Authors Note: Another big thank you to everyone who cares about this story. And thanks to my friend Brandon for proof reading, a job that I very much hate doing. As a side note, I've been told that experiencing character development kinda tingles.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.
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"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you."
~Yoda
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It had finally arrived. The important day that she and so many others have been anticipating for months now. Friday night. Sectionals. Tonight would be the night that would determine whether the Middleton cheerleaders would advance the regionals. Every girl on the squad had put forth dozens of hours of effort in preparation for this night.
It was a pity that it was the least important thing on Kim's mind.
Since she had found out about what had happened to Ron she had been in a funk. No, more than a funk. A depression. She had never felt depressed in her life. She had a positive, inspired outlook on life. To her nothing was impossible in the world. She had been taught by her parents that she could do anything. She had done everything she had ever put her mind to. Failure held no place in her vocabulary. She beat the unbeatable. She passed the impassable. She conquered the unconquerable.
Then why was she suddenly feeling so weak?
Kim sat in the locker room with the other girls preparing to go out and perform their routine. The competition was being held in their own school so they at least enjoyed a home field advantage. Both the Upperton and Lowerton squads had already gone out and put on their shows. Middleton was the third and final act. The winner would advance to regionals. There could only be one.
Looking around her she saw the faces of her squad mates. They had once been close friends. Sure, some of them still considered Kim to be a friend. But others were a bit more distant now. Camille, like she had with so many other things in her life, had poisoned the minds of the cheerleaders. She had been able to turn them against Kim through sheer cunning and manipulation. On some occasions the girls had actually seen Kim be mean to her, like in the bathroom several days earlier. Other times it had been due to gossip and intrigue behind her back where she had no opportunity to defend herself. Most of the girls were still civil toward her. But at the same time they often displayed a cold indifference. They were loyal to the rank of captain that she held, not the person who held it.
Sitting across the room from her was the source of her problems. Camille looked into a small mirror as she brushed her hair. She was completely ignoring the redhead who was staring hatefully at her. Kim didn't know whether she genuinely didn't see her or was purposely not looking back at her. It enraged Kim to know that the girl could be so casual around someone who not only despised everything about her, but could also back up that hatred with a brutal beating.
And why not? Why shouldn't she get violent with Camille? She was taking everything away from her. She no longer felt safe at school knowing that anyone she talked to, anyone in the halls, could be a fake. All but her closest friends were being turned against her slowly but surely. But the one unforgivable deed was what she had done to Ron. It had been bad enough when she was just manipulating and fooling him into thinking that she liked him. Then Kim had discovered that she was really working with Dr. Drakken toward some unknowable, but obviously ill-intentioned goal. And then there had been yesterday. It was like a nightmare that kept invading her mind every time she closed her eyes.
She saw the spiteful look on Ron's face as he talked to her. She saw the hate and coldness in his eyes. It wasn't him. No one that kind and loving was supposed to look like that. And yet he did. Something horrible had happened to him before that day. Kim had made an educated guess as to what. The only explanation was an attitudinator. She recalled her prior experience with the device. He had been able to create doomsday machines and threaten the whole world in the span of a day. He had been on the verge of insanity by the time she had finally stopped him. Who knows what he was capable of now. He had had a day and a half to let it sink in and be with Camille. The two of them working together sent chills through her body.
However, Camille had told her that she didn't do anything. Not that she should believe a word that came out of that psychopath's mouth. But why should she deny it? She had taken great pleasure in rubbing her successes in Kim's face. She wanted Kim to know everything she was doing to destroy her world. To deny her greatest achievement of turning Ron into a cold, psychotic villain was completely nonsensical. Perhaps she didn't know what had happened to Ron. That could only mean that someone else was responsible for it. But who? Kim was determined to find out.
Kim closed her eyes as she thought about this. Images of their kiss flashed in her mind. It was sickening. What they had wasn't love. It was some kind of twisted, primal lust. She figured it was exactly the kind of thing Camille would have. Someone like her couldn't love another person. Kim didn't know what kind of issues she had, but she had plenty of them. No regular person could be as screwed up as Camille. She had been correct calling the girl a sociopath the other week.
This had only been reinforced when she, along with the entire school, had found out that Brick had been suspended. Apparently yesterday he had been seen smashing Mr. Barkin's car windows after school. Of course the young man had repeatedly denied doing such a thing. But like before with Bonnie, school security cameras showed that he was the one doing it. He had no case as far as they were concerned. But Kim knew better. She knew who was really behind the incident. Her only question was why? What did Camille possibly have to gain by suspending Brick?
She looked up when she heard applause from outside the locker room doors. An announcement had just been made that Middleton's squad would be coming out shortly. It was game time. She had to focus, she had to keep her head in this competition. Anything less could be disastrous for not only her, but the other girls as well. It wasn't only the threat of failure, but the threat of injury should someone fail to do their job properly. Kim was determined to make sure that it wouldn't be her.
She stood and gathered the other girls around her before she spoke to them.
"Okay girls. This is the moment we've all been practicing for. We can do this. We will do this. Have faith in yourselves and each other. If you do this, nothing can stop us."
The other cheerleaders answered with enthusiastic agreement.
"Now let's go out there and win sectionals!"
They roared in approval as they began making their way out of the room. Camille had hung around behind and was the last girl in line. She spoke to Kim as she passed her by.
"Break a leg, Kim," she smiled.
"This isn't theater, Camille."
"I know."
The blonde turned and continued through the door and out into the gymnasium. Kim took a deep breath and went after her. She wouldn't let Camille get inside her head. She would keep her thoughts off of her until later tonight.
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It wasn't here. But if not here, where?
The villainous trio of Dr. Drakken, Shego and Monkey Fist had spent much of the past hour looking through Kim's entire house for what they sought. It was the perfect moment too. She, along with her entire family, were at Middleton High School for her cheerleading competition. No better time to search her home for the head of the Tempus Simia idol. But no matter where they looked they could not find it.
They had ripped her room apart trying to find it. Every drawer had been opened, every article of clothing thrown on the floor. Every inch of her closet had been searched, under her bed, every spot that could possibly have hidden something of that size had been looked into. And still nothing.
So they had decided to search the entire house. They repeated the process over and over as they looked for the hidden treasure. Their frustration had reached a boiling point. Shego was the first to crack.
"Look, I'm sick of this!" she roared. "As much as I enjoy going through Possible's stuff, this is really starting to get on my nerves."
"I agree with Shego," Drakken said. "We don't even know if she has it in her house."
"Patience you fools!" Monkey Fist snapped. "It must be around here somewhere. She would have no reason to hide it. We haven't ever come after it before. As far as she knows we've given up on trying to recover it."
"Then where is it!" Shego yelled.
"I don't know! But rather than stand here and scream at me, how about you continue searching!"
"Look monkey boy, you and your sick obsession are really starting to annoy me. This isn't my plan. I don't need to be here."
"If it weren't for this plan you would be spending your Friday evening at some karaoke bar with him," he said pointing to Drakken.
"Yeah? At least when I'm there I can drink myself happy. The only thing that could possibly make you bearable to be around would be if I were completely wasted right now."
"Then how about we skip the middle man and I just knock you unconscious right here and now!"
"You think you can take me? Bring it on you monkey freak."
Dr. Drakken stepped between the two feuding villains as they were about to fight each other. He spread his arms and pushed them back with his palms trying desperately to maintain some semblance of order.
"Please, we can't start fighting each other. We have to work together if we want to defeat Kim Possible."
While it did nothing to relieve the anger and tension in the air, Drakken's words did stop them from trying to push past him and get their hands on each other. Monkey Fist snorted as he turned away from them resumed his search.
"It's a good thing he was here to protect you, Shego. Consider yourself lucky."
The provocation worked and Shego redoubled her efforts to get her hands on him. Drakken frantically did his best to hold her back and calm her down.
"Shego! Shego!" he pleaded. "Another time. Wait for another day to hurt him. I know you can hurt him. We both do. But right now we need him for this plan."
"You don't even know what the plan is!"
"Yes, he hasn't told us the full details because he knows that we need him just as much as he needs us. It's an equal partnership. Once we acquire the two parts of the Tempus Simia he will lead us to where we need to go to use them."
"And you think we can trust him?"
Drakken looked over his shoulder and saw Monkey Fist rummaging around in the kitchen cabinets. He took Shego aside into another room to talk to her.
"No, I don't trust him at all. But what I said is true. We need him… at least for the time being. But once he gives us what we want then we can dispose of him."
Those words helped to calm her down a little. It also surprised her to learn of her employers cunning.
"I didn't think you had it in you," she smirked.
"Believe me, I think that he's as insane as you do. But I do believe there's something to this monkey power stuff he keeps talking about. And if there's a chance that this monkey statue thing does what he says it can do it's worth the risk of finding out."
She had to give that to him. The power Monkey Fist described was total and absolute. Someone who had control over time could rule the world. And if there was even the slightest chance of it being true then they should pursue it.
"Alright. But that doesn't mean I won't knock him on his ass if he gets on my nerves."
"Of course not. I would never try to deny you of taking out your aggression on someone other than me."
She laughed because it was true. Since working with Monkey Fist she had been less mean towards him and a lot more towards the simian freak.
"I'm glad we have an understanding."
The two villains resumed searching the house for the idol. As they did Monkey Fist sighed in frustration. He looked up and saw them reenter the kitchen. Shego was an annoyance to work with, but soon it wouldn't matter. Once he had gotten his paws on the two pieces of the idol he wouldn't need them anymore. He would dispose of them accordingly and seize the power for himself.
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They had won. Not that she had expected anything less.
But one thing Kim was uncertain about was what impact their newest squad member would have on the performance. There wasn't only the concern about her not being familiar enough with the routine. There was what she had said to her the other day. It made Kim think twice when doing some of her more dangerous moves.
Despite how much she had attempted to keep Camille out of her head, part of what had said stuck around in the back of her mind. She had mentioned purposely messing up to make Kim fall. She wasn't concerned about ruining the performance by falling. She was worried about suffering some sort of major bodily harm because of the villain. On more than one occasion the two had shared a brief glance during the routine. Camille had given her a little smirk or wink here or there. But she never did end up doing anything to cause any kind of problems. For that Kim was thankful.
The squad had erupted with cheers and hugs when they had been announced as winners. They had done it, they were going to regionals. It was only a few weeks away and they would have to train even harder than ever. There was no time to slack off with the victory. They would soon be going up against the best of the best.
When it was over Kim was greeted by her family congratulating her. Her little brothers had been a bit less enthused than her parents, but it was to be expected. The important thing is that they were there to watch. A number of her classmates were there to celebrate with her as well. Monique, Felix and Josh all embraced her warmly when she was done with her parents.
"You were amazing out there," Monique gushed.
"Seriously awesome moves," Felix agreed.
"You guys totally deserve it. Best performance I've ever seen the squad do," Josh smiled.
"Thanks guys."
Kim looked off to the side and saw Ron and Camille talking to each other in private. They had not approached or been approached by anyone from the crowd. They had to be up to something. She just didn't know what.
"Kim?"
She was brought out of her thoughts and looked back at her friends. She shook her head with a sheepish smile.
"Sorry. My mind just kind of drifted."
"No problem," Monique said. "Is it because of…?" she said pointing to the two blondes.
Kim nodded.
"What's up with you three anyway?" Josh asked.
Josh, unlike Monique and Felix, was not in the loop. While he was a good friend of Kim's, her ex-boyfriend in fact, he knew nothing about the true nature of Camille. He knew nothing about the monster Ron had become. As far as he was concerned nothing was terribly awry. It was all just a bunch of high school drama rather than a battle between good and evil.
"It's… complicated," Kim sighed.
"I'd love to hear about it sometime."
"What do you mean?"
"I noticed that we haven't hung out that much since we ended things."
"We grew apart. It happens sometimes, especially between ex's."
"Yeah but it sucks. I really like you as a friend. After we both figured out that we wouldn't work well as a couple I was hoping that we could get back to how things were before."
Kim frowned. He was right. She had enjoyed his friendship while she was crushing on him. He was a nice, honest person who anyone could like. And to see them drift apart after they stopped dating did seem unfair to them both. She decided to take him up on his offer.
"You know what? We should hang out. What about tomorrow night?"
"I'd like that," he agreed. "How about the four of us?" he said to Monique and Felix.
"No can do. I work tomorrow night," Monique said.
"Ah. That's too bad. But you're in, right Felix?"
"I appreciate the offer. But without Monique there I would feel like I'm intruding on you two reconnecting and stuff."
"Not at all, man. We would love for you to come along."
"Plus my Everlot guild has a big event happening tomorrow night. I would have to duck out early from our time together in order to get home for it. And I don't want to take the chance of being late."
Kim smiled when she remembered her short experience with the online role playing game. Most of the people who played that stuff took it seriously. Majorly seriously. She knew that Felix wasn't one of them, but she could assume that a lot of his friends there were like that.
"I totally understand," she said before turning to Josh. "I guess it will just be the two of us."
"Yeah. Hopefully things won't be too awkward," he laughed.
She laughed nervously when she heard this. She hadn't thought about that. The two of them would be alone together for the first time since they were dating. Suddenly she found herself agreeing with him. She hoped it wouldn't be too awkward.
"You two will be fine," Monique said confidently.
"I know. I'm just messing with her," Josh smiled.
As the four continued chatting Kim noticed Ron and Camille go back to their respective locker rooms to change. Apparently their night here was over. But Kim's night had only just begun. She didn't know who had done this to Ron or why, but she was determined to find out. Tonight she was going on a fact finding mission. And she wouldn't stop until she had the answers she sought.
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Camille yawned as she looked at the clock in her living room. It was a little past two in the morning. She and Ron had stayed out late that night having some fun in downtown Middleton. She had only gotten home around a half hour ago. When she arrived back home she had decided to read a little bit before she went to sleep. It usually helped make her tired. The yawn was proof of it. But she wanted to stay up longer. That was the problem when you had a good book late at night. You soon became too tired to keep reading despite how much you wanted to continue.
She thought she heard a thump coming from her kitchen. For a moment she paused mid-sentence in her book as she looked up. She quickly dismissed it as being Debutante getting into some kind of trouble. But before she could get back to reading she realized that her cat was sitting on the couch next to her. She glanced up again and looked toward the kitchen. There was another thump. She wanted to believe that it was just her imagination, or some sort of natural noise that furniture and houses always made. She had once learned that the warmth from sunlight expanded wood and it creaked at night when it cooled down and shrunk. She didn't know if this was true. But right now she wanted to believe it more than anything in the world.
She gently set her book down on the couch and slowly stood up. Debutante remained curled up on the couch and didn't notice, or didn't care, that her master had gotten up. She walked as quietly and lightly as she could through the room to the doorway that connected her living room to her kitchen. She wasn't about to act like one of those idiots from a horror movie and ask aloud if someone was there. What could that possibly accomplish? All it did is allow the intruder to know that you knew something was wrong. If one wanted to catch a person off guard it was better to let them think you're ignorant. After all, a person is most vulnerable when they think they're secure. It was a philosophy that she demonstrated every day of her life.
She stood there for tense seconds not taking a breath. Breathing would make a noise. Breathing would make it harder to hear the tiniest sound in the other room. She stood there unmoving, only listening. There was nothing. There were no more noises coming from the other room. But it wasn't good enough. Looking back she saw an empty glass resting on the table. She tip-toed quietly over to get it. If someone was in the house she at least had a weapon now. She would smash the glass on their head.
Moving back to her earlier position she continued to listen in complete silence. The tension was getting to be too much. She had to know one way or another if there was someone in her kitchen. But so far no one had come out. So she would go in to get them. With the glass in one hand and her cell phone in the other ready to call the police, she went through the doorway.
Slow, quiet steps were the way to go. With each step she looked around, scanning the darkness for a human shape. So far there had been nothing. Eventually she reached the light switch on the wall. She turned so her back was facing the wall before turning on the lights. As the room was lit her eyes darted around trying to find the source of the noises she heard. But there was still no one there. A wave of relief passed over her. It had just been the house. She smiled as she finally resumed taking normal breaths. As long as she was in here she might as well get a little snack. She opened the refrigerator door and peered inside. As she went to grab a small cup of yogurt she felt two hands roughly pull her back and slam her against the wall. Terror seized her heart with the sudden touch.
Seeing who had grabbed her did nothing to ease her fear. Two hate-filled green eyes stared into her own. It was even more terrifying than when Ron had done something similar the other day.
"Hey Camille," Kim said coldly. "You and me are going to have a little girl talk."
"What are you doing here? You broke into my house? I'm calling the police!"
"Oh no. You're not calling anyone. We have things to discuss."
"You freak! Get your hands off of me."
"You're in no position to be making demands."
Camille did her best to try to get Kim off of her. She got her hands free and struggled with the other girl and succeeded in digging her nails into her neck as she scratched the redhead. Kim let out a gasp of pain before sending a hard fist into Camille's stomach. This stopped her resistance as she doubled over in pain. Camille was not a fighter and she couldn't take punches well. Kim regained her hold on her and brought the blonde to one of her kitchen chairs. She took a length of rope out of her pocket and began tying her to the chair.
"You can't do this!" Camille screamed. "This is a felony!"
Kim showed no emotion at her words. Instead she just replied calmly.
"You have no right to tell me about felonies. How many have you committed over these last few weeks? How many have you committed in your lifetime?"
When she was finished tying her Kim walked in front of the blonde and stood there looking down at her. Seconds passed as neither girl said a word. But finally Kim pulled a chair in front of her and took a seat.
"You're going to tell me exactly what happened to Ron."
"Screw you, Kim. I'm not telling you anything."
"I think you'll find that I can be very persuasive."
Camille laughed at the intended threat.
"Who do you think you are? You can't do anything to me and you know it. You aren't capable of an interrogation. All you'll do is ask me questions. And let me tell you Kim, you won't get any of the answers you're looking for."
Kim stood and pushed the chair back a few feet.
"I told you before, you have no idea what I'm capable of when I'm pushed over the edge. And that's exactly what you've done to me. I want my best friend back, Camille."
"Is that supposed to scare me? Come on. You're a terrible actress. You wouldn't even make it in a high school play."
Kim moved closer to Camille and tapped her cheek with an index finger.
"You went through a lot of effort to cover up that bruise. How much time did you spend with your makeup to make it disappear? I'm going to bet it took a long, long time. You know how I know that? Because I've done the exact same thing more times than I can remember after a mission."
Camille knew she was right. It took a lot of work to cover the purple blemish on her left cheek. And it was all because of Kim.
"I can tell how much it bugs you. How would you like it if I turned your whole face that color?"
"Like I said, you don't have it in you. You were able to hit me when I looked like Ron because you were caught in the moment. You were emotional. But right now you have time to think about your actions. And you don't have what it takes to back up your threat."
Kim took a deep breath as she nodded. She began to turn away from her. But as she was in the process of doing so, she turned back and swung her right arm at the blonde's face. Her fist made solid contact with her chin. Camille's head was whipped back from the force of the attack.
"You psychotic freak!" she screamed furiously.
"Look who's talking. Now tell me what happened to Ron!" Kim roared.
"You're going to go to prison for this!"
"How do you figure?" she asked innocently as she held up her gloved hands. "No finger prints."
"I'll find a way. You've just made a huge mistake doing this to me."
"Funny, I recall saying the same thing to you. Only I'm the one who's free, and you're the one tied up to a chair. Tell me who used an attitudinator on Ron."
"What's an attitudinator?"
Kim struck her again with the back of her gloved hand. Camille's head was turned to the left from the stinging blow.
"You know I'm going to tell everyone what you're doing to me. I will ruin you, Kim Possible."
"No one worth caring about will believe you. Who would ever suspect the great teen hero Kim Possible of doing this?"
"Let me go!"
"Then tell me who turned Ron evil!"
"You did. You did when you betrayed him."
Another punch to the face. It hurt. It hurt so badly. But she was almost there. Just a little further. The pain was worth the end result.
"Who! Turned! Him! Evil!" she yelled in Camille's face.
"Society. Personally I blame the rap music."
Kim realized she was getting nowhere with this. There was another bruise on Camille's face already. But she wasn't giving anything up. She had to go further. She had to get Ron back.
Looking down at Camille's hand she saw that fresh blood had seeped out from underneath her bandage. It was no doubt because of the immense pressure and stress her hands had endured during the competition earlier in the evening. It gave her an idea.
She turned away and began looking through Camille's kitchen cabinets. One by one she opened and closed the doors until she found what she was looking for. She reached up and grabbed a small container.
When she got back to where Camille was sitting she grabbed her hand. She ripped the bandage off in one swift action which caused the blonde to wince in pain. Kim looked down at the healing, but still open, deep gash on one of her fingers. She grabbed the container of salt she had grabbed from the cabinet and poured some out into her gloved palm.
Camille saw what she was doing and began breathing hard. This was something she didn't expect.
"Kim? Kim!" she said fearfully. "What are you doing!"
"Tell me what I want to know."
"You can't do this!"
"I can do anything."
With her left hand, Kim grabbed Camille's own. With her right she shoved the salt into her open wound and twisted it, grinding the salt into exposed flesh with a gloved hand.
Camille screamed in agony as she did so. Her eyes were shut tight trying to hold back tears of pain. Her breathing was still heavy after Kim released her hand.
"Are you ready to tell me?" she asked.
"I hate you!"
Kim poured another handful of salt into her glove. But before she could repeat the process Camille stopped her.
"Okay!" she said hurriedly. "Okay, I'll tell you. Just stop. Please stop."
Kim let the salt fall out of her hands and onto the table. She stood there looking at her and waited for an answer.
"It was Shego," Camille said. "Ron told me that Shego was in his room last night. He said that she used the attitudinator on him."
"Why!"
"I don't know! I honestly don't know! But he was like this when he came to my house this morning."
Kim looked into her moist eyes and believed her. There weren't any lies this time. It made sense too. Shego had seen firsthand what Ron was capable of under the effects of the attitudinator. Of course she would be the one person who would want him back. But why? What goal did she have in mind? What was she planning on doing with him?
"There. That wasn't so hard, now was it? So now tell me what happened to my house?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Someone messed up my house tonight. They were looking for something. I bet it was the Tempus Simia idol head. But they couldn't find it because I hid it somewhere else. After you tried to get it, I knew that eventually Drakken and Monkey Fist would come too."
"I don't know anything about that. They never told me they were looking for it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
Kim looked into her eyes once more. She stared at her icy blue eyes for long, tense seconds before she finally spoke.
"Okay. I believe you."
She went behind the chair and untied Camille. She turned to leave without saying a word. But Camille's laughter stopped her. She turned to see Camille gritting her teeth as she laughed through the pain she was feeling at the moment.
"What's so funny? I mean, I know you're crazy and everything. But have you finally crossed the line to where pain and pleasure are the same thing?"
"No Kim. I'm laughing because I've taken everything you have from you."
"What are you talking about?"
She smiled evilly as she spoke.
"I've taken your friends, your reputation, your peace of mind, your sidekick… and now, now I've taken your moral high ground. After what you just did to me you can never say you're better than the villains you fight. You're just like them. You only work towards a different end."
"Shut up! I'm nothing like them or you!"
"Oh but you are. You're no longer the pure-hearted hero. Tonight you crossed the line on your way to villainy. You stepped into that gray area between the two. You know, I wonder if this is how Shego got started out. Maybe one night she had to make a tough decision that clashed with her ethics. But she did it anyway for the greater good. How does that make you feel, Kim? How does it feel to know that you're on your way to becoming the next Shego? I stole your innocence tonight. And you can never get it back."
Kim was enraged. After her experience in Go City she knew that Shego had once been a hero. She along with her brothers had once worked to protect the world. But somewhere along the line she turned her back on that life. How dare Camille say that she was doing the same.
"I did what I had to do in order to defeat you and Drakken, and to get my friend back," she said in her defense.
"Exactly. You had to do it for the greater good. It will happen again. And soon you'll be just like her. Face it, Kim. Tonight I made you my bitch," she grinned.
Seeing her smugness, hearing her insults, they almost threw Kim into a frenzy. She had started back towards Camille with a raised fist, but stopped herself short of swinging. She couldn't justify her foes words. She couldn't give into her anger and hate. Those things were the path to the dark side, like what Shego had become. Instead she lowered her arm.
"I'm one of the good guys. And you're one of the bad guys. Never forget that."
She turned once more and began walking out of the room. This time she did not stop when Camille began laughing again. The mocking laughter followed her until she exited through the front door.
Camille waited until she heard the door close before she stopped. The laughter ceased, being replaced by short, shuddering breaths as she tried to regain her composure. But she could not. She broke down and began sobbing as she stood and moved to wash the salt out of her wounded finger. She was not crying out of pain anymore. She had been able to tolerate it once the initial shock had passed. She was crying because of everything else that had happened tonight.
It was more than just Kim beating her. It was how she had gotten into the position in the first place. Kim had invaded her home. She could have done anything to her tonight. And she was powerless to stop the teen hero. It made her feel vulnerable and scared. She felt more afraid now than she had felt in years. Her safety had been violated. She felt helpless.
She stood over her sink scrubbing her hands vigorously. Tears continued dripping down her cheeks into stainless steel sink. She needed to feel safe again. She needed to feel secure. She needed to feel loved. They were the hungers that ate at her every day of her life. She needed to feel something good.
When she was finished drying her hands she went back into her living room and locked her front door. She made sure it was locked over and over again. She knew that it was, but she had to check again anyway. She went and checked every other door and window in her home. Ones that were unlocked had to be locked. Those which were already locked had to be relocked. Once she felt comfortable she sat back down on her couch and picked up her phone. She dialed a familiar number.
"Ron," she said with a shaky voice. "Ron, please come over. I need you right now."
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Eyelids slid open to reveal a pair of tired, bloodshot blue eyes. She blinked a few times trying to remember where she was and what had happened. But then the memories came flooding back to her.
She turned her head around to see Ron lying next to her. He was still sleeping. He was still there. That was good. Very good. She laid there for a few seconds before pushing the covers off of her and stepping out of bed.
Camille slipped on a robe when she stood up and looked back down at him. He looked so calm and peaceful when he slept. It was nothing like the aggressive, mean-spirited person he had become. In some ways is was relieving to see that there was still some of the kind-hearted young man she had met all those weeks ago, even if that part of him only manifested itself while he slept.
She had called him this night because she needed him with her. She was terrified after what Kim had done to her, even if she had refused to show such weakness to her. She was good at acting after all. And she would never let Kim know how much she had affected her.
She needed to feel safe after the experience. She needed to feel warm and loved. He could provide those things for her, even if only for a night. He had been… okay. She had experienced both better and worse. But she would never tell him that. She couldn't fault him for it being his first time. He would get better with practice. She would make sure of that.
Moving as quietly as possible, Camille exited her bedroom and walked down the hall to her bathroom. She flipped on the light and began filling up a small, disposable cup with water. She repeated the process several times as she quenched her thirst. When she was finished she looked into the broken mirror that she had created a couple of nights earlier. She spoke to it as if it were another person.
"You see? Someone loves me. You don't know anything," she told the cracked glass.
Bonnie's face appeared in the shattered mirror. Despite the reflection not being perfect Camille could still see the brunette clearly. She saw an expression that mocked and pitied her.
"It's not real," she argued.
"Not real? Did you see what just happened in there? He gave me his virginity. It can't get more real than that."
"Gave you his virginity? That's not even the real Ron. It wasn't his to give. Poor little Camille, trying so desperately to feel a real connection with someone. Even going as far as to use sex to try to feel what it's like to be loved."
"Shut up. I am loved."
"It's not real. He's not real. You know that as well as I do. You're caught in another fake relationship. Only this time you actually wound up getting yourself screwed too," she laughed.
"Stop laughing. You'll wake him up."
"Me? I'm just a fragment of your twisted little mind. This is all you talking."
"If that's true then stop talking."
"I'm just telling you what you can't admit to yourself. Like how you said you got your surgery to get revenge on the Seniors? We both know that's not true. You got it so you could have control over your life and everyone in it."
"Just go away," Camille said as she worked hard to morph back into her natural form.
She closed her eyes as she tried to change back. When she opened them she was pleased to see that she was herself again. She threw the cup away and turned off the light before making her way back to her bedroom. After slipping back into bed she looked at Ron while he slept. He was real. Her other self didn't know what she was talking about.
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Kim had been surprised that he had taken her appointment on such short notice. It had been only a day in advance.
It was early Saturday afternoon when she stepped into Jack Hench's office. It was surprisingly mundane. Considering he was a man who worked in the super villain market she had expected something much more grandiose and, well, evil. But it appeared to be just like any other business office.
The dark-haired man looked up when his secretary brought her in. He smiled as warmly as a villain could.
"Ms. Possible, what a delight to see you once again," he said genuinely.
"I wish I could say the same to you."
"Now now, let's not get this meeting started off on the wrong foot. You told me that you had something very important to discuss with me."
"Yes, I do. I need an attitudinator."
He frowned at her request. She didn't know whether it was because of the bluntness of her demand or something else.
"You and everybody else. We took them off of the market months ago, not long after your friend was turned evil by one."
"Yeah well whoever said lightning didn't strike the same place twice was a liar."
That perked his interest. He raised an eyebrow when he realized what she meant.
"Do you mean to tell me your sidekick is once again a super villain?"
She nodded somberly.
"I am truly sorry to hear that. But look on the bright side. I heard that he made quite an impression on your friend Shego."
"I'm not in the mood for your jokes. I need an attitudinator. Now."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"Why not?"
"We not only stopped production of the device, we took them off the market completely. Including recalling every single one of them."
"You mean to tell me you have none left? Anywhere?"
Hench stood from his desk and walked over to his window. His office was located in one of the top stories of the large office building. He looked down at the city below him.
"Tell me Kimberly, do you know why we issued the recall?"
She shook her head.
"We released the attitudinator before we completed testing the long-term side effects. When we had discovered the consequences of being exposed to the device for too long we decided that it was too dangerous to release to the public."
"What kind of side effects…" she asked hesitantly.
He turned back to look at her.
"Do you know what the attitudinator does to a person?"
"I just remember something about swapping Dr. Drakken's evil into Ron, or Ron's goodness into Drakken, or something like that."
"With two people that's possible. But not with just one. I assume your friend was alone in whatever happened to him?"
"Yeah. He was."
"I feared that was the case. What the attitudinator did to your friend this time is essentially rip half of his personality from his mind. In this instance, his good side. Can you imagine what that must be like for a person to experience? To have half of their mind suddenly removed from them? I know that I can't."
Kim closed her eyes when she heard Hench's explanation. It hadn't just turned Ron evil. It had severely altered his entire thought process, his entire brain. She didn't want to know what kind of mental trauma he was enduring at the moment.
"Your friend is currently experiencing mental deterioration. It will start off slow and unnoticeable. But it will soon grow worse, and will advance much more quickly. He will begin to experience things like memory loss, heightened aggression, paranoia, and so forth. That's just the beginning. Shortly after he will develop full-blown psychosis and schizophrenia. His mind will cope with this for as long as it is able to until…"
"Until what…?" she asked fearfully.
"Until he is overwhelmed by the stress and dies."
She felt chills run through her as she shut her eyes tightly. It was the response she had feared, the one she had not wanted to hear. She was trembling.
"How long until this happens?"
"He only has a few days until the effects become permanent and incurable."
"How long is a few days?"
"I give him four or five, maybe a week tops. When did this happen to him?"
"Thursday night."
He shook his head sadly.
"I am very sorry to hear about your loss."
Kim couldn't believe him. He acted like Ron's death was a foregone conclusion. She wouldn't tolerate it. She stormed over to him and grabbed his shirt tightly.
"Now you listen to me, Hench," she said angrily. "You're going to give me an attitudinator. I know you have to have one somewhere if Shego was able to get her hands on one and use it on him Thursday night."
"I keep telling you, I don't have one. We destroyed the devices when the recall was issued."
"Is it curable? If I'm able to get him back to normal, will his mind make a full recovery?"
"Yes. If you can get to him before the effects become permanent, he will return to his normal, natural self from before the device was used on him. As you said, he will make a full recovery."
"There has to be another one out there! Someone didn't give theirs back!"
"If you let go of me perhaps I can look in the database on my computer," he said harshly.
She let go of his shirt. After straightening it out he moved back to his desk and began typing away at his computer. After a couple of minutes he had found something.
"According to this there are two attitudinators unaccounted for. One was sold several months ago before the recall. The buyer was anonymous and we could not contact them."
"And the other?"
"The other was the demonstration model we used at last year's Super Villain Trade Show and Convention. The very one that turned your friend evil the first time."
Kim mentally slapped herself for being so stupid. It was the one that Ron still had somewhere in his closet. It was the one he had used on his cousin Shawn. If he still had it, if it still worked, it would be her only shot at saving him. Not just saving him from being evil, but saving his very life.
"Thank you Mr. Hench. You've been very helpful."
"It was my pleasure. I wish you the best of luck at saving him. After all, if you aren't around to foil villain's plans all the time, they won't need to come back to me to buy new weapons and doomsday devices. It's the circle of life."
She gave him a disgusted look as she turned and left the room. She had her mission now. Find the attitudinator in Ron's room. And then she had to somehow get close enough to him to use it. But how would it work if his goodness was trapped somewhere else? She would be the first to admit that she didn't know anything about the science behind the twisted device. But it was a start. The first thing she had to do was find the one that she at least knew the location of. Then she could worry about the one Shego had used. It wouldn't be easy. But these days she didn't care what obstacles were in front of her. She would save him. She just had to.
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Authors Note: Kim just found her inner Jack Bauer. I hope this chapter was enjoyable.