"Are you sure this is the right area?" Shego asked skeptically as she gazed out the back windows of Kim's car. She wrinkled her nose at the miserable 'gorchiness' of the neighborhood, if it could even be called a neighborhood. It was more of an abandoned warehouse district, somewhere nestled between the retching smell of the fish market and the meatpacking district. "This place doesn't look even safe for human habitation. I think I just saw half a dozen rats larger than cats over there…"
"So says the woman who's been living underground in dank dark lairs," Kim scoffed. But then she added, "But I think we're close to the place, at least the GPS says so… And as much as I'd like to disagree..." She trailed off as they turned down the last street the GPS directed them to follow and noticed the scenery changing quickly. "Huh, maybe it won't be as bad as we thought."
Ron and Shego silently nodded in agreement as they followed the street for almost a mile, and the buildings became progressively run down, until they were in one of several "civic beatification" projects Go City had implemented. It was once a bustling industrial and commerce district, and had become filled with boutique stores and restaurants, high class duplexes made from old stores and several studio apartment buildings made from the husks of old factories. The GPS in Kim's car directed them to a former brewery, the Ernst Biermann apartments
"Not bad," Shego commented as they got out of the car with the other two occupants. The apartment building was huge, taking up most of the block it occupied. There was a small parking lot for visitors next to the dozen or so overhead doors reserved for renter's. The entrance door for the apartments was a huge wooden double door that would seem more in keeping with a cathedral than a brewery or apartment building. The walls were made of deep red bricks, and while the windows were made of obviously modern energy-saving construction, they kept in theme with the heavy, industrial styling of the rest of the building.
Ron, Kim and Shego slowly walked towards what was obviously the entrance, glancing around them as they went. The streets bustled with life and activity, ranging from couples walking arm in arm to businessmen and women wearing the latest in boardroom fashion. Feeling a strange crawling feeling on the nape of his neck, Ron glanced over to Kim, "I know this looks fine, but something tells me you'd better remember to lock the car."
"I already did," Kim replied, holding up her car's key fob as Ron pulled the door open for her and Shego. Behind the doors was the hallway for the first floor and stairs that lead to the second, which they walked up, following the second floor hallway to apartment 2D. Kim glanced at the paper in her hand one more time and pressed the doorbell. There was a softly muffled two tone ring, followed by muffled curses as someone stumbled around the apartment and the sound of what was probably a television being turned down.
Kim had just glanced back at Ron and Shego, who both wore blank expressions, when a petite woman with long, straight blond hair and an angelic face opened the door with a huff. She stood there for a moment while wiping at light dabs of paint that were on her face with her loose fitting tee-shirt. She glanced over a pair of stylish, oval glasses, glaring at the two teens standing at her door with piercing grey eyes.
"Alexis Leibherr?" Ron asked.
"Yeah?" The blonde said tartly, "What is it? Look, if you're selling something, I'm not interested. If you're collecting rent, I'm not in. If you come to buy one of my works…"
"Damn!" Shego immediately cursed under her breath, as she quickly pulled the two teens aside. She turned her back on the tenant, and whispered urgently to the two. "Kim, Ron, I think I better handle this one while you wait in the car."
"Why would we do that, Sheg-..." Kim began, turning towards Shego before a delighted yelp from the doorway stopped her cold.
"Sheila!" Alexis yelled as she brushed quickly past Ron and Kim, lunging at a startled Shego with a big hug. "Oh my god, I haven't seen you in like… Forever! Damn, you're worse than a bad date. You spend the night, disappear in the morning, never return my calls and always show up at the worst possible times. How are you?"
"Oh hi, Alex. It's you," Shego forced herself a wide smile. "I didn't know you lived here…"
"In the flesh!" Alex smiled proudly. Then the smile quickly fell from her face. "Wait a minute! Don't tell me you're not here to see me!" Shego nodded, her mouth open to speak before Alexis continued with a disappointed pout. "Damn, you really are bad date. And here I thought you brought two very lovely gifts." She smiled coyly at the two shell-shocked teenagers of Team Possible.
"Gifts?" Ron and Kim asked in unison, looking first at Alexis and then back to a slightly flushed Shego.
"I didn't know your last name was Leibherr?" Shego stammered, too shocked to say anything else more coherent.
"Hell, there're lots of things you didn't bother taking the time to find out about me," Alex replied coolly with a flip of her hair. "You probably don't even remember my phone number." She let out a loud sigh, which quickly turned into an evil grin. "But I'm sure you remember how to make me we-…"
Shego's flush turned into a deep blush at the comment, and she replied in a flustered tone, "Yeah, sure… Whatever… Anyway, we're here to ask you some questions..."
"Oh?" Alex said, drawing out the simple word into a seductive sigh, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Is it always business with you? Or is it always pleasure? I forget." She said, putting a considering finger along her cheek and glancing up as if thinking. "Oh, that's right," she muttered after a few seconds of contemplation, "It's both!" she exclaimed as she gave Shego a leering smile.
"Look, Alexis…" Kim decided to interrupt as Shego was reduced to gaping like a goldfish. As bizarre as the situation was for her, they were here on a mission, and she always tried to take her missions seriously.
"Sheila, Sheila, Sheila…" Alex said as if clicking her tongue, "It's always a sexy red-head, huh?" She smiled brightly and winked shrewdly at Kim before looking back at the clearly stunned and now somewhat pale Shego.
"No!" Shego blurted crossly, finally finding her voice. "She's no one, just an on again, off again rival!"
"Oh really?" Alexis asked with a huge smile on your face. "She's pretty hot." She gave Kim a once over, studying her body with artistic intensity. Then she smiled coyly at Kim, the only thing ruining the visage of innocence being the subtle twinkle deep in her grey eyes. "Hey, Red, if you have the time, would you like to do some modeling for me?"
"Red?" Kim spluttered at the nickname, her left eyebrow twisting up askance and her right eye twitching for a moment. Her eyebrows then scrunched together and her eyes narrowed slightly, her tone becoming suspicious as she caught the glint in Alexis' eye. "What do you mean, modeling?"
"Yeah, Red." Alexis replied with another wink, "Y'know, the red hair, it makes a good nickname!" Shego and Kim both scoffed at the idea, drawing a knowing grin from the blonde woman. "As for the modeling, just the standard take off some clothes, pose in the nude kinda thing." Alex said while waving a hand airily, though her smile was more suggestive than her comment and tone implied. "I'm a decent sculptor after all, and your features are rather enticing…"
"No!" Shego snapped hurriedly, "I mean, look, we're just here to ask some questions, okay? No nude posing, at least not the kind I'd say you're thinking of."
"Aww…" Alex replied sweetly, before leaning in to whisper into Shego's ear. "So do you two have a have a thing for each other? Looks like it with the reactions you two've been sharing."
Shego's outburst would have been spectacular, if not interrupted by a sudden, loud smack and Kim's tensed voice, "Ron! Get your head out of the gutter! No one's taking off any clothes."
"My, my, how feisty," Alex grinned while looking at Kim. "Then again, I guess that's how you like 'em, Sheila." She looked Ron, straight in the eye, not bothering to disguise her intent, "So can I have the blonde then?"
"No!" Kim and Shego shouted in unison before turning to look suspiciously at each other.
"Aww… Sheila!" Alex gave a playful pout. "I thought you had enough toys already. That little firecracker looks like she's a lot to handle, you sure you want Blondie in the mix?"
"Could you be serious for a moment?" Shego snapped back, ignoring the heat once again rising in her face. "Look at her; doesn't she seem familiar to you at all?"
"Nope," Alex smiled back. "Not unless she's a regular at our old hangout."
"You still don't have a television, huh?" Shego smirked.
"I don't need a TV," Alex announced aloofly. "It's a pointless waste of time."
"She's Kim Possible, teen hero?" Shego waved her hands around. "Saved the world a couple of times?"
"Teen?" Alex gave Shego a strange look. "Is that why you don't call anymore? You like 'em young now?"
Shego's jaw dropped open and she stood staring at Alexis for several seconds. Struggling to find her senses again, she retorted, "C'mon! Be serious here, Alex?"
"Fine, fine, spoilsport," Alex replied glumly, giving Shego another pout. "Let's get inside before the neighbors complain about the noise level in the hallway." Giving Shego a wink, she added, "We can get as loud as we want inside."
The trio shuffled into the apartment behind their eccentric host. They walked down a short hallway, which led into a large, open apartment. Kim and Ron looked around with wide eyes, drinking in a mix of sculptures and paintings placed decoratively about the living areas they could see in the apartment. "Welcome to my humble abode, where I put the studio into 'studio apartment'!" Alexis said brightly.
It was a bizarre sight, Kim concluded. The apartment was divided into two sections, one the living area, which was blocked off from the rest of the apartment by screens or furniture. The studio was open and airy, with gauze curtains allowing the sun to shine softly in, yet keeping any prying eyes from seeing into the area if someone was indeed posing nude for Alexis. There were at least a dozen life-size statues made of various materials. They were in various poses, some of them completed and others still on newspaper or tarps. There were also three easels, two of which were covered by thin cloth towels. The one she did see was a nude of a young Asian woman that was almost lifelike in quality.
Waving to her guests, Alex walked them past the statues towards the back of the studio which was where the living room was. She picked up her television remote from a tweed couch and gestured at it, "Make yourself at home," she said before disappearing into the kitchen.
Kim and Shego stared cautiously at the old sofa, and then sat down tentatively, while Ron decided to take a closer look at some of the interesting interior décor of the place. He wandered around the statues a bit, leaving Kim and Shego to talk between themselves.
"So…" Kim asked, drawing the word out as she stared at her own clasped hands, "How do you know Alex?"
"We were friends some time ago," Shego explained smoothly.
"Is she always like that?" Kim asked, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on her hands.
"Like what?" Shego asked with a knowing grin, glancing at Kim as she fidgeted.
"Like… Err… You know…" Kim stammered sheepishly.
"I don't know," Shego feigned ignorance.
"You know… That obvious… And forward," Kim whispered.
"You mean the way she hit on you and Ron, and openly invited you guys to take off your clothes for some fun of a very salacious, sexual and decadent sort?" Shego asked with a smirk, noticing Kim wormed uncomfortably from her explicitness.
"Yeah… Something like that," Kim mumbled, blushing slightly.
"Well, to be honest, she's usually more unrestrained," Shego commented with a chuckle. "The reason she took so long to answer the door was because she was probably putting on some clothes. She's pretty much a nudist, especially when it comes to making art that doesn't involve smelting metal," Shego grinned as Kim shook her head dazedly. "God, Kimmie, you're such a prude. If you got it, flaunt it! I notice you have a penchant for mid-rift baring clothes. She's just taking it a step further…"
"Oh, I know," Kim said, surprising Shego with her agreement. "And I'm not really a prude so much as, well... The mid-riff baring thing is a hell of a lot more sexy than almost showing it all in public like Bonnie does..."
Shego smirked, remembering the brunette and the clothing that girl tended to wear, but nodded for Kim to continue.
"I guess it's just that..." Kim waved her hands about her in a random pattern as she searched for the right words to convey what she felt.
Shego felt a devilish little smile come to her face and cocked an eyebrow at Kim. "That Alex is so openly bisexual your blushes almost made you pass out from blood loss?"
Shego was again surprised as Kim barked a laugh out. "Hardly," she said confidently, "You forget, Shego, I'm the captain of a cheerleading squad. We have one open lesbian, one that's in the closet so far she's dusty, two that I know are bi, and a couple more I'm almost sure also swings both ways."
Shego giggled at Kim's declaration, shaking her head slowly. "And here I thought you were just being an uptight prude. So it wasn't her being so open that's bugging you?"
"Only a little..." Kim said softly, her eyes unfocused as she thought about the situation she was stuck in. "Mainly what bugged me most was that she's hitting on all of us and implying things that are just a bit off base and not being at all subtle about it."
Shego nodded in agreement, a wry smile on her face. "Yeah, I guess open would be kind of an understatement with her."
At a slightly lecherous grin from Shego, Kim cocked her head at the former villainess, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, "And what, exactly, are you smiling about?"
"Oh, just thinking," Shego said airily, "You did mention that you think the shirt thing is sexy, I'm just wondering how long 'til the inner nudist in you takes over! You got the body, you know how to flaunt it, and it's just one small step from wearing almost nothing to none."
Kim stared at Shego with her mouth agape, a blush rising on her face. Her eyes filled with a mix of outrage at the suggestion, annoyance and surprisingly humor at Shego teasing her so easily. She was about to comment on this when a voice behind her made her jump, "One small step for Kim, one giant leap for Ron-kind," Ron mused with a lascivious grin on his face.
Two very hostile looks were thrown his way; two emerald glazes seemed to pierce daggers into his very soul. Realizing that he'd spoken aloud, he glanced down around as if looking for a way to escape. From
his pocket there was a little "Eep!" as Rufus popped his head out at the sudden end of conversation. He looked at the two women that had accompanied his owner and up at Ron, and chattered something at him before diving back into his favored pocket.
Yeah, little buddy, Ron thought, I'm in it pretty deep now... Looking to change the subject, he racked his brain for some tidbit to toss to the dogs before he was ripped apart. "KP, you're looking gorgeous today." Nope, not working, he thought, looking at Shego for help. "Shego, nice weather we're having here, isn't it?" Nuh uh, we're indoors. "Hmm…" he was about to run and hide behind some of the statuary when he breathed a mental sigh of relief as an idea hit him. "Shego, what did Alex mean by you're a bad date?"
"Yeah…" Kim said as she turned to Shego with a teasing sparkle in her eye, much to Ron's relief. "Ron has a point: what was that about?"
"It's a friend thing, okay? It's an inside joke. It's a friend thing," Shego threw Ron a dirty look at the sudden turnaround.
"She was kinda very friendly," Ron commented with a dreamy smile before two pairs of green eyes froze him over again. He quickly corrected himself, "To you! I mean towards Shego! Aww… I should just shut up now…"
"That's nothing, we're just friends," Shego replied coldly.
"Oh really, Sheila?" Alex whined in a high-pitched voice, as she came around the corner balancing three glasses of water in her hands. "Just friends? Aren't you suppose to give people the 'Let's just be friends' speech before you sleep with them?"
Ron, who had started drinking as soon as the glass had been given to him, instantly doubled over in a fit of hacking sounds, pounding his chest for air. Kim stared in wide-eyed amazement at Alex then turned towards Shego. "Wha-?"
Shego grumbled some obscenities under her breath. "That was a long time ago."
"You're a… You're a…" Kim stammered.
"That she is," Alex smiled proudly at Shego, as she placed the glasses on the coffee table. "A bisexual, half lesbian, part-time carpet-muncher, you have a name for being a pendulum of love, she's probably it too."
"Pendulum of love?" Shego squeaked in protest.
"Yeah!" Alexis said brightly, affecting a very bad French accent, "You are ze pendulum off luve, you svwing bosth vays!"
"I was worried about that," Kim mumbled a little too loudly, which caught Alex's attention.
"My, my," Alex crooned. "Is that jealousy I detect?"
"No!" Kim shot back, a crimson red blush spreading from her cheeks to below her neckline.
"It's so easy to tell when someone's lying," Alex grinned as she sat down next to Kim, a little too closely. "So, do you have to have both Shego and Ron around or no one gets any, or are things more open than that?" she asked as she leaned into Kim's personal space a bit more. Kim looked at her like a deer does headlights, her moth working but no words coming out. "I didn't know the great teen hero, Kim Possible played for the other team. It would be a field day if the press finds out."
"I am not a…" Kim tried to force the words out of her mouth. She almost shot out of her seat and cowered in the corner of a room.
"Lesbian?" Ron offered helpfully.
"That… Yeah… What he said… Thanks, Ron," Kim's blush deepened in color, the brush spreading slightly to become visible on her shoulders while inching a little further away from her host.
"Darling, Dear, Pumpkin, Princess," Alex crooned, as she brushed Kim's hair to the side. She leaned in a little closer to whisper into her ear, "You're in denial." Kim felt a hand gently rest on her leg, and slowly, but surely wandering up to her hips with dancing fingers.
"Alex!" Shego exclaimed out in a strangled growl, trying to stop her former lover's antics. This was all the impetus Kim needed as she jumped straight out of her seat and almost fell over the coffee table, spilling her glass of water in the process. She stumbled around the side of the couch and away from her host speechlessly, to finally be caught by Ron. She looked up into Ron's soft brown eyes pleadingly and shook her head. At the comical sight, Alex let out a hearty guffaw much to the Kim's chagrin.
"Kimmie, I take the prude comment back. If I'd known you were this bad, I'd have pulled something like this a long time ago to stop you from thwarting Drakken's plans," Shego added with a snicker.
"You're one to talk, Sheila," Alex turned her gaze on towards Shego. "I seem to recall a shy blushing girl who whimpered to me, 'Please be gentle with me.'"
"Stop it!" Shego commanded with a slight blush to her face, giving Alex a strong glare. "Enough with the games now, Alexis!"
"Fine, fine," Alex let out a reluctant sigh. "So what brings you here?"
"Do you know Reginald Chesterfield?" Shego asked.
"Reginald… Reginald… Oh, you mean Reggie!" Alex replied with a scowl. "Yeah, I know that guy… I mean, how pathetic could he be, doping my drink with GHC?"
"Pathetic?" Shego asked with her eyebrows skewed. She glanced at Ron and Kim who looked back at her as blankly as she was at them.
"Yeah, downright pathetic!" Alexis said sharply. "Look, there I was, having my works presented at this art gallery, and then this suave young douche bag comes and pretends he knows all the differences between Monet and Manet." She scoffed at this, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. "I didn't spend four
years in college to have some pseudo-art enthusiast pull a fast one over me. So he asked me out to dinner, and he has the money and the fast car, I wanted a nice dinner, he seemed cute, I said yes," Alex lazily explained.
"That's when he raped you?" Shego said.
"Nah, he stood me up for some reason." Alexis continued with a laugh. "Instead he waited almost a week and we ran into each other at our old club." Alex gave Shego a knowing smile. "He was all apologetic and since you hadn't shown up, something about helping your brothers with some supervillians, I decided to take him up on the new date offer."
"When was this?" Shego asked leadingly.
"Oh, about two weeks before we hooked up with that hottie Travis?" she said with a smirk. "And while we were having an after dinner drink at some fancy restaurant, he drops the drug into my drink, and boom, out like a light." She balled up her fists at the angry assertion and pounded them against her legs a few times before continuing in a calmer voice. "It's not like he'd have had to do that, I wanted to screw him, I mean, he's fucking hot! I just don't put out until the third date at least." she glanced at Shego sidelong and smirked, "You're just a special case, Pumpkin. And…" Alex turned towards Kim and Ron, "That's a pretty funny story that I think you two would be interested in listening… You see, Sheila here was wearing this…"
"No, we're not interested!" Kim spoke for the both of them as she elbowed Ron hard in the ribs.
Shego let out a little growl, "Ahem, let's just get on with the story."
"I thought we could spend some time reminiscing those good times," Alex grinned naughtily. "Anyway, yeah, well, you know me... I guess I was too blunt with him, since I let him know that I have my standards, and he's not getting into my pants that night. So he took that as a challenge I guess, and next thing I know, I was laying on my back feeling sore in all my sensitive spots, in some nice soft silk sheets in this ritzy hotel. I wouldn't mind waking up like that every morning, but I sure as hell wished I remembered what happened the night before."
"You don't mind…" Shego gaped.
"Don't get me wrong here, I'm all against rape and disrespecting of women, really, it feels more like one of those really funny nights I've had where I've drank too much, and woke up next to a stranger the next morning," Alex mused. "It's kinda awkward introducing yourself to someone you just woke up naked next to in bed. I mean what do you say? 'Hi, you were great in the sack, but I don't have your last name, and I'm pretty sure Mr. One-Night-in-Vegas doesn't quite cut it.'"
"You're not affected the least bit by this?" Shego and Kim both asked in unison.
Alexis sighed heavily, rolling her eyes before answering. "Like I said, I wanted to sleep with him…" Alex added. "But after that night, it didn't happen. Do you know how awkward it is, to tell a guy that although he raped you the night before, and you wanted the memories? Okay, that came out totally wrong, but you know what I mean, he didn't need to…"
"Wait, wait, wait… You're okay with it?" Shego repeated her question for the third time.
"Of course not!" Alex exploded, with a hard tone in her voice. "But I sure as hell won't let it tear me up inside. Look, he was cute, I didn't mind, that's all. I've moved on."
Shego stared speechlessly at the fair-haired woman. She quietly whispered, "Alex, I'm sorry, it's my fault. If I hadn't been with you, you'd probably have never gone on a date with him or even-..."
"Sheila, Sheila, Sheila…"Alexis interrupted, "While you were a great lay," Alex grinned monstrously at the pale-green woman who cringed at the off handed compliment. "You were more than just that. You were also a good friend. That said, it doesn't matter anymore."
Shego sighed and looked at Alexis with hurt and sorrow in her eyes. "Yeah, thanks, some friend I was..." She looked away, her voice dropping to a barely audible whisper.
Alexis put a hand on Shego's leg and shook her head, smiling beatifically at her. "Shego, it's past, okay? And you were a good friend, like I said, and that more than made up for what he did." She took her hand away and gave Shego a hug, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "And it's good to see you again, even if it's not to start dating again, y'know?"
"I've been hearing that a lot lately," Shego said after a moment, returning both Alexis' hug and her smile.
"So, are you still on the market?" Alex asked coyly. "I haven't gotten any marriage invitations yet."
"Lay off," Shego warned her.
"Oh… Taken I see… By who? That little firecracker over there?" Alex nodded at Kim who chose this moment to hold Ron a little tighter as she shook her head, while glaring at Alex.
"No! She's not my type!" Shego protested hotly, pulling away from the comforting embrace.
"Aww… I was just teasing, Sheila. You're no fun. Besides, I know that little claim is bullshit!" she leaned in and whispered in Shego's ear. "Besides, I think she's clinging a little too closely to that blonde over there to be all that into you," Alex explained with a smile.
Shego turned her head to look at the young teen couple standing closely next to each other. With a soft sigh, she uttered, "Yeah."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "Oh hoho…" Alex whistled with a playful smile on her face. "I see now…"
Shego gave her a chilling glare. Mouthing a single word, she shook her head. No.
Alex shrugged her shoulders, "Ah, fine whatever, are you guys going to stay for long? I got some work to do, you know." She winked at Shego. "I'm sure you remember that I tend to have less and less clothing the longer I work. To get those creative juices flowing, you know." Her eyes drooped suggestively and she licked her lips to accentuate her statement.
"Right, right, we're getting out of here before you can't restrain yourself any further," Shego got up in a hurry, and pushed Ron and Kim out of the living room. "It's nice meeting you again, and next time we meet, can we keep the conversation at least rated safe for kids?"
Alex let out a light laugh. "So you're suggesting a next time? You know, I usually like to use my tongue for things other than talking!"
"Lalalala…" Shego covered her ears with her hands, as she ushered the two gawking teenagers out of the room.
Alexis giggled at the display, calling after Shego "Try not to be such a stranger and at least call to say hi!" Shego gave a little wave on acknowledgement as she turned to close the door, an exasperated smile on her face.
"That was an interesting visit," Ron declared when they were a safe distance away from the beautificationdistrict.
"Sure, it was," Kim replied through gritted teeth. "I don't know which is worse, the fact that she hit on you or the fact that she hit on me."
"Aww… C'mon Kim, enjoy the attention a little," Ron replied with a light grin. "After all, she was just joking, right Shego?"
"Well…"
"She wasn't joking? You mean, she was really hitting on KP? KP? Do I have anything to be jealous about here?" Ron asked in mock fear, as he stared wide-eyed at his girlfriend.
Kim clutched the steering wheel of her car a little more tightly and growled, contemplating the idea of testing out Jim and Tim's new install, a high-powered front ejection seat for the passenger side. Now's a good time as any to test it out. She thought darkly as her fingers gently toyed with the button.
"Ron! Which part of 'You're my boyfriend' don't you get?"
"I don't know… I thought she was kinda cute…" Ron quickly slapped his hand over his mouth as he realized his faux pas. "Okay, okay, enough about that…" He fell silent for a moment, before his mouth started to twitch uncontrollably as he fought off laughter. "Wait, Shego? She's your ex-girlfriend?"
"Gee, Stoppable, I wonder what gave that away," Shego snarked with venom in her voice. "It was a long time ago, okay? Don't judge me just because I sleep with women."
"No, no, no," Ron rattled off quickly an apology. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant… I mean… I don't really mind… I was just thinking… Wow, you're kinda hot for a lesbian… Wait, bisexual… No, that came
out wrong too, I think you're hot… But…" He glanced between the two women in the car with him as sweat beaded on his brow at Kim's stony expression and Shego's neutral gaze. "Am I digging my own grave here? I mean, I'm not attracted to you, but you're hot, but I love KP, but… But… Aww…" He slapped a hand over his eyes, trying to shut out the certain death staring at him from the driver's seat. "What's wrong with me today? I should just shut up." Ron brought his other hand up to hide his face in his hands, which was a good thing because the look that Kim now gave him could literally have frozen water.
Shego, however, was somewhat taken aback by his reaction. Blonde sidekick over there thinks I'm hot? She let herself enjoy a small smile before catching Kim's eyes in the rearview mirror. Instantly putting on a scowl on her face, she muttered back, "Yeah, you'd better shut up." For both our sakes, she added as an afterthought.
"KP, could you drop us off at the hospital? I want to visit my mom again, before she gets out tomorrow," Ron asked tentatively, noticing his girlfriend's tightly pursed lips. "If it's cool with Shego of course."
"I'm fine with that, I'd like to visit Jean again, too," Shego affirmed with a slight nod.
"Fine," Kim replied curtly.
"Thanks KP, you're the best," Ron said with a smile. After a good five minutes of silence, his features fell as he realized something. "Kim, you're fine, right? I mean, even though you say you're fine, I've noticed that whenever you give a one-word answer like 'No' or 'Fine' you usually mean the opposite of what you said."
"Yes, Ron, I'm fine," Kim replied grouchily.
"Oh, that's good then. For a moment, I thought you were mad at me or something," Ron went on with a grin on his face.
"Yeah, I'm completely fine with two women openly flirting with my boyfriend right in front of me," Kim added blithely. "What do I know?"
"Err… KP?" Ron asked in a confused tone.
"Never mind, Ron," Kim snapped back.
"Are you sure?" Ron asked hesitantly.
"Yes!" Kim bit the inside of her lip hard, so hard that she only stopped when the coppery tang of blood entered her mouth. She took a deep breath before continuing in a calmer tone, "I'm fine, Ron."
"If you say so," Ron replied uncertainly.
"We're here anyway," Kim announced as she pulled the car into the front entrance of the hospital. "I still have some student body committee matters to sort out, so I'll call you later tonight."
"Sure, KP. Thanks, and later then," He leaned over to give his girlfriend a light peck on the lips which she didn't reciprocate. Ron gave one last forlorn look at Kim and asked again, "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, just go," Kim groused, giving him a gentle push. "There's a car right behind us, and we'll talk about it later, okay?"
"Yeah, if you say so," Ron got out of the car without another word, and he stood next to Shego as he watched Kim drive off.
Watching her boyfriend standing next to that woman in the rearview mirror made Kim more than a little tweaked. Even though he was watching her go, it didn't help one bit that she seemed to be taking the opportunity to press her body up against his. "Stupid Ron," She grumbled under her breath. She reached out to her car stereo and set it to play a random folder from its internal hard drive. A brief, grim smile graced her features as her workout folder was chosen and Slipknot's song "Wait and Bleed" began blaring through her car's stereo. It may normally just be workout music, but it suits me just fine right now!
She allowed her right foot to indulge in pressing the accelerator towards the firewall as the song's tempo picked up. She glanced in her mirrors so make sure it was safe to change lanes before jumping on the interstate for her five minute drive home. She noticed the hospital's upper floors in the rearview mirror, and a gargling sound escaped her throat as she strangled a curse before it could leave her lips. She looked resolutely forward, trying to shove the images of Ron standing next to Shego out of her head.
The images stayed, however, and an indifferent part of her mind considered that Ron and Shego looked good together. "Stupid, stupid Ron," Kim growled loudly, smacking the steering wheel with both hands as the thought bounced around inside of her head for several seconds before she remembered what had prompted this latest spate of jealousy.
"Stupid Ron," She growled to the uncaring road in front of her. "Is it so hard to see that… That… That Alex bit-..." she stopped in mid-curse, trying to reign in her rising temper, "That she was flirting with you? And you just had to go and enjoy a little attention from someone hot, huh?" Kim clenched her teeth as the song progressed, the driving beat stepping up Kim's anger conspicuously. She stabbed the accelerator down and her car surged forward, passing a semi-tractor trailer at almost thirty miles per hour over the speed limit. The startled driver honked at her and stabbed his brakes in response to her unexpected maneuver.
"Ugh... She's a blonde hottie who just happens to be an artist… Fine, so what's so great about her? There's nothing golden at all about her, and you had to have that stupid look on your face and I almost had to wipe that drool off your lips." She continued to grumble, without paying attention to the rude gesture the truck driver gave her.
She pulled off of the interstate, looking towards where she could just see her house peeking over a slight rise. Maybe a hot shower will help me get over today. she thought, trying not to picture what she felt might have happened had she not gone with Ron and Shego that day. Her thoughts were anything but calming.
"Stupid asshole!" Kim screamed in frustration as Ron's smiling face from earlier popped into her mind. "Guess this is what you've been doing with Shego all this time, huh? Guess this is what you've been doing with Shego all this time, huh? Going out and flirting with hotter, sexier, or just plain better looking women?" she slammed her fist into the center console, making it creak with the force of the blow. "No wonder you always wanted me to stay behind! 'Oh no, KP, it's a long trip to Go City, and you have other responsibilities, like to the cheer squad and I can handle it all on my own.'" She blinked a couple times to clear angry tears that were clouding her vision. "Yeah right, Ron."
She brought her hand back up and gripped the steering wheel tightly as she pulled up to a stoplight. "Gah, dammit!" she shrieked, leaning her forehead against the steering wheel. She mutely listened as a new song started playing the next song in her "workout" folder. The opening words of Hatebreed's "Perseverance" struck a chord within her, and she realized that she was being more than a little unfair to the young man she loved.
"There's nothing to jel' about… Nothing to jel'. Ron loves me, Ron loves me, I love Ron…" she muttered like a mantra, then took several deep breaths, forcing calm into herself as she continued, "He's not cheating on me, Shego's just trying to get my goat, and I just need a cold shower. I just need to blow off this anger and take a long, cold shower."
Kim cruised through her neighborhood while her music played, now calming her instead of inciting her, before pausing at her parents' driveway. She debated going off to the nearby park and working out for a while or just staying home and relaxing. She pulled in and parked in the garage, noticing that her dad's car was missing. Her dad had mentioned something about taking the tweebs off to soccer practice, which was a good thing for her. That meant some peace and quiet in the house, since that would leave her alone for several hours, and it would also allow her time to go out and blow off steam at the park by practicing kata and other exercises.
Leaving her car running, she dashed into her home, shrugging out of her mission shirt while kicking her shoes off. Realizing that she could probably get away with a sports bra and sweat pants, she doffed her cargo pants in favor of a comfortable old pair she had hanging in her closet. She reached into her cargos and grabbed her Kimmunicator, sliding it into a duffle bag along with her cargo pants and the mission shirt she'd pulled off earlier, just in case Wade called with a mission.
She ran back down to her car, locking the door to the garage behind her, and hopped into her car, throwing the duffle onto her passenger seat. She pulled out of the garage and proceeded to Middleton City Park, which was about halfway across town. She turned the music down a bit, but decided to keep the same folder going to pump her up for the workout she had planned.
She pulled into the park, slipping in beside a grey Chevrolet Tahoe that had pulled in a moment earlier. She scoffed as she noticed the couple that had gotten out of the Tahoe jogging along the shorter of the two jogger's paths in the park. They were very close to each other on the path, and every time they glanced at each other they would share a saccharin sweet smile.
Sighing to herself, Kim got out of her car and locked it with her key fob, then proceeded to jog around the longer of the two jogger's paths. Just what I needed to see, she groused as she glanced at the couple again. "Calm down, Possible!" she muttered to herself, picking up her pace to a solid run. "Just keep it steady, there's no need to be jellin', Ron wouldn't hurt you like that on purpose."
As the jogging markers quickly fell away, showing that she'd run a good two-miles, she felt the anger draining from her body. Panting for breath, Kim was too tired to feel anything at the moment. Her only thought was that she'd better get back home and take a hot shower to work out the knots in her back and neck. She drove back home at a more moderate pace than her breakneck speeds earlier; all her earlier angst and frustration had been sapped away by her physical exertions.
After parking her car in the garage, she went around to the front door and twisted the handle. To her surprise, she found that it was unlocked. "Must have forgotten to lock the door when I went out just now," Kim muttered in surprise. She peered into the house and thankfully found nothing out of place, in the half an hour she'd left the front door unlocked. She shut the door behind her and headed upstairs to her room. Pulling out a towel and a fresh change of clothes, she walked to the bathroom for a much needed relaxing shower.
A sudden bump from downstairs caught her attention. She looked down the stairs and called out, "Dad? Is that you?"
When no reply came right away, she shrugged it off, assuming it was her father struggling to get the keys in the door while struggling with her hyperactive brothers. She sauntered slowly to the bathroom, her physical and emotional exhaustion making her unaware of the three pairs of eyes watching her every move.
Ron and Shego's visit to the hospital was involuntarily cut short, as a really mean, and rather portly head nurse violently ushered the two of them out the door. While it wasn't entirely their fault, they had definitely overstayed visiting hours, and Ron might have been overly enthusiastic in cheering his mom up, much to the chagrin of nurses observing that hospitals were suppose to be a quiet zone. So after being figuratively thrown out of the hospital, Ron and Shego caught a bus ride back to his place, and were soon comfortably chatting away on his couch.
"Y'know, it's all your fault for laughing so loud," Ron grumbled as he threw Shego a dirty look. "They would have left us alone otherwise."
"It's not my fault that your pants fell down, just as you were delivering the punch line," Shego snickered. "That really cracked me up."
"The pants falling down wasn't part of the joke," Ron admitted with a slight tinge of color to his face. "For some mysterious reason, it always happens at the worst times."
"You mean it isn't a one-time thing?" Shego asked incredulously, wondering to herself whether she wanted to see it happen more often.
"Well, less so since KP got me this belt," Ron replied in frustration. "But it still happens, and for the love of nachos, I don't see how that keeps happening."
"Maybe you just need tighter fitting clothes," Shego wondered out loud. She looked up to see Ron give her a strange look, before quickly changing the subject. She glanced up at the ceiling, not wanting to meet his eyes. "So… Ron… Did you mean what you said about me today?"
"What did I say?" Ron tugged at his collar uncomfortably. He let out a weak laugh. "You know me, always forgetting stuff."
"About you finding me hot…" Shego asks with a wry smile on her face.
"Yeah… About that…" Ron rubbed the nape of his neck furiously. His eyes darted around the room furiously. "Oh, look at the time…"
"Is that a no?" Shego gave him a playful pout. "Ronnie-poo… I'm hurt that you think I'm ugly."
"Ah, Shego…" Ron closed his eyes trying to block out the sight. He yelled out, "That's not fair! Why does every girl I know have that pout?"
"Ronnie…" Shego purred coquettishly.
"Shego?" Ron gulped. "Heh, you don't want to give KP the wrong idea again, do you? She did seem a little tweaked today."
"Well…" Shego slurred the word, as she grinned suggestively at him. "I don't think she got the wrong idea."
"That's good then," Ron heaved a sigh of relief. "For a second there, I thought she was mad at me because of you."
"Ronnie…" Shego breathed again as she sidled a little closer to him on the couch. "There's something I really need to tell you… I…"
If it were possible to describe Ron's situation right now, it would be somewhere between a startled deer caught right in between the headlights of an eighteen-wheeler barreling down at sixty miles per hour and a frightened lamb shirking against a tree after being cornered by a starving wolf. Whatever was coming, Ron had enough sense to know that it wasn't good for his health, especially if Kim found out. He tried to speak, but couldn't get around the lump he felt rising in his throat. Try as he might, however, he could not damn well swallow that aggravatingly huge lump.
However, to that moment, the Ron factor kicked in, and to his great relief, a frantic knocking was heard on the front door. Ron jumped off his seat, and scampered away, without looking back at the disappointment on Shego's face. He pulled open the front door, to see a very pale looking Mrs. Dr. Possible.
"Hey, Mrs. Dr. P…" Ron barely uttered those words before she cut him short.
"Ron! Have you seen Kim?"
"Not since she dropped us off at the hospital. She said she had some things to settle back home, that's why she left," Ron explain. "Is something wrong?"
She looked at him with worried eyes, wracking her brain for where her daughter could possibly be. "Well, I'd like to consider myself open minded, but it is past midnight, and she didn't leave a note as to where she was going to be, which is something she's never done before!" She blurted out in one breath.
As Mrs. Dr. Possible drew in a breath to continue, Shego stepped in with a slight blush on her face. "Well, she was kinda worked up earlier..." Shego began, only for Ron to finish her thought.
"So she might've gone driving around like she sometimes does, or went to the mall, maybe?" he asked, looking at Mrs. Dr. P hopefully. "Have you checked those places yet?"
"Yes, she's not at the mall, nor at any of her normal hangouts." Mrs. Dr. P said in rising panic.
"Maybe she's on a mission, and she didn't give me a call because she thought she could handle it herself," Ron began. "I'll give Wade a call and…"
He never finished the statement, as a loud crash resounded through the house. Shego reacted instantly, grabbing and pulling Mrs. Dr. P away from the brick that was angling towards her. Ron yelped and jumped away from the splintering glass. The three of them looked in shock at each other, not knowing what just happened.
Mrs. Dr. P. was, surprisingly, the first to recover. To the sounds of squealing tires and a roaring engine, she wordlessly bent over and removed what she saw taped onto the brick, chocking a sob as she handed the note off to Ron. His eyes quickly scanned the lines and opened wide with shock. "No…" He gasped, as he let the piece of paper fall through his fingers.
Shego walked over and snatched it off the ground before glancing briefly at it. She couldn't believe what she had just read, and took a second look, but the words remained unchanged.
We have Kim Possible. Tell Ron Stoppable and Sheila Go to wait for our phone call.
Author's notes
Okay, now that Kim's onboard, everything should go smoothly right? Sadly for Kim, the first person she asks a statement from happens to be one very hot, openly blatant with her advances and flirts with Ron and Shego openly. No wonder she's quick to jump to conclusions that this is the kind of people Ron meets during his trips to Go City with Shego. Of course then again Alex is quite a character.
Yes, Alex is definitely quite a character, somehow she deals with her incident with Reggie with blatant contempt, and well, it's sort of a joke to her. And I suppose it is just coincidence that Shego knows Alex from her past, and I suppose this is a kind of glimpse into Shego's past that I didn't want to elaborate too much on as yet. I did mention a couple chapters back, when Shego first told everything, and she said she did sleep with women, men and everything else in between. So I suppose Alex is a brief glimpse into that. She's way too obvious with her sexual advances that it clearly made everyone else uncomfortable, except Shego. Seeing that probably this is how Alex acts around Shego, hinting at the kind of relationship they had.
Alex was a blonde artist, and hits on Ron. Does that seem remotely familiar to anyone who knows the characters in the KP-verse? I can imagine the irony when Kim complains to herself that Alex is just a blonde hottie artist, and I sort of believe those words were kinda used to describe someone else. Someone golden, also blonde and also an artist. That's kinda what I was getting at that, Kim's perhaps not too obvious about her actions sometimes, and if she took a step back, maybe she didn't need to feel jealous over the whole situation anyway. After all, she did actually crush on a hot blonde artist too. Albeit not the same one.
And ah, yes, Shego… Ron sort of confesses that he finds Shego hot, and I think it's hard to not find Shego hot. And I think she sort of took it as a sign that since he is attracted to her, maybe if she confesses her feelings… I don't know, I think that's what Shego was trying to say before Mrs. Dr. P interrupted her. I don't think it's like her to keep silent on this for so long, and she's more of the take-what-she-wants type, and Ron admitting that he found her hot, is sort of a sign to her, that perhaps she might have a chance with Ron after all. And she's probably in a bit of a flirtatious mood after meeting her old flame, Alex. I think it's a bit odd that she's putting the charms on him, at that point, as I don't think she's a boyfriend stealer. She did try to rescue Kim and Ron's relationship once, and I doubt she'd want to sabotage them like that. But maybe sometimes, just maybe, feelings are so strong that it can't be kept inside anymore.