Well folks, here we go again! This story has become one of my longest and most intricate of anything I've ever done. I hope it continues to be entertaining! Thanks again for all the readers, and to all those who have left a review: RealityBreakGirl, MrDrP, romantic-cancer, AtomicFire, CajunBear73, Kim's 1 fan, Alphamech, trecebo, and dataweaver. I would like to thank dataweaver for giving me something to think about from his review. You actually made me think, Dude! (Oww, brain pain)

So without further ado…

Disclaimer: I have not and will not… ever own the characters involved.

Chapter 17

Shego was biding her time. The man who was supposed to have been an Emcee for this bogus event was now going around the room zip-tying the hands and feet of everyone in the room. She would let him do the same to her, as she still wanted him to believe that she too had been put to sleep.

She could wait and hopefully get some information from these goons before trying to make a break for it, and then easily melt through the plastic zip ties and get away.

These guys MUST be bad news if they wanted to take out the entire villain community. Shego thought as her hands and feet were roughly handled, and then she heard the familiar zzziiippp! … zzziiippp!

She heard another voice enter the room. "Is this all that Big Daddy wanted done to them for now?"

Big Daddy Brotherson is in on this?

"Yeah…" She recognized the Emcee's voice. "Something about keeping them on ice until he interrogates each one himself."

"Do we just leave them here?"

"I guess so. He really didn't say."

"Hey…" The new voice said. "Isn't this that Shego bitch that works for that "Do-Nuthin' Drakken"?

Shego felt a booted foot kick her in the thigh. "Yeah, she is."

OK… he's the one I hurt first… She thought,feeling his hot breath on her face and the closeness of the man, as he apparently was just a few inches from her.

Opportunity! Shego snapped her eyes open, and immediately brought her head forward, smashing the guy's nose with her forehead! He fell back screaming and clutching at his face. The other guy went to grab her and she stood up, bringing her clenched hands up under his chin, snapping his head back. He went down for the count.

The first guy, who was the Emcee, was still up but holding his nose as blood was now running down his face. "You broke my nose you…"

Shego tried to fire up her hands to melt through the zip ties so she could take this guy out, but there was nothing! Just a little fft… and that was it!

"What…?" She exclaimed, and barely dodged out of the way of the charging Emcee. At least they didn't tie my hands behind my back…

Turning around, the Emcee then struck at Shego, this time catching her off guard and snapped her head around. She was able to duck his next hit, and dropped to the floor, knocking him down with her legs.

Shego tried again to ignite her hands again and it wasn't working! "Damnit!" She quietly cursed, and figured that the gas that knocked everyone else out just happened to affect her differently. Guess I'm going to have to do this 'Old School'…

Shego may have had her legs and hands tied, but her training had given her an advantage over her adversary in balance. She hoped back onto her feet before the guy could stand back up, and with both hands grabbed the back of a chair and swung it at him, making the guy back up. He tripped over his fallen buddy and fell backwards.

Advantage! Immediately Shego jumped on him and landed with a knee in his groin, making all air rush out of his lungs. "Ooooofff!" His eyes rolled up into his head, but Shego didn't care.

One last time she tried to ignite her plasma and it still didn't work! "How long is this going to last!" She screamed at her now incapacitated enemy as he had curled up into a fetal position.

Eyeing the bag of zip ties, Shego was able to get both of them tied up just as she was, but she was smart enough to put their arms behind their backs, and then connect their hands to their feet. The only way to do this was to put them on their knees, and lean them up against a nearby wall. The next thing she did was to remove their radios so neither could call for help.

The one she had kneed in the groin was conscious, but still groaning in obvious pain. His position not helping his discomfort at all. The other was still out cold, so she started to slap him on the face until he started to come to.

As both started to finally come around, Shego had hopped to a chair, and pulled it over in front of them. She sat down and waited until the two realized the situation that they were in. After a couple minutes both finally were able to look around, and they saw who was now in charge. (Even if her hands and feet were still tied up)

"So boys…" Shego said with an evil grin, "Who's talking first?"

Neither of them said anything, and just looked at her with anger in their eyes. They hadn't expected this at all.

"Well," Shego started to say, "I probably should have done this while you were still out cold, but oh well. You can't stop me now either… can you?"

She knelt down in front of the Emcee first, and started to go through his pockets. The first one she found nothing, and then the second pocket revealed what she was hoping to find. A pocket knife!

"Was it good for you too?" Shego asked as she leaned back and opened the knife. Quickly she cut her zip ties off. "Well… I assume since your not talking, that you actually must know something."

Shego stepped forward, and held the small pocketknife in front of her, using it to point at each of the guys. "So I'll ask again. Who want's to talk first?"

"You're getting nothing out of…" Shego was on him in a flash, the blade of the knife against his neck. "…me."

"What about you… Stumpy?" She said, now placing the knife between the Emcee's legs, pressed against where she had previously kneed him.

All she got from him was a shrug of the shoulders. "Now I know the two of you know something that might help me."

"You don't even have your powers. What can you do to us?" The Emcee said, as he was quite observant while they fought earlier. That was a bad thing to say.

Shego lashed out with one hand and clenched his throat, cutting off his air supply. "Oh I'm still dangerous… and I can still hurt you. Even worse, if I want." She held up the small knife, which now looked like a sword to the two men. The small but sharp blade could still do some damage. Even kill, if she used it right.

"I heard you mention Big Daddy earlier. What's he planning?" Her grip tightened as the man's face started to turn blue. She let go, and he gagged as he tried to catch his breath. Shego stood up again, and loomed over the two. "Now should I start with your left? Or the right?"

"Huh…?" The Emcee rasped. Shego brought the knife back to his groin. "You wouldn't."

"Try me." She said, and pressed the blade down harder.

The Emcee swallowed hard, and asked, "What do you want to know?"

"First… How long is that gas supposed to keep everyone asleep?"

"Only about 2 hours." The Emcee replied.

"See? I knew if you were… properly motivated, we could get somewhere. Now what does Big Daddy have to do with all this?"

"All I know is that he knew someone who developed a new kind of weapon." The other man said.

"What kind of weapon? Drakken already has had doomsday weapons. What could be worse then them?"

"I'm not sure… but didn't you see the destruction of your bosses latest lair?" The Emcee had gotten his breath back.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Shego asked, slightly confused.

"We delivered it to him. You mean Drakken didn't tell you what he had?" The Emcee said.

"Uhh… no."

"What leveled that lair was only one atom of what was developed." Shego responded with silence, and a blank look on her face.

"Where's Brotherson now?" Was her next question.

"We don't know." The Emcee replied, and Shego placed the knife back in his crotch. "We really don't know!"

"Can you give me anything to go on?" Shego asked between clenched teeth, as this guy was really getting on her nerves.

"Ummm… ahhh," he stuttered. "I… think I heard something about an attack on GJ with an army of some kind of robot, or drone of some kind he had acquired from your Boss there." He nodded at Drakken's still unconscious body.

"Synthodrones?" Shego said, sounding a bit confused. "But I thought they were all taken by GJ on that last raid…"

"Hey… all I remember hearing was that it was a newer version of something called a 901… 905… something like that, and a cloning machine he had also bought"

"The Eric drone?" Shego said to herself, furrowing her eyebrows together. "But they're so easy to defeat…"

The Emcee just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well… I need to go think." Shego said, and started to walk away. She turned back around after a few steps, and went back to the two men.

"Forget something?" The Emcee said.

"Yeah. You'll probably get free sooner or later, but I prefer later." She then drew her hand back, and hit each one right in the jaw, knocking them unconscious.

…x x x x…

After finding where she and Drakken had hidden the flyer, Shego was now going… somewhere. But she wasn't sure where to yet. Could she go directly to Big Daddy? No. She didn't know where he was.

Do I go to GJ? She thought. That's a possibility. It's the only place I know of where there is a connection to him, with that damn drone. I'm guessing they also made more of them with that damned cloning machine of Drakkens. Maybe if I follow them, they could lead me to Big Daddy.

"Let's see…" Shego said to herself as she logged onto the flyers computer. "Where the heck is GJ located anyway…? Aha!"

The flyer's database found the location of GJ's main complex, but the only thing was, it was at least 3 hours from her current position. Taking a chance, she clicked on the satellite icon, and brought the controls for the one satellite that Drakken had been able to get into orbit online. She asked it to down load any new information it had found on GJ, hoping it had found something new.

"Bingo!" The secondary base was only a 40 minute trip to the East.

…x x x x …

After landing near the main entrance, Shego immediately noticed that it had been forced into, and all the guards were dead. Walking in she almost retched at the sickening smell of all the blood, but then she noticed footprints leading away from all that death. Bloody footprints, and they were all exactly the same.

"The drones." She said to herself, and began to track them through the complex. Every once in a while she would come to an area with a few more dead GJ agents.

Ugh… These things are brutal, but obviously inexperienced. She thought to herself, as they kept walking through blood and then tracking it everywhere, allowing her to follow their path through the complex.

Heading down a hall, she heard the tearing sound of metal, and then she knew she was right behind them! I didn't realize I was so close!

Then out of the corner of her eye, Shego saw something small and pink scurry across the hall a little further up. "What the hell was that?" She muttered, and slid along the wall towards the open door it had gone into.

I just wish…Shego thought as she looked at her hands. Well, it's been about two hours… so I wonder…?

She barely had the thought, and green flames danced on one of her hands. Boo-yah! Damnit! Stoppable has rubbed off on me…

She quickly stepped into the room, and saw the pick animal scurry across a counter top and she shot a blast right in front of it, making the thing stop. It was then that Shego recognized what the thing was. "Stoppable's Rat?" She said aloud.

"Heyyy!" Rufus said as he put his paws on his hips.

"The Buffoon… I mean, Stoppable is… here?" She said a little to herself, and wondering if it was in her head that she could sort of understand what the thing was saying.

If he's here… Shego thought to herself, Then he's probably fighting those… things. I can't let him destroy them, as they are the only connection to Big Daddy! If I'm going to find out what he's up to, I can't let that happen!

"Yo! Rat…" Shego said, addressing Rufus. He just looked at her.

"Rufus!" He said, thumbing a claw at himself.

"OK… Rufus…" Shego said, not quite believing she was having a conversation with an animal. "You want to find… Ron… right?"

"Uh huh…" He replied, nodding his head up and down, but eyeing Shego carefully.

"Well I do to. It looks like we can help each other out. Now I think I might know where he is, but I'm not sure. Can you help?"

"Uh huh… smell…"

"What's that? You can smell him…?" A bulb came on in her brain. "Oh that's right! Rats have an incredible sense of smell."

"Mole Rat!" Rufus said, correcting her.

"OK! OK! Mole Rat." Shego unsnapped the flap to her leg pocket. "Jump in. I can move faster than you and you can tell me which direction by smell. OK?"

Rufus narrowed is already small eyes, thought for a few seconds, and then jumped in.

…x x x x…

"Oh snap…" Both said, not even bothering to call Jinx. The next thing Kim thought of was that the ESD fluid was never drained from her limbs.

Double Snap! Was her only thought, as all three drones stood together and slowly advanced.

Without warning, one of them exploded out, but not apart! The drone essentially split in half from the waist up, the head still connected to one half, and the other just kind of flapped off to the side.

Kim lashed out with a kick, sending it flying into a wall, and it fell with a thud. Then both Kim and Ron turned to see where the blast had come from and both got the shock of their lives.

"Shego…?" Kim responded, staying in her trademark ready stance.

Ron's response was slightly different, as the first thing he noticed was what was sticking out of her leg pocket. "Rufus…? What the heck?"

"Stoppable! Look out!" Shego yelled, and blasted the head of another drone, knocking it back away from Ron.

The third drone directly attacked Shego, and she slashed through it with a charged hand cutting it in half. She then walked up in front of Ron, took Rufus out of her pocket, and handed him over.

"Here… I saved your rat."

"Mole Rat!" Ron, Kim, and Rufus all said at once, making Shego blink.

She eyed the black-haired girl curiously, and walked up to her. Cocking her head sideways, Shego said one word. "Princess?"

"Umm… guys…?" Ron said nervously, pointing behind everyone. "I… think we better get out of here! They're pulling themselves back together!"

Shego turned and an eyebrow disappeared behind her hair as she saw the drones repairing themselves. "That's a new trick." She said belying what she was really feeling.

"In there!" Kim yelled, pointing to the office where the others had gone to make their escape.

All three entered the room, and immediately began to look for the armored door that Dr. Director had said was there. All Shego thought was that they had led them into a dead end.

"Behind here Kim!" Ron yelled as he was trying to pull the bookshelf away from the wall so they could enter into the escape tunnel. "It's jammed!"

"Let me try Ron!" Kim said as she jogged over to the 8-ft tall solid oak bookshelf. The back of the shelves was lined with thick metal, which Kim worked her fingers behind, and gave a mighty pull.

Again, Kim had used a bit too much strength. The shelves ripped from the wall, and flew across the room, slamming into the office entrance where the drones were now starting to break through, effectively blocking their path for a little while longer.

Kim placed her hand on the scanner, and the giant massively reinforced door slid to the side, revealing the escape tunnel. All three leaped through, and it slammed shut just as they watched the drones finally break into the office.

All three stood by the door, listening to the barely audible thumps of the drones as they tried in vain to get through. Shego turned to the black-haired girl once again, and spoke.

"So… Kimmie got another upgrade?"

To be continued…

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Please let me know if this chapter reads OK. I was struggling with which side Shego should join, so I tried to keep her decision a secret. Is it still ambiguous?