Not a Word
Legal Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible – it's owned by Disney. I just write about them for non-profit entertainment.
Author's Preface: This is an experimental, one-shot, single chapter season four story (Pre-Graduation) . I'm writing this one for three reasons. One: I haven't written a story with Drakken and Shego as the main characters – I know I have only one story but the ones I'm currently writing don't have them as the main characters.
Two: I wanted to see if I could write a story with this concept – as a self-challenge.
And three: If I didn't get this out there, the plot bunny would keep me from writing my other stories and I've got some stories to work on. So, here it goes…
"AAHH! Shego! Please stop! I'm sorry! I'll fix it! I'll fix it!" Drakken screamed as he ducked behind one of the laboratory's counters. "Shego, I said I was sorry! Just—"
Her only response was a volley of three plasma blasts. One of them impacted against the metal table, rattling its contents and charring its surface. The other two fiery projectiles flew just above his head, striking the wall behind him. Dust and small chunks of concrete from the impacts rained upon the blue-skinned, mad genius, who shielded himself with his arms.
Seconds later, two more jets of emerald-colored fire followed and more debris fell upon the cowering scientist. He curled himself into a ball and did what he often did in times like this – he sucked his thumb regardless of the fact that he was still wearing gloves. Drakken lay there in his infant-like state as his green-skinned henchwoman launched several more fiery attacks, continuing on for several minutes – but it seemed like hours to the blue-skinned mad scientist.
Then, suddenly, it had become deathly quiet.
Taking his thumb out his mouth, Drakken crawled slowly towards one end of the table. The side that protected him was a melted mass of metal that vaguely resembled a piece of furniture. A couple more blasts would have finished it off. He breathed a small sigh of relief, silently thanking himself that he had decided to go with the heat resistant coating – working with machines that tended to explode when a certain teen duo paid him a "visit" and an employee that had the ability generate green plasma greatly influenced his choice of furniture.
Cautiously, he surveyed the remains of his secret mountain lab. "Remains" was the operative word – the lab was in shambles and smelled of earth, various pungent chemicals and the strong odor of burnt electronics.
He was surprised that the hideout held up this long, seeing that there was the lack of upkeep since his incarceration after the Diablo fiasco. Unusual wear and tear – the fight between Kim, the alien Warmonga, and Shego and a multitude of failed projects including his latest one 'mega communication disruptor' further worsened its condition. But the last thing to "really stick a pin in it" was Shego's reaction to her current situation. He shut his eyes tightly as he recalled the event's that lead his to the situation...
--
Earlier that day, Drakken had been ranting about the prototype of his latest scheme, the 'mega communication disruptor' during its assembly. It was a large cannon-like device designed to rob a victim of the ability to speak. The disruptor would be placed in orbit, targeting various major cities of the world and would strike until the countries of the world surrendered to him and made him their ruler. Drakken was quite proud of his latest device until Shego pointed out that people had other means of communication – like writing, chat, texting, and sign language to name a few. Frustrated at his henchwoman's observation, Drakken decided to modify device as soon as possible. "We'll see who's laughing now once I add the electromagnetic pulse beam module," he gloated, "then, they'll be totally incommunicado!"
His gloating was barely heard as Shego decided to take the opportunity to relax on her favorite chair reading her one of her favorite magazines, Villains Quarterly on the far side of the room.
Undiscouraged by her lack of interest, Drakken went to work on making the changes to his latest creation. Despite his enthusiasm, the blue skinned scientist stopped short of the mega communication disruptor. Like many of his projects, it was huge – being the length of a car and as a tall as Drakken. He looked at the device, then to the schematics and then back again to the disruptor. Despite the fact that all of his devices (well, the important take over the worlds ones) failed, mostly due to the efforts of Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, Drakken was good at the design process. He put down almost of his fiendish schemes on blueprints (either on paper or on his computer) before building or modifying the project, reviewed them, and after approval, he built it. This time, however, he decided to forego the drafting process.
"No telling when that teenaged brat and the buffoon are going to come in and ruin my plans," he quipped as he lowered himself underneath the cannon and started to tinker with its innards.
"And when I finish this modification, I am going to strike at Kimberly Ann's hometown of Middleton," he declared to himself.
Minutes into the modification process, the device emitted a high-pitched whine. "Uh oh," the azure-hued mad genius uttered and extracted himself from underneath the device. Shego dropped to the floor along with her periodical and covered her ears. She looked up to see Drakken beckoning her to the safety of the blast shelter but couldn't hear exactly what he was saying as the disruptor's wail drowned out the conversation. And although he slowly moved to the safety of protective barrier, it was obvious that he was making an effort of waiting for her.
As she got to her feet, one of the bulbs atop of the device exploded and filling the room with sparks. Another quickly followed and then several in rapid succession. Wires burst out their sockets and several cowlings popped off, sending pyrotechnics and electronic shrapnel flying. The whine continued but now glowing cracks were forming about its casing.
Shego sprinted across the room and had almost made it to the safety of the blast shelter when it off, sending Shego flying across the room and Drakken into the wall just right beside the protective wall. As he slid slowly down the wall, his last thought before he lost consciousness was "And it wasn't even the buffoon's fault this time…"
--
Drakken's eyes shot open, noticing that at least an hour had passed. "Must have blown the capacitor array or tripped the power relay," he mumbled as he sat up. He rubbed the back of his head only to hiss and withdraw his hand quickly as he found the spot where his head hit the wall. "Ouch!" he grumbled, "That really – Shego? SHEGO?"
He scanned the lab with genuine concern for his employee and found her standing right behind him, obviously in a foul mood. Her eyes narrowed as he got to his feet.
"S-S-Shego?" he whimpered, backing away slowly.
Her only reply was to extend one finger menacingly, pointed to her throat and shook her head.
"W-W-What?"
She repeated the motion more forcefully.
"Shego," Drakken whined, "You know I'm terrible at charades. What are—"
Shego repeated it again trying to mouth the words this time. To Drakken, it looked like something with the word 'speak'.
"Shego, stop playing games! You know I can't read lips either. We have to—"
The henchwoman huffed and held up her hand, urging her employer to stop. She breathed a deep sigh then slowly repeated the motion a third time. Finger then throat and then nodded a 'no'.
"I don't understand," he trembled, "say something."
The green skinned villainess opened her mouth and screamed a soundless scream.
"Y-Y-you lost your voice?"
She jerked her head a violent 'yes'.
"Hmph! Maybe, I'm not so bad at Charades."
The green-hued villainess sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Ah ah! No mocking! I'm just trying to find out what the extent of the damage is."
Shego sighed again and motioned for her employer to go on.
"Okay, so you can't say anything? Not a word? A single solitary word?"
The green-skinned villainess nodded 'no' and then pointed to the remains of Drakken's latest take over the world device. "From the mega communication disruptor?" the mad genius answered as he looked back at the twisted remnants. He returned his gaze back to his henchwoman and then again to charred hulk of latest creation. "I-I-IT WORKED!" he proclaimed and started to hop around in glee.
But seconds into his little jig, plasma ignited around Shego's clenched fists. She pointed a finger, enveloped by her characteristic emerald fire, at Drakken menacingly.
"What?" he replied incredulously, "Y-You think I'm the one responsible for your voice problem?"
Again, she pantomimed an angry 'yes'.
"But it wasn't my fault!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
Her eyes narrowed even more and she took a step closer to her employer.
"Okay, maybe it was my fault," Drakken confessed, clasping his hands and twiddling his thumbs.
Shego nodded a definitive 'yes'.
"– but I can fix it. I know what to do!" he quickly added, raising one pointed finger.
Shego leaned back, folded her arms and smirked.
"What? You don't think I can fix this?" he questioned, "I'm a super genius – these things come to me, naturally!"
She closed her eyes and shook her head with disdain.
"No comments, Shego! Your silence proves that my device was a success!"
The green-hued henchwoman gave him a sideways glance.
Drakken turned to the remains of his device and muttered, "Now your words can't hurt, Shego because you don't have words."
Suddenly, he heard the flare-up of Shego's plasma. He whirled around to see a very angry employee. "Eh. I said that out loud. Didn't I?" said the blue skinned scientist.
She slowly nodded a menacing 'yes' and the plasma grew brighter, dancing fiercely about her clenched fists. Slowly and deliberately, the green-skinned villainess drew back her enflamed hand. Instantly Drakken knew what was coming next – he had seen it many times when she fought Kim Possible and now it was meant for him.
"AAAHHHHH!" Drakken screamed and tore off down the opposite end of the hideout. Streams of jade-hued plasma exploded about him as he fled down the ruined hideout with Shego in close pursuit.
--
That was five minutes ago.
--
"Shego?" he called out timidly. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was with your current state, I can concentrate more efficiently on solve your issue!" Drakken poked his head around the corner slowly and called out again, "Shego, are you still there?"
There was no answer. He leaned out further until his whole body was exposed but still no Shego. He breathed a relieved sigh. Then, he heard something behind him. He whirled around to find his henchwoman waiting for him. She had this foul look on her face and her hands were still ablaze with green fire. Drakken could have sworn that there was fire in her eyes as well. "AAAAAHH!" he screamed as he fell backward.
"Don't…hurt…me," the blue skinned scientist pleaded faintly, putting his arms up in front of him in defense and shutting his eyes tightly. He flinched as he waited for the burning pain to come – but it didn't. Drakken peered between his arms. Shego was still standing there but the fire was out. Her arms were folded and she tapped her foot impatiently, still staring at her employer.
"S-S-Shego?" he trembled.
She didn't answer and still stared at her employer.
"Don't look at me like that – it scares me! Say something, Shego!"
Shego rolled her eyes. Again, she pointed to her throat and quickly followed it up with a mocking expression.
"Ah ah!" Drakken exclaimed, shaking his finger accusingly at his hired help, "All this 'excitement' made me forget you current situation!"
Her expression didn't change.
"You're being lippy again!" he declared.
Still no change from his hired help.
"And…without…speaking…a word," he said in a defeated tone.
Shego laughed a soundless laugh and pointed at her employer.
"Nrrg," he growled. "Not funny, Shego!"
She continued to "laugh" so much that she had to lean on a nearby table.
"Oh fine! Laugh it up, Shego! Hah. Hah." he mocked and turned away. He had to turn away not only to avoid any further jabs inflicted by his henchwoman but also at the sight of her laughing without sounds. It was too eerie for the blue-skinned mad scientist.
The green skinned villainess still laughed but showed signs of her mirth fading. She wiped tears from her face as she started to catch her breath.
"Snippy…" Drakken sighed as he went over to an overturned table and set it upright. As the blue-skinned mad scientist gathered what remained of the blueprints, he muttered to himself, "Why is it that no one respects the 'employer-employee relationship' any more?"
--
Drakken rubbed his eyes after viewing several large streams of data. He had been examining the results of his tests on his green-skinned henchwoman for several hours. "Well," he sighed, "It appears that the effect is only temporary, lasting only maybe eight to ten hours. I had hoped that the effect would have been permanent—"
Shego slammed her fire-encapsulated fist onto a nearby table, shattering it. Not satisfied with the destruction she caused, Shego glared at him and raised her fists. Her eyes narrowed as she expected an answer from her employer.
"No! No! Not permanent for you; for my plan of taking over the world," Drakken said and turned to one side to started to pace. "What good is it if the effects wear off too soon? I, mean it would be a short-lived plot and I can't have—"
Drakken stopped himself to see Shego parroting his ramblings with her hand. She quickly hid her hand behind her back and tried to look innocent.
"Must you always mock me, Shego?" he whined.
Shego nodded an enthusiastic 'yes'.
"Nrgg!" he grumbled.
The blue-skinned mad genius sighed heavily and started to walk out of the room. Shego leapt from her position, landing very close to her employer. She grabbed him on the shoulder with one hand and pointed back to the desk with the other. Then, she spun him around and pushed him in the direction where he had been working.
"Shego…" he groused, stumbling to the table, "There's nothing I can do about it right now. I'm tired, hungry, and I'd like to have a good cup of warm coco moo before I retire for the night. Please, let's just take this up in the morning…"
She drew in a deep breath, spun him around again and then grabbed the lapels of his lab coat. Her stare could bore holes through him.
"Please, Shego! I-I-I don't know what else to do!" he panicked, "Maybe, Dementor could do something but it would take that hack days before he could understand my genius! And I don't know how much time it would take him to find a solution – if he could."
She leaned in close, examining his expression while her demeanor softened – a little. The green skinned villainess studied him for about a minute and then released her grip, with a defeated sigh. She, too, was tired, having stayed up with him in case he came up with a solution. Shego turned around and slowly marched towards the laboratory exit. Drakken straightened his lab coat as he watched her heading for the door. "I'm really sorry, Shego," he said apologetically.
Shego waved him off with one hand over her shoulder, while still walking.
"Just be patient. By tomorrow, this will all be over and I can start again on the mega comm—"
She stopped dead in her tracks and emerald flames sprung to life around her now-clenched fists. But didn't face him directly.
"Eh, right…" he corrected himself, "I can start on a new project – totally unrelated to vocal jamming…"
The flames went out. She soon disappeared from the ruined laboratory.
"Maybe something with plants…" Drakken mused
-- End --
--
Author's Notes: As I said, this is an experimental piece. In every fanfiction story I've read, Shego has a gracious amount of dialog, even more so when Drakken is present. So I thought to myself, what would it be like if Shego couldn't say anything. Would she be just as "lippy"? Could she be sarcastic and snarky without saying a word? So how did I do?