Ann woke from her sleep to find herself being bound in a chair with thick ropes. Across from her was Shego, who was unconscious and cuffed to a table that she was laid out on. Ann looked around to understand what was going on and noticed that she was in a cell with Shego and some three people. She recognized one as Drew Lipsky.
“What’s going on?” Ann demanded to know, catching the attention of her captures.
“Oh, you’re awake, Mrs. Possible,” Gemini commented as he turned to pay attention to her. He had been focusing on Shego to make sure that she was bound properly because even without her plasma, she still had amazing strength and he wanted to make sure she could not use that to her advantage.
“What are you doing to Shego?” Ann inquired.
“Just making sure she doesn’t move too much when she finally comes to. She can be so cranky,” Gemini remarked with a smirk.
“What do you want with us?” the redhead asked.
“Well, Drakken wants to spend a little time with you while I get to speak with Shego. I want to find out what she’s told GJ and I need some way to kill time before your daughter shows up,” he answered.
“Wait, Kimmie knows about this?” Ann inquired. If that was the case, she doubted that it was a good thing.
“She will in the morning,” Gemini answered.
“She may know sooner, sir,” Fukushima commented.
“How so?” Gemini asked curiously.
“She was sharing a bed with Shego. She might have noticed Shego’s absence by now and then she’d notice your message,” the ninja reported.
“Sharing a bed with Shego?” Gemini echoed and he turned his attention to Ann, who looked rather surprised to hear that news. “Madam, is Shego your daughter’s girlfriend?” he inquired in rather interested tone.
Gemini thought that it was even better if Shego was Kim’s girlfriend. He figured that would make Kim act right because she would not want anything to happen to her lover or her mother. She probably would not want to choose between them either and since he was going to be holding both women in different places, far away from each other, if she wanted to be a hero, she would have to choose which one she wanted to live.
“Shego’s my daughter’s friend and if you think she was upset the last time you pulled this foolish stunt, I’m sure it won’t get any better now. So, if you’re smart, you’ll let us go,” Ann replied. She had suspected that there was something between Kim and Shego, but she had hoped that it was nothing sexual. It seemed that the hope was in vain if the pale woman had been sharing a bed with her daughter as Fukushima claimed.
Gemini laughed. “Let you go? You’re the reason why what happened before won’t happen again. Do you think she wants her mother harmed?” he inquired.
“Harmed?” Drakken echoed. He did not like the sound of that. “You said I could have her. I won’t let you hurt her,” the scientist declared.
“Calm down, Drakken. You can have her. She’s all yours, in fact,” Gemini said with a laugh.
“What?” Ann inquired in disbelief as Drakken approached her. “You can’t just give me to someone!” she protested.
“I already have. Drakken, you can take her now if you want. I’m concerned with Shego right now,” the boss commented.
“All right,” Drakken said.
“Wait a moment, Drew. Think this over,” Ann pled. There were way too many things wrong with what was going on at the moment and the main problem was that she and Shego were being used as bait to get Kim. Now, if the girl went berserk last time when they were holding Shego, what the hell made them think that it would be different a second time? If anything, Kim was only going to be more upset and the dragon might actually stay awake. Were they all mad?
“I have thought it over. I deserve you way more than that idiot of a husband of yours,” Drakken replied.
“Think beyond that. Do you know what Kim might actually do to you when she finds out about this and how you played a part in it?” the neurosurgeon inquired.
Drakken was not sure what she meant, but he did stop and think about it. He thought about seeing Kim rampage through the building on all of those surveillance films and how easily she tore through everything. But, then he thought about his invention. Everything should be fine, he concluded.
“I’ll take her and be on my way,” Drakken said with a smile.
“Fukushima, carry the woman for the good inventor,” Gemini ordered.
The ninja nodded and did as ordered. Ann protested, but no one paid her any mind. She was tempted to just tell them that Kim might actually slay them if they continued on with such insanity, but she did not even see the point. They were not listening to her at all, so now all that was left to her was for her to worry about her fate and her daughter’s fate.
Gemini turned his attention to Shego, who was starting to come to. He smirked while looking at her. He was going to have fun with her again. She needed to learn not to oppose him, he thought.
“What the hell?” Shego muttered as her head lulled around a bit. She felt rather dizzy and she knew that was not right.
“Shego, it’s about time that you rejoined the land of the living as well as our little organization,” Gemini commented.
Shego opened her eyes because that voice sounded way too familiar for her liking. She noticed Gemini and dared to think that she was having one of her usual nightmares. Something inside of her told her that she was not in a dream, though. She was all too aware that it was reality.
Now, if it was all real, then that meant that she was in the hands of Gemini once again. To make matters worse, she strapped to a table again and in her pajamas, which was only a long tee-shirt. She felt a loathsome collar around her neck too, but she tried to flare her hands anyway. No luck. Damn it.
“I’m going to kill you,” Shego vowed with a snarl.
“You’re going to stay here is what you’re going to do and stop making empty threats. Now, you’re going to tell me everything you told my dear sister or else we’re going to go back to what you left when that wild redhead came in for you,” Gemini said.
“I won’t tell you a damn thing. Now, let me go before Kimmie shows up and hands you your ass again,” the pale woman barked.
“Kimmie? So, that girl is your lover, huh?” he asked with a smirk. That was good to know because it did make having her and Ann apart all the more essential.
“No, you moron. She’s my friend,” she declared.
“Is that why you share her bed?”
“What I do with her is none of your goddamn business. Now, let me go. This bonehead plan of yours didn’t work the first time, so why the hell do you think it’ll work a second time?” Shego inquired.
“It will work this time. Don’t worry about my plans, Shego. Now, you’re going to start singing like a little bird or I’m going to call you ‘friends’ back in here to work on you again. They do miss you, after all,” Gemini commented with a twisted smile.
“Bastard,” she growled.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no’ and start calling for some people.”
“Wait,” Shego said.
Gemini smirked. He thought that he had her. He knew that no one wanted to go through torture, especially when it was still so fresh in their minds. So, he waited for Shego to start spilling her guts.
“She’s going to be pissed about this and you’re going to regret it,” Shego commented.
“Listen, you little filthy cow, she’s not going to act like she did before. She’s going to behave, so she won’t be saving you again. So, you need to cooperate or I’m going to call your friends back in,” he promised her and she knew that.
“Bring ‘em on,” the green-skinned warrior said in daring tone.
Gemini laughed. “You’re such a foolish wench. Your little girlfriend isn’t going to be able to save you.”
Shego looked skeptical on that. She trusted that her little angel would come for her. She supposed it would not be a good thing, but Kim would still come. So, she would take whatever Gemini threw at her until then. She was not going to betray Kim or Kim’s mentor no matter what, even though she hated Betty Director. She just hated Gemini more.
“So be it, Shego,” Gemini said and he went out to get the same crew that Shego had nightmares about.
Kim wandered up to the front of the main building of WEE. Her eyes were blazing with anger, as if they were the path to Hell itself. There were spots of amber in her eyes, but she was trying to control herself. The note commanded that she had to cooperate or “something” would happen to her mother or Shego. She did not want to know what that “something” was, so she was trying her best to stay calm.
Still, despite the fact that she was trying to remain calm, there were some signs that she was not doing that great a job at it. Her nails had grown a centimeter and were sharp as knives now; they were also strong as steel. A faint black aura was starting to surround her and there seemed to be smoke coming from her nose or mouth when she exhaled.
The redhead entered the building and went to the office that she had before. She suspected that it would be a hologram greeting her again, but she was surprised. The seat behind the desk in the office was filled with a live body, Gemini more specifically. Kim growled at the sight of the man and his brazen attitude.
How dare that man have the nerve to face her after stealing her mother and friend! She wanted to rush him and tear him apart with her bare hands, but she controlled herself. He might be able to hurt her mother or friend with the push of a button. There could be standing orders to do something to them if he did not call at a certain time or something like that. There were too many risks for her to chance touching that man, but it was so tempting.
“Put this on,” Gemini commanded while tossing Kim a collar. He was glad that he had the machine in hand because he noticed the cloud surrounding Kim.
The girl looked down at the metallic device. She then turned her attention back to the brunette male. He nodded and smirked, which seemed to get his point across better than words might. He was just reminding her that he was the one holding the important cards. She complied with the order and attached the inch wide, silver collar around her neck. The onyx aura around her started to disappear.
“Now, where’s my mother and Shego?” Kim demanded to know.
“They’re safe. Simple as that. Now, come with me,” Gemini ordered.
“Take me to my mother and Shego first.”
“You’re not in charge here,” he pointed out.
“My mother and Shego now,” Kim demanded with a growl and dark smoke came from her nose as she breathed out.
Gemini was not sure what to make of the smoke coming from her. Was the collar not working? Was he wrong to have faith in that fool Drakken? He watched her carefully for a moment to see if anything else was going to happen. Her aura did not return, but she continued breathing out smoke that was darker than a raven’s feather.
“Look, girl, I’m the giving the orders around here. You’ll see your mother and lover after I run some quick tests on you,” Gemini said.
Kim scowled, but she decided to comply. He had her mother and Shego, after all. She would play everything his way until she at least knew where the prisoners were. She did wonder why he was so interested with her. Why the hell did everyone always want to run tests on her?
James yawned as he woke up that morning. He was surprised that Ann was not next to him, but it was something that happened from time to time. She could have been called out early for some emergency, so he did not think too much of it.
He wandered downstairs and was a bit stunned that Kim was not ripping and running through the house, trying to get Shego ready for their day at the GJ headquarters as had become the norm for the place now. The house was actually way too quiet, he realized.
The scientist decided to go see if Kim or Shego had accidentally slept in. He went to the guestroom first since it was closer to the stairs. He saw that Shego was not in there. The first thought that came to mind was that she was in Kim’s room, so he rushed there, only to find that room empty too. He was now puzzled.
James decided to call Director Doctor. He considered that she might have called all of the ladies in early for whatever reason. He just wanted to figure out what was going on, although he was attempting to tell himself that everything was all right. There was no reason to suspect that something was up until Doctor Director informed him that none of the ladies were at GJ HQ.
“That’s weird,” James commented.
“Well, how long have they been gone?” Doctor Director asked.
“I don’t know. They weren’t here when I woke up and that was about twenty minutes ago,” he answered.
“That’s odd. Did they say anything yesterday about going out?”
“Not to me.”
“They didn’t say anything to me either,” Doctor Director muttered. Usually, Kim told her about any plans that she had because the girl wanted to make sure that the plans would not interfere with her training or something like that.
“Kim’s bed wasn’t made,” James commented out of the blue. He just remembered that Kim always made her bed before she left the house, no matter what.
“You think something happened, don’t you?”
“I do,” he admitted.
“I’ll be over there in a second and have a look around. If something is going on, I’ll certainly find out as soon I can,” she promised.
“All right.”
Doctor Director was over as quickly as she could. James was waiting for her and she went right to Kim’s room since it was the one thing that James noticed something was awry. The leader of GJ inspected the room and did figure that Kim left in a hurry.
The girl was typically clean, yet her pajamas were left on the floor. Her closet door was left open. Her bed was unmade and then she spied a piece of paper by the bed. She leaned down and picked up and read the letter.
“James, I think we have some problems,” Doctor Director informed the already worried scientist. He was hoping to hear positive news.
“What happened? What did you find?” he inquired as he walked over to her and he looked over her shoulder to see what it was.
“Ann and Shego were kidnapped and Kim either went to rescue them or to turn herself over to my brother. Either way, this probably won’t end well,” she answered.
“What are we going to do?” he asked.
“We have to go about this very carefully. He’s got hostages, after all.”
“And what about Kimmie?”
“We just have to hope for the best, don’t we? With luck, she stays in control and the dragon stays asleep until we can figure out how to get them all back safely without hundreds of lives being lost in the process,” Doctor Director replied.
James nodded to show that he understood, but he could not speak. He knew that his mouth would object to that plan. He knew that Gemini tortured people, so he thought about how Ann or Kim could be being tortured at that very moment. He just wanted GJ to storm Go City and get his family back, but like Doctor Director implied, something like that would cost them hundreds of agents.
Kim sat patiently as tests were done on her. They were pretty much the same tests that she was used to. She could not figure out for the life of her why everyone was always interested in testing her blood, brain, and just about whatever else they could without cutting her open. She was now just waiting to see her mother and Shego.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Gemini said while he went through the results of the first few tests.
Everything was showing that Kim was an ordinary kid. He knew that was not true, so why were the tests saying otherwise? Had she somehow figured out how to fool science? He would not put it passed her considering she was the only person he had ever seen with so many dragon powers. Long ago, it had been decided by GJ scientists that Kim’s tests more than likely came up normal because the dragon was a separate entity just dwelling in Kim’s body or in her psyche. They were not exactly sure where the dragon was, but they just labeled it as a separate entity from Kim, like she was host body.
“So, when do I get to see my mother and Shego?” Kim inquired from her hard, metal seat.
“Soon,” Gemini practically snarled. He did not feel like putting up with the whiny brat while he was getting such negative results on her tests.
“Now,” Kim demanded.
“Soon.”
“NOW!” Kim huffed as she stood up and smoke came from nose that was blacker than tar. He was not sure if he wanted to tempt her.
“All right. I’ll let you see your mother, but only for a moment. Nothing further until I’m satisfied,” Gemini said.
Gemini figured while Kim was angry, it would probably be best for her to see the one prisoner he had that he was fairly certain was not being tortured. After all, what were the odds that Drakken had actually hurt Ann? He was smitten with the woman, but then he was probably smitten in the way a little boy would be. So, he was probably too nervous to touch her in any way that a man would think to touch a woman. So, he figured that it really should be all right for her to see Ann.
Besides, even if the woman was a little injured, he knew for a fact that she had to be in better shape than Shego. Shego had professionals working on her, after all. So, they were off to see Ann.
Gemini did call Drakken to make sure that everything was all right. The cerulean scientist did not seem to care that they were on their way. Gemini guessed that everything was all right from Drakken’s lack of reaction, so he made his way to Drakken’s laboratory with Kim in tow. He had her hands shackled, just in case something happened.
“What’s she doing here?” Drakken asked when he noticed Kim in the company of Gemini.
“She wants to see her mother. So, if you could just bring out her mother and let them have a minute, we can all go back our lives,” Gemini replied dryly. He was not happy with having to cut what he wanted to do to make sure Kim did not go psycho on his headquarters again.
“Her mother?” Drakken echoed as if he did not understand.
“Yes, her mother. Ann Possible,” Gemini said.
“Now,” Kim added in a growl.
“Um…okay,” Drakken agreed.
The scientist walked off and the visitors followed behind him. He went into a room, but shut the door before they could go in. Kim frowned, not liking the way things were going already. They waited a little while and they could hear noises coming from the other side of the room. Kim frowned deeper from the sounds. Gemini considered that he might have warned Drakken to at least make the woman presentable since they were on the way.
“Maybe we should come back another time,” Gemini said.
“What’s he doing to my mom?” Kim asked with a scowl now engrained on her face as if it had been chiseled in place.
“We’ll come back another time.”
“No, what’s he doing to my mother?” Kim inquired again, but she did not wait for an answer. She kicked the door in to find out for herself what was going on. “Mom!” she gasped when she caught sight of her mother.
“Kimmie,” Ann gasped too.
Ann was curled up in the corner of what appeared to be Drakken’s bedroom. Her pajamas, which she had been wearing when she was kidnapped, were torn. Her face appeared battered. Her hands were bound together with chains.
“What the hell did you do to my mother?” Kim demanded to know as her dark aura began to return. The collar around her neck shattered while her eyes went completely golden. She snapped her chains and gave the guys an idea that they might be in some trouble.
Next time: GJ to the rescue…but, who are they rescuing from whom?