see first post for disclaimer
As Kimberley Ann Possible comes into consciousness she feels an incredible pain radiating from her head, lower back, and left hip. She whimpers, her eyes still closed, and wriggles against the soft down comforters between which she finds herself. After a few seconds she realizes that her attempts to assuage the pain are all in vain and her eyes pop open as she struggles to breathe through the paralyzing sensation. An attendant a few feet away looks up from her book when she hears the labored gasps. She stands and walks to Kim, who looks up at her confused and frightened.
"It's ok Honey," the nurse coos, inserting a syringe into a tube near the bed. Kim follows the tube with her eyes, and realizes it is taped to the back of her hand, where it continues under her skin. "I'm sorry you woke in pain," the stranger continues. "This should help. I'll go fetch the mistress." With that she exits, leaving Kim alone, still confused and increasingly loopy.
Moments later, a light knock is heard at the door. Kim wills herself to say, "come in," but all she hears from her mouth is a low "muuuuggghhh." The door creaks open and a blurry figure enters and approaches the bed. "Princess?" a familiar voice asks. Kim's eyes snap back open as she recognizes Shego, her arch-rival. She looks helplessly up at the villainess, who smiles warmly back at her. "How are you feeling?" the green woman asks, lifting a hand to Kim's forehead. Kim watches the hand's journey tentatively and swallows, unsure of what to make of the contact, but Shego means no harm. The hand feels cool on her head and the touch lessens the pressure of the pain. Kim sighs in relief and Shego lets her hand rest in its place for a moment. Kim tries to speak again, managing a full, "ow." Shego frowns and moves her hand to the girl's cheek before dropping it altogether.
"You're as hot as a pork bun," the visitor observes, worried. The teenager grins at the unusual analogy, her guard dropping. "At least you're still alive," Shego mumbles, more to herself than to her bed-ridden companion. She is overheard, however, and enough of the girl's strength is mustered for her to manage a small, "why?" Excited at the progress, Shego recounts, "you were healed here, by my-" she cuts herself off, and rethinks her answer. "By my family's resources." The look of questioning on the girl's face reminds her of the greater situation, and she corrects once again. "Oh, you mean why were you in danger? Because Drakken blew up another lair." Kim's face is unchanged. "Still not the question? Okay, why would you not be alive? Well... Your last three thoracic and first lumbar vertebrae were cracked when mumble mumblemumblemumble..." Kim squints at her, not sure if she had had a sudden lapse in hearing or if Shego had actually trailed off. When the latter proved true, the older woman sighed and restated, "When I kicked you into a cement column."
Kim looks shocked and moves away from Shego, but the older woman drops her head and apologizes, "I didn't know you weren't going to block my strike. I feel horrible. I never meant to hurt you." To her surprise, Kim lifts a hand to her chin and raises her face to look into her eyes. As their gazes meet Shego is silenced, awaiting a response that would indicate anger, or pain, or betrayal.
"Where am I?" Kim asks, startling Shego both with the clear speech and the left field question. She stumbles on the answer, and what sounds like "kamoko" spills out of her mouth. Kim looks perplexed, and Shego tries again.
"You're in the castle of Kiamo Ko, where I've lived with my mother since I was two." She pulls her head back out of the girl's hand, breaking eye contact. "You were never supposed to be here, but an exception was made when my mom saw the state you were in." Kim watches her play with the blankets. "She doesn't really like it when people are over here. She doesn't like people to know where we live." Kim watches her play with the IV. "She's always been kind of secretive about stuff like this, but she really couldn't turn away a person in need. Or an anything in need, for that matter." Kim watches her play with the blankets. "Mom's always had a soft spot for helpless creatures... She doesn't like unnecessary suffering. Or necessary suffering, really..."
"Shego, you're babbling," Kim interrupts. The older woman looks back up at the injured girl, who asks, "I meant why here? That's what I was trying to ask before." The brunette shrugs her shoulders, turning her attention to her hands.
"I knew you'd be safe here." She states simply, surprising the younger girl with her compassion. "At least until you're healed. Then you'll probably want to make tracks."
This last statement jogs Kim's memory and she attempts to sit up, causing a sharp stab of pain throughout her spine. She takes an equally sharp breath and closes her eyes, holding back a whimper. Shego raises an eyebrow at her, reaching for the tubing. "Well, that was stupid, Princess," she mocks, pushing the plunger of another syringe into the IV. "I know the drugs make things better, but that doesn't mean you're not still broken. Plus, you're bound to have scores of other injuries we just haven't discovered yet." Kim opens one eye and looks sideways at Shego.
"Drugs?" she asks, "What sort of drugs are you giving me?" Then, more alarmed, "you're drugging me?"
The woman moves for the door, knowing the girl will not attempt to follow. If there's one thing to be said about Kim Possible it is that she is clever. It never takes her more than once to learn her lesson, especially if that lesson involves pain. This time is different though. This time she is determined. She attempts another lift, this time crying out pathetically as the pain hits her. "SHEGO!" she shouts, desperation tingeing the word like oil. Shego is once again at her side, cradling her head in one arm, and holding her hand with the other.
"Pumpkin, stop it, you're going to twist your back and dislocate all your new vertebrae!" she replies, not thinking about how much she has revealed until the words are already out; she cannot get them to go back in no matter how she tries, so she doesn't try. She helps Kim lay back once more. "The drugs are just painkillers," she informs, "and you need to stop moving. Your back needs to heal, and you need to just let it."
Kim wipes tears of pain from her eyes and looks up at her rival. "What is really going on here, Shego?" she asks, suddenly suspicious. "Is this one of Drakken's stupid plans? Am I a hostage? Where is my kimmunicator?" Shego doesn't answer, but waves a hand in the direction of the bedside table, where the device has been the entire time. The girl calms down when she sees this display of good faith.
There is another knock at the door, which Shego opens. Another woman comes in and Kim is shocked to see that this woman looks much like her rival, from her wild long black hair to her strong pointed jawline to her dark clothing, even down to her shockingly beautiful verdigris. While Shego's green is the pale green of pistachios, however, this other woman is colored with the strong, vibrant green of a fern or a willow. Her eyes, while the same almond shape as the young thief's, are a distinctive shade of deep mahogany that seem to read a person's very soul with their gaze.
"How is the patient?" the newcomer asks, walking toward Kim. Her voice is deep and rich like a cello, but also has a sweet, lush quality to it that reminds the listener of molasses. When the girl is too dumbstruck to answer, Shego steps in.
"She's healing nicely, but is getting impatient, and doesn't seem to realize the gravity of the situation." She pauses, before continuing in an exasperated tone, "she thinks she's being held captive."
The older woman barks a laugh, and raises her eyebrows at Kim. "Captive?" She puts a hand to her forehead, and turns to look at Shego. "Captive?" she asks again, incredulous. Shego merely shrugs, and rolls her eyes, shirking any and all responsibility for the offense with feigned disinterest. The woman looks back at Kim and asks once more, "captive?" The word starts to lose its meaning and Kim grins as the woman starts an almost comical riposte.
"Captive! I can't believe it. I've never held a captive in my life! Why would you even think I would hold captives? It's the green skin, isn't it?" She turns to Shego. "Do you hold captives? Is that what this is about? Have you been tarnishing my good name with your ridiculous world-conquering antics?" Shego looks shocked, and retaliates.
"Whoa there, Kermit," she growls, "I don't take hostages! If I did I'd have to deal with keeping people in, and as you may have noticed I'm much more interested in keeping people OUT. And what makes you think I've ever even mentioned you? I don't run around doing things 'in the name of mommy' like in your delusions. I've never told a soul about you. Not even my so-called 'brothers.'" She makes air quotes around the word to emphasize her disgust. "I didn't even want to bring you Kimmie-"
Shego is cut off as the verdant other turns back to Kim. "So you're not being held here, and you're free to go at any time. I implore you," she makes a sweeping motion with her arm toward the door, "go at any time. Whenever you feel up to it, you're entirely welcome to leave," she puts up a finger to silence Shego, who is huffing behind her, "though, as I'm sure my darling daughter will tell you, you're also very much welcome to stay as long as you like." Shego crosses her arms and pretends once again to be otherwise occupied. "You're no one's captive, but until your bones grow back you might want to rethink your exit strategy."
By this time the teen heroine is almost too groggy to understand the words being spoken to her, but after what seems like eternal contemplation she asks, "gr-grow back?"
The woman grins, and turns back to Shego. "You weren't kidding, she is sharp. How dopey did you say she was?"
"Nanny gave her a hit when she woke up, and I had to give her another when she tried to attack me," she growls at Kim, who ignores the lie in favor of watching hallucinatory butterflies. "So I'm guessing about sixty milligrams?"
The woman lets out a low whistle, then turns back to Kim, brushing the hair from her forehead. "I'm guessing she's not feeling any pain, then."
"I'd be surprised if she could feel anything at all," Shego mumbles back.
Kim looks at the two of them, her eyes shifting back and forth between them. She gasps, and exclaims, "two Shegos!" languidly returning the caress of the woman at her bedside.
"She-go?" the older woman asks, removing the girl's hand from her face and placing it back on the bed. The name falls off her tongue unrecognized and she looks at the villainess, who shrugs, miming innocence. "No, I'm Elphaba," the woman responds, "and this is-"
"So not the time!" Shego shouts over her, moving quickly to escort her from the room. "I'm sure Kitten has had plenty of answers for now, and is gonna pass out at any moment." Elphaba eyes her suspiciously, but consents to being ushered out. "Plus, haven't you said enough already? Didn't you always tell me our privacy was our freedom? What happened to that, Mom?"
"Elle-fah-buh," Kim drawls, losing it. Elphaba nods and pauses in the doorway.
"Make sure she sleeps," she instructs, "and I think she's had enough morphine for today. She's not really a danger, so there's no need for you to keep her this high. I'll be back to check on her around dusk and I want her to be able to tell me what she remembers."
Shego nods her understanding. She had never intended for Kim to reach this state, so she would have no trouble preventing this from recurring. As the door closes she looks back to her injured rival, who is making lethargic wave-like patterns in the air with her hands. "Oh, Goober," she sighs wistfully.