“So… why didn’t it work?” Ron asked, addressing the various geniuses assembled in James Possible’s office. “Any ideas among the four-digit IQ crowd?”
No one jumped to volunteer an answer, which kind of made Kim feel less than optimistic. Things had a habit of working out for her, almost as if some divine force made sure that everything always fell into place for her. When it didn’t… she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“Could it be psychic in nature?” Dr. Director asked. “Something like subconscious sabotage of the link? After all, Shego and her brothers don’t particularly like each other.”
“That can’t be it,” Kim countered. “Shego and I aren’t exactly cuddle buddies, either, but our glows meshed just fine.”
Shego chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation. “I always knew you loved me, princess,” she whispered at Kim, causing the teenager to blush bright red.
Professor Kruger looked up from his notes. “I have another theory.”
“Feel free to theorise.”
Coughing, Kruger took his notes and gave off an air like a teacher standing in front of a filled class room.
“We know that the powers bestowed by the Go comet radiation can be put into two categories. The first one is manipulation of mass. The other is energy manipulation.
“The male members of Team Go all have powers that relate to their mass. Hego can increase his own body’s density to the point where he is nearly impervious and super-strong. Mego can compress his own mass to shrink and, I believe, in time he might also be able to do the opposite and grow.”
“Really?” Mego asked, fascinated. “Why didn’t you ever say anything about that before? That would be so indescribably cool…”
“Yeah,” Shego interrupted him. “And if you try really hard, you might even manage to grow to the size of your ego.”
“Focus, please,” Kim chided them both. “Professor Kruger, please continue!”
“Yes, certainly,” the scientist said, trying to regain his flow. “Well, as I said, the males have mass powers. Density, size, and finally, the Wego twins multiply their body mass, thereby creating their dupes.
“Shego was always different and now so is Kim. They are energy manipulators. Both absorb energy from the world around them and use it in different ways. Shego absorbs sunlight and background radiation to generate her plasma flames. We don’t know yet exactly what Kim’s powers do, but it’s clear she’s also absorbing and emitting energy of some sort.
“I really can’t say whether it’s a coincidence that all the males have mass manipulation powers and the females are energy manipulators. Might be a fluke, might be something about different chromosomes being affected differently by the comet radiation.”
“Are you saying that the… well, the male and female don’t mix?” Kim asked. “Is that the reason we failed?”
Kruger shrugged. “I am not certain, but it would make a strange sort of sense. The males can only manipulate their own mass, not that of external objects. I am afraid that makes them useless against that comet.”
“Oh, don’t spare our feelings, Prof,” Mego said sarcastically. “Tell us what you really think about us!”
“Shut up, Melvin,” Shego hissed, using Mego’s real name just to spite him. “For once this isn’t about you!”
“I thought we talked about that,” Hego yelled at her. “No real names! Our secret identities are all that stands between…”
“Come off it, Henry,” Shego answered, dismissing his concerns. “It’s not as if most of the people in here don’t already know your oh-so-secret identity.”
Hego gaped, turning to look at Kim and Ron.
“Hey, dude, you were wearing a name tag at Bueno Nacho,” Ron said.
“Global Justice makes a habit of keeping tabs on superpowered individuals,” Dr. Director added with a shrug.
“I’ve known you since you were kids, Henry,” Professor Kruger told him.
Looking completely crestfallen, Hego sat down heavily and started to brood. Shego gave him a look filled with disdain, then turned to look at Kruger.
“So saving the world is a girl thing this time around?” she asked sarcastically.
“If my theory is correct, then… pretty much,” he admitted.
Kim tried to wrap her mind around that. She’d held on to the slim hope that, with all of the members of Team Go to back them up, merging their powers might be an out. But if the boys were out of the equation that left… what? Shego, herself, and a girl glowing pink that could float? Was that it?
“I’ll send out a few agents to bring in the girl Mr. Load was talking about,” Dr. Director said. “We’ll also keep our ear to the ground for more energy-based superhumans that might have slipped past him.”
General Reinhart nodded, then turned to look at Team Go. “Thank you for coming, gentlemen, but I believe your services are no longer required.”
Kim saw the look on the faces of Shego’s four brothers. Was there anything worse than to be told you were useless, no matter how pretty the dressing?
“Wait just a minute,” she said. “Professor Kruger said it’s just a theory. We should give it some more tries before we throw them out like yesterday’s garbage.”
“Kimmie is right,” her father came to her aid. “Besides, with the comet coming closer every day, it would be sensible to have all those afflicted with powers under one roof so they can help each other as their abilities grow.”
Reinhart grunted, but said nothing. Maybe he’d just remembered that he wasn’t in charge of this group of strangely powerful people. Anyway, he just turned away to talk with Dr. Director again.
“Don’t let it get you down,” Kim told the members of Team Go in a low voice. “I’ve met a few generals in my time and most of them are pricks.”
“Yeah,” Shego added. “Besides, I always knew you lot were useless, so it shouldn’t have come as a shock to you.”
Kim whirled around, a sharp reprimand already on her tongue, but the sly smile on Shego’s face stopped her. Looking back, she saw that the others looked more pissed-off than upset now.
“You never change, do you, sis?” Mego spat back, but there was the tiniest bit of a smile on his lips as well. “Always needing to rub it in.”
“Oh, Melvin, if I ever changed, wouldn’t you miss the old, sarcastic me?”
“I’d even pay for the burial of old, sarcastic you. Black and green flower arrangements and everything.”
“We’d go as the pallbearers,” one of the Wego twins said with a smirk. “And we can drive all the limos, too.”
Hego was the odd man out in the family banter, Kim noticed. He still looked pretty crestfallen and upset. Kim was filled with an urge to cheer him up, but couldn’t really think of anything to say. Truth to tell she was barely able to keep herself from freaking out and strongly suspected that Shego, too, used the bantering mostly to distract herself from the growing feeling of gloom.
“So I guess it’s up to you to save the world once more,” Ron said, coming over to put an arm around her shoulder. “And without any male spandex-fanatics to cramp your style. Isn’t it great, KP?”
She gave Ron a thankful smile. Once again her friend had recognized her mood and done something to cheer her up. “I never knew you had a dislike for spandex, Ron.”
“Only on the male form,” he corrected her. “It doesn’t really lend itself to the material, KP. The female form, on the other hand…” His eyes trailed toward Shego, who was still in civilian clothes instead of her usual, curve-hugging catsuit.
“Keep me out of your fantasies, sidekick,” she growled at him, “or I’ll burn out that part of your brain for good.”
“Wasn’t thinking of anything,” he quickly said, raising his hands.
“Thank you, Ron,” Kim whispered to him, giving him a slight hug, her confidence somewhat restored.
They’d do more tests, she resolved. There had to be a way to bring more people into this one-in-a-million shot to destroy the comet before it reached Earth. If it came down to just Shego and her… she didn’t want to think about it. Not yet, anyway.
“Okay, what do we do next?” she asked no one in particular.
Her father came over, rubbing his tired eyes. “The technicians will set up another testing lab for later. Maybe if the boys can try and mesh their own energies without you girls being involved, we’ll get better results.”
“Good thinking,” Wade agreed. “In the meantime, Kim, I think the best thing we can do is trying to figure out what exactly your power does and how to get a handle on it.”
“Yeah,” Kim whispers, somehow dreading that thought. “We probably should.”
Shego, having listened to the exchange, came over to join Kim.
“Don’t worry, princess,” she said. “You are so annoyingly good at everything, you’ll probably have it down in a matter of days.”
Kim looked at her, not sure if she’d just been complimented or offended.
“Ready to earn your keep then?” she asked, challenging Shego right back.
“Always. Though I feel a little cheated. Here I am, being paid by the day to train you in using your powers, and now suddenly there is a 24 day time limit on the thing. I could have drawn it out for months and made a fortune.”
“Yeah, well, a fortune is only of use when you have a planet to spend it on,” Ron threw back. “Then again, as actual, true world savers, would we really ever have to pay for anything again?”
“What is this ‘we-talk’?” Shego asked him. “Don’t see you having any powers that might make giant comets shiver, sidekick.”
“I’ll have you know I have mystical monkey power, Shego,” he informed her. “It kicks butt in a major way.”
“Mystical monkey power?” Shego looked him over. “I believe the monkey part. It’s just the butt-kicking part I find hard to swallow.”
“Oh, Ron does have his moves,” Kim assured her. “Sometimes, at least.”
“Hey, KP! Way to stab me in the back here.”
“Sorry, Ron. You know I couldn’t save the world without you.”
Shego shook her head, wondering how she’d been drawn into this verbal interplay with two people who usually were her enemies. She didn’t trade barbs with losers like Stoppable, she threw plasma. The only one she ever really matched wits against was Kimmie and only as foreplay to a fight. To do it like this… almost friendly… relieving the tension… it felt strange. Very strange.
She’d have to watch that, otherwise she might yet get used to it.
“Let’s start training then, princess,” she told Kim. “Time’s a wastin’.”
TO BE CONTINUED