Dream Team
chapter 6
Kim looked at the foreboding structure of the mental hospital with some apprehension. Being the daughter of a world famous neurosurgeon you would be forgiven for assuming she must well be used to such places and be at ease in them. But she wasn't and never was.
Hospitals of any type made her nervous and uneasy.
And this place was one of the worst Kim had ever experienced.
Some hospitals went in for calming paint schemes and comforting floral arrangements near the front entrances. Not this place.
It was cold. It was decidedly unfriendly looking and a bell tower rising slightly off center from one wing of the hospital only made it seem somehow ominous and accusing to Kim. As if the stone 'finger' reaching up towards the sky was making a rude gesture at the heavens above.
Ron had moved slightly forward of the group, no doubt to chivalrously open the front entrance doors for the ladies in his life and without Ron right by her side Kim felt even more nervous. Trying to shake her unease she glanced over at Shego walking beside her.
Kim was shocked at the look on Shego's face. Shego's light olive colored skin had paled to a sickly looking light mint color and she was trembling.
"Shego?" Kim called out. This drew Ron's attention who stopped just in front of the doors and turned to look back at the women.
Shego seemingly lost in her own world would have continued to walk forward and may have even walked into the doors if Kim had not reached out a hand an placed it on her arm when she called out.
Shego glanced up sharply at Kim and then with a slight jerking motion she looked over at Ron. "I'm fine!" She snapped.
Ron frowned as he noticed the stiff jerky movements and Shego's wild staring eyes. Far too much of the white of Shego's eyes were showing and her movements reminded Ron of a desperate animal struggling to not make a break and run for it's freedom.
Folding his arms he spoke. "What's wrong Shego?"
"Nothing. I'm fine. Let's get this over with." Shego snapped.
Kim could see Ron had on what he called his 'serious face' and made no motion to move out of Shego's way or to open the doors they were now standing in front of. Shego matched his serious expression with a glare of her own for a few moments before she dropped her head and sighed.
"I'm not overly fond of hospitals, okay?" Shego stated in slightly more than a whisper. Slightly louder she added. "And we're wasting time! That Krueger person could be hurting someone else while we waste time so let's get it in gear!"
Ron's serious face grew even more serious. "You know what? I don't care."
Both Kim and Shego glanced up in surprise at his declaration. But before they could ask for an explanation he began talking again.
"Someone I care deeply about is obviously hurting and I want to know why and what I can do about it." Ron stated firmly.
Shego's voice dropped back to barely above a whisper. "It happened a long time ago and there is nothing you can do about it now Ronnie. Just drop it okay?" She asked tilting her head slightly to the side to glance over at him from the corner of an eye. But to her annoyance she noticed he did not move or drop his arms from their crossed position over his chest.
Shego sighed once again but then with a half shrug she began to explain.
"When the meteor that gave me and my brothers our powers crashed into our home, it didn't give us our powers immediately. I mean it wasn't one moment we were normal people living normal little lives and the next we were super heroes. The effects were gradual in revealing themselves." Shego grimaced. "Well except for my weird skin color. That was immediate. When they pulled us out of the wreckage of the tree house that me and my brothers were in, that was evident. For the longest time I had to fight to try and convince the rescue team that I hadn't somehow dyed my skin this color and it was some kind of reaction to accident.
Weeks after the..." Shego swallowed. "Meteor that killed our parents, I was back in school. Some lame social worker thought that was the way to help us kids to get over the deaths of our parents. Hego was old enough the state was considering letting him raise the rest of us rather than break up our family and scattering us in foster homes."
Kim placed an arm around Shego's waist and gave her a semi-hug. Shego didn't acknowledge the hug but continued to stare forward at the ground as she was lost in her memories. "The children at school, even though they knew that I had lost my parents kept teasing me about my new skin color. They were cruel and merciless. I tried to ignore them but one day after being picked on constantly by this perfect cheerleader queen bee of our school I lost my cool." Shego gave a half laugh that instead of sounding mirthful was more anguished than anything else. "I lost my cool." She repeated. "Literally. My plasma powers kicked in for the very first time. The 'queen bee' was badly burned." Shego gave a shrug. "I didn't even mean for her to be hurt. I just wanted her to leave me alone."
Shego glanced up at Ron and Kim. "Okay, long story short. The school didn't believe my explanation of strange green flames bursting from my hands. They thought I somehow had burned the cheerleader using normal means, so they tossed me into a mental ward to 'help me through my arson ways.' And that's it!"
Ron unfolded his arms and reaching out he placed them on Shego's shoulder. Managing to draw her gaze up to his he stared into her eyes for a moment. "There's more to it than that isn't there? What happened in the hospital?"
Shego's eyes grew wide in alarm. Why did Ron have to be so damn empathic and be able to see into her soul, into what she was desperately trying to hide?
She could have easily broken Ron and Kim's grasp of her and brushed past them. Or she could have let her plasma flare, just the tiniest bit to make them let go of her, but she knew either way Ron and Kim would have been hurt and not physically but emotionally. She could lose their trust. She might just lose their respect. Possibly she could even lose their companionship and love and for once in her life Shego wanted to hold on to that more than she ever wanted anything in her life.
"I was about Kim's age when this happened." Shego said as she stare at Ron's chest rather than look into his eyes. "Even with my funky weird colored skin I was still fairly attractive and because the hospital thought I was violent, maybe even suicidal they kept me restrained to my bed." Shego grimaced.
"There was an intern in the hospital. Evidently he thought a pretty young girl tied to a bed was an open invitation..." Shego hearing a growl glanced up and saw Ron's eyes glowing blue.
"Calm down Ronnie. It was a long time ago and he got a surprise anyway. The first time he felt me up I was scared and shocked but a doctor was making his rounds so that was the only thing the guy tried.
I tried to tell anyone who would listen what happened but they wouldn't believe a nutjob's word over an intern's. The second night he came into my room he planned..." Shego swallowed. "Well he planned on doing more than just a quick feel up but my plasma powers kicked in." Shego allowed just the slightest of smirks to appear on her face. "He told me that night I would warm up to him in the end. He just didn't know how warm I could be." The smirk disappeared a moment later. "Anyway, after that incident and my powers coming through more and more often they had to accept I hadn't been lying about the accidental student fire and they had to let me go. But that is why hospitals make me uneasy."
The glow around Ron's eyes didn't diminish any. "Do you remember what that intern's name was?" He asked in a far too casual voice.
Shego actually smiled. "No, and I wouldn't tell you even if I did remember. You don't need to go around and beat up on all the people who treated me like trash when I was growing up."
The glow in Ron's eyes started to fade slightly.
"But just the fact that you are willing to means a lot to me." Shego added and grabbing a hold of his arms she pulled him to her and kissed him deeply. "Okay lets get in there and talk to this Nancy person and figure out a way to stop Krueger." She said as she side stepped around Ron who now had a goofy smile on his face from her kiss. Shego heard Kim whispering to Ron. "We'll have Wade find out who that intern was and we'll look him up and both have a few 'words' with him later."
"Princess." Shego said in a warning tone as she turned to look back at her and Ron. "You two are not going to go around strong arming people on my account. You'll have Dr. Director thinking I'm bad influence."
Ron raced up the last few steps to stand beside Shego and opened the glass door for them. "Ladies first."
Shego with a final deep breath nodded her head and stepped into the lobby of the mental hospital, with Kim a few paces behind her.
The cold, gray building wasn't much cozier inside than it was outside. A short worn out carpeted hallway lead to a large receptionist desk behind which a woman dressed in a nurse's outfit was filing her nails. The nurse had short dirty blond looking hair, an overly developed chest that was barely covered by a straining nurse's blouse and a look of utter boredom on her face.
For just a brief moment Shego felt a moment of nostalgia remembering her times with Dr. Drakken when she used to be bored out of her mind and would be filing her nails the same way.
The nurse glanced up and then did a double take as she rose to her feet.
"Aren't you?..." She asked and Shego readied herself to once again explain she was no longer the wanted criminal that 60 minutes had done an expose on. "Kim Possible?" The nurse finished and Shego felt oddly slighted that the woman had recognized Kim and not her.
"Have we met?" Kim asked.
"Um, no not personally. You saved my sister's Chinchilla ranch a year ago from a flood. You remember? It was in Wisconsin."
Shego turned slightly to glance at Ron who was bringing up the rear. "A Chinchilla ranch in Wisconsin?" She mouthed to him.
Ron just grinned and gave a shrug.
"Oh yeah! I remember that." Kim replied for her and Ron. "Ron and Rufus herded the Chinchillas out of danger while I used a hubcap from a truck to cause a rock slide and block the flood redirecting it to a empty field where it was harmless."
Shego continued to stare at Ron and silently mouthed. "A hubcap?"
Ron in a low voice explained to her that Kim threw it like a chakram like that warrior woman from a certain tv series used to do.
Kim gave a slight smile. "I have many talents."
"And you two did this all the time between the times you stopped Dr. Drakken and me?" Shego quietly asked Ron.
Ron gave another sheepish shrug.
The nurse finally took notice of the whispering Ron and Shego. "My sister never mentioned you." She said pointing at Ron.
"I couldn't have done it without Ron and Rufus." Kim quickly said.
"Yeah my sister mentioned the mole rat Rufus. She just never mentioned him."
Ron quietly sighed before looking down at his pocket. "Hey Rufus? Someone remembered you this time."
Rufus stuck his head up out of the flap of Ron's pocket and grinned at the receptionist and threw her a thumbs up before ducking back down in the pocket.
The woman smiled at Rufus and then took a good look at Shego. She stepped back slightly. "Aren't you that criminal?"
Shego gave one of her best smiles. "No. But I get told I look like her all the time."
The nurse blinked but then replied in a offhanded way. "It must be terrible to look like someone who is scum of the earth."
Shego's eyes widened slightly and she curled her hands into fists. It took all her restraint not to fire up her plasma energy and toast the woman before her. The old Shego wouldn't have hesitated but the Shego who was now partners with Ron and Kim just gritted her teeth.
After all she really couldn't deny what the woman was saying. She had been close to scum with some of the things she had done in her past.
Shego relaxed slightly as she felt Ron's arm as he gave her a gentle squeeze.
"What can I do for you Miss Possible?" The nurse said dismissing Shego and turning her attention back to the famous heroine in front of her.
"We would like to visit Nancy Thompson."
"Are you friends of the family?" The nurse asked reaching down to her desk and picking up a clipboard. Ron noted that the clipboard had nothing on it and figured the woman was just using it as a prop to look official.
"Well, not really friends of the family..." Kim began.
"We're more just friends of Nancy." Shego inserted.
The nurse frowned slightly and looked over at Shego and Ron.
"Yeah, that's right. Friends of Nancy." Ron said a little too fast. Shego inwardly grimaced. She had to work on that boy's lying abilities.
As if sensing Shego's frustration with him, Ron a little slower and more calmly added. "Kim and Mr. Thompson don't get along too well. Must be the heroine vs police officer thing. Kim gets that a lot from law enforcement people. They think she should just leave everything to them and Kim thinks it is up to everyone to try and do what they can to make this a better world."
The nurse's frown disappeared to be replaced with a sympathetic smile towards Kim. "I understand. Well then I'll just let you visit with Nancy and we won't tell Officer Thompson about it. He's been very tense with what has happened lately, no sense in upsetting him any more than we have to is there?"
Kim managed a smile. "Oh I agree totally. No sense upsetting him with our just dropping by for a brief visit with Nancy."
The nurse nodded and gestured for them to follow her. "We do ask that you try not to mention any of the unpleasant things that have happened recently. We are trying to keep Nancy calm and help her deal with the mysterious and horrific death of her boyfriend."
Kim nodded even though the nurse was in the lead and not looking at her. Behind Kim, Shego and Ron walked side by side. Shego casting nervous glances at the doors as they passed them. She couldn't but help wonder what the rooms were like. Would they be the stereotypical padded walls that you see in the movies about insane asylums or would they be like the hospital she had been confined in as a teenager? Cold sterile room with a hospital bed in the center of the room with a person strapped down just waiting for someone, anyone to come in and...
Shego shuddered violently and felt Ron's arm tighten around her waist once again.
"Ah. Here we go. Room 101. Nancy is inside. I can give you about ten minutes but then you'll have to leave. If you had gotten here earlier you could have visited longer but as it is visitor hours are almost over with." The nurse stated.
Kim was worried that the nurse planned to listen in on their conversation with Nancy Thompson and how could they explain what they had to discuss but to her immense relief the nurse nodded at her and then turned to go back to her desk.
Taking a deep breath Kim turned the doorknob and pushed open the door.
To Kim's surprise and Shego's relief the room turned out to look almost like a hotel room. There were no padded walls and while no one could claim the room was 'homey' it wasn't as sparse or sterile as Shego had feared it would be. The young woman in the room wasn't tied to a hospital bed but instead was sitting propped up in what looked like a normal looking bed. A side table with a lamp was sitting next to the bed and in the far corner of the room a old fashion looking TV was sitting.
Kim, Ron and Shego instantly recognized Nancy from the sleep clinic video even though she now had a gray stripe in her hair.
Nancy blinked at them a few times.
"I know you." She finally said. "You are Kim Possible."
Kim nodded and turned to introduce her friends.
"And you are Ron Stoppable aren't you?" Nancy asked looking over at Ron.
Ron was nearly speechless. Finally he replied. "Booyah! Someone finally remembered my name!"
"Well of course I remember your name. You were on the news with Kim a while back for stopping some little guy's plan to brainwash people into making him emperor." Nancy replied.
"Professor Dementor. I remember that mission." Ron replied. "Dementor created some kind of juice that made dogs bite and through their bites they passed on a chemical that made people obey."
Nancy looked curiously at him. "How did Kim and you stop him?"
Ron gave a half shrug. "The juice smelled and tasted so foul Dementor had a hard time getting dogs to drink it. He was using henchmen to try and force them to drink it. Me and Kim just dropped in and opened the cages and the dogs instantly turned on him and his henchmen."
"It was no big." Kim added.
Nancy glanced over at Shego and looked puzzled. "I'm sorry but I don't know you."
For once on this trip Shego was pleasantly surprised. "The name is Shego. You haven't heard of me?"
Nancy shook her head. "The name sounds familiar but I can't place it. I'm pleased to meet you all but why are you here to see me?"
"I think you know why." Shego stated.
Kim moved closer to Nancy's bed to try explain.
But Nancy's eyes narrowed as she studied them all for a moment. "You've seen him, haven't you?"
Kim wanted to say, 'seen who?' She wasn't going to lie to the young woman but she wanted to ease into it. After all Nancy was in a mental ward! She didn't want to drive the poor girl over the edge but before she could reply Ron was already nodding his head.
Nancy's head drooped and for a moment Kim was afraid she was going to start crying.
"I knew when they told me that I was dreaming and it never happened they were lying." Nancy muttered to herself but they all heard her.
Shego hurried to the bed and practically pushed Kim out of the way. "I don't want to be insensitive but that Freddy guy has shown up in all our dreams." She said gesturing at Kim and Ron as well as herself. "We have to figure out someway to stop him before someone else is killed."
Nancy with tears in her eyes shook her head. "I don't know how to stop him! I thought I had figured it out. Draw him out of the dreamworld into our world and capture him but it didn't work!"
Kim nudged Shego out of the way. "What happened that night. We need to know. Maybe we can figure out something."
Nancy turned her face in their direction but it was obvious from her eyes she was miles away. "I made plans with Glen. I was to sleep and find Freddy in the dreamworld and grab hold of him and Glen was going to wake me up allowing me to drag Freddy into our world..."
"But Freddy killed Glen before you went after him." Shego stated.
Nancy eyes reflected pure agony but she nodded her head. "It was at that point I knew it was all or nothing. If I succeeded Freddy would be dead or captured and if I lost? Well I knew what that meant."
Shego pointedly looked around the room. "Again I don't want to seem cruel but why didn't it? I mean Freddy escaped from you and you are still alive. Why?"
"Shego." Kim said in a little annoyance.
Nancy for her part merely glanced up and gave a helpless shrug. "I can only tell you what happened that night. I did manage to pull Freddy from the dreamworld into ours. After struggling with him briefly I managed to run downstairs and lead Freddy to some booby traps I had set up for him. They worked but only made Freddy madder. I tricked him down to the basement where I set fire to him and then escaped. I locked him in the basement and called for help."
Nancy was quiet for a moment.
Ron continued where she left off. "I talked to one of your father's deputies. He says they broke down your front door and found the basement on fire. He also tells me that there were flaming footsteps leading back upstairs."
Nancy sadly nodded. "I ran upstairs following them with my father at my side. When we reached my mother's room we could see someone was under the covers. Pulling them off we saw a burnt skeleton of my mother slowly sinking down into the mattress..." Nancy stopped and began sobbing.
Ron's eyes grew wide. "I understand now. A sleeping Nancy pulled Krueger out of the dreamworld by holding on to him when she woke herself up, so to get back to the dreamworld Freddy had to find someone asleep and use them as a gateway back."
Nancy looked up sharply at him in horror. "Are you saying that it is my fault my mother died?"
Ron stepped back. "Um, no. I was just saying I understand how Freddy crosses back and forth..."
"Take it easy on Ron! Its not his fault that Freddy killed your mother!" Shego leapt to Ron's defense.
Kim placed a hand on Nancy's arm. "Its not your fault either." She told Nancy. "Freddy can jump between people's dreams as easily as we can cross a room. What makes you think he wasn't going to kill your mother sooner or later anyway? Who knows why or how he picks his victims?"
"I know." Nancy quietly said. "My mother explained it to me, although at the time she didn't realize it. You see Krueger was a child molester / murderer several years back. Due to some legal foul up the courts released him..."
Kim wanted to tell Nancy that they found that out but before she could Nancy continued.
"My mother told me that the parents of the children dead and those that had children living chased Krueger down to an abandoned factory where he took his victims. There they burned him to death."
Shego stared at her. "Are you sure they burned him to death? I mean how can he come back, even if it is just in dreams if he is dead?"
Nancy nodded her head. "My mother showed me in our furnace at home, she had his knife glove. She took it from the body herself."
"This is just getting too weird." Ron muttered. Sticking his head out of Ron's pocket Rufus nodded his little head and squeaked "Weird."
"Okay." Kim said as if trying to get back on track. "If Krueger figured out someway to come back from the dead to seek revenge, why not attack the parents that killed him? Why pick on their kids?"
"Because he's a sick fu..." Shego started to reply.
"Shego!" Kim snapped. "Not helpful." To herself Kim muttered. "Even if it is true." To Nancy, Kim said. "You were explaining what happened that night. You saw Krueger take your mother. What happened next?"
"My dad stepped out of the room and I started to when I could sense Krueger behind me. Without turning around I told him I knew I was dreaming and I was taking his power over me back and I wanted my mother and my friends back. I heard Krueger yell but when I turned around he was gone. I thought I had won. I went outside the bedroom and my father rushed me to his car. We drove here and they gave me an injection even though I fought against it.
Suddenly I found myself back at home with my mother and we were talking about how well we slept. Mom said she was going to give up drinking. My friends arrived in a beat up convertible with the top down. I got in and the top started to close on the car. It was this ugly red and green stripe pattern."
Kim's eyes grew wide as she remembered the upholstery in the cab as Nancy continued with her tale.
"The car started to drive off as I freaked out and beat on the window. The rest of my friends in the car were doing the same. Just as we were almost out of sight I saw Krueger's arm come through the door of my house and pull my mother inside.
I started screaming and screaming and suddenly woke in this bed."
"But that was a few days ago. Hasn't Krueger attacked you since then? Surely you have slept since then?" Shego asked her.
Nancy shook her head. "After that last nightmare the staff here started giving me a drug called Hypnocil."
Kim already had the Kimmunicator out. "Wade?"
"Got it. Hypnocil is a new experimental drug that suppresses the brain's ability to dream. Its very cutting edge. Only a few places in the entire world are experimenting using it to help people suffering from 'night terrors'."
"Well now at least we know why Nancy is still alive. If she can't dream, Krueger can't get to her." Shego stated.
Ron smacked his hand with his fist. "That's how we'll beat Krueger. We can just get everyone to take this Hyposilly and poof no problem!"
"Ron that won't work." Wade stated. "Hypnocil is extremely rare and hard to get. I doubt if that institute you are in has more than what they are giving their patients and even if we could get a ready supply of it, how would you convince everyone in the world to take it? As far as we know if there is only one dreaming person in the world Krueger can use them as a gateway."
Ron visibly deflated.
"Well we're right back where we started." Shego said folding her arms across her chest. "We now know a bit more than we did but we're still no closer to stopping this Krueger character." Shego reached out and pulled Kim's arm holding the Kimmunicator so she could look at Wade on the screen. "Any ideas Genius?"
Wade frowned but had to shake his head no. "A burnt dead killer coming back in dreams? I don't think modern science is equipped to handle something like this."
"Then that leaves the mystical world." Shego said. Together with Kim they both looked over at Ron.
Ron glanced behind him and then looked down at Rufus. "Are they talking about us?"
Rufus shrugged.
"You're the one with the mystical monkey power thing." Shego stated. "Anyway it can help?"
Ron started to shake his head no when he suddenly paused. "Um, maybe. I need to meditate to see."
Kim immediately looked nervous. "Are you crazy?"
"Now Kim meditation is not like sleeping. They are totally different. At least that is what Sensei used to tell me all the time back in Japan."
"Sensei? Japan?" Shego asked looking at Kim.
"We'll explain it later." Kim replied distractedly. To Ron she said. "Are you sure Ron? Krueger can't get to you if you are just meditating?"
"Absolutely positive." Ron stated confidently. "Well, nearly positive." He added a moment later less confident. "I don't think so?" He finally said in a half question.
Kim was already shaking her head no and opening her mouth to tell Ron so in no uncertain terms that he wasn't going to even attempt it.
"What else can we do Kim? Wait around till we literally pass out from lack of sleep and are totally helpless? If I can find the answers we need in meditation then we would be fools to not at least try!"
Frowning Kim finally replied. "Okay Ron, but if you so much as look as you are in trouble I'm waking you up no matter what it takes."
"If you are going to do this you better hurry Ronnie. The nurse is due back any minute to escort us out." Shego reminded him.
Ron nodded his head and taking a cross legged seat against one wall he closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his breathing like his Sensei taught him to do.