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Mr. Brightside by The Killers

I felt oddly sick all of a sudden. My stomach had started forming knots and my heart began constricting in pain. I almost believed that I was having a heart attack for a second, but I knew better. With powers like mine they made me practically inhuman, there was no way a heart attack would happen to me.

But as I held a clenched fist to my chest, I wondered what it was as the couple walked past me, her boyfriend saying a polite goodbye while she said nothing. Nothing at all. Not a glance, not a word.

Nothing.

An empty, painful feeling invaded my body, consuming me slowly as if savoring my thoughts and emotions. This felt...weird... I tugged at the hem of my shirt, letting air pass through because I couldn't breathe. The humidity was getter thicker, or maybe it was something else. I wasn't too sure.

Kimmie has a boyfriend.

The thought came to me as if my mind had finally registered the information. It's normal to have a boyfriend and I should have expected that. She's twenty one, beautiful, smart, talented, and a hero. Everything a guy could ask for. And only a lucky guy would ever get Kim Possible. Me? I wasn't so lucky.

I mentally slapped myself. What are you thinking Shego? I should be teasing her at how it was about time she got one for God's sake! I shouldn't be thinking or feeling all...weird. A low growl escaped from my throat. Kimmie was my arch enemy. Her love life had nothing to do with me. I didn't care anyways.

A knot in my stomach tightened.

I scratched my head, frustrated and confused, turning on my heel and walking to where my car was parked. Kimmie and her...boyfriend were no where in sight. Damn him. I was so close to getting this over with Kimmie and he just had to pop out of the blue.

I should have asked her if we could talk, then again she would probably end up fighting me, thinking it would be a trap of some sort. I sighed, she was the type of girl to do that. I should get this over with before Dr. Drakken decides to pull off his 'final act of evil.'

Later that night, I avoided returning back to the lair. Dr. Drakken had called out of concern, but I told him that I had some personal business to take care of. He didn't pressure me any further, knowing and respecting my privacy, and just told me to be careful.

I was sitting in my car, waiting and watching the house, resisting the urge to climb through her window, but I knew that she would take it the wrong way and accuse me of crossing the line. I didn't need that again. After about an hour, I was ready to leave, but then a car drove into the driveway. Must be Kimmie.

When the driver's seat opened, I was just about to open mine when I saw that it wasn't Kimmie, but Daniel. He walked around the car to open the passenger's seat and out came the girl I was waiting for. I stuck my tongue out in disgust as I watched the couple walk up to the front door.

Come on, lover boy. She's got someone more important waiting for her. I thought, impatiently tapping my fingers on the wheel. They seemed to be taking their sweet time to just walk up the front door, laughing and smiling. It disgusted me.

They were talking about something and I rolled my eyes, growing more annoyed by the second. It was as if I was watching some sappy romance- My heart skipped a beat. I leaned forward in my seat, gripping the wheel tightly when I saw him bent down to her, inching closer. My stomach knotted painfully when I saw their figures mold into one in the dark of the night. I saw his arms snake around her waist as if to say that she was his.

My arms were shaking and I held on tighter to the wheel, glaring and gritting my teeth angrily. I felt my anger boil inside me and I had this sudden urge to storm up to them and tear Daniel away from Kimmie. Seeing them kiss like this was just... It wasn't right!

My hand shot out and turned the engine on, the wheels of my car screeching as I drove away at top speed. Hopefully that tore them away. I was driving fast as if I had the cops on my tail, as if I was running away. And I literally was, but I didn't know from what. Maybe I was doing this out of disgust or annoyance. What other reason could there be?

It was all because of Kimmie's stupid boyfriend that my first chance had gotten taken away and now I had it stolen once again. Except this one was more annoying. Why couldn't he just go away? Disappear? From the second I met that man, I knew in my guts that I would hate him. Don't judge a person by their looks, you say? To hell with that!

The air became eerily thick and hard to breath in and my breath came out in angry rasps. I tugged at the collar of my shirt, willing myself to calm down and confused as to why it was so hard to breath when the air conditioner was on. Images of Kimmie and Daniel kissing flashed through my mind and my stomach lurched suddenly making me feel sick.

I stopped the car at a sudden screech, making it jolt in the process and flung the door open. It wasn't even a second before my legs suddenly gave out as if they were jelly. I collasped to my knees, my hands clenching on the sidewalk as my chest heaved and my wide eyes stared at the ground. It was becoming harder for me to breath and I had this odd tingling sensation in my fingers and around my mouth. Why wasn't the fresh air helping me breathe? It wasn't as hot as it is in the afternoon and it gave me bigger space than my car. My eyes widened in realization. Weakness, fast paced breathing, tingling sensations. Those symptoms made a conclusion pop in my head. I was hyperventilating.

With my depleting strength, I dragged myself back to my car, searching for a paper bag. It was becoming harder to see as I opened the glove compartment where random things fell to the floor. My body became weaker and I collapsed on the driver's seat as my shaky hand searched the floor. I tried to keep calm, but it was becoming harder when it felt like you were being choked to death. It felt like I was going to die, but the slow and painful way.

Just when I thought I was going to pass out, I felt the familiar touch of a paper bag despite the tingling in my fingers. I quickly grabbed it and pulled the lever on my seat so that it allowed me to lay down as I pried the bag open, placing it over my mouth and nose. The bag crinkled every time I inhaled and exhaled, and I tried to keep my hands steady to keep it in place. In my head I counted slowly, trying to concentrate on my breathing, trying to calm myself down. Slowly, my breathing relaxed and the blur in my eyes gradually cleared.

When I was sure I had calmed down, I pulled the bag away and just stared at the roof of my car in silence, my body exhausted, zapped of it's strength. I kept the paper bag in my clutches, still shaken up from the sudden hyperventilation.

I let myself rest in my car, not sure if I should drive just yet. Having that feeling of being close to death with your body weaker by the second and breathing as if you were trying to breathe through a straw was not something you wanted to experience. I sighed and closed my eyes. I was too stressed. I needed to watch over myself better from now on and not strain myself, but the things I was going through wasn't helping me. Stress kept on piling over stress, and it was only a matter of time before I flipped my lid and started hyperventilating again.

After last night, I had stayed at one of my apartments because I was in no mood to deal with a certain blue scientist's blabber mouth. I guess doing that only made matters worse because he bombarded me with questions when I arrived at the lair the next day. I was feeling a little better, but on the bad side I had awoken from a dream about Kimmie and Daniel. I was angry and in need of blowing off that steam.

"So what do you have planned for me today?" I asked, wasting no time.

He looked surprised at the straight forwardness, but scurried over to his blueprints that were on the table excitedly. "I'm glad you asked! Wait..." he looked up at me and I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were against this."

"I am, doy," I said, rolling my eyes. "But that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun while it lasts."

"So you'll help me in this last act of evil?"

Last act of evil, huh? This just may be my last time with Dr. Drakken and then I would have to find another guy to work for. I really didn't want to go through that hassle, especially since the villain community was shrinking fairly quickly. Maybe I should just go solo for once.

Truth be told, I had a feeling that since this was going to be his last act of evil, it was going to be good. Odd feeling, right? Yeah, I know it's hard to believe because usually his plans always ended up A: Self destructing, B: Not working at all, or C: being foiled by Kimmie. The list could go on, but I think everybody knows that.

The thought of doing my own missions and the thought of fighting Kimmie without being interrupted by an annoying boss whose inventions always explode sounded luxurious. This may seem out of character for me, but watching Dr. Drakken leave was like losing something. Not really of value, but it's just as important. He had his heart really set on this, and maybe he just now realized that being the bad guy wasn't for him. Things will be different without having to work for him, but seeing him look so determined and happy made me realize that I've never seen him so dedicated to something. Maybe...I'll just let him have his fun.

"It's in my contract, right?" I stated, trying to seem bored.

He grinned brightly at me and beckoned me to the table. "I present to you, BAM!"

I blinked. "Sorry, what?"

"BAM!" he repeated.

"Stop saying BAM and tell me what the hell the plan is!"

"Shego, BAM is the plan! It's short for Bad Ass Machine!" he stood proudly at the name. "Genius, right?"

I deadpanned and then said sarcastically, "Oh yeah! I would have never thought of a better name!"

He laughed manically and I rolled my eyes. No wonder this guy needed someone like me to help him on his missions. After he was done his 'evil' laugh, he pointed to the blueprint before us.

"This is how BAM will be created-"

I snorted before throwing my head back in laughter. He stopped talking and looked at me confusingly. "What's so funny?"

"Are you kidding me? Did you draw this yourself?" I asked in disbelief, gesturing to the blueprint.

It looked like a bunch of random lines that a three year old drew. I couldn't even decipher what he was trying to draw! The only thing I could make out was a smiley face with devil horns in the corner. I laughed even harder.

"I'll have you know, Shego, I worked very hard on this!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure those devil horns were hard to get down!"

He muttered under his breath as I continued laughing. Man, I haven't had a good laugh in a while! And thinking just that made my life seem depressing.

"Okay, okay, I'm done," I said, wiping tears away. "What's the plan?"

"I need you to retrieve this device for me."

He showed me a better picture of some...whatchamacallit, and told me where I could get it. At least with this picture I could tell what I was supposed to be looking for. Since he wanted to finish with the other parts of his invention, he bade me good luck as I set out on my mission. It's been a long time since I've had some action.

I know that I said I shouldn't strain myself, but would you do nothing if you woke up from a dream about a certain someone and their boyfriend? Yeah, I don't think so. Trust me, I've tried working out at my personal gym for a while to blow off the steam, but I only ended up breaking the punching bag. My temper didn't stop there, though. I had...how should I say this, a little road rage while I was driving to the lair.

On the streets of Middleton

The streets were becoming flooded by the broken fire hydrants that were spewing water high into the sky like geysers. Trembling citizens peered out the windows in shock, holding their children close in caution. An overturned police car's siren wailed continuously as a policeman crawled out the window of the driver's seat, and when he brought himself to his feet, the man crossed himself as he saw the city before him.

"Holy macaroni..." he whispered to himself as his wide eyes followed the tire marks that tattooed the street and both sidewalks. More car crashes had occurred at the intersection, and the man winced when he saw a streetlight fall over a car.

"MAH CHANGE!" the policeman heard someone yell, and he whipped his head in the direction the voice came.

In an instant, the policeman rushed over to the elderly man on his hands and knees, his dirty white beard bouncing up and down as he muttered to himself.

"Are you alright sir?"

The elderly man snatched an empty cup off the ground where scattered change lay about. He shoved the cup into the policeman's face, his wide eyes staring and yellow teeth bearing themselves.

"SPARE SOME CHANGE?!"

Shego's POV

Getting into the top secret lab was a piece of cake. There was nothing but computers and a huge canon thingy that pointed towards the high ceiling. I pulled out a piece of paper from my ankle pouch and examined the picture. It was the complicated looking whatchamacallit that Dr. D wanted. He told me that this little thing could be found inside the canon, but warned me to be careful because the thing could explode if I did something wrong. Hah! When have I done anything like that? He was always the one who blew stuff up!

I approached the canon, feeling smaller and smaller as I got closer. I peered up at it, placing my hands on my hips with raised eyebrows wondering what were they planning to do with this thing. Blow up some planet? Never mind what the people who had created it and intended for it to do, what about Dr. Drakken? Just what was he going to do with the whatchamacallit? I can't believe that I forgotten to ask him what his intentions were and I wasn't too sure if I should be excited for a surprise, or worried for mankind.

I climbed up to the canon's hatch and used my powers to burn it open. When it creaked and crunched up, I peeled the piece of metal away with ease and looked inside. There it was, the whatchamacallit. It had a number pad on it and I loathed at how much I hated those. One wrong move and I could be nothing but blown up meat. I looked at the paper again, reading what numbers to press. I swore to Dr. D that if he gave me the wrong one and that I died, I would haunt him forever.

"Just a few more numbers..."

"And you're going to jail," I whipped my head around and found the goody two shoes before me.

"Why hello, pumpkin. Why aren't you on a date with your boyfriend?" I asked, spitting out the words distastefully.

She brushed her nails on her shirt haughtily. "As a matter of fact, I just went on a date with him last night."

"I'm pretty sure you enjoyed smooching his crusty lips too," I retorted.

She flipped onto the platform with me, glaring. "He's a good kisser."

Was that supposed to have two meanings? I growled and tackled her and we dropped from the platform. I landed on top of her and pinned her arms above her head, glaring down at her. She squirmed under me and I had to struggle to keep her in place. Suddenly, she slipped her legs under me using her feet to push me off, and I landed a few feet away. I landed with a grunt, but quickly got into my fighting stance as she came charging with attacks.

"You may think he's a good kisser, but is he really a good guy?"

"Daniel is a nice guy!"

I rolled my eyes, dropping to the floor to deliver a kick to her ankles. She jumped in time and delivered a kick to my chest. I stumbled back a few steps and quickly got back into a stance.

"There are better fish in the pond, Kimmie."

I swung a punch that buried itself in her gut and she grunted, bending forward at the impact and I kneed her in the face. She stumbled back, clutching her nose, glaring intensely. With a grin, I beckoned her forward. She snarled and came at me with blood gushing out her nose.

"Daniel is perfect!" she said, throwing a punch that I easily blocked. "What's your problem?"

"Nobody's perfect. I'm just saying that there could be better people than him out there."

She delivered a kick that I failed to block, hitting me in my side. The impact forced me to stumbled sideways and I tripped over my own feet in the process.

"There may be better people than him, but I think he's perfect for me!" she suddenly had this glint in her eyes as she glared. "And if there are better people in the world, then there are better people than you!"

I growled, lighting my hands up with green flames and flung a plasma ball at her, but she ducked right in time. She started flipping and jumping in the air to avoid my attacks.

"Stay still!" I flung another at her just as she landed on her feet that caught her like a fast ball in the gut, and she was sent flying through the air, hitting the canon. When she fell to the floor, I heard an alarm beeping from the canon and my eyes widened. Her body must have hit the number pad! Kimmie groaned as she got to her knees, rubbing her head and stared at the machine in shock that started trembling and beeping.

The computers were flashing with warnings as the canon began turning. Suddenly, the canon shot a blast of light at the ceiling that crumbled and groaned before it started falling apart. The ceiling started dropping and the floor rumbled like there was an earthquake at each impact. I cursed and began running to the door, but then I heard Kimmie yell out in pain.

It looked like she had tried to run too, but had tripped over a piece of the roof that had fallen. I cursed again and looked at the door and then back at Kimmie. She was struggling to get up, but she yelled out again and clutched her ankle. Damn it Kimmie!

The canon let out another blast and this time a piece of the ceiling the size of a car came crashing down, falling towards Kimmie. It was almost as if my feet had a mind of it's own as I ran towards the fallen hero. She shielded her face with her arms as if anticipating the impact, but I took it for her.

I was over her body with the piece of the ceiling weighing heavily on my back, and I felt my veins and muscles strain against it's weight. I gritted my teeth in pain, feeling my body sink closer to Kimmie who opened her eyes and stared at me in shock.

"Sh...Shego?"

"Mind getting out now, princess?" I said through my teeth. The weight on my back increased and I muttered a curse when I sank lower to her. Our bodies were just touching now and I could feel our breath colliding in pants. She continued staring into my eyes, and I did my best to push back the flashback of that night in the backyard.

"Get a move on!" I ordered and she began pushing herself out from under me. Her progress was slow and she bit back yells of pain whenever she used her ankle to help. My arms were trembling now and I didn't think I could hold in any longer. "Hurry up princess!"

Finally, she got free and struggled to stand on her own, but yelled out in pain before falling. We both knew that her ankle was sprained and that she would get no where far with it. She crawled to me and propped herself on her knees, trying to help me hold the piece of the ceiling.

"How are you holding this?"

I grinned painfully. "Super powers, remember?"

I inhaled deeply and shifted my legs. The weight increased at every move, but I kept on shifting.

"You're going to get crushed!" she exclaimed, trying to help hold up the weight, but she wasn't as strong as me.

"Don't worry princess," I smirked at her. "I'm not that easy to take down. Now move!"

She did as she was told, doing her best to move away from me in the ruins and her sprained ankle. I grunted in pain and used my arms to push it upwards as I knelt on one leg, slowly pushing up against the heavy weight until I was in a crouch. My knees trembled and my leg muscles strained like my arms and back, but I kept going. Kimmie stared at me with wide eyes as I stood taller and taller. Each time I made it closer to the end of it, the weight increased more and more, slowly sending me back into a crouch. Just as I made it to the end with Kimmie a few feet apart, and mustered up the rest of my strength and pushed it up, giving me a few seconds chance to sprint out from under it.

My body was aching and screaming in protest as I ran over to Kimmie and it tried not to cooperate when I scooped her into my arms, bolting out the door just as the canon shot another blast. I kept on running with Kimmie in my arms, dodging falling pieces of the building along the way. It was like an obstacle course, except that if you lose, you die.

Smoke was filling the dark halls and more rumbling and explosions occurred whenever the canon let out a blast. We almost got flattened when the roof of the hall was falling, but I managed to take a different direction. We were nearing the exit, getting closer to our freedom and survival.

"Shego!"

She was pointing behind me and I glance back, my eyes widening. A blast of wild flames was hurling towards us, burning everything in it's path. It was as if a dragon had spat a fireball at us for entering it's territory. I pushed myself harder and faster, the adrenaline in my body increasing. And just as I busted down the door, an explosion occurred behind us, sending us flying.

We flipped in the air until we tumbled and rolled in the dirt. I held Kimmie close to me and she buried her face into my chest, clinging onto me just as hard. I squeezed my eyes tight against the smoke and flames, hoping that the flying pieces of junk wouldn't hit us. I lost sense of all direction from all the tumbling and jabs of pain came punching at me every time we landed. I felt something sharp sting down my back, and I bit back a yell of pain, settling for a hiss and hoping that it wouldn't be that bad.

When we finally stopped rolling, I covered Kimmie instantly. It was like an instinct as I shielded her body with my own, wrapping my arms around her head safely and burying my face in her hair. It still smelled of strawberries, but now it was mixed with blood and smoke. I mentally cursed. Was she bleeding? Or was it me? How bad was it?

Explosions sounded and the ground trembled violently. Kimmie wrapped her arms around my waist tightly, clinging onto me for dear life. She was holding me so tightly that she dragged me down onto her. With our bodies pressed together and we stayed in that position for who knows how long. I could feel her chest moving up and down against me and her breath colliding against the material of my catsuit. As long as I felt her breathing against me, I felt reassured.

It was a long time until everything became silent and the earth stopped trembling. I peeked out from Kimmie's hair, but stayed in the same position, not ready to move until I made sure everything was safe. The building was nothing but crap. Flames were licking at whatever they could eat, and smoke was rising high into the air. The canon was reduced to scraps of metal and the remains of the computers popped and sparked.

"It's safe..." I said looking down at Kimmie who was looking around too.

Her head had a small cut and her nose had dried blood from when I had punched her. Her hair had snatched some pieces of wood and debris, but other than that she looked fine. Suddenly, she looked up at me and I felt my body freeze. My throat closed up and I found myself suddenly looking down at her lips. I had that sudden urge like I did that one certain night. That night in my parent's backyard, that night in the city. I wanted to...

She blushed furiously and turned away and I berated myself and got off of her.

I sat in the dirt with my back to her, watching the flames dance and burn as those painful knots tied themselves in my stomach. I hated that feeling so much. Why couldn't it go away? What could I do to make it go away?

"How's your ankle?" I asked, keeping my back to her.

I heard her shift slightly and then hiss in pain. "I don't know if it's broken or sprained."

I didn't respond and we didn't speak for a long moment.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I grunted. Although I was lying. My whole body ached painfully and I could already feel the bruises forming. I think I may even have broken a rib from the tumble.

She shifted again and gasped in surprise. I tensed when I felt her suddenly touch my back. Feeling a rush of heat run through my body at her touch, I quickly sprang to my feet in surprise. She looked up at me with her hand still out, blood tainting her gloves.

"You're bleeding..."

"I'm fine," I repeated.

"Shego, no you're not! That wound on your back is huge!"

"I said I'm fine!" I winced and restrained my hand from darting to my side when a sharp pain shot through my torso around my ribs. It seems like I really did break one.

Kimmie looked concerned, and I was surprised. I never thought that she would be concerned about someone like me, especially after what we've been through this last week. Maybe it was just in her hero attitude to just be generally concerned.

Suddenly, helicopters sounded overhead and I looked up, trying my best to see them under the glaring sun. They looked like GJ helicopters and let out a breath, biting back a hiss of pain that my ribs gave off..

"Stay here," Kimmie told me and I looked down at her with a surprised look. "We can wait for GJ so they can tend to our wounds."

"And have me arrested straight afterward?" I scoffed. "No thanks, I like my freedom."

"You're hurt. You need medical attention!"

"I'll be fine!" I shouted, my face twisting in pain that my rib gave off. I looked away from her concerned look. "Why should you care?"

She stared at me with her lips barely parted. I couldn't take it any longer. She only cared because I was hurt. Because it was what heroes are supposed to do.

"Why can't I care?" she asked.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist as I turned my back to her. Why did she always have to be the hero? Why did she care about someone like me? Someone who gives her all those bruises and puts her into danger? Why did she have to sound like she actually gave a damn? That's the thing I hated about her. She drove me crazy.

"Shego, please," she said gently. "I want you to stay."

I took in a shaky breath, looking up at blue sky that was beginning to get covered by the smoke. I don't know why those words had made me feel like I could fly, but when I though about it's true meaning, I felt as if someone had clipped my wings. She wanted me to stay, but not for the reason I wanted.

"Say it."

"Say what?"

I turned around at her, glaring. "Say that you hate me."

"What?"

I stormed up to her, grabbing her shirt as I knelt before her. Her wide eyes stared back at me, those forest eyes I've gotten to know so well. "Say it! Say you hate me! I know you want to!"

"Shego, what are you-"

"Do it! You've said it once before you can say it again! I know you hate me more than ever. Don't you remember what I did to you? What I've done to you?" I questioned her, shaking her by her shirt. "SAY IT!"

"I DON'T HATE YOU!"

I stared at her in shock, searching her eyes for any lies. I felt numb as my shaky hands let go of her shirt and stood on my legs that seemed to have turned to jelly again, backing away slowly and shaking my head in disbelief.

"Why?"

"I don't know..." she mumbled, looking away for a moment to search for the right words. "I- I guess I..."

She looked back up at me with those eyes that I stared back into with my heart pounding in my chest.

"I respect you, Shego."

My heart dropped into my stomach.

"Oh..." was all I could utter. I took a step back, my vision blurring. "Okay..."

"Shego-"

I took off without hesitation once I felt the tingling sensation in my fingers again. Nothing seemed real anymore. Nothing felt real anymore. Was it because of the words she had chosen? What did I expect her to say? There was nothing else she could have said.

Nothing.