Colorado State University, a few days earlier

Kim Possible sighed and brushed her long, red bangs from her face as she sat in the student commons at Colorado State University. Her emerald eyes were focused on the TV screen closest to her as news reports covered the chaos coming from the disaster at Stamford. "Stupid amateurs…" Kim whispered, concerning the late team known as the New Warriors, who, according to the press, was responsible for the destruction of the school and deaths of all those children.

She looked around and noticed several of the students looking at her with mixed emotions, some hateful, others fearful. The awkwardness of it all caused her to stand to her feet, throw her bag over her shoulder and start off for her car, hopefully to meet her BFBF on the way.

"So, when are you and your buddies gonna try and kill all of us, too, or maybe we're too old; gonna go for that preschool down the road?" she heard a loud, angry voice yell across from the courtyard of the campus. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a familiar head of blond hair surrounded by a crowd of students and even a few professors.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Kim yelled as she pushed through the crowd. "You ok?" Kim asked her boyfriend whose brown eyes traveled across the crowd carefully. In high school, she would have thought he was afraid, but after what happened just before graduation, she knew he was sizing up the situation.

"In your words, KP, no big; just some peeps wanting to share their opinion is all," Ron replied, focusing on the redhead.

"Is there a problem here?" another voice added, and Kim and Ron looked up to see a pair of security officers approaching the crowd, which suddenly lost interest in questioning the pair of teen heroes.

A variety of no responses filled the group as they began to scatter. "Ms. Possible, Mr. Stoppable, the Dean would like to speak with you."

Kim and Ron looked at each other in confusion before nodding and following the Security officer to the administration building of the campus.

"Kimberly, Ronald! Come in, come in!" The Dean smiled as the couple walked into the office.

"What's the sitch, Mr. McEntire?" Kim asked as the older man motioned for the two to sit down.

"I'm sure you both have heard about the tragedy of Stamford by now?" the Dean stated as he sat down before the two.

"It was horrible…" Kim whispered as Ron nodded in agreement.

"Well, we're all very much aware of all the good you've done for our community, Ms. Possible, for the world." The Dean continued. "Only thing surprising is the fact you and your partner haven't made the Avengers yet," he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But let's get to the point of all this. It's getting crazy out there, and I think it would be better for all of us if you two took a break from it all …"

"What do you mean?" Kim asked, stiffening slightly.

"You're top of the class, and Ronald has a … strong average. Kimberly, your parents aren't as young as they were once, and you have two younger siblings, and Ronald, you have a two year old sister, right? I think, with everything going on out there, you'd like to stay with your families. Some are… blaming those who have rocked the boat for what happened, and I'm afraid for your families. It would be better for everyone here and at your homes for you to be there."

"So you're expelling us for something that had nothing to do with us?"

"Expelling is such a harsh word. We're expecting to have you both back by Homecoming; we'll need our star running back and head cheerleader after all this!" He said smiling, "Take a break, Kimberly, Ronald. You will not lose any points at all, and none of this will count against you. Go rest and relax, and if something happens and you're needed elsewhere, you won't have school to worry about."

"Fine," Kim finally said reluctantly. "Seems we don't have a choice in the matter… Let's go, Ron." She said, standing up and dragging her boyfriend out of the office. They walked in silence all the way to the parking lot where they climbed into Kim's Sloth. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" Kim bellowed as she pounded her steering wheel.

"KP, we're getting a free pass from school; what's not to Booyah about?" Ron smiled, but the smile faltered at the glare.

"Well, I'm not the sharpest tack in the box, and I knew that you'd be getting special treatment for doing the hero thing," Ron said, laying his seat back in the car as Kim backed out of the parking spot. "This is why all those heroes wear masks. Save the world and then go home and blend in."

"Masks are for cowards," Kim snorted as she pulled out of the parking lot.

"Coward? Haven't you ever seen Spider-Man? The guy may be nuts, but he's no coward. I'd wet those tights if I did half the things he does."

Kim glanced at him thoughtfully. "I bet your butt would look cute in those tights." Kim noted.

"Really?" Ron asked, rolling slightly to the side and twisting around to look at his own backside. "May have to get a Spidey-Suit and see about that."

"Hm, I'd like that…"

Kim and Ron pulled into her own driveway some time later, and Kim stomped into the house still irritated at their 'break'.

"Kimmie, it's not so bad," Ron said as he stepped up behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.

"Ron, stop it," Kim hissed when he nibbled on her ear. "I'm still mad."

"A little Ronshine is just the medicine for that," Ron whispered and gave a small smile when he felt her shiver. "Don't make me go all monkey on you…"

"And what if I wanted you to go all monkey on me?" Kim asked, leaning back against him. "Ronnie… are you thinking what I'm thinking …"

"Um…" Ron paused to think. "I dunno, what do you think I think you're thinking?"

Kim furrowed her brow. "What? Well, I'm thinking mom and dad are at work, and the tweebs will be at school for another three hours… and we're overdressed."

Ron grinned and let his head fall back. "Boo. Yah."

---

New York City, Present

A full-sized Hummer H3 navigated its way through the streets of New York City. Its destination, a small electronics store in Chinatown, was only a few minutes away.

In the front seat sat Jason Argo and the mysterious man known only as Shadow. Jason honestly didn't know what to make of him. He's quite skilled in both sorcery and physical combat, the security guard thought, but if I'm right, his attitude is a far cry from what it should be. I wonder what happened to make him this way. Maybe if I can get him to talk...

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. Fishing it out of his pocket, he flipped it open. "Hello?"

The voice at the other end was panicked. "Yo, kid! Get over to the Pantheon Building!"

"Fu? What's going on?" At the mention of the magical canine's name, Shadow's eyes shot wide open. "Why the Pantheon Building?"

"Pantheon?" Shadow asked. "But that was where... But if that's today then...Oh, SHIT! PULL OVER!"

"But we've got to get to..." Jason began.

"I can get us there faster! PULL OVER!" The dark man's eyes flashed red for a moment, and Jason thought it best not to anger him in the confined space of the Hummer. Hanging up his phone and parking in front of a department store, he hopped out, then went around to the passenger's side, where Shadow was already standing outside the vehicle.

"Okay; now what?" Jason asked.

Shadow picked the other man up, tucked him under one arm, and leapt into the air.

He didn't come back down.

Jason immediately saw why. Growing from the man's back was a large pair of black, leathery wings. Below them, he could see people pointing upwards, and there was no doubt in his mind what they were looking at.

"Stealth ain't exactly one of yer priorities these days, is it?"

"Shut up before I decide to drop you." The other man said with a snarl. "In a case like this, we cannot afford stealth. Speed takes priority."

"Couldn't ya fly faster without me?"

"Yes, but you could prove useful in the coming battle, human, despite your obvious shortcomings."

"Thanks...I think."

A minute later, the peak of the Pantheon Building came into view... complete with energy discharges. "Damn it!" Shadow said. "We're too late to stop them!"

"Too late ta stop who?"

"The Huntsclan! They're finally making their move!" Shadow snarled again. "I was hoping to get here before this happened, but somebody hijacked my transportation spell and decided to send me here instead. If I ever get my hands on that blue-robed bastard, I'll jam a frog in him." He shook his head. "Grah! Gotta focus! Won't do me any good to lose control before I get there." He took a deep breath. "I just hope she's alright."

Shadow landed a short time behind a large air conditioning unit, unseen by the combatants. Peering over the top of the unit, Shadow and Jason saw Jake Long, Rose Thorne, Sun Park, Lao Shi, and Haley Long more or less playing a very deadly game of Keep-Away with the Huntsclan. But rather than a ball, the objects in their hands were the legendary Crystal Skulls of the Aztecs.

"Damn it, what's Haley doing here? This isn't going right at all."

"Well, then, how's it supposed ta go, smart guy?" Jason quipped.

"Shut up." Shadow took another deep breath. "Alright, you stay on this end and try to take down as many of them as you can. I'm going to get Rose and Haley out of the line of fire."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Hey, just who put you in charge?"

"I did, and I'm quickly growing tired of you. Either make yourself useful or find out just how long it takes to fall off of a skyscraper!"

The younger man's hands went up in an 'I surrender' gesture. "Hey, hey, hey, no need ta get violent!"

"I'm not violent." Shadow said. "Yet."

Sighing, Jason drew his sword and leapt over the air conditioner, drawing the attention of three Huntsclan warriors. Note to self – next time, don't give any dark, mysterious guys a lift. He ducked an energy blast and delivered a snap-kick to the gut of one attacker. This has got to be bad news for my insurance premiums.

Shadow, meanwhile, had circled around to the far side of the roof, where Rose was standing with a spear in one hand, a skull in the other, and shifting her gaze between dragon-form Jake and the Huntsman.

Jake was pleading with her. "Rose! Give me the skull! We can make things right. You can have your family back and we can still be together!"

"Hand the skull over, Huntsgirl, if you want to save your family!" The Huntsman held his hand out, then quickly curled it into a fist, and there was no doubt as to what that particular gesture meant. Rose didn't know what to do; her loyalties were divided, and her mind was blank.

Before anyone could do anything, however, a dark figure in a leather trenchcoat leapt over, grabbed the Skull out of Rose's hand, then flipped backwards to stand in front of one of the gargoyles arrayed around the perimeter of the roof. "The only person getting anything tonight is me."

"Who the hell are you?" Huntsman asked, brandishing a spear.

"Trust me – you don't want to know." Shadow said, making a pulling motion with his free hand. The spear jumped from the Huntsman's grasp and into Shadow's. The dark man pointed the weapon at his armored opponent. "Now, just back away, nice and slow, and I might let you live."

"You dare to threaten me? Do you even know who I am? I am the Huntsman, slayer of dragons, scourge of the magical world, and the one who..."

"...talks way too much!" Jake said, slamming his tail into tall man's head. The Huntsman went down, his now-cracked skull-helmet shattering on contact with the floor of the roof. He lay there for a moment, stunned, before getting to his feet. A trail of blood led from a rather nasty gash on the top of his bald head down to drip off of his face, and his teeth were clenched as he spoke, glaring at Jake.

"You will pay for that, dragon, with every bit of life you have left in you!"

"I don't think so!" was the last thing the Huntsman heard before Shadow's boot connected with his jaw. Jake cringed when he heard the shattering of bone, then watched as his enemy stumbled backwards across the roof.

And through the open door to the stairwell. Rose stepped up to Jake's side, gripping his hand tightly as he returned to human form, as they listened to the various sounds that a man makes when tumbling down fourteen flights of stairs.

Shadow, meanwhile, had claimed the last skull from one of the Huntsclan soldiers and was about to place it in the mouth of the final gargoyle when a green energy bolt flew past him, hitting Rose square in the back. He and Jake both watched as she staggered forward, then fell, a gaping hole burned into her jumpsuit revealing scorched and blistered flesh beneath. The dark man whirled to see a Huntsclan warrior brandishing an energy spear and moved to attack before a purple torpedo slammed into his target. The soldier was hurled into a metal lamp, fell to the floor, and didn't get up.

Haley hovered there for a second to make sure he was down for the count, then flew over to Rose. She helped Jake get Rose up to the stage so that she could sit. The blond girl was still conscious, but obviously in pain. Shadow had to resist the urge to go to her. In a few minutes, none of this will have happened, anyway. He looked down at the two skulls in his hands. I'll make sure of it. He started to place the skull into the gargoyle once more when he heard the familiar voice of Lao Shi.

"Haley! Jake! Look out!" the old man said. Jake was able to dodge the energy bolt, but Haley and Rose were caught in the explosion caused by the bolt hitting the sound equipment on the stage.

Seeing the two girls hurled through the air and halfway across the roof caused something to snap inside Shadow. The blast had knocked Haley out, reverting her to human form, and when she hit the floor, she hit hard. Rose didn't fare much better; she was now totally unconscious, and there was blood pouring down the side of her face.

The dark man dropped the skulls, his hands clenched into fists, and he let out an angry, sorrow-filled roar of pain, as if years of suffering and torment were being unleashed all at once. All activity on the roof immediately stopped, the attention of the combatants of both sides focused on him. His eyes began glowing a bright red, and his pupils had reduced themselves to black, reptilian slits. His open mouth showed not human teeth, but large, pointed fangs.

Sun Park looked to Jason and asked, "What's going on here?"

Jason lowered his head and replied, "If I'm right, nothin' good."

Shadow looked to the sky, his entire body trembling with rage, and crossed his still-clenched hands at the wrist. He opened his mouth and, in a deep, gravelly voice, called out, "EMPOWER THE SHADOW DRAGON!!!!!"

Lao Shi's jaw dropped. "Ai-yah! A new dragon?"

Sun nodded. "And a Shadow Dragon, at that. I thought they were all wiped out centuries ago."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jason said. "There's such a thing as a Shadow Dragon?"

"Yes," Lao replied, "and it can only mean one thing."

"What?" Jason asked.

"We're fucked." the old dragon answered.

While this was happening, Shadow's body underwent a bizarre transformation. Gone was his pale human flesh and slender-yet-muscular body, replaced by a thick torso and grayish-black scales. Gone was his human face, and in its place a long reptilian snout outlined by massive tusks. The wings from earlier had returned, but now they were much larger and tipped with sharp spikes. A massive fin emerged on his elongated neck, a thick tail grew from his back, and his arms and legs became thicker and tipped with large talons. Overall, he was nearly five times his human size, and looked ready to kill.

The newly-transformed dragon let our a roar that made everyone's blood run cold. Two Huntsclan warriors stepped forward and opened fire with their energy spears, but the bolts just bounced off of the thick, scaly hide. Shadow reached out with his massive front claws and picked the two humans up. The snapping and crunching of bone could be heard all the way across the roof as he crushed them in his grasp before dropping their limp, lifeless forms to the floor with a sickening splat.

Jason said, "I don't usually agree with ya, Lao, but I don't think I have much choice here." It's worse than I thought, he added silently. It's like every shred of who he was has been stripped away and replaced by this...thing. He watched as Shadow began stomping around the area from one soldier to the next, and any who were too shocked or stupid to run quickly met their end. Most were crushed beneath the dragon's feet, some were knocked off the edge of the building by a strike from a leg or the tail, and still others found themselves slammed into air conditioners or the large lamps scattered around the roof. One unfortunate individual had his skull crushed like a Twinkie.

One Huntsclan lackey lobbed a fist-sized bomb at the dragon, but the resulting explosion did nothing but anger the already-enraged reptile. He grabbed the unlucky soldier in both claws, then pulled, separating the man's torso from his legs with an accompanying spray of blood and gore. The two halves dropped to the floor, a large pool of blood forming around them. Shadow simply stepped over the mess and proceeded to his next group of targets.

Jason, Lao, Jake, and Sun watched from their respective positions as Shadow annihilated the Huntsclan squad one by one, never ceasing in his single-minded assault. At one point, he picked up a soldier who had fallen, spraining his ankle in the process, and literally devoured him in a single bite. The crunch of bone and the blood dripping from the dragon's jaws forced Sun to turn her head and vomit, and it was plain to see that Jake was trying hard to not do the same.

Shadow, meanwhile, paid no attention to any of this. He continued on his path of destruction, though there were few targets left. All he knew was that the Huntsclan had to pay. His anger-filled mind was so clouded that he could barely remember why he was doing this, not that he cared much. The smell of blood and the satisfaction he got from ending the lives of his enemies were all he needed to keep going. Grabbing one soldier who had tried to hide behind a large speaker, he bit the man in half, tossing the lower torso and legs aside.

The half-corpse landed near Jake's feet, and the teen dragon couldn't hold it in anymore. The contents of his stomach soon joined the ever-growing pool of blood on the roof. The stench was overpowering.

Hunting for a new target, Shadow spied the last member of the squad trying to loosen the fire escape ladder from its track, but it was rusty and didn't move easily. He picked the man up by his arms, ignoring his screams of panic and pleas for mercy, and pulled, splitting him down the middle. He then flung the two pieces in opposite directions and let out a roar of triumph.

Jason watched as the dragon simply stood there for a long moment, his hand clenched tightly around the hilt of his sword. Man, I hope he doesn't come over here. I don't want to have to kill him, and I don't think I could even if I tried right now. His fears were put to rest when the dragon lowered its head and reverted to human form.

Shadow said not a word as he walked over to where Rose and Haley lay. He knelt beside them, placing a hand on their heads, and said, "I'm sorry. I failed to protect you again. But don't worry – that's a mistake I won't have to live with for very long." He rose once more, went back to the stage, and picked up the skulls. Placing one in the mouth of a gargoyle, he held the other high above his head. All thirteen began glowing brightly.

"Ancient spirits of the Gargoyles of Pantheon," he said, "I call upon you to use the power of these Crystal Skulls and grant my desire!"

From each stone gargoyle arose a vaporous apparition that resembled the statues, but rather than legs there was merely a wispy trail leading from the bottom of the torso and tapering off. "You who have assembled the skulls and called us forth," a collection of voices said from seemingly nowhere and yet everywhere, "tell us thy desire and it shall be yours."

Unseen by the others on the roof, Shadow smiled. "Spirits, I thank you for answering my call. Now, I wish for you to..."

But Shadow never got to finish his sentence. As he spoke, there was the sound of something flying through the air, and then the skull in his hand became so much shrapnel. The skulls inside the statues' mouth also shattered, and the spirits vanished.

"NO! I was so close!!!" Shadow dropped to his knees and slammed his hand down onto the floor amidst what used to be the skull.

Jason walked up, sword in hand. "Had ta do it, man. First, ya lied to me. Ya said that ya wanted ta keep those things from bein' used against ya."

"That was part of the truth. I was going to ensure that their power was never used again after I got what I wanted!"

"And that brings me ta my second point – that kind o' power in anyone's hands is bad mojo. There's no way I'd ever let 'em be used, by you, or the Huntsman, or anyone."

Shadow stood up, his eyes blazing red again. "At least I can get some satisfaction from flaying your flesh from your bones and using it as a throw rug!" He started to step forward when he heard a groan off to his left.

Turning, he saw Haley sitting up and rubbing her head. There was blood dripping from her mouth, a rather nasty bruise on her temple, and she looked dazed, but she was alive. Next to her, Rose was also starting to stir.

Forgetting about Jason, Shadow darted over to them, only to be stopped by Jake. "Back. Off." the teen said.

"Let me get to them. I have to..."

"I said back off!" Jake repeated, his features growing hard. "After what you did to the Huntsclan, what makes you think I'm gonna let you anywhere near my sister?"

Shadow snarled. "Haley and I share a bond closer than you know. She is my entire reason for being here."

"And I'm the entire reason for you leaving here. I don't care how big you get or how many body parts you can rip off of someone; you are NOT going to get your grimy hands anywhere near her!"

Shadow pulled his hand back, as if he was going to punch Jake, but a hand on his wrist stopped him. Turned his head to see Jason standing behind him, the sword pointed at Shadow's neck. "Don't make me do it, man. I've never killed in my life and I don't wanna start now."

"Then you are weak!" Shadow whirled to the left, his arm outstretched, and caught Jason in the stomach. The other man went down and Shadow turned back to Jake just in time to see a red tail smack him upside the head. He staggered a bit, dazed, before regaining his senses.

When he looked again, Haley was standing next to Jake, holding his hand tightly, and Rose had gotten up to one knee, holding her spear in both hands and aiming for Shadow's chest.

"I will not harm you this day, Jacob Lucas Long, but only because of how much it would hurt Haley to see you die. But mark my words – you have not seen the last of me!" He broke into a run and jumped off the edge of the roof, only to reappear a moment later, still human but with his wings spread. He arced up, stalled out for a second, then dove in-between two buildings and disappeared.

"Jake," Haley said, "who was that?"

"I don't know, Haley; I don't know."

Jason stared at where Shadow had disappeared. Oh, you know who he is, Jake. You just won't like it when you realize it.