Disclaimer: Sans plot, I am the owner of exactly none of the material here.

Good god, I'm sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter. First a month of studying for exams, then a combination of my usual muse getting hijacked by another story and major writers block is to blame. Hopefully none of my regulars (i think i might be getting ahead of myself) think I've died or anything.

I promise I'll be more consistent now that I'm out of classes and have got my inspiration back.

As per usual, please review.

Chapter 8: The Final Stage of Grief

Kim regained consciousness in a mutely lit recovery ward, just as a nurse was checking her chart. She tried to crank her neck up, but found it felt far too much like a dried tree branch for her to be comfortable flexing it. Everything was stiff, and her head throbbed like a freight train was running between her ears at 90 miles an hour.

"Don't try to move too quickly, honey." The nurse said kindly, pressing the incline function on the bed's control panel. With a soft whirring, the beds actuators brought Kim to a sitting position as the nurse passed her a glass of water. "You have a mild concussion, a boat load of strains, and about a half dozen or so small hairline fractures. How does your head feel?"

"Like someone closed a car door on it." Kim answered after she had taken a sip of the water and moistened her dry palette. "Where am I?"

"Global Justice Medical Ward. You came in about two hours ago with a blonde boy and a woman with green skin. It looked like all three of you had been put through a cement mixer along with a shovel full of gravel."

"Ron... Ron!" Kim exclaimed, remembering what had gone on before she had been knocked out, and forgot herself. She thrust her head upwards, and immediately regretted it as pain lanced up her spine and exploded in her head at the same time. She fell back almost as quickly as she got up, her vision blurring, and she dropped the glass of water. It broke into pieces on the tile floor below, the shriek of fragmenting glass sounding twice as bad through her ultra sensitive ears.

"Whoops." The nurse called out, swiftly bending down and picking up the large pieces of the glass. Kim, who had her eyes scrunched up as she tried to block out as much of the sensory input that was overwhelming her brain as she could, apologised.

"I'm sorry. Normally I'm not that clumsy."

"Don't worry about it, dear. Happens all the time. Maybe one day we will figure it out and start using plastic cups." The older woman joked as she wiped up the spilt water and smaller shards of glass with a towel. She left Kim for a moment to dispose of the fragments, and when she returned, the redhead had managed to open her eyes again.

"Where's Ron? Is he alright?" she asked as the nurse began checking her pupils with a pen light.

"He was taken to a more intensive observation ward. From what I could see he wasn't as badly beaten up as you or the other girl, but he sure looked drained. Apparently he's the worse off of the three of you."

"Oh no..." Kim moaned.

"Don't worry, hun. He's out of danger. He'll just need a little more time to recover, that's all." The nurse assured her.

"Can I see him?" Kim inquired, this question holding a distinct note of pleading.

"I'm sure you can, but Dr Director left me with orders to tell her when you woke up first. She should be down here any minute now."

As usual, almost as if the words summoned her, Betty appeared just as the nurse mentioned she was on her way. Striding purposefully into the room, the brunette made a b-line for the stretcher Kim lay on. She came to rest at the edge of the bed, and offered the red head her hand. Kim took it and shook weakly, and Betty assumed a more casual stance.

"Welcome back, Miss Possible. I dare say you had us worried for a few hours."

"What happened?"

"I think I would be in a better position to answer that if you were to explain what Shego was doing in your house first."

At the mention of Shego's name, Kim bristled visibly.

"She came to get back at us for Drakken."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Why else would she come to my house? Don't tell me she told you that bit about Drakken being dead. It is so a lie."

"Actually, I haven't spoken to Shego yet. She woke only a few minutes ago, I was just on my way to question her when Miss Calenn paged me. I decided I would like the story from someone trust-worthy first, so I can have something to compare against. She claimed she was there because Drakken had died?" Kim nodded. "Hopefully she comes up with something more creative when I speak to her, then."

"Huh?"

"Well, I haven't heard of the infamous doctor passing, and GJ has enough contacts in the criminal underworld to hear about something that big. We even have a few of his hideouts under 24 hour watch. It's more than fair to assume she was lying."

"I knew it. She was just there to settle a score. What did she do to Ron?"

"What do you mean, Kimberly?"

"Umm... well, the nurse, Miss Calenn, said Ron was had the worst injuries of all of us... and when I found Shego, she had been alone with Ron for almost an hour... I thought she had done something to him while I wasn't there."

"I'm not sure it's that simple, Miss Possible."

"I... don't understand..."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Well, I ran downstairs after Rufus told me Shego was in the kitchen with Ron. She was there, but Ron wasn't, so I tried to find out what she had done to him. I thought she might have hurt him. We yelled, and fought for a little while, then it all sort of goes black. I think I remember a blue flash and flying through the air, but I'm not sure... that doesn't make much sense..."

"Actually, that mostly agrees with what we saw on Mr Load's recording equipment and what was in Agent Du's post-action report, Kimberly. But, you were wrong about Shego hurting Ron."

"What? Then... what happened in that hour I wasn't with him? And if it wasn't Shego, why is he in intensive care?"

"From what we saw on the surveillance cameras, Ron was fine at the time you and Shego were engaged. Good enough, at least, to knock both of you out before someone was fatally hurt. We are as in the dark about what happened over the that hour as you are, however... Wade was... hesitant... to start his visual monitoring net until it became apparent something was wrong. As for why he is injured, we will have to ask him once he wakes up... we lost the video feed at the same time you were knocked unconscious." Betty paused, allowing the young heroine to take what she had said in, before continuing. "I have something of a strange question for you regarding that flash you noticed, though. Have you, on any of your missions when the situation is particularly dire, or other moments of extreme stress, ever noticed a... glowing aurora... around Ron? Even just for a split second? Or has it ever seemed that he was able to cross a distance faster than should be possible?"

"No..." Kim replied, not making the connection, "Why?"

"It won't make sense until I can show you the recording, and unfortunately I don't have a copy with me at the moment. In the mean time..." Dr Director stopped mid-sentence and turned to Miss Calenn. "Would it be alright if I had your patient come along with me to the questioning?"

"Well, personally I would rather she not be needlessly agitated. Having said that, I imagine keeping her bed-ridden would not help matters in that regard. If you're asking if medically she can handle a walk and a spirited conversation, I'd have to say yes. As long as the only thing flying between her and the prisoner are words."

"Of course, ma'am. Well, Miss Possible, do you feel up to coming along? I understand you are worried about Ron, but I assure you he is receiving the best care available, and I would appreciate having you there to confirm or deny any aspects of Shego's answers."

Once again, Kim nodded. She gingerly swung her legs out from under the sheets, and got to her feet. The nurse brought forth a pair of slippers and a robe, along with some pills.

"Just some light pain-killers to make life a little easier, dear."

Kim took them gratefully, and re-assured the kindly woman as she put on the extra articles of clothing. "Don't worry, Miss Calenn. If Shego feels anywhere near as bad as I do, there won't be any trouble."

(o) (O) (o)

Ron saw black. It wasn't a cold, impenetrable darkness though, more like the comfortable, quiet variety found in a theatre before the film began. In fact, Ron thought he might actually be at the movies. But, unlike that venue, that was all there was. For the longest time Ron waited for something to replace the void, hoping that Kim hadn't dragged him to another sappy chick flick and maybe he was about to see the new action extravaganza staring Pain King in his first non-wresting role. However, whenever he wondered about Kim, something told him she wasn't with him at the moment. But if not her, then who was he with? Felix maybe? No, that wasn't it either. Was Yori State-side? Definitely not. Who else was there, then? It wasn't Monique, or Tara, or Brick. Or Bonnie, but that wasn't really a surprise. Ron went through the short list of people he might find himself going out with, but none of the names seemed to fit. Now, that didn't make any sense at all. Why would he go to a show all by himself? The Ron-Man might have been something of a loner, but it wasn't that bad. He was about to ask Rufus when he realised that he too was not there. Now, that was impossible. Rufus would never forgive him if he had left him behind with all the delicious treats found in a cinema snack-stand.

The situation changing from just a sad statement about his social life to something that was almost completely unexplainable, Ron started searching for other holes. How did he get here? He didn't remember entering the theatre, nor did he remember getting there. In fact, he couldn't remember much of anything. It was all sort of a blur. Did he know what time it was? Something told him it was very late, or very, very early. For sure not during regular showing hours. And again, if he was at a theatre, where was the damn movie? Nothing pervaded his vision, not even the incessant advertisements that played on loop before the previews. He wasn't even sure he was sitting in a chair. His mind seemed to think so, but what felt like his body kept telling him it was more likely he was lying down. However, it was also saying that his eyes were closed, but he was sure they weren't. He wanted to get up, but had a hard time deciding if he should just stand or lean up into a sitting position first.

Ron was beginning to get frustrated. Even his brain and the rest of his anatomy couldn't agree on what was going on. Maybe if he just asked? The blonde didn't have any better ideas, so he breathed in and opened his mouth. But, an eruption of pain along his lower jaw stopped him from getting too far.

Oh wow, who hit me with the shovel? He thought as he instinctively placed his mouth back into a neutral position. That question, however, caught in his head, and immediately revised itself.

Was it Kim or Shego?

Then it all flooded back. Finding Shego on the doorstep, talking to the villainess without having anything broken, going to get bandages, finding out Rufus had told Kim he was in trouble, Kim telling Shego that Drakken was better off dead, throwing himself in between the sparring girls, receiving the iron-fisted punch straight to the mouth, and passing out without stopping Kim and Shego from hurting one another. The worry, no, terror he had felt at that thought returned, thrust him upward, and ripped his eyes open. He was met with a searingly bright blue light, and for a moment he thought he had reactivated the mystical monkey power. But once his eyes adjusted, he realised he was sitting in a hospital bed, the light provided by sterile surgical lamps.

Other than his jaw, Ron's body felt surprisingly unscathed. But, where he lacked pain the feeling that he had not slept in days made up for it. He had never felt so tired in his life, and between Kim's hobby and his game-adge, it wasn't as if all-nighters were an uncommon occurrence.

Ron looked around anxiously for either Kim or Shego, but found the room to have only one other occupant other than himself, and that person was a heavily bandaged male, asleep in an adjourning bed. Though gauze obscured a significant portion of his face, Ron recognised him as the soldier they had run into earlier that night.

The room's walls were bleach white, only offset by the mirror sheen of the stainless steel furnishings, and a wall of ceiling-to-floor windows. Outside that barrier was another room, which looked to be occupied by only a single, dark haired person, who was bent over a computer terminal.

Not nearly content to sit without knowing if his girlfriend and someone who's relationship with him had yet to be clearly defined but was nevertheless frighteningly strong were alright, Ron pulled himself out of the bed. He had to strip a full set of EKG monitoring probes from his chest, and withdraw an IV line to get moving, and as soon as he did, warnings that he had flat-lined began to tone. This seemed to similarly activate a siren in the adjourning chamber, and before his feet had touched the ground, Wil Du marched in, looking his usual over-starched, highly irritable self. Although... there was something slightly different in the way the older agent looked at him from over his upturned nose. Was it interest? A small measure of respect? Ron couldn't place it.

"And on the third day, he rose again." He said once he reached the middle of the room, crossing his arms and examining the blonde where he stood.

This time, Ron was prepared for the pain in his jaw, and managed to push the hot needles stabbing into his gums to the back of his mind.

"Where are Shego and Kim?"

"Interesting that you would phrase it like that. Why not Kim and Shego? Why Shego at all, for that matter."

"What are you talking about?"

A twist came to the agent's his lip, something that was vintage Du. He had something to say, and in his opinion, everyone in the room (namely Ron) would be far better people having heard it. "You know, Stoppable, I don't particularly like you."

So much for respect.

"You take nothing seriously, shrug off responsibilities, have no respect for authority, commit only minimum effort to anything you do... But, you have always struck me as loyal. Almost to the point where it becomes yet another fault. You have been more or less above criminal behaviour, at least when in your right mind. And in your relationship with Possible, hopeless childishness aside, you seem to have always put her first, treated her well enough to be considered a true friend. So, I am confused, and disappointed, to see you betraying all those things for someone as opportunistic and treacherous as Shego."

"Umm... lost you somewhere Willy... Betraying Kim? I think your collar might be cutting off the circulation to your brain."

"Granted, betrayal may be too strong a word." Wil amended with a slight nod. "But, if I were to ask you how many times you have... done whatever it was that you did... for Kim when she was in danger, how would you answer?"

"Whatever it was that I did?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Stoppable. You turned the kitchen into kindling with that blue-streak trick of yours, and put Shego, as well as Possible, in hospital. As you are well aware, those women are two exceedingly hard eggs to crack, but you about did them in in under 10 seconds. I'm just wondering why we've never seen this before. Why, in all the times that you and Possible have been captured, held literally an inch from death with the world hanging in the balance, you've never decided it was time to start glowing and take care of business."

Start glowing? Ron thought feeling himself sweating slightly, even as his concern for the two women was partially put to rest. They saw the MMP in action? Not good, Ron-Man, not good...

The mystical monkey power was on its own hard enough to explain; when you add the promise of secrecy he had given Master Sensei about the Yaminouchi school, which was really impossible to avoid in any serious attempt to clarify just what the MMP was, this revelation would be unbelievably difficult to elucidate, and it's discovery would have serious ramifications. And that was assuming he could explain what had happened. The mystical monkey power had emphasis on mystical, and what Wil had described was beyond anything he had ever experienced or learned about while in training in Japan. It didn't help matters that he didn't even remember what had transpired after being knocked out.

"I'm waiting, Stoppable."

"Look, Agent Du, I can't really explain..."

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice. You can come clean now, or I can have you arrested and we can try again in an interrogation room."

"Arrested?!"

"Absolutely. You and your girlfriend are so eager to play agents, you should have the same responsibilities. And one of those is doing everything in your power to protect international security and the civilian population of the world. Who knows how much unnecessary damage and suffering has been a result of you keeping this to yourself? That's dereliction of duty and negligence. And then there's the matter of interfering in the apprehension of wanted criminal, after failing to turn her in."

Ron gaped at Wil, horrified at what the agent was suggesting. Du's expression didn't betray any indication of humour, even the twisted variety that making such claims would require; indeed, the black haired man seemed completely serious about formally charging him. Ron didn't know whether or not this was an official stance, nor was he knowledgeable enough about law to tell if those allegations would be supportable in court or not, though something in the back of his head told him that silence was his best option, at least for now. If Dr Director made the same demands, then he would have to seriously consider his choices, but until he met with her, Ron decided to follow that prodding. Du seemed to catch on, and smirked.

"Pleading the 5th, huh?" the agent snorted. "Cute, Stoppable. We'll see how long that lasts..." Before Wil could complete his threat, a third voice rang out from the other side of the room, snapping up the attention of both men.

"Could you turn that damn noise of, Sarge? Some of us are trying to sleep." Croaked the bandaged time-portal soldier, rolling over in the bed to face the source of the noise, Ron's still beeping life-monitor. Once he had a moment to look around, he looked directly at Wil and Ron, his face oscillated between confusion, distaste, distrust and fear.

"Aren't you two a little young to be working for the ICC?" he asked after a moment.

"ICC?" Ron replied, not recognizing the acronym, glancing to his side at Wil. The agent paid no heed to the blonde however, having brought a comm. device from his belt to his ear. Before the soldier could reply to Ron's monogrammatical ponderance, a team of doctors rushed into from the hall, gathering around the man, effectively cutting him off from the rest of the room. He looked back at Wil, who was now treading stiffly into the antechamber. The blonde followed, catching Du as he contacted Betty on the terminal he had been sitting at before.

"Dr Director, this is Agent Du. William Doe has woken up. The neurologist and his team are looking after him now."

"Good work, Du. After the doctor's clear him, Captain Mason will begin the debriefing. What about Mr Stoppable?"

"I'm right here, Dr Director." Ron spoke, raising his hand slightly stepping up so he was in the camera's field of view. He wasn't sure if his suspicious were founded, but he wanted to make sure that Wil didn't conveniently forget that he had too regained consciousness. The brunette smiled slightly in seeing him.

"It's good to see you up and about, Ronald. Our doctors weren't able to make much of a diagnosis on you when you came in, so you should count yourself lucky you're body was able to resolve its issues on its own. I'm sure you have quite an explanation for just what it was that you did, but that can wait. Agent Du, please get Mr Stoppable some proper clothing, and meet me in Questioning Room B9-117. Dr Director out."

Du twisted his head after his commander signed off, as if he was physically struck. Whatever attempts at applying leverage against the blonde were ruined by Betty's cordiality towards the young man.

Without so much as a fleeting glance, the older man stood, walked to a wall-mounted cupboard and withdrew a pair of cover-alls. He wrapped them around a pair of slip-on flats, and abruptly tossed them to Ron, who was at the moment trying to beat down a fierce blush that had appeared at the realisation he had been talking to the Global Justice matriarch in nothing but his Fearless Ferret boxers. Wil barely spared the blonde the time to put the jumpsuit before exiting the room, leaving Ron to hop after him as he put on the shoes.

"What was he talking about? I've never heard of the ICC." Ron asked once he had caught up to his guide.

"I wouldn't expect you to, Stoppable. It stands for International Chamber of Commerce. Don't pay too much attention to that though, it's just nonsense."

"What makes you say that?"

"The ICC is an economic board; not a thing to do with the military."

(o) (O) (o)

Just as it had made Ron's kind gesture physically trivial, Shego's glow power had ensured even a Class 3 concussion couldn't keep her down for much more than one hour. When Ron had thrown up the MMP energy field, the villainess had be thrown into the Possible's booth table, her legs catching on the top and whipping her head into the far edge, where it struck right in the cleft where the spine meets the brain. Because of the mechanics of this, while she had been thrown at the same speed as Kim had been, her concussion was much more serious, and had she been a regular human being, she wouldn't be awake so soon, nor would she be this lucid for many days after.

When she woke, the green woman's memories of when, what, and the most likely where regarding her situation were almost completely intact, and therefore she remained still, maintained her breathing pattern, and warily explored her surroundings, cracking one eye ever so slightly and gently tugging her extremities. She wasn't certain of the how she got into this position at the moment, but she trusted that that would reveal itself in time.

Her accommodations were similar to both of the hero's, less the fact that she was under armed guard, and shackled, her hands bound inside a device that looked like a combination of hand cuffs and a pair of fish bowls. Her palms were each sealed within a separate globe made of some transparent polymer, clamped around her wrists by padded, but solid looking clasps. It took only a second to confirm that the apparatus completely suppressed the more visual aspects of her powers, which both impressed and angered the villainess. Up until now GJ had depended almost exclusively on extremely thick, heat resistant walls to keep her in line, and she was at the same time intrigued by the new challenge this leap might entail, and furious that it.

In addition to dousing her plasma powers, the device beeped audibly when she tested its capabilities, alerting the guards to her arousal despite the lengths she took to seem inert after her return to consciousness. Subterfuge failing, Shego sighed and opened her eyes fully, scooting into a sitting position, and glaring at the men watching her. They snapped-to instantly, tightening up on their stun rifles, eyeing her suspiciously for a moment before one of them signalled a physician. Then, with trained caution and vigilance, the agents approached, training said stun weapons on her as they flanked the doctor.

The grizzled older man had a military look to him, his wrinkled cheeks clean shaven and his gray hair cut into a tight flattop, exhibiting neither fear nor distaste as he examined her. He had the air of someone who had treated both ally and enemy over the years and had long discarded the distinction between them. He looked vaguely familiar, but the woman could not identify his name, or when she had met him before.

After he seated himself at eye level with her, the doctor silently checked her over, starting with her iris reactivity, next checking for signs of swelling in her head by rubbing both her temples and the base of her skull with his fore and middle fingers, while watching for any signs of pain. Then he gently probed several points on her skin that, from his insistence on them, she assumed had bore bruises or cuts a short while before. Apparently satisfied, he grasped her lower wrist and took a pulse. At the same time, he asked her diagnostic questions in a gravelly, business-like voice.

"What day is it?"

"May 25."

"How many fingers?"

"Four."

"And now?"

"Two."

"The vice president is?"

"Not the world's best hunter."

"What's your name?"

"Nice try Doc."

"Well, the stuff upstairs seems to check out." He said, backing off and making notes on a clipboard he carried. "You know, every time you come in here, I think I've seen the limit of what your powers can do. And every time you give me enough new material to write another medical journal."

Shego remained quiet, staring at the elderly man strangely.

"I don't expect you to remember me," he continued, looking up only long enough to see the look on her face, "most the time I see you you're up to your eyeballs in sedatives and tranquilizers. But sufficient to say, had you been a regular woman with a regular life, I would qualify to be your family doctor. I'd like to say I've treated all the wound's you've sustained while being brought into custody, but your body usually doesn't give me much time to actually do anything. So it be more accurate to say I've catalogued them."

"Well, I'd shake your hand, Doc, but, I'm sort of tied up at the moment..." the young woman quipped, lifting her hands palms up inside their bindings.

"Might want to hold off there, those cuffs were built to my specifications." He said absentmindedly, clicking his pen closed and turning to the nearest agent. "She's ready for questioning. I believe Dr Director had B9-117 set aside for her. Remember, don't depend on the shackles alone."

The four agents then escorted the green villainess out of the ward to an elevator, moving her through a maze of corridors, and eventually through a pair of heavy, windowless doors into the interrogation room. It was furnished in exactly the way you might expect, a single table with armless chairs centered in the middle of an otherwise empty room. One wall was taken up by a two way mirror, the others were padded with a dark grey foam. One of the agents directed her to sit on the single chair on the left side of the table. She complied without comment, and the agent, along with a partner stood themselves at the door. The other two left the room, Shego guessed to stand outside the door in the same way their compatriots did inside.

And so she sat in silence for several minutes, not even able to twiddle her thumbs for entertainment, until the door swung open, allowing Dr Betty Director and Kim Possible into the room. The two generations of hero, one before hers and one almost the same, sat on the opposite side of the table, Betty placing a stack of folders to the right of where she eventually rested her loosely knitted hands. Kim painfully lowered herself into the chair next to the director, and glared at her nemesis, a gesture Shego gladly reciprocated.

"Welcome back to Global Justice Headquarters, Ms Go." Dr Director began, "I trust my medical staff has seen to any pressing injuries?"

"Yeah, that old battlewagon you call a doctor looked me over. What about poor Kimmie though? She looks terrible; even worse than usual." Shego replied, shifting her glance to Dr Director. Though she had broken off eye contact, she could sense Kim had maintained her end of the stare-down, and was grinding her teeth after her jab.

"Miss Possible is fine. Now, before we begin, can I get you anything to make you more comfortable? Something to drink perhaps?"

"Okay, Dr Director. Can I have lime Kool-Aid with a big loopy straw?" Shego snorted immediately at the suggestion, jingling the bulbous devices slung on her wrists before the senior agent. Betty's expression didn't change, even as Shego saw Kim's eyes bulged in her head through her peripheral vision, and she continued.

"Very well. I was going to offer to have those cuff's removed, but as you are relaxed enough for sarcasm, I think we can begin the questioning. You are more than aware of your rights, and the list of charges against you is too long to review before sun-up, so I'll forgo reading those articles. Can I assume you will waive the right to a phone call and legal representation, as per usual?" The green villainess nodded.

"Still can't stand lawyers."

"Then let's start at the beginning, shall we? What are the details of Dr Drakken's most recent criminal action, pertinent to the goals and method he intended to apply to reach these goals?"

"Kimmie was there for the rant. Why don't you ask her?"

"I have, but Kimberly does not have many of the technical details I require."

"And why should I tell you anything?"

"If you are forthcoming now, I can make certain accommodations to your upcoming incarceration."

"What sort of accommodations?"

"This is a one-time offer, Ms Go." Betty replied, flipping the cover off of a PDA. "The assistance you extend by co-operating us in good-faith is part of the deal. Now, proceed. And bear in mind Kimberly is here to confirm or deny what she can about your story. What she can't will come to light after the forensic investigation of the lair."

Not much point keeping tight lipped. Shego thought. Might as well make this stay as comfortable as I can.

"He was going to try and destroy the world economy by travelling back in time and introducing fast food a couple decades early. The methods included a time machine and a large bag of Nacos."

"Where was the technology required for this plan acquired?" Dr Director continued, jotting down the response with her stylus.

"Well, I imagine the Nacos would have come from Bueno Nacho. As for the time machine, I think that was all Dr D for once." Shego said, slipping in her recovered composure as she dipped her head slightly. Dr Director didn't react visibly, though the villainess wouldn't stake very good odds at the brunette missing even that minor cue. Kim, however, overlooked it as she stifled a sneeze that sounded suspiciously like "Yea, right."

"Can you explain what occurred after the time machine malfunctioned?"

"You mean that guy in the camo? You got me. I didn't build the thing, Dr D did. And even if he was still alive, I doubt he could tell you exactly what happened. Like your doctor said, my powers, and everything they touch, tend to repel from the explainable."

"So you maintain that Dr Drakken is dead?" Betty asked, looking up.

"You sound surprised, Dr Director." Shego pointed out glibly.

"She didn't think you'd be dumb enough to tell the same lame lie twice, Shego." Kim laughed caustically, rolling her eyes. Shego tensed, setting the glow power suppression warning off on her restraints. Seeking to keep nurse Calenn's warning in Kim's mind, Dr Director touched the agitated young woman's shoulder, to quiet her, before turning back to the subject of the inquiry.

"You may not think much of Global Justice, Miss Go, but please give us more credit than missing the death of the criminal underworlds most notorious names."

"Well, this interview isn't building any respect your organization, Dr Director." Shego taunted indignantly, "I saw it happen over one of your surveillance drones."

"I'm afraid I have no reports as such, Miss Go."

"Well, that certainly says something about who you have working here, doesn't it ma'am?"

"Give it up Shego. No one believes your bogus story." Kim blurted, the more-significant-than-usual effect of Shego's presence carrying over from earlier that morning. The criticism of one of someone who was a personal role model and hero, not to mention one of the world's most renowned humanitarians, kept stressing the teen's control over her emotions. Once again, Dr Director had to calm her down. This time Shego paid it no attention, continuing on with the conversation with the elder woman.

"Look, Dr Director, I'm trying to be compliant. So far I haven't lied, why would I press this issue? What do I have to gain? Assault and kidnapping aren't exactly big ticket offences for me, how does covering for some half cocked revenge plot make any sense?"

"Even if we grant you Dr Drakken's death, what would compel you go to Kimberly's home? Surely you would have expected the hostile reaction you received from Kim and... Ron..."

Before the brunette could complete her thought, the door was pushed open again, and Ron and Wil Du entered. Kim, completely forgetting about Shego, leapt from her chair and threw her arms around her boyfriend.

"Ron! You're okay!" the cheerleader squealed between sobs and giggles of joy, "I'm so, so, so sorry for leaving you alone downstairs. What happened? Did Shego hurt you?"

"It's okay KP. I'm fine. Shego didn't do anything to me, she just wanted to talk." Ron cooed, pulling Kim's head away from his shoulder and smoothing her auburn locks.

"What?"

"See, no damage, KP. At least not because of her. She's had a rough night too." he looked over at the raven haired women sitting on the far side of the table.

"Are you okay, Shego?"

The villainess kept her face schooled, but smiled to herself internally.

"Do I look okay, Stoppable?"

Ron chuckled to himself, then nodded towards Dr Director as he released Kim from his hug. The redhead was at a loss for words, glancing between Ron, Shego, and Dr Director.

"But... then..."

"It seems that Miss Go has been more truthful than we thought." Dr Director said warily, "However, I am still sceptical about the final piece of your story. We should be able to resolve that right now. Agent Du, you were on surveillance duty earlier tonight. What can you tell me about the status of Dr Drakken?"

At the mention of Drakken, Du, who had been standing near the door, stiffened sharply, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Betty snapped her head towards her field agent, glaring at him.

"Agent William H. Du, is Ms Go telling the truth about Dr Lipski's death?" Dr Director demanded, her voice cracking, the only time she had expressed any unbridled emotion for the entire interview. Du had completely lost the smug look that constantly adorned his face, and failed to meet his employer's eyes as he answered.

"Monitoring in southern Colorado detected a large explosion in one of Dr Drakken's labs. It is... likely that he was inside the building at the time."

Silence reined in the room as all eyes swung from Du back to the villainess; sombre re-affirmation from Ron and Shego, shock and horror from Kim and Dr Director. After a few long moments, Shego refocused on her nemesis, holding no guise of victory, superiority, even distaste on her suddenly older looking features.

"Are you happy now, Princess?"

I know this chapter wasn't particularly exciting. I'm trying to wind down Act I, but there's one ore two more surprises left in the next chapter, so stay tuned.