Chapter 3

Shego considered for a moment and decided it would be a good opportunity to learn about Kim. Sure it could be argued that she already knew Kim intimately through their shared experiences in battle, but knowing what actions a person would take was different to knowing why a person would decide to take that action.

"Okay Kimmie," she said. "Sounds reasonable just to let you know now though that certain time periods of my past…"

"Like why you left team go?"

"Yes that's the exact thing that is of limits."

Kim nodded, she was naturally curious about that, but she would respect Shego's wishes in this matter.

"Is it okay if I ask about when you first started being a hero?" Kim asked. "About how you dealt with it encroaching on your regular life?"

"The short answer is I didn't princess," Shego answered honestly. "Being green all the time didn't exactly help. So what about you find the hero thing to suck some days?"

"Yeah," Kim admitted. "But its mainly two people make me feel that way and that's because they're not very supportive."

"Oh let me guess," Shego said with no hint of enthusiasm. "Steve Barkin and Bonnie Rockwaller."

"Got it one Shego," Kim replied. "I mean I get Bonnie, it's the whole teenage food chain thing mixed in with elements I've only caught a glimpse of, but what is the deal with Barkin?"

"He's just bitter Kim," Shego explained. "His moment of glory slipped away over a decade ago and he isn't okay with it, add that to the fact most of the kids at Middleton have already achieved more than he has and it just gets worse."

"I can't believe you went on a date with him!"

"Believe me I had worse," Shego said. "Although I suppose I can use mind control as an excuse, you know he tracked me down the weekend after all that business."

"Really?" Kim asked.

"He tried to serenade me," Shego explained. "Lets just say Dr. D's rap about his shampoo is top of the charts material compared to anything musical Steve tried to accomplish that day. I made sure he could never use that guitar again."

"That definitely explains the bandages he had that Monday."

"Bringing up the Shampoo reminds me," Shego said. "Did you command me to do anything after you squirted me with that gunk?"

"Other than for you to sit and wait quietly for the authorities?" Kim asked.

"So you did command me to do something, " Shego stated her muscles tensing.

"Um yeah," Kim admitted. "But it's not what you think, I know how you feel about mind control."

"Then tell me," Shego spat between her teeth.

"I was worried you may not come out of the suggestive state," Kim blurted out fearful that Shego may turn on her. "So I asked you to disregard any mind control orders once you were in your cell and act and think as you normally would."

The expression on Shego's face began to ease and the tension in her honed muscles dissipated.

"Thank you Kim."

"Was it different to when Drakken chipped us?"

"Yes, unlike the chips where I was aware of everything it was like I was emersed in a thick fog," Shego remembered the experience.

They sat in silence for a while. Kim cursed herself for letting the conversation get to shampoo sitch. She despised herself for doing that; in the list of her greatest mistakes it ranked just below waiting an entire week to see if Shego had suffered permanent injury from that electrical tower. Eventually she hit upon a topic that might make Shego smile or at least less upset with her.

"What's the stupidest crime you've ever committed?" the teen heroine asked.

"Excuse me pumpkin?" Shego asked not quite believing what she heard.

"Well your wanted in eleven countries right, for a variety of crimes," Kim explained. "Not all of them could be for stealing priceless artefacts or top industrial secrets and prototypes."

"Your asking me if at the bottom of the list there's a little bit of small print that says jay walking?"

"Not really," Kim said. "But maybe Dr D. had you steal something idiotic? Something like that."

Shego thought for a few moments.

"Actually a few months before I started working for Dr. D I found myself in Australia," Shego started. "I was contemplating stealing Jackson Pollock's blue poles from their national gallery."

"That doesn't seem very stupid," Kim stated.

"Actually it was," Shego said. "After a few weeks casing the place I discovered that not even the curator would care if it disappeared. Something about the amount it was insured for would be able to buy them three better more relevant pieces."

"So did you take it anyway?" Kim asked.

"Hell no!" Shego explained. "My rep was growing but I needed to cement it in some more far flung places, Australia was my first place of call, so I needed to take something people would care about."

"So what did you steal?"

"A tourist trap place called the big pineapple," Shego answered. "Rented a helicopter or three and moved it during the middle of the night."

"Uh," was the only coherent thing that Kim could get out.

"I don't know either princess," Shego said. "It seems to be a culture thing, if a region is noted for something down there they automatically build a big thing to represent it."

"Weird," Kim said. "So what did they charge you with?"

"Vandalism and destruction of property," Shego detailed. "They didn't add theft because they found it quickly, that kind of annoyed me."

All of the sudden Kim started giggling, she tried to hold it in but she burst out into all out laughter.

"Not that funny princess," Shego admonished.

"It's not that," Kim explained. "I'm just imagining a little Shego trick or treating as Carmen Sandiego."

"Actually only at the last Halloween party at the senior's," Shego said. "I always went for full face masks after the meteor strike and before that I was a typically little girl."

Kim kept laughing.

"Shut up I bet all of my Halloween costumes are better than what you and the buffoon have gone as," Shego said. "So Kimmie what's the most embarrassing thing the buffoon as ever forced you to dress as?"

Kim groaned.

"We went as tweedle dee and tweedle dum one year," Kim sighed. "It wouldn't have been too bad but the costumes had panels in them solely so we could carry more candy, so the entire town saw me in it. And then Ron tripped me by accident when we were just about home. I went rolling down the street and I couldn't get up when I stopped. Luckily my dad saw it happen, I would have been so pissed at Ron if he hadn't offered me all his candy as an apology."

Shego was trying to come up with something funny to say but failed instead quietly she said.

"I wish I had had a friend like that."