Failures

Drakken finally managed to shake off the naked pink creature of Stoppable's as he watched his amplifier skid into the dam's rushing waters below. In theory, the water should have aided in his amplifications. Plus the building they had needed to break into was less than three blocks away. He'd debated this whole theory when he'd started working on it again after the URC let him down. He shook his bleeding hand and looked to where Shego was. She'd plasma blasted he and the rodent just a few seconds ago. He surveyed the area and his eyes shot open as he saw Stoppable covered in some goo from a malfunctioning device he'd fired. He sprinted to the edge of the dam.

"Shego!" he yelled down to where he could see green as she struggled to hold onto a bar. The goo that Stoppable was covered in was obstructing her face.

"Kim! What is this stuff," yelled Stoppable as he yanked at it. "It's hardening."

Drakken attempted to grab Stoppable's discarded grappling hook as he looked down to where Shego was clinging to the rail-bars near the water. He wasn't sure where he would shoot but he was certain she could at least grab on. He moved quickly in a half crawl movement from where he'd been leaning over the edge. Stoppable mistook his lunge as an attack and kicked him in the face. Drakken saw red and felt a rush of pain as he rolled to the ground. He was seeing stars as he blindly grabbed Stoppable's ankle and yanked him to the ground.

"Give me the hook," choked out Drakken. Was he bleeding? He was bleeding.

There was a loud yell from the dam and Drakken felt his blood run cold as his vision became doubled as he moved quickly. However, Possible was faster. He saw her sprint and jump off the edge, her own grappling hook locked onto a nearby telephone pole. There was a rush of relief and then embarrassment as the teen saved his partner, then anger as he glared at Stoppable and his naked mole rat—though he wasn't sure if he was actually glaring at them or at one of the other versions of them. Drakken suddenly felt very tired.

Shego's leg slid over the edge as she and Possible climbed out of the raging dam that was currently filling higher. The moistened, hardening goo suddenly became liquid again. It dripped down her face so she could see and nestled into her hair. She wanted to shove Possible off her but she wasn't about to risk falling in for a second time. She looked instead to glare at Drakken, probably still playing with his gadget. Instead she saw him lying on the ground unconscious. Stoppable was struggling to breathe in his own mess of hardening goo, and there was no sign of the amplification device.

She didn't have time to ponder what had transpired in between the short time she'd tried to blast the mole thing off Drakken and when she'd fallen into the dam. Possible moved quickly to her boyfriend's aid, and the sound of sirens in the distance caught her ear. She had barely caught her breath but she needed to act fast. She darted towards Drakken and yanked his arm over her shoulder and used all the strength in her soaking wet and tired form to get to the hovercar.

She was only lucky because Possible was struggling with whatever device of theirs had malfunctioned. Drakken was coming to as she practically fell into the vehicle while pushing him in. The goo had fallen off her face and to around her mouth and hair, but it was hardening again. Her hand was knocked away as Drakken stumbled into the controls and hit the buttons and pulled the lever control, allowing her to start yanking what she could off before the goo finished its process.

The escape was silent as they jetted off towards the lair. Shego looked at Drakken as she got the last of the residue off her face; her hair would be a story for later. His eye was swollen and there was blood drying on his face. He was fixed in focus on the skyline but he glanced back at her. She became aware her jaw was chattering. She'd been so focused on getting the goo off she hadn't felt how cold she was from the water.

She rubbed her limbs to try to stabilize her blood flow. Why they had been foolish enough to take the convertible feature hover car in winter was beyond her. They'd just got it and left. She jumped as heavy fabric hit her and she looked up to see Drakken only in a black turtleneck and his coat tossed on her lap. She didn't hesitate to yank it over herself and stay warm.

"What happened to the amp—" She was cut off.

"Someone's plasma blast sent it into the water," he glared.

"Oh," she sighed. "What happened to your face?"

"Neghn," he growled. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine." She pulled his coat closer.

"The side-kick kicked me in the face," muttered Drakken.

"Oh..." Shego looked at Drakken's attire and smirked. "Is it because he wasn't into the father and son matching shirts?"

"Wh—" He looked at his black turtleneck and scrunched up sleeves. His eyes became slits of rage.

Shego regretted it immediately as she seemed to initiate whatever angry rant he'd been holding back. She rolled her eyes as he went into his normal pattern about his foiled plan, his work being destroyed, and how bothersome Team Possible always was. She pulled the coat tighter around her, its heavy fabric blocking the wind enough that she at least wasn't colder than the dampness was. When she went to snuggle onto the seat she became aware of the throbbing on the back of her head as it touched the surface.

"If you had— why are you holding your head?" Drakken must have looked at her as he felt for the knot under her hair.

"I must have hit my head when the water slammed me into the wall." She rubbed the located knot and cringed.

"Let me see," he moved to look at her head.

"You're driving!" snapped Shego and Drakken seemed to suddenly remember and grab the controls. "Should check you for a head injury."

"I'm fine," he snapped. He glared at his hands. "I'd be better if this double vision would go away—"

"Move." Shego shoved him over and grabbed the controls. "Maybe add fixing the auto-pilot to the list of things you keep forgetting to do."

Shego walked out of her shower angrily untangling her hair. Four washes had finally gotten out whatever sticky substance Stoppable had shot at her earlier that evening. She really hated that little genius friend of Possible's who kept giving her those stupid gadgets. They were childish and troublesome. She didn't bother changing into her normal attire and instead went with her pajamas.

She doubted Drakken was in a plotting mood since his SAD—she smirked—defeat. Turns out his little device had in fact worked like a charm. Unfortunately, it only worked on humans. Team Possible's little naked mole rat had been able to not only attack Drakken... It had also knocked her into the dam. She'd managed to climb out by grabbing onto the metal footsteps on the side; climbing out of the rushing water had been a task in itself.

She had been greeted with a blast of goo as she tossed a plasma blast at the mole rat that threatened Drakken into falling as well. She'd hit him and the thing, sending them to safety... But Stoppable's accidental fire of something he shouldn't have had...had caused her to slip again. She glared as she shoved her robe on. The last thing she needed was Possible to come save her...nor the smack to her head she'd received.

"Annoying brats," she muttered to herself as she opened her door and headed to the kitchen for some ice.

Her head was killing her, but Drakken had seemed confident she hadn't gotten a concussion when he'd looked. She was willing to take the risk either way. She wasn't about to go to a doctor, nor try to get an appointment with one of the quacks that rented spaces at the Villain's Inn and claimed to be doctors. If she fell into a coma that would be Drakken's problem then. She sighed as she saw said man eating ice cream at the small table. He was glaring down at it with ice held on this swollen nose. The scratch marks and stitches on his hand were wrapped up in gauze. It was an overkill of fabric but she ignored it. She watched him shove his glove back on it.

"How's your head?" he asked with a sigh.

"Oh, so you're done throwing a tantrum now?" Shego raised a brow as she grabbed a spoon.

"My face hurts too much to keep yelling," he retorted as he didn't fight her as she started digging into the ice cream.

"You didn't refill the ice trays," she stated. He handed her his ice pack without saying more, "We'll succeed next time—"

"You knew it was going to fail." He slumped. "That's why you got all that wire for future projects. I have become so mundane... You know it's fruitless."

"All right. Self-Pity stage has been reached. Almost done in your cycle of failure emotions?" She smirked at her joke. He did not.

"You see! You don't think I can do it, do you..." She knew this rant.

"Before you start venting...finish your ice cream before it melts." She rolled her eyes. "Why don't we look for something to steal after?"

"...Fine," he sighed in defeat. "We're going to have to steal because unless I can repurpose some of my old things—"

The power went out.

"...Drakken," breathed Shego as she lit her hands for light.

He looked shifty and nervous as if thinking about something. Going through a mental list it seemed.

"Did you not pay the electric bill?"

"I paid...something." He went to rub his face but quickly retracted it remembering his injury.

"Something? How can you forget to pay the electric. Hello! We need electricity, if not for living, but for your lab," she scoffed. "Don't we have a generator?"

"Yes... Well we did but I haven't budgeted a new one since the last lab destruction." He tapped his spoon and grinned. "The cable. I paid the...cable...which is not helpful."

"Doy!" Shego rubbed her eyes and temples. "We'll just have to call in the morning... I can grab us a generator—"

"I can't...get us a generator right now." Drakken was chewing his lip and glaring at the table. "We'll have to wait on the electric until I can call and move some funds around from the stocks on Monday."

"It's Thursday," said Shego. She squinted. "Move some funds...stocks? I know the funds are low—"

"I'll handle it, but it will have to wait till Monday," snapped Drakken.

"So you're not paying henchmen anymore. I'm not getting paid. Where are the funds going?" asked Shego with narrowed eyes.

"Well if you must know... A lot of it went to Hench's little financial compensation and some needed lair things," Drakken glared at her.

"How much did you spend on the new giant television and computer monitors, again?" asked Shego.

"I got a good deal..." He glared and got up. "I'm going to bed."

"This conversation isn't over," Shego yelled after his vanishing form into the dark.

"It is right now," he yelled back.

Drakken finally reached his bedroom door by feeling down the hallway in the darkness. He'd walked into a number of cave curves before he chose to use his hands along the walls. He felt for the manual lever that was flush against the door. He struggled to pull it but he felt it slide open. He sighed in annoyance at the lack of green glow from the water. He'd forgotten to change out the battery that automatically switched the light over. He dropped to his knees and began slowly patting the ground ahead of each movement he made.

"Uh Doc..."

"What is— Eeee!"

Drakken fell forward into the small water space as he looked towards where Shego's voice sounded behind him. He hit his knee on the stones as he sputtered and tried to sit up out of the water. Shego's glowing hands aided in his vision as her hand extended towards his face. He sighed and took it as she helped him out of the small waterway. He shook off the water and stood as Shego lit the area for him. He could feel her smug expression on him as she flicked water off his shoulder.

"Told you we should get an indoor pool if you wanted to go for a swim," she said casually. He glared. "Oh wait... Good thing we got those two tons of scrap that's still bundled up in one of the storage rooms instead."

"If I had gotten the heat laser I would have been able to use that scrap," he snapped at her.

"If someone hadn't accidentally texted Kim Possible, we would have gotten the heat laser." She tilted her head and smiled.

"How is it that her number is one digit off of Eddies!" growled Drakken as he made his way over the moat with her light.

"It's four off and it's not even the same first three," sighed Shego as Drakken dug in his dresser. "Are you changing?"

"I'm soaking wet, Shego," he raised a brow in confusion. "Why would I sleep in wet clothes?"

"Okay," her smirked response made him pause.

"Why?" he raised a brow.

"No reason. I'll wait," said Shego calmly.

Drakken slowly resumed collecting his pajamas and then headed to the bathroom. He paused as he flipped the light and nothing came on. He looked back at Shego who gave a slight finger-wave to him from her glowing hand. Drakken looked around the room and then at her. He looked back at his soaking wet clothes which were starting to get cold under his coat. He mentally began trying to locate where there was a light source somewhere in the lair. The lab was the first place that came to mind. He looked at Shego who smiled back at him.

"Shego...can...can I borrow your hand a moment?" sighed Drakken as he looked at the door of his bathroom.

"Wow. Girls in college were right... You never expect to hear that sentence...but then you do." She gave him a facetious grin.

"What..." Drakken's eyes shot open. "That was not what I meant and you know it!"

"Are you blushing?" chuckled Shego.

Drakken glared and decided to take his chances in the dark. He walked into the pitch dark of his bathroom and kept the door ajar enough to give a slight light source so he didn't fall into something. He hissed at the sudden pain in his right hand. He looked down to where Shego had put in a few stitches before she'd gone to take a shower. He hadn't torn them but yanking his glove off as fast as he did and the fall he'd taken hadn't helped. He didn't see blood when he squinted, so he became more cautious of it.

"You know most fatal falls of the elderly happen in the bathroom," Shego's voice came from the crack in the door.

He turned to yell a snarky response but he hit his knee on the counter in his blind turn. This led to a series of actions that involved a torn shower curtain, a lot of pain in his left arm, and pondering if Shego would laugh at his funeral or would be mournful and regretful of her last words to him. The door opened and he was glad he'd only gotten his boots and coat off as he stared up at the cave ceiling of his bathroom.

"Drakken, are you okay?" there was actual concern in her voice.

"I'm waiting for you to finish your next snarky remark or jab at my age." He sounded calmer than he felt he should. Was the cave wall spinning?

"It was a joke... Leave it to you to take it to the dramatics," scoffed Shego. "Is your nose bleeding again?"

"Is it?" He was aware there was warm liquid running down his face now. "Maybe."

"Come on," sighed Shego as she offered her hand. "Here, take my hand."

"What?" asked Drakken. He was smirking and he felt a little weird.

"I'm done making jokes. Take my hand before you asphyxiate in blood." She sounded annoyed now, but her face was blurry.

"That's not the line," chuckled Drakken. It was from a movie, wasn't it?

"What?" asked Shego. The concern was back in her voice.

"From that movie with the magic. With the hand... It's 'Do you trust me?'...and then there's flying." Drakken felt very tired now. "I'm kinda tired Shego. We'll play in the morning."

"Dr. D?" She sounded like she was leaving. "Drakken? Drakken!"

Drakken smelt something foul and opened his eyes slowly. What scent was waking him up? He could have sworn he'd done laundry and he wasn't working on anything with fumes. His eyes felt very heavy as he opened them to see bright green and a teal color around him. His eyes shot open as he recalled a vague memory of the Area 51 failure. His sudden movement made his head throb and he felt slightly dizzy. He looked to see Shego putting a smelling tube in the trash. Had he passed out?

"Good, you're alive." She rolled her eyes. "Thought I'd have to check on all those insurance policies because honestly there's not much money left."

"What?" He felt like he should get it, but her voice sounded muffled.

"Remember? It was... How hard did you hit your head?" asked Shego. There was actual concern in the question as he felt her fingers feeling through his hair.

"I'm fine." He swatted her hand away and her voice was clear now. "It was Weekend At Bernie's and the gold digger joke... Yeah, got it."

"Stop fidgeting and let me see." Shego swatted him back but he didn't fight her. "Well it seems fine... Guess next step is life alert."

Drakken grabbed her hand and placed it away from him without looking towards her. He slid off the table and paused. They were in the lab... This was the lab table. The teal light was a wind up powered lantern he'd hoped to retrieve after getting changed. He quickly looked at himself and was both relieved and suddenly cold—he was still in the moat-dampened clothes. The concrete felt like ice on his foot that had been left sock-less.

"'Night, Shego," he mumbled as he grabbed the lantern and headed back to his room.

"I don't think you should sleep. No offense but coma-you would just irk me," said Shego as she jogged beside him.

"I'm tired and damp," he sighed. "It's been a long day."

"I'm aware. If you remember I spent my morning swimming in a raging dam being saved by Kim Possible," said Shego. She looked ill at her last statement.

"I'll risk it," retorted Drakken as he continued down the hall. Shego followed. "I'm really not in the mood—"

"My room is across from yours. I'm not staying up wandering through the dark. My hand's starting to get tired," said Shego. "Since you're so bent on sleep, I'm going to have to wake you up every hour... So my hands aren't going to get any rest... Not to mention I carried you with one arm so—"

"Thank you," hissed Drakken. Shego smiled. "Was that what you wanted?"

"For now... See you in an hour," said Shego as she pulled open her door.

Drakken felt like he was just drifting off when he felt hands gently shake his sore shoulder. He hissed and glared up at the green light. He peered up at Shego's face. Her hair was a mess, and she was wrapped in a blanket.

"Do you need me to recite anything Dr. Shego?" He rolled his eyes.

"You need to call the electric in the morning...or something. The temperature is dropping like crazy." She glared. "I'll be back in an hour...again."

Drakken didn't want to wake up this time as Shego shook him. It felt like she'd done so five times already. He doubted it had been an hour since her last waking via slapping him on the cheek. He realized she had pushed him and in seconds icy sock-covered feet touched his. His eyes shot open as Shego slid into bed with him, her brows knitted as she glared at him.

"What are you doing?" asked Drakken as he scooted away from her. "Shego, get out of my bed."

"It's freezing in my room and even worse in the hallway. I can't keep running over here," she hissed. "We need heat in the morning. If it drains the account, it drains it. I will move money over. But I'm staying in here."

"Shego, this is—"

Her hand reached over her shoulder and lit up.

"...Fine. I'll sleep on the couch," muttered Drakken as he went to grab his lantern as her light died.

He grumbled to himself as he slid out from under the covers only to feel the wall of cold air. He glanced at his leather couch and then slid back in the bed. He lay at the edge of the bed in silence, but suddenly sleep wasn't coming. Since it wasn't coming, his mind was racing. Since there was no power, he couldn't work. His hand and arm hurt too much to knit. He couldn't bake...and as the same as knitting, his hand was out of commission for long sketches. He was trapped in his own inner silence.

It figures your first original plan failed so bad...

He sighed and thought about it. Shego had been right the first time. It was a flawed plan to say the least. What had he been hoping to do...deafen the world so they didn't listen to him either? He needed inspiration...something to get him back into gear. He should have already been in control of the world...Kim Possible or not. He'd started his villainy and planning before she was even in the picture.

Looks like it's pity party night in the old noggin.

He rolled his eyes and felt a sharp pain. He tried going through all his most successful ideas, thefts, and inventions. The only problem was, they had never seemed like they were going to fail...yet they did. Normally because he missed one minor detail that seemed irrelevant at the time. He recalled the URC and Lucre. He'd been so blinded by his plan he'd lost all focus and reasoning around him. Shego had seemed so dismissive of it... Perhaps that was his problem.

"Do I have tunnel vision?" he asked out loud.

"Yes," came a tired mumble next to him.

Drakken was startled by her voice. He'd completely forgotten Shego was sleeping next to him.

"All the time or on projects?" He waited.

"You get focused, it's not a bad thing... Unless you're me... Then it sucks," she muttered into the pillow. "I thought you were sleeping on the couch?"

"This is my bed," he snapped back.

"Feeties got cold?"

"...Yes," he sighed and fell silent.

"You're doing that thing where you try to outwit yourself aren't you?" He heard her sigh. "Stop. Go to sleep. I really don't want to wake up to three new projects because you're competing with the last one."

"I can't...no power," he responded. It was silent.

The URC came back. It was Lil' Diablo all over again. Shego had pointed that out from the start...and he'd done it anyway. She'd also tried getting him focused on his plans... Was he becoming complacent in his life? In his life as a failure mad scientist, who'd depleted his funds, was more excited with staying home and watching movies, had become more interested in what the woman next to him viewed their relationship as... He rubbed his face in frustration that turned to pain. His nose still hurt and he'd used his right hand. He felt Shego's leg push down his left leg.

"Stop worrying and go to sleep," she sighed. "You're shaking the bed."

"I can shake my bed all I want," he grumbled.

"And anytime you need help with that, let me know...but not tonight," she sleepily muttered.

Drakken was barely listening to her. He was just relieved her leg retreated at a surprising speed. His was then greeted with a slight chill. He grumbled under his breath and began trying to focus on all the flaws in his plans and how to secure more funds...or make do with what he had. That was...if he could come up with anything... And trying to at the moment...felt pointless and exhausting.

You'll just fail...again.

He glared into the darkness.

"Shego... You think I will take over the world, don't you?" he asked. He heard a groan.

"Not if you don't let me sleep." She must have rolled over because the bed bounced.

"But do you think I will... Am I evil enough?" He knew he was pushing for a sarcastic remark.

"If I didn't have faith in you...I wouldn't be your partner," she sighed. He smiled. "But if you keep this up I will have to find a new partner because I will have killed you due to exhaustion. Go to sleep."

Drakken felt himself give a sigh of relief.

Of course I will... Why would I doubt that? I am a genius after all...

"Shego—"

A green light flared.

"Go. To. Sleep," she growled into her pillow.

"Okay-thank-you-good-night," he spoke quickly and pulled his blanket closer.

Drakken lay there for what felt like hours but his mind was still racing. He was certain there was something in his lab to give him inspiration. He may not be able to work on anything, but it would be a start. He could find a way to push himself even if he should let his hands rest. There was a renewal of dare he say...evil energy...racing through him. He slowly began to inch out of the bed. He cringed at the cold floor but he felt for his slippers. His hand clutched his lantern but he didn't turn it on. He wasn't doubting Shego's aggravation at this point. He carefully stepped until he felt the edge of the moat and went to step over it.

"Drakken?"

"Eeee!" Drakken slipped. He glared into the slightly green tinted darkness as he soaked in the water.

"...Are you going to need a hand again?" sighed Shego from where she sat up in bed.

"...Yes," he sighed as he held out his sopping-wet hand.

Shego clapped.

"Twice in one day, good work." The light died and he heard her turn back into bed.

"Sheeego," Drakken whined.

More Set-Backs This Way Folks -