So... there is going to be a B-Side to this. Its from Drakken's point of view. Leans more into the comedy of the show.
Her first month back with Drakken was filled with gathering items and parts for his new scheme. She only agreed to employment under him again once he re-worked her contract. It also allowed her to remain at her cabin instead of at the lair. Yet, she was running ragged trying to find random items . It had taken Drakken a few tries to get Shego to go, not wanting to tell the woman his plans. That had almost backfired on him until he promised on his mother's life that it wasn't remotely similar to Little Diablo.
Shego was currently in Norway, looking for the last piece of Drakken's device. She didn't have to go far, since Drakken had purchased an abandoned factory somewhere in the country. There was only one problem with where he had sent her; the building looked like it had been abandoned for years. When Shego had called him up, Drakken assured her that the item he was looking for was there. She shrugged off the weird feeling as she entered the building.
Shego's nose crinkled at the smell of mold when she stepped into the decrepit lobby. Chairs were scattered around the room, most falling apart. There was a thick layer of dust in the air as Shego moved further into the building. She stopped for a moment at the receptionist's desk, thinking there might be something to point her in the right direction. None of the papers held a clue; the ink having been washed away from years of exposure to the weather.
Grumbling, Shego caught the flickering of light down the hall to her left. She frowned, her instincts telling her to leave. The light continued to flicker as Shego stared down the hallway. From what she could tell there was no movement in the room. Lighting her hands, she made her way slowly towards the lit room. As she approached the room, the feeling that something wasn't right kicked in.
Shego pressed her back up against the wall once she reached the door. She took a look around the frame to double check if anyone was in the room. Frowning, Shego entered what seemed to be an empty high school chemistry room. Before she could figure out what was going on, gas filtered into the room.
"What the fu-" Shego yelped, inhaling the fumes. She felt the effects take hold immediately, falling to her knees. A fog washed over Shego's mind as she slumped to the ground, unconscious.
KP+KP+KP
Her eyes opened slowly, blinding light making her squint. She felt weak and heavy, like she hadn't slept in weeks. Shego tried to remember the last thing that happened, coming up blank. Yet, at the back of her mind, she knew she wasn't awake. Everything around her felt ethereal, all knowing, but quiet. It made Shego feel uneasy. If she was asleep, when and where had she passed out? And where was she now? All questions that just left Shego with a frown.
Once her eyes had adjusted to the white light that surrounded her, Shego was able to take in her surroundings. Which turned out to be just an empty white space that went on for miles. Looking down, Shego expected to be dressed in all black and leather. She was definitely surprised to see she was just wearing jeans and a hoodie. Was she asleep at the cabin?
Shego started walking, not really sure where she was supposed to go with nothing in sight but blank empty space. There was a WHOOSH as Shego was accelerated forward by an unknown force and promptly placed in front of a plain wooden door. Shego clenched her jaw, unnerved by what was going on. Again, she figured she was sleeping. Logically, she could just be out cold drunk and on her floor. Illogically? Shego was waiting for a burn victim with knife fingers to murder her.
Then there was the door. As unsettling as the thing was, it hadn't done anything but appear before Shego in a second. Its dark wood taunted her; whispered to Shego's curiosity as she tentatively grasped the small metal knob. It turned with ease, the door creaking open. More light seeped through its cracks as Shego pushed the door open; walking through it.
There was a brief flash before Shego felt the hard droplets of rain against her. She wasn't surprised by the memory she was standing in. It was the Little Diablo incident; a recurring nightmare since it happened. Shego clenched her teeth as the scene played out; Kim's words echoing in her head. She looked away when Dream Shego was kicked off the building. Plasma flicked around Shego's hands as she tried to control her emotions. What she had felt back then was now raw; the wounds she thought were healed opening anew.
"Shego..."
Her name was whispered, hard to pick out through the rain. Shego looked to her right, seeing an equally wet Kim. The girl was looking at her own Dream counter-part; watching as she collapsed on the roof. Shego frowned watching the scene play out as Dream Ron rushed over to Dream Kim.
"I don't remember this," Shego said softly..
"It's my memory," Kim replied. "Are we dreaming?"
"I think so… Which begs the question: Why are we in each other's dreams or memories?"
Kim let out a sigh, tugging on her wet clothing, "Well, whatever this is, I really want to be dry."
Shego's brow furrowed when there was another gust of wind as the scene faded away into nothingness. The white room was back, holding nothing more than another door. The wood on this door was splintered and knotted, almost like it had been made that way intentionally. Its frame had scorch marks along the perimeter of the wood.
"Oh hey, I'm dry!" Kim exclaimed, shaking out her hair and plucking at her pink tank top.
"Whoopie," Shego said sarcastically. "We should be figuring out what the fuck is going on."
"The other door didn't look like this," Kim pondered. She circled around it a few times opening and closing it. Unlike the last door, this one didn't seem to lead anywhere. Yet. "Do you remember how you got here?"
"Not a clue."
"What's the last thing you remember?"
Shego sighed in frustration, "If I knew, I would letcha know, Princess. Do you remember anything?" Kim shook her head, letting out her own sigh.
"Fuck this..." Shego grumbled, approaching the door. "If we keep going through these, we might be able to figure outwhere we are."
"But if the door leads nowhere" Kim countered. "How do we know it will take us anywhere?"
"Think happy thoughts then, Kimmie," Shego deadpanned, opening the door as light finally filtered out of it.
Kim felt cold seep through to her bones as she walked through the door with Shego. Wherever they were it was covered in snow. Kim wrapped her arms around herself as her teeth started to chatter. She looked towards Shego in concern, only to have Shego's black hoodie shoved in her face. She tilted her head at Shego, concerned by the thin looking fabric of the woman's t-shirt.
"Put it on," Shego said with a scowl. "Even if we are in our minds, it can't be comfortable to be dressed like that."
"But…" Kim tried to protest. She grumbled when Shego tossed the hoodie at her.
"We both know I'll be fine."
There was a flicker in the scenery as the tundra-esque landscape shifted to the clearing. Shego frowned, noticing the cabin that was normally standing under the trees wasn't there. Snow still blanketed the area, covering the clearing. The waterfall was reflecting light off its icicles, causing Shego to squint as she looked at it. She looked over to the left to see Kim was no longer shivering. The girl was staring blankly at the waterfall, honed in on a hole that was melted into its thick wall. Her jaw dropped as she registered what memory they were in.
"I don't want to see what's going on in there," Kim said stiffly and turned heel to the exit of the clearing.
Shego raised a brow as she watched Kim stomp away through the snow. Taking a glance back towards the waterfall, she caught the sight of tangled limbs and the soft sound of giggling. Her jaw clenched as she looked down and followed Kim to the tunnel. Kim was watching with crossed arms as Shego caught up. The woman looked up to see the glare Kim was giving her.
"What?"
"You brought us here," Kim accused.
"What makes you think that?" Shego snapped. It wasn't like she wanted to relive that memory.
"Well, maybe not on purpose… What were you thinking about when you handed me your sweater?"
"I was thinking about the first winter we had..." Shego said softly.
"And that's what you landed on? Us having sex?"
"That wasn't the part I fixated on. It was a question you asked… Do I ever get cold?"
"Oh..." Kim said, blushing as she took a glance back at the waterfall. "We… should get moving. Figure out how to wake up..." She headed into the tunnel, doing her best not to give the waterfall another look.
As they ventured into the tunnel, the sunlight that filter from the clearing started to dwindle. They continued like that until Kim tripped over something, letting out a yelp. Green light illuminated the tunnel as Shego lit her right hand. Looking down, she noticed Kim had tripped over the handle to a wooden hatch.
"You couldn't have done the plasma thing earlier?" Kim grumbled as she stood up.
"We might not have found this," Shego said with a shrug and gestured towards the hatch with her lit hand. There was something familiar about it, but she couldn't place it.
"Maybe its a way out?" Kim said, looking at the hatch with a frown. It was her bedroom door; which meant there could be any memory in there. And why had it appeared now? They had been walking for what felt like forever in the darkness. Unless... One of them accidentally summoned a memory.
"Wanna find out?" Shego asked, giving Kim a smirk in the dim lighting.
"This tunnel seems to go on forever… Might as well," Kim agreed. She grabbed the handle to the hatch. Taking a deep breath and doing her best to clear her mind, Kim opened the hatch and hopped through it. There was a brief flash and Kim was standing in front of her bed. Shego landed beside her, giving her wrist a flick and extinguished her plasma. Kim looked at the bed, clenching her jaw as she saw herself sitting there.
Dream Kim was sitting with her back against the head board. Her eyes were glued to the window, staring off into the night as though she was waiting for someone. The LED clock on the night stand read 3:00AM, but Dream Kim didn't seem bothered by how late it was. Kim looked around the room for her calendar. When she spotted it near her desk, Kim moved away from Shego.
While Kim was doing that, Shego was watching Dream Kim. The scene before her was familiar, but Dream Kim looked to be the same age as Kim was currently. Looking over to the window, she knew she wasn't going to see a dream version of herself come through it. She heard Kim growl in frustration from the desk.
"Fuck..."
"What's up, Princess?" Shego walked over to Kim, looking over the girl's shoulder. Kim tensed at the closeness, staring at the calendar. It was the day a week after Drakken escaped prison.
"Nothing..." Kim mumbled, taking a glance at the window with hope. She had a working theory they could control what they saw, be it consciously or subconsciously. She was praying that another memory would cross wires and a Dream Shego would appear.
"I'm not coming through that window, am I?" Shego whispered against the shell of Kim's ear. The girl jumped a bit and spun around to face Shego.
"I thought I heard you in the tree one night after Drakken got out. But, it was probably just a raccoon," Kim said with a nervous laugh. "Thought you were showing up… like before..."
Shego stared blankly at Kim, taking a few steps away from her. The dull ache of longing bubbled up in her at Kim's words. She bit down on the feelings and looked towards Dream Kim. It was like time was frozen as the manifestation just stared in false hope at the window.
"You wanted me to show up?" Shego asked; Kim nodded. "Why? You hate me."
"I don't hate you," Kim frowned.
"You kicked me off a fucking building," Shego snarled. The room started to shake, startling Kim. "And told me you hated me."
"Only because you helped Drakken manipulate me!" Kim snapped back.
"You really think I would let Drakken manipulate you?!" There was silence from Kim as she looked away. The room stopped shaking as Shego calmed herself down."He knows what we a- were to each other. I was probably out of the loop for Little Diablo because of that."
"You didn't know?" Kim asked, looking back to Shego.
"If I knew, Drakken would be dead."
"Oh..."
Kim couldn't think of anything else to say. The dread and guilt that had worked its way inside her after knowing she might have killed Shego came back. Before, there had still been the fury of knowing that someone who loved her had manipulated her. Now, it was learning that her actions were for nothing. She sat down in her desk chair and let out a choked sob at the realization. The room around them flickered again before it transferred them to a new place.
Whatever dream or memory they were in now was dull and grim. They had been transported to a balcony that overlooked Middleton. A Middleton that was covered in green and black. There were dark clouds in the sky, blocking out the sun. Off in the distance, a battle raged.
Shego looked up at the sky with a frown. It looked like it was going to rain. She glanced to over to Kim, who was staring in fear at the twisted version of her hometown. The girl was frantically looking around the balcony for something. Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded through the room they were in, causing Kim to physically jump.
"Are you okay, Kimmie?" Shego asked, concerned by Kim's reaction. The girl looked like she was about to jump out of her skin.
"We have to go," Kim said, grabbing Shego's hand before trying to pull the woman off the balcony; which didn't sit well with Shego.
"Kim, where are we?" Shego asked, turning her back towards the city.
"A nightmare… Please, we have to go." Kim tugged on Shego's hand to try and get the woman to move, but was met with resistance.
"Nightmare? What could be so scar-" Shego's words were cut off as a sharp pain ripped through her abdomen. Looking down, Shego saw a blue and white blade sticking out of her stomach. Even though they were in a dream, the pain felt real. As the blade was pulled out of her, Shego grabbed the wound and coughed up some blood. There was screaming, but she wasn't sure if it was herself or Kim doing it. Speaking of Kim, Shego looked at the girl. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she closed the small distance between herself and Shego; trying her best to catch the woman before she collapsed.
Shego's vision blurred as she hit the floor of the balcony. She tried to find the source of where the blade had come from, but there was no one behind her; just the dreary view of Middleton. She let out a gasp of pain when she felt Kim press the hoodie against the wound to stop the bleeding. Shego stared up at the sky as it started to rain.
"Why… is… it… always rain?" Shego grumbled. She looked at Kim when she heard the girl laugh sadly.
"Pathetic fallacy?" Kim suggested with tears in her eyes.
"Thanks...I hate… it" Shego said, licking at the blood on her lips.
Kim didn't respond, just smiled weakly at Shego while trying to keep pressure on the wound. The rain was starting to soak through her pajamas again, as well as the puddle of blood she was kneeling in. It was sticky and warm compared to the cold rain. Even though she knew this was a nightmare, Kim was terrified of Shego dying.
"Kimmie...Ow..." Shego groaned as Kim pressed a little too hard.
"Shit… sorry..." Kim mumbled, relaxing slightly.
"You have… this nightmare… often?" Shego asked through shallow breaths.
Kim nodded her head, looking over at the twisted version of Middleton. "Its like a memory that I don't remember having. I started having this nightmare after…nearly killing you. You always tell me to hide in the closet before someone comes in." She closed her eyes as she replayed the dream. "There's talking… It's muffled, but I know I can hear you say my name. Then I hear someone say they are sorry before silence. The first time, I woke up screaming; it felt so real seeing you covered in blood…" Kim paused when she felt movement beneath her hands. She opened her eyes and panicked, "Shego, lie down!"
"I'm… fine," Shego grunted. "Maybe if we move to a new dream or whatever, it'll fix the hole in me."
"Like how we dried off? Do you think it'll work for an injury?" Kim asked, not entirely sure about releasing pressure on Shego's stomach.
"Worth a… shot."
Shego stood up with Kim's help; wrapping her arm around the younger woman's shoulders. It was a bit difficult to get situated properly. Shego was trying to apply pressure to her wound, while Kim supported her. They stood on the balcony for a few moments, giving Shego the chance to catch her breath.
"You gonna make it?" Kim asked, watching Shego carefully.
"Got anywhere… in mind?" Shego gasped out, trying not to chuckle.
"I hope so," Kim said with unease as a red door appeared before them.
They walked through the door, fitting through awkwardly as Kim held onto Shego. There was a flash of light again as they stepped back into the white room. Kim felt her clothing get dry once the red door shut behind them. She looked at Shego, concerned that the fatal wound hadn't healed.
Shego was breathing steadily now, no longer holding her stomach. She let her arm fall from Kim's shoulders as she stretched out. There was no more pain radiating through her body as she moved; even the taste of blood was out of her mouth. She glanced at Kim to give her a smile of reassurance, halting when she saw the tears streaming down the younger woman's face.
"Kim?" Shego placed a hand on Kim's back, rubbing gently.
"I'm sorry," Kim cried, throwing her arms around Shego. Her body shook as she clung to the villainess for dear life. "I shouldn't have kicked you off the building…"
Shego tentatively wrapped her arms around Kim, letting the redhead cry until there was nothing left. Kim went limp in her arms, dead weight pulling the pair onto the floor. There hadn't been a time Shego could think of that where she had seen Kim react like this. The younger woman always seemed to be at ease around her; unless they were fighting. When there were breaks in Kim's tears, Shego could hear her whispering "I'm sorry" over and over.
Unlike herself, Kim didn't compartmentalize her emotions. From what Kim had told her about the nightmare they had just been in, the guilt had been festering for awhile. They sat there for a bit, Shego rubbing Kim's back and holding her as the young hero cried.
When Kim finally pulled away from Shego, she sniffled loudly and wiped her eyes. She didn't wiggle out of Shego's embrace, just stared up at the woman with big olive eyes. The look she was giving was close to the infamous puppy dog pout. From the look in Kim's eyes, it was clear that she was nervous about what would happen next.
"I'm sorry too," Shego whispered softly, pressing a kiss to Kim's forehead. "For the part I played… even without knowing."
An uncomfortable silence fell between the two of them. Kim remained nestled in Shego's arms, staring blankly at her hands. She wasn't sure if Shego had forgiven her, since the words hadn't been spoken. Yet, relief had filled her, combating the guilt she had been feeling when Shego held her. It felt like things were better than they were before. Almost as if, things could return to normal; even with all the hurt they had caused the other.
"Kimmie?" Shego asked softly.
"Yeah…?" Kim mumbled, not looking up.
"You okay?"
"Better…"
"There's another door," Shego grumbled.
Kim shifted in Shego's arms, looking to where the woman was pointing. There was indeed a new door. This one looked very different from the others; it wasn't wooden, but thick metal. It took a moment, but Kim realized the door was for an elevator. The door didn't have any defining features, just cold looking stainless steel. She tensed against Shego when the door slid open to show an empty elevator interior.
"Does that look familiar to you?" Kim asked, looking up at Shego.
"Not that I know of," Shego replied as she let go of Kim. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Do we have any other options?" Kim motioned around the empty space; garnering a frown from Shego.
"Elevator it is."
The duo stood up, approaching the elevator cautiously. Although it was clearly empty, the unease the pair felt as they approached the door was thick. Shego lit her hands up as they reached the open elevator, poking her head in. The soft sound of elevator music filled the small space. It smelled of bleach and antiseptic, with medical posters hanging on one of the walls; it sent a shiver through Shego. She signaled to Kim that it was safe, entering the elevator and looking at the floor selection.
"Up or down?" Shego asked when Kim entered. At Kim's confused look, she motioned towards the panel where the floor buttons were normally placed. There were two buttons; one labeled with an arrow point up, the other pointing down. Neither button indicated where it would lead.
"That's ominous," Kim mumbled as she looked around the elevator. "How are we supposed to know where to go?"
"We can let chance decide. Got a quarter?"
"Maybe its like the do-" Kim stopped talking as the letters K and S appeared next to the arrows. "Or we can do that. I guess, you or me first?"
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Shego suggested with a shrug. "Whoever loses, we go there?"
KP+KP+KP
Kim was sitting in one of the corners of the elevator, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Shego was sitting opposite her as the elevator continued its ascent. It was silent in the moving box, Kim winning their little game to decide. Shego didn't look to mad about losing, merely shrugging her shoulders and pressing the button marked S.
Neither seemed to know if they should speak, letting the quiet hang in the air. Both were trying to come up with their own theories about what was happening, but not voicing them. It had left Kim to mull over where she stood with Shego now. The elephant in the room that was Little Diablo, seeming to be resolved by her breakdown after being in the nightmare. If that was it, Shego's silence wasn't addressing it.
From her spot, Shego was watching Kim while the hero was deep in thought. It had felt like hours had passed since they had woken up in the dream-scape. She had a few ideas as to what was going on, most of it involving mad science. The only feasible theory she had come up with was that they were connected to a neural-link machine. She just didn't think that the inner mind would resemble the Matrix. Then there was the question as to who had done this to them and how?
The elevator jerked to a halt, startling Kim from her reprieve. Her head snapped towards the door as it slid open slowly. On the other side of the door was an open field. Through the darkness, Kim could see the lights coming from guard towers that lined the perimeter of the field. She glanced at Shego when she saw the woman standing up. She didn't look happy with where they had ended up.
"Let's get this over with," the villainess growled out, exiting the elevator without looking back. Kim scrambled after her, keeping close to the woman. Walking to the center of the field, Shego looked towards the rectangular building that had been her home for a brief time.
"Where are we?" Kim asked.
"Global Justice training compound," Shego said with a frown, then a muttered, "nothing happened here though."
"What do you mean?"
"Patterns, Kimmie. Everywhere we've been has been some major moment in our lives. But, you weren't here… Just myself and Betty."
"Betty? You mean, Dr. Director?" Shego nodded. "Why were you at a training facility?"
"After that prick tried to break me out of GJ Max, Betty dragged my ass into her office. Said I needed to work through my shit, instead of burning down the place by accident. Pissed me off." Shego looked at Kim, who was no longer looking at her, but the ground. "What?"
"I asked her to help you… Feel better…" Kim confessed, blushing slightly.
"You what?" Shego questioned, dumbfounded that Kim had that sort of pull with Global Justice.
"When I saw you, during the break out attempt, you weren't you… you looked sick. About to break at any moment. And I…knew it was partially my fault."
Shego remained quiet, processing the new information. She was slightly thankful that Betty had kicked her ass into gear about recovering properly, instead of stewing in self hate for how things had ended. There had been many attempts at prying into why the director had decided to help her; and it had been as simple as Kim asking.
"Getting kicked off a building does that to a person," Shego snapped. Something about the revelation had her annoyed with Kim. "Did you do it because you were guilty or felt pity?"
"Shego, I-" Kim tried to speak, but stopped when she saw green ignite at Shego's sides.
"Fuck whoever planned this stupid fucking dream walk. We're doing this the old fashioned way."
"Wha-" A flaming fist came towards Kim, making her bounce back from the attack. "Shego! What the hell?!"
"Fight me. Its the only way we're gonna solve any of this shit. Clearly, that's what this memory walk is. Whoever has us, wants us to work through it." Shego was glaring at the night sky. "Its like a shitty version of couples counseling"
"We aren't a couple though…" Kim mumbled, frowning at Shego's theory.
Shego rolled her eyes at the comment, throwing plasma towards Kim's feet. The hero let out a yelp of surprise, step back from the smoking patch of grass. With a huff, Kim got into a defensive position. She figured there was no point in refusing Shego's preposition. With a grin, Shego rushed forward.
Adrenaline kicked in as plasma hissed passed Kim's head. She dodged to the right, avoiding the green ball. Kim dove out of the way as more plasma was thrown at her. There was an opening between blasts, allowing for her to lunge at Shego. She caught the woman in the midsection, sending them sprawling to the ground.
Shego let out a grunt as her back hit the ground. Whatever momentum Kim had given them was used against her as Shego got her legs pressed against her stomach. Grinning at the young hero, Shego launched Kim backwards. She got to her feet to see Kim rushing back towards her. When Kim tried to tackle her this time, Shego rolled to the left; avoiding getting knocked down again. She popped up onto her feet, only to get sent back a few feet by a hard kick.
Kim started to get unnerved as the fight continued. The source of her unease was how much she was enjoying the fight. There was also the growing grin Shego had plastered on her face anytime they got close. It felt a little psychotic, finding relief through fighting her ex-girlfriend. She knew it was just how they solved their issues. Talk a bit, then fight it out. Yet, she was starting to get exhausted. Time didn't seem to exist in this reality (As she was calling it). They had been going blow for blow for what felt like hours; and Kim's energy was draining.
Although Shego wasn't going for injury causing hits, Kim was trying to keep the distance between then large. She had forced Shego into a position of throwing plasma around the field, trying to hit the cheerleader. With a growl of frustration, Shego threw out a cover volley of plasma. She weaved through the green balls towards Kim. Yet, she was tackled from the right and back onto the ground.
"Enough!" Kim snapped, straddling Shego and holding the woman's hands above her head. "We need to wake up!"
"Got any better ideas then, Princess?" Shego growled out, glaring up at Kim.
"If… if this has something to do with us, then whatever we are doing is the problem. I don't think fighting is going to help us."
"What are we supposed to do then? Kiss and make up?"
Kim knew Shego was being sarcastic. But, in a weird way, she could also be right. Kim let go of Shego's wrists, staring intently at the woman. She licked her lips as she justified to herself what she was about to do.
Shego's hands were still above her head. She watched Kim carefully, taking note of the look she was being given. Stifling silence hung around them as Kim leaned down, placing her hands beside Shego's head. She looked deeply into Shego's eyes, breathing deeply as she closed the distance between them.
Shego's entire body tensed as Kim kissed her. It was soft and chaste, emotion emanating from the simple action. She didn't do anything for a split second, unsure if this was all an elaborate hallucination. When she decided it wasn't, Kim had started to pull away from the kiss. Strong arms pulled her down and Shego kissed her back, with as much emotion as she could muster. They remained like that, lip locked until the night sky started to get brighter. White light washed across the pair, whisking them away as they remained focused on the other.
KP+KP+KP
The sound of pressure releasing sounded through an abandoned factor nestled in the Valdresflya mountains of Norway. A deprivation vat that was situated in one of the cargo bays flushed itself, lukewarm saline solution washing across the concrete floor. From within the vat, Shego tumbled out. The thunk of a helmet smacking the ground rang through the room. Shego remained motionless for a moment before jerking upright. She snapped the visor of the helmet up, ripping off the oxygen mask that was pressed to her mouth. Frantically looking around, Shego noticed two things: the low hum that seemed to permeate the quiet and it was incredibly cold.
Grabbing onto the vat she had just been ejected from, Shego stood on shaky legs. She removed the helmet once she was steady, realizing that it was a motorcycle helmet. Shooting from the back of it were wires braided together, leading into the vat. Frowning, Shego looked inside the helmet to see a series of nodes placed at specific points. She dropped the helmet, letting it clatter against the floor as she turned her attention towards the server stack that was off to the corner. There were a series of wires leading from the vat to the server and underneath the door to the bay.
A draft wafted through the room, the strong smell of dust and mildew accompanying it. Shego shivered as the cool air hit her skin through wet clothing. She looked around the room again, hoping that there was something to change into. Yet, whoever had brought her there didn't seem to have the foresight for that convenience.
Approaching the bay door, Shego listened carefully for any sound on the other side. The dull hum was still there, accompanied by the buzz of lights flickering. With no other entrances to the room, Shego lifted the shutter carefully. The flimsy metal rattled as it was lifted, a dimly lit factory floor on the other side. Stepping out of the bay, Shego scanned the vast room with what little light she was provided.
Standing in the center of the room was a ten foot tall rectangular computer housing unit. There was another server that stood a few feet away it, paling in comparison. She looked at the wires on the ground, following them back to the housing unit. She frowned as she saw another thick braid of wiring running from the left side of the central system. Making a mental note to check the humming machine later, Shego followed the wires leading to the other side of the factory.
The echo of Shego's boots slapping against the concrete kept her company as she followed the wires. She took the chance to take in the state of the building she was in. Based on the dust that hung in the air, the place hadn't been operational for some time. Cobwebs flitted across that floor, chasing after dust bunnies that longed to be swept up. Everything about the factory screamed old. Yet, the computer, servers, and vat were all brand new. Shego stopped in front of a closed cargo bay door; the wires haphazardly shoved between the shutter and floor. Taking a deep breath, Shego opened the shutter.
Unlike the bay she had woken up in, this one contained a single porcelain tub filled to the brim with ice. Another server was sitting in the far corner, connecting to the wires at the entrance. Poking out of the ice was someone's head, encased in the same helmet Shego had been wearing. She approached the tub cautiously, igniting one of her hands. A hiss of oxygen escaped from the beneath the visor causing her to tense. It was quiet for a moment before the person in the tub jolted forward. There was a sharp intake of breath and the visor clicked up to reveal scared olive eyes.
Shego rushed forward, extinguishing her hand as she helped Kim out of the tub. Once she was sitting on the floor next to the tub, Kim struggled to get the helmet off. She tossed it to the side before turning away from Shego and throwing up. When she recovered from that, she registered the hand gently rubbing her back.
"Sh-Shego?" Kim croaked in confusion, taking in her surroundings. "Wha-Wher- How did I get here?"
"What's the last thing you remember?" Shego asked, focused on Kim.
"I… I remember Wade saying that there was a break in somewhere in Norway. But, when I got to the location, it was just some abandoned high school. Went in to check it out anyways… and now I'm here. You weren't apart of the mission brief though."
"Same thing happened to me, except I was getting something for Drakken."
"You're working for Drakken again?" Kim asked, teeth chattering from the cold.
"Dude knows how to keep an employee," Shego said with a shrug. "Let's find something to warm you up…"
The pair stood up and looked around the room for something dry. They found a duplicate set of their mission outfits folded on a table next to the had brought them there seemed to know that Shego would end up finding Kim. It had Shego scowling after they had changed and made their way onto the factory's main floor. As they approached the central server, Kim's jaw dropped at the size of the computer housing unit.
When she had passed it before, Shego hadn't given the thing a good look. She crossed her arms as she noticed the shell of the device was haphazardly built. Sheets of metal were bolted together to form the rectangular tower that hummed in the center of the factory floor. Walking around the side of it, Shego saw more wires leading to the back of the building, towards the employee entrance. The clang of metal rang through the room, Shego walking back around the device. Kim was holding her hand in pain, a small dent in the metal shell.
"Did it say something insulting?" Shego asked, raising her eyebrow at the sudden outburst.
"No… I just know what it is," Kim said with a scowl. She flexed her fingers, making sure she hadn't broken any bones.
"Care to enlighten me?"
"Its a machine that connects people's minds. Did you wake up in a tub too?" Kim's line of sight was following the wires that lead to the cargo bay Shego had been stored in.
"Naw. It was some sort of deprivation chamber. Why?"
"In theory, to make this… neural-link work, the brain would also be a processor in the chain. Our bodies would need to remain cold to handle the heat we would create. If we were in separate holdings…"
"The person that made this knows ice wouldn't work for me," Shego finished. The list of villains she had been subconsciously ticking off was getting smaller.
"Exactly. So, we would be inputs to the system. Each room would need a server farm to process the data before it came to this central server to sync. That leads into the big computer, which syncs our neural data; making it so we can see the others dreams or memories… Meaning there's probably a post processing unit further along the line to the output point…" As Kim ran through her explanation, she pointed towards each piece of tech. Her face was scrunched in concentration as she tried to remember the hypothetical workings of the system.
"You're making it sound like this tech shouldn't exist," Shego commented as she watched Kim pace.
"I mean, it shouldn't," Kim said with a sigh. "But, clearly there's someone with enough mad science to make it a reality. Even if its terribly made."
"I'm guessing to find our trouble maker, we find the output source?" Kim nodded. "Well, the wires lead towards the break room. Be a good place to start."
They made their around the computer housing unit, following the wires to the back of the building. Kim was focused on the floor, trying to run through the list of her enemies that could make tech on this scale. Shego, on the other hand, would take chance glances towards Kim.
"Hey, Princess?"
"Yeah?"
"How do you know so much about something that should only work in a hypothetical sense?"
"Anytime we watch a science fiction movie for family night, we devolve into discussing how realism of the item. My mom's a brain surgeon, and dad's a rocket scientist… So, we tend to go overboard."
Shego gave a grunt in response as they reached the employee entrance. The door had been ripped off its hinges to allow the wires through the hallway. They ran down the length of the hall, twisting right at the end. White light could be seen coming from there, static from a TV breaking through the low hum of the machine. Kim gave Shego a questioning look, only to receive a shrug as the woman started walking towards the room. When she reached the end of the wire trail, Shego grabbed the knob and lit up her other hand. Kim was standing a little further behind her as the woman jerked the door open and rushed in.
The break room was cluttered with papers and spare parts, but void of life. A desk was crammed against the wall furthest away. There were two old computer monitors sitting on the desk, a Dell office tower next to it. The white panels of the tower were yellowed from age, fans whirring tirelessly. The images on the monitors were flickering as they tried to maintain the aspect ratio.
Shego walked towards the monitors, ignoring Kim's look of awe at the room. She was hyper focused on the mug and button that were next to the monitors. There was a large green button sitting right in front of the monitors with WAKE UP scrawled across it. The cup that was sitting next to it wasn't emitting any steam, meaning had been there for a while. The contents of the cup were milky brown. When Shego took a sniff of the liquid it had a sweet, chocolate-y aroma.
Crouching on the floor, Kim was inspecting the wires that ran along it like snakes. The shattering of a cup surprised her. White bits of mug were scattered on the floor at Shego's feet. The villainess' arm was hanging limply at her side, blood dripping into a puddle on the concrete. Kim moved over to her, pulling out the med kit that she kept on her person for missions. She gently took Shego's hand in hers, wrapping some gauze around it to stop the bleeding.
"Are you okay?" Kim asked, looking at Shego with concern.
The woman was staring blankly at the monitors. The feed the monitors were showing was the replay of the dream that Kim and Shego had shared. The view was first person, each monitor showing what Shego or Kim had experienced during the link. Kim frowned as the kiss was shown before the monitors clicked over to viewing the cargo bays.
"I'm going to kill him," Shego stated; her tone void of emotion.
"Who?"
"Drakken."