Authors Notes: This is a bit of a long chapter, a little over 8,000 words. Thank you to all of my reviewers, you keep me guilty enough to keep writing. As always, Disney owns any Kim Possible characters, I just own this plotline. Italicized text denotes active thought. A special thank you to my beta reader, Ghostwhiter for his help. This story is getting a little more risque and will only get worse with time. I am bumping it up to a M. rating. If it doesn't deserve it yet, it will sooner or later.
Ron and Shego gathered their mission gear from Shego's room. Ron slipped into his mission clothes quickly, not caring that Shego could see him change. Shego gathered some odds and ends that she thought would aid them in their mission.
Ron clicked the call button on his Kimmunicator and Wade answered; distracted as he clicked the mouse to kill another opponent on Everlot. "Hey Ron, what's going on?" Wade asked.
Ron scowled a little bit. "Not working too hard on the solvent, are we Wade?" Ron asked, a bit tweaked.
Wade looked up from the other screen. "I have the residue from the bondo ball in the spectral analyzer finding which components are different. It takes a while," he said with a shrug. "So how are things holding up over there?"
"Not so good Wade. Team Go has been captured by Aviarius and Shego and I are going to attempt a rescue," Ron stated.
"Do you want me to set up a ride for Kim and Erik to come and help?" Wade asked, pulling away from his game.
Shego got a frown on her face, "NO, I don't need any help from Princess."
"I'm with Shego this time," Ron started. "Aviarius said we need to be at his lair in one hour or he will start hurting her brothers and it will take two hours just to fly here from Middleton. What I need from you is a trace on the Go Com and to have all the info we have on Aviarius and a guy named Ernest Vil ready."
Wade nodded, his serious face on, "Alright Ron, but if you guys get in any trouble I'm sending Kim out right away."
"Thanks Wade."
"It's what I do," Wade said in a chipper voice as his hands flew across his keyboard. "I've got a lock on the signal from the Go Com. I'm uploading the coordinates to your Kimmunicator now." "Be careful Ron," he added in a concerned voice.
"You know me Wade," Ron said with a grin.
Shego snorted, "I think that's what he's worried about," she said with a smile.
"So what's the game plan?" Ron asked as he tucked the Kimmunicator away.
"I figure we'll take a one of the Go carts..," she blushed a bit as Ron rolled his eyes. "That's what Hego calls the cars they have for missions."
"Alrighty then, we know how we're going to get there. How are we going to storm the castle?" he asked.
"I don't know yet, you have any ideas?" Shego asked as they descended in the elevator.
Ron looked at her dumbfounded for a moment. "Kim never asks me that," he thought. "Well, we're going to be too big to fit through the HVAC system so that pretty much leaves windows and doors. Does he ever use henchmen?"
"Not usually. He relies on his robotic birds and his condor," she answered.
"Not this time. Kim sent the condor a nature preserve the last time we fought him," Ron stated as they reached the parking garage.
Shego took a set of keys out of a key box on the wall and dropped them in Ron's hand. She pointed at a blue sedan. "We'll take Hego's car, he's too big for bucket seats so I can actually sit down."
They jogged over to the sedan and got in. Ron fired it up and they sped out down a tunnel leading off the island under the lake their destination several miles away, at the outskirt of the city.
Ron parked the car a few blocks away from their destination and they continued on foot. Ron focused on the techniques Yori showed him to move stealthily through the lightly forested terrain they were in.
Shego noticed his movements, so similar to her own, with a bit of surprise. She grinned a little to herself, "he is full of surprises, isn't he?" she thought. They reached the three-story hotel that Wade indicated the Go Com signal was coming from. "Whattaya think? Backdoor?" Shego whispered to Ron.
Ron shook his head a little, still a bit surprised that Shego was asking for his advice. "I was thinking skylight," he stated pointing out the glint coming off the roof. His face broke into a grin, "We'll have a bird's eye view."
Shego groaned and poked him playfully in the ribs. They made their way up to the corner of the building and began climbing. Ron was having trouble with the scant purchase and Shego helped by jabbing plasma carved handholds in the stone facade. They reached the roof and made their way quietly to the skylight. Ron pulled out his Kimmunicator and used the camera to capture a few images of the scene below. He didn't want their silhouettes to cast any shadows on the floor below and give away their position. Shego and him leaned their heads together and studied the pictures. "There's the chair Hego was tied to," Shego whispered.
"The Go Com was facing towards it when Aviarius came from the right side of the screen," Ron added quietly. He turned the volume down to whisper on the Kimmunicator and paged Wade. His face popped up on the screen. "Wade, can you get me the floor plan of this building?" Ron asked as Shego looked on.
Wade typed frantically on his keyboard, "It's a new construction Ron, the blueprints aren't even in the city management office yet. It won't be easy… Got it!" he finished as he blew the heat off his fingertips.
"You rock Wade!" Ron whispered enthusiastically as he opened the file Wade had sent him. The blueprints revealed a large room just off to the left of the entryway below them.
"Probably a conference room," Shego mused. "He could be in any room, but this is as good a bet as any."
"You ready?" they both asked, turning their heads towards each other simultaneously, their lips nearly brushing. They both blushed a little and inched away. "Sorry," they echoed again.
"Let's get this skylight open," Ron said, flustered. He moved to the skylight and made to open it.
Shego stopped him with her hand and pointed out the alarm on the window. She pulled out two thin magnets and slid them in between the alarm pickups. She eased back the window and pulled out a rope and a padded grapple. She silently slid the grappling hook into place and played out some of the line from a bag she had brought with. She took out a device and attached it to the rope and then to Ron's belt.
"What is that?" Ron whispered.
"It's a rope walker. I will lower us to the ground safely. She paused and looked up at Ron, her serious face on. "I don't want to hear about you telling anybody about this."
Ron looked puzzled as they squatted next to the opening. "I wonder what she doesn't want me to tell? That she's saving her brothers?" Ron thought.
Shego thrust the rope into his hands and clamped her own over them and pushed off. They dropped a few feet and dangled in the empty space three stories above the floor. Shego spun herself so she was face to face with Ron and wrapped her non-bonded leg around his waist. She reached down to his belt and flipped the switch on the ropewalker and then wrapped her arms around him, the rope the only thing between them. Ron held onto the rope, stunned, as they began to descend. Ron began to shift uncomfortably. Shego's puzzled look turned into a frown as she felt a bulge start to form on her abdomen. She leaned forward and hissed into his ear, "Stoppable, that better be Rufus."
Rufus popped his head out of Ron's pocket, looking around as his name was mentioned. He glanced down and noticed the height he was at, "Eeek," he squeaked before dropping back down into Ron's pocket.
Ron blushed and shifted a little bit, "sorry, this rope is rubbing on me," he whispered.
"Why that little…" she thought as he shifted again. His movement brought her into contact with the rope as well and she gasped in surprise, her eyes widening as they slid down. "Ohhh…" She shifted to get away from the rope, the end result being her rubbing herself across Ron.
The crimson in Ron's cheeks spread across his face and up to his ears. "You're… not…. help… ing," he whispered as his involuntary reaction continued. They lowered the last few feet to the ground and Shego let go of him, sliding down him the last few inches to her feet. They looked away from each other, embarrassed, their faces flushed.
Ron fumbled with the ropewalker as Shego looked around at the sparsely furnished hotel lobby. "It doesn't look like they have even finished moving the furniture in yet. The heat is on low too," she thought. Ron finally got the ropewalker off his belt and handed it to her. Shego took it and put it away before they turned towards the double doors leading to the conference room they believed Aviarius was waiting for them in. The crept towards the door and were startled to hear a noise to their side.
"WHO! WHO! WHO?" a little mechanical owl bleated, it's feet anchored in the drywall.
"Ah, do come in, you were nearly late," cracked a nasally voice from inside the room. Shego and Ron looked at each other and nodded. They each reared back a foot and lashed out at the doors, sending them flying open violently. They dove into the room, rolling clumsily up to their feet in a fighting stance. A heavy oak table sat in front of them loaded with boxes marked 'state's evidence', dominating the center of the room. To their right, at the head of the table, sat Aviarius. A fire burned brightly in the fireplace behind him; framing him in flickering light in the otherwise dimly lit room. The male members of Team Go were nowhere in sight.
"Where are my brothers!" Shego growled at Aviarius.
"They are safe, for now," he answered with a grin. "Turn over your powers to me and I will let you all go."
Shego's face darkened, "Not going to happen bird boy. If you want them you're going to have to take them," she retorted.
"Have it your way then Shego," Aviarius said as he stood from his chair, a confident smile on his face.
"Give it up Aviarius, you're outnumbered. Your goose is cooked!" Ron hollered at the bird-costumed villain.
Rufus popped out and gave Ron a thumbs up, "Good one!" he squeaked as Shego rolled her eyes.
"You can't be seriously thinking of fighting me," Aviarius stated with a chuckle. He held up his staff, glowing red for a moment, and promptly divided into three. The center Aviarius held the staff while the other two reached down to the table legs and glowed blue as they ripped them off to use as clubs. The table fell to the ground with a resounding crash as boxes split and spilled onto the floor. Aviarius had the same maniacal grin on his face as he advanced towards them slowly. "You know, I think I finally figured out how to make the power switch permanent," he gloated. "You see the powers seem to be linked to all of you, and they try to return to their proper owner when the staff releases them upon its destruction." He paused as Shego fired up her plasma. "But if there is no you when I destroy the staff…" he let the sentence trail as he advanced again. The center Aviarius walked up the ramp created by the collapsed table, waiting for a good chance to use the staff.
The two copies charged, intent on getting within melee range. Shego lashed out with two plasma bolts, one at each of the copies moving up to flank them on either side. One bolt vaporized the table leg the right copy held and the other bolt missed when the left copy shrunk almost at Ron's feet. Ron grinned a little as his eyes flashed blue. He reared back his foot and punted the miniature Aviarius through the drywall and into the next room. Ron quickly turned to keep Aviarius from using the staff on Shego by blocking his line of sight. Shego struck out, hitting the right copy with blow after blow, but with Hego's super strength he was able to shrug them off. She tried to block a kick and cried out in pain as the blow slammed into her with super strength, snapping her arm and nearly knocking Ron and her both off of their feet. Ron struck out with a fury, his eyes glowing and he was satisfied to see the copy's attention shift him. Unfortunately his blows had as little effect on the super strong man as Shego's did. It lashed out at Ron with a right hook, which Ron ducked. Ron saw Shego's good arm lash out and grab onto the copy's hand as she stuck her foot into his stomach and leaned back. Ron followed her back, adding to her momentum, as she rolled onto her back and launched the second copy through the wall behind them with her legs.
Aviarius grinned as he saw his opening to strike with the staff and shot the beam out to capture Shego's power as she lay on the floor.
Ron saw Aviarius shoot the beam out of the staff at Shego and he did the only thing he could think of, he rolled on top of her to block the shot.
Aviarius frowned as it appeared that the beam would miss his target. He was stunned for a moment when, instead of disappearing like it normally did when he missed, the beam began to pull a baby blue glow out of the blond boy's back.
Shego's eyes blazed with fury as she saw Ron's power being sucked into Aviarius' staff, his eyes beginning to dim as the power left him. The other copies crashed through the wall as plasma engulfed Shego's eyes. "Raaah!" Shego growled as she lashed out with a bolt of plasma from her good arm, knocking the staff from the stunned Aviarius' hands. Ron's power snapped back into him as the staff flew through the air to land in the fireplace.
"NO!" shrieked the insane bird-man as he rushed towards the blazing fire.
One of the copies kicked Shego and Ron into the wall, where they crumpled on the floor gasping. It loomed over them as Ron's vision swam. He was barely able to see the mechanical hummingbirds; scattered on the floor when the boxes had burst open earlier. He coughed as he spoke in gasps. "Wade, I need a voice over.. Aviarius..." Ron paused, hacking for a second.
The copy stood bent down to pick up his table leg and finish the job. "The boy must be delirious," he thought with a grin. "He's talking to people that aren't here."
"Ready Ron!" Wade's voice exclaimed desperately from the Kimmunicator. The Aviarius copy looked puzzled as he stood up warily.
Ron grinned as the Kimmunicator repeated his words in Aviarius' own voice, "Fly heat seeking hummingbirds, fly!" The mechanical hummingbirds activated, making a beeline for the fireplace.
"NO!" shrieked the three Aviariuses.
Shego wrapped her arms around Ron and rolled them under the table as small explosions rocked the room. Flames licked around them, but the table blocked most of the blast. The blasts stopped and the Aviarius next to them fell to the ground. Shego's ears rang and she could barely hear what Ron was yelling, but she could read his lips, asking if she was OK. She thought about it for a moment and nodded her head, smiling weakly at the look of relief on his face. "I have a broken arm, and probably whiplash from the kick Aviarius got me with but I'll be alright. It' a good thing I heal fast," she thought to herself. She looked over to where the copy was laying on the floor as the red glow exited through it's back and flew through the wall. Wounds began to appear as it spasmed and disappeared, recombining with the original. That was the Wego's weakness. When they recombined their copies into themselves they took on the accumulated wounds and fatigue of the copies. Ron flinched under her for a moment and she panicked, believing him hurt again, before she realized that he had seen what had happened to Aviarius.
Ron coughed, the combined pressure of Shego on top of him and the smoke in the air from the blast made it difficult to breathe. They rolled out from under the table, grimacing in pain, and stood up, surveying the damage. The thick wooden table was embedded with pieces of stone shrapnel and the fireplace was only a gapping hole in the wall. Aviarius lay motionless at the foot of the now non-existent fireplace, where the explosions congregated. The staff lay nearby; bent and twisted, it's crystal shattered. Ron rushed over to Aviarius, pulling Shego along with him. Shego grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall as they passed it and put out the flames. Ron knelt down and checked for a pulse, finding a weak, but steady pulse. He let out the last of the breath he was holding and pulled out his Kimmunicator. "Wade I need an ambulance at my location for Aviarius, he's in bad shape," Ron yelled into the Kimmunicator. His ears were still ringing from the blast.
Wade's anxious voice sounded over the Kimmunicator, "……………….."
"What?" yelled Ron.
Wade turned up the volume on the Kimmunicator remotely to full blast.
"I said are you and Shego OK?" Wade asked frantically.
Ron looked over at Shego who had a dark expression on her face as she knelt over Aviarius next to Ron. "Yeah, I think so. I have to hop off and help Aviarius," he said hurriedly. He put the Kimmunicator away and began checking Aviarius over. "What was that acronym?" he thought hurriedly. "Really bad boys should find better habits, RBBSFBH." He began checking Aviarius over. "Aviarius can you hear me?" he asked, checking for Responsiveness. Aviarius was out cold, and thusly didn't answer. "Not responsive, checking for Breathing," Ron lowered his ear to Aviarius' mouth, listening for breathing while watching to see his chest rise and fall. "He's breathing, now checking for Bleeding.." There was blood all around Aviarius, he was in danger of bleeding out if something wasn't done. Ron pulled a few dressings out of his belt and began bandaging up Aviarius' wounds.
Shego looked on for minute and started helping without a word being said. "I don't know why we're helping him, he tried to kill us and will probably do so again. He will probably even add Ron to his list of those he needs revenge against," Shego thought with a frown.
After he was done bandaging up the wounds Ron skipped the next step, Shock, as Aviarius was unconscious. He checked for Fractures, he didn't see any and ran his hands up and down each limb, checking for lumps. He found a lump on his lower leg and splinted it with scraps from Aviarius' cape and some broken pieces of wood. He noticed a bulge in Aviarius's neck, indicating a possible broken neck. "Don't move him, I think he has a broken neck," Ron stated, barely hearing himself. "OK OK, now Burns," he thought. Aviarius had minor burns all over, but no major ones. Ron didn't have any more clean bandages to loosely cover them so he moved onto checking for a Head wound. He saw no fluid leaking from his ears or nose and didn't notice any lumps or depressions, but the fact that Aviarius was unconscious meant he probably had one.
"Alright Stoppable, he's stable and will probably live to try to kill us again. Let's go," Shego said tersely.
"We can't leave him Shego, he's unconscious. We have to monitor him until help arrives," Ron explained.
"We have to find my brothers, they might be hurt too," she said, gritting her teeth.
He stood up, concerned by the pain in her voice, and turned his attention to Shego. He looked her up and down, noting the few cuts and bruises. He winced noticing that her hair was singed before he noticed the odd angle her arm was at. "Your arm!" he gasped.
Shego could now hear Ron clearly, having gotten over the ringing in her ears. "It's alright Tiger," she said as they she led them out of the room.
Ron shook his head, "it's not alright; your arm's broke. Oh my gosh, she's in shock!" He whipped out the Kimmunicator again, "Wade, we need another ambulance at my location now."
"No Ron! I'm not in shock!" Shego protested. "I don't want an ambulance or police. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a wanted fugitive."
"In twelve countries," Ron murmured. "But you need that arm looked at!"
"Eleven, and I need you to set my arm, then we can find my brothers and get out of here," Shego implored him.
Ron looked at her shocked for a minute while Wade questioned him. "What do you want me to do Ron?"
"Please Ron," Shego asked softly. "I heal really quickly. It's part of my comet powers. The bone is probably already healing and if we wait any longer it'll have to be rebroken to be set."
Ron looked her in the eyes, "you're sure Shego?"
"Yes," she answered.
"Alright. Wade, cancel that call and standby," Ron said and then clicked off the Kimmunicator.
Shego pulled him down a little so she could pick up a large wooden splinter and moved to the check in counter. "You have to pull it out straight, I'll help you guide it back," she said in a slightly shaky voice.
"I've watched KP do it," Ron said, his voice wavering as well.
Rufus stuck his head out of Ron's pocket. "Hnk, so sorry," he squeaked at Shego sympathetically.
She put the splinter in her mouth and nodded to him, bracing her broken arm on the counter and holding it in place with her other arm. Ron braced over her hand and told her, "on the count of three. One… Two… Three." He pulled her arm straight as she bit down on the splinter and screamed through her teeth.
She guided his hand into place and spit out the splinter as the worst of the pain subsided. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked with a grimace.
Ron looked on her in disbelief. "Yeah," he said with a false chuckle. "We need to splint that." He walked them over to the broken pile of wood from the chair that Hego was tied up in and picked up two of the legs. He patted his pocket, "Rufus, you're on." Rufus popped out of his pocket, eager to help. "I need you to chew through that rope," Ron said, pointing out the lengths he needed.
"Hnk, yep," Rufus said with a salute and got to work.
Ron took the rope and splinted Shego's arm before tying it immobile across her chest, to her protests.
"I don't need that Stoppable," she said, slightly perturbed.
"Yes you do," he insisted. "And what happened to 'Ron' or 'Tiger'?" he asked with a grin.
"You made me mad again," she said with a smile. She lost her smile and dropped into a bit of a crouch, "did you hear that?" she hissed.
"My ears are still ringing a little," Ron whispered, joining her in a crouch. "I hope it's not a giant flamingo. Please don't let it be a giant flamingo," he muttered under his breath.
A door up the hallway crashed open and Hego came out followed by Mego and the Wegos.
"I might have preferred the giant flamingo but at least we don't have to look for them," Shego whispered back at him before straightening up.
"I see that Team Go has yet again defeated Aviarius," Hego said wearily. He walked into the light from the skylight above them, illuminating his features. His face was bruised and swollen, his lip split open. He also had red lines running down his face.
"What happened to you?" Ron asked with concern.
"The fowl villain roughed me up after he took my powers," Hego stated grimly.
"He stuffed Hego in a birdcage too," Mego said wryly. "Maybe if you hadn't always talked about 'this bird being ready for his cage' every time that you captured him.." Mego trailed.
"Hey!" Hego protested. "I thought we agreed not to mention that part!"
"Come on, it's Shego," the first Wego started.
"she's part of the team," the second continued.
"We can tell her," the first Wego finished.
"She.. is.. not.. part.. of.. the.. team!" Shego said enunciating each word individually for them.
"But you did come to rescue us," Hego said, matter of factly.
"I didn't come to rescue you. Stoppable did. Right Stoppable?" Shego asked raising her eyebrows.
'Umm.. Yeah. It was my idea, she just let me use your car," Ron said.
Hego grimaced. "Oh. Where did you leave our arch foe?" he asked, addressing Ron.
"He's in the other room," Shego frowned. "It's messy though, he got in the way of his hummingbird missiles."
Ron nodded his head slowly, "he's in the other room, unconscious. Someone needs to keep an eye on him until the ambulance arrives to make sure he doesn't get any worse." Sirens began to wail from a few blocks away.
"We're going to leave this little mess for you to clean up," Shego stated, looking at her eldest brother. "We have to go."
"What am I going to tell them?" Hego asked her in surprise.
"I don't care, just leave us out of this. Team Stoppable doesn't need any media attention," Shego said with a smirk.
Ron followed her, stunned. "Team Stoppable?" he thought. "Alright then, let's go sidekick," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Shego elbowed him in the ribs and he gasped. "Those are a little sore from the fight," he said with a grimace.
"Oh! Sorry Ron," Shego said worriedly, putting her good hand gently on the spot she hit.
"It's OK Shego," Ron said before turning to Hego. "A super strength kick is nothing to sneeze at," he said with a weak grin.
Hego just looked on in surprise. The twins grinned a little bit and Mego arched an eyebrow as Shego turned and began walking towards the door with Ron.
Agent Dexter wrung his hands nervously as he waited outside of Dr. Director's office. He was not comfortable around the battle-hardened woman. He was in the electronic intelligence division and didn't have to deal with her that often. However, not one, but two of her 'people of extreme interest' had been spotted on a black ops mission and she had ordered a report immediately.
The speaker outside of the door crackled to life, "do come in Agent Dexter." The door buzzed and Agent Dexter walked in nervously. Betty Director was seated behind her desk, paper stacked neatly across the top of the desk with 'TOP SECRET' letterheads. "You have the report?" she asked over folded hands.
"Yes, Dr. Director," Agent Dexter replied nervously. "As well as the footage captured from the Go Com."
She held out her hand and he walked forward and handed it to her. "Give me a summary, but make it quick Agent Dexter, my time is valuable," Dr. Director ordered in a no nonsense tone.
"Yes Mam. At approximately 2 pm this afternoon Ron Stoppable, aka: the Fearless Ferret and Susan Go, aka: Shego, aka:"
"Enough Agent Dexter," she interrupted. "I know their aliases, get on with the report."
"Sorry Mam. The subjects broke into a vacant building in Go City to rescue Team Go from a villain known as Aviarius."
"I don't need you to read the whole report agent," she sighed. "He is thorough, but he needs to learn how to paraphrase," she thought. "Did they succeed in the mission?"
"Yes Dr."
"Are they OK?"
"Shego appeared to be injured, a broken arm."
"Was the villain apprehended?"
"He was, though he was seriously injured in the fight, Mam. He is in a coma at Go City's Angel of Mercy Hospital right now."
"I see," Betty mused. "That will be all Agent Dexter. This is of course classified Top Secret. Inform me of any further developments."
"Yes Dr. Director," he replied before he turned and left the room. That had gone better than he thought.
"They put him in a coma. Interesting," she thought. She looked at the footage and audio captured from the Go Com on her monitor. "Amusing, though it does seem they make a good team. They did rather well considering they were joined at the hip. That is not conducive to either of their fighting styles.. This will bear looking into."
Ron drove back to the Go Tower and they made their way up to Shego's room.
"Shouldn't we get a cast put on that Shego," Ron asked worriedly, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them after the trip back to the tower.
"No," Shego answered. "I should be able to take the splint off tomorrow morning and it should be healed enough to go without it the next morning."
"Wow, that is fast. No wonder you bounce back from fights with Kim so fast. When we spar I'm sore for a couple of days," Ron stated with a look of surprise.
"Yeah, don't tell Princess though, I don't need her going any harder on me!" Shego retorted with a grin. She sighed, suddenly very tired, "What I really need now is a shower, some food, and sleep. It wouldn't hurt if you could change this splint to something a little less bulky too." She looked at her arm and bit her bottom lip for a second and then looked up at him. "Ron, I'm going to need your help."
He looked into her eyes noticing something he never saw there before, vulnerability. "Are you sure you don't want one of your brothers to help?" he asked gently.
She nodded, "three people in the shower just won't work," she sighed. Besides, they've seen less of me since I turned green than you have."
"You don't have to be ashamed of your skin color Shego," Ron said softly.
"Yeah, well you're not the one that had to put up with being called 'Kermie' throughout high school," she said sadly.
Ron frowned and looked into her eyes, "I'm not one of those people Shego. I'm not going to judge you because of your skin tone. In case you didn't know, I dated a Mexican girl and some of my best friends are Asian and Black."
"But that's different," she snarked, "they're not freaks."
"No it's not Shego, you have no control over it. Anyone that treats you badly because of it is just ignorant and doesn't deserve to know you anyway." Ron stated, his cheeks reddening a little.
Shego felt a little better. "Thanks Ron, you're a sweet guy," she said, her lips turning up slightly.
"I just tells it like I sees it," Ron said with a smile, happy that he was able to make her feel better.
She moved to the nightstand beside her bed and opened the drawer, pulling out a pair of scissors. "You're going to have to cut the suit off of me. It's too tight to get off with one hand and you can't slip it over my broken arm anyway," she said steadily.
They moved into the bathroom and Ron stripped down to his boxers while Shego removed the splint on her arm. He finished and turned to her and she handed him the scissors. He carefully cut the fabric off of her broken arm and started down the sides as she clutched the front of the suit to her chest and trembled a little bit. "Me and my big talk," she thought, remembering teasing Kim after she found Ron alive in Drakken's hoverlair. "I can't even get naked in front of him."
Ron finished cutting down to her ankles and removed her shoes. He straightened up, and closed his eyes. "You can drop it now Shego, I've got my eyes closed." He heard the fabric hit the ground and they clumsily climbed into the shower.
It took her a while, but Shego washed herself the best she could with one arm and grabbed her swimsuit bottoms off of the door where she had hung them to dry. She slipped them on and looked at the top. "There is no way I'm going to be able to get that on with one arm, especially the one that is bound up next to him," she thought. "Ron?" she could hear her own voice waver.
"Yeah," he replied quietly.
"I need you to wash out some cuts I have on my back that I can't reach. And I can't get my top on by myself." She paused for a moment before adding, "Please don't gawk at me."
"I won't Shego," he responded. "Hey, wait. Can't you just hold a towel over your front?"
Shego blushed, "Doy," she said normally, "Why didn't I think of that?" "Though I will still need help getting dressed." Shego reached up and grabbed a towel and put it over her front. "You can open your eyes now. You're going to have to hold me, be careful of my arm."
"I will," Ron stated as he opened his eyes. She handed him the soap and Ron took it, lathering up a washcloth and looking her in the face. He moved in close to her, front to front, and looked over her shoulder to wash her back. She flinched a little as he washed out the bits of stone from her cuts. "Sorry," he said quietly.
"It has to be done," she replied. "I figured you wouldn't mind after every thing I've done to Kim and you."
Ron finished up and stepped away, looking her in the eyes. "I don't want to hurt you Shego. Whenever we have fought it was to stop one of Dr. Drakken's plans to take over the world. Though I don't really like you trying to beat my best friend up all the time," he said evenly.
"Yeah," she said sheepishly. "I suppose not." "I really don't like the line this conversation is taking, time to change the subject," she thought."Time for you to wash up too. Do I need to help with any cuts?" she asked.
"I don't think so," he replied. "Check my back though?"
Shego leaned in and looked his back over as he squatted a little bit. "A few scrapes, nothing too major," she stated.
"Thanks to you. If you hadn't have blocked that blast I would have been cut up too, and I don't heal quick," Ron stated, gratitude in his voice.
"Forget about it," Shego said with a grin.
Ron finished washing and they got dressed. Ron helped Shego change into her bra using the 'towel method' to keep Ron from seeing too much. He simply helped her slip it on with the towel over her and looked away while she positioned it. He then helped latch it. He helped her slip into a green t-shirt and raided one of Hego's model airplane kits for material to resplint her arm.
"Oy, I'm starving!" Shego whined. "Let's go down to the kitchen and get something to eat."
"Sure," Ron stated flatly, not really in the mood for celebration though he was a little hungry.
Rufus crawled up Ron's shirt and rested on his shoulder, nodding his head, "Uh huh, uh huh!"
They made their way down to the kitchen and rummaged through the freezer. "Ice cream, steaks, chicken, triple cheese pizza.." Shego muttered as she moved things around.
'Cheese!" Rufus happily exclaimed, clasping his tiny paws together.
"Oh why not," Shego said. "Hego will be upset that we ate his last two pizzas, but Ron and I did save his butt today," she thought.
Ron grabbed the pizzas out and set them on the oven, letting it preheat as he unwrapped them. He popped them in a few minutes later and they waited on the loveseat in the living room for the timer to go off.
"So Shego, why did you tell your brother it was my idea to rescue them?" Ron asked. "I mean I would have wanted to even if you didn't, but you were pretty gung ho on getting them out of that sitch."
Shego sighed. "He's been trying to get me to rejoin the team ever since I left. I really care about my brothers, even Hego, but I just can't be a part of Team Go anymore. I just can't," she replied evenly.
"Want to talk about it?" Ron asked timidly. Just then the timer for the pizza buzzed.
"No," Shego replied flatly. "Let's eat."
They retrieved the pizza and grabbed some sodas out of the fridge, returning to the loveseat to eat. Ron set the pizzas down on the coffee table, putting a couple slices on Shego's plate for her. Shego turned on the TV; Agony County was just starting. They watched as they ate. Rufus was happily stuffing himself and Ron was surprised when Shego outpaced him, though he didn't have much of an appetite. He kept thinking of Aviarius' broken body lying on the floor. Rufus and Shego burped loudly, only the crust lay on the pizza trays when they leaned back into the couch, sated.
"With a figure like yours, I didn't think you'd eat so much," Ron stated before realizing what he said. "I didn't mean it like it came out!" Ron said quickly.
Shego laughed. "What part, the figure part or the eating like a pig part?" she asked sitting forward and arching an eyebrow.
Ron stumbled on his words a little, "The eating, umm, a lot part. I wouldn't call it piggish."
Shego leaned back into the couch, comfortable. "I eat a lot when I'm healing or using my plasma. What's your excuse Stoppable? Growing boy?" she asked, feigning anger.
"Yeah that's it," he replied with a grin, realizing he wasn't in trouble, at least this time.
They sat and watched the television for a while before the combination of the events of the day and the pizza caused them both to doze off. The sound of the elevator reaching their floor didn't even disturb them.
"Aww, isn't that sweet," Wendell Go asked his brother Will. They were looking at Ron laying back into the couch with Shego curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder and a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
Will nodded his head. "Mego come look at this," Will whispered, waving his older brother forward. "She actually looks happy."
Mego walked up and looked down at his sister and Ron sleeping on the couch. "Yeah, she does. It's probably just gas or something though," he whispered before heading off to his room.
The elevator dinged again as Hego arrived on the floor. With his incredible size and weight he couldn't ride the elevator comfortably with the rest of them. He had a grimace on his face and was starting to bruise where Aviarius had hit him making his expression grave indeed. He saw the Wegos standing in the living room and went to join them, trodding heavily on the floor. The noise from him walking was enough to pry Shego from her rest; she nudged Ron awake as Hego approached.
"Is it morning already?" Ron asked with a yawn.
"No," Shego answered flatly.
Hego wasted no time laying in Shego. "Do you have any idea how long they kept us there for questioning? Do you know what you have done to this team? Team Go doesn't leave bodies in it's wake. You two nearly killed Aviarius tonight," he lectured angrily.
"It's not something I'm happy about either. It was him or us," Shego retorted, rising to her feet, her good hand clenched.
Hego snorted, "Somehow I don't believe that Shego."
Shego looked stunned for a moment before she replied. "Believe what you want to Henry!" Shego yelled at him, shaking in anger. "If you hadn't pulled your stupid stunt to get me to come rescue you, none of this would have happened. We don't have to listen to this," she said, pulling Ron with her towards her room.
Hego face reddened considerably, she had blurted out his secret identity in front of a near stranger! "You will listen to me under my roof Susan! You come here and use the Team Go facilities, eat my last pizza, and act like you own the place and you still have the gall to lecture me in my own house!" he shouted.
"Your house? Your pizza? Come off it Henry, the government of Go city pays for all of this for Team Go. You only work to keep up your 'secret identity' and play at being Clark Kent. Grow up," Shego retorted, her plasma flaring slightly.
Hego's face turned from red to the slightest shade of blue as he replied in a cold, even voice, "You are right about one thing. This tower is for members of Team Go, and you aren't one of us anymore." He turned and walked to the elevator, going up to his room.
"YOU'RE WELCOME!" Shego yelled at his back.
"Sorry sis," Will started.
"You know how he is," Wendell continued.
"Thanks for the rescue," Will said.
"Again," stated Wendell.
Ron was stunned throughout the exchange between the siblings. "And I thought that Kim and the tweebs fought a lot. I hadn't seen anything.." he stated.
"Sorry you had to see that Ron," Shego said with a shrug, the Wegos nodded in agreement. She turned to the Wegos, "and that is why I don't like to visit," she stared with a tired look on her face.
"Give him until tomorrow, I'm sure he'll calm down," Ron said supportively.
"No, he has a lot of pride. It will take a few days and I am not going to put you through that Ron. Heck, I don't know if I could handle it without trying to knock his block off," Shego said wearily.
The Wegos nodded their heads in unison.
"Sorry to see you go so soon," Wendell said, giving her a hug.
"Wish we could have seen you more," Will said, hugging her in turn.
"Yeah, me too. Next time you two will have to come visit me. Mego could care less and I can't stomach being around Hego," she stated sadly as they pulled away.
"Come on Ron, let's go pack," Shego stated as they headed toward the elevator.
"Where are we going?" Ron asked.
"Well, Princess said neutral ground. I don't know how neutral your house is, but it's either that or a hotel. Can you get a hold of nerdlinger for a ride? I don't want to get the Wegos in trouble with Hego by asking them to take us in the Go Jet," Shego replied. "I should just take the damn thing, but Hego would come after it and I don't want to have to deal with him with a broken arm. Not to mention Ron stuck to me. Not that that is really a bad thing, he sure saved the day against Aviarius back there."
"Sure thing Susan," Ron said with a grin.
She went to elbow him in the ribs and pulled short when he cringed. "It's no fun playing 'Ron goes ouch' when you're already hurt," she deadpanned. "Can you not call me Susan?"
"I guess, though it is a prettier name than Shego," he said seriously.
She smiled a little. "Alright, but only when we're alone."
"OK," Ron said happily as he pulled out the Kimmunicator set up a ride with Wade. He hit the call button and Wade popped up on the screen.
"Hey Ron, everything alright?" Wade asked, taking a drink from his slurpstir.
"I think so. We need a ride to Middleton, we're going to stay at my house until this wears off," Ron answered.
"Yeah, my eldest brother is being a jerk," Shego added flatly.
"Oh," Wade said, surprised to be addressed by Shego in less than a thunderous tone. "I'll get right on it and get back to you guys."
"Thanks Wade," Ron said.
"No Big," Wade answered with a grin before he shut down the link.
"Help me pack?" Shego asked as she led him over to the closet.
"Of course," Ron stated, pulling out the suitcases she pointed to with her good hand. "It's too bad they probably won't let me in school stuck to you. It's not like you're low profile, everyone in Middleton knows who you are since you and Dr. Drakken 'work' there so often.
"Sorry sport, I can't really help it," she stated.
"It's no big. At least I'll be close enough to get my homework from Kim everyday," Ron stated. "Did I just say that?" he thought to himself, a bit surprised. "Yori's training is really rubbing off on me." He opened one up and she began taking clothes out of the closet and packing. Ron opened another suitcase for her to fill and was surprised to find that it already had stuff in it. "Did you want to bring this stuff too?" he asked, picking up a picture frame. In it was a picture of a younger Shego in a formal dress standing next to a handsome teenaged man.
Shego looked down and quickly snatched the picture away from him, looking at it with a sad look in her eyes. She gently replaced it in the small suitcase and closed the lid, zipping it up. "That can stay here," she said quietly.
"Was that your boyfriend?" Ron asked gently.
She nodded her head, looking away from him. "Yeah," she said, keeping a tight rein on her emotions. "Things didn't work out so well," she stated. "And no, I don't want to talk about it," she added as an afterthought.
Ron nodded in acquiescence and continued to help her pack. As the closet emptied a large box in the back became apparent. "What's in that?" Ron asked with his typical curiosity.
Shego looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Ahhh, it's one of Dr. D.'s inventions. I kinda figured it would come in handy when I got older," she stated, shifting her feet. "You know, that could come in handy right now," she thought, looking at the rejuvinator. She opened up the box and pulled out the ray gun.
"Ouuu, shiny!" Ron said, transfixed, as he reached for it.
Shego slapped his hand, "No touchie my ray gun." She thought for a minute, "Should I? It's not like I can't reverse the process..." She looked at Ron and made up her mind, "What the heck, it might even be fun. Ron will get to go to school and I'll get to mess with Princess." "How old are you Ron," she asked innocently.
"I know, I know, I need to grow up and quit playing with gadgets,"
Ron stated dejectedly.
"You're never too old for new toys. That's not why I'm asking," she said with a smirk.
"Oh. I'm seventeen. Why?" he asked.
"You'll see," she said as she set the dial to shave five years of aging off her body. The gun hummed slightly as it powered up. She looked in Ron's eyes with a serious expression on her face. "I'm going to hand this to you. Don't touch any of the buttons or dials, just point it at me and pull the trigger once and release it," she stated before handing it to Ron.
Ron took it gingerly. "You want me to shoot you!" he exclaimed.
"It's not going to hurt me Ron. Remember 'Ray X'?" she asked.
"Ohh… Badical!" he said aiming it at her.
Ron paused for a moment, still a little uncertain, before Shego growled, "Do it Stoppable!"
Ron squeezed the trigger and a glowing beam engulfed Shego, making his own skin tingle. She grew a little slimmer and shorter and looked younger, five years younger. Seventeen years old if you want to split straws.
"Oh my gosh, are you OK Shego?" Ron asked, frantic with worry.
"Hey, whattaya know. It worked," Shego stated with a slightly higher pitched voice. She looked at her clothes, which now were hanging a little more loosely on her body. "I didn't think those were any smaller when I was seventeen though," she deadpanned, looking at her chest.
Ron fainted dead away. A guy can only take so much in one night.
Author's Footnote: So here we are at the end of another chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to post. I welcome all of my reviewers to send me a "kick in the pants" PM if I slack off on updating for more than a month. I have been reading too many good Rongo stories that have been left hanging in the middle lately. Yes this story is turning out to be a Rongo fic. As always, any criticism (or pointers for that matter) that will help me grow as a writer are welcome indeed. Until next time!
Aedan