Chapter 2: Strange Guest
Back at Drakken's lair, a beautiful green tinted woman, with raven hair and wearing her traditional black and green jumpsuit, walked into the lair. Shego had forgot her favorite file and was coming by to get it. While she walked into the living room, she saw a gapping hole in the wall leading to the outside.
She lifted her one of her eyebrows and shook her head while she thought, What in the world has that idiot done now, I can't even leave a week without him blowing holes into the place.
While she looked at the hole, she realized the explosion that made it came from the outside because all the rubble was in the living room. Her hands began to glow a fiery green as she looked around with caution and she began to go into a fighting stance. But seeing no one or anything around, she relaxed a bit but her hands still glowed. She let out a sigh and started throughout the lair looking for Drakken, along the way called out to him. Drakken was nowhere to be found and no answer came from him while she went through the lair.
After she started to give up the search, she stopped in a long hall way and sat down on the floor while she tried to think what might have happened. While she sat there thinking, she heard footsteps running up to the hall. In instant, Shego jumped up on the heels of her feet and she slipped into a room close by. She left the door open and was peeking out into the hall, looking toward where the sounds of foot steps were coming from. After a few seconds, three men dressed up like soldiers in urban camo came running down the hall. They stopped running about half way from Shego and where they first appeared. They stood there for a second before they started walking slowly toward where Shego was while she listened to them talking.
One started asking, "Are you sure she'll be back?"
"Yes," said another.
"I kinda hope not," said the third. "I mean they left the three of us here to try and capture her. I really don't like those odds."
"I know what u mean," said the second one speaking again.
The first one that spoke asked another question, "Why they need her, seeing they got the Doc?"
"Well I'm not sure but orders are ord---," the second man began to say but his words were cut short.
The man stopped speaking when he saw the two men with him fly back while green light lit up the hall. His eyes went wide as he watched the two men fly down the hall all the way to the end. One slammed in the concrete wall there, cracking it and the other went through a window.
The last standing man heard a voice saying, "What you know, I made a three pointer," behind him. While still shaking, the man turned in time to see a boot inches from his face, striking him in the head knocking him out.
Shego, with her hands still blazing, was standing over the man. While she let the green glow go out, she knelt down beside the out cold man and she started frisking the man to see if he had any kind of ID on him. Hoping if he did, it would tell her where she could find what organization was holding Drakken. With no such luck of finding anything helpful, she started running down the hall, past the man she slammed into the wall with her blast, and right back into the living room.
When she got in there, she slid to a stop when she caught something in the corner of her eye. She turned to face this new threat and got ready to fight again. To her surprise, what she saw was a figure twice the size of any man she ever seen, entirely covered in a smooth pewter gray colored metal which had indentions that looked like muscles.
The figure had his back to her with his arms across his chest and his head down, like he was thinking. The second Shego cleared her throat to say something, the figure turned all the way around. He turned so fast Shego didn't notice he had and he faced her, looking at her with glowing red eyes with no other features on his metal covered face except the eyes. After the figure turned, he didn't move anymore nor said anything. He just stared at Shego with his unnerving red eyes. The figure's stare scared Shego at first but it started to tick her off.
"You better turn those eyes somewhere else before I poke them out," Shego said after a second of complete silence.
The figure just bent his head to one side and shook it while still having his arms folded.
Shego thought, Surely he has to be afraid or at least worried.
While the figure continued to shake his head, Shego lifted both of her arms up while her hands lit up. She took aim and fired at the figure with both talons. To her surprise, the figure still didn't move as the green hot plasma traced toward him. Everything slowed to milliseconds it seemed to Shego. She could see the plasma flying in slow motion toward the figure and all the figure did was straighten his head up and stopped shaking it.
He won't take both hits, Shego thought with confidence.
But he did with no effect to him. All the plasma did was leave scorch marks on his chest and slid him back a little. The figure started shaking his head again while he looked down at the scorch marks and he shrugged his shoulders before he looked back up at Shego. Shego was bewildered. No one has ever took both shots from her and kept standing. Still in a rage which took over her, Shego rushed the figure and with a quick leap into the air came down with a kick at his head.
Still, the figure just stood there looking up at her while she was coming down at him with a kick aimed at his head.. Shego struck him in the side of the head with her foot and the hit was so solid that she was able to kick off his head into a back flip, landing in front of him. The second Shego's feet touched the floor, she struck him in the chest with her right flaming hand and with her other then she began a rapid succession of punches, with an occasional scratch from her claws. Shego was amazed at her attacks weren't having any effect while her claws would cause sparks to fly from the metal suit. The figure just stood there taking every hit and slash of claws, while every strike of from Shego slid him back more but strangely he still kept his balance.
After a minute of Shego's assault, the figure seemed to lost his patience. He came out of his stance and pulling his right fist back, as if readying a punch of his on while Shego continued to attack the figure. Shego, still blinded in her rage, didn't notice this. She finally noticed it but it was sudden, she felt a fist striking her in the chest, which felt like a 10 lb. sledge hammer struck her and sent her flying backwards. She flew back against the opposite wall, slamming into it. While she fell down to the floor, she still had enough sense to catch herself with her hands and while prop up by her hands, she begun gasping for air because the strike was so powerful.
Shego still had enough wits to look up and try to see where the figure was. When she first saw him, he was walking toward her. At the sight if him nearing her, Shego began trying to get up the best she could, while she still was winded. The figure stopped when he saw her trying to get up to fight some more. He shook his head again and for the first time since Shego saw him in the one-sided fight spoke.
"I didn't come here to fight you nor did I intend to hurt you. But, I figured you would try to fight me and as you can see, hopefully, that you can't hurt me as much as you really want to," said the figure in a voice that sounded like a person who was trying to speak while choking with a clicking sound before and after he spoke.
"I don't know who or what you are but you'll pay if you harmed Dr. D.," Shego managed to say while she got back up and she relit her hands.
"Well I'm more of a who than I am a what. Besides, I didn't have anything to do with the doc's kidnaping. All I'm here for is to find you," the figure said while he pointed at Shego with on of his hands before crossing his arms back, "and bring you back with me."
"Nope, don't think I'll go anywhere with anyone against my will especially when I don't know who they are," Shego said while she readied herself to attack the figure again.
"Well, my name is Cleburne if you must know, and yes, you going back with me. The choice is yours. The easy way or the hard way. I was ordered to bring you back, even if its means beating you to an inch of your life. Course, I really don't want to do that, but I will if I have to," the figure stated while he shook his head at Shego wanting to continue the fight.
"Well since you put it that way. Seeing I really don't have a choice in the matter," said Shego as she lost the will to fight for the moment.
It's one thing to fight someone like Kim. At least she as a chance to actually do damage but here and now she can't even put a scratch on this Cleburne character. Besides it sounds and feels like she be a world of hurt if she continues to fight him. With that, she let her hands flame down and her rage for the time being.
"So you decided to go peacefully, it seems. Well if you promise, even if you don't keep it, not to attack me again. I will go back to the regular me," Cleburne said with a happy, choking voice.
All Shego could say was alright and hearing Shego's response, Cleburne punched a button on a console that was attached to his wrist. Right before Shego's eyes, Cleburne shrank down to half his size to the size of a normal man. The metal that covered him seemed to had melted into his body and was replaced by what looked like a ninja suit but was patted in the arms, shoulders, and shins. His red eyes were replaced by pale blue eyes, so pale that they on most looked solid white, and over his face was a mask. The entire suit was the same pewter gray.
"You not too smart to change so quick, Cleburne. I can easily hurt you now since I never keep a promise that I don't want to keep." Shego said with an evil smirk while she flamed up again.
She was waiting for this, for him to slip up and feel some pain himself. Nevertheless, she didn't attack because Cleburne went back to his statue stance, arms across his chest, not moving, and started shaking his head again. It was like he wasn't worried about her attacking him.
"Well you're very predictable. Since I know a lot about you anyways, it shouldn't surprise me, Sheila Gossett," Cleburne said with a normal voice that had a touch of southern accent.
At hearing Cleburn's voice, Shego narrowed her eyes at him because she felt she knew that voice from somewhere in the past. But at the mention of her real name, Shego stopped narrowing her eyes and a look of surprise replaced it.
"What, you're surprised about me knowing your real name? Yes, not everyone knows that. However, I do and there is a lot more. Not going in details how I know or what all I know about you. I'll let you know something about me as a trade. You can't harm me even in this form. Why? Because I have a built in danger response. Meaning if it detects any form of physical damage is about to happen to me, my suit activates again. That would get us back to square one again wouldn't it," Cleburne said calmly while he chuckled.
Shego was so fuming that it felt like her hair was burning green as much as her hands. Here was someone who knows her real name and admitted to knowing more than that and she just met him. She wondered what all he really knew about her. Shego then wonder if there was way for her to get out of the lair by herself. Shego wasn't about to leave anywhere with a stranger, especially as odd as this one was.
Shego thought, If I try to fight him, he would go back to the iron man look then probably give me a beaten and I still end up going to wherever he is suppose to take me. Well, I can just run out of here, get away, and hide out until I find where Dr. D is.
Nevertheless, Cleburne crashed that plan the second he spoke.
"Sheila, don't think about running. Yes, finding you be hard but since you must use your powers and since we have a certain device that can track that now, I will find you eventually. If I'm not mistaken, the others who are after you could find you the same way. If I were you, I take my offer right now before they come back and find both us of here. They be back any minute after dumb, dumber, and dumbest haven't reported back in the last few minutes," Cleburne stated while he looked toward the doorway that lead to where Shego knocked out three men before she ran into him.
Shego had forgotten them in her rage. What was Cleburne saying that those men were a kind of recon as well but for who and why? Was Cleburne in here somewhere the whole time knowing three other men were knocked out in the other room? But where was he at, since she had searched the entire lair for Drakken? Too many questions for Shego to answer while a very odd man stood in front of her. The strange events were to puzzling to her and the strange individual was the topping on the cake for the oddest day of her life.
Shego thought, How would he know they were here? Unless he saw them before I did and if he's telling the true about a certain device then the others he mention might know I'm here as well.
"So, Sheila, you about ready to be nice for once and let me help you get out of here. As if you had another choice anyways," stated Cleburne while he started to walk toward the hole in the living room wall.
"Its Shego! So, call me that and yeah, I go to where you suppose to take me for now but I warn you if this is some kind of trick. I will find a way to hurt you. Do you get that," Shego said while she began to follow Cleburne out and realized her hands were still lit.
She shook her hands while they went out and Cleburne just laughed, when he got outside, after hearing what Shego said to him.
After Shego and Cleburne began to walk to a wooded area, Cleburne said, "Shego then, and just to let you know. You can hurt me but there are only two ways. One is by a massive armor piercing weapon. Like a tank cannon or such, but I been known to rip a turret off a tank," while he began to chuckle a little and kept walking.
Shego wanted to know the other because maybe it didn't involve driving a 60-ton piece of metal around. So she asked.
"And what is the other," Shego questioned while she kept her eyes on Cleburne
"You might find out someday. Then again no one knows the second except me," Cleburne stated slyly while he looked back at Shego for a second before he turned his look back in front of him.
Cleburne's last statement ticked off Shego and it showed by the look on her face. She wanted to know because she so wanted to hurt Cleburne. Shego let Cleburne walk a few steps past her and flamed up her hands again. Taking aim, she fired her plasma at Cleburne's backside. To her surprise, even she if she shouldn't have been because Cleburne told her what would happen, when the plasma reached Cleburne, his suit activated again. The plasma left another scorched mark on his gray metal back. In an instant Cleburne turned around and looked at Shego with his red eyes glowing bright red. Shego got ready to defend herself but an attack never came.
Instead Cleburne just said in his choking voice, "Don't do that again, got it?"
He waited for Shego's response, which was a nod of an ok, before he deactivated the suit and continue walking. Shego went out of her fighting stance and continued following Cleburne while she had to keep herself from laughing.
So I can tick him off, have to make a note to myself about that, thought Shego.
Seeing his strength, Shego wasn't sure she could come out ok in a fight with Cleburne if she got him mad enough.
After walking for a couple miles, Cleburne said with no excitement, "Well, we are here finally," while they came into a clearing.
After his statement, Cleburne sat on a stump and sat his head in one of his hands as if he started to think about something. While standing there, Shego heard a clicking sound and she realized it was coming from Cleburne. Shego then realized he was talking, it seemed to himself.
"…package is secure sir... Yes, sir. She gave some trouble... No, sir. No need for the infirmary. She came on her free will...Well yes, she fought me...She's Shego for crying out loud! Ok sir. ETA is ten minutes...Got it sir, out," Cleburne said in a near whisper while he pressed the side of his temple with two fingers.
After Cleburne stood back up, he realized Shego was close enough to hear him. He looked at her for a second before he sighed at her giving him a weird look.
"So, either you can talk to someone with an invisible radio or you're very different from normal people who talk to themselves," Shego said trying her best to be sarcastic.
"Well Shego, I am different from most people. Just comparing just me and you. You're a normal person. I was talking to the general if you wanted to know and yes, I can talk to people without a phone or radio. We got to get to Maryland in less than ten minutes from now," Cleburne said while he hinted the shame of being abnormal.
After Cleburne stated what he did, he started to walk deep into the clearing they came into. He stopped and started pressing buttons on the console attached to his wrist.
"Ok, so how we going to get more than a thousand miles in as it looks now less than eight minutes," Shego said as she walked up to Cleburne.
"In style of course, but I warn you to buckle up," Cleburne stated with excitement while he stopped working at the console.
Shego rolled her eyes at the buckling up part but as he finished speaking, a jet appeared right in front of them, causing Shego to go wide-eyed for a second. A kind of ship Shego has never seen before, so she thought, but something was familiar about it. She couldn't put a finger on it but she remembered seeing something like it before, just she couldn't remember where.
She eyed the slick black plane with its four wings, two small triangle shaped wings in the front right behind the cockpit and two large wings bending forwarded, and if looked at from the top the wings would look like a capital W in the rear of the plane. It was too familiar to her while she studied it, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn't remember where she saw it before. She gave up on trying to figure it out and followed Cleburne to the plane.
Shego thought while they boarded, So what, he's got a nice plane. Big deal, won't impress me any, but at last we're getting out of here.
She realized she said it aloud but she shrugged her shoulders because Cleburne acted like he didn't hear her. After they got in the cockpit, Cleburne strapped in and started firing up the engines. He was about to lift off, but he stopped when he noticed Shego wasn't buckled. He pointed at Shego and back at the seatbelts. Shego got annoyed about this and was about to flame up until she remembered not to do that as much.
Don't want to give myself away anytime soon, Shego thought.
So, Shego buckled up and was grateful to have because when the plane lifted off the ground and the after burners kicked in, the force was so great it felt like she was bringing pushed into the seat. While they flew along way past a mach speed unknown to the world, Shego could see city lights below but they were gone as fast as she saw them.
Like turning a light on and off, Shego thought while she fought against passing out from the force the jet was exerting on her. Six and a half minutes later, the plane landed in Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. As quickly as the plane landed, a hummer left the base heading north.