Everything that had happened until this point had been of Slade's careful orchestration. The fights, the lectures designed to make her doubt her entire life's accomplishments, the moment where he would force her to destroy her anchor, the one man who would keep Slade from ever turning her away from herself. All of it, an intricate tapestry culminating in the instant when he would tear Kim Possible away from all that she held dear, and remake her over in his image.
All of it, except this.
"You like?" Drakken sneered as he spoke from within the safety of his newest mechanical creation. "After Shego failed to recover the power source I needed for it, I actually had to ask Dementor for a favor." As if to punctuate his frustration, Drakken's machine roared with power, a hatch in its top opening up to reveal a small laser cannon. Quickly locating its mark, it fired a fierce red beam at Slade, forcing the masked villain to dodge out of the way as it carved a fiery wake in its path. "But it is so going to be worth it!" Drakken exclaimed in delight.
Kim Possible looked on in shock at the events unfolding before her. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore surprises…
Slade leapt out of the path of the energy beam as it continued to hold its track. Flipping through the air, he landed away from its aim just long enough to hurl a small, smooth discus through the air, directly at Drakken's transparent cockpit. The discus hit where Drakken's forehead would have been, exploding fiercely. Yet even Slade's mask could not conceal the surprise on his face as Drakken remain unharmed within his battle bot, the cockpit completely unfazed, save for some soot that had gathered following the explosion.
"Ha! Reinforced, transparent armor shielding; the latest from Hench Co. industries. Could stop a tank shell." Drakken explained with no small degree of smugness. Drakken reached down within his pilot seat to activate another control at his disposal. Sure enough, duel holsters bearing Light Anti-vehicular Weapon rockets revealed themselves from within the robot's shoulders. "Of course, these are a personal touch."
Even as Slade turned to run away from a rocket aimed straight for him, Kim eyed him with a murderous fury. She was going to kill him, and this was her chance.
Kim moved to fire her cable at Slade's legs just as she had earlier against Shego, tying him down long enough for Drakken to score a single shot. As it was, he was actually dodging Drakken's missile attack. Rockets were detonating across the room, throwing fire, smoke, and rubble into the air, but Slade was managing to stay one step ahead of it all. A cruel smile danced across her face as she imagined the look on Slade's face when his legs fell out from underneath him just as one Drakken's missiles….
Kim's insidious fantasy was interrupted as a powerful hand grabbed her leg. She looked down, and was instantly horrified, to see the battered face of her best friend as he grabbed at her, presumably for aide.
"Kim… help…" But even as Ron's spoke, his arms moved to push the balance out of Kim's leg, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Despite everything that Ron had been through, his body still moved with a horrific purpose and unnatural determination. Even as Kim felt her head hit the concrete ground beneath her, she looked up to see Ron's hands outstretch themselves and reach for her throat.
With all the strength that she had in her body, Kim grabbed his wrists to stop him, but this time, he had the leverage, as well as the strength Slade had given his muscles.
"Ron…" Kim gasped as she struggled to keep her own breath. Her muscles were already sore, the recent beatings that they had taken over the past couple of days still just barely concealed beneath the surface were now adding to their distress.
"Kim…" Ron pulled and pulled at himself as though he were trying to pull some random goon off of her. It was a sick sensation, as he struggled to regain control over his own body.
"Ron… I know you can do this. I know you won't hurt me." Kim spoke with absolute confidence as a calm suddenly came over her. Her grip on his arms deliberately weakened, allowing them to move forward towards her own neck.
"Kim, no!" Ron shouted in terror as his hands reached around her throat, constricting the air within them. Sweat dripped down from every pore on his face as he pulled against himself. Yet he could still feel his grip tightening around her throat.
"I love you Ron, and I won't hurt you anymore. Whatever else happens, I won't hurt you ever again." Kim's voice was soft and chocked. Coughs and gasps began to escape her mouth as Ron's grip remained firm. Her airways were constricted, yet she made no moves to resist.
"KP! Don't you let me do this! Do you hear me?" Panic set in. Ron closed his eyes tightly as he pulled back at himself with all that he had left to bear.
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An explosion sent Slade flying through the air, landing face first on the ground at an unnatural angle. Where on earth had Drakken gotten such a weapon anyway? "Shego." That traitor. She had known about it, and never said a word. Drakken must have found a way to get it out of the lair before he could have found it, and she had just kept quiet the whole time.
Slade looked up from the ground to see Drakken's enormous mechanical armor standing right in front of him. "If you have any last words, find someone who cares!" Drakken spoke with triumph as his laser weapon fired again, coming within an inch of Slade's hide. Though the masked villain was able to leap up off the ground and out of the beam's path, he had not done so quickly enough to keep the beam from burning a mark in Slade's armor, as well as leaving a second degree burn mark beneath it. Slade looked up at Drakken with hate in his eye before rising up to his feet to face down this latest interference in his plans.
As another of Drakken's missiles readied itself, Slade produced another discus. This time, his target was the missile launcher itself. The discus hit its mark directly on target, exploding with deadly results. The secondary explosions produced by the remaining missile tubes created a symphony of destruction that tore away at the robot's entire upper right torso, exposing a series of damaged circuits, as well as producing a small hole in the upper section of the cockpits armor. The robot flailed wildly as Drakken struggled to bring the robot back under control, cursing all the while at the inferior quality of Hench Co. products these days. So distracted was Drakken with this task that he looked up too late to see Slade leap forward directly at the robot, grasping firmly onto the robots frame with one arm. With his spare arm, he produced a grenade which he quickly tossed into the cockpit, before leaping away, rolling to the ground. Drakken was only just able to take in the sight of the grenade as it landed squarely in between his legs before hitting the emergency release on the cockpit canopy, scrambling for his life out of the machine.
Unfortunately, Drakken's legs didn't carry him quite as far as he would have liked. The explosion within the cockpit tore his mechanical goliath to fragments while the force of it uplifted Drakken and sent him flying through the air to land hard on the ground.
With his face in the dirt and his body sore all over, it took Drakken a second to realize his predicament. He hurriedly forced himself to look up, only to see a familiar armored figure standing over him. Slade's arm shot out, grabbing Drakken by the throat, and lifting him up in the air, his feet dangling a few precious inches from the ground beneath him.
"So…wanna team up?" Drakken gasped as he dangled helplessly within Slade's grasp. However, before Slade could respond to the empty offer, another blast of energy flew through the air, striking Slade squarely in the backside, sending both him and Drakken tumbling to the ground. Slade quickly turned, only to see the sneering expression of the Judas in his midst.
"Hey boss," Shego stood, poised for battle, her wrists glowing with savage green energy, "I quit."
"But Shego, after everything that we've been through…" Drakken began to protest from the floor.
"Not you, Dr. D!" Even as Shego spoke, Slade rose from the ground, his fists clenching tightly.
"Last time, you begged for your life." Slade spoke with silent rage.
"This time, I've got back-up." Slade didn't have time to question Shego's statement as a furious red-head sporting a blue and white battle suit attacked from behind, drop kicking Slade's shoulder, sending him falling back to the ground, even as she moved with her own momentum, leaping off of Slade's falling body and into the air to land right beside Shego.
"Ready?" Kim asked.
"Just remember something princess, when this is all over…"
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Kim allowed herself a split second to look over to the side where Ron had finally passed out after forcing his own body under control. She had remembered the look of overwhelming fatigue that had overtaken him, and the promise that she had made him as she had knelt beside his slumbering form.
When he woke up, he'd be safe again.
With that, resolve poured strength through Kim's aching muscles as she returned her glance to Slade. There was no taunting this time. There was nothing left to say.
Shego leapt forward with a flying spin kick that Slade ducked. Landing behind him, Shego came back with a roundhouse that Slade deflected with his right hand, even as Kim attacked his side with a kick of her own to Slade's midsection. Slade was sent off balance and Shego uppercut with her glowing fists, sending Slade stumbling back, desperate to regain his balance.
As Slade regained his stance, he was able to see Kim leap through the air to tackle him to the ground. Slade immediately went limp, moving in flow with the momentum of Kim's attack, then bringing himself up to throw her off him. Kim landed squarely on her feet, even as Slade brought himself back up to his. Just as he managed to do so, Shego moved forward with a combination of glowing emerald jabs that threatened to sear the flesh off of Slade's body at the slightest touch. Slade did his best to dodge the combo, just as a fierce kick from behind, by Kim, knocked him forward, sending him straight into the path of a brutal burning blow to the face from Shego.
Slade cried out in pain, his hands flying up over his mask, desperate to tend to the pain somehow. Even as he did, Kim's powerful legs wrapped themselves around his neck as she leapt over him. Bringing her upper body to the ground, Kim used the power within her legs in conjunction with her momentum to lift Slade up off the ground and send him hurtling through the air to the other side of the room.
Even as Slade managed to twist his form in mid-hurl, landing perfectly on the ground beneath him, he looked up to see his two opponents running together in perfect synchronization at him. The two fought so naturally together, each able to perfectly anticipate and fill in the holes or gaps in the other's attacks.
Slade hurtled another exploding discus through the air, this one landing before Kim Possible, sending her flying backwards to the ground, though the suit saved her from any serious damage.
Shego took no apparent concern for the well being of her very temporary partner. Instead, she leapt up into the air, taking advantage of the opening Slade had left in his stance, to hurl his ranged explosive, to land a drop kick to Slade's left shoulder. Bone of something, either the shoulder or arm, cracked audibly, echoing throughout the largely hollow room as Shego's attack knocked Slade all the way back into the wall. Trapped in a corner, Slade struck out, but Shego ducked the attack and returned with a kick to Slade's burn wound across his midsection. She then followed through with another uppercut, and a palm strike across his mask's chin, sending him right back against the wall with no apparent opening.
"Any more dark advice from the former badass on the block?" Shego jeered at the sight of her former master backed in between a rock and a hard place.
"Actually, yes." Quickly reaching within his belt, Slade produced a simple metallic stick with a red button at its tip. As he pushed down on it, Shego's entire body filled with pain. Her skin began to glow with a mixture of red and yellow as her screams and cries filled the entire room. "A word of warning my former disciple: when breaking in a new pet, always keep it on a firm leash. In your case, the 'leash' is composed of microscopic machines coursing through your body, far less pleasant than the ones I placed in Ron Stoppable."
Slade's fist crashed against Shego's jaw, drawing blood that splattered across the floor, a little of it even splashing on Slade's mask. Kim looked on in horror at the sight.
"You swore to serve me until such time as I released you, and that's a promise you are going to keep, whether you like it or not." Slade kicked out at Shego's bent over form, hitting her stomach hard, drawing more blood from her mouth. Yet any pain from the blow paled in comparison to the pain tearing apart her body from within. Shego spoke through gritted teeth as her entire body felt like it was on fire from the inside out.
"I...I'm sorry." Shego spoke in a whisper.
'What?" Slade's foot kicked across her face, laying her out on the ground.
"I'm sorry." Shego cried out in agony.
"That's better." Slade held up the control stick within his hand as if in display… only to drop it down to the ground, quickly and firmly crushing it beneath his boot.
Kim gasped, looking onward powerlessly as Slade turned to her.
"One down, one to go."