Shego was inside the Upperton chemical factory building, looking at an armed security guard standing between her and the door to the xenothium's location. She had already melted the locks on a few doors with her powers, shut down two alarms systems, and avoided three other guards completely. This one, however, she could not avoid if she wanted to get that chemical.

Hiding around the corner, she did her best impression of another guard. "Hey! I think there's something over here!" she called. She threw a green blast at the floor further down the hallway so that it exploded in a cloud of smoke. The guard instantly ran toward the explosion. Shego jumped out and zapped him with just enough green energy to knock him out, then picked him up and dragged him over to the hand scanner by the door. She placed his hand on the red scanner.

"Identity recognized. Access granted."

The thick metal door slid open and Shego dropped the guard. Inside was a network of lasers. A large crate of xenothium was against the laser-free back wall of the room. The lasers could be turned off by remote control, but only scientists working directly with the xenothium had access to the remote controls, so she couldn't steal one off the guard. There was, however, a place to scan an ID card on the other side of the laser-filled room that could shut them down. Kid stuff, Shego thought.

She flipped a series of somersaults and handsprings until she was through the lasers, where she slid the guard's ID card into a black box that shut down them off. "Some high tech security system," she said smugly, ready to get her hands on her prize.

"It is pretty impressive, isn't it?" asked a familiar voice. Shego looked up and saw Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable standing on top of the crate.

Shego's hands lit up. "Nice to see you again, princess. If you don't mind, that crate has my name on it."

"Funny," said Kim, glaring, "I didn't see it." Shego threw a handful of green fire at Kim, who nimbly ducked, then jumped down. A martial arts battle began. Shego's fiery hands gave her an advantage, but it was far from enough to get past the teen hero. Several kung fu moves later, the villainess managed to kick Kim aside and rush for the crate. As soon as she grabbed it, Ron jumped in her way.

"Bet you forgot about me, huh?" he said.

"Yeah," she grabbed him by the front of his shirt, "thanks for the reminder." She easily threw him into the air so that he crashed into Kim, who had been making a run for Shego.

"Whoa! Oof!" The duo landed on the floor. "Sorry, KP."

"No big," she said, pushing him up to his feet. "Just get that crate!"

Shego by now had picked up the wooden box of forbidden chemicals and was running away, a huge smirk on her face. She threw Slade's exploding disc at the ceiling. It left a gaping hole. "Next time, Kimmie," she said, holding the crate with one hand and shooting the grappling hook up with another.

She expected it to latch onto the roof, but it suddenly went tight, then dropped back down as if someone had thrown it back. A green pterodactyl dove down through the hole carrying a half electronic man, followed by a beautiful space alien carrying a spikey-haired earth boy and a levitating girl whose entire body was hidden under her dark blue cloak.

"Nice try," said Robin once Starfire had put him down, "but the only place you're going is prison."

Shego made a time-out sign. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm sorry but seriously, who are you?"

"We are the Teen Titans!" Starfire said, her eyes glowing green.

The statement had no effect on Shego's composure. "Sheesh, what is it with teenagers and crime fighting these days?" she asked, sounding very annoyed.

Kim just looked at the Titans in shock. Ron came up to her. "So…you did call for backup?"

"No," she said, confused. "They're just…here. I was planning to take Shego on our own. She is our villain after all."

Meanwhile, Shego was in a hurry to leave. "Catch you later, kids," she said, shooting the grappling hook again.

This time, she made it halfway up with the crate in her arm before Cyborg jumped out of Beast Boy's grip, colliding with her and knocking her to the ground weaponless. Before the crate could smash on the ground, Raven grabbed it with her dark energy and set it down softly as far from Shego as possible. Shego ran away from Cyborg but was tackled by Robin and his bo staff. They commenced fighting the way the villainess had been fighting with Kim only a few minutes ago. After going hand to hand for a while, he hit her with his bo staff. A shot of green flame broke it in half on the floor. He stopped short, surprised. She took advantage of this and threw another exploding disc his way. While Robin coughed in the smoke cloud, Shego ran the other way, pursued by Starfire.

Shego dodged starbolts right and left. The alien princess continued her pursuit from the air. She paused midflight for a second and released two lines of green energy from her glowing green eyes. Just before it could get to Shego, the green woman grabbed Ron, who had been standing there watching the fight with great interest, and thrust him in front of her. Starfire tried to stop, but before she could, Ron was knocked unconscious on the floor.

"Ron!" Kim called, running to him. Starfire too dropped to the ground beside him.

"Friend!" she said. "Are you injured? I apologize, it was an accident…"

Ron blinked and sat up with Kim's help. "Aw man, not again."

"Again?" Starfire and Kim both echoed, looking at each other, then back at Ron. Starfire had never shot him before. She had never even fought him before. Maybe the fall had messed with his brain.

"Yeah, Shego really packs a punch," he said. "Yo, Rufus! You okay, buddy?"

Rufus crawled out of Ron's pocket. "Okay!" he squeaked with pleasure.

Shego packs a punch? Kim ran those words through her mind. Did Shego hit him when she used him as a shield? I was right here. I think I would have seen that. "Ron," she said, getting his full attention away from Rufus, "does your head hurt?"

"A little bit. I just crash landed on the floor, and it wasn't exactly carpet."

Kim held up four fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked.

"Four."

"What's your name?"

"Ron Stoppable."

"What's my name?"

"Kim Possible. KP, what is this all about? I'm fine." He stood up to prove it. Unfortunately, Star's energy bolt had slashed through his belt buckle, making his pants fall down and revealing his red polka-dot boxers. "Not again," he groaned, pulling them back up and refastening the belt.

Starfire giggled and looked away. Kim took her fellow redhead aside. "What are you guys doing here?" she demanded.

Starfire wasn't sure if Robin would want her to explain everything, but she hated to keep secrets from her friends, and Kim was the first "normal" friend she had. She couldn't hide information from her first real chance to fit in with the earthlings. "Slade," she told Kim. "He told us that someone would be taking the xenothium at this location tonight. We thought that it may be a trap, but Robin insisted."

Kim could not believe what she was hearing. Their arch nemesis told them where to meet? At least Dr. Drakken waited until she came to him to gloat about his plans. This was Team Go all over again. On top of that, the robbery that they had fully known about was practically in her backyard. Why hadn't Robin called? What did he think she was, an amateur or something?

"Star!" Cyborg yelled from the other side of the spacious room. "A little help here?"

"Coming, Cyborg!" she shouted back, flying into action. Kim ran behind her, joining in the fight.

By now, Shego had managed to retract her grappling hook from the ceiling and was holding it in one hand, while firing at Cyborg with her other hand. She and Cy dodged each other's blasts, with the half robot being the only one standing between her and her prize. Beast Boy tried to help by sneaking up behind Shego as a small bird, then dropping down on her as a hippopotamus. Raven floated next to him, looking for things to telepathically throw. Shego, seeing the shadow growing larger around her on the floor, looked up before Beast Boy could land. She slid out of the way and shot out her grappling hook, entangling Raven and the green hippo together. Beast Boy tried to change animals, but the cord was too tight. Finally, he managed to turn into his human form, still tied tightly to Raven.

"Whoops," Beast Boy said, trying to put a positive spin on things. Raven, having just been sat on by a green hippo, was not amused.

When Cyborg came over to help untie Beast Boy and Raven, Shego grabbed him from behind. She was no computer expert, but she knew a thing or two about shutting down Dr. D's lame inventions. This one was a little more complex, but she managed to place her hand in just the right spot that a shot of a few green sparks spread through his body like electricity, overloading his system and forcing him to drop to all fours on the ground. It felt like his insides were on fire.

"Must. Not. Shut. Down," he told himself as he tried to repair the damage with his own hands.

It might appear that Shego was having an easy time, but really, she had to fight harder than usual to keep up. She was used to only dealing with Kim and Ron, not them and a whole team of superheroes. This was starting to tire her out. However, that did not mean she was giving up. She just wanted to get out with the loot as soon as possible. She picked up the crate no longer guarded by Cyborg and sprinted toward the door.

Robin finished cutting Beast Boy and Raven free with a birdarang and prepared to throw it at Shego to stop her, but Kim Possible jumped in the way. "You're going to have to do better than that, Shego," she said, taking her usual stance before combat.

Shego said nothing. Keeping the crate of xenothium in her hands, she kicked her leg up, aiming for Kim's face. Kim ducked and swung her leg around, messing up Shego's balance enough so that she could grab the crate. However, Shego was not letting go. The two began a tug of war, each pulling the coveted substance toward themselves.

"Starfire," Robin said to the Tamaranian girl next to him, "give me a lift."

She obediently picked him up and flew him over to the fight by the door. She dropped him on top of the crate between the two women. Being a small young man and always light on his feet, his weight did not affect either one's ability to continue pulling on the box. He took out a birdarang and slashed at Shego's gloved hands, making her drop it. Starfire landed between him and Shego and proceeded to chase her away while he dropped to the floor and picked up the end of the crate that Shego had been carrying.

Kim scowled at him. "So you heard Shego was practically in my backyard and you didn't call me?" she asked angrily.

"Well it looks like you found it on your own," Robin pointed out, "and I don't recall getting a call from you either."

"We fight Shego alone all the time," Kim insisted. "We don't need your help."

"And that's why she nearly got away before we got here?" Robin asked.

"Oh, like your team has been doing much better," Kim said. "One of your teammates almost shut down, two more got tied together, and one accidentally shot Ron. Just because you're superheroes doesn't make you any better than us. Starfire told me how you found out about the robbery. You seriously talk with your arch nemesis from your headquarters? Have you never thought that through enough to think that he might abuse that to spy on your hideout?"

"Maybe," Robin replied, frustrated, "but at least we have a hideout. You just hang out at Bueno Nacho and talk about all kinds of sensitive information. Have you never thought that maybe that's a little bit unprofessional? The fate of the world could be at stake here!"

"When the fate of the world is at stake, nobody cares about how 'professional' you are!"

"Well, maybe they should!"

While the two team leaders fought, Starfire continued her pursuit of Shego, firing starbolts from the air. Soon Shego found herself backed up against a wall. She felt all her anger and frustration at these teenagers rush to her hands. She put them together to create one huge ball of green energy.

Starfire landed and felt her righteous fury at Shego, Slade, and things evil. She held one large starbolt between her hands, poised to throw it. "I do not wish to hurt you," she warned Shego. "Surrender now. We do not need to fight."

If Shego was surprised at what Starfire said, she didn't show it. "Sorry, princess," she said, "but we can't all be nice."

At the same instant, they both threw their powerful blasts of green energy at each other. Upon contact, both crashed with equal force. It felt like they had been hit by their own powers. Shego didn't think much of it and made a break for it. Starfire, on the other hand, watched her go, then looked at her own starbolt questioningly. Something strange had happened, something she did not understand. She had to tell Robin. Or Kim. Or someone. She looked around. Robin and Kim were both still locked in their argument over the crate of xenothium on the other end of the room. The other Titans were either chasing Shego or trying to fix Cyborg. The only one near her was Ron, who was watching the fight intently and waiting for the right moment to join in.

She got up, brushed herself off, and walked over to his position next to the wall with the laser shut-off. She barely knew him, but he was familiar with this strange green woman. "Friend Ron?" she asked. He didn't hear her. "Ron?" she repeated a little bit louder. Still no response. She took a deep breath. "RON!"

"Ah!" he panicked. He turned around, looking like he expected some kind of monster. When he saw Starfire, he said, "Don't do that to me! I'm trying to watch Kim!" One of his flailing arms hit the laser shut-off. A red light on it started blinking. He and Starfire looked at it. "This cannot be good," Ron said.

"Intruder detected. Begin emergency firing sequence."

"No it cannot," Starfire agreed.

Little laser guns popped out of the walls and began to fire at random. Kim and Robin dropped the crate and ran for cover. "Go to Raven!" Robin ordered his teammates. "Now!"

The Titans dodged the lasers until they could get behind Raven. Starfire dragged Ron over as well. "Friend Kim!" Starfire called. "You must join us!" Not fully understanding what was going on, Kim rolled under two laser shots, then joined the rest of the teen heroes.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven said. Black energy went out from her and enveloped the whole group like a giant dark bubble. As long as Raven focused on her center, the lasers could not penetrate it.

Shego could not believe her luck. All of the heroes were stuck in Raven's spherical shield. She nimbly dodged a dozen lasers and grabbed the crate. "Thanks, Kimmie!" she said, waving goodbye as she bolted out the door.

"No!" both Robin and Kim shouted.

The security guards from another sector of the facility showed up only a couple of seconds later, having received a notification that the emergency lasers had been fired. They shut down the system, and all of the teenage crime fighters ran after Shego. It was too late. By the time they reached the outside of the building, she was gone.

Slade watched intently from Drakken's computer. "Very impressive," he said. "Excellent work, Shego. Or, should I say, apprentice?"

In the factory parking lot, Kim and Robin were both furious at each other. "You let her get away!" they both said at once. "No I didn't! You did!"

"We all did," said Cyborg, stepping between them to break up the argument. "She was tougher than any of us expected."

"Hey, I would have called you if I needed backup," Kim told Robin.

"Coulda, woulda, didn't," Robin replied.

"Well why didn't you call me?" she asked him. "Were you saving me 'for backup' too?"

Robin wasn't entirely sure how to answer that. Beast Boy shrugged and smiled guiltily. "Um…maybe?"

"I thought we were a team," said Kim. "We're supposed to be working together! This is the exact opposite of teamwork!"

"Slade is my…our responsibility," said Robin. "I didn't want to put you at risk when you didn't need to be." That little slip of the tongue caught Starfire's attention. Robin was slipping into what Cyborg called his "Slade mode". She hoped he could control it before he did anything too dangerous.

"Well Shego is our responsibility," Kim told him, "and so is Drakken. We're in this together whether we like it or not. Now that Shego's gone, the three of them could be hiding anywhere. It will take all seven of us to find them."

"Don't you mean eight?" Ron asked, plucking Rufus out of his pocket. "Can't forget the world's most intelligent naked mole rat." Rufus sat down in Ron's hand and yawned. Ron yawned too, looked up, and saw that it was now dark. "Hey, KP, what time is it?"

She checked her watch. "Shoot! It's nine o'clock already. How did that happen? Robin, Titans, I have a ton of homework left to do and my dad will freak if I'm up too late on a school night."

"Sounds like you're not doing anything else tonight," Raven commented.

"I can't." Kim wanted to keep searching, but she knew the rules. After she had come home too late from the Himalayas last week and nearly bombed a quiz the next morning, her dad had become even stricter about curfew than usual. She looked around her and saw the orange T-Ship. "Is that yours?" she asked on a hunch.

"Yep," said Cyborg. "Built it with my own two hands."

Perfect! "Think you look for Slade and Drakken from there?" Kim asked.

"We can try," said Robin. "They might be all the way in Jump City by now, or somewhere completely different just to throw us off. Slade is as slippery as they come."

"Look," Kim said. She was addressing the whole group, but was really speaking to Robin. "I'm used to calling the shots when it's just me and Ron, and I'm not used to having any other teammates. That means if we're going to work together, I have some areas that need improvement. However, that does not at all mean I am anywhere lower than you on the food chain, or that I'm some kind of amateur. If we're going to keep this up, I'd appreciate it if you dropped the attitude. Okay?"

"Okay," Robin sighed. "I guess I haven't been the best teammate in the world lately. I have reasons for that, though. There are things about me that you probably wouldn't understand, and things about Slade too. I know you're a great crime fighter, and I know that I haven't exactly treated you with much respect for it, but Slade is unlike any villain I've ever fought. This is serious business. It isn't a game. You don't know what he's capable of."

"Try me," she said. She extended her hand to him and smiled. "Let's start this whole mess over. Hi, I'm Kim Possible."

Robin shook her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Possible. My name is Robin."

"Friends?" she asked.

"Friends," he replied. They let go of each other's hands.

Ron immediately grabbed Robin's hand and shook it like he was trying to break it off. "Booyah! I am so glad we're teammates now. Can I call you Rob? We can be sidekick buddies!"

Robin pulled away. "Don't call me Rob. Please. And I'm not a sidekick."

"Come on, Ron," Kim said, walking to where she had parked her purple car. "You have homework too."

Ron reluctantly agreed to leave his teen idol. Once Kim and Ron were gone, the Titans loaded into the T-Ship. "Split up," Robin said into the radio. "If Shego's still in Upperton, we might still catch her. You have one hour to scan each part of the city. Cyborg, you go north. Beast Boy, you go south. Raven, go east. Starfire, you and I are going west. Titans, separate!"

The orange ship split into five separate compartments, each holding one Titan. The heroes took control of their piece of the ship and flew off in their designated directions. Inside of his section, Robin switched his microphone so that only Starfire could hear him. "Starfire?" he said.

"Yes, Robin?" she replied, gliding underneath him in her own miniature ship.

"Did I completely blow it back there?"

"That is not the exact vocabulary I would use."

"I should have called her. It was a mistake not to. I'm surprised she still trusts me."

"Worry not, Robin. People do make the mistakes. It is normal."

"It's Slade. That's what it is. I have to stop letting him in, but I can't. He knows it, too. If I hadn't been so bossy to Kim, Shego might not have gotten away."

"Robin should not be so hard on Robin. We can still stop the villains. Kim is nice. She is our friend now." Starfire's voice paused for a second. "Robin, you must beware of the Slade. He will destroy from inside if you are not most cautious."

"I know. That's part of why I don't want to bring anyone new into this. If Slade can mess with my head, he can do that to anybody. You remember Terra, don't you?"

"Yes." Her voice sounded sad through the static. "But Kim is not Terra. She does not feel the need to fit in because she does fit in. She will not trade her freedom for acceptance. She is already accepted in this world."

"That's good. Then again, Kim and I seem kind of alike. I was sucked into Slade's world too, as much as I hate to admit it."

"Then it is fortunate that she will not take orders from you. Fear not, Robin. What you have done for Slade, it is in the past. You are not a sidekick or an apprentice or any person other than yourself. I believe in you, Robin. You can win this fight."

Robin smiled. "Thanks, Starfire. I'm glad someone believes in me."

They kept flying silently above the streets of west Upperton. With no luck, all five parts of the jet rejoined one hour later and left for home in Jump City.