Day 125
Seven henchmen were still sick, and all recovering. It was a lucky thing that most people interested in hench-work were typically young and healthy, and that most villains only sought to hire henchmen who were young and healthy.
Shego was sitting in her usual place at the computer, but she wasn't working. She was filing her nails and watching the combination of clean-up that was occurring in the back, and Drakken who alternated between the workbench and the computer as he analyzed her blood tests. He had spent the previous day in deep study of the research that Global Justice had done on her for more than a decade, and was now comparing his findings to the results of her most recent tests.
The healthy henchmen were breaking down the terrariums, the remaining mice having been released outside the lair and the monkeys flown to Guatemala and set free there. The lab was slowly but surely being returned to normal. The henchmen still wore gloves and masks per Drakken's instructions, but once the vaccine had been shown to work, Drakken had ordered the rest of the henchmen to be injected whether they wanted to be or not. He was determined not to be responsible for any more deaths.
The question still remained what they would all do after the lab was back to normal. The world wasn't remotely normal, and Shego had secretly started to wonder if they shouldn't just put villainy on hold all-together. Taking over the world would be in bad taste both during the crisis, and since Drakken would be famous for saving it once the vaccine was in production. But would either of them be satisfied with the small stuff? Would the henchmen?
And if they did choose to put villainy on hold, what would they do instead? To raise a baby, they needed income.
Drakken hovered over her as he printed something, and she leaned away to give him better access to the keyboard. His task done, he turned to walk away and then stopped suddenly. She watched as he turned back with a smile and then with no warning leaned down and kissed her. Her nail file clattered to the floor.
And then just as suddenly she was alone, breathless and blinking after him in surprise as he grinned before vanishing around the corner of the desk to get his printout.
She was blushing. She looked over at the henchmen, who either hadn't noticed or who had figured out it was none of their business to be watching.
Drakken came back with his printout and after grabbing a folder from the workbench motioned for her to follow him. They left the lab and she hurried to catch up to him.
"What?"
He was glancing at his printout and still grinning.
"Drakken." She grabbed his arm and he paused, his smile fading.
"You want to find out here, or go sit down?"
Her brow rose. "You mean...you already know what's wrong?"
He continued walking and she jumped to catch up again, suddenly feeling uncertain. Had his kiss and his smile been a sign that all was well? Or had they been meant to help calm her down before a bomb was dropped?
Drakken led her into the living room and sat in the corner of the sofa, setting his arm across the back and looking at her in invitation. She sat down and after a moment pressed into his side, but her eyes were narrowing.
"Get on with it," she said.
He took a breath and then smirked slightly. "It happened before."
Her eyes narrowed further. "What? No, I told you it never happened before. I've always been in control of my glow."
"You don't remember it happening, just like now." He set his printout in his lap and then flipped the folder open. She recoiled slightly at the sight of the Global Justice watermark on the first page. "It's all here."
Her eyes lost focus as soon as she attempted to read the first lines on the page.
"Just tell me," she said, crossing her arms and staring at the piles of folders still littering the living room. "What's wrong?"
He brought his arm down and reached around her, flipping through the folder until he found a specific page and pulled it out. He placed it beneath the folder with his printout and then set the folder on his lap, opening it and flipping to a page he had marked with a sticky note.
"Nothing's wrong." He pointed down to the page out of the folder. She swallowed anxiously and leaned forward to read as he pointed down to a line. "'Subject was sleeping in the jet after a mission,'" Drakken read, "'when her glow spontaneously activated. Other subjects woke her and she had no explanation.' You were twelve years old."
Shego peered at the small paragraph, but Drakken suddenly flipped to another marked page. "'Subject 2 was arguing with Subject 1 when her glow activated outside of her control. She was unaware of the active glow for several seconds until Subject 1 informed her.'" Shego just glimpsed the year on the page that showed she had been thirteen before Drakken flipped the page again. "'Glow activated while subject was in gym class at school.'"
Shego stopped listening to Drakken as she saw that her age for that one had been thirteen as well, and also that Drakken had at least a dozen more sticky notes. She set her hand down on the page he was reading from to stop him.
"I get the idea. It's happened a lot. Glow ignites and I'm not aware. Now get to the point."
Drakken pulled the printout and the other page he had set aside from beneath the folder and placed them side-by-side atop it.
"Take a look."
"Drakken!" she snarled.
"Okay, fine," he said, unmoved by her ire. He grinned at her. "But just so you know, it happened on and off from the time you were twelve until you were nineteen, with the most frequent occurrences while you were fifteen."
"Get...to...the...point," she growled.
He sighed. "Hormone changes."
Her face fell into a deep scowl as she stared at him. He raised his brow innocently and pointed down to the two papers. She finally looked down to where he pointed. She found the identical words naming various hormones with the similar numbers next to them on each page, indicating their increase.
Shego sat back abruptly, blinking. After a second she leaned her head against his shoulder as she took in the information. She took in a deep breath.
"...Seriously? That's it?"
"The increase and release of certain hormones," he said matter-of-factually. "It happened all throughout the years you were go—...going through puberty. And now—"
"Because I'm pregnant."
He placed both papers inside the folder and then dropped it on the floor as he took both of her hands in his. She watched his content face as he kissed first her knuckles, and then her palms. She wondered, now that he had gotten over whatever had held him back from being affectionate...just how affectionate he was going to become.
"So...what happened back then?" she sighed.
"They just kept an eye on you so you wouldn't set anything on fire... And it eventually stopped."
Shego slumped. "That's really all it is?"
"Mhmm," he murmured, kissing the inside of her wrist.
Shego sniffed in annoyance and pulled one of her hands away to reach across the couch for the TV remote. After she pressed the power and began watching the screen for distraction, he pulled her hand back and continued kissing her palms. She stared at the screen and tried to quell her rising frustration. She was relieved that there wasn't anything wrong with her, but upset that she had become so worried and stressed over nothing.
"So what do you think of all this?" she asked, nodding at the TV. He glanced at the screen briefly before he shrugged and kissed the backs of her hands. As she watched him she felt a grin coming to her face, despite her mood. She looked back at the headlines rolling across the TV screen. "If it really was a conspiracy, whoever's responsible might be competition for us."
This got his attention, and he paused with her hands held up between them as he narrowed his eyes at the television. After about a minute of listening to the broadcast he sighed and looked back at her.
"No one cares..."
Shego's first reaction was surprise, but she considered his words. She thought about how stressed the pandemic had made her, with the disease itself actually having been a small part of the problem. It was the ripping away of her life that had been the real trouble, and she realized that Drakken was probably right. If she as a villain who thrived on power and chaos couldn't gather the energy to either ally with or take revenge against a potential evil power who may have created the disease...then normal people certainly didn't care.
She still just wanted her life back.
"Hmm, you're right," she sighed, smiling slightly as he had resumed kissing her hands and was presently reaching for the lapels of her jacket. "Stop it," she said with a smirk as he pushed her jacket aside and started kissing her bare shoulder.
He looked up. "Do you really want me to?"
She grinned and then peeled out of her jacket. "No."
She lay back on the sofa and was surprised when he only climbed so far over her to kiss her pregnant belly through her shirt. She watched him curiously as he gently rested his hands atop her abdomen and placed a few more kisses there before starting to tug the bottom of her shirt up.
"Mmh, you don't really want to see green stretch marks up close," she said with a grimace.
He rested his cheek against her belly with a happy hum, and all she could see was the top of his head. After a moment she reached down and felt into his hair until her fingers scraped his scalp. He hummed happily again...and then she plucked a gray hair out of his head.
"Ow!" he complained, looking up at her. She rubbed the gray hair between her thumb and forefinger, causing it to spin. He frowned at her teasing and she tossed the hair away with a laugh.
"You... You've got stretch marks!" he countered her unspoken comments about his apparent aging.
"Only because of the baby," she said, reaching for him. She dragged him forward by the shoulders of his lab coat with him moving willingly until he lay fully over her. She brought her face up, her lips parted and tongue ready to attack his, when she caught sight of a familiar image in her periphery and turned to face the TV.
Drakken's lips hit her cheek, but she was focused on the screen where the four directors of the World Health Organization were holding a press conference.
"Look!" she said, tapping his shoulder and pointing.
He turned and his eyes widened at the sight of the quartet who had been so suspicious of them two days prior who were clearly gearing up to make an announcement. Shego began wriggling up to lay on her side and Drakken slipped behind her as she fished for the remote and turned the volume up.
"A vaccine candidate has been developed and Phase I testing has been completed," the director, Ms. Moon said.
"It didn't even take them two days!" Drakken said in excitement.
"Now we know your first question," Moon addressed the gathered members of the press, "will be why no one was told before now that this vaccine existed."
Shego reached back and gripped Drakken's thigh. This would be it. Their—or rather, his—big moment. She felt Drakken release an anxious breath behind her. She knew he really hadn't done it for the glory. But he would definitely enjoy it.
"This vaccine has turned out to be something of a miracle. It has been developed and tested faster than any vaccine in history. The World Health Organization has determined it to be so effective in fact, that we are judging it worthy of skipping the Phase II trials and moving immediately into Phase III. Because of this miracle, we felt it wasn't right to get the hopes of the entire world up should it have been a failure."
Drakken slowly sat up. Shego looked at his stunned expression knowing that hers wasn't too far removed.
"Are they actually saying...?" she started to say, but couldn't finish as the WHO director continued.
"Of course it will still be several months before it will be available to the public, but if all goes well we may see distribution by the end of this year."
"The end of—!" Drakken said as he scooted out from behind Shego and bounded to his feet.
Various journalists had begun asking questions of the WHO director. Shego stood up and set a hand on Drakken's arm in reassurance. He looked devastated. But the initial evidence of a lie may not be the end of it. There was still opportunity for them to credit Drakken with the development of the vaccine.
Thirty minutes later however, Drakken's devastation had turned to anger as absolutely no mention had been made of the 'miracle vaccine's' creator. He alternated between pacing a small track in front of the sofa and glaring at the television. As the press conference wrapped up and it was clear that they had been betrayed—just not in the way they had anticipated—she turned the TV off and stood in front of him.
"So. Revenge?"
Drakken continued glaring at the now-dark TV as he ground his teeth. He slowly looked down at her.
"Yes... Would you like to see my new plan?" he asked, gesturing back toward the lab.
"Wait, already?"
"For taking over the world."
"Whoa, time out," she said, grabbing his arms as he had already started out of the room. "I like the sound of that, but we've got bigger things to think about."
He frowned and lifted a brow. "Such as?"
She let go of his arms and gestured toward her abdomen with both hands.
The anger started to fade from his face. "Oh."
"Believe me Dr. D., I'm with you on this. But...we need to talk about the future."
He turned back to face her. "What do you mean?"
"I mean...are we really going to try to take over the world while we're changing diapers?"
He grimaced.
"We need to figure out our priorities," she continued. "And you still need to get healthy."
He looked thoughtful, and after several seconds his shoulders collapsed as he gave a small sigh.
"Okay. Priority number two...no, three, will be revenge."
She lifted a curious brow. "What are two and one?"
"Two is the baby," he said with a smile, putting his arms around her waist.
She pursed her lips. The baby owned the top spot, in her opinion... She wondered what he considered more important.
"But...first things first," he continued, bringing his arms back around to take her hands and kiss them gently. "You need to get a white dress."
Day 142
The world was calling it a miracle. Except those who weren't, who had decided it was either a weapon or too good to be true. Less than three weeks after the WHO had taken Drakken's vaccine and begun testing it, they had approved it for public distribution. They made all of the specifics available for the skeptical to see and sent it worldwide for every member-country to analyze for themselves.
All the specifics of course, except who had truly developed it. For some reason there was absolutely no mention of Drakken; the news networks only ever said "doctors" with regards to who was responsible for the miracle.
Five countries had analyzed and certified the vaccine within a few days, and that very morning as Shego and Drakken sat in the lab watching the broadcast on the computer, the first vaccinations were about to be given at a half-dozen hospitals in one of the hot zones. A news helicopter showed people lined up in their cars for the drive-thru for what looked like half a mile.
Meanwhile, protests by those who doubted the vaccine went on outside the distribution sites. The protests were unique by the fact that people stayed in their vehicles due to the distancing regulations. But the endless honking of horns was annoying more than it was effective.
The unprecedented speed with which the vaccine had been created was understandably suspect. But in general, people seemed more inclined to trust the vaccine than not. This had the strange effect of both pleasing Drakken and enraging him as his 'greatest invention ever' was in essence dominating the world, just for good rather than evil. The only problem was that his name wasn't attached to it.
After the first week they had called the UN. They were ignored as soon as they identified themselves. They tried again without identification and just said they were calling with information about the vaccine, but that too was ignored. It was enough for Drakken to decide they had indeed been slighted and to frantically begin working on a doomsday weapon to destroy the United Nations headquarters.
Shego had spent most of her days since then trying to convince Drakken of the many reasons why it was a bad idea to send a deadly missile into New York City if he wanted positive recognition. She also kept pitching alternatives no matter how chaotic since he was so hell-bent.
Coming up with plans that tickled his eclectic fancy was not her strongest point, so she finally gave up and came up with something that was more her style. And when she'd whispered it in Drakken's ear that morning his distress seemed to lessen, and they had been working on it together every hour since breakfast. They only stopped to watch the news to give the UN one last chance to own up to the truth.
"Nyeh. Nnh. Nraahhrgh!" Drakken shouted after Shego turned off the broadcast.
"Yeah I know. But get back here, this is almost finished processing."
Drakken practically skipped back to her side. "It is?"
"Yeah," she said, leaning back and looking him up and down as she surveyed the giddy hope in his eyes. She wanted to roll her own, but Drakken being back to his typical...atypical-for-most-humans behavior, meant his health was on the rise.
It was a big plus in a world with over 200,000 dead from a pandemic and the global social climate tending toward fear and depression. If Shego hadn't had Drakken and her pregnancy to focus on, she may well have gotten trapped again on the world's train to oblivion herself.
"You ready to make the call?"
"Um. I thought you would do it," Drakken answered, fidgeting nervously.
"Ugh, we're both doing it."
Shego opened the web browser and navigated to particular website. After activating the webcam she clicked on the 'call' button, and the computer showed it was connecting.
"Neh...are you sure about this?" Drakken asked.
"Relax," Shego said.
The call connected and a moment later a low-resolution image of the face of Kim Possible appeared.
"Shego? Drakken?"
"Hey Kimmie, got a favor to ask," Shego greeted with a smirk.
"Favor? ...What kind of favor?" the teen asked suspiciously. Suddenly, the face of her blond-haired side-kick filled the frame. "Whoa, no way, we don't do favors for villains."
"Wait, Ron. Let's at least...hear them out."
The image on the screen shifted rapidly as both teens talked and the device they used to communicate was waved around.
"Are you going softer on them now because Shego's pregn—"
"Ron!" Possible's face filled the screen again. "Um...anyway. You were saying?"
Drakken leaned down so his face was picked up by the webcam next to Shego's.
"Not that we couldn't do this ourselves..." he said with a grimace, "but...you carry a certain clout with people on the right side of the law."
"Do you watch the news?" Shego interrupted.
"Yeah..." Possible affirmed, listening to the two villains intently.
"Notice how Director What's-her-Name didn't credit Dr. D. with creating the vaccine?"
Half of Kim's face was suddenly pushed out of the screen as her side-kick's face pushed in.
"Yeah, what was with that? I know you said there wasn't a catch to you giving away the vaccine, but it just seems like common courtesy to acknowledge who made it."
"Bingo, Side-kick," Shego said, leaning back in the chair.
"They've stolen my greatest achievement ever!" Drakken finally burst, throwing his hands up.
Shego frowned at him. "A-hem," she mock-cleared her throat.
Drakken blinked, and then quickly knelt down at her side. "I mean, um, you, that is...you and the baby, are my...greatest...achievement?"
"Hah! Theory confirmed!" Stoppable said.
"Uh-huh, a-booyah!" a tiny voice echoed, and Shego looked up to see the pink rodent-type creature on the teen's shoulder.
"Ohhh but it's still sick and wrong!"
"Ron!"
"Hey!" Shego said with a frown and leaned forward again.
"Sooo..." Possible continued, "what exactly is it you want our help with?"
Shego exchanged a look with Drakken.
"Your website gets...how many hits in a day?" Drakken asked.
"Well... Several...hundred-thousand. Why?"
"Because you can get the word out about the truth, that it was my genius that created the vaccine that is going to save the world!" said Drakken.
Possible looked uncertain. "Well..."
"We have all the security footage from the lab while the vaccine was being tested," Shego explained, "and we edited it down into one summary video, sort of a documentary."
"It's closed-captioned," Drakken added.
Stoppable's face pushed into the screen again. "Mm, but that's encouraging bad thinking. People shouldn't always believe everything they see."
"Ron, for the last time, the moon landing was not faked!"
Shego cleared her throat to get the teens' attentions. "Look, we just want you to post our video on your website."
"And alert national news," Drakken added with a cunning grin.
"Then the word will spread and... Can't believe I'm saying this," Shego said, but as she turned to look at Drakken her lips curled up into a small grin. "Dr. D.'s genius will get the recognition it deserves."
"Yes! Hahahaha!" Drakken laughed, something between a villainous cackle and gleeful abandon. Shego rolled her eyes and turned back to the skeptical faces of the teens.
"I don't know..." Possible said.
"Did I forget to mention the back-up plan?" Drakken said, his laughter ending abruptly.
The teens looked perplexed, and Shego adjusted the angle of the webcam as Drakken strode deeper into the lab, fully returned to normal, and stood next to a large missile launcher which he patted affectionately.
"I talked Dr. D. out of destroying the UN headquarters with his new doomsday missile because I was sure you would take our side," Shego explained. "But if you don't...he's pretty set on getting the credit for this, one way or another."
Possible frowned. "Threatening to blow up the United Nations isn't the way to negotiate, Shego."
Shego shrugged. "Didn't say it was. But you know Drakken. I'm amazed I've gotten him to hold off for this long."
Possible seemed unmoved, and Shego wondered if she and Drakken wouldn't be jumping headfirst back into the super-villain lifestyle that very day. But then the blond side-kick began whispering something into the cheerleader's ear. The pink rodent leaned forward on his shoulder to listen.
"Shego...what exactly are your plans now?" Possible asked.
This startled Shego, and she leaned back and crossed her arms as she frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean...it's pretty obvious that you're...well, pregnant. Is Drakken still going to try to take over the world? When the two of you—"
"Oh, the grossness!" Stoppable interjected.
"...Have a baby?"
Shego blinked and then glanced away. She and Drakken still hadn't had that talk, but it was fairly obvious that villainy hadn't left Drakken's mind. Nor had it left hers. But the reality that they simply wouldn't be able to maintain the same lifestyle was pressing more and more on her mind, the larger her baby-bump grew.
Drakken returned to her side from his new doomsday missile and set a hand on her shoulder. Shego shook herself from her thoughts and set her face in determination as she turned back to the teens.
"I can tell you one thing for sure. Getting credit for saving the world would definitely put big points in the 'go straight' column."
Possible and Stoppable exchanged looks again. This time, it was the pink rodent who hopped up to whisper something in the teen heroine's ear. The red-head's brow rose, and after a moment she grinned.
"Promise you'll retire from evil, and I'll make sure you get the credit for the vaccine," Possible said.
"What!?" Drakken gasped in dismay. Shego felt a lump form in her throat, but she slowly stood up and set her piercing gaze on Drakken. He looked down at her almost pleadingly as he wrung his hands and glanced around the lab as if something in there would provide an answer or escape.
Shego certainly wasn't about to have the detestable teen telling her how to live her life. But she and Drakken did need to end the current chapter. It was time to put the pandemic behind them even if the world wasn't ready to, and get on with...whatever would come next. And if agreeing to go straight was the way to do it, then so be it.
No one needed to know it would be a lie.
Shego set her hands on Drakken's biceps and gripped them, staring at him intently. She hoped he would get the message to trust her and that all would be well. His darting, frantic eyes slowly came to focus on hers. She watched over the course of several seconds as understanding gradually filled his face and the tension began to leave his body. She offered him a little smirk before turning back to face the teens.
"You can't come after us either," Shego added to Possible's ultimatum. "Or let the law come after us. We'll just disappear. That good enough for you?"
The teens and the pink rodent exchanged looks once more. "You'll...really go straight? Just like that? Just for a little fame?" Possible asked.
Drakken set his arm around Shego's waist as he spoke. "I have...different priorities now."
His smile was genuine, and Shego couldn't suppress the one that came to her face in response. On the screen, Possible blinked a few times and shook her head in disbelief.
"O-...kay then. We...have a deal, I guess. How do you want to get me this video?"
"We already put it on Dr. D's website, but it doesn't get many hits," Shego said. Drakken grumbled slightly, and Shego continued. "We figured your computer kid could take it from there."
"Uh...yeah. I'll get Wade on it."
Drakken dropped down into the computer chair, still grinning. "You won't regret this, Kim Possible."
"Um..." The look on her face suggested she already did, but Shego's attention was yanked away as Drakken pulled her down into his lap. She blinked in surprise as he cuddled her close to him.
"Eww, ohhhh, sick and wrong!"
The video-call was suddenly ended, and Shego was surprised to find herself blushing as she looked up into Drakken's face.
"Wh-what's the idea?" was what leapt from her lips. For some reason she wasn't keen on the idea of Kim Possible and her side-kick seeing she and Drakken like that.
Drakken's answer came in sing-song. "I'm going to be famous, and Kim Possible won't come after us!"
Shego started to relax.
"And if we bide our time..." he continued with narrowed, calculating eyes, "she'll never see it coming when we take over the world!"
Shego's brow rose, and despite all the practical thoughts swirling in her head about parenthood she couldn't help the smirk that came to her face seeing the confident grin on his.
"Got a plan already?"
"Do I have a plan!" he declared. "It will take some tweaking... I'll need someone else to do the legwork as you'll be busy with the baby, but—"
"Excuse me, I'll be busy? This kid is fifty percent yours. That means fifty percent of the dirty diapers, at least."
Drakken tugged at his collar anxiously. "Um. Yes. Well. As I was saying, someone else will have to do the legwork because there are a number of elements I still need to acquire from a variety of sources..."
"Why not just invent whatever you need yourself?"
His lip twisted. "Because..." he drew the word out, "what I need already exists. There's no need to waste time and money when I can just steal it."
Drakken was absently rubbing her abdomen as he talked and was gently spinning the wheeled desk chair back and forth. Shego rested her head on his shoulder and smiled.
"You know... I like the sound of that."