Can I Be Your Sidekick?

by Old Soldier

With the help of a time travelling monkey idol, conquering the world's no big; Shego's done it six times already. The sitch...hanging on to it. Seventh time's the charm? Maybe; perhaps training a new sidekick is in order. Slightly AU. Some Kigo later, Kimmie's only ten now.

6. Class Dismissed

Greetings and salutations gentle readers:

Well, I've managed to get an update out in less than a year since the last one. In the previous chapter Shego found out that the Mystical Monkey Power and the Comet Power have a celestial connection; gets a history lesson from a monkey monk and finds out she's a lot older than she looks; sorts out her sexual orientation, starts college for her Child Development Degree and finds out she may be a mother.

My thanks to those who read this story, put it on alert or faved since the last update. To those intrepid readers who reviewed I am thankful for the moral support: HolyRiot11 – I hope this is another chapter that comes out better than my summary. ;d and Orchamus – Get yourself a King-Sized Slurpster® , a Quessorito Combo®, and a comfy chair for this one. ;d

OS

Can I Be Your Sidekick?

Chapter 6

Class Dismissed

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Journal

One hundred and forty-seven years old…damn! And Uncle Percy can only come up with 'interesting' as a comment. Is it age then that's messing with my memories; I mean, how does one forget they're bisexual for crying out loud? I guess that explains me falling for Anne…heh, gee, does that mean I'm robbing the cradle…speaking of which…what if, while grooming her as my sidekick, I fall for Kimmie when she gets older?

How do I know whether I'm remembering all my stratagems and mistakes from the other time streams? Am I or will I start getting senile? Something Chen said hinted the Companions…my…ancestors?...were long-lived…Anne does, literally, look half her age, if that and especially physically fit. And then there's this Simi Yan character. Is he a new factor in the equation or have I simply forgotten about him? Are Chen and the other monks also a part of 'my' history or are they new as he suggests?

Reports from my spies in Drakken's lair indicate my little freaky stand-in is developing as hoped. She must be up to speed by the time she runs into Princess during the nano-tick caper. I taught 'Freaky' everything I knew at the time I first met Dr. D. Kimmie and her sidekick need to develop at least as well now as they did in the original time stream…if not better. The hard part will indoctrinating Princess in accepting the necessity for world domination; here's hoping I'll have enough time with the next five or six years to accomplish this.

It's strange what goes through your mind as you're waiting to fall asleep at bedtime. I'm realizing that anyone who's had some sort of significant emotional involvement with me ended up dead: my parents; a close friend in highschool; my one and only boyfriend and of course, Jhessy. Am I some sort of 'Black Widow' when it comes to deep relationships? Should I be worried about Uncle Percy? What about the Possibles? Do I dare let them get close; more importantly how close should I allow Kimmie and by extension Ron get? Should I keep it professional…can I even do that…is it worth the risk?

As infrequent as his visits to the Middleton Space Centre were when offering his consult on orbital biology experiments, those times he was called in could last weeks. It was with this in mind that Dr. Percival Green bought a condominium townhouse in the new Gustavo Gates community of West Middleton; and it was the address to this abode that a certain college student provided to Lowerton Community College.

Entering the expansive townhouse Shego is assailed by loud music and the smell of takeout wings and pizza; dropping her school bag she finds her uncle in the kitchen struggling with a jar. At her entry Percy turns with a sheepish grin and holds out a large jar of pickles, "I picked up a couple of jars at the Middleton Pickle Works outlet store." With a dramatic roll of the eyes and an exaggerated sigh he continues, "I must have been at this for at least a minute and a half before you came in; would you do the honours please?"

"What is this, 'Operation Gherkin'? Ya know this is usually Henry's job. Opening pickle jars are not in my skill set," sighs Shego impatiently as she pops open the lid. Placing the jar on the counter top she grabs a can of cream soda from the fridge and looks at the take out food with a wry smirk, "I see you went all…out…for supper tonight."

Percy gives his niece a level look and says dryly, "Oh, jocularity…jocularity," then elaborates on the meal, "Yep, the usual, pizza and wings and, as you've already discovered, a case of soda in the fridge…two quarts of chocolate moo juice, bread and butter pickles and a half gallon of chocolate-chip cookie dough ice cream; half of the wings are honey garlic and the other with suicide hot sauce and the works on the pizza hold the bacon and anchovies. I just got home less than ten minutes ago; I have to run back to the space center to deal with some glitches in the experiment protocols before lift-off to the space station in two weeks."

"Moo juice…and pickles? Unc', your taste buds have seriously jumped the track. Here I thought Cupcake's preference for marshmallows on her hot dogs was whack."

"That's chocolate moo-juice if you don't mind, unless you prefer I call it cocoa moo like when you were little."

"How about just plain chocolate milk unc'. Besides, who drinks chocolate milk with suicide wings anyway; that is so whack. I'll stick with honey garlic and leave my innards intact, thank you very much." Turning her head Shego finally pays closer notice to the music playing as the two sat to dinner.

"Is that disco?" she asks incredulously, "I thought you were into glam rock and metal."

"Yeah, I'm just tripping back to my days at U of Upperton. While I was down at the space centre today I ran into a crush from back in the day; man, she's got to be as old me yet she looks as young as you."

With an eager smirk Shego leans forward, "Ooh, my uncle has a romantic streak; do dish. Does this crush have a name, my dear uncle?"

Leaning his head on one hand Percy's eyes take on the thousand yard stare, "Back then she went by Annie Boyington; vibrant red hair, bright blue eyes, great skin, tall willowy body…"

"…With legs that just won't quit…in that evening gown that was slit all the way up to her hip…she had to have been wearing a thong …"

"…Uh, ignoring for the nonce the apparently dreamy way you just said that…"

"…Wild guess here; were you referring to Dr. Anne Possible?"

"Uh…yeah…I was talking to James when she showed up to take him out for lunch. You see, I had originally only spoken with him about hiring you and I'd forgotten they got married. Anyway, when she showed up I recognized her on sight and she actually remembered me; I mean, we were acquainted through a couple of biology classes we attended together but we weren't in the same social clique. Of course that never stopped her from being friendly with everybody; everybody felt at ease around her regardless of social status. By the end of freshman year, Annie had become so popular that if one made a reference to 'The Ann' it was understood you were referring to Annie Boyington. One of her favourite pastimes was dancing, spending Saturday nights at the local discos. Annie had a best friend…damn, what was her name…Monnie?…Ronnie?…Bonnie? Anyways, she wasn't as attractive and tended to get eclipsed by Annie; however they were close and both were creatures of uncommon grace, nobody could match them on the dance floor. I would hang out at whatever disco they went to just to watch Annie dance."

Shego raises an eyebrow and drawls sarcastically, "Great, I've got a stalker in my family tree."

The biologist's face suddenly takes on a sober expression, "Never mind that. I wanted to relate to you a little anecdote that came to mind today, about a side of Annie that's seldom seen."

With a cleansing breath Percy continues, his niece paying rapt attention, "This is a story I had to piece together over a few weeks at that time since this kind of stuff tended to get swept under the rug in those days. Annie and…Bonnie?...Monica?…Moni?…were on the football team booster club; as usual Annie endeared herself thoroughly to the team. Anyway, apparently one evening one of the less savoury players, his name was Mick, attempted to have his way with Annie's best friend; she walked in on them and chased him off. He of course vowed he would still get his way and include Annie as well. There were conflicting stories of whether or not a knife was involved but he did have a bad reputation and apparently Annie took him seriously. After taking care of her friend she spent the rest of the evening tracking down the jerk to one of the dorms where he was actually bragging of what he would do to the two women. At this point the story is a bit more reliable because one of my friends was on the team and was there to witness it."

Percy suddenly notices the music had been silenced and sees the remote in his niece's hand, "Brian said some of the guys weren't comfortable with Mick's goings on since they all liked Annie and by extension any friend of hers. Anyway, according to Brian, she stormed in and confronted him; and not just to have a few words…more like essays were spoken. Apparently, Mick suddenly backhanded Annie, called her a bitch and tells her to shut the fuck up. Brian said the rest of the guys were about to 'teach' him manners but she got to him first. That's when they discovered that their little Annie could float like a butterfly and sting like a howitzer, taking him out with a mix of boxing and judo; I mean, no one had a clue she was that strong or fast. In the end she came out with a large bruise on her right cheek and a sprained right wrist from breaking his jaw; as for him, along with the jaw, there were two black eyes, broken nose, missing teeth and dislocated shoulder. As far as Brian and the guys were concerned Annie was the sweetest person around and if you pissed her off enough to make her beat the crap out of you, you deserved what you got."

Pouring another shot of cocoa-moo and passing the glass over to her uncle Shego looks at him closely, "So what happened next?"

"Well, despite the university trying to keep things quiet the rumour mill was in overdrive; word got out about Mick's exploits in assaulting female students as his victims, with Annie's encouragement, gained the courage to speak up. With all that combined with his injury, he lost his football scholarship and expelled on grounds of moral turpitude. Technically Annie should also have been expelled for assault on a fellow student however after hearing the testimony of the football players there, the Dean of Students marked it down as self-defence and suggested to Annie that in the future she should leave such things to campus security instead. Unfortunately for…Moni! Yes, that was her name…Monica Penelope…Annie always called her Moni…they were the go-to gals…if something needed doing 'you can bet Annie-Moni can do it'; anyway, everybody recognized Moni's name by reputation but very few could match the name to a face." Regaining his focus Percy continues sombrely, "Moni was never the same again after that."

Shego sat back pointing at her uncle with both hands, "Remind me to stay on Anne's good side,' then reflecting for a moment, "especially when her idea of messing with your head involves a scalpel." Then after a moment's reflection she quirks an eyebrow, "You can bet Annie-Moni can do it? Are you kidding me with that?"

Chuckling, Percy asked his niece, "So college girl, how's your first week and a half in school been?"

Folding her arms across her chest the young woman rolls her eyes, "Oi, orientation week was what was to be expected; every prof had the same attitude…my class is the only one that exists and or matters in this reality, all assignments are to be handed in two days before there're due, yadda-yadda. And get this; they all professed to an open door policy yet these same profs have their offices in 'secure' faculty areas; you need an appointment just to get into the department. This week was more interesting; all the first year child development students were given a field placement at an elementary or pre-K to be introduced to working with kids in a school setting," Shego smirked, "and Monday, of all places I get Kimmie's alma mater, ABC Pre-School."

After polishing off a handful of wings she continues, "Anyway, as my teaching mentor Miss Sagloski introduces me to the kids, this little Hispanic boy, Zeke, comes over real quiet like, asks to be picked up and after careful deliberation on his part decides I'm his mother. For the rest of the day he's my shadow; either he has my finger or my skirt. He's no trouble, does what he's told and is quite bright, but it was kinda creepy nonetheless. Then there was one little girl who sat on my lap and asked if she could go to the washroom; I soon as I said sure, she pee'd on my lap. At nap time I sat cross-legged on the floor while Zeke slept curled up in my lap; of course, since I'm sitting on the floor, my hair is spread out behind me. This other little girl crawls under my hair, says my hair is cool and that it makes a neat tent." Shego growls quietly, "Next time I'm wearing my hair in a ponytail. Another one is my apparent ability to speak in rhymes when I talk to the kids; it just blew Sagloski's mind. Actually, it kinda threw me for a loop when she mentioned it since I didn't know I was doing it."

Percy smiles, "Don't you remember; your mother would talk to you kids in rhyme whenever she wanted to either teach or entertain you. Natalie was quite talented dealing with primary grade children and as a substitute teacher she was highly rated by whichever school district you guys were living in at the time."

Sitting upright with her hands stretched out on the table, Shego gives her uncle a rather neutral look, "Huh, really. Well, I found this curious too. The teacher complimented me not only on the green highlights in my hair but on the delicate and attractive application of green blush on my cheeks…Uncle Percy, I never put any makeup on my face except for black eyeliner and black stain on my lips. I looked in a mirror but I couldn't see it myself." Percy quirks an eyebrow with interest at that, guiding her chin gently left and right with his hand, examining her face as his niece continues, "Anyway, the creepiest part came at the end of the day while we were waiting for the parents; I had Zeke in my arms…."

~~~~~While holding Zeke in her arms Jhessa is approached by her pre-K mentor, "Miss Ravens, you did a wonderful job today, your rapport with the children was delightful; I'm looking forward to seeing you again and I'll be passing on a very favourable update."

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud squeal. Turning to the doorway the two women watch a young Hispanic girl, about six years of age with long dark hair yelling down the hall, "Papi…Papi…she's back, she's back and she's holding Zeke! Hurry up Zita, ya gotta see!"

A moment later another girl, about ten or eleven, her dark hair closer to shoulder length, enters the room and stops to stare at Jhessa holding her little brother. With a curious inflection to her voice she utters, "Oh wow," turning she instructs her younger sister, "Zoë, go tell Papi to hurry up…quick!"

After a few minutes of awkward silence Zoë returns, dragging her father by the hand; as soon as he sees who's holding his son he stops dead and stares for several moments, seemingly stunned at the image of Jhessa holding his son.

"Oh my," The father expresses in a light Spanish accent as he reaches out gently to take his son all the while never taking his eyes off the young woman. He only just manages to stutter quietly, "Uh…come on Chico, it's…umm…time to go home."

As Jhessa attempts to pass the little boy over to his father, trying to disengage his death-grip on her hand, everybody is stunned by Zeke's ensuing comment, "Ain't Mamá coming home too, Papi?"

To say the situation was awkward would have been a gross understatement; Edith, the first to recover offers a suggestion, "Mr. Flores, why don't I take the children to the next classroom and keep them occupied; perhaps you and Miss Ravens could have a chat." Receiving an assenting nod from the two adults the teacher leaves with the children in tow.

As she sits down on one of the low tables used by the tiny students, Jhessa motions Hector to sit as well who in turn sits on the low bench along the wall beneath the chalkboard. After a few more moments of awkward silence Zeke's father pulls a well creased photograph from his wallet and passes it to the young woman.

For her part Jhessa is taken aback at an image of herself that, apart from the darker skin, seemed eerily identical right down to the posture, the long dark tresses, that look in her eyes with the smirk that implied …I know something about you that you don't and I'm not telling…and holding a baby in her arms. After a few moments she examines the photo more closely, her eyes widening…what the hell, she looks like I did in high…quickly looking up at Hector she asks, "How old am I…she here?"

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck Hector barely mutters, "Umm, yeah…uh Sonia was fifteen then and that's Rosita she's holding.

Jhessa quirks an eyebrow.

Standing up Hector begins pacing back and forth in front of the chalkboard, hanging his head down in apparent embarrassment; jamming his hands in pants pockets he explains, "Sonia and I were best friends since we were little. We did everything together, we were always together; our families would joke about who owned which kid we were so often at each others house. We always backed each other up…we'd do anything for each other. At the end of ninth grade, when her boyfriend's family moved away, Sonia kinda got carried away saying goodbye to him. When she told me she was pregnant I went to our parents, of course without telling Sonia cause she'd blow a casket, she did have a temper ya know, and 'confessed' my actions and offered to marry her after high school. I promised to be with her and the baby all through high school. They were disappointed a lot but since they liked me a lot they took my word and I kept mine. Sonia and I got married the summer we graduated. She was really smart with people…she could read them like a book…heh, some she said were like comic books…and she was real smart with fashions and stuff…and she ran her own Club Banana store at the Middleton Mall. When Sonia died her best girl friend, Marita, who was her assistant manager, took over."

As Hector was concluding his explanation Jhessa's mind had gone into overdrive, "Creepy much…this is like the time stream when I sent the Stoppable's to Norway before Kim and Ron were born…Kimmie got knocked up by her boyfriend Walter Nelson in ninth grade just before he moves away… Stoppable first comes over as an exchange student then later his parents move back from Norway…Ron and Kim hook up, he steps up, accepts her baby as his own and marries Kim after highschool…I gotta figure out how to get hold of Chen and learn more on this converging bloodlines thing he was talking about." Jhessa brought herself back into the now as she realized Hector was still talking and heading to the other classroom where the children were…

… "I'm sorry about this; you see Sonia, she was killed in a car crash several months ago and Zeke took it really bad. I mean, like you saw, 'cept for your skin colour you look lots like her; to a four year old I mean its close enough. I'll arrange for Zeke to go to another …"

"…Papi, I'm eleven and she's close enough." interjected Rosita as she exited the other classroom at the sound of her father's voice.

"Zita's right Papi," added Zoë, "You said Mamá would be watching over us from heaven. Maybe God sent this lady to make us feel better."

Zeke's small voice was then heard, "So can she still come home Papi?"

Jhessa looked down at the children, "Oh man, Kimmie's puppy dog pout ain't got nothing on these kids." Looking up she sees Hector shifting his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably, shifting her gaze she sees Edith looking sympathetically in her direction, obviously at a loss. Looking back at the family Jhessa's mind is suddenly overcome by a rather painful flashback…incredible sadness coupled with overwhelming guilt assail her emotions as her mind rushes through a series of long buried memories…two coffins…her body racked with sobs…flinching at the loud crack of gunshots…a crushed car….

Eventually, Jhessa realizes Edith had been trying to get her attention, "Sorry, I seem to have zoned out for some reason."

Edith countered, "Zoned out nothing dearie; you look like you're almost in tears."

Hector spoke up quietly and apologetically, "I'm sorry, I guess Zeke's mix up upset you a lot; we should head home now. Come on kids; Zeke, let go of Señorita Ravens hand and let's go."

Her eyes glistening Jhessa speaks up, her voice catching in her throat, "It's not you. I just suddenly remembered my parents died in a car accident when I was about ten."

There followed a long moment of silence within which Edith covered her mouth as she gasped, Hector cleared his throat lightly as he tried to maintain his composure and tears began rolling down Zoë and Zita's cheeks. After studying Jhessa's face for a few moments, Zeke asks, "Are you sad?"

Trying to maintain her composure, the young woman answers, "Yeah cowboy, I guess I am at that."

With that the little four year old boy beckons Jhessa down to his level and as she kneels in front of him he wraps his arms around her neck to give her a hug….~~~~~

"Oh my," commented Uncle Percy quietly, "Compassion from a four year old. It doesn't get much more sincere than that."

His niece sat, mute, staring vacantly into space, leaving her food untouched. After several minutes Percy's concern grew, his niece was rarely this quiet, "JJ? You okay? You look kinda out of it."

A moment later she directs emotionless eyes towards her uncle, answering in a dull, almost imperceptible, monotone, "If I hadn't been such a fucking brat that day, they'd still be alive. Thirty seconds…thirty fucking seconds is half a mile at sixty miles an hour. If I hadn't been in one of my stupid funks that day I would've bothered to spare thirty seconds to give Daddy a hug and a kiss before he took Momma to her doctor's appointment. They would've still been half a mile from…there…when…that …happened."

Staring at his niece, it was Dr. Percival Green's turn to sit mute.

---

The green and black fighter jet swooped down below the skyscrapers and although the avenue she followed was fairly wide as far as city streets went, ailerons and rudders flicked back and forth subtly, keeping the agile craft safely down the middle. The raven haired pilot pondered her mission; she knew where her target was yet could not remember who it was nor place the city she was in, "Why does this place make me think of Tokyo or Hong Kong?"

Rounding a large, sweeping left curve she sees the procession she is meant to strike at, doing a fly-by to confirm her target in the middle of the parade. She realizes the plethora of flashing neon signs bordering the avenue would be distracting. Being in 'battle' mode, the force shield around Shego's aircraft was up as well as the point defence lasers. Although proof against shrapnel, small arms and energy weapons, direct hits from cannon fire and those missiles not neutralized by the lasers could still take her down and the long straight avenue made her attack run predictable.

Suddenly the collision alarm sounds and she is shocked by the form of a young, vaguely familiar, blond boy hitting the front of her canopy. With an evil smirk she inverts her aircraft and waves her fingers at the boy as she watches him plummet to his death on the street below. To her frustration she hears another alarm in her headset indicating a bogey on her six, "Shit, since when do I get caught by someone from behind?" Looking behind Shego sees a long tether attached to the tail of her jet, a girl with red hair hanging on at the end. With a kick to the rudder she creates a whiplash effect sending her passenger smashing into a nearby building; the pilot smiles as the broken body falls to bounce on the street.

Swinging back around she opens her weapons bay to drop a fuel-air-explosive on the procession below; the fuel aerosol envelops the target area like a mist, obliterating everything within it as it ignites. With a grin of satisfaction Shego pulls around to launch a salvo of rockets filled with poison gas, the survivors painfully choking to death on their own frothing lung fluids.

Landing her jet to inspect her handiwork, Shego's attention is caught by someone apparently scolding her, "JJ, if you can't play nice with your toys, you won't get to play with them at all."

Turning around Shego sees her sister Jhessy with her hair in a high ponytail and teal headband, wearing a drab brown waist length suit jacket and a mini-skirt that showed off an enticing amount of leg. Her arms were around the shoulders of what appeared to be two vaguely familiar teens; a boy with blond hair and a girl with long red hair and as they walk away Jhessy reassures them, "Don't worry guys, Jhessa's just in one of her funks and is just being a brat; you can hang out with me, it'll be a blast!" Then she calls out over her shoulder,

"And Daddy is kinda disappointed in you right now so you better catch him before he leaves so you can say you're sorry for being a brat."

Looking back to where her jet was Shego instead finds herself in the living room of her home and sees her father walking out the front door, "Daddy, wait!"

The tweenaged girl dashes onto the front porch only to see the family car driving away down an empty road in a featureless landscape. Shego is startled by the appearance of large metallic constructs falling out of the sky, impacting the ground around her parents' car as if they were lawn darts, missing by mere inches.

Suddenly a black void appears on the horizon, straddling the road and swallowing up the car. The abrupt sensation of overwhelming despair and terror creeps across her soul, alerting Shego to a malevolence about to pounce on her from behind. Reflexively the tween spins around to face the threat, snarling loudly in defiance…

…waking Shego from her nightmare. She was not accustomed to experiencing dread in such magnitude. Eyes darting furtively from shadow to shadow in her room, alert for the still perceived threat, she tries to understand why the dark areas seemed to flicker and move of their own volition until she realizes her hands had lit up; her roving vision met the mirror on her dresser and she notices her eyes flaring beyond emerald to an intense, neon green….

---

The rest of the week remained weird for the young woman; still well behaved, Zeke made it a point to ask Jhessa each day if she was okay; giving her a hug when he arrived and left; she had the gymnasium dream again and a strange dream of the pre-K children walking on stilts and knocking houses down during recess. Not having any classes Friday, the addled student teacher decided to sort things out and face what began to appear as the awakening of some personal demons.

Her first destination was a certain highway overpass just outside of Go City, where the biggest thing that changed her life, including the comet…or was that…egg?…according to Chen...happened. Upon arrival Shego parks her muscle car under the fairly new overpass, switching off the rumbling engine. Walking towards the abutment she examines the structure of the seven year old bridge; eight years before, the original structure collapsed onto five cars passing underneath, crushing them all and killing the occupants. A marble slab imbedded in the concrete of the abutment listed the names of the victims; listed alphabetically meant her parents were at the bottom. After a time staring at the list the Shego returns to her car to sit on the hood, her feet dangling over the fender. Sitting there, her vision alternates between a blank stare and detailed scrutiny of the bridge structure, her mind barely registering the approach of a state trooper.

Stopping several feet away the veteran patrolman, his hair just beginning to turn grey at the temples, put his hand cautiously upon his pistol, "You okay there miss? Do ya need any help?"

Without turning her head Shego answers flatly, "My parents died here under the old bridge."

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable however with a sense of understanding the officer replies, "I'm real sorry to hear that. Um, technically, you shouldn't be parking here unless it's an emergency. But considering your thoughts, I'll just leave you be; just mind the traffic, okay?" And with that he left.

Near sundown found the muscle car travelling at close to a hundred miles an hour along the interstate to the opposite side of Go City, a Team Go transponder on the dashboard transmitting an IFF signal to local law enforcement so they would let the car pass by unhindered. Sunday afternoon saw Shego drive her red Eliminator through the gates of Victoria Lawn Cemetery…Probably named after some political potentate's wife…cruising slowly as she meanders through the narrow driveways until her destination is reached. For a moment Shego takes stock of her surroundings. The sky was clear, the day was warm and there was only the slightest breeze. Any other visitors appeared few and far between.

Grabbing a cooler and satchel from the back seat Shego walks reverently up a slight incline to two grave markers she has not seen since she was ten. Glancing around, her mind's eye replays the scene; the honour guard with their rifles there off to one side; she remembered flinching at each salvo of the rifles. She saw Henry being all stoic as he received the flag from the Air Force officer; for once Ian kept his mouth shut; Kevin and Kyle were restless, but then they were only four and at least did not cry when the rifles fired; and as for herself, she sobbed uncontrollably, believing her parent's death had been her fault. She was also confused and hurt since none of rest of the family had shown up. Her mother's family was huge—eleven sisters and a brother and her dad with two brothers and two sisters—and never mind the innumerable cousins: where were they? Maybe they figured out her parent's death had been her fault and refused to come because of her.

Fingering the small gold crucifix around her neck she looks to the left at her mother's grave stone, "Natalie Charlotte Josephine Ravens neé Gauthier…then glances at her father's tombstone on the right…Edgar Allen Ravens, Major, USAF… thank you Daddy for putting your foot down, I don't think I could've lived life as a Charlotte…although Josephine isn't much better for a middle name…still, I didn't mind JJ so much…especially from you…and I miss you guys calling me Princess and Pumpkin...Shego cocks her head and ponders a moment…huh." To the other side of her mother's plot is an empty patch of grass at which Jhessa looks sadly; in the original time stream her sister Jhessy had been buried there.

The young woman begins removing items from the cooler, "I thought we'd have ourselves a little picnic together since it's so nice out, and get reacquainted. Who would have thought a four year old boy would have given me the maturity to come to terms with losing you guys; how about that?"

"I brought your favourite treat Momma, fresh fruit in whipped cream that I whipped myself and champagne imported from France and our favourite pastime, a colouring book with a virgin box of sixty-four crayons. For you Daddy, a six-pack of your favourite beer, take out Chinese food and the schematics to my personal jet. The daughter looks off in the distance as she continues speaking to her parents in a contrite tone,

"So…it's been a while. I guess, from your point of view it's only been about eight years, closer to a hundred and forty for me, and I don't look my age because I've had to transfer into a clone because my original body was getting too old…how about that? I couldn't get myself to come visit you after the funeral because I felt too guilty; then after a few time streams I'd forgotten all about you guys…yeah, more to follow about that concept. I was ferociously guilty because I was too engrossed in having one of my meltdowns to even say good-bye before you drove away; I kept thinking just a hug and a kiss and you'd be alive today. I believed you'd be angry with me and punish me by haunting me or something. Yeah, I know, that is about as rational as my fears of the monster under my bed when I was little. Oh yeah, and about that Daddy, that's why I insisted you stay with me at bedtime till I fell asleep; I was terrified of some monster under my bed. It was so bad I couldn't even leave my bed to go to the bathroom which explains why I sometimes wet the bed."

Having paused during her brief discourse Jhessa resumes emptying the cooler, "Anyway the bridge collapse raised a big stink with the public and the highway department. We became wards of the state because it was claimed you had no will. That was a load of bull; even I knew every serviceman had to complete a will, a copy of which was kept on file; and they couldn't find any extended family, as if."

"Go City Family and Children Services said we'd need to be split up and placed in foster homes so we could have a 'normal' life; the military wanted to put us into Area 51—I've got the documentation to back that up—which reminds me Daddy, you got shafted with that last posting to a training wing, they just wanted you out of a combat unit for 'security concerns'. Of course you know Henry's comet story was rejected out of hand. They still believed our 'condition' was the result of some botched…or successful experimentation with some domestic or foreign agent or agency with suspicious intentions or you'd stolen something that got out of hand…they just couldn't prove anything. After I took over the world the first time I found the documentation where the nerdlingers freaked because our glow had an energy signature that theoretically should not even exist in this universe. Of course that frustrated them more because they weren't able to figure out why and how our powers worked the way they did…however speaking with some old mystical monkey monk in Cambodia…don't look at me like that, I so did…gave me an explanation that's just as good, if not better, than those provided by our best experts."

"Anyway, some weird organization won out on the custody issue, deciding our powers should be put to use serving the greater good as superheroes. Again, after I took over the world the first time I had no problem finding out who these people were. Global Justice, if you can believe it, set up and funded Team Go and Go City was the proving grounds for the experiment. It seems we were their first attempt at developing a dedicated super-hero team to tackle the latest crop of techno super villains that were emerging. And they wanted so much to keep it secret that they set it up so that any electronic communication in and out of Go City would be intercepted and any mention of Team Go and the super villains they fought would be censored."

"They built the Go Tower…yeah, darn thing looks like it belongs in a Saturday morning cartoon…and the next couple of years were spent in training, indoctrination and evaluating our powers."

Jhessa's tone became bitter, "We had no lives any more; days filled with physical training, unarmed combat, sleep deprivation, uppers, downers, experimental diets, villain recognition profiles. Medical experiments examining physical stamina, tolerance to various toxic substances…almost all were unpleasant, many painful, some almost crippling and a few just south of lethal... they examined our healing ability, what limits our powers had, could they be combined, their effect increased or their range of effect increased. Hell, my first intro to Sex Ed came in a rather embarrassing and traumatic fashion at eleven when I showed the very first signs of puberty; they wanted to examine how my powers affected my reproductive system. I'm quite sure the ethical and moral ramifications of these endeavours were the furthest thing from their minds."

Grimly Jhessa retrieves a can of beer from the cooler, opens it and toasts her parents before taking a swallow, " Oh, don't worry about the drinking and driving issue, none of us can get drunk although some of the stronger chemicals can affect us briefly before our bodies burn them off…unless its something that can kill us outright." Focusing herself she continues, "By the time I was twelve we were sent out against our first big, bad, evil guys. If it hadn't been for our powers and being an unknown variable to the villains we would've been killed. Because he was the oldest, Henry, within his own little delusion, figured he'd be the team leader of some great crusading crime fighting force; he began committing to memory all the available manuals detailing what, unknown to us at the time, were GJ procedures and protocols…heh, him and Agent Du would've gotten along famously. So he figured all we had to do was stand there looking all super-hero-ish and chastise the villains into surrendering to us. Of course Ian never liked being told what to do so he was always difficult to work with. Since I was practically raising the twins they tended to follow my lead with a minimum of fuss."

Taking another swig from her can, Jhessa enjoys a nibble of Chinese food from the take-out container as she stairs blankly across the cemetery, "Within six months I'd become frustrated with our lack of success; we were pretty much a laughing stock and the 'remedial' training from our instructors, meant to correct our deficiencies, was really getting on my nerves. My funks got to be more intense and frequent and my temper shorter; with my green glow the boys tended to stay out of my way whenever I fell into one of my meltdowns. To preserve my sanity I decided to plan our missions myself and I was ruthless in getting the boys to focus. Heh, even Henry didn't like getting slammed by one of my kinetic projectiles so he tended to behave although he still liked to believe he was in charge."

Jhessa's head came up suddenly, "Oh yeah, you guys don't know about Team Go! Well, Henry ended up with super strength, and I'm not exaggerating; he's a freakin' tank. He was really into the secret identity thing so we all had to have heroic names. His team name was Hego…I wonder if he realized there were three other males on the team. Ian chose Mego…no surprise there and he was a shrinker; Kevin and Kyle could replicate themselves into, as yet, uncounted copies and called themselves, appropriately Wego. As for me I was called…wait for it…She-go! I was the artillery and unlike the boys I broadened my skill set by finding new ways to use my plasma and learned a more mundane skill set that would make a ninja warrior proud."

Reflecting for a moment, Jhessa continues, "You should've seen me Daddy I was pretty much a SWAT team commander at fourteen. I took your advice to heart; don't just think outside the box, be outside the box and build one around the other guy who's trying to think outside the box. Unfortunately, my concept of max-flex during a mission often clashed with your oldest son's 'Team Leader' delusions along with his penchant for refusing to think outside the box. Anyway, by that time our success ratio had become so impressive that a couple of men in black going by Agents Smith and Smith offered me a position as some sort of black ops type; they were prepared to doctor my birth certificate to make me of legal age. Obviously I declined."

Sighing, she continues, "By then I had become disillusioned with the crime fighting shtick. It was getting repetitive; we'd put them away and somehow they'd get out so we'd have to catch them again. It was becoming a rut. Again, I later found out GJ was arranging the 'escapes' to create more 'training' scenarios."

"Anyway, speaking of fourteen, two significant events happened. One day Uncle Percy shows up out of nowhere. Apparently he had spent the last few years on scientific expedition in the Amazon looking for some fool orchid. I ran into him at a bank heist; he had been one of the hostages. When he realized what happened he went ballistic and took the state to court. He had the documents, including your will, naming him legal guardian plus affidavits from Aunt's Collette, Françoise and Dorothy and Uncles Paul and Art who would've been willing to take us in, freaky powers and all. They didn't know what had happened they just figured our lack of communication was due to some overseas posting." Jhessa smirked, "Heh, he went at them for fraud, child exploitation, and child endangerment, among others."

"Wanting to avoid the risk of getting exposed by some 'crat wanting to cover their own ass, GJ apparently offered Uncle Percy a deal that he was happy with; especially when he had us available to testify to the just barely ethical experiments, indoctrinations, impossible hours and lack of social contact with the outside world."

"Soon after we heard that there had been a change in command, some new 'director'...a Doctor Elizabeth Director actually. Suddenly the boot camp conditions ceased. As a female I was given newly renovated private quarters, away from the boys, in a part of the Go Tower that used to house some of the labs. The experiments stopped and we were to be reintegrated into normal society and not be forced to be on duty twenty-four and seven; although we'd still be living in the Go Tower." Jhessa grinned, "And, Daddy, we were assigned our own jet, which of course, was called the Go Jet. Obviously I jumped on the chance to learn how to fly and by the time I was seventeen I could fly just about anything just by looking at the controls. You ought to see what I'm flying now; it has an AI which I've named Jhessy; I brought the schematics with me. And Momma; I'm going to college to be a teacher and believe it or not the little ones actually like me, it's the ones who've passed puberty that raise my snark factor. Heh, I even have my own fan section, a little four year old named Zeke."

"So anyway, Henry got a job running a fast food joint, Ian went to college, I was going to start high school and the twins ended up in middle school."

"In the end our lives stabilized somewhat, I hadn't realized how much of a roller coaster we were on Momma until your cousin established a little more peace and security in our minds. He said he promised you guys he would do his best to provide for us and keep us happy. Well, thanks to Uncle Percy's efforts we certainly lacked for nothing, he moderated our superhero activities; as for happiness Henry enjoyed the heroic crusader/secret identity persona, Ian basked in the glory and the twins enjoyed the adventure." Jhessa smirked, "As for me, my mood improved somewhat, to the boys' relief."

"Apparently, Uncle Percy was into some cutting edge cloning processes. When I was fifteen he convinced me to give him some DNA and he'd grow a sister for me. At that time I thought that was so cool. By the time I was seventeen I was ready to bail from the team, because me and a bunch of innocents were almost killed because of Hego pulling a stupid; for me that was the last straw. Then, just as I was packing Percy introduces me to my new clone-sister…I named her Jhessy. Of course we were identical physically however her skills, memory and training only reflected what I knew at fifteen. What was really weird though was her personality which seemed almost opposite to mine, seemingly more upbeat than me; friendly and helpful with others; even flirty if you can believe that and with a dry wit she could deliver with impeccable timing. We got along great…the next few years were very happy times."

"Highschool was pretty much over with for me so it too late to include Jhessy. I brought her up to speed with her education and Team Go training while I went to college. None of the boys seemed to have picked up on things; however, Henry began openly wondering about how I didn't seem to be myself sometimes. As usual Henry misconstrued his observations and assumed I was being corrupted by the lure of evil and thus up to something nefarious."

"Just after I finished college Jhessy's cloning matrix started breaking down and she slowly died of multiple organ failure. I was devastated and despondent; with the revolving villains, corrupt politicians, inept law enforcement and dealing with the boys, losing Jhessy was the last straw and I left. I buried her next to you Momma where the empty plot is."

"There was a lean time of drifting trying to find honest work. I discovered, much to my amazement, no one outside Go City had ever heard of Team Go; it also turned out there weren't too many job opportunities for a green freak with weird powers, emotional baggage and a bad temper. Strangely enough, the villainous community seemed well aware of my pedigree and gave me a wide berth at first. My mind slowly ended up in a bad place; I became seduced by the dark side, and after slowly proving myself, was accepted for my abilities by the villain community and I quickly became the best mercenary thief, enforcer and facilitator; made some good coin too from that."

After indulging in some more snacks, Jhessa continues, "Eventually I signed on with this super-villain whose sole aim was to dominate the world. His schemes were constantly foiled by of all people, a teen cheerleader; of course that's not exactly a great reflection on me since I was supposed to be his muscle among other things. But then, this girl is special…more on her later. Anyway, after a few years I got this opportunity; I came up with my own scheme to take over the world and with the help of a time traveling monkey idol…I am not kidding…it worked…six times now going on seven. The problem has been hanging on to it, especially in the face of supernatural and extra-terrestrial mooks. So I decided that I needed to train a new, more effective sidekick and that's where Kimmie, the cheerleader, comes into the picture…."

Late in the afternoon, a groundskeeper passing by was drawn by a curious sight, for sitting on the grass in front of two grave markers was a teen girl. In front of one stone was a small bottle of champagne and picnic bowl of fresh fruit in whipped cream; the other had a king-size can of beer and a take-out container of Chinese food. The teen girl was busy playing with a colouring book while at the same time puffing on a well worn pipe, the pouch of tobacco beside her on the grass keeping what appeared to be aircraft schematics from blowing away. Duct-taped to the left headstone was a photo of twin girls in their late teens; the young woman sitting on the ground obviously one the two. All the while the young woman carried on with a spirited monologue to the two graves.

Just before leaving at sundown Jhessa turns towards her mother's grave, "Ya know Momma, nothing personal but I wish you'd had Kimmie instead of the twins, or at least after the twins. Really, I do wish Kimmie and I could have grown up together…I would've loved a little sister…like her."

---

The following Tuesday after school saw Shego flying her personal jet, to her alma mater, Go City Central High, timing her arrival for the early evening since the school would still be open for extra-curricular activities, tutoring and so on yet not be crowded. As she approaches, cloaked and in hush mode, to the back of the football field she sees there is something very wrong with not only the school but with the surrounding neighbourhood: the whole place looked like a riot zone. Houses around the school were a mix of burned out, boarded up or just generally vandalized. Burned out cars were in evidence up and down the streets; however, more poignant were the burned out paramedic ambulances and a fire truck in the school's front parking lot. Although for the most part the school was still intact, there was copious evidence of extensive vandalism including what appeared to be burned out classrooms.

As she lands her jet at the far end of the sports field Shego is alerted by a warning from Jhessy, "Noxious gas alert big sis."

"So spill already Jhessy."

"Lingering traces of airborne psychotropic agents of levels significant enough to affect mundanes; you'll know they're there but they won't bother you. There is evidence of significant use of riot gas, white phosphorous and hexachlorothane; miscellaneous traces of other fumes consistent with the level and type of property damage in the area as well as weapons fire and explosives."

Having dismounted, Shego carefully scans her surroundings, leaving instructions for her AI, "Okay Jhessy, skirts down and your legs crossed and don't be shy about kicking anybody in the gonads if they get fresh; also, mute the area, I don't want any signals in or out."

"You got it sweetie."

Expecting to meet some of her gang Shego wore her old Mutants colours: black cowboy boots, jeans, jean-jacket, olive green t-shirt and headband and black fingerless gloves with a green fireball stitched on the back; her hair braided up short and tight. As she approaches the school building, the former gang leader notes with growing trepidation the odd collection of ropes dangling from the crossbars of the football goal posts. Unbeknownst to her, two very surprised and grotesque individuals, having just turned the corner of a maintenance shed, witnessed the apparent materialization from thin air of an attractive woman; a very hurried cell phone call was attempted.

Remembering her dreamscape run was through the corridor leading from the front lobby the alumnus proceeds to the front entranceway. As she walks she recognizes the traces of psychotropic agents in the air, learned from the nuclear, biological and chemical agent experiments she had to endure during her Team Go training; the sense of a 'tingle' at the back of her mind being a dead giveaway. The front parking lot horrific; her eyes narrowed as she realized some of the burnt out cars contained charred corpses. The fire gutted emergency vehicles were even grimmer to look at; Shego recognized the damage signature of white phosphorous grenades. The bodies of the firefighters around the pumper had been left and each of the five paramedic ambulances contained the burnt corpses of paramedics treating patients…this is getting beyond sick and wrong…whoever's done this is moving very high on my ass-kicking list…. All her senses now highly alert Shego mounts the front steps to find the old-style heavy oak front doors had been battered down.

The front lobby and, for as far as she could see down the hallways branching off, were plastered with graffiti and garbage with a fair number of locker doors ripped off their hinges. The display cases on each wall of the lobby had been vandalized; their contents damaged, destroyed or missing. One was especially significant to the young woman and she approaches it slowly; in it, a memorial to students who had been killed by gang violence; the photos had been defaced however the dedication scrolls were still legible.

Shego read the first one, Janet Takata, moved to Go City from Japan a few years before, an honours student who was also student body president; killed in her senior year with five other girls by a pipe bomb in a school washroom. Moving over a few feet she looks at another memorial photo of a boy who had been a freshman with her, yet at over six feet with a five o'clock shadow he looked ten years older, and sporting the unlikely name of Jayne Dobbs. Shego's mind involuntarily drifted into way-back mode….

~~~~~"It was late September when the twins and I finally went back to a real school. Ian got into Go City Collegiate; for all I know he's majoring in how to be a professional student with a minor in how to pick up girls. A few weeks ago Henry felt it totally appropriate to disguise his 'real' identity as Hego and assume the guise of a mild mannered fast food employee at Bueno Nacho; when he saw their SOP's for the first time he was hooked. The twins were looking forward to attending a real school for the first time in their lives."

"As for me, I hadn't been to a real school since fifth grade and here I am standing in the front of Go City Central High about to start ninth grade. The place is huge, four stories high and extending almost four blocks left and right and that's not including the gymnasium and the sports field in the back and the forty acre parking lot out front. I don't know how I'll fit in, if at all. I've spent the last two years freak-fighting yet I'm terrified of meeting my peers. Will I be recognized as Shego; will my green skin mark me for a freak…hell, I've got the social skills of a ten year old and I'm four years behind the curve when it comes to pop culture."

"And then it hit me…actually it was a she; we collided in the school lobby. After picking our selves up and apologizing profusely she stops and stares at me at length and I think to myself, "Oh great, here we go already." However, her reaction was not what I expected."

"Oh my God! I love your hair; it's absolutely gorgeous. How did you get it so long? I can't get mine down past my shoulders. No…how do you get the green to move around like that; that is so awesome!' she gushed, much to my astonishment. From my point of view I'm looking at a willowy and very pretty brunette Japanese girl who stood a little taller than me; having moved from Japan a few years earlier after having been adopted by a Japanese/American couple: she still had an accent which I found strangely easy on the ears."

"Her name is Janet Takata and she's a senior and the student body president and she happily chooses to take me under her wing. She's smart, pretty, popular and athletic; her entire time at GCCH seemed driven by the desire to help her fellow students in any way she can. To most students and faculty she was simply referred to as 'The Jan'. She had more energy than three Kimmie's put together and I swear she could probably do laps across the ceiling if she felt like it. She was making my transition to civilian life a lot more pleasant; it was as if she knew all of my doubts and managed to quiet each one. Being around Jan was like a revitalizing breath of fresh air, a soul-soothing experience beyond compare; very few seemed immune to the effect. I was her 'Potential Girl' and because of her I looked forward to going to school every day."

"Then the pipe bomb went off in the girl's washroom. The other five girls were already dead. Jan was still alive so I started first aid, managing a few discrete bursts of plasma to cauterize some of the worst bleeders I could get to. As I worked on her she said to me with barely a breath in her enchanting accent, 'Hey there Potential Girl, the world is yours for the taking. Take good care of it, okay?' She didn't make it to the hospital."

"I met my one and only boyfriend, Jayne Dobbs, at the memorial service for the slain girls. He was playing acoustic guitar, providing accompanying music for some singers. I was moping, doing the wallflower thing when he approached me. As much as I had admired his guitar playing I really wasn't in the mood for much company. Ever since I had arrived at Go City Central High I had been hit by a wide variety of cheesy pickup lines by guys trying to get lucky with the 'Orion' slave girl; however, Jayne blindsided me with the best pick up line I'd ever heard…he simply said, 'Hi,' then offered a freshly chilled can of the soda. We talked about Jan, school, and eventually us. We took the discussion to a local coffee shop where we discovered a mutual taste for dry wit and a finely aged pot of coffee…you know…the kind of coffee that makes you nine feet tall and bullet proof."

"We hooked up and it looked like we were going somewhere with our relationship...oh my god I was so the crushing sheep. We were the perfect odd couple, a six foot three, two hundred and twenty pound fourteen year old boy named Jayne who played linebacker and acoustic guitar dating a green girl with three feet of hair who could punch her way through a concrete wall. Listening to him play guitar was my idea of unwinding and after spending time listening to Jayne play I would feel so unbelievably mellow I could almost have charitable thoughts towards Hego and Mego…almost. I was even planning on moving our relationship to the next level if we were still together at the end of ninth grade. Life seemed good…until two days before Christmas break."

"I watched Jayne get killed in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting from a rival highschool gang in our front parking lot. Amazingly, considering how many bullets he took, not a one touched his guitar…I managed to hang on to it."

"In the space of less than five years I lost my parents, a best girl friend and a boyfriend: I was too emotionally dead to even cry: anger, on the other hand, was no problem…"

"…I'm not even fifteen yet, dammit…if I'm not even allowed any happiness in my life then the world can just fuck off and die!"

"And then the food chain hit. My lack of experience in social situations, quick temper and caustic attitude, along with the hurt of losing Jan and Jayne and the continuing hassles with Team Go had caught up to me. To say it was not easy being green was putting it mildly; despite my attitude I still avoided the use of my glow to, shall we say, chastise those 'all that' types. Most people in Go City had heard of Shego of Team Go but not everyone knew who she was beyond the uniform and her power and I certainly was not going to let on. Of course that did not stop me from getting a little physical in my responses to taunts and insults...okay, a lot physical. That didn't help my case much and my reputation as a psycho bitch grew, further isolating me socially. On the other hand I slowly started getting a following from other bottom feeders on the food chain and from them I started getting an eye opener into the seedier side of high school society."

"I don't know how I was so dense however it turns out the bomb and the drive-by was gang related…note to self…doi! It turns out the gang at my school, the RobRoys…yeah, I know, the name just screams losers… were on the losing end of a turf war between the Slicers from Westpark Highschool and the Dicers from Eastwood Secondary. I decided the RobRoys needed some professional consultation. Apparently the usual method for admission into a gang is to get beat into it. After about ten minutes I had pummelled the RobRoys into the ground and promptly congratulated them on their admission into my new gang, the Mutants."

"I trained my people as messengers, scouts, infiltrators, sentries and enforcers; it's amazing how much more effective one can be against your average mook when you know even the basics of unarmed combat; if you can deal with a problem with your hands then you don't need to carry weapons and thus you're not gonna get busted for carrying.. With the help of some surveillance equipment and a selection of other 'toys' I acquired, Go City Central High was now firmly under my control by the end of freshman year; the gangs at West Park and Eastwood were under my thumb by the middle of senior year. In the meantime, I'd been dubbed 'The Supreme One'. I'd also found out whom the bomber and the drive-by shooters were; they found out I had no sense of humour about such things; we both found out how hot my plasma can really burn…their bodies would never, ever be found…."

"In the end, although Hego would never have approved or acknowledged my achievement, I had proven, at least to myself that things could run smoothly if only I were left in charge, kind of a testing ground for world domination. By grad, in all three highschools, there were no more shootings or bombings, no drugs, no hazing or 'unauthorized' violence."~~~~~

Suddenly, an abject fear instilled in childhood that causes Shego to involuntarily tense up from what she hears behind her….

"Young lady, where is your hall pass!?"

Turning, Shego is astonished to see Mr. Phong the school vice principal, a small rather pear-shaped Oriental man looking somewhere between fifty and three hundred years old. What is more distressing, however, although he is dressed in his usual jacket and tie, his clothing is torn and dirty and he looked as if he had not seen a bath in a long time. He also looked as if he had taken a beating or two, the obvious, twitchy behaviour and the crazed look in his eyes gave cause for Shego to be concerned.

With a questioning glance Shego waves her hand encompassing the man and the lobby in one gesture.

Focusing more closely Mr. Phong responds, "Oh, Miss Ravens, it's you. You're on the honour roll, of course you're exempt from requiring a hall pass. But, as you can see, your legacy as the Supreme One didn't last long once you left. West Park and Eastwood are in similar states."

Eyes narrowed, Shego leans back on one leg and crosses her arms over her chest, "Explain."

The school administrator glances nervously about, "Over the summer, after you graduated a new gang came from out of nowhere…The Servants of Yono. They didn't hail from any highschool nor were they a street gang anybody had ever heard of…more like a cult, if you ask me."

Shego raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued…Yono isn't supposed to make an appearance for at least twenty-five or thirty years and that only after Monkey Fist finds him… "Do tell. Who's the leader; I know most of the big bad uglies in this town."

"No one does. I've seen him around here of course; the six-foot-thirteen, four foot wide kind of guy. He's seems Chinese, judging by some of the expressions I've heard from him, bald with some orange and yellow round tattoo on the back of his right hand. He calls himself…damn what is it…Simi Yan."

"Anyway, this summer he made his move; it wasn't just a turf war, it was gangland genocide. To this date, at least as far as the authorities know, there are no known members of the Slicers, Dicers or Mutants nor their families believed left alive and the collateral damage and civilian casualties were unprecedented. They weren't afraid to swarm police cars and even the National Guard units lost whole squads until they took things seriously. The city tried to get hold of Team Go, but apparently they were already engaged with a super villain…that was either bad timing for us or good intuition on his part. By the time the National Guard showed up in force they had disappeared into the woodwork; I'm surprised you never heard about it."

Shego's mind wandered back to that night she got fried by Electronique and what Anne told her later…'There was a gang war between some high schools that night and ER was swamped, so of course I pitched in.'…Bringing her mind back in the moment the young woman looks directly at the vice-principal, "I discovered something interesting about Go City once I left. It seems whatever happens here stays here. Did you know that outside this city no one has even heard of Team Go, never mind Aviarius, the Mathter or Electronique?"

Mr. Phong quirked an eyebrow, "Huh, is that so? Well anyway, the Servants are somehow motivated to prevent the three schools and the surrounding neighbourhoods from being repaired and brought up and running. They attack any repairs crews, even if escorted by law enforcement." Glancing about furtively he continues, "That reminds me, we ought to leave now, some of the Yono followers are gathering here tonight."

"Thanks for the heads-ups but I'm here to resolve some demons and it looks like I might get a two for one deal. Wait a minute; why are you staying?" At that moment the tingling at the back of Shego's mind gets stronger and she sees a change in the vice-principal's demeanour, his eyes taking on a more crazed, panicked look as he whips his head around as if watching for something.

Mr. Phong stares intently at the young woman in front of him and mutters, "I'm the vice-principal and I'm here to supervise extra-curricular activities this evening." Then with a pleading look, "Please do something Shego, but remember…stay in the light…stay out of the fog…beware the black." With that he picks up a broken clipboard off the floor and scurries to the nurse's office.

Warily Shego proceeds down the hall, her boots tapping clearly on the floor. Along with the expected structural damage and the lingering smell typical of torched buildings she spies spent bullet casings here and there and a few times discovers the crunch she hears is that of her stepping on a lost tooth on the floor. Adding to the grimness are the all too frequent large bloodstains on walls and floors. Turning the corner to the gym she stops suddenly to stare at the doors. Painted upon them is a large orange circle bordered in a deep yellow; in the middle, also in yellow, is the silhouette of a monkey in the lotus position apparently floating over a pair of stylized mists or perhaps lightning bolts…the mark of the Yono. Sighing, Shego enters the gym.

Strolling to the centre of the basketball court, she is immediately aware of her mistake shaking her head in disgust, "Damn, Ravens…never pegged yourself for a spud…figure I haven't had that dream enough I couldn't realize the dream-gym was not this one!"

With that sudden revelation out of the way Shego's decides to give the gym closer scrutiny. Looking at the floor at centre court she sees what has become a fire pit that had seen frequent use…I'm sure hoping those bones are from a large rack of beef ribs…. The stench of feces and rotting garbage permeating the gym emanated from beneath the bleachers as Shego ambled towards one of the basketball nets. Along the way she picks up a canister that is slightly bigger than a soda can and recognizes it immediately, "Well there's the source of the hexachlorothane…smoke canisters…these come in different colours…now what about the Willy Pete?" Arriving at the first net Shego discovers a collection of ropes and manacles hanging from the crossbars, the hoop torn off; on the floor underneath is a large, dark, dried up pool of what might have been blood. Her face takes on a grim countenance, "This is really beginning to damage my calm." Suddenly her ruminations are interrupted by a widespread hissing sound throughout the gymnasium.

Looking around Shego sees smoke billowing into the gym through every exit and even from beneath the bleachers; the tingle at the back of her mind slowly developing into a headache…yep, hexachlorothane smoke grenades…I recognize the smell…aww man, that stuff gets right into your system...I'll be farting that smell for the next two days…this must be the fog Phong was talking about…huh, not as impressive as the real stuff, where's the lightning…and now more of that other stuff that's supposed to mess with my mind…I can think of better ways to get a hangover. Then the chant started...

"Simi Yan man kiala Yono…ha hua qin zhufan Yono…"

Continuing their chant, over a dozen or so gang members begin emerging from the smoke screen, with more in the background visible only as silhouettes, meandering to surround Shego. All had mutilated faces with makeup added to appear as monkeys, most having filed their teeth with a few having pulled their lips back with face studs to mimic a ferocious simian; a few had crampons attached to heavy boots, each step eliciting a harsh grinding as their points gouge the wooden floor of the court. Although obviously concealed, cutlery would most likely be available; she saw at least one lead pipe, a motorcycle chain and would not be surprised if there were a concealed pistol.

Incensed at what happened to her turf and peeps, Shego allows her anger to guide her judgement; she wants to take it up close and personal with no plasma until she actually needs to use it. She settles on her battle strategy: bend, fold, mutilate and otherwise commit, with extreme prejudice, anatomically inappropriate behaviours on some of the ugliest physiology she has ever seen…and what's worse is these spuds make Monkey Fist look good and there ain't enough brain soap to clean that concept out of my mind.

Making her move while the gang was still disorganized she sashays to the closest 'servant', the dirty white smoke flowing around her as it billows around the gym. As she slowly slips her jean jacket off her shoulders to the floor the attractive woman pulls her shoulders back to thrust her breasts more prominently through her green t-shirt. The action causes the gang member to direct his gaze to her chest.

Shego smirks evilly as she gloats to herself, "Gotchya!" Thenshe quips sarcastically, "Lesson time, boys!"

Her right leg swiftly swings up in a roundhouse kick connecting shin to head, the resounding crack of a broken skull echoing through the gym is followed by the dull thump of a body crumpling to the floor.

The sudden collapse of their compatriot stuns the remainder of the gang into inaction; their intended target was supposed to be incoherent and terrified, an easy mark, especially it being a woman and this confused them.

Following through the motion of her right leg Shego plants it down then continues the turning momentum using her left leg for a reverse roundhouse on another target, the force of the impact snapping the neck. Planting that leg down she finds herself facing a little left of her starting point and looks into the face of another cultist…his eyes look glazed…like he's stoned or something…a straight kick to the chest of the third thug puts him out of action with broken ribs at which point the remainder of the gang finally reacts to the not so helpless victim.

As her leg sweep takes out ruffian, Shego sees another pulling a chain from around his waist. Charging she drives her feet into his chest with a flying kick, feeling ribs cave in as she uses his torso as a springboard to launch herself into a back flip, landing on her feet with her back to another Servant. Surprised by the young woman's movement the gangster is stunned by an elbow smash to the head. Spinning around she follows with a punch to the face, breaking nasal cartilage and knocking out teeth, pummelling him senseless. Sidestepping a delinquent's attempt at a tackle Shego yanks at the back of his collar as he goes past, causing him to flip backwards and land flat on his back cracking his head against the floor and forcing the air out his lungs.

As Shego turns she takes a punch to the face. With a feral grin she shakes off the hit and counterattacks with a straight kick to her attacker's chest, relishing the sound of more ribs breaking. Another reverse roundhouse takes out another hoodlum only to leave her open to being grabbed from behind. Pinned she observes another goon advance to take advantage; using her grappler's grip for leverage she brings up both legs to launch a double kick to the advancing man's face, breaking his jaw and spewing teeth onto the floor. Bringing her feet back down she demonstrates her flexibility, arcing her right leg back and up to stun her captor with a hook kick to the back of his head, affecting her release. Grabbing his arm Shego applies a wrist lock then executes a roundhouse kick to his face for good measure while blocking a kick to her head with her left arm. She fends off a series of attacks, maintaining the wrist lock, and counterattacking all the while levering his arm above her head as if they were ballroom dancing. Deciding she has had enough of the dance sequence…bored now…Shego flips her dazed partner to the floor, dislocating his shoulder in the process.

Shego looks up in time to see a hoodlum attempt to brain her with a piece of steel pipe; dodging the weapon's swing she kicks it high in the air. Reversing her kick she breaks her assailant's collar bone with an axe kick and as the pipe drops down she redirects it with her foot to clobber another punk unconscious.

"They're not coordinated…Drakken's henchmen fight better than this…they appear to be drugged, kinda like zombies…that's it, they're trying to swarm me...time to take a page out of Kimmie's book, time to manoeuvre." Deciding on a change in venue Shego runs up the bleachers so she could see over the smoke screen.

At the top Shego turns about and straight kicks two pursuers back down, flying through the air and landing on the bleachers, bones breaking as they roll to the floor. A roundhouse kick to the left, a backhand to the right and a jab to the front takes out three more brutes. There being no more playmates at the top she glances over the gym floor to notice the smoke beginning to dissipate, the exit doors now visible along the perimeter and a fire lit at centre court; the remaining cultists were more visible and only a very few appeared to be remaining.

Shego handsprings her way down to the basketball court to kick another hood in the chest and without looking takes out one behind her with a back kick. Before she could recover she is grabbed from behind by a goon substantially larger than the others. With a playful smile the woman reaches behind and grabs his crotch forcefully, eliciting a definite grunt of pain from her assailant. Despite her grip the thug refuses to let go; releasing her grip she delivers a vicious elbow smash to his face causing him to release her. Turning swiftly she hits him with a jab to the stomach, following through with an uppercut sending him flying unconscious into the bleachers.

The raven haired chainsaw barely had time to notice with satisfaction her lines of sight improving with the thinning of the smoke before spinning quickly to the snick of a switchblade. Catching the would-be killer's wrist in mid-thrust, a smirk crosses Shego's face as she crushes the bones. Almost immediately the click of a gun safety reaches her ears and without another thought grabs the former knife-wielder by the belt, turns and throws him into the gunman, the pistol flying from his grasp, the knocking of heads granting each an involuntary nap.

Quickly scanning the battlefield she finds no more opponents standing and the smoke mostly gone. Picking up the gun she strips it down, crushing the magazine; at that point she hears a slow steady clapping from the side. Looking over she sees a large man at one of the side exits matching the description given by the vice-principal.

"Ahh, Your Emerald Radiance, you always did provide the very best violence," offered the man with apparent admiration. "Now, there I was, believing that removing one of the jade monkeys would have been sufficient to forestall the return of the Monkey Master. Imagine my surprise when I discover not only were monkey monks present when they should not have been but the idol was recovered and my flunky defeated by a another legend, the Dragon Ninja."

Gloating, Simi Yan continues, "And now I not only have you here, I know where the whelps are; I'll crush you all and the master will soon be unfettered. Since you are here I will destroy you first; as talented as you are your ancestor lost her powers long ago and you have not her strength to withstand me. Even the power of the gloves you crafted is but a pale imitation of the true mystic nature of the Dragon Ninja's ability; and you are not even wearing those."

His eyes drew her. They were neither merely dark nor even black, nor were there even any eyeballs; they seemed as grasping voids, joining together into one large pit which attempted to envelop her, threatening to shred her soul with overwhelming despair; a dread she only experienced in nightmares. She watched, anguished, her parent's car get crushed, Jan's torso ripped apart by the pipe bomb, the bullets stitching across Jayne's body, Sonia Flores incinerated in a fiery car crash, the Lorwardians shooting apart her Citadel of Doom, the Yono's black fog leaching the very life from the land, a limp and apparently lifeless Kim hanging upside down by the ankle as her spine is ripped out of her body….

Suddenly, and unbidden, Shego's powers spring forth, encasing her hands with intense verdant auras and her eyes flaring beyond emerald to an intense neon green. She reacts with measured defiance, "Ohhh. No. You don't. I'm not gonna let you crush Kimmie, not this time, not ever…she's all I got left…she's mine!" The flaring eyes shred the blackness revealing a perplexed Simi Yan.

Quickly cupping her hands together Shego conjures a bright neon green ball of energy and throws it at Simi Yan before he can do more than widen his eyes in surprise and fear. The verdant sphere, exploding with a crashing boom, thrusts the demon through the wall of the gym and outside in a pile of concrete, cinder blocks and dust. As the furious and determined woman pursues her target, the glow around her hands trailing motes of energy in a delicate shower as she charges forward, she begins to hear an unearthly wail. She arrives outside to witness a greasy black vapour issue from the mouth of the body and disappear into some nearby shadows.

Shego, confused, looks warily about for a several minutes before examining the apparent victim—discovering him merely unconscious although battered a fair bit—then returning inside where she gazes upon her handiwork. Many of the 'Servants of Yono' were still unconscious, with a good proportion bleeding from some cranial orifice, limbs at unnatural angles indicated those with bone breaks and the sound of ragged breathing singled out those with broken ribs or even punctured lungs. A baleful Shego looks upon her victims with disdain, "Consider yourselves schooled…class dismissed."

Pulling a communicator from her pants pocket she speaks into it with a weary voice, "Jhessy, get me boyfriend."

"Sure thing sis; you okay, you sound stressed…oh, here he is."

"Yes ma'am."

"Jonesy, I need a cleanup crew in the gym at Go City Central High ten minutes ago," the GoCorp CEO ordered with a grim voice, "I just worked over about a dozen or so spuds who called themselves Servants of Yono and I think I just met Simi Yan and took him out too but I don't think permanently. Make sure the crew is escorted by a troop of dragon disciples, geared up for a hostile chemical environment. Send recon teams to Westpark Highschool and Eastwood Secondary…assume a chemical environment and the potential for hostiles as well. Mobilize a company for each location with air support. I want prisoners for interrogation…I don't care what physical condition they're in as long as they're alive. You got that Jonesy?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Use the Cranial Drain. I want to know everything. No exceptions."

"Ma'am, are you sure? I know the memory retrieval rate is a hundred percent but the mortality rate is pretty high."

She looks banefully upon the collection of casualties groaning and writhing on the floor before her and glances around at the destruction committed around her.

"Ma'am?" Jonesy asked tentatively.

Shego growls, "At this point I have no interest in their well being as long as I get information. Their leader wants Kimmie dead…this is personal." She then pulls out a green and black communication device and punches in a series of codes.

At the dispatch centre for Go City Emergency Services a communications attendant calls for the supervisor, "Hey, Barney. I just got an Operations Protocol signal from Shego. She's declared Go City Central High, Westpark Highschool and Eastwood Secondary, plus a two block radius around each as Team Go exclusive operational areas."

"It's about time Team Go cleaned out those festering rat holes. But then I heard she took a bad hit when they brought in Electronique," replied Barney to the comms attendant, Wojo.

Eagerly Wojo exhorts, "I bet she's all set for some payback after being out of action for so long."

"Yeah," Barney mutters thoughtfully then turns to another denizen of the comms centre, "Fish, would you send out emails to the appropriate services?"

The close to retirement operator grouses, "Fine, I'll get on it; don't worry about me getting carpal tunnel, I'll manage somehow."

---

Percy stretches in his office chair after entering the last of the modifications to the experiment protocols for the space station mission; looking at the clock on the monitor he sees that it's 6:16am…Huh, might as well have some breakfast before heading home…Going to the mini-fridge he retrieves some leftover wings and pizza and chocolate milk from supper with his niece the evening before. Sitting back down to enjoy his repast he glances at the external hard drive his niece had brought from the future, still plugged into his desktop. "1 petabyte, I just got used to gigabytes…but then I remember when a 64 kilobyte RAM was a big deal." Percy mused to himself.

As he stared blankly at the device something tugged at Percy's memory. Quickly putting down his meal he returns to his computer and pulls up the list of folders that are on the external drive. Ever since he first started opening folders he discovered they could only be opened in sequence and only with a password derived from successfully understanding the ramifications of some conundrum in the previous one. Percy clicks on the next unopened folder and is prompted for a password. On a hunch he enters '147 years' and presses enter.

What is presented seems almost overwhelming, a file over eight and a half terabytes in size on his niece's psychological profile. Glancing down the list of sub-files, Percy's eyes stop briefly on the titles of some of them: Behaviour Modifications…Brain Tap…Brain Switch…Attitudinator…Reverse Polarizer…Neurocompliance Chip…Moodulator…Treatment of psychopathic and sociopathic tendencies…Selective applications of retrograde amnesia…Repercussions to intense negative emotional triggers….

Dr. Percival Green set up the coffee maker in his office to brew an extra strong batch of coffee then makes a quick trip to the Space Centre's commissary. In tune with the pace of work most scientists pursued at the Space Centre, the administrators of the commissary stocked libations and food stuffs that would be most in demand. Thus it was not surprising that Dr. Green returned with a few extra-large cans of energy drinks, several energy bars and miscellaneous snacks to tide him over….

---

After calling in sick at the college, Shego spends the day after her first encounter with Simi Yan ensconced in her executive office going over Jonesy's preliminary reports. She also continued perusing the myriad collection of simply laughable and paranoid suppositions the Air Force had concerning her family after the comet incident.

After reading her mother's latest medical examination before she died, Shego dejectedly tosses the folder onto her desk, the papers sliding out and spreading out over it. Angry at what seems to be another failing of hers she mutters to herself in frustration, "What the hell. I hallucinate hearing Jhessy's voice, I forget that I'm bi and now I have to be reminded that Momma was five months pregnant when she died. Figure like I really need more guilt to deal with."

Glancing over to her desk Shego picks up her mother's ultrasound images with hesitation. She realizes, as she begins examining the images, that this child would have been born normal, without any super powers…I would've envied you kiddo…. Her eyes slowly savour each depiction of her developing sibling; the last image Shego caresses delicately, her fingers daintily tracing the curves of the baby's shape; examining every perfect detail. However, her vision keeps returning to the little pink sticky note at the top of the ultrasound image upon which is written boldly in pen…girl.

Shego stares wearily at the ceiling, "Aww crap!"

---

Operational Log

27 May 2029 (Internal Chronology) Justine Flanner, Infiltrator – Science Division

Infiltrating GoCorp turned out to be an inspiration…naturally. Although Shego is still maintaining her heroic persona she is secretly taking over the world using economic means. It also appears she is using scientific knowledge from the future to construct advanced technology to assist in her endeavours, mind control seeming to be at the forefront. Unfortunately, I was discovered and only managed to escape using my Chrono-Manipulator. I have not been able to contact neither Brick Flagg nor Rufus' 1,489 and 284; although I sent a message to Brick's chrono to meet me on Labour Day at the food court at the Middleton Mall. My attempts to travel to the future have met with failure; something is blocking travel or, worse, the future no longer exists and although unlikely it is a theoretical possibility. I plan to exercise a theory I discussed with Wade some time ago: build a kinematic continuum disruptor to access a, hopefully, parallel dimension, move forward in time then jump back. I should have few problems since I was able to build one using off-the-shelf parts as my younger self. This time I know the theory is sound and workable and I have more resources available to me

Disclaimer: Kim Possible belongs to Disney, only the story is mine. I don't write for adoration…care I not for remuneration…I just write for inspiration

The plot bunny for this story was originally conceived by the last scene in "The Twin Factor" with additional inspiration from "A Sitch in Time" and "Stop Team Go".

Willie Pete: Military slang for white phosphorous; an intensely hot incendiary grenade that also creates an effective smoke screen almost instantly.

IFF: Identification Friend or Foe; a device which sends a radio signal identifying the vehicle it is transmitting from; usually employed in airliners for air traffic controllers to track flights and by military aircraft to help decide who you can shoot down and those you shouldn't.