A tyrant is a man who allows his people no freedom,
Who is puffed-up by pride,
Driven by the lust of power,
Impelled by greed,
Provoked by thirst for fame.
The longer Kim thought, the more obvious it was. She was just a puppet, a tool. A pawn in some bysantine power game. Anyway you slice it, Kim wasn`t gaining any. It`s been a while. Kim liked to think, that she grew up by that time. College - it`s been an eyeopener. And in the same time, it was still safe and sound, like school. But now - now she was out. Safety net was off, she was free to spread her wings and fly. Now, she had no boss… Or did she? And even if she was totally free… What to do?
Divided and conquered,
Gripped by fear,
Wishful thinking that it can't happen here,
It's well underways but nobody knows,
A repeat of history,
That's how it goes!
What was most unpleasant for Kim, is that she knew. She knew, what what she had offered to her, was just a trap. If she wasn`t aware of this, she would be happily packing, right now, not nursing a glass in some non-descript bar, thinking out a good reason to delay, to postpone, or, even better, to refuse. To refuse an offer, which she couldn`t refuze.
She took a sip of her flat beer, and cursed under her breath. Not that there was any nessecity for it, but she felt better after. Logically thinking, she turned over her conclusion yet again. She had two choices - alpha, to swallow her own reasoning, and join GI, and omega - to refuse, and try to peace together a living, basing on her college diploma only. First one gave her willies. Last looked glum.
Tell the people that they're under attack,
By man-eating foes from Mars or Iraq!
Mobilize outrage,
Muzzle dissent,
Send in the troops,
Strike the pre-empt!
Kim signed, and sipped her beer again. Behind the scenes, everything was ugly. She saw the inner works of GI before, but after reformation, nothing good came out of it. GI been practically gutted. It was all civil and official… Well, if you won`t mind that they pulled two platoons of marines to guard GI`s exits. Most of small-time workers just got lost somewhere. As far as Kim knew, they were just fired. Dr. Director vanished without a trace. Luckily for Kim, Wade stayed on place. On the other hand, nobody knew about him exactly. He very rarely left his room, let alone house, and not a lot of people knew his home address. And anyway… He wasn`t that much of a catch on political field. Now Kim - she was another matter. She was celebrity. So she was spared, and protected, and made sure, that she would still be a shining star on dim sky.
Kim signed. From day to day, she was more of a showcase, and less of a hero. A lone vigil of justice - that`s how one newspaper called her? Ron quit long ago, without much grace, but without any fuss, either. Kim knew, that Ron had dropped out of college, then passed culinary academy with flying colors, and now was a proud owner of small-time diner. In a way, Ron was way more succesful, then Kim… Maybe because he`s got to do what he wanted. He didn`t cared about politics. Under any circumstances, there were always a lot of hungry people, and he had something to do all time.
Stars & stripes,
Learn how to fight!
We come together by the dawn of the light,
Oh so proudly we hail at the rockets` red glare.
Stars & stripes!
Kim downed her glass, and flagged bartender for a refill. He didn`t came immediately. Irritated, Kim turned to see, what was holding him, and saw, that he was serving another woman. One she knew all too well.
“Shego…” - murmured Kim, having no idea, weather to be glad, or uncomfortable. Shego was always to her liking. Especially so, when Shego quit working for Drakken, after one particularily hairbrained scheme. Drakken had overshot his own ‘genius’ by far, making the most gut-wrenchingly-implausible-yet-working world-conquering device. Kim was pretty sure, that Shego still held a grudge against her, because of what Kim did.
‘At least, her hair grew back…’ - thought Kim. She saw Shego all too rare, and always - fleetingly. Kim always envied Shego some. Shego was as free, as freedom was getting. Free of public, free of bosses, free of laws, even.
That was something to envy.
Control the airwaves,
Fuel the reaction,
Use every weapon of mass-distraction!
Turn active people into passive consumers,
Feed ‘em bogus polls and harebrained rumours!
Kim clenched her teeth, and waved to Shego almost gayly. She knew, that if someone will recognise Shego here, it would be a riot, but right now, she couldn`t care less. She`s been tired of the lies, oozing from TV. After all, who knew better - she, who`s been fighting Shego for almost a decade, now, or some journo-hack, who haven`t even saw Shego in person, much less talked to her?
Much to Kim`s surprise, Shego waved back, and scooted over to Kim.
“Hey there, Kimmie. How`s my favourite crimefighter doing?” - she murred. Kim almost fell off the stool.
“What the…” - she uttered.
Shego laughed, and patted her shoulder - “Hey, hey, what`s the buzz? Bottoms up, Kimmie!”
With that, she downed her glass. Kim looked Shego over. She took her time to look casual. It seemed, that Shego is moderately lit, right now.
‘Figures…’ - thought Kim, and downed her own glass in one fell gulp. Shego was just waiting for Kim to say something - a thing quite unlike her.
“Hi there, Shego. Long time, no see. I`m doing fine, and what about you?” - replied Kim.
Cut back civil rights,
Make no mistake!
Tell ‘em - homeland security is now at stake,
Whip up a frenzy, keep ‘em suspended,
Don't let ‘em know that their liberty's ended!
Shego leaned on the counter, and said - “Oh, pretty fine. I`m just blowing off some steam. My partner quit working yesterday. Jerk.”
Kim regarded Shego with careful eye.
“Weirdly, that…” - she mumbled.
Shego signed - “Some guys are just not mature enough. So I like girls too, big deal.”
Kim chuckled - “So that rumour about you is truthful?”
Shego frowned - “What rumour?”
“Well, I heard that somewhere… On TV, maybe. You know, there are tons of rumours about you. Like, that you`re lesbian, that you`re homicidal maniac, that you were born a man, and had a sex-change operation… I especially liked the one about you and your heists.” - breezed Kim.
Shego snorted - “Let me guess - the one, that there are security tapes, showing me masturbating before grabbing some relic?”
Kim nodded. Bartender, who appeared seemingly from nowhere, refilled their glasses.
“Kimmie, that`s a bullshit, I assure you. I`m screwed up, but not THAT screwed.” - said Shego with a pout.
“What about one about you being a communist agent?” - asked Kim innocently.
Shego guffawed - “Yeah, me, communist… Sure thing, right. Any day. I`m reading Marx`s works before going to bed, and have hammer and sickle nailed on my door.”
Stars & stripes,
Learn how to fight!
We come together by the dawn of the light,
Oh so proudly we hail at the rockets` red glare.
Stars & stripes!
Kim started laughing too. She felt herself slightly weird, chatting with Shego, like they were school buddies, but on the other hand, they had even more ties, then school buddies, looking widely. Shego`s laughter trailed off in chuckles, then stopped.
“Kimmie, do you need to ask, really? It`s all utter rubbish and bullshit. I work only for money, not for some ideas.” - she said seriously.
Kim nodded - “Yeah. And you know… I would`ve liked being in your shoes.”
Shego blinked - “Hey, hey, whoa there. Who are you, and what you`ve done to goody-goody Kim Possible, all around hero and rolemodel?”
“Fuck her.” - said Kim seriously, - “She was an idiot, anyway.”
Shego straightened, and looked on Kim equally seriously - “I see. What brought that on, by the way? I thought Kimmie would be goody-goody till her death…”
Everything goes in the desperate states,
The veneer of democracy rapidly fades,
Wreak total havoc on all opposition,
In any event fulfill your mission!
Kim signed - “Shego, she`s gone, OK? She didn`t liked, that somebody used her like a pawn. She didn`t wanted to be pawned off for some abstract goal.”
Shego frowned, and sipped from her glass. Suddenly, she was looking very sober.
“Maybe you`ll expand on that?” - she asked quietly.
“Maybe…” - said Kim morosely, - “She`s just not a scapegoat for anybody. If you watched TV, you could see her in news, last month… Something about hostage situation.”
“MM… Yeah, I do remember something about that. She heroically led SWAT in the building, and freed hostages, I think… Right?” - ventured Shego cautiously.
Kim laughed bitterly - “Yeah, that`s what they said… If yelling three times in megaphone counts as leading and freeing.”
Shego quirked an eyebrow - “Even so?”
Kim nodded - “Even so. She wasn`t even in the building, until they killed off all the perpetrators.”
Shego sipped beer again - “So why she was named as the main centerpiece of that operation?”
Kim slumped her shoulders - “I think, so she could be blamed, if anything screwed up.”
“And how were they going to assure, that noone of the criminals will talk to his advocate, and to a bunch of journalists, and tell, that they haven`t even saw Kim Possible in the flesh?” - asked Shego.
“By making sure noone could tell a thing.” - shrugged Kim, and downed her glass abruptly, - “She just got cold foot, after that. You know, she really hates to be prosecuted for something she didn`t do.”
Shego nodded thoughtfully - “Sounds like Kimmie`s best bet is on the other side of law.”
Totalitarian media sensation,
You will give ‘em domination!
Never mind they call you a liar and thief,
By now you're undisputed commander-in-chief!
Kim signed - “My thoughts exactly. But she doesn`t know anybody on the other side, and trying to go there on her own would be resultless, if she doesn`t want to end up as a small-time crook. You know, that if she tries to switch the sides, a bucket of dirt will go flowing on her head. People tend to believe TV, despite obvious lies.”
Shego shook her head - “That`s not exactly true… She has a long-time aquaitance on the other side, who always admired her ability to take whatever is thrown on her, and dish out even more.”
Kim blinked - “Mmm… But would that aquaitance be willing to deal with her?”
Shego chuckled - “Of course. A good partner is very hard to come by, by those times.”
Kim shrugged, and extended her hand - “What the heck. I`m in, Shego.”
Shego shook her hand, suddenly leaned forward, and pecked her on cheek.
“What was that for?” - asked Kim, slowly blushing.
Shego shrugged - “For being a good bad girl, Kimmie.”
Stars & stripes,
Learn how to fight!
We come together by the dawn of the light,
Oh so proudly we hail at the rockets` red glare.
By now you're undisputed commander-in-chief!
They exited the bar together. Kim looked up on sky, and shuddered.
“Hey, Shego? Can we drop by my dorm? I need to take my stuff.” - asked Kim. Shego shrugged.
“Why not? You`ve got wheels, by the way?” - she asked.
Kim nodded - “Not so new, but they turn allright.”
With that, they skipped down the road. Kim`s dorm was in easy walking distance. While walking down the street, Kim looked around, and signed. Perhaps, that`s what Shego felt, when she became criminal. Kim was slightly surprised, that it wasn`t worrying her much. On the other hand - she was excited. ‘Working’ with Shego promiced to be very interesting… besides, Shego had different assets, which caught the attention of Kim for a long time. Kim hadn`t put much hope in it, yet, but… No crime in hoping, right? Besides, Shego admitted herself, that she liked girls too.
‘We`ll live and see, where life`ll take us.’ - thought Kim, stealing a stray glance on Shego.
Stars & stripes,
Learn how to fight!
We come together by the dawn of the light,
Oh so proudly we hail at the rockets` red glare.
Stars & stripes!