I don't own these characters; Disney does. I do own Isabel, though.
8: Biomechanics 211 — How to Flex Strong Muscles
"Kim, you're incredible. I don't think I've had a patient as dedicated as you are," Cole, her physical therapist, praised her as they finished up their session. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
"Would you expect anything less from a Possible who is also my daughter-in-law?" Isabel inquired with a proud tilt of her head from her seat by the wall.
Ann went to Kim's side, handing her a towel to wipe her face. Kim always built up a sweat during her sessions, pushing herself as far as she could go and then beyond, like she did with everything in her life. Kim smiled her thanks to her mother.
Cole chuckled as he answered Isabel's question. "No, I never would. Same time in two days?"
"We'll be here," Kim promised with a grin as she put the towel away in her backpack. She then downed almost a whole bottle of Gatorade without stopping. She grinned while disposing of the bottle in the proper place. She was finally beginning to feel good physically, like she could do things. She was not her old self yet, but she could feel herself on the right path.
"Do you want the wheelchair?" Ann asked.
"No, Mom, I think I can actually walk to the car," Kim declared proudly. She would have to do it with a cane and she would probably work up another sweat, but she could do it.
"Be sure to stay close then, dear," Isabel requested.
The hero nodded. The group of four — Joss was there with them as always — bid the physical therapist farewell and then started for the door. Joss whistled before they got to the exit and Cali rushed away from some patients. She hopped on Joss' shoulder as they stepped through the door. The cat then sighed, along with all of the other warriors.
"I wished they gave this a rest already. They're not even any good!" Joss groaned, throwing her hands up.
"Kim," Isabel said.
"I know, I know. We're going inside," Kim sighed, returning into the building with her mother.
"Do you think this'll happen every time you come out now?" Ann asked, rubbing her forehead. The first couple of times villains showed up outside the facility gunning for her daughter, she was frightened and worried for her baby girl, but now she was just irritated, right along with the rest of them.
"I guess. I'm surprised they keep trying this. I mean, it's virtually impossible for them to get past Isabel, Joss, and Cali. You'd think they'd come up with something else," Kim pointed out with a frown.
Ann shook her head. "This is the only place they can do this because this is the only place you go. I'm sure by now most villains know they can't get into your home and they don't want to chance running into Shego."
Kim giggled at the idea of anyone trying to come into their home with Shego around. She was certain that the person would end up calling the cops and beg to be taken to jail. She would not be surprised if that was the case with the guys outside, too. After all, Isabel was Shego without the plasma powers, but she did like to scold people while she was fighting, so she was just as irksome.
"Come on, they're down," Joss said, poling her head through the front door.
Kim nodded and the two redheads walked out. Kim took in the sight of bodies laid out, all incapacitated and littering the sidewalks. Some were hanging from signs or trees and stuck in bushes. From the uniforms, she could tell they worked for WEE. The bounty on her head was getting beyond troublesome now.
"When is Wade going to find who put that price on your head?" Joss huffed as they piled into the SUV with Ann behind the steering wheel.
"He says he's looking, but the person was really careful. You have to remember that he's been doing this for ten years, so people are very aware of how competent he is, so they're now trying to cut him off whenever they can. He'll find out who, though," Kim defended her friend.
"It'd be nice if he did that sometime this century," Isabel said, folding her arms across her chest. "I would've found them by now."
"Isabel, please, let Wade do his job," Kim implored. She knew that once Isabel lost patience, she would look into it. She just hoped that Wade found the person first because she suspected that if Isabel found the person first, she would kill the person. She was petty sure that Isabel and Kane had already done that to the crew who originally injured her and that was why they never brought it up. Although, Shego liked to assure her that Isabel and Kane did not kill people. Still, it seemed weird that they never told her what happened with the people who hurt her. She had not heard of a trial or been called about them either, so she doubted they were in jail like she wanted.
Joss glanced behind them and changed the subject. "Uh… Aunt Ann, I think we're being followed."
Kim looked back to double check. "Yeah, Mom, Joss' right."
"I'm on it," Ann replied, glancing in the rearview mirror.
"At least these guys have tried a different venue," Isabel commented, sounding quite bored with the whole matter. Kim could only wonder what did surprise and excite Isabel in terms of action.
The group following them quickly made themselves known. Four motorcycles boxed them in and familiar blond rode up to the driver's side. Motor Ed glared at Ann while other motorcycles came up behind them.
"Yo, hand over Red, like, seriously!" Motor Ed commanded, pointing into the car.
"I don't think so!" Ann replied and made a surprising move, swirling the SUV into his bike.
"Whoa, you're totally crazy, seriously!" he barked, managing to dip out of the way.
Isabel laughed and clapped. "Run that fucker down!" Okay, so apparently this was what surprised and excited Isabel.
"Yeah, Aunt Ann! Show them that this can't fuck with us Possibles!" Joss proclaimed.
"Joss!" Ann scolded her all the while stepping on the gas in order to mow down the lackey in front of them.
Isabel laughed again. "You said it right, Joss!"
"Don't encourage her to talk like that," Ann told her friend.
"They're merely words used to express one's self and emphasis a point. Nothing horrible. Now, show us your driving skills to make sure these bastards don't fuck with us again," Isabel declared with a hoot.
"You're enjoying this way too much," Ann sighed before narrowly dodging a missile fired at them from behind. "Hold on everyone. I haven't done this in a while."
Kim could only wonder what her mother meant as the brain surgeon floored it, effectively getting rid of the bike in front of them. Ann exactly went over the motorcycling and they could hear the metal scraping along the road. More missiles whistled through the air and Ann evaded them with quick moves that should have been impossible in the bulky SUV. Motor Ed tried to push his way back over to the car, but as soon as he was close, Ann swerved to hit him again.
"All right, enough playing games! I want Red, seriously!" the blond biker barked, pointing at their vehicle.
Suddenly, the roar of motorcycles increased and there was an armada of bikes behind them. Ann had to dodge more missiles and rammed a couple of bikes to the side of them. She hit the brakes and caused a few of the bikes to run into them before flooring it again.
"Excellent driving skills, my dear!" Isabel grinned. "Now, if you could pull closer to that gentleman with the chain, so I might arm myself."
Ann did just that. Isabel rolled down the window and simply yanked the man's chair away as he swung it. He made a noise something like a yelp and a growl, turning, as if he planned to retaliate. She did not give him a chance as she opened her door to knock the man away.
"Cali, Joss, if you could," Isabel requested.
"Sounds like fun!" Joss declared.
Cali, of course, seemed confused because Isabel did not state outright what she wanted, but the cat followed Joss, who slipped out the back though the window. Joss jumped on a nearby ATV, kicking the driver in the face while she was at it. She laughed as she took control and then accidentally fired off some missiles.
"Oops! Sorry! Sorry!" Joss called.
"Careful!" Ann shouted at her niece as she managed to avoid more projectile weapons.
"Gimme Red!" Motor Ed screamed as he made a go for the door.
"Cali, get him!" Joss commanded, pointing to the blond leader.
The feline did not need to be told twice, pouncing on Motor Ed from several yards away, changing into her humanoid form right before she hit him. She broke the bike in two just from landing on it. He yelped and then hollered as he rolled down the street.
"That is going to leave some serious road rash," Joss laughed as she turned her attention to the others, firing missiles at them.
"And that's why you should always wear a helmet," Ann remarked, looking at Motor Ed in the side view mirror.
"I'm sure sleeves would also help," Isabel added before chain whipping a biker across the face. Ann moved the car to allow her to do the same to several other wannabe assailants.
With Motor Ed down and unable to call the shots, the attack fizzled fairly quickly. Cali hopped back into the car while Isabel rid herself of the chain and apparently Joss now had a new ATV that would need to be scanned for bugs to make sure Motor Ed could not track or something worse. When they pulled up to Kim's home, she gave Joss the Kimmunicator to do just that.
"Hey, baby," Bonnie greeted Kim with a warm smile and brief kiss as she walked through the door.
Kim returned the kiss, even though it bothered her a bit at how gentle Bonnie was treating her. She wanted to go back to the days when Bonnie would occasionally pounce on her when she came through the door. Of course, those days would be a memory for a little while longer, but the second she was fine, she would make sure Bonnie understood she was not made of glass.
"How was everything?" the lawyer inquired, caressing Kim's shoulder for a moment.
Kim only pointed to Isabel, who proceeded to rant in order to vent. "Someone needs to call Wade now and tell him I'm taking over his so-called investigation. It's irksome when we get attacked — if it can even be called that at this point — twice in one week, but now twice in one day! I refuse. I will not have my daughter-in-law in danger one moment longer!"
Shego chose that moment to walk through the door, having dismissed her class when she saw Kim was home. "What's Mommy squawking about?" she inquired as she embraced Kim and kissed her softly.
"We got attacked twice on the way here. Your mother's understandably annoyed," Ann explained.
"She can get un-annoyed. Wade called me about an hour ago and assured me that he'd have it figured out before dinner because he now has a paper trail to follow," Shego informed them all, staying close to her lovers.
"I think I'll stay for dinner then," Isabel insisted.
"Of course," Shego frowned. "Let's order pizza to celebrate." Her tone and expression could not be any flatter if she tried.
Isabel gave her a challenging smirk. "Really, firefly? That's the best you've got? I'm disappointed."
"Oh, shut up before I let Cali cook and kill us all," Shego declared with a snarl tugging at her top lip.
Isabel smirked again, but said nothing. Shego helped Kim to the sofa, even though the redhead did not need the help. Kim allowed it because she knew it made Shego feel better. Ann followed to make sure Kim did not try to do anything strenuous as she was prone to do when no one was looking.
"Mom, where did you learn to drive like that?" Kim inquired, speaking to her mother as soon as she was down on the couch.
"Yeah, Aunt Ann, you were awesome!" Joss declared.
Ann chuckled and waved the whole thing off. "I just used to do a little racing in my teenage years. Nothing more."
Kim's forehead wrinkled. "You don't talk about your parents that much, but when you do, it always comes off that they were very conservative. I'm surprised they let you do that."
The surgeon shook her head. "Let? Oh, no. They never would've allowed it. I was very… rebellious as a teenager."
"Nice," Shego smiled.
Kim only shook her head, having a hard time picturing her mother as a rebel, but as she said, her mother's parents always sounded so conservative that it probably was not hard to be a rebel. She wanted to ask questions, but the sound of the Kimmunicator going off took her focus off that. Joss answered since the device was still in her possession.
"Hey, Wade, what's the sitch?" Joss said, doing her best Kim impersonation. The twang in her voice kept if from being spot on.
"I found the guy who posted the bounty and I also cleared your new ride of all bugs," Wade replied.
"How about you tell us the shit we actually want to know," Shego snapped.
"Shego," Kim scolded her. Shego made a face, but offered no apologies.
"Right, Big Daddy Brotherson is the one who decided to try to take advantage of Kim's injured state, which isn't really a surprise when you think about it. He posted pictures of her from her original hospital bed first, as if trying to bait people, but when no one seemed able to be able to do anything about it, he offered five million dollars to the first person to bring him Kim's head," Wade reported.
"I feel like countering that offer by giving six million to first person that brings me his balls! They'd have to be the size of Kim's head for him to do something like that!" Shego hollered, punching her fist into her palm.
"Agreed," Isabel growled, making a fist of her own.
"Thank you, Wade," Kim said.
"Anytime. Do you want me to send this info to anyone to get the proper authorities involved?" Wade asked.
"No!" Shego answered, loudly and quickly. "We got this." She then reached over and disconnected the communication.
"Shego!" Kim objected.
"Trust me, Kimmie, we got this," the green-skinned woman repeated. It sounded more ominous that time. Maybe because of the way Isabel was smiling, too.
"No killing," Kim ordered.
Isabel laughed. "Of course not, my dear. That would be too easy. Way too easy and certainly not punishing enough. Now, firefly, you said something about pizza?"
Kim had a bad feeling about this, but she knew she could not stop Shego and her mother. Hell, she had helped them in the past do such a thing to Bonnie's dreadful coworker Lyle. She considered it to be hypocritical of her to find it okay for her and Shego to do it for Bonnie, but not okay for it to be done for her. Maybe she felt like Bonnie was supposed to be protected, but she was a warrior. She was not sure if that was it, but it nagged at her.
The more she thought about throughout the night, the more it got to her. She and Bonnie had even done something like this to help Shego, with Isabel right with them there, too. If Shego could get over it, she liked to think that she could accept it and get over it, too. They were in a relationship and they were there for each other when things like this happened. She needed to accept that sometimes, she had to let her lovers protect her in ways that only they could, ways that she could not protect herself.
To help settle her mind, she spoke with Shego privately, ducking into the bedroom while they waited for the pizza. "Promise me no one gets killed," she begged.
Shego scoffed. "Princess, I told you and my mother keeps telling you, we don't kill people. I'm just not like that and my mother doesn't believe killing is the best revenge or punishment or however you want to look at it. You know that. You've been a part of these things before. Why do you think this is gonna be different?"
Kim shook her head. "I dunno. I mean, I feel like your parents killed the guys who hurt me."
"I swear to you they didn't. Those guys are in prison just like you asked. Mommy would never disrespect your request like that." Shego reached out and gently caressed Kim's cheek. "You know she loves you and wouldn't do that."
Kim nodded because that was true. Still, things did not sit right with her. They went to eat with everyone else and Kim looked at Isabel. Isabel would respect her decision. But, it did not settle her and eventually she figured out why.
-8-8-8-8-
"Kimmie, baby, are you all right?" Bonnie asked as they were preparing for bed. The trio was in their bedroom with them all in the middle of putting on pajamas.
Kim was staring at her tank top as if it had wronged her. Bonnie glanced at Shego, who just finished pulling on some black shorts. They went to Kim and embraced her.
"Princess, what's wrong?" Shego asked, placing a soft kiss to the corner of Kim's mouth.
"I know what you and your mother are going to do," Kim replied in a low voice. Shego and Bonnie exchanged a worried glance.
"Kimmie, we're not going to kill him," Shego pointed out once more. "I promise." She added, just in case Kim actually needed to hear the promise.
"And he needs to learn not to target you," Bonnie added.
Kim shook her head. "No, I know. I know we're always going to do what we need to protect each other. It's just… it's just hard to come to terms with me needing that protection. I mean, first, there's the stupid trip leading to me nearly dying and now there's a bounty on my head while I can't defend myself. It's so hard," she whimpered.
Shego nodded; oh. That made a lot more sense than Kim still fretting over them killing Brotherson. It had to crush Kim that there was a mission she was not a part of, but she was also the cause for the mission.
"Baby, we've all been there and we're all been there for each other. We don't think less of you," Bonnie assured her. "We love you."
Kim sighed and shook her head. "I know, but this goes against my nature. I'm a fighter. I need to be able to fight."
"Princess, you are fighting with the best weapons you have right now. When you fall, we're there to pick you up, just as you are with us." Shego kissed her again.
"I know, I know. Just coming to terms with it," Kim said.
"Wait, so I don't need to sneak out tonight to go smack that fat fuck around?" Shego inquired with an arched eyebrow. Even though Kim knew what she would do, Shego doubted Kim would approve, she had plans to sneak out. Apparently, she did not need those. Kim really was coming to terms with this, then.
"No, no, you don't," Kim replied.
Shego smiled, a mix of pride and happiness. "That rocks. I'm leaving while you're clearly insane and I can get away with it. Don't wait up," she said to both of her lovers and kissed them both on the lips. She was out the door in a hurry.
-8-8-8-8-
"You're going like that?" Joss asked Shego from a seat at the dining room table. She was waiting for Shego, dressed in her own "mission" clothes, all black and clearly inspired by Kim in being cargo pants and a tank top.
"I'll change on the way and you shouldn't talk about clothing. I've seen your pajamas, after all," Shego retorted with a smirk.
Joss only scoffed and rolled her eyes. They went downstairs where Kane and Isabel were already waiting for them. They eased into the back of the car and Kane drove off.
"Just so you know, we have Kimmie's blessing," Shego informed her parents with a happy grin.
"Well, that'll certainly make things easier," Isabel said.
"Shego, you changing into something other than pajamas might make things easier, too," Kane remarked.
Isabel tossed Shego an outfit, which was one of her catsuits. Kane stepped out of the car while she changed. When she was done, he got back in to drive them to the airport. They had a long trip ahead of them.
-8-8-8-8-
Brotherson was fatter than Shego recalled as she marched into his dining room with Joss at her side. He was eating breakfast, enough food to feed a small village. Shego shook her head; she never understood the sin of gluttony. It always seemed to her that eventually a glutton should just get sick of whatever it was they continuously consumed. There were much better sins in her opinion. Brotherson seemed out to prove her wrong, though.
"Hey, Big Daddy, mind if we pull up a chair?" Shego inquired as she and Joss sat down next to him.
He coughed and sputtered. "How did you get in?" he managed to demand through a thick wheeze.
"Front door. It's just wide open for some reason," Shego answered with an easy-going shrug. "Anyway, let's just let to business." She paused to eat a green grape from a bowl that was in front of her. "Now, you probably have no idea why we're here. Actually, you probably don't even know Joss." She pointed to her companion.
"Joss Possible, college student, adventurer, and cousin to Kim Possible," she introduced herself with a devilish smile.
"Cousin?" he coughed again, bits of food flying out of his mouth.
"And I'm sure you have to know Kim's my lover. So, in what world made it sound like a good idea to use your fucking blood money to put a bounty on her head?" Shego growled.
He finally choked on whatever the hell was still packed in his cheeks and he hit a button near him while his face turned bright red. The pair did not move as Brotherson luckily spit up the hunk of food. As he inhaled deeply and returned to his normal shade, two figures stepped up behind him.
"Get them!" he gasped, pointed at Shego and Joss.
"Yeah, no," Kane said, causing Brotherson to turn.
"It's like watching the Earth rotate," Shego remarked.
"I'm waiting for him to eclipse the sun," Joss agreed.
"Who the hell are you?" Brotherson demanded, glaring at Shego's parents.
"I'm Isabel Go and this is my husband, Kane. I'm sure you've heard of us with all of your information gathering and such. You may or may not be aware that Kim's our daughter-in-law," Isabel said and he was back to spitting and sputtering. He reached for the button again, pressing it as if his life depended upon it.
"Press it all you like. We took care of everybody around here before we came in for breakfast," Joss explained with a large grin. She had enjoyed showing her growth and range as a martial artist while she took down dozens of guards in the front yard.
He seemed to take her up on her offer, pressing the button to the point of annoyance for Shego. "Oh, for fuck's sake!" she hollered, ripping the button away and burning it to tiny ashes that she blew in his face.
"Wha-wha-what are you going to do to me?" Brotherson whimpered.
"First, find a crane to lift your fat ass out of here," Shego remarked.
"I don't think they make cranes that big," Joss chimed in.
"Ann might be right. I think we're a bad influence on Joss," Isabel chuckled.
"If she thinks the language and insults are bad, I think we better keep this our little secret," Kane declared, putting a hand on Brotherson's shoulder and laughing darkly. Joss only nodded.
-8-8-8-8-
"I need a shower," Joss declared as she and Shego stumbled into the apartment.
Shego figured they had to reek because Cali did out rush out greet them. Bonnie came within ten feet and then stopped. She put her hand over her mouth and nose, pointing to the bathroom. Shego nodded and marched to the en suite while Joss took the main bathroom.
Once they were clean, they returned to the front of the apartment where Bonnie was setting the table. Cali trotted out, rubbing against Shego's leg before jumping into Joss' arms. It was clear who Cali's favorite was as she snuggled her head underneath Joss' chin.
"I figured you'd be hungry," Bonnie explained.
"Famished," Shego declared as she took a seat.
"How'd it go?" Kim inquired as she limped to the table from the living room, moving with her cane on orders from Bonnie.
"As expected. He'll be regretting his actions for a long time to come. Pain, suffering, and all that jazz." Shego made it seem like nothing, waving her hand with a flick of her wrist. "Just so you're aware, we had Wade basically take all Brotherson's money. Figuring no one wants his blood money, my father has invested it for us. Wade and Joss will also have a share. Portions of the investments will be donated to charities, but the rest go into accounts for us. If it bothers you, you'll have to take it up with my dad," she informed her lovers.
Kim scoffed. "I get the feeling that won't work."
Shego shrugged. "The puppy-dog pout might work. He's a sucker for females anyway. Of course, he'll tell my mother about it and she'll probably undo all your hard work."
"Worst in-laws ever," Kim pretended to grumble, folding her arms across her chest.
"I'm sure they are," Shego replied.
"So, is he in jail or… what?" Kim asked.
Shego looked at Joss, who shrugged. Shego blew out a breath. "It's hard to explain. It's not really a jail. More of a…?" Shego was not sure what to call it.
"A fat farm?" Joss offered with a little grimace.
Shego winced. "Could you call it that? A work camp? Either way, it's not exactly a jail, but it's some place he'll have to get used to the less fine things in life and it's a long way from a computer, so he won't be gathering any information either."
Kim nodded since that seemed like the best she would get. The conversation was dropped as Bonnie served everyone. They had a quiet dinner and then retreated to the living room, which was littered with things for Ron and Yori's wedding. Shego frowned, noting that Kim seemed to be putting her all into the wedding. Kim was actually scheduled to help both bride and groom pick out their dress and tux soon.
"So, where is Brotherson now? I mean, not the prison situation, but location in general. Where?" Kim asked curiously.
"Once we managed to roll him out if his house, we figured he'd be most uncomfortable some place hot and humid," Shego answered.
"Isabel arranged for him to go to some jungle camp where her family trains, but there's like other stuff there," Joss explained as best she could.
Kim turned to Shego. "Like what?"
"It's got a medical faculty and a lab and other stuff. It's not just my family out there. It's not some place where a lot of nefarious stuff is happening or something," Shego replied.
"I'm not saying that. I'm just curious and trying to get an idea of what's going to happen with him," Kim replied.
"He'll be put to work, like he was going to be people at his island," Joss answered and Kim nodded.
"Yeah, so that's the end of that. Wade's trying to wipe away all traces of the bounty. So, everything should go back to normal soon," Shego said.
Bonnie smiled and Kim nodded again. "Good and I'm good enough to do basic things, so Joss, you can actually go back to school instead of doing those online classes," the hero commented.
The college student grinned. "I can't wait. I hate online classes. Nothing matches being on campus and being there. But, do you guys mind if I spend my breaks here? I really like spending time with you." Her eyes sparkled with sincerity.
"Aw, of course you can!" Bonnie proclaimed and she led a group hug between them. Laughter filled the living room.
-8-8-8-8-
Joss was all packed up, planning to leave in the morning. Shego had other plans, though. She stepped into the guest room, which they had all come to think of as Joss' room.
"Hey, want to go on one last adventure with me and the folks?" Shego proposed with a smirk because she was too aware of what the answer would be.
Olive green eyes lit up. "Where to?" she asked eagerly.
"Well, since Kim seems to approve of justice in her name, even if it bugs her a bit, my parents decided to share the location of the group who originally injured Kim. We're going to pay them a visit," Shego explained.
"Cool. Before we go, what should I expect? I don't want to kill anybody," Joss said.
Shego shook her head. "Me neither and my father would never be a party to that. We don't kill, so you don't have to worry about that with us. We'll do some ass-kicking most definitely, more than we did to Brotherson, and then we'll probably actually just call the authorities on them."
Why does everyone assume we're killers? Shego was not sure why since she had never killed a person in her life, even if the person was asking for it. But, then again, considering what these guys had done, what Brotherson had done, she could see why people would believe murder would be the first thought for a former villain and her chaotic neutral parents.
Joss blinked. "What? That's it?"
"Well, once they get into a prison, my mother has more than enough connections to make any prison stay worse than Hell," Shego informed the younger woman.
"I thought they were in prison already."
Shego shook her head. "Apparently while Brotherson was making big moved against Kim, he bribed a lot of people and got them out. He probably thought they'd go after Kim again and finish what they started. My mother just found out about it. So, you coming or what?"
"Count me in then!" Joss declared.
"I thought so. Bonnie's going to arrange for your stuff to get to your dorm. When we're done, we have to come back here because they want to have on last meal with all five of us."
Joss nodded. "I can't believe Kim's cool with this."
"Well, she's not totally at peace with it, but she accepts that I have to do this. One day, you'll find yourself in a relationship that you want to last a lifetime and you'll accept parts of a person and understand parts of a person that you never thought possible."
"If you want this relationship to last a lifetime, why won't you marry them?"
Shego growled and flung her arm around Joss' shoulders. "Let's go before you piss me off." Joss laughed and they left.
-8-8-8-8-
Joss and the Go trio studied the apartment that hid the gang who had shot Kim in Egypt many months ago. While only three men had been present, it was a gang of ten. They were grave robbers and black market dealers. Professor Sobek, a man who had hired Kim to explore a new pyramid, had tried to double-cross them and ended up dead. Too bad the group had the misfortune of hurting Kim in the process.
Kane and Isabel had dealt with a majority of them before, but not the whole gang. They were not intimidated at all. They were mostly upset that Brotherson had the money to override Isabel's wishes. Never again.
Kane used his powers to check for traps and disarm them before the quartet stormed the main room where the gang was going through some loot. The gang hollered and reached for guns that did them no good. Controlled chaos erupted in the area with fists and feet flying. The noise of things shattering, bones included, echoed through the apartment.
Shego did not ignite her hands. She wanted to feel the impact of hurting the people who dared to hurt her Princess. By the time she was done, most of the men were left in worse condition than Kim had been when they left her for dead. When no one could move, the quartet vanished into the night.
"Joss, if you ever want to do some serious training, please let me know," Isabel offered with a smile, patting the younger woman on the shoulder.
Joss sort of preened at the compliment. "So, what happens now?"
"They'll get picked up. Taken to a better… or worse prison depending on how you look at it," Isabel replied.
"And if they somehow manage to get out again, a lot of people will live to regret it," Kane answered.
"Amen to that," Shego concurred.
-8-8-8-8-
Joss' last day in the apartment was full of hugs and the occasional tears. Poor Cali did not understand what was going on. She thought Joss would only be gone for a while.
"You're coming back, right?" Cali asked with a pout with her eyes pleading for confirmation.
Joss caressed the feline's head. "You know I will. It'll just be a few months from now. I'm not living here anymore, though."
"What do you mean? You said you're coming back," Cali pointed out with distress in her wide eyes.
"I am, but not right away. I'll miss you," Joss said and she kissed the top of Cali's head. She could not believe she had gotten so familiar and comfortable that she did not even bat an eye at kissing Cali in humanoid form.
Cali pouted even more, but accepted that as Joss turned her attention to Kim. The cousins embraced tightly and patted each other on the back. They pulled away and smiled at each other.
"Thank you for all of the help, I don't think I can ever express how much I appreciate you putting your life on hold to help me, especially considering how cranky I was in the beginning," Kim said.
"It was my pleasure and I totally understand why you were so cranky in the beginning. I know you'd do the same for me," Joss replied.
Kim nodded and then Joss moved onto Bonnie. They hugged and Bonnie thanked her also. Joss smiled at Bonnie and held her for a moment as Bonnie exhaled softly against her. It was as if Bonnie had left go of a heavy burden and Joss had made that possible.
"Any time you ever need anything, please, call me. Anything," Bonnie insisted. She did not care what it was. She would donate an organ, run a marathon, and plenty of other things for Joss at this point.
Joss shook Shego's hand and they more smirked at each other than anything else. "Thanks for everything," the college student said.
"Like the Duchess said, call if you ever need anything," Shego stated.
"Thanks for including me in everything," Joss said again with a smirk. Truth be told, Shego had made her feel like she belonged more than anyone else by taking her on those two missions. Plus, Shego had seen to it that she did not have to worry about money ever again thanks to the investments from Big Daddy Brotherson's cash.
There were a few more hugs and then Joss was gone, for now anyway. Ann had volunteered to drive her back to school and left her alone to bid the trio farewell. Now, their family was back to its original size, but the place felt just a little empty. They had to adjust to the new normal — the old normal.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: normal.