, her father demanding she come back, and her brothers laughing at her outburst at dinner.

The nine year old ran, kicking off her shoes, and tried to outrun her father. Kimberly tripped, falling and crying out when she scraped her soft hands on the ground. Her father lifted her up and carried her back inside.

It wasn't fair.

And Kimberly never noticed that her life wasn't fair until she made a trip to Atlanta with her family earlier that week.

It had been a warm spring day when Kimberly accompanied her father to the bustling city. Her mother stayed back home with her brothers and Kimberly was so excited to spend some one on one time with her father. She recalled smiling up at him at an auction when he made the highest bid and won. On what, Kimberly had no idea because she couldn't see above all of the adults standing in front of her.

She was such a good girl standing there with her father as he spoke with his friends even though she was completely ignored. It was normal and she knew her place, but when she saw some kids running around the fair, she was curious. She was used to seeing her brothers run around, but when she saw a girl participating, it caught her attention and she became curious. Kimberly never really questioned anything before because she was never given the opportunity and she grew up on a plantation and rarely left her home. This was her first trip to Atlanta and she had never been this stimulated by her surroundings before. She loved it.

Kimberly allowed herself to be curious and looked towards the other children. She locked eyes with a girl about her age. The girl's eyes were a bright, shocking deep green and reminded Kimberly of her mother's emerald earrings she wore during Christmas dinner. Kimberly's olive eyes forgot to blink for a moment as she stared at the girl in awe. The exchanged happened quickly, and the girl turned around and rushed off.

Without even thinking and letting this newfound curiosity take over, Kimberly slipped away from her father and followed the girl through the crowd. It was difficult in her large hoop skirt, but it wasn't impossible and she left the fair behind her. The girl with green eyes turned around and smirked at her and walked backwards towards an empty sidewalk. The city was relatively empty, Kimberly noted, because of the fair in town. The girl darted around the corner behind a building and Kimberly continued to follow her.

When Kimberly stopped moving, she realized she was sweating. Her many layers were not ideal for moving quickly around the fair, but she didn't regret her hair sticking to her forehead or the way her chest heaved up and down. The girl, however, wasn't out of breath, but her hair was sticking to her forehead, too. Her hair was dark, contrasting with her pale complexion. Despite her fair skin, it was obvious this girl spent much of her time outside. Her feet were dirty and her dress wasn't very thick. She didn't wear a hoop skirt like Kimberly. Instead, she wore a simple dress, but it was torn so that her ankles were showing. The pink of her dress was faded while Kimberly's own pink and white dress skirts were bright and didn't have a smudge on them.

The bright eyed girl was thin in an unattractive way. Her thinness showed she didn't get to eat much and it didn't take a genius for Kimberly to figure out this girl was poor. She hadn't really been exposed to many poor people in her short life, but she knew that they were dirty and gross people. Although this girl was dirty, she didn't seem to be gross. Kimberly was intrigued by her and the way she moved so fluidly through the crowd while Kimberly stiffly stumbled her way through.

"I knew you'd follow me," the girl grinned. Her calloused fingers ran through her hair to push it out of her face. Her voice wasn't clear like Kimberly's and it was a little scratchy. She had a strange accent that Kimberly never heard before and she could tell she wasn't from Georgia. "You looked so bored just standing there with your father," she remarked.

"I wasn't bored," Kimberly defended.

"Oh please. They weren't even paying attention to you," she laughed. "It's not your fault. Adults can be boring."

"My name is Kimberly Ann Possible of Middleton Manor," she introduced herself the proper way she was taught.

"Seriously?" the girl frowned and cocked up one perfect eyebrow. She crossed her arms and Kimberly had to stop herself from cringing at how she presented herself. "That's how you introduce yourself?"

"Well, how would you do it?" Kimberly asked defensively.

"I wasn't going to." Kimberly looked down, defeated and embarrassed. She could tell this girl was maybe a couple of years older than her and she didn't want to seem like such a baby because her lower lip quivered. "Sheila," the girl said, her tone not as harsh. "My name's Sheila Gordon. But my friends call me Shego."

"Why would they call you that?"

"It's better than Sheila," she laughed. "It's a nickname."

"I don't have a nickname," the nine year old pouted. Kimberly had never been graced with a nickname before. Her twin brothers, James and Timothy, were called Jim and Tim, but Kimberly was always just Kimberly.

"Well, I'm not going to call you Kimberly," Sheila wrinkled her nose. "Kimmie is much better."

"Kimmie?" It sounded so informal and she didn't really like it all that much. "Why not Kim?"

"How about this, kid. I call you Kimmie and everyone else can call you Kim," Shego informed her. "I've heard of Middleton Manor, actually. I live six miles down the road from it."

"How come I never saw you at the neighborhood barbeques before?" Kimberly questioned.

"We just moved here," Shego shrugged. Kimberly didn't question it. She wanted to climb on the piles of wood like Shego started to, but she couldn't. However, she found that when Shego helped her out of her hoop skirt and wire frame, she was able to climb easily and she marveled at the feeling of wood up against her bare feet once she kicked her shoes off. She was in her underskirt and it wasn't really appropriate, but it didn't matter because she was playing, really playing, for the first time in her life! Kimberly, no, Kim, was running, climbing, and jumping with Shego- a strange girl she just met, a girl unlike any other she ever met before! She watched Shego in awe as she climbed up a tree when they found one in the city and she looked up and blushed when she saw up Shego's dress and saw her bloomers. But it didn't matter when Shego caught her and she laughed when she jumped down from the one tree on the side of the street.

Kim forgot all about her manners and her father and how she was told to act because this was fun. It was no wonder her brothers enjoyed this! Maybe she'd join them next time and they can teach her to climb and run and jump just as good as Shego. Maybe Kim would invite Shego over to play and they'd play on the plantation. There were so many trees Kim wanted to learn how to climb there!

The girls were having fun, they were laughing, and they were simply enjoying life. Until Kim's father finally found her and she was so embarrassed to be caught without her skirt on or her shoes with her ankles exposed. The look of shame and disappointment on his face made her look down at her dirty feet. And then he took her home and she never got to say goodbye to Shego.

"What has gotten into you, Kimberly?" Kimberly's father's voice dragged her from her recent memory.

"It's Kim," she said as she fought against him. She had a slight taste of freedom that day in Atlanta she longed for. Kim wasn't meant to sit around and be a perfect, good little girl. She was meant for adventure and she absolutely craved it. She wanted to run and feel the grass in between her toes. She wanted to climb up a tree, she wanted to fall and scrape her knee. Kim didn't want to be forbidden to do the things boys got to do. She wanted to be like Shego and have the freedom to have real fun, but her parents prevented her from having that kind of adventure and despite her perfect life, she resented it.

I found this old story on my computer. I actually like the idea and I haven't written for Kim Possible in 3 years and I miss it. For some reason, many of my older KP stories show Shego as a victim and I absolutely hate that. When I stumbled on this old story and brief outline, I was glad to see that's not where this story was going. I don't know if I'll continue this since I'm not sure if people like the idea of an AU pre-civil war. If you want more, please let me know in a review. I would love to hear any suggestions you may have. Thank you!