Disclaimer: I don't own anyone.
Shego woke up, staring at the ceiling. Today was her first day back at work, supposedly. She sighed and sat up. The few girls that worked here at "Global Justice" were already out of the bunkers. Shego stood and grabbed her uniform, heading off for the shower.
When she went to report to Dr. Director, she saw the half blind woman frown.
"You're late," she stated.
"Like I didn't know that," she scoffed. Dr. Director glared at her.
"We're not getting off to a very good second start, are we?"
"Depends on your definition of good," Shego stated. Dr. Director huffed.
"I suppose even a bout of amnesia can't change your personality. You're still the stubborn bull in a china shop you've always been." The way she said it made it seem like a bad thing… Had she been that difficult?
Dr. Director motioned her to follow.
"You'll be working security until we can fully assess what of your training you actually remember."
"I'm not an old dog," she grumbled, glancing down at herself. She shrieked as her hands were engulfed in green plasma, "Put it out! Put it out!" She exclaimed, waving them around. Dr. Director smirked in amusement.
"Those are your powers, Shego," she reminded her. Shego's eyes widened.
"Powers? How? Is everyone like this?"
"No, just you," she pressed her face against a retina scanner. A door opened up and she proceeded. Shego stared at her hands, the flames disappearing as suddenly as they had come.
"Wait, so is this a random occurrence? How do I control it? Is there a secret passcode, or an emotion…"
"I don't know. You never told anyone," Dr. Director said coolly, descending a flight of stairs to a circular room, the walls lined with computers, "Hopefully this will be temporary; it would be a shame if one of our best agents was put out due to an accident."
"Accident? So, wait, an accident caused my memory loss?"
"A mission gone wrong," she motioned to a seat in which all the screens would be visible to her, "Alert the proper personnel if you see anyone that isn't a Global Justice agent. It should be easy enough, even for you," she teased, turning to walk away, "I'll come to get you when it's time for your break."
Shego sank down in the seat, utterly alone after Dr. Director's footsteps faded. She watched the screens, wondering how she'd recognize someone out of uniform.
Had the director always been this cold to her? Or was she upset due to her apparent carelessness? Was the accident even her fault? It was hard to tell who she was and who other people were… She sighed, going over to a small fridge while keeping an eye on the screens. The cans seemed to be drinks, but what one had she liked? She opened a silver one and tasted it. Bleh. She grabbed a maroon colored one next. Better…
She put the silver back, closing the door with her foot. She sat back down, sipping at the drink. How could she remember how to dress, walk, talk, and know how to open a container, but not what to call the metal box it had been in or how people were appearing on the screen like they were standing there? She just accepted it as the norm she forgot, she figured.
She glanced down at her hands. And where had this come from? She'd think she'd remember something like that… She dropped the empty can on the ground, sighing as she flexed her hands.
"Go flame go," she muttered idly. She jumped as the green plasma returned, "Stop flame stop!" She shouted. It retreated. She hadn't had to say that before…
She willed for it to happen. Her hands ignited, vanishing only when she wanted it to. So it was an "on command" thing? She could get used to that. Keeping one wandering eye on the screens, she practiced, reteaching herself the extent of her powers. She continued until Dr. Director came for her, deftly avoiding a green power ball. She wordlessly motioned her to follow.
After they left the room and walked down the corridor, she spoke.
"Our analysists have concluded that you've mostly lost your implicit memory, or your ability to know what you know. Your explicit memory, or knowing how to do something, seems relatively fine."
"That doesn't explain everything, though. I mean, it's not cut and dry what I recall and what I don't…"
"Amnesia rarely is. Here is the break room," she motioned towards it, "I'll come get you when your fifteen minutes are up."
"I remember the way. Just let me in and I'll be fine," Shego insisted.
"…I'll come and get you when your fifteen minutes are up," she repeated firmly, leaving.
Shego turned towards the room. All eyes quickly looked away. She tried to make eye contact; they either averted her gaze or glared. She had to have at least one friend here, right? She turned to the counter, wondering if she would like the brown stuff in the container…
"It's not right having her here!" A man hissed.
"Will, keep your voice down!" A woman insisted.
"Why? She doesn't know anything… Why couldn't she be stuck in the rehab program like the rest of them?"
"The director thinks it will trigger her memories." Another man spoke.
"Well I, for one, am not going to walk on eggshells around her."
"I don't want you to," Shego turned around slowly. Most of them froze as though just realizing she wasn't deaf but the main man, Will, looked steadily at her, "You know who I am, don't you?" She challenged. He nodded, "Then tell me."
"Can't. Director's orders," he smirked. She stormed towards him, hands ablaze. He "tsk"ed at her, "Now, now, the good doctors aren't sure how permanent the memory loss is. Don't want any flashbacks, do we?"
"I'll show you permanent memory loss!" Her hands went up, ready to strike.
Suddenly a familiar voice piped up.
"…don't call your mah-tha, cuz now we're partners in crime. Don't be a baby, remember what you told me. Shut up and put your money where your mouth is, that's what you get for waking up in Veh-gas."
The smell of chlorine and prime rib. Red, lots of it. Obnoxious yelling. "Put me down for…none". Pandimensional vortex inducer.
She rubbed at her temples, the sudden attack of random things giving her a headache. But it was important! Something happened, something with her in the past…those were pieces to the puzzle. She charged towards the voice, coming from a box and starting to fade.
"Who is she?" She demanded. Her sudden reaction had scared all of the agents, expecting a hailstorm of green plasma at any moment.
"It's Katy Perry…that's her song "Waking Up in Vegas," the woman spoke up. Shego frowned.
"How do I make it come back?"
"Google i-"
"You can't. The radio doesn't work that way," Will interrupted, glaring at the woman. What was a Google?
Shego was quiet the rest of the break, going through the items that popped up like precious jewels. What was chlorine and where would she smell it? Was red symbolic of something? Who was yelling? It seemed to be male… And then that term, so strange she had no idea why her mind had conjured it… It stuck in her head like the fading lyrics to the song, a blaring alarm begging her to investigate. As Dr. Director escorted her back, she couldn't help but ask.
"What's a pandimensional vortex inducer?" A flash of horror crossed her face, but she quickly put on a mask.
"A piece of technology."
"What does it do?"
"Why would you want to know?"
"I'll answer your question when you answer mine," Dr. Director frowned.
"No one knows," Shego sighed.
"Well, I did see one on the security camera, but I wasn't sure…"
"Don't joke like that."
"Then don't lie to me. I wasn't born yesterday." That she knew of. Dr. Director's eye practically burst into flame. She opened the door, motioning Shego back to her post.
"Some memories are best forgotten."
Shego continued to wonder, pouring over her jewels of information. It seemed just out of reach. More importantly, what was Global Justice hiding from her? They said something about rehab… What was that? It sounded bad.
Her eyes flicked over to the screen as she spotted an unnatural movement. Someone was pressing himself against a wall, looking around frantically. The man from the hospital… She glanced around and eventually found the button for the intercom where he was. She pressed it and he went rigid. Shego hesitated.
"…sir?" He relaxed, glancing up as he tried to find the camera.
"Shego? Is that you? What's going on? Did they hurt you?"
"No…I'm working security," she admitted. A smile crossed his face.
"Ironic." It faded quickly, "But are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Good," she took a deep breath.
"Sir…who are you?" His face, if possible, looked even more miserable.
"I should've expected that…" He straightened up, "I'm Dr.-" A sudden alarm drowned him out. Like a frightened deer, he fled.
"Wait, no, come back!" She shouted, watching swarms of agents run after him. She slammed her fist onto the arm chair, saying words she didn't even know she knew. Please, please let him get away…
The door would've been busted down had it not been automatic.
"What part of "alert the proper personnel if you see anyone that isn't a Global Justice agent" eludes you? Did he look like he belonged here?"
"He wasn't doing anything wrong!" She jumped to her feet.
"Not yet, but that isn't the point! You have to be more vigilant!"
"He wasn't a threat!"
"You don't know that!" Dr. Director took a couple of steps, "Why am I such a threat?" She twisted around.
"You are not a threat, merely a self-made nuisance," she said coolly, walking back. She grasped the arm of the chair and leaned forward, her eye narrowed, "Now, you keep your mind on your work, less your next surroundings cause you to beg for these," she snarled.
Shego looked levelly at the director, not shrinking back an inch.
"Good. I've been meaning to see how tough I am."
Dr. Director's hand whipped back, poised to wipe the smirk off of her face. Shego braced herself for the slap, but she folded her outstretched fingers into a fist and jerked it down.
"I will break you, Miss Go. You can be sure of that," she hissed before storming away.
Shego sighed, sinking back and flicking her eyes to the screens. Her heart plummeted into her gut as she glanced at one looking at the holding cells in the basement. The doctor was down there, his chin in his hands, resting on his knees as he stared blankly forward. Her hands flared up as she growled.
"I will not be broken. Never," she declared.
III
After her shift, she was escorted back to the room. She sat down on her bed and fiddled with her fingers. By now she guessed just about everyone knew what they liked, what they didn't, and every single quirk of their personality. So… How was she supposed to know who she was? Did she have to try everything possible? Did she only try a few and something would click to lead her in the right direction? Or were others to tell her who she was?
She was so deep in thought; it took her a full fifteen minutes to notice she wasn't alone. Another woman was peeling off her agent suit, revealing a black tank top and shorts. She undid her hair, her dark brown hair falling down to the middle of her ribcage. Her light green eyes glanced up, startled when Shego's met them. There was a short silence, the woman peeling off her gloves slowly.
"…hey, Shego," she murmured. Shego's lips twitched up.
"Hey there." She glanced away for a minute, taking her time in slipping her boots off.
"So…is your head hurting?" She asked. Shego shook her head.
"Not so much, just a jab here and there. Memory loss is a pain in the…well, however that saying goes."
"I'm sure it is," The woman giggled lightly, taking a couple cautious steps towards Shego. Shego arched her eyebrow; she was treating her like some wild animal.
She curled her hair around her finger, tilting her head slightly to one side.
"You, uh, did it again, your purpose in life as Dr. Director claims. I don't know how you do it, but you always manage to piss her off," she laughed and Shego rolled her eyes.
"Maybe if she wouldn't treat me like a kid, she wouldn't get backtalk," she grumbled. The woman carefully eased herself besides Shego.
"She means well. She's just not a fan of your kind," she assured her. Shego turned to her.
"What is my kind?" She bit her lip.
"Um…rebels, I guess," she shook her head, "You were never meant to be normal. You have to go against the grain and, well, the straight and narrow wasn't your path. But Lord did everyone try to point you that way…"
Shego flicked her wrist, her power coming back. The woman didn't show any form of surprise.
"I'm starting to catch onto that."
She watched her for awhile, to the point that Shego felt she was being studied. Then she got up and got a notepad and pen, scribbling something down.
"Now, whatever you do, don't go here," she said, passing the scrap of paper to Shego. Shego glanced down at it; the number of a room was circled, and a quick map sketch showed how to get there.
She arched her eyebrow, showing it back to the squirming brunette.
"What's your angle?"
"One of an old friend," she shifted her weight, "We were in high school together and worked side by side until… You might not remember, but I owe you," Shego stood up.
"Thanks…?"
"Leslie," she said. She patted Shego on the shoulder as she passed, "Carpe tempus."
"Carp what?" Leslie snickered.
"Sorry. It was our old saying."
Shego slipped through the halls, every sense tense and alert. She should've thought to ask what the significance was of this room, or how she knew the curves and sharp lines were important and sequential.
She paused as she came to the same signs as the circled one on the map. She furrowed her eyebrows, passing in front of the window.
She quickly ducked out of view as she heard voices, carefully sneaking a look. She stood a story over a conference room, Dr. Director sitting at the head of a table.
"You can't keep a Go member away from the team! We're her family!" The table shook as a man as tall as he was muscular pounded his fist dramatically against it. His black hair swirled towards the front of his head, dressed in a black and blue patterned suit.
"She's our sister!" A pair of twin boys exclaimed in unison, having the same black hair with the curl as the man. They were children becoming teenagers, their gangly bodies looking out of place in comparison to their soft faces. They were dressed in similar suits, but black and red.
Dr. Director looked calmly at them, her hands folded on the table as she leaned forward.
"Hego, you know I'd never deny you of her under any other set of circumstances. But I don't think it would be wise for her recovery if she were to go back to the Go Tower; too many triggers. She merely heard a song today in the break room and it reminded her of the pandimensional vortex inducer."
"For once, I've gotta side with the director. Shego's a big enough pain as is; I sure don't want to deal with her on amnesia." A young man leaned back in his chair, feet on the table. His purple hair was pulled back in a small ponytail, his suit black and purple.
"What could be better for her than a trip back in time to our days of glory?" The oldest asked, ignoring the purple one. Shego inched closer to the opened window, wondering if that was Leslie's doing.
"A place that takes her away from the world of heroes and villains. She's highly unstable right now."
"Oh really?" Shego challenged, unable to bite her tongue, "So asking a few questions makes me "unstable"?"
The boys all turned and gaped at her, simultaneously saying her name. She didn't think she had been that sneaky… She leaned on the sill, glaring at Dr. Director. The director frowned.
"Speak of the devil…"
"…there she is, consorting with my brothers." A light came into the blue and red guys' eyes, but Dr. Director waved a hand dismissively.
"We were just having a chat. Why don't you greet them by name, Shego?" Dr. Director's eye sparkled malevolently.
They looked hopefully at her. Her mouth opened slightly, raking her mind for some sort of memory. She eventually just shook her head and Dr. Director grinned. They looked almost beaten at the response.
The blue one cleared his throat, straightening.
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we're all together again. Now, come down here and we'll be on our way…" He murmured, the pain lingering in his eyes.
Before she thought about it, she had jumped down, flipping twice before landing smoothly on her feet. The purple one glanced over at Dr. Director in a "stop this!" way, but the director shook her head.
"I suppose she's your black sheep to deal with. I can't stop you," she said with a sigh.
"Thank you, Director," The blue one said, coming around the table towards her. He scooped her up in a bear hug.
"It's so good to have you back, sis," he said, setting her back down. The twins hugged her as well, following their older brother's lead. The purple one simply got to his feet, brushing past her.
"Let's just go. I've got work in the morning…"
Shego gave one last glance at Betty, who was simply grinning.
"Good luck," she said. Shego frowned and turned away, following the boys.
The blue one continued to blabber on about how good it was that they were a whole picture again and all of the things they were going to do once they got home to Go City. All of this "go" was getting her wondering… But she was glancing down, scuffing her foot to check for hollow space. Finally, her eyes rested on a door left open, showing the walls lined with cells. She glanced at her group. They weren't paying her any mind…
She took the steps two at a time, her eyes scanning the area. About halfway down, she spotted him. He glanced up and his eyes lit up.
"Shego!" Her hand ignited.
"Don't worry, doctor. I'll get you out," she said, swiping at the lock. A nail chipped and her fingers hurt like heck, but it fell away.
He pushed the door open, moving to embrace her.
"Thank you, Shego. Now, come with me; we'll sort this out." He said confidently.
Before he could get his arms around her, she was jerked back and then up with an inhuman force. She kicked her legs helplessly as she dangled by her uniform's cuff.
"You won't corrupt her again, you blue monster," the oldest hissed. The doctor looked at her, his arms still extended towards her.
"Here's a deal…" One of the twins began.
"…you go on your way and not bother Shego again…" The second continued.
"…and we'll let you go," The first finished.
He measured up his opponents, but four against one weren't good odds. He took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," he said to Shego, before running out the door and vanishing.
After he was gone, Shego found herself back on her feet.
"What was that about?" She snapped. The blue one looked sadly at her.
"Nothing, sis. Trust me."
III
This memory loss thing is a lot harder to write than I imagined… Please review.