“Are you sure I'm not keeping you up, Miss Possible?”
Kim discovered you could freeze in mid-yawn. She closed her mouth guiltily. “Sorry, Dr. Director,” she apologized. “I was - awoken unexpectedly last night.”
“Students,” Dr. Director sighed. She wasn't actually there, of course. Her face was merely an image on the screen of her Kimmunicator. The real Dr. Director was at home, using her computer. “Once you get to college, you think you can stay up all night.”
Dr. Director yawned slightly herself then, and her one eye blinked.
“Late night yourself?” Kim asked dryly.
The older woman reddened. “Thomas is a typical boy for his age,” she replied. “And he is adjusting to having a new mother. So I haven't exactly been able to get a full night's sleep. Of course, when I used to run Global Justice, it wasn't unusual for me to be awake more than twenty-four hours straight, but during my time as a prisoner of the Acceptables, I found that the oblivion of sleep was preferable to the anxiety of wakefulness.”
Their discussion stopped for a few moments at that point, as both women looked away uncomfortably. “I apologize,” Dr. Director finally said. “I didn't mean to dredge up those memories. I think we'd both like to forget what happened.”
“Yes,” Kim agreed, trying not to think of Mrs. Acceptable as she fell - was pulled - into the pit. “Well, most of it, anyway. Dr. Director, speaking of GJ, I realize you're no longer affiliated with the organization, but would you be able to get them a message?”
“I do have an open line of communication with the current director, yes,” Dr. Director replied. “What is it?” She paused. “Could it be you've reconsidered their offer?”
“What? Oh, no, not that,” Kim said, although part of her wondered why she hadn't bothered to consider the possibility of pursuing a career with the GJ. “I got some information last night. It looks like some of my old nemeses are coming out of hiding, now that the Acceptables are gone.”
“Really?” Dr. Director asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Dr. Drakken escaped from prison,” Kim told her. “And Monkey Fist, Duff Killagan, DNAmy, and Professor Dementor have all been sighted.”
Dr. Director looked at her carefully. “I see. From where did you get this information?” she asked.
Kim was unable to answer right away when she heard a noise behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw Shego walking behind the couch, clad in an oversized T-shirt and squinting in the light. “You're up already?” Shego muttered in disbelief as she shuffled toward the kitchen. “It's only nine-thirty.”
“Miss Possible?” Dr. Director asked calmly. “Was that Shego I saw walking behind you?”
“Yeah,” Kim answered hesitantly. Shego had learned to be suspicious of everyone, and Kim was trying mightily to break through her defenses. Being seen discussing her with the former head of Global Justice might just push Shego away. “She spent the night.”
“Mm-hm,” Dr. Director said.
Kim looked to her right and saw Shego standing in front of the refrigerator, drinking orange juice. “Hey!” she called out. “Would you mind not drinking from the container?”
“Bite me,” Shego snapped as she closed the container and put it away. “Who are you talking to, anyway?”
“Uh, Doctor? One minute?” Kim pleaded.
Dr. Director sighed. “Very well. I believe Thomas is trying to get under the sofa anyway.” Her image vanished from the screen.
Kim got up and went into the kitchen. “I missed the last six weeks of my classes, so I made arrangements with the university to make up the lost time. I'm getting lessons at home from Wade and Dr. Director, since all my professors are off on sabbatical.”
Shego looked at her flatly. “Dr. Director,” she said. “As in the woman from the Acceptables’ prison.”
“Yes.”
“The one who lost an ear.”
Kim shuddered even as she thought of it, while Shego seemed unaffected. “Yes.”
“The one who used to run Global Justice.”
“Yes. Her. Look, Shego - “
Shego scowled at her. “Does she know I'm here?”
“Well, it kind of slipped out when she saw you walking by,” Kim reminded her. “What's the problem? It's not like you're wanted for anything, remember?”
The other woman tapped her nails on the counter. “Yeah,” she admitted grudgingly. “You didn't - call her to tell them about me?”
“I called her because I have a lesson now,” Kim explained. “Which, by the way, is why I'm not still sharing a bed with you. Otherwise I feel like I could sleep until three. I did tell her about Drakken and the others, but I was going to leave your name out of it.”
Shego looked down. “Okay. I guess I believe you.”
The words “I guess” almost made her want to scream, but Kim once again reminded herself that with Shego, she was going to have to take what she could get at first.
Then Shego grinned a little. “I'm surprised you got any sleep,” she added.
Kim looked at her. “Why?”
“Well, you were sharing your bed with another woman,” Shego said indifferently. “One who was barely dressed. And knowing what a prude you are - “
“Excuse me? A prude?”
“Oh, please. You could barely look at me when I was sunbathing topless by Senior's pool. Of course,” Shego went on, her grin returning, “you did mention I would be your dream girl if you swung that way, so maybe that overcame your Puritanism.”
Kim was growing increasingly redder. “You're trying to provoke me, Shego.”
Shego chuckled. “I've always tried to provoke you, Kimmie. It's just now I have to do it without physically hurting you.”
“Why?” Kim asked impulsively.
Her smile disappeared as Shego looked at her hesitantly. “Because friends aren't supposed to hurt each other,” she finally said. “Isn't that something that geek Stoppable would say?” she quickly added sardonically.
Kim smiled. “He would, actually. Nice, Shego. Don't ever let them see you're human.”
Shego glared at her. “What, so you're saying I don't know how to be nice once in a while?” she retorted. “I was asleep in your bedroom the whole night, and I was completely defenseless, and you never tried to hurt me. So maybe I don't want to see you get hurt. Okay?!”
Kim Possible gasped. “… Okay,” she said, stunned by the extent to which Shego confessed her feelings. She was amazed by how much it meant to her. “I don't think I could ever accuse you of not being nice after that.”
“Well, don't broadcast it,” Shego muttered, looking embarrassed as she crossed her arms and looked away.
“Shego?”
“What?”
Kim smiled at her. “I was able to sleep last night, because being close to you - that was nice too.”
Shego turned her back on Kim and resolutely began digging through the fridge, but Kim saw the surprised, pleased look in her eyes.
“Miss Possible? I believe your break is up?”
Kim groaned as Dr. Director's voice carried in from the living room. “Coming!” she shouted.
“When will you be done?” Shego asked from inside the refrigerator.
“A couple of hours. Why?”
“I need to go back to my apartment, see if any of my stuff survived the fight. Maybe you want to come with me. Just in case they're still there.” Shego backed up a little and turned her head so that one eye looked at Kim with a challenging gaze. “I'd like another shot at those rotten bastards with better odds.”
Kim quickly nodded. “You got it,” she said. “Maybe I can look for clues too.”
Shego laughed. “Team Possible, on the job.”
As Kim walked back to where Dr. Director was waiting (electronically, anyway), she wondered if Shego had been including herself in “Team Possible”. That, however, was something she wasn't going to push just yet. With Shego, you had to take what you could get.
And what she'd gotten that morning was a lot.
“Maybe you'd better stay here,” Kim suggested as she sat in the driver's seat of her car.
“No problem,” Shego muttered, pulling the brim of her borrowed baseball cap down as she sank down on the passenger side. “I hate cops.”
“And we wouldn't want to expose these officers to your anger management problems,” Kim replied, grinning.
“I don't have anger management problems. I manage my anger very well. I don't keep it bottled up inside. I let it out. It's very therapeutic,” Shego shot back.
“Not for whoever you let it out on.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing!” Kim said brightly as she got out of the car and jogged over to the apartment building Shego had been staying at. A black-and-white police car with lights flashing was parked out front.
When she got to the ground-level apartment Shego had told her she was staying in, Kim found two officers with a stout man who was gesturing angrily. “Her security deposit isn't going to cover one-tenth of this!” he said, enraged. Evidently he was the super.
“Is there a problem?” Kim asked.
“Nothing, miss,” one of the policemen told her. “Just some property damage.”
“I know, I heard it on the police scanner,” Kim lied. “I'm Kim Possible. You know, I can do anything?”
“Kim Possible!” all three men said at once.
Kim sighed and smiled. She'd have to get used to greetings like that again.
“Miss Possible, please,” the super begged. “Forgive me for not recognizing you. I read all about how you defeated those Acceptable gangsters all by yourself.”
Of course, there had been others. But Monique - Oryx, that is - had preferred to remain anonymous, as befit her persona. Ron was used to being overlooked. And Shego had a bit of a “credibility” problem.
“No big,” Kim fell back on, instead of trying to correct the man. “What happened?”
“Well, Miss Possible,” one of the police officers said, “it appears the tenant smashed up her apartment real good and split.”
Kim looked past the officer and saw the hole in the wall. “Her?” she asked pointedly, gesturing to the apartment's new back door. She was a little surprised too. Shego hadn't gone into much detail about last night. “What was she, a lady gorilla?”
“We're still trying to find out what happened,” the other officer said, “but Mr. Spumoli here says it was his new tenant.”
“I never liked the look of her!” Spumoli blurted out. “Her skin was way too pale. But she paid cash, so…” He spread his hands helplessly.
“May I?” Kim asked.
“Oh, please, go right ahead. It's a privilege to have you interested in this case, Miss Possible,” one of the officers told her.
Kim nodded and squeezed past them into the apartment. Even ignoring the obliterated wall - none of Shego's attackers were capable of doing something like that on their own, and she would have to ask what happened later - the place was a complete mess.
She went over to the pile of rubble that had evidently once been the wall and pulled out something white and fluttery. “Look at this,” she said, holding up the torn “WELL DONE” banner. “Maybe a party that got out of hand?”
The original plan had merely been to collect Shego's things, but now her mission included keeping Shego's name from ending up on an arrest warrant.
“Anything's possible,” one officer acknowledged. “Right?”
“Absolutely,” Kim agreed, nodding to show she got the pun. She moved toward the bedroom, since the rest of the apartment looked like a total loss.
When she came back out, she had a green and black bundle under one arm. “I'm going to analyze this for clues,” she told them. “It could be evidence. There were strange hairs on it.” She handed one of the officers a plastic cup with more hairs inside. “Send that to your forensics lab. I'm willing to bet those are monkey hairs.”
“Monkeys?” the officer said in disbelief.
“Monkeys,” Kim repeated, glad Ron wasn't there. “It looks like the rumors might be true. Lord Monkey Fist has returned. Plus, you know how destructive those little guys can be,” she added, placing the blame firmly on his shoulders. Since it hadn't been Shego's intention to destroy almost all her things, Kim figured the blame was where it belonged.
“Monkeys,” Spumoli growled. “The rental agreement says it in black and white. No pets!”
“I thought Monkey Fist was dead,” the second officer said.
“Thank you for your help, Miss Possible,” his partner said deferentially.
“But what about the lady I rented to?” Spumoli moaned.
“I'd say the deposit is yours, sir.”
Kim hurriedly went back out to her car. She opened the door and slid into her seat. “What the hell happened in there?”
“I told you,” Shego muttered.
“What about the hole in the wall?!”
“Oh, that,” Shego said. “One of DNAmy's pets. Looked kind of like a cross between a rhino and a rabbit.”
Kim's mouth twitched. Her memory of her first encounter with DNAmy told her who Shego was referring to, but she preferred not to have Shego assume Kim was once a Cuddle Buddies fan. That, Kim was sure, would be the source of many, many jokes.
The fact that it was true didn't help.
“Here,” Kim said, changing the subject as she pushed the outfit into Shego's lap. “It was one of the only things that survived.”
Shego held it up. “Monkey hair,” she snarled. “I warned him what would happen if his animals were in my closet.”
“Just how many of those did you own?” Kim asked.
“Five,” Shego replied unashamedly. “They get torn, you know.”
“Have you ever thought of branching out? Trying other colors?”
“Have you ever thought of something other than cargo pants?” Shego stopped and smiled evilly. “Oh wait, you have. Something like this,” she said, waving her outfit triumphantly.
Kim blushed and started the ignition. “Stop it, unless you're trying to signal the police,” she muttered as she put the car in drive.
Shego shrugged and tossed her clothes onto the back seat. “Now what?”
“Now I wait for one of these clowns to get a hit on my website, and… what? What am I supposed to do, go looking for them?” Kim had caught the shake of Shego's head.
“It's not that,” Shego said. “It's you continuing to play that sucker's game.”
“What?”
“How long are you going to continue saving everyone's asses and getting nothing in return for it?”
Kim pulled over just three blocks from where they'd started. “Now what's your problem?”
“Look,” Shego retorted, shooting her a glare. “Let's get something straight here. A lot's changed with you, me, us - but don't go thinking I've grown a conscience here. I'm not going to risk my butt ‘doing the right thing’ out of the goodness of my heart. I don't want Drakken stopped because he's the bad guy. I want him suffering for what he tried to do to me. And if they hadn't come after me, I probably wouldn't have given a damn that any of those morons were renewing their hopeless quest to take over the world. Not my problem,” she said casually.
“Right,” Kim said neutrally, narrowing her eyes. “And I should just think like you.”
Shego rolled her eyes. “Like that's ever going to happen. You may think you're a killer now, but you're just too damn good to be bad.” She shook her head again. “That's your problem. You want to be the good girl, so whenever there's a problem, you take it upon yourself to fix it. For what - a free ride to your next mission? Kim, please. Don't you think it's time you asked for a down payment first?”
“You're saying I should sell my services?” Kim asked, shocked. “That's not what a hero does!”
“Cops get paid,” Shego replied, studying her nails. “Soldiers get paid. Hell, even GJ agents get paid. You think they signed up for free?”
“That's different,” Kim said.
“How? Look, I can see you wanting to make a name for yourself when you're starting out, but you're a unique commodity now, and everyone knows it,” Shego said. “If you tell some corporation that you're taking payment in advance now, what are they going to do? Go someplace else?”
Kim tossed her head. “And what if they won't pay? I just let the bad guys win?”
Shego shrugged. “If this is because you don't like to lose - “
“Excuse me?!”
“Then I get that. I hate losing too. But I steal for the money too. I don't feel like starving.”
“Why not get a real job then?” Kim retorted.
“That's not for either of us, Kimmie. Be serious.”
“I am serious.”
“Mmm-hmm, right, whatever,” Shego said, not even looking at her.
Kim had the distinct impression that Shego had said something similar to Drakken many times. “Why can't you earn an honest living?”
“A better question, Kim, is why you can't. This is going to be your career. You realize that, right? Because if you think you can work a 9-to-5 job, and save the world on a daily basis, then you're deluding yourself,” Shego said bluntly. “I don't think employers give that many vacation days in this economy. What's so wrong with doing what you've been doing and making money doing it?”
Shego was very good at provoking Kim into saying things she preferred not to, and this was no exception. Raising what were admittedly unpleasant truths about Kim's future was getting to her as well.
“Because it's something you would do.”
Kim closed her eyes for a moment and thanked the higher powers that those words didn't make it from her brain to her mouth. But she realized that Shego wasn't the only one who would have issues to deal with if they were going to continue spending time together.
“I don't want to talk about it, all right?” Kim asked instead.
“Fine,” Shego muttered. “Let's go. It's going to take me forever to get these hairs off. It's worse than cat hair.”
To be continued…