Chapter 3, set… well you can see where it's set.

Will looked up from his daily briefing and frowned, "We seem to have company."

Doctor Director also looked up, and then nodded, "You may as well stop skulking, we know you're there…"

"I Do Not Skulk…" Shego emerged from the shadows, huffing indignantly.

"You reek of ozone. You honestly thought we wouldn't know you were in the room?" Will sniffed pointedly, sneering at the taller woman.

"You know what else reeks, knob polisher?" Shego growled darkly at the under-boss, "The freshly charred corpses of my victims… keep pushing it."

"Shego," Doctor Director warned her vitriolic daughter, "Mind your tone. And William, do not antagonize your sister. Now… to what do we owe the pleasure?"

The villainess glared daggers at the other two. After a long moment of controlling herself, "I think we have a situation. What do you know about what went down this weekend?"

"The Saints beat the Forty-Niners?" Will quipped, pretending to consult his briefings.

"Oh I'll beat you…" She growled, clawing a hand down her face, "Mother, heel your lapdog before I neuter him."

"William. Obviously it is important if she came in from the cold voluntarily. Mind your tongue." Betty sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Shego, continue."

"Fine… in case you bunch of knobs weren't paying attention, we had a visit from on high, and I don't mean the Jehova's Witness I incinerated at my door." She sneered, flicking some imagined dust off the sleeve of her suit. "Have I got your attention now? Good."

She flipped a data drive onto the desk in front of her law-abiding family as she began to pace, "Her name is Warmonga, or so she kept bellowing at every provocation. Nine feet of muscle and about nine ounces of brain. And she ain't from around here."

As Shego narrated, Agent Du reluctantly plugged in the data stick, and began to examine what was apparently security footage from Drakken's lair, right before it was obscured by some sort of steel wall that seemed to grow up out of nowhere. "Note the vacuum packed hardware. She pulled out a geegaw the size of one of my smaller personal assistants and turned it into a six foot long plasma-stave."

Betty watched her daughter pace and frowned. It took a lot to rattle the hell-brand, and to send her running here, it troubled the director of Global Justice, "Formidable. But you're here. So what changed?"

"She's gone. For the moment anyway. And that is what concerns my glorious green ass. Possible's pesky brothers sent her off on a wild goose chase when she figured out that my boss wasn't the blue-balled messiah she was looking for." She scowled, pointing at the video feed that showed some kinf of spray painted sports mascot on Drakken's video system.

"A chase to where?" Du looked up, apparently a bit perturbed that this was the first that they were hearing about a class one visitation.

"Pluto. Not even a real damned planet." Shego snorted, smirking a bit. "But that's not what bugs me."

"You're concerned what happenes when she gets to Pluto, figures out that she's been duped, and comes back." The Director nodded morosely, considering the data arrayed before her.

Shego laid a finger aside her nose, nodding, "Bingo. I'm no rocket scientist… but I'm not a mucking foron either. That's wonder boy here's job."

Will scowled at his older sibling darkly, but held his tongue.

"See, If she can really travel from an alien civilization light-whatevers away… It's not going to take her all that long to haul ass across our dinky little neighborhood and figure out she's been jimmied. And then it will take her even less time to come back." Shego scowled.

"Why didn't you just do her in then?" Will glared at his sister, "Shooting first and asking questions later is your strong suit, after all."

Shego narrowed her eyes, memories of being shackled flooding back. She suppressed them, with some effort, and took a deep calming breath; making good the appearance of calming herself. "You want to know why I'm here instead of mounting her spine in a display case?"

And then she stormed the room, lifted her smaller sibling out of his chair bodily, and threw him through the holographic projector with one arm, "See that? She did that to me… to ME! That's not a ride I intend to repeat. Now, if you don't mind… get off your glorified asses, and earn the GLOBAL part of your titles and defend the fucking globe!"

It took him several moments, but Will peeled himself out of the wreckage of the projector and glared daggers at Shego. He reached for his Stop-Watch with foul intent as he stepped free.

"Stand down, Agent Du." Doctor Director held up her hand, signaling to her son and second to back off, "And check yourself into the infirmary. I don't like the way you're bleeding."

Will touched his forehead, apparently unaware of the wound, and then renewed his glare at his combative older sibling. With a snort of derision, he made his way out of the briefing room.

Once assured that her son was well out of ear shot, Doctor Director glared, "I suppose it's pointless to bill you for the projector?"

"No, but I'll chip in a c-note for his stitches… I know his face is his money maker," Shego scoffed, sitting down in Will's abandoned chair and kicking her feet up on her mother's desk.

"Why are you really here Shego?" Betty frowned, again looking at the arrayed data on the alien menace, "I know you. Being thrown into a television isn't enough to phase you. Hell, you and Hego barely counted that as rough-housing."

Shego looked away, scowling. "I'm not fifteen any more. It ain't my job to play alien punching bag. That's YOUR job. Remember… GLLLLLOOOOOOOBBBBAAAALLLLL Justice?"

"Mathilde…"

Shego's eyes flashed up at the mention of her birth name. If she'd had that ability, she'd have shot lasers out of her eyes through her mother's forehead for invoking it.

Betty sighed and shook her head, "Your grandmother, rest her immortal soul, was thrilled when we named you that."

"Say it again… you're no spring chicken either. We'll see how well you bounce off the TV screen." Shego's tone dripped acid and brooked no arguments.

The director sighed darkly and shook her head. "Fine. Shego. Explain to me why you're really here."

After a good two minutes of petulant silence, Shego finally relented, "I couldn't stop her mom. SHE couldn't stop her… and I couldn't save her either. It took a Halloween prank by those idiot brothers of hers to call of the hell-bitch."

"She coul- Kim was there?"

Shego sighed morosely. And then peeled off her gloves. She held up her hands, showing them to her mother, "When was the last time you saw me with these?"

Betty gasped, almost rising from her seat, motherly concern briefly over-riding professional prescience. But she caught herself, knowing better than to embarrass her daughter; and also knowing better than to get within arm's reach of her, lest she make good on her earlier threat. "Blisters? Not… not since you were eleven and tried to hold on to the bottle rocket."

"Exactly… pre-meteor." Shego looked at her hands with long consideration, shaking her head. "Alien Manacles. And matching booties. Nigh indestructible ones. Hego couldn't have flexed out of these things. I should know, I gave him one of the scraps to test his mettle on."

"Hego knows?"

"No… you think I'm fucking stupid enough to tell my half-twit brother that aliens are real? No, I just told him it was one of Drakken's experiments gone awry, and to go to town on it." The villainess shook her head sharply. "He couldn't even twist it. Though not sure if that's the metal, or that I fire-hardened it first. Either way, cut his hand up."

"So… you talked to your big brother first… and then you… came here…?" Betty processed the situation as quickly as she could. "Still, these are not the sorts of things that stagger you. Not this much. Again. Why?"

"Grrrrragh!" Shego shot forward, slamming her palms down on the conference table, "Were you not listening?! I could not stop this bitch! Kim could not stop this bitch! I could not…"

"Could not what…?" the director and mother probed.

Shego finally looked up, glaring, "She almost killed Kimmie. If I hadn't popped her at just the right moment, my princess would be a ginger smear on the floor of a space ship right now."

Betty almost rose to that: The use of the possessive. Still, the trained interrogator in her refrained. "You're right. That is… concerning. That even the two of you could not ease the situation. We will look into it and start preparing defenses… but in case you failed to notice… this is GLLLLLOOOOOOOBBBBAAAALLLLL Justice. We provide justice ON the globe, not above it."

Shego sneered as her mother parroted her and pushed the buttons only family knew to push, "You got a better suggestion on where I should go? Remember, I been to Area 51. I know it's nothing more than a glorified nerd museum."

The Director chewed her lip. The director of that facility was a personal friend. So she was well acquainted with her daughter's "visit." After a moment, she shook her head, "You're right… it's not exactly the kind of situation you can look in the phone book for."

The villainess snorted and rose to excuse herself, her message delivered. Until her mother stopped her with a word.

"A moment, Miss Go."

It was like a lightning bolt up her spine, and she spun, glaring at her mother and foe.

"Yes, I know… you hardly think I'd miss something like that? Five of my six children, hit by an emotion ray? One of them getting an honest job?"

"How much…" Shego glared, holding her temper as best as she could. She wanted that entire incident dead and buried. It made her feel filthy. "How much do you know?"

The Director didn't respond. Instead she picked up her data pad and flicked a few things on screen. A moment later the backup hologram projector rose from a hatch in the floor. "Let's see here… there's this…"

Miss Go's forged transcripts appeared. "Incidentally; I'll pay you if you give me your man's name. I can use talent like this."

She blanched. Licking her lips, she shook her head, "I'll- I'll keep it in mind."

"Oh… then there's this." A receipt. Dinner for four. Chez Pierre's.

"Also, of course, these…"

Shego needed no prompting to identify the shattered remains of the re-purposed Attitudinator, now called a Reverse Polarizer… or junk.

"Our people can't even begin to determine what modifications she made to it to make it work the way it did. So I'm afraid she's stuck as she is for now. Lucky for you that you're not, eh?"

If the villainess was pale before. She turned as white as a sheet when a video appeared. It was her, as Miss Go, clenching her hands in a nervous manner, talking to Kim Possible in the streets of Go City as a patty wagon drove away with what was presumably Electronique in the back.

Now that Shego knew to look, she could just make out Drakken's hoverpod in the background, approaching at unsafe speed, and Stoppable fumbling with the helmet. The view was from some kind of security camera.

"How in the…" Shego grit her teeth, looking darkly at the visage, "How the heck did you know where to get that?"

"NSA… The Americans are so proud of their surveillance gathering system…. That they don't think for one damned moment that someone else could do the exact same thing to them that they do to the people around them." Betty shook her head reproachfully, "Remind me to show you what they do to each other sometimes… you haven't read Orwell's fever dream until you see a nineteen year old intern run a level five security sweep to see what his girlfriend is up to while he's at work."

The villainess didn't need to be told or shown. It was yet another reason she chose willingly to live in underground caverns with a blue madman. It beat the alternative.

"Let me guess," The director indicated the silent video playing away, "Actually, I don't have to guess, after interviewing Ella, I know how eager to please you must have been in that state of mind. Your perfect alter-ego was just about to tell Kim that you love her."

Shego bit back the rush of bile to the back of her throat. A remote controlled puppet had been running her body at the time. It was like being perpetually raped, in her considered estimation. The less she was reminded of it the better, and right now her mother seemed to be taking joy in reminding her acutely. "You have a point here?"

"Hmmm… I would tell you that you should tell Kim, particularly if what we discussed about the Aliens is true." Betty intoned after a long moment. "But we both know that telling you to do something is the surest way to ensure it never happens. However… I do wonder if you want this back?"

A printer on the conference table whirred, and spat out a long, narrow, glossy strip.

Every drop of blood drained from Shego's body. She needn't see it to know precisely what her mother had lain her hands on, "How in the ever-loving dark embrace of Hell do you have that?"

Betty fingered it softly, considering the four vignettes painted with a keen but unreadable eye, "Middleton is not that big a town. One shopping mall, three photo-sitting booths inside it. Knowing that your alter-self would do precisely what the true you would be loathed to do, it was not a stretch to think you had done very sociable things like take in a movie, get ice cream, maybe even goof around in a photo-matte. I had someone grab the data-corders a few weeks back. Yes they really do save the shots they take, for a week at least. Sadly their memories fill up rather quickly, so things are not saved in perpetuity."

She watched the strip, not really looking at her daughter, "We got lucky. Yours was the oldest data file on one recorder. We would have lost it had we waited another day. Maybe even a few hours."

Shego glared daggers. Her mother was toying with her… but to what end?

"Do you want it?"

The villainess scoffed.

The director picked up a computer hard drive from the drawer to her left and tossed it at her daughter.

The mal-content grabbed it, and it popped and sizzled in her hands. She hadn't even realized that she'd become so agitated that her fire had ignited on its own until she looked at the slowly cooking electronics in her grasp.

"That was the hard drive. This is now, presumably, the only copy of these in existence. The records state only one other strip was ever printed, and I can only assume you destroyed that in a clear-headed moment to erase any incriminating evidence of your presence." Betty nodded, still holding out the strip. "Now… Do. You. Want. It?"

Shego scowled. After tossing the charred drive into the trash, she willed her hands to extinguish. Then she carefully reached out and took the strip.

"I imagine that this… Barkin, Steve, First Lieutenant, retired, US Army… has no idea the woman he was dating had designs on his star pupil. " Betty rolled her eyes at her daughter's incredulous expression. "Yes, of course I know that. You know how teachers love to gossip. And it was an incredibly simple matter to call him in for questioning after he was picked up on Drakken's Island with dog bites all over him."

The darker woman glared, and had to forcibly resist incinerating this strip of photos the way she had the earlier copy in shocked surprise.

"Shego, I am not going to tell you who to see or what to do… but I know what I see when I look at those pictures. I see a happy woman. And it's not the same synthetic digital saccharine that I saw in Ella's eyes when I interrogated her. Keep that in mind. I'll see what I can do about your Alien. But you might keep in mind how close you came to losing her without saying a damned thing."

Before Shego could do anything to respond, the seat she was perched in disappeared, and she was sucked into one of Global Justice's benighted tubes, still clutching the restored photos.

Betty shook her head. Her daughter… despite her many personality quirks and her well-hidden intelligence... was still easily taken in by a bit of theater. She smirked as she printed off another strip of photos. As if she would destroy such a powerful little memento. Sooner or later, a certain redhead was bound to turn up wanting a copy or three. Or perhaps she could send them to Ronald, just to nudge things in a new direction.