Woven Paths Part 3

The sharp pains in Shego's hands began to fade, but the knife was already lost. She looked at the tremble of her digits as it felt like small daggers had been ripping through her flesh. The clattering of the knife had seemed like a faint echo in her moments of torture. She felt her heart throbbing in her throat and waited to hear Botox or Dollmaker address her, but it didn't come.

"So, we're just...letting them have escape knives... Life is not exciting enough?" came a male voice. She looked to see a familiar face of a thin, dark-haired man she couldn't place.

Shego looked to see the little black device in his hands as he looked towards Botox. Shego's eyes darted towards them. Botox seemed unfazed by the dropped knife but their deep eye darted back across the room for what felt like the hundredth time. Shego couldn't imagine what was so fascinating about the hoverboard, but that wasn't a concern. The concern was that she'd failed to escape in time not to be caught, and the tray was moved farther away from her now. The man with the device spoke again.

"I mean, if you want a real challenge...how about normal henchmen—" He was cut off.

"Save whatever jokes or insults you have lined up," snarled Botox. "Blood or not, I am not going to pretend to find you amusing."

Shego looked at the man again. The blue suit and shiny shoes...the same thin frame as Devious Shark. Her eyes narrowed at him. Then it clicked. She remembered kicking him into the hench-people in a foggy room... The comic from the retreat. Then Botox's comment. Shego looked at him harder. Those same deadpan eyes as Dollmaker... There was a seething rage rushing through her.

"More rotten apples," scoffed Shego. "Please tell me the orchard burned down?"

She heard a laugh from the bottom of the platform. Dollmaker was collecting syringes again.

"See, that's funny," said Dollmaker. "Burned down orchard... Ah Shego, beautiful and witty. If it makes you feel any better...I won't make you look like the others."

Shego felt a surge of renewed panic run through her as she saw Dollmaker holding a mask. She pulled against the weakened restraint in blind hope. Before the mask could reach her, an alarm sounded and they turned towards the doorway.

"Devious," said Botox sternly. Devious Shark nodded and sprinted down the steps where a few hench-people joined him.

"What if—" Dollmaker was cut off.

"Go check the other entrance," it was a statement. Dollmaker nodded and left out another entrance with a few other hench-people.

Shego felt a swirl of relief in her, but then a new fear came to light. There would be no giant robot to crash in like the last time Drakken had attempted to rescue her...which meant he was on foot...and alone...and overconfident. She felt thin hands on either side of her face pull her to look at them. Botox was uncomfortably close and there was a searching look in their eye, as if trying to bore into her soul. Shego pulled her head back as far as she could against the surface behind her.

"Tell me my dear Shego...where did you actually get those shoes you wore to my party?"

Drakken darted behind the pillar as he heard running, the now-empty gun he'd gotten from his former henchmen nothing more than a useless metal stick. He glared at Hermes in the small cramped space. Hermes in turn was glaring back at him and gesturing to the twitchy hand that had decided to bust open the door without care. Reacting quickly, Pandora had used Drakken's rifle to take out a camera system of sorts. Not many shots had been left in the item to begin with. He felt his hand twitch as he still held his glare. Drakken knew the gauntlet was feeding off his irrational energy and emotions... He was still going to blame Hermes for this. He heard a deep sigh from Pandora who was pressed into the corner.

"I understand you two have sentient hands...but maybe refrain from blowing our cover," she hissed. "Great, now the walking nightmares are coming."

"Wasn't like either of us planned this," retorted Drakken. "You didn't have to waste our ammo."

"They could have given us more ammunition, or you know...someone could have not messed with cursed—" Hermes's rant was cut off as both Drakken and Pandora nudged him. He fell silent.

Drakken watched through the opening as a man in a blue suit ran by where they had been, the hench-people with them and blindly staring for orders. The man—the comic, Drakken noted—Devious Shark...looked around and over the area. Drakken felt rage and groped for the laser gun in his boot. Hermes's normal hand grabbed his wrist to stop him from pulling it. He glanced at him and he shook his head.

"Do we shoot them?" asked Pandora in a low whisper. Drakken felt annoyance transfer through him as Hermes looked at Pandora. "I was just asking."

Drakken saw disgust flicker over Pandora's face in the dimly lit hiding space as she looked off towards their current obstacle to Shego. He didn't know where her personal vendetta was rooted when it came to the hench-people and Devious Shark, but he didn't care much. He still didn't know who all was in on whatever trap this was. He would hope that whatever bad blood was between the two wouldn't mean Pandora's assisting in Shego's kidnap and possible imprisonment. Drakken was questioning a lot of people's motives right now.

He glanced at Hermes.

The only reason they're not letting you do this on your own is because of the gauntlets... Can't trust them...can't trust anyone... Can't trust yourself.

Drakken shook his head and moved to step on the metal on his hand. Devious Shark and the stiff-jointed beings began to leave when footsteps were suddenly heard. Drakken saw the silhouette of a man in a lab coat through a small gap. He tried to look as there was a small gasp from Pandora. Hermes's hand clamped over her mouth with such speed he elbowed Drakken. Drakken bit his lip to stop his own yelp of pain.

"I didn't see anyone," said the man.

"No one here either... This place is all sorts of unstable. Who builds a lair into an old temple," scoffed Devious Shark.

"Yes, well, we should get back...there's a lot to be done," said the man again. "Before they change their mind."

"Yeah, or she grabs a knife again... I think they're slipping in their old age," snorted Devious Shark as they went out of view. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't be disrespectful," was all that was said as the last of the hench-people vanished.

Drakken looked at Pandora and Hermes for an all-clear as Pandora had a better viewing angle. Instead she looked wide-eyed and fearful. Drakken stared at her as she yanked Hermes's hand from her mouth. She practically shoved them out of their spot.

"We have to hurry," said Pandora. "This isn't just some whack job with a fountain of youth complex."

"I thought they just wanted her blood?" asked Hermes. "You don't think they'll try and turn her into one of...what are they?"

"People," said Pandora as she began moving down the hall quickly. They followed after her. "Those were people."

"Are you sure they're not some...zombie-robots—" Hermes was cut off.

"No." Pandora no longer looked annoyed or inconvenienced. Drakken saw real panic in her eyes. "Looks like the mental ward did nothing but perfect his craft."

"Who?" asked Drakken. Drakken knew she'd seen the man he couldn't. "Who was that with Devious Shark?"

Pandora cringed.

"Dollmaker," she hissed. "And I don't think he would just want Shego's blood."

Shego was glad when Botox's hands left her face. Her skin was crawling as they looked at her and waited for her response. Shego knew exactly what Botox was asking her, in a very casual way. Shego's mind raced as it became clear Botox hadn't been staring at the hoverboard to read the stickers on it... They had been thinking about Drakken's name... It sunk in that 'Dr. Drakken' was based on his grandmother's bedtime stories...and her mind was whirling. He'd said his grandmother had been in the medical field.

Rivals? They'd said rivals?

Shego answered with the only thing she could think of.

"I told you. A friend was cleaning out a junk room and found them," scoffed Shego. "If you wanted them so badly then maybe you should have worked on your kidnap plan better...like staging a formal event so I could wear them... When I get out of here...I'll send them to you."

Botox looked at her with suspicion.

"This boyfriend of yours—"

"Drakken is not my boyfriend," Shego needed to distance all ideas of this. "He is my partner and that is all. I'm sure Sweets told you all sorts of misguided drama."

"Sweets?" Botox raised a brow and then nodded. "Dr. Sweets... Oh...so she's told you?"

"We're not exactly gal pals," snorted Shego. "I'm just not stupid... So how long has she, actually, been plotting with you?"

"Plotting with... Oh no my dear. I was her supplier and in return she did me favors here and there," sighed Botox. "Unfortunately...she isn't up to the job... Calling Global Justice at the resort did not go unnoticed... And...as Devious Shark has told me...she has too much of an attachment to people to be of much use to me."

"Uh huh," scoffed Shego. "So you're telling me she's just...been there by coincidence."

"When I found out she has connections to you...I may have attempted to sway her... But that was a lost cause... She's even turned down my supplies." Botox paused. "Thank you for reminding me to pay her a visit... Now if you're done evading the question with lies—"

"All clear," came Dollmaker as he walked up the back of the platform. "Must have been faulty."

"Faulty?" Botox's eye narrowed. "So, the alarm going off...you are certain...had nothing to do with Shego flipping a tracker switch a few hours ago?"

Dollmaker's unsettling smile flicked away. There was a pause.

"I was just asking Shego about her...partner?" Botox sighed. "Perhaps you could get more information out of her...since you are certain."

Dollmaker looked uneasy as he turned to Shego. He approached her and that renewed fear from the past came spinning back to her. His hand touched her face and she wanted to scream or blast him, but she couldn't.

"It would be best if you tell them what they want to know," he said with a pout. "I don't want to ruin what little perfection you've already let go."

Shego balled her fists and turned away from his breath. The scent was almost as nauseating as the person.

"Don't touch me." She tried to sound calm and direct.

She was hoping it wasn't just a fault in the system and that someone was actually coming through that door to get her... She didn't even care if it was Global Justice or Kim Possible. Even if the alarm was a fault, she could use that again. But she was out of time. There were no more distractions or conversation topics she could come up with to stall. The fact it had worked so long shocked her. Dollmaker's voice was a whine and it made her stomach squirm.

"Shego, please...I don't want to flaw you... I don't want you broken like the others."

Shego slammed her eyes shut, trying to will away the memory that his voice was pulling back. The familiar restraints may let her move but it was like her body remembered being unable to do so as his voice rang through her ears. Faces...scarred, flawed...hollowed eyes...fake dark hair and painted skin... She could almost smell it again. His hand was touching her face again and she reacted. She opened her eyes and bit the fingers touching her lips. Hard.

"Ahh!" Dollmaker was thrashing away from her but she bit harder.

If she was going down, it wouldn't be without a fight... Or without scars that weren't easily fixed, plastic surgeon or not.

"Let go! Let go!" He was pulling away from her but she bit harder. She didn't care if she bit them off.

Do it, it will buy more time if he has no fingers.

She was not going to be anyone's strange doll, nor some mind-altered pudding-brained henchperson, and she was getting out of there. She felt new hands on her face yanking her jaw open. Shego clenched tighter. She could hear Devious Shark had returned and was yelling obscenities at her, coming to the aid of his family.

There was a loud zipping electric sound and she heard Devious Shark scream. Everyone let go of her face and all the sounds of movement made her let go and open her eyes. Dollmaker fell away from her, the fingers she'd been biting already bruising and she could see blood. She spit the taste from her mouth. She looked around as hench-people started moving like well-organized guards around the platform and exits. Devious Shark lay on the ground where Dollmaker had scurried to him.

Shego would have possibly analyzed the parental-like concern Dollmaker had for Devious Shark... It made him seem normal for a second. She saw him pick him up as if to drag the unconscious form to safety. However her eyes ghosted past them, looking for whatever or whoever had shot him with what Shego knew to be a stun laser.

Drakken?

Her eyes darted but she saw nothing. She knew hiding and sneaking wasn't his best attribute so her not seeing him made her concerned. She twitched as she felt the cuff on her wrist move. She glanced down to see a thin hand undoing her restraint. She followed the purple clad arm to the dark long hair of Pandora. Shego blinked in shock, almost unable to process her wrist being freed. Her ankle was next before Pandora moved to the other side and reached around to her other wrist. Shego's free hand began working at the belt around her waist. A noise made them both look up.

Hench-people were on the platform looking at them. Shego smiled at them in hopes that one of them was a defect like earlier. As they took fighting stances, her hopes, again...were dashed. Pandora ducked as one attacked her. Shego desperately tried to get the restraint glove off of her freed hand. The hench-people were on her in seconds attempting to secure her again. She kicked one right into where Dollmaker and Botox had been moving towards her. She watched Dollmaker fall from the platform. She kicked high upwards and hit one of the creations hard in the jaw. She heard a crack but it was unfazed. There was a loud smashing sound and Pandora careened into the cart that had been next to Shego.

"Well done, my dear... Looks like you managed to call in a rescue party with your earlier trick," hissed Botox. "I needed new additions anyway...oh I remember her."

"New face?" groaned Pandora as she tried to sit up, a syringe sticking in her arm. "I liked the other one better...made you less ugly."

"Such a smart mouth," grumbled Botox. "Can't wait to silence it."

Botox moved towards Pandora.

"Yeah good luck with that," scoffed Pandora. She tried to get up but she collapsed.

"Well that serum will help," Botox sounded smug.

Shego couldn't see beyond the wall of hench-people she was trying to kick off while keeping her arm free. Finally she felt two of the creations restraining her leg and the rest pulling the gloves tighter as the binding started to go around her wrist again.

"I am...really...over...this...damsel in distress...thing," she growled and kneed upwards. One creature fell away.

"I don't know, I think you pull it off well," said a new but familiar voice.

Shego's eyes opened wide as she looked to her right, just in time to see Drakken hit the hench-people in front of her with a metal chair. The rush of feelings racing through her made her uncertain what to focus on first. She saw metal on his hand as it ripped her bindings completely with sharp claws. The glowing red of the stone on the back of his hand focused her emotions. All joy and excitement fell away to anger.

"The gauntlets! Are you insane!" she snapped as he yanked the strap off her neck. "What on earth would possess you—"

"Shego can you please let me rescue you before screaming at me?" sighed Drakken. "It's been a long day."

He held a relieved smile on his face and Shego saw his arms open and move towards her. Her eyes darted over the scene to where Botox stood, their hand grasped around Pandora's hair who seemed to have been immobilized. Shego shoved past Drakken and yanked her gloves off. She didn't get a chance to attack as Hermes came into view. A metallic glint, and Botox was clutching their face, Hermes shaking his hand and grumbling about pain.

Shego looked at Drakken. He held a slightly sour look and held up his hand.

"We're trying a new form of bonding... Very medieval right?" He was trying to crack a joke. It was short lived.

Drakken let out a yelp as his legs were yanked from under him. It appeared Dollmaker had gotten back on the platform under the legs of the surrounding hench-people. Shego lit up her hands and shot at him. Well, she attempted to; her glow was faint and her hands ached as if the gloves were still on. She could see cuts on her fingers. She briefly contemplated if the gloves were laced with something as the cuts stung. She went to kick Dollmaker off Drakken but Drakken's gauntlet-clad hand was over Dollmaker's face. The stone was glowing brighter. Drakken's eyes were glowing the same deep red color.

"Drakken!" yelled Shego. Now was not the time for it to take over and for him to pass out. "Snap out of it."

Shego grabbed his wrist as she kicked Dollmaker like she intended. There were cuts in the shape of a hand on Dollmaker's face, as if the gauntlet was going perform its own twisted reconstruction of the doll-obsessed doctor. The hand moved swiftly and grabbed Shego's wrist.

"Drakken!" She watched his eyes go back to normal. "That's better... Save the homicidal rage for when we don't just need to escape."

Drakken looked panicked for a split second before rolling his eyes in a huff.

"Well then what's the point," he sighed. "Fine. Any escape plan?"

Shego looked around them as the hench-people began to form a barrier to the entrance point she was certain her three rescuers had snuck through, then realized it made full sense that Drakken wouldn't have thought of a way out. She groaned and used the hand still gripping her wrist to yank him to his feet.

"Fighting an army of botched cyborgs is first on the list." Shego took a fighting stance. She flexed her fingers in pain.

"Uh, about that," came Hermes's voice from her left. Shego glanced in his direction.

Hermes was attempting to keep hold of a staggering Pandora whose limbs seemed to be weighing her down. Beyond them was a wall of hench-people. Shego took a mental count. There were at least two dozen, give or take a few—enough to encircle them in an unsettling wall. Some wore the familiar lilac-colored scrubs she'd remembered. She saw the 'defects' standing a ways back as if watching.

"Okay, so normally I'd say we book it and ditch these two, but given the circumstances, I'd feel kinda guilty," muttered Shego. Drakken nodded as they both took a step back.

Shego surveyed them and a new concern came over her, and it wasn't that Drakken's twitching hand had chosen not to let go of her wrist. It was that among the sea of unsettling faces...three were missing. Dollmaker's crumpled form from where she'd kicked him was gone. She wanted to assume they'd made a break for it, but she knew that wasn't true. She felt more on edge from that than by the hench-people getting closer.

"Not that I'm complaining you actually brought backup...but were you out of choices?" whispered Shego.

"If you notice, I'm only wearing one gauntlet. This was more of a 'no choice' situation... Otherwise I wouldn't have brought anyone," retorted Drakken.

Shego rolled her eyes and glanced to her left again.

"Can Hermes fight?"

"Uh," Drakken shrugged and looked towards Hermes and Pandora. "I don't really know... Hermes, have you kept up on karate?"

"It's judo," grumbled Hermes as he struggled with Pandora. "And no...not really."

"This is why I suggested you take it up again," Pandora murmured as best she could under the serum's paralysis. "Not so annoying now, is it."

Shego let out a deep sigh and glanced at her hands. Her plasma blast, which seemed to be unavailable at the moment, only powered up the hench-people. Her hands stung and she had no gloves to protect them. She didn't have much choice as they lunged. Shego kneed upwards as bony hands tried to grab her neck. The creation fell back but only from momentum it seemed. She wished she'd learned more about how to defeat one versus how they controlled the defective ones. She didn't have time to focus on what the other three were doing.

Another one lunged at her and she jumped, her hands bracing on its shoulders as she flipped over it. She gave it a backwards kick as she cleared the air, sending the henchperson careening into the surface where Shego had been tethered to. Her jump almost brought her to land on the other side of their surrounding adversaries, but a hand grabbed her ankle mid-air. She lost her balance and landed hard on the cut palms of her hands. She let out a hiss and blindly kicked upward behind her, hoping to make contact with a face.

She heard a whine of pain and saw that it wasn't a henchperson who'd grabbed her. Dollmaker clutched at his bleeding nose, but his hand stayed firm on her ankle. She felt very little fear as she looked at him now, bleeding and bruised. She didn't know if it was because of that or because she wasn't in a familiar helpless state. Now she felt nothing but disgust. She kicked again.

"Get off!" she snapped, "or you'll have to have a face like your parent."

"Not this time," he gasped as he grabbed her other leg. "I'm not letting you go this time, Shego."

"Yes you are," she snapped. She concentrated on her hands, willing them to heat.

It felt like acid running through her veins for a second before the plasma boiled through her palms and cuts. Green energy pulsated before she fired it at Dollmaker. He let go as he was thrown by the force into some of the hench-people Drakken was fighting. Shego moved quickly and jumped up. Hench-people stood there but did not move. The defects. She zigzagged through the small handful and towards her hover board. She didn't have a specific plan, but getting out of there was the main objective. She just hoped it could carry all four of them. A henchperson flew to her left and into an electrical grid. Shego glanced back to see that Hermes's gauntlet was taking over.

"Oh that's just great," hissed Shego as she jumped over a broom, the henchperson from earlier staring at her.

Shego slowed and looked at their tilted head. Botox's words about them not having cognitive thoughts came back to her...but something about the defects, especially the one who'd flipped the switch for her made her pause.

"Do...do you understand?" Shego asked mostly to herself. Its head tilted the other way.

"No they don't," said Botox. Shego's head snapped back towards the hoverboard where Botox stood. "They react to sound and commands. An infant could sway them with a gurgle."

"Then why keep them around?" asked Shego. She needed a clear shot to the hoverboard. "If they are that unstable."

"Convenience, memories, lessons," sighed Botox. "I know who they were and what they used to be... Call it sentimental. The men who crossed me but can gather things I need. The women who wasted opportunities and spread lies but can repair others who are broken... Young women who dig too deep and can't get out."

They gestured vaguely around the frozen defects as they spoke, stopping at the one holding the broom.

"But they can still clean up dirt... All a little off...but of use," finished Botox. "No need to have blood on your hands for no reason."

Shego's eyes narrowed.

"So...you see nothing wrong because they are still alive?" she scoffed. "You are deranged. I see where your son gets it from."

Shego's hands flared and Botox took a large step back.

"So fascinating you know...how that gives energy to my creations...but is so destructive," said Botox. "While your blood is what I wanted, this allures me more."

"Unless you want to see if your face is flame proof, shouldn't you be running to hide or something?" Shego took a step forward. Botox stepped away as she advanced. "What makes you think my rescue party came alone?"

Botox glanced towards the platform and to the henchperson still holding the broom behind Shego. Shego didn't like the small smirk that tugged at the thin skin of Botox's face, as if there was an inside joke. There was a spinning in her stomach as she wondered what was planned. She knew Dollmaker was back at the platform, but where was Devious Shark?

"Because... I have a hunch...thinking ahead isn't your partner's strong suit," sneered Botox. They lunged and Shego fired.

Shego's blasts missed but Botox didn't get close enough to grab her. A swoosh sound moved close past her ears and Botox flew back into one of the glowing tanks. Shego's head spun around to see the broom had flown over her shoulder and right into Botox. The head-tilting henchperson was staring off as Botox staggered. Shego took the opportunity to dash to the hoverboard. She'd barely gotten it turned on and airborne before Botox tried to grab onto it. Shego looked towards the defective henchperson but they had gone back for their broom. Shego hissed as Botox's bony fingers dug into her leg. She fired a blast down at them forcing them to let go.

She got the hover board high enough to avoid the fighting and looked for Drakken and the others. Shego blinked for a second. The defective ones...were fighting the lilac-clad ones, and keeping most at bay. Shego maneuvered around the room, trying to figure out how to swoop in. She began blasting objects to fall and distract the hench-people as she calculated. Hermes's eyes were glowing and his hand was attacking blindly... Drakken...Drakken was in a similar state. The gauntlets had taken over. Her thoughts were interrupted as something hit her in the side. A sharp electrical feeling nearly made her crash. Instead she careened into the platform and into a few hench-people, falling from the board in the process.

Shego looked at her side and saw wires. A taser gun. She used her plasma blast to cut them as more pain surged through her. She glared upwards to see Devious Shark had finally joined in the fray. He dropped the taser and Shego could see something else in his hand. It was the vial gun from the retreat. Shego smirked and fired another blast at him. It hit his shoulder as he dodged. Her hands still stung from the heat but they felt more in control. She fired more plasma blasts, hitting anything she could. She was so blinded by firing at Devious Shark and in Botox's general direction that she'd not paid attention to what was behind her until a sharp pain stabbed into her shoulder.

Dollmaker's arm was around her neck as she saw the blood vial begin to fill. Before she could blast him he let out a loud scream of his own and dropped to the ground. Shego yanked the item from her arm and turned to see Dollmaker clutching his leg in pain. Pandora was halfway down the platform and had a syringe jabbed in Dollmaker's leg.

"I'd destroy that if I were you," groaned Pandora. She seemed to be gaining some control of herself again. "I think one Shego is quite enough. Don't need brainless ones."

Shego smirked as her plasma burned the cartridge that held her blood. She'd have shared a witty retort if a loud siren hadn't sounded. They both looked to see the room being cast in a yellow glow. In the commotion and lights, she'd neglected to see Devious Shark dragging Dollmaker away. Shego saw the security alarm was also lighting up again as the sound of footsteps came heavily through the entrances.

"Global Justice," hissed Pandora as blasts and flares began to be seen down the hall. "Not sure if that's good or bad."

"I don't want to stay to find out," muttered Shego.

She scanned the room for Drakken. His eyes were flickering between red and normal as he was hunched over clutching his gut. There was blood coming from the gauntlet as if one of the hench-people had tried to yank it off. She looked at Pandora who was slowly forcing her way upright. Shego looked for her hover board and was relieved to see it hadn't been destroyed in her blasting fury and was still hovering. She yanked Pandora up as she moved towards it.

"Any plans to take out Hermes?" asked Pandora. "He's gone rogue. I'm pretty sure he's the one who took out Drakken."

"Generally knocking one unconscious works," shrugged Shego. "I— Now what?"

There was a rumbling sound and Shego saw Global Justice retreating. Some of the hench-people had vanished as well. The only ones remaining were those fighting Hermes and the defects. Holding Pandora up, Shego flew towards Drakken quickly as he'd gotten to his feet. He didn't even wait to ask the plan and lunged over the hoverboard.

"Can this hold all four of us?" asked Shego. Drakken clung to her leg as he hung from the board.

"It's going to have to," yelled Drakken. "Something tells me this lair isn't going to be standing for long."

"Oh, you think," snarked Shego as stones began to fall around them. "Hold on, we have to get your fashion buddy."

"Good luck," muttered Drakken. Shego stared at him. "Oh, I'm grabbing him?"

"She's kind of holding me right now," said Pandora. Her arms were gaining strength in her grip but Shego knew if she let go Pandora would fall off.

"Use your armor," yelled Shego. Drakken looked confused for a second before looking at his hand. Shego rolled her eyes. "Did you get hit too hard in that fight?"

"You try having your head invaded," he hissed. Shego sped close enough to Hermes for Drakken to snatch his raised gauntlet.

Hermes's thrashing was not helping her stay balanced as she picked up speed towards the exit and avoided falling debris. Shego's eyes darted around them to where the defects either stood in confusion or still fought. She tore her eyes away and picked up speed, listening to Pandora's directions for the exit. She could feel the hoverboard wobbling as she picked up more and more speed and Drakken's grip slipped from her leg more than once. She shot a plasma blast as they neared what she assumed was the exit door.

The scent of fresh air rushed over her and before she could stop their momentum, they hit the side of an adjacent mountain. Shego yelled as she fell, dropping Pandora as the hover board was thrown from under them. She hit hard ground and grass with a hiss. A heavy weight on her leg and movement made it known Drakken had landed with her. The sound of rumbling made her look upwards.

Shego watched as the mountain lair collapsed in on itself. A Global Justice ship sped off in the distance in hot pursuit of another craft. There was no relief over the escape or smug amusement that she felt should be washing through her. As the last boulder rolled down the incline to rest in place, she felt a bittersweet sadness. The hench-people who hadn't escaped with Botox and company, the defects being the majority...they were entombed and crushed inside the mountain. Nameless, forgotten, and broken people. Some, despite Botox's claims, still had some cognition of their own left... Shego shook her head.

It's better for them than what they were...

She saw a metal-clad hand extend towards her. Drakken had already stood. Shego didn't turn down the offer to pull her to her feet, though she regretted it slightly as the metal dug far too sharply into her hand. She hissed in pain as she got up and yanked her hand away.

"So what, are you immune to them now?" scoffed Shego as she shook her hand.

"Uh, no," said Drakken. He looked at his hand as it flexed. "I think they're just...more confused at having two hosts. Trust me, they're still a festering time bomb."

Pandora's voice cut in.

"Uh, yeah, about that." They looked over to where she'd pulled herself to a slight stand. "Still kind of a problem."

They both looked to see the still red-eyed Hermes regaining consciousness. Shego let out a deep sigh and concentrated on her hands. They flared without hesitation. The cuts still burned but the plasma felt oddly more stable than it had been since the comet shard's interference.

"Did you tell him it hurts?" asked Shego as she walked towards where Hermes was staggering from.

"Not in detail..." sighed Drakken, "I'm not looking forward to it either."

"Yeah?" Shego called over her shoulder. "Well, whose fault is that?"

There was silence as she reached Hermes, but she smirked as she heard Drakken respond as her glowing hands reached for the gauntlet.

"Mine."

Drakken watched the setting sun fade completely behind the mountains as they drove. His hand ached and the crude wrapping under his glove itched. Still, he wasn't about to whine about it. Shego wouldn't exactly be kind as she'd yet to fully express her annoyance at his messing with the gauntlets again. He supposed she was still lost in her own thought and keeping it for later. He cringed. He'd much rather her just lecture him immediately instead of when he was in better spirits.

He looked at his hand, knowing he would have to forgo working on any projects for a while to let it heal. His mind turned to his laser, still on the floor in the lair...dismantled...dented... He shook his head. Yet another invention that had wasted his time, caused more problems than it was worth, and would be shoved in a storage room for scrap. He had no regrets sending the gauntlets with Hermes and Pandora. He didn't care what became of them if he was honest, just so long as they were far away from him. He wasn't too thrilled they'd taken Shego's hover board though.

Shego shifted beside him and he looked over at her. He'd assumed she'd started to drift off. She was snickering as she focused on him. Drakken raised a brow, expecting that lecture to come. It didn't. She looked almost content. Tired, but content as she shifted closer to him and leaned on her knee.

"I was thinking..." she snickered. Her hand smoothed out the shoulder of his coat.

"Should I be scared?" He gave her a half smile.

"You know... The new black lab coat, the puzzle solving, and you know...the confident rescue." Shego smiled. "What are you trying to do? Sweep a woman off her feet?

Drakken felt the heat in his face as he looked at her. He'd not thought of any of those things. He felt his heart pick up its pace. His mind was racing on how to respond, but he didn't get a chance. Shego snorted and fell back against the seat of the hover car.

"Good thing it's just me, right?" She laughed. "Don't worry Doc, I'm not about to start swooning over you."

Drakken swallowed hard as he focused on the sky ahead of them and gave a slight chuckle. His stomach knotted.

"That's a relief," said Drakken. "Don't need any of that nonsense."

"Pfft, agreed," sighed Shego.

"I'm glad you're okay," smiled Drakken. "Honestly, finding a new side-kick would have been a nightmare."

"Partner!" corrected Shego as she shoved him gently in the shoulder.

It fell silent as they flew, and Drakken saw Shego shift out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to ask what had transpired before he got there, how everything had played out in the last twenty-four hours... He didn't. Just like her memories and her past, he knew Shego would tell him if and when she wanted.

She could at least say thank you.

He nodded to himself but let it go...for now.

"Drakken?" Shego finally spoke. Drakken's head turned.

"Yes, Shego?" he asked.

"Have you ever... If someone knew something about..." She trailed off and looked down at her hands. He watched them open and close.

"What?" asked Drakken. He fought the urge to grab her hand the same way he'd wanted to hug her earlier.

"If you knew something about someone's family...would you tell them?" asked Shego. Drakken stared at her for a second.

"Depends if the knowledge changes some sort of dynamic?" he asked. Eddie came to mind and the reality that Cleopatra had been involved with Botox before.

Shego's brow furrowed and she looked at him.

"There is no dynamic...but it's something they don't know," said Shego. Drakken's mind shifted to whom she'd been with and his stomach twisted.

"Does it pertain to the Company?" He didn't like the bitter taste in his mouth at saying it.

Shego nodded slowly. Drakken turned back towards the dark sky.

"Then I don't want to know," said Drakken firmly. He heard Shego open her mouth to argue but she said no more.

It was silent for a while. Then in a quick motion, Shego slammed into him hard. He was glad the autopilot was on because he was pushed a few inches from the steering column. Shego's face was in his shoulder as her arms wrapped tightly around him in a strong hug. He felt his heart pound in his throat as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her and returned the embrace. The tension and fear at her being in danger finally melted away as he rested his head against hers. It was clear that her rejecting his hug earlier had only been because of the setting, and that she was as relieved as he had been. She pulled him tighter against her and she shifted so her one leg slightly draped over his. He mirrored her actions and squeezed harder. He felt her breathing shift slightly.

"Shego?" he whispered. She stiffened. "You're welcome."

He heard a snort into his shoulder.

"Little full of yourself that there was going to be a thank you." He could hear the quiver in her voice, but then in a low whisper, "Thank you."

He just held her tighter.

A Clean Slate Awaits -