Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from the Kim Possible series are owned by Disney. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners.

Ffordesoon suggested this plot direction, offered encouragement, and provided the idea for the third projected arc of the story - Kim and Shego discover fanfiction about them. (He may write an episode of the Go Team Go cartoon). And I stole a line from aedan cameron.

The Awful Truth, Part I

Kim told Shego they'd explain the pale woman's past to the girls the next evening. Kim feared Shego would go into denial if they put it off another week. Shego appeared nervous as they cleaned the kitchen after supper.

"Are you sure we need to tell them?" she asked Kim.

"Look, eventually someone is going to tell them about you - you're not exactly in a witness protection program. Some brat on the playground will taunt them with it. Do you want it to be a surprise?"

"And I say, let them beat the brat up for defamation of character!"

"Shego," Kim scolded, "we do not encourage that sort of behavior."

"By 'we' I hope you mean you and Ron."

Kim glared at the pale woman.

"Sorry Princess, you're right. They need to be told, and by me. But, are they old enough to understand?"

Kim shrugged, "I'm not sure I understand what happened to you. I want to hear this too."

"Great," Shego muttered, "it's really not exciting. There's no big trauma to earn sympathy. There's a smart-ass girl who demanded things her way." They finished cleaning in silence and went in to finish the program Ron and the twins had on.

The pale woman hit the power button on the remote and turned off the set. Everyone turned to look at her. "Ron, I need to have a serious talk with the twins… Would you stay while we have it?"

"Serious talk? I don't know. This isn't about female stuff, is it?"

"No Ron," the green woman assured him. "Kim… I think it's time the girls knew about my past. I'm not sure how they're going to take it. I… I want you to be there if it doesn't go well. Please, you're practically family."

Eemah's words made the twins nervous and Kasy took Sheki's hand.

Kim appreciated Ron's presence also. Maybe it should be put off for awhile longer – make sure that the girls were old enough to understand that who Shego was now mattered more than her earlier life.

There was a moment's uncomfortable silence before Shego spoke. Despite rehearsing her lines all day in her head Shego didn't feel ready, but she took a deep breath and began, "Girls, you probably need to know the real reason I don't like Go Team Go… It isn't really about Connie not being a cousin or Mego's voice…"

She paused, uncertain how to continue. The girls stared at her. She wished she could hold their attention this well when she wanted them to clean their room.

"The real reason I don't like the show is that it scares me. It scares me because you'll want to know why I left Team Go."

The twins looked slightly puzzled, "You left to be with Mommy didn't you?" Kasy asked.

Shego smiled, and wished the truth was that simple.

"No, I quit Team Go because…" She paused, without a good way to continue. "For a long time Eemah wasn't a nice person. Eemah was a criminal."

The twins stared at her, waiting for the punch line. Shego's words made as much sense as if she had announced, "I think I'll grow another head tomorrow."

"Why did you really leave?" Sheki demanded.

"I was really a bad person. That's the truth."

Both girls looked a little scared, and Kim worried Kasy might cry. "That was years ago, before you two were born," Kim told her daughters.

The two looked at their mommy, "Eemah was really bad?"

Kim fell silent. "Yes, I was," Shego told them.

"Why?" Sheki wanted to know.

Shego stared off into space for a minute instead of answering directly. "Hell if I know," she finally said. "It made perfect sense to me at the time. Now, sitting here talking with you two I don't know how I could have been that stupid.
"There were a lot of things happening with me then. I felt like Uncle Henry ran my life and I wanted to hurt him – and leaving Team Go hurt him. Being evil hurt him I felt like Grandpa George and Grandma Susan always took his side—"

"Did they?" Sheki wanted to know.

Shego shrugged, "Probably not. But that was how I felt. I didn't have anyone to talk to. But I shouldn't blame anyone else. The way I lived was my choice. I thought it was stupid to help people and not get anything for it – I felt like people owed me. And I was smart, I thought, and strong. I felt like if I could take something it was okay to take it. Laws were made by weak people to keep the strong people from doing what they wanted. I liked doing whatever I wanted to do and not worrying about other people."

"You liked living like that?" Ron asked.

"I thought so… at least I did at first. For awhile it seemed fun and exciting, almost like a game." Shego sighed, "But it was lonely. And once you're on the path it's hard to turn around. I couldn't exactly ask for do-overs and start again. I was wanted in eleven countries. It looked like a downward spiral to prison was my future."

Kim put an arm around Shego and hugged her softly. The greenish woman smiled, "I think that was one of the reasons I hated your mommy so much at first," she told the girls. "She was the only person strong enough to capture me. So she was my only competition, I could test my skills against her." She looked back at Ron, "I ended up liking it when you and Kim broke in to bust up one of Drakken's plots. It gave me something to do besides listen to him yammer."

Sheki waited a few seconds before asking, "Were you really bad?"

"Yes, really bad. Worse that the bad people on the show."

The twins sat in stunned silence, not knowing what to say.

Kasy sought reassurance, "But you aren't bad any more?"

"No," Shego smiled, "the love of a good woman saved me."

"You mean Mommy?" Sheki asked.

Shego smiled and nodded.

"What happened?" the dark-haired twin wanted to know.

The pale woman laughed, "Once upon a time, in a far away country named Middleton, there lived a beautiful Princess with bright red hair. One day the princess entered the enchanted forest and saw an ugly frog. And the princess took pity on the lowly amphibian and gave the frog a kiss. When she kissed the frog it turned into a handsome lawyer. 'Come live with me,' said the princess to the former frog, 'and we shall have the two most beautiful daughters in the world'."

Kasy and Sheki giggled.

"Not exactly the way I remember it," Kim told her daughters. "The way I remember the story is that the frog plied the princess with a magic love potion—"

"Magic love potion?" Shego interrupted.

"Magic love potion," Kim repeated. "A wondrous brew of coffee, chocolate, and milk—"

"Remember that," Shego warned the girls, "if a boy offers you a mocha come tell Mommy or me and we'll beat him up."

"Shego! That is not the point of the story. And will you let me finish?"

"If I must," the green woman grinned.

"Anyway, the frog plied the princess with the love potion, and then, when the frog kissed the princess, the princess realized what she had been missing her entire life. And you two tadpoles were the result," she said hugging Kasy and Sheki.

"My story was better," Shego told her partner. "The Princess and the Frog is a classic fairy tale. The frog and the love potion? I don't remember that one."

"Well, mine was creative," Kim sniffed. She turned to the girls, "Which version was better?"

"Oh, come on, Princess! You'd ask the girls to choose between us?"

"Not choose between us. I'm just asking which story they like better."

Shego rolled her eyes, then suddenly produced two small chocolate bars seemingly out of nowhere. "Okay girls, whose story was better?" she asked slowly waving the candy in front of them.

"Yours!" Kasy said, grabbing for the candy.

Sheki looked at Mommy, clearly torn and thinking she should say Mommy's story was better so her feelings wouldn't be hurt.

"Take the candy," Kim sighed, "her story was better." Then looking at Shego she said accusingly, "You cheated!"

"Moi?" Shego asked in mock surprise. "I repeat your question to these wonderful little judges and present them with a gift to thank them for the judgment they are about to render with the wisdom of Solomon and you honestly think that would sway their decision making?"

"It wasn't a gift – it was a bribe!"

"Gift!"

"Bribe!"

Ron cleared his throat, "Uh, KP? Shego? Why do I feel like the only adult in the room? I'm not comfortable with that."

"Sorry Ron," Kim apologized.

"Yeah, Stoppable," Shego agreed. "Take the girls out for ice cream. Kim and I will take the argument up to our room and settle it like adults… Consenting adults." She gave Kim a wink.

"Don't hurry back," Kim giggled.

"Come on, kids," Ron sighed. "Seeing your parents fighting is only one thing you don't need to know about. Let's stop and get Hana and then get our ice cream."

"Yea, Hana!" Sheki cheered.

"Yea, ice cream," Kasy echoed. The red-haired twin ran off to find a pair of shoes, but Sheki lingered for a minute. "Were you really bad?" she asked her Eemah.

"Yes," Shego admitted. "I was really bad."

"Do you promise to be better now?"

"I promise to be better now. I won't do anything that will take me away from my girls."

"Okay…" Sheki said slowly. Then another thought entered her head. "Was Mommy ever bad?"

Kim heard the question, and saw an evil grin cross the green woman's face. "Shego! You tell her the truth."

Shego sighed, "If I must… Sheki, I have to tell you, the awful truth is that your Mommy was so nice other kids laughed at her and called her a goody-two shoes."

"Shego!"

"Seriously, they made fun of her. Aunt Bonnie especially. And then I came along and rescued her or she'd be standing on a street corner somewhere looking for little old ladies to help them cross the street." Kim looked outraged, and Shego continued in a soothing tone. "Really, your mommy has always been a wonderful person."

"And she really made you stop being a bad person?"

"She really did," Shego assured her.

Sheki threw her arms around Kim, "I love you Mommy."

"I love you too," Kim assured her daughter, picking her up and giving her a big kiss.

"And you won't let Eemah be bad again?"

"I promise." Kim put her daughter down and she scrambled off to get ready for ice cream. The two women watched their dark-haired daughter leave. Then Kim leaned over and gently nipped Shego's ear. "Bribing the kids? You're still evil. You need to be punished."

"Oooh, sounds sexy," Shego smirked. "Punish me."

"Definitely," Kim replied.

"Promises, promises…"

"I think I'll go with Ron and the girls to get ice cream."

"How does that…" Shego looked confused. "Hey, wait! You wouldn't be that evil."

"No," Kim admitted. "I'm the one so nice the other kids made fun of me. I live to make other people happy. And as soon as the girls leave I'll make you very happy."

They waited in the living room and waved to Ron and the girls as they left.

Shego sighed as they heard the door close, "Were we really right to tell them now?"

"Yes, they needed to know the truth. And it's a lot better coming from us than anyone else. Besides, it teaches them a valuable lesson. Anyone can do something bad, but it doesn't make them a bad person."

"Kim, get real. I didn't spill a can of soda in the living room after I was told not to drink soda in the living room. I was evil."

"And that's over. You'll probably get a pardon way before your probation is over."

"I was evil… Will the girls still love me?"

"You honestly think anything could change that? God, Shego, those two worship you."

"They loved me yesterday. Yesterday they didn't know I was a bad person."

"You're not a bad person… At least not any more. Now, are we going to our room to settle the bribery argument or not?"

Shego thought for a minute. "If you don't mind, can we just stay on the couch and cuddle? Can you just keep telling me everything is going to be all right until I believe you?"

"That will be fine," Kim told her, hugging the frightened woman a little tighter.