"Sweet or Sarcastic?"
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"All right, good job men, take a break! You'll find fresh squeezed lemonade and PB Stickies on the snack table!" Dr. Drakken shouted to the construction men on his small Caribbean island.
Even Dr. Drakken's broad shoulders paled in comparison as the gruff men came stumbling down from the machinery. They had taken up employment for the past two weeks and Dr. Drakken was enthusiastic to have them. Dressing the part, the mad scientist was sporting a bright yellow hard hat, a tool belt, Timberlands, and a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It was a harsh contrast to his usual blue lab coat and gloves.
He was rebuilding his favorite lair after it's demolition due to Kim Possible and, much to his chagrin, his ex-sidekick Shego. She had betrayed him after he had taken Warmonga under his wing in promise of the destruction of his teenage foe.
He scowled at the events. Shego had not only abandoned him in the cursed Cell Block D but she had gone so far as to aid Kim Possible in his ruin! His jaw set as he swore to never make that mistake again.
One of the larger men pointed towards the sea and mumbled a warning with a mouth full of cookies. Drakken squinted his eyes as he spotted a jet ski gaining on the island. Black tresses whipping in the wind revealed the identity of the rider.
"Look men, it's Benedict Shego!" He scornfully announced. The men exchanged glances and shrugged, oblivious to his meaning.
As her feet met land, Shego pulled off her helmet and shook her long hair out. Shedding herself of her life vest, she dropped it on the jet ski while striding forward towards the scientist.
"Yo Dr. D, ready for work," she stated simply. He responded with a cold glare. A few men in the back howled at the green beauty before being silenced with two stern sets of eyes.
He remained in a stony silent causing her to shift uncomfortably. "Did you not hear what I said? It's been like two weeks, I'm sure you've got plenty of techno-dealies for me to steal by now."
"Oh sure, I've got plenty of 'techno-dealies' to steal." Disdain laced every word, "With no help from you though. You're officially fired." He was as surprised by his statement as she was; yet as soon as the words left his chest he felt a strong sigh of relief.
Her eyes narrowed. Who did he think he was? She could've stayed in Greece with Midas for as long as she wanted, yet she chose to come back to work. Anger filled her as she advanced towards him.
"You can't fire me, you need me."
"Shego, Shego, Shego," he reprimanded, "Without you I came the closer to destroying Kim Possible than ever before. I clearly do not need you."
"That's only because you had an annoying alien." She felt he needed to be reminded of that small fact.
He fidgeted, she was right. Without Warmonga he'd never have gotten that close to victory. "Well, I, uhm… I can always just get a new alien!"
Shego scoffed at his response. "C'mon, let's just drop the act and just get back to work." The tired charade of his competence was wearing her nerves thin and she was eager to expend her fighting skills on a new scheme.
"I'm serious Shego, I've lost my trust for you. I've already turned the space for your quarters into a rumpus room for the new henchmen. And besides, I don't hire heroes." He smirked at his insult. He knew he would strike a nerve.
And sure enough a new rage filled her. "I am in no way a hero, Drakken. You know that." His personal attack had brought the argument to a new level. How dare he call her a hero?! Quite possibly the worst insult to someone who called herself a villain, she felt the ire she had subdued all those weeks at the spa bubble to the surface.
He chuckled at the anger written all over her face. "In my book, rescuing teen hero Kim Possible makes you a hero, isn't that right men?" He turned his back to Shego as he once again addressed the construction men. They only shrugged, utterly confused by the argument. "See? Everyone agrees. The once vicious villain Shego is back to being a… a good guy!"
She looked for the words to say but her tongue was choked up with a furious rage. And yet, soon that agitation subsided into the slow realization that Dr. Drakken was, in fact, right. She cursed her predicament.
Her actions hadn't been to harm Drakken's scheme, merely to hinder the alien's victory. Imagine some grotesque giant of a woman swooping in and being able to do what she hadn't in 4 years. It was something that vexed her more than he would ever know. And still she empathized with the man, had she been in his position she would've jumped at the opportunity to crush a foe.
Shego's shoulders dropped in a rare moment of defeat. Her eyes scoured the ground in an attempt to find of some flaw in his logic and yet she found none. A battle began in her mind.
Ultimately the underdog, her conscience, emerged victorious as she realized the step she would have to take.
The desperation in her voice was apparent, "What do you want me to do to make us ok again?"
He stopped in his tracks. With his back still turned to her he made his demands. "I want to hear you say 'it.'"
"Say what?"
"You know, starts with an 'S,' ends with an 'ORRY'"
She blanched. "Drew," using his real name to show the importance of her words, "You know I'm not capable of saying that."
"Well you better learn how to or get off my island." His back was still turned. The construction men watched on in interest.
"Ok, ok, ok," she pleaded as he started to walk off. She took a deep breath. I can do this, she thought to herself.
His ears were perked.
"Drakken, it was wrong of me not to come back for you after Junior broke me out… even though I was paid handsomely, and I mean really handsomely…" He grimaced.
Her voice softened as she continued. "And it was wrong to take out my… jealousy… on your scheme and help Kimmie." She paused, "But the worst was that I took you for granted."
Drakken raised an eyebrow at that comment and his harsh look yielded in surprise.
Shego focused on the ground as she continued on with this unprecedented event. "Because if 5 years of employment and even our weird, twisted brand of friendship isn't enough… than I don't know what is."
A few of the construction men wiped tears from their eyes.
"Drakken," She took a few steps forward, "I'm so-"
Dr. Drakken interrupted her. "You know, I really did build you a room."
He turned around to look at her with a small grin.
She smiled; she knew he had cut her off on purpose. "Yeah, I know," she replied gently.
And with that small and uncharacteristic act of kindness that had nearly sucked all the essential Shego-ness from her, she felt things between the two would return to their customary relationship.
The construction men fought off the urge to clap at the genuine moment they had just witnessed.
"I think that was the most sincere thing I've ever heard you say." He said with a confident grin.
And just as quickly the smile was wiped from his face. "Unless you were being sarcastic. Were you being sarcastic?! I never can tell!" He exclaimed in full panic mode.
She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Doc, I was being sincere."
He sighed a breath of relief, "Good."
She quickly caught herself. "But you better make this moment last blue boy, it's not happening again!"
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they made their way towards the unfinished lair.
"I'll give you a tour, we're building a bowling alley!"
"Sounds wonderfully unnecessary… and I'm not sure how I feel about the stubble," She commented on his unshaven face.
He frowned. "You don't think it makes me look muy macho?" He rubbed his chin. "You'd be surprised. Spending time with twelve behemoth men is quite different than spending all day with a violent green woman."
She took the hard hat off his head and put it on her own. "Yeah, what's up with that?"
"I don't know," he laughed, "I guess I'm just a green babe magnet," he exclaimed while puffing out his chest.
This was received with a swift punch in the arm, true to Shego nature.
"Eh heh… oww, Shego! Not cool!"
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Alternate titles:
Ends With an 'Orry'
Apologetically Set