Honestly, I'm not 100 percent happy with this, but it's been about 2 weeks and I didn't want to keep my readers waiting any longer. I hope you enjoy the new installment and as always, please let me know what you think of it.

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She had been friends with Ron Stoppable for fourteen years. In that time, they had done just about everything together, with her often dragging him along to her adventures and her interests. They knew everything about one another, knew what the other would say almost before they opened their mouths. It was hardly an exaggeration to say that Ron knew her even better than her own parents.

And yet, sitting with him at Bueno Nacho, an act they had done hundreds of times before, Kim felt like she was really meeting him for the first time. He had changed greatly over the past couple of months. Kim kept expecting his jokes, quips that amused no one but himself. If someone asked her what she thought of him, she knew she would have said that ninty-nine percent of the time, they simply irritated her and made her want to pull out her hair by the roots.

Now, however, she would give anything to hear them again. Ron's silence and seriousness was alien to her. They had sat there for over fifteen minutes, but neither of them had spoken a word to each other. The only noise made was Rufus eagerly gulping down his meal and rubbing his stomach.

Kim searched her mind, trying to come up with a topic that would get his attention. Her previous attempts had failed; the only thing they actually seemed to be able to talk about at the moment, at least to one another, was their shared experiences. Kim didn't want to relive it again; she relived it every night, which was more than enough. This turn of events was astonishing. She knew there was some kind of barrier between them put up, perhaps subconsciously by both, but she had yet to breach it.

Anything's possible for a Possible, Kim told herself. The instant those words entered her mind, she wished she could forget them. Their family slogan seemed much more sinister now, as she remembered Ambrose's mocking words towards her- no, their- father. "So... where are you going to college?" Kim asked. She knew better than to ask "if". A couple of years ago, it didn't seem as if Ron had any ambitions; much had changed since then.

"I've... already sent an application in to Middleton University." Ron replied. "They said they require a 3.0 GPA to transfer directly from high school. I just barely made the cut."

"I can't see how they'd possibly turn you down; I saw your last report card." Kim complimented.

"Amazing what a bit of studying was able to accomplish." Ron chuckled weakly. "I've even been looking at how much the dorms are going to cost me and whether I want to live there, continue to stay at home, or find myself an apartment. So... how about you?"

"I actually haven't filled out any applications." Kim admitted, beginning to get depressed again. Her life had been on hold for the past couple of months. "I was planning on applying to as many scholarships as possible, but..." She trailed off, knowing that she was imprisoned, preventing that plan from taking place.

Ron sensed her discomfort and tried to turn the topic away. Throughout their meeting, he had been feeling something. He couldn't put his finger on it and half the time, he dismissed it as being paranoid, but nonetheless, there was a certain feeling of danger. "Remember, you're welcome to come over whenever you wish." Ron reminded her, trying to cheer you up. "Well, at least when I actually get a place of my own. Besides, no time like the present. I'm sure every college in the country will accept you."

"Uh... thanks, Ron." Kim blushed. Even though the romantic part of their relationship had dissolved, she continued to harbor feelings for it. Part of her hoped that they would be able to rekindle it one day, despite the strong obstacles placed in their way. "You know, I should probably get on that. It's not like me to be too lazy."

"It's a trait we all share," Ron joked. "Some of us just happen to be better at it than others." He leaned back and put his feet on top of the booth, his hands behind his head. "You know sixteen forms of Kung-Fu; I know sixteen ways to relax."

"I'd point out that we're in public, but somehow, I don't think that would bother you." Kim teased, her mood lightening a bit, although she suspected he was putting on this show for her benefit than out of any true indifference as to what people thought of him.

"You're the one who told me not to worry about others." Ron pointed out.

"I should have made a couple exceptions," Kim rolled her eyes, but her dark mood was lifting. She was almost able to ignore the suspicious looks she was getting from many of the restaurant's occupants. Attention she was used to, but hatred was another matter entirely.

"College should prove to be... well, at least interesting." Ron admitted. "Certainly couldn't be worse than High School. Who says those are the best years of your life?"

"I didn't mind it so much."Kim shrugged. "So not the drama, Ron."

Rather than reply, Ron scanned the restaurant, unsure of what he was looking for. He only knew he had a bad feeling and it wasn't something that he was able to ignore. "All right, I'll change the subject." Ron conceded. "By the way, it looks like Smarty Mart might accept me back."

"Are you going to take the job?" Kim wondered.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Ron informed. "Strictly speaking, I don't need to be working right now. On the other hand, I don't want to become what I was a couple years ago with my brief millionaire phase. That and it gives me something to do now that we're not on missions anymore."

"You actually miss them?" Kim raised her eyebrows.

"Not exactly what I was expecting, I'll admit." Ron gave a dry laugh. "Still, how many kids can say that they protected the world on a regular basis?"

"Yeah, I miss it too." Kim smiled. "Going to college won't be nearly as exciting by comparison."

"Hold on, I'm going to get some more nachos." Ron lied. Truth be told, he wanted to find out what was making his mind go haywire. A couple of seconds after he headed to the register, an electric bolt struck the place he was currently sitting. Kim immediately rolled into action, getting into a defensive crouch. Ron did the same, moving to cover her.

"Seriously, Drakken, haven't you given it up by now?" Kim groaned, speaking to their attacker. She still had not spotted whoever it was, but Drakken was the first one her mind went to when her instincts took over.

"Don't insult me, Possible." A female voice echoed through the building. The other customers bolted, knowing better than to stick around.

It suddenly occurred to Ron who their attacker was. "Electronique!" He exclaimed as the villain revealed herself. It appeared as if she had gotten a makeover; her eyes were now glowing red, and her costume was surging with energy. "Wait, I thought you were Team Go's arch nemesis. Why are you coming after us?"

Rather than answer, she used her jetpack to fly out of the building, firing electrical bolts at random people. Not at lethal levels, merely enough to ensure that her two opponents would follow her. "I was offered more money than either of you could dream of for this." Electronique smiled. Her new ally also promised to help her defeat Team Go once her task was complete. "Your only option is whether you'll come along as prisoners... or corpses."

"I suggest you back down... now." Ron warned, putting as much intimidation as he could into his voice. Truth be told, he didn't worry about the prospect of her trying to kill them. He worried more about how Kim would react and what she might do in response to such a threat. She was still trying to keep her impulses under control and nothing would ignite them more than an immediate threat.

"Oh, please, you're pathetic." Electronique sneered. In the end, her orders were actually quite simple. Capture Possible, kill... She couldn't remember the other's name, only that her ally referred to him as "Outsider". "Neither of you have any chance at beating me."

"Surrender; this is your last chance." Kim warned, her fury boiling just beneath the surface. She moved to put electromique between Ron and herself. Despite her bravado, she knew her opponent was formidable. Last time around, she needed Team Go's assistance to put an end to her. Kim was relieved Ron was by her side; it nearly equaled her terror at anything happening to him.

"Unless you have Team Go with you, I'm not going to need one." Electronique bragged. Tired of talking, she sprung into action, rushing right towards Ron, who was fortunately prepared for her attack, unlike the last time they fought.

He ducked under her punches, deflecting a kick, but she moved so fast, it was everything he could do to stay unscathed. Counterattack was out of the question at this point. Ron vaguely remembered his evil self being able to overpower her, but at the moment, it was not something he was capable of as of yet. Besides... let her underestimate me. Ron mentally smiled.

Their battle lasted only a couple seconds before Kim joined in, fighting aggressively, standing between Electronique and Ron. Electronique was initially taken aback by her change in tactics, firing numerous electrical bolts in order to regain the imitative. However, Kim was accustomed to dodging Shego's blasts, meaning that it was a simple task to stay out of danger.

Ron used a leg sweep, knocking her onto her back. She was able to get away before he could do anything else, but it still forced Electronique to keep his attention on him. He hoped that Kim would take his cue and allow him to direct the course of this fight, even though it was a new experience for him. He did not want the demon in his best friend's heart to be unleashed, not now. He and Electronique traded blows at close to six per second

Electronique was distracted, her shock at Ron's fighting prowess not completely worn off. It allowed him to hold his own, standing there, not backing away an inch. While she was occupied with him, Kim attacked her from behind, maneuvering around her, breaking through her defenses, and leaping away before she could strike back.

She quickly realized that this wasn't a game, that the two of them were serious opponents. However, she was accustomed to being outnumbered through her many attempts to defeat Team Go.

"Thought I used that Attitunidator on you." Ron remarked as his hands began to glow, try as he might to suppress them. He wanted a trump card in case the battle was beginning to go against them.

"It wears off after about a month; you didn't seriously think I'd be foolish enough not to make sure I wouldn't be affected by my own designs?" Electronique avoid a series of blows from Kim and buried her fist into Ron's stomach, sending him to the ground. However, he grabbed her legs as he fell, taking her with him and landing a solid punch to her jaw.

Kim could do little but watch as the two of them struggled. At such close range, she couldn't attack for fear of hitting Ron. Part of her was impressed at his combat prowess, but it was overshadowed by her fear. She still didn't think Ron was skilled enough to be fighting alongside her, much less take the lead in their adventures.

Electronique shocked them both and jumped over them, fleeing from the scene. Neither of them were in the least fooled; she was leading them straight into a trap.

"Should we follow her?" Ron wondered, trying to calm her down as he saw the adrenaline flow through her body.

"No, we're going to bring her down!" Kim exclaimed, but with fury instead of her typical enthusiasm. She snarled and gave pursuit, Ron worriedly dogging her heels. She was so furious, she couldn't think straight. All she wanted now was to squeeze the life out of the woman who attempted to murder her. Haven't I gone through enough?! Kim thought to herself, unaware of how her anger was influencing her.

The two of them cornered electronique near the Middleton mall. Electronique was scrambling her brain trying to come up with a way to defeat them. Where Team Go was always struggling to work together, the two of them worked seamlessly, anticipating the other's movements almost before they made them. She was beginning to think that escape should be her new plan.

Now in true fear, she stopped holding back, disregarding the plan that called for only one of Team Possible to die. Careless of any bystanders, she launched the strongest blasts she could possibly muster, forcing her opponents to dodge frantically in order to stay alive. What she failed to realize was that the only thing she was accomplishing was pushing Kim farther to the dark side.

Ron knew he had to stop holding back; his sides were beginning to hurt from moving so quickly. He fired a few shots of his own to knock her off balance. Non-lethal, of course; at this stage of his training, he couldn't fire deadly attacks even if he had the inclination to. He kicked Electronique across the jaw, sending a glowing hand into her ribcage. Further attacks were evaded, but the blows he managed to land at least slowed her down somewhat.

What was complicating matters was that a growing crowd was showing up to watch their fight. Ron wanted to knock some sense into them; didn't they have any idea of the kind of danger they were putting themselves in?! Not to mention what it could do to Kim's fragile mind.

Electronique realized that even if the outsider had greatly improved his skills, Kim was still the most dangerous threat. She needed to be subdued quickly, since she was beginning to realize that this job could very well end up costing her life. Kim had lost most of her restraint, with only a few traces of it remaining. She was not yet fighting with the intent to kill, but she was attacking with much more ferocity than was typical for her.

She blasted Ron in the chest, and flipped over Kim, grabbing a random member of the crowd and terrifying them all into silence. "Let her you, go bitch!" Kim demanded, eyes flashing with fury. Her recollection of her powers messing with her mind was completely forgotten in the midst of battle.

Electronique's hostage, a teenage girl who was a couple of years below Team Possible in high school, was doing her best to be brave, but it was obvious to anyone that she gravely feared for her life as she was used as a human shield.

I've got to find some way to get around her, but how? Ron attempted to calculate. He couldn't aim precisely enough or quick enough that Electronique couldn't find behind her human shield. Ron was disgusted at her for using such a tactic, although not especially surprised. All he could do now is wait for an opening.

Kim disregarded cautions entirely. Moving faster than even she imagined possible, she forced Electronique to let go of her hostage and drove her back, meter by meter. At this point, Electronique decided this assignment was not worth the reward she would receive and simply looked for a way to escape, only Kim refused to provide her with one. Kim broke her opponent's nose, spraying them both with blood. The fact that she had put Ron in danger only fueled her resolve.

The advantage was Kim's and she was pressing it, Electronique able to do little more than stumble and fall back. She recognized the transformation that was taking place; a dark cloud was threatening to overwhelm Kim, victory overruling all other thoughts in her mind.

In her haste to retreat, Electronique tripped over a fire hydrant and all she was able to do is hold up her arm to protect her face as Kim punched and kicked every inch of her that she was able to access. By the time Ron arrived at the scene, Electronique was in a rapidly forming pool of blood, with Kim standing over her, her body shaking with indecision.

"KP, calm down; it's going to be okay." Ron promised. "It's going to be okay; it's over."

"Stop saying that!" Kim screamed at him. "She tried to kill you!"

"Kp, look at her; she's beaten." Ron tried to reason with her, seeing her brain go haywire. "She's no threat to either of us anymore."

Kim glanced at Electronique, who was currently crying and begging for mercy. She saw not a dangerous villain who tried to murder them both, but a trembling and broken woman. While her battle rage continued to tell her to finish the job, reason gradually prevailed and Kim backed away, deciding to let the police take her into custody.

It was over... except for one minor complication. That complication came in the form of a rock hitting her in the back of the head.

It was then that Team Possible became aware of the large crowd gathering around them. From the looks of it, they were angry and more than a few were screaming profanities.

"Murderer!" One of the crowd screamed as Ron stood in front of Kim protectively. She was only beginning to calm herself; the last thing they needed was for her previous rage to overwhelm her once again.

"They ought to lock you up, you psychotic bitch!" Another proclaimed, with a strong assent of approval.

"You're no different than your brother!" A third exclaimed. Kim bowed her head, trying with all her might to get control of her emotions. Considering the size of the crowd, there was no way she could get away from them without fighting and she was intelligent enough to know that if she started throwing punches at this point, she could end up killing someone. She was considered a dangerous fighter even to trained supervillains; ordinary citizens could do nothing to oppose her.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Ron all but dragged her, looking for an opening in the crowd. Some of them began to start throwing eggs and rotten vegetables. Where did they get all of these, anyway? Ron wondered. He didn't bother keeping track of what they said; it was nothing but insults, anyhow.

Kim, on the other hand, had finally reached her breaking point. "Enough!" She screamed at the crowd, clenching her fists and trembling. It was then that everyone began to realize what would happen if indeed she was pushed too far. "This is how you repay me? By spitting on me, sending me death threats, hurling rocks and rotten vegetables at us?! We protected your ungrateful, worthless lives for years! I spent most of my free time protecting you from one threat after another!

"And I did it... because I thought it was right, because I thought people were essentially good. And now, after everything I've done for you, you condemn me just because I was kidnapped and manipulated. I'm not him! Are you really that shallow to judge based on something I can't choose?"

The crowd was silent for a few moments, and Ron hoped that at least some of them would see reason. His hopes were dashed when he heard someone scream: "If you had any decency, you'd blow your brains out! You don't deserve to live!"

Another rock was thrown in her direction, but this time, she caught it and sent it hurling back at the youth attacking her. It hit him directly in the stomach, sending him crumbling to the ground. The crowd looked at one another in shock, seeing that they might be in very real danger. Kim fought her way through, elbowing and kicking anyone who didn't get out of her way fast enough to suit her.

She didn't say another word as the two of them walked back to her house. Ron had no idea what to say; his cynicism was beginning to grow. If someone had mentioned previously how easily the public would turn against his best friend, he would simply laughed and dismissed the very thought. Now, though, with them refusing to even heat her side, amplifying the trauma of her kidnapping... and while she didn't mention it, Wade had informed him that she was receiving death threats on almost a daily basis.

When they arrived at her house, she collapsed to her knees and screamed in frustration, with Ron at a loss as to what to do. Her house was in ruins, with eggs and toilet paper thrown all over it and every single one of the windows broken. Ron was becoming sorely tempted to teach some of those punks a lesson himself.

However, there was little choice in the matter. Kim walked inside, where she saw her family huddling in the kitchen. "Are... are you guys all right?" Kim wondered. None of them seemed physically harmed, merely shaken.

"I... I can't believe it." Ann replied, struggling to find her voice. "There had to have been at least a dozen of them. They attacked our house, and one of them even threatened to kill us all. We had to call the police in order to get rid of them."

"We were about to use our invention on them," Tim spoke up.

"It'd teach them never to attack us again." Jim finished.

"Boys, a death ray is not to be used on a crowd, even an angry mob." James lectured.

"We got attacked too; Electronique tried to kill us." Ron informed her. He knew Kim would likely be unhappy with him, but he felt that her family needed to know what was going on.

"Oh, my god!" James exclaimed. "Are you all right, Kimmie-cub?"

"Yes; nothing we haven't handled before." Kim gave a weak smile. Dangerous as Electronique was, it was the angry mob that had truly shaken her to her core. "I... think I'd just like to be left alone for a while."

"Kim, don't shut us out, please." Ann begged her, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"I don't know what to do, Ron." Kim whispered as Ron pulled her into a hug. "I... thought once I was rescued, it would be over. Now it seems like it's just getting worse."

"You don't have to go through this alone, KP." Ron promised. "We're all here for you." For a few minutes, the two held each other silently, trying to find what little joy they could in their lives.

"You're a good friend, Ron; better than I ever dreamed." Kim complimented, brushing her hand against his cheek, placing her lips on his own. Ron instinctually kissed, his hand pressed against her back. It was gentle and soothing, not passionate, done more out of comfort than desire. After several moments, she let go, the dark cloud in her thoughts lifting slightly. "I'm heading to my room, but you can stay if you want."

"I'm not going anywhere, KP." Ron promised.

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Well, there you have it. At this point, there's only one chapter left and then I'll be working on the next one in this series.

Next chapter: Shego makes a choice and the figure's full plan is revealed.