A/N Last chapter, and the conclusion to this little tale. Unfortunately, my sequel, Twilight, is going to be delayed just a bit, but hopefully I'll get around to writing more on it; I've been focused on other random ideas that have hit. Curse the plot bunnies.

As always, my appreciation to Eddy13 for his beta checking.

Chapter 21: A Shocking End

Kim made a quick move forward, to distract Zorpox, while Shego jumped at him from behind, obviously trying to catch him off guard. He spun quickly and grabbed her hands, placed a foot in her stomach, and rolled backward. He kicked out, and Shego sailed through the air. The villainess went straight toward the railing, but righted herself; she placed her feet on the railing and back flipped over Zorpox's head.

The caped villain wasn't focusing on Shego, but rather Kim. As soon as he had launched Shego, Kim had attacked quickly, hoping to catch him unaware. He stepped back and blocked two of Kim's attacks and dodged a third. Then, he went down on one knee, and Shego's kick from behind went over his head. He kicked back, and caught his green foe's planted leg; she dropped forward on her stomach. She blasted at Zorpox from her prone position, but he wasn't there anymore.

He had already back flipped over Shego, and was standing there looking at his two foes. The green villainess got to her feet and looked at Kim. The red head rushed forward right at her foe, like she was going to attack him. Just before she got close, she flipped forward over his head. Zorpox half turned, and almost missed Shego's attack.

He raised a forearm to block the kick, then pivoted and blocked Kim's kick from behind. He leaned back, and her second kick sailed over his head. Shego tried to sweep out his feet, but he back flipped over them. Kim backed up, then started to run toward Zorpox. The villainess kicked toward him, hoping to distract him, but he knew what he was doing. He flipped over her head, then kicked her in the back, right in Kim's path. They both went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

Shego groaned, then got up. Zorpox was much more dangerous than she had thought. She looked toward Kim, thinking of their earlier conversation. Her teenage foe looked back at her and nodded sadly. If they were going to stop the caped villain, they couldn't hold anything back-that meant that Ron was going to get hurt.

Kim moved toward her target's right, and Shego mirrored her movements to the left. Zorpox rushed forward and slid on the ground, sweeping out Shego's legs. He quickly whipped his foot around, and kicked her as she fell. She sailed backward into some nearby boxes. Seconds later, she had blasted them all into dust, and dashed back into the fray.

Shego was starting to lose her temper again, and began attacking faster and more erratically. She faked a kick toward Zorpox's head, then tried to nail his ribs. He reacted quickly, stepping back and forcing her leg sideways. She recovered quickly, and tried to spin and sweep his legs out, but he jumped over her attack.

He planted one hand on the ground, and kicked out with his foot, knocking Kim on her back. Finally Shego got in a lucky hit, and knocked Zorpox's hand out from under him; however instead of landing on his face, he instantly tucked and rolled forward right beside Kim. She had risen to one knee, and took the opportunity she had been given. She pounced, pinning her best friend's hands to the ground.

Zorpox tried to worm out, but her grip was too strong. Kim couldn't help but stare at the brown eyes in front of her, and she saw brief confusion and conflict. Then it was gone, and Kim felt herself flying backwards. She hit the wall and slid down, stunned.

Shego took this opportunity to try and blast Zorpox in the back. Normally she wouldn't attack a foe from behind, but decided to make an exception. He had just climbed to his feet, but somehow he knew the attack was coming, and dived forward, just missing the shot. He rolled sideways as Shego fired again and again, then she jumped into the air, hoping to get him from above. She fired plasma at him, then dropped toward him.

The caped villain pushed himself up and rolled forward, just as Shego landed where his head had been. He twirled and blocked a low kick, then raised his forearm against a second attack. Instead of a kick, however, Shego raked her claws forward, trying to catch Zorpox's wrist controller. He saw his mistake, and pulled his hand back, leaving his face unguarded.

He turned his face to try and avoid the blow, but was only partially successful. Shego's claws raked into his face, tracing four bloody lines across his cheek. It wasn't deep, but it was the first injury Zorpox had sustained. Shego grinned. "Not as invincible as you think, are you?"

The villainess watched as her foe raised a hand to his cheek, and dabbed at the blood. He pulled his hand away and stared at the red on his fingertips. Kim had finally gotten up, and walked over to stand by Shego. "I know you're still in there, Ron, fight him."

The blue skinned villain smiled faintly and tapped the side of his head. "Oh yes, he's here...giving me a heck of a fight. Sorry Kimberly, but I'm in complete control."

Kim knew that wasn't true; Zorpox had been distracted, she knew Ron was fighting. Maybe that would be enough to help them win. "Ron, I need your help. I need you to be the distraction one more time. We can't do this without you."

"I-" She watched him hesitate, confusion and conflict evident on his face. While he was distracted, Kim motioned with her hand, and Shego acted quickly. She fired plasma as Zorpox's chest, hitting him dead center. He flew backward and laid on the ground, still. Shego walked forward, and glanced down at the caped villain. "I think I hit him hard enough to knock him out, but not kill him." She turned and looked at Kim.

"Good, let's get him out of here before this place blows up. Wade, how long?" She turned to the computer.

"Only about seven minutes. Kim, I can't crack his codes, but I did download his entire database. If this code is typical of his security, it'll take me months to crack his encryption." Wade was frustrated; he never came across anything like this. "I can get all the doors open, though."

Kim grabbed the Kimmunicator from the port it was plugged into, then stuck it in her pocket. She turned around, and saw Shego bending over Zorpox, no doubt figuring out the best way to pick him up. The villainess leaned down to stare at his chest, and suddenly jerked her head back. It was too little, too late. Zorpox's kick dropped Shego, and this time she was out cold.

The blond got to his feet, and now Kim could see where Shego's shot had hit. In the center of the blackened hole, Kim spotted a metal plate-he'd been wearing body armor. Zorpox looked down at the unconscious villainess and chuckled. "She never was very good at sensing my traps." Now he looked at her. "Surrender, you know you can't beat me."

Kim walked up to him and tried to reason with him. "Come on, Ron, we need to get out of here before this place blows up. We can leave, and continue this later."

"No." Zorpox stood with his arms crossed.

"We have to get out of here now! If I have to hurt you to save you, I will."

Kim moved forward slowly, unsure of what Zorpox was going to do. She got close, and kicked out, but the villain blocked the kick. She attacked again, with a punch, but this time her friend stepped in and grabbed her arm. He twisted and flipped her, but she went with the throw and landed on her feet. Kim brought her elbow forward and tried to hit Zorpox, so he released her arm and twisted, and the attack missed. The twist threw him off balance, and Kim kicked out, catching the caped villain in the chest. He staggered back, slightly unsteadily.

Kim stepped forward and drove a knee into Zorpox stomach. He doubled over, but managed to get a hand up to block the red head's kick to his face. He caught her foot and gave a tug, and his friend fell to the ground. She looked up at Zorpox and saw that he was going to try and pin her down. She brought her feet up, rolled backward, and went into a handstand, then pushed off, springing to her feet. The blue teen stepped forward and pressed the attack.

While Kim and Zorpox were fighting all over the lair, Drakken had made his way around the upper level to Shego. She was unconscious, with a nasty welt beginning to form above her right eye. He tried shaking her awake, but she was out cold. He knew that they wouldn't be of any more use to Kim, so he scooped Shego up, and headed over to the escape hatch.

He jumped in, and they both slid down the tube. When they reached the bottom, Drakken tumbled out into the sunlight, and looked around. He spotted a hovercraft nearby, no doubt the one that Zorpox was going to use to escape. Drakken again picked up Shego, and took her over to the machine.

He strapped her in, then started the hovercraft; fortunately, it looked like it hadn't been rigged with any traps. He tried to decide what lair to go to, in case Zorpox wasn't stopped, and realized that his lair in the north pole was probably his best choice. It could access info from his other lairs, but it was cut off so that Zorpox couldn't take control of it as easily.

As Drakken headed off to his lair, he started thinking about a new plan to take over the world. It was then that the idea for his best plan ever hit. It still needed a little work, but he should be able to figure things out. First things first...he needed to do some research. His last idle thought before settle in for the long ride was wondering if he would have to deal with Kim Possible again.

As Kim thought about her next move, she realized that Zorpox was holding back. None of the attacks that he had used were all that dangerous, and he'd been a lot more aggressive with Shego. She wondered if maybe Ron was fighting him. She didn't have much time to think as Zorpox attacked again.

She defended herself, but not easily. Zorpox was as fast as Shego, and he knew Kim's skills as well as his own. It took everything Kim had to just keep up with her foe's attacks, so she wasn't able to try and stop him. Finally, she saw an opening, and kicked the villain, giving her a few seconds breathing room. She tried to figure out what he'd do next, but was at a lost.

Zorpox took advantage of Kim's hesitation and pulled out his small laser. He set it to stun, and fired at Kim. Fortunately he missed-she dived sideways, but the laser hit the computer behind her. It overloaded, and started sparking, sending electricity crackling all over the screen and consoles. Zorpox ignored it, then turned and tried to track her across the room. His actions seemed delayed, however, and all of his attacks missed.

The red head flipped forward and landed near Zorpox, and kicked the laser out of his hand. She wasn't expecting him to counter with a back fist to her face. She fell back, stunned. Zorpox quickly grabbed his laser and stood over her. "I'm sorry, Kimberly, but this is the way it has to be." He lowered the laser and pointed it at her chest. Kim waited for the shot, but it never came.

Zorpox looked down at her, intense conflict on his face. He tried to fire, but wasn't able to. Kim looked up and grimaced. "I'm sorry, Ron..." She pulled her legs into her chest, and kicked out as hard as she could. She hoped it would be enough to stall him; instead, the caped villain sailed backward, right into the malfunctioning computer. Kim stared in horror as he was electrocuted. "Ron, no..." she whispered.

Ron was lit up, electricity spiraling around him. His hair was standing up, and his mouth was open in a wordless yell. Kim watched as Ron's face changed colors, from blue, to normal, to blue and back again. The bracelet around his wrist flared up and burst, sending pieces everywhere. Finally, the electricity cut out, and he dropped to his knees, smoke rising from his clothes. "K...KP..." was all he could say before he fell on his face.

Kim rushed over, and rolled him on his back. She dropped her head to his chest, and nearly collapsed with relief when she heard a heartbeat. She looked at her Kimmunicator, and saw that she had only a minute to get out. The red head quickly grabbed Ron and lifted him over her shoulder. She looked around for Rufus, and spotted him rushing toward her. As soon as he had dashed into her pocket, she took off for the escape hatch, tossing Ron down it and diving in herself. They both went down the tube and rolled out the hole at the bottom.

The red haired teen looked up, and watched as the lair exploded. She quickly pulled Ron under a nearby ledge, and watched as the flaming debris hit the ground. She pulled out the Kimmunicator and signaled Wade. "Wade, I need a ride fast. Ron was electrocuted, and I don't know what that might have done to him. I need to get him to a hospital as fast as possible."

"Um..." Wade consulted his screens. "GJ has an experimental jet in the area, it can get you to Middleton in under ten minutes. It should be landing now." Sure enough, Kim saw a small VTOL landing a few feet away. She grabbed Ron and dashed into the plane, and as soon as she was inside, she yelled at the pilot to go.

X X X X

The ride was short and uneventful, but it seemed to take a lifetime. Twice Ron's breathing stopped, but started back up again. She knew that she couldn't have done anything differently, but she still wondered if she might have killed her best friend. Finally they arrived at the Middleton Hospital, and Kim dragged Ron out of the plane. Her mother was waiting outside, and Ron was transferred to a stretcher.

Kim's mom sent Ron ahead, then turned to Kim. "He's going to be all right, Kimmie." Kim wanted to be with Ron, but knew that she would just be in the way. She wrapped her arms around her mother and started tearing up, and her mother led her inside. She took Kim to another room to take care of her injuries and give her a chance to settle down. Ann laid her daughter out, and after cleaning her scrapes, walked out to the cafeteria to get her some fruit.

When she came back, her daughter was already asleep, the day's exhaustion finally catching up to her. She looked down at Kim, and saw the stress she was under, even asleep. She wouldn't relax until she could see Ron, okay and awake. Ann brushed some hair out of Kim's face and left.

Ann knew that she had to check on Ron, but first called home. Her husband answered and put the phone on speaker after realizing who was calling. The Possible house was filled, with the Stoppables, Monique, and Felix all waiting for information. Ann gave them as much info as she could, and told them that she would have more when they showed up.

Kim's mom hung up, then went out to check on Ron. Fortunately, they had been able to stabilize him easily, and he had slipped into a deep sleep. Now that his life was out of danger, Ann's knowledge was needed to tell if there had been any brain damage. She took some scans of his brain, and while it wasn't good, it was encouraging.

His mind was completely jumbled up, but it appeared to be righting itself surprisingly quickly. At this rate, he would probably sleep for the next 24 hours. A few minutes later, the Stoppables showed up, with Monique and Felix in tow. All four of them crowded into the room, and looked like they were going to start bombarding Ann with questions. She motioned to wait, and led them out into the hall.

"I think he's going to be fine, but he'll probably sleep for the next day or so. The shock jumbled his mind up, but his brain's fixing itself. I can't tell if there will be any long lasting effects, but it looks like he's recovering well."

"Oh, thank heavens!" Mrs. Stoppable hugged her husband tightly, then looked in on Ron. At a nod from Ann, Mrs. Stoppable went back in to sit with her son, followed by her husband and son's friends. The Possibles had gone to check on Kim first, and were only now coming upstairs. Ann filled in her husband and sons, but told them they would have to wait until later to see Ron, because the room was too crowded.

Mr. Possible and the twins went back to Kim's room, and Ann stepped back into Ron's room to look at his vitals. They looked good, so she checked his latest brain scan. It looked like it was righting itself very quickly, but there were a number of anomalies. She figured that he might have some small memory faults, but that his mind looked well on it's way to being back to normal.

Ann decided to go back and check on her daughter; she'd want to know about Ron's condition, even if he was just asleep. She made her way to the room, and she was a few steps away when she heard a crash from inside. She quickly went in, and was surprised at what she saw.

It looked like her husband and twins had stepped out, so no one had been in the room. A nurse had gone in to check that Kim was doing all right, and had gotten the surprise of her life. When she had leaned in to check her out, Rufus had run out of Kim's pocket and started growling at the nurse. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but he knew that his master wouldn't want anyone to wake Kim up, so he took it upon himself to protect her.

The nurse had dropped a tray with some supplies on it, and surprisingly it hadn't woken Kim up. She was usually a light sleeper, so Ann knew that the events of the last day had taken a lot out of her daughter. Ann motioned that she would take care of Kim, and the nurse left. As soon as she was gone, Ann looked down at the mole rat.

"Rufus? Is that you?" He had started to growl again, but perked up when he recognized her voice. He looked at her, realized that she was okay, and curled back up on Kim's chest.

Ann looked at Kim and decided that she could wait to tell her the news. She turned her eyes to Rufus and whispered to him. "You know how to page me, right?" He nodded his head. "Page me when she wakes up."

As Ann was walking out, she nearly bumped into her husband. "Where have you been?"

Mr Possible looked at her tiredly. "The twins decided that it would be fun to hook rockets up to a wheelchair to make it go faster."

"Rockets! You let them bring rockets into a hospital?"

Mr Possible spoke to her sarcastically. "Yes, Ann, I let them bring in rockets-then I told them where to place them, and how much fuel to add. Did I mention that the rockets explode when they've been used up?"

Mrs Possible gave him a dirty look.

He grimaced, then continued his story. "They found a couple of oxygen tanks and strapped them to the chair when I wasn't looking. It went out the open window at the end of the hall. I sent them out to get it." He changed the subject. "How are Kim and Ron?"

Ann went into clinical mode. "Kim's sleeping, she's just exhausted. Ron appears to have had his brain... 'rebooted' for lack of a better word. His mind is rewiring itself, reconnecting its pathways. At the rate it's going, he should be awake in a day or so."

Mr Possible smiled in relief. "Good, I was afraid it was something really serious."

Ann nodded back. "It's serious enough, but at his age, he should recover easily. You can take the twins up to see Ron, then head home if you want, I'll call if there's any change, but there shouldn't be anything until tomorrow."

Mr Possible agreed, and went out to find the twins. He considered Ron like a son, and felt a certain amount of concern, even now. He wanted to see Ron himself, then figured he'd take his wife's advice.

He found the twins, minus the wheelchair, and after scolding them, went up to check on Ron. They went inside and sat for awhile, talked with Ron's parents and friends, and eventually left a few hours later. Both Felix and Monique decided to leave with them, and Mr Possible took them home.

Ann had other patients to attend to, and since she really couldn't do anything more for Ron, she spent the next few hours working. She finally got a break later, and went in to check up on Kim. She was asleep, Rufus still continuing his vigil. When she walked in, Rufus looked at her and squeaked "No change." No sooner had he said this, then Kim moved. She rolled on her side, and Rufus slid off onto the side of the bed. He chittered at her indignantly, which cause her to finally wake up.

"Rufus?" Kim yawned-then started upright when she realized where she was. "Mom?"

Ann walked over to her bed and spoke up. "I'm here, honey."

Kim got up out of the bed and looked at her mom. "Why didn't you wake me up-how's Ron-can I see him?"

Ann smiled at Kim's inquisitiveness. "He's doing fine, but still unconscious. I've got a break right now, so let's go see him." She reached out and grabbed Rufus, and he scurried up to her shoulder. She headed out of the room, and Kim followed her. A few minutes later, they arrived at Ron's door and went in.

As soon as Kim went in, Mrs Stoppable stood up and grabbed her hands. "Your mom told us what happened, are you alright?"

Kim was a put a little off balance, but quickly recovered. "I'm fine, but how's Ron doing?"

Mr Stoppable looked at her. "There's no change yet, but your mom says there won't be for the next day or so."

Mrs Stoppable grabbed Kim's attention again. "We'll stay here tonight, and call you if anything changes. That way you'll be wide awake tomorrow when he wakes up."

Kim was planning on staying with Ron, but they made a good point. She would want to see Ron first thing, so she would need to be awake to do that. She nodded at them. "Alright, I'll go. But I want you to call me if he wakes up before then."

Mrs Stoppable gave a smile. "We'll let you know."

Kim gave Rufus a questioning glance, and Rufus stared back. He was divided, wanting to stay with Ron, but wondering if he should go with Kim. She made a gesture with her hand, and Rufus hopped down to Ron's bed, and curled up on his chest.

"Now come on, Kimmie, off to home with you." Ann grabbed her daughter and led her out of the room. She knew that Kim wouldn't leave until she was forced.

Kim sighed and left. She made her way home, taking the time to think through everything that had happened. She reached her house rather quickly, and made her way up to her room. She pulled the Kimmunicator out and plugged it in to charge, then moved over to her closet. She got ready to change, then remembered what she was wearing-Zorpox's dark outfit. She changed out of it and put on her pajamas, then looked at the clothes. So much trouble, represented by these clothes. She went over to her trash can and held the clothes above it. She was ready to throw it away, but something stopped her. She growled, then threw it in the back of her closed. She'd deal with it later.

Kim turned around, then hopped in bed. It was late, but Kim wasn't able to get to sleep. She still felt guilty about hurting Ron, even if he did leave her no other choice. She didn't get much sleep that night, and when the next morning rolled around, she was exhausted. She rolled out of bed and got dressed, and just as she was finishing, she got a call from Monique saying that she was already at the hospital, and that nothing had changed. She told Kim to take her time getting up there.

The red head hung up, and couldn't help but smile. Monique knew her almost as well as Ron did, knew that she would rush to get up there. She decided to take a little time and make herself more presentable, and nearly two hours later she left the house, ready for anything.

She made her way to the hospital, and spotted Monique waiting inside the doors. "Hey, Kim. They say it'll be another couple of hours, and I was wondering if you'd had breakfast."

Kim looked at her sheepishly. "Ummmm..."

"That's what I thought. Girl, you're not going to do him any good starving yourself to death. Let's get you some food." Monique turned her around and led her out the door.

Kim looked around, confused. "Um, Monique, the cafeteria is inside."

Monique just looked at her. "Have you eaten the food here? I wouldn't feed it to Rufus-and he'll eat anything. Nuh uh, we need to get you some real food. How does Bueno Nacho sound?"

"Since you insist." As the girls made their way to Bueno Nacho, Ann Possible made her way in to Ron's room to check on him.

After saying hello to everyone there, she walked over to the monitors and looked at their readings. Some of the readings were fluctuating and ss she analyzed them, she frowned.

Instantly, Mrs Stoppable was concerned. "Is everything all right?"

Ann gave her a smile. "Actually, he's waking up early."

Mrs. Possible turned and looked at Ron's face, and he stirred. He slowly blinked his eyes open and looked around. "Whe-where am I?"

Ann looked at Ron and smiled. "You're at the Middleton Hospital, Ronald. You received a nasty shock, but you're recovering well. You should be out of here in a couple of days, after we make sure you're fit as a chimp."

Ron groaned at that comment, then turned his head to the side. He spotted his parents and Felix, and then looked down to see Rufus on his chest. He reached out and nudged him awake; Rufus blinked sleepily, then hopped forward and gave him a big hug. Ron sat up, then looked over at Felix.

"How long have I been out?"

Felix gave a small shrug. "Since yesterday. What do you remember?"

The blond closed his eyes, and tried to think, but couldn't remember. "The last thing I remember is riding in a plane and getting a half bag of peanuts. Is it too much to ask for a full bag if that's all I'm gonna get on the flight?"

Ron's parents shared a look. It sounded like he was back to normal. They joined in the discussion and talked about all sorts of things, from his plane ride to school. They left out any mention of the last few weeks, decided that it would be best for Ron to remember on his own, if he ever did.

Ann slipped out of the room while they were talking and made her way to her office. She picked up her phone and tried to contact Kim on the Kimmunicator, but couldn't get an answer. Then she remembered that Monique was with her, and called her cellphone.

Kim and Monique had gone into Bueno Nacho and ordered, then sat down to eat. They were midway through their meal when Monique's cellphone had gone off. She quickly pulled it out and answered. As soon as Kim's mother told her Ron was awake, Monique said they were on their way and hung up. The teen turned to Kim.

"He woke up early, Kim-he's awake right now." She had barely finished and Kim was already out the door. Monique looked around the room, then walked over to Ned. "Do you think I can get the rest of this to go?"

Kim was halfway to the Hospital when she realized that Monique wasn't with her. She paused and looked around, wondering if she should wait. She decided to continue on, and made it to the hospital in record time. She walked inside, and spotted Monique waiting for her.

"Ho-how did you get here before I did?"

Monique smiled at her confusion. "Ned dropped me off-he just finished a late shift at Bueno Nacho. Come on, let's go up and see Ron."

They both made their way to his room, and Kim went in before Monique could. Ron looked up when she walked in, and seemed surprised when she rushed over to his bed. Kim grabbed his arm and starting talking nonstop. "Ron, I'm so glad you're awake and I'm so sorry you got hurt but now you're better and I hope nothing like this ever happens again don't scare me like that...Ron, are you okay?" Ron looked at her, confused.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, but I have to ask...who are you?"

X X X X

At that very moment, twenty four hours after the lair exploded, a countdown started. In a large room, buried hundreds of feet underground, a small digital counter glowed. The countdown started at one hundred days and began its inexorable drive to Twilight.

A/N Well, hopefully that wasn't too surpising of an end. Fortunately, I'll continue this with an epilogue to sum everything else up, in a seperate story, covering what happens here, and how Drakken set up his plot in So The Drama.

First, a big apreciative thanks out to Eddy13, who has beta checked this story, and my others, and helps to check things when I post them, too, catching more than one mistake. This story would be much less readable with out him.

Also, thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read and review-I hit my goal with this one, 100+ reviews-although it's not about the reviews, but about readers, and the people who enjoy that story. Hopefully I kept people interested, and for those wondering, yes, I definitely intend to continue this story with a sequel. Zorpox's plans are far from over.