Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters form Kim Possible, or any other programs I may reference In this story.

It wasn't the way Shego normally went about such things. Entering the gallery while it was technically still open, with lights on and at least two employees lurking about somewhere. But then, she wasn't planning on committing any real crimes tonight, though there was a slight chance of some vandalism occurring.

The Gallery wasn't showing anything of high value, just a large collection of photographs by a semi-famous local celebrity. The only thing that interested the green-and-black clad thief was the possibility that one of those photos would have her as it's primary subject. If that particular one was on display, then the aforementioned vandalism, and possibly some grievous bodily harm directed at the photographer would soon ensue.

In truth, the whole thing was also a diversion from some highly uncomfortable introspection that Shego had been going through lately. The fact that she had been spending so much time in her hometown lately was also highly uncharacteristic. And for different reasons, her two most recent visits had left her sense of self badly shaken.

Most significant in her recent musings was the recognition that a lot of her emotions had for some time been manufactured by her mind to suit a situation where she knew them to be appropriate, but were not actually felt by her. As if for some reason her mind could easily indulge in some emotions, but others it refused to feel. Such as guilt. And events barely a week previously had given her every reason to feel guilty, even if the subject of those feelings should previously have generated only contempt and resentment from her.

Kim Possible. Ironically, she had finally seen something in the teen heroine's eyes that she had always hoped to see, fear, in fact abject terror, of Shego herself. But the circumstances under which this had occurred only generated feelings of extreme revulsion in Shego's own mind, mostly because she had not had any control over her own mind at the time. She had taken a series of actions that had caused the heroine a great deal of pain, actions motivated by Shego's own selfish desire to avenge a friend's death without aid from Kim Possible or anyone else.

Shego knew that not long before, no guilt would have been likely, she would simply say that Possible should have minded her own business and stayed out of Shego's affairs, and she got what she deserved for butting in. Even if there was far more at stake then just one person's vengeance, and others were already involved. Once she had heard what was going on, there was no way the girl would have stayed out of it, and Shego had eventually not seen any point in trying to dissuade her.

But in a big way, Possible had ended up where she did while trying to help Shego get to the heart of the matter. She deliberately placed herself in the hands of some terrible people so Shego could follow her to their current place of operations, bringing the cavalry along to make sure none escaped.

But Shego had not brought the cavalry, but come alone to get her revenge. She had neglected Kim's plight while she went through the villain's records, seeking answers as to why her friend had been their victim. And what she found there had only filled her with a black rage that brought her into a direct confrontation with the main villain, who had promptly turned that rage against her, and against a helpless Kim Possible.

And she felt no guilt over it, even though, despite her self-assumed status as a hard core villain and evil person, she intellectually knew that she should feel it. So she felt it, and then realized she truly didn't, and began to wonder, what if that comet/meteor had done more than give her powers? What if it had somehow rewired her emotionally, and worse, in a manner she secretly desired.

Lately it had been harder to dismiss memories of her pre-comet persona as simply being a childish girl who had yet to learn the realities of life. She had cared about others, and deeply. She had been snarky, true, and a bit too adventurous to boot, for certain strict persons, but she had had a heart. And now it was missing in action. And she was having more difficulties dealing with the aftermath of emotional events, as something began to insistently tell her that there was something wrong with the way she was acting. In fact, that a lot of her personality was just acting, because she couldn't truly feel the emotions that should be there.

And so, never having had much patience for self-analysis, and with no work worth her time available, she had welcomed as a diversion the tip from an acquaintance that a certain indiscretion from her past might now be on public display.

Now she prowled through the still lit gallery, senses tuned to pick up any sign that any other patrons had escaped the just-finished sweep by the manager and his main assistant, who Shego believed had then retired to the offices for some reason, most likely an urgent need for privacy. At least, the way they seemed incapable of keeping their hands off each other while headed there certainly implied she would not have to worry about them for a bit. And they had been kind enough not to properly secure the side entrance before departing to their assignation.

With all her years of experience and finely tuned senses on alert, It was a considerable surprise when she rounded a corner and found herself facing the last people she would ever have expected to take her by surprise.

"Shego?"

"Sis?"

"ANA!"(in stereo)

Jaw dropping in shock, Shego beheld her four 'siblings', the costumed heroes of Team Go, staring back at her in surprise. "How could those four have been quiet long enough for me to run into them?" the incredulous thought raced through her brain. Then, her survival instincts kicked in.

Shego dropped into a fighter's crouch and began to quickly scan her surroundings for any sign of a trap. She noted that Mego and at least one of the Wegos took their cue from her, and also tensed up. But to her surprise, while Hego also took a defensive stance, he directed his attention at her! "Isn't that a fine how-do-you-do! Well, can't really blame the big doof, with the way I've been portrayed in the news lately!"

But just as those thoughts processed themselves in her mind, a familiar voice, one belonging to an acquaintance she hadn't expected to meet again, and really didn't care to since it connected strongly with her recent musings, called out from behind her, causing her to see that two women leaned against a wall to her right rear, which as luck would have it, would have been the last area she covered with her scan. Or maybe luck had nothing to do with it...

"Don't worry, Shego, Gentlemen, no supervillains springing a trap on you, this time!" Said the slightly cheerful voice. "And no Law Enforcement officers about, either." She added for Shego's benefit. The only good sign that Shego saw was that the two women were not dressed for 'business'. No visible weapons, or even body armor, to be seen.

Jen Paladin was to the left, her six foot, two inches leaning against the wall behind her in a manner that implied tension, and readiness to move suddenly, rather then relaxation. Dark brown hair framed a strong, if attractive, face, currently watching Shego with an annoyingly impassive look. She wore black jeans and a black T-shirt with a white chess knight emblem on the left breast, finished off with a pair of businesslike black leather boots with the jeans tucked into them to complete her somber look.

Her partner, and lover, had a much more cheerful look. A full foot shorter, Samantha McCarron could be believed at first glance to having more muscle packed onto her shorter frame, but that was deceptive, as both women were well-muscled, with Jen simply being a bit sleeker in the distribution of same. Sam was wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a blue T-shirt with the legend 'Trust me, she's not as chilly as she looks' imprinted on it's front. It also had an arrow pointing to her right, suggesting her position in reference to her partner was deliberate.

Sam, at least, was smiling, though that expression annoyed Shego too. As far as she was concerned, they should both be viewing her with contempt. Though that in turn would just be giving her an excuse to dismiss them as just two more people who just didn't 'understand' her. And certainly did not deserve her attention. As she tried to sort through her own feelings about how she really wanted them to act towards her, Hego broke her train of thought by talking. Warning came as he took a noble stance, and drew in a deep breath before speaking.

"Just why have you lured us her, if not for some nefarious purpose?" In truth, as Hego spoke it, all words should rightfully have been capitalized and possibly written in bold face, but why indulge him?

As Shego, Mego, and the twins rolled their eyes in unison, Sam replied. "Actually, we just sent a message to you, requesting your presence, and promising that there was nothing dangerous that you would have to face, just someone with information important to you." She then looked at Shego, "And your reason for being here is also legitimate" At that, while pretending to wipe something under her eye with her thumb, she flashed Shego three fingers.

Momentarily confused, Shego suddenly got the message and casually looked over her right shoulder, her 'three o'clock'. What she saw took all her self control not to react to, for fear of drawing her four brothers' attention to it. "OK, death is too good for him, hanging that in public, I think a slow, layer by layer excision of his skin with my claws should just about do it. Well, to start with, anyway."

"As to the 'why' of this invitation, we were hired to arrange this meeting by a client. Though at the moment she's somewhat indisposed, she should join us shortly." Sam paused, thinking over her next words. "She has some serious health problems, but insisted on going through with this meeting. Until she can join us, which should hopefully not be long, we'll have to find something else to talk about." At those words, her partner gave her a 'you just stepped in it' glance and stood a little straighter.

Shego also saw the danger in that suggestion, and hoped that whoever their client was, they'd make an immediate appearance, but it was not to be. Again she heard Hego take in a deep breath, let some of it out in a sigh, and speak.

"If that is the case, Dear Sister, then I would like you to explain your involvement in the scandalous events which even now threaten to destroy the public's trust in the government of our fair city." The tone could not have been better chosen to grate on Shegos' nerves if it had been his intent to do so, which it most certainly had not been, since, though lacking great intellect, Hego had no shortage of self preservation instincts when it came to Shego, and no desire to set her off.

Trying to defuse the situation to some extent, Mego quickly spoke up. "It's a fair question, Sis. We've all seen that bit of video on the news, unless you can say that was someone impersonating you in it?" The last had a tiny bit of forlorn hope in it, both that Shego could deny it, and that she was not about to go postal on them. Shego, though, was looking at the Wegos. "They saw it? Damn! How could Hego and Mego...yeah, like they could have prevented it!"

"Of course it wasn't an impostor, unless said impostor also has her Go Glow. It clearly flared up just as the clip cut off." Hego pronounced, with his usual righteous pomposity.

"That could have been special effects added by the guy who shot the video" one of the Wegos interjected, " I mean, the whole thing was just so blurry, real amateurish."

"It was clear enough for me!" Hego responded, "Clear enough to recognize our sister, not wearing a stitch, and parading in front of that poor girl, who I'm sure was not the real Kim Possible, since certainly she would never let herself appear in such a state of undress before a group of people of obviously disreputable taste!"

"Like it was her choice?" Mego fired back, "From what I saw, she was obviously their prisoner, and was err, tied to that wall, while 'Shego' appeared to menace her, which is why I'm sure it wasn't really our sister at all in that picture!" The last came out in a rush, again seemingly asking for Shego to deny the whole mess.

Shego shook her head angrily, then shot down Mego's hopes with a snarl, "It was me, all right!" She focused on Mego, who flinched, "And Kim wasn't tied to the wall, or shackled, or chained, Mego, she was Nailed to it!" At which point a wave of nausea made her head swim, both from the vehemence with which she spoke, and the feelings that came surging up with the memory.

Stunned silence followed this pronouncement, as Mego and Hego both paled considerably, while the twins' faces took on a look Shego knew all to well, and she hoped they had as much luck keeping their dinner down as she was at that moment. It had to be Hego who broke the silence. " You mean she was...uhm, err..." he asked haltingly.

Shego grimaced as she tried controlling her temper. "The word, big brother, is 'Crucified', and yes, that's exactly what that bastard Macheles did to her."

"Language, sister." This came out far quieter then usual for Hego, as his mind tried to wrap itself around the facts Shego had spat out.

"And do you want to know what's even worse? Or maybe it won't be that bad, since it will reinforce your beliefs about me? IT WAS ALL MY FAULT!' Shego roared out, then had to stop and make a physical effort to keep her bile down. Her brothers simply stood looking as if she had just killed Bambi before their eyes.

Regaining her composure enough to continue, Shego continued, looking at the floor to avoid their eyes. "If I had done things the way I'd agreed to, she would never have been hurt like that. If I hadn't so badly underestimated that bastard, If I had known he had powers..."

As she trailed off, Mego tried to fill the void. "Yeah, that's what all those people who were at that 'show' are trying to say, he controlled their minds and made them attend it..." Only to set Shego off again.

"Well, they're lying through their Teeth!" Shego shouted, "He could only manipulate strong emotions, not compel people to do things against their wills! They were at those 'shows' to see exactly what they saw, he may have made them enjoy it more then they normally would, but he did not make them attend. Those people deserve to lose their jobs, and most certainly deserve to lose the peoples 'trust'!" The last was directed at Hego, who flinched, "They liked watching people being humiliated, and hurt, for their entertainment!"

"The problem with that, from our point of view, is those people in the audience are mostly connected to our Mayor, who is basically the guy who makes Team Go possible." Mego responded. "And with the election this year, a new Mayor who doesn't think Go City needs it's own superhero team could take office and stop any city funding for our activities."

"Well, here I thought you guys were bailing on the hero thing, and leaving Hego on his own with it?" Shego spoke as calmly as she could, trying to get her emotions back under control, her own control, in this case. "Damn Macheles, I hope he is slowly roasting in whatever hell Jen Paladin sent him to, turning all my rage into lust, and then directing it at Kim." What she had almost done to the girl went through her mind once again, and again her bile rose, forcing her to close her mouth and make an effort to control it, paying little attention to Mego's response.

"Well, we hadn't entirely abandoned the hero thing, I mean, we do have the powers, and whatever responsibility goes with them." The finish was a little lame, as if he regretted acknowledging Hego's most common argument for the formation of their team in the first place.

"Well, if you want to do it badly enough, you don't need the City's help. You don't need Go Tower, or the Go Jet, or any of that to do good." Shego's mouth suddenly snapped shut as she realized what she was saying. Her brothers collectively looked mildly shocked as well.

"Of course," she tried to recover, " I always thought the 'being good' thing was the wrong way to go, anyways."

"Always, Shego?" The sound of a new and unfamiliar voice caused Shego to turn, and see that the mysterious 'client' had walked in, and was actually familiar. "But what I remember doesn't match her current appearance, she looks to be in bad shape!"

Harsh, but true. The woman who carefully walked towards one of the padded benches along the walls of the gallery definitely appeared to have the 'health problems' Sam McCarron had spoke of earlier. Thin and pale, with a knit cap pulled down to her ears over an obviously bald head, she could have been easily mistaken for an elderly woman, but Shego had seen this woman quite recently, hale and healthy, and no older then her forties.

As she seated herself, the woman looked straight at Shego, and saw the uncertain recognition in her eyes. She nodded. "Yes, we've met, though never been formally introduced, Shego. A couple of times, I passed you in the halls, but once we met in Jack's office."

Shego looked more curious now then anything. "At Henchco? Yes, I remember you, in a white lab coat each time I saw you, right?"

"That's correct, I worked in Henchco's scientific research Department, Found Properties Division."

"Found Properties?" A small smirk appeared on Shego's face.

"Err, yes, those Items acquired by Henchco without the original operating instructions, so to speak. For instance, the Attitudinator, or Reverse Polarizer, whichever you prefer. We never did figure that one out completely."

"You didn't know how the thing worked?" Shego was mildly incredulous.

"Oh, no, never. Mind you, we knew what it 'appeared' to do to people, and Jack marketed it accordingly. With the appropriate warning labels, in near microscopic print, disclaiming any responsibility if Henchco's analysis of the machine's function was in any way incorrect. However, what is important to our discussion tonight is this, In order to learn how it worked, I installed certain monitoring equipment which sent telemetry back to my lab any time the device was used on someone, recording the effect and their brainwaves, emotions, etc."

"You mean you read our brainwaves?" Hego almost bellowed. Shego and all three other members of Team Go had to make a visible effort to avoid responding to that straight line. They may subconsciously have decided to let the woman herself take it. And she did.

"What there was to read, yes." Then, possibly to divert Hego from the task of deciding whether or not he had been insulted, she diverged, "Oh, forgive, me for not introducing myself, I am Doctor Eliza Morrisey, pleased to meet you all."

Several murmured acknowledgments later, she continued. "In any case, I was very curious about the results displayed when Electronique used the device on Team Go, especially the results from two of you. So, I went to Henchco's Intelligence Division to learn all I could about Team Go, and came to some surprising conclusions."

"Well, working from the limited amount of information publicly available about us, I am sure you cannot be expected to make a truly comprehensive analysis of whatever you learned from that infernal machine." Hego spoke, confidently, and a bit condescendingly.

"Limited? Oh, no, our information on Team Go is quite comprehensive, we assembled quite a file on you, for sale to any willing to pay our price, which to date, has been two clients."

"Well, you cannot possibly...Only two! But our enemies exist by the hundreds...well, dozens, or so...anyway, how can only two have been interested in learning what ever paltry secrets your 'Intelligence' was able to glean about us?"

"Well, first off, most of your 'enemies' never have the resources to afford any of Henchco's services, and secondly, very few of them would make our mailing lists at all, to tell the truth. They are, to put it mildly, somewhat third rate."

Hego actually seemed to become slightly outraged, though not likely on behalf of those slighted 'third raters'. "Oh Really! Well, what about Aviarius, or the Gruesome..." He paused, turning to his brothers, "What did he change it to last time?"

Mego shrugged, "I lost track, like it ever matters? No matter what the name, he still uses the same tired old Special Effects to try and scare people into paying him protection, and only a few morons do."

Hego swelled up with outrage. "Those morons include the City Comptroller, Mego! Who I don't mean to say that 'I' think he's a moron, of course, but..."

"As to your question about Aviarius?" Doctor Morrisey interrupted, " He was actually banned from all Henchco services early on, due to his theft, or at least nonpayment for, a certain item. Though he later managed to acquire your File through an intermediary, who has since also been banned."

"Who would do that old bird a favor?" Shego asked, mildly curious despite herself.

"Probably Gertie Greyfog" Mego responded, "They have a thing going."

Shego looked slightly ill. "By thing, you mean?" Mego nodded. "What happens if her powers spontaneously go off when she's 'excited', like she claims they do?"

Mego shrugged "Well, all things considered, not being able to see each other clearly might be a bonus in their relationship."

Shego nodded. "There is that." She turned to Doctor Morrisey, "You said two clients bought a copy?"

"Well, yes, but client privilege being what it is, well, you know how it is." But somehow, the doctor looked too uncomfortable with the subject, and Shego took a leap of logic.

"Was it Drakken?" No verbal confirmation was necessary, the look on the doctor's face was enough. "Oh, that man! Can't stop being nosy to save his blue hide! Well, another thing to bring up next time we get together, he can't seem to take 'stay out of my past' in the spirit I intended. As a death threat!"

"I should also point out that payment for that is still pending, he seems to be trying to claim he thought he was just checking it out, like a library book." The doctor shook her head slightly. "We're getting off track, and I can't really afford to waste time in my condition."

"How long do you think you have?" Shego asked, somewhat surprised to feel as much compassion as she was. And slight embarrassment due to her own bluntness.

However, the question seemed not to offend it's subject. "Well, I'm in remission right now, but I'm afraid it's probably my last, and I expect rapid deterioration when it ends, so if I am to help you, it will have to be soon."

"Help me?" Shego asked, vaguely aware that Hego spoke simultaneously, but saying "Help us?"

"Yes, you see, I think there is something fundamentally wrong with you and Hego, and if not corrected, could have serious consequences."

"Wrong with me? Why would you think that?" Shego responded warily. Hego said nothing this time, which might have surprised Shego had she really noticed. Denying the woman's statement should have been a near automatic reaction from him.

"Don't you think there might be something wrong, Shego?" Saying this, Eliza starred straight into the pale woman's eyes.

Automatic denial for her should have been, well, automatic, but Shego couldn't say anything. She knew something was wrong. Something basically different between who she was and who she had been that had changed far too abruptly to be easily dismissed.

"Wrong how? Are they sick?" One of the Wegos asked.

Eliza sighed before replying, "Well, it's something that should concern them, though calling it a sickness might be inaccurate."

"Then what exactly would you call it?" Shego asked.

"Well, before I answer that, perhaps you would satisfy your Brothers' curiosity, and perhaps provide an example I can refer to, by describing what happened in Go City last week, and especially what happened that night in that terrible 'club'?"

It was literally the last thing Shego wanted to do at that time, even more than keeping her brothers from noticing the picture prominently featuring her, which unfortunately Doctor Morrisey had seated herself directly in front of. Which meant of course, she could draw their collective attention to her, and away from said picture, by doing that last thing...

"It concerns Milly Whitlock..." She began.

"Milly?" Mego exclaimed, "We haven't seen her since she was adopted, and left the Orphanage."

"Mego!" Hego hissed, "Don't mention the 'O' place in front of strangers!" As an aside, it was a dismal failure, as Hego's voice carried clearly to everyone present.

"On the subject of the 'O' place.." Doctor Morrisey interjected, "That's one of many facts in that file I mentioned, that none of you, except the twins, are in fact blood relatives, but bonded into a 'family' while in the Crescent Street Orphanage, I believe?"

Hego looked shocked, but recovered, unconvincingly, and smiled with slight condescension, "Well, that is a most interesting rumor, but I can certainly not confirm it."

Shego was conflicted, she could avoid, or delay her storytelling until some other idea came to her, by continuing the debate over whether or not the 'File' on Team Go was accurate or not, but suddenly she wanted to go on with her story, even thinking of it as letting her family judge her for her actions. It was a decidedly alien feeling to her, but she dove right into it.

"AS I WAS SAYING..." All eyes turned to her, "A week ago, these two..." Indicating Jen and Sam, "Talked Kim Possible into traveling to Drakken's home on Isle Drakkon, to see me. She...she brought me Milly's ashes." Her voice went flat as she said this, and she took a moment to decide how to proceed. "Milly died in a hospice in some third world country they won't even tell me the name of." A slight glare at the two women, "Because Milly probably thought I would go there and destroy the place that destroyed her, and maybe hurt some innocents in the bargain." "And she was right, as usual, when predicting my actions!"

"Place that destroyed her? I thought she was adopted by a family in St. Louis?" Mego asked, brow furrowed, as he tried to remember things as they had been, not the way he in his own mind had somewhat softened them in memory.

Shego shook her head angrily as she answered, "She was used up in a brothel in that same country, then dumped in an alley to die, until some Sisters running the hospice found her and let her have some dignity when she died. But she only ended up in the brothel after the damned 'Club' used her up, after she was sold to them straight from the orphanage!" The last came out with considerable heat, and Shego made no attempt to moderate her temper as she continued. "Sold, by two people she, and we, trusted!"

Shock was the featured look on the faces of all her 'brothers'. Hego then began to look warily at Shego, and might even have been about to accuse her of fabrication, but before that fateful, or fatal, move on his part could be made, Doctor Morrisey cut him off by getting Shego back on track. "Why were the ashes brought to you, did she make you aware of her wishes in such a case?"

Shego's look became unfocused for a second, then she nodded. "Yeah, she told me where she wanted to be buried, or if cremated, where to spread her ashes. And I carried out her wishes. At least those wishes..." Her voice trailed off.

Now one of the Wegos spoke up. "I remember Milly."

"Yeah, she was the first person you ever let near us after Mrs Wallings passed away." the other chimed in.

Shego felt the memory surge up. Barely Eight years old, and socially an outcast among the orphans, then Mrs Wallings had called her to the nursery one day. "Ana, we have two new arrivals here today, see, two fine little boys. Their mother became very sick and couldn't take care of them, so I promised to find someone who would make it their special job to take care of them." She had paused, looking the young loner in the eye, "Do you think you could do that job for me, Ana?"

And the Wegos were right, once she took that job, because she never could deny Mrs Wallings, no one else could be trusted around the twins. Until Milly. And not even her, for some time.

"Was that all you were supposed to do, dispose of her remains, Shego?" Eliza's voice broke her thought train up.

"That was all she asked of me, because she didn't want me to get into trouble avenging her." Shego gestured at the two female mercenaries again. "She asked them to make sure it never happened to another orphan, at least from that day on, because Milly wasn't the first, and not the last either."

"But that wasn't all you did?"

"Hell, No!" Shego's eyes flared with emerald fire as she spoke, "No way I was not going to get a pound of flesh out of those people after what they did! And I wasn't going to let anyone talk me out of doing it, with them, or without!" She calmed, looking suddenly subdued, "Which is Ironic, considering how I messed things up."

"And Kim Possible?"

"The Princess? Well, she knew me too well to expect me to stay out of it, so I guess she tried to get me to respect Milly's wishes. And when she couldn't stop me, she stuck with me, maybe hoping to keep me from going too far." Shego shook her head, lost in a memory for just a moment. "After all, she is a hero, the 'girl who can do anything', so going from second class supervillains to some white slavers probably didn't sound that hard to her." "So, why didn't you tell her the difference? Because you thought she deserved anything she got if she stuck her neck in? Now how does it sit in your gut, O Mighty Shego?"

"So where did it go wrong?"

"Not 'it', 'Me', get it? I went wrong, I screwed everything up because all I wanted was to personally deal with those bastards, and whoever ran the 'Club' they talked about." She paused, looking at a vacant spot in the room, to avoid seeing anyone's eyes, "Kim went to the orphanage and met Mrs Kenneally, and told her the truth about Milly, and it shocked her, but not as much as it should have. And Mrs K ended up telling Possible about the odd adoptions like Milly's, which clued her in on who was responsible."

"Who were they, Shego?" Mego asked. All Team Go members except him had taken seats by this time. "Who in that place was selling kids to sex clubs?"

Shego took a deep breath. "Mister Frailey, and his nephew, Tom, did the selling. Tom also gave the girls a little advance 'education', anything that didn't take their virginity."

"Shego!" Hego blurted, then nodded towards the twins.

"They're old enough, Henry." Shego replied sternly. Henry frowned, then just nodded his head sheepishly, "If you say so, Ana, you know best." The fact that they'd used their given names in front of strangers seemed to have passed right by Hego. His conceding the argument to Shego was also an old habit, when it came to anything involving the twins.

Mego got his jaw in working order. "Mister Frailey? He...he was the one that got us all that stuff, the baseball gear, the football stuff, a couple of good TVs..." He trailed off, "You aren't saying he paid for it by..."

Shego shook her head, "I doubt it, he really was good at getting donations from people for the orphanage, I doubt he spent any of the proceeds from his other 'business' on any of our needs."

"How many children did he sell?"

"To the club? Only two, or maybe three a year, maybe 2 dozen all total." "But there were two he didn't sell, or he wouldn't be in a jail cell right now, he'd be sharing hell with that bastard Macheles!" She then had to pause and take a deep breath to calm herself. "Records of all the sales to the 'Club' were seized by the Feds and Global Justice, and those not found on the premises at the time of the raid are being tracked down, hopefully they'll be found." "Though there may be little hope of them ever living a 'normal' life even if brought back."

All the life seemed to bleed out of Mego, as he slumped onto the same bench as the twins, who made room for him. Hego got an old familiar look in his eye, containing some degree of guilt for not seeing these things under his nose, and some determination to make a pronouncement that it would never happen again. Shego saw it coming, and headed it off.

"Things got kind of hectic after we left the orphanage.." Shego continued, repressing a smirk at the understatement, and ignoring an eye-roll on Sam McCarron's part, "But to keep it short and to the point, Kim let herself be taken captive by Macheles' men. I was supposed to follow them, then call in the cavalry." Her look soured considerably. "William Frailey cooperated, never mind why, and Macheles' thugs picked Kim up at his place. I was waiting outside. The club people didn't come straight in, of course, they checked around the area first. And they were good, let me tell you, I had to be better to stay undetected. But they finally went inside, and had Frailey keep the landlady distracted while they took Kim out. First, they stripped her to her underwear, making sure she didn't have any tracking devices on her, then bundled her up neat as can be and carried her out to their car. They put her in the trunk and headed out, dumping her clothes in a trash can shortly after leaving Frailey's. I took a moment to dig them out, since I had already put a tracker on their car. That was almost a big mistake."

"Because they switched cars." Shego winced slightly, "But I had luck and road construction on my side, I spotted the driver and recognized him going the opposite way from where I was going. If it hadn't been for the slowdown caused by the road work, I would have certainly attracted their attention turning around to get behind them. But I managed it, and they led me to the old Dunn Theater, where the 'Club' was holding their latest show." She looked at Doctor Morrisey, "The Dunn closed a couple years ago, and belonged to a holding company, which turned out to be owned by the head of the 'Club', Armand Macheles, may he rot in hell!"

"Did you kill him, Shego?" Hego asked, breaking the longest silence Shego could remember around him.

"No, I did." Jen Paladin spoke for the first time all evening.

Hego met her impassive gaze and wilted slightly. "Oh, I see." Not able to quite let it go, however, "I Hope the killing was self defense, at least?"

"Oh yeah," Shego replied, "When his powers failed on her, he panicked and pulled the fancy pistol he wore on his belt. Wasn't even any good with it, according to some, but maybe he thought his bodyguard would draw the first shot."

"Did he?" Mego asked curiously.

Shego nodded, smiling grimly. "Yep, the first two in fact, but the third was in Macheles' head before he got his gun up." That caused Mego to regard Jen with a look of awe that made Shego hide a grin. "Figures that would impress him, he always loved Westerns as a kid!"

"How come Macheles' power didn't work on her?" One of the Wegos asked, pointing at Jen.

"Because I gave him nothing to work with." Jen Paladin replied flatly.

Those words stung Shego in her pride. She had gotten the same answer when she had asked the same question after it had all ended, after which the two women had walked away into the night, apparently dismissing her from their concerns. Why had it been so easy to turn her? She suddenly considered the possibility that the answer to that question was due to come out this evening.

"Please continue, Shego." From Doctor Morrisey.

"Kim expected me to call for help, once we found the club, because I kinda promised to. And of course, if I had...Never mind! Anyway, While they were taking Kim backstage to ask her some questions, and ready her for the show, I found Macheles' temporary 'office', including a laptop with his records on it. That's when I did call Nerdlinger..." She noticed the quizzical looks she was getting, "..Oh, Wade Load, Possible's webmaster, and tech support nerd. Anyway, he cracked the security on the laptop in nothing flat, once I convinced him I was working on Kim's side for once. And there was a list of all the orphans that had been sold to the club, or almost sold."

"Almost sold? What do you mean?" Mego was paying attention again. "And why did you have Kim's Kimmunicator...oh, right, she must have given it to you, obviously!"

Shego nodded. "As to the first question, our little comet threw some of their plans off a bit." Then she stopped..."too much, please don't ask..."

Hego gave her an out, by for once jumping to an actually logical, if erroneous, conclusion. "They were going to buy you, Ana?"

"Better than the truth..." "Yeah, something like that. But they didn't want to buy any color-coded kids, at least 'til they found out what it all meant." "And maybe we were lucky that we became wards of the City. With the twins able to duplicate themselves, they might have still been an attractive acquisition for those bastards!"

Having negotiated past a sensitive spot, Shego continued. "Anyway, with Nerd...Wade's help, I got all I needed...to send me into a towering rage! I stormed down there onto that stage to kill that smug bastard, and I do mean kill!" Looking Hego in the eye, "But he reached right into my head and turned that anger to his advantage!" Then two of his female workers had stripped her naked right on the stage. "Then they swung that panel around, and there was Kim, crucified..." She paused, "Or at least it was meant to look that way..." another hesitation, "I mean, the nails were real, believe me, but they were small ones, if that matters, there was some support the audience couldn't see and her feet were on the ground, so she wasn't hanging from them!" But Macheles had had to exert himself to suppress some unrest among the audience at the sight of Kim. But he hadn't relaxed his hold on Shego, who had just stood looking into the eyes of the girl she had betrayed..." She shook her head as if to banish that vision, then explained, "Macheles only cared about the illusion of sacrilege, he had some serious anti-faith issues."

"Anyway, before something unforgivable could happen, the cavalry did arrive, though I still don't know how they got there." She looked at the women in question, but got no acknowledgment. "Like I said, Macheles tried to turn his powers on Paladin, and failed, panicked, and got himself killed. A couple more guys in the back were stupid, too, or so I understand." She waved a hand towards Sam McCarron, "And she dealt with them. And then the Feds came in, along with GJ, and cleaned everything up, end of story."

"How did you feel when Macheles released you from his grip? In that clip on the news, your powers did start to flare just before it ended?" Doctor Morrisey asked. She looked fatigued, reminding Shego of her condition, which partially reduced her resentment at having to answer further.

"I was a little...confused at first. Yeah, I had a momentary surge of anger, but I wasn't fast enough on the draw." And then her attention had switched to Possible. As she had approached the girl, about to give the audience the 'highlight' of their evening, she had seen that look in Kim's eyes, a look she once would have given anything to cause. But as soon as her mind was free, it spun out of control. She violently pulled the nails out, and caught the younger girl as she collapsed, hugging her tightly as tears ran down her cheeks.

And then, Kim had stiffened, and Shego realized how stupid she was, the girl had been terrorized by her, and here she was grabbing her like an idiot, practically attacking her. But before she could release her and back off, Kim had relaxed, and put her arms, bloody hands and all, around her, and patted her back.

"Don't cry, Ana." And she had passed out in Shego's arms. Those were the last words between them, for Possible was now recovering amongst family and friends, and Shego certainly didn't count as one of those.

Now Shego turned to Doctor Morrisey, "Does that have anything to do with what you brought us here to talk about?"

Doctor Morrisey sighed, then straightened up a little. "Yes, Shego, it does indeed. So, now it is my turn to talk, and for all of you to listen, if you please." She looked Shego in the eye, and briefly, she seemed different, clear eyed. "I can't just tell you the truth outright, we have to go about this a certain way." Then Shego blinked, and Eliza was back to looking frail, and weak. "Huh? What was that about?"

"We have already established that you all came together in an orphanage. I believe you bonded together for various reasons into a pseudo-family unit." She looked at Hego. "You were the Big Brother/Father figure?" A snort from Shego and Mego followed, before Mego looked up, "Big Brother, sure, but 'Father'? No." Hego looked slightly offended.

"Well in any case, a protector, if not a provider?" Hego began to get nervous, suspecting where this was going. Mego and the Wegos seemed to agree with that answer, though.

Eliza nodded, then looked at Shego, "And you had the Big Sister/Mother role?" Shego almost snorted, but instead blushed when she saw the twins solemnly nodding. "Mego fell into a protected role, because at the time, he was shy and tried to avoid trouble, which of course made him the obvious magnet for the bullies in the place." Mego looked a little shocked, but then nodded, frowning as he began to see something of the shape of this conversation.

"And no arguments about the twins' role. But, I bet you loved playing practical jokes on people who didn't know there were two of you, didn't you?" The Wegos now looked shocked, but then nodded. "Yes I thought so."

"So, this seemed to be quite a nice arrangement, if everyone filled there roles properly." Hego squirmed a bit at this. "Unfortunately, it didn't always run smoothly did it?" Focusing on Hego, she continued, "Hego tended to be easily 'distracted' from his role as protector, am I right?"

At first there was no answer, but Shego couldn't hold her tongue, "Well, if you call something with blond hair, and way too much figure for fifteen a distraction, then yes, Easily." Hego blushed, and opened his mouth to offer protest, but the doctor pushed on.

"And with one easy mark..." looking at Mego, "..and two aggravations to get revenge on..." looking of course at the Wegos, "That would force Shego, or Anastasia? I have to ask, did you get that name at the orphanage, dear?" Shego nodded, "Ah! Well, she was forced into the protector role, one she was not well suited for at the time, physically, or temperamentally. And she knew it." Shego didn't answer, her eyes becoming unfocused as she thought back to those days.

"But she did defend us!" "She did a great job!" both Wegos were almost angry as they defended her.

Eliza smiled in a placating manner, and nodded."But at what cost? Physically, she must have taken a beating? And according to the orphanage records, she took most if not all of the blame for the fights."

"That was because of Mason Spindoc! Mrs Kenneally always believed him when he blamed Shego for all of it." One Wego replied hotly.

"Not all." Shego interjected, "He knew better than that, he had to let his pals take some of the punishment for credibility's sake. He knew exactly how to tell his stories so they fit the facts and evidence. Mrs Kenneally may have been a first class...well, she wasn't a fool."

Eliza nodded again. "And Mason stood behind or beside her, out of reach of retaliation while he spun his tales?" Shego nodded, not surprised at this deduction, because she was getting a good idea of what the doctor meant to tell them.

"And then, the 'Comet' struck." the doctor made 'air quotes' for comet, which made Hego frown slightly. "And gave you all what you thought you wanted." Hego and the Wegos look stunned, but both Shego and Mego just looked grim, with Shego nodding slowly.

"How do you mean, what we wanted?" Hego barely controlled the volume on his voice. "We wanted superpowers?" He looked around at the others, " I mean, maybe I did, a bit, but I never thought..."

"Not specifically, no. The power that came into you assumed the form you desired it to, based on what you wanted at that particular time." She looked at Hego, " You wanted to be 'Strong', and 'Good', probably so you wouldn't be tempted so easily from your duty, whatever it might be?"

She turned to Mego, " And you, you wanted to avoid trouble, by just 'disappearing' when things got bad? But the power couldn't grant you invisibility, apparently, so it gave you the best it could." Mego nodded, with a look of satisfaction at the confirmation of his deductions on his face.

Now Eliza focused on the Wegos, "And, as young as you were, your biggest desire was to be able to play those tricks on people again, so there had to be more of you to fool people." The Wegos looked wide-eyed as the implications sank in.

She turned to Shego, " And you wanted to be 'Mean' and 'Scary', to frighten those bullies off so you didn't take those beatings protecting the younger ones. Oh, and you wanted to be able to reach that Spindoc boy, no matter how out of reach he thought he was." She paused, "And you got to this spot before I led you here, didn't you?"

Shego smiled faintly, "Yeah, sort of. So, the Comet altered the way I think as well, didn't it?"

"First off it wasn't a Comet, and yes, it seems to have modified yours and Hego's behavior to suit your desires." Eliza replied. Shego frowned slightly at the slight emphasis.

"How do you know it wasn't a comet? Other then the fact a comet is a huge solid object that would have made a huge crater on impact?"

"This is classified information, which Jack bought, and would scream if he found an employee.." Eliza paused, looking at Shego, "Yes, still an employee, so all this.." she gestured at herself, "...can be covered by my company medical plan. Jack is an old friend, and he is taking care of me."

"Anyway, on the day you received your powers, an Air Force F-16 reported firing on, and hitting, an unidentified aircraft, not of any known configuration, 15 miles East of Go City. The 'aircraft' never appeared on any radar, but gave off enough thermal signature for a Sidewinder to hit it."

"One thing that pilot reported was seeing a bright, multi-colored flash, as the UFO fell into cloud cover near Go City." Her audience looked at her in general shock. "In addition to what befell you that day, a young man found an object stuck in the roof of his family garden shed. The object looked valuable, so he tried to sell it. But he had no success, until he offered it to Henchco. From whom, Aviarius stole it years later."

Shego blinked, and beat Mego to the shout, "The Sceptre! It was made to control our powers!"

"Probably, and take them from you if you appeared 'unworthy' of them, perhaps. Though in all honesty, I don't believe those powers were meant for you at all. If the Air Force hadn't gotten involved, they might have ended up with anybody, maybe good, maybe evil, who knows? Besides those who came here to invest those powers."

"Do you think they might come and take them back?" One of the Wegos asked, causing sudden panic to cross Hego's face.

"No idea at all, and not my concern tonight." The doctor looked at Shego, "My concern is for you, my dear, I don't think your sanity will survive many more years with what was done to your mind."

"And what do you think that was, exactly?" Shego asked curiously.

Eliza paused, chosing her words carefully. "The suppression of the natural occurrence of 'good' feelings, and the substitution of 'evil' emotions when they could be made to fit. The amplification of your natural 'wild' streak, and your tendency to mistrust and defy rigid authority."

Shego nodded. "Sounds about right."

Eliza's expression briefly displayed a flash of anger. "But it isn't 'right', because suppressed feelings are dangerous things, whether you force them down by yourself, or your 'rewired' mind does it automatically. The mindset the Comet gave you doesn't suit you, my dear, and I strongly suspect your brain is starting to fight it. I also submit that it made you far more vulnerable to Macheles' power than you should have been." She then looked even more serious, if that was possible, "And there are probably others out there who have powers that might exploit that weakness as well."

Shego absorbed all this in silence for a moment. "Well, are you saying you can correct it?"

"The mental stuff, yes." Eliza replied confidently.

"Do you mean, that you can turn Shego back to the side of 'Good'?" Hego looked suddenly alert, a bad sign. Shego, and to her amusement the doctor, rolled their eyes at this, before Eliza replied, "I point out that Shego already had a 'wild' side even before the Comet, and a certain...disrespect for authority. Those will remain, she will just be able to feel 'normal' emotions freely, without her imposed mindset trying to force her to ignore certain ones that she thinks are 'soft'."

Shego thought about that. She remembered that even when she was distraught, and Kim had told her not to cry, there had even then been a hint of anger, that she shouldn't be 'told' not to cry, that she could cry if she wanted to. But it had been at war with that very disgust she felt for weakness in herself, and had been stifled. "OK, I'm in, but I want to check things out first." She smirked, "not a trusting soul, you see."

Doctor Morrisey paused, then nodded, "Understood, but remember, I may not have long before I am unable to treat you, so decide soon."

Shego nodded again, "You'll have my decision by tomorrow night."

The doctor looked surprised, "Well a fast decision is best, if you think you'll be satisfied."

"I have reliable sources for what I need to find out, let's leave it at that."

The doctor smiled again, "Very well, we shall." She looked at Hego, "and what about you?"

"Let me get this straight, you are saying, because of the Comet, I no longer think Evil thoughts?"

"Not exactly, you cannot think in a deceitful manner, save to hide your secrets. You tend to deny all temptation, as well, without considering whether it would really harm you or not. The problem is, you also cannot anticipate deceitful behavior in others. Which is why you always seem to be surprised by even the most moronic villain's escape attempts after you believe they should surrender, why you continually walk straight into their traps, and generally only defeat their plots because they tend to call you up and gloat to you, usually giving the whole plan away in the process."

Hego mulled this over. Then having collected his thoughts, he replied, "And you think this is bad, why?" Groans and the sounds of hands smacking foreheads followed, then a hubbub of voices as his siblings all began trying to explain it to him.

00000000000

"So, you're sure the researcher you told me about earlier was named Eliza Morrisey?" The question coming over her cellphone made Shego frown as she looked irritably skyward at the rain beginning to come down even heavier. It had been only twenty minutes since she left the Gallery and her brothers. The two mercenaries had escorted their client out ten minutes later, followed shortly by her brothers, engaged in another round of arguments, probably on the same subject as inside, Hego being 'cured'. Hego didn't trust doctors very much, when they dealt in things he couldn't actually see. Not that Shego blamed him much, she had a hard time trusting headshrinkers, too. "Yes, Gordie, I'm sure, are you sure about your information?"

"Absolutely! She's in a coma at the moment, and Jack has that fact under wraps, no one else he currently has comes close to her, he let too many of his good people get head-hunted out from under his nose last year!" Shego's inside contact at Henchco had to be a long way from any of Hench's properties to be talking so freely.

"Okay, Gordie, that's all I needed to know, you'll get your reward the usual way, 'night!" Shego closed her cellphone and muttered a curse. "So hoping she was on the level! Guess I better warn Hego, and listen to how he 'just knew' she wasn't on the level!" She looked across at the gallery entrance, intent again on her original purpose. "Now, if the two lovebirds would finish their business and leave!"

"Pardon me, would you care to share my umbrella?" Shego jumped in surprise. "Damn! Must be my night to be off my game, I didn't even see this guy coming!"Turning to look at the speaker, she saw it to be a small man wearing a corduroy jacket and a straw hat with an upturned brim. The umbrella was colorful, to say the least. "Uh, no thank you, I'm fine!" She replied.

"Ah! Enjoying the feel of precipitation on your head? Well, to each their own." But he didn't show any signs of leaving, to Shego's bemusement. "Okay, how do I do this subtly, so I don't have to abandon my plan for that picture?"

"She means well, you know." The stranger suddenly commented.

"Huh?" Was her less than impressive response.

The man flashed a big smile. "She really does want to help you, but this is a first-time thing for her, so you should make allowances."

Shego's senses were on full alert, now. First he surprises her by sneaking up on her, now he does it again, by knowing, maybe, what had happened earlier. She opened her mouth, but before she could utter a sound, he continued.

"I'm not in league with her, if that's your concern. I myself made a mistake, and though I have the ability to simply undo it, that's a bad habit to fall into, makes it more likely I'll be careless about making mistakes in the future...or the past." His smile, briefly faded, returned as he shook his head. "However, I can make up for it in other ways."

"How do you know so much? I don't trust strangers giving free advice, especially when my life may depend on it!" Shego had moved farther from the stranger, keeping one eye on him, as she scanned her surroundings, in case he was a diversion for something else.

"Oh, I know a great many things, I can't help it! But, sometimes I find I don't know what I think I do, and sometimes, the consequences can be dire! But this much I do know! The woman you talked to earlier will never willingly harm you, but she may not handle the matter as smoothly as she could, she just isn't that experienced at interacting with people, or understanding them." He took a pocket watch out and studied it. "I must be going, you've heard my advice, and can decide for yourself, but I reiterate, she wants to help you and your brothers, that is her sincere wish. Good Luck, Anastasia Black!" And he turned and walked quickly off into the rain.

Shego just stared after him as he vanished into the night. "Huh! Weird much?" She shook her head. A change in the lighting opposite drew her attention, and she spotted the two gallery employees preparing to exit the building. She decided to concentrate on her original mission for the moment, and sort the weirdness out later. "But not much later..."

Re-wrote this, 1-10-09, for those who've been here before. Just went back and saw all the typos from it's original draft, and couldn't help myself.