It's kind of fun to do the impossible. ~ Walt Disney

Kim woke up with a headache. She found it hard to focus; the thing she was most aware of was the stiffness of her back and her arms. She was tied to something. Actually, she was sitting in a chair.

After a while she realized that she could now think clearly, though her vision was still out of focus. Then she realized that was because she was blindfolded.

"Ron?" she said softly.

She heard movement behind her, something like a chair creaking. "K.P.! You're here too!" They bumped heads, and they realized that they were tied to chairs set back-to-back. Kim's hand found Ron's, and she gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Do you have any memory of what happened before we were here?" Ron asked.

Kim thought hard, trying to replay the past day or so. They had gone to school like on a normal day; then they went to Bueno Nacho, but ended up ordering to-go when Wade alerted them to a robbery that was being attempted at the Upperton Museum of Modern Art.

She remembered one conversation, with a jolt.

They practically ran into a group of teenagers in the hallway.

"Hey, have you guys seen any art thieves sneaking around here?" Ron asked.

"Ron, it's them!" Kim exclaimed, gesturing toward the group.

"But they're just teenagers," Ron said with a shrug.

"You're not so bad yourself," one girl, who seemed to be their leader of sorts, said.

That same voice was speaking now. "Good, you're awake. How are you?"

"Um …" Kim was slightly taken aback at the pleasant tone. "We've been better, but then again, we've been worse."

There was a sound like several people walking around them.

"How many of you are there?" Kim cried.

"That depends on who you count. There are more people outside this room. We're an extended family, and a couple friends and allies."

"We only saw four people in the museum. Are they here?"

"Maybe."

"Who are you?" Kim demanded.

The lead girl answered again. "My code name is Cat."

"Cat like the animal, or like a nickname for Katherine?" Ron asked.

"Take your pick."

A boy with a cool voice answered. "You don't need to know who we are; it's safer that way, for us, and for you too."

That sent a chill up Kim's spine. "Why did you bring us here?"

"Why do you think?" a new, male voice said. "So you wouldn't turn us in. And so we could figure out who you are."

"Have you had any luck with that?" Kim asked, a little sarcastic.

"Oh yes. You're Kimberly Ann Possible, better known as Kim. Your sidekick is Ronald Stoppable. By the way, your cellphone or whatever you call it, is really impressive. I spent all night taking it apart, trying to see how it works."

"WHAT? You little –"

"Take it easy," Ron soothed. "So, now that we're here, what are you going to do with us?"

"We've had a while to confer, while you were unconscious," Kat said. "And we've decided … to release you."

"Really? Just like that?" Kim said. She hadn't expected the teenagers to hold them prisoner or kill them, but it seemed strange to kidnap them if they were just going to release them.

"Well, of course it has to be done properly. We'll take you someplace out of the way, so you won't know where we were before. We'll just be dropping you off."

There was a high, ear-splitting shriek; someone shouted, "Gab!" and then there was a thumping sound. Kim and Ron could hear animalistic gasps and grunts.

"Rufus! Don't hurt him!" Ron begged.

"What is zat?" said a new girl – apparently in her fright she had forgotten to drop her French accent.

"Rufus is a naked mole rat," Ron explained.

"I've heard of weirder," the nonchalant boy said.

The French girl made a noise of disgust.

"Don't take it personally; nothing surprises this guy," Kat said; they weren't sure if she was addressing Ron or her friend.

The kidnappers took Kim's car to "drop them off," as they put it. Kim and Ron were still tied back-to-back, sitting on the floor of the car. The unsurprised boy was keeping Rufus in his pocket (so there was no chance of him gnawing through the ropes).

"Did I mention what a sweet ride you have?" That was from the boy who had been interested in the Kimmunicator.

"Bloody brilliant," the other boy said in an artificial yet realistic-sounding British accent. The others laughed; Kim and Ron wondered if it was an inside joke, or if they actually knew someone who would say that.

"I just have one question for you." Kat paused. "Were you surprised to see us? A bunch of teenagers, I mean?"

"Kat …" someone said warningly.

"Come on, they already saw us, and noticed how old we are. I'm curious – do you see other teenagers like you or me?"

"Well, we have met other teenage villains before," Ron admitted.

The word prompted a snort from one of the unseen captors.

"I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of impressed," Kim said seriously. "I just wish you'd direct your talents to more … socially acceptable pastimes. Like what Ron and I do."

She was sure she heard someone chuckle, while another scoffed.

It was Kat who said, "You chose to be spies; but we were born into this … heist society. That's what I call it. I tried to leave it, once, but I got pulled back in, because it's where my family and friends are. And families stick together."

Kim and Ron were mildly surprised to hear this assertion. They knew it wasn't always true – brothers and sisters could turn on each other, follow their own paths. But Kim was a little touched to hear the firmness in Kat's voice. She wondered if the girl's cohorts were her friends or relatives.

Finally the car stopped. The driver and three passengers got out.

"Here." Kat was pressing something into Kim's hand: a nail file. "It was … refreshing, meeting you."

Unsurprisingly, by the time Kim had filed through the ropes and tore off her blindfold, the four teenage criminals were gone.

Author's Note: I would love to write a multi-chapter story about these two categories; but I've only read Heist Society once, and I haven't yet read the sequel. But I'd love to read a crossover if someone else would write one!