XI

Dr. Chemmal, along with all the other people in the hospital, were completely human as far as Shego was able to tell. None of them had the telltale vocal signs of being infected at any rate. But she could only hope that no one here was associated with the Yamanouchi School in Japan. Odds were in her favor, but if she lost, she probably wouldn't know it before it was too late to run—or even to fight.

Dr. Chemmal was explaining in heavily accented English to Kim in his excellent bedside manner that Kim was going to be ok. Kim was tired but looking well; she nodded and smiled politely back at him. His thick mustache, as black as the full head of hair, danced as he talked. He showed no signs of apprehension about what Shego had told him—the truth—after he'd asked questions about some of the blood work done, and agreed to suppress the findings to the greater medical community until after they had left. He'd also managed to get Kim a room all to herself, something Shego hadn't dared to hope for.

After he left, Kim looked toward Shego. "Shego, you rock," she said with sincerity if not exuberance.

Shego brushed it off. "You'd have done the same for me." Her tone was inscrutable.

Slightly uncomfortable, Kim decided to change the subject. "So how did you come to have ties to a hospital in India? Do you secretly do charity for them?" She said the last teasingly, but hoped there might be some truth to it.

Shego rolled her eyes. "Hardly, Princess. Dr. Chemmal was born someone else in Sri Lanka. There, his family was tied to the Tamil Tigers, until I got him set up here as someone else to keep him out of prison or killed by his associates."

"So not the drama," replied Kim dryly. "So what are the Tamil Tigers anyway? Some crime gang?"

Shego snorted. "They don't teach you much in that school other than how to take orders, do they?" When Kim just blinked, she said, "They're a militant secessionist group in Sri Lanka, called patriots by some and terrorists by others. Chemmal helped them by providing forged birth certificates and the like from the hospital he worked at to help wanted criminals set up under new names, or to aid criminals in obtaining passports or even smuggling Tamils to other communities around the world. He also helped a little with the drug smuggling by making some drug shipments look like legal medical supplies."

"Charming," sighed Kim. "So how did you come to be friends with him?"

"Oh, that," said Shego waving it off. "A Tamil pirate captain that smuggled drugs on the side got shot up in a firefight with cops in Bangkok though he did get away. The Tigers practically dragged the good doctor to Bangkok to render aid to the badly wounded captain. I was with the River Dragon Triad as a representative of Dr. D…"

"Dr. D is into drug smuggling?" interrupted Kim.

Shego blinked. "Well, yeah, how do you think he funds lairs and take-over- the-world schemes? Or to pay for the jet and the fuel that I flew you here with? He doesn't have a populace of sheep he can tax for it. But it's a side interest. I bet if Dr. D ever did take over the world, he'd keep the drugs illegal just so he could continue to profit from the drug trade, just like Texas Congresscritter John Morris Sheppard fought hard to enact and keep Prohibition while selling moonshine on the side, but other than that I don't think he cares that much." When Kim frowned, she laughed and added, "Hey, Al Capone never would've been more than a pathetic pimp that no one remembered today except that Prohibition changed his destiny and made him exceedingly wealthy and legendary. I bet you didn't learn THAT in school, either, or how he was never taken down for illegal drug smuggling, but for tax evasion." Shego snorted then. "I always thought it was funny that a racketeer would get busted for tax evasion." She shrugged, "But you know the difference between pirates and emperors: the number of followers. What is called a crime on a small scale is called a public service when done at a large scale."

"Forget I asked," replied Kim frowning. Knowing her ride was funded by drug smuggling was something she could've done without, much like she could've done without knowing what mystery meat was made of.

"Done," answered Shego. "Anyway, the leader of the River Dragons in Bangkok said he wouldn't deal with anyone he didn't know well enough, so the Tigers had to produce their captain. Which they did, along with Dr. Chemmal at his side. But the leader himself had been extorted or bought off and as soon as it was clear the captain was there, an epic raid followed. You should've been there, Kimmie, it was awesome! There were cops from China, Thailand, and India, even the DEA from the United States, all there to get their talons into the Tamil pirate captain!"

"Sounds like fun times," replied Kim sarcastically with annoyance, still frowning and now crossing her arms.

Shego shrugged. "Anyway, they did get the captain, but not me. I managed to get a handful of the River Dragons and Tigers out with me, including Dr. Chemmal. But either because of his suspicious disappearance, or because one of those captured talked, the Sri Lankan authorities were after him, so I got him out, helped him in setting him up under his current name here in Tamil Nadu, and helped him to get hired by this very hospital. We haven't used him much since then. He's cut ties with the Tigers; he feared they'd kill him just to be sure he couldn't talk."

Kim frowned, and then grew thoughtful. "Shego," she asked, "why did you help him?"

Shego blinked. "Because…" She took a deep breath, and then shrugged. "Because he could still provide false documents by his access to medical records and blank birth certificates." She shook her head. "Why?"

"Because, Shego, saving others is a superhero thing to do. You obviously don't see the authorities as the good guys, so you were more of a rebel hero than outlaw."

"ANTIhero," corrected Shego, "and even that's not right. I don't see the River Dragons or Tamil Tigers as good guys, either, so it wasn't like I was standing up for the oppressed. And I got major props from the River Dragons AND the Tamil Tigers, so it's not like I didn't get anything out of it. Besides, it was fun. I know you know what I mean."

"But why help the doctor? He wasn't of any real use to you anymore."

Shego shook her head. "I don't get you, Kimmie. Who cares why I helped him? I'm certainly cashing in that favor now."

"But you didn't know if you could ever use him again."

"No, but I knew I might." She shrugged again. "Maybe he was cute." Then she rolled her eyes. "Though when he promised to do anything to pay me back, I got the impression he was hoping I'd demand sex favors, like that was going to happen." Then looking at Kim, she added, "And whatever you do, don't let anyone around here touch you with their left hand." When Kim opened her mouth, Shego cut her off with an upraised hand. "Trust me, Kimmie, you don't want to know."

Kim sighed. Obviously, Shego was trying to change the subject again. Shego's villainy irked Kim. There was such a streak of nobility in the woman, not just to Kim herself, but to her brothers, and even to people she didn't know that well. She'd even protested Drakken's decision to steal a wheelchair and had worked hard to not hurt the alligators attacking her in a pit. But she knew it was pointless to press the issue. She just couldn't figure out why Shego seemed so bent on alienating everyone when she obviously held some compassion for others, even if that compassion manifested itself in twisted ways.

Without realizing it, she started gazing at Shego, as she wondered, Maybe she just felt unappreciated and got tired of being treated like a freak when she did so much for others. I guess that's why she likes Drakken, since he feels like an unappreciated freak, too. But hey, she actually blasted him over the ledge when he attacked me, and she saved me, not him. Is it just the nanites? We were really close when she was good. Is this bonding real, or artificial?

"Penny for your thoughts, Princess," said Shego, mimicking Kim when it was Shego in a hospital bed.

"I, uh, not sure. I'm just confused."

"I'll buy that, it's a confusing situation."

"You can say that again. I'm on the run, I've made Global Justice's Top 10 Wanted, and you're my shining green knight." Shego grinned at that.

They both hushed as an orderly came in with a cart bearing lunch trays. She gave Kim a tray, and said something in another language. Kim smiled politely and the woman left. Then Kim took a bite of her food, as she was famished. After a few more, she noticed Shego was smiling in a not-nice way. "What?"

"Have you taken a close look at your food?"

Kim focused, and as she looked, she noticed her vision moved in to reveal more details. She spat out what she had as she saw a bug crawling in it. Then she frowned at a laughing Shego. "Hey, I didn't laugh at YOU when you were recovering!"

"Sorry," said Shego. "It's ok, really! I love Indian cuisine myself, but when eating in India, I'm always careful to pick the bugs out first."

Kim sighed, and began picking out bugs. "Well, it CAN'T be worse than mystery meat they serve us at school."

Shego added, "They say you've been here too long when you not only stop caring about the bugs in the food, but when you start putting bugs you find on your table into your food."

"Eww, gross!"

Shego shrugged. "Makes sense, though. The Thai have another sensible solution. Most can't keep the ants out of their food, so they just eat them and consider them a delicacy."

"Ok, that's it," said Kim, pushing her tray away. "I want to eat elsewhere." She made a face of exaggerated disgust and added, "If at all."

"It's not bad for you, Kimmie, it's good protein. Put your prejudices aside, and live a little. I thought you could do anything."

"Just because I can doesn't mean I will."

Shego laughed. "Eat your food. You'll be recovered enough in a few hours and we can eat somewhere nice for supper." Then she blinked at the expression on Kim's face. "What are you doing?"

"It's called a puppy dog pout," said Kim in a whining tone. "Please?"

"No," said Shego firmly. Kim remained staring at her with the puppy dog pout. "Will you stop it already? I said no!" After another minute, she sighed. "Fine, I'll talk to Dr. Chemmal about releasing you now and I'll take you somewhere that won't disturb you delicate palate." Then rolling her eyes, she added, "And then we can get back to work saving the world."

Kim smiled and answered cheerily, "Please and thank you!"

--xxx

Yori and Ron were both sitting cross legged at the Yamanouchi School, meditating. At least Yori was. Ron kept sighing, and while Yori managed for a while to concentrate, she finally stopped and put her hand on his shoulder.

"What?" asked Ron sadly.

"You are unable to quiet your mind, Stoppable-san. Perhaps we should do something more productive."

Ron sighed again. "Kim's parents really took it hard. About Kim, I mean."

Calmly, Yori answered, "They took it quite well. They were distressed, but they are using that distress to redouble their efforts. They will find a cure for your friend, I know it."

Ron couldn't get the image of Kim's foot coming down to crush his face, or of Yori stopping her from doing so. "This is all just too weird for me."

"If you quiet your mind, you will know peace, and you'll see that most problems take care of themselves. All you need to work on is yourself."

"That's a big part of it, Yori," answered Ron. Looking intently at her, he added, "Whenever my mind begins to get quiet, I feel this hole within me that threatens to swallow me whole! I don't…" He was interrupted, and stunned, when Yori bent in to kiss him. In shock he took it, and then he relaxed into, and it grew, and then Ron tensed.

Yori pulled away. "I apologize, I shouldn't have done that. Your eyes held such pain, I became weak looking at it and tried to soothe you as best I could. And I would by lying if I said I did not like you, Stoppable-san."

Ron smiled, saying, "Must've worked like the puppy dog pouts. I didn't know that worked for guys, too." Then he frowned. "None of this should have happened. It's not your fault, Yori. I guess it's no one's fault." Then looking intently at Yori, he asked, "Do I still have a girlfriend or not?"

Yori was silent for about a minute before she answered. "The Kim Possible you courted no longer exists, and thus neither does your relationship. Given the circumstances, you had honorable reasons to withdraw from such an intimate relationship even before she turned on us and her entire world. I would have been concerned if Kim had not tried as hard as she did to keep you separate from her."

Now Ron was silent for a minute. "Can we try meditating again?"

"Of course, Stoppable-san." Yori pulled the incense out that they meditated to, as it was nearly gone, and lit another incense stick.

By the time the incense had burned down, Ron opened his eyes and told Yori, "The hole has been inside me for awhile, Yori, I just couldn't face it. And it's a void that upsets me too much to go on."

"But we must go on!" said Yori. "The world needs us to. And the old Kim Possible would expect nothing less of you, and neither do I!"

"I know, and I will," answered Ron, "no matter what." But looking intently at Yori he said, "But I know how to fill that void now."

"How so, Stoppable-san?"

Ron leaned in and kissed her. Yori returned the kiss and they embraced, both finding comfort in each other, both living a long-lived fantasy, and both rationalizing away what they were doing.

At this point, Rufus stuck his head out of Ron's pocket and yawned. Then looking up, he said too softly for either of them to hear, "Uh, oh."