Shego was reclining on her bed in her room, twirling a pencil around the fingers of her right hand. It wasn’t that she was a writer (in fact, for the past couple of years the only thing she’d written was her signature on Drakken’s mandatory yearly waivers), just that twirling was something to keep her hands occupied and a pencil was just the right size.
Kim had been unconscious for almost a whole week and, truth be told, Shego was far beyond anxious. Kim was a strong girl, the strongest Shego would ever know, and it wasn’t normal for Kim to be out this long.
Unless the ray really screwed her up somehow. No, she looks fine and her vitals are all normal! That doesn’t mean her brain made it through without a scratch…
Thoughts like these were all that were on Shego’s mind since they took Kim to the lair. What if they did ruin Kim’s brain somehow? What if she slips permanently into a coma and never wakes up? What if she is nothing like the person she was…?
Shego shook her head. Of course Kim would be entirely different, that was the point of this whole thing. Or would she? Going into this, Shego never really knew the details. Would Kim maintain all of her innate characteristics, the only difference being that she was no longer an insufferable goody-goody? Or maybe (and this was the worst), when creating a “good Kim” and a “bad Kim”, Drakken had actually succeeded in making a Kim made of all her original flaws…and on the other side, a Kim who was flawless?
Shego heard a sharp snap. She looked to her hand a realized that she had unconsciously broken her pencil in half with her fingers. Great, my last one, too. She tossed it to the side of her bed, where a pile of about 47 other broken pencils lay. Not that she counted.
Immediately Shego sat up. Get over this! She thought to herself angrily. If Shego didn’t know herself any better, she would say that she might be worried about Kim, or even worse… that she might be having second thoughts about this whole situation.
Shego shivered. No, there was no room for second thoughts. The deed was done. And it didn’t matter if either one of those Kim’s came out of this unscarred, or if they came out at all. Just because Shego refused to kill her, and because she had nearly minced Drakken upon finding Kim naked in his arms, and was a little bit worried that Kim might have brain damage, did not mean that she cared about her.
What good was a vegetable-Kim to her, anyway? It’s no fun to tease somebody that can’t even tease you back. Even Shego would feel like an asshole after making fun of a vegetable. And beyond that, Shego would never be able to fight Kim again, and whether she liked Kim or not, she did know that half the fun of working for Drakken was being able to wipe that smug grin off of Kim’s face time after time. Not to mention that Kim’s to beautiful to be virtually immobile for the remainder of her life.
Perfectly normal feelings. She’s the only one who can keep up with me. Doesn’t mean I care. It means I’m selfish. Which I am.
Shego had unknowingly been pacing her floor for the past 10 minutes and was wearing a line in the rug. Extremely frustrated, she plopped back down on her bed and rested her head in her hands.
“Possible, you had better come out of this okay,” Shego muttered aloud.
And then, irony worked in the way that it always seems to--ironically.
“Kim, wait!” Shego heard Drakken’s familiar voice yell from far away.
Shego immediately perked up. She’s awake? Shego got up and followed the familiar set of halls and doors to Drakken’s main lab. She felt her heart stop; Kim was towering over a cringing Drakken, who was clutching a broken nose. Niether of them seemed to notice Shego watching from the doorway.
“Are you seriously misinterpreting a broken nose? I have nothing more to say to you,” Kim spat bitterly, and got ready to climb out of the window.
Have to stop her… “Kimmie?” Shego asked hesitantly.
Kim stopped moving. Shego knew she heard her, and she suppressed the urge to smile. “…Shego?” Kim responded.
Shego took a few steps forward as Kim slowly turned around. She approached her until she was only a foot or so away.
Shego could count the number of times she had been this close to Kim, without fighting her, on one hand. They just stood there, staring, neither moving, hardly breathing. Shego faintly caught Kim’s scent in the air, and it intoxicated her. That, combined with an intensity in Kim’s eyes that Shego had never seen before made her dizzy, and most of all made her want to look down and back away. But she didn’t. Shego would never back down.
Minutes, maybe hours, passed before Kim stepped away from Shego and looked to Drakken who was watching them, bleeding, and seemed immensely confused. As if on a random whim, Kim said, “Fine, I’ll stay for a while. I just may like it here.”
“Tremendous!” Drakken yelled, forgetting is bloody nose and going to pat Kim on the back.
“Don’t even fucking think about it,” Kim warned, referring to his bloody hands.
“Eh? Oh. Yes. Well, I will go get cleaned up and find a doctor to make a house call…and then, we all meet and discuss future plans for….WORLD DOMINATION!” Drakken howled, laughing all the way to the bathroom.
Kim shook her head. “Wow.”
All this time, Shego had only stared. “Swears, Kimmie? Not very becoming of a young woman,” she said with a grin.
“You’re right,” Kim nodded, “but I mean, they just flew out and didn’t feel wrong. So I went with it. I’m over them.”
“That’s a relief. It makes you sound less intelligent then you are.”
Kim nodded. “Makes me feel less intelligent too.”
The stood quietly for a moment, watching each other. “So…Kimmie. Feel any different. Er--I assume Drakken filled you in on…everything, right?” Shego was trying so hard to appear casual, but she was surprised her elation didn’t cause her to burst--Kim was okay, everything would be okay.
“That I am apparently an incarnation of evil?”
“…well, not quite.”
“I know. I was joking. But, I feel…different. That’s all I can give you right now. I mean, I’ve only been conscious for, like, twenty minutes. All I know is that I am not the person I was before I fought Drakken. I feel…better. Somehow.” Kim smiled, “Kind of weird to be talking to you like this. Civilly, I mean. I feel comfortable around you. And I don’t get the urge to knock you in the face like I did Drakken.”
“That’s a relief,” Shego stated simply. She was trying to figure this girl out. Kim described herself the way Shego was thinking about her. Just…different. Not particularly bad or “evil” as Drakken had described…
“I mean, I SHOULD want to knock you in the face, considering that little stunt you pulled…choosing Ron over me? Really was that necessary? I was hurt, Shego!” Kim put a dramatic hand to her forehead, feigning indignity.
Shego laughed, “Aha, oh man, you should have seen your face…I could swear I saw your puppy dog eyes, for a second. ‘How could you, Shego!’ Ha!” Kim laughed along, apparently getting a kick out of this. Shego remembered how the Kim had known would never have found this situation even mildly entertaining. “Really, Princess, it was priceless.”
Kim stopped laughing abruptly. “Please don’t call me that, Shego.”
Shego looked at her, confused. “You always let me before. Reluctantly, but you let me.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“Look, Princess, you might I have changed, but I haven’t. And I won’t quit using those pet names.”
Kim smiled faintly. “Of course. It just felt weird, that’s all. I guess I’ll get used to it.”
“That’s right. You may be some-sort of ‘bad-ass’ Kimmie now, but never forget who wears the pants here.” Shego looked Kim over. “And I do mean that literally; you do realize you are wearing a hospital gown, right? Not flattering.” Although, it did show off her legs rather nicely…
Kim shrugged. “I woke up in it. I bet Drakken just wanted to dress me up in something. He couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see me naked.” Kim snickered.
Shego shivered, remembering what she walked into at the museum, and how she felt when she jumped to the worst conclusion.
“What’s wrong, Shego. Oh--it wasn’t actually you that changed my clothes, was?” Kim asked slyly.
Shego blushed. Why, she had no idea. It wasn’t as if she was lying. “No. That was Drakken.”
“Blushing, now? God, this me IS great! I can’t remember ever making you blush.” Kim took a step closer to Shego, a small step since they were already very close to begin with. “Do you have a little crush on me, Shego?”
“You wish.” Shego snarled. But her heart felt like it was about to beat out of its chest; she was surprised Kim couldn’t hear it.
“I think you’re lying.” Kim whispered, they’re faces only inches apart. “How long? Before you split me in half, or after? Is it the thought of me being bad that has you blushing so?”
Shego didn’t say a word. She only stared into Kim’s eyes; Kim, who she had fought for years, who she had mercilessly teased, who she had rendered speechless. That Kim was now standing in front of her making her mouth dry and her knees weak. “I…”
“Yes, Shego?”
“I would never have a ‘crush’ on you, as you so eloquently put it.” Shego spat, turning away quickly. No way in hell Kimmie would ever have any sort of power of her.
“Hm…that’s a shame,” Kim said, dropping the husky voice and returning to normal. “But, if you insist.”
“I do.” Shego declared. What the hell?
“Is there anywhere I can get some privacy?” Kim asked, “I’d like to be alone with myself for a little while. Everything feels so…new.”
Shego watched her and listened to her saying this, and she thought a little of the original Kim, and her naïve curiosity. “Yeah, Dr. D. actually made you a room. It’s just down that hall and to the left,” Shego explained, pointing.
“Awesome,” Kim remarked, and smiled. “He was really banking on me staying, wasn’t he?”
“I’m a little surprised you did.”
Kim only smiled and turned to walk away, presumably to her room. Shego turned to do the same when she heard, “Shego?”
Shego faced Kim. “Yes?”
“I really do think I could like it here,” Kim stated simply. And with that, she walked away.
Shego watched her until she disappeared. “I think you could too, Princess.” She whispered. She left for her own room.
A few minutes later Drakken rushed out, a huge smile on his face. “Now, ladies, where were--”
But the room was empty.
“--we? Damn.”
“You’re sure that she’s completely normal?” Ron asked Wade skeptically.
“Yup, the tests all came back 100 negative--which is good.”
Ron sighed. “I can’t help but feel like something is…off with her.”
“Well, she did just wake up from unconsciousness, Ron. Give her some time to readjust…” Wade lowered his voice, “But…I do sort of agree with you. Something is definitely different about Kim. I check her out again in a few days.”
“Thanks, Wade.” Ron clicked the Kimmunicator and Wade’s face disappeared.
Ron couldn’t quite put his finger on exactly what was different about Kim. Nothing had drastically changed, per se; there were just little things that she said and did that made Ron feel like something was off.
Her touch felt different. She didn’t seem any less affectionate…quite the opposite, actually. She seemed to love being around everyone. Ron hadn’t gotten a minute alone with her since she had woken up.
Then there was the fact that she didn’t seem in any hurry to hunt Drakken down and demand explanations. The Kim that Ron knew never wasted time.
Mr. and Mrs. Possible also noticed these changes. And they voiced those changes with Ron and Kim very quickly.
“Ron? Can you come into the kitchen?” Mr. Possible came into the living room, which was where Ron had been talking to Wade.
“Sure, doc.”
Ron followed Mr. P. into the kitchen to find two familiar faces at the table; Mrs. Possible, looking very nervous, and Kim, looking extremely bored.
“Sit down, Ron.” Dr. Possible gently commanded. Ron obliged. “Look, you two…” he continued, “We know you two are dating…and we have given this a lot of thought.” He licked his lips and sighed. “We just think it’s for the best if you two…break up just for now.”
Ron stood out of his chair abruptly. “Break up! No, no way. Kim needs me!”
“Now, now, Ron!” Mrs. Possible coaxed. “We aren’t forbidding you to see her! It’s just…look, given the situation, and Kim’s possible condition…We think it will be better for her not to have to worry about a boyfriend, so she can concentrate at matters at hand.
“No! This is dumb, there is no way--“
“--Actually,” Kim piped in, who had previously been silent during this conversation, “they may have a point.”
Ron stared at her, agape. “What?”
“Well,” Kim started thoughtfully, “I have been feeling…sort of funny. And all this with Drakken…I need to concentrate on me, on figuring this whole thing out. This isn’t about you, Ron, you know that.”
“I thought you said that everything would sort itself out, that we shouldn’t worry.”
“I wasn’t thinking very clearly when I woke up…My mind was blurry, and my memory was jumbled. But I see clearly now. I need to figure out what Drakken was planning.”
“…you’re really serious, then. You think we’d be better….better broken up.”
“Yes.” Kim stated firmly.
Ron looked to each of the three figures in the room helplessly. “Fine,” he said, giving in and walking to the door.”
“Where are you going?” Kim asked.
“I…need to think about things.”
“Ron--“
“It’s okay,” He said reassuringly.
Once outside their house he took out his Kimmunicator. “Wade?”
“What’s up, Ron?”
“Did you ever do those security camera checks?”
“No, actually, I’ve been too busy studying Kim’s condition.”
“Well, bump it up the priority list, Wade. We need to know exactly what Drakken did to Shego. Something is definitely wrong with her.”
“Really? How do you know?” Wade asked, confused.
“Just trust me.”
“…Alright Ron. I’ll check all the warehouse’s security cameras.
“Thank you, Wade.” Ron clicked the communicator off. He looked back at Kim’s house determinedly and whispered to himself, “I’ll figure this out, Kim. Don’t worry.”
“You’re kidding. You don’t seriously expect that I am actually going to wear this, do you? In public? ” Kim said, revolted.
“I like it. But if you’re that worried, you could always just wear it for me, Kimmie…it’d be a shame to waste it,” Shego taunted, leaning on the door that separated them.
Kim could feel Shego grinning from the other side of the wall. “Careful Shego, I just may take that as an invitation.”
“Who said that it wasn’t, Princess?” Ever sense had woken up just yesterday, there had been some sort of unspoken competition; who could successfully render speechless the other? Shego had to admit that this Kim was good--almost too good. Shego liked it. A lot. Kim was certainly fun to ridicule because she couldn’t fight back, but it was a whole new game when Kimmie wasn’t afraid to go as low as Shego. Shego meant that figuratively of course. Kim had certainly not gone low …
“Girls, will you quit harassing each other for just a few minutes? Let us just see how it looks, Kim!” Drakken yelled from next to Shego, exasperated. He felt like a mother keeping her two kids under control.
“I better be getting paid for this…” Shego heard Kim mutter.
The door slowly opened and Kim stepped out with a hand on her hip. Drakken was pleased.
“Perfect! You and Shego will look absolutely intimidating together, behind me!”
Shego, on the other hand, found no words. She had seen the suit before, but it took on a whole new life on Kim’s body.
Kim was wearing a suit nearly identical Shego own, only, where Shego had green spots, Kim had white. The suit hugged every inch of Kim’s curves perfectly, so perfectly that Shego could almost see the outlines of each muscle.
Kim smirked and sauntered over to Shego. “What’s wrong, Shego? Don’t like it?”
Shego gulped. “It’s…it’s alright. To look is good on you. Almost as good as it is on me.”
“I always thought the suit was kind of lame,” Kim stated plainly, ignoring Shego’s offended look, “but now that I actually have one, I understand why you wear it. Sturdy, yet flexible, functional, and sexy.”
“I thought you just said it was lame,” Shego grumbled with her arms crossed.
“It is lame. In a super-hero/villain sort of way. Like the X-men. Rogue still manages to be sexy in her lame suit. So do you.”
“You’re smooth.”
“I know.”
Shego and Kim both smiled and stared each other down.
“Girls, we have time for your chitchat later. Right now, we have important things to attend to!” Drakken interrupted with a huge grin and a twinkle in his eye.
Each girl rolled her eyes at the same time.
“It’s like a mirror image! Absolutely stunning!”
A/N: Ahh! Such a long delay! So sorry! Lotta crap got in the way, including a computer crash (stupid brother…) and lost files…so stuff I wrote was gone. And you know how it is when you lose something you wrote…takes a while to work up the will to write it again. I don’t think this will be ALL of chapter 5, I just wanted to give you guys something…