Disney owns, I don't. Nuff said! You know, I had never seen the Dead Zone before, but I remembered that someone in a review early last story mention it. I just watched it and it's pretty good. Just want to thank Lonestarr and anyone else who mentioned it! And guess what? It was a multi-chappie day! Yay!

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Redemption – A Visit with Old Friends

"Oh Shego, you must take a look at this!"

Shego looked up briefly from the magazine she had been reading, looking over to see what he was talking about. "Looks fascinating, Dr. D. Can I go back to reading?"

Drakken briefly scowled. "But Shego, this is without a doubt my most fiendishly evil scheme ever!"

"That's what you said about the mechanical poodles, and the atmosphere disruptor, and the thirty or forty death rays you've tried. What makes this one so different?"

Drakken began to sulk briefly before smiling. "Those were just test runs, stepping stones if you will, on my path to greatness! Now, with my hypersonic mind control device, I shall take over the minds of everyone in a 200 mile radius! Imagine it Shego, cities bowing before me, Presidents groveling at my feet! HAHAHAHA!"

Shego looked on, the distaste clearly showing on her face. "Umm… Dr. D… didn't you try that once already? You know, Florida and old people and all that?"

"Shego, what are you… oh… you're right. I forgot about that. ARGGG… my evil plan, foiled before it even comes to fruition! That reminds me, do we still have Nana Possible's lemon square recipe?"

Shego just closed her eyes and groaned.

The voice coming from behind her caused her eyes to open instantly. "I might have something that could work!"

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"Obviously he's trying to collect as many mystical items as possible, Wade!"

"I know, but I'm not sure what he's going to be doing with them. I mean, if it was a sonic disruptor or a laser cannon, I might know more, but you probably have a better understanding of the mystical than I do!"

Ron's eyes went immediately wide, a smile forming on his face. Wade instantly regretted what he had said.

"BOOYAH! I know more about something than Wade does! Who's the man? I'm the man!"

Bonnie slapped him as he started to do a happy dance in the middle of the hallway at school. "You do know we're trying to discuss something important here, don't you?"

Ron sobered up quickly. "I'm almost done." The grin reappeared on his face as he raised his arms over his head, pumping them up and down. By this point, dozens of eyes were watching him, and Bonnie just covered her eyes in embarrassment. When he was done, he put a serious face back on, which just didn't seem right after the spectacle he had put on, and returned to the matter at hand. Bonnie could still feel everyone watching them.

"So, GJ is going to help pump up security at known sites, right?"

"Yeah, all the ones that don't prefer to handle the matter privately themselves. That's over fifteen known locations with mystic artifacts, including the Middleton Museum. They'll also be putting an extra watch on some of the other larger museums, just in case a few items might have slipped by unnoticed."

Ron looked a bit confused. "What item do we have here in Middleton?"

"The Talisman of Anubis! Remember your run-in with that a couple years back?"

Ron still looked confused.

"The incident with the GWA? You met Steel Toe and Pain King!"

Ron's eyes instantly brightened. "Oh yeah! That thing is still here?"

"Well, after the theft, and the fact they now know it possesses mystic powers, the museum requested additional study time with it. It's in lock up in the vault while they study it."

"OK, so we should take that one then?"

Bonnie just groaned. "We're not going to get much sleep this week, are we?"

Ron just smiled at her. "Not unless you've seen something in the last while that might tell us where he'll strike next?"

Bonnie just frowned in return. "No, I haven't seen a thing involving Monkey Fist. Considering he's struck twice already, I should have seen something!"

Wade resumed typing on his keyboard. "Well, don't worry. We have a lot of people on this. Plus, you'll only have to shift in every three days for your watch on the museum, GJ will have a couple of agents there for most of the time. You guys have… Wednesday and Saturday this week. Hopefully, we'll capture him before that."

"Thanks Wade, you rock!"

The connection cut off, and Bonnie turned to look at Ron. "You know, you didn't have to tease the poor boy!"

Ron just smiled. "I know, but I couldn't let something like that pass by without doing something! After all, that's probably going to be the only time he ever says something like that, and I wanted to enjoy it!"

Bonnie just slapped him lightly on the arm and laughed as he grabbed his books for the next class.

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"What do you think you're doing here Fiske?"

Monkey Fist just smiled at Drakken, watching Shego enter a defensive stance. "I did not come here to fight. Actually, I think this might be something that could further both our plans!"

Drakken paused to consider this. "All right, I'm listening."

"Not here. Let's talk somewhere, just the two of us."

Shego could sense something off, but couldn't quite put a finger on it. "Dr. D, I don't think…"

"Oh hush up Shego, we're just going to talk. Step into my office, where we can be more comfortable."

The two of them headed to the office, leaving a very concerned Shego standing there, not quite certain that why the look in Monkey Fist's eyes disturbed her so much. It made her almost feel like she was prey to that man, and that made her extremely uncomfortable.

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Three days had passed, and still no word on Monkey Fist, no sightings, nothing. Wednesday night had passed uneventfully, although they had managed to get well ahead on their homework during the time, even splitting time sleeping while the other kept watch. Now it was Friday, and Ron was getting worried. That left them one alternative, one that Bonnie did not really like.

"But Bonnie, it's the only way we'll be able to find out what he's planning!"

Bonnie was definitely not happy with the way this conversation was heading. "I thought we talked about this! You know how much going through so many visions hurts, don't you?"

"I know, and I'm sorry. But he got a lot of information from them when he had you doped up, and it might be the only way to find out where he might strike next!"

Bonnie sighed, knowing they had to find something that could help them. "Fine, but you owe me big time for this! I'm talking at least three dinners, prepared by you, for Brick and me!"

Ron just smiled. "Deal! Now, let's get to work!"

The two teens prepared themselves with the crystal, and began searching through Bonnie's memories for the visions that Monkey Fist had gone through so much effort to locate.

It took hours to go through the vast number of them. With no way to tell what was what, they had a lot to go through. That was when they discovered something unusual. Ron opened a book dated for the next day, expecting a flood of images, and was surprised when nothing happened. He looked at Bonnie curiously, trying to figure out what happened.

"Do you think we might have pushed things? Do you feel tired or something?"

Bonnie looked just as concerned. "No, I've got a massive headache, but I've never seen something like that before! Here, let me try this one!" Bonnie grabbed the next book in the stack and cracked it open.

God, why did I think I could take that class! Barkin can be such a…

Bonnie shut the book. "Well, I guess that answers that." She took the book from Ron's hands, flipping through the pages herself, the pages blank white. "What could have caused something like this to happen?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, I'm willing to bet it has something to do with Monkey Fist!

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Shego had not seen much of Drakken or Monkey Fist over the last few days, and for that she was glad. It gave her the free time to just relax for a while. They spent almost all their time in Drakken's workshop, developing something. When they both came out smiling in the afternoon, she knew her down time was over.

"So, what's the verdict Doc? We have a plan or what?"

Drakken smiled evilly. "Oh, we have more than a plan! Thanks to Monty, I've discovered that all mystical artifacts generate their own field of energy, one that can be amplified to great levels. Once I had a chance to scan a few such artifacts, provided by our partner here, I was able to build a device that amplifies the effects of whatever object it is touching. Think of it Shego! A ring that could launch fireballs could now level a forest instantly! A bracelet that could enhance strength could now make you stronger than anything on the planet!"

Monkey Fist just smiled, moving to stand beside Shego, who flinched a little away from him. "I'm just glad I had the thought of combining the mystic arts with modern technology. It will be most helpful!"

"Yes, with these artifacts of yours, and my technology, we shall rule the planet!"

Monkey Fist just grinned at Drakken. "Just one problem with that."

Shego instantly felt a stabbing pain, followed by a cold chill. Looking down, she saw a knife protruding from her stomach, blood pouring around the edge of the blade. She looked up into the eyes of Monkey Fist, now standing right in front of her, his grin never having faded. He reached out, grabbing the knife by the handle, gave it a twist, and pulled it out. Shego shrieked in agony as her life's blood spilled onto the floor. A backhand from Monkey Fist silenced her, as she flew into the wall, and collapsed unconscious. He then turned to look at Drakken, who now had a complete look of shock on his face.

"I don't like to share!"

Drakken was completely stunned. "Why? Shego? Oh God!"

Monkey Fist just laughed, enjoying the doctor's confusion. "Why? You could say that I'm eliminating any and all obstacles in my path. You would have done the same thing."

Drakken was now on the verge of tears. "Not like that! Oh God, Shego, please be all right!"

"Oh stop your mewling, she's not the one you should be concerned about. You see, her I had to take out quickly, she posed a threat. You…" the grin widened further, "I have plans for you. You see, once I defeat Stoppable, I plan on tormenting the boy for a while. You're going to help me… test a few methods!"

The screams that issued from Drakken's throat were only just the beginning.

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Shego awoke a few hours later. Her gut was still burning, and most likely would for some time, but at least the bleeding had stopped. She was very thankful her powers gave her faster than normal healing, or she would be dead. Seeing all the blood on the floor around her, she was surprised that it had managed to save her at all. She felt completely weak, drained for lack of a better term. She felt as if she had run fifty miles on no sleep, and wanted so much just to close her eyes again. Not knowing the situation, she knew that was something she couldn't do.

She struggled to stand, but her legs gave out on her before she could rise. Looking around, she saw no sign of Monkey Fist. That was when she heard the gurgling noise, off to her right. Crawling across the floor, pain shooting through her every time she moved, she made her way over to the source of the sound. After a few minutes, she made it to the doorway, recognizing the sound as laboured breathing, the kind that could only be caused by fluid on the lungs. Looking through the door, what she saw was a sight she never wanted to see again. It was all she could do not to throw up right there.

"Oh God… Drew…"

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Author's Notes – Well, I said the story was going to get darker, didn't I? And you ain't seen nothing yet! I guess I should warn now, there will be some character deaths in this story! Just not yet, but very, very soon! I hope no one minds too much! BWAHAHA!

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews;

GargoyleSama – Right on both counts!

MrDrP – Wow! That's all I can say to what you said. Thank you for the kind words! And as for Epic Sitch, it is an amazing story, and you've done an excellent job with it. I still don't know how you can write Ron twirling his Kimstick while keeping a straight face though!

Kpultimatefan – Well, you may not mind, but you should have seen the death threats that came in from that! I swear, I had almost as many as the last time I tried to sing in a karaoke bar!