I do not own any Disney character named herein, and am only writing a nonprofit story for entertainment purposes only.
Kim Possible: Mirror, Mirror
By LJ58
III
It took time, but Kim finally coaxed the younger Shego out of the back. It helped that she was both hungry, and that she remembered why she was there. Especially after Kim told her she had talked to Hego as they shared a belated meal.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone," she told Kim when she admitted he had told her all about her temper, and Aviarius. Who was definitely not going to be coming back to bother anyone considering the extent of his injuries.
He would survive, but only just.
She had to admit, too, that she had put down a few bikers. As in a few dozen. To be fair, she tried to hold back, except when a couple of them tried to use chains and crowbars on her.
"I always had perfect control," she complained to Kim as she helped the redhead make an afternoon meal for them. The older Shego sat back and just listened, saying nothing. Afraid to break the fragile truce that existed after the younger Shego had cooled off while Kim talked to Hego, who had been worried about her after she had taken off without a word.
"I mean, after I got used to the powers. I never lost control before now. You said that hibernation might have….messed me up. Is it possible….?"
"Can I say something without you getting upset," the older Shego asked from across the small table in the kitchen.
The teen looked back at her, shrugged, and said, "Depends on what you have," she remarked, still looking as if she weren't sure about her.
"Well, I'm just going to say, I remember about the time I turned eighteen, my powers surged. I mean they went nuts. I had to relearn how to use them all over. It was like someone plugged me into a reactor, and supercharged me. I couldn't even pick up a damn fork for a while without melting it. You're….what, technically seventeen now?"
"In…. Well, it would have been two weeks," she sighed. "So, I guess I am seventeen. Crap, I missed my own birthday."
"You missed quite a few," the older Shego smiled wanly. "But, that's okay. You learn to ignore them anyway. I'm just saying," she went on quickly when the teen scowled again. "It could be that now that you're awake, you're starting to go through that same cycle I did. It's just a matter of fine-tuning your control, though. And really watching the temper."
"My temper isn't…."
The older woman arched a single, dark brow.
"Listen," Shego told her teen mother. "Kim already figured it out ages ago, so I'm not giving anything away. But it's more than sunlight that feeds and refuels our power."
"You know," the teen asked Kim.
"For a while now," she nodded.
"I found out it's also adrenalin. As in emotions. You have to get a grip on yourself, or every time you lose it, or get upset, you're going to be burning something down. Or…..someone."
The teen started to snap at her until she added that last.
"Okay, there's something else you should consider while you both are in the same room," Kim sad as mother and daughter stared at one another.
"What," both asked in the same flat tone.
Kim tried not to smile as she finished the last potato she had peeled, and set it in the already heating pan of water with the others.
Turning to face them, she nodded at the older woman. "Shego, the one I know, feels that she can't use Sherri, or Shego any longer. After all, it's your name, right?"
"Darn right," the teen grumbled.
"So, what are we going to call your daughter," she asked Sherri.
"She's not my…. I mean….. Well, I….."
The older woman said nothing as she just shrugged, and looked miserable again.
Finally, Sherri said, "When I was younger, I used to dream of my own family, before the comet, obviously."
"No," the older woman groaned, looking up in alarm. "Oh, no."
"I was going to name my daughter Sharonda."
"Never," the older Shego growled.
Kim couldn't help but laugh.
"We could call your Shari for short," she suggested. "It's close enough to Sherri that you won't feel too….."
"Princess," she growled, glaring at them both from her chair.
"Why do you call her that?"
Kim and the newly christened Shari both blushed.
"It's…..complicated," Kim told the girl.
"We used to fight. A lot."
"When you were evil," Sherri asked her with a tone of stark disdain.
The newly christened Shari nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, I…..teased her a lot at the first. Called her names to rattle her. Distract her."
"And I still kicked your butt," Kim smirked.
"Let's leave my butt out of this," Shari grumbled. "And you didn't win that often."
"I think I averaged two out of three," Kim informed her. "And let's not forget who got dropkicked more times than not? You never could handle a sweep and kick combination."
"Wait. You fought her," Sherri asked, pointing at the older woman still in a bathrobe.
"Quite often. It got to be…. Well, it was…."
"Fun," Shari asked quietly, almost hopefully.
Kim chuckled. "At times. Sometimes, it was monotonous. I mean, it felt like we got into a rut there at the end."
"That's when I started rethinking the whole evil sidekick thing," Shari admitted. "I have to admit, my heart just wasn't in it at the end."
"But….you don't have powers," Sherri protested as she eyed Kim. "How did you beat her? I mean, I went toe-to-toe with some serious freaks, and never lost. Never."
"You had Hego and the boys behind you, too," Shari reminded her. "And Kim is no pushover. She knows like…what? Nineteen kinds of kung fu?"
"Twenty-one now. I finally got Ron to teach me monkey kung-fu, too."
"Of course," Shari sighed.
"You're saying, just…..some stupid kung-fu kicked your butt? Jeez, my power really got wasted on you," Sherri sneered.
"You only say that because you've never fought Kim," Shari told her. "Trust me. She's good. She's….."
Kim smiled.
"Okay, I just did not start complementing you," she grumbled, and dropped her head on the table.
"It's okay, She…. Uh, Shari. I understand. Frankly, I've always respected you, and your skills, too. Even when you disappointed me with some of your choices."
"Yeah. I'm a regular genius," she muttered as she kept her head down. "Haven't made a single good decision in my whole, stinking life."
Sherri frowned at the woman. "You couldn't be that bad," she muttered. "I mean, you said you got my all memories, and skills, and stuff. So surely…..?"
"Yeah," Shari asked, straightening up to stare at her. "And how has your life been going, kid?"
"Don't call me that."
"Well, it's kind of weird to call you Shego, and you don't act like you want me calling you mom….."
"Don't," Sherri hissed.
"Fine. Sorry. My clothes out of the dryer yet, Kim? I really need to be going."
"Going where, Shari," Kim asked.
"I….."
"Not back to the bottle. You still have a chance here to….."
"Are you trying to get us together," the younger Shego exclaimed abruptly as she jumped to her feet.
"Look, you are family. I don't know how things are going to work out, but no one else in this world does, either. You should be glad you're alive and well, and so is your daughter. You should…."
"Screw you, Red," the younger Shego hissed, and turned to stalk out.
"Watch your lip, kid," Shari spat as she followed her into the living room. "She's trying to help here," she said, reaching out to grab her before she could leave.
Sherri looked down at the hand on her arm, and glared.
That arm flared with plasma, but Shari gave her a cold smirk as her hand didn't sear or burn. It simply began to absorb the bio-plasma as her own bare arm began to shimmer with energies from her own body.
"We're kind of a matched set here, girl. Only I'm older, stronger, and more experienced. Get it?"
Shego stared into her older reflection and swore bitterly, if a bit childishly to the older woman's thinking.
"Clone, mutant, or whatever, I don't care. I want nothing to do with you. Nothing. You just…. You just stay away from me, you freak. Do you hear me!"
Shari stared at her as she stalked away again, this time going to the bedroom Kim had prepared for her, and slamming the door behind her.
Kim walked back into the living room in time to see Shari drop to her knees and cover her face with her hands. "Shego," she said quietly, walking over and kneeling down to hug her. "Don't give up, Sheg...Shari. Remember, she's still a kid. Give her time. Give yourself time."
"She hates me," she sniffed, turning to bawl on Kim's shoulder. "My own…. My own mother hates me!"
"She's just upset, Shari. Give her time. Promise?"
Shari sighed, finding herself hugging Kim with a strange kind of desperation for a moment before she released her.
"For you, Kim. I'll do it for you. I did say I would do anything you wanted, after all," she said with a sad smile before Kim helped her stand up.
"Want to help me bread the chicken for supper. I'm betting that quick sandwhich won't keep her, or you, full long."
"Finally learned to cook," Shari teased as she sniffed, and wiped her eyes on the robe's belt.
"Had to. Ron left, and I got tired to take-out," Kim smiled.
KP
Kim was laying in her bed when the knock came at her door much later than evening.
She walked over to the door, and opened it, and stared at Shari.
"You okay," she asked the older woman.
Shari just stared at her as she stood there in an oversized jersey she had borrowed for a nightgown.
"Okay, stupid question," Kim admitted. "Want to come in?"
"Please," Shari nodded, stepping forward as she waited for Kim to move before she did. "I….couldn't sleep. I hoped…. We could talk."
"Of course."
"I remember….. When I was Miss Go…. Remember that?"
"Of course. I missed you after you went back to Drew. It really saddened me that I lost a friend I didn't realize was there at the time, too."
"I….kept one of our pictures. Remember the mall? I…..started to burn them all, but….in the end…. It's at one of the lairs. I had to keep it hidden. I mean, can you imagine what Drew would have thought if he had seen it," she asked with a quavering laugh as she walked over and sit on the bed.
"I doubt he would have understood," she agreed, walking over to stand beside her.
"No. No, he wouldn't."
Kim sat next to her after a moment, and a moment later, Kim put an arm around her. It was all she could think to do.
To her surprise, Shari leaned her head over to rest against her.
"All my life, I only wanted someone to care about me. Not my power. Not my stupid family, or their money. Just me. Is that so wrong?"
"No. No, it's not."
"But now I find out I'm not even me. My entire life is a lie. I'm….. I'm an empty shell. I don't have a real life. I don't have….anything. I was sitting in that room a moment ago, and I realized, I'm just a stupid shell that Drew filled up with crap he wanted. But no one cared about me. Not from the start. Not even my own….."
Shari started to cry as Kim felt her arms circle her, and cling to her.
"Shari, you're more than a shell. You always were. Do you remember what I told you when you thought you were a clone?"
"Not really," she sighed. "I think I stayed drunk too long."
Kim sighed. "Shari, you are the person you became despite Drew, and despite everything else that made you. You're the woman I still consider a friend. A very special friend. I think even Drew must have liked you in the end if he tried to make amends before he passed on."
"I want to hate him. God, I want to hate him. But….he's the only person in my life that ever…. Well, besides you. Everyone else…."
"I know. To be honest, I've had the same issues on the other side of the street."
"You?"
"Think about it. Not many people really want to date me. They want to date Kim Possible the hero. Or use Dr. Possible, the noted scientist, and GJ agent. Or they just want the notoriety of claiming they banged me. They don't see me. So, yeah, I do understand."
"Kim, why didn't you ever get married?"
"A lot of reasons. I just named one. Besides, it's hard to find a guy that isn't either afraid of me, or my lifestyle, or trying to exploit it. Not many guys in between."
"So, what happened to Stoppable? I thought you guys were….?"
Kim understood what the woman was doing. Even as she clinging to her, she was looking for reasons she could justify pushing her away. It was classic Shego. It always had been. Knowing that was the only reason she could be so patient with that brat hiding in her room just now. She had only opened her door to take her plate earlier when Kim had left. But Sherri was not the first sulky teen she had ever known. Kim had thrown a few tantrums herself in her day.
"Like I said earlier, we went different ways. You know about his….monkey power?"
"Yeah. Really surprised me when he went from buffoon to hero in one eye blink."
"Surprised him, too," Kim chuckled. "But, seriously, he had a whole mystic destiny thing going on he couldn't ignore in the end, and I just couldn't be part of that. He respected that, and I respected his decision. In the end, I think we made better friends than lovers anyway."
"Doy, you just can't be any more understanding. So, you've never had another serious….?"
"Well, let's see. My first real boyfriend got scared off by my lifestyle. My second wasn't even my choice, he got kind of….foisted off on me, and even he decided we didn't fit in the end. Then there was a certain synthodrone."
"Oh. Right."
"My next serious crush went off to train the next generation of mystic defenders for the planet. I had a few not too memorable dates since, and then my last real boyfriend ended up in the hospital."
"What happened," Shari frowned.
"I broke his arms," Kim admitted with grim humor.
"Arms? Both….? No way!"
"Both arms. I'll admit, I overreacted a bit. But he just didn't believe that 'no' meant 'no.' That, and he couldn't fall worth a damn," she recalled. "He broke his other arm landing wrong when I flipped him off me."
"Bet he figured things out afterward."
"Yeah, well, that didn't help my prospects. I've been kind of sticking to work and research since. They're safer, and easier."
"So you don't go out much any more," she asked when Kim started shaking her head.
"Actually, it's never."
"You're kidding?"
Kim stared at her through her dark bangs, giving a faint sigh.
"And here I always thought you had the perfect life."
"I happen to think I have a pretty good life."
Shari nodded. "Better than mine."
"So, you and Drew never….?"
"We were…..uneasy comrades. Technical friends. But anything else? Not even close. Remember, I've spent my entire life, such as it is, terrified of genetically defective babies. I was not even going to risk an accident. I know…..mom felt the same way, so it's kind of weird to think she even tried to…..uhm…you know? I can't even begin to guess who my father might have been. I mean, everyone I remember was always bullying, or mocking me. Uhm, her. Frankly, she still has to be better than me, though, because if I really had lived through that nightmare, that school would have been toast. And I mean the whole enchilada. Kids. Teachers. Everything, and everybody."
"I don't think you really mean that."
"The hell I don't," she spat, but still leaned against Kim.
"Yet in all the years you worked with Drew, you never once purposely killed anyone. I mean, I know people caught in his schemes got hurt, but you yourself never actually killed. And we both know you could have done it at anytime. You could have killed me any number of times."
"I could never kill you, Princess," she sighed. "You're my only…..friend."
Kim said nothing to that.
"Kim?"
"Yes?"
"Could I…..sleep in here tonight. I…..I don't want to be alone."
"Sure," Kim said quietly after a moment.
"Kim," Shari asked without moving.
"Yes?"
"Do you think my mother will ever stop hating me," she asked like an unhappy child.
"I don't know, Shari. Just give her time. Okay? Remember what she has gone through. I'm sure…. Well, there's always hope."
"That's what I like about you. You just never quit, do you?"
"Not if I can help it," she agreed.
"I'm glad, Kim. Thank you for finding me. I was really screwed up there for a while."
"Thank you for trusting me enough to come ask for my help."
"I didn't have a choice. When I found out about her, I had to save her. And I knew you and your brainy buddy were her best chance."
"Let's turn in, Shari. We have a long day tomorrow."
"Yeah. I should take off, too. I need to….. I….. Well, I should….."
"You can stay here as long as you need, Shari," Kim said as they lay back on the bed, and she pulled a sheet up over them.
Shari gave a ragged sigh before she lay back, and then said, "Thank you, Princess."
They fell asleep in one another's arms.
Outside the door, Sherri stood up, and eased back to her room. She didn't care if that weird creature that was supposed to be her baby was sad. Or depressed. Or whatever. She couldn't care less. It wasn't her fault she got experimented on. Well, not completely. And what about her? She lost half her life sleeping in some freak's lab while a pretender ruined her name and reputation.
She still wasn't sure what she was going to do about that. Who was ever going to trust 'Shego' again if everyone thought Shego was a bad guy. Girl. Whatever.
She went to her bed, dropped down on the soft mattress, and grumbled.
"Not my fault," she muttered, and flopped back on the bed.
And wishing she had someone that would hug her, and tell her everything would be all right. Only just then, there was no one that came to mind. No one at all.
To Be Continued…