Senior Year: Shego.


Note: This refers to some things that are in Kim Possible: Seniors. I'll try to keep the two relatively linked and if characters are directly interacting.

Also, the method to moderate Shego's seizures, is stolen, with great appreciation (which makes it an homage, I guess) from Memory By Lois McMaster Bujold.

Finally, this story will be rather slower than others-- no great villains launching deadly attacks-- more Shego coming to grips with the fact that in the course of a few months she's had her world turned upside down-- and how she's going to make a new world, think you very much.

For those who have asked, Last Stop on the Titancis final chaper is in rewrite, and generally giving the same amount of trouble a porcupine does when an anaconda swallows it, but hopefully soon.


"I really have to thank you, Ms. Shego." The doctor (Genus and species: Geekus Nerdus), beamed at Shego. "Your cooperation has made this possible!" Shego growled through her headache.

Dr. Possible had told her that these people were the best. That they would help her get her head fixed. That she just had to cooperate with them.

She had cooperated…for an entire three weeks! They had poked, prodded, had her piss into cups, stuck things into her…and this was the outcome.

"See, now that we can actually artificially trigger your seizures, things will move much faster!" The green eyed mercenary glared at him.

"So, do you want to see my fire?"

"Oh, that's not necessary…now if you'll just take this cup…"

"Oh, I think it is…" Shego started, when Andrea's voice came through the open door.

"Walter, why don't you take a little break—I think Shego's just a bit tired."

"But we could trigger at least three more seizures today…" Walter said, proving why few nerds actually lived to adult hood. Andrea looked at Shego, and shook her head.

"No, Walter, I have to do some things with Shego….so go and check the records to see if we've missed anything."

"But,"

"Now, please…"

"Yes Dr. Possible." The doctor left, never realizing how close he'd come to sudden and horrifying demise.

"Finally." Shego said. "So, tell, me, Doctor, beyond the sadistic enjoyment of watching Shego froth and twitch, is there any reason for this?"

"Sadistic? Shego, I'm a brain surgeon, not a dentist." Andrea said, as Shego dressed herself and the two started to head for the hospital cafeteria… a dining location that was becoming all too common for Shego's tastes. Once they sat down with some coffee, Andrea continued.

"Until we knew what triggered the seizures, for certain, Shego, we couldn't risk doing anything to try and moderate them." She sighed, "Now, we know—although I'm afraid we'll have to trigger some more, just to be completely certain."

"Know what?" Shego said, in annoyance, thinking of the way they'd had to strap her down so they could use their insidious devices on her while she was doing the dying cockroach dance.

"Well…" Andrea paused, "You know that neural impulses are carried between the nerves by a complex of chemical and electrical reactions, correct?"

"Yes…"

"Well, in your case, it wasn't the damage—it was your body's attempts to heal the damage." Dr. Possible sighed. "Even Baby doesn't know much about what exactly Monkey Fist found, how he tapped into it… I think magic makes Baby's 'brain' hurt, but between Baby, Ron, and Sensei, to say nothing of some little side avenue research I've done, is I think that magic can safely be said to be a breakdown in reality." She shrugged, "Jonathon calls it a state where the kind of randomness you normally only see at the quantum level is occurring at the macro level, so the laws of physics aren't so much laws…as strong suggestions."

"And this is responsible for my little antics how?"

"When you were beaten and tortured, that breakdown led to changes in some of the DNA in your brain—a bit like you might get from radiation, only…" Andrea shrugged in slight irritation, "Magic, because if it had been radiation you would have turned to goo. Your comet powers healed you, but because of the damage, they didn't heal you quite back to normal." A flexscreen pad was produced from her bag and she called up a series of readouts.

"The result is a build up of neurotransmitters in your brain—when they get to a certain point-" The readouts spiked and turned red. "They're all released, causing a cascade effect which manifests as a seizure."

"Great, so how do you stop it."

"I don't think I can." Shego, with the cup of coffee on the way to her mouth, nearly spilled it on herself.

"You can't?" Dr. possible shook her head.

"No. The changes are too subtle…" Shego gulped.

"But…"

"But I have another idea." Andrea said. "Do you know anyone with diabetes?"

"A few… lots of mad scientists have health problems… keeps them in doors." Shego shrugged, "probably explains the whole conquer the world thing."

"Yes, well, you know that in most cases diabetes isn't curable—but by taking insulin and regulating diet, most of the effects can be eliminated or moderated." Shego nodded at that, as Andrea continued.

"Now, we can't use the same approach with your problem, but being as… " she indicated the quickly rising line that broke at the indicator of a seizure. ".. we can calculate the level of neurotransmitters that leads to a seizure, we can do this." She pointed to the screen, where they dropped off after a seizure.

"This?"

"Simple, the seizures are caused by a build up of neurotransmitters, so instead of waiting for it to happen, we figure out a way to conveniently trigger them, when you want them triggered." She shrugged, "Call it preventative maintenance—you schedule your seizures rather than them happening without any warning."

"I'd really prefer plan "B", where you cure them."

"So would I, Shego, but…" Dr. Possible sighed, "I'm not a miracle worker, and we have to be very, very careful." Shego nodded.

"So…" Shego paused, "How long."

"A while—we have to make certain there's no permanent damage from the seizures." Andrea raised her hands at Shego's wide eyes. "We don't think so, but I want to be absolutely certain." She looked back down at the flexscreen, "Then we have to put together a monitoring system you can use, and a triggering system that you can use—but one that isn't vulnerable to being hacked or duplicated…" She paused, "A lot of work."

"What about Dr. D or your husband?" Andrea laughed softly.

"Shego… those two would help, but they are both prone to believing they can do something just because they really, really need it to get done." She looked affectionate. "And since they both owe you a great deal, they might convince themselves…"

"That they have everything under control…yeah."

"And in any case, we're not there at all yet…I'm afraid you'll have to have more triggered seizures—to tell why sometimes you get Grand Mals and other times you get Petit Mals, is there any level of neurotransmitter build up where we can't trigger a seizure, and so on,"

"Blegh." Shego looked at her coffee. "We'll, let's hunt up, Walter… So I can amuse him again."

"Shego…he's not amused at all…he's thrilled. Most people his age have to content themselves with computer simulations…"

"I knew it." Shego said, "You're all frustrated mad scientists!"

"Why Shego, I'm not mad, in fact I'm in a very good mood right now." Dr. Possible said as she rose gracefully.


Later that night, Shego was in bed in her room at the Possibles, a cold compress to her head. There were only so many aspirins one could take, after all.

"Lab rats." She muttered to herself, looking out the window, where Kim's fanclub of newsvans was gone, at least. Fortunately, they hadn't had to resort to violence, although some of Bonnie's ideas had convinced Shego that the girl would have had a great career ahead of her as a super villain if she was so inclined.

"Well, hopefully…" She shut up. Great, now she was talking to herself. Shego groaned. She'd never make fun of one of Dr. D's labrats again in her life. It was at that moment that the vidphone rang, with the odd two tone ring that announced it was someone on her "call any time." list. Shego rolled over, quickly made certain she was decent (especially given some recent additions to that list) and answered.

And blinked.

Cally was on the phone, green eyes peering out at her birth mother.

"Shego?" Cally asked.

"Cally…" Shego said and blinked. "It's almost 11:30 where you are, is something-" Cally looked upset.

Oh God, did something happen to her parents? Her brother, he is a cop… Shego felt an odd clutching sensation that she wasn't very used to.

"I… I got grounded, and it wasn't my fault!" Cally said, angrily, not noticing that Shego let out a tiny sigh.

"Grounded, sounds serious…"

"I know, I can't call my friends, or go out and play and I-" Abruptly Shego started right at her and the seven year old stopped talking. There was suddenly a light in Shego's eyes.

"Cally…"

"Yes Shego?" By common consent, Cally called Shego, "Shego" and Shego called Cally "Cally", it was if not what one normally got between mothers and their kids, it worked for Shego and Cally, especially given Shego's absence from her life up until this point. But, that wasn't what had Shego looking at her daughter, eyes narrowed.

"Your mom said you can't call your friends, and it's 11:30…does she know you're calling me?"

"Ummmm….." There was a long pause. Shego didn't say anything.

"No." Cally finished. "But you're kinda my mom as well, and that means I could call you-"

"Cally" Shego didn't raise her voice, but Cally fell silent.

She's smart, so of course she'd figure out that now there's an alternate chain of command…but only seven so she doesn't realize that her parents and I are still feeling out how this is going to go…and her going behind their backs isn't going to help.

"I need to talk to your mom. Now."

"But… I'm supposed to be in bed." Shego could see a great plan collapsing in Cally's eyes—she'd had a lot of practice watching Drakken's eyes when his plans fell apart.

"She's still up… is your father home?"

"No…he's out at a vigil."

"Then go get your mom… Or…." Shego continued, "If you think she'll get really angry if you leave your room, I can call her." Cally paled.

"But…"

"But you should have thought of this." Shego said. "Cally, Izumi's your mom, and you can't go around trying to use me to get around her."

"But I have something to tell you…"

"Is it something that your mom can't hear?"

"….no." Cally said, unable to meet Shego, or rather the serious displeasure in Shego's voice and the way her lips had thinned out.

"Then if she's willing to let you tell me after I talk to her, we will."

Her house, her rules Cally Shego thought, but she figured Cally had learned that, no reason to plasma fry a dead horse.

As Cally got up and headed for the door, Shego started to marshal her thoughts.

You may not be the only one in trouble for this stunt, Cally.


TBC.