8:04 AM - Go Tower, Go City
"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Hego said calmly as he led Kim and Ron through Go Tower.
"Um...no problem," Kim said slowly. Something about Hego's behavior seemed a bit off, but in case this was how he reacted to tragedy, she didn't want to call him on it.
"So where's the rest of the Go gang?" Ron asked.
"They are...distressed, of course," Hego answered slowly. "I'm afraid they're not in the mood for talking right now. We all love Michelle dearly, you understand. My wife, Gabrielle, has agreed to speak with you." He stopped in front of a door. "This is my daughter's room. Please be mindful of the walls, as they get quite hot."
Kim and Ron traded confused looks as the door slid open, giving them their first glimpse into the life of the missing girl.
Everything about the room set off alarms in Kim's mind. The walls were made of some dark material that seemed to radiate heat, making it overwhelmingly hot inside. Aside from a few pictures, which were preserved in very thick red frames, there were no personal effects whatsoever. The room seemed more like a cell than a teenager's living space.
Movement at the far end of the room caught Kim's eye, and every muscle in her body tensed as she spotted a familiar green and black garbed figure. "Hold it right there, Shego!"
The woman paused and turned around. "I'm afraid you've made a mistake, Kim Possible," she said coolly. "I am Galgo, not Shego."
Kim blinked and glanced at Ron, only slightly satisfied to see he wore a similar expression of disbelief. "Well, it was an honest mistake. In fact, considering you look EXACTLY like Shego, I'm amazed you would dress like her, as well."
Galgo pursed her dark lips in an almost painful smile. She did look a great deal like Shego, from her pale skin to the enormous amount of black hair that spilled down her back. About the only two differences were her voice and that her costume was dark green and black, as opposed to green and black. But even those were rather subtle differences, given the overall effect. "That is your opinion. However, you are not here to judge my sense of fashion. You are here to find my daughter, are you not?"
"Should be easy, if she looks anything like you, ma'am," Ron said. "I mean, what are the odds of more than three people looking like Shego clones?"
"My wife has never been one for humor," Hego stated, an edge to his voice as he frowned at Ron.
"Really? Because she seems great at impersonations," Ron commented.
Kim cleared her throat. "So, um...Galgo. When was the last time you saw-?"
"Midnight. We check on her hourly," Galgo answered curtly. "By one she had vanished. Shego must've known her schedule somehow."
"What schedule?" Ron asked.
"My daughter lived by a daily schedule. She followed a rotating regimen of exercise, combat simulations, tutoring sessions, and leisure periods."
Ron scratched his head. "Call me crazy, but shouldn't there be a meal or two in there somewhere?"
Galgo glared at him. "Meals are included in leisure periods."
"But, um, shouldn't eating be more of a necessity than a hobby?"
"She didn't need to eat, did she?" Kim asked suddenly. "She had powers, like Hego and the others, right?"
"Meals weren't necessary, no," Galgo answered after a moment, and not without some irritation. "Michelle could function just as well without them. Her powers allowed her to be very...self-sufficient."
"How well-trained was she?" Kim asked. "If Shego attacked her, could she put up a decent fight?"
Hego shook his head. "Michelle's powers are more...raw. She has the potential to defeat Shego, but not the ability. At least, not yet."
"What are her powers, exactly?"
Hego and Galgo traded brief looks.
"That information is of a private nature," Hego replied.
Kim glared up at him. "Yeah? Well, here's how I see it. The longer Michelle is with Shego, the more chances Shego has to tell Michelle that you're the bad guys. So there's a very real possibility that I might have to fight Michelle before this gets resolved. And I am never going into a fight against a member of Team Go blind again."
"Michelle is not a member of Team-"
"She's got a Go Glow, and not only does that give her access back into Go Tower, it gives her an edge in a fight. So if you can't tell me what she can do, then I can't help you. Get someone more gullible to find her, because I'm done. Or just wait until she and Shego come back to tear this place apart. We're out of here, Ron." Kim turned and stomped out of the room.
Ron ran to catch up with her. "At least it wasn't a total waste, KP. We get a half-day of school out of it!"
Galgo watched them go, an odd smile on her lips. She barely even noticed when her husband placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I am sorry, Gabrielle. Kim Possible was a bit more cooperative the last time she was here. Should I lock down the tower to keep them here?"
"No matter, dear," Galgo replied. "She has served her purpose well enough. Let her go. I have no doubt that Miss Possible will come to see things my way. Everyone does, eventually. But you might go and take poor Mego some tea. I have a feeling his throat might still be a little sore."
10:00 AM - Drakken's Lair
"You're telling me that your brother entrusted you with his child?" Dr. Drakken asked, looking a bit doubtful.
Shego glared at him. "She's not a child; she came on her own. I already told her I don't do the family thing, and she didn't care. Now she's in my room, and she won't leave."
Dr. Drakken stared at her for a long moment, before breaking into a wide, cheesy grin. "You LIKE her!"
"I do not!" Shego shouted at once.
"Oh, let's be serious now, Shego. If you didn't want her here, you would've thrown her out, literally! The fact that she's still here proves that you like her. The next thing you know, you'll be giving her shiny quarters and sloppy cheek kisses for no reason at all!"
Shego's arm shot out with lightning speed, her fingers digging into his throat. "I am NOT, nor will I ever BE, A SLOPPY CHEEK KISSER!"
Drakken gasped and tried to pry her fingers from his throat. It proved to be a futile effort.
"She's going to stay here for a while, and I'm going to look after her. But then she's going to go, and everything will be like it was before she came. And YOU won't say a word about this even after she's gone. Are we clear?"
Nodding weakly, Drakken pointed frantically at his throat.
Shego released him and walked away. "If I catch you within ten feet of her, you'll regret it," she called over her shoulder.
Of course, Shego didn't really think Drakken was going to do anything harmful to Michelle. She was impressionable, but she didn't seem stupid, exactly. Naive, perhaps. For an almost member of Team Go, Michelle didn't seem as gullible as rest of them. But then, Shego might have been imagining that.
Maybe Drakken was right; maybe she did want Michelle around. It had been a long time since she'd felt really appreciated, and Michelle didn't appear to want all that much in return. A little attention, a little instruction on her powers, a place to stay for a few days. It wasn't that Shego minded providing these things, so much as she was afraid of doing so. The more time she spent with Michelle, the more likely she really would become attached to the girl. There were so many reasons why that was a bad idea, the main one being that Michelle would return to her family someday, and when she did, this would all end badly. Either Shego wouldn't want her to go, or Michelle would want Shego to come with her. Someone was going to be disappointed, and Shego didn't want it to be her. The best thing to do was just kick Michelle out now and avoid all that trouble.
Yet as she reached the door to her room, Shego knew she couldn't abandon the girl. She remembered what life was like, before she had fully understood her powers. If Michelle was being even partially honest about her powers, she was a lot more dangerous than Shego had been at that age. On the other hand, she didn't seem anywhere near as angry as Shego had been at the time, so that was a plus. But she'd only known Michelle for a couple of hours, and hadn't really had time to upset her yet.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and Michelle was grinning at her. Shego was about to speak, until she noticed that Michelle was wearing her clothes. More specifically, her signature green and black uniform. That it seemed to fit the girl perfectly was not lost on her.
"What do you think?" Michelle asked eagerly.
"I think it's time to set some ground rules. No more wearing my clothes." Shego paused. "How did you know I was out here?"
"I sensed you," Michelle replied, twirling a bit as she crossed the room. "You probably never thought about it, but us Team Go types give off unique variations of what's basically the same energy. Now that I've gotten used to yours, I can sort of feel it coming. Like radar, I guess. So you can never sneak up on me, unless I'm unconscious or really spaced out."
"Next rule. Explain, with lots of detail, what all being a star includes."
"That's less a rule and more a very long list," Michelle pointed out. "You might want to sit first."
"I'll stand. You sit. My room, my rules."
Michelle nodded. "You like being in charge, don't you? Is that why you left?"
Shego frowned at her. "Later. Talk."
12:15 PM - Middleton High School Cafeteria
"Wade told me about your field trip. So how'd it go with Team Go?" Monique asked casually.
Kim frowned as she poked at her carrots. "Total shutout. You'd think when someone goes missing, they'd offer up everything they knew. Instead, they'd rather be tightlipped about her powers and let her stay missing even longer. It's not like Wade couldn't figure out where Drakken was in two minutes tops if he had to, but the fact that they won't tell us more about Michelle makes me think she's very dangerous, whether Shego's influenced her or not."
"Does that mean we're just going to let her stay kidnapped?" Ron questioned, stuffing a particularly large piece of chocolate cake in his mouth and gulping it down.
"I'm starting to think she wasn't kidnapped, Ron. Have you ever met a teenage girl that lived by a schedule her parents made for her? And that room, it's like she was a prisoner in her own home! I'd bet anything she ran away, and Galgo just didn't want to say so."
Ron shuddered. "That woman seriously gave me the creeps. She was a total Shego clone!"
"I thought you said they didn't like Shego, Kim?" Monique asked.
Kim shook her head. "They didn't get along with her, but now they seem dead set against her, and that's what was so weird about it. How could they hate Shego when Hego is practically married to her clone?"
Monique made a disgusted face. "Whoa. CTTM."
Ron blinked in confusion, and looked to Kim for help.
"Creepy to the max," Kim translated.
"Oh. I told you that guy had issues, KP!" Ron chimed in. "First rejecting the naco, and now technical incest! The dude is sick and wrong!"
"He seemed pretty off, but I'm more worried about Galgo. It seemed like she was in control. And we never did find out what her power was, either."
"Giving off totally creepy vibes has my vote."
Monique cleared her throat. "But you're not really going to stop looking for the girl, are you? Whether she left on her own or Shego took her, she's still missing. And if she did run away, she might need shelter at the very least."
Kim sighed. "I guess you're right, Mon. But I hate going into a sitch without knowing what I'm dealing with. It tends to backfire in the worst ways."
"Can't argue there," Ron added. "We ever tell you about the time we accidentally busted up a supposed smuggling ring, only to find out it was a toy drive for charity? Reeeally awkward."
Kim smirked. "Yeah, especially when you punted that kid."
"Hey, I thought he was a midget, and he was reaching for a concealed weapon!"
"Ron, for the last time, IT WAS AN INHALER."
"You know I couldn't take that chance, KP! What if he'd aimed at you?"
"Right, I'm sure it would take Kim months to recover from a good misting," Monique chuckled, before she and Kim collapsed into giggles.
Ron glared at them. "Yeah, you laugh now! But the next time a midget corners you, you'll be thanking me for...WOULD YOU TWO STOP LAUGHING ALREADY?"
6:00 PM - Drakken's Lair
It had taken most of the morning, but Michelle had explained everything about her powers. At least, it seemed like everything to Shego, as it had taken most of the day for her to wrap her mind around. Since she hadn't planned on sleeping, she'd let Michelle use her bed.
Being a star sounded like rough business, to say the least. For one thing, Michelle had to regularly absorb and release enormous amounts of heat. She apparently spent all of her free time sunbathing, and on cloudy days, she stayed in her room, where there were wall-to-wall heaters on full blast. On the plus side, she didn't need to eat, so long as she was sufficiently heated.
Michelle seemed to have adjusted well enough, though; she thought of her powers as a gift, albeit one she couldn't fully control. Her main problem was that while she could convert her body into a form that was, for all intents and purpose, an actual star, she had little or no control over what she did after that point. The last time she'd destroyed a good portion of Go Tower, and they'd had to blame it on some random villain, who was more than happy to take credit for wounding Team Go in any way.
What Michelle could control were focused heat blasts (which she'd used on Shego earlier) and converting parts of her body to a glowing, gaseous form.
Shego had figured out pretty quickly that she wouldn't be able to help Michelle too much in the way of instruction. Their powers were similar, but Michelle's were on another level entirely. But even if she told Michelle that, Shego had a feeling that the girl would still want to stay. She had come here in search of something that Team Go either wouldn't or couldn't give her: acceptance. Maybe because Shego had no real expectations of Michelle, she could accept the girl exactly as she was.
There were some things she could still teach Michelle, however. Team Go would no doubt be looking for her, and the least Shego could do was make sure the girl knew how to make it harder on them. Clearly, Michelle already knew a thing or two about destruction, but there was always room for some fine tuning. The hard part was going to be in convincing Michelle that blowing up things could prove useful, as she had definitely inherited Hego's heroic sense of justice.
Ethics, however, would turn out to be the least of Shego's difficulties in handling her niece. Because when she returned to her room to check on Michelle, the slim teenager she'd offered her bed to was nowhere to be found.
And while the facts weren't in yet, Shego had a pretty good feeling that the tiny, red-haired six year-old currently sleeping in her bed had the answers she was looking for.