“Shego, wait!”
Kim rushed after the green woman, who was racing frantically towards one of the launch tubes. Just before she got to it, Kim tackled her to the ground and tried to restrain her. It was not an easy task. She grabbed Shego by the wrists instead of the hands so that she would not get burned, but she still felt a warm sensation near her hands as Shego’s lit up in an attempt to repel the woman on top of her. Kim’s grip stayed firm, and eventually Shego unlit her hands and calmed down. Kim released her and the green woman stood to her feet with a scowl on her face.
“What the hell was that all about?” Shego asked as she dusted herself off. Kim lowered her eyes to Shego’s feet and pointed to her ankle bracelet.
“If you get more than 500 yards away from me, that thing goes off.” Kim informed her simply, crossing her arms and sticking out her hip authoritatively. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather the only person who can give me a lead on this murder case not be blown to pieces for running away.”
“But they’re my brothers!” Shego protested, throwing her arms in the air in a futile attempt to make Kim see her point. “I can’t just do nothing!”
“Yes, but if you run off there you’ll probably be headed straight into a trap. And I do NOT need another murder to investigate. Even if I know ‘whodunit,’ you’re the only one who can identify him. If he kills you, what will we do then?” Kim’s logic was hard to deny, but Shego still tried.
“This from the woman who used to charge headlong into any situation without giving a fuck about the consequences?” Shego was obviously very distraught to be using such language. It wasn’t normal for her. “What happened to her? Why have you suddenly turned into some mindless machine?” Shego was letting her true feelings out into the open. Kim could see that they were attracting several stares from around the room.
“Shego, drop it.” Kim stated emotionlessly, but with a hint of firmness.
“Why should I drop it? Because you know I’m right? They’re my brothers, Kim, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna—” her words were cut off by the taser extending from Kim’s watch that she was now using to subdue the unruly villainess. It was necessary, and she felt no remorse doing it. Shego had been causing a scene that would have soon led to one of their trademark fights. She had one of the GJ agents help her to carry Shego off to the launch tube that led to her house. She could have somebody pick up the car later. Right now she needed to get Shego home.
“It’s good to see you again.” Those were the last words that echoed in Shego’s mind as she drifted off into unconsciousness. True, they had been spoken almost an hour before, but they stuck in her head. It was a reminder of her past—a past she could never escape.
Soon she found herself back in the body of that six year old girl that she had once been, caught in the moment of truth between her and The Reaper’s Kafziel. She saw it gleaming in the moonlight, reflecting her terrified face as it barreled down towards her. She closed her eyes and let out an earsplitting scream.
Just before the Kafziel made impact, however, it was knocked to the side in a shower of sparks, but nobody was there. The Reaper looked around to see where the gunshot had come from. Nothing. He did a quick scan of the rooftops and saw nobody. He looked to the fire escapes. Nothing. He looked in the shadows. Nothing. He never thought to look directly behind him.
The butt of a sniper rifle came smashing into the back of his head, knocking him out cold. He slowly fell forward, revealing the silhouetted form of a woman standing behind him.
She was about 5’8”, small build, but very strong. Her brown hair was cut off just above her shoulders, and she had an eye patch over her left eye. She discarded the rifle as nothing but a tool that had outlived its usefulness then dipped her knees and leaned forward so that she was about eye-level with the girl.
“Hello there, little girl,” she said in a very comforting tone. “What’s your name?”
“Shego.”
“And what are you doing out here all alone, Shego?”
“Hiding.”
“Hiding from what?”
Shego pointed to the crumpled remains of The Reaper. The woman nodded. “Well, you don’t have to hide anymore. It’s over. Where’s your mommy and daddy?”
Shego’s face turned blank and tears came to her eyes. “They’re… They’re…” she struggled to find the words. “…not here.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the woman said soothingly. She tried to lay a hand on Shego’s shoulder, but she flinched involuntarily, forcing it away from her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, seemingly concerned.
“My mommy told me never to talk to strangers.”
“And your mommy was very important to you, wasn’t she?”
Shego nodded.
The small, pale-skinned girl was suddenly struck with inspiration. “Hey, I know,” she spoke up, her voice lightening in tone, betraying her youthful enthusiasm and ability to shift gears quickly. “Why don’t you tell me your name? Then we won’t be strangers anymore.”
“That’s a wonderful idea, Shego,” the woman said as replied smiled warmly. “My name is Betty.”
“Well now we’re not strangers anymore,” Shego said happily.
Betty flashed her a wide grin. “No, we’re not.”
Shego woke from the dream suddenly to find herself face to face with Kim Possible. She immediately put a scowl on her face, and Kim did the same. They were both quite upset about what had just transpired.
Shego was the first to speak. “What the fuck did you taser me for?”
“You were getting out of control. Standard procedure for anyone who poses a threat to my person.” Kim sounded even more robotic than usual. It was clear that she was trying not to get involved in an argument. She was clearly losing that struggle.
“Standard procedure, standard procedure, I’m sick and fucking tired of standard procedure!” Shego yelled as she stood to her feet. “The old Kim never talked about standard procedure. She would always just go in and rely on her wits and ingenuity. What the fuck happened to her?”
“She died with Ron.” Kim’s face was cold and unfeeling. She would not even make eye contact with Shego. Something about the pale woman’s eyes held a truth which she could not escape. Shego seemed to be capable of bringing out something in her. Kim had always viewed it as her best, but when Ron died she did the opposite. She refused to give in to emotion. Logic, reason and procedure were her entire world now. She was convinced that no amount of emotion was going to change that. But there was something about Shego that reminded her of the person she had once been. A person who was now gone.
“No she didn’t.” Shego countered. “You were about ready to kill me that day, or don’t you remember? You were just too busy crying to notice that you hated me for killing him!”
“Well could you blame me?!” Kim shouted as she stood to her feet as well. Her eyes were beginning to tear up as a wave of repressed emotions shot to the surface. “Ron was my entire life! And you took that away!”
“You weren’t the only one to lose your partner!” Shego screamed back. “Drakken died too!”
“So? You weren’t in love with Drakken. Why did you even stay with him?”
“So I could get to see you!” That didn’t come out quite how Shego had expected. She had been caught up in the moment and just said the first thing that popped into her head. She never dreamed it would be the reason that she was even in this fight.
Kim was stunned. “What?”
“You heard me! I stayed with that doofus just so I could cross paths with you. You’re the only one who ever provided me with a challenge because you’re exactly like me!”
“That’s not true!” Kim shouted with an accusing finger pointed at Shego. “You’re evil! You always were, you always will be! I’m not like you at all!”
“Really Princess?” Their faces were now inches apart. “Then why is it that we both have green eyes? That we both used to hang out with goofy sidekicks? That we’re both strong independent women who don’t give a fuck what anybody else says? If all that’s true then how are we not alike?!”
“Because you’re evil! I told you before. You’ve always been evil!” Her spit was flying into Shego’s face, but the green woman didn’t care.
Shego backed up and her eyes traveled to the ground. “I haven’t always been evil,” she said quietly.
“Really? Then what was all this about ‘I am evil’ when we met your brothers?” Kim crossed her arms and waited for an answer.
“I WASN’T evil.” Shego repeated. “At one time I really did like fighting for good. But my brothers changed all that. They were soulless beings, Kim. They didn’t care about what I thought or what I felt, just how I could be used as a means to their ends. That’s why I quit. I couldn’t stand being manipulated like that.” Her tone was calm and rational, a change of pace from just a minute before. “And, now I see the same thing happening to you and it sickens me. I hate seeing people used, Kim. Especially when they’re wonderfully independent people like you.”
Kim tried in vain to keep the yelling match going. “But you’re still evil!”
“Princess I haven’t been evil since that day in the warehouse when both our partners died. You think something died in you? When I saw that I killed your sidekick I decided that I really didn’t like the person I’d become. I figured it was time for a change. I gotta say, though. You don’t seem nearly as upset about Stoppable’s death as I thought you’d be. The old Kimmie would have kicked my ass by now.”
Kim let out a punch, which Shego caught with one hand. A smug grin spread across her face. “It’s good to have you back, Princess.”
Kim said nothing and twisted her arm, freeing it from Shego’s grip. She tried to lash out with a spin kick, but Shego was too fast and just ducked as Kim’s foot sailed over her head. Using the momentum from the kick, Kim shot both her fists forward in a quick one-two punch combo, which Shego expertly blocked. The green woman threw a punch of her own that barely missed Kim as the redhead bent over backwards and did a back handspring, which hit Shego in the chin and sent her flying back a good five feet.
Shego flexed her back and quickly got back on her feet, smiling widely the whole time. She hadn’t done this in years. She extended her palm and beckoned Kim with four fingers in the classic “bring it” gesture.
Kim found her heart was racing like it hadn’t in years. She enjoyed this rush. Charging like a bull towards a matador’s cape, Kim overshot Shego as the pale woman deftly stepped to the side. Shego performed a quick roundhouse kick that found a spot in the small of Kim’s back, launching her several feet where she fell on her face.
In a maneuver similar to a push-up, Kim leapt into the air using just her hands and landed on her feet. She wiped away the bit of blood that now seeped from her mouth and advanced towards Shego, determined to end this. Like she had the night of the junior prom, Kim let loose with a flurry of punches, but Shego deflected each and every one. She caught both of Kim’s hands and pulled her closer so that their faces were mere inches apart.
“See Kimmie? It’s fun, isn’t it?” Shego panted.
“I still hate you,” Kim growled.
“No you don’t.” Shego replied and surprised even herself when she did what she did next: she kissed Kim Possible.
This chapter was originally supposed to be a lot shorter, but for some reason the characters wanted to talk a lot. I figured I’d add the fight scene so that they could get even more worked up and lost in the moment. I hope you find it believable, but I can understand if you don’t. I’m working on chapter five right now and hope to have it posted some time later today. I named this chapter Basic Instinct for a very subtle reason that actually has nothing to do with that movie, but still fits. Oh, and while we’re talking about names, can anybody guess where I got the name Kafziel? It’s a very popular video game. Please read and review. No flames, please.
beeftony