This is my entry to Whitem's Christmas challenge.
Disclaimer: Kim Possible and related are the property of Disney which, contrary to common belief, I do not own. I also don't own any of Dickens' works.
I know, Dickens will probably roll over in his grave for this. But, well… let him come haunt my on Christmas eve.
Shego's Christmas Carol
"Shego, don't you want to help decorate the Christmas tree?" Drakken asked as his henchwoman walked by while he and several of his henchmen were busy setting up for Christmas.
Shego held up her small luggage bag. "What do you think? I'm on vacation, nice warm beaches, lots of sun and bulky lifeguards."
"But Shego… tonight is Christmas Eve," Drakken said in a sulky voice, "don't you want to celebrate Christmas?"
"No, thank you. Last year was enough to last me a lifetime." The green-skinned woman scowled when she thought back at the bizarre, Snowman Hank inspired, Christmas she had with Drakken and the Possible clan.
Drakken sighed. "Okay, but know that you are still welcome to celebrate Christmas here. My mother is also coming over."
"So that's why you have this radio theme going on." Shego chuckled as she finally understood what all the radio equipment was for. "No way I'm trading in a vacation at the beach for a lair-Christmas that includes your mother."
Just when Shego had closed the door behind her, her cell-phone rang. "Look Dr. D, I'm barely out of the door, you can't expect me too… oh, hey Hego."
"Hey sis, are you coming over for Christmas this year?" the hopefulness in Shego's older brother's voice was unmistakable. "Mego and the Wego's are really hoping you will come over, or at least pass by."
"No, I'm not." A voice could be heard in the background, but Hego ignored Mego. "Like I said, they really want you to celebrate with us."
"Nu-uh, forget it," Shego snapped, "I'm still not over the last time we celebrates Christmas together."
"But Shego, it's famil…" Shego snapped her phone shut before Hego could finish his sentence.
She walked to the garage and started her car, she would have used one of Drakken's hover cars, but those things were very unreliable when it got colder.
Just as she backed out of the garage, Shego could hear faint voices. And it sounded like singing.
True enough, a small group of people was walking by the road, singing Christmas Carols.
Shego groaned; if they were heading this way they would surely try to sing to her as well. And she couldn't drive away immediately because she still had to manually close the garage door; another part of Drakken's machinery that malfunctioned in the cold.
"We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas… and a haaaappy new yeaaar." Shego winced at the annoying stretch of the last words and angrily glared at the group that looked back expectantly.
"Alright." Shego had to put effort in to keep her voice civil. "I guess this deserves a little something."
She flared up her hands and shot a blast of plasma at the carolers' feet. "Got any more tunes to sing?"
Shego grinned as she watched the group run off in panic, then she stepped into her car and drove off to the airport.
"Attention passengers, the flight to Barbados is delayed by two hours, thank you for your patience."
Shego muttered angrily and cursed Drakken once more for taking some essential parts out of her personal jet; now she was resigned to use commercial air travel, and even a business class ticket did help much when the flights were delayed.
She looked outside at the falling snow; the reason for the delay, it was already getting dark and even here, in the airport, the approaching Christmas was evident everywhere; decorations, colored lights and more kitsch were all around.
"Attention passengers, the flight to Barbados is delayed by three hours, thank you for your patience. For those interested, we will show 'A Christmas Carol' in the airport cinema. There is free entrance for all delayed passengers, don't forget to show your ticket."
Most of the passengers for the flight to Barbados stood up and took off to the cinema, leaving Shego pretty much alone in the waiting area.
"Oh well, maybe I can catch some sleep," Shego muttered as she tried to settle as good as possible in the uncomfortable couch and closed her eyes.
~~~Shego's Christmas Carol~~~
When Shego woke up, the area was still deserted. "Great, how long did I sleep?"
She checked the clock, but noticed it had stopped. "Just great… now I still don't know if I missed my flight."
She looked around to ask someone the time, but found that she really was completely alone in this wing of the airport. "Okaay…"
Suddenly, she heard footsteps, and the sound of chains dragging, coming closer.
"Who's there?" she asked as she stood up, prepared for anything.
Even so, she was not prepared for what came around the corner; Professor Dementor with chains around his wrists that seemed to extent far behind him.
Shego smirked. "What happened to you, got caught again?" Her grin fell when she realized that whoever captured Dementor could also be after her.
"Nein," Dementor growled, "I am here to warn about your current lifestyle, your deeds will punish you if you continue on this path."
Shego laughed out loud. "You really expect me to belief that nonsense? You picked this straight out of one of those silly 'Christmas Carol' movies, and did a bad job of it too, you expect me to be scared of that?"
"Actually, I don't care," the German villain said, "I was forced to do this and I want to get it over with as soon as possible."
"Right…" Shego was still chuckling. "And whoever thought up this joke couldn't come up with a deceased colleague of mine?"
"Do you have any deceased colleague?" Dementor inquired.
Shego stopped laughing. "Now you mention, I don't think I have any."
Dementor thought for a moment, then took a piece of paper out of his pocket and began to read. "Ah, yes. Your evil deeds will bind you like these chains did with me…"
"Oh, pu-lease," Shego interrupted the short villain. "Don't you think I know that story?" She flared up her plasma. "Now get out of here before…"
She stopped talking when suddenly Dementor's chains wrapped around her hands and arms. In moments she was completely tied up and struggling to get free. "Let me out of this."
"These could be your chains Shego," Dementor said, now having a bit more fun with the situation. He looked back at his paper. "You still have a chance to redeem yourself. Tonight three ghosts will visit you, the first will arrive at one in the morning."
Just as sudden as they had wrapped around her, the chains fell off Shego again, leaving the woman shaken, but unhurt. "Well, good luck with that, I'll be six miles high on the way to Barbados by then."
"We'll see about that." Dementor turned around and walked back around the corner.
Shego immediately ran after him to see who had pulled this trick, but the moment she ran past the corner, she woke up in her chair in the airport hall.
"W-wha?" she muttered, eyes wide and scanning the mostly empty hall. "What just happened?"
Slightly shuddering, Shego looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that about two and a half hour had passed. "It was just a dream. I'll get in the plane in half an hour and this will all be a stupid memory."
"Attention passengers, the flight to Barbados will not depart, an extra flight will be arranged for tomorrow morning. We are sorry for the inconvenience, there will be a free meal in an airport restaurant of your own choosing, do not forget to show your ticket when ordering the meal."
"Just great," Shego muttered, but then she remembered Dementor's leaving statement. "Nah… it was just a dream, I must have heard the earlier announcement when I was still sleeping."
"At least the meal was decent," Shego thought as she headed back to the waiting area; she knew it was useless to still wait for the plane, but she liked the relative quietness in this particular wing.
She looked at the clock; it was just past eleven. "Okay, got to stay awake until one and prove this was all a stupid dream." Shego opened one of the magazines that were scattered throughout the airport and began reading.
A small pile of magazines, and many glances at the clock later, it was finally one minute to one.
"Time to prove this was all a crazy dream caused by all that Christmas nonsense around me." Shego was actually a bit concerned that she kept talking to herself; but there was no one to hear her anyway.
The digital clock switched its numbers from 0:59 to 1:00 and a loud Dong sounded through the airport.
Shego jumped up and stared wide-eyed at the clock, but then she heard someone say, "Sorry!" and when she looked further ahead she noticed that another passenger had accidentally dropped his suitcase against one of the large radiators that heated the hall.
Still a bit shaken, Shego looked again at the clock; now it said 1:01. "See, it was all a dream."
Nevertheless, Shego kept watching the clock until it reached five past one. Only then she found it safe to lie down on the couch again and try to get some sleep.
"Hey Shego."
Shego jumped up again and stared in disbelief at Kim Possible. "How did you get here? What are you doing here?" The green-skinned villainess got ready to fight her opponent, but Kim remained completely relaxed.
"Relax Shego, I'm not here to fight. In fact, I'm the first ghost."
"Yeah, right," Shego scoffed, "who else is in on this? Can't you leave me alone? Don't you have Christmas to celebrate at home?"
Kim shook her head. "Shego, you really don't get it. I'm the ghost of Christmas past, and I'm here to show you some of your past Christmases."
"Why you?" Shego demanded. "What do you have to do with my past?"
Kim laughed. "Doy, I am your past. Teen hero, safes the world weekly… ring any bell?"
"Okay, fine," Shego said, giving up. "Show me my past."
"Gladly." Kim gestured Shego to follow and together they walked out of the airport where the Sloth stood waiting.
"Where are we going?" Shego asked, "I want to be back in time to catch my flight."
"You'll be back in plenty of time," Kim ensured the older woman and stepped into her car. "Are you coming?"
"Alright, I'll bite." Shego stepped in as well, sitting herself in the passenger seat. "Where's the buffoon."
Kim gestured vaguely. "You'll see him later tonight." She started the car and drove away from the airport.
~~~Shego's Christmas Carol~~~
Christmases of Past
"So, where are we going?" Shego asked when Kim drove the Sloth at considerable speed over the highway.
"Your home, I think." Kim smiled as she increased the speed of the car even more. "Are you ready?"
Actually, Shego was a bit worried about the reckless speed at which they were going, but before she could say anything, they were enveloped in a bright flash of white light.
Shego had to blink several times before her vision cleared again. When she could see, she noticed they were no longer driving on the highway, but instead on a town road she immediately recognized.
"You were serious when you said we were going to my home?" she asked, to which Kim nodded. "How did we get here in the first place? Teleportation?"
Kim grinned. "Take a closer look."
Shego did, and then she noticed the road was really how she remembered it; it hadn't aged one bit. This could mean two things, either they had somehow strapped her to some kind of dream machine that made her relive her past, or they had really traveled back to her past.
Way too soon for Shego, they stopped in front of her home. Kim stepped out and gestured for Shego to do so as well.
Shego shook her head. "No way, this is not funny anymore. Get me back to the airport."
She had barely finished her sentence when she noticed she was standing next to Kim and looking though the window of her old home. "How did you do that?"
"Shh," Kim said and pointed inside the house. "Look."
Despite herself, Shego watched into the living room and saw a little girl reading an illustrated book.
"What are you reading there, dear?" A woman in her mid-thirties asked.
"A Christmas book," The young girl happily exclaimed. "It's about this old man Sc… Scrooge who is very mean and then these ghosts come and tell him about his past…"
As the girl continued explaining the story, Kim looked at Shego with a bright smile. "That's so cute… and ironic," she added almost as an afterthought.
Shego just stared at the little girl; she actually remembered that book very well. Unfortunately it had been inside the tree house when the meteor struck.
A young boy, looking a little older than the girl, entered the room. "Are you reading that book again? Don't you already know it inside out?"
"I like this book," the girl said and continued reading as if the boy didn't even exist.
Their mother chuckled and then asked if they wanted to help decorate the Christmas tree.
"Yeah!" the boy said enthusiastically, and the girl smiled as well and nodded. "Just after I've finished my book."
Shego and Kim watched for a while as the mother and the two children began decorating first the Christmas tree and then the rest of the living room.
"Well, time to move on," Kim announced as she walked back to the Sloth.
"Already?" Shego asked and turned towards Kim. "Can't we wait a little while longer?"
"Sorry, 'a little longer' has already passed." Kim inclined her head to the house, causing Shego to turn back and look as well.
The house was still there and the living room was still decorated. But it looked different, and that wasn't just because there were no longer people in the living room. The difference became clear to Shego when a twelve-year-old girl stepped into the living room, already beginning to resemble Shego in appearance. She was directly trailed by a boy who seemed to be her younger brother.
"I'm telling you, not all the presents are for you," she said, "this is the season to share and give."
Kim shot Shego a perplexed look. "Wow, I would have never guessed."
"Yeah, yeah," Shego muttered. "Just move on, okay?"
"If you wish," Kim said and stepped into the Sloth. "Ready?"
"I guess." Shego stepped into the small car nonetheless. "Where next?"
"What do you think?" Kim asked with a slight grin as she started driving. "What is the next step in your life?"
"Oh no…" Shego groaned when the Go tower came in view.
This time, Kim and Shego did not look through a window – which would be hard because the Go tower didn't have any ground-floor windows – but instead they stood inside the living room.
"Can't they see us?" Shego asked, nervously looking around the unoccupied room.
"Of course not." Kim was completely relaxed. "Don't worry, we're only here to watch."
"But Shego, we have to patrol the city," Hego said as he walked into the living room. "How else do we know what the villains are up to?"
"They're up to having Christmas as well," a younger version of Shego snapped, walking a little behind her older brother. "And we want to celebrate too, the Wego's have been anticipating it for months."
"That is the burden of a hero," Hego pointed out. "We can't celebrate Christmas so that everyone else in Go city can."
"Ugh," both version of Shego groaned simultaneously, causing Kim to stifle a giggle.
The younger Shego continued, "Face it Hego, those criminals don't give up their vacation for their 'devious deeds'." The last part she finger-quoted. "Besides, I have a date after our dinner."
"Shego! We can't reveal our secret identity," Hego said, starting to look very concerned.
"Relax." Shego made an off-handed gesture. "I'm going as me, he's actually dating Shego, can you imagine?"
"No Shego." Hego didn't mean he couldn't imagine. "You're not going, I forbid it!"
"Keep us here a little longer," the older Shego said with a grin, "I want to see what happened next again."
"Don't you want to sit down?" Mego asked Hego as team Go was enjoying their Christmas dinner.
Hego had remained standing throughout the entire meal. "No, that's alright, I have to keep vigilant for when villains may strike." He shot a glare at Shego, but the girl just grinned back and continued eating.
"I can't belief you did that to Hego." Kim tried her best at, but failed miserably, to stop laughing. "And his uniform is already quite tight."
"He deserved it," Shego said, a grin on her face as well, but it quickly fell when she noticed the scenery had changed again. "Wait, this is later that same night, right?"
Kim nodded. "Yes."
"I don't want to see this." Shego turned around, but that only resulted in her facing her younger version again, this time in the company of a boy.
"Mmmh, you are a really good kisser, Keith," Shego said as she pulled her face away a bit from her boyfriend. "I'd say that this was the best Christmas gift today."
Just when Keith was about to reply, Shego's communications device beeped. "I'm busy right now… what? Mego and the Wego's went in alone? You should have helped them… no, I don't care what I did to you, you shouldn't have let them go alone… Yeah, alright, I'll help you pull them out."
She sighed and turned back to Keith. "Sorry, a mission came up… rain check?"
"Actually…" Keith was a bit hesitant at first, but Shego already knew what was coming. "You know… you're a wonderful woman, and a superhero no less. And I… well… I don't want to pull you back, or get you in danger."
"No," Shego said, alarmed, "you're not pulling me back. I can keep this life separate from us… I…" she was stopped when Keith put his finger to her lips.
"It's okay, we had a great time. But it couldn't have turned into something anyway, you're a hero, you're way up there. Belief me, this is the best."
As the teenage Shego stood crestfallen when Keith walked away, the older Shego was fighting her tears. She felt Kim put a hand on her shoulder, but she tried to shrug it off. "Leave me alone, and get me out of here, now!"
The moment she said that, Shego opened her eyes in the airport. "Huh? How…"
She looked at the clock; it was half past one.
~~~Shego's Christmas Carol~~~
Present Christmas
To say Shego nervously awaited the clock to strike two was an understatement; it actually took the woman several minutes to stop her hands from shaking after she had woken up. "That dream had seemed way too real."
The time slowly crawled to two in the morning, and Shego warily watched as the numbers went from 1:59 to 2:00.
DONG, DONG
Shego nearly flew out of her seat and angrily looked at the radiators, but no one was sitting there.
"Sorry!" another waiting passenger called out from the other side of the hall. "I had my me-pod in its dock and forgot to switch off the alarm."
"Who would put an alarm at two in the morning?" Shego thought, but then she felt a tap on her shoulder. "What?"
She turned around to face Drakken. "Dr. D? Wait… don't tell me you're the next ghost?"
"Shego, I finally found you," Drakken said with an exhausted look, "I got lost in the airport… I think I scared the wits out of some guys in the transatlantic flight hall."
"Yeah, fine." Shego looked around. "So… I pretty much know how the story should go, so I suppose we're going to watch Christmas present. Let's get on with it."
"Ah, yes." Drakken thought for a moment. "Wanna see my Christmas first?"
Shego sighed. "Whatever." She started following Drakken to where he would probably have parked his hover car.
"You're not going to do the white light transportation thingy?" Shego asked as she and Drakken raced through the sky to Drakken's lair.
"No, why?" Drakken asked, genuinely curious.
"Well, Kimmie used… oh, never mind." Shego sank back into her seat.
"We're almost there," Drakken announced and pointed towards the lair.
"Not much stealth, huh?" Shego deadpanned when she saw the large arrange of colored lights surrounding the lair.
"But… it's Christmas.
"Yeah, whatever… is that a giant Snowman Hank standing in front of the door?"
Drakken smiled happily. "Do you like it? I made it myself… Well, Drakken did, but I am Drakken, so..."
Shego couldn't help herself from chuckling. "Only you…"
Inside the lair, the decorations were even more extravagant; lights everywhere, henchmen dressed up as elves (not a real pretty sight), a huge Christmas tree and piles of presents.
"Okaay…" Shego could only shake her head at the display. "Where did you even get all this?"
"Most is from an office supply shop," Drakken said, "they really get creative in the season."
"I bet." Shego walked through the room, still having to get used to being unnoticed, and took a better look. "So, when's this going to start?"
"Merry Christmas," Drakken shouted as he walked into the main room, eliciting several "Merry Christmas to you too" from his henchmen. The blue villain was still in his lab coat, but he also wore a red Christmas hat, and he was carrying a plate of cookies. "Anyone want to try the first batch?"
As the henchmen gorged on the Christmas cookies, the door opened and a woman in her early sixties walked in. "Drewbie?"
"Mother," Drakken cried out happily, but then winched when she pulled him in a bone-crushing hug. "Merry Christmas."
Drakken's mother looked around. "Is your show going to be Christmas themed as well?"
Drakken gasped as he frantically tried to come up with something. "Uhm… we're not broadcasting during Christmas. We, uh, let the people just have a Christmas with their family."
"Oh, I see." the woman looked a bit disappointed at first, but hid it quickly. "So, where's you 'assistant'?" It was clear what she was hinting at.
This time, Drakken really looked dejected. "She's on vacation, she couldn't be here."
"Celebrating with her family?" Drakken's mother asked with a smile.
Drakken gave a weak smile. "Yeah, that's it." Then his smile got more genuine. "Come on, we have a lot to do and little time to do it in."
Shego looked from her employer to the 'Christmas'-Drakken. "I didn't know you – he – cared so much."
"He likes you," Drakken simply said, "You're basically family."
Shego nodded thoughtfully. "I know… okay, what's next?"
Drakken showed at toothy smile. "The best Christmas one can have of course, a Christmas with family."
Shego groaned and slapped her hand to her forehead. "Not again…"
When she reluctantly opened her eyes again, the green skinned villainess noticed she and Drakken were standing once again in the living room of the Go tower. Again for her, that was; Shego didn't even know if the spirit of Christmas present had ever visited a Christmas led by one of her brothers.
Seeing Shego's dejected look, Drakken frowned. "Don't you like a Christmas with your family?"
"It's festivities like this that pushed me over the edge of switching," Shego said, "that, and much, much more."
As it were, Shego's brothers had just finished their meal and were about to play some Christmas games.
"Alright," Hego said, "I have something in my mind and you can guess what it is, but you can only ask 'yes or no' questions."
Shego rolled her eyes as she recognized the similarity with the Dickens story and was about to comment to Drakken when one of the Wegos asked his first question. "Is it Shego?"
"Yes." Hego looked in surprise at his younger brother. "How did you know."
Mego sighed and rolled his eyes. "You do this every year. Can't you be creative for once?"
Hego looked down. "I just miss having Shego around for Christmas. I mean, this is a family tradition, right?"
"She's gone, live with it," Mego said more harsh than he intended. "I mean, let's not focus on that, shall we?"
"We miss her too," the Wegos said in unison. "Shego could always get the party going."
"Yeah…" Hego offered a weak smile. "Okay, I've got another one."
"Is it Bueno Nacho?" Wego, Shego wasn't sure which one it was this time, asked.
"H-how?" Hego stammered as both Shego and Mego smacked their foreheads.
"Okay," Shego growled, "That's enough stupidity. And if you show me Possible's Christmas, I'm going to hurt you, you being a spirit or not," she added with a threatening look in Dr. Drakken's direction.
The spirit gulped and snapped his finger, instantly they were back at the airport where it apparently was close to three in the morning.
"Well, gotta go," Drakken said nervously as he trotted off. "The last spirit should be here in a few minutes."
He disappeared behind the corner, but Shego already knew that chasing him would be futile.
"Well, just five more minutes," she muttered, "I wonder who the last spirit will be."
~~~Shego's Christmas Carol~~~
Future Christmas
The clock hit three in the morning and Shego braced herself for another set of loud gongs, but everything remained silent. Except… faint footsteps could be heard in the distance.
When Shego tried to determine the source of the sound, she saw a figure approaching who was dressed in dark cloths and wore a hood that completely shadowed his face.
Shego snorted. "Is that supposed to scare me? I've faced a lot worse than a cheap 'Grim Reaper' rip-off."
The figure, after it had closed the distance, pulled back his hood. "BOOH!"
"GHAAAAH!" Shego stumbled backwards when she suddenly faced Zorpox, who glared back with evil satisfaction.
"Hello Shego, been a long time."
"Y-yeah…" Shego was still shivering all over. "Y-you're the ghost of Christmas future?"
"No, I am Zorpox, conqueror of worlds." Ron's evil mirror image rolled his eyes. "Who do you think I am."
"Just asking," Shego said with a nervous chuckle.
"Whatever, ready for a wild ride into the future?"
"You know, maybe I'll just skip this one." Shego turned around, fully intending to run away with all speed she could muster. But she stopped in her tracks when she almost stepped in a huge shark-infested pool.
Zorpox grinned. "Think again Shego."
Shego gulped. "Whatever you say, hehe… where are we going?"
Zorpox smirked. "That's better. And you'll see." He pressed a button on his belt and the airport fell to pieces; the entire dimension seemed to fall to pieces, and Shego was suddenly freefalling through nothingness.
Shego made a painful landing in the snow while Zorpox already stood waiting. "Did you like that?"
Still scared by the sidekick turned evil, Shego only nodded. "Where are we?"
Zorpox grinned. "Do you need to ask?"
Shego took a better look around and noticed they were standing on a graveyard. "Ugh, why here of all places?"
"This is where you are," Zorpox said and gestured at a small grave that was apparently recently dug. It didn't have a headstone, but only a small marker; indicating that this was a state-funded grave with an anonymous body.
"No, I don't belief you," Shego snapped, "I've got enough money to receive a proper funeral."
Zorpox smirked. "I have no doubts of that, but do you also want people to know you're dead?"
Shego frowned and thought for a moment; she couldn't have become that isolated, right?
Her contemplations were interrupted when a group of people walked in their direction. Shego immediately recognized Hego, even though he had aged at least two decades. Mego and the Wegos were also easy to spot. And then there was a man who seemed to be an undertaker.
Hego carried what appeared to be a large headstone and when they arrived at Shego's grave he looked questioningly at the man who had walked with them. "This is her grave?"
The man nodded and Hego carefully placed the headstone in the place of the small marker that Mego had quickly removed.
He sighed and wiped a tear away. "Sis, I know we didn't always agree. But to see you here… I… I just can't belief you didn't let us know. If Mrs. Stoppable hadn't told us…"
The Wegos took over. "You were the best…"
"…We still love you…"
"…And we'll never forget you."
Mego was silent and tried desperately to appear indifferent, but his emotions were crystal clear to Shego.
The group stood around the grave for a while before they headed out again, giving Shego the chance to read what was written on her headstone, however morbid she found that idea.
Here lies Shego, our sister.
Even heroes can fall.
You may not have wanted to be on the team anymore.
You may not have wanted to be remembered anymore.
But we will remember you, and you name will always stand proud in our team.
Shego gulped and hugged herself when she suddenly felt very cold. Zorpox' icy glare didn't help much either, so she looked away from the headstone and into some bushes further ahead.
Suddenly the bushed moved and a white-haired version of Drakken stepped out, mumbling to himself. "They're gone… good." He faced the headstone and placed a small flower on the grave.
"Shego… you may not have known, but you have always been family to me. To see you here… to see you here makes me wish we could have switched places. You still had your life ahead of you, and even though you didn't want it, you could have made friends… maybe even started a family."
The now pale-blue villain sighed. "To have died all alone… it was your own choice, but I wouldn't have wished it to anyone… I'm sorry."
Head bowed, Drakken walked off, leaving Shego once again alone. Well, with Zorpox, but when she looked around Shego noticed that Zorpox had disappeared as well.
Shego glanced one more time at the grave, and then abruptly turned away, only to find herself once more in the airport, and now it was almost four in the morning.
"Attention passengers, the flight to Barbados will depart from Gate 3 in two hours. In two hours at Gate 3."
The announcement call snapped Shego from her daze. "No way I'm going on that plane. I'm not going to end up alone."
Resolutely, Shego walked to the exit and headed to the parking lot.
~~~Shego's Christmas Carol~~~
Christmas morning, current day
"Merry Christmas," Drakken called out as he walked into the main room, eliciting several "Merry Christmas to you too" from his henchmen. The blue villain was still in his lab coat, but he also wore a red Christmas hat, and he was carrying a plate of cookies. "Anyone want to try the first batch?"
As the henchmen gorged on the Christmas cookies, the door opened and a woman in her early sixties walked in. "Drewbie?"
"Mother," Drakken cried out happily, but then winched when she pulled him in a bone-crushing hug. "Merry Christmas."
Drakken's mother looked around. "Is your show going to be Christmas themed as well?"
Drakken gasped as he frantically tried to come up with something. "Uhm… we're not broadcasting during Christmas. We, uh, let the people just have a Christmas with their family."
"Oh, I see." the woman did her best to hide her disappointment. "So, where's you 'assistant'?"
Drakken sighed and looked down. "Well… she's…"
"Running a bit late," Shego said from the door opening. "Merry Christmas Dr. D."
"Shego!" Drakken cried out in complete surprise, but clearly very happy. "But I thought you were…"
Shego shrugged. "Nah, who needs a tan in the winter. I'll have one of your cookies though."
Later that day, over at the Go tower, just after the Christmas meal, Team Go decided to give their stomachs a little rest and play some Christmas games.
"Alright," Hego said, "I have something in my mind and you can guess what it is, but you can only ask 'yes or no' questions."
"Is it me?"
"Yes… how did you… Shego!"
All four members of Team Go stared in disbelief at their sister, who had just walked into the room and was carrying a large bag over het shoulder.
The Wegos had already rushed over to her and gave her a big hug. "Merry Christmas Shego."
Shego couldn't help but smile. "Merry Christmas to you too," she said as she ruffled their hair.
"But I thought you didn't…" Hego stopped talking when Mego shut him up. Shego's slightly younger brother then looked at the bag. "Are those presents? For me?"
Shego chuckled. "Some of them, who's in the mood for some late Christmas gift unwrapping?"
~~~Shego's Christmas Carol~~~
As the Wegos started unwrapping their gifts Shego felt a warm feeling in her chest that she had not felt in a long time. Maybe her years as a villain were all an attempt to find that feeling again. And now, with her family, she had finally found it. She was no longer alone.
Ever since that Christmas day, Shego was a changed person. She no longer cared for villainy and rejoined Team Go. She even convinced Drakken to give up his take over the world schemes and join Global Justice in the betterment of the world. Shego even became friends with Kim Possible, and every Christmas the two of them would go out and give presents to the poor and homeless and…
Wait a minute; this isn't the end of this story. Who wrote this fluffy junk? Where are my original notes?
…
Ah, here they are.
As the Wegos started unwrapping their gifts Shego felt a warm feeling in her chest that she had not felt in a long time. She knew she wouldn't turn away from villainy – it was just too much fun – but it had also driven her to repel the people close to her. It warmed her heart to know they would still embrace her in their group.
Shego never veered from villainy, but ever after that Christmas, she never failed to pass by her brothers during the holiday, even if it was only for a brief moment.
She also stuck around for Drakken's Christmas parties, and generally had a good time. She even felt herself getting closer to the blue villain. How that turned out, well… that's a whole different story.
Merry Christmas all, and a happy New Year.
END
A/N: I hope you liked this… reedition of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. There are also a lot more Christmas stories in Whitem's challenge, be sure to check those out as well.