FicWad

Kim was relieved. In that enclosed space a fight with Shego could have been endless, and time was the one commodity she didn't have while Drakken was pulling who-knew what on stage out there. Using the shampoo had been a sudden burst of inspiration. Shego just stood there, her mind an open door, inviting anyone to come in and take control.

As she was about to beat a path for the stage, however, Kim hesitated. Shego, her archenemy in all but name, was there in front of her, completely vulnerable. Some might say there was an opportunity there.

But she couldn't just become Shego's lord and master . . .

On the other hand, she could always just do a tiny bit of tweaking. Something that would be for the best for all parties concerned, including Shego herself.

Casting a glance at the clock, Kim stood in front of Drakken's mesmerized sidekick. "Shego," she said.

"Yes."

"From this day forward, you want to be a hero again, like when you were part of Team Go. You ARE a hero again. You wouldn't dream of working for Drakken, or breaking any laws, or - just that. From now on, you want to be one of the good guys."

"Yes."

There, that should do it. And it only took her fifteen seconds. Plenty of time for Drakken to go down in flames. And Shego - she'd be all right. In fact she'd be better.
________________________________

Two weeks later, Kim was no longer sure. Shego had been flying under the radar since the television show. She hadn't been witnessed committing any crimes. But she hadn't exactly leapt into any burning buildings either. Where was she?

"All right, girls, listen up!" Barkin proclaimed, jolting Kim from her thoughts as cheerleading practice was about to begin. "I want all of you to meet the newest addition to Middleton High's staff. This is Naomi Thompson, and she'll be taking over from me as the girls' physical education teacher, as well as the new high school girls' softball coach. Ladies, you'll probably be seeing a lot of her, so you might as well say hello."

Kim gaped. Naomi was no Naomi. That was Shego!

"Hello, girls," Shego said casually. Her hair was pulled back into one long braid running down her back, and large round glasses hid part of her face. She was wearing tan slacks, a dark blue polo shirt, and a whistle around her neck. But her voice, her features, her height - heck, her skin color instantly identified as the villainess. Or was it former villainess?

Probably not. She couldn't be up to any good. Maybe the shampoo wasn't effective in the long term. "Mr. Barkin!" Kim said before any of the other cheerleaders could respond to the new teacher. "Don't you know who this woman is?"

Barkin narrowed his eyes. "I just introduced her, Ms. Possible. So yeah, I think I do."

Bonnie snickered behind her, but Kim pressed on. "Mr. Barkin, I can assure you that this woman is Shego, an internationally wanted criminal. I've fought her on - "

"Ms. Possible," Barkin interrupted, "she has a spotless record and her references checked out. Besides, everyone knows that villains always a similar name, or at least the same initials, when they create their alter-egos. We don't have that here, now do we?"

"Look at her skin!"

"Are you saying you have a problem with albinism, Ms. Possible?"

"But she's not - no, of course not! But - "

"Can it, Possible!" Barkin ordered, dropping the "Ms." "You're obviously mistaken. Frankly, I expected better of you."

Kim opened her mouth to speak, but Barkin's face promised detentions galore if she made a sound, and reluctantly she said nothing.

"Ms. Thompson, I'm Bonnie Rockwaller," Bonnie said graciously as she came forward, "and on behalf of my fellow cheerleaders, I'd like to welcome you here. You'll have to excuse our captain. Sometimes the stress gets to her."

Kim glared at Bonnie.

"Nice to meet you all," Shego said. "I'm sure Ms. Possible and I will be able to get along /just fine/. In fact, I'd like a minute alone with her so I can prove to her that she's mistaken."

Barkin pointed toward the bleachers before Kim could make any snarky comments. She sighed heavily and, shooting a nasty glance at Shego, followed her away.

"What do you think you're trying to pull, Shego?" Kim hissed as they walked away. "You and I both know - "

"Know what, Kimmie?" Shego asked, dropping all pretense. "That you used Dr. D's mind-control shampoo on me?"

"It obviously didn't take," Kim muttered.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong," Shego said icily. "We heroes need our secret identities, you know. I just decided to take this one."

"What - but - that means - "

"It means I'm a hero," Shego replied. Her voice was low, but rich with a suppressed fury. "Turned in my walking papers to Drakken while he was in prison. I can't even jaywalk now." She folded her arms. "But you should have taken more time to think about what you were doing, Pumpkin. You didn't tell me to forget what you did, so I remember every word you said. And you told me to want it, but you DIDN'T tell me to like it!"

"It's not my fault that you're such a selfish bitch that you can't bring yourself to enjoy saving lives!"

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Maybe I should take pride in the fact that after I get home, I'm going to slip into one of my catsuits and go looking for heroic things to do. But a selfish bitch like me can definitely make your days here absolutely /miserable/, and there's nothing you put in my brain that says I can't," Shego promised her coldly. "So I hope you like laps. And push-ups. Oh, and detention, because that you're going to get if you don't smile like a good little princess and tell Barkin what he wants to hear."

Kim stared at her. "This isn't over, Shego," she retorted.

"No, it's not. You're in my class tomorrow morning. Bring your track shoes."

To be continued . . .