Mind, body, and Soul

Middleton Hospital: Six hours later.

The indignity of a hospital gown never seems to diminish, no matter who you are. Doctor Director sat gingerly on the hospital bed that the orderlies had asked her to wait by, and discreetly tucked the open backed gown more securely around her body. I command one of the most powerful United Nations based security agencies ever thought of… and yet I am sitting here, in an open backed gown, praying that the air conditioning doesn’t blow it open. There’s no dignity to be had in these things, none at all.

She blinked as the curtain was yanked back and a female Doctor slid her head into the cubicle. “You’d be Miss Director?”

“Doctor actually. PhD’s in… various subjects.”

The young woman, and god she was young, seemed unconcerned. “Fine. Well, you took quite a pounding from what I’ve seen of your men. Sit back and let’s make sure that everything is in order. I can see that you have some nasty grazes before we even get started.”

“The grazes do not concern me.” Doctor Director muttered. “It’s the shrapnel that’s embedded itself into me that I am having problems with. One damn piece that got past my body-suits Kevlar weave.”

“Oh?” The woman frowned. “I didn’t see any shrapnel in the X-Ray…”

“That,” Doctor Director muttered, a red flush suffusing her cheeks. “Is because they never X-rayed my rear end.”

---

“James!” Doctor Possible cried out in relief as she saw the familiar face slid round the door to the private room where she and Kim had been escorted. “Oh, thank god!”

“Honey!” Kim’s father shoved the door open and strode across to where his wife of so many years, battered, bruised, but smiling, lay propped up on a medical bed and held out her arms. Within seconds, he had his own hands wrapped tightly around the woman he loved, and hugged so tightly she let out an amused huff of air.

“Hey, I need to breath, Honey.” Her amused tone only made Doctor Possible hug her tighter and Kim’s mother sighed in contentment. She soothed his shivers of relief with soft reassurance. “I’m okay, James, I’m okay. Kimmie is… she’s… okay.”

James Possible leaned back and gently tucked an errant strand of hair away from the face of his wife and tilted his head. “What was the pause for?” He watched her stiffen and sighed. “Oh, oh dear.”

“She’s… physically, Kimmie’s fine. No damage that can’t heal with time, nothing permanent. It’s just…” Blue eyes moistened and Doctor Possible felt herself begin to cry. “James! She’s got those nanites inside her! The ones I sent you, the ones that took over Shego! I helped Drew improve them, curse me! I helped him and now they’re in my daughters head!”

Kim’s father felt his blood turn to ice as his wife crumpled into his hold and sobbed. He held her close, murmuring reassurances, and his brain span desperately to come up with an instant fix solution.

As the tears trickled down her face, Kim’s mother hugged her husband as tight as she could, seeking warmth from his presence. The guilt, the knowledge that she had helped Drew create such a terrible device to use against her one and only daughter sat cold and painful in her gut. Unable to stand it, she tilted her head up and stared into is eyes. “I hate myself.”

“What?” Doctor Possible blinked from the various options he was considering, and stared into the guilt ridden eyes of his wife as she bit her lip. Suddenly, she turned away and he gently ran a hand up her neck to turn her face back to him once more. As he felt her resist his efforts, Doctor Possible shook her slightly. “Honey, it wasn’t your fault.”

Her head stiffened and then twisted so that he ended up gazing at a mass of red hair and partially hidden blue eyes. “Not my fault? James, he wouldn’t have been able to use them against her without my help! Servus wouldn’t have worked, it was too specific to… to… oh god!”

James cradled her tightly, and stared out of the window as she shook with tears once more. Damn drew for what he had done to his wife, the guilt that he’d poured over her! Damn him for trying to take his daughters will away! Damn him!”

A sudden thought came to him. “Honey, what about Shego? Where does she fit into this? Was her friendship a… a ruse?” He felt anger well up inside at the memory of both Kim and his wife struggling to save her life. “Was it all a trick?”

“What?” Mrs Possible sniffled and stared up into her husband’s troubled face. Seeing the anger bubbling under the surface, she shook her head. “Trust me, James. There’s no love lost between Shego and Drew… and as for that Fang woman?” She watched her husband snarl at the Japanese woman’s name. “Shego… she… she tried to stop her from running off with the cure we need.”

“She did?” Doctor Possible stared into his wife’s blue eyes. “I thought she attacked you?”

“Who told you!” His wife stammered suddenly, curling tightly away from him. “It wasn’t her fault! When that evil, evil Fang woman told her to rape me, she-“

“WHAT?” James Possible roared, rearing up from where his wife shivered. “That green… woman did what to you? She rap-“

“No!” Frightened at the rage building on her husbands face, Mrs Possible pushed the lingering horror at the memory of Shego straddling her body, before Shia cried out for her to stop, to one side and grabbed his arm. “Shego had no way of resisting! And… and… nothing happened, James! Please! Listen to me!”

He trembled, fought to gain control of his anger at Shego and then stared at her with a doubtful and worried expression. “You just said Shego-“

“She was ordered to. She had Servus in her brain, and you can’t override anything anyone tells you to do! Kimmie’s the same, she almost killed Shego… would have gone on to kill me, Ron… everyone at Kara Fang’s command.” Mrs Possible leaned back, a bitter bile trembling at her gut. “When Kara told Shego to… to attack me that way, she did it to spite Kim, and Shego herself. I saw the data, John. Servus may control your actions, but you’re aware of what’s happening!”

“You are?” Her husband’s anger vanished and worry quickly replaced it. “So, Shego would have-“

“Known, John. Known what she was doing, probably fought to stop herself. I can’t see her, no matter how evil she thinks she is, well… raping someone.”

“No…” Doctor Possible thought back to all the times he had seen Shego with Drew. All the times she had rolled her eyes at his schemes, hadn’t even bothered to help him when it came to the Bee-Bee attack. In fact, she had only seemed interested when his daughter had become involved.

She was a thief, he knew that. She was a mercenary, he knew that too. But, despite it all, he had later heard Kim often talk about Shego with puzzlement in her voice. Almost as if his very own daughter had been confused about the woman’s intentions the past few years.

“No… I suppose you’re right. It doesn’t fit her, I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologise for.” Running a hand through her hair, Mrs Possible sighed. “God… if anything I do. You have no idea how it feels trying to defend her. I know that she didn’t do it voluntarily, I know that she must have been screaming as much as me inside, but… but every time I see her I can feel my skin creep!”

“You have nothing to apologise for.” Running a hand through her hair, Mrs Possible sighed. “God… if anything, I do. You have no idea how it feels trying to defend her. I know that she didn’t do it voluntarily, I know that she must have been screaming as much as me inside, but… but, every time I see her I can feel my skin creep!”

Sitting back down, James Possible wrapped his arms around his wife once more. “That’s only natural, and I suppose Shego herself has issues…”

“She didn’t seem happy, helping me save a young woman’s life. Not because she didn’t want to help but… well, it brought us in close contact again.” The redhead sighed and leaned into his embrace. “I don’t remember feeling much, the Doctor in me was clamping down on everything emotional. This is going to take a lot of getting used to…”

“Have you thought about talking to someone?” Doctor Possible felt his wife stiffen slightly, and then relax. “How many times have you told me how much it helps to talk things through?”

“I… that wasn’t m-“ She sighed, almost miserably. Knew her husband was right and that she would need therapy to help her cope. The idea was so embarrassing, especially to someone so strong willed. Like her. “Too many times to count and you’re right, Honey. I’ll… think about it.”

“That’s all I ask.” Her husband murmured, rubbing his cheek gently against her hair. “I could do with some myself.” At the sudden shiver of surprise from his wife, Doctor Possible hugged her tightly. “Thought I’d lost you. All these years together and I almost lost you in a blink of an eye. God. All the problems that suddenly dawned on me. Coping with you gone, the thought of having to look after Jim and Tim alone, Kimmie missing… everything.”

“James…”

He sighed at her soothing tone and shook his head. “I know I can be scatterbrained at times, but I never realised how easily being a family came to me. And… and I almost lost you.”

“You didn’t.” His wife wrapped her own arms around him tightly, seeking to comfort as much as he had comforted her. “I’m here, Kim’s here… we’re still together.”

“Kimmie’s trapped-“

“And you reassured by reminding me that she has everyone working to free her. Everyone, James. I know she’ll be fine.” The redhead bit her lip and then kissed her husband gently on the forehead. “She will be because I know how hard everyone will work to free her”

“I hope so. Still at least she’s safe in her own private room, and under guard to protect her. That’s where Jim and Tim are. I asked them to give the two of us some privacy for a little bit. To let us talk about grown-up stuff.”

Mrs Possible smiled slightly. “A guard outside her door? Is that really necessary? I can’t see anyone getting past Shego myself. I doubt we’d even find any ash if they tried.”

“I’m sorry? Why on earth would Shego care about Kimmie Cub? I thought she was Drews partner? Considering all the times that we’ve met them, it’s been Shego who’s always attacked our little Kimmie-Cub.”

Oh dear. You walked right into this one, Doctor. Kim’s mother thought, watching the puzzlement crease her husband’s face. How to approach this so that he can understand, not fly off the handle, and try to fire Shego in deep space on the next available rocket.”

“Shego and Kimmie are-“ A sudden thought struck her, and she felt worry begin to trickle into her soul. “James, please tell me Shego is sharing the same room as our daughter!”

“What? No, don’t be ridiculous. The first thing that Agent Du did once they all arrived here was to place Shego into her own room and station four or five guards around her, and then two outside the door. He didn’t want her anywhere near Kimmie-Cub.” The look of growing worry on his wife’s face had Doctor Possible frowning and beginning to worry himself. “Listen, I know you two patched her up, and rightly so, but-“

“James, they’re both… I mean Shego is… Kimmie’s confused, but interested and…” Mrs Possible broke off, finding it hard to explain that their one and only daughter had a villainess in love with her, and may reciprocate the feeling. “Look, James, we need to tell Global Justice to move Shego to the same room as our daughter. Right now! They’ve grown close since Drakken and Kara almost managed to kill Shego. Very close indeed.”

“You mean friends?” Her husband asked, puzzled by the tone his wife was using when she mentioned ‘close’. “Well, we can do that. But why on earth are you so worried?”

“Because I doubt Shego is going to appreciate being surrounded by Global Justice, in a barren medical room, with Kim nowhere in sight. Not after all they both went through at the hands of Kara Fang. We need to keep her calm, Honey. If we don’t, Shego could end up hurting herself and others trying to find Kim.”

“Why would Shego want to find Ki-“

A sudden muffled explosion, followed by the sound of a blaring fire alarm trickled into Mrs Possible’s room. The redhead sighed and ran a hand across her face, only to end up staring into the puzzled and anxious face of her husband.

“Oh dear…”

---

“Run those figures by me again, Will. Would you?”

Doctor Director, clad once more in her standard Global Justice uniform, gently lowered herself into the soft leather chair behind the desk that sat in the office the hospital had been generous to loan her. As her bruised and, well, delicate flesh hit the soft fabric, she let out a whimper of pain, before sighing gently. In front of the desk, agent Will Du looked anywhere but at his grumbling boss, and stood to attention.

“Out of the eighty or so marines we sent in, sixty were injured. Forty five of those were minor injuries, luckily most of the flak and weapons fire was deflected by the new marine armour.” Doctor Director nodded and motioned for Will to continue. “The remaining fifteen were seriously injured and out of those we’ve currently lost four… the others are still in surgery.”

“Four… four dead, and countless wounded! All because of some mad Asian woman and a criminal organisation that we’ve thought were a myth.” The one-eyed woman sighed and leaned back scratching at her eye-patch and closing her good eye. “Four people dead because I didn’t nip this in the bud before it could escalate.”

“Sir?”

“We’re Global Justice, Will. We have a mandate from the UN to cover the whole planet and jurisdiction to boot. How could we miss something like the Jade? How? Considering what we went into, the numbers of ninjas and weapons we encountered, they’re even more dangerous than that Yori girl thinks they are.” The head Global Justice leaned forwards, eye glowing with annoyance. “They snuck in under our radar, Will. They snuck in and damn near took Ms Possible out of our hands and made her into an assassin. If it hadn’t been for Mr Stoppable and, from what he tells me, Shego of all people, we would have lost her and ended up facing her as an enemy.”

She snorted. “Hell, add in that Kara was after Shego as well, and you’d have had two of the most dangerous women on the planet under the thumb of a woman who to all accounts was psychotically deadly.”

Will sighed. “Sir, are you saying this mess was our fault? I would remind you that Shego has been a villain for quite some time and that Drakken is a well known factor. Nobody could have predicted that Drakken would join with such a… a ruthless ally.”

“It shouldn’t have got that far, Will. I… we, should have known about the Jade, Fang, everything. Nipped it in the bud and stopped this from getting to where it is.” Betty Director tapped a hand on the desk. “Now it seems that Global Justice has once again been bailed out by, well, ‘independent’ agencies.”

“But-“

“Let alone the fact that Shego of all people… Shego! She managed to stop Kim from hurting anyone, and even fought and defeated this Kara Fang. How is that going to sit in my report? What the hell is she going to want in return?”

Will Du scowled. “She should expect nothing. Shego’s a wanted villain, we owe her nothing and if she asks for a deal, we throw it back in her face. She’s due a good twenty or more years in prison. And that’s for the robberies we know about. Let alone the whole terrorism angle with Drakken.”

Doctor Director shook her head. “That’ll never fly in court, the terrorism angle. We tried that, remember? The Diablo toys Nanotech fried when Possible shot the tower. Every single one was nothing but plastic when we got to it. Drakken’s systems purged themselves, we don’t know why or how, so we have nothing.”

“We could-“

“Shego herself, according to the testimony of Drakken himself had no idea what he was up to until the last minute, and she would have had no time to act even if she had changed her mind. In the eyes of the court, she’d be an accomplice, true. However, with such little evidence to go on, and the fact that Ms Possible wasn’t and even now isn’t a authorised member of Global justice or a law enforcement agency, Shego’s lawyers could twist the facts around somehow. Trust me.”

“I-“

“And now we owe Shego for taking out Kara, before the Jade could launch their master plan to subjugate the criminal organisations in the USA, and saving Kim Possible. I thought the two of them were arch foes with hatred and bitterness dripping off that bond. Now, and god knows for what reasons, Shego ends up saving Possible. Why?”

“I… I don’t know, Sir.” Will managed, frowning as he pondered facts that he hadn’t bothered to include before. “Does that mean she’s on our side?”

“Shego?” Doctor Director let out a weary laugh and played with the tiny utility device around her wrist. “No. Trust me on this, Will. Shego isn’t on anyone’s side other than her own. If she saved Kim Possible it was because she wanted to.”

“Sir?”

A sudden chime made Betty glance down at her laptop, gently placed there by Will at the start of the meeting. It was flashing urgently, indicating a waiting communication. Sighing, she glanced up.

“Sorry, Will. Got to take this, in private too. You mind?”

The agent shook his head. “Of course not, Sir. GJ regs section H 21 dash six. The leader of Global justice is entitled to full privacy for all and any conversations and-“

“Will, I know the book. Okay?” The one-eyed woman smiled slightly, holding up her hand to stile the reams of code that Will began to spout at her. “Would you go and see if Mr Stoppable is around? I have some questions for him if he’s able.”

“Yes, Sir! Sorry Sir!” Will managed, stiffening into a parade stance. A move that had his commander sighing at the look of upset on his face.

“Not a slap, Agent D… Will. Not a slap at all. In fact, you’ll be doing me a personal favour.” Doctor Director told him gently. “I can’t get up out of the chair and this is a class B communiqué.”

Will smiled suddenly; feeling the shame and pressure in his chest vanish. “Yes Sir!”

As she watched him walk away, pride on his face, Betty Director smiled and shook her head. Oh, Will. If only you’d pull the stick out of your-“

The beeping from her laptop increased in volume and Betty sighed, before flipping it open and pressing a key. With a flicker, the laptop sprang into life and she was greeted by a split screen image.

On one side sat a familiarly darkened room, along with the man sitting in a neat leather chair behind a desk. On the other sat a rough looking man. Betty Director recognised the swarthy and well dressed image of Donovan Jackson, part of MI6 and her group’s liaison to the European Union side of the United Nations.

“Ah, Betty,” The smooth and deep tones of the man sitting in the darkened room slid from the small speakers of her laptop like the boom of god. “I hear we have quite the pickle on our hands, considering your preliminary report.”

“Yes Sir.” Betty sighed. “I’ll be filing my far more in-depth report as soon as I ca-“

“You always do. What we need right now is some condensing of the facts, and decisions to be taken in regard to them.”

“Sir?” Doctor Director blinked. Normally, no decisions were taken regarding special circumstances, especially involving Global Justice, until her reports had been thoroughly examined by the United Nations. “Why the urgency? Is something going on?”

“Ah could never pull the wool over your eyes, Betty.” The shadowed man shifted in his chair, letting out a huff of amused irritation. “We have two rather large fish on our lines here. Both of which could drag us into the ocean if we’re not careful.”

“Again because this is obviously due to political problems, I repeat, Sir?” Doctor Director asked dryly, earning a chuckle of approval. Although the man on the screen was her ranking commander, she had taken control of Global Justice from him and that meant he knew the score as well as she did. It gave them both a unique and sarcastic relationship when situations arrived that involved politics.

“Firstly, I understand you have requested full contact and disclosure to the GJ and Middleton Space centre of Project Cerberus. A project that belongs to the American government, is so top secret that I shouldn’t even be uttering it’s name to you, or the other official with us in this communiqué.”

Jackson sniffed. He was surly, sarcastic and often dismissive of American attempts to keep the iron curtain level of secrecy over their military projects. Doctor Director liked him very much.

“This would be the nanotech devices designed to repair plane jet engines and hulls during combat, right? Yeah, real panty-bunching stuff that we know all about it. It is that, right?”

“I can’t confirm that, Jackson.” The shadowed man showed a quick flash of teeth in the dark.

Doctor Director coughed, making all eyes fall on her. “Yes, Sir. To answer the question, I did request the files to be made available and fully disclosed. The reason being that Cerberus, or rather Drakkens version, called Servus, is sitting inside Kim Possible’s head.”

“What?” Jackson leaned forwards, his tone going soft at the young woman’s name and belaying the softer side he hid from most people. “Kim Possible? The young woman who keeps running around, embarrassing various governments by helping to sort out disasters before they can get their asses in gear? That Kim Possible?”

Betty nodded. “The very same. We need all the files on Cerberus and, if possible, it’s creator to help us come up with a cure. This stuff has taken over her nervous system and is rerouting everything through itself. Ms Possible can’t even feed herself without seeking permission from someone holding the remote that controls her. She can’t move freely at all.”

“Jesus, that bad?” Jackson murmured. “No wonder you want the files. Make a cure, right?”

“Well one had already existed, thanks to Drakken. He’s heavily modified the original designs, so Servus was partly compatible with organic tissues. He also put in a chemical, protein and DNA based override to free those infected with his creation. The problem is that Ms Fang managed to destroy one of the two vials that make this cure up. We need to know about the basics so we can design our own treatment and-”

“And there, we have our problem.” Betty’s commander sifted in his chair once more, and a hand slid out of the darkness to tap the desk in front of him. “Betty, I hate to tell you this, but they’re blocking you. As far as the military, the CIA and some other organisations that wish to remain anonymous are concerned, Cerberus doesn’t exist, will never exist and neither does the man you have been chasing.”

The dark haired woman stared. “I can assure you it does exist. There’s a young nineteen year old woman whose mind is trapped by it!”

“Their official response is that although they sympathise with your need for information, you have been wrongly informed that they have managed to make Cerberus functional. Also, they sympathise, again, with Miss Possible’s situation, but cannot give you any data.”

“I beg your pardon?” Doctor Director managed to snap, blinking in shock. “They must have misunderstood my original request. That young woman is trapped in her own damn body, unable to free herself, and helplessly watching what’s been going on!”

“Listen-“

“I know Servus is based on Cerberus! The nanites are exactly of the same design as the ones in GJ’s ‘pending technology’ file, and have some nasty fail safes built in. We can’t risk freeing her unless we have that information! We can’t even use the disruptor on her, after Shego almost died when it was used on her. I’ve had Mr Load, Ms Porter and Kim’s father telling me the same thing again and again! So, I have a young nineteen year old woman, my best free agent, and someone who has saved thousands of people from natural disasters, attacks and world domination plots, sitting in a bed, staring into space!”

“Betty…” Her commander gently murmured.

“She’s my best freelance agent! Someone I was hoping to groom for Global Justice! And besides, I owe her many times over for doing missions I missed or had no resources to tackle. We owe her and so do the U.S government!” Doctor Director snarled, unable to believe the gall of it. ”Let alone the fact that she’s a human being for god’s sake!”

“Agent Director, that’s enough!” Her commander snapped in return, making Betty shudder and slowly force herself back under control. As he watched her struggle for calm, the shadowed man sighed. “Getting a little personally involved, Betty. That’s dangerous. ”

“No, Sir, I’m not personally involved. I just think that we, they, and pretty much everyone here owe Ms Possible the basic freedom of her own damn mind! How can they try and keep a project like this secret? So it would help repair planes in combat, I don’t see how keeping a device such as that secret is worth Kim Possible’s freedom!”

“It’s not so much what it does as how, Betty.” Her commander sighed. “If this were in congress, if they knew about the programme, I can tell you there’d be no question I helping Ms Possible. Hell, they’d probably get every scientist and medic working on the problem.”

“Congress isn’t aware of Cerberus then?”

“No. And it’s the more… secretive sections of the government that are still jumpy after the whole Lil’Diablo incident. Again thanks to Doctor Drakken and, to a lesser extent, Shego. Cerberus uses the same technology, Betty, tweaked quite a bit. Now, I don’t need to tell you that the American’s are… worried how the other UN countries will feel when if it comes out that the same technology used to try and destroy landmarks around the world is being used again.”

“But-“

“There’s another reason as well. The UN went ballistic when it heard your report on the Neural Compliance Chip that doctor Bortal designed and that Drakken stole and used against Ms Possible. You can imagine their… reaction if it comes out that a piece of technology that was designed to be used in vehicles, to aid the USA itself, has managed to rip it’s way into a young woman’s head and take her body over. Think of the fervour from the other countries. There’ll be claims of spying, world domination claims and somesuch.

“Which will probably escalate into war if it’s not handled correctly.” Betty Director murmured. “Damn.”

“Exactly, to say nothing of the potential usues of Cerberus as a terrorist threat, a super weapon… you name it.” He sat back. “So, right now they’re denying that the damn thing exists in its finished format, in any form. That, right now, it’s just a pipe-dream.”

“Which is very amusing, considering MI6, Global Justice, and the Russian and European agencies all know that they have had working prototypes for some time.” Jackson snorted. “What a bunch of morons.”

“Yes I can see how they could be seen that way, though I can’t comment of course.” Betty’s commander replied, shifting in the shadows. “So, right now you have a big problem, Betty. As far as Americans are concerned it’s too hot for anyone to even get an inkling that they are responsible for this, as an unknowing third party of course. Especially considering who has been affected. It seems that Ms Possible’s popularity has worked against us for once.”

Betty ran a hand through her hair, felt her stomach lurch. “So, what? I have to wait for the media and any political blowback to cool off before they’ll help Ms Possible? That’s unacceptable, Sir!”

“I’m well aware of that, as much as I am aware how much we owe Ms Possible in saving the day. I want you to know that I have been to see my equal in the American government and told him how I feel about this particular idea of denying all. Even with my weight behind you, even if we do this in utmost secrecy, it’s going to take time, Betty. Ms Possible will have to hold on and people will have to just look after her, until such time as we can get what we need to reverse engineer the basic designs and engineer a cure.”

“Her mother, father, Mr Stoppable… pretty much everyone in her private circle, is going to hate me for this.” Doctor Director sat back with a huff of resignation and stared at the sympathetic faces on the display screen, before closing her single eye in defeat. “Sir, if you tell me, right now, that this is all we can do… I’ll believe you and take the flack.”

“It is and you’ll have to bear up under the strain. However, I would suggest you explain the situation to them in full. Maybe even have the two Doctor’s Possible get every single colleague they can think of asking their congress rep to raise a question about Cerberus.” At the one-eyed woman’s look of surprise, her commander smiled toothily. “Just because I can’t override the bastards doesn’t mean I agree with them and I’ll be dammed if you get the buck passed to you for their fear of losing face. And above all this, you’re perfectly right. This agency owes Ms Possible more than we can ever repay.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Doctor Director murmured quietly. “Glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks this is wrong.”

“It is wrong, but we’ll sort it out, Betty. I promise you that Ms Possible’s situation has my entire attention and resources. I’ll sort it out. So, you keep her safe while I twist some political arms. We do have time to correct this little… problem, right?”

“Yes Sir.” The GJ leader nodded, thinking back the still form of what had been such a vibrant young woman, someone so full of life. “She just lies there, Sir. She just lies there… But she’s in no danger as far as we can tell.”

“It’ll be okay, Betty.” Her commander shifted and his eyes gleam. “I promise to shift and kick whatever ass is needed. Trust me. And after I get them to give you what you need for a cure, there will be payback for trying to cover their own screw up.”

“Speaking of payback,” Jackson murmured, making the other two focus on him. “What exactly are we going to do with Shego?”

“Ah, yes.” The commander sighed. “Yet another dogs dinner at my door, Betty.”

“Sorry Sir.” Doctor Director muttered.

“Where exactly do we stand with Shego right now?”

“Well, Sir, right now Shego is badly wounded and sedated in a medical ward. She has quite a few injuries, most especially a nasty bullet wound to the shoulder, and it seems has suffered… well, torture.”

“You’re kidding me.” Jackson muttered, blinking in disbelief. “Who the hell would even try to take Shego on? The woman is a walking martial arts textbook, along with enough plasma energy to level a small city block. Who-“

“Kara Fang.” Doctoor Director watched the two men stiffen. “I mentioned that in my report. Shego and Ms Fang have a history. It is that history and the appearance of the Blood Jade that has caused this… mess.”

“The Jade.” She eyed her commanders tapping fingers as he spoke. “Hard to believe really.”

“They exist, Sir. They exist and are disturbingly well equipped for a mythical crime syndicate. And it seems that Ms Fang is, or rather was, just the tip of the iceberg.”

Jackson grunted. “Nice woman to meet, if what Dr Possible told you happened to all three of them while in her company.”

“Yes. And a good example of Kara Fang’s general attitude in life is the ‘Brooklyn Museum Massacre’ of about seven or so years ago.”

“My god,” the agent choked “I remember reading the reports that the FBI sent us. That place was a bloodbath, and all for the theft of one gem.”

“From what I have been told, Kara Fang was responsible for that event. She killed, in total, fifteen guards that night, and stole the Forsyth Diamond. It was, apparently, a test laid down by the thief we know as The Fox.” Doctor Director paused and glanced at her commander. The shadowed man waved a hand, indicating her to continue. “The Fox never intended anyone to get hurt. What she wanted was for this test to determine which of two people she would end up taking as an apprentice. The two people were-“

“Kara and Shego, obviously.” Jackson interrupted, drawing a thin smile from Doctor Director. “Shego’s style mimics The Fox perfectly when she wishes. Half the time we only know that a theft has been done by her when we can’t find anything. Always made me wonder about the thefts she did for Drakken though. Why does she always make such a pig’s ear?”

“I ‘may’ have an idea about that which I will explain later, as I want to be certain before I suggest anything.” Doctor Director glanced at the door, and noticed the pale blond teenager sitting outside her office, playing with the mole rat propped on his knee. “Yes, very certain.”

“Anyway, Shego must have done her work very well, our records show nothing linking her to three other thefts around the world, though they carried her masters signature flairs, at the time of the Bloodbath that was Kara’s attempt.

“When Kara returned, The Fox rejected her instantly. That seemed to have made Ms Fang a little angry. Kara attacked The Fox in Shego’s presence, actually trying to shoot her with a pistol. Shego stepped in and basically beat her into a bloody mess.”

“I never thought I’d say this but good for Shego.” Jackson smiled grimly. “Anyone who did what that crazy bitch did to those guards deserves some payback.”

“Well, Ms Shego beat Kara and The Fox let her go. Ever since then, it has been a black mark on Kara Fang’s record with the Blood Jade and one she has tried to rectify with the events that lead us to here and now.”

With that, Doctor Director condensed all that had happened in the last week, failing to notice how enraptured her audience slowly became. Rounding off with Shego’s collapse and the sight of her being carried, unconscious, by Ron and Yori, the leader of Global Justice sighed.

“So, Kara failed to kill her, but the so called ‘Mistress of the Jade’ has managed to inject Ms Possible with Servus.”

“And for reasons known only to herself, Shego managed to obtain one of the two vials we need to cure Ms Possible and the death of Kara Fang?” Jackson murmured, impressed despite himself. “Wow, that’s quite the turn around.”

Doctor Director recalled the worry, much to her surprise, on Ron’s face for the woman in his arms. A Woman, she knew, who had been his enemy as well as Kim’s. Though on a far smaller scale.

“Which brings us to the here and now.” Betty’s commander broke in. “A nicely condensed roundup of events, Betty. Now, what do we do about them?”

“I have a question I really want answered.” Jackson muttered. “Why the hell did Shego of all people end up saving Possible? I thought the two of them were sworn enemies!”

“I may have the answer to that, and it touches on the reason why Shego always leaves such obvious clues for Ms Possible to find during her break-in. I have no proof and only a suspicion, but I intend to rectify that with my next meeting.”

“You going to give me a hint, Betty?” Her commander asked, smiling at her thoughtful face. Doctor Director shook her head.

“Not until I’m certain, Sir. More out of privacy for Ms Possible and, yes, even Shego. She may be the most wanted criminal in fourteen-“

“Fifteen as of last week. Belgium has shifted her to number one.”

“I’ll update our records, Sir. Fifteen countries then, but she still has privacy rights.” Doctor Director paused and tapped a hand nervously on the desk. “As well as this, there’s the matter of what happened to her, Ms Possible and Mrs Possible at the hands of Kara Fang. The fact that Shego, when freed, defended them both, helped to stop the Jade, and then risked everything, while wounded, to try and wrestle the cure for Ms Possible off Kara.”

“What are you saying Betty?” Her commander asked, his tone soft and knowing. Despite herself, Doctor Director swallowed. She could be fired for what she was about to suggest, something her commander knew as well. “Well?”

“Sir, I… I think we should consider extending… well, special privileges to Shego in the matter of her criminal record. I think she could be a very valuable ally if we convince her to work for Global Justice and the United Nations. Unofficially of course.”

Her commander stared, and for a second, the one eyed woman could almost see a smirk curl his lip. “Betty, I-“

It was then, that Betty felt a rumble of a detonation shudder through the building, a shudder that caused the laptop to shake across the desk, and the resulting quivering in their responding video links caused both men to lean forwards.

“What the bloody hell was that?”

“Betty?”

Doctor Director sighed and pushed herself to her feet. “Oh dear… I think Shego’s found out about Ms Possible.”

---

“I hate Hospital coffee.” Hego, blue hand clutching a tiny Styrofoam cup, stared in distaste at the murky brown fluid inside it. “Look at this… if that’s coffee, I’m a monkey.”

Mego glanced up from where he was reading a magazine and rolled his eyes. “That’s too easy an insult, even for me. And will you please sit down? Sheg’s only been out of surgery for four hours. Give her time to recover, Hego, before you even try speaking to her.”

“But can’t you see the opportunity we have here?” Mego raised an eyebrow at his brother’s enthusiastic tone. “We can bring her back into the fold! Tell her that her sins are forgiven and-“

“Sins? You’re actually intending to tell Shego, our sister, that her ‘sins’, as you call them, are forgiven? And then you expect her to be grateful and rejoin Team Go?”

Hego nodded with an almost childish enthusiasm that had Mego swearing under his breath and putting the magazine to one side.

“Why not? Look, as far as I can see she’s been betrayed by her employer, the life she chose over ours and the very group of villainy that she left to join. Why wouldn’t our sister come back to Team Go?”

“Hmm, let’s see.” Mego began to tick points off with his fingers, lips pursed in thought. “Because you’re still in charge, she can’t stand you, can’t stand the thought of being a hero, told us that she was evil a few years back, obviously hates the Mayor and the city, especially after sis did that whole business with the Mayors birthday portrait last year… shall I go on?”

“No.” Hego sighed and stared into his coffee once more.

He hadn’t told his brothers about the events that lead up to Shego leaving their family. Yeah, family, because that was how he saw Team Go. It had been a fear of losing them as rapidly as he had lost Shego, lost her to the evil he had sought to protect her from. Even now, after all these years thinking about what he had done to her, he couldn’t understand why she couldn’t or wouldn’t forgive him.

I betrayed her, but I apologised. Besides, I made up for it in so many other ways! Or I tried to. She wouldn’t accept anything from me, or even listen to me. Just did what she had to, day in day out, and then retreated to her room or went out. But I had to do it! I had to! If I hadn’t, we were looking at a lawsuit of millions. Millions! Okay, okay so we could have weathered it, our finances were flush and more than capable of absorbing such a huge loss, but still.

“I had to do it…” Hego whispered and glanced out of the window, remembered the sight of his sister bleeding and injured in Drakken’s lair. Remembered how close she had come to death, or worse. “Maybe you’ll forgive me now, sister.”

“What?” Mego, catching the whisper, frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Nothing important. I was just thinking about the past… our past. You could be right that Shego won’t even listen to me, to us. Still, nothing ventured…”

“Yeah, um, when you ask her? Could you let me know about three minutes before?” At his brother’s frown, Mego shook his head and smiled wryly. “I just wanna know. So I can be a good fifteen feet away before my sis gets started.”

“What? Oh, come on Mego. I think after all this I can bring her around and make her see sense. Get her to take up her rightful place as our vital third member.”

Mego blinked and tried to imagine Shego’s expression, only to shiver. “Actually, make that twenty… five? Yeah, twenty five feet. Because, dude, you’re living in a dream world. Shego may go evil again, she may not. She may become neutral, she may not. Hell, sis may decide to just quit and go into hiding for the rest of her life. Personally, I don’t care what she does. It’s her choice.”

“You’ve really got the whole superior attitude going on, you know? Especially for someone so obsessed with himself.”

Mego smiled coldly. “Maybe. Yeah, okay, I’ll admit I’m self obsessed and have a big ego. Though I have the goods to back it up of course. Thing is, Hego. I’ve never tried to make anyone, especially my family, do things they don’t want to! Not like you with Shego… or with us. To be honest, Hego, you’re an arrogant git and didn’t listen to any of us. We went along because it was easier than having our ears talked off. But sis got the worst of it, you couldn’t leave her alone, especially when she had such little interest, could you?”

Scowling, Hego turned to glare at his brother with anger. “Why you little-“

A sudden knock at the doorway to the waiting room had Hego biting off his words and Mego relaxing the hands that had instinctively clenched into fists. Both men turned around and gazed at the young woman standing in the doorway, green scrubs covered in blood. Their sister’s blood.

“Ah, um… Mr Hego and Mr Mego?”

Both men nodded and watched as the woman walked into the room and smoothly shut the door. She smiled and with a sigh, tilted her head at the coffee pot.

“May I?” She asked, letting out a small sigh of relief as Hego nodded and stepped to one side. “Thanks. It wasn’t hard surgery, but it took a while and a lot of concentration.”

“Is she… okay?” Hego asked, blinking at how scratchy his voice sounded.

“Well, your sister had a bullet wound through a dislocated shoulder, a cracked rib that had punctured a lung, a badly damaged leg-partly fractured- that had a few minor complications, various types of tissue damage, and general exhaustion.” Sucking in a breath of air, the woman sipped coffee and smiled. “Still, she’s a resilient young lady and everything went off without a hitch. We’ve currently got her in her room, with a nurse, sleeping off the Femerol and succinylcholine in her system. Normally I’d keep her in recovery, but we’re packed to the gills and-”

“Succinylcholine?” Mego whispered, horror tingeing his voice. “Ah hell! Hego, you did tell them right? I mean it’s not like they have her medical records on hand!”

Hego swallowed. “Nobody asked me… I thought they knew! I mean, she has been around Middleton for quite some time. How the hell can they not know? Villain or not, sis would have told them, right?”

The female surgeon glanced left and right at the two men, sudden fear gripping her. “Tell me what? Tell us what?”

“Um, our sister… she, ah,” Hego coughed and looked away. “She’s allergic to succinylcholine.”

“Allergic!” The female surgeon managed to choke out in a cry. Images of her patient going into shock ran through her mind. “Oh god! Give me the symptoms! Is she going to suddenly go into anaphylactic shock, or what?”

“Um, nothing like that. It’s more that the last time someone gave her that stuff, was after a particularly nasty fall, where she had to have surgery on her stomach. Uh, they used succinylcholine and, well…”

“For god’s sake, tell me! Your sister could be dying, or-“

“I doubt that.” Hego muttered, sharing a worried glace with Mego. “Her reaction to succinylcholine is a little more… unique.” He coughed and ran a hand over his face. “The last time anyone gave her that drug, we ended up having to pay for the hospital room to be rebuilt…”

“What!”

“And the corridor,” Mego chimed in, embarrassed. “And, uh, most of the outside wall on either side of her room too. You see, they found out the stuff interferes with her brain chemistry, thanks to the comet messing with it.”

The female doctor stared in horror and the two men continued to cough and shuffle. “Are you telling me that succinylcholine gives your sister a psychotic episode?”

“No, no… nothing that bad. Well, not really.” Hego managed, shuffling his feet. “It just causes her brain chemistry to shift into overdrive a little. Creates some ‘unique’ effects on her mind, as well as lowering her autonomous functions including her plasma control.”

“So, what? What does that all mean!” The female surgeon demanded as the coffee in her hand was completely forgotten.

“Well, it means she-“

A sudden rumble echoed through the room and both heroes turned to each other, a look of worry on their faces. Even as the door clicked open and both Wego twins- who had gone off to the canteen for snacks to replenish their energy after so many clones- came rushing in.

“That sounded-“ One began, dropping a can of fizzy drink and glancing around.

“Like our sister!” The other finished, swallowing a candy bar as quickly as he could. “We’d know-“

“Her plasma blasts anywhere! Think she-”

“Woke up cranky? Remember what happened to the last alarm clock she had?”

“Toasted!”

Mego sighed and shared a reluctant gaze with his larger brother before letting his power ignite the purple glow around his body. Shaking his head, he glanced across at Hego and the Wego twins.

“I don’t think she woke up cranky this time. We just found out they gave your sister the same stuff as last time during surgery.”

Both twins paled.

“You mean-“

“When she cratered her-“

“Room, the corridor and the wall outside…”

Mego nodded and the two Wego twins glanced at each other, before chiming in unison.

“Uh oh.”

“Okay, looks like we’re going to have to go and help and hold her down. Doctor, you’re going to need a hefty anaesthetic.” As the female Doctor nodded, her body trembling, Mego glanced across at his older brother. “Hego, looks like we’re going to need Team Go’s cheque book for a second time.”

Hego sighed. “Looks like. I hate plasma burns and she’ll give us one hell of a kicking once the drugs out of her system. Still, let’s move people.”

---

The bright sunlight streamed through the window of her quarters and Shego smiled slightly as she felt it play along her skin, the familiar tingle of solar energy being stored lightening her mood even further.

Not that it would take much right now.

Shifting, the green thief twisted her head to the side and allowed her eyes to slide open to take in the wonderful, amazing sight in front of her. For lying next to her, flame red hair spilling across dark black silk sheets like a lava flow, lay her lover. A satisfied, spent and slumbering lover.

Her lover. Her Kim.

Smiling, Shego leaned across to rub the red hair, waiting for the groan of pleasure she knew it would cause Kim to produce. As her long, black nails- stronger than steel, and sharper than a razor- harmlessly and skilfully played along the dark red locks, the body in front of her shivered ever so slightly and let out a gentle grunt.

Shego laughed with genuine delight in her tone, a rarity for her, and leaned across to where Kim’s head lay covered by the long ruby strands.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” She grinned, only for it to vanish into a playfully sly smirk as Kim remained unmoving. Smoothly, her toned body slipped across her lovers, long firm legs straddling the muscled waist of her prey, for that was what Shego had decided Kim was about to be. She leaned closer to her lover. “Kimmie, wake up…. I have a really, really big need for some Kim style loving right now. If you don’t wake up, I’ll make you mine in a heartbeat, Princess.”

“Will you?” A soft voice whispered back from under the hair, and Shego blinked at how different it sounded. “You’ll make me yours will you?”

“Kimmie?” Shego whispered, shivering as a cool draft played around her. She glanced up as the sunlight streaming through the window suddenly bled away, leaving a sickly dull greyish light. “What the… since when does the weather here shift to rain so quickly?”

“Shego,” The thief glanced down and sighed happily at the sight of her lover, all thoughts of the vanishing sunlight leaving her. As she grinned, Kim’s hand reached up to brush at her dark hair. “You mean something very special to me, you know?”

“I do?” Shego chuckled. “Honey, let me tell you. The muscles we were using last night? Well, for me they haven’t had such a workout since… well, ever. And even those that I have worked out on, usually thanks to a certain redhead attacking me, are totally exhausted. Who would have thought Kimmie Possible was such a… a horn dog?”

The hand slid behind her neck and Shego grunted happily as Kim levered herself upright, red hair still spilling down her face. The teenager rolled gently on top of her and the thief happily ran her hands along the soft flesh around her lover’s belly.

“I love you, so much.”

“Yes, I know. But tell me this. Why do you think you’re going to make me yours?”

“Eh?” Shego sighed. “Kimmie, it’s a manner of speech. I just want you to be mine… as a lover and partner and-“

“That could be very hard.” Kim murmured, and Shego frowned once more at the rough tone in her voice. “Very hard indeed. You see you and I have a problem.”

“We do?” Shego frowned. “What problem?”

“The fact that I’m already owned, Shego. You know that someone owns me already.” The red hair waved slightly as the face beneath chuckled mirthlessly. “You see, you failed to protect me.”

Shego shivered as a cool gust of wind blew around her room, felt her body tighten in sudden anxiety. “Kimmie?”

“You failed to protect me.”

“Kimmie, I-“

“You failed and now… now I have a new mistress.” The long red hair suddenly blew back over Kim’s head, and Shego stared in terrified horror at the face underneath. The grin that slid onto cold lips, the hard eyes, and the mad gleam lurking inside them, had her trying to bolt from underneath Kim’s body.

For the face that stared at her from her lover’s body, was Kara Fang.

“N…No!” Shego managed to stutter, her hands convulsing into the sheets. “You’re dead! I…I…””

“You failed to protect her, Shego.” The voice was Kim’s, but colder, harsher. “You failed and I own her now. Her mind is mine! She is mine! I can reach out from the grave and still make her kill! And I hate you with a passion.”

A sudden scrape of metal on leather had the green thief’s panicked eyes rolling to where Kim’s hand now clutched a dagger.

“And because you let me take her, I’ll make her do what I want! You’ll never free her, never!

Kim lunged forwards and Shego screamed in terror as the blade sank into her heart with a thud, her bright green eyes staring into the cold hard ones of Kim as the world began to shimmer and fade into painful darkness.

“Kimmie! Noooooo!”

---

Middleton Hosptal

In the soft dim light of Shego’s private room, thewarm golden glowshone through the windows andmuted the soft clinical cream of the walls. It played gently over the bed wherethe young green woman lay sleeping, darkhair pooled around her face, a face that was slack with sleep and madeher lookinnocent.

However, it also played across thetwo guards stood at the base of her bed, facing away from the pale green woman and a statement to the dagerous abilities of the slumbering form.

Neither of them paid her any attention, no matter what their commanding officer had said about her. They had both decided that Shego was harmless right now. Mainly as the first agent, a swarthy Asian man called Yanaka, had told his companion.

“Because Shego’s so dosed on powerful drugs, she’ll be lucky to know what year it is if she wakes up, let alone be dangerous.”

“But what if they wear off?” The other agent, a dark skinned female called Munroe, asked worried. “Is it true she can fire plasma?”

“Yeah. But, look, if she does wake up then she’s gonna be groggy and disorientated, right?” Yanaka pointed out, snapping the gum he was chewing smoothly. “The alarms on those machines’ll go off before that happens and we can get all the help we’ll need.”

It was as he began to grin thatevery single machinesurrounding the drugged thief suddenly decidedto sprang into life. All of them filling the air with wails andscreamsof digital panic.Display panels showing Shego's biostats began to flash various colours as graphs recoded elevated Adrenaline production, wild brainwave patterns and the sudden thousand fold increase of her bioelectric field.

The two agents spun around in a circle as each system shirked louder and more urgently and without warning, two of the devices suddenly exploded in a shower of sparks.The LCD screens in the machines fragmented with a loud boom,spraying Yanaka and Munroe with glass and plastic shards while smoke belched from the ruins.

And then Shego woke up.

Lunging upright, screaming for all she was worth, Shego’s hands instinctively shot forwards and green plasma spewed viciously from them to bathe her hospital room in bright green light. As it splashed and blackened the wall on the far side of her bed, the two Global Justice agents glanced at each other in total terror, and then both lunged for the door as one.

As they staggered and fought each other through the small doorway, Shego’s un-seeing eyes glanced around in shock and her hands followed, still firing roaring blasts of green energy. The flaring beam slammed into the wall next to the main medical gas supply system and began to heat the oxygen bottle sitting underneath the panel. The superheating effect on its metal was too much, and with a concussive explosion, the door blasted itself cleanly into the corridor.

Fire alarms on the floor sprang into deafening life, and water sprinklers spluttered into life, dousing the burning door and attacking the flames inside the, now wrecked, room. The spray also drenched the terrified and shell shocked thief as she slid out of her bed, sobbing in fear… and in a rare event for her, it was forsomeone else.

Green fingers grabbed the soaked sheet from her bed, and she staggered, half conscious and disorientated, into the corridor, ignoring the terrified screams and shouts from patients and nurses who had run to see what was going on.

“Kimmie…” Shego whispered, eyes flicking left and right. “Kimmie…”

You can’t save her. She’s mine!

“Shut up!” Shego hissed, glaring at Kara’s laughing frame leaning against the wall. Raising a hand, a flame of plasma shot from her palm and slammed into the laughing spectre and when Shego blinked away the blind spots, it had vanished.

In its place, on her knees and trembling, lay a young blond nurse. Coughing, Shego limped across to her and hauled her upright. The spray from the sprinkler system doused both of them, and mingled with the young woman’s tears as she whimpered in fear. Shego stared muzzlily into her face and shook the nurse violently.

“Where is she!” Shego snarled, water dripping off her lips like saliva. “Where!”

“Who!” The nurse screamed, terrified.

“Kimmie! Where’s Princess? I’ve got to stop Kara… I have to!”

“I don’t know who you’re talking abou-“

Shego’s hands exploded into green flame and the nurse screamed in terror, crumpling to the floor, or trying to as the thief hauled her upright.

“Where!”

“Please… please don’t hurt me,” The young woman babbled and Shego growled in response.

Desperate, Shego shook the woman, hands still tightly clenched in her soaked uniform.

“Young woman, about nineteen, damn you! Red hair! Her mothers a fucking doctor here!”

The nurse’s brain unfroze and she pointed with a trembling hand at the lifts. “Floor six! Room twelve!”

Armed with the information her fuzzy brain demanded, Shego dropped the nurse on the soaked linoleum and staggered for the lifts. As she reached them, she cursed as she muzzily took in the fire alert override flashing on the displays.

“Fuck!” Shego managed, and then gasped as Kara’s face flickered into life on the small lift pad.

Failed once again. Every time you failed, I won. And now I have her…

“No!”

Glancing left, Shego made for the stairs. As she slammed them open, the cool air slapped at her soaked and shivering form, freezing already cold skin. Teeth chattering, the green thief tumbled erratically down them, her eyes never leaving the floor numbers stencilled into the concrete.

Finally, she came to a stumbling stop in front of a black six and grunted in relief, before clutching her stomach and groaning. She managed to make it to a corner, where she was briefly and noisily sick. After a few noisy minutes, she leaned backwards and groaned in relief, before turning back to the corridor, and her destination.

Woozy and in pain, Shego staggered through the doors.

“Kimmie…”

---

“What the hell do you mean she’s ‘out of her room’ and ’totally barking’?” Doctor Director snapped into the intercom Will had handed to her as she pelted along the corridor. “I thought she was restrained?”

“She was.” Munroe’s visage, covered in soot that now ran in blackened rivulets down her face due to the sprinklers, shivered in discomfort. “They weren’t much use against that damn plasma of hers, Sir. She cut through them in seconds and then blew her room to holy hell.”

Cursing and sharing a glance with Ron as he pelted along the corridor beside her, Doctor Director shook her head. She thought Shego would remain at least co-operative for a while, at least until her wounds were healed and she was able to use all of her skills to escape. If she had wanted to of course, considering the new ‘Possible’ angle that the GJ head had shunted to one side of her mind.

“Seal off the corridor, evac the civilians and for gods sake tell our men on the lower floors to stop the FBI, the CIA and any other annoying government lackey that wants to take the ‘big one of their life down!’ from getting anywhere near Shego. Understand?”

“Sir.” Munroe confirmed and the comm unit snapped off.

“How on earth did this happen?” The one eyed woman snapped at the world in general. “Shego was dosed with enough anaesthetic to knock out a rhino!”

“Um, yeah, but then she has the whole super healing gig, doesn’t she.” Ron replied, earning a raised eyebrow from the GJ leader and a scowl from Will Du. “If that stuff saw the anaesthetic as a poison or something, it’d have worked to clear it out of her. Right?”

“Damn, I should have thought of that.” Doctor Director admitted, annoyed with herself. “That’s why we had Mr Load concoct the GJ tranqs. They were specially designed with her in mind and-“

“And that’s what Kara used to get her in the first place.” Ron muttered as all three slammed open the door to the stairs and hurtled up them towards the sixth floor. “Which reminds me. Wade isn’t very happy with Global Justice’s idea of security.”

“I’ll deal with Mr Load and the situation about that later.” Doctor Director promised, her scowl over her groups ineptitude engraining itself into her face. “Right now, Mr Stoppable, I want one thing from you before we step in Shego’s path.”

Ron sighed, wanted to close his eyes and would have if he hadn’t needed them. “What?”

“Shego and Ms Possible, Ronald.” Doctor Director glanced across as Ron’s shoulders hunched. “Are they? And if so, for how long?”

“Sir? Are they what?” Will Du chimed in, puzzled, only for his superior to wave a hand impatiently behind her to stifle him. Glowering, Will concentrated on Ron’s face.

The teen for his part glanced across at the one eyed woman and raised his own eyebrow. “How did you know? And, more importantly, whydo you need to know ?”

“As to the how? I’m very good at reading people, and understanding situations. I can think of two reasons for Shego to care what happens to Ms Possible, and Kim doesn’t have the cash for the first reason.” The one eyed woman smiled slightly. “As to the why? Because knowing will make me decide how I’m supposed to react to Shego, sworn enemy of Kim Possible, trying to get into her room while the young woman is incapacitated. Do I treat it as an attack, a need to just see if she’s alright, or something more intimate?”

“Ah.” Ron bit his lip as they passed a section of the stairs with the numeral three scribed into it. “Well, Um… Kim’s going to kill me if I tell.”

“No, I doubt she will, Ronald, when she learns your quick thinking prevented Shego being taken down.” Doctor Director watched the young man’s face, hoped his answer would be something she wanted to hear, or at least not as terrible as some of the things she had been envisioning. “Well, Ronald?”

“Right, right…” Ron sighed, knowing that Global Justice would have found out sooner or later. “Yes, she thinks she is. Yes, it’s Shego that made KP think about it, and it’s not as ‘on’ as you think. KP’s been struggling to deal with this… interest, for a week or so.” He paused, glanced across at the one eyed woman. “So, happy now?”

Miss Possible and Shego, a unique partnership in a way. My, how the world changes with a few simple decisions. One of which is a villain struggling to stop lying to herself. The leader of Global Justice rolled her shoulders as they passed the fifth floor.This will have to be thought about for some time.

“I think it may be too early to tell how happy I am about this… development, Mr Stoppable. Regardless, it answers a great many questions about the past few days and certainly about Shego’s actions against Ms Fang.”

“Floor six, Sir.” Will piped up, pointing at the black stencil and then glancing at the fire door that lead to the corridor beyond. A sudden muffled thud, followed by a feminine cry of anger had him glancing across at his commander. “Your orders?”

Doctor Director sighed and rolled her shoulders, flexing the muscles. “Well, I think talking to her might be best. If that fails then I suppose we’ll have to take her down, non-lethally though.”

“Sir.” Will nodded, while Ron just rolled his eyes and cracked his knuckles.

“Then let’s be about it gentlemen.”

---

Shego glanced around the corridor and the room numbers sitting next to them on the wall. She growled in annoyance at the number fifteen next to her and began to slowly walk, or rather limp, down the corridor. The pain from her chest was getting worse, as was the slowly burning agony from her shoulder and leg, and she wondered just how much painkiller had been pumped into her… and if she could get any more.

Kimmie first. Gotta make sure Princess is okay. Then I can find something to dull the pain.

A sudden bang echoed down the corridor and Shego glanced up, wiping the sweat out of her eyes, to see what had caused it. She blinked in disbelief as Hego, quickly followed by Mego and the two Wego twins, all filed into the corridor from the stairwell that Hego had slammed open. Behind them, three orderlies and a woman in a white coat filed in as well. Shego watched owlishly as the white coated woman glanced at her with worry, her hands filling a hypodermic with something cloudy.

“Sis, it’s us…” Mego told her calmly, holding up his hands in supplication. “Do you remember what happened to you at the lair?”

Shego stared and nodded, wiping at her forehead as more sweat trickled down her face from the pain.

“Okay, that’s good.” The female doctor piped up. “Mind telling us what happened so we can see if you’re okay?”

Oh, look. Your brothers are here to stop you from getting to your little whore. Shego gasped in shock and turned her head to see Kara sitting on a medical trolley by the side of her. Now, the big question… will you let them stop you from getting to Kim?

“They don’t know…” Shego whispered at the grinning woman, hands bursting into flames. Her behaviour had her brothers exchanging worried glances and Hego motioning to the doctor, who swallowed and gripped the anaesthetic laden syringe tightly. Shego ignored them. “I have to stop you from hurting Kim!”

Hego swallowed and cleared his throat, dragging his sister’s gaze back towards him.

“Sis, listen to me. Whatever you can see, whoever you’re talking to… they’re not real.” He watched the confusion etch itself into Shego’s forehead. “You’re hallucinating, they gave you succinylcholine.”

“Wah?” Shego managed, struggling to listen as her shoulder began to burn and Kara chuckled to one side. “I… Hego?”

Behind her, the doors to the stairs slammed open and Shego stumbled backwards, her thigh almost collapsing underneath her as she twisted to see Doctor Director, Ron and Will Du run into the corridor.

“Shego, you okay?” Ron asked her, worry clear in her tone. “You don’t look so good.”

“Stoppable… what happened at the lair? I… I… Kara she’s here and-“

“No, she can’t be.” Ron told her gently, recognising the pain and something else in the green woman’s eyes. Confusion. “She fell. She fell, Shego, into the cavern. She’s dead.”

Oh, look at how confident he is. Kara danced past Shego’s vision and she staggered upright to try and follow her. I may be dead, but Kimmie’s mine, Shego.

“No! I won’t let you fucking do this to me!” Shego screamed the words and glanced around at the approaching groups. Her hands flared brighter. “I don’t wanna hurt anyone, but I will! I need to see Kimmie!”

“Sis, you need to calm down.” Mego tried again. “Let us give you this injection and-“

“NO!” Shego snarled the words and, as Will lunged at her from behind, shot a concussive plasma bolt behind her. The Global Justice agent caught it in his chest and shot backwards, unconscious. “I have to see Kim! I have to stop Kara from taking her away from me!”

“Ah, damn.” Hego muttered as his sister began to lurch up the corridor towards them. “Team Go! Go!”

Well, this is a lovely family reunion. Kara smiled at Shego as she frantically braced herself as much as possible, her brothers running towards her from the front and Ron and Doctor Director from the rear. To the thief’s growing horror, Kara glanced at the room next to her and smiled. Turning, she waved. Ah, room six. I’ll tell Kimmie you said hi.

“Nooo!” Shego screamed, watching the Jade leader chuckle and walk into Kim’s room. As she moved to stop Kara, the bodies of all three of her brothers slammed against her body, pinning her to the wall. “I won’t let you have her! Let me go!”

“Sis.” Hego grunted, dodging a fist aimed at his head, shimmering with plasma. “Stop.”

“Shego, please…” One of the Wego twins, four of them now, spluttered, trying to hold down her legs.

“You have to stop! It’s all a… a dream! You’re hallucinating!” A second Wego managed, gripping tightly as his sister fought violently. “Shego, stop it!”

“Let me go! I have to get to Kim! Kimmie!”

“Damn it, since when did you get so strong?” Hego managed. The battle for him was not to actually fight her down, to hold her against the wall - though it was a surprising effort for him- to keep her safe, but to judge the right amount of super strength needed to restrain her. A task complicated by the skill needed tododge flares of plasma. “Doctor, now!”

Swallowing, the female doctor lunged forwards with the hypodermic, intent on jabbing it into the struggling thief. Despite her blurred grasp of the situation, Shego had other ideas.

“Fuck off!” She snapped, throwing two of the Wego’s off her and freeing a leg. Her boot lashed out, catching the doctor on the arm and making her stumble with a cry of pain. The hypodermic shot out of control, unheeded and jammed itself into Hego’s backside with a solid thud.

“Yah!” The huge man managed, before he felt his muscles begin to go lax as the combined relaxant and anaesthetic shot into his system. Groaning, Hego felt his grip go lax and he fell to his knees with a thud. “Oh! Damn…”

Seeing Hego go down, Doctor Director and Ron braced themselves to try and hold Shego down as Mego and the twins found themselves rapidly being thrown off her. As the one eyed woman prepared to lunge and grip the green woman’s right arm, the sound of an outraged voice echoed around the corridor.

“What is going on in here! This is a hospital, not a boxing ring!” The heated, angry, tone came from the end that Team Go had come from originally and all eyes, even Shego’s concussed gaze, slid in its direction.

Doctor Possible, gently supported by her husband and ignoring the complaining wound on her shoulder, tapped her foot in annoyance. Angry blue eyes stared at the group of people halfway down the corridor and outside her daughter’s room. Crossing her arms, the redhead cocked an eyebrow.

“Oh, I’m sure my daughter would love to see this! People she’s worked with or helped and aided all fighting one another! Especially when we’re trying to keep her calm! Now, you three, let Shego go! Shego you don’t move, hear me!” The snap in her tone had Mego and the twins gently letting go of Shego’s arms, and their sister swallowed as the blue gaze slid to her. “What the heck is going on? Well!”

“I saw her…” Shego managed, trying to steady herself against the wall as her injuries began to scream at her once more, as the corridor wavered around her. “She’s here… she’s going to take her away from me, from us! I… I can’t stop… I… I… Oh god, I feel sick!”

Doctor Possible felt a lump form in her stomach at the sight of Shego, one of the most feared people on the planet, now completely lost and disorientated as she slid to her knees, breathing hard and obviously fighting nausea. Worried, she sighed and glanced across at the female Doctor who was kneeling next to the unconscious Hego.

“Margaret?” As the doctor looked up, Doctor Possible raised an eyebrow and tilted her head gently at Shego. “What’s happened?”

“Our patient there is allergic to succinylcholine and nobody bothered to tell us. Any medical record has been locked due to “Governmental reasons” and any other medical record is one we won’t have. According to her family here, it causes hallucinations, disorientation and loss of judgement.”

“Nobody bothered to…” Kim’s mother sighed and rolled her eyes. “Well of course not, it’s wherever makes up Drakkens medical cover, and we don’t have them. Though why some people here didn’t remember to tell us…”

“Hey, it’s not our fault!” Mego whined defensively.

“No, you’re quite right, Mr Mego. This would seem to be nobodies fault.” Doctor Director stepped back and felt her adrenaline trickle away. “Doctor, I know this may be awkward, but would you please tend to Shego? I think you may be the only person she trusts right now.”

Biting her lip and squeezing her husbands arm for a second, Kim’s mother nodded and slowly walked across to the shivering, semi-naked woman on her knees. Crouching, Mrs Possible touched her gently and had emerald eyes gazing up at her in confusion.

“Mrs… P?” Shego managed, shivering. She was so, so cold! “Kara is in Kimmie’s Room! Kara is-“

“No, she’s not.” Mrs Possible told her softly, and as she stared harder into Shego’s worried eyes, she noticed the dilated pupils and sure signs of drug based distress. Holding out her hand, she gently pulled the thief to her feet. “Ron saw her fall, Shego. Just before he managed to help you escape the lair.”

“She… fell? But she’s here! She-“

“No, she’s not.” Glancing across at Doctor Director for permission and receiving a nod in reply, Kim’s mother forced away her own discomfort at being so close to the green woman, and gently escorted her to Kim’s door. “Honey, it’s all in your mind. Come on, we’ll go in and look. How’s that?”

“But Kara-“ Shego bit her lip and tried to focus as something nudged her brain. “Suchi… colene? I… it makes me…” The green woman trailed off, puzzled and Doctor Possible waved at Margaret.

“Marge, got anything to counter succinylcholine? Break it down and flush it out?”

“Sure,” The doctor glanced at the Shego and watched the green woman frown as though she were trying to grasp something difficult, and raised an eyebrow. “Mind you, I think it may be wearing off a little. Still, best to speed it up.”

Margaret held up a hypodermic. “Now, she going to let me give it to her?”

“I’ll do it.” Mrs Possible replied, taking the loaded hypo gently and smiling as the emerald gaze beside her watched it hawkishly. “This will make you feel a lot better…” As Shego began to stiffen in her grip, Kim’s mother shook her slightly. “But first we’ll check Kimmie, right?”

“Yeah… yeah we will.” Shego muttered, limping the last few yards. “All this shit’s my fault, you know? My fault. Should have put that crazy woman down all those years ago… then it’d have been me and Kimmie fighting like we always do. Doing what we always do.” Nodding, Mrs Possible turned the door knob gently, only to have Shego stop her and glance across. “She’d have stopped me every time, Doc. You know? Every time, until I’d be too tired to keep trying… that’s what makes her so fascinating to me.”

“My daughter probably feels the same way. Now then,” Mrs Possible pushed the door all the way open and Shego stared suspiciously into the brightly lit room. “Let’s go check.”

It took Shego fifteen minutes of searching the room, while Kim’s mother quietly stood next to her daughter’s bedside, until she was satisfied. The confusion, however, was still on her face as she limped across to the older redhead.

“I don’t understand… she was here! Told me that Kim would be hers soon and that there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

Sighing, Doctor Possible held out the hypo. “Shego, do you trust me?”

The thief blinked and shrugged, her dazed expression dark. “Yeah, suppose so. More than most. Cause you suffered when Kara attacked me. Bitch used me against you…”

“Yes, she did.” The redhead fought down the nausea the past few days memories brought with them and watched Shego sway for a second. “Honey, Kara was never here.”

“But she-“ Shego began, only for Mrs Possible to shake her head.

“She’s all up here,” the Doctor tapped her forehead. “In your mind. You see, they gave you a drug while they fixed your shoulder, and you’re allergic to it.” She held up the hypodermic. “This will get rid of the drug and you’ll be back to your normal self.”

“Kara isn’t here?” Shego demanded and as Doctor Possible shook her head, she relaxed and held out her arm. “Okay, gimmie.”

The redhead gently brushed the area with a swab and slid the needle gently into the green woman smoothly. Shego shivered harder as the contents were delivered and once the hypodermic had been removed, sniffed slightly. A sudden sneeze had Doctor Possible frowning in concern as she stared at the soaked woman.

“I hate needles.” Shego muttered.

“Most people do.” Kim’s mother gestured to the bed next to the still and sleeping form of her daughter. “Why don’t you lie down, keep an eye on Kimmie for me, and I’ll go and get some towels so you can dry off. Yes?”

“Sure, kay.” Shego managed, sliding onto the bed and glancing around “You were right too, Kara’s not here. Weird. But I’m not letting Kimmie out of my sight. No way, no how. Cause she’s mine now. I love her, damn it.”

For the first time since she had been kidnapped from her own home, Doctor Possible smiled genuinely. “I’m not too sure how Kim would feel about the owning comment, but it’s still a nice thing to say, in a way.” The slightly jerky nod from Shego, followed by another shiver made her sigh. “You keep an eye on Kim, I’ll be back in a second.”

Slipping out of the room and leaving the door ajar, Doctor Possible found her husband, Team Go, Ron and Doctor Director all waiting patiently on the other side. Glancing to the left, she caught Margaret’s eye and inclined her head at the door.

“Marge, be a pal and get me some towels and a hot cup of coffee would you? Shego’ll need them once the counter agent kicks in.”

“Sure.” Margaret strolled off and Doctor Possible turned to Doctor Director as the woman coughed politely.

“Doctor Possible, I’d like your opinion on Shego’s mental condition right now. Is she safe to be left alone with Kim? In the building? Do I need to put guards on her door again, or even in her room?”

“That depends if you think she’s going to run away and escape, Doctor.” Kim’s mother sighed as James came around behind and hugged her gently. “Anything Shego has done since she woke up, the way she’s been acting, the confusion and dazed conversations especially, is thanks to the succinylcholine in her system. Once the counter agent I’ve given her gets to work, she’ll be back to her usual prickly self. I leave it to you to work out how she’ll feel with Global Justice breathing down her neck.”

“Yes, well I think we can put the plasma damage in her room down to the drug. The problem regarding her actual, well, freedom right now, is the crux of the matter.” Doctor Director stared at Kim’s mother intently and chose her words with care. “I’m pushing the regs as it is. Shego is sitting in your daughter’s room, a young woman who is one of my best freelancers and also her sworn enemy for some time, without an escort… let alone the fact that Shego is wanted for quite a few criminal offences. She should be either in a holding cell at global headquarters or at the police station.”

“Hang on!” Ron managed, disbelief on his face. “Shego risked her life to save KP! Let alone the fact that I told you their… their relationship has changed!” Mrs Possible raised an eyebrow at Ron’s outburst and the teen had the decency to look embarrassed. “Sorry, Dr P, she’s really good at making you blurt stuff out. When Kim finds out, she’s going to kill me.”

“Mr Stoppable,” Doctor Director interrupted, switching on a small recording device. “However I may personally feel about this situation, I have a problem in that I’ve run out of leeway to cut any possibility of a deal. The law dictates that I have to either lock her away myself or I will be forced to assign her to the FBI or CIA or whomever with the correct authorisation. Especially as she is medically fit to travel.” The one eyed woman paused and stared at Doctor Possible, who blinked. “Yes, medically fit to be moved out of hospital care.”

“Wha… oh… oh!” The redhead shook her head. “As her current medical doctor, I cannot allow you to move her to any facility at this time, even one equipped with medical facilities. Her wounds are still potentially life threatening and moving her could pose a serious risk, one I will not allow Shego to take.”

Smiling, doctor Director clicked off the recorder and nodded. “That should cover it for now and give me enough time to discuss things with my superiors.”

Ron blinked. “Wait, you aren’t going to arrest Shego? I thought she was, well, the worlds most wanted number one thief?”

“She is, Mr Stoppable.” The leader of the GJ smiled thinly. “However, as doctor Possible has pointed out, Shego is hardly in a physical state to run away from Global Justice. Besides, thanks to you, I know that Shego’s primary concern, well other than herself, is asleep in that room. I doubt I’d be able to drag her away with a team of wild horses until Kim’s up and about.” Doctor Director shook her head. “Such a unique development and one I doubt anyone could see coming.”

“Sooo, you’re not going to arrest her?” Ron pressed, imagining Kim being freed from Servus and finding out that Shego was incarcerated for hanging around until she was cured. The idea of her reaction made him wince.

“For now, I’ll consider her under medical house arrest.” A sudden beeping from her belt made Doctor Director sigh and pull the tiny comm. Unit from its housing. “Yes?”

“Um, Sir?” The voice of one of the guards in the main lobby came though the tiny speaker in a tinny squeak. Everyone could hear the anxiety in the tone. “I think you should know that we have an FBI special agent Rexus and CIA agent Stephens, along with Middleton Police Chief McGruggan, to see you. They all want to discuss, um, Shego.”

Sighing, Doctor Director chuckled dryly. “Wasted no time I see. Very well, take them to my office and I’ll be down in a second.” Clicking off the device, the one eyed woman glanced at Kim’s door and then at the redhead beside her. “One final question, Doctor. Do you trust Shego with your daughter’s life?”

Doctor Possible bit her lip, remembered the physical beating her daughter had given Shego, while the green woman had simply defended and shrugged off blows that got through, never trying to hurt Kim in return and nodded. “In a heartbeat.”

“Then I shall too, for the moment. Now then, Mr Stoppable, would you walk with me for a while?”

“Okay…”

Both agent and teenager were about to walk for the stairs, when the door to Kim’s room slammed violently open, impacting into the plaster wall behind it hard enough to leave an imprint. Standing in the doorway, shivering with a strangely attractive combination of cold, anger, and confusion, stood a wet and incredibly pissed off Shego.

“Okay! Would one of your jerk offs mind explaining to me how I ended up cold, soaked and wearing a hospital gown that has nothing at the back?” The green thief flipped a strand of dark wet hair out of her gleaming emerald eyes with a snarl and glanced down at the outline of her green breasts. “Oh, and now that it’s wet, I’m showing everything from the front too? Just fantastic! So, anyone? Preferably before I decide to just kick ass until I feel better!”

“And she’s back! As prickly, harsh tongued and angry as ever.” Ron chuckled, before noticing the glare, dripping with venom, Shego shot in his direction. Swallowing, the blond teen ducked behind Doctor Director.

Sometimes, Ron, you need to keep some comments in your head.

“Um, Ronald, why don’t you go with Doctor Director.” Doctor Possible discreetly squeezed her husbands hand for support and turned to the fuming thief. “Shego, why don’t you and I go into Kim’s room for privacy and talk about what’s been happening.”

“I’d prefer a cup of hot coff-“ Shego paused as a woman, she had the odd feeling she had met before, walked up to Doctor Possible, towels and a steaming mug held in both hands. Kim’s mother took them off her and raised an eyebrow at the green woman, who frowned with a slight shiver. “Now that is scary!”

---

Doctor Directors Office

“Where is she!” A man in a black suit and grey tie snapped in annoyance, his jacket swinging open for a second to show a gun securely tucked into a shoulder harness.

“The leader of Global Justice has a lot of things on her plate, so cut her some slack would you?” A second man, neatly and slickly dressed in a plain grey shirt and black trousers, sat patiently in front of the empty desk and rolled his eyes. “She’ll be here, and probably knows we’re waiting.”

The police chief of Middleton sat quietly in the corner, staring quietly at the two men. The CIA and the FBI? Both here for Shego? Sighing, the Police Chief rubbed his sweaty hands on his trousers and tapped a finger on his chair arm. If they were both here to try and wrest Shego from Global Justice, as he had hoped to do so somehow, then he stood little chance.

With a gentle click, the door to the office swung open, and a muscular woman, clad in a neat grey jumpsuit and an eye patch, strode in. She ignored the three men waiting for her and slid neatly behind the desk.

“You Doctor Director?” The black suited man asked hotly, only to blink as the GJ leader raised a hand in his direction before turning to the blond teenager who she had walked in with.

“Mr Stoppable, would you like to sit on the sofa while I deal with these three people?” Doctor Director motioned to the sofa arranged in the corner. “It shouldn’t take long, and then we can continue our little chat.”

“Um, okay.” Ron walked over to the sofa and gingerly sat down, eyeing the three people he didn’t recognise.

“Well, now that the kids sat down, can we get on with the adult stuff?” The agent asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone. “God forbid that we can actually sort out this mess.”

“And what mess would that be? Mr…”

“Agent Parkes, CIA.” The man snapped with a smirk. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a sheaf of paper and tossed it on Doctor Director’s desk. “As per United States jurisdiction, you are required to hand over Shego to us for charging and incarceration.”

“Hey!” The man in the white shirt managed, blinking a little. “Not so fast! I’m Agent Stephens, FBI, and I’m the one who’s going to be walking out of this building with that little green firecracker! She’s wanted in connection of over a hundred and fifty thefts!”

“Screw the FBI! Parkes waved a hand dismissively, ignoring the glare from Stephens. “We were here first and we’ve got more clout.”

“Hey! I’ll remind you both that Shego was arrested in Middleton, my jurisdiction!” The chief of Police piped up, only to shrink as the two agents glared at him. “I’m just saying.”

“The FBI has jurisdiction!”

“No, the CIA has the ability to override you in such circumstances we deem appropriate!”

“Only in matters of national security! Shego’s a thief, not a spy!”

“She’s stolen various government secrets around the globe, including ours!”

“She’s ours!”

“Ours!”

“Gentlemen.” Doctor Director murmured, steepling her fingers.

“She’s a criminal I’ve been tracking for two years!”

“Three for me!”

“Gentlemen!” Betty Director’s voice lashed out coldly in the office. “That is quite enough!”

Both men stared in shock at the heated anger on the GJ leaders face and hurriedly sat back down. Next to Ron, the Police Chief shrank even further into himself, wishing he was back in his own office.

“Doctor Director, you have my warrant,” Parkes murmured quietly. “I expect Global Justice to co-operate with the CIA on this.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible Mr Parkes.” Doctor Director calmly sat back in her chair. “Regardless of the fact that your warrant has as much power in my office as a blank piece of paper, Shego is under medical observation and, at this time, cannot be moved.”

“But… but…” Parkes stared in disbelief. “I work for-“

The CIA, yes I know. But I work for the security division of the United Nations directorate and your country, being part of that, has signed the various documents that give me overriding control as part of that directorate.“ She glanced across at the smirking Stephens and stood with a sniff. “The FBI as well.”

“Now just a minute!” Both men said in unison as the one eyed woman strode past the desk and themselves.

“Gentlemen, I have far more pressing matters to attend to, such as trying to find a cure for the mind control device currently controlling Kim Possible. I take it you know her?” Both men flushed. “Shego is, frankly, being more co-operative that your agencies in assisting me. I also have to get this young man home before his parents become concerned, arrange funding to help repair Ms Possible’s car, as well as having to write a number of letters of condolence to the families of the men and women who died today.

“We-“

“Now, as far as I am concerned you can feel free to sit or stand in here and try to find out which of you has the biggest penis. However, I do not need to play this game or listen to it either. I don’t have a penis, gentlemen, because I don’t need one to do my job.” Betty Director motioned to Ron and glanced back. “Please excuse me. Mr Stoppable?”

Ron scrambled to his feet and trailed after the striding Doctor Director, leaving three shell-shocked men behind her, without sparing a second glance.

“The more important stuff, is it trying to find a cure for KP?” At the one eyed woman’s gentle nod and slowing pace, Ron let out a huff of breath and felt the tension around the GJ leader and himself loosen. “That was pretty cool, you know? They were so full of themselves and you just…just pow! Knocked down like pins.”

“The trick when dealing with paper pushers like that, Mr Stoppable, is to remember one thing.”

“What?”

“You have to remember why they needed to bring such important pieces of paper in the first place. And that reason is because you have more authority in your little finger than they do in their entire department. Always remember that.”

Grinning, Ron trailed after the older woman and knew that somehow, thanks to Betty Director’s sheer force of will, they’d sort it out.

---

Middleton Space centre:four days later.

Doctor Vivian Porter gazed through the window at the men and women huddled over a metal framework propped on the floor of the space centres main construction hanger. Blue sparks spluttered and lit up the various faces, all frowning with concentration.

“Doctor Porter?” The beautiful blond glanced across and smiled at the young man in a lab coat who walked towards her. He smiled back and hesitantly held out a clipboard. “We’ve started work on the body panels, as per Global Justices request. The main framework, as you can see, is being welded into shape. We, ah, need to know if you’ll need any help rebuilding or repairing the AI systems.”

“Nah, Doctor Freeman and myself have it all in hand. As for the AI, Mara’s fine thanks for asking. What I will need is a good supply of fibre optic cable and some of the advanced G78 modules to form her CPU sub-spine.”

“I’ll put in a request, Doctor.” The young man held out a clipboard. “Here you go, the specs on the proposed enhancements that Mr Load sent us.”

“Cool. Well, you’d better get back to it, and so should I.”

Vivian watched the young man nod and walk off towards the machine shop where Mara’s titanium and ceramic mesh body panels had just started to be formed. With a sigh, she glanced down at the clipboard and walked back towards the cybernetics lab that she and Doctor Freeman were currently sharing.

As the door hissed open, Doctor Porter stepped in and glanced up from the clipboard, casting her soft blue eyes around the room. Spying the person she was looking for, Vivian wandered over to the couch sitting next to a glass coffee table. Set on the glass table, the AI core that comprised the brain of Mara’s neural net flickered and hummed as lights played on the gleaming metal surface. Watching it with glum and horrified fascination, the shimmering hologram of Mara herself sat on the couch morosely.

“Mara?”

“You know, it’s fascinating.” Mara looked up at the blond woman and sighed. “And kinda sick. I’m looking at my own brain, propped on a goddamn table.” The AI shifted uncomfortably and turned to the laptop propped next to her, the screen flickering as she interfaced with it once more. “I can’t look at it… me… that any more. God, I hate this…”

Nodding, Vivian sat next to her on the sofa and waited for the glowing blue woman to look at her once more. “Listen, it’s going to be okay, I promise. We’ve got your new body in the shop right now, and everyone’s working flat out to get it finished.” The blond Doctor smiled. “You made quite an impression with Doctor Director and Kim’s parents, well done.”

“Well done?” Mara chuckled mirthlessly. “I got the holy hell beaten out of me, almost crushed Doctor Director and her troops when I fell down the lift shaft, and had to endure the… the shame of being airlifted out of there because I had nothing left. I’m surprised Doctor Director even wants me online anymore.”

“Listen.”

“Useless, that's what I was. Totally useless. Couldn't hold my own against some stupid third rate battle bots. Sadie's going to have a field day with this. Suppose I deserve it in a way. Maybe I should try and tender my resignation from Team Possible? Think Doctor Possible wouldaccept one from a car?”

“Now stop that!” Vivian ordered sternly. “How do you think your father would feel to hear you talk like that? You did what you were designed to do, and you out performed what was expected by a hundred-fold!”

“I feel like I failed, Doc, so just leave it okay?” Sulking slightly, Mara turned away from the blond woman. “I’m just a useless and faulty piece of technology. And now I’m even more useless, cause I haven’t got a body anymore! I’m a goddamn pocket calculator!”

“No!” Vivian slammed the lid of the laptop closed and Mara turned back, looking up with surprised irritation. “You’re far more than that young lady, and listen to me when you ask advice or comfort!”

“Hey, you talked to me! I was decrypting the database I downloaded from Drakken’s lair!” Vivian kept her hand on the laptop’s lid and Mara trembled before exploding. “Damn you! It’s the only thing I can do right now! I can’t drive anyone anywhere! I can’t pick stuff up and help them rebuild me! I can’t see if Kim’s okay! I can’t say sorry to her mom for not being there! I can’t… I can’t tell Doctor Director how bad I feel for screwing up and… and…”

Vivian was honoured with the strange gift of being the first person to see an artificial intelligence begin to sob. She sighed. “I wish I could touch you right now, hold you.”

“Wh… what?” Mara managed, struggling to control her tears. “Why?”

“Sweetie, I consider you very much like a daughter. I helped build you, helped Doctor Freeman take you through the first steps of learning all those months ago, even had Oliver teach you the computer equivalent of morals.” The blond woman wrung her hands. “I hate seeing you like this, and you won’t listen when I keep telling you how pleased everyone is!”

“I screwed up.”

“How many times, you didn’t screw up! If you had, would Doctor Director be telling me, heck, everyone who built you that she wants you back in action as soon as possible?” Mara blinked, the holographic tears drying on her skin and Vivian smiled, holding up the clipboard. “That she wants you back, looking after Team Possible with full upgrades?”

“She… she does?” Mara stared in disbelief and Vivian laughed, flipping up the laptop lid.

“Yes, she does. Which is why we’re all working on your body right now!” chuckling, the blond doctor slid to her feet and walked across to her workbench. “This reminds me. I have to get on with constructing the housing for your core. So, while I’m busy, why don’t you carry on decrypting Drakken’s database? I know that Global Justice would be grateful of any data you can pull out of it. Especially if it refers to Servus.”

“I thought you’d be working on that too…” Mara managed, wiping at her face and interfacing with the laptop once again. “Kimmie’s more important than me.”

“No, she’s not.” Vivian wagged a finger behind her as she sat on her work stool and examined the circuit board underneath the microscope in front of her. “Right now she has Wade, Doctor Freeman, her father, brothers and the GJ science wing working to come up with a cure. I did my part before I started work on building your new body half an hour ago. The nanites are too dangerous to disrupt or remove now what with all the adjustments that blue moron made. So, once I gave them the specs that pretty much finished my role.”

“Oh.” Mara digested this. “Why not help with decoding the program?”

“Because I’m not as good at running through computer codes as quickly as Wade or Dr Freeman and I’d get in the way.” Vivian turned and grinned. “I know my limits and they end with Mr Load. He knows what he’s doing and will be twice as fast doing it compared to me. Besides, if they do need help they know where we are, right?”

Mara grinned for the first time in hours. “You’re so cool, in an odd way.”

Vivian chuckled. “Well, well, look who’s out of her funk.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mara chuckled. “Thanks ‘mom’.”

Satisfied with their chat, Vivian turned back to her work, while Mara began to run through the encrypted files on the laptop next to her, the positronic network forming her mind cracking the code easily.

It was after an hour of peaceful work that Mara’s gasp of horror echoed around the lab.

“Holy fu… That sick bitch! Viv, you’d better get over here!”

Vivian Porter glanced up and blinked at the sight of Mara, eyes glued to the laptop screen, muttering choice swearwords as rolls of computer code shot past her eyes. Sliding off the bench, the blond robotics genius strode over to where Mara sat on the sofa and watched as the AI glanced up.

“Mara, what’s wrong?”

“We have a serious problem…” The holographic image of the young woman raised a trembling hand and pointed to part of the code streaming across the laptop. “see that crap on there? I've been decrypting it for the past few hours. Mostly, it's the instruction set built into the Servus build that Kim has creeping around in her head.”

“So?” Vivian Porter asked, feeling herself stiffen and grow cold at the fear in mara's eyes.

“Kim may be fine right now, but not for much longer!” The AI closed her eyes and trembled. “There’s a god damn Servus failsafe, Viv! A failsafe!And it’s counting down!”

Continued in Chapter 22