Disclaimer: I own the characters you don't see in the series. The rest belong to Disney.
The sob was unmistakable from any other sob, sounding like one who had endured so much without a sound finally letting herself wretch the anguish from her body. It was the sob of one who was saying through tears enough was enough. It nearly brought tears to Kim's eyes.
"Shego," Drakken whimpered. War Hawk unfurled her wings and dove down the entryway.
"Shego, are you...? Oh my gosh, Mischief!" She shouted.
The sob subsided. They couldn't hear anything through the dense earth. Golden Arrow sat down and started plucking the grass. Artica made rings of water vapor with her mouth.
"I'M NOT LEAVING HER!" Shego's sudden scream startled them all. They exchanged worried glances.
War Hawk shot back up, lacking her usual grace. Tears were streaming down her face. The villainesses surrounded her, holding her in the center of a group hug.
"It's horrible, it's so horrible, she's such a monster, her neck, her poor neck!" War Hawk babbled. Artica gripped her shoulders.
"What did Tigress do to Mischief?" She asked firmly, her voice trembling a bit from worry. War Hawk took shaky breaths, straightening up, wiping at her eyes. They gaver her her space.
"Cassy Catt's dead," she murmured. Kim's stomach hit rock bottom.
"No, no you and Shego and Mischief are just pulling our legs. Tigress either got away or is bound up down there waiting for the police." Artica shook her head, laughing. Golden Arrow folded her arms over her chest. Metaphor looked between Artica and War Hawk, a confused look on her face.
"Mischief can't die. That's like saying fire will freeze over," Metaphor stammered.
"It's a sign of the Apocalypes," Golden Arrow murmured. War Hawk looked directly into Artica's eyes.
"Jane, Cassandra's dead," She said clearly. Artica shook her head.
"You're taking this too far! Saying Cassy Catt's... this is low!" Artica stormed away. Metaphor, after a moment's hesitence, followed.
"I need to go get some things," War Hawk shot up into the air. Kim blinked and she was gone.
But Kim had just seen Mischief, running around shouting in random voices. It couldn't have happened so fast. She looked up. Golden Arrow had her knees drawn up to her, leaning against a tree, making it hard for someone to tell if she was crying or not. Drakken looked dazed and sad. If Mischief was... then Shego was alone down there with her. She was crying, alone. Kim moved towards the well.
"I know you mean well, but you don't know what you're going to find down there," Drakken spoke. Kim didn't respond, just jumped down the well and landing on her feet. She crept towards the area where they had fought for the Juvinator.
Kim gasped. War Hawk had been right; it was the most horrible thing she had ever seen and it was real. Mischief's throat had been torn open so gruesomely Kim could only describe it as it being done by animal. Shego looked...defeated. Tired. In agony. She had Mischief's head on her lap, smoothing her short purple hair.
"I was only knocked out for a couple minutes," Shego whimpered. Kim kneeled beside her and put an arm around her.
"It starts simple enough," Shego began, "just a spark from a few harsh words or being snubbed. Pretty soon, you dwell on that spark until it's a flame. You add more, they add more, soon you've got yourself a bonfire that's impossible to put out by human strength alone. This..." she motioned to Mischief's neck. "...this is a bonfire, when you hate someone so much you'd do anything to hurt them. I don't hate you."
"I know you don't. Toddlers say stuff like that when they're angry," Kim assured her.
"That's no excuse," Shego said disgustedly.
Kim looked at Mischief's face. She was smiling. For the love of Louisiana, the girl smiled even as she died.
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"You know I would've checked to see what time the middle school got out if I were you," Mego griped.
"The middle school's always gotten out at 2:00," Hego declared. They were in Hego's truck parked in the Go City Middle School parking lot. Hego had gotten off early and decided to pick his brothers up from school.
"If you noticed things, you'd see how I got out early from the high school."
"Did the schedules switch between the schools, I wonder?"
"Doy."
The schedules were the way they were because they had the same buses for the high school, the middle school, and the elementary schools. It used to be that the middle school would get out ten minutes before, giving the buses enough time to combine the middle schoolers and high schoolers on one run.
Mego turned up the radio knob.
"I love this song," He laughed. Hego smirked, thinking about all the times Mego had teased him about listening to Avril Lavigne, but didn't say anything.
"Mother fudgin'? That doesn't even make sense," Mego snorted.
"Shut up. It's better than cursing," Hego kicked involuntarily, not used to having his cellphone on vibrate. He cranked down the volume and flipped it open.
"Hello?"
"Are you at work?" Hego instantly recognized his girlfriend War Hawk's voice.
"No, why? Is something wrong, honey?"
"Tigress killed Mischief and Shego blames herself," Hego's eyes widened.
"I'll be right there as soon as I finish up here. Where are you at?"
"I'm not sure. I'll send you the coordinates."
"I'll be right there. I love you."
"Love you, too," she hung up first.
The twins came bounding up, laughing and pushing each other.
"Hey, Hego!" Wego 1 got in on the left.
"What's the occasion?" Wego 2 got in one the right. Hego took a deep breath.
"Sis is going through a difficult time in her life right now..."
"Mischief croaked," Mego said bluntly.
"Really?" Wego 1 asked.
"We're going to go comfort Shego. Chloe didn't say much, but I'm guessing her friend group is going to be around, too," Hego looked at Mego, "Be nice."
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Mischief had been cleaned up, sewn up, and looked about as good as Shego, War Hawk, and Kim could make her. They laid her out on a couch they found.
"What are we going to do with her?" Kim asked.
"Give the others a chance to say goodbye," War Hawk murmured.
"You did bring her will, didn't you?" Shego murmured.
"Yeah," War Hawk said softly. Shego's eyebrows furrowed and picked up Mischief's hand. She had scribbled something in Chinese lettering. Her eyebrows shot up.
"What does it say?" Kim asked. Shego shook her head.
"It's just something she needed to tell me. She does, did, that to remember things." The past tense was hard to swallow.
"We should go find Metaphor and Artica; they ran off when they heard the news," War Hawk suggested.
"Yeah," Shego said softly.
Meanwhile, above ground Drakken and Golden Arrow heard something crashing clumsily through the woods. He wondered what kind of animals were in these woods. Moose? Bear? Mountain lion? What if it wasn't an animal? What if it was something worse? The silly thought of it being Warmonga crossed his mind...that alone sent him to cower behind Golden Arrow.
"Hego, is it necessary to knock down every tree that gets in your way?" She asked.
"You're always good for a laugh, Goldilocks," he replied dryly.
"Come over here and call me that," She challenged.
"Let me guess, War Hawk invited you," Artica snarled. Her and Metaphor had gotten back from their cooling-off walk, ready to accept the truth. Hego, Mego, and the twins came out into the small clearing.
"Shego's our sister," Hego said.
"You thought Mischief was annoying," Metaphor said.
"SHUT UP!" Shego screamed. They all turned to her. She took a deep breath, "I know you guys don't get along, but for Mischief's sake can we try?" The two groups looked at each other.
"For Mischief," Artica agreed, bowing her head respectfully. The boys nodded.
They had set the couch in an empty room like a proper viewing. One by one, each filed in and said their last goodbyes. Some carried regrets, some said last secrets, some simply hugged and cried over her. Kim came back, silent tears running down her cheeks. She needed to talk to Ron. He was probably worried when she didn't show up at school. The villainesses were quietly talking amongst themselves.
"I have a spare key to her lair," Shego murmured.
"I can go over to her work and tell them," War Hawk offered.
"I can hack into her legal files and say she's...deceased," Artica forced the words out.
"Isn't that stuff the government deals with?" Kim asked.
"This isn't the government's business," Metaphor said coldy. Kim looked to Shego questioningly.
"Then how are you going to get a cemetary plot? An obituary?" she asked. Shego shook her head.
"We've all agreed not to get stuff like that. Just an honorable burial. No big shing-dig where people tell the survivors how sorry they are and have a huge bill," she shrugged.
"Great girl she was, we're pretty much the only ones who cared in the end," Artica said.
"I think it's time for the will," Golden Arrow commented, seeing no one further go into the room. Shego nodded. Silently, everyone gathered around a tv Shego had brought out and hooked up. War Hawk took a tape, put it in the VCR, and pressed play.
It shocked Kim to see Mischief tapping at the recorder.
"I see a red light. War Hawk says this means its recording. I don't know anything about crap like this," She murmured in a voice Kim didn't recognize. She leaned away, looked into the lens, smiled, and waved, "Hi! If you're watching this, I'm dead. Or maybe not, but chances are, I am. I mean, being a villain means you have to prepare for a sudden death, so even though the chances are I won't die this year, I'm making this in case I do," Shego paused.
"FYI, we make this every year...you know, just in case," she explained and then pressed play again. Mischief went back to talking in the same voice Kim had never heard.
"My guess is either I croaked in a self-afflicted accident or someone finally got sick of me and took me out. Maybe I'll never know, or maybe someone will tell me when I get up there," she pointed towards the ceiling, "As far as my earthly possessions, fight amongst yourself. It's funny when you guys are idiots like that," she cracked up. It took her several minutes to regain her breath, "I do have a few "requests" I'd like to be carried out in my honor. Numero uno, Hego proposes to War Hawkie."
Hego and War Hawk glanced at each other nervously.
"It took how long for you two big-hearted lugs to get together...I think Shego deserves a sister-in-law after all the bending-over-backwards to get you guys to go out. Plus, it'd be like the cutest couple ever. Oh, yeah, my burial. I want to be buried in my sleeping bag, 'cause it's cozy, with my favorite stuff, 'cause it's all cool yo, under the tree house, 'cause that's where I went whenever things got bad at my house 'cause Shego invited me to, but that's another story," She leaned over towards the camera, but then stopped, leaning back.
"Yeah, you guys thought I was done. You only wish. But I've only got one other thing to say to my peeps...I think Kim should join our group. She's been to the sleepovers and Shego, deep down, beyond the stone wall, you know you like her. We haven't had a superhero since...we never have, 'cause Shego stunk so bad she doesn't count...jking, jking. But seriously, she must become one of us if she wants you, kind of passing the torch on to the next generation type thing since I'm supposedly dead," Mischief saluted the camera.
"Cassy Catt, signing out."
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Review, please, I really appreciate them.
