The Breaking of a Hero
Chapter 2: The Talk
You do remember who owns Kim Possible, right?
You do understand that this is an unauthorized non-profit piece of fan-fiction, written just for fun and not meant as a copyright infringement?
Well, all righty, then. Let's just get on with it!
If you like it, please leave a review. Or if you hate it, and have some constructive criticism.
Thanks to Rshiel at deviantArt for beta-reading. Remaining errors are, of course, my own.
==#0#==
"Shego!" Kim Possible exclaimed. "What are you doing in my room?"
"Doy, Princess, what does it look like? I'm relaxing on your bed, and reading your old Cuddlebuddy Collector magazines!"
"Yeah, I can see that! What I mean is more like – why do you have to keep sneaking into my room? Why can't you use the door like a normal person?"
"Well, Pumpkin, I think the clue is very much in the question for that one…"
"Darn. Walked right into that one, didn't I? But anyway, why are you here?"
Kim grabbed some clothes from her drawers and closet and retreated to her bathroom to change. She kept the door ajar to be able to continue talking with Shego.
"Well, Kimmie, we need to talk. It's quite urgent and important, so I came here to wait for you. You took longer than expected, though, so I got bored and decided to come in and relax a bit. Your mother was busy with her brain stuff research, so I let myself in and crashed here on your bed. All right? "
Kim came out from the bathroom, now clad in a light blue short sleeved top and tan capris.
"Aw, Shego! You're impossible!"
"Well, that's the difference between us! I'm impossible, and you're Kim Possible!"
"Oh, ha ha! Hadn't heard that one for almost three days!"
"Well, anyway, it's still funny when I say it, isn't it?"
"Yeah, sure it is. So let's talk! But first, have you eaten? I had some pasta at the food court, but I'm sure we can find some lunch for you if you're hungry?"
"No, thanks, I'm good."
"Well, some coffee, then, perhaps? And cookies?"
"Ah, now you're talking! Your parents do have a real good coffee machine."
"Well, you should know. You gave it to them last Christmas, remember?"
The two young women climbed down from the attic and walked downstairs.
"Hallo, Mrs. P!" Shego said, walking into the kitchen with Kim.
"Oh, hi there, Shego! I didn't hear you come in!"
"Ah… I was just upstairs with Kimmie."
Kim started hunting for cookies, muffins and whatever seemed tempting. Mrs. Possible's attention drifted back to her work.
"We're going to make some coffee, Mum! Do you want any?"
"No thanks, dear." She indicated a big mug by the laptop. "I'm on tea, today. Trying to be kind to my stomach."
"Tragic!" Shego said. "Cappuccino for you, Pumpkin?"
"Please and thank you, Shegie!"
Shego busied herself with the barista style coffee machine, and Kim arranged a tray with everything else they would need.
"It's nice outside today. Fancy taking it all out in the garden, by the pool?"
"Sure, Kimmie! Fine by me!"
They had started carrying everything outside, when Mrs. Possible suddenly looked up and called out to them.
"Oh, Shego! Would you like to stay for dinner or are you two going out?"
Shego hesitated. "Well, I don't want to put you to any trouble…"
"Oh, don't worry, Shego. It's not brain loaf day today. I promise!"
Shego looked at Kim for confirmation.
"In that case, yes, please, I'd be happy to stay for dinner!
==#0#==
Kim followed Shego out to the group of garden furniture by the pool. The weather was mild but fresh, and the sunlight was filtered through a slight haze. It was pleasant without being too hot, and they didn't bother with unfolding the parasols.
"You do know my Mum likes you quite a lot, Shego?" Kim said as they sorted out their cups and cookies.
"Yeah, well, I like her, too. She's quite cool for a soccer mum."
"The Tweebs gave up soccer years ago, so I'm not sure she qualifies anymore."
Shego shrugged. "Once a soccer mum, always a soccer mum…"
They drank their coffee in silence.
Kim watched the pale ex-hero turned ex-thief over the rim of her cup. As so often, she couldn't help but marvel at the changes in their relationship, and in Shego herself.
The Lowardian incident had proved to be a major turning point, not only for Drakken but, perhaps even more, for the self-professedly evil side-kick.
The amnesty that was granted in exchange for their help in saving the world had provided an opportunity to go straight, and Shego had grabbed it with both hands.
It all confirmed Kim's suspicions that Shego was neither particularly evil nor excessively good. She was just like most people in this regard. What she had an enormous supply off, though, was pride.
Although one of the seven deadly sins, Kim didn't find it hard to accept excessive pride as Shego's dominant characteristic, especially as she had to admit the woman had quite a few things to be proud of. Her strength and agility, her knowledge of computers and electronics, and, yes, her beauty.
Anyway, she had obviously been very proud of her status as a hero, until that, for some reason, turned sour. Kim had not managed to find out exactly what went wrong, but was sure that something major happened, perhaps some huge fight between her and Hego. For sure, Hego was annoying enough to drive anyone to extremes.
Whatever happened, Shego emerged as an 'evil' villainess. Kim was certain that the evil part was mostly for show, though, and that her attitude and actions were born more of pride than anything else. When she was a hero, she wanted to be the most competent and impressive hero possible, and as a villain, she just had to be the most bad-ass, sarcastic, awesome criminal imaginable.
And then, when she had been given the opportunity to be 'good' again, she embraced that, too, with everything she had.
Luckily, she hadn't turned back into the somewhat naive superhero of her adolescence. And she wasn't nice in the way of the stunted Miss Go, either. Oh, Kim had really enjoyed hanging out with the unlikely high-school teacher. She had been funny, kind and supportive. But Shego, as she was now, being nice because she liked you, and not because she couldn't help it, was infinitely more precious.
Yes, Kim had to admit, Shego was now by far her best female friend. She was amusing, exciting and challenging to be around, they could do tons of different things together, and they could talk about anything.
It was a real miracle, like in some sappy soap opera, but it was for real.
"So, Shego? What about we do this thing where we talk?"
"Ah, yes. That. Well, let's start with you telling me about your 11 o'clock appointment with Betty Spook?"
Kim wasn't at all surprised that Shego knew about the meeting, secret as it was supposed to have been. The numerous odd jobs and troubleshooting Shego did for the GJ gave her contacts everywhere in the organisation. She seemed to know all that was going down and have all the gossip. Kim thought that she probably knew the international crime-fighting agency better than Dr. Director did.
"Yeah, fine," Kim said. "You obviously know I was called in for an important interview. I was a bit early, but got to sit in the nice lounge in the front office. They even gave me coffee in real china cups."
"Oh, the silk glove treatment! Didn't you think it meant you were about to be suckered into something bad?"
Kim blushed a bit. "Actually, no. To be honest, I thought it might mean that they appreciated my … eh … potential, and that they wanted to show some respect."
"Oh, Princess!" Shego shook her head in amazed disappointment. "An organisation like the GJ never shows respect."
"Perhaps. Well, anyway, Dr. Director came an got me and showed me into her room. And there was this man… "
"Aha! Describe him for me, would you? In detail?"
"Well, he was in his sixties, I would say. Gray, almost white, hair. Long, combed back from his forehead and almost reaching his shoulders in the back. Big man, although not fat. More like a retired football player. Large nose, the kind I would call Roman or aquiline. Full lips, heavy jowls. Eyes icy blue… Hey, Shego? You all right?"
Shego looked suddenly distressed and had paled significantly. Where she usually was a delicate pistachio colour, she was now whitish like a sheet of cheap printer paper.
"Damn! Damn it all to hell. I … think I know that man. And that's bad. Very bad."
"You know him? How?"
"I … don't really remember, that's the trouble. Go on, will you? I'll tell you all I think I know afterwards."
"Well, there's not all that much to tell. The man, Mr. Smith, made me an offer. I would get a place in a top secret elite training programme. It would be geared to my abilities and would make me a top level operative if all went well. Whether I made it or not, I would have a guaranteed income for life. But if I got good grades, I would be obliged to work for at least ten years in government service. I'd be doing stuff a bit like you're doing now for GJ, but for any government agency. I'd be sent in whenever the missions are really difficult and important, and I'd get paid real well!"
Shego sighed. "And Betty, what did she have to say?"
"Dr. Director was oddly quiet. Almost hostile." Kim blushed again. "I actually thought this was because she had wanted to make me an offer herself, for the GJ, and the government had gone above her head."
"Well, you're right, Pumpkin. Betty did want to offer you a trainee position herself. And she's probably quite pissed about the deal Mr. Smith made."
"But Shego? What's wrong? It seems like an interesting deal?"
Shego didn't say anything for a while. She lifted her gaze and looked out over the garden. The shrubs and trees beyond the fence offered a peaceful view, and in the distance the foothills of the Colorado Rockies offered tranquil and beautiful backdrop. Shego was far from calm, though.
"Kimmie," she said, "I'm gonna tell you something important. Something I've never told anyone else. And I think it's something you need to know right now, even if it's all a bit vague. So, be sure to listen carefully, now!"
"Of course!"
"Well, I'm sure you've been curious about what really happened to make me quit the hero gig and turn to villainy?"
"Yeah, sure, I've wondered…"
"The truth is, I don't really know."
Kim silently waited for Shego to continue. She could see that this was a difficult thing for Shego to talk about, and didn't want to say anything that could disturb the tale.
Eventually, Shego spoke again. She used a low, matter-of-fact voice, very much different from her usual teasing tones.
"There's actually about six months of my life missing. I can't remember what really happened from just after I turned eighteen, and until I found myself crawling the downtown bars of some rust-belt town in the fall of 2001. I can recall being part of Team Go, and then I find myself down and out, half a year later, trying to drink myself to death.
"I have nightmares, though. Boy, do I have nightmares. Some of them are about pain, violence and humiliation, some are just weird, but a few of them are about a man around 55 years old, heavy, imposing and a real bastard." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And I fear you just met him."
==#0#==
/Author's note/ So now we know. Or rather, we can suspect that the secretive Mr. Smith may have had some past dealings with Shego that were not altogether benign.
What does that mean for the choices Kim has to make now? Is there something off with the offer she's received?
Stay tuned!
/Feudor/