“You’re going down, little girls!” snapped Felix, circling the duo.
“Oh yeah… prepare to taste de-feat!” said Ron. “‘Cause… you know, with Felix’s cyber-legs and everything…”
Kim rolled her eyes, even as she stood back to back with Shego. “Your puns are as bad as your fighting style, Ron.” said Kim.
“You wish!” snapped back Ron.
“Oh, great comeback.” said Shego. “I thought I was the one just learning to fight?”
Wow, Shego’s really getting the hang of sarcasm. though Kim.
Ron lashed out with a punch to Kim’s chest, even as Felix tried to leg sweep Shego.
Shego leapt straight up, over the leg sweep. Kim grabbed Ron’s arm and twisted, sending Ron hurtling through the space Shego had just been in. Shego landed lightly on all fours, even as Ron collided with Felix.
“Hey, foul!” complained Ron, struggling to get up. “Shego can jump way high because she’s a robot!”
“A true warrior does not complain that his opponent is too strong.” said Sensei, from where he was watching the fight. “A true warrior learns how to turn his opponent’s strengths into weaknesses.”
“Besides.” said Kim. “You don’t hear me complaining about Felix’s enhancements, do you? He can jump and kick just as hard as Shego can.”
“She’s got you there.” said Felix, getting to his feat. He bounced on his heals a bit, making sure the lower body exoskeleton was functioning. “Ready for round two?”
“The Ron-man is always ready!” said Ron. “I’ve got the mad fu skills.”
“Mad, yes.” said Shego. “Kung fu? I’m not seeing it.”
Ron lashed out with a punch/high-kick combo. Shego dodged the punch, but the kick surprised her, knocking her back. Reacting out of a desire to protect her persocom, Kim reached out and grabbed Ron’s uplifted leg.
Felix leapt toward Kim, taking advantage of the extra power his legs gave him. Shego pounced, knocking Felix away from Kim.
“Um, Hi KP…” said Ron, trying to figure out how to get his ankle out of Kim’s grip.
“Ron? Say hi to the mat.” said Kim. Smirking, she gave Ron’s foot a shove, sending the blonde hair boy sprawled on the ground. Before Ron could get up, Kim dropped on top of Ron, one hand raised to strike at his exposed neck.
“I give! I give!” said Ron, hastily.
Kim turned to see if Shego needed any help. Felix and Shego had squared off. Felix had a size advantage, his legs a little longer then Shego’s. However, while he could deliver super powered kicks, Shego could deliver kicks AND punches with equal force. By a mix of ducking and blocking Felix’s kicks, Shego was forcing the taller boy to back up. Felix tried a leg-sweep/high-kick combo, figuring Shego would leap high again. This time, Shego back stepped from the leg sweep, then grabbed Felix’s foot on the high kick.
“Felix? Say hi to the mat.” said Shego, and shoved Felix’s foot to send the semi-paralyzed teen to his back. She pounced on Felix, exactly duplicating the move she had seen Kim use.
“Very good!” said Sensei. “Shego and Kim, I am seeing great improvement in both of you… especially when you fight side by side. It almost seems as if you two were destined to fight together. Felix… like usual, you rely too much on your lower body. Your hands and arms may only be flesh and blood, but they are weapons also. And, Ron…”
“Yes, sensei?” said Ron, getting up to his feet.
“Don’t joke around so much.” said Sensei. “Also, stop holding back.”
“Sensei, look…” said Ron. “I don’t like the idea of hurting people…”
Sensei suddenly lashed out, punching and kicking at Ron.
Kim and Shego watched as Ron managed to block or dodge most of the blows, only a few getting through. Sensei stopped, smiling. “THAT is the monkey master I know.” he said.
Shego and Kim showered in the same stall, after class.
“I am improving, yes?” said Shego, wanting Kim’s approval.
“Totally.” said Kim. “It took me months to figure out how to take Felix down… those legs of his give him a real edge. Ron, on the other hand… his defensive skills are amazing, but if you can goad him into an attack then he’s easy to beat.”
Kim took the bottle of strawberry scented shampoo she liked and began washing Shego’s hair. “So… what do you think of me in combat?” asked Kim.
Shego tilted her head a little, as Kim ran her hands through Shego’s long, black hair… Shego relaxed into the sensation of her mistress’s fingers in her scalp. “You are a very good fighter, Kim… but a little undisciplined. You do not always use moves Sensei has taught us.”
“I’ve dabbled in a lot of martial arts.” said Kim, defensively. “And I saw you using some of my moves just then.”
“Yes. Undisciplined does not mean bad.” said Shego. “It makes you… more unpredictable to your opponent. On the other hand, you tend to rely on knowing what an opponent has done before. I have noticed when we fight against each other, I have most success when I do things you do not expect.”
“That’s true of any fight.” said Kim. She frowned. “I’m not that bad… am I?”
“No, Kim.” said Shego, trying to reassure the girl. “I am just trying to help.”
“Ok, time to rinse your hair.” said Kim.
“May I wash your hair now? Please?” asked Shego, even as she ducked under the warm spray of water to wash her own hair clean.
Ron stood waiting by the dojo doors, dressed in a red shirt and a pair of jeans. His persocom, Rufus, stood on his shoulder. “Hey, KP… Shego. What took you two so long?” he asked.
“Hi!” squeaked Rufus.
Kim blushed. “Um… Shego and I had a little trouble in the shower.”
“But you have hair down there also.” pointed out Shego. “Shouldn’t that area be washed also?”
“Shego, people don’t talk about those areas in public.” said Kim, her face reddening to match her hair.
“Underarms?” asked Ron, fortunately for Kim clueless.
“Something like that.” said Kim.
“Anyway, you ready to go back to Wade’s place?” said Ron.
“Are you sure he’s not mad about what Shego did to his computer?” asked Kim.
“Relax.” said Ron. “He’s cool… he knows Shego didn’t mean it. And he’s got a great idea how to find out some more about Shego.”
The hover bus ride went well, except Kim wishing she could afford a hovercar. Better not wish for a car… she decided. I wished for a persocom, and looked what happened? Sure, Shego’s great and all, but there’s still so much about her I don’t understand.
A female persocom, in the shape on a young adult woman dressed in a skin tight ninja outfit, opened the gates for Kim and Ron. Her hair, cat ears, and tail were all jet black, and she had a sword strapped to her back. “Greetings. This one is named Cat-ana.” she said. “It will be my honor to escort you to Master Wade.” She bowed to Kim, Ron, and Shego.
“Where’s Kitten?” asked Kim, curious.
“Kitten-San is recharging.” said Cat-ana, gesturing to where the young-girl persocom could be seen, curled up in a sunny patch of the garden.
Cat-ana led the group into a room with several large holo-screens built into the walls. In the middle of the room was a bed, with a metal headband attached to it.
“Hi, guys.” said Wade. “Thanks, Cat-ana.”
Cat-ana bowed to Wade. “It is this one’s great honor to serve you, master Wade.”
“Hey, Wade, what’s your plans today?” asked Ron.
“This is a VR system.” said Wade, patting the mattress. “It allows me to see what Shego’s reactions are to certain situations. In addition, it’ll allow me to monitor her stream of directive consciousness.”
“Her what?” asked Kim, cautiously.
“Stream of directive consciousness.” repeated Wade. “Every persocom operates under a set of directives. Directives like ‘Don’t hurt humans’, ‘Obey orders from my owner’, that sort of thing.”
“And snooze in the sun, in Kitten’s case.” said Cat-ana.
“Right.” said Wade. “Since Shego apparently can hurt humans… at least, to the level of causing bruises in a fight… then her directive set is apparently unique. By monitoring the stream, we can see when a directive becomes active.”
“This won’t hurt her, will it?” asked Kim, cautiously.
“Relax, Kim.” said Wade. “I know precisely what I’m doing. Nothing can go wrong.”
“Ok… Shego, lay down on the bed.” said Kim.
Shego laid down obediently on the mattress, then grabbed and cuddles Kim’s hand.
Kim blushed. “Um, Shego, what are you doing?”
“When you are laying in bed, you always cuddle me or Pandaroo.” said Shego.
“Shhh!” hissed Kim.
“Hey, you still sleep with your stuffed toy?” said Ron, smiling.
“And you still sleep in Fearless Ferret PJs.” snapped Kim.
“Good point.” admitted Ron. “Carry on.”
Kim extricated her hand, while Wade fastened the headband in place.
Two holo-screens activated. One showed a view of Shego standing in a large, empty white room. She turned her head, looking around.
On the other holo-screen, appeared green text.
New location.
Search location for: main user, threats, exits
Search items not found.
“Ok.” said Wade. “Let’s try her commands. Kim, say ‘Command help’. “
“Command help” repeated Kim obediently.
Main user voice print confirmed.
Shego began to speak. “SHE/GO Help. Valid commands are Help, Unlock, Safety, Interface, Status, Upload, and Shut Down. For help with an individual command, state ‘Command Help’ followed by the command name.”
“Hmm…” said Wade. “I haven’t found any information on ‘Shego’ or ‘She’ on the net, but there was a rumor about a ‘GO project’ involving persocoms and Global Justice. Let’s try unlock.”
“Shego, Command unlock.” said Kim.
Main user voice print confirmed.
Plasma generation units online.
High power runs online.
Hex-ion power pack set for maximum power discharge.
Full combat protocols online.
Iniating targeting protocols.
Search locations for: threats, targets
Search items not found.
Kim stepped back, startled, as Shego’s hands begin glowing bright green.
“That’s weird.” said Wade. “I’ve never heard of any persocom having ‘targeting protocols’… sounds like some sort of weapon system.”
He typed something onto a keyboard.
On the holo-monitor, an image of a menacing looking figure appeared in front of Shego. He raised a gun, pointing it at the image of Shego.
Possible threat detected.
Targeting.
The figure pulled the trigger. The holo-image of Shego twisted, dodging the bullet, but making no move to attack the man.
“Hmm…” said Wade. He typed again, and Kim gasped as a holo image of herself formed on the monitor.
The figure on the screen turned, pointing his gun at Kim.
Directive from Porter’s AELP: PROTECT KIMMY!
Shego on the monitor yelled, thrusting her hands at the gun-weilding figure. Shego, on the bed, fired blasts of plasma from her hands. The plasma flew through the lab, blasting two holes in a monitor on the other side of the lab.
Cat-ana reacted swiftly, pulling Wade behind her with one hand while her other hand drew her sword. She stood between Wade and Shego, watching the girl nervously.
“It’s ok, Catana!” said Wade, hastily. “End simulation!”
The monitor showing Shego, Kim, and the intruder went blank.
Wade coughed. “Ok, Kim, could you please tell Shego to go to Safety mode?”
“Shego, command safety.” said Kim.
Main user voice print confirmed.
Plasma generation units offline.
High power runs offline.
Hex-ion power pack set for standard use.
Full combat protocols offline.
Targeting protocols offline.
Shego’s hands stopped glowing. Wade moved over and lifted the headband. The persocom blinked and sat up on the bed, looking around.
“Ok, so Shego has some, like, freaky powers.” said Ron.
“This is ridiculous… who’d make a weapon out of something that looks like a little girl?” demanded Kim.
Ron pointed at Shego. “That thing is a cornucopia of disturbing concepts.” he said firmly.
“Hey, don’t talk to my Shego like that!” said Kim defensively. She sat down next to Shego, putting an arm around her. The pale skinned persocom smiled and leaned against Kim.
“Well, we’ve definitely learned some stuff.” said Wade, looking at the list of the command prompts. “This bit looks extremely interesting.”.
Wade pointed at the line ‘Directive from Porter’s AELP: PROTECT KIMMY!’. “That does NOT look like any standard command… it called Kim ‘Kimmy’, instead of ‘main user’ like the other commands do.”
“What’s this AELP?” asked Ron.
“I don’t know.” admitted Wade. “It’s obviously something to do with her main processor… and at the primary command level. But we have a name now… ‘Porter’.”
“The only Porter I know is my land lord.” said Kim.
“Oh, come on, Kim.” said Ron. “What are the odds your landlord has anything to do with your persocom?”
Wade began typing swiftly on a keyboard. “Ok… there’s a V. F. Porter who a few years ago was working on some revolutionary ideas for persocoms… ways to make them more ‘human’ in their thought processes.”
“A few years ago?” said Kim. “What happened?”
“No one knows.” said Wade. “Apparently, she got involved with some secret government project and she hasn’t posted any new information to the net. Just a minute, I’ll call up her holo.”
“Computer geek.” said Ron. “Watch, she’ll be buck-toothed, wear glasses, probably a hundred pounds overweight, and never leave her room.”
Ron became aware that Catana was glaring at him… and still had her sword out.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with being a geek and overweight!” said Ron, hastily.
In the middle of the room appeared an image of a smiling, very attractive woman… wearing a tight fitting mini-skirt, crop top, and a lab coat wore open.
“That IS my land lord!” gasped Kim in shock.
“Computer geeks RULE!” said Ron.