In which someone tries too hard to get in the in-crowd...but why~?
We'll find out eventually.
48. Whose Side – 11
Though going for one another's throat was quickly becoming a form of greeting, Drakken was quick to pull Shego away from Priscilla. She wasn't happy for his interference. She spat something venomous at him for taking Prissy's side in the scrap instead of letting the two duke it out, but he pulled her back by the shoulders to hiss a warning in her ear that the woman was a guest in their lair. A guest they'd best not piss off. And unfortunately attacking her was a good way to piss her off.
Fortunately for the trespasser, she'd only sustained a bruise to her shoulder at the very worst. She brushed herself off and straightened the sleeves of her pink jacket. "You get worked up too easy," she scoffed. "I was only having a little fun."
"You blew a power cell," growled Drakken. "That is going to cost me – uh – a lot! To replace that!" He gave up counting on his fingers, fuming too badly to calculate his expenses on the spot. "We're lucky I just had that backup generator installed or this could have been worse."
Shego quirked her brow at him but didn't get to inquire on power cells or generators. She'd yet to see any, but it would account for the usual ambient hum throughout the lair she was deaf to unless she really focused on it.
"Ya sure that little light show earlier isn't what did it, Frankenstein?" Priscilla shot, crossing her arms and giving Drakken a onceover.
Shego didn't like the way her eyes scanned him up and down. She stepped between them. "How did you get in this time?" she groused.
"Oh, I have my ways," she cooed. Of course she did. Shego didn't need to be reminded of it when the girl reached out to pat her cheek and vanish as she swiftly ducked around her. She felt a shove at her back then and stumbled a step, whipping around in time to see Priscilla reappear, leaning against Drakken's shoulder awkwardly for her stature and standing decidedly too close to the alarmed man. "You sure you don't need a hand around here, Mr. Doctor? I'm worth my weight in—"
"You don't weigh much," Shego remarked, and Priscilla shot daggers back at her. It was Prissy on the thin side these days, as she was seemingly recovering from whatever she'd abused. Shego wasn't guilty for gouging at the tender spot, still bristling at what the intruder was proposing and proximity to her boss.
At least Drakken didn't seem to appreciate her being so near either, because he caught the young woman's hand before she could rest it on his chest. Shego clenched her fists and didn't worry about letting the plasma flare from them until she smelled the burning fabric and extinguished them an instant later.
"Thank you, no. I'm all set," said Drakken through grit teeth. His eyes narrowed at Priscilla, her hand still caught in his clutch. He glanced quickly to Shego and back. "I have no need for your services, miss, so if you would kindly take your leave—"
"That's not very hospitable of you," whined Prissy with an exaggerated pout. "I thought I was a guest?"
"Nice try. Leave," grunted Drakken, shoving the woman aside.
Shego felt herself cool slightly – at least until he grabbed her by the arm to tow her along. His grip was tight and his scowl ahead was practically set in stone. He was barely tolerating the trespasser's presence, so she hoped. They had that in common at least.
"Only if she comes with me," Priscilla called after them, following close behind. As if she was in any position to haggle.
"Fat chance," Shego shot back.
"Suit yourself. Looks like we're having a slumber party here then. This will be fun!"
"No, we are not," said Drakken, mustering all the authority he had left. It was swiftly undermined.
"Why not? Shi's already dressed for it." Priscilla giggled gleefully to herself. "Say, do you have a shirt I can borrow, Shilo? Wouldn't it be sweet if we matched?" Priscilla was beside her then, tugging at her other arm and giving the fatigued owl across Shego's front an amused glance.
She wanted Priscilla out of the lair as much as Drakken did, but surrendering herself to the mercy of Priscilla back at the apartment to endure whatever the girl had in mind was asking too much. Her brow furrowed. Complying felt like being a pushover, but one had to know how to pick their fights. Priscilla was willing to hand villains a drug capable of extinguishing her glow – but was she really dangerous? Shego wasn't keen on finding out just yet by leaving the lair with her.
Shego narrowed her eyes on the interloper. If Prissy had wanted to cause her any real harm, she would have done it already. Her persistence was a pain and she'd done unforgivable things in the past – but if not for giving Drakken her medication she wouldn't have found herself dedicating that much more trust in him and she'd still have the damned things to tempt her. The fact some good had come from it didn't mean she trusted her.
Head spinning, Shego rubbed her temples and grimaced.
"Yeah," she grumbled, nodding. "I think I got a spare." Sure her other night shirt was lightly burnt with plasma holes, but it was usable. If the tramp wanted her second-hand junk, she could have it.
"Say what?" uttered Drakken, blinking at her in a stupor before his glare hardened again. "No. Out of the question. I'm not allowing a couple of teenagers—"
"I'm not a teenager," chimed Prissy, though she jabbed a finger into Shilo's cheek. "But she is. Pervert."
Drakken's face changed hue, and it wasn't anger that crossed his features. Shego tried not to consider it might be a look of shame. He let go of her arm as if she'd burned him – but she took the risk and seized his hand to give it a squeeze. She didn't know what point she was trying to make by it, but was glad he didn't shake her off and that she didn't scorch him either.
"You're one to talk, jailbait," Shego hissed over.
"Yet you never arrested him for that, did you?" Priscilla spat back. Shego didn't expect the icy disdain and glanced to the bubbly girl who'd suddenly gone sour. "No, you beat him up and threw him in jail for protesting. It was that bridge construction that was displacing nesting seabirds, remember?"
Shego's brow scrunched, recalling her early foe's first official offence. "He drove an excavator into the ocean—"
"That was me."
"That makes sense," she grumbled, nodding. No one had been sure how the bird geek had done it in broad daylight with witnesses, but blame had been pinned on him anyway. His initial style was more along the lines of getting the birds to defecate on everything anyway. "Did your supplier a little favor, huh?"
"No. I did that because I could," laughed Priscilla.
Drakken's groan interrupted before Shego could respond, snapping her back to the present. "What are you two yammering about?" he groused as they passed through his office.
"Nothing," snapped Shego.
"Girl talk," answered Prissy.
"Great. You can do that somewhere else on your own time," he dismissed with a disgusted roll of his eyes. "I'll get a henchman to take you into town—"
Before Drakken could finish telling them off for their chatter, one such henchman came stomping down the stairs hastily, practically flying down them. The three of them had just entered the stairwell themselves. Shego could practically see his eyes popping wide behind his mask at the sight of a stranger in the lair, and Bobby came crashing down the last few steps with a startled gasp and a clumsy flail of limbs. They all stepped aside and out of his way, flattening to the walls in the narrow stairwell.
The young henchman landed hard on the floor, surely scraping his chin, and scrambled back onto his butt to gawp up at the three staring down curiously at him.
"Where's the fire, dude?" scoffed Priscilla.
"Hey, Bob," greeted Shego.
"Oaf," seethed Drakken. "Watch where you're going, will you? What is the meaning of this?"
At the sound of the intruder's snicker, Shego glanced up to Priscilla across from her only to follow her gaze down to see what was so funny. She realized suddenly she was still holding Drakken's hand and quickly released him.
"Dr. Drakken, sir, there's, uhm. Someone here to – you have a delivery," panted Bobby as he quickly picked himself up to stand at attention.
"About time," sighed Priscilla, peeling away from the wall and trotting up the stairs ahead of everyone. "I'm starved!"
"What?" blurted Shego and Drakken in unison. A glance to each other – Drakken's gaze being more of a glare – and they hurried after her.
Shego didn't know what she expected waiting for them in the lab upstairs. But the smell of pizza before they even left the hall gave her enough forewarning to not be surprised by the sight of Priscilla practically skipping up to Mickey with a pair of henchmen on either side standing poised with charged batons at the ready. He held a stack of pizza boxes – enough for guests.
"Thirty minutes or less," chimed Mickey across the lab with a meek shrug.
"Why is he here?" snarled Drakken, looking down to Shego for answers.
Her heart thundered suddenly. She didn't like the look of accusation bearing down on her. "Why do you think?" she snapped back, gesturing toward the pink rat with the knack for slipping in through the cracks.
Drakken groaned, dragging a hand across his face, and suddenly pulled out his notebook. Shego wondered inwardly how often it needed to be replaced. When she reached to try to take a look, Drakken answered before she could ask what he was jotting down, "Note to self, order security upgrades. New cameras, motion detectors, thermo—"
"You guys gonna come get some or not?" Priscilla called over then, mouth full. She'd already gotten into the first pizza, working on her slice. "We got a little of everything here. Goldilocks, what'd you get?"
Mickey's teeth grit at the degrading nickname. "Cheese, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, pineapple, supreme, and…" He shifted the stack to hold with one arm and dug into a pocket, pulling out small cans. "Anchovies. For whoever wants them. I didn't have cash for the whole menu. Sorry, PK." Lux greedily pounced to take a can, forgetting he was on duty and supposed to be menacing the young man.
Shego was still shuddering and rolling her eyes at the thought of anchovies when Drakken stormed up to Priscilla and Mickey. "Both of you, out."
"But – but pizza," uttered Lux, crestfallen as the stack was pulled out of reach when Mickey took a step back.
"Oh, let the boys have a treat," warbled Priscilla, stepping in front of Mickey, arms outstretched. "It's on me."
Lars must have taken the liberty of deciding neither of the intruders were a threat, because he powered off his staff and holstered it. "Allow me," he said with a grunt, taking a few of the boxes from Mickey. He took a glance at the contents and passed back the topmost box Priscilla had already gotten into. "I don't like pineapple," he said curtly and strode off with the others.
"Damn," muttered Mickey, looking a little crestfallen. "He got the cheese."
"You can just give me your toppings," Priscilla dismissed, ignoring Drakken's steaming temper.
"We are not having a pizza party either!" he barked. "Get out!"
"Drakken." He jerked away when Shego set a hand on his shoulder. He glared down at her. She couldn't deny it herself, and neither could he when his stomach growled audibly. "Let's just. Break bread, and maybe they'll get bored and go away." She patted his stomach as she stepped away to make her point, raising her voice, "Let's take this outside, yeah?"
"Shego," he practically whined after her. He didn't put up much more of a fight though.
Minutes later, the four of them, plus the crew of henchmen, were hiking up the hill to the picnic table. It was dark, but Shego did her share by providing a source of light and Drakken still had his flashlight. Henchmen behind them had procured a lantern, deciding themselves to take their dinner break with their boss and his guests.
Reaching the small recreational area cleared on the mountainside, Shego let her glow go out to watch unhappily as the men in red jumpsuits crowded around the table, a couple sitting on boulders nearby beside the fire pit. One henchman was already trying to light the pile of sticks and charred wood leftover from some former visit to the break spot.
Mickey and Drakken were situated at the end of the table across from each other. Drakken was glaring at the young man who was keeping his eyes sheepishly downcast at his own slice of pizza as he flicked off pieces of pineapple.
Priscilla bumped her bony hip into Shego's. "Looks like I'm winning them over," she whispered with a nod toward the merry men now gorging on pizza and a supply of beer and cola. "So how long's it gonna take to get you to like me again?"
"Depends. How many times do you plan to backstab me?" Despite the heat threatening to burn her palms, she cast a cold look down to Priscilla. She wasn't especially happy to be drug outside after grabbing her sneakers, Drakken lending her his coat to retain some dignity and hide her goofy graphic nightshirt. This wasn't how she would have liked to spend her night at all, but she didn't let herself entertain any fanciful thoughts about lounging on the couch in Drakken's private quarters.
Priscilla merely poked her tongue out at her and whispered with a lilt, "I can't help it if anything you can do, I can do better."
"We'll see about that," Shilo bit back and stepped swiftly away from her. She sent a mild blast down at the fire pit where the henchman was still struggling to light it, green licks turning their traditional hues within moments as the sticks went up in flames. The henchman shied back from it with a healthy respect for her.
Shego turned back for the table, and wasn't pleased to find Priscilla had squeezed in at the very end beside Drakken. He was leaned away, not looking especially pleased with it, though Priscilla bore a smug grin when she caught her eye. Malice curled in her stomach threatening to ruin whatever appetite she may have, but Shego stalked up to them regardless and sat herself down on the end of the table itself. She snatched up a slice of supreme pizza before it was all gone and flicked a sausage at Priscilla's face.
"Isn't a food fight a little childish?" sneered Prissy, wiping sauce from her cheek. Suddenly Shego wished she hadn't done it. Her mouth came open to reply, but she was short on words as Priscilla licked the back of her hand and fingers in a familiar teasing away Shilo knew was just to make her uncomfortable. And it worked. It also worked to catch a few eyes.
Like Drakken's.
"Shego, I forgot something inside," he blurted. He scarfed down a slice in three bites, packing it into his cheeks like a chipmunk, and jumped up. His words were too muffled to understand, but she had a hunch it was something along the lines of, "Come with me," as he grabbed her by the wrist to tow her away.
She groaned and reached back to grasp for a second slice of pizza to go, Mickey helpfully passing it to her. She was sure she saw Priscilla kick him under the table for the gesture.
"That didn't last long," she grumbled between bites as Drakken led the way with his flashlight.
He answered once he'd finally choked down his mouthful. "It was feeling a bit claustrophobic."