Author's note:
Right, chapter 2 of 5. I won't keep you long, except to say that the chapter title this time is the name of another Paramore song, Let the flames begin, from their Riot! album. If you remember way back to chapter 4, I used the lyric, This is how we dance, from this song for that chapter title. In fact, the whole idea of using the term dance as a metaphor for Kim and Shego beating the crap out of one another came from this song. As you may have guessed already, the concept for the chapter titles in this update is fire. So, let's let the flames begin...
##
Chapter Thirty-two: Let the flames begin
"AHHHH!"
The scream echoed out around the hotel lobby and stunned those who had stayed to watch the fireworks. The large Hispanic man was hauled through the air via the cable that had wrapped itself around his legs, however, the far more impressive sight was the red-haired woman who flew towards him, leg outstretched. Kim caught Señor Senior, Junior square in the chest with the flying-side-kick and a somewhat cruel smirk formed on her face when she heard the sickening crunch of his ribs breaking. It was perhaps a dark irony that she had now broken the ribs of two big names from her rogues' gallery in the one week; given that Shego had broken hers three weeks ago today.
It was now three weeks. Three stinking weeks since her epic hour-long dual with Shego, that had led to their disastrous night at Spritzers and Kim's eventual humiliation at her hands, followed by her incarceration within the Possible house. And since then, she'd not seen green-skinned hide nor a singular raven-hair of her rival. She'd investigated over a dozen tech thefts since Monday, three that she had been able to pin on Shego, but each time she'd come to a dead-end when it came to actually catching the bitch. Her latest search had led her here, to the lobby of the Imperial Hotel and again to Señor Senior, Junior…
"Junior, My Love!"… and apparently his wife to be, Bonnie Rockwaller.
Kim watched as her old schoolyard nemesis ran to the side of her fiancé, where he lay crumpled on the floor. Slowly she closed in to tower over the pair. Even if her eyes could have been seen from behind her aviator sunglasses, they would show no pity. "Looks like you'll be saying your wedding vows in a jail cell, Bonnie," Kim said with a smirk. It had been an ambition of hers back in Middleton High, to toss the girl into the back of a police van and while it was coming two years late, it would still be somewhat satisfying.
"Kim, you total bitch!" Bonnie yelled.
She could see the girl's hands begin to shake, the maddening rage fill her eyes and she knew what was about to come.
Sure enough, "ARAHHH!" In wild furry, Bonnie rose to her feet and lashed out at Kim with a vicious open hand.
Effortlessly, Kim blocked the blow with one hand and scooped it across Bonnie's chest with the other, while catching hold of the girl's wrist. She then slammed the elbow of the first into her upper arm. Bonnie let out a painful cry and fell to her knees as Kim increased the pressure on the arm-bar. You're just lucky I chose not to break your arm.
"Give up, Bitch," she said airily, "once again, you're completely outmatched." When the girl did not immediately respond, she kicked the pressure up another notch, eliciting another scream.
"You can't do this, Kim," Bonnie cried out. "This is brutality!"
The girl writhed in agony as Kim once more increased the force with her elbow. "No, Bonnie," she said slowly, her voice still sounding like they were talking about some schoolyard gossip, "brutality would be me breaking your face. Now, you've got an appointment to be measured for your wedding jumpsuit and I'd hate for you to miss it. So, either you give up, or I snap your arm in at least two places."
"Ok, ok, I give up," Bonnie cried, tears now streaming down her face.
She released her grip and patted the bitch on the head, like she would a dog, "good girl." Bonnie then yelped as Kim grabbed a handful of her brown hair. "Come on, Junior, you're coming too," she said and grabbed the Hispanic man by his own hair.
Kim received no reply from the unconscious lump that was Señor Senior, Junior as she dragged both him and Bonnie out of the hotel lobby; in full view of a crowd of stunned onlookers. Outside, the sun was splitting the pavement and a police van had already pulled up outside the hotel entrance. To her left, she could see a sole camerawoman furiously taking snaps of her dragging the happy couple towards their wedding carriage. A reporter stood beside her, positively bursting at the seems to get past the police and shove his mic in her face. She ignored them both as she made her way to the back of the van. Readjusting her grip, she tossed Junior inside and then turned to Bonnie.
"Orange has never really been my colour; it clashes too much with my hair, but I think it's going to suit you just fine," Kim said and grabbed the girl by the back of her t-shirt and shoved her inside.
"I'll get you for this, Kim Possible!" Bonnie yelled; her face twisted with rage.
"Not likely. Face facts, Bonnie, I've always been better than you," she replied coolly. "Now, tell the warden that Kim Possible has requested you be put in a cell by yourself, as I'll be sending you a new bestie soon." Because I can't think of a worse fate for Shego than being locked in a jail cell with Bonnie. After I've beaten the shit out of her, of course.
"At least I can make friends and have a life, Kim. I heard Stoppable broke up with you because of how frigid you are."
On hearing mention of the insult Ron had fired at her almost a month ago, Kim's fists involuntarily clenched. Thoughts about how she couldn't properly be intimate with the boy, of the awkwardness she had felt and how her scant orgasms with him always sucked, had gone through her head this week on some of the countless occasions when the question of her sexuality had been dragged up. A scowl formed on her face and her enjoyment of sending her old schoolyard nemesis to jail had just been completely soured.
A smirk formed on Bonnie's face as she said with glee, "it's so totally true! You can't open up for a guy, can you, Possible?"
Kim's cheeks started to burn on hearing the words. She had no idea what arms and legs had been added to the story regarding her fight with Ron in the nightclub several weeks ago and she had not cared. However, she didn't need to hear Bonnie yell, "I should have known you were a member of the lezzie club, Kim!" to know what sort of embellishments the girl had heard.
In a heartbeat, Kim's anger burst to the surface once more and it was only by virtue of the police choosing that moment to close the van doors, that she was prevented from leaping inside and pulverizing the bitch. Absolutely incensed but now unable to vent, she stormed away. When she passed the line of police officers, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps and the snapping of a camera taking photos.
"Kim, James from..." was all the reporter managed to say before, without breaking stride, she shoved her arm out in his direction and gave him the finger. "Jessie, please tell me you got a shot of that," the man then said excitedly.
Great, guess I know what's going to be on the front page of his piece of gutter trash tomorrow. She'd already had to put up with several articles on Tuesday about Motor Ed and how she had supposedly been 'overzealous' in taking him down; put lightly and then more yesterday after she'd sent one of the new-guard of villains, Mr Phaze, off to jail with a shattered femur.
Unfortunately, James, the reporter, did not take the hint. "Kim, what was it like to send an old school friend to jail?"
She blanked the man and kept walking. All the while the photographer kept taking pictures.
"Kim, what can you tell us about this new 'ass-kicking' look you've been sporting this week?"
A moment later, after some very hurried footsteps, the reporter and his camerawoman had appeared in front of her. The man held his mic towards her and then asked, "Kim, dose your new look have anything to do with the high level of brutality you've displayed this week?"
Her frayed temper caused her to shoot the pair a death glare, which went mostly unseen because of her sunglasses and she yelled, "fuck off!" straight at their faces. She turned sharply and skirted around them; the Sloth now only a hundred or so yards away. I fucking hate these vultures!
"Jessie, this is an absolute goldmine!" she heard James say with glee from behind her and she knew the pair were not going to give up. "I have to get to the bottom of the issues that are eating at her."
Kim quickened her pace as she reached into her pocket and clicked the button to open the doors to the car. I just need to get into the Sloth and I can leave them in a cloud of dust. Scurried footsteps followed her and before she knew it, James was back in front of her.
The man shoved his microphone right into her face as he said, "Kim, is it true you are really a lesbian?"
Maybe it had been the continual badgering from the man, the fact he'd just virtually shoved his mic down her throat, the question itself or a combination of the above. Regardless, Kim felt her anger erupt inside her and she snapped. In a flash, she balled her fist and punched the man square in the face. There was a horrible crunch as his nose broke and blood poured forth. From beside them, she could hear the constant clicking of the camera and she knew that Jessie had just got several snaps of it. This served only to enrage her further. Turning, to face the woman, she yanked the camera from her grasp and ignored her protests as she slammed it into the ground and crushed it under her boot. From amidst the shards of broken plastic, she spotted the blue memory card and bent down to scoop it up.
"Hey, that's…" Jessie began but was quickly cut off.
"Leave me the hell alone," Kim barked at the pair and stormed off.
Wrenching open the driver's side door of the Sloth, she climbed inside, tossed the memory card into one of the cupholders and quickly sparked the engine into life. With a roar like that of a mountain lion, she hit the gas peddle and the car shot away from the curb. Fucking bastard deserved that, Kim spat internally, feeling a slight need to justify to herself what she had just done. In fact, I should have beat the shit out of him for getting in my face like that.
'Beep, beep, beep, beep.' The distinctive tone of her Kimmunicator sounded from her wrist and Wade's face then appeared on the Sloth's viewscreen.
"What!" Kim barked, anger still coursing through her veins.
The gearhead visibly slid away from the camera before saying, "geez, Kim, no need to bite my head off."
"What do you want, Wade?" she snapped, still unable to reign in her rage.
"Thought you'd like to know, I've had satellites scouring the country all day for you and one of them just picked up this," a fuzzy image appeared on the screen of what appeared to be a top-down view of a hovercraft and at the controls, what looked like a mass of black hair.
"SHEGO!" Kim yelled her fists tightening around the steering wheel, "where the hell is she?"
"When this was taken, she was travelling across Texas. I think she's headed for…" Wade punched a few keys, "…Nevada."
"Area 51?" Kim asked immediately.
"Sorry, Kim, you'll have to wait to see them aliens some other time. No, I think her target is more likely a privately owned research facility just outside Carson City."
"How'd you figure that? There's a lot of real estate between Texas and Nevada if that's even where she's headed." She was not normally one to question the tech guru's wisdom, however, in her current mood, she didn't want thoughts, theories or guesswork, she wanted fact.
"The scientists there have developed a control circuit that would come in pretty handy for someone who recently acquired a time-dilation-accelerator and wants to use it without the thing overloading."
Wade's logic sounded solid enough. "What's my ETA?" she asked, power sliding the Sloth around a corner.
"From San Francisco, California to Carson City, Nevada you're looking at about two-hundred-and-fifteen miles. In the Sloth, that should take you just under two hours, assuming you can average 130mph," Wade replied; needing neither calculator not map to do the calculation.
"What about Shego?" Kim asked, determined to average more than 150mph.
"She's got a lot further to go, but that hovercraft of hers is much faster than the Sloth, even when it's going flat out. Depending on traffic, I estimate she'll get there about ten to fifteen minutes before you do.
"DAMMIT!" she cursed. "Give me some options."
"Sorry, Kim, but there aren't any, at least none that won't take you over half an hour out of your way. In the end, you'll lose more time than you'll save."
"Bastard! Guess I'll have to find out just how hard I can push the Tweebs' latest upgrades."
"Good luck, Kim, and be careful," Wade said before the screen went black.
Kim's vision almost tunnelled as she weaved in and out of traffic, darting through gaps she had no right to fit through, skidding around corners and zipping through traffic lights just as they changed from green to red. Only one thing mattered to her now, I am getting to that research lab before that bitch is done plundering it. Count on it!
##
Shego lounged back in her chair, feet up on the control console as the autopilot rocketed her through the sky. Needless to say, the craft had an environmental shield, as all that wind would play havoc with her long raven hair. From a drink's holder, she picked up her Grande sized soda and stared into the beady eyes of Ru-Ru, who sat perched atop a small table that folded out of the upholstery. "I'll raise you five."
The naked-mole-shark blew her a raspberry and kicked his cards towards her in disgust; actions which clearly said he folded.
Shego laughed as she deposited the small stack of peanuts from the left of the table into her increasingly full bowl. Slyly, she flipped over her cards and said, "got you again, I was bluffing."
Ru-Ru started to hop up and down in a mad rage and uttered a string of unintelligible curses at her.
Since Monday, she'd been educating the naked-mole-shark in the art of playing poker, during the long trips between jobs, in order to evade having to discuss Kimmie with Miss Go and because it was rather amusing. While Ru-Ru was an excellent croupier, it transpired that Amy had never let him play and so he had yet to learn how to properly bluff. And while he was getting better, she'd still been cleaning him out of his share of the snacks every single game.
The naked-mole-shark looked up at her and then towards his dwindling bowl of peanuts.
"What's the matter, Ru-Ru, you almost out of snacks again?" she teased. To add insult to injury, she picked up a peanut from her bowl, flicked it into the air and caught it in her mouth. She then flashed him a devilish smile.
"Rah-rah-rah!" Ru-Ru exclaimed as he gnashed his teeth. He then scampered around the table and collected in the cards. Shoving them to the bottom of the deck, he dealt them each another hand.
"If you insist," Shego said with a feigned sigh and glanced at her hand; the queen of diamonds and her old nemesis, the ace of spades. Lazily she flicked a single peanut into the space designated for the pot.
Ru-Ru wasted no time in matching her bet and dealing the flop; the king of clubs, six of hearts and ten of diamonds.
Shego smiled internally but gave no indication of her satisfaction on her face. Give me a jock on the turn or river and the last of your nuts are mine, Ru-Ru.
"Ok, I'll go easy on you, two nuts." She placed two peanuts into the pile.
The naked-mole-shark surprisingly managed to keep his face straight as he saw her two and raised her another two.
"Hmm, someone's awfully brave when they're short on nuts," Shego said with a smile, matching his two.
Ru-Ru drew the turn card; the queen of clubs.
Ok, so I've got a pair at worst. And unless you've got a face card in that hand of yours, Ru-Ru, it'll be no snacks for you again. She offhandedly added five nuts to the pile and could see the look of infuriation in the naked-mole-shark's beady black eyes. If he matched her wager this time, he'd have only five left. "Either see my bet or get off the pot, Sweetums," Shego said in a voice one would normally use when talking to a baby.
Somehow Ru-Ru managed not to rise to the bait as he moved half his stack into the pile. He then dished out the river card; the jock of spades.
Jackpot! Shego thought, however, her brain was quickly drawn back to the hand she lost against Killigan. If that little sod's sitting with an ace and a king, I'm sunk. Chances of that… slim. So, let's find out.
However, before she had the chance to do anything, Ru-Ru had slid the last of his nuts into the pile and flashed her a smile that showed off all of his razor-sharp shark teeth. "Fold," he then challenged.
She smiled at him, "not a chance, Sweetums," and then burst out laughing at the look of rage that formed on his small face. She then dropped ten peanuts into the pot one at a time and paused for a moment. "Oh, it looks like you don't have enough to see my bet, Ru-Ru. I guess that means you lose automatically."
A look of fury spread across the naked-mole-shark's face, "cheat!" he yelled as he gnashed his teeth.
Shego gave him a wicked grin, "sorry, Ru-Ru, but that's how the game works. If you can't match the wager, you have to fold." Now we'll see how much you're willing to lose. "Unless, of course, you're willing to bet your cheese ration against my peanuts?"
Ru-Ru looked murderous as he folded his arms and said, "more nuts."
"Oh, you think your cheese ration is worth more nuts, do you?" She dropped another fifteen into the pot. "There, your cheese is worth an extra fifteen nuts. Now, let's see your cards."
Ru-Ru's expression turned to one of glee as he flipped over his cards; the ace of hearts and ten of clubs. He flashed her a cheeky smile and bounded over to the stack of nuts.
"Not so fast," Shego said as she ignited her glow and drew a tiny line of green flame in the air between the naked-mole-shark and the peanuts. "Rules of the game, all cards have to be shown before winnings are collected. And you're supposed to be a stickler for the rules to."
The flames faded quickly, but Ru-Ru stopped nonetheless. He then looked at her with his beady little eyes, his expression telling her to get on with it.
"Read 'em and weep," she declared triumphantly as she flicked her hand over; they both had a straight, but she had the better cards in hand. "A queen trumps a ten."
The naked-mole-shark's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and his jaw hit the table when he saw the queen of diamonds and the ace of spades. In a fit of rage, he then proceeded to kick the cards off the table.
Shego scooped up her peanuts and dropped them into her now full bowl. "No need to be a sore loser," she said when eventually Ru-Ru stood panting in the centre of the table. She then gave him a warm smile, "you're getting better. A few more games and you'll be ready to beat Drakken and Amy." She then picked up a handful of peanuts and placed them in his bowl. "You can eat these…"
Ru-Ru's eyes lit up and the anger vanished from his face, as he went to dive upon the peanuts.
"…after you tidy up the mess you just made."
The naked-mole-shark abruptly stopped and grumbled, but hopped down off the table to pick up the cards.
"Firm but fair, I approve," Miss Go said as her image appeared inside Shego's head. "And you're actually starting to be nice, also good."
Go away, Shego thought as she deposited some of her own peanuts into her mouth. I don't have time for you right now.
"You've been avoiding this all week, but you know we need to talk about it," Miss Go replied. "Why else do you think I keep popping up? Do you want it to get to the point where I start appearing while you're trying to concentrate on a job again?"
No, she replied, the memory of what had happened one month ago in regards to her wrestling with whether or not she could/should phone Kimmie, surfacing in her mind. I just don't want to be the catalyst that sends Princes tumbling into stage three.
"But you do. Otherwise, why would you be avoiding the discussion? Remember, I show up whenever you need justification to do something that is out with your Shego persona. You want to do it; you're just scared about admitting it… about what it might lead to."
I am not, Shego bit back, slightly more forceful than she had intended. The control console suddenly started emitting a beeping sound. Well, would you look at that, seems that we've reached the research facility. Guess I don't have time for this right now. Sitting forward, she scanned the instruments and saw that she was only a few miles away. Switching to manual control, she slowed the craft down so she could activate the cloak; it couldn't be used at high speeds.
"Fine, but I'll be waiting for you once you're done," Miss Go replied, making it clear that she would not be getting away from the discussion that easily.
Shego guided the craft until it was over the facility and lowered it down slowly so it was only a couple of meters above roof. Standing up, she had just started to flex off her joints, when her eyes caught sight of something out in the distance down on the ground below. Whatever it was, it sure was moving quickly. She gazed at it for a little longer and it slowly started to look like a purple missile. Quickly, she picked up the scope but didn't need to look through it to know what it was. Well, it's about time, Kimmie. She took a glance through the device anyway and saw the hero's car speeding towards the facility, probably just under ten minutes away. Guess I better get a move on. No time to do this the neat way, so it's going to be the old-fashioned way.
She glanced at the table, where Ru-Ru, who had finished clearing away the playing cards, had started to eat his nuts. "Stay here and keep the engine going," she commanded. "This one could get messy."
Ru-Ru gave her a small salute and then went back to his nuts.
Deploying the hovercrafts cannon, Shego fired a blast at the roof and a massive hole exploded in the top of the building. Before the dust had cleared, she leapt down into it. Ok, Kimmie, looks like it's go time.
##
Kim heard the sound of an explosion and could see the cloud of dust billowing from the roof of the building. Foot slamming down even harder on the gas pedal, even though the Sloth was already at maximum speed, she hit the button for off-road mode and skidded the car off of the highway and onto the compacted dirt. Making a b-line straight for the facility, she flipped the cap atop the gearstick and pressed the red button. The Tweebs had warned her that their improved version of NOS was still experimental and could cause the engine to overheat, but she didn't care. I've waited far too long to get my hands on that bitch, I'm not letting her get away. At the thought of Shego, she caught herself whispering, "I don't like girls. I like boys." Damn you, Shego. Once I take you down, I'll get you out of my head and that'll be the end of this nonsense.
In the back of her head, she heard the small voice say, "but what if…"
Before the booming of the Barkin-dragon drowned it out, "boys date girls, boys kiss girls and boys mate with girls. End of discussion."
"Boys kiss girls… and I like boys."
The Sloth rocketed over the rough terrain, but the Tweebs had done a fantastic job with the new suspension system and so she barely felt a thing. In less than ten minutes she burst through the metal fence that surrounded the complex and skidded to a halt. With a cloud of burnt rubber rising around her, Kim climbed out of her car, whipped out her grapple and shot it straight up at the roof of the building. If that's how Shego had gotten in, that's how she'd be getting out. Zipping through the air, she did a mid-air summersault before landing perfectly on the cracked tiles. That bitch is going down... for good this time.
##
Hands enveloped in green plasma, Shego blew the door into the lab off its hinges and wasted no time in waltzing through it. All around her, scientists scurried behind benches, dived into cupboards and one even jumped out a window. "Your fancy little quantum control circuit, where is it?" she demanded of the room, forming a plasma ball in her hand to emphasise straight off the bat that she wasn't messing around.
A trembling man pointed towards a bench in the far corner. Marching over to him, she grabbed the back of his labcoat and dragged him towards the relevant bench.
"This thing?" she asked, pointing to a fancy device that was emitting a red laser beam.
"N…n…no," he stammered, his hand then pointed to an unassuming box connected to the laser. "Th…tha…that's i…i…it th…the…there." He then squeaked, "please don't hurt me."
Shego could tell it from his voice that it wasn't a lie. Releasing her grip on the man's lab coat, she unplugged the small box, no bigger than twin decks of playing cards and slipped it into the pouch on her leg. "Thanks for your co-operation."
Job done, she broke into a run and retraced her way back out of the lab, up two floors and back into the room where she had blown a hole in the roof. Forming two balls of plasma, she used them to propel herself up and out. Her brain had just started to ponder what she would do if Kimmie had not yet made it to the party when her piercing emerald eyes caught sight of the hero. Looks like it's time to dance.
##
"SHEGO!" Kim barked, the second she caught sight of the villainess shooting out of the hole; she'd only landed on the roof herself about ten seconds prior.
"Kimmie," Shego replied with a smirk, "I was getting worried that your mommy wasn't going to let you out to play anymore." She watched as her rival's fists clenched and her expression darkened. Ha, I was only joking about that, but it seems like Mrs Dr P actually did lock her up while she recovered. Explains why I've not run into her before now.
Kim felt her cheeks redden slightly and hoped it had not been enough for the green-skinned woman to see. Damn you, Shego. You are going down! Without even firing an insult in retaliation, she took to the air and leapt over the hole and descended with a side-kick.
Shego took a quick step back to avoid being hammered by the girl's boot, a thin smile forming on her face. Wow, not even a single witty remark. She is positively raging at me. Granted, she's had three weeks to get madder and madder. Guess I should probably poke her with a few sticks. "Gotta say, I love the new look, Princess. Aviators and a leather jacket go well with this new attitude of yours I've been reading all about in the papers." Granted I hospitalised Motor Ed too, after finding out he was using me as an accessory; misogynistic bastard.
Kim retaliated by firing off a turning-kick, hook-kick, inward-axe-kick combo, however, her rival evaded all three. "Enjoy the eye candy while it lasts, as the only style you're going to be seeing from now on is orange jumpsuits," she spat, unleashing a spinning-back-kick which she transitioned into a pair of jumping-front-snap-kicks. Yet again, Shego evaded. Why the hell isn't she fighting back? She quickly ignored the thought. If the green-skinned woman didn't want to throw a punch, that was not her problem.
"Oh, I'm enjoying the eye candy, Kimmie. The question is, are you?" Shego had just enough time to seductively toss her hair before she had to start blocking a barrage of hand techniques that the hero began rattling off at lightning speed. However, she was not quick enough to stop a palm-heel from catching her in the sternum and sending her skidding backwards. Fuck, that hurt. Guess I might have to hurry this up. She did a backflip to put some distance between them and then said, "so, have you accepted that you like girls yet?"
The question caught Kim off-guard and she paused for a split second before firing back, "I don't like girls. I like boys!" There was almost a hint of desperation about her response and she could not silence the small voice in the back of her head from saying, "but what if you don't?"
"Are you sure about that, Kimmie? Because I can hear the uncertainty in your voice," Shego replied, a thin smile forming on her lips. She's still denying it but there is definitely some doubt beginning to set in. Pretty soon, the right catalyst is going to send her hurtling into stage three; fear.
"I LIKE BOYS!" Kim screamed and she tore across the roof towards her rival. Taking to the air, she rattled off what was quickly becoming her trademark four-front-snap-kick combo, succeeding in breaking through her opponent's guard with the final kick. Landing on the ground she lashed out at Shego's face with a vicious fore-fist-punch, caught her in the jaw and sent her sprawling sideways across the roof. "FIGHT BACK!" she bellowed as she stormed towards the woman.
Shego spat out a mouthful of blood, but could not keep the smile for her lips. Oh, yes, Kimmie, you are one massive cauldron full of anger and rage and given that it's all directed towards me, I'll bet you've been arguing with yourself over your sexuality every day since I kicked your butt three weeks ago. She had to roll as the hero descended upon her with a punch. Transitioning into a backflip, Shego landed on her feet and flashed the girl a wicked smile. "Sorry, Kimmie, but time's up. Guess I'll see you around."
"WHAT!" Kim yelled and in horror watched as her rival propelled herself into the air and landed on something invisible. Shit, her hovercraft! "OH, NO, YOU DON'T!" Whipping out her grapple, she fired it in the direction of the green-skinned woman, but could only watch as Shego ignited her plasma and sliced through it. Breaking into a run she bolted towards her. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!"
Shego hit the button to increase the hovercraft's altitude, just as Kimmie took a running jump for it. She watched as the hero flew through the air and landed back on the roof. Perfect, this is only going to piss her off even further and I bet I can keep her mind firmly on me; on her sexuality, for the next couple of hours at least. "Better luck next time, Princess," she said with a mocking laugh. "How about we play a little game? I'm headed to the Chicago Institute of Science and Technology for my next job, bet I can beat you there." She drank in the look of pure hate on the girl's face and flashed her a devilish grin.
Kim balled her fists and they began to shake as she glared murderously up at her rival. "FUCK YOU, SHEGO! THIS ISN'T OVER!" she bellowed, but it was the only thing she could do. With her grapple now useless, she had no way of propelling herself high enough to reach the hovercraft. I am going to kill you when I get hold of you!
As a parting shot, Shego then added, "remember, Kimmie, boys kiss girls. But boys can also kiss boys and girls can kiss girls."
In a pure livid rage, Kim could only watch as the green-skinned woman zoomed off. "I likeBOYS!" she yelled after her, but the only thing she received in return was a voice from inside her own head whispering, "but what if…" For a moment, all she could do was stare after the hovercraft. "…I like boys."
Pressing the button for Wade, Kim dropped down into the hole that Shego had made, given that, without her grapple, she had no other way off of the roof.
"What's up, Kim?" Wade asked upon answering, what looked like a chimirito in his hand.
"I need a ride that'll get me to the Chicago Institute of Science and Technology faster than Shego can," she rattled off at lightning pace as she sprinted through the building; startling anyone who happened to see her pass.
"Whoa, slow down, Kim. Why do you need to get to C.I.S.T?"
"That's Shego's next target," she replied, bursting into a stairwell.
"How did you figure that out?" Wade asked, taking a bite out of his chimirito.
"Because she just told me," Kim spat.
"And we're trusting Shego when she tells you where she's going to rob next, why?"
Jumping down each flight of stairs, she felt the collective shock from each landing build up in her legs but ignored it. "Because she's telling the truth!"
"Kim, I don't mean to sound condescending, but why on earth would Shego tell you the truth about where she's going to rob next?" Wade replied. "It doesn't make any logical sense."
"Because she's playing some twisted game and wants me to follow her," she spat viciously as she broke out of the stairwell and began sprinting for the exit. "Now get me that ride!"
"Ok, Kim," Wade sighed in defeat, "I'm on it. However, I think you're crazy for playing along with whatever game she's got going on. You don't even know what Drakken is plan…"
"This has nothing to do with fucking Drakken!" she yelled hotly. "This is personal!"
The sound of the tech guru typing on his keyboard was all she could hear as she broke out of the main entrance and made a b-line for the Sloth. "Some time today, Wade."
"Ok, I've got a military transport plane standing by at the nearby airbase, sending you the coordinates now. It'll drop you and the Sloth off just outside of Chicago. You'll need to make your way into the city from there. However, I still think you're mad for blindly chasing after her."
"I don't care," Kim spat as she climbed into the Sloth, "I'm taking her down!"
She hung up the call, started her car and was back on the move before the onboard computer screen had even flickered into life. You are not getting away from me this time, Shego!
##
Shego sat back in her seat and emptied her mind as she allowed her glow to heal the minor injuries she'd sustained from round one with Kimmie. She'd left the hovercraft in the hands of the autopilot and Ru-Ru with a large bag of onion rings.
However, the moment she felt the last drips of pain ebb, Miss Go immediately said, "well, that was interesting. Care to explain the thought process?"
Even though her eyes were closed, Shego still rolled them, I got what I came for, Kimmie was spoiling for a fight and I didn't give it to her, simple as that.
"Hmm, for someone who only cares about fighting Kim that seems like a bit of an odd thing to do, wouldn't you agree?"
She let out a low breath, call it revenge for her leading me on. She wanted to fight; I chose not to give her what she wanted.
"Personally, I call it bullshit," Miss Go replied. "If it was that simple, you wouldn't have told her where you're headed next."
Hey, I'm entitled to have some measure of fun when I'm working. I've been stealing stuff for two and a half weeks solid and it's been boring as hell.
"So, all that stuff about her liking girls was what exactly?"
Doy, me messing with her head, nothing more.
"More like you sounding her out, trying to figure out where she's at so you know when she'll be susceptible to exposure to a catalyst," Miss Go replied and then added, "don't think I didn't notice what you were thinking during that fight. You're purposefully trying to nudge her close to the edge so you can be the one to push her off."
I am not! Shego spat viciously… I can't… I…
"I understand," Miss Go said softly. "You're worried about what might happen if you get involved with her… about what it might lead too."
Shego sighed, I can't do it… It can't be me… I can't…
"Yes, you can. You can do anything you want. You're not forever constrained by the persona you've created for Shego."
What are you saying, that I should go back to being She…
"I'm definitely not saying that," Miss Go cut in quickly. "I'm simply saying that you don't have to live by the constraints of being Shego, if you don't want to. Be who you want to be. Do what you want to do. And if that means helping Kimmie, even if it is purely for her benefit and you get nothing out of it, then do it. Don't be afraid to actually live."
Shego took a deep breath in through her nose and opened her eyes. Ok, do what I want to do… she thought for a moment, Kimmie's not quite ready yet and C.I.S.T. is certainly not the place. If I toy with her a little and then give her another nudge, it might just be enough come next time… who knows, maybe once she's ready, I'll be ready too.
##
Kim sat inside the stationary Sloth, which was anchored down inside the back of a US air force cargo plane. Her eyes were closed as she watched yet another vicious battle rage between the Barkin-dragon and Shego. Much to her disgust, the green-skinned woman was giving as good as she got.
Roast her alive, Mr B! Kim internally yelled in anger, as she watched flames spew forth from the Barkin-dragon's mouth.
Shego leapt over them and landed upon the beast's head with a two-footed stomp. "She likes girls, Stevie-boy."
The Barkin-dragon snapped at the raven-haired woman's heals, but caught only a mouthful of air as she flipped out with his reach. "She likes boys," it barked, the words echoing around her head.
Yeah, I like boys! Kim yelled in agreement.
As though her words had emboldened the beast, the Barkin-dragon let out another stream of orange flames. Given that she was still in the air, Shego was powerless to stop them enveloping her.
Yeah, you rock, Mr B!
However, her gaze widened in horror as, once the smoke had cleared, she saw that Shego was completely unburned. "Sorry, Stevie-boy, but I'm fire-resistant. However, two can play at that game." Kim could only watch as for the first time in one of these duals, her rival ignited her fists in flaming green plasma. "How fire-proof are you, Stevie-boy?" Shego goaded as she leapt towards her foe.
The Barkin-dragon had to rear on its hind legs to avoid the green-skinned woman's initial slices. However, it couldn't stay like that forever and when it tried to lunge at Shego with its jaws, the woman effortlessly evaded it and brought one of her flaming fists down and cleaved off one of its monstrous horns. The beast roared, its cry a mixture of pain and rage; as it charged around in a daze.
"She likes girls, Stevie-boy," Shego turned to stare directly at her, "don't you, Kimmie?"
Those piercing emerald orbs bored into her olive-greens and set Kim's soul alight. She felt a wave of giddiness crash over her. I like… the sentence died on her tongue as she once more felt the weight of her family, friends, schooling and society force itself down atop her. The voices of everyone who had ever been important to her whispered in her ear, "you like boys, Kim."
I like…
The Barkin-dragon charged back onto the scene and tossed Shego into the air with a wild thrust of its massive head. However, the green-skinned woman quickly recovered and soon the pair were once more engaged in their dual. Completely helpless, all Kim could do was stand and watch and she quickly began to feel like nothing more than a piece of meat over which the two were fighting. Eventually, unable to stand the continual fighting anymore, she fell to her knees, closed her eyes and put her hands over her ears to try and drown out the sounds. Why is this happening to me? she asked herself.
To her horror, a girl's voice from somewhere deep in her memory then whispered a reply in her ear, "because you deserve it."
A wave of dread crashed over Kim. She knew that voice, knew the girl to whom it belonged and knew it came from one of her worst… most shameful memories. She opened her eyes to see a girl, dressed in a Middleton High cheerleaders outfit standing in front of her. Lisa… she whispered, her eyes wide and a hint of fear lacing her tone, …I'm…
A loud, sharp rap on the window of the Sloth caused Kim to jolt out of her daydream and her eyes snapped open. She turned and stared out of the window and saw one of the aeroplane crew standing outside the vehicle.
"We're ready for the drop, Miss Possible," he said.
"Oh… ummm… ok," Kim replied, her brain taking a few moments to process where she was and what the hell was going on. Then she remembered Shego and her anger spiked again. This is all her fault! That bitch is going down!
In front of her, the cargo door of the plane opened and a second member of the crew gave her the signal to drive forward. This was a first for Kim but had been on her bucket list of things to do. Shoving the Sloth into gear, she drove forward and out the back of the plane.
##
Shego had arrived at C.I.S.T and upon detecting no sign of Kimmie, had put her feet up inside the cloaked hovercraft and elected to wait. This was the last job she had to do in order for Drakken to finish his lightning-ray and so she ought to have simply snuck in, snagged the component and high-tailed it off to the volcano lair. But this was no longer about Drakken or his plan. The matter had become personal. Eventually, about half an hour after her arrival, the hovercraft's scanners had picked up a military cargo plane passing over the outskirts of the city and it dropping something out its ass. She'd found it easily enough with her scope and been unsurprised to see Kimmie's car parachuting down to the ground. It had then simply been a matter of waiting until the hero was approximately ten minutes or so out, before she blew a hole in the roof, dropped in and plundered the place.
With a strong sense of déjà vu, Shego hopped back out onto the roof of facility number two and met the gaze of her rival, the anger practically radiating off the hero. "Hey, Princess," she said with a dollop of sass, "looks like I beat you again. I'm now three for three."
Kim's fists clenched once again at the reminder of her humiliation three weeks prior and of having the green-skinned woman slip through her fingers back in Nevada. However, instead of leaping straight into combat, she shot back, "fine, Shego three, Kim… too many to even count."
"Wow, what a way to wound me, Kimmie, and here I thought you wanted to be my friend," Shego's words were akin to touching the cheese on a mousetrap, as no sooner had they left her mouth, the hero had shot towards her. She had to dodge a triple turning-kick, reverse-turning-kick combo, however, elected to block the last one and expose the hero's back.
Over her shoulder, Kim saw the claw attack coming and immediately did a cartwheel, kicking out and catching her rival's hand with her feet. So, she's actually going to fight me this time, good. She twirled around and dashed towards Shego once more. This time she led with a side-kick but had her foot knocked to the ground by a well-timed axe-kick. Quickly she closed to hand range and they started to trade blows.
As it stood, Shego had no desire to actually fight Kimmie, that would come later, however, playing defensive again would not allow her to get close enough to do what she needed to. Deflecting a knife-hand strike with an outer-forearm-block, she feinted a palm-heel towards the hero's face and when the girl's other hand came across to block it, she drove both her right-hand elbow and knee at Princess' head and abdomen respectively.
With a shortage of hands and unable to bring her own knee up in time, Kim blocked the elbow to her face but took the bulk of the force from the knee-strike to her gut. A twin-palm-heel strike then sent her stumbling backwards. Dammit! she cursed internally, her anger abating just long enough for her to take stock of the damage; nothing serious.
"So, Kimmie, admitted to yourself that you like girls yet?" Shego goaded, knowing that keeping the girl off balance and spiking her anger would eventually net her the opening she needed.
"Will you shut the fuck up about that crap!" Kim yelled viciously. However, her voice trembled somewhat as she said, "I like boys." She then shot forward and rattled off consecutive axe-kicks. Shego evaded both and so she followed up with a front-snap-kick, side-kick, turning-kick combo, but had them all blocked.
On blocking Kimmie's last kick, Shego slid into hand range and fired off a series of knife-hand strikes. Unsurprisingly, the hero was a match for them and they were soon embroiled in a blow for blow bout until their forearms ended up locked together. Naturally, Princess tried to pull herself free, but she held firm long enough to say, "geez, Cupcake, it's almost as if you have a problem with the fact you're gay."
"Argh!" Kim yelled and she wrenched her hands out of the lock, however, the resultant force caused her to stagger backwards slightly. "I don't have a problem, because I'm not gay." Inside her head, a new thought crept in as she said those words, I can't be gay.
Shego had just enough time to say, "that's not what everything about you has been saying since Spritzers. Maybe you need a little reminder of what happened that night," before Kimmie came at her again.
"What the hell would you know about it anyway!" Kim barked as she threw a turning-kick at her rival's head. When it went over the top, she used the momentum to transition into a foot sweep.
After evading Kimmie's kick's, Shego did a quick double backflip, so as to put some distance between them and then stopped to give the hero a sideways glance. "News flash, Princess, I would know because I happen to be gay."
The news should not have come as a surprise to Kim. Shego had both implied it after their fight in the Middleton High playing fields and then again when she'd asked her if their second night in Spritzers was supposed to have been a date. However, actually hearing her openly say it, had the same effect as if it had been a total shock. She froze and stared wide-eyed at the green-skinned woman.
Shego saw her opportunity and took it. With Kimmie looking like she had just seen a ghost she darted forward. Flashing across the girl's path, she gave her a wicked smile and a wink, before planting a kiss on her right cheek; the exact same spot as in Spritzers. The softness and warmth she felt from brushing her lips against the red-haired vixen's cheek lit a fire inside her and she had to forcibly quell all thoughts about wanting more. No, this is neither the time nor the place. That one small taste is all either of us gets.
Kim saw Shego move, but her brain was still too stunned by the 'revelation' about the villain's sexuality to react. Next second, the woman was flashing her a wicked smile and a wink and it dawned on her too late that she had seen that exact same look before. Right before Shego had whispered in her ear in Spritzers and then… Kim felt a pair of soft lips plant a light kiss on her cheek and the result was akin to someone having just shoved a metal pole up her backside and then hooking it up to the mains. And the resultant jolt that shot through her was enough to blow every fuse in her brain and one she had experienced only once before… the last time the woman had kissed her.
Shego, who had taken herself clear of kicking range, turned around just in time to see Kimmie's cheeks turn crimson. Damn, she's every bit as cute as when I did that back in Spritzers. However, when she snaps out of it this time, she's likely to be pissed as a hornet. Guess I should get out of here and leave her to stew. Using her plasma to propel herself into the air, she landed on the edge of the cloaked hovercraft.
Kim raised a hand and touched the slightly damp spot on her cheek. She just kissed me… Her skin tingled and she could feel a rush of excitement shoot through her. She just kissed me and it felt… Kim shook her head as she looked at the faint residue of black lipstick on her fingertips. She just fucking kissed me! Anger erupting inside her like lava inside a volcano, she spun around to locate her rival. Where the hell is that bitch? I'll kill her!
"Up here, Kimmie," Shego called from inside the rising hovercraft. "Still going to tell me you don't like girls?"
"SHEGO!" Kim roared, "DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY AGAIN!" She whipped out her grapple and fired it upwards, but it met with the same result as back in Nevada; a knife-hand of green plasma. "YOU BASTARD!"
"Sorry, Princess, gotta dash," Shego laughed. "Dr D really needs this component to finish his new doomsday weapon. However, you should drop by our new lair sometime so we can finish our little chat."
"SHEGO, GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME!" Kim screamed up at her rival, her free fist clenched and shaking. She had never wanted to hurt the woman so badly in her life, but could only watch as yet again she escaped her clutches.
"Sorry, Kimmie, can't hear you from all the way up here," Shego mocked. Oh, she is going to be so angry next time we meet, she might actually try to kill me again. "However, I'll give you this for nothing, Dr D had to build a new lair to power his latest toy, as commandeering a nuclear reactor wasn't grand enough. It is so totally hot." There, that should give her nerdlinger enough to figure out where we are by tomorrow. "Be a good girl now," when she had finished, Shego sat down at the controls and zoomed away, however, kept the ship slow enough so she could maintain the cloak. For she did not want Kimmie finding her too soon.
"SHEGO!" Kim yelled again as she was again forced to watch the woman fly off. In a fit of blind rage, she fired a kick at a chunk of rubble from the roof and split it in two. When I get my hands on her, I'll… she could not even finish the thought as her anger was so great that nothing she could think of seemed strong enough. Positively seething, she did the only thing she could and stalked towards the hole in the roof. Her revenge having been delayed yet again.