I don't own these characters; Disney owns them.
I don't own Carmilla.
This is the chapter that the story earns that "M" rating, so if you're offended by, you know, two women getting it on… frankly, I don't understand why you bothered to check the story out.
Happy Halloween!
2: Evolve
Shego thumbed through a well-worn book, sitting on the edge of her bed in pajamas that consisted of a tight black tank top and cutoff, black sweat-shorts that barely went past her ass. The bedroom looked like something out of a catalogue with a king-sized bed, mahogany dressers and a vanity. The floor was tiled with a couple of rugs, one by the bed. Kim's casket was on the opposite side, as they needed to clear out a room for Kim.
Emerald eyes looked at the words, but her mind was miles away. It was late and Kim was not back yet. There were three possibilities for why that was, and all of them unsettled the super-powered woman.
The first possibility was the most likely and the least worrisome. Kim was probably just wandering around her old stumbling grounds, remembering the good old days. Kim engaged in that activity every now and then. There was nothing wrong with that, except Shego believed it would push Kim's desire to go back to her old life. Well, as much as she possibly could go back to that life.
The second possibility was that Kim finally decided to stay with her parents. That thought alone made Shego's heart contract harshly in her chest, and she felt like she was going to throw up. Her stomach actually lurched, like it was rejecting the small dinner she ate earlier. If that happened, Shego was going to be alone, maybe even for all eternity. It would mean the person that she pretty much gave up her life for would leave her. She was certain that she would be nothing more than an empty shell if that happened, but she took some solace in knowing that Kim would be all right and happy… a very, very small amount of solace.
The last possibility was the worst and it was split in three ways. Either Global Justice caught up with Kim, vampires caught up with Kim, or vampire hunters caught up with Kim. Either way, it meant Kim was dead and never coming home. Shego could not even entertain that thought beyond Kim being captured because anything more led to her being seriously, physically ill.
"Come home, Princess," Shego prayed, like saying it aloud would make it happen.
As the seconds ticked by, Shego's heartbeat became just a little more erratic. Her chest got a little tighter. Her lungs burned a little more for each breath. As the seconds turned to minutes, her throat got drier and her nerves jumped. She wanted to get up and move, go to Kim, but she did not know where to go.
"I won't keep my promise if she leaves me," Shego muttered, hoping the one bitter thought would right her system. Of course, it did not. She was certain she would struggle to keep her promise to Kim no matter what happened. She would continue searching for how to return Kim to her human form, even if Kim decided to leave her.
A hollow laughed escaped her lips at that realization. It would be the one thing that she had to go on. She ran one shaking hand through her hair. What the hell is wrong with me?
"I'm wrapped around her little finger," she mumbled with a sorrowful smile on her face.
"Whose little finger might that be?" Kim purred as she formed from mist behind Shego. She returned to solid form embracing her soul mate.
"Kimmie," Shego breathed, not in shock, but relief. Her body instantly relaxed under the vampire's hold, especially as Kim nuzzled her neck.
The redhead noticed how tense her lover had been, but she also noticed how quickly Shego relaxed. Kim smiled, happy with the knowledge that she could put Shego at ease with just her presence. But, she had a feeling she might not be smiling for long if she could guess why Shego was so tightly wound.
"Don't tell me you stayed behind to get some studying in," Kim whispered, placing a few light kisses to Shego's creamy neck. She could feel Shego's pulse slow underneath her lips.
"One of the things I stayed behind to do. I fixed the pipes, so now all of the bathrooms on this end work, not just the one closest to us. If you want this place to be livable sometime this century, we have to put the work in," the older woman answered in a huff.
Kim frowned for a brief moment. "Are you mad at me because I don't pull my weight around here?" she asked, nuzzling Shego once more. It would be something to explain why Shego always blew her off when she invited the former thief out. She could not think of any other reason for her lover to be upset with her.
"I'm not mad at you," the raven-haired female replied, trying to brush the whole matter off with a wave of her hand.
"Yes, you are. That's why you were so tense when I came in," the former hero pointed out. She remained cuddled into her love, even though she was certain Shego was angry with her. More often than not, physical closeness helped Shego be honest and also got Kim out of trouble with her.
"Then why did I relax when you hugged me instead of getting pissed?" Shego countered, thinking that she had the argument there. For once, she was happy she could easily admit the affect that Kim had on her now.
"You always relax when I hug you. Just like you always react when I kiss you…" Kim leaned into prove her point, forgetting she was going to derail herself more than she would do with Shego.
Shego met Kim for the kiss, which started out as a peck on the lips, but grew more intense with every millisecond that passed. Shego was not surprised to feel Kim's tongue flick at her lips and she opened her mouth to welcome the visitor. Her own tongue met Kim's and they glided against each other, sparking passions in both ladies. Moans quickly filled the air.
Shego abandoned her book, dropping it to the floor with a soft thud while turning around to feel Kim pressed against her front. She collected the petite vampire in her arms, leaving Kim to straddle her waist. Kim's hands found their way underneath Shego's shirt in a hurry. Kim hissed into Shego's mouth as she caressed smooth skin, as if it was her first time ever feeling the older woman.
Kim, always overeager, made short work of Shego's shirt, clawing her out of the garment; "death by Kimmie" was the most common way Shego's clothing met its end. The bloodsucker's hands immediately went to Shego's freed breasts, rubbing and kneading the flesh as if it was the only thing in the world she wanted to do. A loud, long moan escaped former villainess' mouth, which affected the eternal teen and caused her to add more pressure to get more noises from her lover.
"God, Kimmie," Shego muttered.
Kim broke away from Shego's lips, licking the green-tinted chin on the way. The redhead dipped, going down to kiss and suckle at Shego's neck while her hands continued on attending to the ex-thief. Kim felt the rapid heartbeat under her mouth and could hear Shego's blood rushing through her body. The vampire smiled happily into the warm skin.
"Will you feed me tonight?" Kim requested in a low, seductive voice. She lapped at Shego's throat like an enchanted kitten. Apparently, she completely forgot she was supposed to be somewhat upset with her soul mate.
"Anything," Shego answered in a breath. Her hands were idle, just enjoying holding her lover to her to make sure that Kim did not get away… not that the younger woman was trying to go anywhere. She pressed one hand to the small of Kim's back and slowly drew circles, earning a few purrs.
"Can I have you always and forever?" the vampire asked as her head went lower. She dragged her tongue over Shego's collarbone, enjoying the salty taste of her love's body as sweat began to build up.
"For as long as you want," the former thief replied in a breath.
The redhead's mouth seemed to float across Shego's skin before finding one of its favorite perches. She attached herself to Shego, nipping at the swell of her right breast while her hand occupied the left. The ex-villainess hissed and then her hands decided that it was time to get busy.
Shego had no shame in shredding Kim's clothing to get her out of them; hey, if Kim did not want it to happen to her, then she should learn to stop doing it to Shego. The vampire did not complain and just leaned closer to Shego in order to feel skin against skin as her shirt fell away. They both hissed and groaned from the contact, feeling as if their bodies were igniting each other.
Kim leaned down, wanting Shego's nipple back. She wrapped her lips around the precious gem and pulled a loud moan from Shego. Smiling to herself, Kim massaged the globe cupped by her hand. The pale woman reached up and treated Kim's smaller breasts to similar treatment. A tiny noise escaped Kim and she bucked against Shego.
"Careful, Princess," Shego teased.
The vampire's response was to simply bite down on Shego's breast. Shego's mouth fell open and she hissed as jolts of pleasure shot through her. Not to be outdone, she rolled each of Kim's peaks. Kim bucked against her again.
"More," the redhead begged in a breath. Shego obliged her.
Eventually, Kim could not take it and toppled Shego onto her back before the older woman could even get her out of her pants. The vampire did not seem to care about that, purring as she kissed and licked Shego's flesh as their bodies touched and their spirits connected. Shego was a little more affected by the move, though.
"Damn it, Pumpkin, we have got to get you some patience," Shego remarked, mostly because now she had to do more reaching to get the blood-drinker naked. And she needed Kim naked in a hurry; her pulsating body demanded it.
"We have to get you some speed," Kim teased before taking a particularly deep bite from her mate. No fangs were involved… yet.
Shego cried out while arching into the touch. Her hands worked just a little harder to get Kim out of her pants, tearing at the hems. Once Kim was free from the pants, Shego wasted no time kneading the flesh of the vampire's ass. Kim shamelessly ground her hips against whatever part of Shego that she could feel while continuing to suckle at the older woman.
Kim moaned loudly from the contact as she painted her lover's thigh with her desire. Shego moaned, too, but she was about to voice a complaint based on the fact that Kim was just grinding against her, but the younger woman suddenly pressed her fingers against Shego's center. The redhead groaned in a low tone as she could feel how much Shego wanted her. Shego rolled her hips into the welcomed digits, silently begging for more. Kim wasted no time in giving her soul mate just what she wished for.
"God, Kimmie," Shego breathed.
"I know what you mean. Being inside of you…" Kim was in sheer awe each and every time she touched her lover. Wiggling her two fingers, Kim groaned at the warm, velvet hugging her. Shego's body beckoned her to add a finger and she wasted no time doing so as her thumb glided over Shego's pleasure spot.
The older woman's eyes closed and she shouted to the ceiling as Kim touched her, making her soul soar. Her arms wrapped around the redhead, keeping Kim pressed as close to her as their bodies would allow. Soon the passion-fueled fog began to lift from Shego's head and she was able to remember that her lover had needs, too. Shego's hand eventually moved, so that she was touching Kim and returning the favor.
Kim purred against Shego's neck and she drove herself hard against her lover's touch. She could barely think as she and Shego united. Her body just screamed for more, for all of Shego. She wished that they could be connected forever.
"I need…" Kim breathed.
"I know," Shego replied and gave Kim just what she wanted, adding a third finger.
"Oh, god!" Kim hid her face in Shego's neck for a while as they pleased each other.
Soon, grunts, groans, moans, and purrs filled the room along with the couple's own musk. Noisy kisses were exchanged and abandoned as mouths, lips, and tongues sought out other company before coming back together. They clung to each more and tried to feel as much of each other as they could.
Shego could feel herself coming closer to the edge and Kim sensed it with ease. As soon as the former thief took the plunge, Kim reacted. Kim bite down, fangs penetrating Shego's breast while Shego screamed to the ceiling, enjoying the explosion rippling through her entire being. Kim groaned in a low, satisfied tone into pale green skin as she drank and also drifted over the edge into the sweetest oblivion.
After several long seconds, Shego started to catch her breath and she looked down at the vampire feeding off of her. She moaned a little, watching Kim. There was something hot about watching Kim, but Shego was often left too weak to make anything of the hotness.
Kim pulled away a little and two tiny droplets of blood streamed into the valley of Shego's breasts. Kim ran her tongue along the area, making sure to lap up the straying liquid. She then rested her head on Shego's chest, sighing as she made herself comfortable, feeling quite spent for right now. Shego wrapped her arms around the vampire.
"You taste so good…" Kim whispered and she placed a wet kiss to Shego's already glistening chest.
"So you always say," Shego teased a bit while massaging the small of the vampire's back.
"Shego…" the redhead said and it was in a bit of a serious tone. Yes, she got sidetracked, but she was not so spent that she totally forgot what she wanted from her lover.
"Yes?" the older woman inquired, having a feeling that they were not going to bask in the afterglow for long.
"Why won't you come with me to visit my family? Everyone wants to get to know you better," Kim pointed out.
Shego was silent for a while. Go with Kim to see her family? So she could witness her only companion fall further and further away from her? So she could be there the moment that Kim decided she was not going to come back? So she could hear the words and stand eye-to-eye when Kim informed her that she was going to stay with her parents or with Ron now? No thank you.
"There's still a lot to do around here. Besides, you should get some time alone with everyone," Shego answered, hoping the end sentence would placate Kim and get her out of the conversation quickly.
"I don't want any more alone time with everyone. I want you to get to know them and want them to get to know you. We all owe you so much. Don't you get that?"
Shego scoffed. "You don't own me anything. They don't owe me anything and this place is a dump, so I have to get it together."
"Now, I know this place needs a lot of fixing, but I think it's more than that. It's okay if you have some social problems considering the fact that we were locked away from the world for years, but I want you to get to know my family and they really want to know you," Kim stated.
Shego was silent again. She wanted to believe that and she even considered Kim might mean it, but her getting to know the vampire's family did not mean Kim would not abandon her for them one day. She really did not want to see how happy Kim was with her family because that would make the strong possibility of Kim leaving all the more real for her. She just could not take seeing it with her own eyes, knowing that eventually the biggest news of her life was going to hit her like a bullet right between the eyes.
"Shego?" Kim said and she looked up at her soul mate with concern in her olive eyes. "You don't like my family, do you?" she asked, eyes misting over and mouth falling into a sorrowful pout.
The green-skinned woman's face scrunched up. "That's not true. I mean, I don't even know anything about your family to not like them!" she pointed out. The last thing she wanted was for Kim to get the wrong idea and just leave sooner than she thought the vampire would.
"And you're never going to find anything out about them if you hide in here forever! Now, they want to get to know you and they're throwing a cookout over the weekend since my brothers are coming home for a couple of days. They want us to be there. I'm asking you right now, please, come with me," Kim requested.
Shego then uttered the words everyone over the age of four knew was the kiss of death: "I'll think about it."
The weight of the sudden silence should have crushed both of them. Despite the tension, they fell asleep as they lay, Kim using Shego for a mattress and Shego embracing Kim like a cuddle toy. They got their usual few hours of sleep, very few, and then things started going awry, as far as Shego was concerned anyway.
Typically, Kim woke up in a very giving and hungry mood. Right now, she had the bad manners of wanting nothing more than to shower. Shego was left lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and wondering what the hell was the right way to handle this… whatever that was happening. She had a sneaking suspicion she would not figure things out until it was too late.
"I need to get myself together. I mean, this is Kimmie. She's not going to repay everything I did by just jumping ship on me, right? We've been though so much together, she wouldn't just leave me. She knows I don't have anyone but her. We mean everything to each other, right? What the hell am I thinking?
"This is her family, though. She's wanted to go back to them for years. She used to sneak off to just let them know she was still alive and I would let her go, knowing she had to do it and do it by herself. She used to have nightmares about not being able to go back to them. Of course, she's going to leave me eventually," Shego muttered to herself. She did not know what the hell to think anymore.
Instead of waiting around to get into another "fight" with Kim, Shego tore herself away from the bed. She grabbed a handful of clothes and went to one of the many other, now-working bathrooms to take her own shower. She then went to find a project to keep her occupied and avoid her housemate for a little while until Kim was back to normal. She decided on pulling up the floor on the main level of the lair. It was something she needed to finish anyway.
Almost all of the floors in the lair were damaged to some degree. When the couple had first moved in, they agreed to put down new flooring, making sure it looked more like a home than a diabolical lair. So far, Shego was the only one making the effort while Kim was just overjoyed to be able to see her family and friends whenever she wanted. Shego did not mind she was not getting any help. After all, she was just using the lair as an excuse to avoid going out with Kim. But, it would probably help Kim stay a little longer if the place looked less rundown and ominous.
"I wonder what she would think of a tiled floor for out here," Shego muttered while surveying her next project.
Despite all of Shego's worrying, her mind seemed to find it impossible to think about little things in her life without adding in Kim's input. So, while she had the underlying fear that Kim would leave, every time she thought about things surrounding their home, she wondered what Kim would like. She did not even realize that her mind never subconsciously accepted Kim was going to leave her one day. Her mind planned for forever with Kim.
Shego started on tearing up the pieces of the floor that were out in the main entrance. She was not sure how long she was there, but she was surprised when Kim strolled out. She did not think much of it, figuring that Kim was going to hang out with Monique since it was too late for her to fly to see Ron. Still, Shego's mouth moved before her brain, but her brain was glad with what her mouth said.
"Where are you going?" Shego asked.
"To meet up with a friend," Kim answered, her body tense and her tone curt.
"A friend? Monique?" Shego guessed. She found it a bit odd that Kim had used the word "friend" instead of just saying the person's name.
"No, not Monique."
"Then who? Ron?" Shego pressed. Me thinks something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
"Not Ron."
A tight frown cut across Shego'"Then who the hell are you going to see? Wade?"
"Look, Shego, I need to get going before I'm late," Kim replied, some attitude creeping into her voice. She did not feel like explaining herself to someone who was pushing her away anyway.
"No, you're not going anywhere until you tell me who the hell it is you're meeting and where you're meeting them," Shego declared as she marched over to the vampire. She was not sure why, but it always seemed better to yell at someone face to face. It might have had something to do with her wanting to see the person's reaction right away or it might have had something to do with her trying to intimidate the person to change the response to one she liked.
"What business is it of yours? You don't care about the people I hang out with anyway," the redhead snapped.
Another frown sliced through Shego's face as sharp as a razor. "I'm not even going to bother with that. Tell me who it is you're going to hang out with. You know you can't just go out and make new friends at the drop of a dime anymore, Princess. This person could be a fucking vampire for all you know."
"Let's excuse the fact that I'm about to meet her at twelve noon and say that she is a vampire. I've fought vampires before and I think I can take care of myself by now, so I don't need you babysitting me," Kim huffed, snorting at the end like an angry bull, as if that assisted her point.
"I'm just trying to look out for you!" Shego countered, anger making her eyes flare.
"Why? It's not like you care! I'm going to hang out with whoever I want, whenever I want!" the bloodsucker answered and actually stomped her foot.
"Oh, yeah, you sound really mature right now," Shego remarked and she rolled her eyes.
For a moment, hurt was clearly visible on Kim's face, but Shego missed it because she was too busy rolling her eyes. The vampire hated being reminded that she stuck in her seventeen-year-old body. It was never going to fully mature. Everything about her physically was still seventeen and she would be damned if she would let Shego get away with implying that mentally she was still seventeen.
"Yeah, you don't seem to mind the age I'm stuck at when it involves you getting laid," Kim hissed.
Shego's eyes flashed with fury, but settled on glistening with worry. She made a tight fist and released it before speaking again. Her voice came out in a forced calm with anxiety and concern oozing from it. "Damn it, Pumpkin, don't be like this. I just don't want you to get hurt and you know that. Okay, she might not be a vampire, but she could be a hunter. Thanks to that bastard Lee, we do know that vampire hunters exist and that GJ isn't below hiring them to get rid of you. What if this 'friend' is actually a hunter?" she demanded.
"Then she wouldn't have invited me out at noon and she would have tried to kill me last night when we met. Carmilla is just a regular person who wants to get to know me and I want to get to know her," Kim stated soundly, her voice making it sound like everything was set in stone.
"Carmilla?" Shego echoed. The name sounded familiar to her brain.
"That's her name. Carmilla," Kim repeated.
Shego's frown turned into a scowl. "No, Kim, you can't go. I don't like this one bit." She shook her head, striking down the whole plan. Everything smelled wrong to her now and she wanted to err on the side of caution for her lover.
"I'm going. What don't you like about it? The fact that someone on the planet actually wants to spend time with me?" the redhead asked with venom in her tone.
"Kimmie, I just don't like this. Carmilla is the name of a vampire in a book written before Dracula. She was a particularly cruel vampire because she would make friends with the girls that she fed off of and then slowly kill them. She could walk around in the daylight," Shego explained in a calm voice, hoping that would help ease her mate's anger and get Kim to listen to her.
"Yeah, well, she can't feed off of me since I don't have any more blood in my system than she does if she is a vampire. Besides, that was just a story. You're fishing for excuses now. I'm going," the former hero declared.
"Kimmie, wait—!" Shego begged, but it was too late. Kim vanished into a puff of mist and was gone. "Damn it! I don't like this. I mean, it's entirely possible that Kim could have just met a human named 'Carmilla,' but, still, I just don't like this." Shego would prefer to err on the side of caution… like always when it came Kim.
Shego was not sure what to do. Kim was too upset with her to listen, which pissed her off because she was the person that had been looking out for Kim for some many years and now all of a sudden her opinion did not matter. She punched the nearest thing to her, which happened to be the wall, as she realized that arguing with Kim was only helping her worst nightmare come true.
"Not to mention, it puts Kim in danger because now she's just doing stupid shit to spite me," Shego commented to the air, completely failing to take notice of the hole that she put in the wall behind her.
She ran her hand through her thick raven mane and tried to think of how she could correct the problem… if there even was a problem. After all, it was possible Carmilla was an average human girl that Kim hit it off with. Of course, that did leave Shego with a different problem, adding to her growing fear that Kim was going to leave her sometime soon as she got more of a taste of normal living.
"Damn it," Shego muttered, unsure what else to say to express the gnawing feelings that were consuming her like slow-working acid.
-8-8-8-8-
Kim walked down the street she was certain Carmilla's house was on while trying not to think about the argument that she and Shego had. She sucked her teeth, thinking about how overprotective Shego was and the nerve of Shego telling her who she could spend time with when it was clear to her that the one person that she wanted to be around did not feel the same way anymore. Part of her even dared to think that Shego was pushing her away because Shego had plans to go back to her old life, maybe even be a super-villain considering there was the high probability she was immortal now.
"But, Shego's changed. She wouldn't do that, right? But, then again, I never thought she'd try to ditch me once we got back to civilization either. She's acting weird. I mean, on one hand, it's like she's trying to get rid of me, but on the same end, it's like she's the same old Shego. I don't know what to make of all of this crap," Kim said to herself and then she shook the thoughts away as she saw Carmilla standing in the front of her yard, waiting.
"Kim, I'm so glad you came! I thought you might have forgotten!" Carmilla grinned. It was such a bright expression, one that proclaimed that she was clearly overjoyed with Kim's presence alone.
The blood-redhead ran to meet Kim at the end of the walkway. She ran slowly, mostly because she was wearing slightly heeled shoes and it would do her no good to fall in front of her new friend. She continued smiling as she stood before Kim and casually placed her hand on Kim's shoulder. The vampire was taken in by the delighted look on the youth's face, so she did not notice the touch on her arm.
"I truly thought that you might have forgotten me," Carmilla repeated. Her smile never wavered.
"Why? Am I late?" Kim asked with a slight furrowed brow. Time still did not have a meaning to her, especially now she since was not bound to wander in complete darkness. She and Shego went to bed whenever they were tired and woke up whenever they woke up. Where the sun was at those moments did not matter.
"No, you are not late. I just thought that it might have been my imagination last night that led me to believe someone like you would be friends and go somewhere with me. I'm happy that it was not my imagination and you are here," Carmilla explained with a little giggle.
Kim laughed. "Nope, definitely not your imagination. I'm hoping that we can be good friends."
"I'm sure we can. It's what we both want, after all. Come, let's go," Carmilla urged, wrapping her arm with Kim's and tugging the former hero down the street. Kim did not resist.
-8-8-8-8-
Doctor Director sat at her desk, taking care of some paperwork. She had been burying herself in work the past couple of months because she had been unable to sleep. She was in no mood to return home, which people had noticed, but she had not given any reasons. She needed to up her security before she decided to live in that house again. So, she spent most of her time at work. The good news was that all of her hard work had her in line for a promotion. The bad news was that she was starting to let all kinds of thoughts run through her mind from lack of sleep. Most of the thoughts ran like a review of her life when it came to a certain vampire and her cohort.
The first thing on her mind was that she was a coward, for a lot of reasons. She was scared to go home, plain and simple. Kim and Shego had broken into her home with such ease that she had no doubt they could do it whenever they felt like it. She did not want to be there when they decided to do it again because she had seen Kim when she was in "vampire-mode." She had seen Kim forget her own humanity and she had seen Kim when humans started to look like lesser life forms, like dinner. She did not want to be on the receiving end of that again. She did not want her end to come as someone's evening meal and in a bloody mess that would only be identifiable through DNA records.
But, of course, there was more than her own fear that made her a coward and she was only coming to that realization through all of her deep thinking. She realized she had never given Kim a chance after finding out that the former hero was a true vampire. Shego brought Kim to GJ for help and Doctor Director never really offered that. She had given Kim to her scientists and allowed them to play with the vampire, never really searching for a cure, just enjoying a subject to study. Doctor Director never said anything about that. She just let the scientists do what they were doing.
Added to that was the fact she never recognized the change in Shego. She always thought Shego was playing at some angle, trying to get away as always, but in truth, looking back on things, she could see how Shego cared for Kim and took care of Kim, going so far as to feed Kim without thinking twice. She had been there more for Kim than anyone else in the world and she was Kim's sworn enemy. Doctor Director was supposed to be a friend and she had done nothing but wrong the vampire at every turn.
Now, she knew why she acted the way that she did. Unlike Shego, Doctor Director had to worry about protecting the world. Once again, she had seen Kim in action when the forever-teen forgot that humans were people and it was not a pretty sight. She did not want to subject the world to that if Kim's mentality continued to evolve, or devolve, in such a way. She was the only thing between an unsuspecting world and a vampire that could do anything. She had to think about keeping the world safe.
"Still, I know there's more that I could've done," Doctor Director muttered as she signed yet another document. She was barely even reading them now. She hoped that the laziness did not eventually come back to bite her in the ass. After all, she liked her job, even though it was causing her some regrets at the moment.
In regards to doing more for Kim, she knew she could have sat down and discussed matters with the hero. No matter what, Kim was more than reasonable on issues, and always had been. She was an intelligent girl and if Doctor Director had bothered to think on it at the time, she would have realized that. Instead, she allowed fear to reign over her mind and good senses, fear that Kim was a threat to humanity, a threat that needed to be watched carefully and kept on a leash.
"A threat that's disappeared off the face of the Earth," Doctor Director mumbled. "If I see another inquiry as to where Kim ran off to, I might have to eat it."
"Now, you shouldn't have to do that," a cool voice commented.
Doctor Director's head snapped up to see who was there. The headquarters was supposed to be empty as it was the end of the day for most people. The owner of the voice standing in her office was perched in a corner, hidden by shadows.
"Who are you?" the boss of GJ demanded to know with steel in her voice.
"You don't remember me?" the figure stepped out of the dark. "It's only been a couple of months since that vampire bitch tried to tear my heart out of my chest."
A frown slid across Doctor Director's face without her knowledge. Standing before her was the dhampir vampire hunter that she had hired not too long ago to go after Kim. When he did not return, she had assumed the young Lee had failed or had never really undertook the job as he claimed. From his sudden appearance, she was not sure what to think.
"What can I do for you, Lee?" Doctor Director inquired in a businesslike tone. She leaned back in her chair, making sure to keep her eye on him while looking like the boss that she was.
"You can tell me where that bitch vampire is and her whore," Lee answered in a bitter, seething tone. His nose flared just from thinking about those two and what he planned to do to them when he got his hands on them. He could still feel the ghosts of the wounds they had inflicted on him and he wanted to pay them back tenfold.
"I don't have that information," she reported in a smooth tone.
"You have some information," he demanded. His ice blue eyes were hard, as if he was not going to take anything but what he wanted for an answer.
"I don't have anything. Those files are locked away for people with the highest authorization codes. Believe it or not, I am not one of them," she stated, some edge in her voice.
"Then how do they expect you to catch her?" he inquired in a suspicious tone.
"They don't. I am no longer in charge of that case. I don't know who it was passed onto. You not having a boss, I doubt you know that when you do poorly in one task, it's usually assigned to someone that they think will do a better job. I don't know who they think would do a better job with this, though," she informed him.
He nodded and then gave her a leveled look. "Tell me where you think she is."
"I haven't a clue. I don't really have the time to chase the vampire anymore. It's not my job," she pointed out.
"And all it was for you was a job?" His hard eyes blazed as if he was angry with her that it was just a job for her.
She shrugged. "Welcome to the real world."
He growled and pointed behind him at the door. "You should be out fighting against these abominations since you're capable of doing such rather than worrying about it being a job. This world's in the middle of a plague and the plague needs to be ended. This is a war, not a job!"
"Is that what you plan to do with Kim, end her?" Doctor Director asked, once again sounding very professional.
"That's what I plan to do to all vampires, but especially that unholy bitch and her demon whore. I will send them both back to Hell," Lee declared and he was gone just as suddenly as he appeared, believing that Doctor Director was of no use to him.
"He plans to kill Kim? Why do I feel like I'm against that plan? She threatened to kill me and scared me out of my home, yet I feel bad that he's going to kill her. She was once a trusted ally and she hasn't done anything wrong, but she's a threat to mankind. I'm almost certain that the world would be better off if Kim were dead… almost. All the work she's put in…" Doctor Director trailed off. She did not know what to think and arguing with herself was just confusing her.
She decided to put it out of her mind. Kim was not her business anymore and Lee was not her business. Even so, if those two things were true, then why did she tell Lee such convincing lies? She sighed as she unlocked the top drawer of her desk and fished out a file. She opened it and the first thing it was a picture of Kim and Shego. It was Kim's file.
-*-(New day)-*-
Ron was training in his family's private dojo, which was located on the same mountain as the Yamanouchi ninja school. Master Sensei wanted to keep Ron close to monitor his progress with the Lotus Blade as well as his mystical monkey powers. Ron did not mind because it was nice having a teacher a short walk away, even if Master Sensei could astro-project to anywhere in the world.
He went through his routine in the dark. His movements were fluid and powerful. His confidence was clear from his moves. The determined glint in his eyes had frightened off many opponents. He had long ago made a vow to himself that he never would be defenseless again. He would never allow someone close to him to be hurt or worse ever again. He would never allow what happened to Kim while he was right there happen in any way, shape, or form again.
On the day that Kim was snatched from him, Ron had grown up in an instant. The buffoon was gone and he knew after he ended up in the hospital that he needed to get serious about his martial arts. Right after he graduated high school, which was a struggle in and of itself, he went to Yamanouchi and trained with all of his heart and soul, deciding that he would make Kim proud. Surprise, surprise, she was just that, not that he expected to see her again because he truly believed Kim had been killed by Adrian at some point after her kidnapped her. He was never so happy to be wrong in all of his days.
Suddenly, Ron stopped his movements. He focused to the left of him, looking out of the corner of his eye first and then turning completely. To most, it would appear as if he was staring into a dark corner in the room.
"Who are you and what do you want?" the blond ninja demanded with a stern glare in his cocoa eyes.
Lee stepped out from out of the shadows. "You knew the beast in her life as a human. Maybe you could tell me where to find her," he requested, coldness frosted to his voice even as he made a request.
"I don't know any beasts. I also don't like it when intruders sneak into my home," Ron replied. His fingers twitched, preparing to draw his sword if it was necessary.
"Tell me where the vampire is and I'll be on my way," Lee stated calmly, folding his arms across his chest, causing his black, long coat to flutter slightly.
Ron scoffed. "You believe in vampires?" His tone implied he thought Lee an idiot, but he of course that was not true. He was already trying to figure out how someone else knew about Kim.
"As do you. I know you were the one that reported Kim being bitten by a vampire and now she is one. And you will tell me how to find her," Lee ordered. He pointed a threatening, gloved finger at the blond.
"Let's assume I did know where to find Kim and then let's assume that you researched enough to know I used to be her sidekick. In fact, let's go so far to assume that you know she and I grew up together. Now, assuming all of that, do you really think I'm going to sell her out to some strange, clearly stupid bastard that slinking around my home like some snake?" Ron demanded.
"I can force you to tell me," Lee answered.
"Try me," Ron dared the stranger as he drew his blade. He wondered if the strange fellow was the reason that Kim was so secretive about where she was staying… not that she was secretive about being on the street, he noted some time ago. She explained that by saying that she did not want to be a prisoner in her own home.
Lee growled; how foolish these humans were, to stand up for a mere beast, a filthy, flesh-eating vampire! He was about to reach into his jacket, but he noticed a strange blue aura surrounding the ninja. He withdrew his hand and slinked back into the shadows. He was gone before Ron realized what happened.
"What the hell was that all about?" Ron wondered… and then he realized that he needed to warn Kim that someone was looking for her.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Shego and Kim continue on their road to self-destruction while Doctor Director debates with herself. Ron gets in touch with Shego about his late-night visitor while Lee is still on the hunt for Kim. Who will get to the vampire first?