Chapter 3

Kim Possible followed Shego's gaze up and saw the block of concrete falling towards them. She only had a second to act and she didn't hesitate. Kim thrust her arms over her head as she called on her glow. The falling piece was met by the yellow spheroids enveloping her hands.

The chunk was far larger and heavier than anything else she had tried to block. The impact jarred her arms, but the piece bounced back from her power like everything else, reversing its course and hurtling towards the ceiling. Before it could spend its inverted momentum and fall back down, Kim grabbed Shego and threw them to the side, away from danger. The block came down and the impact showered them with debris and dust.

Kim enjoyed the feel of Shego's body pressed against hers for a second, remembering happier occasions when that had happened. She carefully disentangled herself and got up to face the music. She fidgeted, trying to brush away the dust as she waited for Shego to explode. Shego got up slowly and faced Kim, her usually expressive face held carefully neutral.

"So you did get powers."

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to hate me."

"Hate you? What do you mean?"

"I remember how you reacted when Lynn got a glow. I didn't want you to ever look at me like that." Kim waited in nervous silence as Shego looked at her, her face expressionless.

"Kim... Lynn went out of her way to steal the Glow. You getting it was an accident. That's completely different, and I don't hate you for that."

Kim let out the breath she had been holding.

"Still, you could have let me know. I think I was entitled to that, don't you think?"

Kim thought that the largest part of the so called Go Comet landing in her backyard didn't actually mean that everything that concerned the powers was under Shego's purview, but she understood how she felt.

"I wasn't going to let anyone know." Kim tried a little smile. "But I'm glad I don't have to hide it from you anymore. And I'm glad you don't hate me."

"I can't believe you."

"Excuse me?"

"You took all that punishment rather than reveal your Glow. Were you really going to take that last blow? I could have disfigured you for life, or worse." Shego looked angry now, or maybe just exasperated.

"But you didn't. I just... I really didn't want you to hate me." She had also had faith that Shego wouldn't really deliberately hurt her like that.

"Unbelievable."

Kim didn't say anything. Now that her adrenaline high was ending, Kim was starting to feel just how banged up she was. She ached from bruises all over her body, and sweat and dust were making even small scrapes and wounds sting. Since there hadn't actually been any need to suffer all that hurt in order to avoid revealing her power, she felt a little foolish. An uncomfortable silence descended over them. Smell of dust was heavy in the air, but the lair was quiet.

"Uh, did the place stop shaking?"

"Huh. I guess it did."

"I, uh, I think I'd better check on Ron."

"Call him, but don't go anywhere. We're not done yet."

Kim tapped her wrist Kimmunicator, which had survived the combat through either luck or sturdy construction. She needed to remember to compliment Wade on the new device.

"Hi, KP."

"Ron, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Dr. Drakken's earthquake machine got crushed when a wall fell on it. Uh, he ran away through the hole."

"It's okay, Ron. You get out, too, before the whole lair collapses. Call a ride, I'll meet you outside."

"You get out too, KP."

"I will, I just need to check something first." Kim disconnected before Ron could argue with her. She looked back at Shego.

"So what does it do?"

"Huh?"

"Your Glow, obviously. What does it do?"

"Oh, uh, it's a shield of some kind. It reflects attacks. I haven't had a chance to experiment with it a lot, since I've tried to keep it secret."

"I guess that explains why Lynn's hypno-spheres bounced off you."

"Maybe. I wasn't really using my power then, though."

"I think your Glow has a passive effect. I noticed that punching you hurt more than it should, like your body was hitting me back."

"Huh."

Shego took a step closer and carefully laid her hand on Kim's arm. Pleasant tingles spread through Kim's body from the point of contact.

"Do you feel that?"

"Yes." Kim's voice shook and her mouth was dry. If Shego's touch alone made her feel this good, she was way beyond a simple crush. She had to win Shego back.

"I think it's our Glows interacting."

"What? No!" That couldn't be it. This feeling couldn't be just a side effect of their powers. It had to mean more than that.

"I noticed earlier that touching you feels different, more pronounced. It's like your skin is pressing back at me. It must be your reflection power reacting to my Glow, just like it reacted to Lynn's."

"I... don't you think it could be just us? You're not even using your glow."

"How does it feel to you?"

"It tingles, like electricity, but it's very nice." Kim bit her lip. "It's growing stronger, too."

"So it is." Shego abruptly pulled her hand back. The tingling sensation stopped, but Kim could still feel warmth from the spot Shego had touched. "It's our Glows trying to win a shoving match. You remember how Lynn's power affected me, how it took me a while to fight it off? Same thing."

"I don't believe you."

"You said that the last time we met." Was that guilt in Shego's eyes?

"I just... you were so cruel."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Are you really?"

"I... I didn't mean most of it, okay? I just... I needed to convince you that we couldn't ever be an item."

"It really hurt."

"I know. I should have found a better way to do it, but you weren't taking a hint."

"So it's my fault?"

"I'm not so good with apologies, okay?"

"If you're apologizing, if you didn't mean it... does that mean that..."

"No, stop. See? You still won't take a hint. Okay, let's try to do this right." Shego took a deep breath.

"I don't hate you; for having a Glow, or for anything else. I don't see you as a little girl. I really liked having sex with you, and I wouldn't have minded some more."

Kim opened her mouth, which prompted Shego to hold up a finger.

"But, I'm not looking for anything more. I will not ever date a hero. I'm not interested in a relationship, and even if I was, there's just too many complications with a hero and a villain. You know that too, if you're honest with yourself. You're just either too young or too infatuated to think it through. That's why I had to call it off. If you'd been content with just the occasional sex, it would have been fine. As long as we are on different sides, that's all it can ever be."

"So you are saying it was my fault, after all."

"It's not a question of fault. We wanted different things, and I thought it was best to end it before one of us got hurt because of it."

Kim suspected she didn't mean herself; she didn't really see how Shego could get hurt if she was only in it for sex. But didn't that imply she cared about her?

"If you'd explained this to me then, it would have saved me a lot of grief."

"I know. It just wasn't the best moment for a heart to heart. I'm sorry I couldn't come up with a better way. Are we cool?"

"So, um, are you saying that if we keep things strictly physical, we can keep doing it?"

"If I believed you could do that, I suppose we could be enemies with benefits, but I don't think you can. You think you have a crush on me."

"I do have a crush on you." There was no point in denying it, since they both knew it was true, but it did hit Kim that this was the first time she'd directly admitted her feelings to Shego. It should have felt scarier, but she trusted Shego not to use it to hurt her.

"Maybe. Or maybe you've convinced yourself of that because you can't admit to yourself that you're just lusting after the bad girl."

"What about you? Are you lusting for me?"

"Would you believe me if I said 'no'"?

"Not really." After all, she had slept with her, twice. Or maybe three times, depending on how one counted it.

"Mmm. It's not the same, though. I'm not into you the way you are into me, you're just another hot girl to me." Shego looked her up and down, blatantly biting her lip. "But I really like the new outfit. The way those cargo pants hid your legs was just criminal. The way you look now, all sweaty and disheveled, I could just throw you against the wall and have my way with you."

"Would you?" The question came out hoarse. Kim had never felt the kind of lust Shego inspired in her for anyone else. It was made all the more insistent by the knowledge that she might actually get the chance to slake it.

"No. You have a partner waiting for you, and I'm not convinced you'd be content with just sex. Such a shame."

"How could I convince you, if you won't even give me a chance?"

"Eh, give it time. It's not like high school crushes last that long. Maybe I'll be tempted to give it another go when you become a wild college girl."

"So you do think of me as a schoolgirl."

"Yeah, but a sexy one."

Another awkward silence followed as the women stared at each other.

"Uh, Shego... do we both just walk away here?"

"Yep. You have to collect your useless sidekick, and I have a coconut scrub waiting for me. Catch you later, Kimmie."

Kim watched Shego walk away, her eyes hungrily devouring her delectable figure, desperately trying to commit every detail to memory. Kim was sure Shego was putting some extra swing into her hips for her benefit. She felt incredibly horny and was tempted to do something about it right then and there. Propriety triumphed, however, and she resolved to save it for later, when she had ditched Ron and was alone in the shower.

She was going to have a long, long shower.