Navigating through the labyrinthine maze of streets to get to her destination wasn't easy, and Shego once again offered her thanks to whoever it was that had first decided to stick a GPS in a car. She'd followed it across the bay and into Tsim Tsa Shui, to a side street a block or so past Jordan Road. Surprisingly enough there wasn't much traffic despite being one of the busier ports in the world.
Shego reached down and thumbed a switch under the dash as she turned the corner. The car shivered as the experimental thermoptic camouflage and sound suppressors activated. It was one of the few things that Drakken had developed, with the help of some stolen goodies of course, that actually impressed her.
She was tempted to whistle as she drove the car down the street. She parked it in an empty space across from the warehouse, which was practically crawling with goons. It couldn't have been more suspicious if the Tong had painted the walls in their colors. Shego shook her head as she reached under her seat and pulled out an unlabeled bottle. She popped off the top as she settled in for a long wait.
As the hours passed she found it harder and harder to fend off the jetlag and keep herself awake. Just as she was about call it quits and head back to Howard she caught sight of a flash of movement over the street. Her eyebrows rose as she followed the dark blur as it dismounted onto an unsuspecting goon.
"She's got style, I'll give her that," Shego muttered as she watched the masked woman demolish the security with ease.
Her eyes narrowed as she watched the woman ignite her hands. She could see where the comparison between them had come from, but Shego's glow was more than simple fire, which, despite the unusual color, was all Da Ji seemed to produce. As she watched through a pair of binoculars, a part of her kept sending up mental red flags over the way the bluenette was moving and fighting.
She waited until it seemed like the action had died down before stepping out of her car and approaching. Before she reached the door she ducked into the shadows. A group of girls, including one wearing a familiar hoodie, streamed out of the warehouse. They considered something between them for a few seconds before heading into the city.
Shego watched them until they disappeared around a corner. She stuck her hands into her pants pockets and ducked into the warehouse. She crept forward and stopped as she stumbled on the warehouse's remaining guards strewn across the floor. She'd also stumbled onto the sole reason she'd spent hours waiting in discomfort, after enough time even the best seats lost their appeal, about to go and make things much harder for both of them. The distance between Da Ji and the prone guard was closing quickly, and Shego silently cursed herself.
She stepped forwards and leaned against the the wall in a position that left both hands free before loudly clearing her throat. Da Ji's head snapped around and Shego's eyes narrowed as her hands ignited into blue flames. "Damn," she drawled with only slightly forced levity. "I know I've got a temper, but this is something else.
Shego raised a mental eyebrow at Da Ji's reaction. At a glance it seemed instinctive, but something about it seemed a bit too calculated to her. She could banter as well as the best of them though, even if her sense of humour was a bit more bitter than most. Nice to see that she wasn't the only one with a decent grip on reality.
"So, are you actually going to tell me why you're here," Da Ji said finally, "or do we have to play twenty questions first? Because I'm sure these boys' friends would just love to sit down and join us for a chat when they get here. "
"Damn, kitten's got some claws on her." Shego laughed softly as moved to cut off the easiest means of exit. Da Ji seemed to catch it too, her circling coming to a stop and her hands curling into fists, which Shego noted but pushed to the side. "Let's have a little talk then. See, I'm looking for certain someone, and I was hoping that you might know something."
"What makes you think I can help you?"
"Nothing." Shego shrugged. "Really, I just wanted an excuse to track you down."
Da Ji tensed up, her hands dropping down to her sides. Her bullet-proof vest rose up as she drew her shoulders back. Judging by how ill-fitting it looked, it was probably looted off some Triad enforcer. "Oh? I guess you found me, so now what?"
Shego raised an eyebrow then shook her head. "Not what you probably had in mind. Actually, I've got an offer for you. Help me find the person I'm looking for, and maybe I'll help you with a job or two. You know, tit for tat."
"I don't need your help."
"Please, as good as you think you are," Shego made a show of studying the vigilante and finding her wanting, "I'm sure there's someplace only a thief of my caliber could get into. Despite what you may think, you're definitely nowhere close to my level, Foxy."
"Foxy, cute." Da Ji seemed to relax as some of the tension eased out of her as she continued to banter with Shego. "You give nicknames to every girl you meet?"
"Just the annoying ones."
"I suppose I should feel insulted." Da Ji shook her head and reignited her gloves with a twitch of her wrists. "Now if you wouldn't mind, I have business to finish with, so could skip right to where you tell me what you want?"
"What I want? A nice house to start, plus a good looking husband, a healthy 401k, you know, what every girl wants."
"I thought that was fame and fortune."
"Ah ah ah," Shego waved a finger at Da Ji. "My turn to ask the questions. So, does any of that interest you?"
"What, fame and fortune? It's the middle of the night and I'm skulking around a warehouse beating up thugs in a mask; take a guess what I think about that. "
Despite the heavy atmosphere Shego barked out a laugh. "Oh I like you. Keep it up Foxy and I'll have to ask the Doc if I can keep you."
"I hope you're not expecting me to follow you home." Even with the mirrored lenses on the mask Shego could tell Da Ji was rolling her eyes. "Not gonna happen."
"Follow, kidnap, close enough. Sure you're not interested? I mean the benefits Drakken offers are pretty sweet, plus he's always open for some aggressive renegotiations." Shego grinned and shook her head. "Seriously though, glory doesn't interest you at all?"
Da Ji snorted. "Hardly. I'm not you; or your brother."
"Someone's done their research," Shego said as she glared at the vigilante.
"Of course I did. These," Da Ji's glove's left a trail of embers as she waved them through the air, "didn't just come out of thin air."
"Imitation? You know what, I actually am flattered by that."
"Are we going to spend all night playing twenty questions, or can we hurry this up before these boys' friends get here." Da Ji not so gently jabbed her foot into the side of the guard she had been approaching earlier. "Because I don't about you, but they aren't fans of mine."
"Killjoy. Fine, what do you know about Kim Possible?" Shego's eyes narrowed as Da Ji's head twitched. "You've been crawling around with the scum for a while, maybe you've heard something?"
"If she had any sense in her," Da Ji began, her voice thick with enough amusement Shego could hear it through the mask's audio filter. "She would have left long before I arrived here."
"That's the best you can give?" Shego arched an eyebrow and scoffed. "Something tells me you're being a little less than honest."
"Sorry, I've been rather busy trying to dismantle a gang to be out looking for a missing heroine. I'm sure she's capable of handling herself well enough on her own." Da Ji paused and gave Shego a sidelong glance. "Why do you care anyway? Out looking to settle the score with her?"
"Nope." Shego grinned. "I'm working on the side of the angels this time. Kimmie's little tech-dork hired me to track her down, if you can believe that."
"I-," Da Ji started to speak only to stop and shake her head. "No, that's actually crazy enough to probably be the truth." The masked vigilante turned her back on Shego as she began to loom over the unconscious guard. "I wasn't lying though. I haven't heard anything about her since I got here."
Shego sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Figures. That said, I'm gonna give a piece of advice. Coming from someone who's been there and done that, don't. I know he's scum, but trust me, it only ends up in shit for you later."
"You know nothing!" A snarl was just crossing Da Ji's lips as she began to spin around. The moment her attention was fully on Shego the guard on the ground snapped to life. His hand clutched a discarded pistol that rose and quickly took aim at the bluenette's back.
Shego opened her mouth to shout a warning even as Da Ji was already beginning to spin around, having caught the sudden alarm in Shego's expression. At the same time a bolt of verdant plasma left Shego's hands. Even so it was too late.
The thunder of the gun was deafening in the close confines of the hallway. Shego could see the impact of the bullets as they jerked Da Ji's body with each hit. The plasma engulfed the pistol, fusing the suddenly burning metal to the thug's hand. The sudden spray of red that painted the wall behind Da Ji made it clear that at least one bullet had managed to find purchase in unprotected flesh.
The vigilante dropped to a knee, clutching tightly at her chest, while the guard fainted from the pain of his hand. Shego spared him no thought as she rushed over to Da Ji's side.
The bluenette hissed as she looked at her wounds. She tentatively poked at the holes, counting both the front and back before relaxing slightly. It looked like they had gone straight through without hitting anything important. Lucky her.
"We need to get you to a hospital." Shego's face was pale, even moreso than usual. "Even if that bullet didn't hit anything important, you're losing a lot of blood."
Da Ji shook her head and forced herself to her feet. "No hospital."
"Are you insane?"
"Can't." Da Ji's words were clipped. Her eyes scanned the room before alighting on a fallen machete. Using the wall for support, she made her way over to it, leaving behind a streak of red. "Triads are everywhere. They'll know. I can't let anyone know I'm here. Too dangerous for me."
"You kidding me? Now's not the time for some self sacrificing bullshit! You're gonna fucking bleed out if you don't get those looked at!"
The bluenette grabbed the machete by the blade and held it up to her eyes before she twitched her wrists and ignited her blue flames. Shego tensed her muscles and let her hands drift free as she eyed the other woman cautiously. Shego was stunned as before the thief could react the bluenette pressed the now glowing piece of steel against her wounds. The air was filled with the scent of cooking meat as the the bullet holes were cauterized by the flames.
A moment later Da Ji tossed to warped blade onto the ground, staring defiantly at Shego with a hand on her hip. "There. Now I'm not bleeding out. You want to help, then you can take me to my safehouse. I've got medical supplies there. I'm assuming you drove here?"
"Yeah," Shego said quietly, "I parked across the street."
"Then let's go." Without another word Da Ji shoved her way past Shego and down the hall, stopping briefly to grab her bag before continuing outside. Her leg started to buckle as she stepped over one of the guards, her fall coming to a stop as a pair of arms slipped under her own. She glanced up and chuckled at the grimace on Shego's face.
"Keep laughing and I'll just let you drop," the thief warned. She helped Da Ji into the passenger seat before tossing her bag into the back. As she sat down and started the engine Da Ji was entering an address into the GPS. The bluenette let out a pained hiss as Shego backed over the curb and onto the street.
"I'm probably going to pass out before we arrive," Da Ji said through grit teeth. "But my room's on the seventh floor. Apartment number fourteen."
Shego glanced at her out of the corners of her eyes. "You're pretty trusting of someone you just met."
"I know you well enough to be sure you won't do anything."
"And just how do you kno-" Shego turned her head and sighed as she noted the limpness of her passenger. She wasn't wrong, but her statement just begged for questions. "Like whatever the hell you meant; 'I know you'."
Shego thumped her head against her seat. "I am so not getting paid enough for this."