Chapter 4- Parallel

That next morning Shego awoke to a phone call. A quick check of her caller ID told her that it was her older brother Henry. She groaned softly and answered the call.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked, a bit more rudely than normal, but her brother required special treatment. "It's not even ten yet." It was Saturday. The one day of the week that Shego was able to sleep in, and of course, Hego had to go ruin it.

"Shannon!" Hego said, sounding slightly affronted, but he continued in his overly bombastic way. "We were just making sure you were going to come tonight." He said, and Shego cringed at his volume.

"Yes. Hego. I am going to be at your match tonight." She said, clenching her jaw. She would have preferred to not go, but she really did not have a choice in the matter. It was after all, a match with Hego and Mego against the Pain King and Steel Toe in a tag-team match. Both of her brothers were "heads" in the wrestling community, those who played by the rules. Steel Toe was a "heel" and Pain King was chosen simply to help balance out the ability, and make it more of a mismatch, Mego was much scrawnier than either of the two goons She wondered just why Walter and William (the Wegos), were not chosen to in it as well and make it a four-on-two, the sort of mismatches that the producers (and fans) loved, and then decided it had to do with their size. They were much smaller than most wrestlers, and their high-flying moves would be fairly useless on the huge pair. Not to mention that there were other things planned for that evening, things that if all went well, Shego would be a major player in.

Steel Toe was in fact a very nice man, one whom she had met on several occasions, and was very good friends with Michael (Mego), with matching egos.

She got out of bed and checked her clock. It was now time to get ready for work. Her second job. This was actually one of her more important days that went with it. Today her position would be finalized. She hopped into the small shower and let the water cascade over her taught muscles, she'd been working out for nearly four months to get the body she had now, and Kim had noticed, remarking that obviously she was jealous of the red-head's body. That had spawned one of the fiercest tickle-fights in all of recorded history, and resulted in both women breathless with laughter and trying to stay away from each other for fear of another round. She smiled fondly at the memory and grabbed the bottle of shampoo on the shelf next to her. As she let the foamy suds sit for a moment, she grabbed up the soap and started scrubbing herself down, then winced as she hit a bruise she had not noticed before. Taking a look, she found that on her left side was a large black-and-blue mark from her last session. Falls were going to hurt more today because of that.

She sighed and rinsed herself off, grabbing the lime-green towel that she had left within easy reach. After getting dressed in some decent, but casual clothing, she started to pack her gym bag. Several water bottles were thrown in, another towel, work-out clothes, and a specially made cat suit. The green and black patterned suit was custom made for her and had cost her a small fortune, but if her contract was finalized, she was going to get reimbursed. She was still shocked (but pleased) that she was even getting paid for her training period. Apparently they wanted her badly enough to pay for her apartment and much of her insurance payments each month. It certainly made things easier for her. She grabbed her ever-present jacket and helmet and walked out, strapping the gym bag tightly onto what was normally Kim's seat, but she was hanging out with Ron today. While she didn't really like that buffoon, he was still Kim's best friend, and she would hate to see her lose that friendship. So she encouraged Kim to see him whenever possible, and had actually scheduled this last workout and evaluation so that Kim would have an excuse to go, though she'd been a little peeved when Shego had cancelled her plans for them.

When she made it to the gym, she was greeted by her trainer, a smaller man who insisted on wearing blue sweat suits. The way the light reflected, it almost made his skin turn blue. But he was the best in the business, if more than a little annoying.

"Shego!" He yelled, frowning at her and pointing to the floor. "You're late." He took out a thermous that she knew was filled with a disgusting brown substance that was supposed to pass for hot chocolate.

"Whatever Drew. Drink your Coco-Moo and be done with it."

"Shego… that hurts. And here I thought I was training a member of my evil family…"

"I'm not a member of your family." She remarked, and started walking away.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"The locker room. Doy."

Drakken flushed slightly, looking purple. "Well… in that case, carry on Shego… but be back soon!" Shego flipped him the bird and entered the locker room, changing quickly into her gym attire, a pair of black shorts and an equally black muscle shirt.

When she re-emerged, Drew was tapping his foot at her. "Nice Doc. Real nice." She wasn't sure why she called him doctor, but it had seemed appropriate when she had met him, and so it had stuck. "What crazy plan do you have today?" Drew was a slave driver when it came to her workouts, but always made it a point to keep her annoyed enough at him that she gave it her all.

"Treadmill of Doom." He said, grinning from ear to ear. Shego groaned, the Treadmill of Doom workout was when he had her at a near sprint and made her punch at a speed-bag at the same time.

"How did you get that crazy idea anyway?" She asked, but got on the machine, clipping the emergency stop to the bottom of her shirt.

"Shego! I'm a mad scientitist."

"No. You're the crazy blue guy that's trying his best to kill me before my meeting this afternoon. Now get the damned speed-bag." Drew complied meekly, setting up the bag at a good position so that Shego could not slow down very much and still be able to hit the thing. She hated working out. But the results were fabulous, and she was sure that she would be a much better asset to Kim on her missions than the buffoon, but she would not ask. She refused to ask. She would much rather be invited.

At that moment, Drew started the machine, and with a smothered curse, Shego was off at a fast run, getting into her rythym before striking at the red leather speed-bag before her.

As Shego was starting her training for the day Ron was just pulling into the Possible's driveway. Kim had promised to spend the day with him, and he intended to make it just like old times, Bueno Nacho, the mall, Bueno Nacho again, possibly the movies, and then some good ol' fashioned TV time, with food furnished from Bueno Nacho. That sounded great. He knocked on the door and Kim answered, looking a little more tired than she normally did, but still pleased to see him.

"Hey Ron." She said, and hugged him. Ron returned the embrace before pulling back and grinning widely at her.

"Yo KP. We have a TON of catching up to do!" He said, and pulled her out the door to his scooter. "And the best place to do that is at Bueno Nacho, home of the Naco!"

Kim smiled for Ron's benefit and got on the back seat, wishing it was a rumbling Harley instead of this barely-running contraption. But she never the less wrapped her arms around Ron's torso and let him drive her at a snail's pace to the fast food restaurant that they frequented. Inside, Kim breathed in the familiar scent of grease, ground beef, and taco shells. Her stomach growled in a plea to get her to eat something substantial, since she had not been that hungry when she had woken up, and in fact had been inclined to not go out with Ron at all had her guilt not acted up. "I haven't been here in forever." She commented, and Ron stared at her.

"What's Shego been feeding you then?" He asked, bewildered. Kim not eating at Bueno Nacho? Not possible.

"Actually, she's a decent cook." Kim replied, and walked up to the counter, Ron trailing to her left. "Not as good as you, but she feeds me real food." Steak. Lots and lots of steak. It was Shego's favorite food. That and fish. Anything with protein in high quantity was always well-stocked in Shego's refrigerator. Kim suspected it had to do with all the working out that her brunette girlfriend had been doing lately. She ordered a small Naco meal, not wanting to overdue her empty calorie intake for the day. "What's new?" She asked, waiting for her meal by the counter, Ron soon joined her after saying just two words: "The Usual." To the scrawny young man at the register.

"Not too much KP. Football practice is crazy, your brothers as mascot are still wrong-sick." He smiled, "But I've finally gotten ahead on my homework load. I've discovered the wonder that is 'EncycloWiki.'"

"You know that we're not supposed to use that, because anyone can change the information, right?" Kim asked, and took her tray, while Ron took his decidedly more full one at the same time.

"Yep, but what Barkin doesn't know won't hurt me." He grinned at his own joke. "So, Kp, How's life with the biker chick treating you anyway? And how come I can't hang out with you?" He asked, tearing off another huge bite of his meal while Kim tried to formulate an answer.

"Shego doesn't really like being with too many people at once." She explained, it was completely false of course, Shego had told her on more than one occasion just what she thought of Ron, but also made it clear that she appreciated his loyalty. She just couldn't stand him. "And things are going really well." Ron said nothing, an invitation to continue. "She came over for dinner last night actually. Weren't you going to come too?"

"Sorry KP, Smarty Mart gave me an extra shift that I couldn't get out of. I swear, they're trying to separate the KP from the Ron Factor. There's a conspiracy going on, and I'm gonna find it KP. Just you watch." He pointed a packet of Diablo sauce at her, his voice getting softer and slightly more harsh with each word, something that generally occurred when he was spouting the ridiculous again.

"Sure Ron, just like the time Barkin was the spawn of evil."

"His evil powers foiled my experiment."

"He crushed it."

"See! Only someone truly evil would break a student's science fair project! See!" His voice got higher in pitch and Rufus rolled his eyes.

"Annnnd mving away from Evil Barkin: After dinner we went to her place, where she gave me this." Kim held out her hand, where Shego had placed the ring she had gotten for her. She had yet to take it off, and Ron whistled appreciatively.

"Nice rock Kim." He took her hand and inspected it closely, pulling a jeweler's loop seemingly out of nowhere. "This is a good stone." He concluded, drawing on his expertise from when he had been obscenely rich. "I'll give BC this, she has good taste, for a psycho demon." He smiled, and Rufus chattered.

"Yeah. Demon. Heh."

"Well, you did run into her that one time." Kim said, recalling the first real memory of ever laying eyes on Shego. Ron had been his normal clumsy self that day and run head-long into her. Shego had dropped her helmet, and Ron had ended up on the floor. Several choice words and a rather lude threat later, and Ron had been reduced to cowering in the boy's room for the rest of the day, until Monkey Fist had decided to change the Statue of Liberty into the "Ninja Monkey of the New Empire." That had ended quickly enough.

"KP, she tried to destroy the Ron-man's essence." He said, his arms wide, and Kim smothered a small burst of laughter. "The part that makes me a man, who I am as a person. KP, are you forgetting that she tried to shave my head? Does that mean nothing to you?"

"No Ron, I haven't forgotten. And I'll be the first to admit that Shego isn't perfect, but she's certainly a step up from anyone at Middleton High." At this, Ron's face softened, and he looked rather sad.

"You didn't explore all the options though." He insisted, and his face flushed. He'd been in love with Kim almost from when they had met back in preschool, in that child-like way. Those feelings had eventually matured over time, and it had been almost all-consuming after the Attitudinator incident. Having Kim in love with him had been the most amazing thing in his life, as awkweird it was. But he'd never had the courage to say anything. And now Kim was dating Shego.

His blushing face did not go unnoticed by the red-head, but Kim had decided to ignore it for the moment, and instead looked thoughtfully at the remains of her salad, trying to think of how to respond to that. She eventually settled with honesty. "No, I didn't." She admitted, feeling awkward herself now. "But I'm happy with her." She smiled despite herself, and looked away slightly, not focusing on anything.

Ron plastered his smile back on his face, though it was noticibly less bright than it had been earlier. "I'm glad KP." He said, "You deserve a little slice of happiness, especially since There's a strange man with a tape recorder standing right behind you."

Kim turned her head around and noticed that indeed, there was a small, weasley looking man in his thirties standing right behind her, with both a tape recorder and a notebook in his hands. When she noticed him, he flashed a sleazy smile at her and turned on the recorder, speaking into it in a slightly squeaky voice.

"Miss Possible I presume?" He asked, and then pulled up a chair from a nearby table, sitting at the end of the booth. Kim just nodded, dumbfounded, and a little peeved. "Great, Depths Murky, Middleton Daily contributing reporter." He said quickly, and extended his hand to the teen hero. She deigned not to shake, and instead shot him a questioning look.

"Um, why are you trying to interview me?" She asked, irritation grating in her voice, "I'm sort of in the middle of a private conversation."

Depths shrugged that off and settled himself into the chair. "I'm actually here to talk to you about an interesting matter that I was made aware of this morning by a bright young lady. It's come to my attention that you're currently dating someone? Is that right Miss Possible?" He asked, and pointed that recorder's receiver at her.

"No comment." Kim replied through gritted teeth. "And if you'll excuse us, we have to be going." She told the man and slid out of the booth, Ron following suit.

"All I need is a yes or no Kim." He said, and started to follow them to the door, "And then the answer to one more after that."

"Fine, I'll give you a word," Kim said, and whirled around, looking straight into his eyes. "Leave. And here's two more: Me. Alone." And then she burst through the glass doors.

"I can just print the information I have now Kim." Murky said, grinning snidely, "I just wanted you word." Kim froze.

"That's private information." She said softly, praying that he was bluffing.

"Not really. You're a public figure, and as long as the word 'alleged' is in the article, I'm free as a bird." The grin darkened, "So, do you have a comment now?"

"No." And with that she got on Ron's scooter, and he floored the machine, they lurched into motion, and Murphy just chuckled slightly.

"Fair warning then, you won't like tomorrow's headline!" He called after them, and stepped back inside to phone his contact who'd sent him the lead. "Thanks sweetheart." He said, "I think you've made your uncle's career with this one."

Back at the gym, Shego was finishing her workout, having spent the last half-hour doing more pushups than she ever had before. She barely had the strength to push the door to the locker room afterwards.

"Now Shego, kill 'em at the meeting, and I'll have you on top in no time!" He laughed evilly, and Shego rolled her eyes at him, even that hurt.

She rinsed herself off in the shower, and the hot water felt wonderful on her sore muscles, before toweling off and slipping into the cat suit she'd brought with her. The meeting was in only half an hour, and she wanted to be there early, so changing into it now was the best idea. The spandex hugged her body like a glove, she had to hand it to the seamstress, she did good work. With the main body of the suit on, she slipped on the matching boots and gloves that came with, then looked at herself in the mirror. If only Kim could see her now. Even as platonic as their normal relationship was, she'd still have Kim's jaw on the floor. Now that would be a fun time. The suit clung to every curve of her body, making her pale skin stand eve more. The green and black harlequin-esque patter broke up the line, and the material was surprisingly comfortable. And it breathed, which was vital. In all, it was the perfect suit. Her favorite colors, a look that was at once jarring and pleasant, and it all made her look amazing. Yes, this was a good choice. Much better than the skimpy outfits of her peers. She hated those. This way she was unique. She just had to sell it.

On her way out, she showed the outfit to Drew, who blushed a deep purple and stammered his approval. He was such a strange man, completely manic, and absolutely insane. He was also the only trainer who put up with her. "Break their legs Shego." He said, his smile returning evilly. She assumed he was referring to the old theater expression, but with Drew, one could never be sure.

She waved absently over her shoulder and got on her bike, helmet and jacket on as normal, the bag again secured to the rear seat. She had a meeting to get to, and she would prefer to get there on time, so she opened the throttle and blasted through the streets. On her way, she saw a familiar-looking decrepit scooter, and on the back was a very familiar red-head. She decided to throw a little dash of insanity for Kim, and popped a wheelie as she was going passing them, then slowed down to a stop some meters away, grinning back at them as she lifted the visor of her head-gear.

Kim hopped off the scooter as soon as they were close to Shego, running over the rest of the distance and wrapping her arms around her taller girlfriend, burying her head in the brunette's shoulder and sighing deeply.

"Something wrong Princess?" Shego asked, concerned, Kim had looked to be on the verge of a breakdown. "Is everything ok?"

"Shego… I think someone sold us out." She said, pulling on her jacket slightly in order to hold her tighter.

"Who'd they sell us out to?" She asked, biting back her rage. This was not what she needed. She hated being in the public eye, which she'd soon be in, but still, she wished that it did not have to happen in such a manner, not to mention that this was no doubt aimed at Kim, at least from the media perspective. She was going to be torn apart.

"We're gonna be fine." She said, sounding far more confident than she felt. But Kim needed her to be strong. "Anyone messes with you, hit them." She smiled, and Kim smiled back.

"Because jail time and lawsuits will make this sitch SO much better."

"The trifecta of teen dissidence." Shego agreed, and Ron smirked from where he was. She reached into Kim's back pocket, which caused Kim to giggle despite herself, and Ron to blush slightly with embarrassment at having seen that; and pulled out the Kimmunicator, and was greeted with Wade's face when she pressed the appropriate button. He looked at her quizzically, unsure why he was not seeing Kim.

"Hey Nerdlinger, got a job for you." She said without preamble, "It looks like the shit is about to hit the fan, so if you could get a little research about Monica, and figure out just who she knows that she could spill to, I'd appreciate it."

"No problem Shego." He said, "That'll be easier than hacking the Pentagon." As he was typing, she handed the electronic device back to Kim.

"She's hated me for a while now." Shego commented, "And I wouldn't put this past her." Then she backed off a little, and for the first time, Kim noticed exactly what Shego was wearing. Her mouth turned to sand, and her jaw slackened. Shego rolled her eyes and smirked at her. "Princess, snap out of it." She said and got back on the bike, "I've got a meeting to get to, and having you drooling doesn't help me." She gunned her engine, "I'll call you when I get out." And then she was off, grinning from ear to ear. That had been exactly the reaction she'd expected to get from Kim, and it was certainly a stroke to her ego that she could affect Kim (whom most people thought of as an incredibly chaste and non-sexual person) like that. She was going about as fast as she could, her brief stop had made her late, and so she ripped open the throttle, and swerved to avoid a slow-moving car.

Kim shook her head to snap herself back into reality. It was hard, very hard, to get the image of Shego in what appeared to be a second skin that left almost nothing to the imagination. She'd known Shego was working out, but today it really showed. With every movement Shego had made, Kim could see her muscles playing beneath her skin. She suddenly felt much better about this whole situation, if only for a moment.

"Um, KP?" Ron asked, "Why was Shego dressed like a movie ninja?"

"Not sure." Kim replied, "But she never does anything without a reason." She got back on Ron's scooter, and Ron followed suit. "And it obviously has something to do with her second job." Ron shrugged.

"She's still a creepy psycho." That remark earned him a slap on the shoulder, "Your creepy psycho." This time he got a chuckle as well as the slap.

"Let's just get to the movies."

At the meeting, Shego shook hands with the major heads of the company. Her jacket had been discarded, and so she was standing there in nothing but her cat suit, which had gotten approving nods from the three board members that had greeted her.

"You're Shannon Gomez, eh?" Asked one of the bigger men in the room, MacMorgan, who would be her immediate superior. He'd recently faked his death on live television. Shego nodded and shook the mans hand, smiling pleasantly.

"Yessir." She affirmed, "Though most people call me Shego."

The other two executives nodded, they'd already been informed of her ideas, and endorsed them as a very good idea.

"Well Shannon, welcome to the family." MacMorgan said, and showed her a contract that had been drawn up for her. In return for not going to another company, Shego would basically be set for life. Her salary would triple from what they had already been paying her during her training period. She could quit her job as a security guard (and in order to keep any semblance of a normal life she would have to, her time would be greatly monopolized). And all for simply getting the snot beaten out of her every week. Yes, this was going to be a good thing. She read over the contract carefully, as her brother had cautioned her to always do (it was probably the only advice of his she had ever taken). Everything appeared to be in order, and in fact, there was no fine print. This company was indeed very up front and everything was legit. She'd have to submit to a drug test after signing, which she had nothing to worry about, but that was the hardest thing on here really.

She signed her name on the line, and in turn, the three people who had greeted her signed as well. She was now a fully fledged member of the EWE. She smiled sincerely and handed the contract back to MacMorgan.

"Alright Shego, we'll see you tonight. I believe your brothers have a wrestling match." He smiled at her. "Please be on pointe."

"No worries." Shego said, and started to leave, before shutting the door though, she turned around and shot a look back, "I'll be the best villain you've ever seen." That was her job after all, so to speak.

Author's Note: I'd really just like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who's read this up until now. And if you can't figure out just what I have planned for Shego now, well, I don't really have an ending to that sentence, but it should be obvious. Longest chapter yet, 9 pages on word, so yeah, it makes up for having the last chapter being so short.

Disclaimer: All characters presented within this story are the property of Walt Disney Inc (with the exception of MacMorgan and Depths Murkey (worst pun ever).) I hold no claim over these characters andam not using them for personal gain.