Time... Time was the enemy now; Kim had always that time would be on her side and she could do anything but now she could feel helplessness creeping up on her like a shadow that she couldn't shake.
"What are we doing to find the lair?" she asked. The young heroine tried to keep her desperation out of her voice but knew she was failing.
"We're working on it." Replied one of the Global Justice Agents.
Kim began to pace around the room, doing the math on how long they had left before she lost Ron. 70 minutes... 70 minutes until her best friend turned boyfriend was lost forever and she felt completely helpless.
"We may have something!" an excited voice exclaimed, "One of the mountains in sector J is completely hollow and it looks like there's a heat signature inside it."
"That's it then, that's Drakkens lair." Kim said.
"We'll have a team ready in twenty" the director of Global Justice told Kim.
"No... I need to do this alone" she insisted.
The truth was she had tasted what she was capable of with Shego and she liked it... it got her results better than anything she'd tried before. The very idea that she liked injuring someone scared her and she wished Ron was here to talk to about it. Stop it She demanded, You need to save Ron, there's no time for wishes or regrets.
"I don't like the idea of sending you out there alone Possible" Betty director said, "Too dangerous."However she handed the young Possible a set of handcuffs "Use these to apprehend Drakken when you have the cure."
"No big." Kim said and smiled. She hoped the smile would fool the director because it felt so fake, so hollow that she almost couldn't bear to keep smiling. "Anything's possible for a Possible." The handcuffs went straight into her back pocket, "I'll bring him back for you."
Looking at the cheerleader heroine with her one good eye the director sighed, "Fine Possible... But you get in and get out."
"Will do." she replied. She mock saluted the director of Global Justice and headed to the hangar. The flight didn't ease her nerves; instead her mind wandered back to how Ron would keep a conversation going and make her laugh but now all she heard was the sound of the jet engines humming in her ears.
"Miss Possible." came a voice from the cockpit, "We're almost above sector J, prepare to jump."
Kim slung the parachute over her shoulder and let out a sigh, she was looking forward to pounding Drakken so much it scared her. Cold, bitter air blasted her in the face as she prepared to jump and she could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins.
The jump was quiet, the air hitting her face and filling her ears, and she could almost hear Ron's voice making a joke... Being goofy... Or even just being the quiet support she needed when she doubted herself. She landed quietly and unclasped the parachute, letting it fall to the ground, before quietly making her way into Drakken's new lair.
"So predictable" she muttered. One of the rocks on the side of the panel was a secret was actually a button that Kim identified almost immediately. Have I been doing this that long? She pondered with an almost amused sigh. The door slid up to reveal her arch enemies newest lair The head on approach works. She thought and headed inside.
"Ah Kim Possible!" Came a familiar voice from over the intercom, "I wondered when you'd find me."
"Yeah well... Shego breaks easily." she replied. Good thing I'm not bugged. She berated herself.
"Shego told you?" Drakken asked.
The tone of surprise in her arch enemies voice gave her a certain feeling of satisfaction that made her smile. "Yeah she did, she squealed like a puppy when I showed her what I was capable of."
"'What you're capable of'" Echoed her blue skinned enemy, "What exactly is that Kim Possible ?"
Oddly enough the banter gave her something to focus on other than Ron who was lying in the med lab at Global Justice headquarters. "You'll see soon enough Drakken... I'm coming for you." The lab wasn't complicated, the halls were all made out of the same smooth stone so they really looked like they were part of the Rocky Mountains.
Finding Drakken wasn't hard, he was predictable after all the times she had stopped one of his take over the world plans "Drakken!" she shouted.
The blue skinned scientist blinked "Aren't you supposed to say my plan stops here or that I might as well surrender now?"
By the time he had finished his question Kim had walked right up to him and grabbed his arm "Not in the mood for games Drakken." Her voice was soft but serious.
"Um.. Kim Possible?" Drakken asked.
She relished the hint of confusion and fear in his voice "Yeah, but see... I'm in a rush" she said as she twisted his arm behind his back "I need to know where the cure for whatever you shot Ron with is... And I need to know now."
"W-What?" Draken asked.
She twisted on his arm again, harder this time, causing him to groan in pain "There is no cure!" he lied. "Let go of me, you're hurting me!"
"If Ron dies because of you you're going to do more than hurt." She whispered, the venom in her voice unmistakable.
"Ooh... The pois-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off as she twisted his arm to the limit, causing him to downright scream now.
"I suggest you tell me RIGHT NOW" she said, "Do you know that the arm can only take so much before it breaks? I have no problem snapping your arm right now... Or maybe I should break one of your legs and leave you in this lab as it blows up."
"Y-You wouldn't... You're the hero, you're not allowed to let people die." Drakken said.
"Well you may be right... But I look at it as prioritizing" she explained, "Ron matters more to me... Plus if you die I don't have to bother with you anymore." As if to prove her point she twisted his arm further until a snap was heard
Drakken screamed "On the table over there..." he cried. "I-I formulated an antidote should Shego or I shoot myself with the dart gun."
"Good boy" she whispered as she pushed him forward, into the console in front of him. Slipping the antidote into a metal protection case, shaped small enough for her pocket, and shoved it in her pocket. "Was that so hard?" she asked.
Drakken lay on the ground, cradling his broken arm, "N-No... N-Now leave me alone Kim Possible!"
She pulled out the handcuffs she'd been given by Global Justice and smirked, "You're coming with me."
Drakken whimpered as she twisted his arms behind his back, yelling as she roughly twisted his broken arm "You did that on purpose!" he protested.
"Who me?" she asked innocently. "Well Drakken... That was just an accident, little old me would never do anything to hurt anyone."
The Mad Scientist was hoisted to his feet and forced out of the lair after Kim set the self-destruct sequence. "Another lair?!" he protested.
"Price of being evil." Was the only reply the red headed heroine gave.
The Global Justice jet had been waiting outside the entrance and two agents appeared to escort Drakken away.
The ride back seemed even longer than the ride there, the antidote to the poison felt like a lead weight in her pocket. "Are we there yet?" she muttered. When none of the agents replied she sighed and studied the floor of the jet like it was the most fascinating thing on the planet. Finally the base came into view and for the first time since Ron had been injured she allowed herself to relax, however this only lasted a moment because the moment the door opened she raced to the medical station to deliver the antidote to Ron.
The doctor in charge of the station took the antidote from Kim the moment she appeared in the room. "I'm Doctor Matthews" said the man in the lab coat, "We're going to administer this to him right away... We just need a sample first."
"There's no time!" Kim protested, unable to believe her ears, "He has maybe ten... fifteen minutes left, you need to administer the antidote now!"
Matthews paused, conflicted, and sighed "Very well Miss Possible... We'll administer it right now."
"Thank you" She said, relief coursing through her veins, and watched as the bright red liquid was transferred from the beaker into Ron's blood stream. She gripped his hand tightly and smiled sadly "Come back to me..." she begged, "I've seen now what happens when I don't have you to keep me on the right path and I don't like it... I need you to guide me Ron."
The heart monitor didn't change, his heart beat was now zero "Come on Ron!" she said, slamming her fist against the table "Come back to me... I need you." The darkness was threatening to engulf her, finally the monitor went silent and a Global Justice agent pulled her away.
"I'm calling it." Dr. Matthews said. She could hear the sadness in the lead medical examiners voice, but that didn't console her as tears ran down her face.
"N-No... He can't be dead! I need him!" Kim cried as she was led out of the medical station, the fight had been taken out of her and she had gone limp as they led her out of there. Her jaw clenched and she swore that she would avenge Ron, and keep the world safe.
She knew that would be how she honored him... She just hoped he approved.