ᵗʳʸ ᵐᵉ

With nothing but a large bag slung over his back, Peter stood beside her on the hilltop, gazing down at the life he was leaving behind. The view stretched endlessly before them, promising the unknown, and for the first time, Peter felt the bittersweet sting of goodbye. He was leaving his friends, the only world he’d ever known, trading it all for a taste of something new.

But it wasn’t entirely sad. She was beside him.

Unlike him, she stood with a confidence that outshone even the bravado Peter was known for. He glanced at her, a smile tugging at his lips as he drew in a deep breath. "Here goes nothing," he said softly, taking her hand in his.

As she prepared to take flight, she felt him tug her back. Turning, she saw the uncharacteristic hesitance in his eyes as he brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it. Words, he realized, weren’t enough to express his gratitude. He needed her to understand how much it meant that she was here, that he wasn’t doing this alone.

When they finally took off, the adventure began in earnest. No maps, no plan—just instinct, luck, and two misfits chasing the unknown. "I’m so hungry, I could eat a whole buffalo," Peter groaned dramatically, clutching his stomach in exaggerated agony. He glanced at her with a playful pout. "We should eat," he said again, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "My treat."

This was the beginning, of what she wasn't exactly sure but Shego knew it had to be better than what they were leaving behind. Echo Isle would always be there to return to but the mainland offered possibilities she'd almost forgotten existed. A smile had creased the lips that often wore a frown that even Shego had found something good in the world she claimed to hate. He stopped her even then to catch a moment of genuineness to which she obliged, though silence offering him a smile that spoke what they needn't. After being alone for all this time Shego hadn't realized how lonely it had become and the space which he filled in her life. "You ready to blow this popsicle stand?" Her voice reached out into the silence of the vast world in front of them and hands intertwined they were off to see what it held for them.

It wasn't too long before the sounds of his stomach were interfering with their conversation. "You're always hungry," she quipped giving him a brief glance out of the side of her eye, already beginning to look for somewhere to stop to get their fill. "You're buying? Why didn't you say so?" A joke based on truth, Shego never being one to turn down a free meal, especially when the company was even better. The scent of meat sizzling on an open fire grill was what drew her in but the fact the sign was missing a letter or two became a no-brainer. "Come on, let's get you fed before you get all hangry," she teased nodding towards the establishment that caught her eye.

"We're leaving the moment those borders go down. I'll have my bags ready," he added. "Not like I have much to bring anyway," he chuckled, leaning back and lying on the ground. His eyes gazed up at the sky, where the blue was softly merging with the orange hues of sunset. "We'll see bigger skies, Shebangs." He chuckled softly, then asked, "Are you afraid?"

She'd half expected it to be harder to convince him, knowing that her counterpart had a life here on the Isle that she lacked. There wasn't anyone Shego would need to tell or leave behind but that was how she had lived her entire life. Connections created complications, at least they had in her past. "Well then, good, we'll take it on together," the dark-headed girl said with a satisfied hum to follow. It allowed her the comfort to follow suit and relax on the ground with her arms behind her head. "Alright Eager Beaver, you've got it."

A genuine smile had actually formed, surprising even Shego, unable to remember the last time she'd felt this content while also being fueled by what was to come. This was the first time in years she'd felt that drive again, the same kind as when she'd met Drakken and knew her life would change forever. "Afraid?" Her eyes cracked open to look over at the skygazer beside her. "I'm more afraid to stay here these days," a joke that was far too true but somehow the only way she'd been able to cope. "I actually think I'm... excited?" Words even Shego was stunned had come out of her mouth.

Zendaya as Tashi Duncan for Challengers Magazine

"That's how I like my life to be," he said, a smile curling on his lips. "Surprises, mysteries, adventure. There's nothing greater than that." This was the essence of Peter's soul, and perhaps it was what people meant when they said he refused to grow up. There was an entire world to explore, endless wonders to uncover. He could never imagine himself anchored, unless someone was willing to soar with him. "How will they open it?" he mused. "I don't think it's going to be easy."

The possibilities were endless past the borders of the Isle, places she'd only dreamed of or seen passing in a getaway car with Drakken. For the first time in her life, she felt like the world was actually at her fingertips. It was a sentiment that the boy understood without any explanation needed on her end. Peter had been the first breath of fresh air and she'd been smoking his high ever since. "You'd really run and not look back?" A hopeful tone crept into her voice along with a raise of her dark brow. She'd seen a world that she wanted to explore without the fear of return and it seemed that he saw the same image as clear as she. "I've always wanted to just go," Shego paused for a moment to think if she wanted to share the intimate details of her life, ultimately deciding he could be trusted with this side of her. "I used to sit on the roof as a kid and look at the city lights, pretending that I could fly over them and off to somewhere better. A place where I could just... be." She shook the thoughts loose in her head before they were able to stick. Those being times Shego chose not to think about anymore.

"Then it looks like you've got a lifetime of adventures ahead of you," she said overlooking the world that would soon await them. "Bitches aren't going to know what hit them." A smile was forming naturally as her eyes scanned what could be where she next stood with him. For the first time, there was actual hope that the Isle wasn't suffocating but Shego knew there would be challenges. Nothing good ever came easy. "Yeah, but he's Hopper he's got like the whole Isle in a chokehold," she said matter-of-factly, never having known her boss to not get his way. "I think there's some political chick involved doing the lifting on that end. Something about not wanting all of us to be here because we're like easier to attack, you know since we're the hottest thing on the black market." While she gave a laugh Shego knew the truth behind her words, that they were all prizes the hunters wanted to win. "It sounds like they're finally seeing our side of things." After being trapped in this fish tank in the first place, she was waiting for the chance to spread her wings.

“Oh wow, this—this is terrific,” he exclaimed, unable to contain his happiness. He grabbed Shego by the arm, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s beginning for us. We can do anything, be anything.” Peter spoke like an enthralled child, his eyes glinting with tantalizing hope. He paused for a moment, his eyes shifting to the ground as a thought captured him. “What happens to the ones we leave behind?” he asked, genuinely curious about her response.

The raven-haired girl was billowing out smoke with each laugh but it was impossible to not crack one around him. A nod was her initial response, enjoying watching his excitement at the news. There weren't many people who she felt comfortable enough around to show a side of her actually hopeful for the future. It had been ingrained in her to be pessimistic about what was to come when there was a target on her back for simply being different. Peter knew it firsthand, having been one of the few to see her in her entirety. "I know, right? I almost didn't believe it when I heard it but the big man doesn't lie," Shego pipped up again after pushing the hit from her lungs.

"Think of everything we could do and see, Flyboy." There had been a world she only saw through Drakken's eyes and now she saw an opportunity for her to see it herself. Perhaps there could be a co-pilot to this plan if he chose to come along, not just anyone being able to keep up with her. "They can do whatever they want to do too. Besides, we can always come back and see them. Escaping doesn't mean gone forever," she replied, her eyes now falling into his. For a second she sat in his gaze before her smile became evident and she glanced back to the horizon line. "I think half of the fun is seeing what happens, you know? For once, I don't think I want to have all the answers and just want to find out when I get there."

Once she made sure they were alone, Peter smiled at her, eagerly anticipating what was next. He had that look on his face that said he was down for anything, blind optimism radiating from him. "I do," he nodded, his curiosity piqued even more. "But why?" he continued. "What's the matter?"

A laugh emerged before he'd even finished talking, the joint reaching her lips once again. In the smoke, she found solace from reality and was able to sink into the feelings that filled her lungs. "Not yet, not until he stops paying me or someone else wants to pay me more," she quipped with a raise of her brow, a smoke cloud billowing out with her words. It wasn't quite as simple as he wanted it to be but Shego admired his constant optimism of a simpler world. While it wasn't Hopper's ideals that she aligned with, the money he gave her kept her allied with him. "Okay, eager beaver," she teased. "Word is Hopper's been working with someone to get the borders open and it's only a matter of time now until we can blow this popsicle stand." Shego inhaled another solace before holding out the joint for him to indulge in. "There's some fancy political lady he's in cahoots with but what it means is we might actually be able to see that side of things." Her eyes went to the horizon where they'd only spoken about seeing their rooftop from, wondering now if it could actually be a reality. Maybe then she wouldn't be stuck between a cockroach and a butterfly. "As long as the hunters don't catch wind of this we might actually be home free, can you believe it?"

"Alle, alle, shebangs!" he exclaimed, his wide grin a testament to his excitement as he greeted her with open arms. She wasn't accustomed to such a warm welcome, but Peter wouldn't even remember it anyway. "What's poppin'?" he asked, using a lingo he had picked up from the streets before she began to give him an intriguing instruction. Without hesitation, Peter closed the door behind her, absolutely willing to participate in whatever she had planned -- no questions asked. "Alright, I'm in," he said, enthusiastic while he eagerly followed her. As they moved forward, Peter asked, "Who are we running from?" He clapped his hands together while he excitedly trailed behind her, ready for whatever she had in store for the night.

He'd always been a problem though it hadn't always been like this. From the beginning, he'd caught her off guard and even now it was against her own judgment that she came to him. She felt the most alive in the darkness of night, never knowing him the same in the daytime when he was surrounded by his friends. Only when the sun fell were they able to be completely themselves without the same fear of the world shooting them down. While most of the time she would've avoided using her powers so publically when Shego was around Flyboy a strange sort of confidence came over her, as if when they were together no one could've stood against them. "Is that your most recent phrase?" Shego l laughed, continuing on their path but glacing over to the boy following beside her. The girl dipped between buildings to take a protected route to her destination. The fewer eyes that saw them nosing around, the better, knowing if the wrong person caught wind she'd get scolded for her actions. "We're hiding from the Hopper colony, and we're running to something," she corrected before sliding around another store corner with him in tow. It wasn't until they popped out at the back Isle shore with a clear view to the side she referenced not that long ago from their secret rooftop. The beaches were far too rocky for anyone to visit and the store backings provided cover from anyone still wandering around town. It gave the perfect place for her to speak freely. "You can keep a secret, right? That includes all your friends. I would like to keep my head on if that's cool." If word got out that she was speaking to others about her work she imagined her boss wouldn't be pleased and she'd need to pay the price.

Shego nodded in understanding, the smile on her face growing as she reached for the hand he dealt her. Cards were a common game played among her and the other men at Hopper's Yard. That wasn't where she developed her poker face but that was where she'd come to perfect it. In her profession it had become quite a necessity to keep her cool in the most dire of situations, this card game only being a gateway to information or so she hoped. "Awe, come on, a girl can't have a little fun every once in a while?" A small, sarcastic pout formed on her lips before curling back into a smirk. "Call," she said pushing a few chips forward. "Yeah, sometimes I get tired of smelling cigars and whiskey, I had a hankering for cheap cigarettes and wasted potential instead." Shego looked up at the handsome dealer with her stickiest grin. Regardless of who they worked for, she couldn't deny that Landon was a good view. "Anything exciting happening around here or just the usual lowlifes?" She asked, the straw of her whiskey sour finding her lips as she did.