8:45 PM - Subway Station, Go City

Ron no longer had any doubts that Wade did indeed rock.

He had, unfortunately, missed Kim at school. Once there, however, Wade had secured, much to Ron's disbelief, an ambulance to transport him. Apparently the driver owed not only Kim but Mrs. Dr. Possible as well, and he was all too happy to help Ron out. While the ride was faster than it would've been in most other vehicles he'd ridden in, Ron couldn't help feeling a little guilty the whole time.

Ron met Mrs. Dr. Possible outside of Middleton Medical Center, where she wordlessly handed him a photo that Wade had faxed to her. It was a picture of young Gabrielle Simmons, only moments after she was found in the forest. The girl was skinny and filthy, her clothes caked with mud and dead leaves. Her eyes, however, were unusually bright and clear. In her hands was a large, black rock with sharp edges, which, according to the article that accompanied the photo, she had used to kill and scale fish for food.

The problem with that, Wade had discovered upon further study, was that the only fish that lived in area previously had ceased to exist days after the meteor crash. More than likely, the same radiation that had given Team Go their powers had contaminated and destroyed select species of the local wildlife. Whatever Gabrielle had survived on for a whole month, it couldn't have been fish. More than that, it couldn't have even been horribly mutated fish; there simply were no more fish by the time she'd wandered into the forest.

Wade had gone a step further, and found that several rivers in the forest had once been home to the now endangered blue-bellied trout. A large part of their diet had depended on several local insects. Oddly enough, researchers not only found that most of these insects had survived the meteor strike, but that many species had actually reproduced in abundance. One researcher even suggested that the insects had grown resourceful enough to somehow destroy their natural predators, but his assumption was largely considered a joke among his colleagues.

Wade had also faxed over a note, which was attached to the photo. At first glance, the note seemed a bit fragmented, but Ron eventually understood what the super genius had been getting at.

The note read: "Go Tower. Find rock. Kill ALL bugs. Warn Team."

8:58 PM - Drakken's Lair

Michelle had been pretty quiet since her little outburst, but Shego wasn't sure if that was good or bad. At any rate, she had no idea what else to say to her niece. There were no more tears or blubbering, at least.

Unknown to Michelle, Shego had come to a rather startling decision after that incident: she couldn't allow her niece to go home. Not after all she'd seen and heard. It would be remarkably like someone sending Shego to jail: eventually, she'd just break out again. Only in Michelle's case, she wasn't infamous enough to demand respect with a mere glance, so her imprisonment wouldn't be as harmless. If anything, it would be even more harmful to her already fractured state.

Now, it was simply a matter of explaining her reasoning to Michelle. Shego had never actually killed anyone, and while she was very much tempted to make an exception for Michelle's parents, it probably wouldn't make either of their lives easier in the long run. Besides, with all the crimes Shego had committed, adding the murder of two superheroes would surely keep her in jail longer than comet power could keep her alive. And now that she had Michelle to think about, Shego was actually looking at ways to minimize jail time. She was well-connected enough that she wouldn't have to actually rat out Drakken unless they specifically demanded it, and they might ease up on that if she told them everything she knew about Kim Possible's other foes. With some luck, she might even be able to get Kim herself to put in a good word as a character witness. That in itself was a long shot, but at the very least, Kim would have to admit she'd never seen Shego kill anyone.

Shego was pulled from her thoughts by, of all things, the doorbell. She blinked and looked at Michelle, who looked equally stumped.

A row of monitors along the wall hummed to life, revealing Dr. Drakken's blue face in triplicate. "Ah...Shego? Kim Possible is ringing our doorbell," he said, clearly worried. "Do you want to, eh...handle this?"

"Yeah, fine," Shego sighed. She stood up, and fixed Michelle with a stern look. "Stay here."

Michelle's eyes were wide with excitement. "You really know Kim Possible? I've always wanted to meet her! How do you know each other? I thought you were a bad guy?"

"That's...kinda how I know her," Shego said hesitantly.

"Oh," Michelle whispered. "You're not going to fight her, are you?"

"It's what we do," Shego insisted at once.

"But what if you hurt her?"

"She doesn't get hurt. Not enough, anyway."

"But you-"

"Michelle. I told you, I'm a bad guy. Kim is my enemy. I always fight her, and she always shows up for more. It's the way these things are done."

"Can't you just talk to her?"

"I don't think-"

"Shego!" Kim's voice shouted through the outside intercom. "I want to talk to you!"

"See?" Michelle asked. "She doesn't want to fight! Just talk to her!"

"We talk while we fight, too," Shego muttered.

Michelle frowned at her. "You tried to fight me when I rang the doorbell, and where did that get you?"

"That was different!" Shego protested hotly.

"No, it wasn't. You just can't answer the door that way, Auntie Shego. It's rude!"

"I'M A BAD GUY!" Shego shouted.

"But NOT a bad person," Michelle corrected. "Bad guys can have manners."

"Only the ones with stupid accents to match," Shego grumbled.

"Can't you try it my way? Just this once?" She clutched Shego's arm. "For me? Please?"

"You're really starting to cramp my style, kid."

With a huge grin, Michelle kissed Shego's cheek. "Thanks!"

Shego made her way to the door, muttering angrily all the while. She had just reached the door when she spotted Michelle peeking around a corner at her.

"I told you to stay."

"I'm just making sure you behave," Michelle replied. "I'll stay out of sight, but I'll hear it if you shout."

Shego waited until Michelle had vanished around the corner before pulling open the heavy door. Sure enough, Kim Possible stared back at her, although Shego noticed some differences right away.

Kim seemed...anxious. She never stood still for very long, either moving her arms or shifting her weight every few seconds. It could be that wearing Global Justice colors made her really uncomfortable, but Shego didn't think that was all of it.

"Where is she?" Kim asked at once.

"Who?" Shego asked coolly.

"Michelle. Hego's daughter. I know you took her."

"I what?" Shego demanded, anger slipping into her tone.

"You took her from Go Tower."

"I didn't, but I'm starting to wish I had."

"So she's not here?" Kim asked, trying to peer over Shego's shoulder.

Shego leaned into Kim's line of sight. "Why do you care?"

"Three reasons. Her parents asked me to look into it. She might be dangerous. And, well, I like to think no one but me can handle you."

"Oh, yeah? Then listen to what Shego says, Princess. Her parents are creeps, and if you're working for them, then this is as far as you go. You don't know what you've gotten yourself into, Kimmie, so just back off."

"No," Kim said firmly.

"You've met her mother?" Shego asked.

"Yes."

"Between the two of us, who do you really think is lying?"

Kim hesitated for a long moment. "Both of you, to some degree," she said at last.

"But who's telling the most truth?"

Kim didn't look like she wanted to answer that.

"You know me, Kimmie. Why would I do anything to get mixed up with my family again?"

"You're the only possible suspect, Shego. I can't ignore that."

"I'm not telling you to ignore it. Yes, Michelle isn't at home, and yes, she is here. But that doesn't mean I took her. It means I took her in. She came to me on her own."

"Then I need to hear that from her."

"Fine. But let's get one thing straight, Kim," Shego said, lowering her voice. "You talk to her. You try to take her with you, or harm her in any way, and we're gonna have big problems."

"Is that a threat, Shego?"

"It's a promise. Only you can turn it into a threat."

9:20 PM - Go Tower, Go City

Ron had only been waiting a few minutes before the door slid open, revealing one of the Wego twins.

"Is this about Michelle?" he asked at once.

"It's more about Galgo, actually," Ron replied. He wasn't at all surprised when the red-clad Team Go member stiffened noticeably. "I take it you're not in her fan club, either."

Wego quickly pulled Ron inside and shut the door. "Look, Ron. Because you helped save us before, I'm going to warn you now. You don't want to mess with Galgo. She's-"

"Is she here?" Ron interrupted.

"No, she went out, but-"

"Great. Where's her room?"

"Same as Hego's, on the third floor. But why-"

"Thanks, you've been a big help," Ron said, slapping Wego on the back as he strode towards the elevators.

"Ron, no!" Wego hissed, grabbing his arm. "Hego's up there! If he sees you, he'll...I don't know, but it won't be good! Galgo wouldn't want you here, and neither will he!"

"Then I guess I have two choices," Ron answered. "I can either take my chances alone, or hope to have some superpowered backup by the time I run into him. You in?"

Wego was clearly shocked. "Ron, I can't!"

Without warning, Ron backhanded Wego across the face.

"I think you really needed a kick in the head, but I might need you conscious later," Ron spat. "How stupid ARE you people? You're supposed to be superheroes! When someone threatens what you hold dear, you don't obey them, you FIGHT! Even if it means getting hurt or putting your life on the line! You lost Shego, you lost Michelle, and if you blatant Geminis don't man up and help me take down Galgo, so help me, I'll go Zorpox on your synchronized butts!"

A round of clapping followed Ron's outburst, and they both looked up to see Mego joining them, followed by the other Wego twin.

Ron took a deep breath, but Mego cut him off.

"No need to repeat the speech for us, we got the gist of it. But I'll have you know that all of us together couldn't keep Shego here by force, so we didn't lose her so much as she forced her way out. Now, what's the plan?"

Ron sighed in relief. "You guys keep Hego busy, and I'll handle the rest. By the way, where'd Galgo go?"

Mego shrugged. "You tell me; you're the one with all the answers. She keeps tabs on us, not the other way around."

9:25 PM - Outside Drakken's Lair

Much to Kim's surprise, Michelle confirmed all of Shego's story. She even admitted to escaping Go Tower and begging Shego to let her hide in Drakken's Lair. When Kim mentioned Galgo's claims of kidnapping, Michelle, not unlike Shego, was genuinely surprised.

"This is the first I'm hearing about it. I just assumed they'd know I ran away."

"Shego didn't encourage or force you to do so in any way?" Kim asked.

"Of course not. She didn't even know about me until I showed up here. I only found her here because I can sense Team Go energy."

"But didn't you know that Shego was a criminal?"

"I suspected, but I didn't care. She's the only other family I have. And it's not like she's a serial killer or anything. Honestly, I've done worse things unintentionally, so who am I to judge?"

"Michelle, you need to be in a secure environment. You need to go home. You don't want any more 'accidents,' do you?"

Michelle glared at Kim, her eyes flashing the same brilliant red as her hair. "I AM in a secure environment. Auntie Shego has shown me more love in two days than my mother's shown me my whole life. She'd never force me to do anything, and she'd never let anything bad happen to me."

"What about when something bad happens because of you?" Kim asked. "Even if you don't mean to be, you're dangerous, and-"

"So because I was born with these powers that I didn't even ask for, my only choices are to be a prisoner, a weapon, or a criminal?" Michelle cried. "Now I see why Auntie Shego lives the way she does. And I'm starting to think I should live that way, too!"

"I can't let you do that. You need to come with me, Michelle. I'll take you home-"

"I AM home!" Michelle shouted. "I can't believe I thought you'd be any different from the others. I thought you, of all people, would know how it feels to be treated like a weapon to point at any bad guy that pops up. You just don't realize you're being exploited, because you can go where you want. But I've spent my whole life in that stupid tower, and I think I've more than earned a break!"

"You can't take breaks. You can't just turn your powers off, and you can't pretend that you don't have them. There's always going to be a risk that you'll lose control."

"Every time I've lost control, I've been with my parents. They're obviously not qualified to 'contain' me."

"And you think Shego is?"

"I know she is. Because she's been treated the same way, and that's why she left. That's why I'm staying with her. I'm sorry you wasted your time, Kim, but I'm not going with you."

"Don't be so sure," Kim said. "Just because I don't have powers, it doesn't mean I'm a pushover."

Michelle stared hard at Kim. "Okay, I don't know what you've been told, but I don't take orders from near strangers. Especially if it involves going back to that tower."

"Let's not make this a big deal," Kim suggested, reaching for Michelle's arm. Her fingers had just started to close around it when they were almost violently repelled by a glowing, orange barrier.

"Like you said," Michelle commented with a smirk as the barrier faded, "I can't just turn them off."

Before Kim could reply, Shego appeared, moving Michelle behind her protectively.

"I warned you, Possible!" Shego snarled, her fists igniting.

Kim wisely took a step back. "Calm down, Shego. Michelle needs to go back to Go Tower."

"Doesn't matter. She doesn't WANT to, and that's enough for me. Back off! She's staying here!"

"She doesn't belong with you, Shego!"

"She's my niece, she came to me for help, and until she doesn't want my help, NO ONE is taking her from me! Not you, not my brothers, and definitely not Galgo!"

Kim suddenly became aware of that fact that Michelle looked extremely pale, and that she was tugging hard on Shego's arm, as if trying to pull her back inside. For some reason, going inside was starting to seem like a good idea, but Kim couldn't imagine why, until the second Shego arrived.

Of course, even before Kim took a long look at the second woman, she knew it wasn't really another Shego.

"My, but we've been busy," Galgo murmured thoughtfully, tapping her black lips with a pale finger.

"I could say the same for you," Shego sneered. "How long does it take you to put on my body every morning? An hour? Two?"

Galgo pointedly ignored Shego, her eyes focusing entirely on Michelle. "We've missed you at home, dear. You should've called if you were going to be out so late. Now, say goodbye to your aunt and young Miss Possible. You won't be seeing either of them again."

"Hold on!" Kim interrupted. "You said Shego kidnapped Michelle!"

"Did I?" Galgo asked lightly. "I must've been lying. I do that sometimes, you see. Michelle, hurry up now. Your father's very worried about you."

"Mom, I...I want to stay here," Michelle whispered.

Galgo sighed and shook her head. "I was afraid you'd say that. But I suppose there's no need to rush or be rude about what comes next." She turned to Kim. "Miss Possible, thank you ever so much for leading me here. I couldn't have found my daughter without you."

For her part, Kim was shocked...especially when she saw how furious Shego looked.

"I did no such thing! I came here alone!" Kim insisted.

"Perhaps you did. The fact remains that I used you to find her. So, in a way, I guess my being here is your fault. But don't feel too bad. You didn't have much of a choice, after all. Most of my...victims don't. For example, I'm done with you now."

Galgo snapped her fingers, and Kim promptly fell face first to the ground.

"I really must start remembering to catch them," Galgo sighed. "Oh, well. Are you two done? I have a turkey in the oven."

"Oh, we'll be done, as soon as you turn around and start walking," Shego growled. "Alone."

"In a minute. Michelle, you remember how I taught you to wave goodbye to your aunt."

Shego's eyes widened, and she spun around in time to have an enormous wall of heat slam into her body, knocking her to the ground. The impact left her dazed, but her vision was clear enough to see the sorrowful look on Michelle's face.

"People are so very impulsive," Galgo said, talking to herself. "They make so many plans, and don't even bother to check in with me first. That...irks me." She paused and cut her eyes at her daughter. "I didn't tell you to stop, young lady."

Michelle's arms jerked up involuntarily, almost as if she were a puppet, and the wall of heat slammed into Shego a second time, pressing her firmly into the ground.

"From one evil woman to another, I suppose I should at least reveal my nefarious plan. But, I don't much like you, so there. Instead, I'm going to tell Michelle, and you can listen if you want. She's never heard this before. No one has, really. I'm an intensely private person."

Shego gritted her teeth and tried to push against the wall.

"I wouldn't do that. You know what might happen if Michelle overtires herself, I trust?"

With a sigh, Shego relaxed her hands.

"What's this? You actually care for her?" Galgo asked in surprise. "That's going to make the next phase so much harder on you. But it's what you deserve, Shego. For turning your back on your family, for leaving them broken and worn out, and for thinking you couldn't be replaced. I'm here to fix all of that. By the time I'm done, they won't miss you anymore. They won't need you anymore. I'm going to wipe you from the face of the earth, and it'll be like you never existed at all. So when people think of you, they'll really be thinking of me. They'll have to. I'll be all that's left of you."

9:30 PM - Go Tower, Go City

Ron's plan (what there was of it) seemed to be working. He crouched low in the shadows and waited, trying his best to block out the cries of pain and the sounds of what he assumed were bodies crashing into various things.

The Wego twins, unfortunately, were best equipped to keep Hego occupied. Mego was the better fighter, but he couldn't hope to hold out against Hego's strength for long. Their only hope relied on the twins overwhelming Hego with sheer numbers. The more they replicated themselves, the more of them there were to take damage. Ron wasn't exactly clear on if all copies felt a hit simultaneously, of if they were somewhat more independent of each other, and there hadn't been time for the twins to explain it, anyway. All that mattered was that they and Mego were willing, and that was all Ron could ask for.

Soon enough, Mego stumbled past Ron's hiding place, sporting two matching black eyes and a busted lip. Hego was right behind him, practically frothing at the mouth and roaring at the top of his lungs, as he tossed Wegos in all directions as they continually swarmed over him. They weren't strong enough to really damage him, but Hego was clearly distracted, and that was what Ron had been counting on. As soon as the fight had moved a safe distance away, he slipped into the hall and broke into a run, ducking into the first open room and shutting the door.

Clearly, it was Hego and Galgo's bedroom: the door was a horrid combination of green, black, and violet. It didn't take Ron long to spot the fish tank on a dresser against the far wall. It looked perfectly normal, if you ignored the fact that there were no fish or water in it.

"Okay, Rufus," Ron muttered as the naked mole rat's head popped out of his pocket, "let's squish us some bugs."

"Hoo, splat!" Rufus agreed, scampering up to Ron's backpack and pulling out two flyswatters.

Ron armed himself with twin cans of bug spray, developed by Wade himself. The spray had the unfortunate side effect of smelling quite a bit like rotting meat, which was meant to fool the bugs into rushing straight into the toxic mist. Fortunately, Wade had had the foresight to provide breathing masks as well, and once both members of Team Possible had donned them, they nodded to each other and cautiously approached the fish tank.

There was no movement within that Ron could see, not even after he tapped the glass several times. Shrugging, he carefully slid the top of the fish tank off enough to fit the nozzle of one can of bug spray in. He counted to three, then mashed and held down the trigger, blanketing much of the fish tank in a sickly, orange fog.

It was hard to see through the spray, but Ron still detected no motion, other than the fog he was creating. After nearly thirty seconds, he stopped spraying and recovered the fish tank. Almost instantly, he heard a tiny thump, followed by several more, though he still couldn't make out what might be causing them.

The answer came rather unexpectedly, in the form of several black bullets that flew out of the tank and shattered the glass, dumping soil all over the dresser and releasing the remaining fog into the air.

Rufus suddenly leaped from Ron's shoulder and swung madly, swatting two more bullets from the air and send them flying against the wall, where they landed with two very wet smacks, leaving bright green trails of a ghastly substance that somehow made Ron forget all about the stench of rotting meat.

It was at this time that the spilled soil seemed to raise up, revealing an enormous amount of large, black beetles. Ron was amazed that they'd all managed to hide under the soil, there were so many of them. The wonder wore off quickly, though, and he lit into them with the spray.

It quickly became obvious that the beetles had emerged from the fish tank, not because they were dying, but because they were angry. The spray seemed to have no effect at all now. He was too dismayed by this new information to realize that the beetles all seemed to have gathered around the black rock on the dresser, and were now leering at him. Rufus, at least, noticed the latter, and threw himself directly at the beetles, howling as he waded into them with his flyswatters.

Ron shrugged and simply threw his spray cans at the beetles, flattening several of them in the process. He then raised his foot (thankful he wasn't overly fond of these particular shoes) and stomped out a great deal more.

And still the beetles came at them in a seemingly endless surge, apparently determined to avenge their squashed fellows. Rufus was now forced to dodge or sidestep in the midst of his swatting, and even Ron found himself ducking a few times as a single beetle launched itself at his head. Those, he quickly tracked with his eyes and smacked down with his gloved hands.

Now, Ron was no bug expert (in fact, he was rather afraid of most bugs), but the only time he'd seen a large group of bugs so offensively organized, they'd been giant cockroaches. He could never recall hearing anything about beetles so resilient they could break through glass and shrug off insecticide like it was nothing.

"They're super bugs," Ron muttered under his breath. "Where's Aviarius and his tons of birds when we finally need him? The guy can spy on Team Go any time he wants, but he can't show up the one time there's live bird food everywhere?"

Rufus gagged at the thought, then splattered another beetle on the dresser and pointed out the green mess it left behind, as if to say, "Would YOU eat that?"

"Good point, Rufus," Ron agreed. "Hey, if you ever see an end to these things, feel free to point it out."

There was no end, however, at least not at the moment. In all the excitement, Ron and Rufus had never gotten a good look at the black rock. So they hadn't noticed the large crack running down the back of it, or that the beetles were pouring out of it at an impossible rate. Before the night was done, though, Ron would have yet another valid reason to hate and fear bugs, and again, no one but Kim would ever believe him.