Here is my entry for StormChaser90's Heebie Jeebie Hullabaloo Halloween Story Contest…
Disclaimer: Shego and Drakken are characters in the Kim Possible series, which is owned by a certain company with a certain mouse as a mascot…
What Shego Fears
"Umm… Drakken?" Shego nervously said to her blue-skinned employer as they walked in to the old mansion. "Are… you sure this is going to work as a lair? I mean… the place looks like it's falling apart."
"It's perfect Shego!" Dr. Drakken said as he twirled around in the main entrance, making his lab coat flare out a bit at the knees. "This old house has a huge basement, as well as a guest house in the back! The land outside is about twenty acres, and most of that is forest, hiding us from prying eyes… and I paid almost nothing for it!"
The green skinned woman scoffed. "I wouldn't say ten thousand is actually nothing… but is a pretty low price for the place." She ran a gloved finger over the surface of an armoire, leaving a trail in a coating of thick dust. "The place sure could use a cleaning, though."
"Plus the location is where Kim Possible's tech guru will never find us!" Dr. Drakken was positively giddy over the place he had just bought. "Why didn't I think of moving to Southern Louisiana before?"
Shego slapped herself of the face and then flicked something off her finger. "Maybe because of all the bugs?"
"All the place needs is a bit of bug spray and a good Spring Cleaning."
Another scoff came from the green-skinned woman. "More like a hundred gallons of spray, and it's almost the end of October."
"nnrrgghh… We'll call it a 'Fall Cleaning' then. Why are you putting down everything I try to do Shego?"
"I don't put down everything, Drew… but this place? Besides the fact that it's an old plantation in the middle of a Southern Louisiana swamp and close to where I read a witches coven used to reside about a hundred and fifty years ago… Yeah, I'm gonna say this might not have been a very smart purchase. Besides… did you see how fast that realty agent sped out of here after you gave her your down payment?"
"Hogwash. All of it. It's just voo doo mumbo jumbo. Now let's get busy and get settled in."
For the next couple of hours both Drakken and Shego used some of their own elbow grease to at least get the place looking like it was livable. The only mishap was when a rather large spider surprised Shego, causing her to blast both it and the floorboard it was on to smithereens. She quickly placed a throw rug over the small hole to cover it so that her employer didn't see the damage she had done. Little did Shego know, was that she happened to uncover something that was very old… Something that was supposed to have stayed hidden, underneath a floor board with a certain symbol that she had now just destroyed.
…x x x x…
After the cleaning was pretty much done, Dr. Drakken, AKA Drew Theodore P. Lipsky, was able to get the old gas stove working and started to cook up dinner for the two of them. He decided on something simple, and since they were in the Bayou's, he decided on making a big pot of Shrimp and Crawdad gumbo. To go with the gumbo, he had some homemade bread he had brought from when his mother had dropped off some food last week before the move. All the other ingredients were from what they were able to throw into an I-Haul they had rented to get their stuff to the new location.
The two then sat down at the large kitchen table and started their meal.
"When we're done eating Shego, I'll see if I can get that diesel generator in the back up and running. The Realtor said it worked about five years ago, so it shouldn't take too much."
The two quietly ate, and then finished it off with half a bottle of a blush wine Drakken purchased at the last gas station where they filled the truck with fuel. The former member of 'Team Go!' wasn't sure about wine purchased at a gas station, but it ended up being pretty good.
Drakken let out a rather large belch as he pushed away from the table. "Excuse me Shego. I must have used a bit too much chili powder." He wiped his mouth once again and stood. "I'm going to go check out that generator. Stay here and relax. Finish the rest of that wine."
"I'll do that. I may even start a fire. It's supposed to get cold tonight, and I'm starting to feel a bit of a chill now."
Really? I'm actually a little warm… maybe because of the gumbo. Anyway, I should have it running in about an hour." With that Drakken walked out the back door and to the small shed that housed the diesel generator, leaving Shego all alone.
"Well…" the green skinned woman huffed, taking the bottle of wine in her hand, "I'm going to finish this off and start on that fire."
After finishing the bottle in about four swallows, Shego set the bottle back on the table. Just as she turned towards the fireplace a curious sound came from the corner where she had blasted that spider.
click…swish…click…swish…click…swish
"What the heck…" She walked over to the corner, and before she even got there, Shego stopped in her tracks. The small throw rug was no longer covering the hole in the floor. It was now off to the side, neatly rolled up against the wall where it had been before she had covered the hole.
"Now I know I covered that hole."
Slowly she walked over to the small rug, picked it up and placed it once again over the hole. The green woman turned around and before she was three steps from the area, she again heard click..swish..click..swish..click..swish only this time much faster.
Shego whirled around and once again, the rug was no longer covering the hole! It was rolled up against the wall just as before. She wasn't really scared… yet, so the green hued brunette once again took hold of the small rug, and just before she placed it back over the hole for the third time, Shego heard something coming from the hole. Was it… chanting? It wasn't very loud, but she could definitely hear it, and it sounded like female voices.
Humm… ha wah… Humm… ha wah… Hummm… Hummm
Now the small hairs on the back of Shego's neck were standing on end. She was definitely freaked, and when she felt a tap on her shoulder, the green skinned villain whipped around and landed a hit square on the jaw of… "Drakken? Oh Honey I'm sorry!"
The force of the hit had spun around her employer and now partner in life, but it didn't knock him down. He immediately placed a hand on the now reddening corner of his jaw and looked at Shego with wide eyes.
"What… what was that for?"
The now docile Shego led Drew to a nearby couch and helped him to sit down. "Didn't you hear that?"
"Hear what? I was about to tell you I was sorry for taking longer than expected on the generator, and before I knew it you decked me!" He gingerly rubbed at his sore and swelling jaw.
"What? But I was just…" Something wasn't clicking in her mind. "Wait… how… how long were you working on the generator?"
"A little over two hours. Why?"
Shego felt lightheaded. "But I was just… the hole in the floor… the rug… chanting…" Drakken caught her just as she passed out.
…x x x x…
Dr, Drakken carried the green woman upstairs to the bedroom that the two of them had cleaned up earlier. As he lay her down on the bed, Shego stirred. "D… Drew?"
"There, there Shego. I think you had a little too much to drink." He debated for a second whether to remove her jumpsuit before tucking his now girlfriend into bed, but opted against it. Oh they had seen each other naked a few times, but he decided to be a gentleman this time around.
After placing a blanket over her, Drew kissed Shego on the forehead. "You sleep now, and I'll join you in a little bit. I'm going to make sure that generator will keep going for a while."
"Mmnnookaayyy…" was the sleepy response, and before Drakken closed the door, Shego was fast asleep.
…x x x x…
click…swish…click…swish…click…swish
Shego's eyes fluttered as the sound woke her. She sat up in bed and rubbed her dark green orbs, trying to focus on the area around her, and just as she finally focused her eyes, they went wide and a small 'eep' came from her lips.
Surrounding her bed were three haggard looking old ladies, each dressed in very different and peculiar clothing. The lighting was muted, as a full moon was now shining through her bedroom window, but it clearly illuminated each of the three older ladies. The one on her left was dressed in what looked like very dirty material. In fact, it looked like dirt itself, and it appeared to have roots interspersed throughout which appeared to be… moving? The one at the foot of her bed was wearing what appeared to be a very flowing type of garment. It seemed to be in continuous movement, and as Shego looked a bit closer, it actually looked like… water! The third old lady had on what looked like… nothing! In fact, it didn't seem like the third one had any kind of garment on. It was as if her body was… swirling. The effect made Shego think of a sandstorm she had been in a long time ago in the Gobi Desert.
The next thing Shego noticed was that the face and head of each of these women looked exactly the same! Gray wrinkled skin, sunken cheeks, and a prominent nose and cheekbones. The hair appeared to be a bit longer than shoulder length, looking like it was black in color with numerous streaks of gray.
Each old lady took a step closer to the bed, and Shego immediately raised a hand igniting her plasma, making all three open their eyes impossibly wider than they already were.
"I told you ladies, she is our fourth!" The one at the foot of her bed responded.
"But it's such an odd color." The old lady to Shego's left said. "It's… green."
"And black as well." The third replied. "These colors are almost… unearthly."
The old lady with the flowing water-like garment (at least that's what Shego kept telling herself it was) spoke next with a ragged smile. "Indeed. Her abilities will give us much, and with her we shall be even more powerful than ever before!" Her voice rose at the end, and she finished with a high pitched cackling laugh. "Plus, she is the one who released our essence by destroying the Talisman that held us captive."
"I see, Sister. It is poetic justice that she becomes part of us." The dirt-looking lady said, causing Shego to look to her left.
"OK…" Shego finally said, "I'm not sure if this is a dream or if it's real, but either way, I'm blasting at least one of you!"
Her plan was to just singe one of the old ladies and scare them, but Shego found that she couldn't move! She couldn't increase her plasma flame, nor could she decrease it! It was as if she was held in some type of stasis.
"Who are you." Shego demanded with a narrow and slightly confused look on her face. At least she could still talk.
All three responded, one after the other in succession, starting with the one on Shego's left. "We are… three looking… for a fourth."
The old lady at the foot of the bed stepped forward and spoke with a commanding voice. "You who hath destroyed the Talisman that held us captive, you shall become part of us. We will become more powerful with you, and you will gain much from us. We will be forever together, and never apart."
All three then started chanting. "Forever together, never apart… forever together, never apart… forever together, never apart…"
…x x x x…
"Shego! Shego!" Drakken said loudly as he shook the green woman, waking her up. "You were talking in your sleep, and it was freaking me out!"
"Huh?" The former heroine replied with a sleepy voice.
"You were saying something about being together forever and being never apart. We're you having that wedding dream again? I told you I'm just not ready for that y…"
Before he could finish Shego took Drew into a fierce hug as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to a kneeling position on the bed. "Th… they almost had me Doc. They almost had me…"
"What are you talking about Shego? Who are 'they'?" He gently peeled the green woman's arms from around his neck.
Shego's head whipped around, looking for the three old ladies, and they were no longer there. "But… they were… there was three of them!"
"Now now, Shego… you were having a bad dream. A nightmare."
"But… But…" Shego then looked the blue man right in his eyes. "I've never had a nightmare in my life. This. Was. Real." Drew didn't have an answer for her, and moved off of the bed.
"I think you need something to help you sleep. I have a light sedative in the bathroom down the hall. I'll be right back." Shego stayed kneeling on the bed as she watched him leave.
After Drakken left the room, the green skinned woman started to take her jumpsuit off to get more comfortable. After getting off the bed, she slipped her green and black suit completely off and padded over to a dresser, where she had put some of the clothes she had brought.
After selecting a Megadeth t-shirt and a pair of old sweats, Shego had her sleepwear for the rest of the night. She pulled the sweat pants on, and then just as her head popped through the neck of the shirt, Shego yelped and jumped back, as the three old ladies were now back and standing in a circle around her. Before she could move out of the way, all three placed a hand on top of her head and she passed out.
…x x x x…
Eyes… stinging. Body… sore. Head… throbbing.
Shego blinked once, then twice before finally opening her eyes. "Where… where am I?" Her mouth was dry, and now Shego could feel an almost unnatural heat all around her.
Looking around the area, Shego could tell that she was in a basement of some kind, or maybe even a large underground cellar of some sort. Being in a standing position she looked down and noticed that a circle of some kind of white powder surrounded her, and the three strange old ladies were standing just outside of that circle.
"Fear not…" The old lady with the swirling body said in that same crackly voice all three talked in. "After we absorb your essence, you will become a part of us, as the other before had been. We will be as one once again, and our reign can continue in this realm. You will no longer feel the pain of your individuality. Your mind will be one with us, and as we meld into One, we will be more powerful than any other being on this world!" All three cackled loudly, and began moving in a circle around her.
"What… what are you doing?! I… I can't move! Let… me… GO!"
As the three old hags moved around her, Shego began to feel dizzy, and she could both feel and see her plasma power literally being pulled from every pore in her body. Visually it looked like a black and green mist that appeared to be coming out of her pores like steam.
Not only could the former hero of Team Go feel her comet powers being removed, Shego could also feel herself starting to disappear as well. Her individuality was disappearing, and it felt like her thoughts were no longer hers.
I've… got to… fight back… Shego thought to herself as the pain was starting to increase. Just as she thought she couldn't stand it anymore, Shego, AKA Miss Go and Miss Whoabackhoff, had an epiphany. They can have my power, but they can't have… me. Her eyes sprung open, and Shego began to actually push her power out.
With a Herculean effort, she yelled out "You can have my power, but you CANNOT HAVE ME! You want this? You want this power? Then take it… TAKE IT AAALLLL!"
Knowing that not only her life was at stake, but her mind, her personality, and who she was… was at risk? There was no choice, no choice at all. Shego just hoped that throwing out this much of her comet powers wasn't a mistake.
The three old witches were getting worried. "We… we cannot hold! It… it's too much!" One said.
"We must!" Another said with strain in her voice. "We will need her mind as well if we are to control this much power!"
After hearing that the old witches were having trouble, Shego double downed. She cringed as she concentrated even harder on expelling every bit of her comet powers. With a primal scream "YYYEEAAARRRGGGHHHHHHH!" Shego threw everything she had left into her power output.
The increased rate of her power leaving her body caused a plume of energy to form around Shego. With one final push, every bit of her comet power was expelled out, and it exploded in a bright flash of green light, sending a shock wave across the floor and through the three old ladies, knocking them down. The force of the blast shook the foundations of the structure above her, which threatened to collapse into the basement.
…x x x x…
Dr. Drakken was washing his hands in the first floor bathroom of the house when he heard Shego's scream, and he immediately could tell that she was in the basement. His first thought was how the heck did she get down there without him seeing her. A few seconds later the entire house seemed to lift off it's foundation a few inches and dropped back down, shaking the entire structure from the foundation to its gables on the roof!
He threw down the towel, flew down the stairs to the first floor, and sprinted to the kitchen and down the stairs into the basement. There he found something he was not at all expecting.
Shego was half-naked, curled in a ball inside a ring of some kind of powder, and outside of the ring were the bodies of three old ladies. Each of them looked like they had been burnt to a crisp as smoke was rising from the corpses.
Quickly Dr. Drakken whipped off his trademark lab coat and went to Shego, kneeling down at her side. She was curled in a ball, balanced on the balls of her feet and rocking back and forth. He gently placed his lab coat over her and helped Shego to stand.
She immediately wrapped her arms around him and held tight. "They were… they were going to take me." The green woman said with a muffled voice as it was buried into Drakken's shoulder. She then turned her face and pressed her cheek into his chest, continuing to talk with a shaky and low voice. "Not just my comet power, but me as well."
Shego both felt and knew that her plasma powers were gone. It was the only way to save herself. At least she hoped that she was. She squeezed tighter before moving to look at him face to face. "D… Dr. Drakken? Drew?"
"Yes? The two were now looking into each other's eyes, and the blue man noticed something he hadn't before. Shego's skin no longer had a green tinge to it. She looked a bit pale, but otherwise the same. The green highlights in her now jet-black hair were gone as well.
"Do… Do I still seem like… me?" Her partner's eyes narrowed a bit in confusion. "My… my powers are gone, and I look like a… like a Goth Chick. But do I seem like myself? I… need to know."
"Oh Shego… you are still yourself." He gave her what would be considered a sweet smile." You're still the same snippy, snobby, sarcastic Shego that I fell in love with long ago."
He squeezed her tighter, and Shego responded in kind and said, "You know Drew… I should blast you for that comment." She raised a hand as if she were to shoot a blast of energy in his face, but all she could muster was a green spark that sputtered and died as it fell to the dirt floor.
But Shego didn't really care that her powers were gone. She was still herself, and the old witches were destroyed. Maybe now she could have what would be considered a… normal… life. At least what would be considered normal for her and the blue man whom she loved more than anything else in the world.
The End…
And therein ends this strange little tale.