Drop in Reality

Chapter 12 part 2: Throw Down

Kim came up in a crouch, nearly stumbling as she found Sara, her arm outstretched and covered in green flame. It remained fixed even as the woman struggled and strained to move it. It did not budge an inch as if encased in cement. She paused in her struggle, her mouth dropping open.

She convulsed.

"What... what is...AHHHHH!" Kim covered her ears as the fearful scream rang through her bones. Through squinted eyes, she made out Sara's other hand clutching at her temples, irises narrowed to slits before rolling away from sight. Her face paled, its tint turning an unhealthy shade of grey. A flash of light and Kim squeezed her eyes shut, arm blocking the veritable corona of light. It all lasted less than a few seconds, but her heart sank as the screaming went very, very silent.

Only the dull thrum of the tunnel remained. The light was gone as well, only spots dancing in her vision to show it had ever existed. Kim's hand was down and she dashed forward only to nearly fall on her face as a very familiar green and black suit appeared before her. Her eyes darted around the room, trying to spot Sara but only Shego stood before her.

"And that was for being so late. God, you took your sweet time. I've got cramps in places I didn't know I had," Shego exclaimed, a sigh escaping as she stretched her left arm behind her, followed by the jingle of the loose chains attached to the manacles. She paused in her stretches to examine them. She glanced at Kim. "You have a bag of tricks a mile wide and didn't think lockpicks would come in handy?" She flexed her fist that glowed a bright green and the manacles burbled away from her arm to splatter against the ground.

"Shego?!... What? How?" Kim's jaw clicked shut as her eyebrows lowered, fists tightening as the villainess continued to stretch as if she wasn't there.

"I don't know how Drakken pulled it off, but to kill someone like that…" blue power from the suit surged along Kim's arms, and her muscles tensed.

Shego paused, her left leg held halfway up her back. "Drakken? Kill?" She double blinked, letting her leg go before pulling a bottle from…somewhere. She examined Kim as she casually opened, popped three tablets into her mouth, and swallowed. "Wait. Do you think I… killed that? And Drakken played a part…?" Shego slapped her knee as she burst into laughter. "Oh my god, Ron was right. You have no clue what's happening." She giggled. The bottle vanished as she stretched her wrists to either side of her, shaking them out.

"Where do I even start with an opening that wide? Maybe, that you can't kill what never existed. If that was too vague, I'll spell it out. That…" Shego gestured to where Sara had screamed moments ago. "…was a figment of my imagination," Shego smirked, her left hand going to her head before spreading out splayed. "I know, mind blown. But, if you have anything left up there, I'm working with Ron now. Drakken's doing his own thing. Thought you would have figured that out when you went to his old hideout. Guess I gave you too much credit.

Now, if you're done with the questions, drop the farce, and let's get this party started. I've been dying to try out a few new moves," Shego finished, her arms flared in green flames, a smirk gracing her lips.

"What are you talking about? Sara was right there screaming in pain and then you were here. Did you teleport her somewhere else?"

Shego blinked in surprise. "Okay, let's dumb this down a little more. I. Was. Sara. Sara. No. Exist."

"That's impossible, I met with Sara. I talked with her. There's no way you could ever fool me like that. Now, where did you take her!"

Kim leaped high into the air, coming around with a high sidekick. Shego frowned at the approach, her hands extinguishing as she casually leaned aside, left elbow nudging the kick off-center. Kim aborted her attack with a tumble and rolled twice before popping back up in a stance. She found Shego ignoring her, looking at her hand with a tilted head. She shook herself before turning back, the smirk returning even if troubled.

"You're one to talk about acting chops, Princess. You've fooled the world into thinking you're your standard angelic self, leaving them as lambs to the slaughter for the B you are."

"What? No, that…" Kim grimaced as images of Ron's horror-struck face flashed through her mind. "…thing is hiding. Not your problem. We'll get rid of her ourselves." The venom in her words caused a raised eyebrow from Shego before she shrugged.

"Right, right, still not buying that load of BS. As for 'Sara', I have no reason to lie. But if you can't accept the truth, that's another you problem, isn't it?"

"What did you do?"

Shego rolled her eyes. "If you're not going to believe me then I'll just leave it at trade secrets."

"Some kind of teleportation or hologram? Maybe great acting…but no, I held Sara, and felt the wounds. It's impossible." Kim muttered to herself.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Shego dipped her head in a bow, a mocking smirk facing Kim. "As to impossible, you'd be surprised how fast that list has been scratched off these days," Shego replied with another shrug.

"Now, if you're done talking, let's see if we can cut to the truth of your story." Shego leaped, gloved hands wreathed in flames. The earth shook as she crashed fist-first into the floor, small cracks radiated from the impact. The teen hero was already airborne, backflipping out of the way. Mid-flight, her foot was jerked in the opposite direction, giving her only enough time to gasp in surprise as she was thrown, tumbling into the floor.

Kim got up, wiping the dirt from her suit to find Shego leaning up against a pillar, a frown marring her features as she scrutinized Kim.

"Maybe she isn't lying after all?" Kim barely heard the woman whisper

"So how did you do it?" Kim asked.

Shego shook her head as if coming back to the here and now before responding with a raised finger to her lips.

"Fine, a different question. What did you mean Drakken went off on his own? Did he team up with Ron?"

The scowl was wiped away as Shego laughed.

"Oh, that would be a gas," Shego responded while holding her sides. "It's just like I said, Drakken doesn't have anything to do with this." She spread her arms to encompass the room. "Or me," Shego finished, gesturing to herself.

"Then why are you here?" Kim demanded, sprinting at her foe.

"I was offered a new position, one that came with better pay and some serious perks. Now, let's see just how far it will take to drag the little B out so we can get to the fun part," Shego, responded, taking a casual swipe with her left hand that Kim deftly flipped over, doing handstand flips one after the next, avoiding the follow-up blasts of plasma. She skidded to a stop across the room.

"What?" Kim's eyes went wide. "You know what kind of world-ending psycho she is and you want her out? Over my dead body will she see the light of day again."

"See, now that's a problem. I didn't sit in that stinking hole for hours just to fight regular old you. I mean it would be fun for old times' sake, but not the point." Shego's expression turned dark as her left hand reignited with green flames. "What I want is to pay that little B back for what she did the last time we met."

Kim paused. "Wait, she handed you your ass and you somehow think you're going to beat her now when I have the super suit? That's just plain idiotic."

"Honestly, that little tidbit is just icing on the cake. Wouldn't want any complaints because you weren't at your best." With her words, her standard garb morphed, arcs of lightning cascading through the air randomly while a haze of darkness emanated from her. Kim found her eyes sliding to the side of the spectacle.

Shego smiled at her. The bottle was back and she popped another three capsules. "Now this is the good stuff," she whispered, her eyes slightly hazy.

"Are you… drugged up?" Kim asked incredulously.

The response drew another giggle from the villainous. "I very much doubt these would ever be considered drugs." She waved the capsule in the air only for it to vanish again. "Well? Are you going to continue playing twenty questions all night? Time's ticking," Shego gestured behind her to the clock, the numbers flipping to six minutes and fifty-nine seconds.

Shego's eyes lifted in anticipation as Kim raced forward. Kim jumped high into the air. Shego watched with one eyebrow raised as she turned to follow the teen's flight over her, landing an axe kick straight into the tower, her foot ablaze with blue energy. There was a loud clunk and crack as the tower slammed against the far wall.

Kim smirked in triumph at the mangled computer tower until she heard slow clapping.

She turned to find the woman leaning against the far wall, her hands coming together mockingly, her expression neutral, the anticipation suddenly missing.

"Well done, Kimmy, go kick the heck out of a problem until it stops moving. Didn't see that one coming."

"If it gets the job done, then it gets the job done," Kim responded with her own smirk.

Her response was two raised eyebrows and a light chuckle.

"You're a riot," Shego pointed behind her.

She turned to find the countdown still going. A tink sound drew her attention to the warped chunk of metal as the dents popped out one after the next until the tower lay on its side as if nothing had happened.

"How?" Kim whispered under her breath.

"So very effective," Kim rolled away from the voice right next to her left ear. She spun up and pivoted to face Shego tapping a claw to her chin with a pout.

"It looks like she really isn't coming out. Disappointing. I'd hoped to even the score, but Kimmy should have at least given me some trouble," she whispered to herself. The ambient light absorption vanished to reveal Shego in her standard suit.

"Come on, let's get this over with, I'm getting bored." Shego gestured and flames appeared, not on her hands, but rather black flaming spheres surrounding her. In an eyeblink, they zipped across the distance, showering Kim's location. The girl dived and ducked lancing flames while Shego stood with her arms crossed, casually tracing Kim's progress.

Midair, Kim cupped both hands and blue energy consumed them to form an elongated blue gauntlet on each. A spiraled flip and Kim had two of the fiery balls in each hand. A twist of her wrists sent the ticking time bombs crashing into the tower with a loud explosion.

Kim crouched, one eye on Shego, the other on the computer screen with the countdown. All the flaming missiles had stopped, leaving the whole area covered in black soot and smoldering flames. The only sound remaining brought a smile to Kim's face was the satisfying crackle and sparks bursting from the tower.

"Doesn't help much having a sturdy case if the insides aren't fireproof," Kim responded with a smirk of her own.

Shego continued to watch, pointedly ignoring her to focus on the screen.

Kim's smirk dipped as she glanced at it to find the countdown still showed except... it was frozen at two minutes. The smirk almost reappeared until she noticed the numbers blink twice and shift to zeros. A few more blinks and the word 'complete' flashed across the screen.

Kim stilled, her eyes roving around the room, waiting, listening. Long minutes stretched before she focused on the supervillainess. She still stood in the center of the room, with a half smirk.

"Nothing happened," Kim commented, starting to circle the woman. Oddly, Shego didn't bother shifting to keep Kim in her sights.

"Oh, don't worry, everything went to plan."

Kim stood at Shego's back, eyes dilated, taking in everything. Her heart thudded in her ears. Power surged through the suit, augmenting her strength. Time seemed to slow as Kim moved. There was no war cry, no sound as she charged. She was a blur. The pounding in her ears deafening; her arm drew back for this single shot. Shego's form drew closer, expanding to take up her whole vision. Kim's fist was a blue streak flying.

And then… Shego wasn't there, her vision filled with a dark stain on reality that pulsed, and suddenly Kim wasn't there either. Her eyes blinked, and the world wobbled around her. There was no up or down. She tried to shake her head but couldn't. She closed her eyes shut, counting for ten seconds before feeling her body. It somehow felt encased. 'I'm…I'm embedded in the wall?' Kim reached out to the suit and found it sluggish, energy only slowly filling her limbs. It was enough. With a grunt she was out, rocks tumbling around her exit.

"Careful there, I'm not sure how much more that suit can take,"

Kim jerked, finding herself back in her temporary prison. Her eyes snapped open to see Shego, studying her. Not her, but her midriff. Kim looked down to find that her naval was exposed, the edges of the suit leaking sparks. For a few heartbreaking breaths she thought it destroyed, but noticed that as she no longer pulled from its reserves, the break was ever so slowly piecing itself together.

"What do you want, Shego?" Kim asked, returning her attention to the older woman squatting in front of her. "Ron's obviously given you a suit of your own. All that extra power inflating your ego?"

"Pretty sure I told you from the beginning what I was after. If you can't figure out what Ron wants, you haven't been paying attention," Shego responded, bending down further so that they were eye to eye. Kim tried to take a swing only for her fist to explode back to her side. Shego hadn't even twitched. "I was hoping to add a little excitement to the work and maybe a dash of payback for the B. The first part was a bit of a letdown, but I'm a little surprised that you aren't pretending. Not a flick or sign of how she moved."

Those clawed hands lightly cupped her cheek, Kim staring daggers back. And then Shego jumped away, landing in the middle of the room.

"I guess my to-do list is pretty much marked off. That only leaves you." The bored expression slowly faded into playful as she tilted her head. Kim glanced down to where, seeing her super suit finish stitching itself together, and felt the power begin to flow into her once more. "Though… I am a bit ahead of schedule. Maybe I can manage a bit of fun out of all this yet."

Kim coughed into her hand, thankful that the result wasn't blood after this day's serious downhill turn. She sighed as the suit buzzed, lighting up a deep azure as energy radiated from the suit and flooded through her body. She glanced around, not finding Shego anywhere. She frowned, eyes darting around the room filled with the various smoldering black patches from Shego's earlier indiscriminate fire.

She staggered away from the wall, eyes on a swivel, her arms up and ready to defend from any angle.

"Peekaboo"

Kim spun around only to gasp. It was Shego yet not. The villainous stared at her from where she had once been prone with a sinister smile. And she was…shrinking.

"Wha…?" escaped Kim's lips as she watched dark wavy hair recede, turning a very familiar shade of red.

Kim's mouth opened slightly as just as fast as it had begun, she faced a mirror image of herself, suit and all.

Kim's mouth firmed; eyes narrowed. "Not sure what you're playing at, Shego. After that little demonstration, all you've done is revealed how you pretended to be Sara," the other Kim said launching herself into the air.

"That's my line!" Kim dodged as Shego-Kim's foot went through where her head was a moment before.

Rolling and springing up with a handstand, Kim faced her opponent, her white suit an exact match of the other, power radiating from both.

The stare-off didn't last long as they charged, fists finding their opposite in a barrage that left sparks flying. Two slipped past to slam straight into the other's midriff. They both flipped away, landing in sync, their very breathing in time as they cradled their bruised ribs.

"I don't know why you're pretending to be me, Shego, but you can't fake my skills," Kim said, a small trail of blood going down her cheek. She raised her fists, a soft blue glow enveloping them.

"Right back at you, Shego," the Shego-Kim said, her own hands raised with the same soft-blue color. A twin set of eyes narrowed before they both charged, their fists met in the middle separated by the thin barrier of rapidly flaring blue light. The point of contact pulsed frantically. The very air felt heavy as they struggled for dominance, the space seeming to warp around their fists slowly growing darker until an unmistakable green consumed the interaction. Both looked on in horror before it snapped, and the explosion shook the entire room.

Dust clouds swirled as faint arcs of green energy crisscrossed the air. On one side of the room, came a cough. Through the clouds could be seen a faint form of Kim, her hands on her knees, a trail of blood coming from her brow.

"God, I don't know what happened at the beginning, but Shego let it go to her head by showing off her new toys like that. Still, I should be thankful as it gave me the win. Though, if fighting Shego is going to be this painful from now on, it's going to turn into a real occupational hazard. Speaking of..." Kim warily circled the room, looking out for any ambushes through the settling dust clouds. Slowly, she made out an unmoving form on the ground. She crouched next to the downed figure, shuddering as she saw the literal wreck of herself laying there motionless. Her bloody fingers checked for a pulse leaving a red trail behind. It wouldn't be the first time that the greened-skinned villainess had tried something underhanded.

Kim sighed, busying herself with tying up the other Kim's limbs and bandaging the many wounds. The work was rushed as she had no idea how long the villainess would be out, her own blood mixing in with the dressings.

When the figure was fully restrained, Kim stood with a sigh. 'I'm not sure how much more of this I can take,' Kim thought, stepping against an inset mirror on the wall.

She rested there for a moment before turning to the mirror. 'Wait, where did this come from? It wasn't here before,' she thought, eyeing her reflection, noting the cut on her forehead, a trail of blood leaking down her cheek. She sighed, giving another glance at the downed figure. She pulled out the first aid kit from her pouch again. A few bandages wrapped around the wound that quickly turned a deep red. It did its job, stopping the flow. That task done, she allowed herself to collapse against the mirror, sliding into a seated position, still panting.

"Not bad at all," Kim jumped up facing the downed figure.

"Ok Shego, if you want another round, I'm ready and waiting," Kim's words seemed to have no effect as the bound figure remained motionless.

"Oh no Kimmy, I'm not over there," the disembodied voice spoke again. Kim backstepped slowly until the mysterious mirror was at her back, her eyes roving across the room. There was no telling what other features Shego's suit had that didn't make an appearance during the battle. It was likely she at least had the same abilities as her suit so she could have left a decoy and gone invisible.

"I'm back here," Kim's eyes widened as she slowly turned around to face the direction the voice had come from. All she found was her startled expression staring back.

Before her attention drifted, a small smirk appeared on the mirror image's Kim. "You did a wonderful job, Kimmy. Couldn't have done it better myself." Kim's horror grew as that same image melted away, her bright red hair turning black, her skin a sickly green. Before her stood a morphing Shego. Kim looked down to find her combat suit had transformed into Shego's standard garb. "That is exactly the look I wanted to see," Shego laughed, but it was Kim's features on Shego's face that were laughing. In an instant, the horror died as Kim was no more.


Thump

Kim jolted awake.

Bleary eyes went in and out of focus, lights passing above

Thump

Her head was pounding.

Thump

She cringed as the throbbing pain added to the mess that was her body

"eeeeh"

A groan escaped her lips and the thudding stopped.

A set of green eyes hovered over her own, and a strong hand lightly passed over her head before vanishing from view.

Thump

There was another pain, dull compared to the rest that jolted through her in time with the sound. Each cleared her senses a little more.

Her eyes didn't want to focus, but she forced them to reopen through willpower. The lights still passed and, she was… being dragged upstairs?

Thump

Realization slipped into her mind as her butt slid across one of the stairs.

"That was disappointing, Princess," The words floated above her, her mind not quite grasping them. It seemed that the speaker didn't care if she understood as she continued without waiting for a response.

"I worked my ass off figuring out my new powers and along the way, I broke boundaries I didn't know existed."

The words started to fit together. Kim willed her limbs to shift, but they didn't respond as they should. She realized they must be bound to her sides.

"And then there is you. A grand constant. I get new gear, you disable it. New power? You knock out its source. Good old plasma? You dodge. This time…was different. My whole life everything has been easy." There was a scoff above her. "Well, at least getting things done. Anyone that tried to stop me went down in a chop, but not you. It was fascinating and a challenge to look forward to. But that was when I was willing to rest on my laurels, in it for a little fun to fend off the unending boredom."

Kim realized as she listened that there were no more stairs, just an unending hallway, the lights flashing above her.

"I found something that mattered. Something that drove me to the brink and beyond. I helped set all of this up to test myself only to have that image of you shattered into the teenager you are. Your nice safe life and the adventures that never quite slammed you up against a problem you couldn't leap over. You grew so comfortable that you never recognized the wall at your back and the mountain beyond.

Kind of like me." The last part came out in a whisper.

Kim shook as she found herself against the base of a wall, two long legs stretching up. A blink and those green eyes hovered above her own, staring. There was no hate or sneer there, just eyes examining her as if for the first time.

They became unfocused as a screen separated them.

She could see a barrage of numbers and letters flash by that earned a frown.

With a hiss, the barrier between them vanished and those intense eyes refocused on Kim, this time disappointed.

"Calling in for backup? Really Kimmy? I thought you'd at least take on a challenge yourself rather than relying on others."

Kim blinked up at the villainess. 'What backup? Is someone coming?'

The stare down stretched a moment before puzzlement settled on the other's features.

"You didn't call in backup, did you?" Shego's eyes widened before nodding. "You'd better keep closer tabs on whoever did or you may get someone kil…" She paused, eyes going distant as a faint sound echoed in the silent corridor coming from the woman's ear.

Kim's ears ached to listen in, but the voice was unintelligible. She may not have understood the words, but she recognized the speaker. Ron was calling Shego and his voice sounded stressed.

Shego paced before her back and forth, frown in place as she absently tangled her long hair in a hand. Her breathing came just a hair faster, eyes uneasy as she mumbled under her breath.

This lasted only a few minutes before another beep drew her attention. Shego stopped in front of Kim. At this angle, Kim could see her eyes go wide in surprise and… fear? Shego shook herself, tapping quickly at her wrist.

"Looks like plans have changed, Kimmy," the villainess said, not looking at her.

"What?" The half question was barely out of her lips before Kim found herself painfully lifted up the wall, pierced once more by those green eyes flashing in…not anger. Kim had never seen the woman look almost… desperate before. Her pondering was cut short as Shego came even closer.

"I've found something worthwhile, Kimmy, and if you don't shape up, I'll take it from you. You better think long and hard about what you are willing to give up if you don't want to lose it. Your cheerleading? Your school life? Your family? Just remember, it wasn't you he called for help."

Kim's eyes widened as she found herself released, coming to the ground with a thud. Shego's hand contained that capsule again. The small thing shook in unsteady fingers. A quick bump and one pill landed neatly in her palm. Another bump and it was clear the capsule was empty. Shego cursed under her breath before the capsule itself vanished. She nearly popped the last one into her mouth before pausing, eyeing Kim up and down.

"I left you in a bit of a mess, didn't I? We have to be fast, but it looks like you can use this more than me." In an instant, Kim found the pill in her mouth, pressure from a hand against her throat forced her to swallow before she realized what was happening. She tried to gag, but a light pair of fingers traced down her throat, escorting it to its destination. She could feel it slide down, a sense of angst engulfed her as it settled in her stomach

Sirens started to echo in the corridor along with angry flashing red lights. The visor reappeared and Shego typed for several long minutes before scowling and returning to face her. The entire hallway shook in time with the sirens.

"Quality time's up, Princess." Shego's hand whipped out, cutting her restraints. The next moment, she knocked something above. There was a swoosh sound, the wall behind Kim vanished, and she toppled backward into a seat that latched onto her with white restraining straps. It wasn't necessary as her limbs may as well have been rocks. Kim blinked as she felt a warmth spreading through them, bringing sensation back with it.

The door descended. She lost sight of Shego typing at her wrist until a small window on the door lowered just enough to make out the villainess's head. For a moment, she turned Kim's way again with one last unreadable look before pressing something unseen.

The window view snapped shut and Kim's eyes looked around. Was she in a dungeon? Was she to be tortured? Did that pill contain some kind of addictive drug? It certainly looked nothing like Sara's confinement. Just the chair and a very small room. There were no instruments.

Was it another attempt to kill her? But why would Shego have told her all those things? Her stomach turned as the unknown pill continued doing who knew what to her. The warmth was spreading, filling her center, and she discovered the pain that had once been dulled flare to life. She winced but found that just as quickly as it came, it oozed away under the tides of warmth. Tired eyes tried to shut under the pleasant sensation, but she shook herself hard, lifting her once useless arms in amazement.

"I guess it was some kind of recovery medicine." Her brow furrowed at the words. "But why was she taking so many of them? She wasn't injured."

A snap drew her attention up, just as a panel slid away to reveal a screen that flared to life, distracting her from these new sensations. Kim narrowed her eyes expecting to see Shego with some additional barbs only to stare blankly as Wade's tear-streaked face appeared instead. The genius seemed equally taken aback, eyes wide and staring at Kim.

"Wade? How?" Kim asked.

Wade's eyes drifted down her tattered suit before hastily raising his eyes, his cheeks flushed.

"That…that's my line. How did you fix the Kimmunicator? It was completely fried before it cut off. There's no way it should have worked after that." His eyes dipped again before looking around the small room. "Are…Are you all right?"

Glancing down at herself, Kim hastily used her new mobile arms to cover her modesty.

"I don't really know. Shego handed me my butt on a platter and stuffed me in this…prison? I'm not sure what's going on."

"You mean you didn't fix the Kimmunicator?" Frantic typing followed Wade's question, not waiting for a response.

She didn't have to wait long before he returned, his expression ashen. "Kim, I don't know how, but you aren't calling from a Kimmunicator and that means they somehow beat out my personal encryption which is or at least should have been, impossible."

Kim stared blankly at him.

"It…it means they have likely been listening in to everything we have said and…and I'm sorry. Everything may have been my fault," Wade finished, eyes widening at some realization.

Kim blinked, her mind clouded with the warmth spreading up and covering it with a soft fog. All of these twists simply didn't help when they came out of nowhere.

"About?"

"If this is true, I may be the one responsible for getting you shot down." The sickened expression was growing at each halting word.

"How?" her own eyes slowly scrunching in confusion.

"I think those naked mole rat robots' homed in on the Kimmunicator signal."

"But we weren't talking when that happened… wait, Wade, were you listening in when I was talking with Mr. Nakisumi?" Despite her desperate situation, Kim's anger still managed to drive back the pleasantness settling over her mind especially when Wade's eyes shifted away guiltily.

The seconds stretched until Wade took advantage of a beep from his console. The diversion turned serious as the boy became frantic, his eyes darting between screens. If Kim thought his look ashen before, it was nothing compared to his wide-eyed stare.

"Kim! You have to get out of there now!"

"What? What's happening, Wade?" Kim asked, her muscles struggling to tense after the day's exertions.

"No, no, no, no, no. Not you too! Why would they do that?"

Wade's usual calm façade crumbled as he looked all over. Almost woodenly, he paused, slowly turning to face her.

"I'm so sorry, Kim. I didn't listen to you and I think it will…ge…t…y…u…ki…l…d" The screen fuzzed, Wade's picture disappearing into complete blackness. The panel shifted over the screen once more, hiding the only source of what the problem was from her.

Kim blinked, heart racing despite the deep lethargy.

Her fists knocked futilely against the wall as if venting her frustration would bring back the screen, and thereby the boy, to reappear.

"Shego! I know you can hear me! What is going on?!"

Almost as if in response, the light snapped off shifting to dull red flashes similar to the hallway. Kim's eyes darted around, her hands working at the restraints with no effect.

She paused in her frantic attempt to escape as her ear caught a sound. Something…familiar. A rumble she had heard countless times. She knew this. Almost sounded like Dad's…

Kim's eyes went wide as she slammed back into the chair, the whole world shuddering violently.

"What… Is… Happening…"

she gasped as her head shook wildly. The edges of her vision went dark. It felt like her chest would cave in at any moment. Her breathing became strained and she felt her consciousness fade before…

…It vanished.

The world flooded back into view as she caught her rapid breath, heart pounding in her chest. Kim blinked as for the second time that day, she felt weightless, her restraints loosening on their own. She wiggled out of them, finding herself floating in the room. A casual glance had her cheeks reddening. She was a mess and there wasn't much left of the suit. Worse, there was not a hint of blue to show it was trying to mend itself. During her examination, she drifted, jostling into one of the walls which caused a gasp. Not from the minor impact, but the whole room turned transparent and she was…in the air, the forest zipping past far, far below.

"I'm in a rocket? Why would Shego give me an escape like this?" She questioned. Though, the free fall felt kind of nice. Adrenaline could only fend off those warm waves of comfort that suffused her mind. Tempting her to just close her eyes and everything would be all right. They did drift down at the seductive siren call despite her struggles. She blinked once, then frowned. Rubbing at her eyes, she squinted, her frazzled mind focused on a slight imperfection. It was nothing more than a spec really, but the whole place was so clear, it tugged her away from the peace drawing her in. She pushed off the wall, coming closer.

When she rested next to the imperfection, she lightly rubbed her thumb against it. Only, it wasn't going away, just leaving a smear of her own thumbprint. Wait, the dot was… growing…fast. In the blink of an eye, it exploded in size, a missile far larger than her little rocket sped past with a very familiar logo. All traces of her pleasant haze vanished, her throat constricted and mouth dry. It was gone. No hint of a sound at the passing.

Her eyes tracked the retreating dot arcing through the sky before it zipped straight down. Her jaw dropped as a huge ball of light flashed into existence, and the forest below vaporized in a wave. Eyes widened as a mushroom cloud formed. It was something she had seen countless times in horror movies. And then the view was gone. Back were the plain walls and Kim crashed into the seat, the snakelike restraints snapping her out of the air. She tensed in the seat as for the fourth time that day, her world became a blur of motion.


Author's notes: Still in a bit of a void trying to get perspective on the chapters. I've delved into Discord with a little bit of success, but still difficult given the outdated fandom. Speaking of which, a big shout out to AlfieRose for reviewing and pointing out points that were unclear. It helped a lot.

I'm still working on the stories, but I've found them getting larger. The next chapter has expanded to around 12k words so it will likely be split out into two parts again. Now it's just a matter of working on the new material for the chapter after that.

If you can spare a few minutes, please let me know how you are liking the story, your thoughts, and points of interest. It helps a lot to see other perspectives. Helps me get a better understanding of what the reader is getting from the story rather than what I think is coming across. I've realized those things can be very different and the longer a misunderstanding goes, the more confusing future chapters may be.

Thank you for reading,

brindani