Shattered

Thanks to everyone who has asked for it, this is the epilogue to the first chapter. Like the last chapter this will have themes of suicide, emotional abuse, and self-hatred. Once again Reader's digression is advised.

Epilogue

"No."

How odd it was that such a simple word could have such an odd dichotomy. It said in a tone so cold permafrost could have been growing in the walls but with a burning rage that was searing the very souls of the two before the desk. And the dripped venom so toxic and corrosive the desk could have melted at any second.

Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable sat uncomfortably in the steel, cushion less seats; the former with his eyes cast down and the later eyes burning in defiance. "What do you mean no?" Andrea Stoppable snapped in rage as she slammed her hands on the desk.

"Honey... I don't think-" Elliott Stoppable started before he was cut off by his wife.

"I have this!" Andrea snarled, eyes never leaving Dr. Director, "Who the hell do you think you are to keep a boy away from his loving parents?!"

Betty's interlace fingers tightened as she tried and failed to hold her temper in check. "I am Dr. Betty Director, head of Global Justice and you have no right what so ever to call yourselves 'Loving Parents'! You two are one of the main reasons he almost KILLED himself, and you dare to stand before me and try and get to him again."

"How dare you!" Andrea shouted as she tried to get into Betty's face, thankfully Elliot had the good sense to hold her back, "He is our child and you have no right what so ever to deny us access to our son!"

Taking a deep breath Betty glared back and somehow was able to speak in a level tone, but only just. "Tell me Mrs. Stoppable, do you remember the little project that you signed off on? The 'Ron Factor'?" Andrea gave an annoyed but confused look and a nod, "Good, now do you remember how we had cameras installed in your home?"

Elliot seemed to understand where this was going, "Andrea..."

"Why don't you just stop beating around the damn bush!? What the hell are you trying to say!?" Andrea snapped.

"I have video evidence." The words hung heavy in the air, so heavy Andrea was having trouble breathing. "I have video evidence of the neglect, of verbal and mental abuse, I even have you two disowning him. And I've already taken all this to a court."

Betty flicked a thick folder across her desk before them, they could already see what it said but where refused to believe it. "Emancipator?!" Andrea snarled, "How could this happen?! Why weren't we informed?!"

"You were," Betty hissed as her nails dug into the desk, "The trial was a week ago, you were repeatedly informed two weeks before that. As I recall every messenger reported that you were gone or just disinterested. It wasn't until five days ago, when we were finally able to give the reporters the full details of who saved the world that you suddenly showed up at our front doors demanding your 'Precious Son' back into your care."

The stunned look in Andrea's face almost brought a smile to Betty's, of course she was never one to be out done. Opening her mouth to scream something about lawyers when she was cut off buy her husband, "Andrea that is enough!" Andrea had never heard her husband speak in such a tone and never to her, "We've backed ourselves into a corner with this, fucked up bad, and now we are going to have to deal with the after math. If we ever want our son to even speak to us again then we need to back off and let him do it on his own terms."

Andrea looked like she wanted to say something, fight this with all she had, but she knew a lost cause when she saw one. At least she thought she did. "Go wait in the car," Elliot said with a sad sigh, "I'll wrap things up here."

Once his wife was out of the room Elliot rub his face with his hand. "I know you must think horribly about us, and to be honest I don't blame you. Both sides of our family are critical of everyone and believed you had to be a certain way to be welcome. I think in all his life his grandfather was the only one to ever really understand and except him in our family."

Betty could see the admiration in his eyes as Elliot talked about his father in law. What she was going to say next would seriously wound the man, but she really didn't care all that much right at that moment. "I am well aware of how your family has treated him, especially after his grandfather died, and the fit everyone threw about the gifts that were left for him alone. Thankfully Mr.'s Ending hade the foresight to get an iron clad will that couldn't be broken."

Elliot's eyes dropped at this, shame filling him as he recalled how much he fought to try and get his hands on the 'Demon's kiss'. "Tell me... did he...?"

"Allister 'Long Shot' Stoppable would have been proud that his heir was able to use 'Angel's Breath' with unmatched precision," Betty said as she glared down at the man, "and heart broken that he would try to use 'Demon's Kiss' to end himself."

Elliot's head shot up as he looking into her eye, searching desperately for any sign of a lie the he could use to deny what he had just heard. There was none and it broke his heart. With nothing left to say, no apology so grand that it could fix the mess he was in, Elliot turned and left the room.

Betty glared at the back of the man's head and then at the security monitor all the while he and his wife were on the camera. Sighing to herself Betty rubbed her temples, "Lord I need a drink," she groaned.

It had been a very long month for the poor director of Global Justice. Every insect in existence were crawling out of their rotting decayed nests, primed and ready to feast on the poor boy in her care. Lawyers, reporters, now EX-classmates and teachers. Each it seemed worse than the last, she had almost broken Barkin's arm when he tried to see him, but by far the worst had to fall on one girl.

A knock came from the door as Will Du walked in, "Ma'am, she's here again," he said, his voice hard and annoyed, at her present or that Betty was still personally overseeing Ron she wasn't sure.

'Right on time,' Betty snarled in her mind as Will gave a slight nod and showed her 'Guest' in.

Kim Possible had made her presence known threw out GJ before but in the last month she had found herself in this office every single day, each time pleading the same thing; she wanted to talk to Ron. In the first week Betty wouldn't even talk to her let alone let her in, which always resulted in her attempting to break in. After that, and one actual successful entry, Betty allowed the girl to plead her case then politely told her to 'fuck off'.

Every day was like clockwork day in and day out, except for today as two red heads walked in her office. "Hello Dr. Possible, Kimberly" Betty said, her voice turning to ice when addressing to Kim, "To what do I owe this visit."

"Please," Kim said, her voice low and close to crying, "I just want to see him... he's always been by my side! He's my-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Betty snapped, leveling her with a glare that made her curl into herself, "You lost any right you had to that title with what you did."

"Is my daughter not allowed to rectify her actions?" Ann said, calm as ever and giving the other woman a flat stare. A silent war was being wedged the two women as they stared each other down.

"I'm not sure of just how much you are aware of what went down that night," Betty growled, "or in the years before hand. If you did I doubt you would be so willing to forgive and forget. Tell me, how would you feel if it was your son?"

"He is my son." Ann said, the calm glare sending a chill down Betty's back, not that she would admit it. "Every day of his life from the time he was three he was with us in our home, I have wiped his tears and cleaned his cuts and bruises. I have spent the last ten years planning either their wedding or barring that out right adopting him.

"I know what he was going threw, like you I've held him as he's cried." Betty held in her surprise that the other woman knew, "I haven't forgiven his parents either, and the only reason I have my daughter is because I've seen and heard her cry every night trying to think of a way to apologize for what she had a hand in."

"Kimberly has done enough to him." Betty said with as calm a look as she could, "He's in a very fragile state right now. Anything she said to him could very easily damage him even more."

"I just want to see him." Kim said in a broken voice, "I won't say or do anything. I just have to see him..."

Betty glared daggers at the teen, looking for any trace of a lie or trick but finding none. Standing up suddenly she turned to Ann, "How is her stability?" she asked pointing to Kim.

Ann clinched her jaw, not liking where this was going, "Fair but not great." Kim looked indignantly at her mother but didn't actually say anything, "Is he really in that bad of a condition?"

Signaling them to follow her Betty lead the two down a hidden hallway, into a room with a large window. Sitting in a dim room just on the other side of the mirror was Ron, clutched in his hand was 'Demon's Kiss' while 'Angel's Breath' sat in his lap.

"Ron..." Kim whispered as a tear rolled down her face.

"Is it a good idea to let him have those in there?" Ann asked in worry, her hands clasped over her chest as she fought every urge she had against just bursting in down the door and pulling him into her chest.

Betty sighed has she put her hand on the glass. "I understand your concern," she said, "they aren't loaded so there is no trouble there. We tried to take them but he wouldn't give them, he refused to let go of what his grandfather left him for anyone, not even me." It hurt her a little to admit that

"Are those..." Kim asked, struggling just as much as her mother not to burst into there. Betty gave the girl a sharp nod.

"Those guns are what ended Drakken's plan and put Shego into GJ's high security psychiatrics cell." Betty said, a part of her feeling bad that she took joy in the fact that Shego was still constantly on edge, always thinking Ron was just around the corner and about to finish her off.

"Can we go in and see him?" Ann asked.

"You may," Betty said before turning to Kim, "but she may not." The ice and venom in her voice while still present was toned down.

Ann growled and was about to snap something before being cut off by Kim, "It's ok mom, go... Ron needs you." Seeing the worried and conflicted look in her mother's eyes she continued, "I've hurt him so much, and in the state he's in right now I don't think he'll want or even be able to handle seeing me."

With an un happy nod Ann turned around to face Betty and follow her to the door hidden in the corner. As much as she wanted to she couldn't force her to come or Betty to allow her. "How long?" she asked.

"As long as you need," Betty said as she typed in the code, "just don't bring up that night if you can help it."

As Ann walking in there were a great many things she was expecting after calling out to him, of those many things blind terror had not been on of them. Ron, who for the last few days had been sitting in the middle of the room, suddenly backed into the far corner with both guns held close to his chest.

"Ron," Ann said as tears began building in her eyes, "Honey what's wrong?" When he didn't answer she walked up to him slowly, hearing his muffled cries, calling himself a failure and less then human, an accident and a mistake. No longer caring about the weapons still in his lap, Ann rushed forward and pulled Ron into her arms. Yes she had known of the hard life the poor boy had lived but to see him this broken tore her heart to shreds. "I'm here now Ron. I'm so sorry I wasn't before but I will now, always."