A/N: I started this fic a year ago and never finished it. It's a prompt answer to the old and currently inactive KPFicPrompts on Tumblr. For prompt #4, "a character accidentally sees another character naked." Of course, I couldn't keep it simple and do just one. I had to make it four...
This is set about a month after Graduation and fits into my headcanon.
Solidarity
"Eighteen years old... A high school graduate... Survived an alien abduction..." Shego said with a grin as she dodged Kim's attacks. "And you're still not even close to my level!"
The red-headed teen hero, clad in her battle-suit, was throwing the usual kicks and punches at the female-counterpart of her arch-nemesis, while Ron and Drakken had their own less-skilled battle about twenty feet away. The fight was occurring in a chemical plant, eerie with its bubbling vats and pulsing tubes of who-knew-what running over the walls and ceilings, though the daylight made the atmosphere less intimidating.
"I'm just giving you a chance to change your mind since you helped Ron and I save the world," Kim responded with a smirk to mirror Shego's.
"I think you mean, you and Monkey-Boy helped me and Drakken. And the correct grammar would be 'Ron and me.' How'd they let you out with a diploma?"
Their fight continued adjacent to one vat of a still, orange, viscous liquid, the purpose of the villains' presence still unknown. Meanwhile next to another vat Ron was trying to grab a small vial out of Drakken's hand.
"Give it here— No— You— Just give it!" Ron said as he lunged repeatedly and Drakken dodged.
"This is extremely volatile! Unless you want to be the one to destroy the world, I would stay back Monkey-Boy!"
"Awwww, Kim! He's calling me Monkey-Boy again!"
"Ron, get over it with the monkeys already!" Kim called back as she dodged a blow.
In that moment, Rufus leapt from Ron's pocket and after a tumbling somersault through the air, grabbed the vial from Drakken's hand and landed on the blue man's shoulder.
"Ta-da!" the naked mole-rat cried.
Drakken grabbed for him but Rufus had leapt back to Ron, who caught him with ease.
"Kim! I've got the...whatever they were stealing!"
"Give it back!" Drakken shouted.
Shego back-flipped over Kim and spun after landing, kicking the vial out of Ron's hand. Drakken, Ron, and Rufus all grabbed for it but it clattered to the floor in between the two vats and between the four people gathered in the lab. They had a split second of notice as the cap of the vial fell off, and then there was an explosion, a flash of white, the loud shattering sound of glass much larger than the vial, and the feeling of a slick yet sticky liquid splashing over all of them.
The group blinked and coughed, waving their hands to clear the white smoke or steam or whatever was blocking their vision. Drakken and Ron had both recoiled in fright, while Kim and Shego stood at the ready for whatever threat may appear next. Rufus sat worriedly on Ron's shoulder.
When their vision cleared there was nothing remaining of the vial, and the nearest vat had broken. The orange, shiny liquid had spilled out all over the floor and had splashed the four. They were covered almost head to toe in the viscous substance, only parts of their faces having escaped due to their instinctive protection. They all stepped back from the growing puddle of who-knew-what.
"What was in that thing?" Shego roared at Drakken.
"Ow, ow, burns!" the naked mole-rat squeaked. Ron grabbed his pet from his shoulder and stared as welts began appearing on the rodent's skin where the orange liquid had hit him, smoke seeming to rise from his skin.
Ron cried out in alarm and set Rufus in a dry spot on the floor, and then taking the water bottle from his backpack he poured all of it over the ailing animal, washing the orange liquid away.
"Ow! Hey!" Shego said.
"Ow, whoa... What...?" Kim echoed, instinctively rubbing the spot on her cheek that was suddenly burning while Shego did the same. The two women made eye contact, and then gasped as they saw spots of each other's hair seeming to burn.
In a moment all four were staring at one another and mumbling in panic as the white smoke rose from their clothes, even Kim's battle-suit, as the mysterious orange liquid began melting away their garments like acid.
The Kimmunicator beeped.
"Kim!" Wade said urgently. "The battle-suit has been exposed to a highly toxic substance. My readings indicate that it will be destroyed within minutes."
Shego was glaring at Drakken even as the pair of villains frantically pawed at the smoking spots over their faces where red welts were appearing and blood had begun to drip down their cheeks and from Drakken's forehead. Kim and Ron were in the same situation, though Ron was distracted by trying to purge his pet of the dangerous contaminant.
"I know!" Kim replied. "It's eating away at our skin like acid. Can the suit's detection features identify it?"
"No. But it's probably some sort of experimental acid, given the plant you guys are in."
"Ohhh, it burns! KP, it's burning through my clothes!"
Still on the floor, Rufus was bleeding from several places just as the places on the heroes' and villains' skin were bleeding. Indeed, the mysterious liquid was rapidly eating through the clothing of all four and not slowing down as it reached their skin underneath.
"What can we do?" Kim asked Wade.
"Until I know how dangerous it is, you've got to get away from it and limit your exposure. If it's anything like fluoroantimonic acid it could kill you!"
"But we're covered in it! It's eating through my suit, and Ron's clothes..." Kim said. Shego was listening intently while removing her gloves that were smoking and disintegrating, while Drakken danced and whined as the acid ate through his coat.
"We have to get out of these clothes," Shego said through gritted teeth.
"What!?" the other three exclaimed, looking at her as she tossed her half-destroyed gloves far from the puddle of whatever the dangerous liquid was.
The four looked around at their attire, still orange as the liquid was sticky and viscous. Holes were appearing in spots of all their clothing and new welts trickling blood were showing up on arms, legs, and torsos.
On the floor near the broken vat, a hole suddenly appeared where the spill had been most concentrated and revealed the raised foundation beneath the building. The edges of the hole smoked as the orange substance continued eating away at the floor.
"Shego's right!" Wade said. "Especially since you don't know what contact with it will do to you!"
"But we can't take our clothes off here!" Ron exclaimed.
"I am not disrobing in front of..." Drakken looked angrily at Ron first, and then nervously at the two females, "any of you!"
"You want to risk death, Chief, be my guest," Shego said as she frowned and her eyes darted back and forth over the members of the group.
An awkward silence followed as the rising smoke increased and more skin began showing beneath the rapidly-vanishing clothing.
"But...but how..." Drakken began with a whine, his face morphing into a furious snarl as he looked around again at the group.
Shego rolled her eyes. "Come on, Princess," she said, and bounded away from the smoke cloud and toward a broad hallway. After a moment and a worried look at Ron, Kim followed closely after her until the pair of them had disappeared around a corner. Ron and Drakken were left behind in the massive chemical vat room, surrounded by the dangerous orange liquid.
The two women had gone only as far as to be out of sight of the men. Shego began peeling out of her suit and Kim stared dumbly for a moment before reaching for the zipper of hers.
"Don't think for one second I like this idea," Shego said. "If we live through this, I'm going to kill Drakken for whatever was in that vial that caused the explosion."
Kim's battle-suit wasn't the easiest garment to get out of, and where her hands had touched the orange goo now burned her skin as she tried pulling the suit from her shoulders. Shego had been faster and her green and black suit was already in a smoking heap on the floor, her contaminated boots following a second later. Kim finally divested herself of the suit and dropped it next to Shego's.
"How much of my hair did it get?" Shego asked, tilting her head back so her hair wouldn't touch her skin. Like Kim now, she only wore her undergarments.
"Uh..." Kim said a bit slowly. "Only part of one side, and some of the ends."
"Cut those pieces out."
"What?"
"Come on, don't tell me you don't have some sort of cutting tool with you."
"My laser lipstick, but it's in Ron's backpack."
Shego rolled her eyes and stepped to the edge of the hall.
"Monkey-Boy!" she shouted. "Pass the laser lipstick!"
"Huh?" was Ron's called response.
Kim joined Shego at the corner, neither of the women stepping into view.
"Hurry, Ron!"
Kim peered at the floor of the hall anxiously, feeling the sting on her skin where the orange substance had managed to make contact with her back where the ends of her own contaminated hair touched her skin. Shego suddenly gasped.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"
Kim looked up to where Shego was now staring with bared teeth at a smoking orange spot on her black sports bra, the contaminated material of the garment being eaten away. A small but heavy metallic rolling sound caught Kim's ear, and she turned back to the hall where the tube of laser lipstick was rolling toward the corner. She grabbed it and turned back to Shego and then blushed.
Shego had yanked her bra off from over her head and stood leaned back again so her hair fell away from her skin.
"Come on, cut out the damaged parts!" Shego growled.
Kim's cheeks turned ever redder, but she hurried to comply. She started isolating the locks of Shego's hair that bore the orange substance and cut them out with as little loss of length as possible. But she was only a few moments into the task when she felt a burning at her chest that caused her to jump back. She looked down and found her own purple sports bra and briefs being eaten through by the mysterious contaminant.
She stared down at herself as the liquid reached through to more and more of her skin, and then she heard Shego curse. She looked up to where the villainess's briefs were also burning. The green-skinned woman looked up and gave her a dark but unreadable look before divesting herself of the last of her clothing. Kim swallowed nervously.
"What if this stuff's worse than whatever acid your nerdlinger was talking about?" Shego said.
Kim shook slightly as she pulled off her undergarments, which were added to the pile of hers and Shego's suits. The orange substance had continued to eat away at the clothing and there was surprisingly little left.
"Finish with my hair," Shego demanded, and not knowing what else to do Kim complied. A minute later the task was done, and Shego turned to face her. "I'll do yours."
Kim handed over the laser lipstick and listened to the familiar telltale whine of the device as most of her ends were trimmed and several locks were separated out and severed. She looked down at the mixture of smoldering red and black hair on the floor.
With a sigh Shego finished and handed the laser lipstick back to Kim. The teen crossed her arms over her chest and turned, and despite herself she gave the older woman a head-to-toe look.
"You're green all over," fell thoughtlessly from her lips as her face continued to redden. She lifted one of her legs and turned slightly to try to hide her exposed private area, balancing on one foot with ease.
"What did you expect?" Shego said blandly.
Kim's jaw fell open as the villainess parted her hair in the center and then dropped her long, voluminous locks over her shoulders, completely covering her in the front.
"That's not fair!" Kim said, almost losing her balance.
Shego shrugged. "Lesson learned. Grow your hair out."
Kim frowned. "It's not practical for missions."
Shego smirked. "Works just fine for me. Like I said before Kimmie, you're not on my level."
Kim hopped to her other foot, avoiding the smoldering hair on the floor as she continued to try to cover herself. The pain from the bleeding burns on various parts of her skin had all but left her mind in consideration of their other predicament, but she was relieved the soles of her feet had thus far been spared.
Shego's smirk turned into a scowl when Kim shifted her balance again. "You're gonna have to get over that, because we've got a bigger problem. How are we gonna get out of here?"
They both looked down to the pile of their clothes that had all but disintegrated, and then glanced around at their very exposed position in the lab's hallway.
"I wonder if any of Ron's or Drakken's clothes survived..." Kim mused.
Drakken sat on the floor, naked, his knees drawn up to his chest and a deep frown on his face. He grumbled angrily as he leaned back against a vat in an uncontaminated area of the room. A choked scream left Drakken's throat as an equally naked Ron suddenly appeared around the side of the circular vat with Rufus on his shoulder.
"There you are," Ron said.
"Get away from me!"
"You should really chill out man, I mean, I know it was awkward at first, but I find this very freeing.
"Freeing!" Rufus agreed, setting his fore-paws on his waist and perching proudly on Ron's shoulder.
"It's scandalous and horrifying, and you can...go...jump in a vat of acid or something."
Ron frowned. "Hey man, it's definitely not ideal, but I'm making the best of it. But, eh... So..."
Drakken turned his furious gaze up to the teen and the mole-rat.
"How are we gonna get out of here?"
"Okay, I can see the hover-car from here," Shego said, having walked down the hall a small distance to a window.
Kim had switched to her other leg for balance and was becoming more aware of the stinging welts from the strange acid, and also trying not to look at Shego. Her heart was still pounding from her own state, and her arch-foe being seemingly unperturbed by the situation wasn't helping.
"We'll just have to make a run for it," Shego said with a grimace as she returned.
Kim finally looked at her again now she was facing her and her long, black hair still covered her. She watched as Shego's expression faltered then between a smirk and impatience.
"Surprised you're not more used to this, as a cheerleader," she finally said after settling on a smirk.
"N-Never-mind," Kim said with her own impatience, upset by the audible shaking of her voice. "Before we go we should get a sample of this stuff for Wade to analyze."
"And how are we gonna do that? The stuff will probably eat through the hover-car."
"I can scan it with..." She turned and looked at the heap of their disintegrating clothes, where the Kimmunicator built into her battle-suit was no doubt useless by that point. "...Ron's Kimmunicator."
"Let me guess. Backpack?"
Kim nodded and tossed her hair back over her shoulders, a chill sweeping over the skin at her back. She glanced down at her arms to make sure they were still covering her chest. When she looked back at Shego, the woman was rolling her eyes.
"I can see I'm going to have to do all the work," she said as she turned back toward the corner.
Kim only grimaced and hopped back a step so her backside was against the wall. They hadn't seen anyone else yet in the lab facility, but it was surely occupied in the daylight hours. She tried to calm the pounding of her heart and pre-plan a course of action should anyone else appear.
After a glance back into the lab revealed only the remnants of the unknown acid's destruction, Shego had rolled her eyes and started padding silently back toward the large, open room. She could see a heap that was clearly the remains of Stoppable's clothes, and the remarkably unscathed backpack nearby. But there was no sign of Drakken's attire nor the two men.
When she reached the edge of the wall and the point of no return she hesitated, a wash of nerves coming over her, and instead of stepping forward she took a shallow breath and called out.
"Yo, Dr. D.?"
From a distance, she watched as Stoppable's form emerged from behind a pillar. She grimaced slightly at the sight of his pasty skin, slightly marred by blood, and relieved that his lower-half was blocked from view by one of the vats. A moment later, she spotted Drakken's head rise from behind another vat. Despite the distance between them, she could see the anxiety written on his face.
"I think we're gonna have to make a run for the hover-car—"
"Just say the word, and me and Rufus are ready to go!" Stoppable said, starting toward the door.
Shego slapped her face and growled lightly.
"But first," she said louder, and the blond boy stopped and looked back at her. She saw him blink and the look away, and she realized he hadn't really been able to see her from his previous position. She took a step back and nearer the wall, glancing down to be sure her hair was still in place. "First...Possible wants to get a sample of the acid. Think you can handle that Monkey-Boy?"
"Handle it? Who stopped those invading aliens!" Stoppable answered with a bit of pride. The mole-rat on his shoulder chirped some sort of affirmation.
He started toward the backpack, stepping into plain view, and Shego abruptly looked back at Drakken's face with a scowl. She was even less interested in seeing the pubescent boy than she was at seeing Possible. But that thought of disgust was arrested by the look on Drakken's face.
He had clearly been staring at her, and upon being caught he ducked again behind the vat where he was hiding. Shego's heart raced and she glanced down at herself again. Her hair was still fully covering her, the ends not having moved for her strategic holding of them the entire time. Only her back was exposed...
She glanced over her shoulder, but Possible hadn't followed her. She looked back again and noted Stoppable digging in the backpack. She grimaced and looked back at the vat.
"Dr. D.!" she called, merely to make sure he was onboard with the plan. The awkwardness of it all could be dealt with later. "Did you get that? We should make a run for it before anyone shows up."
Drakken's head emerged again, and Shego could see the blush to his cheeks. He wasn't even showing his shoulders, and Shego was tempted to roll her eyes.
"Who's going first?" Drakken called.
Shego's brow rose. She hadn't considered that.
Whoever went first would be in full view of the other two, plus any watching parties from the lab...not to mention security cameras. Shego grit her teeth at that thought and realized they'd have to come back later to destroy any footage.
"You two go first," she called decisively.
At that moment, Stoppable rose from his crouched position and Shego narrowed her eyes as she fixed them on Drakken again after the brief peripheral glimpse.
"Ready whenever you are, Dr. Drakken," he declared, putting on the backpack.
"Neghn. Something's wrong with you!" Drakken called back.
Shego did roll her eyes then and stepped back to be out of sight. When she turned the corner again, Possible was leaning with her back to the wall, still balancing on one leg with her arms crossed and looking a bit shell-shocked for lack of a better term.
"Hey."
Possible startled and looked at her.
"The guys are going to make a run for the hover-car. We're next."
"Tell them to fly it closer!" Possible said urgently, her face flushing.
Shego's brow rose. That was a good idea. She turned and went back to the other corner.
"Hey—"
Her words died in her mouth. Stoppable was at the double-doors of pane glass holding one open, and Drakken was halfway there, tiptoeing with his hands covering his crotch and grumbling. He turned at the sound of her voice and they made eye contact before he dove behind the nearest vat with a strangled cry of fear.
Shego looked upwards as her heart raced, her mind not eager to process the circumstance further. She had seen far too much blue... And she was disturbed by her sudden seeming interest in seeing more.
"When you get there, fly the hover-car up to the door so we don't have to go as far," she called, not daring to look back into the room.
"That's not fair!" Drakken shouted, still hidden behind one of the vats.
Shego thought a moment. "The other option is Stoppable flies it... Ugh, would you cover up? You have a backpack."
Stoppable's brow rose when she snapped at him, and she watched peripherally as he gave himself a once-over.
"Actually I've decided to embrace the pants-losing. I mean, if I'm not so worried about it all the time, I can help Kim out more on missions."
"Ugh," Shego groaned, letting her head fall back against the wall. "Would you two just hurry and go? There are security cameras."
"There are?"
It was Kim's startled voice that had spoken, and Shego turned to see the red-head peering around the corner and then looking around frantically.
"Yeah. Doy. It's a top secret lab."
"Go back around the corner!" Drakken called angrily.
Shego looked back to where he was finally standing behind one of the vats, his lower-half concealed. He looked a mixture of furious and mortified.
"Just go! As if we want to look, puh-lease," she said, rolling her eyes in disgust. She nearly forgot herself and crossed her arms, but remembered at the last moment that one of her hands was needed for modesty.
"I'm not too keen on those cameras," Stoppable said, sounding uneasy for the first time. Shego glanced to see he had in fact removed the backpack and was now using it to cover himself. "I think we should go."
"Nyegh...fine!" Drakken shouted, and Shego couldn't help but steal a glance when he moved faster than she'd ever seen him go, following after Stoppable through the doors.
Her heart raced as she blinked at his retreating back, and she wasn't sure why.
"Don't want to look, huh?"
Possible's deadpan suddenly next to her startled her, her free hand lighting up in green flame as she spun away from the sound.
"As if you weren't?" Shego spat a quick retort. "Suddenly not hiding back there anymore, now that there's a show."
"I didn't look," Possible replied with a frown, and Shego knew it was true.
Outside, the two men had leapt into the hover-car's front seat and it was lifting off. Shego shook her head and sighed.
"Just be ready," she said.
It was silent for a moment.
"Surprised you don't shave," Possible said as if in inquiry.
"Rrgh! Now you want to chit-chat?" Shego said, glaring at the younger woman.
Kim was only slightly perturbed. "Just asking. Gets hot in your suit, doesn't it?"
"It's more sanitary, cheerleader. Hasn't your mother ever talked to you about feminine health?" Shego bit back, looking again to the windowed doors where the hover-car was landing. There was a familiar honk of the horn. "All right, let's go!"
She didn't give Kim any chance to respond as she began sprinting toward the doors, both hands now holding her hair in front of her.
"I thought you'd be more fit, too," Possible continued from behind where she was keeping very close pace.
"What?" Shego snarled.
"Thought you'd have more muscle and not so much...you know..."
Shego halted and spun, a bit shocked at the girl's close proximity until she realized she was hiding behind her on their run.
"Everyone gets cellulite and just you try keeping it off when you're my age," Shego snapped.
Possible smirked. "How old are you, by the way?"
"Rrgh!" was Shego's growled response as she spun and continued the escape, realizing if the men were watching they would have just seen a full moon.
She pushed through the doors with Possible right behind and was gratified to see Stoppable actually covering his eyes with both hands, the mole-rat on his shoulder doing the same, while Drakken was seated stiffly next to him and gripping the steering controls, teeth bared and eyes pinched shut. Shego sighed in mild relief. The stupid venture they never should have gone on was almost over.
Drakken opened one eye to a mere slit and then the other after hearing and feeling the thump of two bodies landing the back of the hover-car.
"Shego?" he fairly whispered.
"Just drive!" his angered side-kick shouted from behind him and to his right, startling him.
He lifted off immediately, keeping his eyes fixed on the air ahead of him as he made to get high and away from the lab. His heart still raced for fear and embarrassment over the situation, and he direly wanted to shift in his seat for the sweat that was still seeping from his pores and causing him discomfort in far too many areas along with the wounds. But he held stock still.
From directly behind him he heard Possible take a breath, and his heart leapt for fear, but then she didn't speak after all. He wanted to forget that anyone else was in the vehicle, especially the two teens, until they were back at the lair. Except...Stoppable had that backpack.
He chewed the inside of his cheek as he peripherally glanced at the brown leather covering the teen's lap and considered. The way the teen had seemed so bizarrely accepting of the situation, he may simply give him the backpack... On the other hand, if he drew attention to it, Shego or Possible may want it. Though, Shego had her hair, he had noticed...
He flushed deeply and glanced at the backpack again. He wanted it more than ever as he suddenly felt blood moving somewhere other than his cheeks, and narrowing his eyes, he flipped the backpack over onto his lap in one swift movement, accidentally pushing the hover-car's speed in the process.
"Hey! Not cool, man!" Stoppable scolded, reaching over for the bag.
Drakken tightened his hand on it, and then too much happened all at once. A choked cry from Shego caused him to instinctively look back, and Stoppable with him. He peripherally saw a glimpse of tan knees surrounded by folded arms where Possible was effectively covering herself, but the reason for Shego's cry was what froze him.
The hover-car accelerating had caused the wind to pick up and somehow had taken Shego by surprise as it had whipped her hair back behind her. It felt like less than a second before his eyes had lifted to meet Shego's horrified ones before he spun back forward. Apparently it had been longer than a second as he realized there had been a flush coming to Shego's cheeks and perhaps tears forming in her eyes before he whirled back around to face the open sky.
"Ron!" Possible scolded, Drakken assumed for the blond teen's turning around at all. Though from his regretful glimpse the red-head had found a way to fully protect herself.
"Ruf-usss!" Stoppable whined, scrubbing at his eyes. "Ohhh, that's too much green!"
"Oh, there there," the naked mole-rat consoled its owner, patting his cheek with a paw.
"Ron!" Possible scolded again, and though Drakken was tempted to turn for reasons unknown, he didn't, his heart racing faster than ever.
Stoppable however, did turn.
"KP, I saw a green—" He stopped suddenly as his eyes widened on Kim, and Drakken wondered if she'd moved from her protective position though he thought it unlikely.
"Ron!"
Possible's shout was most admonishing that time and even a little exasperated, but before either party could speak again a green fist clocked him on the jaw. It was only a glancing blow, Drakken noted, finally letting instinct draw his gaze over his shoulder for a split second where he saw Shego had recovered the protection of her hair. The fist came at him next and he dodged expertly.
"Okay, next one who turns around, this fist will be glowing!" Shego fairly shouted, her words laced with fury.
"Okie-dokie artichokie!"
"Message received!"
After both speaking at once, Drakken and Stoppable made eye contact, slowly releasing measured breaths of mutual fear and relief that the situation wasn't worse. Then Stoppable swallowed nervously.
"Uh, h-hey man...can I have my bag back?" he asked quietly, barely audible above the now-rushing wind.
"No!" Drakken snapped, tightening his hold again.
"I...uh, I kinda need it."
Drakken's eyes narrowed in confusion before realization struck, and against his better judgment he glanced downward. He rolled his eyes and wondered with a sudden sickening feeling if the teen's problem was from whatever he'd seen of Shego, or because of his...girlfriend? He scowled as he gripped the controls tighter.
"I need it too," he said bitterly through clenched teeth.
He watched peripherally as Stoppable's expression rapidly changed, from wide surprised eyes to uncertainty and finally hurt anger, which surprised Drakken. The teen continued glaring at him, and he ground his teeth as he occasionally glanced over, noting the mole-rat was glaring at him too.
"Nyeh! Fine!" he finally said, pushing the backpack onto the seat between them.
Stoppable glanced down fleetingly before dropping the backpack safely over his lap again.
"Thanks, man!" he said, a relieved tremor in his voice.
"Ngh..." was Drakken's only reply as he pulled his knees up to his chest and hunkered down a bit in the seat.
Behind Drakken, Possible was blinking in confusion. She turned to where Shego was now mirroring her pose, though her hair was still covering her behind her folded legs.
"Why are they fighting over the backpack?" she asked quietly.
Shego blinked at her and then dropped her face to her folded arms across her knees.
"You don't want to know."
After a few moments Shego looked up, and her breath caught as she was shocked to see Drakken looking right at her.
'Sorry,' he mouthed before quickly turning back and tensing, no doubt waiting for a blow. But she couldn't even think of hitting him, for his expression was the most pained and regretful she'd ever seen. Instead, she watched his back curiously, from the wind whipping his hair and the tension in his neck down to the quivering muscles in his arms, the blue of his skin marred in places where the acid had touched his skin and he had bled, just as they all had. She realized in that moment that while she'd seen him without a shirt before, she'd never actually looked at him before.
Her heart began racing faster than it already was for the trauma of the exposure, and she dropped her face to her knees again with a groan.
"Hey..." Possible said loudly next to her, "where are we going?"
"Back to the lair, of course," Drakken said curtly.
"But...what are we supposed to do?" Possible said with a thread of frustration in her voice.
"We'll let you borrow some clothes," Shego muttered.
"They won't fit," Possible argued, and Shego's head snapped up.
"What, you want to stop to knock off a Club Banana instead? Or should we take you home and you can explain this situation to mommy and daddy?"
Kim recoiled at her words, swallowing anxiously.
"That's what I thought," Shego said, dropping her face to her knees again. "Just shut up till this is over."
The rest of the hover-car ride had indeed been spent in silence but for a brief call from Wade on the Kimmunicator which Ron answered. The acid had been analyzed and was indeed a new, experimental, and highly dangerous corrosive. A shower to clean their wounds was all they would need medically, assuming none of their wounds were too deep. Neither Drakken nor Shego offered the showers at the lair, and neither Kim nor Ron asked.
Ron had considered offering the backpack back to Drakken when he no longer needed it, but a glance when Drakken shifted his posture had shown him that the older man didn't need it either. Thus, the ride had been silent save for the wind until Drakken parked the hover-car back at the lair in the Caribbean, and after a brief argument he had left the vehicle first to both shut down the security cameras and tell any henchmen to vacate the area. Shego had followed five minutes later, with the promise of returning for clothing for them both.
Ron had held his hands over his eyes upon the departure of both villains, keeping them there afterward for a moment until he heard a soft sigh from behind him.
"Ron..."
"KP I didn't see anything!" he insisted. "...Well, I saw too much of Shego. She has green—"
"Ron! I know. Can we just forget about it?"
"Kim, I would never... I wouldn't..."
"I know Ron. It's just been a very...very awkweird day."
Ron lowered his hands and wanted to turn, hoping her face would give him confirmation, but he didn't. He wasn't about to let her know about his mild indiscretion when he'd happened to turn and see her folded up in the backseat of the hover-car. It was apparently the simple knowledge she was unclothed that had set his mind in a direction he always forbade it to go. But Kim didn't need to know that had happened... He took a deep breath and swallowed.
"You're not mad?"
"No. I just want to go home."
Ron thought a moment. "We never even found out why Drakken and Shego were at that lab."
He heard Kim sigh. "Probably stealing whatever was in that vial."
"Kind of weird we haven't seen or heard from them since, you know, the whole alien thing..."
"Ron. What are you trying to say?"
Ron made eye contact with Rufus, who nodded at him encouragingly. He recalled Drakken's surrendering of the backpack at a moment that was just as embarrassing for him.
"Maybe we should let them go this time... I mean, they didn't have to take us with them... They could have just left us there," he reasoned.
He heard Kim sigh again, and he knew her tone well enough to know she had nodded.
"You're right. They could have just left us there. I wonder why they didn't."
They didn't get to speculate further, because at that moment Drakken and Shego reappeared on the stone balcony, uncharacteristically clad in casual clothes. Shego was carrying other clothing in her arms, and Drakken was hefting two jet-packs. Ron tensed and heard Kim do the same behind him, but then a t-shirt, sweat pants, socks, and jockey briefs were tossed into his lap. He heard Kim receive clothing too in a similar delivery method.
"All right, you promise not to make any trouble and we'll let you have some jet-packs," Shego declared. Ron looked up to where she was crossing her arms and looking between the pair of them, glaring in frustration. Drakken bore a similar expression though his was more tired, and he was looking down.
Ron immediately pulled the large t-shirt over his head. "Works for me! How about you, KP?"
He very nearly forgot himself and glanced back, but he didn't as he hurried into the rest of the too-large clothing.
"That's fine," he heard Kim answer.
A minute later he hopped out of the hover-car, backpack on his back and hands at his waist. Though he'd pulled the drawstring of the sweatpants tight, he still wasn't quite sure he trusted the garment. Soon after, Kim appeared at his side, likewise clad in sweat pants, a t-shirt, and socks.
Ron met her eyes firmly for the first time since the whole sordid incident had begun, and he was concerned by the disquiet he saw in their hazel depths. Had something worse happened that he wasn't aware of?
"Uh...is there an address we can mail this stuff back to...?" Kim asked.
"Keep it," Drakken said, and Ron noted his expression was similar to Kim's, "including the jet-packs."
"Um. Thanks..." Kim said, her expression clearing slightly.
"Whatever," Shego said. "Look, if we could never see the two of you again, that would be great. 'Kay?"
Ron looked at Kim who was blinking at the pair. Drakken had set the jet-packs down and was back to scowling at the ground and looking disturbed.
"Just don't do anything illegal," was Kim's eventual response.
That finally drew a smirk out of Shego and a raised, confused brow from Drakken that made Ron equally confused.
"No promises," Shego said, turning immediately to go back inside. Drakken schooled his features into a scowl and gave a curt nod before hurrying after her.
Drakken followed closely behind Shego who was walking briskly back to her bedroom. His jaw kept opening and closing as he tried to think of something to say, and failed. He didn't know if he should apologize again, address what had happened in the hover-car, or pretend none of it had happened.
"Shego," he finally said, unable to keep silent for fear she would get the wrong idea about him.
Shego sighed heavily and stopped, setting her hand on the wall. "What?"
"I, uhm..." Drakken suddenly realized he still didn't know what to say. He finally settled on, "I'm sorry."
Shego turned around then and studied him, her expression unreadable. Drakken only recoiled slightly under her stare, hoping he would forgive her. He had all but forgotten his own embarrassment in the lab for what had happened in the hover-car, terrified of how Shego might interpret the incident. What if she blasted him? What if she thought he was some sort of lecher? What if...what if she left?
"Let's just forget today happened. Including that nanoplasma. Forget the plan too."
Drakken immediately opened his mouth to argue the last point, but then thought better of it.
"All right," he said.
Shego lifted a brow at him. But instead of answering she turned back around, playing with the ends of her hair as she continued down the hall. After a moment of confusion Drakken followed.
"Shego... You know I—"
"We're forgetting it, Doc," Shego said.
"...Right. Yes. It's forgotten. All of it."
Shego paused just outside her door to look at him, her face unreadable again. She gave him a once-over and Drakken blushed lightly, self-conscious suddenly despite being fully clothed again. But her eyes quickly settled back on his face.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," he said automatically, and after a moment Shego gave him a slight smirk. But instead of mocking in her eyes, there was something softer.
Before he could process it, she had vanished through her door, and he continued on to his own. Once in his bedroom he headed for the shower to wash off the blood and clean the wounds left by the acid, and to process his thoughts.
He would forget the day, true to his word... Forget the image that kept wanting to spring to mind of green skin... He reminded himself again, he couldn't have feelings for Shego. And he certainly couldn't begin thinking of her...how what he'd seen had caused his body to want to think of her. No, that was impossible.
Shego was his partner. They were not a fairy-tale like Possible and her buffoon of a side-kick. That buffoon may have gotten his dream come true, but Drakken knew...that wasn't the end of his story.
He stepped into the shower to wash away all evidence of the day, and hoped with it, every memory. The next day would be back to evil as usual...he hoped. And then he remembered with a grimace.
"Security cameras..."
Kim sighed and adjusted her over-sized clothing before reaching for a jet-pack after the older pair had gone. Ron hesitated a moment, and then set his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him with a raised brow.
"KP...is everything okay?"
She met his eyes and then glanced down. "I'm fine, Ron. I just need time to think through everything."
"If you're upset that I saw Shego—"
"That was an accident. Unless...you're thinking about it," Kim said, her expression suddenly something between sad, confused, and accusing.
"No!" Ron said, and he truthfully hadn't been. Of course at the mention, the memory flashed across his vision, but only for a second. "Between Shego and the Lorwardians I've had enough of...green skin to last me a lifetime."
Kim regarded him for a moment, but then her lips slowly curled into a smile and they both began to chuckle.
"Are you okay Ron?"
"Oh yeah, me and Rufus are fine. Although we could use some band-aids," he said with a frown, looking at his pet still on his shoulder.
Kim finally seemed to recover her usual calm and hefted a jet-pack onto her back. Ron followed suit after switching the backpack around to his front, Rufus crawling inside.
"Ready?" Kim said, firing up the device and stepping to the cliff's edge.
Ron did the same, but as he started walking, the sweat pants slipped from his waist and down to his knees.
"Aw, man!"