“What do you think you're doing?” Kim hissed at Shego. “Get out of my goddamn stall!”
“Hiding is beneath you,” Shego snarled.
“What hiding? I'm here to use the bathroom! Why do you always pick fights in bathrooms anyway? And hey, this is a public bathroom. As in, other people are here, and I am NOT having this conversation with you in public!”
“Since when have I ever cared what other people thought? And what exactly is ‘this conversation’?”
“Hey, I agree with the first girl. Could you two take this outside?”
Shego glared at the wall separating them from the girl in the next stall who had spoken. “Excuse me,” she told Kim, unlocking the door and storming back outside. She drew one of her gloves from her handbag, slipped it on, snapped her fingers, and pressed her palm against the door of the next stall over.
“Shego!” Kim gasped.
“Don't worry,” Shego said drolly. When a circular patch of ice had formed in the center of the door, she cocked her arm back and elbowed it forcefully. Shards of frozen metal buckled and cascaded into the stall, showering the woman inside with ice.
Kim's face dropped into her hands as the girl screamed. Shego reached an arm in and grabbed the shrieking woman. “How about you give us a little privacy instead?!” she growled. “Kim would appreciate it.”
She let go, and within thirty seconds, not one but all the stall doors opened and frightened women ran out of the ladies’ room. Kim could hear the beginnings of an uproar outside.
“Did you have to do that?” Kim moaned.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just we'll be banned for life.”
“This isn't my town,” Shego said. “It's small. It's smaller than either of us. Speaking of you and me, how about we talk now?”
Kim glared at her. “About what?”
“Denial, Kimmie? Come on! You're saying there's nothing to talk about?”
“You really want to talk about it? Fine! Why did you sneak up on me and put your arms around me, Shego?”
“You didn't seem too upset.”
“My eyes were closed! I didn't know it was you.”
“I never knew you were into picking up strange guys on the dance floor,” Shego replied, looking unconcerned as she sat on the counter where the sinks were. “Although I don't know many men with arms like mine. AND I'm pretty sure you opened your eyes before the song ended.”
Kim turned away. “Before we start talking about me, how about we stick to the first question? Namely you?”
Shego put her hand on Kim's shoulder and spun her around before Kim even knew it. “I told you, I don't share,” she said calmly, but her eyes were dark and intense.
“So?”
“You're the one who wanted me to let you into my life,” Shego replied. “So I did. Suddenly it's Ron and Monique and family dinners. Well I am marking my territory, Kim.”
“We're not wolves, Shego,” Kim shot back, “and you don't own me.”
“You're not like them,” Shego said stubbornly. “You're like me. You don't need these people. They hold you back.”
“They are my family and friends, Shego. Is this concept so completely foreign to you?”
“We're friends, aren't we? So I think I grasp the concept just fine.”
Kim exhaled, frustrated. “This is going in circles. Why do we always have to fight over who takes the next step forward? Look, I didn't want to be dancing alone. That's why I let you touch me. And then, when I knew it was you, I - felt safe. I…” She waved a hand, trying to make it sound like it was nothing. “I had a sudden flashback to the Acceptables falling, and I didn't want to think about it, so I held onto you. Happy?”
Shego took a step back, startled by Kim's candidness. Suddenly she seemed like the nervous one.
“This,” Kim added, “is where you tell me what you're holding back.”
Shego licked her lips and assumed a posture that was almost defensive. “I - “ she began to say.
They both heard the ladies’ room entrance open. “Do you mind?!” they asked in unison, whipping their heads around to look at the new arrival.
“Kimmie, can't I take you anywhere?”
Kim stared. “Monique?!”
Shego took in the all-black outfit. “Which name am I supposed to use now?” she asked sarcastically.
“Oryx will do,” Monique said, her voice slightly modified by the mask that covered her face while allowing her to breathe normally. “They're about ready to call the police out there.”
“Why are you dressed like that?” Kim asked. “I thought you didn't like to be seen.”
“I keep a spare in the car,” Oryx replied. “And when they come in here and find the room empty, I think it'll add to my reputation.”
“How's that going to happen?” Shego asked, not believing it.
Oryx took Kim by the hand and led her to the stall furthest from the door. She removed a device from a pocket and pushed the button. Some of the floor tiles slid aside, revealing an opening.
Kim looked behind her at Shego, then back at Oryx. “Where does this lead?”
“A few years ago some geeks were using the old subway tunnels below Middleton…”
“Robot wars, right, I remember,” Kim said.
“Yeah, well, they've moved on to greener pastures, which means I've started using them for high-speed travel from one part of the city to another. I can come to the Planetarium, leave through here, fight crime, come back, and everybody thinks I was here all night,” Oryx explained.
“Where'd you get the technology?”
“Wade.”
“Wade?”
“Nerdlinger. It figures.”
“He needs someone to test out his devices. And you were out of the game until recently. He volunteered his services. Could we maybe go now before club security decides to come looking for us?”
Kim sighed. The night had become progressively more surreal. “I hope my outfit won't get too dirty,” she muttered as she leapt down.
“After you,” Oryx told Shego.
“Thanks,” she said dryly. “Where next, the Batcave?”
“Do I look like I have that kind of money?”
“You could always steal it.”
Oryx put her hands on her hips and looked at her. “You ever steal something from my town, and you'll answer to me.”
“Whatever,” Shego said, but Oryx stopped her when she tried to pass.
“And if you ever abuse Kim's trust in you,” she said icily, “I will personally see to your destruction.”
Shego bared her teeth. “As long as the rest of you don't hold her back, we'll get along just fine.”
“Hold her back?”
“Uh, guys? It's kind of dark down here.”
Shego brushed Oryx's arm aside and disappeared into the hole.
Oryx shook her head and followed. But she did something first.
Two minutes later, when two bouncers and the manager went inside, there was no sign of anyone. The only thing they found was a small card with the word “ORYX” written on it.
The “R” was underlined.
“Wooo-HOO! Express elevator to Hell!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Kim sighed and held on.
Shego had a look of maniacal glee in her eyes as she bore down on the stick. The ship descended at an angle that was almost perpendicular to the earth's surface.
Ron looked at Shego, his face drained of color. “You really are from Hell,” he croaked. “You're going to kill us all!”
“Oh, Ron, so not the drama,” Kim assured him.
“Pulling up… 3, 2, 1, NOW!” Shego barked. She yanked back on the stick and pulled so hard that she almost stood up in her seat.
The ship's descent slowed as it banked in a parabolic curve and began ascending again. Ron was plastered to his seat. He would have screamed again, but his lungs were flattened and he couldn't inhale.
“Sappho!” Shego ordered. “Can you execute a rolling maneuver?”
“Can I roll?” Sappho asked in almost rapturous ecstasy. “Honey, I rock when I roll.”
“Please put your trays in their upright position,” Shego crowed, “and zip your pockets if you've got any loose change.”
“Take it easy, Shego,” Kim cautioned her. “This vehicle is one of its kind, and it cost a fortune.”
“That's what test flights are all about, Kimmie,” Shego said. “Testing for flaws.”
The ship made a sniffing sound that suggested its opinion on the likelihood of finding flaws.
“Sappho, let's try a slow roll followed by an Immelman, okay?” Shego asked.
“I leave my controls in those capable hands of yours, Shego,” Sappho purred.
Kim rolled her eyes. Ron's eyes rolled back into their sockets.
Shego glanced at Kim, and the heroine was struck by how alive she was. She was almost breathtakingly beautiful at that moment.
Had the words ‘breathtakingly beautiful’ just crossed her mind? In connection to Shego?
“Hey, Kimmie!”
Kim looked up. “Huh?”
“You were looking a little zoned out there,” Shego said. “Didn't think that would freak you out.”
“No, I'm - fine,” Kim said. “I was just distracted.”
“In that case, we'd better land,” Shego replied. “Stoppable passed out.”
“Those were some very, um, entertaining flight patterns,” Dr. Possible said to Kim when he met her on the airfield.
“Shego was flying for the last few minutes,” Kim explained. “Her piloting skills are a little more daring than mine.”
“Sappho?” Dr. Freeman asked. “The control tower said something about a second, pink ship being spotted up there. Know anything about it?” he asked wryly.
“Sorry, Dr. Freeman,” Sappho replied. She sounded beat. “Sometimes I just lose control of my color functions in the middle of a particularly good maneuver.”
Ron slowly crawled out of the ship. “I don't remember any good maneuvers,” he whimpered.
“How was my little girl, Sappho?” Dr. Possible asked.
“Kim is a very adept pilot, Dr. Possible,” Sappho told him. “But Shego - she can drive me any time she likes. When she sat at the controls, her fingers were especially skilled.”
“You've got a dirty CPU, Sappho,” Sadie responded. Dr. Freeman was sitting behind her wheel.
“It's not my fault if only one of us appreciates the need for speed,” Sappho said.
“Girls, let's not fight,” Dr. Freeman pleaded.
Shego came over, grinning from ear to ear. “That was five by five,” she breathed. “I've never handled a ship that was so responsive to my touch.”
“Those two are made for each other,” Sadie mumbled.
Kim glanced behind her. “Oh, Ron,” she said, concerned. She went over to him. “It's a good thing you didn't eat first,” she added as she helped him up.
“Please don't mention food again,” he mumbled. “And the word ‘beer’ is off-limits for the rest of the day.”
Privately Kim wondered if Shego's piloting display had been intended to reduce Ron to this state. Or if she'd known Kim wouldn't be fazed by the acrobatics, and wanted her to compare her response to Ron's.
“When will you understand that this isn't a competition, Shego?” she thought. “You don't need to ‘win’. I want us to be friends. What more do you want?”
For her part, Shego watched Kim tending to Ron, and her eyes narrowed into angry slits. She and Kim were a breed apart. Why didn't she get that?
She barely acknowledged Sappho's warm farewell as she got into Sadie's backseat and stewed.
“Is something wrong with her?” Dr. Freeman asked his colleague quietly.
“Don't worry,” Dr. Possible reassured him. “Kim says she's always like that.”
“Wade,” Kim said as her Kimmunicator went off. “When did you start helping Monique with her nighttime activities?”
Expecting just to pass along his information, Wade stared at the viewscreen. “Don't you want the sitch?”
“You're damn right I do. What's the sitch with you and Monique?”
He looked uncomfortable. “I'm not sure that's any of your business, Kim. It's kind of private.”
“Oh, please. She already told me all about it.”
“She did?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We've only gone out a few times, Kim. Nothing's happened yet.”
“Nothing's… “ Kim's voice trailed off. “Wade?” she asked menacingly.
Shego chuckled from behind her. “What we have here is a failure to Kimmunicate,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“I was talking about you helping Oryx with your technology. What were you talking about?”
Wade started sweating. “Uh, the same thing?”
“You're dating Monique?!”
“I'm eighteen,” he said defensively.
“Dating?!”
“We met one night so I could give her a couple gadgets I came up with. We got to talking and…”
“How come I wasn't told? And how come she gets to see you in person and I don't?!”
“For a minute there I thought this wasn't all about you.”
“Shego, do you mind?” Kim hissed at her. The brunette smirked and held her hands up.
“We're both adults, Kim,” Wade said. “We would have told you and Ron if it started getting serious. What's the big deal?”
Kim grumbled. “Nothing. What else is new?”
“I found out where Doctor Drakken is hiding.”
Shego and Kim both tensed. Shego's fingers made strangling motions in the air. “Where?” Kim asked.
“It's one of his old abandoned ones. Looks like he saved money by refurbishing it. It's in the mountains in northern Mexico.”
“I know where that one is,” Shego said quietly.
“Thanks, Wade. We'll take care of it.” Kim turned it off before he could say anything else.
“That was abrupt,” Shego noted.
“What?”
“Not even a goodbye? And so concerned about his personal life? I'd almost say you were jealous,” Shego said, smirking.
Kim flushed as she glared at her. “It was a shock.”
“And?”
“And - and I'm the only person who's still single,” Kim sighed. “Ron, Monique, Wade… even Bonnie has someone. Where's mine?”
Shego looked away, tapping her fingers restlessly.
“What, no snappy comeback?” Kim asked.
“I'm not much of a talker. I'm more of a doer,” Shego muttered.
“True,” Kim said.
“You…”
“Yes, Shego?”
“You - wanted to know why I danced with you,” she said apprehensively.
Kim nodded, now focused on Shego. “Why?”
“When I saw you dancing alone, I wanted to tell you something,” Shego murmured.
“What?”
Shego tossed her hair, looking anxious.
“Shego, you can tell me anything,” Kim said. “You may not like to share, but you have to share some things with me.”
“I - “ Shego got up and sat next to Kim. “Like I said,” she said softly, “I'm a doer, not a talker.”
She put her hand on Kim's shoulder, leaned forward, and kissed her.
To be continued…