- Devilish Offer.
Angelica sweated cold, and gulped; she had never felt this scared. Of course, she had never been threatened by a mysterious woman with a sinister smirk and green flaming hands in her own bedroom.
"I can destroy this house in a matter of seconds and everyone inside it. Unless you want your parents having the worst waking up call ever, better keep yourself from screaming for help or doing anything stupid, understood?"
Angelica, her mouth still covered, nodded at the pale green skinned woman, who released her a moment later and motioned the girl to sit at the bed.
"Better introduce myself; my name is…"
"I know, Shego; Kim had told me about you." Angelica tried to sound as confident as usual but her fear was evident.
"Nice to hear Princess hadn't forgotten her old friends," Shego chuckled, "but… how about my brothers, they talk about me?"
"Uh… no, not really; then again, most of the time Team Go only gives us pointers about our powers, and my friends and I just hang around with Kim and Ron."
"Oh, yeah, I saw you guys at stage; nice show, by the way. So… when are you kids becoming super-zeroes?"
"You got that wrong, Miss Shego," Angelica cleared, "we're just training to defend ourselves in case a super villain tries attacking us… no offense."
"The real offended ones should be you and your family, girl," Shego smirked at the girl as sitting at a nearby chair, "I mean, Hego is supposed to be honest, isn't he? The guy should have told you his real intentions."
"Care to explain yourself?" Angelica pointed, curiosity mixed with fear.
"It's quite simple, Blonde; let me tell you how we started in the hero business; the short version you already know… colorful meteor, big crash, instant powers, and yada-yada. What Hego never tells anyone is that the guy practically dragged all the family into the whole super heroic thing, something he and only he wanted; and being the oldest, got the tutelage of all of us the moment turned 18, so we got a certain legal obligation with him, especially because our 'dear' uncle, who 'took care' of us after our parents' death, was more than eager to get rid of the freak show."
"Sorry about that."
"I actually understand it; regular people fear super powered ones, is natural; either that, or want to exploit us."
"Hey, my friends don't fear me, at least no more than usual, and neither my parents!" Angelica's tone got closer to her usual one, yet still kept a low voice.
"Maybe because you grew up with them, and are used to you… but how about the other people that saw you tonight? If any of them had known the levitation wasn't a trick but a real superpower, they would either run away or turn aggressive; no positive results at all. Only ones who usually think all superpowers are cool are little kids, and their parents teach them to be afraid of you."
Angelica was about to reply, but the woman's words had some truth on them; if lying, then Angelica wouldn't need to fly at night, hiding her ability from everyone.
"That's another thing Hego used to convince us to play heroes; the fact our normal lives were gone. Maybe Princess have told you otherwise, and sure, she's kind of formidable for a regular human, otherwise wouldn't be able to fight me," Shego got a sour look for a moment, "but she's still a regular human who doesn't fly, have super strength, or throw flames from her hands. After gaining our powers and having to spend a season at the hospital for research and observation, all nurses and doctors were either scared of us or treated my family as a bunch of guinea pigs; some guys from school… our 'friends', went to visit us, but none more than once because they're as freaked out as everyone else; I had to finish my education by home scholarship… no dates, parties, prom, or anything else I considered a sure thing before the accident."
Shego sighed and got a slightly sad expression; being a good liar herself, Angelica realized she was actually saying the truth and feeling it.
"And for the exploit thing, well, that's the only thing that saved us from being locked up permanently at some weird guy's lab… ironically, I now do that on a regular basis but at least have freedom to leave the place when wanting or needing it, and nobody forces a tube through my throat or something like that. Anyway, Hego and our uncle convinced the authorities our powers would make us great law enforcers, save a fortune in real cops, and attract some tourism; the idea worked, the mayor spent some cash to silence the few people who knew our real identities and my siblings and I got our own place away from our uncle, who still kept visiting and keeping an eye on us only because it was his legal obligation, so stopped doing it when Hego became our guardian, as already told you."
"Yeah, yeah, don't be repetitive." Angelica rolled her eyes yet still kept the low tone to avoid angering Shego.
"Sorry if I'm boring you," Shego groaned slightly at Angelica, "but trust me, you'll be on the same situation soon. Before knowing it, Hego will use any chance to dress you in tights and give a codename to force you fight a bunch of wacky guys on silly disguises."
Angelica gulped; from what she heard from Kim, Ron, and Team Go, and her personal experience with Aviarius, the idea of becoming a full time hero wasn't appealing from the beginning, and Shego's speech was now implying it would soon be Angelica's reality, kissing good bye her old life for good.
"Of course, there's another option." Shego grinned predatorily at Angelica, "Becoming a villain."
"And being tossed inside a jail cell? That doesn't sound comfortable at all, thanks."
"If you're smart, jail becomes just a small part of a villain's life; most I had ever spent caged was three months, and when you have powers and style, all the other prisoners respect and fear you, so your imprisonment isn't as hard as the other criminals'." Shego replied smoothly. "And, when you're free… is great; you can destroy things and show people who is boss without worrying about regular society's laws. Hego always says I turned to evil because became appealing to me, and that's actually truth; after living with that fool and obeying his rules for such a long time, a criminal life was liberating. If having powers, why don't using them for your personal gain?"
Shego approached Angelica, making her to back a little bit, still wary of the green woman.
"I've seen you and your friends working with Possible; stealth training comes handy for that. You kids have potential, and Hego will waste it; and you, the most of all, have everything it takes for a good career at villainy."
"Funny enough, some of my friends have told me the same thing… but… look, is kind of obvious you want to convince me joining the 'dark side'… or dark green in your case; thanks for considering me, but the idea is very far from being a winner one."
"Think about it; money, power, liberty… if major evil is not your thing, can make a pretty decent life with minor one; there are different grades of evil, just like with female clothing; there's formal, semi-formal, casual, regular, semi-regular, homely, flirty, seductive, naughty, dirty, vulgar, and Paris Hilton."
"And why I should trust you? Threatening my family isn't exactly a friendly start for any relationship; kind of one-sided, don't you think? Practically makes me your hostage."
"Good point, but, as I told you, there are grades of evil; hadn't told your secret identity to the other villains, not even the one signing my checks; they just know about you kids' existence, not your names or how you guys look like. Consider it a little professional courtesy."
"Aren't lying?"
"In this business, your word is very important; sure, stealing and lying is part of it, but traitors and back-stabbers don't live for long. If you need another proof of my sincerity, well, can teach you use your powers to their whole potential; it still amazes me Hego and the others hadn't realized all the stuff you can really achieve… then again, I was the one who helped them with their powers and taught them the elementary fight moves they know. They're so dumb hardly trained their powers beyond the basic level; God, when I started learning several fighting styles they said it was stupid because our powers alone made us good fighters, so basic skills were good enough and experience would do the rest; Hego only learned some more advanced boxing and wrestling moves because thought it was fun and enjoys using his muscles; the twins basically use the whole overwhelming numbers' strategy, and Mego just avoids attacks and fights back when the other guy is distracted. I'm sure the only reason they allow Princess to improve your fighting skills is to work with them at an even level from the beginning when becoming 'professional heroes'."
"And… what kind of stuff you can teach me?"
"Besides some good fighting techniques even Princess doesn't know, can teach you all the benefits of your power. For example, since my ability involves flames and energy manipulation, became quite resistant to electricity, heat, and energy-based attacks… not immune, but can take a lot more than normal; the electric chair knocked me out and gave a bad hair day, but nothing more."
"Electric chair?" Angelica paled.
"One bit of advice, girl; don't mess with Texas. Anyway, back to topic, Hego used to be kind of chubby when young, but his power caused him to develop bigger muscles, plus having strong legs allows jumping and running faster than a regular man, and his muscles are so hard they provide some moderate invulnerability; Mego's body is a little more elastic than usual to resist the tremendous stress when shrinking and returning back to normal, so, when small, he's proportionally a little stronger and more resistant than he should be; and the Wegos, well, they have some sort of mental connection with their clones that help coordinate their actions while still conserving some independence to multi-task and don't be so affected when one clone gets hurt, plus reuniting with the clones help the twins recover faster from minor wounds. I'm sure you might have experienced your power's benefits without realizing; when flying… you get cold or have problems to breath?"
"No, not really."
"And I'm sure you don't feel dizzy or something when making wild spins and changing height. In other words, you are developing enhanced balance, which translates into a much better agility and reflexes. Not to mention you're also getting resistance to cold temperatures and strengthening your lungs, plus your aura might give you some protection from impacts the same way it does with strong winds and bugs." Shego stood up, "Try making a back flip without taking impulse."
Angelica stood on her bed, and then made the back flip effortlessly, surprising herself.
"Not bad, uh? And your power… involves gravity, right?" Angelica nodded at her, "So, tell me, when you lifted your geeky pal for that flight… was him heavy at all?"
"No," Angelica wide opened her eyes, "you mean my power made him light?"
"It's possible; with some training, my power evolved from simple burning touch to shots of concussive energy, flaming blasts, shock-like grips, enforcing my punching, and, sometimes, when pretty angry, can focus some of that energy to increase my strength… not to Hego's levels, but enough to bench press almost three times my own weight."
Shego tossed Angelica a little device, and then moved to the window.
"It's a communicator; consider my offer, and, if… no, WHEN realizing what one is the winning side, call me," Shego smirked at the girl, "It's a limited time's offer, Blonde, so better think about it."
"Wait!" Angelica called the woman when noticing she was about to leave, "How you found us… more like, found ABOUT us on first place?"
"Another thing my brothers never learned; keep an eye on your old enemies. So long, Blonde… oh, and hope you correspond to my courtesy and don't tell anyone about this little visit, at least for now."
The green villainess jumped through the window; Angelica ran to it and took a look outside, Shego already gone, and then looked at the communicator. The girl sighed, getting an uneasy expression, and moved away from the window. Unnoticed to her, Shego was still close enough to see the girl, and taking out another communicator.
"The offer was done; now, we just need to wait… and if is this girl thinks as I'm guessing, she'll call pretty soon."
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"Are you ready to go, Tommy?"
"In a moment, Lil; just gathering the rest of my reference material," Tommy said to the girl while finishing packing. "It's just a couple of books about electricity and basic physics."
"And yours 'X-Men' DVDs, I see," Lil grinned at the boy when looking at his backpack.
"Well, Hego said movies and comics are a good reference and study material when you have super powers." Tommy chuckled, and then he and the girl got silent.
"We'll miss you guys." Lil sighed.
"We'll do too… even Angelica, but doubt she'll say it out loud." Tommy replied before using his electromagnetic skills to move his metallic-wheeled suitcase out from the closet. "But the truth is Kim and Ron can only help us to a basic level; to really master our abilities, we need Team Go, and they can't leave their city the whole Spring Break."
Lil nodded, understanding; it had passed a week since the show at the cyber café, and Spring Break had officially started, being the perfect chance for the threesome to be trained at Go City.
"Call us when arriving, okay? Just to know you and the others are fine," Lil smiled slightly at the boy, making him to nod and smile back.
"We'll call everyday, I promise." Tommy noticed Lil was still a little moody, and got an idea. "Want to see a trick I practiced with Dil the other day?"
Lil nodded, and Tommy placed a finger on her nose; then, the boy sent a minimal current through her body, causing a tickling sensation, and her hair to stand, the girl giggling the whole time.
"Tommy, watch my hair!" Lil said between laughs.
"I'm doing it, really!" Tommy laughed, and then cut the energy, the tickles disappearing and her hair returning to normal immediately.
"You have a lot more control now." Lil said in an impressed and proud tone.
"I need to; the way I see it, my power is the most dangerous of the three of us, so have to master it."
"You'll do it." Lil then surprised Tommy with a sudden and tight hug that lasted for a few seconds. "Be careful, okay?"
"I'll be, don't worry… and, please, keep an eye on my brother. Without me to watch over him, Dil might turn the backyard into a manatee sanctuary."
"The scariest part is that I know you're being honest." Lil and Tommy laughed, and then left the room. Chuckie was already waiting at the living room, with a backpack and a suitcase as well, alongside the rest of the gang and their parents, except for Angelica and her folks, who were yet to arrive.
"Angelica is late as usual, uh?" Tommy chuckled, finding especially ironic that someone whose power consisted on high speed flying could still be late for important issues.
"No, not late, Tommy… just 'fancy delayed'," Chuckie air-quote, making everyone else to chuckle a little bit. "Now, seriously… maybe she's saying bye to her parents in private; Angie had been a little tense this last week, and might be easier for her do it this way."
Tommy sighed as he and Chuckie looked at their respective families, and decided to do exactly that. Tommy was almost constricted by his mom's hug, but the woman calmed down so her husband, parents, parents-in-law and younger kid could hug Tommy as well; Chuckie's good bye was certainly shorter, but equally emotive, the boy being particularly hesitant to release Kimi when they hugged.
"Take care, okay, sis?"
"Same here; don't worry, I'll be fine." Kimi smiled at her step-brother to calm him down, the boy smiling back a moment later. In a perfect cue, the doorbell rang, and Didi opened to allow Kim and Ron in, who addressed Chuckie and Tommy after the regular greetings.
"Hego is waiting for us at the hangar; we'll take you guys there with a friend of mine." KP said as pointing at the window, so everyone could see a large van parked outside, with a man on his early forties standing next to it.
"And where's Angie? We'll need to go her place?" Ron asked.
"No, she agreed to come here so you guys could leave together." Susie pointed. At that moment, a second van arrived, Angelica and her parents walking down carrying several suitcases.
"She knows you guys are leaving for a couple of weeks and not moving, right?" Kim arched an eyebrow.
"Yes; in her case, that's light traveling." Dil shrugged as he and the others exited the house to help put Angelica's stuff on the other van; actually, only her dad, Harold and Chuckie carried the luggage, since Angelica was too busy saying bye to her uncles and grandparents.
"Angelica, are you alright?" Kim asked the girl. "Look a little pale."
"Uh… well… hadn't been sleeping too much lately."
"I thought that was Chuckie's power." Phil scratched his head.
"It is," Angelica yawned, "guess I'm just a little… excited about this and perhaps a little nervous too."
Of course, this was only half-true; certainly, Angelica was excited and nervous about going to Go City, but she was also more than a little scared of Shego, so the last days the blonde had barely slept, guarding her house in case the green villainess decided no longer waiting for an answer and visit the place again.
"Don't worry, Angie; you guys have done it greatly in a very short time, and I'm sure will do as well with Hego and his brothers." Kim smiled at the blonde, and then looked at the threesome's families and friends. "And you don't worry; they'll be in good hands, and Ron and I will keep an eye on them whenever possible."
After a last good-bye and some recommendations, the group finally entered the van, Angelica doing it the first to be near a window and give a fast last look at the neighborhood while leaving.
"Ready to go, Mac, and thanks again for the ride; we're too many for The Sloth." Kim said to the driver.
"You're welcome, Kim; less I could do after you took my son to the hospital after the accident."
"No big; just tell him to re-check the restrains before trying bungee-jumping again." Kim replied friendly, and then she and the others waved bye to the people at Tommy's yard, heading to the hangar.
"Angie, are you sure you're fine?" Chuckie, who sat right next to Angelica, whispered to her.
"Yes, Mommy," Angelica groaned yet got a slightly gentler tone immediately. "Sorry, Finster, but I'm not in a very talkative mood right now."
"Is okay; we're all a little nervous." Chuckie placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, succeeding in calming her down a little bit. However, the boy suspected the training wasn't the only thing troubling her; after all, it wasn't common for Angelica to say 'sorry' to anyone or allowing a comforting hand, especially when both things involved him.
"You guys will be better after a little snack." Ron beamed as showing a large bag he had kept in the van. "And I brought the best fast-food meal known to man and naked mole-rats… Bueno Nacho's goodness!"
"You know, it should be Buen Nacho, not Bueno." Chuckie commented, Ron giving him a puzzled look, "My sister is at the Languages Club."
"Oh… well, languages aside, here's the show's star… the naco!"
"Yummy!" Rufus jumped at Ron's shoulder to look at the food he took out from the bag. The blond boy then gave something to eat to everyone, including some nachos for the driver.
"Thanks, Ron." Tommy accepted a nachos' order, and used his electric powers to heat it a little bit.
"Now, that beats a microwave." Kim chuckled before started eating a chimurito.
"And the piece of resistance… Diablo sauce," Ron took out some sauce packages and handled them to the trio before adding a little sauce to his food and Rufus'. "One recommendation, guys; don't use too much."
Angelica looked at her own chimurito, and her sly grin appeared for the first time in days; the girl put the content from two sauce packages on it (actually, she put the closed packages) and handled the food to Chuckie, who was about to eat some nachos.
"Hey, Finster, I have some craving for nachos right now; let's change."
"Okay." Chuckie and the girl exchanged meals and the boy gave a good bite to his.
Silence.
"WAAAAAHHHH!" Chuckie yelled as his face got a bright red tone. Ron, recognizing the effects of a Diablo sauce's overdose, handled him a thermos.
"Drink it! It's chocolate milk with extra sugar!"
Chuckie drank the milk in a few seconds, sighing in relief when the volcanic sensation on his tongue disappeared, partly due the drink and partly because of his power.
"Angelica, you know Chuckie can't stand extra-spicy meals!" Tommy accused his cousin, who gave him an innocent smile.
"Well, he can stand almost anything now."
"No, I can RECOVER from almost anything; still working on STANDING." A sweat-soaked Chuckie groaned at her before looking back at his food. "Are you sure this is sauce and not a biological weapon?"
"You're not the first human who had wondered about that." Kim rolled her eyes and then looked at Angelica. "And cut the pranks, please."
"Fine, my promise," the blond girl grinned, "or not."
Chuckie sighed yet got a little smile at Angelica nobody but Kim noticed; the boy actually suspected the food exchange was really a trick from the girl, but, if she was in the mood to prank, humiliate, or insult him, then, in Chuckie's mind, Angelica was close enough to normal.
Kim sighed and went back to eating.
"This will be a long trip."
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A few hours later, the Go Jet arrived at Go Tower, with Mego and the twins waiting at the hangar.
"Took you long enough, don't you think?" Mego complained in his usual whining tone. "You took the scenic route?"
"Come on, bro, we're right on time!" Hego said as carrying down most of Angelica's luggage, not doing it with all just because there was too much to carry without damaging; Team Possible and the trio walked down following him.
"This place is amazing!" Tommy said in excitement.
"The city pays for all this?" Chuckie asked Hego as the blue guy dropped handled the twins some of the luggage, they multiplying a few times to carry everything.
"Mostly, yes… but I also have a civilian job to pay some expenses, and once in a while we have to do some minor favors to the city besides our crime fighting activities."
Flashback.
Team Go, all of them using security helmets, stood in front of a building programmed for demolition while a foreman gave them instructions.
"Okay, guys, let's do this fast; the union agreed on you taking down this building on the condition of doing it quickly so can start building the new tower when this place gets cleaned totally." The foreman then looked up at Hego. "You, big guy, crash the place."
"I'm on it, sir!" Hego saluted.
"Twins, you two multiply to help him clean the debris after destroying the building."
"We'll do, sir!" The Wegos saluted, smiling widely.
"And you, violet guy…" The foreman looked at the saluting Mego, "go down the street and get us some donuts. Here's the money."
Mego got a shocked expression while the man handled him the cash. The violet guy then frowned and prepared to go on one of his usual ramblings.
"Now… time to take down the house!" Hego exclaimed before dashing at the building.
CRASH! BOOM! THRACK! CRUMBLE!
"Cool!" The Wegos chorused before cloning several times and dashing to help their brother. Mego sighed in resignation, and looked back at the foreman.
"With or without chocolate?"
End Flashback.
"I got a good price." Mego folded his arms while the group moved to the tower's living facilities.
"Okay, Tommy and Chuckie, we prepared the guest room for you two," Hego explained, "and for you, Angelica, well… we only have a guest room, so you'll stay at our sister's old one."
"Shego's old room?" Kim arched an eyebrow at the blue hero while Angelica stopped walking and paled.
"Yes; don't worry; I've kept it good conditions." Hego opened next door, revealing a room with few decorations, but all the furniture was either green or black, just like the walls.
"Shego really personalized her place." Ron commented as the twins dropped the blonde's luggage inside and Angelica finally reacted and entered.
"Yes and the room is mostly the same as it was when she left." Hego sighed before turning at the blond girl, "One favor… please, don't mess it too much."
"Sure, no problem," Angelica gave the blue hero her best innocent grin while considering the possibility of sleeping at the room's floor to avoid touching the bed.
"Good! Now, you three unpack, and then we'll give you a fast tour of the tower." Hego said before turning at Team Possible, "Will you join us for dinner? I'm cooking some nacos and chimirritos."
Ron was about to say 'yes' but Chuckie was faster than him.
"Uh, Mister Hego… we already had that for lunch. Can we order some pizza?"
"Well… we don't have delivery service here, but sure, why not?" Hego handled some money to Mego. "Take the Go Boat and get us some large ones, please; I think pepperoni and mushrooms, Hawaiian, and three cheeses will be okay."
"You're so lucky I have a pizza craving right now." Mego said through clenched teeth before leaving.
"It's my imagination, or he's a little upset?" Tommy whispered at the Wego next to him.
"Don't worry, he is normally that way. Come, we'll show you and Chuckie your room." The Wegos lead Tommy and Chuckie to the room while Hego and Team Possible went to the tower's communicator room to call the trio's parents, leaving Angelica at Shego's room.
"I brought so many things and didn't think about a sleeping bag." Angelica groaned before giving the room a second room. "Messing with this… I don't want to touch anything!"
Angelica sighed and walked to the closet, knowing touching nothing would be unavoidable. The girl opened the door and gasped when finding an outfit her size, the same design of Team Go… in black and yellow.
"I'm having a bad feeling about this."