Gemini looked up from the flash report that had just been handed to him by Chi, his union go-between.
“Am I reading this correctly?”
“Yessir” Theta replied. “I've never seen anything like it. A recall order was issued to all union members currently in his employ. Hench even REFUNDED the portion of fees he's already paid for the year.”
Chi leaned over the desk and flipped the report to another section.
“You can see here “ he indicated “that Senior broke the Samarkand Agreement when he employed a nerve gas attack against Drakken, Shego, and Shego's new attache…” Chi trailed off. He wasn't going to say the name after what had happened to Sigma.
“The Crimson Shadow” Sheldon growled.
Chi nodded and continued. “Under the terms of the Agreement, all evil overlords and their organizations are to render reasonable aid to the victims and deny any to Senior. I was told only a few minutes ago that the few survivors would be arriving here any time now.”
Sheldon grunted. He didn't like keeping potential threats around any longer than absolutely necessary. Drakken he could handle quite easily and Shego could be…persuaded financially. This Crimson Shadow on the other hand, was a completely unknown factor. Even his moles within GJ hadn't been able to come up with any information on this mysterious person.
They were so engrossed looking at the footage of the smoldering ruins of Drakken's lair that Kim had no trouble sneaking into his private office and seating herself on the couch across the dimly lit room.
Gemini's sixth sense told him that they were no longer alone. His head snapped up just in time to catch a flicker of something small being tossed at him from across the room. His hand reflexively shot out and caught it. He looked down.
The matte finish of the Zippo had a stylized red flame. He smiled and struck the flame, watching in amusement as the color rapidly became dark red.
“So, what brings the mysterious Crimson Shadow to my lair?”
A cold chuckle came from the dark outline sitting on his couch.
“Why don't you tell your little greek letter to run along Sheldon? We have a few things to discuss.”
Gemini shivered suddenly. Outside of his sister and one or two other people, no one knew his true name. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
“Chi that will be all. Make sure to tell Kappa he has a day's head start for his failure as head of security.”
Kim stood and began to saunter across the room.
“What's troubling you Gemini? You look like you've seen a ghost.”
Sheldon was indeed sweating. The voice was tickling memories that just wouldn't quite come back, but he knew this was no rank amateur.
Kim finally stepped into the circle of light the lone fixture threw into the office.
“YOU! It cannot be you!” Gemini shouted. His chair flew backwards as he jumped to his feet to run. Hands slammed into his shoulders, chopping him to his knees. His eyes bulged in true fear…he hadn't seen her move!
“Calm down Sheldon “ Kim whispered quietly into his ear “I'm just here for some information. I get that, I'll leave. Be nice and I'll even consider never coming back.”
She wrenched him around to face her.
“Be naughty…well, you don't really want to know what happens if you're naughty, do you?”
Sheldon stared into the cold, merciless green eyes and flinched. He shook his head.
Professor Dementor stepped from his private jet into the hangar of his latest lair to find…nothing, nothing but silence and a darkness broken only by a few solitary lights. He stood at the bottom of the ramp in puzzlement, jamming his personal bodyguards from debarking.
“Hans, Franz, Lichtenstein. Spread out and report. Leave the dachshunds with me in the plane” he whispered.
Dementor retreated to the top of the gangway and spoke a quick word to the pilots.
He whirled back to the hangar, hearing the sounds of a scuffle coming from the darkness. Something rolled into one of the pools of light. Hans, unconscious. He heard a grunt to his left and another bodyguard slid into view. Lichtenstein, unconscious. He broke into a sweat. A third scuffle ensued and the limp form of his final bodyguard, Franz, fell on top of Hans.
Dementor slapped the mechanism to begin closing the automated hatch as he shrilled to the pilots “GO!”.
His world went black before he finished turning from the door.
Dr. Demetor carefully slit his eyes open. He had been awake for a short while, but had not made a move to show that fact.
He jumped nearly a foot in the air when a throat cleared noisily behind him and a soft contralto voice started.
“What did you build for Senior, Demenz? Du sprichst! Jetzt!”
Sweat poured down his forehead as he fought to sit upright and turn to face the woman behind him. The voice sounded familiar, but he could not quite place it…and her German was horrible.
“I do not know vaht you are talking about frau…”
An object sailed over his head and landed on his lap. His eyes widened.
“The Crimson Shadow? To what do I owe the honor of your visit?” He tried to sound pleasantly surprised. A snort from behind convinced him his ploy would never work.
“I don't have the patience for pleasantries today, Professor. I have very little time to waste with you, as I explained to Gemini when I spoke with him earlier. He was most helpful, once he understood that his cooperation was an important part of retaining his current lifestyle. He gave me the entire list of sources Senior used and offered his services, gratis, for however long I wished.”
Dementor swallowed hard and truly began to sweat. Gemini was above the bickering that usually went on in the “community”.
The voice continued.
“I had hoped you would have realized the value of cooperation after I gave you an excellent idea of my abilities when I took down your entire organization in the time it took you to fly back from Magdeburg. But no matter. I think a more direct approach is needed with you.”
He felt the shackles on his arms and legs suddenly let go and rolled to his feet, whirling to face his captor.
His eyes widened and his jaw worked. His mind refused to accept what his eyes beheld.
Blazing green eyes stabbed at him below an impressive mane of red hair. He felt his knees go weak and his legs begin to wobble.
“No. It cannot be. You are…you are…you cannot be…” he trailed off, eyes still locked on Kim as she slowly uncurled from her chair and began to stalk towards him.
“Last chance, Demenz. What did you build for Senior?”
The Professor's jaw worked, but no sounds would emerge. Suddenly, he gave out a yelp and fell backwards, landing with his back to the wall.
“Shego? This is about Shego? What are you…” The light went out in his eyes and his arms crossed in front of his face, making Kim have to lean in to hear what he said next.
“What have I done? If I had known, I would have never gone along with it. You have to understand!”
Kim reached down and grabbed him by his oversized lapels and pulled him up, feet dangling, his face to hers.
“What did you build for Senior?” She shook him for emphasis.
Demenz began laughing hysterically, babbling nonsense, and then moved into crying.
The unconscious men in the hangar never heard this, just as they never heard the screaming.
Eddy Lipsky had almost crawled entirely into the engine cavity of his latest community service project when he saw a pair of worn utility boots out of the corner of his eye.
“Yo, seriously, a guy needs some warning, seriously.” he muttered as he began worming his way out from under the hood of the school bus. Finally getting his balance, he saw that the owner had disappeared.
As he stood up, a flicker of an object coming towards him caused a reflex catching motion. He opened his palm and smiled.
“Seriously. Why're you coming here? Shouldn't you be with your seriously hot girlfriend? Seriously.”
The only response was a package sliding out of the darkness.
“Tell Mama Lipsky we…I did my best.” Eddie squinted into the darkness, surprised at the gravelly voice.
“Red, you okay? Seriously?”
He heard his door open and shut, but no response.
Dr. Director sat alone in the darkness of her office, eye closed, thinking.
Something was definitely going on out there, and for once, GJ didn't have people on the ground to find out what.
Kim Possible was out of action for the duration, recovering and retraining under the supervision of Wade Load. Her best freelance agent sidelined. The boys downstairs had voiced their concerns about her condition after Europe, but she had taken Wade's assurances and adopted a wait-and-see approach.
Drakken had dropped off the grid, apparently taking Shego with him. This normally would have qualified as a good thing, but it had been months with no activity. Had it been Drakken alone, she would never have assigned a section to get to the bottom of the disappearance. However, Shego was number one on the threat board. No word or sign could only mean trouble.
The arrival of the Crimson Shadow had sent shockwaves through both the good and evil communities. Her moles at HenchCo and in various evil organizations worldwide had uncovered absolutely nothing. No one, not a single person, seemed willing to talk about the mysterious new player. Whoever the Crimson Shadow was, they were the best that had been seen since Shego. Only the fact that he or she preferred thievery kept the Crimson Shadow off the 10 most wanted list.
To make matters worse, the remainder of the major criminal masterminds seemed to be disappearing.
She hadn't heard from her brother in almost a month. Usually, Gemini would call to gloat over some of his new toys. Her mole had only reported that he had tightened security and wouldn't leave his private offices.
Monkey Fist was last seen disappearing into the Congo. Duff Killigan, at last glance, was deeply involved in acquiring real estate, legally, on a south Pacific island, but had disappeared during a mapping trip.
Professor Dementor had never returned from his ancestral castle near Magdeburg in Germany.
Senor Senior Senior had dropped out of sight shortly following the disappearance of his son.
Her train of thought was broken by the quite footsteps of her current aide, Will Du.
“I asked to not be disturbed unless it was of vital importance Agent Du. What is it?” she asked, opening her eye to stare up at the young man.
Will, remarkably, didn't flinch.
“We just received this communique from Gemini. I quote: 'This situation is out of hand. How dare you send someone to terrorize me in the privacy of my own lair! You need to reign in the Crimson Shadow immediately.' “
Betty let the frost creep slowly into her expression. It was not lost on Will, who found a spot above her head and continued his report.
“We also received a report from a hospital in Innsbruck. Professor Dementor was delivered to their emergency unit late last week.”
Dr. Director shot bolt upright in her chair. Will stumbled, but continued.
“He showed signs of prolonged physical torture and was catatonic when admitted. He became semi-lucid yesterday.” He stopped and looked away from the paper.
Betty growled in frustration. “Spit it out! What is he saying now that he's lucid?”
“All he will say is that he didn't know what it was going to be used for, that he will do anything she wants just to make it stop, that he needs to be put into a GJ prison as soon as possible, and…”
Betty reached out and snatched the note, reading the final portion and seeing the small photograph taped to the bottom. She dropped it in horror a moment later, her whisper barely registering to Will's ears.
“Beware the Crimson Shadow, she seeks what has been taken. Fear her, for her wrath in undeniable in it's rage.”
The patient intake picture of Professor Dementor lay on her desk, the bruises covering his torso only highlighting the red splotches where his skin had been literally ripped from his body, his sightless eyes staring at something otherworldly.
She recovered quickly. Pressing her intercom, she began issuing orders.
“Clear the boards. All non-Alpha priority projects are on hold until further notice. The Crimson Shadow must be identified, found, and apprehended at all costs.”
Shego groaned and opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was the elevator doors opening on a squad of black-clad goons and Carter jumping into the fray a second before she had.
She experimentally twitched and found herself well secured to something. The way in which she was pulled didn't exactly give her the room to look around much.
The room was an odd orange color, with a mirrored wall. No chairs, at least that she could see, The faint drone of machinery gave her no additional clues to where she was being held.
She took a deep breath and noted the faint undertone of ozone, revealing the first clue to where she wasn't being held.
I'm not in a government facility. Strange.
A voice interrupted any further musings.
“Ah, Shego. You are awake. I take it that you understand what has happened, no?” Senior's voice was taunting as the monologue continued.
“I am disappointed that the opportunity you afforded my late associate went unrealized. One cannot find good help these days, even when one's self is involved. No matter. It has given me the time to…reflect…on my dilemma and improve the odds in my favor tremendously.”
The bindings holding her to the platform suddenly released her.
“You will find your current accommodations quite…secure.” An amorphous blob rose from the floor and settled into a chair-like shape. “Meanwhile,” the voice continued, “you will perhaps like to see a few short home movies? I think they will be most…educational…as to your current situation.”
With that, the lights dimmed and the mirrored wall sprung to life with what were obviously security camera footages…featuring Senior, Junior…and Kim.
Shego moved to the vertical crack she assumed was the door and began to hunt for the hidden access panel. Finding it, but no way to access the controls, she fired up in preparation of disabling the controls and forcing the doors.
“Ah ah ah, Shego, I would suggest that you return to your seat.”
Ignoring the voice, Shego let fly with a bolt of plasma. The resulting feedback blew her into the opposite wall.
Two more attempts, and a numb left arm, later, she gingerly sat down in the chair in front of the screen.
“Excellent choice Shego. Now we will continue”
Kim had finished the dishes right around the time Shego began telling her mother about waking up in Senior's “guest” accommodations after relating the reaction of GJ to her, lapse, with Dementor. She didn't miss how her mother's elbow twitched as she fought not to activate the device she held in a death-grip in her jacket pocket.
Sighing, she dropped into the chair next to her mother and reached into her pocket, eliciting a squeak when she tapped the nerve bundle that made Anne reflexively open her grip. Kim walked back around to Shego and offered it to her with both hands.
Shego slanted an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing, placing the thing on the table. She whispered into Kim's ear and smiled when she took off into the hallway leading to the back rooms.
When she heard a door shut, she started again.
“You might as well come back out to the living room and get comfortable.”
Theo looked out over the mountainous view afforded by the hovercraft and shook. Kim hadn't said a word to her since she tried talking to her about what had gone on when they visited Dementor's latest laboratory. Kim had been…driven…and looked it, after their brief stop at WEE headquarters.
But the look she sported when returning to the hovercraft after her latest visit was something she never expected to see, at least on Kim's face.
Kim looked like she was going to kill someone. Soon. Not even Shego could manage to look as murderous as Kim did now.
Shego watched as Kim broke into one of Senior's old hideouts, subdued the henchman, and confronted the Senior's. Senior had pressed a button, activating a smoke screen and disappeared through a trapdoor.
Junior had been standing in the wrong place and his trapdoor closed before he could reach it.
Shego grinned as Junior tried to put up a fight, knowing the outcome. She watched the fight progress and gave out a bark of pain as she watched Junior mis-time a move and end up connecting his privates with the upward sweep of Kim's backward flip kick.
The video didn't have sound, but the images spoke volumes to the pain. Junior's eyes crossed and he fell over, twitching.
She smiled. “You should submit that one to one of those funny video shows, it's a winner.”
The picture changed suddenly, to a grainy image of a medical unit. Doctor's were working furiously on a patient. Senior stood behind glass in the background. One physician looked up and shook his head. Senior bore down on his cane and broke it.
“Was that Junior?”
The view shifted again…to Junior, thinner and haggard, restrained in a bed in a room with two guards.
“Why is he restrained?”
The camera “bounced” and both guards were down. Junior posed for the camera, smiling.
Then he used one of the guards pistols to shoot himself in the chest.
Senior's voice came back on.
“Do you see? Do you see what that bitch did to MY son? She made him less than a man. He tried to commit suicide three times prior to what you saw because he could never be considered attractive to women again. Because of what she did to him. And do you know what, Shego?”
Shego was still processing the image of Junior shooting himself, so she said the first thing that came to mind.
“Couldn't even find his head?”
The sound of cursing and something hitting a wall came out of the hidden speakers.
“You will bring her here, where I will teach you both the meaning of loss.”
The chair blobbed outwards and covered her from neck to toes. She felt thousands of little legs skittering across her skin as her clothes dissolved.
She felt a tug, of sorts, and a drain began on her power. The mirrored wall withdrew into the floor and she could see the cables running from the platform she was on to the device.
Senior stood next to it.
A figure was brought into the chamber and strapped into the device. Senior made an adjustment that caused Shego to jump as the amount of energy being withdrawn increased.
“And now, Shego, witness what you will do to your precious Kim Possible.”
He threw the switch.
Shego's screams continued long after Senior's “volunteer” had died.