"Dr. Possible? Your daughter is waiting for you in your office," the nurse told her.
"Thanks, Sue," the surgeon replied as she stripped off her gloves. "I wonder why she's here?"
A few minutes later Mrs. Dr. Possible opened the door to her office. "All right, young lady, what's the - Kim?"
Kim took the bag of ice off her face as her mother entered. The skin around her right eye had become purple and swollen. "Hey, mom," she said, putting the ice over her black eye again.
"Your mother is the best doctor you could take us to? I'm screwed," Shego said grumpily as she slouched in a chair.
"You!" Kim's mother gasped, easily recognizing the evil sidekick. "Kimmie? Ron? What's going on here?"
"Drakken death-trap gone haywire," Ron said sagely.
"Usually that's a good thing," Kim muttered. "Shego and I have these metal collars around our necks, and we can't be more than three feet apart or they become electrified. I was hoping you could maybe remove them?"
"Oh, honey," Dr. Possible said. "What about that black eye?"
Kim wordlessly pointed at Shego, and the doctor frowned. "Of course," she said darkly.
"Hey, don't blame me!" Shego shot back.
"Why not?" Ron asked. "You hit her!"
"You're right, I should have hit you for letting that stupid mole rat get in the way!"
"Apparently Shego couldn't take sharing a return flight home with us, and she had to hit something," Kim said dryly.
Shego scowled at her. "Like you don't want to throttle me while I'm in reach."
"I want to throttle you when you're in another state!" Kim shot back. She handed her mother the Kimmunicator. "Here are the initial schematics of the device, based on what Wade could tell."
"All right," Mrs. Dr. Possible said, "but it will take some time. I want to give you a checkup, Kim, and see how the collar reacts against your skin. Have you tried to remove it yourself?"
A flat look on her face, Shego took a finger and pulled at the ring around her neck. Both collars flared up for a few seconds, jolting both women with electricity. Kim's mother stepped back, putting an arm over her face.
"What the hell was that for!" Kim yelled at Shego when she was able to speak.
"She asked if we tried to remove them."
"I could have just TOLD her what happened!"
"Yeah, but I wanted to see the look on your face when I did it," Shego sneered.
Kim looked positively murderous as she glared at Shego, but her mother got between them. "If you keep that up, Shego," she said angrily, "I'll have you pumped so full of muscle relaxants that you won't even be able to speak properly."
Shego had a dangerous look in her eye as green flames caressed her right hand, but this time Kim pushed past her mother. "If you cause any more trouble, I'll run out that door until the collars shock us BOTH into unconsciousness," she warned Shego. "They can remove the devices just fine whether we're awake or not."
"I'm not afraid of a little pain. Are you?" Shego asked savagely.
"I bet you're afraid of me inflicting the pain on us, not you," Kim said.
Shego winced. "Fine," she muttered. "I'll be good Shego."
"Fine," Kim said. "How about we end this now, Mom?"
Her mother didn't end it then, and six hours later it still wasn't over. Kim and Shego had been shocked three more times since then, all as Mrs. Dr. Possible tested their collars while Wade watched from the Kimmunicator and offered suggestions. Kim's throat was a deep shade of red and felt raw. Even Shego, normally so pale, had a darkened swath running across her neck.
Kim's mother regretfully finished tying the knot around Kim's wrist. "I don't dare run any more tests," she said. "Your bodies have to be allowed to heal. One too many shocks and it could damage your central nervous system. In the meantime, I realize the two of you feel trapped together as it is, but this is necessary. The rope tied between your wrists is exactly two feet long. There's no way the two of you can drift apart far enough to activate the collars. At least our tests were able to determine that it IS exactly three feet that activates the energy."
"Thanks, Mom," Kim said, her voice tired and sore. She glanced at Shego, who looked too tired to be angry any more. "What do we do now?"
"Well, it IS the weekend. Thank heaven for small favors," her mother said. "At least you don't have to worry about homework or school just yet."
Kim did NOT want to have to explain to people why she was tied at the wrist to an infamous criminal. And Bonnie would probably make some snide remark about their identical "necklaces". "Oh, how sweet," she'd say. "Did Kimmie and her girlfriend get matching rings too?"
She shuddered. That was all she needed, people thinking Kim had a girlfriend.
"Wait a second," Ron said. "If they've got to be together all night, doesn't that mean that - "
Kim's eyes widened. "I have to bring her HOME?"
Shego looked appalled. "Oh, hell no," she said. "I'll rent a hotel room - "
"My daughter is not spending a night alone with you in a hotel," Mrs. Dr. Possible said. "She's still in high school."
"I wasn't going to ravish her or anything," Shego mumbled.
Kim burst into a coughing fit.
"You'll just have to share Kim's bedroom," Mrs. Dr. Possible sighed. "I'll make a place for you on the floor when I get home. Don't forget, no showers, and no washing your hair, young lady. Those collars aren't waterproof, remember."
Shego shook her head and dropped her face into her hands. "Hell," she said. "This is hell, isn't it?"
To be continued . . .