Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kim Possible
Expiration, Pudding and Plums
By: Imyoshi
Boom!
Shego's quick on her feet, racing toward the destination of the eruption, passing the caught-off-guard henchmen without pause or conformation. Her magazine and nail filer lie forgotten on the floor, overshadowed with a million-and-one scenarios of what-ifs. Explosions were meant for Miss Goody-Goody Two-Shoes and her spineless sidekick, not Dr. D's currently working lab, especially ones that shook the very foundation of their lair. Trouble must've paid them an underhanded visit. She silently hoped it hadn't stayed too long.
Shego's not one to blink in fear's direction. She never felt fear for herself, only others, or other if she's being truly dishonest. As idiotic and wacked as Drakken was, he was, without a doubt, not including her idiot brothers, the only person she felt safe enough to sleep with both eyes closed.
He's too harmless and trusting for anything else.
She quickly found the door to his lab—wasn't too hard with the metal sheets bent from the magnitude of the explosion—and dipped her head in, only to step back when a barrage of smoke pelted her face. Still, she waved it away to step into Drakken's lab, calling out in hopes he was alright and not dead.
"Dr. D! Dr. D! Can you hear me?"
Coughing alerted her toward a pile of debris. She could see a hand waving over her direction. "Over here, Shego! I'm stuck underneath all this junk! Get it off of me!"
Glad he was safe; Shego sighed and glared with a predatory grin. "What?" she snorted. "Got tired of the princess kicking your butt and decided to save her the effort?"
"Ha-ha!" Drakken growled from underneath the pile. "Very funny! Now get this off of me! My leg's starting to cramp!"
Rolling her eyes, Shego reached down to move junk out of the way. "Hold your horses, I'm on it. Don't have such a cow."
Spending the next minute removing various materials off from Drakken's person, eventually, the sidekick managed to remove enough material for Drakken to push himself out. Standing up, Drakken brushed debris off his lab coat, back turned to his sidekick. A quick sigh of irritation and grumbling was all the warning Shego received before the mad doctor turned around to address her, movement faster and voice suddenly more crisp. It's moments like these that made working for Drakken all the worthwhile. And when he glared her way, she found her voice missing and the bar on the weirdness scale scaling high to the nine-levels.
When he noticed her odd, passive staring, Drakken fumbled in place. "What? What are you looking at, Shego? Is there something on my face?"
Shego felt the need to answer his ridiculous question with a quick pinch to his cheek. Of course the blue idiot slapped her hand away, thinking it all one mocking gag sidekicks loved to play, but instead of her usual smirk, it's replace with intense curiosity. Now the mad scientist was prone to anger and confusion.
"Shego, what's—?!"
"Shut up..." she ordered, reaching out once more. Her eyes were narrowed in a scientific way. "Stop talking and let me see. Just shut up."
Drakken obeyed, obediently allowing Shego to reach out and grab his skin. The lack of her usual sass had more than made him shut up, intent to letting his sidekick fumble with the question at hand. He's scared—terrified even. Shego being so serious always meant something drastic had happened, or was going to happen. It appeared with whatever she was observing had to do with the former. And when she pinched his blue-skin a second time, she pulled with intent to see how hard she could manage. Then, and only then, did Drakken notice a usual property of skin.
His skin was tightly bounded and smooth—like a younger man.
Flicking her hand away, he rubbed his chin, feeling the smooth texture of young skin underneath his fingertips. A quick thought and conclusion later and Drakken's piecing together what happened in his lab, chalking it up as occupational hazard.
"Ah, my rejuvenator must've malfunctioned? A short-circuit in my lab must've caused an electrical discharge that backlashed with the processor and overloaded the circuits?" The mad-scientist in him shrugged at the dilemma. "These things happen. There's nothing else to do but clean-up now. Would you please help me pick up the scarp around the lab—?"
Shego's up in Drakken's calm face before he could finish that sentence, face distorted into something akin of immense confusion and unrivaled determination. She's like a fierce lioness, trapping her dumbfounded prey in a strangle hold.
"Whoa! Whoa! Time out, doc! What do you mean, ah, my rejuvenator must've malfunctioned?" Shego demanded with a dramatic shake of her hands. "You better spill! What the heck's a rejuvenator? And why did you turn you into... that?"
Blinking, Drakken looked around the floor and then held up the remains of his device, sighing at its destruction, one of his better inventions if someone asked him. Shaving off a few years off a person's lifespan did break the laws of Mother Nature and general rules of science, and Drakken was a stickler for poking Mother Nature with a stick while dancing madly around science's supposedly limitations. Nonetheless, he held up the device for her to see.
"Its purpose is to de-age the body. It can increase collagen production and replace old cells with new ones. Essentially, its main function is to replace all my old cells and tighten up my skin to a set age." Drakken grumbled, rubbing his cheek. His eyes narrowed in concentration. "Judging by my complexion... I'd have to say I'm around twenty-seven years old, maybe less, maybe more. I could never tell the difference. And it's impossible to know since the rejuvenator's command matrix is fried."
Opening her mouth, Shego quickly closed it, arms stiffly crossed. She raised her hand a few times, only to lower it again, completely muted by the backlash of Drakken's easy-going answer. She did this for all but a minute before poking her boss roughly in the chest, eyes quickly turning fierce.
"Let me see if I got this right. You, Dr. Drakken, had a device that could make you younger?" Drakken silently nodded, unsure of her point. Shego just counted to ten before finishing. "You had an invention like that lying around, and never thought of telling me about it?"
Now her boss fired back. "Telling you? Why in blasted science would I tell you? It's just a rejuvenator, not some weather-machine or earthquake generator!"
Shego smiled in a bittersweet way, shaking the madman in anger. "Yea! Those other two inventions you just mentioned? Forget it about them! They're useless compared to the rejuvenator!" Taking a deep breath, Shego had to ask. "So where'd you steal it from? Do they have more?"
He snorted. "Please, Shego! I'm a scientist!"
When she figured out what he meant, she practically screamed. "You made it! You're telling me you made that?" He remained silent, fearful of her sudden wrath! "If you had that under your control, then why are you so hell bent on taking over the world?"
He glared, fist bawled. "You know why, Shego! I'm going to show the world what a genius I am! And nothing says that better than holding the world hostage with an iron-fist!"
She threw her palms out. "Okay! Rephrasing the question! Why are you so hell bent on taking the world so soon? You practically have forever to plan and invent! Why not plan and build in secret? It's not like you had to worry about aging!"
Drakken crossed his arms. "Because!"
"Because what?" He said nothing. It didn't take long for Shego to figure out why. "Oh my—you're impatient, that's why?"
Being younger gave Drakken one heck of a backbone. "I hate waiting, okay! I want to make everyone pay now! Is that so wrong?"
She pinched her nose. Her emotions flared. And her anger brewed deep in her underbelly. Shego was a ticking time-bomb of outburst just waiting to explode. Of course it was wrong. So wrong! Hadn't he heard of slow and steady winning the race? Why rush things when aging was no longer a factor to constantly worry over? Even he had to understand that.
No.
Shego knew he understood that. Only problem was that her boss was impatient, like an overgrown child. He wanted the world on a silver-platter, and he wanted it now. Drakken didn't do waiting. But Shego's more than willingly to play her cards right. She knew when to strike and when to hide. And Drakken's weapon was the perfect weapon needed to rob the world blind three times over. She just needed to find a way to get him on-board with such an idea.
Blowing out an air of uneasiness, Shego picked up the remains of the rejuvenator and pushed it into Drakken's confused hands, tone defiant. Stubborn pride was buried ten feet under. A real, dishonest chance to take over the world and live forever was presented to her, and she'd be damned not to capitalize on it. Forget stubborn pride and idiotic schemes.
Glorious eternal youth was within her grasps.
"Can you build another one?"
He didn't appreciate being challenged. "What kind of question is that, Shego? Of course I can build another one! I made it! Have a little bit more faith in me."
Leaning forward, Shego poked his younger chest. "So you think you could make another one so I can stay young?" Shego's never been one to beat around the bush. "Being eternally young sounds like the perfect party. And with all the time in the world, you can plan and build while I steal supplies."
The prospect sounded alluring, but Drakken wasn't so sure. "I'm not so sure, Shego. Playing around with the Laws of Nature is almost as bad as messing around with the space-time continuum."
Drakken's being impossible. Well, she's game. He just needed some incentive and some slight nudging in the right direction. Playing around with the fabric of the universe? Please! They're evil! Challenge accepted! For as long as she could remember, Shego's main goal in life was to live life to the fullest, because life was considered too short for anything less. But now she's being presented with an opportunity to live forever! Pure science fiction stood before her, and it happened to be wrapped up like a blue-skinned, numskull that she felt safe around.
Safe.
Shego loved feeling safe.
She always considered it a fleeting emotion, one that would eventually outlive her as being a villain left no room for that feeling to fester and grow. Now, now she knew there was a chance to seize it and make it her own. And her feeling of safety just so happened to come from Dr. Drakken. Dropping her guard around the mad scientist could be considered dastardly to her health, but it could also prove beneficial and maybe even something more.
And she really wanted to live forever.
Stepping up, Shego slyly rested her palm across his chest. "You know, I never noticed how fit and evil you look, Drew. This younger body really suits you."
Drakken huffed, not that dumb. "You're just trying to flirt with me in order to save your own skin. Like the time you let Kim Possible steal my body when I switched places with what's his face?"
"You betcha."
He's caught-off-guard by her forwardness. "Nevertheless, I will not be tempted by your female charms."
Shego grinned with her teeth showing. "Yes you will. Because we both know you want me around. So why not make it interesting?" She jumped up on his workbench, claws out. "C'mon, what are you scared about, blue boy? Afraid I'll bite? Hn? Maybe you're afraid of going green?"
Drakken began to back away, remembering a certain modulator incident. "Now Shego, let's talk about this."
She crawled after him, luring him toward his personal bedroom. By the time Drakken figured out where he was his back was pressed to the wall, unable to escape Shego's advances. Before he so much as made a sound, she stood up and pushed inside his room, locking the whoosh door right with a telltale click. Then somewhere along the lines, green fabric met the floor with tight-skinned bodies of blue and green meshed together in a battle for dominance.
Like she said, he's too harmless and trusting for anything else, but the sidekick could make do.
...
The years slowly began to pass. Shego managed to convince Drakken to make another rejuvenator. Duh! And that feeling of safety always hovered over her shoulder in a good way. And she learned that she enjoyed Drakken's witty banter as the years passed. Not to mention a few other perks, but her favorite pastime was watching him work in silence, after she convinced him to take his time plotting his next take-over-the-world scheme that was.
Shego learned two things about working with a younger Drakken. A younger Drakken was calm and precise, one that's probably not so hell bent on taking over the world to prove their intelligence, since the burden of age wasn't lingering over their shadow like a bad plague. Also, he looked surprisingly good with a slimmer jawbone and more focused set of devilish eyes. Not to mention his hair was spikier and fuller, adding to the already existing villain look.
The other thing she learned was actually how smart her geek really was. Sure, he acted idiotic at all times throughout the day, but Drakken really was a step ahead the current generation. The passing years barely showed an improvement in technology in the outside world, but within their underground lair, machines constantly got an overhaul with upgrades and advancements. The blue fool had just needed to learn patience in order to get his creations working. That way proved better since he never skipped steps or cut corners.
Of course this also meant they had to live off the grid, cutting all contact with the world, including the other super villains of the world. Neither Shego nor Drakken minded too much. Cutting ties just meant fewer headaches to worry about. But this also meant Shego had to be stealthier in her heist operations, but it would all be worth it in the future. And the more days that passed with them going unnoticed, the easier it was for the world to forget all about them.
Perfect for the far future where they could launch an attack on the unsuspecting world of tomorrow.
...
Kim Possible lived a long life. She saved the world countless times and received many medals over the years, including the Nobel Peace Prize. She lost Ron early in her life when he sacrificed his life for hers, dying in an explosion meant for her. The bitter memory still made her cry till this day. She hoped wherever his soul ended up, it ended up in a happy place. Maybe when she passed, she'd get to finally reconnected with his. God, she hoped so.
Occasionally, she had other flashbacks of her youth, but Alzheimer's affected her memory here and there. Some things she remembered, others she couldn't recall for the life of her. The people running the hospital talked behind her back, not knowing the once-hero could still hear the dropping of a pin. They pitied her. And if there was one thing Kim Possible hated most of all, it was pity. But she ignored them. Grudges were so beneath her. And some things were simply too unimportant to pout over.
In all, she lived a long-lasting life. And now she spent her final moments in a hospital bed with machines attached to her old body, keeping her going just a while longer. Past and present family had come and gone, visiting the bag of bones with smiles and happiness. And really, for a relic like her, that was all a ninety-six year could hope for. Her time could come any day now, and the hero girl was more than ready for it.
Sighing, she turned her head toward the adjacent window, glancing curiously at the storm brewing in the horizon. The dark clouds lurking in the overshadowed reminded her of first old-time nemesis Dr. Drakken. Till this day, no one, including her, knew what happened to deranged scientist and his snippy sidekick. Drakken and Shego just disappeared one day. They totally went under the radar. Gone! Like smoke in the wind.
She had expected them to make an appearance for years, a grand finale for all their take-over-the-world schemes, but they never did. Part of her wondered if their lair had collapsed on them, killing them in some unknown region, a mystery that the great Kim Possible never solved.
Turing her head, Kim stared at the plasmas screen in front of her, wondering if The Sunset Before the Hill was playing, but her thoughts were ripped from her when the screen turned off. She tried to reach for the nurse call remote, but it was swiped out of her reach by a green glove. And before she managed to blink, a cooing, slicker than velvet voice, sprung from her side and alerted her to its presence.
"Hey there, Princess, been a while, huh? Man! Look at you! Talk about wrinkles and grey hair! Father Time must've beaten you twice as hard with a stick? Hate to be you right now."
Gasping, Kim glanced over to the window to see her long-forgotten rival sitting on the window, dangling the call remote between her sharpened fingers. Shego didn't look a day over twenty-five, picture-perfect smirk still ever present on her greenish toned skin. The only thing different was her trademark jumpsuit, it was suited with combat boots and her gloves extended further up her arms, stopping half-way to her shoulders. Her hair's still styled the same way and she retained her color palate, but that only left more questions than answers.
On reflex, Kim glared. "Shego!"
Shego merely smirked broader. "Ah! There's that trademark pumpkin glare of yours. Cute." She stepped inside, pushing Kim down. "Please, please, don't try to get up just for little old me, Princess! Don't want you breaking your hip! I insist!"
Kim couldn't find the right words to say, and she's more preoccupied with the fact that Shego was not only alive, but young, if not younger than the last time she saw her. Her trained eyes glared as she watched Shego inspect the room with a villainess eye, eventually swiping her desert from off her tray.
"Eck! This pudding's plum flavored? And get this, it's expired!" One sniff was all it took for Shego to toss the food onto the floor. "This is gruel they feed you? This is how everyone treats their hero? I don't know whether to laugh or feel bad for you. Being old must tank? Am I right?"
Kim remained mute, hatred on full alert now. A tiny part of hoped that Shego might've turned out different, but now she could see that she was still rotten to the core. The vestige sidekick must've noticed this, because she burned the remains of the pudding cup with a blast of plasma. Then, to add up the weirdness scale, she hoped onto Kim's bed with a lack of easiness.
"I know what you're asking yourself..." Shego humphed cheekily, taunt full force. "Shego's alive? And how does she still look so young? I thought you died. And yadda-yadda-yadda we get it!" She laughed quietly. "Well, to answer your question, let's just say not all of Drakken's inventions turned out to be totally useless. Trust me, you'd be amazed with what he's been working on lately, but that's a secret, so don't go telling anyone—!"
"What do you want?"
Shego pouted, pleased to still some life in her former rival. "What? Can't old enemies visit one another for old times' sake?" Kim glared. "You're right, we can't. I really came here to gloat. Must stink being you, all old and junk? But I gotta admit you outlived your warranty."
"So this was your rival, mom? She's kind of... old?"
Erasing her glares, both the women turn to stare at the third intruder, a teenager entering the same window as the same one Shego hoped through. He had cold eyes meant to freeze fear into his victims.
Shego, however, smirked, toddling with the nurse remote. "Yea, she is, ain't she?"
Her son looked disapprovingly at her. "Ain't isn't a word, mom. You know that."
Shego got up and ruffled up her son's hair before pinching his cheek extra, extra hard. "Hush, William. Can't you see I'm gloating? Come over here and meet your mother's old punching bag." She turned to Kimmie with a simple eye roll. "And yes, this brat's mine, well, mine and Drakken's anyways."
Like Shego needed to tell Kim that. The once powerful girl could see the resemblance a mile away.
Shego's son William had inherited Drakken's bluish tint, only less obscure than his father's. If anything, he's closer to Hego's shade of skin, only evil and defined like the mad scientist in the way he held himself. The spiky hair of Drew was noticeable in the way his locks swerved straight down, but the sharpness in his eyes was all Shego's. Not to mention, he had a figure that was lither than Drakken's, closer to his mother's. And then there were those eyes of his, taunting her weakened body with distaste and an air of superiority.
He was all evil.
"I know... he makes me so proud!" Shego grabbed her son and crushed him into a purposely embarrassing hug.
"Mom!" William whined, sounding more like Drakken. "Let me go! Not in front of your enemy!"
She hummed for a moment, considering her son's plight, before pinching his cheek a second time. "Fine! Fine! Make yourself useful and go fetch your father! It's time we blow this pop stand."
"Only old people say blow this pop stand anymore, mom."
"I said mush!" William grumbled and jumped out the window, saying something not even Shego could hear. It earned another eye roll from the villainess mother. "Kids, they make you feel like you're ninety, am I right?" Kim said nothing. Shego sighed and then grinned. "Well, it's been fun, Kimmie, but we have an unsuspecting world to rule, should be fun without you and your dumb sidekicks to wreck it all."
Shego smirked and handed her decrepit rival back her remote. With a final salute that's nothing but villainess, Shego jumped out into the stormy night, floating up moments later in an advanced hovercraft that's piloted by none other than Doctor Drakken. The nearly forgotten scientist actually took pity on her and had the audacity to appear magnanimous, but that only lasted so long. Soon enough, that very true and blue villainess smile of his burned into her fading memory, a permanent smudge on her almost-perfect life.
"Goodbye, Kim Possible! You think you're all that, but you're not!"
Moments later, Kim signaled for the orderlies, and they entered the room to find a frantic hero with a tale fit for the ages. She tried to tell about the experience she had with an apparently ageless Shego and Dr. Drakken, two people that disappeared over eighty years ago, footnotes in history in their own right. But one look at her chart said more than enough for the confused nurses and the distraught hero.
No one believed her.
Author Notes: I miss this fandom. My New Year's resolution: It's time for me to catch-up on my Fruit Basket series and finally finish it.
