Chapter 7: "Revelation"

"Something is definitely wrong," Wade reported to the one-eyed director of Global Justice. "I've been relentlessly calling Kim for the past hour and she hasn't even answered any one of those calls!" After trying to call the redhead several times, Wade decided that the situation was becoming too worrisome and contacted Director Betty.

"Are you sure that you're not jumping to conclusions?" the director asked, clearly doubtful with the situation facing her. "Perhaps Kim put her kimmunicator on silent or she may be doing another errand," she hypothesized.

Wade shook his head. "It could be that way, but there's one thing that proves otherwise!"

"What would that be?" The director was still uninterested and was more interested in finishing going over her reports and passing them on to the important people involved in her organization.

"I can't locate her on the GPS!" Wade let out impatiently. "Her kimmunicator acts like a GPS tracking device and that's how I'm able to keep an eye on her!"

"She may have just dropped it," Betty told the boy, a ball of worry forming in her chest.

"If she dropped it, the white dot on my map would still be there!" Wade retorted. "I've completely lost track of her! Something's wrong here director and you better do something fast!"

"Alright," Director Betty agreed. "I'm sending a contingent of my agents out to locate Kim. In the meantime, would you happen to know where she was last seen?" She pressed a button on her desk and grabbed a nearby microphone. "Attention! Vanguards 1 and 2 prepare for a search and rescue mission immediately!" she spoke into the microphone. To Wade, she asked, "Well? Did you manage to pinpoint where Kim was last seen?"

"The GPS last tracked her to a rundown block close to the grocery store she just went to," Wade replied, furiously typing on his keyboard. "That's it that I can get for now, but I can't assure you that Kim would still be there. She may have been taken to another place."

Director Betty chewed on her thumbnail. "I'll do what I can and I have to contact someone first while I send vanguards 1 and 2 to that area," she told the boy. "Not a word first to Kim's family or to anyone else. If the media get a hold of this, who knows what kind of an uproar this would result to and the perpetrator of this abduction might inflict harm to Kim."


In a well-lit garage, a familiar raven-haired woman whistled a tune while she sorted through a large metal box filled with tools and other equipment. The villainess bike needed a tune-up after all the riding on it. Shego was kneeling on the ground beside her bike as she looked over the machine and did some fine-tuning and minor repairs. She was changing the oil when her communication device rang. Muttering curses under her breath, the villainess grabbed a towel and wiped her grimy hands before picking up the device. "What now?" she scowled as Director Betty's face appeared on screen.

"Do you go around in your own home dressed like that?"

Shego continued to scowl at the woman. "I'm tuning up my bike okay?" she said sarcastically. It was indeed a bit strange for a person to be walking around in her own home in a half-discarded racing suit and a sports bra on. "Now why the hell are you calling me? I'm done doing my job today!"

"You aren't done yet," Betty told the villainess. "We've lost track of Kim," she gave the hired protector the news. "I need you to get ready to head out and look for her. If my hunch is correct, she's probably been abducted by Balken Steel."

Shego swore, pulling up the top part of her racing suit and slipping her arms through the sleeves. "She was okay when I left her a while ago!" she muttered, quickly zipping up the suit and grabbing both her jacket and utility belt. After tying her hair back into a ponytail and donning her leather jacket, Shego began to check the rest of the equipment she would use for this particular mission. Her charge had been unknowing that Shego was following her on her bike earlier. She decided that Kim would be alright on her own after seeing the redhead enter the grocery store and headed back to her own apartment to give her bike a long delayed tune-up.

"Never mind that!" the director said tersely. "Head to Brand Street as soon as you're ready and make sure you're well prepared for an encounter with the cyborg!"

Shego grabbed her gloves and her automatic Beretta gun from nearby metal shelf. "I'm always ready," she told the one-eyed woman. "I've been waiting to meet this Balken Steel for quite some time now." She could not help but smile as she slipped on her power-dampening gloves and put on her sports shades.

"Be careful of what you wish for, Shego," the director warned as the villainess mounted her bike and ignited the engines. "You've never met this man before and I should remind you that you should practice extreme caution while you're around him. He almost killed Ron Stoppable despite his Mystical Monkey Powers."

"I don't need your concern, one-eye!" Shego told the director hotly before turning off the device and pressing a button to make the garage doors slide open. She twisted the gas bar hard, her bike lunging forward in a squeal of tires. Why must you always get into trouble princess? Shego thought as she sped down the road. I take my eyes off you for just an hour and you get yourself kidnapped by this cyborg freak! Shego's lips were tight behind the collar of her jacket as she weaved through rush hour traffic in the city's streets. It took her a little more than ten minutes to get to Brand street, the place where Kimmie had been seen last. Pulling up by the sidewalk, the disguised villainess turned protector cut off the engines and kicked down the kickstand.

"One-eye's agents were here recently," she murmured, recognizing the familiar search pattern done by Global Justice agents who had been frequently sent to track her down after committing a crime. Shego crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her surroundings. "Those hulking men of hers do nothing but create a ruckus and have no skill when it comes to tracking down missing persons." Running her fingers through her raven-black hair, she tipped down her shades and eyed down the length of the sidewalk.

The street was deserted save for a couple of stray cats prowling in a nearby dark alleyway. A cold wind chilled Shego's body as she looked for any trace of her redheaded charge. She had to work with the information she had gotten from both the director and Kim's nerdlinger friend. If she remembered correctly, Kim had just gone grocery shopping. If Kimmie had indeed been kidnapped by the cyborg, there should have been signs of a struggle. Kimmie would have never allowed just anyone to carry her off somewhere.

"There has to be something around here that will give me a clue!" Shego said to no one in particular as she continued to scour the street for clues. She was walking closer to a rundown apartment when her eyes caught sight of a brightly colored bottle strewn close to the mouth of a narrow alleyway. "There!" The villainess stalked over to the out-of-place object and squatted down to get a closer look. Picking the pink-colored bottle up and rotating it, Shego realized that it was a bottle of shampoo. "Kimmie's?" Shego wondered aloud, flicking the cover of the bottle open and pulling down her collar to uncover her nose. Sniffing the liquid, Shego's nostrils were filled with the light wafting scent of strawberries. Her mind was suddenly spurred to remember a particular memory back when she and the redhead were trapped in a cave during a snowstorm. Shego had smelled the same scent on Kim's hair while she was asleep in her embrace as the storm raged outside of the cave. "This is definitely hers," Shego concluded, getting to her feet. "But where could she be? Could she still be around this area?"

A glint of silver from a third storey window caught Shego's sharp eyes. Was it just the sunlight's reflection on the glass? Another glint of silver flashed. This time, Shego focused her attention at the window and could see a dark silhouette moving back and forth in the room. "So that's where you are hiding." Shego fixed the fit of her gloves on her hands and checked if her Beretta gun was loaded. Hang on princess. I'll get you out of there in no time.


Kim awoke to the sounds of heavy feet pacing on the floor and the noisy clinking of metal chains. There was a dull ache in her stomach as she craned her neck up to follow the dark figure walking around the room. As her mind started to clear, the redhead realized that her hands were bound behind her by a chain wrapped around one of the few thick columns in the sparse and dusty room. Kim pulled against the chains, but could not get herself free.

"I see you're awake already," Balken Steel said, stopping his pacing and walking towards the restrained teen hero. "Forgive me for knocking you out so disgracefully, but it was the quickest way to keep you from making a fuss." The apology was not an apology at all with the way he gazed at Kim in a mocking way.

"Has your way of thinking become so warped because of your desire for revenge?" Kim demanded. "I can understand your feelings of depression from losing a daughter, but you've driven yourself mad trying to achieve the impossible of bringing a dead person back to life!"

"Mad?" Balken chuckled. "I was never mad, Kim Possible," he told the girl, gray eyes hard. "Angry perhaps at how I was treated and how my daughter's life was thrown away, but not mad," he continued. The cyborg shook his head and looked soberly at the redhead. "No one can understand the pain I've gone through and you most certainly are one of those people who can only claim they empathize with me."

"Why are you doing this?" Kim asked, hoping to buy herself some time. She could only hope that Wade and Global Justice had already noticed that she was missing and were already searching for her. "You were a renowned and respected scientist! Why must you put yourself down to this level?"

Balken Steel took in a deep breath and let it out in a simultaneous hiss of his own breath and steam that escaped his mechanized limbs. "I once had principles," he said softly, clenching and unclenching his metal fists. "I was at the forefront of combining the fields of cybernetics and medicine together and had mounds of funds and personnel to support my cause." The cyborg's eyes softened as he reminisced. "I had a beautiful wife who adored me and I had a daughter who looked up to me as a role model in her life."

"Then why have you done this to yourself?" Kim demanded, eying the robotic parts of the former scientist. "You just said so yourself that your life was going well."

"It would have stayed that way if the government and MCO had not meddled in my work to save my daughter!" Balken Steel disputed.

Kim continued to fiddle around with the chains wrapped around her wrists and forearms. "MCO?" she asked. It was the first time she had heard of such an acronym. She could only assume that the "O" stood for organization.

"Medicinal Cybernetics Organization," Balken answered patiently. "Of all the people who caused my demise, I would have expected the organization I worked for to understand my actions," he said angrily. "Many of those who worked alongside with me in the organization were fathers and mothers," Balken started, starting to pace once more in front of the restrained redhead. "If their own children had been in the same situation as my own daughter, they would have done everything in their power to save their child's life!"

"Do you honestly think that it's normal human nature for people to embezzle 100 million dollars from the government and the organization?" Kim challenged, her jade-green eyes narrowing at the tall cyborg.

The cyborg raised a fist at the redhead and made a motion to punch her. "Watch your tone Miss Possible," he cyborg scolded, using his false and mocking cheery voice once more. "I may have been a very patient man once, but the years of waiting have worn that patience thin." He relaxed his mechanical arm and unclenched his fist. "I'd like to believe that people would be driven to do that if they were given such illogical and irrational reasons for not aiding you in your quest to save your daughter."

"You couldn't accept the fact that your daughter was pronounced brain-dead and that there was no known and working method to save her?" Kim countered, realizing that the once principled scientist was now an irrational and vengeful criminal. "You were bordering the impossible! How could anyone bring a dead person back to life?"

The cyborg shook his head and slid his hand into one of the large pockets of his trench coat. "With cybernetics, nothing is impossible," he quoted, bringing out a handheld computer. "Silver Lifeblood would have been the answer, no… the cure that would have brought my daughter back to life!" A holographic image of the microscopic technology appeared in the air.

"I don't care if it would have saved your daughter's life! You still embezzled the funds of the government and the organization to achieve your selfish goals!" Kim said furiously. "How could you have been so selfish? You weren't even so sure if your invention would have worked!"

Balken Steel glared hard at the teen hero, eyes like gray ice. "It would have worked," he insisted. "I spent enough time and money to make sure of that," he explained, clasping his hands behind his back. "As for the embezzled funds, which you are so adamantly against, I was planning to pay it all back once my daughter was alright."

Kim blinked up in confusion at the cyborg. "What?"

The cyborg shook his head ruefully. "I told you," he said in a patronizing way. "I was a man of principle despite committing a crime such as the embezzlement of funds. I wasn't so selfish, ungrateful and stupid enough to not repay both the government and MCO."

"Why didn't you just ask them for the funds?" Kim asked, feeling the muscles in her arms burn with all the effort she exerted to get the chains off. "If you reasoned out with them, they would have at least approved your request," she pointed out.

"It wasn't that simple Miss Possible," Balken replied. "Asking for 100 million dollars to create a then sketchy prototype just to save a brain dead child wouldn't have been approved. Believe me I know how they are when it comes to approving projects," he told the redhead. "So I stole the money and did what I could to create Silver Lifeblood that is until my own coworkers tattled and had me arrested. MCO confiscated my invention, told my wife that I had gone mad and suggested that they turn off the life support system of my daughter." He turned his back on Kim and looked out of the window, eying the darkening skies.

"But still!" Kim argued. "You stole the money!"

"They would have gotten the money back ten times the original amount if they had listened to me!" Balken Steel shouted angrily, steam hissing out of his arms and neck. "I was willing to pay them back for the money I had used to invent the Silver Lifeblood, but they immediately slapped the crime against me and didn't bother to give me due process."

Kim shook her head still doubting the story she was being told. "How could you have paid back 100 million dollars and even claim that the government and MCO would have received ten times the original amount?" It was rather baffling to her in all honesty.

"Silver Lifeblood works Miss Possible," Balken told the girl. "My invention is a miracle in itself. If I had used it on my daughter and saved her, I would have given the Silver Lifeblood to the organization for them to patent and sell in the market. I would have been far richer than the likes of Bill Gates and other billionaires if I patented the invention and sold it myself," he explained with a deep chuckle. "But no, I was principled and so idealistic to think that the organization and the government would listen to reason."

"That can't be true…" Kim said reluctantly. All of this was starting to sound so real. How could the government and the organization turn their back on this once brilliant scientist who wished to improve society's quality of life through his research?

"Believe it," Balken told her in a hard voice. "It was a punch to the gut when they didn't listen to my reasons and the offer of giving them ownership of my invention. It was all the more humiliating on my part when they told my wife I had gone mad," he enumerated, shaking his head. "My wife… she refused to continue her relationship with me and distanced herself." The cyborg drew himself up and took in a long breath. "I would have stayed in prison and served punishment if those were the only things they did to me."

"There was more?" Kim asked, shocked at how Balken Steel's story was turning out. "So you didn't break out of prison to become a cyborg criminal and achieve world domination because of what you just told me?" Kim was now even more bewildered about the character of Balken Steel. She had thought that he had been driven mad because of the so-called unfair treatment he received, but there was an underlying reason to why he decided to go down the path of evil.

"I'm not as shallow as you think I am," Balken told her, sounding amused. "What drives me to enact my vengeance in this way is the fact that the organization I had served has unearthed my confiscated invention and is planning to sell it in the market under their name! It's a backhanded blow, Miss Possible," he explained. "To think that the very invention they confiscated and refused to inject in my daughter is now advocated as a miracle of life!" He began to laugh, covering his mouth with his metal hand. "Ironic!" he breathed out in between laughs. "It's just so ironic! They choose to do away with the life of one young girl not just to save millions of other people, but to also become wealthy bastards!"

Kim could only stare as the man laughed hysterically before her. A sense of cold fear flowed through her veins as she realized that the man before her was seriously hell-bent on getting his revenge on those people who had denied him of saving the daughter he had loved so dearly. She knew now that he would stop at nothing to get his revenge and she also knew that she was in his way of attaining that goal.

Balken Steel's laughter died down. "You would probably agree with me that I feel eternally cheated by what MCO and the government has done to me," he told her, stretching out his right arm as a series of metallic clicks and steam filled the air. "My reasons for enacting my vengeance are sound and just." His arm was now transformed into the familiar gun-cannon extension.

"There's still time!" Kim reasoned with the man, struggling against her restraints. "I could help you! I know people who would be able to settle this matter and give you retribution for what happened in your past!"

The cyborg shook his head as he willed his gun-cannon arm extension to rotate and load it with ammo. "The only retribution that is available for me is to destroy the organization's name! Once I've completed assembling my Silver Lifeblood central control system, I will remotely reprogram my invention to do the opposite!" Balken Steel stepped forward menacingly, pointing the gun-cannon at Kim. "MCO and the government's names will be tarnished forever when the millions of people who have received the Silver Lifeblood as treatment will experience a slow and painful death from within their bodies!"

"You're insane!" Kim stammered, fearing for her life and the lives of those people. "You won't get away with this!" Kim pulled hard against the chains, feeling the column behind her creak from the pressure she exerted.

"Au contraire," Balken replied, his eyes not exhibiting any emotion at all. "I will be able to get away with this if I do away with the only thing that stands in my way of taking vengeance." The cyborg took one more step towards the teen hero and raised his gun-cannon at her. "I'm sure that you'd be very persistent in stopping me from doing implementing my plans," he told her, pointing the gun at 

Kim's head as the girl pushed herself against the column. "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." He narrowed his gray eyes and stiffened his outstretched gun-arm.

Kim shut her eyes tightly, turned her head away and bit back a cry as she waited for the blast that would end her life. Instead of the loud blast of the gun-cannon, Kim only heard the audible click of a gun being cocked.

"I see that I was wrong about claiming that Global Justice was stupid to not assign you a bodyguard," Balken Steel scornfully said.

Confused, the redhead cracked her eyes open and goggled at the sight before her. Balken Steel was still standing before her and aiming his gun-cannon at her with the added exception of a Beretta gun resting against the side of the cyborg's forehead. Jade-green eyes travelled across the length of the outstretched arm holding the gun, familiarity filling her mind as her eyes recognized the black material of a form fitting race suit. A surge of hope flowed through the fear-frozen veins of Kim as her eyes finally rested on the face covered by sports shades and the high collar of the leather jacket worn by her protector. "It's you!" she cried out.

Balken eyed the unknown woman with the corners of his eyes, not daring to move. "Do you honestly believe that you can stop me by using that gun?" He chuckled then suddenly re-aimed his gun-cannon at the biker.

"No!" Kim screamed, flinching as the biker jumped out of the way and unleashed a round of bullets into Balken's chest. She watched as the cyborg stumbled back from the force of the bullets embedding themselves into his body and cringed as her protector moved forward lighting fast and rammed a foot into the deranged man's chest, sending him crashing into rotting table and couch at the side of the room. "I can't get them off!" she told her protector who strode towards her. She continued to pull against the chains that were tied around her wrists and forearms as she worriedly and frequently glanced over to where the cyborg crashed.

The biker got down to her knees and eyed the chains that held Kim down. Grabbing the reinforced chain in one gloved hand, she yanked it straight out and with the other hand slashed through it very much like a hot knife cutting through butter. Without wasting any time, the biker grabbed Kim's hands and pulled her up to her feet just as the side of the room exploded in a spray of wood and dust.

"You are starting to irk me," Balken Steel spat venomously as he dusted off the front of his coat. "I despise people who interrupt me." He glared at the two women before him and stretched the kinks out of his neck. "You want to fight? Then I'll give you a fight!" he rushed forward, transforming his gun-cannon arm into the familiar double bladed extension.

The biker pushed her redheaded charge out of the way and stood her ground. She flipped back as the razor sharp blades sliced through the space she had just vacated. Landing deftly on the soles of her booted feet, the protector lunged forward with her fingers outstretched in a claw-like arrangement. She viciously slashed at the cyborg who easily deflected her attack with his other metal-encased arm. Pulling away immediately, the biker then grabbed hold of the front of Balken's coat and strong-armed him to the ground.

Kim stood from a safe distance as her protector leaped onto Balken's supine form and proceeded to deliver a flurry of punches at his face. The redhead visibly flinched as each punch landed with a distinctive crunch. The beating continued for a minute more with one last devastating punch that connected solidly with the unmoving Balken Steel's face. "Is he… dead?" she asked, taking a tentative step forward while the biker eased herself off the cyborg and made her way back to Kim. "Are you hurt?" Kim worriedly looked the biker over from top to toe.

The disguised protector shook her head and motioned for Kim to walk to the exit.

"Watch out!" Kim cried out as she was suddenly knocked back into a wall while her protector was caught in the surprise attack of the cyborg.

"Thought you could kill me just like that?" Balken asked the biker woman he held up in the air with one large metal hand. It had been terribly easy for him to grab hold of the biker's face one handed and to lift her up into the air. His face was a mangled mass of flesh, but already he could feel the metal beneath his skin shifting and mending itself back together. He ignored his opponent's scrabbling at his arm and began to squeeze the biker's head with his metal fingers. "I could easily break your skull you know," he told the struggling woman, whose sports shades crumbled into pieces to the ground. "But that wouldn't be really fun!" The cyborg rammed his knee up into the biker's gut and slammed her face first into the column. Yanking out her half-embedded body from the column, Balken this time threw the woman over his shoulder and into the pile of broken and rotting furniture in one corner of the room. "Had enough?" Balken called as he walked through the dissipating cloud of dust and debris. "Too bad," he answered for the silent woman, a crazed glint in his gray eyes as he grabbed hold of the biker's leg that was peeking out of the debris.

"No stop it!" Kim shouted. She ran forward and attempted to tackle the cyborg from behind, but was knocked away by a stationary clothesline.

"Be patient, Miss Possible," Balken told the teen hero who was strewn across the old and dirty floor. "You'll have your turn," he assured her, focusing his attention on the biker who was dangling upside down by her ankle. "Did you ever wonder if humans could fly?" he asked the weakly struggling biker. "Let's say we find out!" He swung the biker around by the ankle and with a roar, sent her crashing through the window face first to fall to the ground three stories below.

"No!" Kim screamed out in anguish as she forced herself to her hands and knees. "Why did you have to-" the redhead gasped for air as Balken's hand once more clamped around her throat and lifted her to her feet and off the ground.

"You need not complain anymore Kim Possible," Balken told the girl as he tightened his grip around Kim's slender throat. "I disposed of your protector as quickly as I could so that I could give you my full attention." He bent slightly from the waist in a mock bow. "Well then princess, how would you like me to end your life?" he asked. "Suffocation? A thrust through your body with my blade? Or would you like to meet the same fate as that useless protector of yours?" He carried Kim closer to the window. "Personally, I prefer the third option." He raised Kim into the air and prepared to send her flying through the broken window when a small ball of metal with a blinking red dot bounced on the floor and rolled to his feet. "What?" the man gulped, realizing what the object was.

Before he could kick the bomb away, the biker woman sailed into the room through the window feet first, slamming the cyborg hard with her feet and making him loose his grip on Kim. While Balken fell onto his behind, the no longer shaded woman gathered Kim into her arms and threw herself out of the window just as the room exploded in a blast of flames, burning wood and black smoke. While the redhead cried out in fear and buried her face into her protector's chest as they fell to the ground, the biker raised her fist and drove it into the hard brick wall to slow their fall. She dug her fingers into the solid material and clenched her jaw tightly as she and Kim slid to the ground, debris pelting them from the burning apartment room above them. A few feet away from the ground, she dislodged her fist and landed hard on the sidewalk with the redhead safe in her arms.

"Are you alright?" Kim pulled away from her protector and took a closer look. She murmured out in sympathy as she observed dark crimson blood flow from a wound on the crown of her protector's head down her pale face. The hero's jade-green orbs widened as she realized that her protector no longer hid her eyes behind shades. Blood steadily flowed down over one closed eye while the other opened, revealing one bright emerald green orb that gazed back at Kim. Green eyes? Pale skin? Why does she look familiar? Kim thought, making up her mind and reaching out with her fingers to pull down the collar of her protector's jacket. Before she could do that and finally shed some light on the mysterious identity of the biker, she was suddenly grabbed once more and whisked out of the way, as a large falling body landed feet first onto the same spot.

Kim stared in shock from the middle of the road as a slightly charred Balken Steel straightened and stepped out of the large cavity he had created on the sidewalk with his landing. "A bomb won't be enough to kill me, wench," he growled at Kim's protector who had gotten to her feet. The collar that had hid the lower half of his face was now gone revealing that half of his face was in fact made of metal. The rest of his trench coat was torn and burned in various places while his dark hair flew wildly against the wind. "This time, you've really made me angry!" He raised both of his arms into the air and transformed them with a cloud of steam into twin gun-cannons. "I will find joy in riddling that body of yours with metal!" Balken Steel roared as he unleashed a barrage of bullets at the biker.

To Kim, everything that was happening seemed to be occurring in slow motion as she watched her protector race forward and swing her arm out in front of her, bullets strangely changing direction as they neared the gloved hand. The hero blinked once, seeing the leather-clad woman take out her Beretta gun and unload her own barrage of bullets at her opponent as she continued to run towards him. She blinked a second time and this time, she watched as the biker closed in on the cyborg, jumping into the air and raising a bent leg in preparation to snap a kick at the man's head. Another blink and Kim witnessed Balken's head snap to the side from the powerful kick. Then… there was chaos.

As Balken's head twisted dangerously on his neck, his gray eyes had remained completely focused on his opponent. Willing his mechanical body to move, the former scientist turned cyborg-criminal retransformed his gun cannon into a normal arm save for the steel fists and mercilessly drove it into the unsuspecting woman's stomach. Not stopping his ruthless attack, the cyborg once again transformed his gun-cannon into its usual arm extension and clamped his hand around the woman's throat. With a smirk, the cyborg threw the biker several yards away, her body slamming into a nearby car and totaling it. To the criminal's disdain, the biker did not get up after falling face first onto the asphalt. He honestly wanted to continue their fight to the death.

Turning slowly around to regard the teen hero with his gray eyes, Balken Steel grinned evilly at the redhead who backed away from him. "No one's going to protect you now, Kim Possible," he told her, combing his unruly hair back with his steel fingers and pointing his gun-cannon arm at the hero. "You could run," he raised his voice as the redhead broke into a run. "But you're not going to get too far!" he unloaded a round of bullet at the road ahead of Kim, effectively stopping her in her tracks. While Kim turned tail and ran in the other direction, Balken's other arm had already transformed into its double-bladed form as he first fired one razor sharp blade at Kim.

The teen hero skidded to a stop just as the fired blade embedded itself into the apartment building behind her while a second blade embedded itself on her other side, trapping her in between. Kim desperately looked around, hoping that she would hear the familiar jet engines of Global Justice or the loud sirens of the Go City Police.

"Don't tell me you're going to beg for your life," Balken said, walking towards the girl and stretching out his arm as a large blade shot out of his arm. "Begging won't do anything and this heart of mine is no longer human." There was a crazed look on his face as he raised his sword-arm up into the air. "Your mutilated corpse will be the beginning of my reign of vengeance!" He brought the weapon down, intent on slicing the teen hero in half, but felt something kick out at his calves. Instead of slicing through the supple flesh of the auburn-haired hero, his blade sliced through leather and flesh on the back of Kim's protector as she threw herself forward and shielded her charge from the fatal blow.

Kim watched in horror as her protector arched her body and withholding a cry of pain before whirling around and ferociously kicking the cyborg away, the blood gushing from the gash on the biker's back splattering onto Kim's face and body. Kim gasped as her protector surged forward and grappled with the far taller and bigger cyborg, trying in vain to throw the man onto the ground.

"Pesky bitch!" Balken roared, grabbing the biker by the front of her jacket and throwing her down the street. Striding towards Kim, he raised both arms and transformed them back into his gun-cannons. "You've wasted enough of my time! Time for you to die Kim Possible!"

The redhead raised her arms, covered her face and closed her eyes. Was this really the end for her? She was going to die by the hands of this deranged scientist. Suddenly, despite her eyes being shut tight, a sudden flash of green blinded the hero. A man's deafening and enraged scream filled the air.

"Bitch! What the hell did you do?" Balken shouted in anguish, stumbling back and away from Kim.

"What… happened?" Kim asked herself softly, staring at the condition of the cyborg man who stood before her. His menacing mechanical arms now resembled scrap metal that had been ripped to shreds while globs of its melted form dripped to the ground. A few feet away from Balken Steel lay the two gun-cannon barrels, its ends frayed. Directing her look at her protector, she almost missed a spark of green flame around the woman's gloved hands. Was she hallucinating? Kim wondered if she really was as her protector strode towards her, picked her up and carried her to the Ducati bike parked down the street.

"We're… not finished yet," Balken Steel growled, ambling after Kim and her protector. His mechanical arms were mess of melted metal, gushing clouds of steam and electrical sparks. "There's no way that I'm going to let you escape!" He began to laugh in a frenzied manner, throwing his head back and looking up at the darkening skies. The sound of metal clinking against the ground halted the cyborg's laughter and made him look down. Gray eyes widening once more in realization, he only had time to utter one curse as a similar bomb exploded at his feet.

Not waiting to see if the bomb had done its job, the biker set Kim down on the motorcycle seat and hopped on, kicking up the kickstand and quickly igniting the engines. She twisted the gas bar hard, speeding down the street and sharply turning into the next street, already knowing that there was only one place she could take her charge.

"Head to the hospital!" Kim shouted over the roar of the motorcycle's engines. "You're hurt!" The redhead anxiously examined the long and deep gash on her protectors back. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that the biker was leaving a trail of her own blood behind them. "Please!" she pleaded. "We have to get you to the hospital! You're losing too much blood!" Her pleas went unheard as the motorcycle weaved through the traffic, heading towards Kim's apartment. Once the apartment building was in sight, Kim thought that she would be dropped off and left alone. She was wrong though as her protector guided the bike past Kim's abode and past two more blocks. The college freshman was about to ask where she was being taken when she spotted a garage door of a modest looking apartment slide open from afar.

In a move very similar to a daredevil stunt, the biker shifted gears, gripped the brake bar hard and threw the bike to the left. Wheels squealing against the concrete, Kim held on for her life as the bike skidded to a halt inside the garage as the doors slid shut behind them. The engines were cut off and Kim felt her protector get off the bike and grab hold of her hand.

"Where is this?" Kim asked, allowing the biker to tow her inside the apartment. Even with the familiar black and green furniture that surrounded her, the teen hero still could not guess the identity of her mysterious protector.


Can't see straight anymore… Shego thought as she dragged her charge into her abode. She didn't have much of a choice to where she should bring Kim. The only logical and safe place she could think of was her own apartment. Losing… too much blood, the villainess thought wearily as she led Kim up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Letting go of Kim's hand, Shego walked over to her bathroom door and pushed it open. She then turned to face the bewildered redhead and gestured at the bathroom. Go take a bath or something while I… she stumbled forward, holding a gloved hand against her pounding head. Have to… get some treatment! The still disguised Shego staggered across her bedroom only to be stopped by her charge.

"You need help!" Kim told her in a worried voice. "Let me take you to the hospital!" she pleaded.

Shego shook her head at Kim, knowing that it would be dangerous for the teen hero to roam around on the streets especially after being attacked by Balken Steel. Gently, the villainess pried Kim's hands away from her forearm, headed out of her bedroom and shut the door behind her. She stood outside for a moment waiting to see if Kim would try to follow her and let out a relieved sigh when she did not. Shego dizzily made her way down the stairs, blinking away the dark spots that were filling her vision and trying not to slip in her own blood. With a moan of pain, Shego unzipped her leather jacket and carefully eased it off.

Have to call one-eye and get her to send over… a doc-. Before she could even finish the thought, Shego's legs gave out and made her fall face first onto the polished and blood stained hardwood floors. Damn it! I'm blacking out! Shego wearily reached out with her arm and managed to press a button on the miniature control panel on the arm of her couch. She was sure that the distress signal was now being sent. Better… get… here… fast… before Kimmie… finds… While her communications device attempted to call the director of Global Justice, Shego had already blacked out, a pool of her blood growing on the floor beneath her body.


Back in the large and fully furnished bedroom, Kim was just about to enter the bathroom to clean up when she heard a loud thud coming from downstairs. "What was that?" Kim wondered, stepping away from the bathroom and walking towards the closed bedroom door. She debated silently within herself if she should go check it out. "It won't to find out," Kim told herself after deciding that she would head out of the room.

Pushing the door open, Kim stepped outside into the hallway and stepped towards the fenced-in landing. From the second floor, she had a clear view of the ground floor and noticed that her protector must have been a wealthy person to afford such an expensive pad. Her jade-green eyes roved the apartment's interior until they locked onto unconscious and bloodied body that lay on the floor by a leather couch. "Oh no!" Kim whispered as she rushed down the stairs towards her fallen protector who was lying in a pool of blood. "Hey!" she called out to the woman. "Are you alright? Please answer me!" The redhead got to her knees, grabbed hold of her protector's arms and twisted her body right side up.

The sight that met her made Kim's heart jolt erratically. "It can't be…" Kim murmured, shocked at what she saw. "You're my protector?" she demanded, holding a fist tightly against her pounding chest. "Shego…" she breathed out as she gazed at the pale and slender face of her arch nemesis.

While Kim continued to gape at her revealed and unconscious protector, a holographic screen blinked on. "Kim Possible!"

The redhead looked up from her seat on the floor and stared in surprise at the image of Director Betty. "Director? Please tell me what's going on here? Why is Shego protecting me?" she demanded, her voice quavering.

Director Betty shook her head. "Save that for another time. We have more important matters to attend to particularly saving Shego," she told the teen hero. "From the looks of it, Shego was able to send a distress call to me before she passed out. The medical team I sent should be arriving there at any moment. As soon as you hear them knocking, bring them inside the apartment and let them do their work."

"But why is Shego protecting me?" Kim pressed.

"Not now Kim!" Betty threatened. "Be reasonable! Shego's life is in danger! I promise that I'll explain things as soon as Shego is treated and in stable condition," she vowed, hearing the pounding of fists on the door. "That should be the medical team! Hurry and send them in before Shego loses any more blood!"

Kim jumped to her feet and flung the front door open. A team of four doctors greeted her at the door while three agents from Global Justice carried crates and equipment into the apartment. One of the doctors surveyed the situation and ordered two of the agents to pick the unconscious villainess up and carry her into what looked to be a spacious study on the ground floor.

"Stay there Miss Possible," the doctor ordered the hero when she tried to enter the study along with the other doctors. "We can't afford to have you get in the way and Shego is in bad shape," he explained. "Please stay outside and report to the agents about everything that happened. They will relay it to the Director as soon as you give them all the necessary information." With that said, the doctor shut the door behind him, leaving Kim with the three Global Justice agents. She looked to the living room and saw that the holographic screen was gone. It was apparent that the director wanted to get a report out of her first before fully explaining the situation to her.

"Miss Possible?" One agent stepped forward. "We need your report."

Kim sighed and plopped herself down into a large armchair. "Have any of your comrades checked Brand Street? The apartment's probably still burning, but you should check if Balken Steel's body or parts of his body are still there," she told them, settling back for the next few hours.


It was past midnight when the doctors filed out of the study and motioned for the agents to head inside the makeshift operating room. "She is out of danger," the doctor told the tired heroine who had waited the whole time in the living room. "We didn't think that the treatment would take so long, but we left out the fact that Shego heals exceptionally fast when her store of power is full." He gestured at the unconscious villainess who was brought out of the room in a stretcher.

"Is there anything I need to do?" Kim asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She was worn out from that day's episode, but she knew she had look after Shego especially since she was temporarily residing in the villainess' home.

The doctor shook his head as his colleagues wheeled their equipment out of the room. "We've done everything already for her and the only thing she needs is sleep." He glanced up the stairs and saw that the agents were on their way down. "Take these," he said, handing Kim a bottle of pills. "Those are strong painkillers and we're expecting that Shego will be feeling quite a lot of pain when she gets up."

"How often does she need to take them?"

"Every six hours or so," the doctor replied, scrubbing a spot of blood on his coat with his finger. "It will be her choice whether to take the drug or not anyway." He looked at his watch and frowned. "We must be going. The director specifically mentioned that the agents must return to headquarters immediately to report while we head back to the medical ward of the organization."

Kim saw the medical team out of the apartment. "Thanks for your help," she told them.

"Not a problem at all Kim Possible," the doctor replied, waving goodbye to the girl and piling into the van with the rest of his colleagues and the three agents.

The auburn-haired heroine watched the van pull away and disappear around the corner before heading back inside the apartment. Walking to the couch with the control panel, Kim guessed and pressed the button that would give her direct contact with Director Betty. Unfortunately, the only thing she got was a busy tone. "It looks like I won't be getting that explanation yet," Kim murmured, fighting back a yawn. She looked up the stairs and saw that Shego's bedroom light was still on. "I should go and turn the lights off," she decided, heading up the stairs and quietly entering the bedroom.

On the right side of the king-sized green and black sheeted bed lay the sleeping and serene looking green-hued villainess. Kim walked around the bed and pulled a chair up beside her protector. "Why is it you?" Kim asked the sleeping woman. "How did you get yourself involved in this?" She was answered by calm breathing and the unmoving tranquil countenance of her arch nemesis. "Who am I kidding? Director Betty better have a good explanation for this!"

As Kim continued to watch over Shego, she could not help but reminisce about those times Shego had come to her rescue as her disguised protector. Shego had saved her from Edsel and his gang, that time when Motor Ed robbed the bank and tried to escape, her mission at Finland and now her recent encounter with Balken Steel. It was only now that she realized that there were so many clues exuded by the disguised Shego that could have given away her identity away. The fighting style, melting the gun of the bank robber with her hands, her manner of dressing in a form fitting race suit and when Kim first locked eyes with those distinctive emerald-green orbs! She should have figured it out on her own, but she did not.

Kim cracked a smile when Shego twitched in her sleep and her hand fell to the side of the bed. "She almost looks like a normal person this way," Kim said to herself, reaching down and taking Shego's hand in hers. Those same hands that had connected with her body so many times during their numerous fights and encounters were actually as smooth as silk to Kim's touch. The redhead yawned as she set Shego's hand back on the bed and leaned forward and rested her head on the mattress. "Just for a few minutes," Kim said sleepily, her eyes betraying her and leading her to a long and fitful slumber.


"What?! You're pulling my leg one-eye!"

"I'm doing no such thing Shego! This is an order!"

Kim groaned and blinked sleepily up at the ceiling. Early morning light streamed through the blinds, brightening the large bedroom. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand, Kim rolled to her side and found herself on Shego's bed and underneath the warm blanket. How did I get here? Kim thought as she sat up in bed.

"This is already a breach of my privacy!"

Kim could hear the villainess arguing heatedly from downstairs to the person she thought would be the director of Global Justice. Shego is talking to Director Betty about something she obviously doesn't like. The famous crime-fighter swung her legs to the side of the bed and got to her feet. Kim grimaced at her dirty clothes, noting that her shirt had Shego's blood on it. "What's this?" Kim held up a folded pair of loose black cloth pants and a loose green Go University t-shirt. "Shego studied at Go University?" she wondered aloud, heading to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Five minutes later, the hero was clean and dressed in the loaned clothes. Kim slipped out of the bedroom quietly and padded down the stairs to the living room where she saw a deeply scowling Shego conversing with the holographic image of Director Betty.

"You can't be serious about making Kimmie stay here with me!" Shego told the director. "I brought her here yesterday because it was the safest place to bring her to at that particular moment!" She gently kneaded her sore shoulder while she sat on couch, wiry arms flexing with the activity. The villainess was dressed in loose black cloth pants and a green wifebeater shirt that did not fully cover the bandages wrapped around her torso.

"You yourself admitted that your home is the safest place to keep Kim Possible," Director Betty pointed out. "I want you to keep Kim close to you for the time being. We both know that you stand a better chance of fighting against Balken Steel compared to others," she continued, her remaining eye wandering across the room and catching the redhead eavesdropping from the stairs. "Good morning Miss Possible," Betty greeted.

Kim blushed and ducked her head. "Morning Director Betty," Kim greeted back, catching Shego scowl deeply before getting to her feet. "I need coffee," the villainess muttered as she disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Kim to talk with the one-eyed director.

"Director? I've been waiting for that explanation since last night," Kim started, settling herself onto the couch.

The director sighed. "To put it simply Kim, I hired Shego to protect you at the request of your parents."

"Did they specifically ask for Shego to be given the job?" Kim leaned back and glanced at the raven-haired woman moving about in her kitchen.

Betty shook her head. "They only requested for a bodyguard, but I was the one who decided that Shego would fit perfectly into the role," she replied. "As you've noticed, she has been doing an exceptional job of protecting you."

"How did you get her to agree to this?" Kim demanded. "She wouldn't have agreed to protect her arch nemesis for free!"

"I'll leave that to Shego to answer for you and if you have any other questions just ask her yourself," Betty told Kim. "Before I hang up, you probably already heard that I am requiring you to live with Shego until we capture Balken Steel and put him behind bars."

Kim nodded. "You're implying that Balken Steel isn't dead yet then?"

"Unfortunately, my agents confirmed that Balken Steel most likely survived the bomb blast. As of now, I want you stick with Shego," she told the redhead. "I'll be calling your parents in a few minutes to explain the situation. Take care of yourself."

"This is definitely all the more complicated," Kim muttered to herself, getting to her feet and heading towards the kitchen. She felt a bit nervous as she stepped foot into the tiled kitchen and spotted her arch nemesis seated at the table with a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. The scowl had not disappeared from Shego's face as she took frequent sips from her mug. "Ummm… Shego?"

"What is it princess?" Shego asked, using her favorite nickname for the redhead.

Kim scuffed her foot against the floor. "Can I ask you a question?"

Shego looked up from her mug of coffee and raised a slender eyebrow at her arch nemesis. "You already asked one, Kimmie," she pointed out, hiding an amused smile by bringing her cup of coffee to her lips.

"Not funny Shego," Kim retorted, slipping into a chair adjacent to Shego's seat. "I was wondering why you decided to take on this job," she began. "Knowing you, you wouldn't have done such a job for free."

"You got that right," Shego snapped, making herself sound irked. "Don't ever let it get into that goody-two-shoes head of yours that I'm doing this job because I care for you!" Shego gingerly leaned back against the back of the chair. "I'm getting a hefty cash payment and a special non-cash payment if I manage to keep you safe until that cyborg freak gets caught."

Kim sighed. "Very typical of you Shego," she told the villainess. "How are you injuries?" she asked as the villainess produced the bottle of painkillers and popped a couple of pills into her mouth.

"Healed," Shego replied simply.

"So fast?"

Shego shook her head. "Rapid cell regeneration Kimmie," she told the girl. "Probably a day or two more before I can get these bandages off. They're such a pain," Shego said in her usual annoyed tone of voice. "Looks like you're stuck to me for the next few months." She glanced at her cellphone, which lit up to alert her of an incoming text message from Hego.

"How did you hide your powers? I'm guessing you had to make use of your powers when Balken Steel was just about to kill me," Kim speculated.

"One-eye gave me gloves that dampened my powers," Shego explained. "As long as I didn't throw off any energy blasts, the gloves would hide the presence of my powers."

"And why did you insist on disguising yourself?" Kim asked.

Shego scowled at her redheaded charge. "What do you think princess?" she retorted. "I'm a criminal, you're a hero. We are arch foes to each other and I can't just go parading around in my usual outfit! My reputation would have been ruined if people saw that such an infamous criminal has stooped down to take on a job to protect her enemy!"

Kim suppressed a giggle with a hand. "Like I said before," she started, gazing mischievously at the villainess. "You really do care for me, don't you?" she teased.

"Watch it princess," Shego growled as she flipped her cellphone open and quickly read the message from Hego. "They must be kidding!" she exclaimed, tapping out the speed dial number of her older brother and placing the phone against her ear. "What kind of joke are you playing on me, Hego?" she barked into the phone's mouthpiece.

Kim could hear the current leader of Team Go chuckle on the other line. "No need to be so violent, sister," he told the fuming Shego. "I assure you this is not a joke!"

"You couldn't have possibly convinced both mom and dad to come home to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary!" Shego argued, ignoring the strange looks Kim was giving her. "They're separated for crying out loud!" she added, mouthing a "not now" to her redheaded and green-eyed charge.

"They're coming home on Wednesday alright and they have both expressed their wishes of having all of their children present during the celebration," Hego told his younger sister. "No exceptions Shego! You have to be there or else mom and dad will find some way to drag you to come."

Shego let out a stream of curses and abruptly hung up on her brother. "Looks like I have to bring you along with me to this oh-so-happy family reunion," she told Kim with a frown. "You'll get to meet the rest of my charming and eccentric family."

"Awww Shego, I'm sure that it won't be so bad!" Kim grinned at the villainess. "I've always wondered about who your parents were and who you inherited your looks and attitude from."

"Don't count on it Kimmie," Shego snapped back as she got up, got another spare mug and filled both of the mugs with coffee. "In the meantime, we'll be dropping by at your apartment to get your clothes and belongings and formally move you into my home."

"So soon?" Kim accepted the mug of coffee and sipped the bitter liquid.

Shego glared daggers at the redhead and gestured rudely at the clothes Kim wore. "I can't have you wearing my spares for the rest of the time you will be staying here," Shego shot back, definitely annoyed that she not only has to attend the family gathering, but also put up with her arch nemesis living under the same roof as her.

"Point taken," Kim agreed. "Got any cereal? I'm kind of hungry."

"Go check the fridge," Shego grumbled, running her fingers through her raven-black hair. This was definitely going to be one of the most difficult times and hurdles in her life.


Author's notes:

I kept my promise! Shego finally reveals herself or should I say Kim has found out about who her mysterious protector is in this latest chapter! And so now, the fun begins! Hehe! This is quite possibly the longest chapter I've written so far for this story and it took me quite a while to get it done.

Hopefully, it turned out alright and that you guys enjoyed it!

Next Chapter: Growing Accustomed