Family Matters Part 3
Shego walked down the hall the next morning. She'd mentally prepared herself for the next six days with Mego. All she had to do was keep him occupied. Unfortunately, unless it was something for himself, he'd avoid it. She looked at the papers she'd printed off and smirked. She'd picked up her old degree for this. Simple. She'd made a bunch of one-sided questions for him to answer and write. Every few he'd tell her, so he would think it was actually relevant. But for the most part, it would keep him quiet and away from bothering her or Drakken. She'd actually woken from her sleep in pure panic when the memory of Drakken's mother visiting came back. She had gained fuel from that, but if Mego, even for a moment decided to talk about something other than himself... Well there were just things that she didn't want others to know, let alone Drakken.
"Going to nip that right in the..." Shego paused as she looked in Drakken's lab. "What the..."
The lights were off and no Drakken sat behind his desk. She looked at the time. He normally would have been up hours ago. While it had been a little over a week, she'd been sure he'd fall right back into his normal routine. She shrugged it off, until she realized she hadn't seen him in the kitchen either. She couldn't fathom why he would be in his office, but she headed there anyway. She froze as she was a few feet from the door; she heard laughing. This confused her for a split second before she remembered Mego. She'd been certain he would sleep late like he always had. She spun into the doorway.
"Yeah, so then...hey Sis," said Mego, seated in her normal chair, feet resting on Drakken's desk. The grin on his face became mischievous.
"Good morning, Shego," said Drakken. He cleared his throat and she could tell he was giving his best poker face, but she saw the corners of her lip twitch.
"What's happening here?" said Shego, her eyes narrowing. She didn't like the looks of their expressions.
"Mego was regaling me with tales of a young Team Go," said Drakken. He sipped his coffee and smirked at Shego.
"He'd better not be," said Shego, a wave of utter panic coming over her.
"Relax Sis," said Mego with an eye-roll. "It's not always about you. I was telling him about the time we met Avarius. It's not like I'm telling him about Dweller or something."
"Mego," said Shego. She could feel her body react, and she swallowed hard.
"Earlier he told me about...the Dollmaker?" asked Drakken. His smile faltered at her unease, but it was still there. Shego's eyes shot open and her hands flared.
"Oh she's angry," said Mego. Taking a drink of his own coffee, his eyes rolled. "Don't be so dramatic, Sis. So a crazy villain was obsessed with you. If you remember, I stopped him and he's now getting the mental help he needed," said Mego confidently. She looked at Drakken. "Trust me, one of my sister is enough. Imagine dozens dressed in cutesy attire and frills."
"It answers so many questions," said Drakken. "Mego mentioned that you had case files even, where you dressed up as one to infiltrate his Doll Factory."
"Mego, since you're so talkative, would you like me to share some stories about you?" said Shego. She needed to shut...whatever this was...down.
"We've been talking all night," said Mego with a shrug. "Did he ever tell you about how he turned blue? I've never heard of a chemical case... I mean those side-effects you told me about are really interesting. I never asked, have you done blood tests?"
"Naturally," said Drakken. He rolled his eyes. "Weirdly enough it doesn't show as clearly as the only other documented cases. Those were genetic though."
"Do you have slides?" asked Mego. "I should show you mine."
"Officially, this is hell," said Shego, as day three of her brother being there had turned into some sort of bonding between Drakken and Mego.
"Did you say something, Shego?" asked Drakken from where he was showing Mego the new synthodrone plasma suits.
"Nothing," she mumbled from where she sat in her chair. She should be grateful they were both out of her hair, but she was worried about Mego talking too much. She'd been vigilant since the other day.
So far, they had been in their own little world. She's actually learned something new; all anyone had to do was engage Mego in talking about himself, and eventually he would start inquiring about someone else... Though it could be because he managed to turn to conversation back to him pretty quick. The same could be said for Drakken. They had been going over the same thing for an hour before the delivery had come. The world may never know who had the best maniacal laugh because she sure as hell was not about to play judge. She supposed she could go do something else since they were caught up in the drones right now.
"So what exactly is it made of? Is it a chemical byproduct? Life source of radial energy? How does it work?" asked Mego, looking at the large tubs of green resin.
"Ohm, it's a...something." Drakken froze and picked up the manual. "It's... It just makes it work."
"Electrical or chemical though? Mixture?" asked Mego. He shook the tub. "Gross."
"Don't you bust into cadavers?" asked Drakken. "I'm sure there are more unappealing items in bowels."
"Mostly chunky indistinguishable..." Mego was cut off.
"Okay, that's it. I'm taking off early. I need to get some shopping done, because this...this is disgusting...and stressful," said Shego, jumping up. She shook her head. "Both are equally disgusting."
"Since when is the goo disgusting? It was your idea to use it with Norbert even," said Drakken with a confused look.
"Who's Norbert?" asked Mego with a raised brow.
"The robot baby we made," said Drakken casually. Mego choked on his soda.
"Robot baby? You two have a robot baby?" asked Mego, eyes wide. Shego rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to retort.
"Not anymore, Shego lost the battery charger," said Drakken. His eyes narrowed as he went back to measuring out the goo.
"I was the only one taking care of it," said Shego. She was not having this argument again. "No. No. This is not coming up again. I will be at the mall."
"Hey, wait up, I hear the local mall around here has some great buys," said Mego, and Shego fought the groan wanting to break out as Mego walked beside her.
"It's so hard finding things that work for me besides purple and black," said Mego as he held up a jacket. "Besides green. It's such a weird color."
"Gee, thanks," said Shego with an eye-roll as she tossed down another top. She looked at her brother. "What are you really doing here Mego?"
"Being disappointed in the deals and selections here," said Mego, holding up a pair of jeans with an eye-roll. "Same thing at Go Mall for half the price."
"I mean here, as in my home," said Shego. "Are you here to pry? Keep tabs on villains? Find leverage to get me back on the team?"
"You know, I may be ME-go, but sometimes you're really self-centered yourself," scoffed Mego. He crossed his lanky arms. "I told you, I took a vacation."
"You could go anywhere in the world, why bother me?" asked Shego. Visiting family was not her idea of taking a break.
"Where would I want to go?" scoffed Mego. He didn't look at her directly.
Shego was about to go on a rant, when she saw a flash over Mego's eyes—nerves. They were gone in an instant and he rolled his eyes and grabbed the few tops he'd been looking at and headed towards the dressing room. She rolled her eyes and looked at the jacket again. She had no idea what Mego was implying. He could go anywhere... Madrid... No, not there... She shuddered. A beach, France, Italy... The whole world was an option. Hell, he could even hang in the simulator room at Go Tower and be everywhere. Sure, Hego might bother him, but he had the Wegos. As she looked at a pair of boots, something struck her. Hego's hiding a secret. Wesley has a girlfriend. Wheaton is devoted to stalking Hego. She physically groaned. Mego was lonely. Why else would he spend hours talking to Drakken and why he was, as close as Mego could come, trying to show interest in others?
"Great, now he's emotionally needy instead of verbally." She looked upwards and asked for strength from something.
Shego sighed and succumbed to dealing with it... as there were very few options.
"Why didn't you ask Wheaton to go on a trip with you?" asked Shego as she ate her gelato.
"He's focused on Hego and whatever he's hiding. It feels lame to say it, but I've never left Go City. The idea of traveling alone somewhere, well it doesn't feel right. But anywhere I go in Go City is like a press conference. I used to feel like a rock star, but now I just feel... I don't know."
"Suffocated. Lost. Drowning. Secluded. I felt that at first too, you know, towards the end. I felt like I didn't know who I really was even...then." Shego was cut off.
"Shego, we're talking about me right now, okay? I know why you left," said Mego with an eye-roll. "I don't want to leave. Things are finally going well again. Even with you not there...it feels like it used to. When it first started, you know?"
"Terrifying. Draining..."
"Are you just phoning this heart-to-heart in with word play?" asked Mego with a raised brow.
"Possibly." Her smirk matched his. "So if you don't want to leave, why are you on vacation?"
"I don't know. I mean I've always felt like an outsider, but at least I had the Wegos to notice me. Now they're off doing their own thing. About time really, they're going to be nineteen soon, but with my new job and Team Go again...the only one who came to mind was you. Sure you're a 'villain' and all but, you were always okay with being alone... So, check up on you and get some advice."
"First of all, I am a villain, so stop with the air quotes. And second of all, what makes you think that I'm okay with being alone?" snapped Shego. She felt a mixture of shock and anger at his statement.
"Oh, okay... So far, you stole something you can download and ordered stuff from a magazine," said Mego with an eye-roll. "So not feeling the villain vibes from that. As far as alone, well, you've always kept to yourself. We all just assumed you liked being alone. That's what you always told us. We used to joke we'd all get settled down and have over-stressed jobs and you'd be the one wealthy and happily living alone in luxury... Even before...you know, we became super heroes. You even told us that once, saying you were going to be rich and powerful. That you would do whatever you wanted and would have no one to answer to."
"Well, yeah," said Shego. She felt her stomach knot. "I mean, I want that. Doesn't mean I planned on being alone forever. Besides...I was ten when I said that. You also said you wanted to be a villain when you grew up. That still a plan?"
"I don't know, you offering a job?" smirked Mego, his expression so blank she actually thought he was serious until he winked.
"Well, I could use someone to distract Drakken when I go shopping," shrugged Shego.
"Nah," said Mego with a shrug, but he smiled. "It was a nice offer though. Not sure I could morally join your ranks."
"Yeah, you have to have the drive to be bad," she smirked. Her phone went off and she rolled her eyes. "All right, time to head back. Drakken's run out of distractions... We need to stop at Henchco and pick up a replacement part. You know I told him last time that those things are just a migraine. Anything I can destroy with just my nails...trash."
"Hey Sis, how much does Drakken know about your past?" asked Mego as he followed her.
"Enough," said Shego. The tequila incident came back to her.
"Does he know about our fist villains?" asked Mego. Shego shot him a look, and he nodded. "Understood."
"No, and he doesn't need to. I wish I didn't know them," said Shego, her skin crawling.
"Soo, you're just going to stand there?" asked Monique as she looked to where Mego sat in Shego's chair.
Currently she, Ron, and Kim were restrained after having broken in to try to regain the AI software and programming chips from Drakken and Shego. Unluckily for them, the new drones were operational and already partially upgraded. Monique, in her attempt to help, had actually botched their landing and they'd fallen right into a trap of knockout gas. Mego looked up from his spot and closed his book, raising a brow.
"Ohm, I'm on vacation. I don't get involved in this," said Mego. He looked at Ron. "She is...?"
"Monique," snapped Monique.
"She helps us out from time to time," said Ron with a nod. "Mostly when she wants to get out of class."
"Barkin has it in for me, ever since I skipped one gym class," said Monique. She looked towards Kim. "I thought you said he was supposed to be a good guy?"
"Apparently he and Shego share the same, 'if I'm on vacation don't call' dynamic," sighed Kim. She glared at Mego, who returned it.
"Listen to female Hego," said Mego, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, the only time I've ever seen Shego call off a vacation was when Dr. Drakken and I were dying in the North Pole," said Ron. He sighed. "That was a good time."
"Quick, Ron, flirt us out of here," said Monique. Mego rolled his eyes and smirked.
"Not even close," said Mego. He picked up his magazine. "Just because I call someone cutie doesn't imply I have an interest. Just like wearing a Banana Republic tulip-sleeved tank doesn't mean someone has style."
"Oo, boy, was that a dig," snapped Monique. "You wait until I get out of this."
"Come on Mego. One hero to another, how about a little help," asked Kim with a sigh. She was trying to reach her pocket. "Just kick my bag over and I'll do the rest."
"No can do. I promised my sister and Drakken I would not get involved," said Mego. He looked up at them. "I am not about to ruin what's been a pretty good vacation visiting my sister and her man by helping you guys."
"What if...wait...what?" asked Ron. He and Kim's eyes shot open. "Did you just...wait...what?"
"He said he's not ruining a pretty good vacation by helping us," sighed Monique. She looked at Mego. "I can get you a discount at Banana Republic."
"I already have one," said Mego. He paused. "How much?"
"I'm sorry, circling back... You think...you think that there's...that Shego and Drakken...?" Ron was at a loss for words. "What?"
"Please Ron, are you saying you didn't know they were a thing?" asked Monique with an eye-roll. "I've only met them a handful of times."
"But they're... Kim?" asked Ron. She glared at him as she was too busy focusing on getting her laser lipstick out of her pocket.
"Kind of busy Ron," said Kim with a shake of her head.
"What would make you think..." Ron looked puzzled.
"Think about it," sighed Monique. She looked back at Mego. "Thirty percent"
"Pass," said Mego. He flipped a page of his medical book.
"Discount on medical supplies," said Monique with a smirk. He raised a brow.
"I just don't understand," said Ron under his breath. Kim hung her head.
"Rufus?" the naked mole-rat popped out and Kim sighed. "Get me my lipstick please."
"Where do you get discounts of medical equipment?" asked Mego, closing his book.
"We all have connections," said Monique. She looked at Mego's nails. "I'm sorry, where did you get that color? Is that Obsidian Lilac?"
"I know people," said Mego casually. He looked at Kim. "Looks like you're all good anyway."
"Yeah, thanks so much by the way," said Kim as she used her lipstick to free the other two. She rolled her eyes. "Enjoy vacation."
"I didn't feel the sincerity," said Mego with a shrug.
"Have fun at the new job," said Ron with a thumbs up.
"There it is," said Mego with a smile.
"You and I need to talk," said Monique, pointing at his book and nails before the three were off.
"I like her," said Mego as he kicked his feet up and continued reading as he heard fighting going on in the background.
"Ohm, helloooo," said Shego as she landed in front of Mego. She was livid. "What the hell happened? You didn't tell us they escaped?"
"Shego, he's not involved, remember," came Drakken's reply as he held a hand over his eye. "Besides, I saved the format, so it really doesn't matter."
"Yeah, it's fine, listen to Drakken," said Mego. He flipped a page and his book burst into green flame. "Hey! That wasn't mine."
"Explain it to the owner," snapped Shego in aggravation.
"Fine. Drakken," said Mego looking over her shoulder. Shego groaned.
"Shego. Uncool," said Drakken. "That book was the only good memory I had from college."
"What about Jasper?" asked Mego with a smirk. Shego saw Drakken's eyes widen. "I'm sorry... Hermes is it now?"
"What?" asked Shego. "You told him but not me?"
"...So sorry you're leaving tomorrow," said Drakken looking at Mego.
"Hey Mego, welcome back," said Hego as Mego flopped down in his normal chair. "How was vacation?"
"It was pretty good actually. Saw a break-in, a robbery, artificial intelligence, a few fights, ran into Stoppable and Possible, made a new friend, bonded, went shopping, shared stories..." said Mego. He shrugged. "Not a bad first time out of Go City."
"I thought you were visiting Shego?" asked one of the Wegos.
"I did. No worries guys, everything's fine," said Mego. Hego sighed in relief and patted Mego's shoulder.
"That's good to hear, you know how Shego can be," said Hego. He clapped his hands together and stood up. "You're certain?"
"Yeah, she's fine. How on Earth Drakken puts up with our sister is beyond me," said Mego. "But he didn't seem in distress. A little insane though... But he'd have to be."
Plot Twist →