Author's note:

Ok, so chapter two of four. This time we're visiting another prog-rock epic for the title. I get up, I get down, is the name of the third movement of the Yes track Close to the Edge, from the album of the same name. It is also a lyric that is used multiple times throughout the track. In this instance, it is a reference to Shego's state of being. Anyway, enough from me, enjoy.

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Chapter six: I get up, I get down

Wake up, roll call, shower, breakfast, do nothing. Lunch, more nothing, dinner, even more nothing, lights out. Rinse and repeat. That was how Shego's days passed while incarcerated within the country's highest security prison. Ok, so the nothing part was subjective. She spent time with her cellmate; Bonnie, playing checkers, cards, sitting on the bleachers and generally keeping the girl out of trouble. However, by day three of their association, the former cheerleader seemed to have learned her lessons. Regardless, it was downright boring, but the worst part of it was, Shego didn't mind.

It was now Thursday; day five of her incarceration and the green-skinned woman was still very much bereft of personality. The previous day, Bonnie had figured out that her state was not due to dodgy painkillers, but just assumed that she had been given some sort of antipsychotic to keep her docile. Although, while it had not stopped the girl complaining about how boring she was, Shego hadn't been bothered about that either. She'd listened to Bonnie complain about that, the food, the beds and numerous other things, yet been neither up nor down about it. Had she been her normal self, she would have a) wondered how on earth Junior put up with her and b) threatened green plasma-induced grievous bodily harm against her if she did not shut up.

Shego sat at a round table in the recreation room with Bonnie, Dr Drakken, Professor Dementor and Frugal Lucre accompanying her. This was the first day that Drakken had approached her since they had been arrested; inviting her and Bonnie to join him and the other two villains for a game of Clue. Again, this was another instance where she would quickly have deduced the truth of the matter; that Lucre and Dementor had already started driving Drakken crazy and so he was prepared to forgive her for ruining his last plan, just so he could get some semblance of normality back. Only, in her current state, normality was not at the table.

At the start of the game, Bonnie, who it transpired also knew of the rule that Miss Scarlet went first, had snatched the respective token before anyone else could get a look in; Drakken had not been amused. Shego had ended up as Reverend Green because she was… well, green. Drakken, Miss Peacock for the same chromatic reason. Dementor got to be Professor Plum, as he'd legitimately earned the right to the title. Leaving Frugal Lucre with a choice between Mrs White and Colonel Mustard. He'd chosen the latter, due to Smarty Mart selling the condiment at an unbeatable price.

The game had largely passed Shego by. Sure, she'd rolled the die, moved her token and made suggestions when required, but there had been no strategy to her play. She might as well have been playing Snakes and Ladders, given the linear fashion in which she moved around the board. The others had conversed and she'd answered questions when asked, but she'd contributed little else. Yes, it had been just another day of comfortably numb monotony. That was until Dr Drakken made the following comment, "this version of the game lacks character. Where's the charming, but cunning Dr Lipsky? The death-ray? The active volcano!"

"Like, what on earth are you babbling about?" Bonnie asked. The girl had taken Shego's advice and refrained from referring to Drakken by something derogatory.

"We created a more interesting version of the game, dear Fraulein," Professor Dementor replied in his thick German accent.

"Replacing the boring normal characters, murder implements and rooms with some far more villainous ones," Drakken added gleefully and rubbed his hands together, like the creation of an alternate version of Clue was part of a new take over the world scheme.

Bonnie gave the two mad scientists a sideways look, "seriously?"

Drakken clearly did not realise that the former cheerleader's expression and words were laced with disdain, as he quickly replied, "of course! We've got Dr Lipsky, Professor, DeMenze, Lord Fiske…"

"Oh, you put yourselves in the game, sounds exciting," Frugal Lucre cut in over-enthusiastically. "Who did I replace?"

Both Drakken and Dementor turned to look at the budget villain and burst out laughing, the latter managing to say, "this preisgünstiger Bösewicht (cut-price villain) is amusing, no, Drew?"

"What's funny?" Lucre asked, slightly confused.

"Let's just say that when we were picking which villains deserved a character, you didn't make the cut," Drakken answered.

"Like, oh my god!" Bonnie then said incredulously. "The two of you actually spent time making a villain version of Clue?"

"Well, it was us, Amy and Duff," Drakken started to say, but was quickly cut off.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be busy plotting world domination? I suppose you made the murder victim Kim Possible," Bonnie finished, snatching the die from the board for her turn.

Just like that, there was a metaphorical explosion at the table.

Drakken did his age-old yell of, "KIM POSSIBLE!"

While Dementor barked, "do not mention zat infuriating fraulein's name!"

"Oh, don't get me started on her," Lucre exclaimed.

Shego, who had been a spectator to the entire conversation thus far, felt a spark ignite inside her and for a brief moment, a light shone from behind her dull eyes, as the dual feelings of hate and lust coursed through her. "Screw, Kimmie," she uttered, catching herself by surprise. At the exact same moment, the words filled her mind too, but with an entirely different connotation. The thought, what the hell, had just managed to form when she felt the spark start to flicker, no!

"So, I take it you guys totally hate Kim too," Bonnie then said.

This time, Lucre was the first to respond, "absolutely. Not only does she have no idea how to properly budget, but she knocked me on my backside last time we met."

The other two supervillains looked at Frugal Lucre in disdain, before making their own statements of discontent about the woman in question.

"If I could just be rid of that annoying hero," Drakken growled and shot an accusing look at Shego, which clearly said, "you're not doing your job." He then continued, "I would be ruling the world right now, not stuck here in cellblock D."

"I cannot express my dislike for zat fraulein! However, if we were rid of her, I would have her fancy battle suit and I would be ze one ruling ze world," Professor Dementor countered. "She is my nemesis!"

"What are you talking about, DeMenze? Kim Possible is my nemesis, not yours," Drakken retorted.

"Actually, she's my nemesis too. Although the Brainy Buys chain does come a close second. Their prices are outrageous," Frugal Lucre chimed in.

"Yeah, well, she was my nemesis since middle school," Bonnie retorted, as if calling dibs due to the fact that she had been enemies with Kim Possible first.

Like it was kindling and oxygen, the continued talk about Kimmie gathered around the fading spark inside Shego and kept it alight. A barrage of memories from her recent encounters with the hero flashed through her mind, bringing with them a taste of the emotions associated with each. Eyes blazing emerald green, she slammed a fist onto the table, drawing the attention of the other four occupants. "I've told you all before," she said slowly, ensuring that they understood each and every word, "Kimmie is mine!"

Like with her previous statement, there had been a dual meaning to this one too. On the one hand, she wanted to find the hero and beat her to a pulp and on the other, wrap her arms around her and taste those pretty pink lips once more. To both revel in victory as her rivals battered body lay strewn at her feet and drown in the desire to interlock their naked bodies and set the controls for nirvana. Only Shego could do neither of those things. Not while stuck in cellblock D. I need to get out of here, but that's going to take time. She felt the spark begin to flicker again and so quickly said, "since we're sharing, what's the worst thing Kimmie has ever done to you?"

She did not care about the replies; they were of no consequence, however, it seemed that continued talk of her rival could feed the spark it had itself ignited inside her. How ironic, the bitch who dumped me in this shithole is helping me get back on my feet. Shego had to force herself to use the profanities, but doing so made her feel that little bit more like herself. I guess my feelings towards Kimmie are so strong… so raw at the moment, that the GJ serum can't keep them suppressed.

She turned back into the conversation in time to hear Frugal Lucre say, "one time, she hung me on a clothes peg by my shirt, while she foiled my scheme to sell Club Banana merchandise at there respective Smarty Mart prices."

"Seriously, that's the worst thing Kim has ever done to you?" Bonnie asked in disdain.

"Urgh, you have no idea how badly my armpits got chaffed by my polycotton shirt."

The former cheerleader gave Lucre a derisive stare, "what kind of villain are you?"

"The budget-conscious kind," the ex-Smarty Mart employee replied proudly. "Unlike these two," he then pointed at Professor Dementor and Dr Drakken.

Shego turned to Bonnie, "what he means is, he hasn't burned millions of dollars on overpriced lairs and superweapons."

As expected, Dr Drakken took the bait and fired back, "all that money has been wisely invested in a long-term strategy to take over the world!"

For the first time in days, Shego actually managed a small laugh and replied with a hint of her normal sass, "yeah, and look how much of the world it's got you; a single room in cellblock D, that you have to share with him," she pointed at Frugal Lucre.

Drakken folded his arms across his chest and huffed under his breath, "I think I preferred you when you were a mindless zombie."

"Prft, zat is nothing," Professor Dementor exclaimed at Frugal Lucre, in what seemed like an attempt to return the conversation to Shego's original point. "I once created a device to control ze fraulein's battle suit, allowing me to successfully steal it from her. However, after I put it on and used it against her, she used my own device against me!"

"Well that sounds dumb," Bonnie snorted.

"Wait a minute, you actually made a device to control her battle suit, but didn't bother to destroy it before you put it on?" Shego said incredulously and let out another small laugh. "And I thought Drakken was the bigger idiot."

"What!" Dr Drakken yelled. "Don't you remember my plan to take over the world using Dr D's Brain washing shampoo and cranium rinse? It even had the tagline, lather, rinse and Obey! How can you claim that's not more idiotic?" Clearly, the mad scientist had not comprehended the fact that this was one pissing contest between himself and his rival that he did not want to win.

The entire table was on the cusp of laughter as Shego delivered the coup de grâce, "guess I was wrong, you are the bigger idiot."

"Thank you, Shego…" Drakken started to say in a satisfied manner before pausing. "Wait a minute…"

Bonnie and the other two villains started to laugh.

"SHEGO! HOW DARE YOU BELITTLE ME IN FRONT OF OTHER VILLAINS!"

The laughter around the table intensified and a thin smile formed on Shego's lips. Even though it had only been five days, she felt like she was slowly waking up from a one-hundred-year sleep. The green spark inside her had caught alight and now she could feel small embers starting to glow in the darkness of the hollow abyss that permeated her entire being. It wasn't much, but it gave her something to cling to. Something that she could nurture until her fire once more burst to life in a sea of green flames. She might not know how long it would take, but she knew one thing for certain, she had never managed to rekindle her spark so soon after receiving the GJ serum, not since the very first time it had been administered to her. I'm coming for you, Kimmie… I just don't know what I'm going to do when I find you.

Talk about Kimmie ended there and the game of Clue quickly resumed as Bonnie finally rolled the die. While the conversation moved on to other, less rage-inducing topics, it had been enough to sustain Shego. Soon they were nearing the endgame, with Bonnie, Dementor and surprisingly, given what had happened the last time she had played this game with him, Drakken, all vying to beat the others to the murder room. The latter was just about to roll when the sound of someone shouting interrupted the mad scientist.

"Bitch!"

Shego heard the singular word and knew who had uttered it and at whom; herself. Shit, Morgan. She turned around in her chair and saw the mountain-like woman making a b-line straight for her. This won't be good. Although, on the plus side, it seems like she's forgotten her original beef was with Bonnie. She'd not seen the woman since their altercation; thus, she had surmised that she'd ended up in solitary confinement as a result. Now it seemed Morgan was out of the hole and with no qualms about going back there, so long as she got her vengeance first.

This was quickly confirmed by the woman herself, "I did four days in the hole cos of you," as other inmates scarpered away from them.

Shego had just enough time to get to her feet before the woman reached her. "If you're so desperate to go back, pick a fight elsewhere. As the only place you'll be going if you tangle with me is the infirmary," she said, her voice cold and steely. While Morgan stood a good foot taller than her, Shego did not care. She'd faced bigger, stronger, uglier and greener opponents than her. Warmonga ticking all four boxes by herself. Then there was Kimmie. Not overly tall and with a lithe frame, the girl's appearance hardly screamed fighter. Yet the young hero had more skill and ability than anyone Shego had ever fought. Yeah, next to Princess, this hulking brute would be no problem, even if she was not at full strength and lacked her glow.

Morgan laughed, "so, you're going to fight this time, Bitch. Good. I like it when my victims struggle."

Shego quickly cast her gaze upon the guards. There were three within her field of vision and while she did not doubt that they had heard Morgan's initial yell and were well aware of what was about to transpire, none seemed interested in putting a stop to it. They probably hate us both equally. So, they have no qualms about letting this play out and then cleaning up what's left. It'll give them an excuse to use force against us. She didn't relish being beaten by tonfa, however, Morgan was effectively challenging her status as toughest bitch in the place and so she could not back down or lose.

Without further warning, the mountain-like woman threw the first punch; a haymaker like before. Similar to Motor Ed, Morgan's blows lacked technique and finesse but had a lot of power behind them. Thus, it was best to avoid getting hit and so she ducked. Before it had even properly begun, the altercation was over. Shego caught the woman in the gut with a fore-fist-punch and as she staggered backwards, followed up with a front-snap-kick. Morgan then crumpled to her knees; eyes wide with shock as she stared at Shego and completely dumbstruck. With a single finger, she prodded the woman in the forehead and sent her crashing backwards.

"Pathetic," Shego said firmly, a look of contempt spreading across her face. "You could have at least given me a solid workout." She cast her emerald gaze around the room. "Any of you other chumps want to come and have a go?"

Everyone in the room quickly turned their attention away from her and not because the guards were now closing in.

"Yeah, didn't think so," she snarled. Well, that was easy, now for the hard part.

Before any of the guards had even uttered a command, Shego put her hands behind her head and lowered herself to her knees. It pained her to submit without a fight, but it was very much a case of picking her battles. While she could easily take out all the guards in the room and even make it out into the yard, without her glow, she'd have nowhere to go but straight to solitary confinement; probably for a very long time. She took a deep breath, in preparation of the first tonfa blow, but it never came. She watched as the guards all stopped in a ring around herself and Morgan, who was still groaning in pain on the floor. The sound of heavy boots behind her quickly brought about the thought, oh shit! a mere second before she felt a harsh kick against her spine.

"Ahh!" Shego winced, pain shooting through her from the impact sight. She clattered face-first onto the floor. She was afforded no time to catch her breath before the boot came down atop her back; hard. "Son of a…"

Soon a sharp tutting sound reached her ears, followed by the domineering voice of Captain Brooks, "I might have known you'd end up in trouble sooner or later. You just can't help yourself, can you?"

How did she get here so… before the thought finished forming, Shego had the answer. Fuck it! This whole thing was set up! Brooks deliberately let Morgan out of the hole, knowing full well that she'd come for me. And I bet it's because I've been a model inmate for five days; she's desperate to punish me. The pain in her back suddenly intensified as she felt the Captain increase the pressure on it.

"I asked you a question," Brooks barked.

"No, Sir," Shego gasped, finding it difficult to breathe. It wasn't true, she could keep herself out of trouble, at least when the deck didn't get stacked against her. However, saying anything to the contrary of the Captain's viewpoint would only make the situation worse.

"And assaulting another inmate without provocation," Captain Brooks let out an exaggerated sigh. "What am I to do with you?"

This time the question was rhetorical and so she kept her mouth shut.

After a moment or two of what Shego supposed was feigned contemplation, the Captain then said, "I suppose if you're not going to play nice with your peers, I'll have to lock you away by yourself and declaw you some more."

Great, guess I'm getting a one-way ticket to the hole. However, what the fuck does she mean by 'declaw' me some more? She's already suppressed my glow; what more does she think she can do? She then heard the sharp click of the Captain's fingers and the guards quickly descended upon her. Handcuffs and leg irons quickly dug into her wrists and ankles respectively, after which she was hauled to her feet. She offered no resistance but was manhandled by the guards anyway as she was dragged out after the Captain.

It barely took any time at all for Shego to be marched through the prison and into the all too familiar solitary confinement block. At least once per stay, she ended up in here for a couple of days. Usually for an accumulation of demerits, most of which she earned because Drakken had annoyed her to the point that she'd hit him in order to get him to shut up. She was taken to the cell furthest from the security gate.

"Once I knew you would be joining us, I had this cell re-configured especially for you," Captain Brooks said, satisfaction lacing her voice.

There was something about how smug the woman sounded that set Shego's alarm bells ringing. What the hell has she cooked up for me this time?

"Normally, for those inmates who cause me the amount of trouble that you do, I'd leave them in the dark and have the temperature turned up. However, in your case, I've had to alter things slightly." Captain Brooks opened the door to the small room, which contained a narrow cot, sink and toilet.

Shego was dragged forwards until she stood just outside. Her restraints were removed before she received a hard shove in her back and she staggered across the threshold. She turned around, just in time to see Captain Brooks smug sneer as the door was slammed shut and bolted. A split second later and the lights went out, leaving her in pitch blackness. Only then did she realise what the Captain had meant by 'alter things slightly'; the air around her felt icy, like she'd just opened a freezer door. And she had a sinking feeling the temperature would only plummet. Fuck!

Taking a deep breath, which caught in her throat slightly and caused her to cough, Shego carefully turned around and stepped in the direction of the cot. Her foot quickly bumped against its solid base. Picking up the thin blanket, which she did not need to see to know it was grey, she pulled it around herself and sat down cross-legged. Do your worst, Brooks, you won't break me. Unfortunately, while the thought held true for when at full strength and with her glow, she knew she was only lying to herself. Even without her glow, her body still hated the cold and it seemed Brooks had figured this out. As if on cue, she shivered and tried to huddle the blanket tighter around herself. In her mind, she pictured the green embers and tried to focus on them. She had to keep them alight. If the cold broke her spirit and snuffed them out, she'd be back to square one. She could only hope that her stint in the hole wasn't long enough or the temperature did not drop low enough for that to happen. Her mind quickly found its way to the object of her obsession, in a hope that the dual feelings she felt towards her rival would help keep her embers glowing. I'm going to get my hands on you, Kimmie… I just don't know what they'll do to you.