X

The following night, Shego, Kim, Ron, and Yori were back in Shego's hovercraft flying toward Drakken's lair. Yori surreptiously studied how Shego worked the controls in case she should need to take over.

As the lair came into sight, Shego sighed and said, "Now we'll see if Drakken did what he was supposed to do. Don't get your hopes up."

They nodded silently. While they were gone, Drakken was supposed to have seen whom he could get on their side and to have warned people of the new threat facing their planet. They had no idea how well he'd done, since he wasn't particularly respected—or competent.

After landing in the hangar, next to Shego's jet, the four jumped out of the craft and walked to the nerve center of Drakken's lair. They found him sitting calmly, looking at them with little expression.

"What's up with you?" asked Shego.

"Nothing," answered Drakken, "just glad to see you back."

"Whatever," replied Shego. "Did you manage to convince anyone to help?"

"Indeed I did, Shego," said Drakken, and then grinning, he added, "and not only that, but I found out how the advanced world first learned of our world."

"Really?" asked Shego, sounding dully impressed but also cautious. "Spill."

"Professor Dementor created a Pan Dimensional Vortex Inducer. He intended to expose our world to pure chaos where the most brilliant minds could finally rise unfettered by inferior minds, and the truth of reality could be studied by himself. Instead, he induced a portal to several worlds, and at least one of them detected the intrusion. The AIs…"

"AIs?" asked Kim.

"Artificial Intelligences," answered Drakken, rolling his eyes at Kim's ignorance.

"Of course," Kim frowned.

Drakken continued. "The AIs that govern several worlds opened a portal to his lair where he conducted his experiments and the process began with him. Since then, he engineered break-ins of government facilities and military bases, leaving behind infectious nanites along with the technology needed to synchronize all those infected with the AIs. It was working flawlessly until Shego and I did our part ahead of schedule."

Yori nodded. "As chaos and freedom are checked by the imposition of stability and authority, so are stability and authority checked by chaos and free will."

"What?" muttered Drakken, "I mean, whatever. The important part is he is the key to all of this."

"I can't believe I had no clue," said Kim, more to her herself.

Drakken added, "Well you did see some of his earlier progress at work. Like when he sucked a booby-trapped house into another dimension after he studied your battle suit?"

"Oh, yeah," added Kim thoughtfully. "I always wondered where that house went."

"Time out," said Shego, her tone skeptical, "how did you find this out?"

"Because, Shego," said Drakken, with a hint of his usual self-satisfied glee, "he told me."

Shego crossed her arms. "Why would he tell you? And why would you believe him? He's almost as crazy as DNAmy."

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Then Drakken laughed, and hit a button. Instantly, several chutes opened at the side and several henchmen, some dressed in gray and others in red, dropped into the room holding a crackling stun stick in each hand. On the ceiling another entrance appeared, and Professor Dementor on a small hovercraft of his own slowly descended to the shocked surprise of all four.

Kim sighed. "I think that's the last villain that hasn't allied with another villain against me." And so much for turning them against each other. Then she blinked and shouted at Dr. Drakken, "Wait, I thought you weren't working for them!"

"I wasn't, but Professor Dementor cured me and helped me to see how to usher in a new age for all of humanity to this backward world."

"How did he 'cure' you?" asked Kim.

"You'll find out soon enough, Kim Possible! You thought you were all that, but you'll soon learn otherwise as you really do become all that!" Drakken muttered a little to himself, "Even with the nanites helping, I still have a hard time talking about her being all that."

Yori wanted to use her fan blades, but feared the blood that might be spilled if she did. Instead, she threw a bag of blinding powder into the face of the henchman closest to her, and then pulled her handbo, a staff three feet long and one inch thick, out and got to work. She was pleased to see Ron was successfully using his mystical monkey powers to also aid his friends. She was less than pleased so see how strong and fast the henchmen were, and felt that the heroes had better win this quickly or escape.

Shego and Kim also joined the fray, Shego blasted the ones nearest her, then she and Kim jumped back to back and began to attack those nearest, taking care not to allow anyone between them. But a few seconds of this, and just as Shego was about to blast at Professor Dementor himself, they were both paralyzed.

"Shego," whispered Kim.

"Kimmie," whispered Shego at the same time.

Neither one understood what was happening, but suddenly they didn't want to move. And then they did move. Shego blasted Yori who fell.

"Traitor!" shouted Ron. "I knew she couldn't be trusted!"

Kim jumped toward Ron who had just kicked another henchman out of the way, and leaped away from another to be near Kim.

"Ron," said Kim's struggling voice, "run!"

"What?" asked Ron, just before Kim kicked him in the face. "KP! What are you doing! Enough with the kicking!" He leaped back to his feet, but Kim hit his face hard, Kim's adrenaline fully pouring out, and even in the grips of his mystical monkey powers, he felt dazed. Then Kim swept his feet out from under him, and then leaped up, intending to land a foot to his face, her own face a mask of fear and fury.

Only to be intercepted by Yori who kicked Kim away first. She quickly helped Ron up and then ran, with Ron right behind her, to a row of barrels, dropped her hanndbo and began taking off lids and flinging them. As the henchmen dodged the barrel lids, Yori quickly followed with several small spiked balls she had hidden, all of them poisoned to induce a state similar to extreme intoxication. She didn't think it would have its full effect on these people due to their enhancements, but it should at least slow them down. She was glad to see most of the hit an artery as she intended, meaning the effects would manifest quickly, but frowned as she noticed the bleeding that came with it.

"Stoppable-san," said Yori, as she grabbed a long rug, "help me!" Ron ran to her and pulled the rug, causing more henchmen to fall down. Yori then picked her handbo back up and assumed a battle crouch.

Kim hurt to see how well Yori and Ron resisted them together, much like the way she and Ron had used to do. She felt black despair close in and began giving in to the impulses that ran her body like a marionette, and the strange violation of her mind and will grew stronger. Her adrenaline was peaking, against her will, and her body flowed in disciplined moves, though she felt fear and anger, partly caused by the adrenaline, and partly by the loss of personal autonomy.

And then Ron was blasted by Shego; he crashed into the wall and fell. Yori was dodging the energy blasts, until she again encountered Kim. Kim's blow was exceedingly strong, and had not Yori flowed with it, she would've been out. But she did, using the force Kim transferred to her via the blow and spun, hitting Kim in the gut with the end of her handbo, causing Kim to fall back, gasping for air. Yori continued to spin, and hit Kim's ankle with the handbo causing her to fall. Just in time she tumbled out of the way to avoid another energy blast from Shego.

Fear was evident on Yori's face as she saw an unconscious Ron in the hands of two henchman. She dodged again before Shego could aim well, and saw that Kim was already getting up, a look of angry determination on her face. She knew then that this was a battle they could not win unless she treated Shego and Kim as the powerful enemies they had become.

With great sadness, she leaped behind a counter and pulled out the 2 EMP grenades Sensei had given her and threw them. There followed a high pitched whine and then all the power went off, though emergency lighting came on moments later. As it came on, Professor Dementor's hovercraft crashed, though lightly, and Professor Dementor himself lay sprawled over a control panel. Everyone lay stunned, though Ron was coming to.

Yori ran to him, helped him up, and was glad to see that he was shaking it off. Unfortunately, all the others including Shego and Kim, were also stirring. "Let us go," said Yori, dragging Ron to the hangar with the hovercraft as they both heard Shego moan. "The hovercraft should be unharmed, but any guards there will have to be dealt with."

There were no guards, and the electronic devices in the hangar seemed fine. They both got in and Yori expertly started it up.

"What about KP?" asked Ron, as the craft lifted into the air.

Yori spared him a glance of sadness before returning back to starting up the hovercraft. "It is most unfortunate that Kim Possible and Shego are lost to us. Sensei was worried that this would happen. This is why I came prepared for such a tragic turn of events."

"I can't believe Kim turned against us! Just like Wade!"

As the craft exited the hangar into sped into the night, Yori shook her head. "No, Stoppable-san, Kim Possible did not turn against us. She is now lost, and a stranger wears her face. Do not be fooled, the person that has replaced her is an enemy to you and this world."

The said nothing else all the way back to Pattaya Beach, both wondering what they were going to tell the Possibles.

--xx

Shego rubbed her head and moaned. Her vision was blurry but was quickly correcting itself. She caught a glimpse of Yori and Ron as they entered into the hall that would take them to the hangar.

She pulled herself up and stumbled over to Kim and allowed herself to sink back to her knees once beside her. She saw that Kim was regaining full consciousness. Then, looking around, she saw a few of the goons getting up.

Kim sat up suddenly, surprising Shego. "Professor Dementor," she said.

"On it, Kimmie." She got up, helping Kim up, and they ran to where Professor Dementor was groggily fiddling with his contraption. "Oh no you don't," she growled. Hands glowing, she began destroying the machine with blasts.

With a look of cold hatred, Professor Dementor suddenly broke into instant action, and with stunning speed and strength, bashed Shego's head against the control panel. With a cry, Shego fell.

With a growl, Kim leaped over the control panel and began fighting Professor Dementor herself while Shego groaned. He was remarkably robust, and even Kim's enhancements, along with her genuine rage at what he had done to them and had just done to Shego, kept up with her and was making her work up a true sweat.

Drakken was up now, fiddling with his own control panel, and making grunts of frustration. Finally, he yelled, "What are you waiting for, STOP THEM!"

The henchmen were all up now, but had gotten into a group, much like a football squad, and began running perfectly in step toward where Kim and Dementor fought. Kim only noticed this peripherally, but knew this could be a problem. She had to keep them away from Shego while she recovered, so she concentrated everything on knocking Professor Dementor over the control panel and onto the floor, which she finally did with a kick to his face. Then she leaped over him and prepared to meet the henchmen.

The henchmen formed a circle around Kim and Kim found herself whirling and fighting as one would step in, only to step back and another would step in. None were concerned with taking her down individually, only with tiring her collectively. And it was working.

Kim swallowed as she saw Drakken trotting up to them, holding what looked to be a weighted net big enough to entangle her.

Then Shego leaped out and came down before Drakken and blasted him back into the wall. Then she took to blasting henchmen, but they quickly parted, each going a different direction and dodging. One picked up the barrel lids Yori had used and started throwing at both Kim and Shego until Shego blasted him.

The battle was going their way, but Kim was worried. "Where's Dementor?"

"I don't know," growled Shego, blasting another henchman.

Then they heard Professor Dementor answer them. "Fraulein Shego, Fraulein Possible, I assure you I'm ok. But you vill be in much pain if you do not desist and put on this helmet!" He held a futuristic gun in one hand and a futuristic helmet held in his other. Then he shouted an order in German and all the standing henchmen came to his side. He gave the helmet to one and sent him to take it to Kim and Shego.

Shego snorted. "Yeah, right. Does that work better than your other toy?" Sarcasm dripped from her words.

Professor Dementor coldly responded, "I took control of the nanites directly, but now I will fix you and such cracking will no longer be necessary as you will be functioning correctly. I assure you that it, and my gun, are still quite operational."

Kim spoke to Shego. "Don't destroy it. That helmet should hold the key to reversing the mind control as well."

"Whatever you say, Princess," replied Shego before blasting the henchman on his back. The two instantly took evasive action as Professor Dementor fired at them. The gun shot a spark at the muzzle, and caused another spark wherever the projectile hit. Then he had to take his own evasive action as Shego returned fire.

While fighting, Kim suddenly found herself close to an open balcony, the same one where she and Shego had spoken together upon her return from Japan. And then the net Drakken had earlier was flung over her, and Drakken was the one who threw it. As Kim tripped and fell, Drakken triumphantly yelled, "At last, Kim Possible, I am the one who is all that!"

And then Drakken was hit by a green energy bolt and he was blown out over the balcony where he yelled all the way down. Shego dodged as Dementor shot at her again. She began working her way toward Dementor, pausing to take out another henchman on the way and keeping them from surrounding her, but Dementor took his own evasive action: toward Kim Possible.

Kim had just gotten the net off and stood up when she saw Professor Dementor aiming his gun at her. She began to move, but it was too late. Dementor fired and Kim felt herself suddenly weak and stunned. There was no open wound, but her entire body felt as if it were on fire. She felt herself go limp and then fell over the balcony. She willed herself to use her grapple gun, but she was stunned. She was silent as she fell.

"KIMMIE!" shouted Shego in shock.

Dementor now had his gun back at her. "Because she is evolved, she will survive the fall. But we must take action immediately if we are to save her. Surrender, Fraulein, or this world enters the new age without Kim Possible!"

Filled with such rage, and fear for Kim, Shego noticed that all time stopped, and suddenly every second was experienced with total clarity. With a roar that filled the room and her entire being, she quickly leaped and tumbled toward Dementor, dodging his shots, and finally blasting him to the ground. Before he could get back up, she destroyed his gun with her glowing fists.

Professor Dementor rolled and got up, and was saved by two henchmen who grappled Shego. She made short work of them both, but it gave enough time for him to get back on his feet.

And then Shego was there again and a green fist pounded his solar plexus and he felt the air explode out of him. He grabbed Shego's neck in an attempted headlock, but fell, wracked with pain and nausea as a green fist smashed into his right kidney. He ordered his brain to produce the endorphins to deal with the crippling pain, but then more blinding pain was inflicted followed by nothingness as Shego's glowing fist smashed into his nose, sending the bone fragments deep into his brain, and then Shego blasted his head off for good measure.

Turning around, everything still crystal clear and happening in slow motion, she quickly dealt with the last of the henchmen, pulling no punches, and she knew many of them would never get up again.

She knew her adrenaline had to be pushing its limit and she only had a little time before the backlash hit and she would be exhausted, if not unconscious. Picking up the helmet, she quickly ran to the hangar, breathing hard. She grabbed a hoverlift, one used just to get to the beach below and back (and the occasional break-in of a building), and descended down toward Kim and Dr. Drakken.

Kim lay motionless on her back on the pebbled beach. She looked broken and Shego nearly cried as she saw the blood spilling out below her and at the whisper of her shallow breathing. She examined her, and found that the wounds were mostly superficial, saw with relief that her neck and spine appeared to have avoided serious injury, but the impact of the landing had no doubt caused serious injuries, including broken bones and a concussion. She had to believe that the nanites would keep her from going into a coma or getting any worse, but she knew she had to get Kim out of here.

She gave a quick once over to Drakken who looked as bad as Kim. She briefly thought of trying to take him, too, and then rejected it. He worked for the invaders now. Maybe he'd survive and maybe he wouldn't. But just as she was about to turn away from him, she sighed angrily at herself and pulled him up to the lair wall in case a particularly high tide came in. He showed no sign of consciousness as she did this.

Then she hurried back to Kim and gingerly picked her up and carried her to the hoverlift. Then she got her back to the hangar and she carefully got Kim into her jet, with the helmet beside her. "Hang on, Kimmie," she said softly as she seated herself into the jet and took off.

She wanted to take her back to Kyoto, but she wasn't sure what kind of reaction she'd get. She and Kim had been forced to turn on Ron and Yori and no doubt they'd assume that Kim and Shego were now agents of the other world. As of right now, Kim and Shego were fugitives to both sides in the war: and being caught between a global ninja clan and a technologically advanced civilization was not someplace she wanted to be.

She needed to think, but the backlash of her adrenaline burn was kicking in, and she felt so tired. Where could she find a safe place to rest and Kim some help without alerting either side to their whereabouts?

Making an impulsive decision, she headed her jet toward Tamil Nadu in India. She knew someone who worked a hospital there who owed her big, and it was time to collect.

She frowned, remembering that the invaders took a special interest in health organizations. At least there were many, many hospitals in Tamil Nadu, but she instinctively crossed her fingers as she hoped that the doctor who owed her was still entirely human.