Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from the Kim Possible series are all owned by Disney. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

Chapter by Thomas Linquist with edits by KiY

Chapter 4 - Sympathy for the Devil

"You want to act as Emcee?" KiY whispered to Cpneb.

"It's your show."

"You were the one who told me to go ahead with the idea."

"But it was your idea."

"You could have told me Z had said he hoped to post this weekend."

"I thought you were capable of reading his post for yourself." 'Neb said coolly, "And everyone is expecting someone to get up there and make an introduction."

"You think you're all that, but--"

"Move it," 'Neb barked.

KiY carried the cardboard cut out of Zaratan on stage, carefully skirting the hole CaptainKodak had fallen through, and set it up in front of the curtain. He addressed the crowd, "Our first presenter needs all the introduction he can get. He's a Noob and a Canadian, and I'm not sure what the category is he proposed, but I hope it has Shego in it. Any category with Shego in it is okay with me.
"He's posted six stories already this year, Thomas Linquist with Best Sympathetic Use of a Bad Guy."

KiY remained on the stage as Thomas came forward to polite applause.

Thomas was dressed in his usual writer's uniform of black slacks, white golf shirt, and in concession to the cool theatre, an extremely large black sweater. The sweater billowed out like a cape behind the short, plump figure. His glasses were sliding down his nose, and he pushed them back. The ever-present clipboard was tucked under one arm, with the envelope of nominees at the top. His cane made a light tapping noise as he tested the boards of the stage. He'd been assured that it would hold his wait, but...

"By the way," KiY commented as they shook hands, "if you had your settings to allow anonymous reviews I'd have left one for A Week in the Pocket while I was at work the other day."

"Don't you get nut cases leaving reviews if you do that?"

"I'd have left one."

"That's what I asked."

KiY had not used the microphone, but Thomas felt a little nervous and went with it. "Uh, glad you could be here. There are more of you than I expected. Maybe next time KiY should--"

"Won't be a next time!" someone shouted.

"--Maybe he'll rent a conference room at the Best Western across town. At least nobody had fallen out of a broken seat, yet. There was still some question about the state of the plumbing in the women's rest room."

"YD WURRQZ!" came from KT inside her HazMat suit. Everyone assumed she was trying to say, "It works."

"I would like to take a moment to thank the people who brought me here, and I'm not referring to Midwest Air. They didn't need to apologize for the delays, they should have apologized for the chicken." The audience laughed at the gag. It wasn't like the Fannies, where the nominees were sometimes flown in by Wade Load and his fiancee. Everyone had tales to tell of the trip to this event. At least they had come. KiY had been a little worried that the writers would shun this little get together for something else, like Saturday night hockey.

Thomas laughed nervously. He tapped the mike and feedback squealed from the sound system. "There's no budget like low budget. Seriously, I want to present the Silver Quill award for the Best sympathetic use of a bad guy or girl.
"But first, I want to say that, although I'm new to this community, I've been made to feel very welcome. Some of the legends of fan fiction writing have taken the time to read my stories and offer encouragement and advice. In particular, I have to thank CaptainKodak, CajunBear and MrDrP. Your reviews and inspiration make it easy to write in this genre." Thomas nodded to Captain Kodah and MrDrP in the audience; each nodded back at him.

"The nominees for Best sympathetic use of a bad guy or girl are: Zaratan's Light in the Dark, Obbiejoe's The New Team Possible, Zaratan's Not Always a Happy Ending: Bonnie, JAKT's Rewind, Play and Fast Forward, and finally Thomas Linquist's Sarah. Thomas looked up from the page in his hand, and grinned sheepishly at the audience.

"I just want to add here that it is coincidence that Zaratan has been nominated twice in this category. The two stories I have just mentioned are special in how they deal with the character of Bonnie Rockwaller.--"

"She's not a villain!" someone shouted.

Thomas tried to recollect his train of thought, "As for the story Sarah, well that's just a little bit of shameless self promotion."

"The young women written about in these stories have often been considered an enemy to be fought for no particular reason, and a spoiled brat." A slightly softened tone came to his voice as Thomas explained the reason for the nominations. "In the stories by Zaratan, Bonnie is seen for what she really is, a young girl who is bitter and unsure of herself. The author has looked beyond what the character has displayed in the series, and allows us to understand her without making excuses for her. In the story by Obbiejoe, Shego is given a chance to make something of herself, to atone for what she has done in the past, and realizing the potential for good in herself."

"JAKT have explored the 'bad guy' in depth in their story. The character of Zorpox the Conqueror is actually the evil incarnation of Ron, and through him, the writing team has explored the nature of an evil person, and how even the most evil of us can do good when they find love."

"In my story, Shego's past is explored. I wanted to develop her character as a person who had no place to turn, and made the wrong choices. It was my hope that the reader could understand her dreams and fears, and maybe begin to forgive, even as Kim Possible did."

There was a small buzz of conversation as the audience as those unfamiliar with Thomas's story asked those who had read it for their opinions.

A slight rustling sound from the stage regained their attention. Thomas had put his cane up against the podium and was opening the envelope. "And the winner of the Silver Quill award is," There was an expectant pause. "Light in the Dark, by Zaratan."

The standard low pitched announcer voice came out of nowhere. "Accepting on behalf of the missing Zaratan will be his fellow forum moderator, CaptainKodak."

The Captain got up from his seat in the front row and climbed the steps to the stage. He carefully strode across the boards and accepted a gigantic silver plated feather (actually, it was made of plastic) which was sticking out of an old ink bottle from an art supply store. He looked at the "trophy" and shook his head a couple of times. Thomas took his hand and shook it a couple of times. Retrieving his cane, he waved the other man to the microphone and stepped back.

"Thank you, Thomas. Welcome to our little community of men and women obsessed with a cartoon show aimed at preteens." Everyone laughed a little. "It is so easy to write for these characters, when Disney has done the background work for us.
"In today's world, we sometimes see good and evil as two totally separate things. In fact, the world is a shade of grays, with each person doing what they feel is best, or letting bitterness or anger cloud their judgment. Bonnie is hiding her pain behind a facade of toughness.
"Ron Stoppable is the best character to breach that wall. He cares for everyone, and would give of himself even when Bonnie has said things that would hurt lesser people even more deeply. She opens up to him a little, expressing her frustration and anger, not with him and Kim, but her family and 'the food chain'."

"And now," CaptainK announced solemnly, "I' like to leave you with this thought: Anybody know how much parcel postage is to Canada?'"