Before Kim had taken three steps away from Sadie, a small whirring noise alerted her to an airborne presence as a Kimmunicator dropped neatly into her palm. “What's the sitch, Wade?” she asked as she turned it on.
“It's up-to-date,” he said. “The others aren't ready yet.”
“Good. Listen, I want you to hack into the hospital's security systems and monitor Monique's room. We left her there alone and I don't want to chance her attacker coming back for her if we don't end this now.”
“Wait, wait, hospital room?!”
Kim paused. In all the excitement of Monique's injuries and Shego's mysterious absence, no one had thought to tell Wade what happened. As in Wade, who had dated her recently. “Wade, I'm sorry,” she sighed. “Someone should have told you. Monique was in a fire at Club Banana. If we hadn't found her there, she might have died. And a few minutes ago, Shego called to say that the woman who set the fire is in her apartment.”
Wade got up from his chair. “I can be there in five minutes.”
“Whoa, whoa, Wade. Are you serious?”
“What, just because I usually don't leave my room, I can't visit her?” he asked belligerently.
“No, it's just - how can you protect her better? At your computer, or in her room with your bare hands?”
Wade glowered at her. “Here, I guess.”
“Don't worry, when we get her, you can spend all day there if you want,” Kim assured him.
“Damn straight.”
“Uh, KP?” Ron asked. “If Monique says this woman looks like Shego, how do we tell them apart?”
“Not another clone,” Wade groaned.
“It's not confirmed, Wade. I'll try to make sure we get some DNA samples if she gets away,” Kim told him. “And Monique said she had white streaks in her hair. Let's focus on that. Besides, I'm thinking the one we want is the one who fights with us, as opposed to against us.”
“Good point,” Ron said.
“What shall I do, Kim?” Sadie asked.
“You still got that disintegrator ray in your trunk?”
“Charged and ready to fire in two seconds,” the car informed her.
“Keep it that way,” Kim told her. If it was the only way to protect Monique - she'd killed once. What was a second time?
“What about transportation?” Shego asked. “I'm not exactly flush with cash right now, and we don't have an airship at our disposal like I did when I worked for Drakken.”
“Maybe we could swipe one from him,” the Supreme One replied diffidently.
“That could be difficult,” Shego chuckled.
“Why?”
“Because he's being held indefinitely for questioning by Global Justice. Terrorism charges.”
The Supreme One raised her eyebrows. “So, GJ finally got some balls, huh?”
“How'd you stop them in the future, anyway?”
“Lawyers,” the Supreme One said.
“Lawyers?”
“Need I remind you? I was the wealthiest woman in the world. When GJ first got wind of my behind-the-scenes activities, I sued them for harassment. I actually had a temporary restraining order for three years where no GJ agent could come within a thousand yards of me.” She chuckled. “Eventually I used my special collars to ‘convince’ Congress to halt GJ's funding. Their head bitch Director was one of the first resistance leaders, but…” The Supreme One shrugged.
“But what?” Shego asked.
“But when I was through with her, she was missing a lot more than an eye,” the Supreme One said evilly.
Shego stiffened. The Acceptables had removed one of Dr. Director's ears when she wouldn't give them what they wanted. She didn't like hearing her future self admit to doing things the likes of John Acceptable did. Things that Kim, for all her angst over causing Mrs. Acceptable's death, could never accept.
It made Shego wonder - if Kim saw the kind of person Shego might become, would she want her any more?
She shook her head angrily. When had she been this pathetically needy? When had she put others’ interests ahead of her own? Since she'd started dating Kim, that's when. Maybe she needed to rethink betraying the Supreme One…
“You leave anyone behind?” Shego asked quietly.
“What?”
“You know - husband, boyfriend, lover, someone?”
The Supreme One shrugged and studied her nails. “I had a series of lovers. I tended to have their minds wiped when it was over. They knew too much. But no one that mattered, no.”
Shego repressed a shudder. Even turning soft was better than turning into the older woman sitting across the table from her.
So where the hell was Kim then?
It was at that moment that someone rang the doorbell.
“Finally,” Shego thought.
“Is this why you were asking if I left someone behind? Were we expecting male company?” the Supreme One asked, smirking.
“A man? Hardly,” Shego said as she went to the door. For all her snide humor, the Supreme One followed closely behind, constantly on the alert for anything that smelled funny.
Shego leaned forward and looked through the peephole. Kim was standing there, looking ready to beat someone down and coldly enjoy every second of it.
She smiled. That was why she stayed with Kim. It wasn't that Shego was less like the Supreme One than she led the time traveler to think. It was that Kim was more like Shego, and consequently was closer to her heart, than even her alternate self. “I thought we would both appreciate one of these, so I called delivery.”
“A pizza?” the Supreme One asked, looking doubtful.
Shego opened the door and stood behind it, so that she was out of the way. “An evening with Kim Possible.”
Kim instantly spotted the white lines in the Supreme One's hair, as the startled former dictator stood there, a couple feet inside the front door. The Supreme One recognized her almost as quickly, but the key word was “almost”. Kim saved the banter for later and kicked her foot out, striking the Supreme One in the mouth.
“Glad you could make it,” Shego said dryly.
“Wouldn't miss this for the world,” Kim replied.
“Hey, I really AM giving up the world for this, so try not to remind me of it, okay?”
Kim looked blankly at her before the Supreme One leapt to her feet. “Kim Possible!” she shrieked. “Soon you'll be dead like your friend!”
She almost retorted that Monique had survived, but Kim held her tongue. Better to allow this woman to think Monique was dead. She took a moment to get a better look at her opponent, and even though Monique had said she might be a clone, Kim was still amazed at how alike the two women looked. “You're not hurting anybody else tonight, whatever you are.”
“It's complicated. I'd explain, but you might need some aspirin,” Shego said as she darted into the bedroom.
“When I'm through with you, you'll need a lot more than aspirin,” the Supreme One growled as she snapped her fingers, energizing her gloves.
“Well, isn't that just peachy,” Kim said, sighing.
“Did we win yet?” Ron asked, leaning his head in from the outside corridor. “Or are we still bantering with the clone?”
The Supreme One glared at Ron with murder in her eyes, and for once, it wasn't because of a clone remark. “You,” she snarled, raising both hands above her head.
“Uh-oh,” Ron said, recognizing what was coming next. He dove into the apartment and out of the way as the Supreme One unleashed a double plasma blast and gouged a large hole in the wall by Shego's front door.
“You can't escape me forever, Stoppable!” the Supreme One screamed as she completely ignored Kim and dove after Ron.
Kim was left flat-footed for a moment as she watched. Ron was usually the diversion, not the primary target. “Cellular degradation affecting the clone's brain already,” she muttered as she ran after the Supreme One.
Shego burst out of the bedroom a second later in her jumpsuit and new gloves. “All right, let's kick… hey, get out of my kitchen!”
“No problem!” Ron yelled as he dove over her counter, narrowly avoiding a swipe of green fire.
The Supreme One was about to follow when she felt a finger on her shoulder. “What?!”
Then she screeched as she got a blast of liquid in her face.
“Look,” she growled as she stumbled backwards, “for the last fucking time, I AM NOT A CLONE!!!”
“Actually, that was beer, not soda,” Kim said. “And I wasn't trying to make you melt.”
She swung the glass bottle through the hair and shattered it on the Supreme One's head, inflicting a bloody scalp wound and lacerations on her forehead that made her opponent reel.
“I was just emptying the bottle,” she added.
“A little help here, Shego?!” the Supreme One called out as she doused her flames and tried to rub blood and beer out of her eyes.
“Help getting your ass beat?” Shego asked. “Not a… problem?”
All three watched, transfixed, as the ugly cuts on the Supreme One's forehead slowly healed and vanished, without even a scar.
“Uh-oh,” Ron said.
“You could have told me she did that!” Kim hissed.
“I didn't know!” Shego shot back.
The Supreme One looked back at them, confused, and Kim realized that not even she knew of her healing ability. It wasn't much of an advantage, and she'd probably figure it out sooner or later, but at least for now it was…
“Dude, those cuts on her forehead just closed right up!” Ron yelped.
Kim slapped her hand over her face.
Perplexed, the Supreme One touched her forehead gingerly. A smile slowly spread across her face. Lowering her hand, she used her claws to slash three lines across her own forearm.
“Hey, those are MY clothes you're tearing!” Shego growled.
The Supreme One ignored her as the cuts quickly disappeared. “Coooool,” she said.
“Is there anything else I should know about her?” Kim asked Shego.
“Where to begin? Oh, she's homicidally insane, and she'd be from the future if it still existed.”
“Huh?”
“Basically what I said,” Shego added dryly.
The Supreme One's glee was replaced with rage. “Why are you telling her EVERYTHING?” she demanded.
“Hello? Haven't you figured it out yet? Who do you think told her you were here?” Shego asked. “I swear, you'd think they'd have better senility medication in the future.”
Shego barely dodged the plasma burst that soared over her head.
The Supreme One blew on one finger, her gloves having been re-energized. “Heh,” she said, smiling coldly. “Now I wonder if some guiding hand sent me here. Maybe I'm supposed to stop myself from making the biggest mistake of my life - turning into Ron Stoppable.”
“That kinda sounded like an insult,” Ron said.
“I'm pretty sure it was,” Shego told him, seething.
He folded his arms. “Well, now I'm insulted.”
Shego snarled and leapt forward, slashing her claws through the air. The Supreme One didn't even try to defend herself, and Shego's gloves ripped unimpeded across her torso, leaving tears in the fabric and several bloody slashes. She cried out and took two steps back, allowing a maddened Shego to continue her assault.
“Shego, hold it!” Kim shouted, trying to calm Shego down. “It's not doing any good!”
Kim was right. The Supreme One's cuts and bruises continued to vanish mere seconds after being inflicted, and the increasingly damaged suit was the only sign she'd been injured to begin with. But Shego seemed like a woman possessed, and the pain she was dishing out was at least lasting enough that the Supreme One wasn't able to mount much of a counter-offensive.
Eventually, however, Shego pulled back, panting heavily from the exertion. The Supreme One needed only an instant to summon and fire a concentrated blast of green fire at the vulnerable Shego. The only reason it didn't tear her in two was because of Kim, who had been unable to help Shego in the confined quarters and who had expected the Supreme One to take advantage of Shego like this, tackling Shego out of the way.
As Kim rolled out of the way, she drew her grappling hook and fired it. The cable wound around the Supreme One's legs, dropping her to the floor. “While she's occupied, I vote retreat,” Kim said.
“Seconded!” Ron added.
Shego's lips were pulled back in a grimace. “I'm sick and tired of renting apartments just so I can be driven out of them by people trying to kill me!” she said stubbornly.
“Emphasis on the trying to kill you part,” Kim reminded her. “We need to fall back! We can't win when she's healing her injuries faster than you can cause them!”
The Supreme One was tearing away at the cable around her legs. She was burning her own legs with her green flames, but obviously she'd concluded she could live with it.
The sight of her opponent ignoring the pain like this finally convinced Shego. “Damn it,” Shego grunted, stumbling to her feet. “All right, let's go.”
“You won't get away from me,” the Supreme One sneered. Her leg burns were severe enough that she couldn't regain her feet yet, but she could still raise her hands above her head. They glowed more brightly every second.
“Okay, let's go quickly,” Shego amended as she grabbed Kim by the wrist. She didn't even consider trying for the front door, pulling Kim toward the glass door that led to her tiny balcony.
Rufus looked out of Ron's pocket and saw the green fire that was sure to come their way any second now. “Eep!” he said, burrowing back into the pants pocket.
“Uh, yeah, I second that too,” Ron muttered as he hurried after Kim and Shego.
The Supreme One didn't even consider the possibility that by destroying her younger self, she might be killing herself as well, along with creating a major paradox.
Of course, her very continued existence was a paradox in its own right, so perhaps considering the possibility wouldn't have made a difference.
“You like pushing people out of windows, Kimmie?!” she screamed. “See how YOU like it!”
Kim, Shego, and Ron all dove for the back door. Shego had the presence of mind to let go of Kim's wrist as she re-activated her gloves and pressed them against the glass. That instant's touch froze the glass enough that they didn't do any major damage to their own bodies when they leapt through the glass. Shego was still first as she tumbled across the balcony and kicked the wooden railing, splintering it before the trio smashed it completely and sailed out into space.
The Supreme One flung her hands forward, and a green wave of fire, easily three feet wide, blasted through Shego's living room and into the sky. It narrowly singed one of Ron's sneakers, the only other harm it caused.
Shego landed easily, but she grunted as Ron struck her with his knee on the way down, falling to one knee. “Stoppable,” she growled, clenching her fist.
“Sorry,” Ron said.
“STOPPABLE!!!”
“I think she likes you, Ron,” Kim said dryly as the Supreme One's cry echoed overhead.
“I hope violence and mayhem isn't how Shego shows she likes YOU,” Ron retorted.
“What did you think I was doing all those years?” Shego asked wickedly.
“Come on, move it!” Kim shouted as she grabbed Ron by the shoulder and pushed him forward. “She'll be on us any second! She doesn't strike me as someone who's gonna wait for the elevator.”
“A second's all I need,” Shego said as she followed Kim and Ron off the sidewalk that circled her apartment building. She turned and pressed her palms against the concrete. It was swiftly covered in a sheen of ice that was barely visible in the moonlight, and then only if you were looking for it.
The Supreme One was not looking for it. She wasn't even fully aware of Shego's new ability. Her legs were completely healed, although bare below the knees thanks to the green-and-black suit having been burned off, when she vaulted off Shego's balcony.
They were no longer completely healed when she landed, slipped on the ice, and sprained her ankle.
She choked back a cry of pain as she dragged herself across the ice and onto the grass. Pulling herself onto her feet, she took limping steps forward, trusting she'd be running at full speed in a moment.
“Guys, she's still coming,” Ron said as he looked over his shoulder. “Or walking, anyway.”
“Not for long, I'm guessing,” Shego said as they arrived at the parking lot.
“Sadie!” Kim called out.
“Yes, Kim!”
“Prepare to fire at the woman following us!”
“Great,” Shego grumbled. “Another visit by KITT… wait, did you say fire?”
“I see you, Stoppable!” the Supreme One called tauntingly as she approached with increasing speed.
“Hello! What the hell is it with you?!” Ron shouted back, annoyed. “I'm just the sidekick! You know, like you!”
“You're not helping, Ron,” Shego growled.
“Sadie, now!” Kim said urgently.
A futuristic cannon emerged from Sadie's rear and pointed in the Supreme One's direction. The barrel glowed with a white light that hurt the eyes.
The Supreme One skidded to a halt. “Uh-oh,” she said.
The disintegrator ray fired. A powerful beam lanced out into the night. Turning, the Supreme One tried to flee, and that was what saved her from a fate even her new healing ability might not be able to mend. The blast struck the ground where she stood, blowing a huge hole in the earth. The percussive effect of the blast, however, blew out the Supreme One's eardrums as it hurled her fifty feet in the other direction. She landed in a boneless heap and groaned as she rolled over onto her back.
“She's no longer in range, Kim,” Sadie informed them. “Should I approach and fire again?”
“No,” Kim told her, furrowing her brow. “We're not even sure if your ray can stop her for good. Or if you can land a second hit.”
“You're not sure if it can stop her?” Sadie asked, offended.
“Sorry, Sadie, but you don't have all the information, and frankly neither do I,” Kim said, casting a glance at Shego as she pulled the passenger door open. “For now, we're falling back until we figure out what to do next.”
Shego gritted her teeth as she struggled into the car. “More running, what fun,” she said.
“Hey, if I want at least five minutes where you tell me who the HELL that was,” Kim shot back, “then we take five minutes. Agreed?”
Shego nodded reluctantly.
“How about she starts with why she kept shouting my name?” Ron suggested as Sadie's tires screeched. The car sped away from the apartment building.
“Guess that doesn't happen too often,” Shego joked snidely.
“Shego,” Kim sighed. “Could you quit it, and give me an idea of what we're up against? If she's not a clone, what is she?”
Shego grunted. “An idea, sure. But it'll take more than five minutes.”
“What about the short, short version?”
“… How about she's a time traveler from a future that doesn't even exist any more, and she mainly blames Stoppable for it,” Shego finally said.
Kim and Ron looked at each other. “Boo-yah!” Ron suddenly cried out. “I don't understand a word she said, but I know it's all about me this time!”
Kim sighed, but she partially agreed with him. She didn't get it either. “Okay, the longer-than-five-minutes version, please,” she said helplessly.
“I still don't get it,” Ron said ten minutes later.
Kim rubbed her eyes and took out her Kimmunicator. “Wade,” she said, “please tell me you understand temporal mechanics better than I do.”
“Don't worry, Monique's doing fine,” he answered with a touch of sarcasm.
Kim was about to apologize when Shego grabbed the device from her hand. “Look, dweeb, you're the only one here who didn't almost get killed tonight, so how about cutting her a little slack?” she snarled, jabbing a finger at the view screen.
“Shego!” Kim hissed, grabbing it back. “Wade, I'm so-”
“No, no, it's all right,” Wade interrupted, sighing. “You don't look so good either. I guess the capturing didn't go too well?”
“No, it didn't,” Kim confirmed. “Which is why you guarding Monique is more important than ever. You said she's okay.”
“Yeah, she's fine,” Wade said. “Now what was this about temporal mechanics?”
“According to Shego, we're dealing with an evil, older version of herself from a future that Ron and I stopped from happening. Only somehow she got sent back to our time, even though she's not supposed to exist any more.”
“Huh,” Wade said, rubbing his chin. “That does sound paradoxical. Well, I could try to help, but you might want to consult an expert. We've got one right here in Middleton, you know.”
“We do?” Kim asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Sure. Betty Director wrote her thesis on temporal mechanics. Apparently she's traveled through time once or twice herself.”
“Doctor Director?”
“Betty?” Shego asked.
“Could you contact her, Wade, and see if she's willing to help us with an emergency?”
“Her name is Betty?”
“Cool it, Shego.”
“I'll get right on it,” Wade told them. “You know where she lives, right?”
Kim nodded. “Sadie, I've got a new address for you. And Wade - if you can beef up Monique's security in any way, do it. This new Shego has her old powers.”
“I'll see if I can tweak anything,” Wade said. “You guys head for Dr. Director's house. If she's not available, I'll let you know before you get there.”
“Thanks, Wade,” Kim replied, deactivating the communicator.
There was a moment of silence. “So, Scandinavia, huh?” Ron eventually asked.
“It's what she said,” Shego said.
“I hope she at least sent me to Iceland,” Ron said. “Anywhere but Norway. I hate Norwegian food - although I'm not entirely sure why.”
Kim didn't bother to inform Ron that Iceland wasn't anywhere near Scandinavia. “Are you all right?” Kim asked Shego quietly.
Shego looked down. “Physically, yeah. Emotionally - not really.”
Kim reached over and took Shego's hand, squeezing it.
Shego hesitated for a moment before squeezing back.
To be continued…