(A/N: Hey, everyone! Sorry this took so long! Anyway, summer has started, so hopefully I'll be able to write more. Thanks for all the nice follows, favorites, and reviews so far. I looked at the stats today and I still can't believe the numbers I'm seeing. After such a long wait, you deserve a nice, long, exciting chapter, so here it is...)

Ron was pretty happy with himself. He had just made his hero's life a lot better, helped heal a relationship between his new friends, was about to get his own Titans communicator, and had done it all while consuming copious amounts of cheese puffs. Life was good. Robin had already disappeared from view in his speedy journey to Starfire's door, but Ron was not far behind. After all, he set this up. He needed to see the result.

"Go get her, man!" he cheered when he finally saw the back of Robin's flapping cape. He jogged over to where the Teen wonder had stopped. Strangely, the door was shut. Robin appeared to be staring at it, like he was reading something. "Robin," Ron said, finally catching up to him, "are you chickening out now? C'mon!"

"I'm not chickening out," Robin replied, sounding very worried. He pointed to a piece of paper stuck to the outside of Star's door. "What's this?"

He pulled it off and started to read it, mumbling every other word as his eyes scanned the page. Suddenly, his face became as white as a sheet. "Oh no," he breathed.

"Oh no what?" Ron asked, trying to get a peek of the letter's contents. "What's going on?"

Before Ron could read a full sentence, Robin dashed away to the main room of the Tower, clutching the piece of paper. He immediately logged into the computer and began typing furiously. "I can't believe she'd do this," he muttered. "She's going to get herself killed. She wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been so hard on her."

"Who? Starfire?" Ron asked, just now passing through the automatic doors. "Where is she?"

Robin was not listening. He was much too concerned about the whereabouts of Starfire. "This is all my fault," he said as he waited impatiently for the computer to locate the signal Star was using. "If I had just listened to her, we could have worked something out, but I didn't, so she went off and did it alone. She's going to get hurt, and I am never going to forgive myself."

Ron finally grabbed the piece of paper covered in Starfire's bubbly handwriting. He read it aloud:

Friends,

I have gone to meet with Shego. I am aware that you believe this to be foolish, but I am confident that some good in her remains, and tonight it is my aim to recover it. Kim, I have borrowed the clothing items and communicator from you for the purpose of giving Shego the incentive to pursue me. Robin, I have also taken the R-Cycle. Worry not: I can do the driving! Tamaranians learn very fast. I have observed enough from you to safely transport myself. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STOP ME. This is something that I must do. If I have not returned by the third hour after the night's middle, then I may be in need of the assistance. At that time, locate me by following the communicator signal. I apologize for the deception, but I feel that I have not the choice.

XOXO Starfire

P.S. Robin, I believe that you shall worry the most. Do not have the concern. Everything will be okay. I love you.

"Uh-oh," he said once he was finished. "This is bad. Why would she run off like that?"

"Because she thinks she's saving Shego," Robin replied as the digital map of Jump City began to zoom in on Star's dot, which was labeled with Kim's name. "She came in and suggested it to me, and I got mad at her and said…well, you know what I said. Maybe she thought I wasn't in my right mind, or maybe she wants to prove me wrong. Either way, she's in serious danger."

"What should we do?" Ron asked, now also very anxious.

Raven's voice spoke directly behind Ron's left shoulder. "Signal the others?"

Ron jumped and let out a kind of girly squeak. "Wha—you—how—what?" he stammered as he looked at her standing there behind him.

"I sense emotions," she stated. "Robin's current state of panic would be strong enough to wake me up if I was in a coma in Australia."

"Really?"

"No. I was exaggerating. Let me see that." She took the note and read it quickly, then set it down on the table. "Yeah, this is serious. Time for a wake up call."

She moved swiftly over to the wall and pressed the emergency alert button, turning on the alarms throughout the building and on the team's communicators. This was usually Robin's job, but at the moment, he was too busy aggressively typing code into the computer, convinced that Star's life was at stake. Instantly, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Kim ran into the main room. Rufus scampered on all fours close behind them.

"What's the sitch?" Kim asked, still in her pajamas.

"Trouble," Robin said.

"Okay," she replied, "that was a pretty vague answer."

"No time to joke around, KP," Ron said, walking over to his girlfriend. "Starfire went out on her own to find Shego without telling anybody."

"What? Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Why would she do that?"

"It gets worse," Raven said, passing around Star's note. "Shego thinks she's Kim, and Slade probably does too. I'd like to say he's too smart to fall for it, but it looks like she took a lot of precautions."

"Me?" Kim said, shocked. "But she can't go disguised as me! Shego hates me! She'll walk straight into a trap."

"Maybe that's why she dressed up like you," Cyborg said, his electronic eye scanning the paper. "To make sure Green Queen would come out to play."

Robin stepped out into the middle of the room and joined his teammates. "But Shego isn't here to play," he said. "She's here to kill. We all saw that this afternoon. We have to go find Starfire. If we don't, she could be destroyed. Do you understand? Destroyed!"

"Robin," Raven said firmly, "you need to calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down when Starfire's in danger?" he retorted. He took a step back and a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Raven. I just…this is so…"

Cyborg interrupted his stammered excuses. "Yo, team, the computer's got a lock on her signal. Y'all get dressed and we can track it from the T-Car. Titans go!"

As everyone ran off to get ready, Robin did not even bother complaining that Cyborg had stolen one of his favorite catchphrases. Kim realized with some amount of disappointment that her mission clothes were now on Starfire's body, and not in her, or really Terra's, closet. She called up Wade on her Kimmunicator. "Wade, there's a sitch. Really, two sitches, one a lot more serious than the other."

Wade, still awake from having spent all night discovering new secret passageways in Everlot, replied, "What are they?"

"Well, the serious one is that Starfire took off to find Shego without telling us and disguised herself as me to make sure she gets her attention," Kim explained. "The less serious one is that she took my only mission clothes and none of my other clothes with me here are suitable for a rescue mission."

The computer genius smiled. "Actually, I have a solution for the second one. You mentioned earlier that Shego has a supersuit?"

"Yeah. Wait, Wade, you didn't…"

"I did. Check the top drawer on the left."

Kim walked across the room to the dresser and opened the top left drawer. Inside it was her battle suit, as blue and white as ever. "I'm not even going to ask how," she told Wade, "but thanks a mill."

"No problem. Do you need me to search for Starfire?"

"No, we've got a lock. If there's anything else you can find to help us out, though, please look for it."

"Will do. Good luck, Kim."

She speedily dressed herself in the suit and ran out the door, taking the elevator down to the garage. She arrived at the T-Car just as the rest of the team did. Ron's eyes widened, then returned to normal almost instantly. "You know, I was going to ask how you got that, but I've learned not to question Wade's hacking skills."

Cyborg, who had also noticed Kim's new outfit, furrowed his brow, or the part of it that was not metal anyway. "But the Tower's security system is unbreakable. How did he…"

"Sh…" Ron interrupted. "Don't question the hacker."

"Titans, I think we have something much more important going on than an analysis of Kim's wardrobe," Robin said with vexation. "Star's signal indicates she's heading toward downtown. Everyone, get in the T-Car."

They piled in. Cyborg took the driver's seat, as was customary. Robin slid into shotgun. Kim, Ron, and Raven squeezed themselves into the back three seats. Beast Boy, unable to fit in the back, transformed into a pterodactyl and perched on the car's roof. In an instant, they were off, following the little green dot on the car's built in screen.

"Turn left!" Robin ordered. Cyborg obeyed. "Now right!"

"Chill, man," the half-robot said as he turned the wheel. "We're all pretty freaked out about this, but shouting isn't gonna make Starfire any easier to find."

"Cyborg's right, Robin," Raven insisted. "Your emotional state is very unstable right now. It's even messing with my ability to sense Star's presence."

"Just take a deep breath," Kim suggested, trying to help Raven out. Inside, she was worried sick that Starfire had thrown herself into a sitch too big for her to handle. After all, Shego despised heroes of any kind, and being deceived by a hero was not going to make her any friendlier. Outside, though, she knew she had to keep a level head, for her team's sake and for her own. "Starfire is smart, and she's strong. I'm sure she can last at least until we arrive…right?"

Ron looked uneasily at her. "This is Shego we're talking about, KP. The man's girlfriend practically threw herself into Slade's clutches. I think he's got a right to freak out."

"I was trying to be optimistic, Ron," she explained through gritted teeth.

"Optimism isn't going to make Star any easier to find either," Robin commented, his eyes scanning the darkened streets for any sign of the alien princess. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so focused on Slade for the past few days, I would have listened to her ideas instead of getting mad and shutting her down. Then she wouldn't have done this."

"Wait, you…got mad at Starfire?" Cyborg asked. "That hasn't happened since…"

"I know, I know!" Robin seethed. "I haven't gotten mad at Star or even raised my voice at her since the time when I was drugged into seeing Slade! I'll admit it: I have a serious problem! But I recognized the problem and I was going to apologize and fix it when I found her note. She's probably still upset with me, and if I can't save her from Shego, I'll never have a chance to make things right again, so let's just hurry up and find where she's going before she gets killed!"

His last statement was followed by a stunned silence from all passengers. Finally, Cyborg pointed to the miniature screen and said, "Look, Robin. I think she's heading for Wayne Enterprises. That's where we'll find her."

"Seriously?" he groaned, his voice now much softer after having let out so much angst. "Of all places in this city, she chooses Wayne Enterprises. Great. Take us there, Cy. Just in case, I'll call her." He took out his communicator and turned it on.

His teammates assumed that his frustration with the Wayne building had something to do with his time spent as Slade's apprentice, when he had been forced to fight Starfire on top of its roof. That was an issue for him, but so was another thing that only Raven, having seen the full scope of his mind in the past, was aware of. Cyborg accelerated and the T-Car moved quickly toward its destination.

Starfire, however, had arrived at Wayne Enterprises long before the team discovered where she was headed. She parked the R-Cycle in the alley next to the building and looked around for signs of Shego. She wanted to light off a starbolt to provide some light, but it would have blown her cover. Tired of waiting, she said aloud, "It is I, Kim Possible. I have found the clues. Is anyone there?"

No answer at first. She gingerly stepped deeper into the alley, one foot at a time. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the outline of a woman's figure in glowing pale green. "Shego," she said, turning to face the villainess. "I am pleased you could make it."

"Cut the cuteness, Kimmie," Shego returned. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Personally, I prefer the hard way, but it's your call."

"I choose…my way!"

Before Shego could dodge her, Starfire leaped toward her, grabbing her tightly and flying up into the sky with her. Shego kicked and slashed her gloves' claws, but she could not wrestle her way out of the super strong alien's grip. Starfire finally let go and dropped Shego face first on the top of the Wayne Enterprises building. Before Shego could get back up again, she plucked two little discs out of Shego's ears, disintegrating them with her eyes before Slade's voice inside them could ask what was going on. Satisfied, Starfire then offered her hand to her opponent.

"My apologies," she said sweetly, "but I could think of no better way to locate you alone. I did not intend to be so forceful. May we speak together?"

Shego looked at the outstretched hand, then up at the face that belonged to it. It was Starfire all right, dressed completely in Kim Possible's clothing. "Well, isn't that just my luck?" she grimaced. She stood up on her own, rejecting Star's hand with a haughty look. "You come to fight your arch nemesis, and the wrong hero shows up. Nothing more annoying than that. It's even worse than the hero showing up late."

"Please," Starfire said, still smiling as if look at a close friend. "I apologize for the deception, but now that we are alone and without the interference of Slade, we may speak freely. I only wish to assist you."

Shego posed in her battle stance, both hands lit up with green light. "Honey, I don't want to talk. I came here to fight Kim Possible. You're no Kim Possible, but you'll do as a substitute. In fact, I'm actually pretty mad at you right now, so if you don't leave in the next ten seconds, you will seriously regret it."

"No," Starfire shook her head. "We are not the rivals. You do not wish to fight me."

"Want to bet?"

"Shego, I know that there is still some good on the inside of you," Starfire stated, ignoring the woman's battle-ready pose. "I had a sister once who had the powers like mine. We were friends as children, but she turned to bad out of jealousy. I gave her the chance to turn back more than once, but she refused. In you, I see a different version of my sister, one who can turn back if she chooses to try."

Shego rolled her eyes. "I'm touched, really. Now I need to blow you up."

"No," Starfire said, her eyes still fixed on Shego's face. "You are not like my sister, Blackfire. You are like my friend, Terra. She too was taken in by Slade. He made her his apprentice, but he took control of her so that when she wished to stop, she could not. In the end, she sacrificed herself to end his cruelty and save us all. But you do not need to sacrifice anything, Shego. Slade cannot hear you now. You can run away now and leave the path of evil forever."

Shego knew that this was impossible. If she left now, Slade would still have her powers as a sort of hostage. If that wasn't enough for him to bring her back, he'd use Drakken. Plus, he still had his robot army to track her down. She decided that the only way to get out of Slade's clutches was to do it according to her own plan, which had been counting on Kim Possible's presence at Wayne Enterprises. Starfire standing here in Kim's clothing was a mild setback, but her chatter about leaving evil for good and other sunshine and rainbows was getting irritating. At the same time, though, Starfire's confident mien and unwavering determination were pretty impressive, as much as Shego hated to admit it.

"Five seconds," she finally said. "I'll give you five seconds. Then you're mine."

Starfire did not even blink. "Slade is not good for you. He views you as a slave. He will hurt you in the end. I will not. I care about you. We are not sisters by birth, but we are sisters in powers. Come with me, and Slade will not have the ability to hurt you."

"Shut up." Shego was not sure which fact was more disturbing: that Starfire had set up a fight scenario for the purpose of making friends, or that she had actually caught herself listening. "Shut up. You are wasting my time."

"And you will not destroy me," Starfire added boldly. "You are not all bad. You do not wish to destroy me. There is the kinship between us, and you can see it too."

"Yeah, no. Not seeing it." She held up one large energy bolt, prepared to throw it at the alien.

"Yes you do." Starfire insisted, not budging one inch. "Even if you do not, you know that Slade is not good for you. Allow me to help you. Please, give me the chance."

Shego glared at her, her arm and energy bolt still raised. The green, glowing mass expanded as her anger and frustration grew. Starfire still stood there. She did not flinch, so boundlessly confident that Shego would not hurt her. Their eyes were locked in a deadly, silent duel of determination. Finally, Shego let out a loud shout and hurled her green glow at the "A" of the Wayne sign, knocked it flat down on the other side of the roof.

"There!" she exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "Are you happy now?"

Starfire beamed. "Oh, yes! I knew that you saw that we could be friends…" She walked toward Shego as if to hug her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up, cupcake." The green woman pushed Star away roughly. She had had enough affection for one day already. "We are not friends. I don't even like you. Just get out of here. I know that Slade's a problem, but I have my own plan to take care of him and I don't need your help."

"But—"

"Just go away," Shego ordered. "I just admitted that you're right about something and resisted a chance to attack you. Neither of those are common actions coming from me. What more do you want?"

Starfire's eyes widened like a sad kitten. "Can I not help you? Why will you not leave with me? How will you fight Slade alone?"

"I know how to deal with him, trust me. Just go home. If he asks, I'll just say you got away. I might even say you kicked my butt, if you really want some credit."

"I do not care about the credit, I care about you!" Starfire insisted. Her eyes skimmed over the green lines of Shego's battle suit, and she began to realize what was happening. "Your suit," she said slowly. "It amplifies the power of starbolts. But you will not leave Slade with me because he is in control of the suit. If you leave him…"

"He keeps my powers. Good thinking, genius." Shego really hoped that Starfire would give up and leave soon. There was only so much friendliness and sweetness she could take.

Starfire thought for a second, trying to see another way around the issue. "I could go back to Slade with you. I could call the other Titans. We could join together against him and return your powers."

Shego reached one hand slowly into a pocket of her suit, fumbling for a device of some kind. "So you want to walk straight into Slade's lair and punch him out? Sorry, I can't let you do that." She finally grabbed the right item and concealed it as best she could in her hands. She had promised Slade that she would kill all of the Titans except for Kim Possible and Robin. She now knew that killing Starfire was not an option. Letting a fully living Starfire walk into Slade's hideout would probably make Slade destroy both of them. Maybe she could use Slade's power draining device to incapacitate Starfire, and then leave before her teammates arrived…

"Well, I cannot allow Shego to put Shego in the dangerous situation!" Starfire decided. She took two steps toward her foe and placed one hand on each of her shoulders. "I will not allow my sister in powers to continue under the control of Slade. It is not right!"

"A lot of things aren't right, honey. Do you need a list?"

Before Star could answer, a beeping sound went off on her person. Kim's communicator blinked brightly as it poked out of her cargo pants pocket. Shego took it out before Starfire could. The call was from Robin. "Oh, I see," Shego said. "You've got your friends right behind you in case I try to get away. Nice try. I'm not falling for it."

"No!" Starfire insisted, shaking her head rapidly. "I instructed them to not come after me! They do not know where I am!"

"Yeah, well I don't like taking chances, especially not with you hero types." She took out the power draining device and aimed it at Starfire. She pressed the power button and instantly, Starfire felt the heat of her powers being sucked out of every part of her body. The alien girl collapsed to her knees at it finished its process. She immediately felt the difference in her body and what Shego had done.

She looked up at the woman with her sad, puppy-dog eyes. "Why would you…ow!"

Before she could fall for the puppy-dog pout again, Shego aimed one strong kick to Starfire's head, knocking her out cold. Shego like to pretend that nothing could ever phase her, but there was something about puppy-dog pouts that made them really hard to stand up to. The villainess looked down at the city and saw the T-Car advancing toward the building. They would be here soon. She only had a few seconds to decide what to do.

She couldn't let them catch her. That was obvious, especially now that she was clearly responsible for injuring one of their teammates. However, the plan of weakening Starfire and leaving her here only worked as long as there was enough time to get away before she could be found. If she wanted to get back to Slade unhindered, she could not let the other Titans find Starfire. Star could tell them everything and they could catch up to her before she even reached her destination. Plus, if Shego did make it back to Slade without the Titans spotting her, how would she explain leaving a Titan clearly still alive on the Wayne Enterprises roof? He would be mad enough that she had failed to kill her, but even more mad that Starfire, who now knew way too much, was still able to pass on information to the Titans unchecked. In the few moments that she had to think, Shego saw one solution to both problems and went with it. She picked up Starfire's limp body and scaled down the back of the building with her, then carried her away into Jump City's sewers.