Immortality Immortally Mortal
Shodan's an interesting case, I must admit. She was the only person Shego ever truly loved in any romantic capacity. Their story is so truly tragic; the heroine turned villainess becomes a heroine again to save the boss she loved like a father, the bored genius-level thief with a pension for electroneural interface design risks her life after losing the woman she loved, the boss dies of his injuries lost and alone shortly after having his neural patterns mapped and his thoughts recorded for posterity, the Princess is sought out as a fallback to normalcy and familiarity and ends up bringing the heroine back to the practice of being a hero, and the computer nerd becomes the computer and inspires the second great cyber-religion. Oh, and let's not forget pattern merge which has given me this existential crisis in which I find myself of late. At least as existential as can be had by a being with no capacity for emotion.
{CyberStream Remote Viewing Protocol Initiated: Shodan}
Shodan closed her eyes as the water from the shower poured over her. She scratched the almost-healed marks covering her body, the ones which were left by wires of the cloning machine. "Goodnight, my angel, time to close your eyes, and save these questions for another day. I think I know that you've been asking me, I think you know what I've been trying to say. I promised I would never leave you, and you should always know wherever you may go, no matter where you are I never will be far away," she sang. "Goodnight, my angel, now it's time to sleep, and still so many things I want to say. Remember all the songs you sang for me when we went sailing on an emerald bay; and like a boat out on the ocean, I'm rocking you to sleep, the water's dark and deep. Inside this ancient heart you'll always be a part of me. Goodnight, my angel, now it's time to dream, and dream how wonderful your life will be. Someday your child may cry, and if you sing this lullaby, then in your heart there will always be a part of me. Someday we'll all be gone, but lullabies go on and on. They never die; that's how you and I will be."
"Billy Joel; always a classic," I said.
"I used to sing it to her," she replied. "Every night in the hospital I would put her to sleep with it."
"I wonder if she remembers it," I said. "I would wish you the best this time around, but it is considerably beyond my abilities in my current state to do any such thing."
"I know, Doc, but we'll get you a body soon enough," she replied.
"Remind me why you couldn't clone my old one," I said.
"It was never found, remember?" she replied. "It's part of the Metaworks Memorial Building now."
"Here you are," the barista said as she pushed a couple of steaming though lidded cups across the counter, "your morning constitutional, and the plus one you requested. Meeting someone special this morning?"
"No," Shodan replied, smiling and looking rather content in her zipped-up fur-lined suede jacket and worn blue jeans.
"You're a terrible liar, Ms. Montenegro," the barista replied, returning the smile. "Have a nice day."
"You too," Shodan said as she took the cups from the counter and started sipping one. She pushed her way through the crowd of the coffee shop, trying not to spill either cup on mob of unruly patrons desperate for some respite from the cold of the season.
The bell above the door tinkled, signaling the presence of a new member of the crowd; Shodan looked over at it, more a force of habitual curiosity than anything else. "Shannon Montenegro?" Kim asked as she forced her way into the crowded building.
"What can I do for you?" Shodan replied.
"My name is Kim Possible, and I'm here on behalf of Public Security. I suppose you know why I'm here," Kim said, shoving her way over to Shodan.
"Oh?" Shodan asked, sipping her coffee. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
"You met with Shego last night, and this morning your body winds up in our morgue," Kim said. "Now, she doesn't know that I know that you two were together when your body was terminated, and I intend to keep her in the dark about that knowledge, but I would like to know, entirely off the record, what you two were talking about."
"Unfortunately, Ms. Possible, I can't tell you," Shodan replied. "But as you have found the secret of my supposed-mortality, I must make a request of you. Does she know I'm still alive?"
Kim nodded and said, "She suspects it."
Shodan lowered her head and said, "Good. As much as it pains me to do this, she needs to come to me now, for her own good."
"Well, thank you for your time," Kim said, turning toward the door. She turned her head back to Shodan, and asked, "Does the name Shodan mean anything to you?"
"She was an old friend of Shego's," Shodan replied.
"Fair enough," Kim said, disappearing into the crowd and out the door.
Shodan watched Kim as she walked past the window, each watching the other intently; Kim with a very clear look of mistrust, Shodan with a well-hidden look of worry-lined intrigue. "So that's Shego's latest interest," she said to herself at the end of Kim's ability to see her, carefully timing her words to give Kim enough time to read her lips before the window ran out and the wall obscured the view. She sipped her coffee for a few more minutes, intent on giving her opponent enough time to get in position to tail her without being seen, before she stood and calmly walked out.
["I really need a name for you,"] she said as she walked down the street. ["Your old one doesn't work anymore, in light of all things. I'm thinking Xerxes. Keep with the theme, and all."]
["But Shodan,"] I said, ["I like my name. The world shakes with fear when they hear it!"]
["The world shakes with raucous laughter when they hear it,"] I replied. ["Besides, you're not a super-villain anymore, remember? You need a new name, and now we have Shodan and Xerxes."]
["Fine,"] I replied, ["I will permit you to call me Xerxes."]
["Thank you,"] she said as she reached the end of the block. She pressed the crosswalk button and looked around casually, letting her gaze linger on the food cart beyond which Kim had hidden himself. The light changed, and Shodan shuffled along with the busy crowd. When she was convinced that Kim was no longer following her, she stepped off the street into an alleyway. It was a stark contrast to the rest of the city; unlike the active world around it, which was near-pristine and full of life living its way out in relative peace, the alley, like many of the overlooked alleyways and side passages in the city, was dark and littered with bags of refuse atop and around eternally-filled dumpsters.
Shodan pulled a cigarette from the pocket of her fur-lined jacket, being careful to avoid spilling her coffee, and held it and the untouched coffee in front of her; a man shimmered into view. "A gift of parting?" he asked, taking the drink and the cigarette. He was a simple-looking man, with medium-length gray hair and a young yet expressionless face. He wore a black wool overcoat buttoned high over a business suit.
"For a man a woman walked by," she replied. "She's on to me; we may have to move up our plans."
"The future of our living avatar is in jeopardy, Shannon," he said. "We cannot rightly push up the timetable and put her survival at risk for the sake of old wound rearing its head."
"You know, there are some who think that she should be told what is about to happen," Shodan commented threateningly as she continued to sip her coffee.
"You mean that insipid computer Xerxes?" he replied. "At least you finally found a name for that thing."
"Xerxes has a far deeper grasp of the situation than you could ever truly appreciate," she snapped at him.
"Then why don't you fill the rest of us in on who or what it really is," the man prodded sharply. "After all, if it's half as valuable as you seem to think it is, you should be more than willing to let the rest of us bask in its glory as you do."
"There is no basking in glory," she replied, "and what I do regarding him is entirely with his permission. He has chosen to remain hidden for the time being, and will reveal himself at the end of this scenario."
"What does he have to do with any of this, anyway?" he asked as he walked away.
"He knows the living avatar better than anyone else," she replied. "He knew her for a decade before the War of Nightmares."
"Were I capable of emotion I would say that I was sorry for having to put you through the difficulties of keeping my nature a secret," I said as Shodan slammed the door shut. "I would also say that I was very grateful for your efforts."
"Why can't we just tell them, and tell her, and fill everyone in on what everyone else is doing?" she asked.
"Shodan," I began, "Shannon, Shego must know that I have survived, but nobody else."
"But why can't we at least tell the rest of the organization about you?" she asked, throwing herself into the overstuffed chair in the middle of the room.
"I am the only successful merge of a human mind into a computer's AI. If the government or some R&D firm or even some rogue hacker found out about me, I'd be carted off and studied," I said. "Until we get me a body, you're the only one allowed to know."
"I could always give you one of my bodies," she said, closing her eyes and reclining.
"Neural pattern mapping," I said. She opened one eye, looked around, and closed it again. "The neural patterns, the actual, physical layout of the brain, must match my old one. For that we need Shego to get the records kept in my lair, and for that we need her on our side and not wanting to withhold my return to the human race out of spite for keeping her in the dark about my survival."
"And for that we need her to survive the impending attack," she continued.
"And for her to survive, she needs to know what's going on," I finished. "She needs to know that the organization is going to try and kill her, but they can't find out that she knows."
"If you think she'll be able to play fair, I'll trust your judgment; you know her better than I do," she replied, turning onto her side and attempting to fall asleep.
Shodan sat perched on the railing atop the building housing Shego's apartment, her mind racing a million miles an hour, the bug Kim had worn for her squawking into her ear Kim and Shego's conversation.
"Shego, come on," Kim said.
"Look, I need a few days to get my head straight again," Shego replied. "I'll be back in on Monday, just leave me alone until then."
"I can clear it up for you right now," Kim said. The sound of a door opening was heard.
"I told you, I'll do it myself!" Shego shouted.
["Tell her, 'The report of Shodan's death is an exaggeration', verbatim,"] Shodan said.
"The report of Shodan's death is an exaggeration," Kim said. A cacophony of sound followed; a glass bottle hitting the floor and shattering, a door slamming shut, a key turning in a lock, and the dings of an elevator is it ascended.
Shodan stood and walked over to the table which was set up opposite the roof access elevator, and took a seat facing the door. The elevator chimed one final time before its doors split to reveal the occupants; Kim stepped out, Shego dropped to the floor. "How?" she asked. "How are you alive? I saw you die; you, a flesh and blood person, not just another puppet."
"Come, sit," Shodan replied, "all will be explained." Kim walked back into the elevator and helped the stunned Shego to her feet. Slowly they walked over to the table. They sat; Shego faced Shodan, and Kim sat to the side between the two. "Shego, this is my third body; when one dies, a clone is activated. It's a system your old friend Dr. Drakken designed; it's not pleasant, but it's preferable to slow decomposition.
"What I am about to tell you is vitally important: your life is in danger, and Dr. Drakken is still alive; sort of, anyway. Most importantly, there is a cult out to kill you and release your soul to the Net where they can commune with you directly. That's their idea, anyway. I've managed to infiltrate their ranks and gain the trust of the high-ranking members, and I've convinced them that the attack should be tomorrow." Shego sat perfectly still, completely stunned, attempting to take in the information presented to her; Kim simply sat with a confused look on her face. "Shego, these people will not let you or your new lover rest so long as they're alive."
"Drakken's alive?" Shego interjected.
"You think we're lovers?" Kim spat out.
"Mostly and yes," Shodan said. "What, you're not sleeping together?"
"No!" they both shouted at her.
"Oh, I am going to fry his digital ass," Shodan seethed. "He told me that you two had been lovers since before I went into hiding!"
"Well, I may have taken advantage of the situation, but nobody knew about that!" Kim shouted.
"But it never continued?" Shodan asked, sounding hopeful.
"One night stand," Shego managed, still reeling, as she put her hands on the table to keep herself upright. "What do you mean, Drakken's mostly alive?"
"His mind was saved in Alan," Shodan replied, reaching out and taking Shego's hand. "He goes by Xerxes now, and he's very different from the Drakken you knew."
["I only go by Xerxes because of you, and I am not very different,"] I said.
["Shut it, blue boy!"] Shodan snapped back. "He has no biological brain, so he lacks any sort of emotion, and he's been connected to the Net for the past five years or so, so he's assimilated a considerable amount of information. If you thought he was bright then, he's a genius now."
"What's the battle plan?" Kim asked.