Author's Note: Hey again, welcome back to another chapter! Just a heads up: Danger Shots is now running! It's a series of one shots and extra side stories to flesh out characters, set in the Danger Watch Universe! I'm also trying to do a Q and A thing there, so that I can interact with you guys keeping up with the series! Be sure to check that out if you are enjoying the series!
Anyway, enough out of me. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 3: The Tiger, Uncaged
Shego was awoken at some point in the early hours in the morning by the sound of conversation. Somebody, or rather, two somebody's, were talking on the other side of the door to her holding room. They were not trying to be quiet, and Shego even heard one of them laugh. From her positon at the table, head still in her arms, she groaned. Her head was pounding, but, on the bright side, it seemed that she had slept off the remaining effects of the suppression serum.
Then, another thought hit her, just as she heard the door click open. Her head was in her arms.
She was unbound.
"Just make it quick," said a voice from beyond the door. Shego made sure to remain still, as if she were still asleep. "You don't wanna be in the cage with the tiger when the tranq's wear off."
"She's no tiger," the person who had entered the room said. He had a gruff voice, with a timbre that made him sound rather large. "Looks more like a sleepy little kitty."
Shego gagged internally, but made sure not to blow her cover. There were footsteps as the big guy made his way over to her, and Shego heard a sound like energy charging up. From her facedown position, she could only make out a faint flash of blue light. Then, she felt something cold and metal clamp down on her hands. The dampening restraints that she had been subject to previously, Shego reckoned. She knew that there was a pair for her feet as well.
Before the man could attach the second pair of restraints, Shego sprung into action, reaching for her inner power. For a moment she worried that the suppression serum might still be working, and that her plan would be foiled. However, to her immense pleasure, she felt the strength surge through her.
kLOng! Shego covered her leg in glowing green energy and thrust her knee upward. The stainless steel table crumpled and flew upward like it was made of alluminum foil, striking the figure in front of her in the jaw. Shego got a good look at him now as he toppled backwards and hit the floor; a buff, bald man in a Hinobi uniform. Shego snorted.
"Code Green, Code Green!"
Shego leapt out of the chair, and turned to the door. The other person, a muscular, stout woman with bobbing blond curls, was calling into her techno-gauntlet. Wasting no time, and cursing the fact that she had let the man bind her hands, Shego charged forward. The Hinobi agent at the door brought up her gauntlet to fire off some kind of projectile, but Shego was too fast. With a flying jump, Shego brought her legs up, wrapping her knees in a deadly chokehold around the agent's neck. Then, with a swift twist of her hips, Shego shifted the woman off balance, bringing them both toppling to the ground. From there, a swift kick to the side of the head put the agent out of commission.
Rolling out of the grapple and back to her feet, Shego glanced feverishly around the floor, looking for keys. There! Hanging from the woman's belt. She snapped the key ring up with the end of her foot, and with a chomp, caught it between her teeth. As she turned to run down the hall, Shego rolled her eyes.
She really wanted her hands back.
That would have to wait, however, as the hall was now blaring with sound and flashing light. Some kind of alarm was sounding; Shego had no time. At the end of the hallway, she spotted her exit. A nondescript door, with a telltale sign above it, complete with glowing red letters. Her goal in sight, Shego doubled down, sprinting as fast as she could towards the door.
Suddenly, to her right! Movement! Too fast!
The agent came at her like a freight train, barreling down a perpendicular hall and attempting to crash into her like two cars in a stoplight accident. Shego was caught off gaurd, her focus on the door, and she was tackled into the hallway wall.
"Uhf!" She exclaimed.
Despite the initial blow surprising her, Shego hardly sustained any damage. Her assailant, another Hinobi grunt, reared a fist back, charging up the strange, digital energy at the business end of his gauntlet. It was pointed directly at her face. Shego lashed out with her leg, sweeping the agent's own legs from under him, just as the digistruction went off. Some kind of restraint went flying uselessly into the air. Shego kicked straight down, but the Hinobi agent rolled to the side, scrambling to his feet.
"I've got visual on the target," the agent said into his gauntlet. "West wing, main corridor. She's right by the exit!"
"Shud-" Shego cried through her mouthful of keys, jumping off the wall and smacking the man down with a spinning roundhouse kick, "-upf!"
Shego turned to continue towards the exit, but found that two more agents had appeared to block her path. They stood between her and the door at the end off the hall. She could hear boots rushing down the hall behind her, as well as to the right. With a sour sense of de ja vus, Shego realized that she would soon be surrounded. There was a zapping noise, and the two agents in front of her produced weapons. Guns, to be specific, but nothing like Shego had ever seen. They had a strange, lightweight appearance to them, and seemed to pulse with faint electricity.
"Stand down!" One of them called out.
"Schrew you!" Shego shouted back. Awkwardly, she used her mouth to try and jam what she assumed was the digital keyfob down towards the restraints on her hands. She found no luck.
"Last warning!" The Hinobi agent called out.
Shego could see the battalion rushing in on her right flank, and she knew that behind her would be a similar situation. With a groan, she spat out the keys. She would just have to find a way to break out of the cuffs once she escaped.
For now, she had to focus on the escaping part.
"That's it! Open fire! Stun her!"
There was a sudden barrage of energy from the two guards blocking the exit, as bluish lasers began to pelt down the hall towards Shego. One beam collided with the wall beside her, singing the wall and bursting into sparks. While it wasn't the weirdest or most dangerous projectile she'd ever had launched at her, she knew that she didn't want to get hit by a laser of that magnitude. With a glance over her shoulder, she grimaced. Four Hinobi agents were rushing in behind her, with maybe twice as many coming in on her right. With laser fire still richocheting down the hall, Shego made the only logical choice.
She ran headlong back the way she came.
The agents running towards Shego were so surprised by the swiftness and fierceness of her charge that they actually faltered slightly. She almost grinned, but wanting to sell her ruse, she instead opened her mouth and snarled angrily at the Hinobi agents, activating her glowing legs and further shaking them up. They braced for the impact, two of them digistructing riot shields for protection. Then, just before the point of impact, Shego took a running leap, pushing her foot off of one of the shields like a diving board, and did a somersault, landing behind the troop of agents.
There were several grunts of pain, and even a scream, and Shego turned around to find that the laser barrage from down the hall had taken out all four of the flanking guards. They lay on the floor, stunned by the electrical shock. Blowing some wild hair out of her face, Shego turned her glimmering green eyes to the two shooters, who looked like they had just made a serious mistake. Which, of course, they had. However, before Shego could rush them, the larger battalion in the perpendicular hallway arrived.
"Oh, you guys just keep comin', don't you?" Shego complained.
Then, amongst the urgent shouting, Shego heard a familiar voice. It stood out due to its accent, and it seemed to be shouting out commands. As the Hinobi agents rushed in, gauntlets at the ready, blocking the hall, Shego's suspicions were confirmed. She spotted him, taking up the rear, a predatory look in his eyes as they settled on her.
Agent Youngblood looked like he wanted revenge.
"Take her out," Youngblood ordered. A chorus of whirring noises accompanied the battalion digistructing various weapons and restraints.
"Oh, hey, good," Shego taunted Youngblood. "I was hoping I'd get another chance to kick your ass."
"Now!" Youngblood commanded again, a vein pulsing in his forehead. "Use whatever force is necessary."
The Hinobi agents, at his order, burst into action. A bulky woman stepped forward, swinging at Shego with a digistructed energy baton, the tip warbling with energy. Shego threw up the heavy metal restraints on her hands, using them to catch the blow. The onslaught didn't stop; another agent came up beside the first, attempting to go head to head with her in melee. He swung a fist, which Shego ducked. Then, Shego swung the woman into the second attacker, using the leverage of her baton that was caught in Shego's restraints.
Wam! Shego was suddenly blindsided with a stinging blow to the head! The agents were closing in around her, and she whirled around to find that Youngblood had shot some kind of energy bolt at her from the end of his gauntlet. He was weaving through the crowd of Hinobi goons, maneuvering through the tight hallway space so that there was always someone between him and Shego. Growling, Shego ignited her legs with glowing green energy, delivering a three piece combo right to an assailants chest. They went flying back, toppling another agent in the process. With the slight opening, Shego tried to muscle her way towards Youngblood. She wanted to smack that confident smirk off of his face.
However, more agents blocked her path, and some of the ones that she had taken out were starting to pull themselves back up. Suddenly, she was being struck from all sides, and Shego had to drop her hyper offensive style for a defensive one. She used her metal restraints to block attacks, she swept legs, she fought like a bat out of hell, throwing Hinobi agents into each other and letting out animalistic combat growls as she did. Her eyes were glowing an intense green now, and the energy that was radiating from the lower half of her body was becoming intense and erratic.
Eventually, through her sheer combat prowess, she managed to wade through the sea of enemies, and found herself locked in melee with Youngblood. The confidence in his eyes faltered only slightly, and Shego grinned, pressing forward with a heavy swing of her metal restraints. Youngblood grabbed another agent and shoved her in front of him, causing her to take the blow directly to her jaw, and knocking her to the ground. Then, before Shego could wind up for another swing, Youngblood shot a barrage of energy bolts from his gauntlet.
Shego blocked the first beam with her cuffs, but was unable to deflect the rest as they came firing at her in rapid succession. BamBamBam! The wind was nearly knocked out of her as she took several shots of concussive energy to the chest. She stumbled back, but vengeance was coursing through her veins. Gritting her teeth, she pulled deep inside of her, drawing on a power she was still not entirely used to. Her glowing green energy gained a flicker of red. Hinobi agents rushed in behind her, attempting to grab her arms and stop her, but in a sudden burst of speed, she was no longer there. The agents grabbed onto a flickering after-image where Shego had just been.
Youngblood flinched as Shego seemed to manifest in front of him. He stumbled back, firing off more blasts, but Shego was too fast. She dodged most of them, deflected the last with her metal restraints, and made it right into Youngblood's face.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Shego roared, her head now coated in the green glow. She reared back, going to deliver a punishing headbutt.
ShhEEr!
Suddenly, something was pulling on her waist. Then, her arms. Enraged, Shego looked over her shoulder, to find that the security team had formed up, all of them aiming their gauntlets at her. Thick cables were being launched from their gauntlets, latching onto Shego. Stronger than them, Shego pulled on the cables as hard as she could, and even managed to yank a few agents off balance; but there were too many of them. More constricting cables were shot at her, wrapping around her waist, neck, chest, and finally her legs. Nearly a dozen strong binds were suddenly holding her down. She struggled against them ferally, but to no avail.
Youngblood, recovering from the initial shock of her onslaught, curled his lips into a sneer. Then, he aimed his gauntlet level with Shego's glowing, raging eyes. With a level, uncaring gaze, he let loose a final blast of energy. Shego took the blast straight to the face. Her eyes flickered, dimmed, and then returned to normal. Then, muttering curses, she slumped forward, unconscious, held up only by the multitude of chords suspending her. At a motion from Youngblood, the Hinobi agents released the cables, and she fell unceremoniously to the floor. Standing over her, gauntlet aimed down at her head, Youngblood spat on the floor.
"No," he said, "I'm going to kill you."
Youngblood began to charge his gauntlet for another blast.
"That's quite enough, I think," came a voice from down the hall.
The Hinobi agents straighted up, snapping to salutes. Youngblood followed their gaze, and found himself face to face with a man in a white suit. Like the other Hinobi agents, he wore a hi-tech visor and gauntlet, but the pins on his lapel marked him as a superior.
"Commander Phil," Youngblood said, as a pair of agents came forward and attached power dampeners to Shego's feet. "The glitch has been contained."
"I can see that," Phil said. The agents hauled Shego off, bringing her back ot the containment room. "Well done, Agent Youngblood."
"Sir," Youngblood nodded.
"At this rate, you might just earn that promotion," Phil said. "You could finally strip that ridiculous codename. Officer Mitch Williams has a certain ring to it, wouldn't you say?"
"Sir," Youngblood nodded again.
Then, the door at the end of the hall opened, and another newcomer walked in, confused by the commotion. Dr. Drew Lipsky, looking poorly slept and disheveled, but full of drive, came striding down the hall, beelining for Phil and Youngblood.
"Ah, just who I wanted to see," Phil said. "Now, Agent Youngblood, if you'll excuse me."
"Sir," Youngblood said, giving a final nod before walking off to file his incident report.
"Doctor Lipsky," Phil said. "Good to see you."
"What happened?" Drew demanded.
"Your little pet project escaped containment," Phil said. "Injured quite a few of my Glitch Techs in the process."
Drew was not entirely surprised, but he did purse his lips. This was not good for his case. Shaking his head, the doctor started to rifle through his briefcase. "Well, that is less than ideal, but can you really blame her? The amount of malpractice-"
"I am starting to suspect that she might be too dangerous to be kept here," Phil continued. "I was considering this already, when your first few interrogation sessions yielded little in the way of useful information… Doctor, I'm considering pulling the plug on this entire operation."
"What? But- Phil!" Drew protested.
"She needs to be contained, Doctor," Phil continued, "and to serve for her crimes. We're developing a place specifically for this… I understand your moral concerns, but logistically-"
"She's not some animal!" Drew insisted. "She's a person! A scared, complicated, damaged person, who needs help. Not to be thrown in the slammer!"
"I've reviewed the footage," Phil said. "I don't see 'scared' as a descriptor for this glitch."
Drew was seething now. The rage from the previous night was boiling up again, and while he wanted to lash out, he knew that the only way to get through to Phil was with hard facts and logic. Emotional appeal was not going to work. "She used to help people, Phil. I've been working with her. She's… she's opening up to me… I think. Maybe we could bring that side of her back out."
Phil searched Drew's eyes inquisitively, and the doctor seized the opportunity to press the matter even further.
"The world is changing. Secrets are becoming not so secret, and we are woefully unprepared. There are things ten times as dangerous as her out there- real threats, that your Glitch Techs could never dream of handling! We need somebody powerful on our side… Who do you trust more? A person? Or Wakeman's robot?"
That seemed to do the trick. The mention of the XJ-9 gave Phil pause. Drew could see the gears turning inside of his head. Eventually, the commander sighed.
"You have two days, doctor," Phil said, tapping a countdown into his gauntlet. "Two days to compel this 'Shego' to see the light. If you fail to glean any useful information by then, or if she's not willing to cooperate, then that is it. I take matters into my own hands. Understood?"
Drew was not satisfied, but he knew that this was the best opportunity he was going to get. He gave a grim nod. "Very well."
"Good," Phil said, striding down the hall. "Now, I have mountains of paperwork to fill out, and about a dozen other incidents to cover. Two days, doctor!"
Drew watched him leave, and it was only after the door closed behind the Hinobi commander that the doctor unclenched his fist. He let out a frustrated sigh, and began walking towards the door as well. He had to find a way to get Shego on his side, and quickly.
It was time to go to Nasty Burger.