Holding out for a Hero Chapter 3: Anger Management, a kim possible fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own the Kim Possible characters

IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: I REALIZE THAT I DON'T UPDATE THAT OFTEN AND THAT THESE STORIES ARE JUST BEGINNING BUT PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW. EVEN IF IT'S JUST THREE WORDS; I.E. I LIKE IT, I HATE IT. PLEASE. THE HIT COUNTER IS VERY UNRELIABLE SO IT REALLY DOESN'T HELP ME KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE READING THIS. PLEASE REVIEW SO I KNOW IF I SHOULD EVEN CONTINUE POSTING HERE..

Some comments would also really help me with my updates. If I think people actually read these things I'll spend more of my significantly limited free time on these instead of playing video games.

In every child's life comes a time when they must choose. Do they pursue the ideal, the fantasy they have lost faith in, or do they immerse themselves in the mundane first. For Kim Possible the choice was easy. Drakken could wait. She had a stop to make.

Perhaps there is no greater motivator than guilt. It can consume, and even poison, our minds, much like rage, forcing us to take actions to quell the feelings. It was for this very reason Kim Possible was standing slightly apart from a rather large crowd in a cemetery. She'd never been to this one before. Nor did she know anyone buried here. In some small way that was going to change as soon as the rabbi finished his speech and the large men with shovels standing nonchalantly out of view of the mourners got to work. She listened with half an ear as the rabbi spoke. The prayer was quite brief, at least she thought so. The entire service seemed a bit small to encompass the entirety of the remembrance for a man's life.

She would have dwelt more, would have started walking down a familiar road, but there wasn't time. Her half aware senses picked up people moving. Each one stepped forward and shoveled some dirt onto the grave marker. Eventually there was noone left but her. She did it too. She owed him that.

She meant to simply walk away, but something seized her limbs, preventing her from moving even a single muscle away from the grave. She couldn't even formulate the thoughts necessary to force a leg forward. Instead the grave loomed in front of her, the man-made chasm whispering its thanks to her for filling it. The darkness inside became impenetrably deep. She wanted to blink it away, but she couldn't bring herself to. Leering faces pranced in the darkness, calling out, thanking her for everything. And then they faded. Forced away by a warm palm upon her shoulder.

She looked up into a puffy rimmed face. The woman who had a hand upon Kim, could only be described as strikingly beautiful, with the emphasis on the striking. Her entire face, even though puffy with tears and clouded with emotional pain, bore a distinct look of quiet dignity. Her raven hair was let loose, cascading down the woman's back. It wouldn't be much of a stress to picture it in a conservative bun though. She wore thick glasses, the kind that bring to mind a nineteen eighties librarian. The woman passed something into Kim's hands.

"He would have wanted you to have this. He spoke so highly of you. You were an inspiration for him." the woman paused for a second as fresh tears fell. "I'm babbling. It's just... I wish he was here. He would have loved to meet you."

"I'm sorry."

The woman's fingers fastened around Kim's chin, delicately turning the girl's head so they locked gazes. "You shouldn't be. This isn't your fault. Everyone makes their own decisions. He never understood that you know? He always blamed himself. Never anyone else. But he never gave up, always tried harder and harder." And then the words broke off, as the sobs broke free and the redheaded hero quickly embraced the crying woman, trying to give back some comfort. After a minute, most probably less, the crying woman pulled away, wiping her face as she did so. A forced smile appeared.

"I'm sorry dear. I didn't mean to break down on you like that. You know he always wanted me to wear my hair down? Said I looked prettiest that way." The fake smile wavered just a touch. And then the woman turned and walked away, leaving Kim with the grave diggers and the sounds of the cemetery.

Had Kim been really listening, and had a wire inside the car the woman climbed into, she would have heard a brief burst of static and a surprisingly calm feminine voice speak. "Job's done boss." But Kim heard none of this. Instead she heard only the sound of dirt hitting the wooden coffin of officer McClay. She'd made her decision before the coffin disappeared from view.

Recently it had become difficult for Kim to slip on her mission clothes. There was no physical change, but still her arms resisted a little more each time she tried to pull the familiar garments on. Not this time though. This time her eyes burned with grim determination. Her mouth was set into a scowl which matched her eyes' glare. This time she had no trouble pulling the cloth garments over her skin. She was dressed and ready far before anyone would have expected.

The first change wasn't physical, but it hardened her resolve, strengthened her heart just the same. Then different chemicals flooded her bloodstream, a result of the emotional state she had entered. Her fists clenched and unclenched in a slow, spasmodic pattern, communicating the feelings that her words would never be able to.

She wasn't just angry. This went far beyond the feelings she felt towards her brothers' annoying antics. This was a very different feeling, one that plagued her rarely, leaving only vague memories after its departure. Normally she only tapped into it, fed its flame for a few seconds, long enough to make a few disparaging comments that she would later regret. This time though she nursed the flickering flame inside her. She fed it fuel and protected it from compassionate breezes that would extinguish its potency. In short she stoked it, preparing it for the coming confrontation.

She didn't talk to Ron for this trip, so great was her focus. His warm brown eyes merely studied her. She hadn't said much of anything since she'd picked him up. The mission briefing had come from Wade himself. Kim's only comment had been something along the lines of wanting Shego, but he wasn't sure. He really hadn't been paying much attention.

The man providing a lift, a private airline pilot Kim had once snatched from the jaws of death, was not very talkative, which left Ron to sit quietly and glance around at all the random gizmos that adorned the jet's interior. There were plush couches with little levers that, through unseen mechanism, propelled a foot rest out as the lever descended. The back also tilted backwards, transforming the white leather seat into a multi cushioned ez-boy chair.

Currently Ron was making the most of this as their transport sped towards Drakken's latest hideout.

There are many different kinds of workplaces for supervillains. One of the most famous was the lair.

As far as lairs went this one was drafty. It was also inanely showy. Shego had been shocked speechless when Drakken had pulled the hover car in front of their lair dejour. The building her eyes had met belonged in a fairy tale. It was castle shaped, but certainly not a castle. As far as Shego was concerned castles were practical things designed to keep other people out. This one had no real outer walls. Sure there were dark stones that lead from the single entrance across the thin bridge that connected the platform of rock the building rested on to the mainland. If one were to fall off the bridge it was a long descent into inky blackness. Possibly somewhere down there was white rapids or spiky stones. It didn't really matter though, since there were guard rails along the bridge and it was securely anchored to both the island and the cliff opposite it. And the giant oaken gates were no real deterrent either. Sure the sturdy wood would make it almost impossible to go in the front way, but there were several easily accessed tunnels that led into the castle, inside the main courtyard, just in front of the wooden doors. And while the spiral staircases that curved around the outside of the towers that randomly sprouted out around the main courtyard would be perfect for a final fight in a movie, it gave an intruder even more points of entry and a great hiding spot. And the inside wasn't much better. Drakken's lab needed to be put in the cellar near the holding cells for the dungeons. And just like in all the pg rated Disney movies her family had always watched, all paths led to Drakken's new home. There was no conceivable way for an intruder to fail to reach the makeshift lab. And Drakken had sent all of his henchmen to patrol the numerous hallways of the massive, drafty building. He didn't have nearly enough, especially since she'd instead they work in teams of two. At least that way there was a slim chance one of them might get away and warn her that Kimmie was coming. She didn't hold out much hope, but very, very slim was better than none.

Shego's eyes caught sight of something, which they relayed to her brain, which added another item to the lists of why she was going to kill Drakken. The laboratory had no fewer than three points of entry, and these were visible from just a glance, that were no where near each other. Kim Possible could come in anywhere at any time and Shego didn't even have the slightest clue where to lay the trap. The villainess sighed. She would have to try and booby trap all three and hope Kim wouldn't be able to find another way in, when the teen hero eventually found them. Shego sighed again. As she set off to play the good little security guard a thought flashed through her head. She must have been Satan in a past life to deserve this.

Two feminine feet touched down on a the spiral balcony of a stone tower. It wasn't the safest of maneuver by any means, but for some inexplicable reason she never had trouble with it. Far below she saw a small bit of movement as Ron dashed across the lowered bridge. He'd felt, with justification, that it'd be safer if he just crossed it, no matter what kind of traps lay in wait. Kim had agreed. The last thing she wanted was another death on her conscious. She already had two. Despite the protests Ron was sure to give, it was her fault that Shego had been in the custody of those officers. She should have gone with them, been there to stop her escape. Maybe then those two officers would still be alive. Crimson fire burned inside her, forging her iron resolve into something harder, purer. Up ahead lightening flashed across the sky. Thunder followed sheepishly a few seconds later, it hadn't expected it'd be needed on a clear night such as this one, but some things are traditional. Storm clouds raced in, trying for all the world to look as if they had always been there. Rain splashed against Kim's stern face, obliterating all traces of the silent tears that she was certainly not having. Lightening flashed again, followed immediately by a clap of prepared thunder as Kim reached a final decision. This time Shego had gone too far. It was time to end it.

For his part Ron Stoppable was a tad nervous. It wasn't that splitting up was a new occurrence, they had done it before, just very rarely, and usually only once the villain was in sight. Him entering a compound in an entirely different way than her, at the same time, without the valid, yet slightly annoying, reason of him acting as a distraction was a tad odd. What was completely new though, was the sudden outbreak of a thunderstorm that illuminated Kim's silhouette atop one of the towers. From the angle he was at she looked, meaner, darker. Kinda like the Fearless Ferret from the comic book, which come to think of it was pretty much the opposite of the campy t.v. show. After the second crash of thunder he ran for the front gates. About halfway there he stumbled and fell through one of the less obvious secret entrances.

He landed hard, with a thud, onto Drakken's rather bony form at approximately the same time Kim appeared form an hidden alcove in the wall. Shego stared in surprise as the heroine appeared. It almost looked like Shego was waiting for Kim's opening quip. It never came.

Kim's boot lashed out, cracking hard against Shego's jaw. The emerald villainous stumbled backwards, only for another boot to strike her face. Shego's eyes watered as rights and lefts connected with a speed she hadn't thought the young heroine possessed. Blood trickled from a gash along her right temple, where one of Kim's high kicks had torn the skin. Blood pounded in Shego's ears. Time slowed inside the villainess's mind, dragging the seconds out into seeming minutes. A beating that was really only five blows long metamorphosed into one of epic proportions. Inside her mind's eye footage from an old movie played. Sylvester Stallone's head jerked from side to side as a large white head monster poured strength into every blow. Kim Possible had become that monster, that unstoppable force. But Rocky had won in the end hadn't he? It was so hard to think with her ears ringing. Kim made it a little harder by landing a fierce uppercut, that robbed Shego of her balance. Kim stepped in close while and turned her back to Shego. Kim stuck her hip back, so that it collided with Shego's. And then the villainous sped through the air. Both Ron and Drakken stopped wrestling as the sound of Shego's body smacking the cold stone captured their attention. The henchwoman gurgled as Kim placed a stylish boot upon her opponents neck. At first the foot merely rested there. Then Kim increased the pressure.

It was Ron Stoppable that ended Shego's pained expression. He hadn't yet disentangled from Drakken, but that didn't stop him from trying to reach his best friend.

"KP!"

She didn't even look at him.

In response he sped to his feet with an alacrity that would have shocked everyone there if the slightly more shocking, and pressing, matter of Shego's immanent demise at the hands of a goodytwoshoes wasn't taking place. Ron's scrawny body slammed into Kim's lithe one, instinct overriding everything else at this moment. They fell in a heap of limbs as Shego sucked in ragged breaths. Drakken stared dumbfounded for only a second more before his nasally voice burst past the protective barrier of his lips once more.

"Shego come let's get out of here.

His sidekick stood quickly, her face still red. Anger and fear mixed inside her expressive eyes..

She pulled forth the device Drakken had given her, the one they'd stolen earlier.

"One second Doc. Can't have this be a total bust," she joked, despite the pain in her face.

Her thumb descended.Twin squares shot out of the small device, landing upon the two teen heroes's foreheads. A single gloved digit depressed another button on the device. A low humming sound began. Motors and gears sparked into motion, into life. The two thin cords attaching the device to the small pads that were stuck to team Possible's heads, glowed. First they were crimson, then a pale yellow.

A sucking sound resonated throughout the room as the cords grew red. There was a small pause, a cessation of all movement as the cords switched to yellow, before sending another blast of electricity through her. The squares detached. Shego's fist burned bright green for a second, reducing the device to nothing more than a pile of slag. She took it with her anyway, as she turned towards the other side of the cave, where Drakken was hovering by the entrance to an escape route. She made to run forward, only to be shocked again that night. She knew it wasn't a delusion, because the buzzing in her head had already started to fade. All in all she would have preferred the delusion.

Kim's body inserted itself into the space between her and freedom. The lithe redhead's smile was unapologetic as Shego dropped into a fighting stance.

"Get out of my way Kimmie," Shego growled.

The smile faded from Kim's face entirely, an expression of grim determination took its place. Ron always called it her game face.

"Why? So you can kill again? Not gonna happen."

Neither woman moved. Shego broke the silence.

"Cops knew what they were getting into. Not my problem if they got hurt."

"What about their friends? Their families? Did they know too?"

Shego's flaming hand lashed out again, missing Kim's quickly ducking form by inches. Small bits of red hair were scorched by the pulsing flames. Kim barely noticed.

The teenage hero's foot lashed out, snaking behind that of the hardened villainess. Shego tumbled forward as Kim's shin crashed against the inside of her knee. Ever helpful Kim gave the villainous some extra momentum to speed the journey to the floor. Blood streamed from Shego's nose as it crunched against the flagstones. Once again she was at Kim's mercy. And once again she was saved by the buffoon.

This time Ron's arms wrapped around Kim, pulling her back. His weak muscles strained as he attempted to hold the cheerleader back against her will. A thought flashed through his brain that she must not really be trying very hard if he still had a grip on her. It wasn't true at all. She kicked out, struggling desperately to escape. But Ron's magically enhanced form kept her in check. Somehow he'd managed to tap into the mystical monkey power again. Had he known that he had he wouldn't have bothered questioning it at this time, so why should we. Slowly Kim started to shake. Her chest heaved, as sobs racked her body. No actual tears came, but from the sounds that emanated from her, Ron could tell that she was upset. His grip slackened and she turned in it, burying her face in his shoulder. Murmurs of "I'm sorry," reached his ears. And he was puzzled.

Meanwhile unmoved by the touching scene Shego escaped.

Some comments would also really help me with my updates. If I think people actually read these things I'll spend more of my significantly limited free time on these instead of playing video games.