It didn’t take long for Kim and Shego to get back to the taller woman’s bike – it was only parked a block or two away, after all.
“So, where are we going now, Shego?” Kim took her helmet when her partner handed it to her, “and did you remember to grab your armband?” She added that last jab with the tiniest smirk.
Shego laughed quietly at Kim’s joking question, shifting to swing her special backpack out in front of her. “C’mon, what do you take me for?” She zipped open the largest pocket and pulled it open to show Kim a long, night-black metal cylinder that appeared to shimmer under the glare of the single streetlamp that reached them. “And look,” she smirked, “it’s even in my colour.”
Smiling, Kim reached into the bag and pulled out the stolen object. “Now, what on Earth could be so special about this thing?” She gave the artefact a quick once-over before slipping it back into Shego’s bag. There was a line of writing along one side of the armband, engraved deeply into the glossy-finished metal. At first glance, it might have been Latin, but Kim had a sneaking suspicion that the script was far more than it seemed; otherwise, the scientists wouldn’t have been so stumped by the thing.
“Personally,” Shego zipped the bag shut and handed it off for Kim to hold onto while she could switch her leather gloves for a less…dangerous pair so she could drive her Ghost. Her plasma couldn’t damage her bike, but Shego just felt better wearing her leather-and-almleti pair. “I don’t have a clue – all I care about it is that I know I can touch it. And that’s good enough for me; we can figure out the rest later.” She mounted the bike and started up the over-powered engine. “Let’s get out of here, Kimmie.”
Kim slipped her helmet on and climbed onto the machine, taking her place behind her partner and wrapping her arms around her waist without hesitating. “So,” she started, raising her voice to be heard over the roar, “back to Hudson?”
“Not this time, Princess,” Shego replied, rolling the bike out of the alley and starting off down the street. “I think it’s time I brought you to visit one of my old haunts.” She glanced around casually, but saw nothing unusual about the cars around them in the downtown city street. “No one will find us there, and we might even get a chance to pick up a few things before coming topside.” Just wait until you see this place, Princess; it’s the greatest Lair in the world and it’ll be completely deserted. There’ll be no one to interrupt us tonight, Kim. Shego gunned the engine as soon as they were out on the freeway, deftly weaving around the scattered cars that were still out at this late hour. “It’s the one piece of property that Drakken owns that you’ve never been to.”
Kim squeezed Shego just a little tighter, “the Montreal Lair.”
Shego nodded without turning, “it’s the most advanced setup that Dr D ever created, and you finally get to break into it – and with someone truly qualified to give you the grand tour, no less.”
“Spankin’,” Kim replied, loosening her hold on Shego’s waist. “How long until we get there?”
Shego checked their surroundings, “half-an-hour – give or take.” She turned the Ghost onto an access ramp of the highway. “What – you in a rush?” She heard the amused, sarcastic tone in her voice.
Kim’s helmet bumped lightly against Shego’s shoulder in response before she replied, “punch it, Shego.”
“My pleasure.” Shego grinned behind her black faceplate. As you wish, Princess… she cranked her bike forward and pushed the sleek machine to its limits. We’ll get there, Kimmie – don’t you worry…
“Well, this was a surprise.”
Shego looked up at the sarcastic remark, “hey, Kimmie?”
Kim’s head turned down from her staring match with the brightly starlit sky above them. “Yeah?”
It was difficult for Shego to keep a content smile off her face at the sight that she beheld, but she managed. “Shut it,” she turned back to glaring at the solid metal-plated door that stood in front of her, barring her way.
Kim shrugged and returned to her silent contemplation of the star-spangled velvet curtain that hung far above them, giving Shego the chance to covertly shoot a glance behind her to take in the breath-taking image.
Kim was lounging back against the side of the building Shego had led them to, seated on a raised brick wall that stood on one side of the sunken stairway, which in turn led down to the solid basement-style door that Shego now stood at. Added to the image of casual ease were the emotions that wafted off the redhead for Shego to sample at her leisure. It was a heady mixture of happiness, contentment, affection, and the slightest hint of excitement – almost like a dash of lily-chocolate syrup to top everything off – that promised to be a truly incredible bouquet of scent-flavours if Shego simply reached out to lose herself in the near-irresistible Kimmie-vibes.
And the sight of Kim’s body in that pose wasn’t all that bad either.
Kim spoke after a moment, her gaze still trained on the stars above, “why don’t you just blast the door down if it’s locked you out?”
Shego sighed frustratedly – but not at the spoken question. God, she fumed; I’d hoped I’d never have to see that bastard again – of course fate throws him at me again… Shego frowned.
Kim must have sensed the furious turn of her thoughts because Shego’s subtle and pleasant Kimmie-buffet quickly transformed into a harsh and chaotic collection of hurt and sour emotions. God Dammit!
“I’m sorry,” Kim whispered, clearly seeking to quell her partner’s sudden anger, even though it was obvious she didn’t know that the cause wasn’t her.
“No,” Shego denied hurriedly, “don’t – I’m not pissed at you for asking.”
Kim tilted her head at Shego as she gazed down from her perch on the brick wall, the moonlight shining down and making her face glow softly with an unearthly light. “Then…” she trailed off uncertainly, “…what?”
The black-wigged woman reached out and tapped the door with one of her hands. “This door’s been refitted – recently – with almleti plating.” She frowned again, “I’m figuring the door isn’t completely made of almleti alloy because he’s too cheap to do that, but there’s probably a thick enough layer on this side to make my plasma worthless.” Shego turned and leaned casually against the solid door, “now,” she muttered, slipping one of her gloves off to free the unnatural – but mesmerizing – green aura that always surrounded her hands. “We both know that there’s only one man who knows about this alloy – and a snivelling coward he may be, but he would never give that secret up.”
Kim’s eyes narrowed and an evil-looking grin formed on her face. “Well,” she effortlessly dropped off the wall to land on the lower landing beside Shego, “I guess he must really be scared if he Shego-proofed his Lair.”
“Hey,” Shego shot a quick look at her partner. “I never said it was Shego-proof.” She turned back to the gleaming silver door. “At best, it’s Shego-resistant.” She reached out one hand to quickly melt the cover plate off the door controls, “see? Plasma will never be my only talent – not by a long shot.”
Kim snorted and put her hand on Shego’s shoulder, stopping her before she could make a complete mess out of the door’s circuits in her attempt to hotwire the thing. “Hold on,” she spoke in a low voice. “There’s another way, Shego.”
The pale green woman narrowed her eyes at the redhead. What is she going on about? “Didn’t you hear what I just said, Kim? I can’t –.”Oh…this I’ve got to see. A wide grin spread across her face, lighting her eyes up with a gleeful glow. “Well,” she purred in a silky voice, “why didn’t you say so, Kimmie? Be my guest.” She stepped back from the door. “Let’s see some of that magic.”
The younger woman smiled thinly as she reached out her left hand and trailed it along the smooth, cool metal surface of the door, tracing out a large, roughly ovoid shape as she concentrated on her own powers.
Shego was amazed as she stood and watched Kim’s hand moving along the door, leaving behind a solid, roughly ovoid sheet of ice. “So,” she spoke casually as Kim pulled her hand away from the transformed door, “can I smash it now?”
Kim nodded, her smile still in place – and wider, if Shego was any judge. “It isn’t almleti-plated anymore, so go ahead.”
Shego raised her hands, preparing to charge up a large plasma bolt. “And you’re not worried Drakken might have seen that little display?”
The younger villainess shrugged, “not really.” She raised her eyebrows fractionally at Shego. “Wade’s given me a breakdown of Drakken’s security before – in other Lairs –, and there’s never any camera footage of the front door. There’s coverage inside and on the approach to the door, but never at the door itself.” She motioned to the locked and partially iced door, “shall we? I’d like to have a little chat with your ex-boss.” Her eyes hardened.
Shego laughed quietly and brought her un-gloved hand to bear. Oh, she thought;I’ll bet you would… “Whatever you say, Princess.” She charged up and held her hands over her head even as she began backing away from the Lair’s entrance, moving a few steps up the stairs to street-level. “Better back away there, Kimmie; I wouldn’t want your pretty self to get burned.”
“You’re all heart,” nevertheless, Kim did as she was told.
“Purely self-interest,” the pale woman countered, “I have plans for you later.”
“Sounds like fun.” A mischievous grin lit up her fair features.
“Oh, it will be.”
Shego finally brought her hands down, releasing a plasma blast the size of a chair straight into the formerly almleti-shielded door, slamming her cursed power into the barrier with the force of a pile driver and instantly flash-vaporizing the thin layer of ice – which had until a very short time ago been an obstacle impenetrable to the great Shego – as well as melting a sizeable portion of the ordinary steel plating of the door beyond the ice. On contact, there was a brilliant green explosion of light that had an effect very similar to a flash-bang grenade. Shego was prepared for it and turned her head away at the last instant.
Kim, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.
The redhead’s shock tore through Shego’s mind, overwhelming her senses for the most brief of seconds, but when it was all over and the older of the two women could finally think straight once more, she opened her eyes to find her Kimmie collapsed on the steps with her eyes wide and blinking rapidly, but focusing on nothing. Aw, Shego thought, mildly amused as she quickly pulled her gloves back on; poor Kimmie…
“Hey, Princess,” Shego bent down and helped her partner climb to her feet slowly, “how are you doing?”
Kim groaned and pressed the heel of her hand into her right temple, squeezing her eyes shut. “I’m surviving on the thoughts of how I’m going to get revenge from you as soon as I can see again.
Shego smirked approvingly. “Well, hold that thought, Kimmie – we’ve got to fumigate first.” She stepped through the rapidly cooling hole she’d just blown into the lair’s more covert entrance, carefully leading her blind heroine behind her. “Then, we can see about your revenge.”
Kim’s eyes widened despite the fact that she couldn’t see anything at the moment. “Fumigate?” Her voice dropped to a whisper as they walked through the dark and quiet hallways of Dr Drakken’s lair. “You have an infestation here?”
Shego grinned even more widely. “Well – yeah, I suppose we do have an infestation.” She let out a quiet chuckle. “There’s only one of them, but I’m sure you can understand that one is more than enough to spoil the atmosphere of any home. And I’ve taken quite a liking to this particular Lair, so I’d like to be able to spend some quiet, quality time here with you every once in a while, but that won’t be possible if he sticks around.” Shego rested an arm across Kim’s shoulders as she continued to lead her through the twisting corridors, finding her way by memory.
The redhead at Shego’s side smiled knowingly, “if it’s short, blue, and has a tendency to come up with really bad ideas, then I’m all for doing a little pest control.”
Shego gave her partner’s shoulders a squeeze. “That’s good, but are you looking for extermination or capture?”
Kim was silent for a few seconds as she thought about that question. “Part of me really wants to make him suffer for what he did to you, but the rest says I have to let him live because we don’t have the right to make that kind of decision.” She smirked just a little more sinisterly than Shego would have expected, “on the other hand…I can’t say I have any objections to throwing him back into prison more violently than usual.”
Shego couldn’t help but laugh at that one. “Hey, alright then – let’s break out some bug spray.”
Kim nodded and leaned into Shego’s side more comfortably, “Do we have to? I think I’d rather just stay like this and walk around with you.”
Shego stopped walking and reached out to turn the knob of an unimpressive door, revealing a dark room beyond. “Come here, Kim.” She pulled her partner into the room and closed the door behind her with a soft click.
“Where are we,” Kim asked after a moment of silence, “a broom closet?”
“No,” Shego turned the lights on as soon as she was sure the door was locked, “this is one of five security outposts that Dr Dee’s scattered around the place.” She led Kim to a chair and sat her down in front of the console. “Just relax and enjoy the show, Kim – I’m going to try and find the snake in this garden.” She bent over the controls of the central terminal and started typing away, cycling through the hundreds of cameras that were hers to command from this one workstation. “I can access every single camera that Drakken has in this place, and I can shut them all down from here too.” Way to make it easy for me, Dr Dee…
Live-action images appeared on the main video monitor as Shego navigated her way through the huge, supposedly secret base – room by room, floor by floor. Hallways, doorways, streets from the upper world, training rooms, the cafeteria… they all swept across the monitor and were instantly dismissed when they turned up no evidence of the irritating and infuriating blue scientist. “Now this is odd…where the Hell is he?”
“What’s odd?” Kim’s eyes narrowed as she tried to force her eyes to focus on the dozens of screens in front of her. “What do you see?”
Shego started scanning faster through the cameras, confused at the total and complete vacancy of every room. “There’s not a single person in this place, but I know he’s here. He has to be – I mean, you don’t take the time to reinforce the door like that and not hole up inside…but I can’t find anyone – not one henchman or synthodrone.”
“You’d think a blue-skinned man would be easier to find in a place that’s all gunmetal grey.” Kim’s voice was quiet – amused as her vision finally returned and cleared of all the bright spots. “Should we just get out of here and hunt him down the old-fashioned way?”
“Aha.” Shego leaned forward suddenly as another stream of video appeared on the main monitor. “There you are, you sneaky son-of-a-maggot…”
Kim perked up, her eyes widening to an extraordinary size as she studied the picture on the screen. “What,” she began quickly, “where is that?”
Shego laughed quietly. “It’s his bedroom.”
The redhead shuddered severely, looking away. “Ugh…that is so wrong!”
The older woman grinned light-heartedly, “oh, relax Princess – he sleeps in footie pyjamas and a stocking cap; I seriously doubt that there’s anything remotely sick or wrong going on in there.” Shego looked back at the screen in front of her just in time to be reminded of one of the most disturbing things she had ever seen her former employer do. “Okay,” she followed Kim’s example and shuddered violently, feeling very much as though her skin was going to crawl right off her body. “Now, that’s just sick and wrong.”
Kim smirked triumphantly, “see? I told you,” her smile turned into a grimace as a sudden thought arose unbidden to the fore of her mind. “Do I really want to know?” She winced a little more tightly.
“Probably not,” Shego stated flatly, still trying to work the chill out of her spine. She normally relished the things that caused chills to traverse the length of her body, but not this…
Never when it came to anything that related to Drakken.
Glancing sideways at her companion, Shego immediately found her salvation. Closing her eyes, she lowered her mind’s growing barriers – growing out of necessity rather than choice; Shego did need to be able to focus on the task at hand after all – and let the mild buzz of the girl’s emotions wash over her, calming her twitching nerves as they relaxed under the soothing touch of the unidentifiable mixture of everything Kim. Shego smiled in spite of herself. Only Kim, she thought; only my Kimmie could do this… Shego suddenly realized that the girl in question was studying her intently, silently. “What?”
“What’s with the smile?” Kim closed her eyes for a second before a similar expression crossed her own face, her head tilting to one side in that irresistibly adorable way, “Oh,” she replied to her own question, “I see – I’m glad I could help, Shego.” She opened her eyes, keeping her smile, “so – what was he doing?”
Shego tried to think as little as possible about what she was about to say. “I’m guessing our oh-so-discreet entrance woke the ghostly blueberry from whatever twisted dreams he was having, but he’s usually pretty clueless and can’t figure out what wakes him up. He’s probably decided his dream turned into a nightmare, and there’s only one thing he’ll take to put him back to sleep.” In a crazy moment of insanity – as if she was trying to torture herself –, Shego glanced at the lying bastard’s activity and couldn’t help the slight shiver of disgust that swept through her body. Fortunately, her reaction was far less severe thanks to the heavy dose of Kimmie she’d prescribed to herself. Unfortunately, however, that wouldn’t help Kim feel better if the girl really wanted to know the details of Drakken’s insomnia remedy.
Unfortunately again, Kim was of the curious, inquisitive nature and would never in a million years allow a mystery such as this to fall under the radar. “What does he do?” With good reason, the heroine braced herself for the answer, knowing instinctively that what she was about to hear was in absolutely no way of benefit to her sanity.
Shego made a face before she replied, feeling the beginnings of a gag reflex at the very thought of the blue devil’s family concoction. “…chocolate-tomato milkshake,” she finally forced out through clenched teeth.
Kim’s eyes bulged out of her head as she stared at Shego in open-mouthed horror. “Tell me you’re joking, please.”
Shego’s expression became apologetic and she shook her head slowly. “Sorry, Kim – but you asked.”
Kim shuddered and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the image of the horrid cocktail. “That can’t be good for you,” she groaned uncomfortably.
Shego laughed nervously, struggling to close down her empathy just enough that she’d stop feeling Kim’s revulsion. It wasn’t fun. “Yeah, I don’t think it is, but it doesn’t seem to do anything to Dr Dee. He just chugs two litres and falls back to sleep.”
“Two litres?” Kim looked at the floor uneasily, swallowing carefully. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she spoke quietly – slowly.
“Sure thing, Kimmie.” Shego pushed herself out of her seat and reached over to switch off the security monitors, effectively shutting down surveillance all across the lair as she pulled her left glove off swiftly. “Let’s go catch us a blueberry.” Drawing back her hand, Shego briefly charged up and blasted the centre of the console with a fair-sized plasma bolt, following it up with her blazing fist.
If it weren’t for the bolt she’d led her attack with, putting her fist through the metal sheeting of the security console would have been really painful, but the initial blast heated and weakened the panelling just enough that her punch had all the power of a falling meteor, blowing apart the half-melted console and shredding the wires and circuits that lay beneath.
Shego turned to face Kim, “Let’s get out of here.” She offered her hand to the redhead.
Kim accepted the help without hesitating. “Yes, lets.” She straightened as she put the megalomaniac’s sickening comfort drink out of her mind. “Lead the way, Shego.”
“Right.” Shego pulled open the door to the dimly lit hallway outside. “Follow me, Princess.” She even threw a respectful bow in with the pet name, smiling the whole time.
Kim giggled softly, but stepped out into the hallway after her unlikely mentor. “So, do you think he has any other surprises waiting for you besides the almleti plated door?”
Shego smirked confidently as the redhead drew alongside her in the corridor. “You know, he probably does, but he’s probably got it all set around the single assumption that I’d be alone when I came to bust his ass.” She tossed one arm across Kim’s shoulders and pulled her close, “he probably never counted on me teaming up with anyone – much less his nemesis.”
The redheaded heroine allowed a small grin to cross her lips. “He was never my nemesis.”
“Of course not,” Shego grinned, “but let the man dream.” They turned a corner and came face to face with a virtually unmarked door; all it said was Drakken in small red letters. “Let him dream… ‘cuz we’re about to give him a real nightmare.” She motioned to Kim, turning a feral grin on her partner. “Almleti plating…Kimmie?”
Kim offered a thin sliver of a smile of her own as she reached out one hand for the door.
A tremendous explosion announced the duo’s entrance into the darkened suite of rooms that made up Doctor Drakken’s living space, followed soon afterwards by a cacophony of crashes and bangs as a huge wave of twisted and half-melted debrisfollowed the blast inside.
Stepping through the ragged hole in the door – the edges of which were glowing a dull white – Shego curled her un-gloved hands into tight, burning fists. “Knock, knock.”
A high-pitched gasp answered her as the smoke began to clear. “No!” A dark shape rose up from behind a tall dresser and made a run for it only for a redheaded blur to come flying in through the blasted door, slamming straight into the fleeing shadow.
The impact of Kim’s clasped fists driving into the man’s left hip and then rising up sharply threw Doctor Drew Lipsky – also known as Dr Drakken – clear across the room and into a thick, aluminium shelving unit, severely crumpling the top three shelves and sending their contents raining down as the mad scientist collapsed to the steel-plated floor. As Kim recovered and stepped back, none the worse for wear, the tall shelf gave a low groan and fell away from the wall, toppling over to land on the prone man with a dull clang.
The pale blue man echoed his shelf’s noise of complaint and struggled to return to his feet so he could make good his escape. Shego almost rolled her eyes at the man’s ineptitude. Where did he think he was going to go? Two super-powered martial artists stood between him and the door, and they were stuck in a room underground – no windows.
Just in case, Shego spoke in a cold voice, stopping the man in his tracks with her dangerously slow words. “It’s been a long time, Dr Dee.”
The black-haired scientist repeated his odd cry of mingled outrage and terror. “Shego?” There also seemed to be a slight note of disbelief buried in there somewhere. “Uh…” he trailed off quickly, his voice growing quiet as the burning fire in his former sidekick’s eyes as well as in her hands forced him into a state so horrified he failed to notice the presence of a certain redheaded anti-heroine. “Um…” he started trying to back away from the tense Shego, but was quickly stopped by a wall at his back. “Hello,” he finally added in a hesitant – almost childish – voice. “What brings you here, Shego?”
Shego carelessly waved his question aside and crossed her arms, casually examining the fingernails of one hand. “I used to live here too, Dr Dee.” She stared at her black-painted fingernails disinterestedly before glaring back at the cowering scientist. What a spineless little worm… “In fact,” she uncrossed her arms and brought her plasma-wreathed hands to bear on the little man, “we need a place to stay, so I’m kicking out the vermin.” She took a step forward threateningly. Let’s just get this over with.
Drakken surprised them both by drawing himself up to his full height – which didn’t quite reach Kim or Shego’s. His eyes narrowed suddenly with unexpected determination and bravado. “Shego! You will not force me from my home – not today, not ever!”
Hm, Kim mused – only slightly taken aback because she’d had a fraction of a second’s warning. She hadn’t probed Drakken’s mind, but she’d still felt the man’s rising confidence and anger the instant before he acted on it. Kim studied the shorter man intently – warily – unsure of what to think about the blind eye he continued to turn to her presence in his Home Lair. Something about his sudden backbone just didn’t sit right with Kim.
He has something on her; some edge he knows will save him. That’s the only way he could stand up to her like this – he’s too much a coward at heart.
Shego, for all of her empathic abilities, was too far gone in her own anger to sense Drakken’s expanding ego and burgeoning confidence, nor his counterpart form of hatred for her; she had, after all betrayed him and left him for dead – in his own home no less.
“You’d better have an army of henchmen ready to protect you in the next three seconds, Drakken – because that’s what it’s going to take to escape me this time.”
“Actually, Shego…” The scientist casually reached into a pocket of his jumpsuit but carefully kept his hand hidden. “I predict that in ten minutes you and I will have let bygones be bygones,” he smirked triumphantly, “I do of course mean that you’ll have learned your place and returned to the very life I have created you for.”
Shego scoffed at that. “Yeah, fat chance…” she looked away disinterestedly, but Kim sensed the jolt of doubt that swept through her partner’s mind; Shego was beginning to see that something was wrong with this whole situation. Like, since when did Dr Drakken have a spine?
Oh, to Hell with it. Kim threw caution to the wind and probed Drakken’s mind, retaining the control to only look at his thoughts concerning the object he now held quietly out of sight. What do you have, Drakken?
The answer filled the heroine’s mind…
And her blood ran like ice in her veins.
Oh no, she thought desperately. God – no…I’d dreamed of someday…but not like this.
Not like this.
Kim opened her mouth to warn Shego. “Sheg –!”
She was interrupted by Drakken as he finally granted her the pleasure and courtesy of being noticed by the self-proclaimed maniacal genius. “Oh, and you’ve brought Kim Possible with you – excellent; now she’ll get to see just how weak and pathetic you really are.”
Shego took a menacing step forward, looking more than ready to give Drakken a frontal lobotomy via plasma-fingers, but she brought herself up short when a clear vial containing a shimmering rose-coloured liquid was abruptly held up only centimetres from her face.
“Ah, ah, ah!” Drakken moved away from Shego, the small vial still held in his hand. “I’d think you would have learned to control that fiery temper of yours, my dear. After all, I’m certain you don’t want me to accidentally shatter this vial.”
Shego backed off just slightly, “why?” She tried to maintain her façade of control over the situation. Kim knew that her partner was intensely curious – but she also knew the answer would certainly tear the villainess apart. “What is that – some kind of super-virus that’ll kill everyone in this room? I can tell you right now, that’s the worst plan I’ve ever heard – and that’s saying something. You’re in this room, doofus; you’ll die too.”
Drakken’s smirk only grew, seeming to only gain strength from the abuse at the hands of his former sidekick. “Oh, no. Fear not, Shego. I can tell you for a fact that this is in no form any kind of disease or toxin.” He paused – presumably for dramatic effect. He was such a head case.
Seconds passed in silence one after another. “Oh, no Shego – this is far more than that…this is something far worse…”
Kim felt her heart plummet. Oh, no…don’t say it…
Drakken closed his fist around the vial, keeping it raised between him and his pale-skinned acquaintance. “This, Shego.” He shook the sealed glass container, “this is something special I made just for you – something I knew that you might actually appreciate, but would never acquire without me.”
Kim stared wide-eyed at the man’s black-gloved fist. Drakken was so going to pay for this.
He was still talking, however, and paid Kim’s thoughts no mind. “This, Shego, he paused once more. “This is something truly wondrous.” He stopped for a moment, and then smiled devilishly. “This,” he went on:
“This is a cure.”
Shego’s face paled. “You’re lying.”
Kim didn’t bother covering up the fact that she’d already seen Drakken’s plan in his own mind; even without her powers, she’d always been able to see right through him. This situation would certainly be in character for her. “You’re going to blackmail Shego with a cure for her hands? How much lower can you sink, Drakken?”
He gave a frustrated squeal. “Oh, you Possibles and your lip – you spoil all the good surprises!” He pouted in that immature way that Kim remembered.
Hm, she mused. The more things change, the more they stay the same…isn’t that the truth?
Kim crossed her arms and gave the blue-skinned scientist the most amused smirk she could muster under the circumstances. “Did you forget that in four years?”
“No,” he pushed his frustration to one side and turned back to Shego. “I remember it quite well, and you should know I’m not lying to you, Shego. Did you ever stop and think for one second that I would leave a plan as unpredictably volatile as your employment only half-finished like that?” He grinned triumphantly at both Shego and Kim. “Did you think I would go through all the trouble of creating the formula that mutated you, research the substances that could block it, blame it on Kim Possible, and then just leave it at that? Oh, no.” Dr Drakken sneered at Shego’s apparent lack of vision. “I needed something else to keep you in line; it was only a matter of time before the noble heroine discovered that your hatred for her was based on lies. To be honest,” he turned a puzzled eye on Kim as he spoke, “I was surprised it took three years for her to get up the nerve to talk to you about it.”
Shego appeared to think about that for a moment, and then shook her head slowly. “I still don’t buy it. If you had this miracle cure, why did you let me beat you to death’s door? I think you would have had a little more self preservation that that.”
A sheepish expression crept onto the man’s face. “That’s true. To be completely frank, it wasn’t quite finished when you found me out.” Before either woman could respond to the absurdity of the madman’s newest revelation, he went on in a hurried voice, appearing quite offended by their disbelieving stares, “Look, the two of you may not totally understand the nature of this chemical; designing the formula that mutated you was one thing – creating a serum that would negate only one characteristic in the entire mixture was something else entirely.”
Kim raised an eyebrow questioningly, quickly drawing close to a point where she would begin to seriously doubt this little man’s sanity. “One characteristic? What the Hell kind of cure is that?”
“Only the best kind for a woman such as my Shego.” Drakken gloated, turning a mock-sympathetic expression on his former sidekick. “It hurts, doesn’t it, Shego?” He glanced at the vial in his hands again, opening his fist for the briefest of seconds, “to be so close to people and yet so impossibly far. You think I didn’t notice your depression – your colossal loneliness?” He smirked at the pale woman. “Our Lairs practically dripped with your melancholy – your pining for companionship. You took in that Senor Senior boy without a second thought, remember? That alone was enough for me to know that there was another way I could further secure your loyalty to me – another path to subjugating your will.”
Kim probed into Drakken’s mind once more and felt horror and terror clench her heart. “Oh, no…”
Drakken’s grin widened. “Oh, yes. I know how you think, Shego – so I know all too well that there is only one thing that keeps you from enjoying your powers to their fullest.” He reached his left hand into his pocket, shaking the vial in his right. “What I offer you, my dear, is freedom. I offer you the power to touch whomever you wish without fear of your plasma incinerating them; all I ask is one thing…nothing I haven’t asked for before – a formality, really.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it in such a way that his next item remained hidden.
Shego crossed her arms and glared sceptically at the little man. “I seriously doubt that it’s anything so small, but go on – I’m listening.” She held one emerald-glowing hand up, “but not for long.”
Kim didn’t miss the look of longing that flitted briefly across Shego’s expression before she got herself back under control; total freedom to use her bare hands without losing her powers? It seemed too good to be true.
Obviously, it was.
Drakken opened his hand for his guests to see. “I demand nothing short of your total and complete obedience.” His widening grin sent chills down Kim’s spine – and not the good kind.
Kim heard Shego gasp when she set her eyes on the small black and red microchip in the scientist’s hand, but Kim was too horrified to keep up her act of not already knowing what the blue-skinned man had held in his hand – what he had held in store for his former sidekick should she ever deign to darken his doorstep again.
Oh, God no – please, not this…
It was a Neural Compliance chip.
(((Flashback)))
“God, those two can be such pains!”
Kim reached up for another handhold as she scaled the cliff face beside a towering waterfall.
She was in a rainforest in Peru, trying to track down Drakken and Shego – again. They’d stolen a microchip this time – or rather, Shego had stolen it and Drakken just planned something awful with it. The chip they’d acquired this time was particularly dangerous; they’d taken it from a brilliant – and highly unscrupulous – scientist, a Doctor Bortle. Kim had been shocked when she’d learned that it was supposed to completely override the wearer’s control over their own body, stripping them of all free will.
It had been all too easy to track the fleeing super criminals after that, given the motivation and the evidence on hand, but Kim wasn’t grumbling about that.
No, if not for the twin terrors that she had left with Ron, this mission might have actually been a little fun, despite the whole nefarious scheme that Drakken had probably already plotted out.
Unfortunately, Kim’s parents had left that very morning for some kind of relationship help conference, leaving their eldest child the unwanted responsibility of caring for her twin ten-year-old brothers, Jim and Tim. What little monsters they were; it was unbelievable that the twin dweebs could share any genes with Kim, but if her parents were to be believed, she had been no better at their age. Hard to believe, but Kim assumed it was possible.
Anything’s possible and all.
Still, while the Tweebs might turn out all right in the end, that day was still far away into the future, and Kim couldn’t help but live in the present where she was stuck with the everlasting annoyances that were her twin brothers.
So, it wasn’t the existence of the two villains that she was cursing, but that of her own twin brothers.
“I swear,” she grumbled as she stared up at the cave mouth that was now only a few more metres away, “if those two do one more thing to screw up this mission, I’ll –.”
Kim was just reaching up to pull herself into the cave when the crunch of boots on gravel interrupted her thought. And, looking up with startled indifference – she did know over a dozen forms of martial arts after all, so what threat could it be –, she found Dr Drakken standing over her wearing a grin so wide and sinister it made her insides crawl. Damn! How did I let him get so close?
In a rare moment of luck, Drakken acted before Kim had the chance to do any more than stare.
“Hello…” His eyes shining triumphantly, Drakken darted forward and stabbed something into Kim’s forehead.
Kim was instantly overcome with a sharp knife of agony in her skull, and she turned away from the man, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain. Kim consciously forced her hands to tighten on their handholds instead of allowing her pain to overcome her resistance and release her grip.
Then, a moment later, the pain lifted, evaporating into nothing and leaving Kim with a strangely weightless sensation while leaving her still able to feel the Earth beneath her hands and feet. Whoa, she rocked just slightly; that was weird. What did he just hit me with?She looked up at Dr Drakken. If that was supposed to knock me out or stun me, Drakken screwed up again.
Dazed, Kim pulled herself up over the cliff edge and turned to face Drakken. “I don’t know what that was supposed to do to me, but you’re still going down, Drakken.” Kim spoke defiantly.
Or at least, that was what she triedto say.
Grinning malevolently, Drakken stepped back and held a mirror to Kim’s face. “Welcome to my team, Kim Possible.”
Unable to turn away because she was no longer in control of her own body, Kim stared at the face in the mirror. The black and red microchip imbedded shallowly into the center of her forehead wasn’t difficult to find, but there was something more terrifying than Dr Bortle’s neural compliance chip in the face that gazed from Drakken’s mirror…
The empty, lifeless look in her own bright green eyes would fuel Kim’s worst nightmares for years afterward.
(((End Flashback)))
Kim brought herself back to the present from her brief lapse into the past.
It had been a horrible experience, needless to say, and she had been unable to stop herself from following every command given to her by Drakken. Thankfully, Dr Drakken had been – for the moment at least – far more interested in his global domination scheme than in humiliating the great Kim Possible now that he had successfully captured her. Kim could be thankful for that much. All Drakken had made her do was change into one of Shego’s many extra bodysuits and capture Ron, which wasn’t so bad; Ron just did what he always did best – he ran.
It was no small miracle that Drakken’s stolen mind control chip had been unable to tap into her powers. If it had been able to connect to her abilities, there was little doubt in Kim’s mind that Jim and Tim would have been captured long before they could set up their homemade silicon phase disruptor and destroy the chips Drakken had placed on her and Shego. So, throughout the entire ordeal, Kim’s powers – her gifts – had remained a closely guarded secret, leading her to believe that her connection to them was more than just a mental one.
Frankly, however, that was one of very few good things to come out of that experience. That, and the unexpected revelation that Shego wasn’t completely loyal to Drakken – why else slap her with a mind control chip? Honestly, Kim had never thought to consider that perhaps Shego hadn’t in fact bought into Dr Drakken’s whole megalomaniacal beliefs but had really used an alliance with the scientist as a means to an end. Kim had never really understood the depth of the villainess’ hatred – not until that day in the Peruvian lair.
Shego’s voice – with its trademark snide tone – pulled Kim away from her thoughts. “Are you serious?” She was obviously speaking to Drakken, and she stood in a carelessly casual pose that Kim found to be unreasonably attractive. Shego’s face was set in a sharp scowl that was a cross between amused and angered. “You actually expect me to willingly let you invade my mind for a second time? You had to force that chip onto me the first time – what makes you think I’d just up and volunteer this time around?”
Drakken just smiled and gazed meaningfully at Shego’s plasma enshrouded hands. “Oh, nothing – you just know that I have something you want…and I know just how much you crave it.”
Kim looked sharply at her partner when she sensed the intense longing drifting off the older woman’s mind. No way…she can’t probably be considering this.
Shego wasn’t even trying to hide how much she wanted Drakken’s cure; all three of them already knew it – knew what a horrible mess the villainess’ life had become once she’d lost any conventional use of her hands.
And a cure it was. Kim had sensed that much in her millisecond-long foray into the cerulean megalomaniac’s head. There had been no deceit – the vial now safely secured within Dr Drakken’s pocket actually did contain the cure for Shego’s condition, and it really would only remove that single element that made Shego’s powers a constant curse. So, he was at least on the level with that part.
Shego narrowed her eyes just the same – keeping up the useless pretence. “Okay, I’ll bite – what’s the deal?” She kept her arms crossed.
“That’s my girl, Shego.” The short pastel-faced man spread his hands innocently before patting the pocket in which he’d placed his pink-filled vial. “I’ll give you this cure, Shego – you can count on that, and I ask only two things for your part.” He paused, presumably for dramatic effect, but all it did was to serve as a reminder of how goofy and clueless the blue-faced man usually was. “I want five years, and your promise that you won’t seek revenge for anything that might happen when it’s all over. I ask for five years with a loyal henchwoman, and then I’ll remove the chip myself.”
Shego snorted. “I could just promise you five years of loyalty without a chip.”
Drakken’s reply was to laugh in amusement – a creepy, disturbing, and far from comforting sound. “Oh, I think we can both agree how empty a promise that would be.” He gestured down at his right leg. “I still have the limp to remind me how dangerous you are when you have control of your own body.”
Tilting her head to one side, Kim stopped and actually studied the scientist’s stance for the first time. He was standing in such a way that his weight was almost completely removed from his right leg, and there was a slight bulging in the jumpsuit around his knee and upper calf, as if the joint had never completely healed right. Wow, Kim thought, Shego really worked him over.
The woman in question smirked. “What can I say, Dr Dee? You should have thought of that before you decided to get on my bad side.” Her smile vanished so quickly Kim thought she’d get whiplash. “I gotta tell you Drakken, unwilling genetic sabotage really isn’t very good at inspiring loyalty.”
Drakken shrugged and made some kind of dismissive noise. “What’s done is done, I suppose. But seriously now, Shego,” he grew excited in a very unsettling way. “After I’ve gotten my five years of work from you, I will disable your chip and administer my cure to your hands. Once that’s done,” the little weasel smiled in what was probably supposed to be a charming way; it was more an unnatural contortion than a smile of any description. “Once we’ve cleaned up your hand problem, you and I can go our separate ways until kingdom come.”
Shego laughed humourlessly, “After this, if I never see your face again, it’ll be too soon.”
Kim continued to stare at Shego. ‘You can’t seriously be considering this,’ She decided privacy was probably best for a conversation like this in front of a man like Drakken. ‘Come on,’ she pleaded when Shego gave no indication she was going to play along, ‘talk to me; Drakken will just think you’re taking a long time to weigh your options.’
‘Fine,’ Shego replied, glancing coolly at Kim. ‘Tell me you haven’t wanted to feel my hands on you. Tell me that you haven’t been hoping for something like this. Tell me that you didn’t enjoy the feeling of my fingers running through your hair –that you don’t want me to be free to touch you whenever I want and not just when I’m wearing my gloves. Tell me right now, Kim, and I’ll forget about Drakken’s deal.’
Kim shook her head ever-so-slightly and her shoulders slumped in defeat. ‘I can’t,’ she confessed. She stared at the profile view she had of her partner’s lovely face. ‘Honestly, I love the feel of your hands, Shego – far more than you could ever understand. I have been hoping and praying to whatever God exists that there could be a cure out there for you,’ Kim trailed off uncertainly before deciding to push ahead, ‘and I would like nothing better than to see you get that cure, but this?’ She studied Drakken’s expectant half-smile; he seemed oblivious to Shego and Kim’s private conversation and looked all too patient to let Shego think about his offer. ‘Can you trust that he’ll deliver what he’s promising? I seriously doubt that you can take him at his word.’
Shego’s eyes narrowed even farther as she turned to hit Drakken with a piercing glare of her own. ‘Of course I can’t take him at his word.’ She seemed to stare straight through her former employer, ‘but I still have to do it.’
Kim froze, her eyes widening in shock and horror. ‘What – no!’ She reached out and laid one hand on Shego’s shoulder, as if she could really stop the villainess with a single five-fingered hand. ‘You don’t have to do this.’
Shego glared back at Kim from her place a pace or so in front of the redhead, having already taken half a step in Drakken’s direction. ‘Are you sure about that? Do you have some kind of training in biochemistry? Do you know a single thing about genetic manipulation? Can you find a way to fix my hands? Because if you can, I will gladly beat Drakken into the next Ice Age, but if you can’t…’ She trailed off dangerously.
Kim gave the mental equivalent of a nod. ‘I get it; it’s Drakken’s mess, so make him clean it up – but still…’ the retired heroine felt inspiration grip her. ‘What’s the back-up plan?’ She had to resist the urge to grin at the ripple of amusement and confidence her question evoked from Shego’s mind. ‘Oh, it’s that good, is it? Do tell.’
Shego’s amusement only grew at that. ‘Now there’s the Kim Possible I’ve grown so fond of.’ She looked back at Drakken, whose body language seemed to display a continued lack of awareness with regard to the conversation that was going on right under his nose. ‘What can you sense, Kimmie – is Dr Dee on the level?’
Kim cast outward with her mind and tried to gain access to Drakken’s thoughts on the subject. Finally, with a silent sigh of frustration, she shook her head ever-so-slightly. Her telepathy had given out once more on her for no apparent purpose. ‘Nothing,’ she relayed to her partner. ‘I’m sorry, Shego; my telepathy’s acting up again but I had him before. I can tell you that the cure is very real, and it’s in the vial in his pocket, but I didn’t get a motive or his true intentions from him. So, Drakken’s promise isn’t entirely an empty one if that makes you feel any better.’ Kim doubted it would.
‘Not really,’ Shego frowned just slightly. ‘If he was lying about that – if he was playing more games with me, I could just deck his ass and leave him to die, but if that stuff is real, that means he’s in control of the situation.’ Shego grimaced at the tiny, self-satisfied smile on Drakken’s face, ‘and he knows it.’ A playful smirk snuck onto the tall villainess’ face. ‘That’s quite the reliable power you’ve got there, Kimmie; you can still talk to me but you can’t read a simpleton like Dr Dee?’ She breathed a quiet sigh. ‘Aright, whatever – here’s the plan: I’m gonna take Dr Dee’s offer, and you are going to let me. You’ve got to get out of here before he decides what to do with you. After five years, if you haven’t heard from me, chances are good that Drakken has “forgotten” to free me. If that’s the case, I want you to get your hands on one of those silicon phase disruptors that your genius brothers built and come find me. Once I’m free, I’ll teach Doc Dee another lesson in courtesy – this time with my plasma.’
‘I don’t know,’ Kim hesitated, unsure what to do, ‘five years is a really long time, Shego – a lot can go wrong in that much time.’
‘I know that,’ Shego replied matter-of-factly, quietly. ‘But we don’t really have any other cards to play, do we?’
Kim thought about it for a moment. ‘So, you’re willing to sell five years of your life to the very same man who ruined it in the first place?’
It was almost a full minute before Shego answered as she seriously considered the question. ‘In a heartbeat, Kim; if it’ll get me my hands back – even if it’s just so I could feel your face one more time without fear – I’ll do it without a second thought.’ Shego’s lips were set in a determined frown, but Kim could still sense that doubt and fear wafting off the other woman’s mind – the deep longing. ‘Do you have any idea what it’s like to be so close to you but unable to touch you?’ The pain Kim could see in her partner’s eyes found an echoing tremor from within her own heart. ‘You gave me those few moments in that empty bathroom before the museum, but it’s not enough. I want more – I need more.’ Glancing suddenly at Kim, Shego’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, threateningly. ‘Say,’ She purred mentally, her voice as smooth as glass and about as comforting as a guillotine. ‘Why are you so eager for me to turn Drakken down? Do you like that I can’t touch you – that you have the edge on me for once – that you can touch me whenever you want to while I have to focus so hard to not hurt you? Do you enjoy watching me struggle with my powers while you just breeze through with yours?’
Kim felt like she’d just been slapped. And kicked. ‘Oh – God no, Shego. Do you really think so little of me?’
She paused to think of the right way to put her feelings into words. ‘It’s just – this goes against everything that makes you the woman you are – the amazing, free-spirited woman that I’ve fallen in love with.’ Kim moved her hand slightly so her fingers gently brushed against the bare skin of Shego’s neck, realising for the first time how much she’d taken this freedom for granted – the ability to reach out and touch Shego without worrying that she’d hurt her pale-skinned companion. Not like Shego… ‘You want to know why I don’t want you to do this – why I’m so desperate to convince you that this is the worst idea in the long, tragic history of horrible ideas?’ She concentrated tightly. ‘Then look,’ she focused on the images and feelings that rose in her mind whenever she thought about what her partner was really considering, sending the entire collection of images to Shego through the connection she’d completed by making contact with her bare neck.
As Kim merged their two minds together, a brilliant vision overcame them both and they stood frozen in place for the single second that passed outside their one consciousness:
Two birds – one bright red and the other a deep forest green – soared through the sky together, circling around and under and over each other as though caught up in the steps of an intricate and mesmerizing dance. Without warning, the green bird folded her wings and swooped down on Red, striking out with outstretched talons. The blow fell far short of its intended target, just barely kissing the red bird’s tail feathers.
Red gave a piercing cry in return and whirled around to strike back, lashing out with her own talons to just almostbrush across Green’s left wing, doing nothing more than smoothing down her companion’s raven-black feathers. Drawing away, Red let loose a deafening shriek that carried all across the clear blue sky.
And on the two birds went, locked in a fight neither seemed able to win. It wasn’t clear whether they were actually fighting to kill or for the thrill, but one thing was crystal
Joy.
Beauty.
Grace.
It was in every move they made, every talon swipe and wing beat, infused into every fibre of each step in the endless dance they shared, and it poured straight from their souls with every fierce cry of fury and passionate shriek. It didn’t matter to either predator if one or the other won their deadly and thrilling game; what truly mattered was their being together to just…be
And neither winged sky dancer could be any happier than at that very moment, soaring side-by-side and trading talon swipes. Nothing could be more fulfilling to either raptor than to share identical, deafening cries of mixed challenge and ecstasy.
And pure, untouched, untameable Passion.
Suddenly, a massively built – but unbearably tiny – steel cage formed around Green, trapping her in a space barely large enough to hop two steps in, let alone fly. Abruptly grounded in mid-flight – even in midair – Green could do little more than watch as Red circled the suspended cage helplessly – suddenly alone.
Then, with a mournful warble that was a truly pitiful sound, Red settled down to perch on the roof of the steel prison in which her companion now lay motionless, having toppled weakly to the cold, unforgiving bars beneath her talons.
Red gazed down despairingly at the deathly still predator, chirping softly as if she were trying to rouse her unresponsive companion…but to no avail.
From there, Kim’s shared vision grew progressively darker, ever more pitiful.
Kim felt Shego step away from her touch, breaking the connection that had made their link possible; clearly the hardened criminal had seen enough of Kim’s feelings on the subject, but Kim needed to make sure her partner understood what she’d seen.
‘Don’t you get it, Shego?’ Kim’s psychic voice was little more than a broken whisper. ‘It took our four years apart to realize it, but I’ve finally come to my senses and seen the reality of it all.’ The redhead stared at Shego, willing the older woman to turn around so they could lock gazes, one pair of emerald orbs to another. ‘I can’t live without you anymore,’ Kim finally confessed, ‘I was going downhill, Shego. Only…it was in slow motion – I was crashing just gradually enough that I never would have seen it if not for your reappearance in my life, and for that, I will thank you from the farthest corners of my soul.’
Kim swallowed uncomfortably, hating herself for delivering an ultimatum like this, but it was the truth of how she felt and Shego deserved to know that much – at the very least. ‘If you go back to him like this and we cross paths again, he’s going to force you to fight me. He’ll want you to destroy me, and you’ll have no control over the situation.’ Kim did her best to ignore the shocked and pained look Shego sent her way. ‘I can’t fight you like that anymore – and I won’t. I turned my back on straight-up heroism, Shego – do you understand what that means? I’m out, Shego – I’m out for good.’ Kim felt her eyes beginning to tear up at the strain of trying to hide their conversation from Dr Drakken, but she forced that thought from her mind, focusing instead on the stubborn woman in front of her. ‘If we cross paths and you’re hooked to that chip, I’ll run. I’ll turn and run because I can’t fight you, and I won’t allow Drakken to force me to.’
Shego stared at her in disbelief, ‘it’s only five years, Kim. We’ll have the rest of our lives afterwards.’
‘Only? A lot can change in five years.’ Kim was growing desperate now. It seemed like the combined forces of her emotions, reason, and even plain common sense weren’t going to be enough to match Shego’s own hopelessly desperate need for safe, controllable hands. ‘Five years will change you, Shego – five years will change me – just like four years have changed us.’
Shego smirked confidently, amused. ‘And look where four years put us, Princess; not exactly the best argument you could have come up with for your case.’
She isn’t seeing anything, Kim thought, exasperated. All Shego could see was the miracle cure that Drakken had flashed before her eyes not ten minutes earlier. He’s a great manipulator, Kim thought – I’ll give him that much. ‘We’re only the way we are,’ Kim tried to explain, ‘because we’ve spent four years apart and free – note that last part. We were both free to experience the world and discover ourselves – see ourselves for who we really are. Don’t get me wrong, Shego – I’ve got nothing against change; but at least if we’re together, we’ll be changing – growing – together.’
Kim looked suspiciously at Drakken, ‘And don’t fool yourself, Shego – you’ll be a prisoner for five years. Now, Drakken might not throw you into a cell, but a prison without walls is still a prison – and you and I both know how much worse this will be than a prison cell; how long were you under that chip’s influence last time? Two, maybe three days, was it? Remember how pissed off you were back then? How much worse will it be after five years of that – unable to eat or sleep without Drakken’s permission? Remember the helplessness? The Rage?’
Kim felt a sudden thought come to her and fear took hold of her heart in an icy grip. ‘After five years trapped so helplessly, you’ll be so angry, so bitter, so dead to life…do you really think you’ll still be capable of loving anything – anyone?’ She saw that she’d hit Shego brutally with that one; the slightly older woman had shuddered ever-so-slightly, either in fear or horror. ‘I told you that I love you, Shego – and I really do mean it. I can promise you that my feelings won’t change no matter what you decide here and now, but can you do the same? If you do this, once you’ve served your five years, will you still remember what love even is?’
Shego gave no outward sign that she was hearing Kim’s words, but she felt the empath’s comprehension flowing out of her mind through their link. ‘I understand what you’re saying, Kim. Really, I get it – but this is still my decision to make.’
‘Don’t do this,’ Kim pleaded. She felt her already strained control over her facial expression fall apart completely as her emotions tore at her mind. The desperation that was eating away at her soul flooded out into her body, turning her previously emotionless face into a grimace of pain, fear, and despair. ‘Shego,’ Kim tried again to persuade the woman she loved to not make this mistake. ‘I asked you this morning if you would be happy with whatever you can take from me – all that I can give. If you had asked me the same, my answer would have been yes – until the day I die, that answer is still yes. I don’t care what Drakken’s done to you; just being with you is more than I could have ever dreamed of having.’
Kim stepped back and lowered her gaze to the concrete floor, realizing she only had one last chance to change Shego’s mind – one last argument before she’d be out of words. It was ruthless, it was cold-hearted, perhaps even so far below the belt it was subterranean, but it needed to be said all the same. ‘I know it’s selfish of me to feel this way and it’s totally not fair to you, but I would rather have an eternity without the softness of your hands than spend five years without you – watching Drakken strip you of everything that makes you the woman you are will destroy me.’
‘Get out.’ Shego’s mental voice was suddenly cold and sharp as her almleti-plated climbing claws and it made Kim think for a split second that she had said something to piss her partner off, that her last words had been a little too insensitive. She even opened her mouth to apologize – though for exactly what she still wasn’t quite sure – but Shego cut her off. ‘I’m serious, Kim – go.’ Her tone gentled somewhat. ‘I won’t be able to stop whatever he’s planning for you once he activates that chip so you’ve got to get out of here.’
Kim nodded mutely, finally accepting that she wasn’t going to win this one. ‘Alright, Shego.’ She took a single step back, moving closer to the door to the lair’s hallway, but couldn’t bring herself to leave the room entirely – not just yet. ‘I’m not going anywhere until I hear from you, so you’ll know where to find me.’
Shego closed her eyes and sighed sadly through her nostrils. ‘Yeah,’ she turned to face Kim, a humourless smile marring her beautiful, pale face. ‘Kim – do me a favour?’
‘Anything,’ Kim replied unhesitatingly.
‘Take care of my house – and my bike.’ At the redhead’s incredulous and disbelieving expression, Shego’s smile became that much more genuine and Kim felt her heart shudder just a little at the sight. God, she thought; she’s so beautiful… ‘Come on, Kim,’ Shego went on, ‘do you really think I want to keep that bike anywhere close to Drakken when he’s about to chip me? If he chips me, he’ll get that free ride he’s always wanted on my pride and joy – the one he’s always bugged me about. Now, he may have built the Ghost for me, but I’ve worked and repaired that machine so many times that over my dead body will he ever soil my bike with his filthy, tiny hands.’ Finally turning to Drakken as if their conversation was now over, Shego’s smile died a swift, silent death. ‘Now go – you’ve got a set of keys.’
Feeling an odd – but far from unwelcome – thrill of pleasure at the realization that Shego’s radiant half-smile had been for her and her alone, Kim reluctantly took another step towards the door, still facing the room’s two remaining occupants. ‘I love you, Shego.’ Her words were quiet, sincere, and held as much emotion for the raven-wigged woman in the center of Drakken’s room as Kim could cram into them. But there was also a promise – hidden not-so-subtly in her soft declaration – a promise of wonderful, beautiful –exciting – times when Shego was back in her arms again. ‘Be careful,’ Kim offered at last, ‘and come back to me, please.’
‘Always,’ Shego nodded as if to herself, reaching out at the same time to coolly pluck the black-and-red microchip from Dr Drakken’s hand. ‘Now get out of here.’
Unwilling – hell, refusing – to watch Drakken strip Shego of everything she was – everything that made her unique and irresistible to Kim, the redhead whirled and fled the room, sending up a silent prayer to a God she hadn’t believed in for a long time that her partner would live through the ordeal that she was about to submit herself to. Let her be strong enough to survive this…
Feet pounding lightly – silently – on the concrete floor of the darkened corridor, Kim was almost to the street when she felt Shego’s mind reach out to touch hers one last time. Those few words were filled with so much emotion – raw, unguarded – so much of the very essence of Shego that Kim felt her own eyes swiftly welling up with tears. She made no move to wipe the offensive moisture from her eyes – stubbornly refused to acknowledge their very existence because she knew that if she did, more would come right behind the pearls of despair that were even now stinging at her eyes. Besides, if she allowed herself to start crying now, she’d just collapse to the ground and never leave these halls and – God – she had to get out of here! She had to get away from this place!
Shego’s last words sounded clearly across the still strong telepathic bond that linked them together – the only reason they had been able to speak so covertly with one another, and the only way the villainess had been able to share her final words across the growing distance between them as Kim ran. The heroine felt the words tug on her heart and she almost turned back to storm into the room and tear the accursed mind control chip from Shego’s hand, but she was about as willing to do that as she was to acknowledge the existence of the ice-cold tears that were now flowing freely down her face like a waterfall. She had said that she would let Shego have her way, and she respected her partner far too much to go back on her word like that.
‘See you in five years, Kimmie.’
Six words, and then pain – pain like a stake through the side of her skull. Shego’s sudden agony tore across their link like a bullet train, driving straight through and obliterating Kim’s mental defences to wreak havoc with her own head. The pain was so intense that it drove Kim to her knees, her head cradled tightly in her hands as she skidded painfully to a stop along the solid, unforgiving concrete floor.
The pain passed after only a few moments, but with it went any trace of Shego. When Kim was finally able to think clearly again, she could sense nothing at all in the space her partner’s mind had until just a minute ago been resting in. She also noticed that their link had been completely cut off, ending in a void space like the end of a frayed thread. Oh, God – no…
It was as if Shego’s mind had simply ceased to exist.
Note: Yes, I know, evil with the cliffhanger, but fear not – I promise the wait won’t be nearly as long as it was for this chapter. Two weeks, tops. Maybe one if I push myself typing-wise.
Next Time: Did Shego seriously take Drakken’s chip? Seriously? Seriously! Seriously?