Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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"You don't seem much at all like you are represented in Ron Stoppable's stories, Mister Lipsky." A middle aged woman who was ideally suited for the Cruella De Ville costume she wore remarked to Drakken.

"No, not any more, at least!" He replied, "There's nothing like having your character flaws exaggerated in stories read widely on the Internet to make you recognize them! And motivate you to deal with them, as well." He sipped at his soda, while studying the crowd of partygoers circulating around him. He was being studied in turn, especially by Joe Geary Senior and Bennett Rockwaller. He missed two other pairs of interested eyes, however. And a single one.

Bernadette Barr didn't miss the first two pairs, mostly because she'd been watching for them. "Oh, Brother!" She muttered, then winced, "Literally!"

"Beg Pardon?" She turned to find Shego next to her, regarding her with mild curiosity.

Bernie winced, then brightened slightly. "Oh, sorry, I just spotted trouble about to happen, that's all! But, maybe this is luck, because you can take one worry off my hands!"

Shego arched one eyebrow eloquently. "And why would I help?" She asked doubtfully.

Bernie smiled, then pointed. "Over there, the guy in the Riverboat Gambler costume? My brother Joe, who I sincerely hoped would not attend this year! And talking to him is another Joe..."

"Geary, Junior. Yeah, I recognize him, so what?"

"They're plotting together, to do something to disrupt this party in a way they'd both find 'entertaining'. No spiked punch or sophomoric nonsense for them! And they seem to be very interested in your boss, who I'm afraid may be their target for tonight."

Shego's eyes narrowed as she studied the pair. "I see! Can't have that! Um, what was the other worry you had?"

Bernie looked around the room and grimaced in frustration. "Captain Morgan. Guy dressed up like him, anyway! He's trying too hard to avoid being seen by someone, not sure who. And I mean, he's dodging and ducking really hard! Not sure his costume's authentic, maybe he's just a generic pirate with an eyepatch!"

She scanned the room again. "He's not in here, though, might be in the dining room or the back parlor now." She suddenly became aware that she was talking to someone who wasn't there. "Shego?"

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Another party was in progress elsewhere in Middleton, right on the northern city limits, technically. And at least one of the attendees was having serious second thoughts about attending it in the first place.

There were no real costumes being worn, though a few funny hats and other accessories were present. Those attending consisted primarily of college age males and high school age females. No alcohol was visible in the main room, but the site was a three-bedroom condominium, and there were certainly many places where more private parties might be in progress.

Bonnie Rockwaller stood in one corner of the downstairs den, seriously wishing she'd stayed home and handed out candy with her mother. As well as wishing she'd never bought the red dress she now wore, never mind wearing it here tonight. She was beginning to feel like she was covered in blood, and beginning to excite the sharks. "This was such a bad idea!"

"This is So Not a good idea!" the familiar voice echoing her own thoughts made Bonnie jump. She looked quickly to her left, and saw Monique standing there. She was also wearing a rather daring party dress, hers in white. She looked at Bonnie, "You thinking the same thing?"

Bonnie tried putting on a haughty air. "Why do you say that?" She asked archly.

Monique snorted in amusement. "Because, like me, you're in a corner, keeping your back to the wall, that's why!" She looked around, and shifted uneasily when she noticed the expressions directed her way. "You want to get out of here, or do you have friends here to look after?"

Bonnie kept her jaw from dropping with an effort. "Um, no, I came with someone, but they said I was on my own once we got in the door, so...why are you being nice to me?"

"Because I need someone to watch my back as I make a break for the door, and you're the only girl here showing the sense to get out of this disaster waiting to happen, that's why!" She grinned, "So it's nothing personal. But, I do have a car, and you're a long way from home, so I guess I can give you a ride, if you don't mind one stop on the way."

Put that way, Bonnie would have to have been a fool to say no. Or too full of arrogance, and fortunately she hadn't been overstocked with that lately. "Sure, whatever! Let's get going, before one of the sharks attack!"

Monique didn't need that translated, though she had assigned another word other then 'shark' to the frat boys. A far less polite one. The two made their way to the door, where they found it much harder to get past the three greeters stationed there then it had been to convince the boys to let them in.

Eventually free of clutching paws, the pair were soon in Monique's car, or rather her mother's car, borrowed on the basis of Monique's generally good behavior. Getting clear of the over-parked area took some care, but they were soon on their way. "So, what's your excuse for thinking that going to that party was a good idea?" Monique asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I can't remember, actually! I mean, I heard about it, but never intended to go, until I suddenly had to get out of my house! My sisters primping and chatting about how great the party they're at is supposed to be, and Mom telling me how much fun we'd have together while they were gone. Same thing she's said to me on such occasions for...a long time. Anyway, Wendy was going to this party, so I called her up, and begged for her to take me with her! And she did. Now, why were you there?"

"I was mad at someone, and this was supposed to be some kind of twisted revenge in my own fool head!" Monique shook her head angrily. "Why do we do such stupid things because of men!"

"They say the same thing about us!" Bonnie retorted, "And don't get me started telling you the things I did to stay on Brick's arm, top of the food chain! But as bad as those things were, when it came to Junior...and he was even more clueless then Brick about what some of those things cost me! It's almost enough to turn a girl gay!"

Monique snorted. "That's a 'Grass is always Greener' sitch, Bonnie. When you get there, you find the same degree of aggravation, if you hook up wrong! It's love, desire, insecurity, everything! Trying to find one special person may be a fool's quest!" Then Monique smiled. "Then you look at Kim and Ron..." And they both fell silent for a minute. Bonnie ended up breaking the silence.

"Where's the one stop, anyway?" she asked half-heartedly, still thinking how badly the evening had gone so far.

Monique took a quick look at Bonnie before replying. "Kim's house, I want to check up on her. She's alone there tonight, and she'll be mad as hell if she thinks I'm watching out for her, but I worry about her."

"That's fine." Bonnie replied quietly.

"You don't have a problem with that?" Monique asked curiously.

Bonnie sighed dejectedly. "Not at the moment, no. But tomorrow, some silly or trivial event will probably have me hating her again!" She grimaced, then offered an explanation. "Last June, I was so mad at her! Then she turned around and stood up for me, and I thought she wasn't so bad, which lasted less then a week, because of Junior!"

"Whoa! Slow down and go back to the beginning! What happened in June? Wait! Oh, No! You were the one, weren't you?" Monique stopped babbling when she saw Bonnie cringing in the passenger seat. "Oh! Sorry, didn't mean to hammer you like that, it's just I've never known the complete story of what happened that night. Kim doesn't like to talk about it at all."

"I don't blame her!" Bonnie muttered. She sat up straight, took a deep breath, and began to explain. "It was the Celebrity Charity Fashion show at the Middleton Convention Center. Which must mean you were there, all things considered." Monique rolled her eyes and nodded, as Bonnie continued. "So was my whole family. And I managed to become one of the models without them knowing it, for at least one dress. Was really going to flaunt that in front of my sisters!"

"Then I spotted Possible backstage, searching for something, and just had to rub her nose in it, too! But, I caught up with her just as she found what she was looking for. It was a big metal canister with an automatic valve on top, and I knew it was trouble because she was frantically talking to her computer nerd, trying to get him to tell her how long she had before it went off, and what was in it! Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure how what that meant, and I was all ready to run, when that kid told her it was going off in less then a minute or two, at most. Possible looked around, and spotted a walk-in refrigerator, and began trying to drag the thing into it. She couldn't, not alone, so I took hold of it, too. Didn't think about it too much, just did it! We got it in the fridge, which was fortunately turned off, because they were just using it for temporary storage at the time."

"And then it started to hiss! And I grabbed the door and pulled it shut! I mean, my family was there! Kim made sure the vents were closed, and I just stood there, waiting to choke, or melt, or turn purple! But that's not what happened."

Monique was trying to suppress a grin. Bonnie made a face. "Go ahead and laugh! You might as well, anyone would!" Monique shook her head, forcing the grin off her face. "No, I wouldn't laugh at Kim, I won't at you, either! Go on, finish your story."

"Someone later called the little monsters Nanomoths. They ate our clothes, right off our bodies, as well as three rolls of canvas tarpaulin, some table skirting, and the contents of a bucket of greasy rags. All in less then three minutes! And we had to wait in there, until they all died off, which took three hours! Fortunately, they couldn't eat that radio thingie of hers, so people knew where we were, at least!"

"That couldn't have been fun." Monique commented, while tapping her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, waiting for the light to change.

Bonnie snorted. "First hour, we couldn't look at each other, which is kind of silly, all things considered, we've been sharing the same locker room for how many years? But this was different, of course. Then she tried to complement me on my 'bravery', and I nearly bit her head off! Whoever said you can't fight when you're naked, did not know what they were talking about! Completely verbal, of course! Things got worse when we got out. The designer who's dress I'd been wearing was mad at me for it being destroyed! Then Kim pointed out that if we hadn't trapped the things, he'd have lost his whole collection, and that cooled him off. Marginally! Of course by then, the show was over, and most of the crowd had gone home, and I'd missed my big chance, and I blamed Kim!"

"Do you still blame her?"

"Of Course not! I always calm down within a week or two, and recognize where the fault lay. Just not big on admitting it, or apologizing, if you hadn't noticed." She paused, "Then came late August. Junior had stood me up twice in a row, and my sisters were riding me about it at the Mall, when Kim came along..."

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"I mean, did you really think some Billionaire's son would get really serious about you?" Connie scoffed, as Bonnie stood sullenly gazing at the floor. They were just outside the mall's food court, where she'd had the misfortune to have her sisters happen upon her unexpectedly, and overhear her rant to Tara on her cellphone about Junior's failure to meet her, again!

"I mean, you might have been a momentary diversion, something to dally with, but a serious relationship?" Lonnie laughed aloud, "I mean, what would he see in you? In this family, I got the beauty..."

"And I got the brains!" Connie continued the routine. But before either could add 'And you got the leftovers', they were interrupted.

"Feh!" Came a voice from behind the two older Rockwallers. They stepped apart and turned to see Kim Possible standing there, feigning surprise at having been noticed. "Oh, sorry! Didn't mean to interrupt, really!" She said brightly.

Connie scowled briefly, then smirked. "Oh, Look! It's Bonnie's little friend, whatshername!" Bonnie cringed at her sister's obviousness.

Lonnie, though, frowned at the teen heroine. "What was that comment of yours about?"

Kim seemed puzzled momentarily, then smiled brightly. "Oh! That was nothing, it was just that...well, if you've got the natural beauty, how come you have to buy twice as much cosmetics as your sister?" She pointed at their respective bags showing the imprint of a famous beauty store.

"What! Oh, well, I need to...protect my looks more, that's all!" Lonnie stammered. Bonnie had sucked in her cheeks, and was biting down on the insides, doing her best not to make any noise that would make her their target again.

"Excuse me?" Connie blurted out, face reddening.

Lonnie became more flustered then ever. "Oh! I didn't mean anything by that, Connie! Your looks are just more rugged then my...no, I meant...um, I'm not sure?"

"And then there's that 'brains' bit!" Kim continued, as if she hadn't noticed the effect of her first observation. "I mean, if the best you can do with them is pick on your sister..."

Connie sniffed. "Well! Look who's talking! I mean, you're hardly the brightest member of your family, are you?"

Kim's expression became thoughtful. "Well, you've got a point there. I mean, Dad's IQ is about 193. Mom's is around 191..." Connie began to look nervous, "And my brothers have tested out at about 187! But you know what?" Kim asked, smiling cheerfully.

"Oh, let me guess!" Lonnie replied sarcastically, "It doesn't matter, because you all love each other, right?"

Kim nodded enthusiastically. "Yup, that too! But, what I was actually going to say was...that leaves about a thirty point cushion between them and you guys for me to fit into!" she smiled at them cheerily.

Connie almost seemed to be breaking a sweat, and Bonnie was turning redder by the second trying not to laugh, but Lonnie looked outraged. "Thirty points! I think not! Tell her, Connie!"

"Oooo, look at the time!" Connie remarked, pointing at one of the mall clocks, "Have to meet with one of my professors in ten minutes on campus, about bonus credits! I really have to go! Later, Lonnie!" And she practically bolted for the nearest exit, leaving Lonnie standing there open mouthed. For about five seconds.

"Connie! Come back here! You need to tell this...What is your IQ, anyway? Connie Rockwaller! Stop and talk to me this instant!" Her voice faded into the distance as she pursued her sister out of sight.

Kim stopped smiling as soon as they were out of sight, then looked at Bonnie with concern. "Better take a breath, Bonnie, you're entering the purple stage!"

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Monique's head was resting on the steering wheel, her body shaking with laughter. She'd had the sense to pull over early in Bonnie's story, or she'd probably have had an accident. Finally sitting back and wiping tears from her eyes, she gasped, "Oh, That's my Girl! So, she stood up for you, right? Probably because she hates bullies, a whole lot!"

Bonnie, who had been grinning widely, sobered at once. "Yeah, and a week later, Junior shows up, and starts bemoaning how he'll never measure up to his Father's expectations as long as Kim Possible keeps thwarting him, and I went right back to hating her! I mean, how pathetic am I, that I value shallowness over...forget it! She did me a favor, from the goodness of her heart, and I threw it over for that..." She ran out of words, and made a sharp dismissive gesture. "Come on, let's go!"

Monique pulled away from the curb and continued their journey, but soon had to ask a question. "The day of the balloon fiasco? What made him freak out? Saw video of him sprinting across the parking lot, but what triggered it?"

Bonnie's face went from sullen to puzzled. "I'm actually not sure! A reporter asked him how he felt about the irony of Kim rescuing him, and he suddenly...freaked, like you said! Said something like, 'It's true! It's true! It's my karma! The old woman was right!' And then he split, and don't ask me what he was talking about, I have no idea at all!"

Monique shrugged. "No idea here, either, but it sounds like Junior! Here we are, Kim's house." She pulled to the curb a little distance from the Possibles' driveway. A party of four trick-or-treaters escorted by an adult were just arriving. While the woman stood on the curb, the four children, two of them about four, approached the door. Moments later, the two younger ones came shrieking back, but with wide smiles on their faces, and the older pair followed, giggling and examining the new additions to their booty.

Monique sighed in relief. "Well, Kim's on form, it looks like, nothing to worry about! Better not let her see me, it's always worse when they don't need checking up on! Want to head home, or get a sundae?"

Bonnie looked at the four children heading towards the next house. "You know, I'd really like to go home, and hand out a little candy, myself! But thanks for the offer! Maybe we won't go back to business as usual come Monday, how about that?" She smiled at the other girl.

Monique returned the smile. "Works for me! Just give me some warning if you feel the old Bonnie returning, a sudden reappearance might get you a fat lip, just so you know!"

Bonnie nodded. "Fair Enough!"

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Having carried Kim into the guest bedroom, the three ninja-garbed women set her down gently on the bed, then removed the bulky packs they wore. After studying the room's layout briefly, the leader directed the other two to move some of the furnishings around in order to clear a large area of the floor. They then began unpacking their gear.

The leader took a long rolled-up object, set it on the floor, and unrolled it. Appearing at first like an air mattress, as it inflated it proved to be a much more complex design, with channels in it leading to sealable plastic chambers. The central part of it was covered in a fine mesh. When the leader adjusted a small control, this warmed up to body temperature. Four devices were then positioned at the corners of the inflatable operating table, and switched on, causing a hazy yellow glow to cover it's surface.

The three women then removed their hoods, gloves and tunics, only to reveal similar garb in white underneath, save for the gloves, which were replaced with latex-free surgical gloves. The white tunics also differed from the black by being short sleeved.

While the leader busied herself hooking several monitoring devices up to one of two laptops the women had brought, the other two undressed Kim. They then moved her carefully down to the mat, and covered her with a sterile sheet, leaving only her left shoulder bare. They also attached several sensors to her torso, as well as placing one on her right temple. A Blood Pressure Monitor was also hooked up. One woman then brought out a compact anesthesiology set-up, and placed a mask over Kim's face after making adjustments to the equipment, while watching Kim's vitals as displayed on the first laptop.

The leader studied the surgical scars on Kim's shoulders with a clinical eye, and nodded approval. She began to position two screen-like devices mounted on tripods, one aimed at her shoulder from the side, the other from the top, while watching the other laptop, on which they projected a 3-D image of Kim's shoulder. When she was satisfied with their placement, she typed in a command, and the view switched to an X-Ray perspective, clearly showing the internal structure of the joint.

Currently unoccupied, the third ninja chose to make a comment. "It is rather odd, to visit the same subject twice in such a short period of time, is it not?"

The second ninja rolled her eyes. "Well, since many of our subjects do not survive our first visit for very long, it may indeed be rare!" She paused, "I feel this visit was far less of a challenge, with only her present, however. Negotiating the security measures was a bit harder, though. Gaining access to her loft bedroom was slightly less difficult."

The third ninja nodded. "I must say, the security measures for this place are extremely unusual! Such odd ways to conceal some of the devices!"

"Well, one must remember the age of those who designed many of the measures. My favorite was the microwave laser disguised as a small dish antenna!" She frowned, "However, I noticed it was missing on this occasion."

"Perhaps," Their leader spoke for the first time, "It has something to do with the obvious structural repairs and fresh paint on the adjoining house's upper levels?" She fixed them both with a stern gaze. "Now, do you suppose we can proceed?" She had just finished marking three points on Kim's shoulder.

"Hai!" They both responded, blushing slightly and bobbing their heads. The third ninja moved around to above Kim's head, and began to swab her shoulder gently with antiseptic. The second monitored the readouts of Kim's vitals.

The leader placed a new device near Kim. It was a rack holding three sets of paired metal cylinders, each pair connected to a thin flexible tube with a metal fitting on one end. The leader removed a long needle from it's sterile packaging, and after applying antiseptic to the fitting, screwed the needle onto it, then set it down in a small sterile plastic tray. She repeated the process with the other two tubes. Once that was done, she took up the first one, and removed the small safety cap from it. She then manipulated the valve on one of the cylinders carefully, until a small drop of liquid appeared at the needle's tip.

She pressed the tip into Kim's skin at one of the marks, while watching the laptop image to guide her as she firmly pushed the needle in until she was satisfied with it's placement. Again she repeated the process with both of the remaining needles. She next placed three small adhesive pads connected by wires to a device the size of an PDA on Kim, placing them so they roughly 'surrounded' the needles. She nodded to the second ninja, then began turn a knob on the device. Almost immediately, Kim began to stir, and a fine sweat broke out on her brow. The second ninja made adjustments to the anesthesia until she quieted again. "Is it painful?" The third ninja asked curiously.

"Merely irritating." The leader replied. On the second laptop, faint waves could be seen radiating out from the pads, passing through Kim's shoulder. The leader now began to manipulate the valves on the other three cylinders of the pairs. She studied the display, and soon a faint blue stain began to spread out from each of the needle tips. At first, it spread outwards, but then began to flow towards the place where Kim's labrum had been torn.

The third ninja was apparently unable to bear the silence. "I suppose this must be a separate client who has employed us, since this procedure is most certainly beneficial, while the first was not, and it would be pointless to undertake this one, with the other in place?"

The leader kept her attention solely fixed on the laptop, but her scowl was clearly visible to her associates. "The identity and motives of our clients are of no concern of yours, and in fact should not be a topic of conversation at all!" She stated, in a tone that discouraged any further discussion.

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Unavoidably distracted by her mother introducing her to a 'fine young man', Bernie had lost track of both Shego and 'Captain Morgan', but spotted the two Joes huddled with one of the servers, a young blond woman who earlier had been spoken to by Ollie Pittman about her attitude, which was far from polite and cheerful. "Bet she had other plans for tonight, before financial reality, or her parents, or both, got in the way! But what are those two trying to talk her into?"

"Bernadette, why is it I get the feeling you're not enjoying this party very much?" Bernie looked to her right to find Anne Possible beside her. Her gaze continued past the doctor to catch that of a local banker who was checking Anne out, especially how she filled out her slacks. He started guiltily when he saw Bernie looking at him, and rejoined the conversation between his wife and two of their friends, while Bernie shifted her attention back to Anne.

"I'm not sure, actually! Guess I'm on edge for some reason. How's it for you and James? Enjoying yourselves?" Even as she asked, her attention went back to the conspirators, but right then they moved out of her sight, towards the kitchen.

Anne smiled slightly as she recognized certain symptoms. "Isn't there someone else who can worry about...okay, I'm curious, what's bothering you?" After a moment, Bernie told her about Shego, the two Joes, and Captain Morgan. "You say Shego disappeared after you told her about your brother, and she replied? Then something about Captain Morgan must have bothered her."

Bernie shrugged. "Maybe, but if someone were planning to prank my boss, or worse, I'd..." Her voice trailed off as she spotted one guest's costume. "Is that guy dressed as..." Anne turned to look where she was indicating. After a moment, she nodded. "I'd say he's dressed as Professor Dementor, basing his costume on Ron's description." She turned to see Bernie's mouth hanging open. Then the girl smacked herself in the side of the head. "Bernadette, what's wrong?"

After a moment of looking frustrated and anxious, Bernie suddenly had an inspiration. "Anne, do you by any chance have a way of contacting Betty Director?"

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Only part of the ground floor and the back patio and gardens were open to the party guests, and Shego went through all of it once trying to spot 'Captain Morgan' to get a good look at him herself, and confirm her suspicion. At the same time, she tried to maintain a semblance of casual behavior, not rushing too quickly, actually exchanging comments and greetings, without actually getting involved in any conversations.

She also kept her temper under control when someone splashed wine on her, since it was probably her own fault, anyway. A server offered her a linen napkin to wipe it off, and she cursorily brushed at it before proceeding with her search.

Her patience was tried even more when she confronted someone in a Hego costume. It suited the muscular wearer, but caused a scowl to pop up on her face. It also brought back a memory, unbidden, and undesired. The Halloween night when she left Team Go for good.

Having shaken off her City-appointed 'handlers', she was walking through a residential neighborhood, disguised against recognition by the people she passed. Then a young woman and her two children came along. Brother and sister, in Hego and Shego costumes, with flashing lights on the wristbands, to simulate the Go Glow. They'd gone up to the door of a house, and the woman who answered asked the inevitable, if rhetorical question, "My! Who have we here?"

The boy hadn't answered, merely held out his bag for a treat. But the girl had proudly piped up, "I'm Shego!" Shego had been within a moment's thought of turning around and going back. But she hadn't.

The sudden sight of a red tricorn hat with flowing plumes waving over the crowd dragged her back to the present. She moved smoothly through the crowd and followed her prey down a hallway into a small conservatory, with a piano shrouded with a dust cover sitting in the center. Like most of the rooms open to the party-goers, the remaining furniture had been removed, or pushed back against the walls.

'Captain Morgan' stood next to the piano, his back to her, which set off a warning bell in Shego's brain. She cast a quick look over her shoulder, but no one else was in the hall behind her. And the room itself had no hiding places. All the outer walls were glass, of course, though drapes blocked most of the view outside. Shego stepped into the room, wary of any trick. Before she could speak, however, she was pre-empted.

"My Dear Shego, what an expected pleasure!" Came the voice of Gemini, as he turned around to face her, hands down at his side. Which meant nothing, Shego knew, since he had a nasty little surprise concealed in the thumb of his cybernetic hand. He could stick it out and fire a small dart tipped with the poison-of-the-week, if he chose to. It wasn't very accurate, however, and Shego was certain she could dodge it, if necessary.

"Think you stole that line from somewhere, Shel!" Shego responded. "I hear you've been looking for me and the Doc for some reason?"

"Oh, please! We both know what business I have with you! You shot down one of my aircraft over the Atlantic, Shego, and you can't deny it!"

Shego feigned puzzlement. "Over the Atlantic? Last time I crossed over that, I had a snoot full of Dementor's mutant pollen, and I couldn't have shot at myself with any chance of success! Took me forty-eight hours to recover from it! Almost paid Dementor back, though, but Kim Possible stopped me!"

A moment's uncertainty appeared in Gemini's eye. Then he slowly nodded, "I suppose it was a bit suspicious that the camera on the drone happened to catch what appeared to be your plasma coming at it. Could have been faked, if someone accessed the video feed." He shrugged, "Not that it matters, however! It doesn't change my plans at all. I've been planning to show you independent villains that operating on your own, rather then serving a greater evil, was a bad career path to take!"

Shego saw his thumb move, and sidestepped quickly, igniting her plasma as she did. But he didn't use the thumb-gun, he just watched her warily. She in turn was about to take the offensive, when something went wrong in her chest. Her vision suddenly blurred, and her knees became suddenly weak. She staggered, and tried to regain her equilibrium, but her problems worsened instead. A tightness began to grip her chest, and she dropped to her knees. Her plasma went out, even as she fell over sideways. "Wha...?" The Conservatory had a hardwood floor, which Shego's head met with a solid 'thump'.

"Ah, most satisfactory!" Gemini moved over until one of his boots filled her vision. He apparently stood studying her for a minute, but Shego couldn't even move her head to look up at him. "Well, I must go see to your employer! As for you, minion to deal with minion! Goodbye, Shego!" His boot vanished from her sight, and she heard, and felt, his footsteps as he strode away.

Shego lay there, twitching spasmodically. She had a feeling her own feelings of panic were contributing to her problems, but she couldn't suppress them. She didn't know what was happening to her, and fear of the unknown was something she wasn't completely immune to.

Another set of footsteps approached, and she was nudged over onto her back. In the process, she suffered a wardrobe malfunction, a fact reflected in the eyes of the man in the Cyrano de Bergerac costume staring down at her. "Tsk, tsk! What a crime scene photo that will make! Perhaps I should be a gentleman, and tuck that back in? But no, leave the body as it lies, I always say." He knelt down and leaned close, looking her in the eye. "I'm Agent Alpha. An oft-used title, but I intend to be the Alpha who outlives all the others, by a wide margin!" He looked towards the hallway as a raucous burst of laughter echoed down it. After a moment's tense expectation, he relaxed, and looked down at her again.

"As to your problem? A little something our scientists, properly motivated, came up with! To keep it short, whenever you use your plasma, it fouls up your autonomous nervous system, throwing your heart rate, among other things, out of rhythm, and it gets worse the longer you have your plasma on, and the more intense you make it. And getting it back in rhythm is a bit of a problem, isn't it? Well, now you know. And I don't have time for more of an explanation, I'm afraid, so let's get straight to the killing, shall we?"

Alpha pulled a stiletto out of his boot top. "No point wasting time with any misdirection, is there? No one's going to believe you committed suicide or anything, are they? I think a straight jab through the throat and into the floor should be...gak!" A solid thump preceded his eyes popping wide, then crossing as he keeled over sideways.

"Shego!" Sliding her revolver back into it's holster, Bernie dropped to her knees beside the pale thief. "You've got to relax, calm down, you're pushing your heart too hard, if it's out of rhythm! It may shut down, and CPR is not fun, when you're on the receiving end!" She fished her cell phone from her pocket, and keyed it to the walkie-talkie function. "This is Bernadette! I need a security guard in the conservatory, and call 911, we need paramedics here, now!" She re-adjusted Shego's dress to cover her decently, then checked her pulse. "Calm down, calm down! Can you even hear me? Shego?"

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Betty Director sat in her office, discussing the day's activities with her aide, Abby Hogan, a fiftyish blond who was still quite a knockout, and a twenty year veteran of fieldwork, before taking her current position when Betty became head of GJ North America. They had just finished the supervillain status update when Betty's intercom buzzed. "Yes, Grace?"

"Call for you from Anne Possible, Ma'am!"

Betty's eyebrow rose. "Really? Put her through, Grace." She exchanged glances and shrugs with Abby before she picked up the phone. "Anne? What's up? Is there a problem with Kim?"

"No, as far as I know, she's safe at home, passing out candy." Sounds in the background gave Betty a hint where Anne might be, just before she confirmed it. "I'm at the Barr Halloween Party."

"Oh? Well, if this is a social invitation, I'm afraid I have to decline."

"That's too bad. Drew Lipsky is here, and your family may already be represented!" Anne replied, just as the sounds diminished.

It took only a few seconds for the coin to drop. "I'll be right there!" Betty snapped.

Abby had a second phone in her hand. "Alert! I want the rapid response squad waiting for Doctor Director in the hangar right now!" By the time she put her phone down, she was alone in the office.

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The rear patio was flanked by two mazes consisting of eight foot hedges, and bounded by the currently drained swimming pool on it's outer edge. A handful of people had wandered outdoors despite the chilly evening air, some to try to recover their wits by exposing themselves to it.

Doctor Drakken strolled among the hedges, accompanied by one of the servers, a young blond woman carrying a nearly depleted tray of hors d'oeuvre, from which Drakken helped himself to a spanikopita as the young woman talked.

"Was that true, what you told that woman earlier? About changing your ways, after those stories were written about you?" She asked, taking a quick look around to see if anyone else was in sight.

"Oh yes! When one is faced with such a reflection, one cannot fail to see one's flaws. I've done my best to correct them since, though the 'old' me still pops out, once in a while. I'm not the only one, either. One or two others have changed their ways, probably after reading Ronald's accounts." He picked the last tidbit, a vegetarian egg roll, off the tray. "You need to re-stock, I'm afraid, my dear."

"Oh! In that case, can you hold this tray for me for a moment, I need to adjust something!" She handed the tray to Drakken.

From the shadow of a nearby hedge, Anne Possible frowned as she watched the byplay between the two. "Well, this is more interesting then the conversations inside!" James whispered from just behind her shoulder. "I was causing quite a few glazed stares in there!"

"Well.." Anne replied, never taking her eyes off the pair in front of her, "You didn't have to play to your character, you know! You could have admitted that you actually understood the engineering difficulties involved in that renovation project!"

"Ah, but then I may have been forced to remain involved in that discussion! Sometimes I really appreciate Ron's portrayal of me, when I can turn it to my advantage!"

"Shhhhh!"

As Drakken took the tray, the young woman looked upwards. "At least we have a beautiful clear night." Drakken looked upwards as well.

Anne's eyes narrowed. As soon as Drakken took his eyes off her, the girl took hold of her blouse with both hands, and appeared about to rip it open. But then a voice from out of Anne's line of sight interrupted her.

"Doctor Drakken, prepare to meet your doom!"

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A double cliffhanger? Afraid so. Didn't plan it that way, but felt like posting it this way, so there! No, just didn't want too long a chapter, and I'm a terrible judge of word counts in advance.

Anyway, Please Read and Review.