A Chance Encounter 2

The telltale chime of the Kimmunicator interrupted Kim's studying and she was happy for it. After the Lorwardian Invasion there had been a surge of villainous activity which had Kim globe-trekking like never before- which was saying a lot- followed by a long lull as many of her usual suspects were still behind bars. And as much as she enjoyed her college life, her missions were her passion. So she happily put down her pencil and answered the call.

"Hey Wade, what's the sitch?"

"Well, this is a weird one," he started. "It's Shego."

Kim perked up immediately. After running into the other woman lounging on a tropical island and promising her favors, she had wondered what would happen. She hoped the other woman wouldn't try to ask for one if she was back to her usual activities.

"What'd she do?" Kim asked.

"That's what's weird. She's the one with a request. And I don't even know if it is a request."

"What did she say."

"She left coordinates, a time, a schematic to what looks like an evil lair, and a message: 'my first favor.' Does that mean anything to you."

Kim smiled. "Yeah, it does. So when am I supposed to be at this evil lair?"

Wade looked surprised but carried on. "Tomorrow, at noon."

"Perfect. Send the schematics over and arrange a ride to get me there at the time she specified, please and thank you."

"Sure thing. Just one question. Is this a favor for you, or a favor for her?"

"You know, I'm not actually sure," Kim said. "But there's only one way to find out."

Wade gave her a doubtful look but nodded. She waved and switched the screen from Wade to the schematics he had sent over while they were talking. She started to study them and smiled. Somehow studying was more appealing when it involved a mission.

The next day Kim leapt from a plane over the deserted island in the Caribbean where Shego's abandoned lair was located. She had immediately decided not to bring someone with her. She was certain the other woman wouldn't have any henchmen around, and besides, she wanted to face Shego woman to woman. It had been far too long since their last fight, and Kim was positively thrumming with excitement at the prospect of facing her again.

She was low to the ground when she finally opened her parachute. The outside of the lair was pretty standard, but the inside had one interesting change. The largest chamber where villains typically housed their world-domination devices was instead filled with platforms and catwalks, presumably to create a more interesting fighting environment. The other rooms and chambers seemed to be completely cleaned out leaving no doubt where Shego would be.

She landed and made her way to a nearby ventilation shaft. She opened it and slipped in, and soon she was above the main chamber. She couldn't spot Shego through the grate and weighed her options. If this were a typical mission Dr. Drakken would be ranting and she would simply kick her way through the grate and confront him.

Then, to her surprise, she heard Drakken's voice. For a moment she considered the idea that this was an elaborate setup, that Shego had turned back to being actively evil and convinced Drakken to do the same. But when she listened closer she realized something was off about Drakken's voice. It sounded tinny, as if played through speakers, and the plot he was yelling about sounded familiar. Kim smiled. It was a signal. If Shego wanted an authentic plot-foiling experience she would give it to her.

She kicked the grate hard and it fell to a catwalk below. She followed it. Drakken's voice cut out and a different recording played, one of Drakken yelling her name. Kim looked around and spotted Shego towards the front of the room, at a table in front of the giant screen that seemed to be a necessity in every lair. She was smirking up at Kim, hands on a laptop connected to the screen. That would be the source of Drakken's voice.

"Really, a Drakken soundboard?" Kim asked.

Shego shrugged. "Didn't feel the same without the right soundtrack."

Kim smiled. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you're right."

"Then you'll get a kick out of this," Shego said. She pressed something on the computer.

"Shego, get her!" Drakken's voice yelled from the screen.

"I should have brought one of Ron too," Kim laughed.

"Then it'd be really authentic," Shego said as she leapt from platform to platform towards Kim.

"As long as there's no self-destruct button here. That'd be too authentic." Kim dropped from the catwalk to a platform and started descending from platform to platform to meet Shego.

"Don't worry, I wasn't the one adding those to every device and lair."

"Good to hear." Kim landed on a platform just as Shego jumped up to it. "So how's this going to work?"

Shego blinked at her. "What do you mean? We're gonna pretend this place has some kind of world threatening device and we're gonna fight. Simple."

"Perfect. So, you gonna get me?"

Shego did. She charged and swiped at Kim, who flipped to a different platform. The platforms were small enough to force her into close quarters with Shego's plasma, but were also close enough together that her acrobatics were useful. It seemed Shego had deliberately set up a fair fight. Kim smiled to herself. This was going to be fun.


Shego noticed Kim's smile but found she couldn't be bothered by it. In fact, she felt like smiling as well. That night on the island Kim had asked her what she missed about her old life. She hadn't lied- she missed the thrill of heists, the excitement of facing and besting opponents when Drakken inevitably gave them away. But she hadn't realized until she charged Kim how much she missed fighting Kim Possible.

Kim was Shego's opposite in so many ways. There was the obvious hero/villain aspect of their relationship, but it went beyond that. In combat Kim preferred agility and Shego preferred power. Where Kim liked bright colors, Shego liked dark tones. Kim had a lot of friends and Shego wasn't a people person. But Shego also knew how alike they were. They were both warriors. They both had incredible drives to improve their skills. They both sought out dangerous situations. And they brought out the best in each other.

Their fight was a perfect example of that last point. It was intense, more intense than any of their previous fights. Without Drakken, Ron, or any henchmen around there were no interruptions, which meant they could really stretch their skills to their limits. They chased each other from platform to platform, exchanging blows as they did. Shego often found Kim's flips and twirls frustrating, but with only the two of them she could appreciate the skill and endurance needed to fight like Kim. The way she moved was so fluid, and her ability to turn and contort even in midair was incredible. Shego couldn't help but marvel at the show Kim was putting on.

As the fight went on Kim's endurance proved to be the deciding factor. Shego kept in shape as much as she could, but exercise couldn't compare with active missions. Chasing and being chased around the chamber wore Shego down, and her technique slipped enough for the younger woman to get the edge. She slipped past Shego's guard and put her in a hold that made Shego tap out. She lay there breathing hard after Kim let her go. After a few moments Kim spoke.

"Nice to see your vacation didn't slow you down."

Shego was glad to hear the fatigue in Kim's voice, but was annoyed at the sincerity. If Kim was being genuine, that meant she hadn't improved since she retired, which made sense, but also meant something Shego had long feared had come to pass. Kim was unequivocally better than her.

"Yeah, well, like you said last time," Shego said, "gotta break the monotony somehow."

"I imagine this is a first though," Kim said as she sat with feet hanging off of the platform.

"Fighting someone in a lair converted into an arena? Yeah, definitely a first."

"And how was it? I like to know my favors are well received."

Shego snorted. "Everything I imagined, Princess."

Kim laughed. "Glad to hear it."

Shego thought for a moment. As weird as it was interacting with Kim this way, it wasn't bad. Shego still wasn't sure what to make of that, but she had prepared another part of her favor, depending on how the fighting went. And the fight had been fantastic. Shego pushed herself to her feet and motioned for Kim to follow her.

"Come on, Kimmie, I've got something for you."

Kim looked at her with surprise. "Oh, a present?" Her face turned sly. "Is this your way of getting more favors?"

"Maybe it is."

They descended the platforms to the ground and Shego led them to the front of the room. On the table next to the laptop was her bag, and when she reached it she opened it and rummaged through it. She pulled out some food, a couple of foil-wrapped sandwiches, two oranges, and an assortment of granola bars.

"It's not five-star room service, but there's a lack of resorts on this island," Shego said.

"It looks perfect," Kim said, taking a sandwich and unwrapping it. "Ham and cheese?"

"Turkey. Less salt."

They ate in silence for a while. Shego had no idea what to say. Kim had started their conversations on the island, and before that they were enemies who traded insults and sarcastic remarks. She briefly considered asking how Kim's missions were, but tossed the idea aside as little better than talking about the weather. She considered talking about their styles and what martial arts they studied but hesitated when another thought occurred to her.

She remembered their late night conversation, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to invite Kim to open up again. She wasn't usually comfortable being that open so she had a hard time imagining why the other woman had. She knew some people found catharsis in talking things out, but at the same time… did they really? It just didn't add up. Letting people in only let them know how best to hurt you, so the idea that her archenemy would willingly share such personal details of her life threw her off. And Kim might expect her to reciprocate. If she were honest with herself that thought intimidated her. Of course she had thought about Kim after their encounter, and she had reflected on their dynamic and her image of Kim, but sharing those thoughts-

"What are you thinking about?" Kim's voice cut through Shego's musings.

Shego blinked and focused on her. "The weather?"

"What?"

"No, no, not the weather." Shego shook her head. "Uh, how are your missions?"

Kim arched an eyebrow at her. "You looked pretty deep in thought and that's what you came up with?"

"Hey, this isn't exactly familiar territory Princess," Shego said, bristling at Kim's look.

Kim raised her hands, palms out. "Sorry, sorry. Old habits." She dropped her hands. "I wasn't trying to insult you, maybe just some light ribbing? But maybe we're not there yet."

Yet. Kim said it so casually she might not have even thought about it. But Shego did. It didn't do much to clarify her earlier thoughts.

"Listen, I didn't mean to make things awkward," Kim said. "For what it's worth, today was everything I imagined too."

Shego frowned. The two of them weren't supposed to be considerate towards each other. Then again, they weren't supposed to arrange a meeting and share a meal, but there they were doing just that. It was a fundamental shift in the dynamic between them, and Kim seemed to want to explore that new dynamic. Shego looked at the sandwich in her hand and acknowledged that the other woman wasn't alone in wanting that. She sighed. She couldn't believe what she was about to say.

"Well, I didn't have a great reaction. For us that was nothing, but like you said, old habits."

Kim brightened at her concession. "So should we talk about my missions or was there something else you were thinking about?"


Kim knew what she hoped Shego would say, but didn't want to push the issue. She was pleased that the other woman had invited her to stick around and talk, but she also recognized that Shego was having a hard time adjusting to their odd new relationship. Kim herself couldn't put a name to what they were, but given her experiences she could roll with it. So she had left it to Shego to decide the course of their conversation.

"After that talk we had I did think about what I might regret," the other woman said.

Kim nodded and tried not to show how pleased she was that Shego had chosen to push their conversation deeper. "Did you come up with anything?"

Shego shook her head. "Nothing that happened. But… I did wonder if I would have regretted succeeding. If one of those traps was a little better, if you were a little slower, you could have died a lot of different ways."

Kim bit her lip. "And?"

Shego looked away and shrugged. Kim didn't want to press further, but Shego had opened the conversation up to something deeper than her job. She wouldn't ask for more, but there were other ways she could encourage Shego to keep going. And even if she didn't, she was at least open to sharing.

"You know, I never apologized for the whole 'Miss Go' thing," Kim said. Shego turned back to her and blinked.

"What?"

"Another of my regrets. When you were Miss Go, after we stopped Electronique, I was going to have you stay Miss Go. If Ron hadn't dropped the Reverse Polarizer and turned you back to you, I wouldn't have done it."

Kim had to look away when the silence stretched between them. Only when Shego sighed did Kim look back.

"Kimmie, I was angrier about that than you kicking me into the tower. Mind control is one thing that really pisses me off. But I get it. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, that would have been the right thing to do."

"That's what I thought at the time. But looking back… would it have been?"

"Like I said," Shego started, tone flippant. "As far as the rest of the world is concerned."

"But does that make it right? It's taking away someone's ability to choose. That's the definition of wrong."

Shego shrugged. "Prison exists, Kimmie. Take it from someone who's been there, there isn't a lot of choice there."

Kim frowned. "I know what you're saying, but there's a difference, right? Between sending someone to prison and altering their personality, one of those things takes away the ability to choose at a fundamental level."

"Sure, but I'm not trying to get in a philosophical debate here, Princess."

"Right, sorry. I wasn't either, but… I guess that's why it's one of my regrets. I was willing to use mind control to get the result I wanted, and that's exactly what Drakken would do."

Shego smirked. "When you put it that way it does make you sound kind of evil."

Kim rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, very funny." She paused and Shego gave her a questioning look. "You know, I think I should ask Wade to try to recreate the Reverse Polarizer"

"Hey, it was just a joke Kimmie."

Kim smiled. "Not for you Shego. Electronique is still reverse polarized. I should turn her back to herself as well."

Shego snorted. "Oh her. I wouldn't. I hated that woman when I was with Team Go. It might sound rich coming from me, but she had the worst attitude."

Kim's smile faded. "I guess it just still feels like some kind of human rights violation."

"I get it," Shego said. She leaned towards Kim. "But the thing about that contraption is you don't feel different. When I was Miss Go I wanted to be good, I wanted to date that gorilla of a teacher, I wanted to-" Shego cut herself off and sighed. "When I was Miss Go it felt as natural as thieving and fighting does now. I would have been happy as Miss Go. And that's what makes me hate mind control."

"I wondered how it worked," Kim said softly. "If the real you was in there somewhere screaming to get out."

Shego shook her head. "I kinda wish that were the case, but no, nothing but happy, simpering thoughts."

"So everything was reversed? Your thoughts, your feelings?"

Shego scratched her head. "I don't think so. It was more like my outlook I guess. I know right from wrong, I just choose to do wrong. But under the influence of that device I wanted to choose right instead. It's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."

They were both silent for a while. Kim finished her sandwich and peeled one of the oranges. She offered a slice to Shego who took it with a nod. Shego's words bounced around her head and her curiosity grew. She looked at the other woman and wondered.

"Would… would you have turned me evil?"

Shego snorted and shook her head again. "Are you kidding? You'd have taken over the world in two days. There's a reason the evil version of your sidekick wanted to turn you too."

"I don't know, someone would have stopped me."

"I don't know if you're being humble or naive," Shego said. "No one could."

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me Shego, but-"

"But nothing," Shego cut her off. "That's one of the things I realized after our talk. All those traps and schemes, any one of them could have worked. You could have died a dozen different ways just to me and Drakken. And we tried. I tried. I never pulled a punch or hesitated when I had the drop on you. That's what I realized. At a certain point I was trying to kill you, but not intending to."

Shego frowned at her own words and shook her head. "That sounds weird. Let me put it this way. At some point I stopped thinking 'this'll get her for sure' and started thinking 'how's she gonna make it out of this one?' I was sure nothing I did would succeed. So when I thought about any regrets I had, or any I might have had if things went differently, I couldn't come up with anything. I couldn't even picture it."

Kim nodded slowly. "I don't know if I should be honored or horrified."

"Yeah, well, it was a pretty horrifying realization for me."

"How so?"

Shego went silent for a while again. Kim let her order her thoughts. Eventually she spoke.

"You stopped being my enemy and started being my goal. I lost before we fought for the first time, and I lost to other people here and there, but no one got the better of me more than you. And I couldn't stand it. I had to beat you, and I never did, not in any real way, no fair fight. I'd like to blame Drakken, or your sidekick or his pet, or pure dumb luck, but it wasn't any of those things." Shego fixed Kim with an intense stare. "I was the best fighter I knew my entire life. Until I met you."

"I'm- Shego, I don't-" Kim faltered. She was torn between denying what Shego said and apologizing. She doubted Shego would appreciate either coming from her.

"No pity Princess, please. I'm not saying I'm giving up or going to stop trying to get better or anything like that. Just acknowledging the truth. And never apologize for being better than someone at something."

"Right," Kim said slowly. "I'll try. But like you said, I'm a girl scout."

"Yeah, well, try to tone it down around me."

"I'll try. Although…" Kim was again torn between wanting to push and wanting to give Shego space. Her curiosity won out. "Has it been so bad? Hanging out with me?"

Shego considered her for a few moments. "Not as bad as I thought it would be."

"I'll take that," Kims said, relieved. "Who'd've thought we'd ever pal around."

"Pal around? I'm just collecting a favor," Shego said haughtily.

Kim smiled, glad to see Shego joking around as usual. She could still take a little more pushing then, though Kim wasn't sure how much. "So you'd be fine if we only do this one more time?"

"I'd live."

"Sure. But I don't think you were being one hundred percent sarcastic when you said it was everything you imagined."

Shego narrowed her eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"I'm open to doing this again. And not just as a favor."

"You wanna make this a regular thing?"

Kim nodded resolutely. "It doesn't have to be a simulated mission, but yeah."


Shego was incredulous. Sure Kim had implied that she missed Shego, but she had found that hard to believe. Of course their earlier fight had shown Shego that she missed fighting Kim as well, but she would never admit that. If Kim could, then maybe anything really was possible for a almost snorted at the thought. But what Kim was suggesting was more than she had bargained for when she pushed Kim for a favor. She enjoyed the fight and the company wasn't so bad, but it sounded like a commitment. And Shego didn't do commitments unless money was involved.

"What would either of us really get out of that?" she asked.

"What did either of us get out of today?"

"Some fun. I wasn't looking for anything more."

"Then if we met up regularly would it have to be any more than that?

"I don't know, Kimmie. I guess it just feels like it would be more. Doesn't it?"

Kim shifted in her seat and her eyes shifted around the room. Shego suspected she had more she wanted to say.

"Go ahead Kimmie."

"I told myself I wouldn't push too much."

Shego couldn't bring herself to tell Kim that she wouldn't mind if she kept pushing. At least, not so directly.

"We've come this far. Go ahead. Say what you want to say."

Kim seemed to struggle with herself but eventually nodded. "I don't think that would be such a bad thing. Shego, how many people are there like us? How many have experienced what we have? How many can do what we can do?"

She paused and looked at Shego expectantly. Shego answered. "Not many."

Kim gave her an ironic smile. "Less than that even. Maybe only two. You know what's funny? Everyone thinks they get it, why I do this. But none of them get the full picture. Most of the time they think I just want to do good, make the world a better place. And I do, I really do, but there's more to it than that."

She looked at the table pensively and Shego waited. Kim had given her time when she needed it, she could return the favor.

"I know you gave up hero-ing, I know you say you're evil, but it's not about good or evil. You feel it too, right? A… a pull, a drive to excel. Helping people, saving the world, it's the right thing to do, but it's hard. Of course it's hard or everyone would be doing it. But I can. I'm good at it. And because I'm good at it, because it's so difficult, I want to-" she cut herself off. "I don't know, maybe I'm not making sense. Or maybe I sound cocky."

"I get it," Shego said. "You're pushing yourself. You're trying to hit your limits. That's what no one gets, right? You want to do good, but you also want the challenge. You want to take that challenge on and beat it."

Kim nodded and looked away. "Hearing it out loud makes it sound pretty bad."

"Maybe," Shego said. For the first time since their impromptu meeting Shego appreciated that Kim wasn't some kid hero anymore. She wasn't living some naive juvenile fantasy, and from her words she may never have been. "But you're right. I feel it too. And I think that without that drive, you wouldn't be you, and the world would be worse off for it. Call it cocky, but the truth is that that drive made you the best at what you do."

Kim took a deep breath. "You might not believe it, but coming from you that means a lot. And that's what both of us would get out of this. Someone who gets it. My parents accept the life I lead, accept the fact that I haven't settled down, gotten a real job, but I know they want me to. Monique is someone I can turn off with, but that's because she isn't really involved with the missions side of my life. Even Ron doesn't really get it and he's been on more missions with me than anyone. He knows me better than anyone, but he never wanted to be there. He was only going along with me. Funnily enough Wade might understand more than the others, but he can't experience the missions, the danger, the challenge."

"But I can."

Kim nodded. "Yeah. You can. And I think I can do the same for you."

Shego was silent for a few moments and considered her next move. If she didn't say no now then she knew she would go along with Kim's idea, at least for a while. She asked herself if that's what she really wanted. When she met Kim's eyes she had her answer.

"'Because it is there.'"

Kim blinked at her, confused. "What?"

"A quote from a mountain climber about why he wanted to climb Mt. Everest," Shego said.

Kim laughed a little. "You made me feel better when you were calling me the best, but now I feel worse again. That's such a simple quote but really makes it seem like I'm doing this for my own ego. And I can't even say it's wrong."

"You might argue he was commenting on the human spirit to overcome the impossible."

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better again."

Shego waved her hand. "I wasn't, I said you might argue that. As far as I'm concerned the illusion of Kim Possible has been shattered and you're as egomaniacal as the villains you fight."

Kim laughed louder at that. "Maybe I should start wearing primary colors and practicing an evil laugh."

Shego laughed too and started to clean the table off. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'll drop you off."

Shego led Kim to the lair's garage where a hovercraft was waiting. Kim raised an eyebrow at her and Shego shrugged and smirked in response. Global Justice hadn't found every illicit piece of her previous occupation. They climbed in and Shego powered it up and took off.

They talked as Shego piloted the hovercraft. Kim steered the conversation away from anything too heavy, probably thinking Shego had had enough heaviness for one day. She wasn't entirely wrong, but Shego couldn't deny that if there was one person capable of understanding her, good, bad, and ugly, it was Kim Possible.

When she reached Kim's house she hovered over the roof and opened the canopy. Kim said goodbye and hopped out but before she slipped into her room Shego called out to her. Kim turned and waited to hear what Shego had to say.

"You gave me a lot to think about today, Princess."

"Yeah?" Kim sounded hopeful.

"Yeah. I'm not promising anything. And if we make this a regular thing then I get to keep my other favor."

Kim smiled up at her. "Sure thing."

"Then until next time Princess."

"I'll be waiting."


A/N: This might go out to 5 or 6 chapters, think I should break it out into its own story? Let me know.