Overheated

The waves against the boat as Shego attempted to read were only mildly distracting in comparison to Adrena hollering in excitement as she was pulled behind the cruiser on ski's. Shego flipped the page and sighed before tossing the book in the dry space behind her cushioned seat. Her plans to forgo an event this morning had been deterred by changing the jet ski's till this evening versus water skiing.

That and Drakken not taking the hint.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose beneath her sunglasses in frustration and mild embarrassment at the memory of she and Drakken's conversation that morning. At the time she had found it more than a little amusing... honestly she hadn't stopped laughing for a solid minute after sending an impromptu alarm. When he hadn't called or messaged her back for nearly thirty minutes, she'd had to rethink the entire conversation. She picked at her hair as the books distraction tactics finally faded away.

She'd crossed a line.

Her head fell back against the built in cushion and wondered how much her little teasing and tiny push had set them back. The idea of him avoiding her assuming she'd been teasing him for the wrong reason was almost infuriating. He knew her better than that, didn't he.

He knows me better than that as his partner and friend.

Something she had thought about while they'd waited to get the boat that morning. She knew nearly all of Drakken's habits, quarks, moods, and motives... but not in a relationship setting. Drakken knew her probably better than she knew herself, not that she'd ever let him know that... but not in that way either. Drakken barely read between the lines on a good day, but she knew she should have been more direct.

And not tried to initiate salacious phone conversations out of nowhere.

A voice interrupted her musings.

"You're up, Shego!" Adrena climbed on the boat next to her feet.

"Pasa- Pass," Shego corrected herself, "I'm enjoying the sun."

"Shego," called Junior from the captain's seat, the boat having stopped for Adrena to get back in, "You seem distracted, you love the water skiing."

"My books not going in the direction I'd hoped," Shego lied as she waved to the discarded book.

"To Murder a Blue Jay?" asked Camille who picked up the book.

"No, it doesn't go they way anyone hopes," said Bonnie as she walked passed Shego, "Mind if I go if your passing?"

Shego waved her hand in dismissal and closed her eyes to try and relax.

"What's really bothering you?" Adrena's voice next to her made her jump.

"Why are you so close," Shego scoffed as she scooted away from the women, "You're getting everything wet."

"Did you ask Drakken if he's coming?" came Lucre from behind her, "I think he would be a blast at water skiing."

Shego stood up and headed back inwards of the boat towards the under cabin.

"You'd be wrong," replied Shego, "Junior, what's in the fridge below."

"Beverages, snacks, cheese, and these cute little waters that Bonnie and I found in the resort kitchen," Junior grinned. Shego lowed her glasses and raised a brow, "Well we we're not paying for them."

Shego smirked and headed below. The small sink and fridge were directly across a small door that led to the on-boat bathroom and shower. But her eyes peered at the large bad shoved in-between it all and she sighed, wondering if she could just sleep in here and not be bothered by the noise and chatter. It looked comfortable, which seconds later she found out was highly misleading as she was thrown by sudden turbulence from the boat. Shego growled as she snatched a water and leaned out the cabin.

"A little warning would be nice," snapped Shego. Junior gave a sheepish grin which turned devious.

"Turbulence warning ahead- Ow!" Shego tossed the water at him, "That almost hit me."

Shego rolled her eyes as the water was tossed back her way and she leaned against the wall divide of the small stair and looked up over the boat. Lucre had claimed her spot next to Adrena and was chatting animatedly while Adrena kept flicking water at Camille when she wasn't looking. Camille had apparently decided to read Shego's discarded book may it be out of boredom or interest, Shego didn't know. Shego smirked and decided to get a little payback for the other day.

"So, Camille... Midas take a chariot back to Greece?" she flopped on the seat next to her, "Did he get too long a look at your real face?"

She saw the squint of agitated on the blonde's face before it smoothed out.

"He's meeting us with the jet ski's later. Apparently his friend Dion has connections and he went to pick them up," Camille tossed Shego's book in her lap, "So what's with your sour mood, not that your normal sunny disposition is any different."

"Oo, nice comeback," snorted Shego. She kicked up her legs, "No water skiing for you?"

"I just got my hair done, and I'm not playing a dangerous game with salt water," Camille said in offense, as if Shego should have been informed.

"Which unlucky sap got duped into paying for that?" asked Shego.

"Hilly invited me along for a spa day to get away from the kids," Camille rolled her eyes, "No one got duped... I mean not that I couldn't have duped someone for it."

Shego saw her suddenly look uncomfortable.

"Whose Hilly?" asked Shego, "Is it a hairless dog with puppies or something."

"No. Hilly is my friend and her children are human babies," Camille glared, "I have other friends outside this circle you know."

"That you screw over more or are actually a mildly decent person too?" asked Shego. Adrena snorted behind her, "And whom also trust you around children."

"I am great with kids!" snapped Camille, "I just don't like them."

"Isn't this Hilly like Dementor's sister?" asked Adrena casually. Camille narrowed her eyes.

"You can't remember where you left your swim top in your hand but that you retain?" asked Camille.

Shego snorted.

"That's a little weird there Camille, palling around with Dementor's sister?" asked Shego, "Hmm, interesting."

Shego watched her eyes narrow and felt a wave of satisfaction at evening Camille's little game. Whatever smug or snarky reply Camille was gearing up to retort came to a halt as the boat gave a great kickback causing everyone to fly forward. Shego managed to maintain her stance until with a scream Bonnie was flung into her, one of her ski's nearly impaling Adrena if Lucre hadn't yanked her out of the way.

"Okay, these little outings are officially getting way too extra freaky for me," cringed Adrena.

Shego shoved on instinct and Bonnie fell back towards the other seat behind her, one ski run right through the leather of the seat. It was clear the sudden stop of the boat had caused Bonnie to slide right back onto the boat at the same force they had been traveling. The seat and Shego the only real cushion for the impact.

"What the hell Junior," hissed Camille who was holding her head, "Are you trying to kill us?"

Junior's response was slightly muffled.

"I didn't do it on purpose," coughed Junior as he held his nose, "Am I bleeding- Bonnie!"

"She's fine," Shego rolled her eyes as Bonnie yanked her feet free of the lock on ski's.

"Fine is not what I would say," huffed Bonnie, "You didn't have to fly into a boat."

"No, but I had you fly into me," scoffed Shego, "Seriously Junior, what's the big deal."

"I don't know," grumbled Junior as he held his nose still as he went towards Bonnie. "How is my face, my love?"

"Handsome as always," smiled Bonnie.

"Do you two ever give it a rest?" scoffed Camille who was still rubbing her head.

"Do you ever have your natural hair color?" snapped Bonnie.

Adrena snorted from where she'd sat up from her crouched position.

Shego rolled her eyes as the snappy retorts flew and she walked over to where Lucre was looking at the abandoned captains seat. Her eyes surveyed over the gauges looking for any reason for the boat to essentially come to a halt before seeing if they'd hit something. A few were flicking wildly and the engine was still emitting a faint sound so it hadn't completely shut off.

"It's overheated," said Lucre as he looked at the temperature gauge.

"But it's underwater?" asked Junior in confusion.

"The system is overheated, bot the fan portion of the motor," sighed Shego, "How long do you think that will take."

"Given the size and distance back to shore, at least an hour," cut in Camille, "Did you get an awning attachment because the suns fully up."

"No," sighed Junior, "That boat would have been another hours weight."

"I brought sunscreen," added Lucre he nodded at Shego, "Smart Mart had their summer clearance sale, saved a heap."

Shego forced a smile before rolling her eyes and turning towards where everyone had collected themselves. Without the breeze of the boat speeding across the water, the heat was already catching up on the boat and she doubted they could all fit in lower deck. The reflection of the sun on the water would turn the high temperature of the day almost feel like boiling. Her eyes scanned the horizon filled with only sky and water, save for a small mound.

"Was that the island we passed by during Adrena's stunt attempt?" asked Shego indicating to the small mound.

"Hey! I executed that," said Adrena, her eyes glanced at it, "Yeah that's the island."

"There should be enough power in the engine to make it that far," said Camille, "But it will take longer for it too cool down."

"What if we just stay put?" asked Bonnie, "If it gets to hot we can rotate downstairs."

"We'll have to cut the power so there will be no air circulation. It will turn into an oven in less than twenty minutes with us rotating in there," said Shego, "Best bet is to get to an island that will have shade at least."

"Looks like we're having an island beach party!" grinned Adrena. Her smile faltered, "But seriously, one more death defying stunt and someone better start paying me. Freaky has a fee at some point."

The short ride over to the island was less than smooth and had resulted with Adrena, Shego, and Lucre jumping off the boat sooner to swim and secure a rope pull instead of attempting to get the engine revved up another unnecessary time. Shego hadn't exactly favored the idea of jumping off the boat, but Lucre and Adrena were clearly not strong enough on their own to pull the ropes, and the water was a cool warmth from the hot sun.

She rang out her hair as everyone climbed off the boat. Shego glared as Camille tossed her wrap at her which did very little to dry her off as she grabbed it. Her eyes looked along the small island they were on; thick trees and brush, rocky unsmooth sand, and a denseness that showed it had been untouched for a very long time. She attempted to find a shaded area that was flat enough they could at least sit or sprawl out and he brow rose at a flatness that seemed out of place in all the density. She walked towards it and looked at the pushed down grass and strangely grown trees. It looked like something like a boat had been there for a copious amount of time but had been removed.

Or a tropical storm dislodged a fallen tree.

She shrugged at her own thought, deciding it would be a nice area to avoid burning while they waited.

"I found some- Hello?" Shego looked to see that the beach was empty. She could hear laughing far around the bend, "Grn! If the boat was running I'd just take off without them."

The sound of the waves slapping against the rocks near where they had taken up root, was calming if not mildly concerning. The sun was now cloud covered but the scene of the pollen emitting from the trees, brush, and grass made it clear a storm was headed their way if not just heavy rains. She leaned back against the tree and looked at the others with immediate regret. She rolled her eyes at the soft eye gazing Bonnie and Junior were sharing. Nearly gagged at how cuddly Lucre and Adrena were having a conversation about the savings on sun lotion he'd secured. As if they either parings were unaware they were in a gathering of their peers. Shego looked towards Camille to at least force a conversation. Only the blonde was standing a ways off looking into the deeper brush.

"Hey, how long has it been?" asked Bonnie suddenly from rubbing her nose against Juniors.

"Too long," grumbled Shego, "Hey, Princess, what's so interesting over there?"

Camille looked over her shoulder and made a motion to come near her but said nothing. They all exchanged a look but everyone followed her motion. Shego sighed as she was the last one to get up and join them. She crossed her arms as she looked around the blonde only the tilt her head as she surveyed what had been so fascinating. There was brush that looked to be part of a small mounded structure at first glance, but the more she looked it appeared unnatural. The brush was clearly fake and the sheen of the stone looked more metallic in the faint light from the canopy above. Ghosting her eyes over the brush, Shego saw a rock that looked discolored and without much thought grabbed it.

There was moment of clarity in Shego's head as she turned the stone, a deep wondering of at what point she'd just decided to abandon her precautionary inspections. Her hand shot back as they rock fell from her hand and she stepped aside, both relieved and unimpressed to see a generic keylock. Her arms returned to their crossed position as her mind ran wild.

What was I thinking. That could have been a deadly trap... I am way out of touch. I know better than that. Rookie mistake.

Something about that thought made her shift uncomfortably as the other's talked. While it was true she wasn't actively involved in the typical villain chaos she'd been accustom too over the years, she had still been apart of several villainous and on edge activities lately... the fact she had acted so casual on something so routine was more than a little unsettling. Her thoughts faded as she realized they were all arguing on opening it.

"I brought my Smarty Mart Jack of All Trades Knife," grinned Lucre, "Only cost two bucks and guaranteed lock picking kit."

"It's plastic," scoffed Bonnie, "Uhg, Smarty Mart is so cheap and crappy."

"Hey! Smart Mart carries a variety of items comparable to any and all main stream overpriced items," snapped Lucre, "You don't need need to spend top dollar on things you can get for less!"

"Let us not argue over taste and sadness," Junior interrupted, "You carry that in your swim trunks."

Lucre looked annoyed but smirked.

"I try and be as prepared as my mentor would be," declared Lucre as he looked towards Shego.

Shego snorted.

"If you're referring to Drakken... on more than three occasions our takeover plans were canceled because he forgot the device we were using to take over... at home," smirked Shego, "After we reached the location of the world domination destination he chose."

"And yet... that's your choice?" asked Camille, "You say its not the money but-"

"I'm sorry if I gave you the inclination I valued your input into my life," Shego cut Camille off. Adrena snorted.

She saw Camille's lips purse and waited for the comeback brewing, but it didn't come. Instead she just swung her head away from her and looked at the door.

"Wise," whispered Shego.

"So... are we busting in or heading back to the boat?" asked Bonnie, "It's been an hour."

"I say we bust in," grinned Adrena, "Imagine what we could find... riches, weapons, secret plans- Oh! Come on this is some grade A action! Lucre, get us in!"

"On it," grinned Lucre as he began tinkering with the lock.

"How bad of an idea do you think this is?" asked Junior quietly.

"We could all die the moment he opens the door... honestly it wouldn't even surprise me," Shego rolled her eyes and heard a snap sound, "Or he could break the cheap plastic thing in the lock and we will never know."

"Aw," whined Adrena. Her eyes looked at Shego and she grinned, "Shego!"

"No," Shego held up a hand, "What if there's explosives? I'm not blowing myself up because you all got curious above a rock with a lock."

They were all silent and Shego glanced to see all eyes on her. She mentally calculated the quickest route to the boat before giving out an annoyed sigh and focusing her glow on just the lock. A scorched hole remained and the door popped open slightly, revealing the coverage was attached to the door completely. There was a pause before Adrena stepped forward and pulled it all the way open revealing stairs.

"An island bunker?" suggested Junior as a faint glow came from inside.

"That would be a lot of trouble to go through during an emergency," said Lucre.

"Ew, what's that smell?" Bonnie cringed as she sniffed over the entrance, "Uhg, it smells like a swamp."

"Are... Are we going in there?" asked Camille in distress.

"Well we already opened it," shrugged Adrena, "Plug your nose."

In a short few minutes they all had climbed down the stairs into what was looking less like a hidden bunker and more like an abandoned lair. Shego looked at the security backup lights giving off an eerie glow attempting to see if they were activated solely by the door opening or if there was some sort of power source running for however long the place had been empty. She looked down the long thin hall where doors looked welded or rusted shut, some missing completely, and some with dried liquid that looked to have seeped from under it and leaving darkened old stains in the glow. Her eyes scanned the stairs they'd come down, looking at the path of cleared dust and dirt along them.

"Hey look at this," came Lucre as he'd moved to look through a room with a missing door, "It's a lab I think."

"Yes, let's walk into an underground lab and follow the stench," whined Camille as she walked begrudgingly with them.

"Yuck," groaned Bonnie as she hesitated with Camille and Bonnie.

"Hey. You all wanted to explore, so here it is- Whoa," Shego paused in the doorway and looked around, "What happened in here."

Shego looked along what was clearly a not so outdated trashed lab. There were monitoring screens with smashed screens along one wall, where grime and moss like material had begun to recently find its way along them. A turned over filing cabinet lay splayed on the floor where it looked like it had been smashed open and not simply pushed over. Deep scratch marks littered the walls and floor, where some of the smell source could be seen as a pile of rotten fish lay strewn in a pile. A few papers had made their way onto a large counter island in the middle of the lab showing just how grand this room once was.

"Look out for glass," said Adrena as she indicated to some shattered beakers, "Whoa, someone really trashed this place."

"Recently too," said Lucre. Shego raised a brow as he crouched down towards the filing cabinet, "These papers don't have nearly as much dust as everything else."

"Whoa... these are so freaky," muttered Adrena as she began looking at specimen jars on the back counter, "Reminds me of that amazon trip I did in high school... have I ever told you guys about that?"

"Is it going to be heavily glorified?" asked Camille. Adrena glared at her and went back to the jars, "What is this place?"

"Hmm, specimen jars, filing cabinets, hidden bunker type lair, giant scratch marks..." Shego trailed off, "This looks like something out of DNAmy's nightmares."

"You mean dreams?" asked Adrena.

"No. Nightmares, there's nothing cute and yet horribly disturbing here," said Shego as she glanced over scattered notes and papers strewn about.

"There's a lot of news articles on this board," said Adrena from where she'd walked back over towards the entrance they'd come in to a cork board, "Toxic spills, hazardous mutations, oh look an article about environmental hazard... Shego isn't Drakken dealing with stuff like that?"

"Why do people keep asking me that," grumbled Shego, "Just because he did one experiment with flowers doesn't mean he's become some sort of Eco nut."

Shego ignored the others as she half looked at a paper that had been left on the counter. Mostly consisting of numbers and diagrams that only Drakken would find interesting, but it was less about its content. She looked over the paper, which held no dust or residue which implied it was from inside the safety of the filing cabinet... but was deliberately on the counter. Her eyes glanced up at the light fixtures and then towards the dates on the papers. She picked up another paper that looked to be an inventory or financial deposit record. A hideous feline logo at the top that was clearly dated from 1999 which were similar to the other papers date. Her eyes scanned it and she looked at the signature and the feline logo.

"Camille, isn't this your father's company?" asked Shego. Her eyes lingered at the very clear J.C. Leon signature at the bottom.

Camille snatched it and began looking over the paper, which Shego wanted to snap she hadn't finished with it. Instead she picked up another inventory chart, attempting to decipher some of the items. The smudged paper Shego held did little to pinpoint what exactly the lab had once been used for, but she and the others could guess. Her eyes darted to Camille's papers that bore a concerning connection to the former heiress, but the fixated look the blonde held made it clear the thoughts behind her eyes ran deeper than Shego was willing to question. She heard Lucre begin to speak about something he'd found in a turned over filing cabinet he'd insisted on riffling through, but his words were cut off by running and a loud shrill sound that gained more precedence than the current curiosity.

Junior and Bonnie darted around the corner of the hallway they'd not come through and looked terrified.

"There is some sort of- Thing in there," stammered Junior as they sprinted in the room.

"I swear I saw these glowing giant red eyes," hastened Bonnie. She shuttered, "I am having major high school horror flashbacks right now."

"You two seriously snuck off to go make-out?" scoffed Camille. Shego noted the paper was gone but said nothing.

Bonnie glared at her.

"We did not sneak off and make out," snapped Bonnie.

"Yes. The thing we saw interrupted us before we could-" Junior waved down the dark hall.

"Junior," muttered Bonnie.

"I'm sorry, shouldn't a mysterious creature harbor some more precedence other than make out times?" asked Lucre, "Not judging. Just curious."

"I'm judging," scoffed Adrena, "Why didn't we go do that."

"Okay, well before we find out if Junior's being paranoid and dramatic or if this place isn't nearly as abandoned. I vote we go," said Shego.

The sound of heavy footsteps and something sharp dragging along the walls from where Junior and Bonnie had come from, made them all pause. Shego made her way towards the exit, but the other's sprinted ahead of her. She kept her guard up and her hands aglow, watching the dark hall and every doorway open and closed as she backed up the stairs everyone scampered through. A webbed talon-clawed hand slid into view from the darkness along with the glowing red Bonnie had spoke of. Shego didn't hesitate. She shot a blast and scurried up the stairs, slamming the door behind her. Choosing to fire another blast to blindly seal the door.

"Shego, this way," she looked to see Lucre a few feet ahead of her.

The other's had already sprinted down the beach towards the boat, it was clear he'd lagged behind to wait for her. She said nothing as she ran town the path and towards the sane, Lucre just a few feet behind her the whole way. Her eyes darting for movement or sounds that seemed out of place, she could see everyone climbing on the boat and Junior waiting as he fired up the engine. Shego could hear an unsettling loud growl from somewhere behind them, and something that sounded wet and splotchy surrounding the growl. She and Lucre had barely gotten on the boat before Junior hit the throttle.

Shego watched the island, her hands ignited in case she needed to fire again, as her eyes scanned the beach she saw the unmistakable sight of a boat nestled where there once hadn't been. She relaxed her stance as they island began to grow farther away.

"What do you think that was?" asked Junior. Shego shrugged as she turned around.

"Some mutant..." Shego trailed off as she looked down towards the lower deck with sudden unease, "Junior how long till we get back to shore?"

"Ten minutes at this speed," Said Junior. He looked around, "Is it following us?"

"No... but we're taking on water," replied Shego.

The water was pooling on the deck bellow, and Shego didn't have to look hard to see the holes punched into the floor of the boat.

"Maybe the mattress can plug the hole," said Bonnie. Shego doubted it, but she followed her blindly to help.

"Most mattresses on these kind of boats are water resistant," aided Camille.

"Guys," came Lucre.

"Well that's not helpful it's just gonna seep right around it," sighed Shego but they yanked the mattress over the hole.

"Oh god, its sticky," Bonnie cringed, "Yuck! It's covered in some nasty goo."

"Guys!" came Adrena.

"Worry about that later," hissed Shego.

"I do not mean to alarm you guys, but something is following us in the water," yelled Lucre as his head appeared by the stairs.

"It's gaining!" yelled Adrena.

Shego looked at the deliberate hold in the bottom of the boat and the slime covered mattress. She didn't know much about mutated monstrous creatures but something told her they had been marked as prey for a concerning predator. Shego yanked the mattress to attempt to flip it so whatever sticky residue was on it would help possible hold it down. The moment they slammed it down a heavy forced hit the boat from underneath and a the same hand from the not-so-abandoned lair ripped through the center of the mattress. Bonnie screamed but stayed in place if only because the hand had reached for her. Shego grabbed its wrist, whatever it was, and focused her plasma glow around it, there was thrashing beneath the boat and when she let it go she shot another blast downwards.

"I have a flair gun!" yelled Adrena, which confused Shego until she heard it go off, "I think I shot... whatever it was."

"A nightmare!" yelled Bonnie, "A horrible stinky slimy nightmare."

Shego let out a deep sigh as Bonnie squirmed and whined next to her as they continued to hold the mattress in place. The overwhelming need to return to her resort room, shower, and make a vow never to go boating with this group again suddenly forming new plans for her evening. Before she knew it, they'd finally reached shore just as the water finally surpassed the mattress. She shook her wet hands and ignore the dragging dampness of her hair as she practically shoved passed her company and decided not to wait for the dock and just get off sooner.

"Shego, wait-" Lucre began.

"No. I don't care. I'll risk it," snapped Shego as she jumped over the side.

She trudged through the water that was barely waist deep and sighed as she looked up at the resort. The sigh turned to a scream of blinding fiery pain shooting up her calf. She fired a blast into the water as her leg spasm in pain. There was a twitch in her eye as she watched a still smoking jellyfish float along the top of the water. She balled her fist only to yelp in pain and reach beneath the water to grasp at its source.

"There's no nets on this part," finished Lucre, "So there's jellyfish... are you okay?"

"I am going to kill him," growled Shego as she clutched her leg.

"I think the jellyfish is dead," said Lucre, "You did shoot it."

"I meant Drakken," hissed Shego.

She limped towards the resort, officially calling it an end to her day.

I have no regrets... Shego does though.