Karaoke Friday was cancelled since everybody was busy with whatever sciency things they were doing. Shego walked around the facility on the premise of security patrol, but in reality, was just going around to kill time. Why was she even here? Didn't they have state of the art security system?

She entered the cafeteria to get a latte so the walk would be less boring, but decided to have an early lunch. She almost jumped from surprise when a seat opposite of her was taken by the female nerd, whom, as previously stated, Shego did not like, even if they have never exchanged a single word. Seemed that the girl decided to change the situation for some reason. She was clearly nervous, her freckles standing out even more. If Shego was asked to describe the female post grad, she would say – cute as a button. With heavy sarcasm. The girl was a typical redhead – freckles all over her cheeks, light green eyes and pale skin. She also had a button nose that could be considered cute by some. So why was the girl intruding on Shego's private time?

"Hi. We were never properly introduced. I'm Leila."

"So?"

"Hm, mmmm, I am sorry to come like that, but you are the only woman here and I need-"

"Tampons?"

"Oh, not at all!" Leila answered strangely cheerfully. "I knew we will be holed up here for at least a year and I brought extra. I can't imagine asking the supply guys to bring me some."

Well, Shego didn't think about it and she was running out. Sheesh, it will be embarrassing as hell to ask Button-Nose for tampons. So it was in Shego's interests to make 'friends' with the redhead. "So what do you want?"

"Advice. Scientists are a special breed of people. Being a scientist is always first and being a human being second, so… social life is difficult. And since we know exactly what happens in the brain and body while people are attracted to each other or during kissing and sex, it takes all the romance and mystery out of it. So dating is a pain. But you already know all that."

"Why should I?" Shego asked dumbfounded, having absolutely no idea where the girl was going with her monologue.

"Because you and Doctor Drakken are dating."

The statement was made as if it was a universal truth. Yeah, Earth is round - Shego and Drakken are dating. "Are you insane?! What in the universe gave you the idea? Our quarters are on the opposite sides of this ginormous mausoleum, we haven't even talked properly for five months since he has been holed up, as you call it, in the lab! You have never even seen us together, otherwise you would've known there is absolutely no chemistry. So tell me, why in the world?"

"You came here together, right? You clearly care about each other a lot, nobody would agree to come here with no personal relationship. And it's so cute how Doctor Drakken marks 'Shego time' in his old fashioned paper calendar and gets angry when he has to cross it out, because we need to run more tests. He has your picture in his desk drawer. And then there is-"

"What picture?" Shego interrupted now truly intrigued.

"I don't know. I don't pry."

"But how do you know it's mine?"

"Oh, you know… There are not many things men feel guilty looking at," Leila said with a conspirational wink.

"You mean porn."

"Doctor Drakken will never have something like this in his drawer!"

Shego didn't want to disillusion the girl that the only sex her boss had was paid for, because Leila did have to work with the guy. Still, Shego had to weight carefully what she was going to say next. The fact that the post grads thought she and Drakken were dating without any direct evidence was actually a plus. If they could convince people, who they interact with daily, a bunch of old uni champs were a piece of cake. So Shego took the no confirming no denying route.

"Whatever's going between me and Drakken is none of your business."

"Of course, of course! It's not what I wanted to talk about."

"So spill already!" Shego saw how intimidated the girl was by her shout. Good.

"There is this guy here. Andrew. You know with blond curls and cute glasses?" Leila bubbled enthusiastically.

Shego did not know. Frankly, she has yet to meet any of the nerdy squad properly. Yes, she was present at the karaoke, but mostly physically, her mind was always elsewhere. Leila was the first one she was interacting with face to face. But she was not going to demonstrate her ignorance to the younger girl. "So?"

"From the very first day… I felt… this connection. And it just grew while we worked together. And I really like him."

"Again - so?"

"I feel that he is not indifferent towards me and I thought to wait for him to make a move, but nothing is happening!"

"Maybe he is not into you."

"I don't believe it. I have scientific evidence. But no matter. I decided not to wait any longer and ask him out myself."

Scientific evidence? Really? "So?"

"I don't know how!" the young scientist weaned, hitting her forehead onto the table.

"So you came to me… for dating advice?!" Shego exclaimed incredulously.

"Schhhh! What if somebody hears us? And what's wrong with that? You are older, more experienced…"

Overhearing them would indeed be crazy embarrassing. For Shego. On the other hand, didn't she ask the same of Kim Possible when her brain was screwed to the wrong side? The teenaged superhero was dozen levels of uncomfortable. But Shego was Shego, she cut through all the sensitive bullshit. "Frankly, if he is still dragging his feet, he is not worth it. But if you are still hung up on him, just ask him to coffee and call it a date. If he backpaddles, he is not interested."

"Thank you, Miss Shego. I'll do exactly that!" Leila chirped, not only skipping out of the cafeteria.

Shego looked down at her cold latte. What the Hell has just happened?

…..

The next day Shego headed to the lab because, firstly, she was bored out of her mind (one can only watch that many soap operas); secondly, she was intrigued by the content of Drakken's drawer and thirdly, she wanted to see Andrew and check if he was all that. This time Shego did not just walk around the lab, but exercised stealth due to her secret mission. She avoided areas with people and slowly but steadily crept to the back of the lab where she knew the offices were. She didn't visit Drakken's office before, but she assumed it would be either the largest, the most clattered or both. She was, of course, right.

As luck would have it, the offices were empty. And if the sounds of machinery in the front part were any indication, they were growing wheat again. Drakken's wordless grumblings also indicated they were failing again. But no matter. The target – Drakken's table – was in sight. She pulled the first drawer… and it opened without a sound. Her typical blue idiot – doesn't even lock his stuff.

Frankly, Shego did not know what she expected to see there. Some nude cut out from Playboy? She also had no idea how to react when Leila's statement was actually confirmed – there was Shego's photo there. The picture that was published on the cover of one journal or another after the UN conference, the one where the vine pulled them together. What more, the picture was laminated. Shego quietly pushed the drawer closed and walked out of the room her mind full of cotton.

Why was that photo there? To celebrate his accomplishment, his medal? But then, it should be proudly displayed on his table. Come to think of it, nothing of the sort was on the walls. And where was his medal? Surely, it would be the thing anyone entering his office would see first. Obviously, wrong conclusions will be made, if such a picture was to be seen on his table. Which were made at the conference by Mama Lipsky and Shego had to personally ensure her of the opposite – her precious Drewbie was still very much single. With no prospects in sight, but that was another matter entirely. So why keep the photo at all?

She stumbled onto the floating platform in one of the isles and decided to take it for a spin to clear her head. Somehow she found herself in front of the glass cube where the sphere with her plasma energy was held. She was mesmerized by the emerald pulsing energy that was in constant flux, but still contained in such small space. Shego was so out of it, she didn't hear another platform coming up beside her.

"Still didn't blow up, as you see."

"Sheesh! Don't scare people who float twenty feet off the ground, Drakken!"

"Sorry," he replied demurely. "So… checking on your… stuff?"

"Doy. How are your experiments? Didn't sound like a victory."

"We are making progress. Slo-o-ow progress. At least this experiment is a success."

"Big deal. What is this ball supposed to do? Is it a bomb?"

"You want it to be, Shego dear?"

"What else could it be?"

"Ultimately… whatever you want. Isn't it what happens, when you create the blast in your hand? You control its power, its velocity, what it hits, what happens when it hits, when it blows?"

"Well, it's all instinct, I don't make any calculations in my head."

"So the blasts are guided by your conscious thought."

"I suppose so. I've never actually thought about the whole thing from this point of view. And I still don't get where you are going with all this, D."

"When you were trained after the comet incident… No, when you used your powers as a superhero… you majorly hit the bad guys, right?"

"Duh."

"And when you became a villain, you hit everybody who stood in your way."

"Double duh."

"So no matter who you were, you used your powers only for destruction, used while being scared, panicked, angry or aggressive. But what would happen if you launch your blasts without negative emotions?"

Shego looked at Drakken as if his skin turned normal. "Are you kidding me?! When did you become all Zen?"

"Everything has two sides. Take science, for example. Science can be used to create weapons of mass destruction or help a couple to create a child though artificial insemination. This sphere is still intact because you didn't want it to blow up in the first place. Thus your energy is not meant only for destruction! Let's try something!"

Before Shego could react to Drakken polarized declaration, he was off to enter the cube through the side door. She decided to indulge him because she just could not wrap her head about the whole concept. Saving the world was seriously getting into Drakken's head. She watched as he put the sphere with her energy on a hook on the wall and connected another one to the tube.

"Okay, sent another blast here. But before that take a deep breath and release it. Be completely calm."

"Don't you want to get out of there, just in case it indeed blows?"

"Right."

Shego shook her head in exasperation, watching as Drakken the man-child climbed out of the cube and secured the door. The man was hopeless, but still endearing.

What was she thinking?! Calming breaths, calming breaths…

She sent the blast through the tube when she considered herself calm enough. There was the sucking sound again and the sphere closed itself off. Drakken entered the cube again and connected another sphere. The process continued until six spheres were filled up and were hanged in the cube. After securing the door for the last time, Drakken tapped his communication device and ordered Paul to kill lights in Sector B.

They were covered in complete darkness just several seconds later. Well, there was emergency illumination, of course. The lab was built according to proper standards. The darkness was only momentous however. Shego looked at her hand and it was just a bit greener than usual, she also clearly saw boxes stacked on the lower levels under them. With trepidation she returned her glance to the cube where six spheres were blazing with light.

"Now that's some glow!" Drakken exclaimed with his usual enthusiasm.

Shego had no idea how to react. Even being a mad scientist, Drakken held the role of a creator, even if he destroyed more than he managed to actually create. But Shego was only the destroyer and that wasn't only about things or people she attacked. She severed a lot of connections in her not so long life… To see her energy bringing light to darkness… She simply had no words to react to the shifted paradigm…

So she went with the knee-jerk reaction. "So this is what it was all about?! You saving on the electricity bills? This is what my only use is now? A utility supplier?!"

"Are you mad?! Do you understand what I am trusting you with here?! I want these spheres to illuminate the plantations! If even one of them blows up, the plantations will burn to the ground! Everything that we worked for here, will disappear in green flames!"

As always during his rants Drakken was widely gesticulating, completely forgetting about his position in the air. He released the helm and was constantly shifting his body weight while turning around, making the platform wobble from side to side. On instinct, Shego grabbed the helm of Drakken's platform to prevent his fall, making her platform collide with his, knocking them sideways into the nearby shelves. The collision was imminent, but they suddenly stopped midair.

Shego opened one eye to inspect what happened, because she was already prepared for a spectacular barrel roll into the supplies, hopefully not sharp and radioactive ones, but she was used for the worst to always happen in Drakken's employ. What she saw, were flowers around her waist, obviously from Drakken's vine. And another vine, wrapped around a beam, held them aloft. Awkwierd to the max.

"Ergh, thanks for the save. Words I thought I'd never say," Shego mumbled the second sentence under her breath, hoping her boss wouldn't hear it. No such luck, of course.

"Well, Shego, you are not welcome," Drakken spat, retracting the vine from her.

Shego should've just flown away, but her awakened consciousness didn't let her. He has just saved her life. Again. And he didn't actually do anything wrong…

"I was surprised, okay?" she squeezed out. She was never good at admitting being wrong. "If you want to make lamps, we'll make lamps. I just don't believe they will hold. You are so close to success, I don't want you failing because of my… my… wild side."

"Apology accepted. Or at least I suppose that was it, since you've never did it before. It's nice to make things together, don't you think?"