Reception

Day 21 - 1805 GMT – The Possible Residence

Ron Stoppable might not be the brightest bulb in the Middleton High School marquee but he knew exactly how lucky he was to be Kim Possible's friend and boyfriend.

Of course her hobby, saving the world, did result in him receiving far too many bumps, bruises, burns and broken bones but he couldn't let her do it alone. According to the Gospel of Ron being with Kim was worth the injuries, jet lag and moments of mind numbing terror that was part of the Kim Possible package.

That she was drop dead gorgeous didn't hurt either. Ron could go on for hours about Kim's beauty. He would start at the top with her hair, a vibrant red, full, lustrous mane long enough to cover her shoulder blades. Next he would wax poetic about her clear sparkling green eyes. Then her face, round and so beautiful, enhanced by just a trace of baby fat about the jaw line and cheeks. Her lips, full, firm and able to kiss him breathless. Okay, so she wasn't happy with her chest but given a choice between Kim's sleek, compact bust line and the legendary Rockwaller Rack, Ron would pick Kim. As for her legs and hips, well one reason Ron preferred to walk behind Kim was for the view.

In short, Ron Stoppable was head over heels in love with Kim Possible. The lean, clean bondiggity feminine supreme with a wonderful life behind her and a bright future before her. Small wonder her face's default setting is a smile.

Usually.

Right now she was killing him because he didn't know what to do.

The sobbing ball on the bed in Kim's loft bedroom had the hair and body of Kim Possible but her face was nothing like Kim's. Red rimmed green eyes shone wetly as tears rolled down her face. The mouth that loved to laugh and smile hung open as Kim struggled to breathe and sob at the same time. Her fists crushed her Pandaroo to her chest as she processed what her Mother had just told her. Ann Possible had tried hard to break the news gently but all Kim could focus on was the bare bones of the news.

Shego was dead and she, Kim Possible, had killed her.

*Twenty Minutes In The Past*

Kim sat on her bed knowing that something bad was happening before her Mother said a word. Kim knew the bad-news-for-Kimmie drill. Dad and the Tweebs busy being elsewhere, check. Her Mom calling Ron to come over without telling Kim, double check. Then her Mom speaking with Ron downstairs before sending him up to her room, triple check and darn.

Kim thought she was about to be grounded but as soon as she saw Ron's pale face she knew either Bueno Nacho had gone out of business or she was in a lot more trouble that she thought. Rethink that, Ron wasn't in melt down mode so it couldn't be anything as bad the loss of Bueno Nacho, could it?

Ann Possible's face kicked Kim's heart rate up another notch as soon as she saw it. Her Mom had her lost-a-patient look and Kim's back brain shouted "Grandmother Possible, sick, dying, gone!" while her body involuntarily scooted back to the head of her bed and the wall as if the distance would make the bad thing go away.

"Kim, I have something to tell you and I need you to be strong." Ann crossed the room and sat at the foot of Kim's bed her blue eyes focused on her daughter's green ones. "First of all a lot of mistakes were made, she was badly hurt and the rough handling and lack of care made a bad situation… terminal." Ann paused and then took a deep breath and delivered the final blow. "Shego died."

Time stopped.

Kim's first thought was "Shego is dead, gone, no more, never to be seen again."

Then as if she was watching a video replay Kim saw her foot kicking Shego, Shego flying through the air and impacting into the tower, voltage surging through Shego, Shego falling two stories and then the tower collapsing, probably onto Shego. Fast forward to her last glimpse of a battered, nearly comatose Shego before Ron slammed the door on the paddy wagon. She'd laughed at Shego's frizzy hair. Then a fast forward replay of her and Ron going home, changing, returning to the Prom, dancing, laughing, kissing, falling in love.

While Shego died.

Died because she, Kim Possible, had beaten her to death.

Her gut churned and Kim wanted to scream, to howl to get on her knees and beg someone, anyone to turn back time, to make the kick never happen. Instead she began to hyperventilate and tears started to stream down her face. Grabbing her Pandaroo she curled up in a ball around it as the first sobs wracked her slim frame.

Shego was cruel, evil, a crook, dangerous and a menace to society but Shego had never killed anyone or anything. Shego was beaten and fleeing before Kim caught up with her and…

She remembered the Park Ranger telling her "You saved a life Kim Possible." Now she had taken one. Shego's. The realization came crashing down on her that she truly was the Girl Who Could Do Anything; including butcher a defeated foe.

Kim wanted so badly to get herself under control but her grief and pain and regrets were a tsunami that swept her composure and control away. In it's wake it left a frightened, miserable girl who realized that the world was a very dark place and that she was part of the darkness.

Day 21 - 1927 GMT – Receiving and Sanitation

Consciousness returned with a pop. One moment she was watching the darkness close in and now she was reasonably conscious and in a fair amount of pain. She wasn't going to be running any marathons but it felt like all of her appendages were present and accounted for.

Time for an environmental inventory. Not much light on her eyelids, outdoors? No, on her back in a bed, covered by a sheet. A vague medicinal smell and the feel of gauze against her skin, hospital? No, there's always some sort of medical crap beeping and humming in the background and the room was silent. Besides, the bed was too wide.

Was she alone? No, she heard the sound of a page turning and weight shifting in a chair or perhaps a bed.

Well hell, this was about as much information as she was going to gather playing possum. Time to open her good eye and greet the new day, night, afternoon, whatever.

Callooh, callay oh frabulous day! Both eyes opened, both worked, great, one less thing to worry about.

Scan the room with her two (thank you God) eyes. White walls, natch, florescent ceiling lights, currently off, lit floor lamp in the corner by the foot of the bed away from the door and next to a chair.

Chair, occupied by a female, 40ish? White lab coat, perhaps a hospital after all. Blonde hair that she really should take better care of as the lamp illuminated her split ends giving her head halo effect. Hard to tell eye color but definitely dark pupils. No contacts lenses given she held a pair of reading glasses in her left hand and a paperback in her right with her thumb marking her place.

Pretty face, pale skin and a slim build that reminded her of the Mother of the asshole that had kicked her into a tower. She made eye contact and the other woman smiled, not a grin but a warm sincere smile that fleetingly reminded her of her own Mother's smile when darling daughter had made her especially proud.

Before she could ask any questions the other woman spoke.

"Shego, I'm so glad you're awake. You are safe, you are not in any trouble so don't panic as I would prefer your adrenaline levels remain low. My name is Pink."