CHAPTER 22 - Wednesday, 2 days before Prom Night
Author's Note: To mark the reaching of a milestone of more than 100,000 words, and because it's Christmas and Hannukah next week, I am publishing two chapters today. Chapter 24 - Prom Day itself, or at least the start of it - will follow in mid-January.
Tibet
The normally fearless thief had slept poorly that night, knowing that she was going to have to account for her actions to her boss this morning. Not only had she gone AWOL for several days, but she was now in possession of the reason why GJ had discontinued the Phoebus project. And it scared her witless.
Sitting in the hoverplane cockpit, auto-pilot engaged, Shego opened the Phoebus folder and started reading. Much of the early content seemed to be the results of psychological tests administered to a group of volunteers – convicts on death row promised remission if they took part.
The name of Jason Farnaby appeared frequently. He seemed to be the senior investigator. Shego thought back to when she first came across that name – in the employee listing on the UN server which gave her the clue to Bourne. Farnaby was described as a neuroscientist. It looked as though he was testing the convicts for enhanced intelligence after exposure to the Phoebus device. And given his profession, it was a fair bet that he had something to do with the device itself.
So far so expected. She had pretty much figured out that Bourne was some sort of further development of the Phoebus idea.
The next section of the file was much more interesting however. The purpose of the project was made clear – to create supersoldiers who could out-think their foes and experience no fear. The same motivation in fact that had led Drakken to create the synthodrone army.
But as she read on, it became apparent that things hadn't gone to plan. A rodent, codename Algernon, had been exposed to the Phoebus device at the same time as the prisoners. At first, Algernon had shown the expected signs of increased intelligence. But within days, the effect wore off and Algernon had reverted to a normal mouse.
Shego recalled that it was around this time that Stoppable's naked mole-rat had been inadvertently exposed to the beam. Last time she saw the teen heroes, the creature hadn't shown any different behavior from previously. She concluded that the Phoebus device had simply not worked for very long, as indeed Zaruda had told them that first day in Des Moines.
However, the file didn't end there. Farnaby had boosted the power of the Phoebus.
Algernon was again the guinea pig. This time he seemed fine at first, running his maze in record time as before. But after several days he started behaving erratically. On day seven, the investigators found him foaming at the muzzle. And on day nine he was found dead in his cage. A post-mortem had revealed massive brain damage.
The convicts fared even worse. Enhanced intelligence for a few days, then this gradually faded. To be replaced after two weeks by the onset of paranoia. Terrifying daytime hallucinations that robbed the men of rest. By the end of the fifth week, nightmares so real the convicts were terrified to go to sleep.
Two weeks later, full-blown psychosis had set in. The notes clinically documented the screams of the convicts driven insane by their visions.
And between weeks nine and eleven, every single convict was found dead in their padded cells. The record showed that battle-hardened veterans needed counselling after seeing the faces of the dead men.
The file ended with a brief note from Dr. Jason Farnaby that there was no point in continuing with the Phoebus project and that the men's families should be informed that they had hung themselves in their cells.
Shego was headed for breakfast when Manfred emerged from a door in front of her. A look of relief followed by doubt crossed his face when he spotted her.
"So you finally returned. Where were you?" he demanded. "Drakken has been going frantic with worry." The security chief was unable to hide a look of deep suspicion.
Shego was in no mood to cooperate after a rough night.
"I don't answer to you," she responded. "You answer to me, remember?"
Manfred looked evenly at her. "I am responsible for security. If you want to argue, let's go and speak to the boss. Right now."
Shego looked uncomfortably at the indignant man. I could do with an ally here, she thought.
Swallowing her pride, she gestured to Manfred to follow her into his room.
Manfred shut and locked the door behind them.
"So spill," he bid the thief.
Manfred listened as Shego described the last few days, leaving out any reference to having had to return to the lair to purloin the EMA.
"So you just decided to go off on a side-trip in order to test some theory of yours?" he responded skeptically. "And you didn't let anyone know about this?"
Shego had the grace to look embarrassed. "I didn't expect to be away so long, until the bastards shot and depowered me," she muttered.
She's holding something back. But I'll play along for now.
She looked beseechingly at Manfred. "There's something else. I found out more about the Phoebus device that Doctor D used to increase his intelligence."
Manfred raised an eyebrow as she summarized the Phoebus file.
"I think it's going to drive him mad," she concluded. "And it will eventually kill him."
She looked closely at Manfred for a response. Her mouth dropped open as Manfred started laughing.
"Of course he's mad, Shego. He's a supervillain. Every one of them is mad. Why else do you think they continue with their impossible schemes to take over the world?" he air-quoted. "You and I are the only sane people around here."
Shego started to protest but Manfred continued.
"If I were you I'd keep this little gem to myself. Drakken is about to move us out to the USA and he barely trusts anyone at the moment, especially you. Particularly as we've just discovered that Dementor is a traitor."
She was stunned. "What about Dementor?" she queried.
"I caught him in the act trying to take control of the synthodrones. We have him locked up. So let's not upset the boss, ok? You wouldn't want him blaming your absence for his failure would you?" The implied threat was clear.
He grinned at her shocked face. "Leave Drakken to me. But not a word about madness. Once this is all over we can get the boss checked out if you like."
Manfred looked conspiratorially at Shego. "Besides, I have big plans for when this whole thing ends in tears." He didn't tell Shego that Drakken wasn't the only person who had acquired ownership of some gold when Manfred visited Fort Knox. A cool one hundred million dollars was waiting for him when he left Drakken's employ. And frankly, if Drakken did go and die like Shego seemed to think, it would make no real difference to his plans.
Shego was recognizing that she was not the only member of the team who would ultimately put him or herself first, but she knew Drakken better than Manfred and there was something about this latest caper – even as yet unexplained – that suggested to her that Drakken had thought the plan through much more carefully than in the past. And if, unlikely as it may be, this one were to succeed, she wanted to be part of it. Right at the heart. Not a barely-trusted sidekick kept in the dark because she had told her boss he was going mad.
Maybe he'll be okay. Drakken had experienced the modified Phoebus device that extended his intelligence beyond the few days of the original device. Hopefully that will prevent the other symptoms appearing. I'm worrying too much. His odd behavior is probably just the result of stress. He's always been wacky after all.
Ignoring her nagging doubts about Drakken's current state of mind, Shego decided to go with the flow.
Middleton High School
"Kim, can I talk to you a minute?"
Kim looked up from the table where she had been cutting out shapes from colored paper. She was glowing with anticipation for the Prom that was only two days away and she had joined the gym decoration committee now that she was definitely going to attend.
"Hi Tara," she smiled. The blonde smiled back, looking admiringly at the collection of mobiles that were in the process of being assembled before they would be hung from the ceiling of the gym.
"Wow, the committee is really going to town this year," she complimented.
"You can thank Mr. Barkin for that," the redhead explained. "He managed to secure a bigger budget this year from the school board. He told them that he was expecting a county mental health snap inspection and the pupils needed cheering up."
Tara grinned. Sometimes Steve Barkin could seem almost human.
She returned to the reason she had come.
"I wanted to ask if you and Eric would share a table with Josh and me."
The girl had forgiven Kim for the events of the Middleton Days fair a few weeks ago. She'd warmed up to Josh during that period and had made up her mind to forget her crush on Ron: he seemed in any case to be avoiding her since the moodulator fiasco and showed no signs of returning her affections. Fortunately Josh seemed oblivious to her residual feelings for her former crush and had shown himself to be a very attentive boyfriend, even going so far as to present her with a pencil sketch he had made of her that had attracted much admiration from the cheer squad.
Despite her relative distain for the food chain, Tara was not immune to the satisfaction of being escorted by a hottie. She was sure that Josh would make her Prom Night memorable. After that, who knew?
Kim thought back to that night when she and Ron had encountered Tara and Josh at the fair. Relations between the two girls had been frosty that night. She was glad that was behind them.
"That would be awesome, Tara," she enthused. "But I wouldn't want to cramp your style. I mean, if you had plans for 'us time' that night"?
Tara giggled. "Mum and Dad have agreed to let me stay out till eleven. Plenty of room for 'us time' after the Prom!"
It was a time-honored tradition after the Junior Prom to park with your date at Lookout Point halfway up Mount Middleton. It was said that half the population of the town had had their first kiss there and the other half had been conceived there.
Kim hoped that Eric knew about Lookout Point. She also had an extension on her evening.
"Hi guys." Felix had spotted the pair from where he was cutting lengths of silky material into long strips, ready to be sewn into wall coverings by his girlfriend.
"Felix! Mon!" Kim welcomed them as Monique and Felix made their way towards her. They exchanged hugs.
Felix coughed. "I wanted to ask you guys a favor."
Kim and Tara looked expectantly.
He reddened. "Would you guys be happy if Ron joined your table on Friday?" He paused. "Our own table's full now: Bonnie and Brick, and Jessica and Steve are with us."
Kim was startled. She had been expecting that Mon and Felix would make up the other pair on her own table. She'd forgotten that Monique and Brick got on surprisingly well over a shared love of wrestling, so much so in fact that Bonnie had shown some signs of jealousy lately.
Tara was the first to respond. "Is Ron even coming?" she queried. "He seems a bit out of sorts at the moment. And I don't think he has a date."
Felix twisted uncomfortably in his chair. "I don't know yet, but I was hoping that if he knew he was with friends he'd agree to come."
Kim felt guilty that she had neglected her friend for the last few days. Maybe this was an opportunity to spend some time with him.
Kim bit her lip. "Tara, if Ron comes, would you be happy if he joined us?" The relationship chaos of Middleton Days was still a painful memory.
Tara felt a frisson of pleasure. "Of course, and I'm sure Josh would be happy too."
Kim relented. "Then I'll persuade him to come." She paused. "So long as he promises not to show up dressed as a pickle."
The friends looked at each other and burst into peals of laughter.
Tibet
"Ah, Shego, come on in. Take a seat."
The blue-skinned villain smiled silkily as he waved his arm and directed her to a chair opposite Manfred.
Shego sat down gingerly, unsure of Drakken's frame of mind
Drakken gestured to his security boss. "Manfred has just explained to me that you had gone to see your brothers before Project Nemesis launches. Nice familial sentiment, Shego, but do you realize the security breach you risked?"
Shego looked chastened, relieved that Manfred had kept her secret but uncomfortably aware that she was now beholden to him.
"I expected you to have more sense than that," her boss continued. "I'll let it pass this time but any more insubordination and …"
And what? Drakken could hear his mother shouting at him not to trust Shego.
"Shego, can I trust you?" Drakken asked silkily.
She hesitated. "Yes Doctor D, of course you can." She looked uncomfortable at the question.
I hope so, he thought. Manfred's explanation of Shego's absence was unconvincing and he had the distinct impression that the security chief was covering for her. There was something they weren't telling him and it made him uneasy. He didn't really think she was a traitor but his plan required her complete loyalty.
Trust but verify, he recalled the phrase. Meanwhile, he needed both of their cooperation for Nemesis to succeed. He decided to continue as planned but keep his eyes and ears open.
"Shego. Manfred. It's time to share the details of my plan with you," he announced loftily.
A warm feeling went through the thief as she heard his words.
"You can rely on me, Doctor D," she responded with enthusiasm. She was determined to give Drakken no further cause to doubt her.
Her boss produced two copies of a portfolio entitled Project Nemesis: Final.
"Read this," he ordered the two of them.
As Shego pored over the details of the plan that was due to commence in just a couple of days she grew more and more excited.
This could actually work, she believed. She remembered a conversation with Drakken when he pointed out to her that if she couldn't work out the plot then neither could Kim Possible. Now that she could see how the different elements of the plan fitted together – synthodrones, Eric the hottie, Li'l Diablos – she began to appreciate the brilliance of the plan. Cupcake would never see this trap coming until it snapped shut on her. She wouldn't even know there was something to worry about until it was far too late.
Shego recalled a dream she had once had where she had become the world-ruling Supreme One by separating Kim and Ron. Drakken seems to have had exactly the same idea. The teenager's Achilles heel was that she didn't seem to appreciate how important her sidekick was to her success. Drakken's plan ensured that Stoppable would be out of the picture at the start leaving Kimmie isolated.
Now Shego understood why Drakken was so paranoid about security. The whole plot hinged on the element of surprise at each stage. Thanks to some masterly indirection, Drakken's opponents were even now looking for the wrong villain. By the time they realized that Drakken was the genius behind Project Nemesis there would be nothing they could do.
She particularly liked the section on retribution for their enemies. Nerdlinger, Betty Director and her villainous brother Gemini, the rest of the supervillain community, Teams Impossible and Go and the major world leaders would all have to swear allegiance to the Emperor unless they wanted to spend the rest of their lives in prison. Then they would be moodulated to ensure compliance.
Drakken had some personal scores to settle too. He was going to extract groveling apologies from his former college friends, especially from James Possible. If the man behaved, he could keep a job at the Space Center cleaning the toilets. And he'd never forgotten that fellow student Anne Morrow had declined his request for a date in his first year at college. She would make a decorative addition to his household staff. And a hostage to ensure James Possible's compliance. He didn't want either of the Possibles to be moodulated – they were to be fully aware of their fates.
Shego also had some scores to settle, starting with Jack Hench. But she especially looked forward to rubbing Kim Possible's nose in her defeat before doing with the teenager whatever Drakken intended. Incarceration? Exile? Keeping her around as a constant reminder of his victory? The document was silent on that. Perhaps Drakken hadn't made his mind up yet?
Drakken watched carefully as his two subordinates continued to read. Shego's role would be to take charge of Phase One of the plan, which involved taking care of Team Possible. Manfred's task would be to lead the synthodrones into battle and ensure that Global Justice was neutralized as a resistance, giving time for the main event to take place that would end the night with total victory for Emperor Drakken. He expected that this would be achieved with minimal casualties – the world would be bound to concede defeat as soon as they recognized the odds in Drakken's favor.
Drakken drew their attention. "This is your chance to tell me any weaknesses in the plan that either of you can see."
He's actually willing to take advice! Shego felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. I must be wrong about him going mad.
She looked through the document, trying to find flaws.
Shego raised a hand. "There's a risk that the tower could be shut down. That feels like a weak spot."
"Good thinking, Shego," the villain praised. "But don't worry I've got that covered." He drew her attention to the following page. She marveled as she finished the document.
Drakken has really thought of everything this time. Two days from now the years of hurt and frustration will be at an end.
Manfred looked thoughtful. He was a seasoned warrior. While he had no doubt of the final outcome – he was as impressed with the plan as Shego was – he had a shrewd idea that this would be anything but bloodless. He could only hope that Drakken would not lose resolve when things turned really ugly. Not to mention managing the post-victory world.
"Not a word to anyone about what you have just read," Drakken cautioned as he collected in the copies of Nemesis. "Others will be told when we get to the USA and not before."
He closed the meeting. The team needed to pack up their possessions, after which he needed to supervise the loading of the transport planes that would ferry the team and six hundred synthodrones to Bueno Nacho HQ.
Middleton High School
Ron looked up from his locker as he heard a familiar voice calling across the hall to him.
Kim stood waiting for him. For once she was alone. She hesitated as she saw a forlorn look on the boy's face.
Oh Ron, I've been so wrapped up in Eric that I've neglected our friendship.
Her best friend deserved better. Once Prom was over she would find a way of spending more time with him. And maybe she could fix him up with someone. Eric had mentioned a female cousin.
He waited for her to open the conversation.
Kim wavered, feeling slightly ill at ease, before putting a smile on her face.
"I've just been speaking to Tara and we were wondering – no, we were hoping – if you would join our table at the Prom on Friday." Kim looked eagerly at her best friend.
Ron was not planning to attend the Prom. He would be unaccompanied, in common with the nerds and other assorted weirdos. He would rather spend the evening on his own at Bueno Nacho than be a spare wheel to Tara, Kim, Josh and Eric.
But then he remembered that he had been banned from Bueno Nacho.
He looked up at Kim, taken aback to be hit with the full force of the puppy-dog pout.
"Pwease," the girl cooed. "It'll be a chance for us to catch up. And Felix and Monique will be there too. I've even told Wade not to call me."
He considered. As an alternative to staying at home and fending off well-meant but embarrassing questions from his parents, the Prom didn't perhaps sound so bad after all. And they were going to be serving nacos according to Felix, who had finally asked Monique to be his Prom date, to the obvious delight of both parties.
And Kim had just unleashed her nuclear weapon on him.
Ron felt a rustle in his pocket. Rufus was trying to climb out. "Nacosssssssss," the little creature chittered. Someone had no doubts.
Maybe it's time I just chilled and tried to enjoy myself, he thought. How bad can it be to get to spend an evening with Kim and Tara, even if their boyfriends are there too? He could always go and talk to Felix and Monique if things got too awkward on his table.
He made up his mind.
"Okay Kim," he replied with a smile. Her face lit up. "That's wonderful, Ron. Tara will be so thrilled!" Pleased with her achievement the girl turned to walk away.
Thinking of Bueno Nacho had reminded Ron of the strange conversation he had overheard.
"Er Kim?" he asked hesitantly.
She waited for him to continue.
"There's something very wrongsick going on at Bueno Nacho and I was hoping that we could …"
Kim frowned as she struggled to conceal her irritation. Ron's obsession with changes at BN could go way too far.
"Ron, we'll take a look next week, I promise," she forced a smile. After Prom. "I'm sure whatever it is can wait until then".
She turned and walked away. Looking back, she added "See you at Prom."
He watched her leave.
But something's going to happen on Friday!
Tibet
Dr. Drakken felt like Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice as he watched a line of synthodrones making their way towards the transport planes, each carrying a box, crate or suitcase and walking in perfect synchronization. He was tempted to wave his arms to encourage them, but Manfred had assured him that they would follow their instructions and everything – including the synthodrones themselves – would be loaded by the time they were ready to depart, which would be the following morning.
"Careful with that one," Drakken warned a synthodrone carrying a cube-shaped box. He had personally supervised the removal of the satellite from his office, checking that its foil wrapping was intact before allowing it to be put into its carrying case. The synthodrone acknowledged his concern with a nod.
Drakken had originally planned to leave that day, giving plenty of time to settle into BN headquarters before the balloon went up on Friday evening. However, the disappearance of a Moodulator remote contract had rattled him. He had decided to lay low for another night so as to minimize the chance of detection, the risk of which would greatly increase once the lair was abandoned. This would mean less than ideal preparation time when they arrived in the US but he was prepared to accept that. Hopefully his command center would be ready to roll shortly after he arrived.
Drakken hated to admit it, but the other reason for delaying their departure was that he wanted to get to the bottom of Shego's odd behavior before they left.
The departure plans had proved to be much more time-consuming than Drakken had originally anticipated. As well as their personal possessions, the equipment needed to be crated up, and a sweep of the lair before the synthodrones could be loaded into their sarcophagi in readiness for departure. A dozen of the AIs had been left unpacked to provide muscle for the final stages and to act as bodyguards in the improbable event that the planes would be intercepted when entering US air space. Dementor's stealth mode had been adapted to protect the transporters and though it could not entirely mask the planes' heat signatures (unlike the twin-seater hoverplane) it was unlikely to attract unwanted attention before it all became academic.
Drakken yawned. It had been a long day but apart from some overnight bags, the lair was ready to be vacated. A smile crossed his face as he realized that this was the first time he would depart a lair that remained intact. A good omen, he thought. He was about to head for his office/bedroom when Manfred came over to him.
"What do you want to do about Dementor?" his security chief asked pointedly.
Drakken had forgotten that his rival, now shown to be a traitor, was still locked up in the cells downstairs. For a moment he was tempted to leave the villain to rot.
"I think you need to make an example of him tomorrow morning before we leave," Manfred urged. He was growing concerned that Drakken was being too soft – especially on Dementor and Shego – but more generally, he worried that his boss wouldn't have the stomach to do what would be necessary in the next couple of days if the plan was to succeed. He himself had recognized that the gloves would be off the moment that the world understood what was happening. His boss was going to need a bit of encouragement.
Shego is a loose cannon, he thought. I don't trust her to play straight. Especially not with me.
"There's something else," he started. Drakken looked at him with suspicion. "It's about Shego."
As Manfred told him the real story about Shego's temporary disappearance (or at least that part of the story that Shego had shared with Manfred), Drakken's countenance paled.
"She said I was mad, you say?"
Manfred had kept to himself the revelation of what the Phoebus device had done to those it was tested on; giving Drakken the impression that Shego was simply being insubordinate.
Drakken looked sharply at the other man. "Why didn't you tell me this before! Why a cock and bull story about visiting her brothers?"
Manfred was ready for this question. "I didn't recognize at the time that Shego was lying. It was only when I checked the odometer in the hoverplane that I realized she had flown much further. I confronted her with my information and she confessed to the side-trip to Toronto."
Drakken's head throbbed. Were his suspicions about Shego justified? Was his mother right that she was going to betray him? She had started appearing again and the message was always the same.
You let that green-skinned vixen walk all over you!
He was going to bed before another vision kept him awake.
Tomorrow morning he had a score to settle with Professor Dementor.
And a test of Shego's loyalty.
Author's note: Algernon the lab mouse is a reference to Daniel Keyes' heartbreaking science-fiction novella "Flowers for Algernon". A beautifully written and utterly compelling story of intelligence enhancement and an inspiration for this story.