A/N: For those of you who caught it (or I told), the last chapter's title was from Alice in Wonderland. We're down the rabbit hole now.
When Shego's eyes blinked open, the ceiling seemed to spin above her. She tried to push herself upward, but her left arm wouldn't respond. She could hear mumbled voices elsewhere. They seemed to fade away as she struggled to sit up.
Kim seemed to appear in her line of vision, standing over her. The woman's eyes seemed to scan over Shego's body. There was a prickle at the base of her neck, and Shego felt her eyelids grow heavy. The last thing she was aware of, was a hand on her cheek, and a thumb brushing across her forehead.
Sleep, this time, was thankfully dreamless.
When she woke again, the room was vibrating. She sat up without effort this time, glancing around. Only Dr. Porter was in the container now, and the room was vibrating. It was fairly smooth, baring the occasional jolt. She grunted as she stood, and noticed that her wounded shoulder, hip, and calf were all efficiently bandaged. Dr. Porter spun in her chair to face Shego, eyeing her critically.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine." Shego replied, tugging experimentally at the trappings on her shoulder. "Thanks Doc."
"Please," Dr. Porter shook her head, turning back to her workbench. "Call me Vivian. And…" She glanced back over her shoulder. "It wasn't me who fixed you up. Im somewhat out of my depths when it comes to human anatomy."
The fizz of a welding torch echoed around the room. Shego sat back down in the chair and extended the foot rest. A nail file seemed to appear in her hands.
"Where's Kim?"
"Up front, driving." Vivian frowned, her eyes not leaving her project.
Things were quiet for another hour or two. Neither occupant was really aware of time's passage. Shego filed each one of her claws down to a point, then smoother out her nails. Vivian's attentions went from project, to computer, to project again.
After almost three hours of nothing, Shego mentally threw up her hands.
"Why are you here?" Shego broke the silence, eyeing Vivian critically.
Dr. Porter turned back to her.
"Pardon me?"
"What's your stake in all this?"
"Why do you care?" snapped.
Seeing the taken aback look in Shego's face, Vivian sighed and turned her chair to completely face Shego.
"After Kim…disappeared, while your old colleagues were running amok, some of them got it into their thick skulls that they could steal me and my work for their schemes."
She turned halfway back to her desk, her hand idly brushing along a small picture frame standing upright on it.
"My…husband tried to stop them." She choked, tears gathering under her eyes. "They said it was just a stun weapon…but they…they…"
Her free hand cradled her temples as sobs wracked her body.
"They killed him! My poor Oliver."
"The robot?" Shego blurted out before she could stop herself. "You married your science project?"
"Don't talk about him like that!" Vivian rounded on Shego, glaring. "He was so much more than that. He loved me!"
Shego raised her hands apologetically. "Sorry. I didn't mean to…" She trailed off, unsure how to comfort the grieving woman.
"There's still hope." Vivian reported. "I saved a backup of his mind. I can rebuild him, just as he was before. We can be happy then." She pulled the picture to her and began cradling it close to her chest. "But I won't bring him back yet. Not until Kim and I make the world safe for him."
"Yeah." Shego mumbled, seeing the vacant look in Dr. Porter's eyes. "Doin' a great job so far." She leaned back in her chair again.
A/N: You get a short transistory and expository segment in celebration! A thank you this time to Ltlconf, TableThrower, and ShadowCub, some of my favourite people on the internet. And now whit im celebrating. I was nominated for not one, but TWO Fannie awards this year! Best Series Overall, one of three KiGo stories on the ballot, and Best New Author. Though I didn't win any, I was simply ecstatic to even be nominated. Especially for Best Series Overall. It felt phenominal. So, just for everyone who voted (for me, obviously), here you go! Three chapters in rapid succession!