Kim Possible and all related characters are TMsomeone else.  I don't own squat.  But due to the freedom of speech I can have my sick, twisted way with them anyway.  God Bless America!!

The Lazarus Factor

"In the end, everything is a gag."- Charlie Chaplin

            Things were not going well.  To Kim it had seemed so simple at the briefing.  Get in, find out what Drakken was doing with the stolen NASA prototype space drive, and get out.  "You really shouldn't be so surprised though," she scolded herself, "when does a mission ever go as planned."  Kim and Ron had entered Drakken's base through an unmonitored sewage drain and used a little plastique to blast into the buildings main vent system.  Using blueprints and surveillance collected by FBI, they made their way to a supposedly little-used hallway.  According to the intel, the guard should have passed on his patrol 20 minutes ago.  Unfortunately, when Kim kicked open the vent and hopped out, there to her right was the guard lounging against the wall.

            "Oh man, of all the henchmen in the world, we get the slacker," Ron moaned.  Spotting the two, the guard quickly hit the panic button on his communicator.  Instantly alarms began to sound through the entire building.  Kim jumped and swung around, bringing her foot across his face.  The guard stumbled into the wall and slumped to the floor.

            "C'mon Ron," Kim said, motioning to an open door, "we've got to keep moving so Drakken can't pin us down."  Ron nodded and ran after her.  In the bases' control room, Drakken was frantically checking his monitors.

            "The alarm sounded in corridor 25 and the only quick way out of there is through...."

"The left service hallway," Shego finished, "That means they MUST be somewhere in this area."  She motioned to a section of the base layout.

            "Uh, yeah.  I knew that," muttered Drakken.  "Patch in all the cameras from that area.  We've got to find them."  The monitors flickered and switched images.

            "THERE!" Shego shouted as two figures ran past one of the cameras.  She quickly switched to the next nearest camera and focused on where the intruders HAD to enter the next section.  "I should have known," she smiled as the two figures came into view, "Kim Possible."

            "EXCELLENT!" shouted Drakken.  Shego turned to look at him, this was new.  Usually he fell into a pathetic state of fidgeting whenever Possible showed up.  Seeing her confused expression, Drakken smiled smugly, "This time I have prepared for her interference, and now that I know where she is, I can spring my trap."

            "Your trap?" Shego raised an eyebrow.

            "Yes, the prototype we 'acquired' from NASA was never in this building.  I purposefully made our hide-out simple to find, knowing that they would send in Possible to deal with me."  This WAS a surprise.  Drakken was not usually this clever, and Shego couldn't help but be a little impressed.  "But I had the engine sent quietly to different, better hidden facility and had this entire base fitted with the sole purpose of trapping Kim Possible," Drakken finished, putting his hands on his hips and smiling menacingly.

            "And what would have happened if Possible hadn't just happened to be spotted by that one guard?" Shego asked, not being able to resist deflating Drakken's ego just a little.

            "Oh, well," Drakken stammered, trying to think of something to say to change the subject.  "Look," he finally said, " I don't have time to explain every little part of my plan to you Shego.  Now we have important work to do."

            "Sure Doc," Shego smirked turning back to the monitors, "now what are these brilliant traps you've made?"

            Kim and Ron ran through hallway after hallway.  Kim knew that Drakken HAD to have found them by now, but she hoped that by moving quickly, he wouldn't have time to set up an ambush for them anywhere.  Suddenly, the thick metal door ahead of them slammed shut, followed immediately by the one behind them.

            "Quick, through here," Kim shouted, pulling Ron towards a passageway on their right.  They ran some more until they reached a 3-way intersection.  Before they could decide on a path, however, two of the doors crashed down leaving only the middle one open.  Kim suddenly had the sinking feeling that they were being led.  With no other option though, they had little choice but to follow.  This went on for a while, with Kim and Ron heading down whichever door was open until a door once again slammed behind them, but now, there was no opening to run through.  Just as Kim started to think through possible escapes, small slits opened near the ceiling and a greenish gas started to pour through.  Kim quickly pulled out a couple re-breathers and tossed one to Ron.  They wouldn't breath the gas but it still stung her eyes making it hard to see.  Then with a whoosh, a small shaft suddenly appeared on the floor.

            "So, this is what they were leading us to," Kim thought grimly, "Can't lead to anything good, but we can't stay here, the re-breathers won't last forever."  Grabbing Ron's arm, she pointed toward the hole.  Ron nodded and followed Kim through.  The shaft dropped straight down a few feet and then curved into a steep slope.  They slid for 10 or so feet before dropping into a large room, right into a waiting cage.  A top slammed down over the cage, trapping the two inside.  As Kim stood, dusted herself off, and pocketed the re-breathers, Drakken and Shego entered.

            "You see Shego," Drakken laughed, "it worked just as I said it would."

            "Yeah, but what I don't understand is the cage."  Shego had been very impressed with Drakken's preparations and was disappointed at this turn of events.  "Why didn't you just drop them into the furnace or something."  Drakken seemed to actually be perplexed by this question.

            "Shego, if I did that, how would she know I had tricked her with my ingenious trap?"  He threw his arms in the air with a frustrated sigh.  " I mean, she might have died thinking I had captured her purely by luck."

            "You did get her purely by luck," Shego retorted, "if that guard hadn't been goofing around...."  She stopped suddenly, willing herself to calm down.  Trying to make Drakken see reason was useless.  She had to just try to work around his childish impulses.  "Okay Doc, but now that she knows you tricked her with the fake hide-out, could we kill her NOW?"

            "Oh, why of course Shego," Drakken glared at Kim, "any last requests Possible?"

            "Well, actually I'm kind of hungry...." Ron cringed at the looks the others shot him, "Um, never mind."

            "Wow," said Kim, finally speaking up, "so you set up this whole base as one huge trap for me?"  She slowly leaned against the bars of the cage.

            "That's right," Drakken smirked.

            "And the prototype was never even here?" Kim slowly began wrapping a wire filament around two of the bars.

            "Of course not, how dumb do you think I am."

            "Wow Drakken, that was really clever," Carefully she clicked open a lighter.

            "Well, I AM an evil GENIOUS."  Shego narrowed her eyes at Kim wondering what she was up to.

            "Well Drakken, I've got to admit.  I always thought you were such a poser, but you really are a top-notch super-villain."  She touched the flame carefully to the end of the wire.

            "Really?" asked Drakken, clearly flattered, "You really mean that?"

            "Ummm, actually......no," Kim suddenly grabbed Ron, pushing him to the other side of the cage as the wire flared and flashed, blasting out the two bars it was wrapped around.  Kim and Ron quickly leapt through the hole.

            "GUARDS!!" Drakken screamed, looking wildly around, "Stop her!!"  The two doors in the room slid open and guards immediately started pouring in.

            "Ron, get to the door," Kim crouched back, tensing her muscles, "I'll take care of these guys."  Kim launched herself at the group of henchmen; flipping forward she hit the leader full in the face with both feet.  As he fell she jumped straight up, kicking her legs out to the sides, catching two others under the chin.  Landing, she immediately leapt forward between the legs of the next guard as he took a swing at her.  Swinging behind her, she drove her forearms into the back of his knees.  He fell forward and was finished off with a backhand as Kim spun around to face Drakken and Shego.  She saw Drakken fuming in a corner, but Shego wasn't with him.  She was already looking around when she heard Ron.

            "Um, KP?" turning Kim saw that Ron had been surrounded by guards, many with brass knuckles and stun guns.  "Could you watch it with those things," Ron winced, "I'm rather fragile."

            "Alright kid," one of the guards turned to Kim, "give up or your little friend here gets damaged."  Kim quickly memorized the guards' positions.  A plan formed in her mind, she'd have to be quick, but she COULD take down the guards before they got to Ron.  Her left leg was already tensing and slowly sliding back as she prepared to fling herself at the nearest guard, sending him into the one next to him.  Then all she had to do was flip over Ron and she would be between him and the rest of the guards, after that it would be simple.

            But before she could make her move, a metal pole suddenly ripped through her shoulder.  Screaming, Kim fell to the floor.  Behind her stood Shego, still holding the other end of the broken 3-foot bar.  Grabbing the remains of one of the cage bars, she had snuck around Kim as she fought the guards, and then, when Kim was distracted by Ron's danger, had slipped up behind her and drove the broken bar through Kim's left shoulder.

            "KIM!!!" Ron screamed in horror, his eyes glued to the pool of blood slowly forming under his friend.

            "Well, that was disappointingly simple," Shego smirked.  She twisted the bar and yanked it free, bringing another agonizing scream from Kim.  "Now, dear Kimmy.  How about we finish this?"  Shego raised the bar over her head.

            "NO!!" Ron ran straight at the guard in front of him.  The man was so surprised at the former "helpless sidekick" rushing him, he didn't have time to resist when Ron shoved the guard's own stun gun into his gut.  The gun crackled as the guard spasmed uncontrollably and fell to the ground.  This turn of events startled Shego as well, and Kim, taking advantage of Shego's distraction, kicked out knocking Shego's legs out from under her.  Ron was instantly at her side helping her up and hurrying towards the door the guards had entered through.

            "They're going to escape," Drakken pulled out his communicator, "Control room.  Lock down this room IMMEDIATELY!!!"  The door suddenly began to close.

            "Ron, fall down," Kim ordered weakly.  Ron quickly fell to the floor.  Using her good arm, Kim drew her grappling hook and fired it underneath the descending door.  Activating the pulley, she and Ron slid beneath the door just as it closed.

            "Curses," Drakken spat, yelling into his communicator again, "they made it out.  Open the doors!  Hurry!"

            "I'm trying boss," the guard in the control room answered, "but opening these things from a lock-down takes a couple seconds."  Shego slammed both hands on either side of the door, leaning against the wall she glared at the floor.

            "I had her," she said, quietly, "she was finished........ but she still won.  How did she win?  How does she ALWAYS WIN!!!"  Shego slammed her fist against the door.

            Ron all but dragged Kim down the corridor looking for a way out.  Darkness was seeping into the edges of her vision, but she couldn't black out now, she had to stay awake... had to help Ron get away.

            "Ron," she whispered, her voice garbled by the coughed up blood collecting in her throat, "use th'..communicator....get...Wade."  Ron nodded, hastily searched Kim's pockets for the handheld video link.

            "Wade!" Ron shouted, switching on the device, "we need a way out of here NOW!"

            "Ron?  Where's Kim?  Is she okay?"  Ron hardly ever called Wade by himself and Wade was obviously worried by this.

            "She's right here, but there's no time to explain."

            "Okay, hold on," Wade tapped at his computer for a second or two, "All right, head down the next hallway on your right and follow it to an intersection.  Take the left path and you should find a functional elevator to the roof.  The Feds have a helicopter standing by for dust-off."  Ron stuffed the communicator in his pocket and dragged Kim down the hallways Wade had indicated.  Luckily the elevator was still usable and soon they were on the roof watching a black helicopter descend toward them.  The team onboard helped them up and immediately started working on Kim's shoulder.  Ron started to move away, he would only get in their way if he tried to stay beside her.

            "ron," Kim whispered, suddenly grabbing his arm, "thank you."  Ron stared as her hand fell away and the agents gently pushed him toward a bench and started bandaging her shoulder.  She had thanked him.  Bleeding and barely consciousness, she had used the last of her strength to thank him.  How could she do such a horribly idiotic thing?  He hadn't saved her.  It was his cowardice, his uselessness that had distracted her and got her hurt.  He looked down at his hands, they were covered in blood, his shirt was soaked with blood.  The blood that had run out of his best friend.  And he was responsible for every last drop of it.

And there's the first chapter for ya.  In the next chapter we'll see just how much of a toll their lifestyle has taken on Kim and Ron, and maybe it has caused one of them to slip over the edge?  In pondering this last question remember this;  I am a heartless b@$t@rd and love nothing more than to torture the characters in my stories.  This is my first story, but don't worry about going easy.  Lay into me as hard as you want.  I assure you that I am a jerk and probably deserve anything you say.