A/N: This is NOT a new fic!
This was the second fanfic I ever finished writing, in 2007! (The first is my first published fic on FFn.) The reason I never published it was...because I forgot about it. I didn't have an FFn account at the time; I was still a lurker. And I got into another fandom and only just rediscovered this.
So...enjoy my 2007 writing style. I only edited for grammar and spelling, not content. And you can clearly see what aspect of the fandom interested me back then! This is set pre-Larry's Birthday. Enjoy!
'There's Drakken's hover-car. Rotiffle was right!—he is in danger. Well, we'll just see about that,' Kim Possible thought to herself as she jumped the security fence of Dr. Rotiffle's estate. He had called her earlier that day with suspicions of another attempt to steal his MDD, and she had agreed to head over that night to take the software to safety. But it appeared that Drakken was one step ahead of her this time. Just then, her communicator beeped.
"Go Wade. How do I get in undetected?"
"The skylight should be perfect. Just be careful. My initial scans revealed strange electronic energy signatures that weren't there the last time we were here."
"There's no sitch I can't handle, Wade. Especially when Drakken's involved."
"True. Oh, by the way, any word from Ron?"
Kim shot her grapple to the top of the building.
"He said he'd call when the interview is over. He was so worried when he left—Middleton College is the only school he's gotten an interview for."
"Well, considering that it's a junior college, he shouldn't have any problems."
"No, he'll do fine... If he doesn't pass out from being so nervous."
"Haha. Yep."
Kim climbed up to the roof of the house and walked toward the skylight.
"All right, mission mode Wade. Call me if you hear from Ron."
Kim ended the call and crept toward the ridiculously large skylight and was not surprised to find it open. 'Drakken always has a flair for a dramatic exit.' She peeked over the side and listened curiously to the voices in the dimly lit room below.
"Now, Dr. Rotiffle, hand over the technology, and perhaps I won't have my syntho-drones knead you into pulp."
"Dr. D.," broke in Shego, "if they were kneading it would be 'into dough' not 'pulp.' That would be 'juicing'."
"I'm not interested in technicalities, Shego! The point is," he said turning back to Rotiffle, "if you don't give me the MDD you will get hurt! And I don't mean 'scrape your knee' kind of hurt. I mean 'juice you into dough' kind of hurt!"
"Ungh..." Shego groaned.
"I mean pulp! Knead you into— No! Argh!"
Shego ignited her hands and glared menacingly at Rotiffle. "I'll burn you to a crisp."
Rotiffle grimaced, and finally sighed as Shego stared him down. He went to his computer to get the software.
"You see, Dr. D. what a well-constructed threat can accomplish?"
"Yes, Shego, I shall work on some more...what about 'I will grind you to sausage!' or, um, or..."
"What's with the food threats? You hungry or something?"
"So I skipped lunch!" Drakken said.
"How about 'reach for the sky!'"
"Kim Possible?!"
At that moment, Kim dropped from the ceiling, kicking Shego viciously in the side, and sending her sprawling. She sat up rapidly, her eyes blazing green with fire, but Drakken stepped in front of her before she could move.
"Shego, see to the prisoner. The syntho-drones can handle Kim Possible."
"You're uncharacteristically confident. You do remember I destroyed your syntho-drones the last time you tried them out?" Kim said sarcastically.
"Ah, but I have improved them since then. Now they are virtually unstoppable! Speaking of which, where is your dorky boyfriend side-kick?"
"College interview. And he's not a dork. But it doesn't take two to take you down, Drakken!"
"Indeed, you shall see my power. Shego! Get the MDD!" Shego dashed to where Rotiffle was cowering in shock and grabbed the disc out of his hands. Kim engaged the drones and was met with a shocking surprise. Upon her first contact, she received a strong electrical shock which nearly leveled her.
"Wha—?"
"So you see, Kim Possible, my syntho-drones have a new talent. They have an electro-shock system that will attune to your personal electronic frequency. Every time you touch one it gets stronger!"
Kim somersaulted out of the way as a drone moved to attack, and again as two more converged on her.
"Prepare to meet your doom! Shego," he gestured to her and she walked over to where he stood and gave him the disc, "I'm leaving before she discovers a way to defeat them and subsequently defeat me. Stay here and make sure the job gets done this time."
"Wow, a little foresight. You're smarter than you look, Dr. D."
"Yeah, well, grrr...I am a super-genius!"
"Uh, huh...just get your super-dorky self out of here before Kimmie figures out how to stop the syntho-drones."
"They're unstoppable!"
"That's what you said the last time she defeated them."
"Well, I...they...oh, just zip it Shego! And don't let her escape!"
As Drakken ran to the open door and his hover-car, Shego turned to see Rotiffle dialing 9-1-1. A swift bolt of her cometic energy knocked him out and she turned her attention to Kim. She was doing a fair job of evading the drones, but occasionally, one would hit her, and it slowed her up each time. Shego leaned against a desk with a smirk. Maybe Drakken did something right for a change.
Kim was holding her own dodging until the drones came up with another surprise. They all pulled out electrified swords. Kim leapt back to avoid yet another syntho-drone and hit her watch-communicator to open the frequency to Wade.
"What's up Kim? Did Ron call—oh..."
"Yeah. How do I stop these things Wade?! If I touch them, I get shocked, and it gets worse each time. I'm not sure I can win this one."
"Well, retreat isn't winning, but it's not losing either. And that's what I'd suggest for this sitch."
"I'm inclined to agree with you this time, Wade. Except I can't get out of here! They're everywhere! And Shego— Ah!"
"Kim?!"
Kim had taken a hard hit to the back that sent her sprawling. She got up slowly and another drone hit her across the room. Her watch smacked the floor and broke, and she was alone. She rose again just in time to dodge another blow, but every nerve in her body was stinging, and her vision was getting blurry. She looked at the open door that seemed to be miles away, when it was only about twenty feet. If she could get outside she would have an advantage. If she could get outside.
Shego watched the fight, initially impressed that Dr. Drakken had finally done something right, but then as Kim took blow after blow, she began to question if destroying Kim was really a creditable goal. If Kim was destroyed, they'd have the side-kick and her family and just about everyone else in the world after them. Kim had helped so many people that she knew that whoever ended up being responsible for her demise would suffer the consequences, and suffer bad.
Probably worse than Kim was suffering at that instant.
As Kim dodged three attacking drones, Shego had to be impressed. She was extremely skilled for having no training other than hours of cheer-leading practice after school. The look of grim determination on her face reminded her of herself at that age. Fiercely proud and willing to do whatever it takes. The only difference was Kim didn't feel trapped by her status. She didn't feel the constant pressure to prove herself and be better each time, or at least if she did she didn't show it.
Kim took another hard blow that knocked her over, and her recovery time was the slowest yet. Shego realized as she saw Kim in pain that it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth the life of a good person to satisfy another's selfish wants.
'Especially when that person will fail at whatever he's up to.'
She gasped as Kim took another blow and didn't get up. The drones were closing in for a combined attack and Shego leapt into action. She charged her energy and sent a powerful bolt at the pack. She knocked many of them down, but these new drones were resilient, and moved to intercept her.
Shego then saw the flaw in her impulsive move. How could she defeat them? Any contact meant an electric shock. She only needed to pierce their armor to render them helpless, so if she could find a weapon that was insulated, she shouldn't have a problem.
Why hadn't Kim thought of that?
As she dodged an attack from one of the drones, she realized Kim probably didn't have much time to look around the computer-jockey's study in between the synthetic creatures' attacks. She saw a baseball bat in a glass case and shot a bolt of energy to break into it. She leapt over an attacking drone and grabbed the bat. It was autographed by someone whose name she didn't recognize.
'Oh well, Rotiffle. You probably would have preferred this.'
She used her energy to push the drones out of her way to get clear shots at them one at a time with the bat. Her plan was working. But there were still a lot of them. She maneuvered her way outside the room into onto the patio, and the syntho-drones followed. She grinned fiercely as she delivered blow after blow with the bat, ending their meaningless existence.
As she swung the bat, for a moment she wasn't 'Shego, Drakken's evil side-kick,' but 'Shego, member of Team Go, super-heroes.' As the last one dissolved into a puddle at her feet, she finally took a breath tinged with laughter. She had forgotten how good it felt to be the hero.
She dropped the bat and walked slowly back toward the house. She had taken some hits during the battle and despite her super-abilities, wasn't feeling quite her usual world-conquering self.
As she entered the room, she stopped short and gasped. There was one syntho-drone left, standing over Kim Possible with a charged blade in its hands, poised to deliver a fatal blow.
Shego dashed forward and kicked the drone with all her might. It fell, but quickly turned back to her, and she could have sworn its gaze held the root of evil. It launched toward her, blade flashing, and she kicked it out of the way to avoid being hit. The electro-shocks were painful, but she could handle it. For a while.
For a few more seconds it went on, her dodging blows and occasionally taking them, and she realized she had to stop it fast, or both she and Kim would fall prey to Drakken's monsters. She gave it a hard kick that sent it to the opposite end of the room, to give her time to charge up.
She focused her energy until her whole body was a blazing green weapon, and as it started to come toward her, she launched toward it with all her might, her clawed gloves directed toward its weak point, its face. She hit it with devastating force, and she collapsed on that spot as the fluid that gave it life drained out of its armor, leaving it helpless.
She turned toward Kim, and smiled softly as she thought of how lucky she was—not just in the battle. She crept toward her and turned her over so she was lying on her back, and folded the teen's hands across her middle.
Kim had everything she could ever want. Shego only hoped that she wouldn't throw it all away the way she had done. On an impulse, she leaned in and whispered softly.
"Oh, if you knew how much I envy you. You are 'all that,' Kimmie. And never forget it."
She thought she saw Kim's eyes begin to flutter ever so slightly. She leaned back and sighed, knowing that she had done the right thing. And then she heard the sirens.
'Rotiffle!'
She suddenly remembered he had called the police, and they were finally arriving. She gathered her strength and rose to her feet. She couldn't be caught there. As she ran for the door she could have sworn she heard Kim call her name, but there wasn't time to go back. As the police entered the building, she disappeared into the night, blending into the darkness and the green leaves blowing in the wind.
Kim's brain woke up, and she tried to get her eyes to open. But whenever she thought she did, all she saw was a grey mist. Every inch of her was in pain, and she thought she must be near death. And then, for a moment, it looked like Shego was standing over her. She thought that Shego had finally bested her, and she whimpered out her name in a plea for mercy. But then her mind betrayed her and she knew no more.
The next time she opened her eyes, they worked, and she had to close them again for the blinding light that met them.
"Kim?" She recognized the voice and forced her eyes open.
"Ron?" she said weakly. "What—?"
"KP! You're okay!" She looked up into the exuberant face of her boyfriend and then looked around the room. She appeared to be lying on a cot in a police station, but she had no idea how she got there.
"Ron, what happened?" she asked as she recovered her voice. "How did I get here?"
"We brought you here, Miss Possible," an approaching police sergeant said. "We received Dr. Rotiffle's 9-1-1 call and responded as fast as we could. We found you unconscious among an army of destroyed syntho-drones."
Kim's eyes widened in confusion at this, and then she registered what the sergeant had said a moment before.
"Dr. Rotiffle! Is he—?"
"He's doing just fine, Miss, which is more than can be said for you. You gave us quite a scare with the amount of electricity you'd sustained."
"Oh, right..."
"But our doctor says you'll be fine, so you're free to leave whenever you wish. And thanks again for your help. Dr. Rotiffle says if it weren't for you, his invention would have been stolen."
"But, it was..."
"When you distracted Drakken by defeating his drones, I had time to get a fake disc."
"Dr. Rotiffle!" Kim turned to the approaching man with an animated smile.
"The snack master! What up, yo?!"
"Ron, please. Dr. Rotiffle, I'm so glad you're okay."
"So am I Miss Possible. I don't know how to thank you. If you ever need a favor..."
"We'll call. You can count on it."
"Great! And thanks again!"
Rotiffle and the officer left as Ron led Kim out of the police station to the waiting rental-car. She buckled her seatbelt and curled up in the passenger seat as Ron took the wheel. After a few moments of silence, Kim spoke.
"So how did the interview go?"
"Oh...they turned me down."
"Turned you down! But it's a community college..."
At the look on Ron's face, she decided it would be better to let this one go for now, and change the topic of conversation. She thought about the troubling incident at Rotiffle's.
"Ron, I don't understand. What happened?"
"What do you mean, KP?"
"How did the syntho-drones get destroyed?"
"You defeated them. Didn't you?" he said, confused.
"No. They defeated me. I remember trying to make it to the door and getting knocked out. And then I think I saw Shego, but I was pretty out of it. And then I woke up at the station."
"Hmm, that's real strange, because the cops said it looked like the syntho-drones had been destroyed with Rotiffle's Barry Bonds autographed baseball bat outside on his patio, except for one that was inside."
"A bat! Why didn't I think of that? All I needed was something that doesn't conduct electricity!"
"But you did, didn't you?"
"No."
"But then how else could the drones have been defeated?"
"It's a mystery."
They rode in silence for a few minutes when something else occurred to Kim.
"Ron, how did you know what happened? How did you know to come here?"
"When Wade lost contact with you he filled me in. I left right away to come find you. In fact...in fact I left in the middle of my interview to get here."
"Oh, Ron! That's why you didn't get into Middleton College? You didn't have to do that."
"Well, not knowing if you were okay or not, I probably would have screwed up the interview anyway. And even getting into the best college isn't worth your safety Kim."
"That's one of the sweetest things you've ever said, Ron!"
"I try."
Kim leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing his smile to grow. Rufus popped out of Ron's pocket just then with a squeak.
'Boo-yah!'
Kim and Ron laughed at that, and then her communicator beeped.
"Uh oh, I forgot to call Wade, Kim. He's probably freakin' out."
Kim rolled her eyes as she answered the call. "Hey Wade. Any sitches need taking care of?"
"Kim! Phew, when Ron didn't contact me I was getting ready to fly out there myself."
Kim smirked at Ron and he grinned apologetically.
"Since you called, maybe you could solve a mystery for us."
"If it involves anything technical, I'm your guy."
"Hey, I'm her guy!" Kim glared at Ron, and he blushed. "Heh heh, sorry KP."
"We're trying to figure out what happened to the syntho-drones."
"Huh?"
Kim and Ron told him everything they had observed, and Wade accessed the police report online and promised to get back to them. Kim leaned the seat back and fell into a peaceful sleep. The next time she awoke, she was in her own car, with Ron at the wheel.
"Ron? What—?"
"You slept through the whole flight, Kim. And Rufus was making fun of your snoring but I told him it was cute, and—"
"Ron!"
"Hey, chill out KP. We're almost to your house, oh and Wade called back but I told him to let you get your beauty sleep. Not that you need it or anything, you're already beautiful."
Kim smiled and Ron suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Of course...you do need sleep, but not to be beautiful, but because it's healthy and—"
"Just quit while you're ahead Ron," she said as she pulled out her communicator and contacted Wade.
"So what's up with the syntho-drones Wade? Any leads?"
"Yeah, and you're not going to believe this, but all the evidence says that Shego destroyed them."
"Shego!" both Kim and Ron exclaimed.
"Uh huh. Traces of her cometic energy were found all over the drones, and someone would have had to have super strength to swing that bat at the force that forensics say it was swung with."
Kim and Ron exchanged a skeptical glance, which only caused Wade to get upset. He didn't like it when they doubted him.
"Strange as it seems, there's no other alternative Kim. Shego destroyed the syntho-drones."
"Okay…thanks Wade."
"No problem," he said, smiling as he ended the call.
Kim brought her knees up in the seat and hugged them to her. Ron looked at her dismayed look and got worried. Usually that look meant a tour through her self-esteem issues.
"Kim, what's wrong?"
"So I did see Shego standing over me..." she turned to look at Ron. "Why would she do that? She could have killed me, but she didn't. She saved me! This doesn't make any sense, Ron."
Ron sighed and looked back to the road that led into Kim's driveway. He pulled into the drive and put the car in park. He put his hand on Kim's shoulder and smiled as she looked at him.
"It's a crazy world, KP. There are some things you'll just never know."
A/N: So, once again...2007, yo! What do you think?
My focus back then was a~ll on Kim and Shego. After 'Mad Dogs and Aliens' I became obsessed with the idea of Shego not actually wanting to kill Kim, and 'Stop Team Go' sealed it (and that pirate ep...). My headcanon forever since has been that Shego's hate of Kim is spurred by the fact that Kim is who Shego could have and should have become, but it's also given her a soft spot and she doesn't actually want to destroy her.
So there you have it! I love getting reviews!