(Eh, this is just an insert give you a little bit of an idea how big kim is in the villain world and a little bit about her past. Also gives shego the heads up that kimmie isn't exactly who she thought she was.)

Chpt 7

Shego turns a disbelieving eye to Kim/Jay.

"You… LIVE here?" she asks. She jerks a thumb at the towering mansion out the limo window. Jay just grins. "Seriously Pumkin, how do you afford it? I have my own place down here, and payments aren't cheap."

"Didn't I tell you? I'm famous down here."

Shego rolls her eyes.

"For two opposite reasons too. What exactly do you do as a villain?" asks Shego. Jay's mouth snaps shut and he fidgets. "Kimmie, do I have to go through all that pulling of teeth again? Cause to be honest, I'm already so shocked, I'm numb to it."

"Well, I lie, cheat, bet, and…" Jay mutters the rest. Shego eyes him as the limo they're in pulls into the gate of the mansion.

"You better speak up, Kimmie, or I'll really start turning evil on your ass."

Jay winces.

"I'm an assassin."

Shego freezes, hand still held threateningly in the air.

"You're a … what?!"

"Assassin."

Shego slaps a hand across her eyes and groans.

"Strike me wrong. I am shocked." She moves her fingers enough she can look at Jay. "Really though, you, an assassin? I didn't think you had it in you." Shego frowns. "Not even I have killed anyone."

Jay shrugs.

"I can't say I'm overly fond of it, but once I got my foot in the door down here, and the more time I spent with Yuri, I kind of got into the thrill. See, at the time I was still earning a rep in fist fights and wagered battles, I had come under the Snake's attention. I had won a humiliating fight on one of his men. In an act of revenge, he started delving deeper. I wasn't fond of the attention and got riled up. I broke into his hideout. I almost didn't make it out."

Jay frowns a moment, face clouding over in memory.

"I wasn't a pretty sight," he continues. "I had to take a month off the hero gig. Anyway, I've dealt with my share of dirt bags down here. I discovered that there are a few of them that would be better off dead then running amok alive. I started training harder. I never did fully train under Yuri like Ron did. But, I discovered my own techniques by combining what I already knew. I told Ron my plan, and we started hiring ourselves out for choice targets. We're picky about our targets. If we don't like the hit or our pay, we don't accept. Anyway, our high standards and selective choosing built us a bigger reputation and in turn got us harder targets. We love the challenge. Our targets only grow harder to take out."

Jay smirks. "Hey, sure isn't what anyone else expects of me."

Shego glares at him.

"I never suspected anything like killing though."

Jay's smile dies out.

"Hey, I would have told you sooner if I thought you could be trusted. I was actually planning to tell you after you got your name cleared with GJ." Jay shakes his head. "I really never found killing anyone pleasurable. I only found the hunt exciting, the thrill of overcoming my opponent. I get plenty of a rush out of stealing. Heck, I really wouldn't mind changing my job down here to thief. My point is, I became an assassin to survive."

Shego frowns.

"That doesn't quite make sense, Kimmie."

Jay winces.

"Can you use my name please? If someone hears you, they're going to start poking their noses around."

Shego rolls her eyes.

"Whatever, Jay."

Jay prods her playfully. The limo stops at an expansive garden. Shego looks around curiously.

"Where we at, Pumpkin?"

Jay glares at her.

"Pumpkin is even worse."

Shego smirks.

"Well, you're going to have to deal, Pumpkin, cause I don't plan on giving up that nickname anytime soon."

Jay sighs and opens the door to slide out into the warm air. He stretches before reaching down to help Shego out. Shego hesitates then grabs his hand. She follows as he makes his way down a stone path deeper into the garden. After walking for several minutes, he takes a seat on a stone bench. He motions for Shego to sit next to him.

"Nice, huh?" he asks playfully. Shego silently nods her head in agreement. "But really, if you go around calling me Pumpkin, people are going to think I've gone soft."

Shego snorts.

"And if they realized it's me calling you that, they should know better."

Jay chuckles.

"That is true."

Shego adjusts herself enough she can look at Jay comfortably. She frowns slightly.

"This is kind of weird… even for you, Pumpkin."

Jay stares at the hologram sky a moment longer before turning to her. His face is solemn.

"When I first stumbled upon this place, I ran into some trouble. When I managed to escape, I learned that I couldn't approach things like I normally do. I needed a new look and a new attitude." Jay shakes his head ruefully. "I got my ass kicked more times then I can count. But, with this disguise, I had an easier time avoiding suspicion down here. And, an easier time adjusting. I was down here weeks before Ron was. I wasn't planning on even telling him. Eventually though, I kept coming back with so many bruises and stuff, he demanded to know what was going on. I was drunk at the time. It being Ron, I found myself pouring out the whole story."

Shego's eyes look Jay over.

"You? Drunk? Since when?"

Jay grins teasingly.

"Since the first day I came down here as Jay and walked into a drinking game." He laughs. "I've brought my tolerance up quite a bit, that's for sure."

Shego shakes her head in disbelief.

"Will you ever stop surprising me?" she asks in wonder. "I mean really, I've been slapped in the face so many times today, I have no idea what to expect anymore. Do I even know you at all?"

Jay reaches out and takes her hands in his.

"There are a lot of people I've lied to Shego, you being one of them. But one thing I never lied about was my emotions. If you pissed me off, you knew it. If you made me happy, you knew it. Be friend or foe, you knew it. And, one thing that's never changed, I still have an impossibly big forgiveness streak. All in all, when I told you that I-"

Shego places a finger on his lips.

"Hey, that was after everything came out. And I know you meant it." Shego sighs. "This is just a lot to take in." She snorts. "Especially you being a super power in the villain community. I don't think I'll get over that for a while."

Jay grins crookedly.

"You think you're shocked? Imagine dropping Ron into an arena with the antagonistic words 'this is my new game, and I've gambled all our money on us winning. If we lose, we're going to lose more then our allowance'."

Shego's eyes widen.

"What happened?"

Jay laughs.

"We kicked all their butts, earning a few bruises of our own. We walked away with ten times the amount we walked in with. Ron was getting so much hype from his new fans, it wasn't hard to convince him to come back."

Shego shakes her head, a smile tugging at her lips.

"My goodness Pumpkin, you're even corrupting the innocence close to you! I can't believe I'm hearing this!" Shego laughs. "I wish I could have been there. That fight would have been priceless."

Jay's smirk turns mischievous, making Shego eye him warily.

"You were there," he states matter-of-factly. Shego frowns, tapping a manicured fingernail on her chin.

"I was?"

"Does this sound familiar?" asks Jay, before changing the pitch of his voice. "Oi, oi! Stop slaggering my lunk-head of a partner! He's got to last the next few rounds so I can get rich!"

Shego's jaw drops.

"No fuckin' way!" she blurts. Jay's grinning from ear to ear. "That loudmouth buffoon was you?!"

Jay laughs.

"You think everyone is a buffoon."

"That's usually because they are."

Jay snorts in amusement.

"Anyway, Ron and I started coming regularly. I became a bigger target, and the only way to skirt having a bullet in the gut was to become the hunter and not the hunted. I used the fear of the assassin's title to get a larger amount of my pursuers off my back. I also earned a hefty amount of money too." Jay waves a hand around them. "As you can see, I'm not short on money. Or favors for that matter." Jay looks devious as he rubs his small patch of fuzz on his chin. "If I ever thought it was worth the hassle, I could so take over the world."

Shego bursts out laughing.

"Yeah right, Pumpkin. I don't see that happening at all."

Jay's eyes flash as he turns to Shego earnestly.

"Of course not, not without my empress beside me," He held out his hand to Shego, who rolled her eyes as she dropped her hand in his. He kisses it before straightening and grinning at Shego. "Really though. You have no idea what kind of connections and favors I've got stirred together. Pull the right strings, and I could have the world at my feet." He smirks. "Good thing I don't want it. You know how big of a hassle that would be? Imagine the paperwork, the meetings, the laws…!" Jay snorts and waves a dismissing hand. "If Drakken or some other fool wants to try a hand at the job, and can actually manage to get it, I say give them their shot. I bet next to none of them would want it after about three months of ruling."

"Master Wolf," calls a voice. Shego tenses, but Jay's hand on her calms her nerves. A man in a dress suit steps out into the circular resting spot Jay and Shego are nestled in. He bows as soon as he comes in sight.

"What is it?" asks Jay. The newcomer glances warily at Shego. Jay sighs impatiently. "Sean, this is Shego. She's my girlfriend as well as an avid partaker in all my judgments. You can speak freely in front of her."

"As you wish, sir."

Shego is slightly impressed with the power Jay has as Sean bows respectfully.

"What is it you needed to speak with me about?"

Sean clears his throat.

"Your first gift has been sent to the Director. We also have the documents you requested sitting on your desk. Also, you've gotten several written requests for your… unique talents. One such message came with quite an expansive box of jewels."

Jay lifts an eyebrow.

"I take it they want me to remove the senator again?" Jay growls at Sean's nod. "You know how to answer them. A senator is no test of skills. Make sure you inform them I've been insulted by the task. What comes with the others?"

"Only one, sir." replies Sean. "It's nothing fancy and was mailed in a simple envelope."

Slightly intrigued, Jay holds out his hand. Wordlessly, Sean hands him an envelope. Shego notes the familiarity with such an action. Sean has to know her Kimmie pretty well to bring out that letter and not the other. Shego frowns. That only proves how much she doesn't know. She shakes her head. And here she had been so sure she had the redhead figured out and had taken the redhead completely off guard when she quit villainy.

Shego turns to Jay when he lets out an amused whistle. He hands the letter and envelope to Sean.

"I believe we have an assignment. Inform Wiz and Mac."

"Yes, sir." Sean bows and disappears. Shego watches in slight amusement at his stealth before turning to Jay again.

"I really know next to nothing about you, do I?" she says soberly. Jay winces.

"Didn't we already go over this?"

"Yes, but you're not telling me everything. Your story has a bunch of holes."

Jay huffs, absently massaging Shego's hand in his lap.

"I could say the same of you, Shego."

Shego frowns.

"All you have to do is ask, Pumpkin."

The softness in her voice brings Jay's head snapping up. He sighs and gently reaches out to stroke her cheek.

"Listen, it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that a lot's happened. To squeeze everything together in one sitting would be impossible. It doesn't help matters that you're probably going to want to skin me for a lot of the stupid shit I've done."

Shego looks at him in amusement.

"Really now?"

He bobs his head in assent.

"I have to admit I've had a lot of close calls. There were some days I wasn't sure if I would be making an appearance for our usual tussles. Ha ha, I remember one in particular. We were going after Bon Daklur, that crazy guy who kept calling himself a vamp. Anyway, we managed to track him down to a decked out mansion in France. We had him cornered, and we thought we had the upper hand. Well, he ended up hitting a switch and turning the tables on us, literally. He had an antigravity machine that he switched on. Taken by surprise, we had a difficult time fighting him. He tossed two grenades into the mix, and a semi auto pistol, and yeah. Ron got clipped in the arm with the gun. I got blasted out of the mansion from the fourth floor, shrapnel catching me pretty good in a few places."

Jay pulls up a sleeve to expose his bicep.

"Look, you can still see these two really well. The grenade went off on the left side when I tried to duck out of the way." He points and two jagged scars about two inches long each. "I have a few more scars then I let on. Most of them I can cover decently when I need to, such as for old cheerleading practices. But, anyway, I was about three inches shy of impaling myself on the iron fence around the mansion when I fell. I still managed to ding my head on the stone wall at the bottom. Ron managed to take the guy out and then come rescue me from my fall. I'm only partially joking when I tell people Ron is my body guard."

Shego shakes her head slowly from side to side.

"Are all your stories similar?"

Jay grins impishly.

"Pretty much." He laughs at Shego's grimace. "Hey, I am a super villain and a world renowned hero. I get into tight spots all the time."

"Yes, but being a super villain brings you a lot closer to dying then being a hero. As a villain, everyone's out to get you. At least as a hero, you got people out there backing you up."

"What, you saying you're not going to rescue me if I get into something a little deeper then I thought I would?" he asks teasingly.

"If you get yourself too deep, I'll leave you there just to prove a point," remarks Shego.

"Love you too," Jay replies sarcastically. He pauses, staring so hard into Shego's eyes she shifts uncomfortably.

"What?!" she demands moodily.

"Just wishing I could kiss you right now without the both of us freaking out," he answers.

"Eh?!" Shego flinches back slightly. Jay notices it and smirks.

"See what I mean?" he says smugly. "You're so afraid of my sexy other half that you can't bring yourself to accept me." He looks up petulantly. "All my charms for naught."

Shego shoves him off the bench, earning a satisfying yelp from her prey.

"You think much to highly of yourself, you know that?" she replies haughtily. Jay sits up from the ground and smirks as he slings an arm across the bench.

"And this spankingly rich son of a bitch has every right to be. Have you not noticed my beautiful castle? Here, I am god!"

Shego crosses her arms disdainfully, but it has no other effect on Jay but to get him to laugh.

"Come on, lets get inside. Ron should be around soon to discuss our newest mission." Jay pulls out a phone from his pocket. "Hey Freddy, can you come pick us up? We're in the garden, and we need to get back to the Castle to go over our newest job." Jay listens as someone on the other ends responds before unconsciously nodding. "Yep, five minutes. See you soon." Jay hangs up. "Sorry I can't take you on tour. This new job is rather important."

"Is it linked with what's been going on?" asks Shego. She stretches as she stands, earning a rather hungry stare from Jay. "Pumpkin, I asked you a question."

Jay shakes himself and jumps to his feet.

"Erm, yes, it is connected. As soon as the others get here, I'll explain more." He holds out his arm. "Shall we?"

Shego looks him up and down.

"What have I gotten myself into?" she asks no one in particular. Jay grins

"Sorry Alice, you fell into the rabbit hole a long way back."