This is set after So the Drama... Like, right after... Like...maybe a day or two... This one runs during Ill Suited, before Car Alarm and Mad Dogs and Aliens.

Sorry

Drakken's anger had faded...well, subsided now. He lay on his cot and watched the light through his cell from the outside world. There was a numbness now. He hadn't expected this. The defeat at the hands of Kim Possible hit him to the core. He'd finally thought he'd done it; outwitted her, fooled them all... Proven that he was an evil genius despite what rumors and jokes dictated. For a few months, he'd had the world at the tip of his fingers, ready to strike, and like always...it was yanked from his grasp. All that remained was a broken lair, crushed toys, and something heavy inside him.

The rage in Shego's eyes as they'd rode to the prison...it was different than he'd ever seen. There had been no snarky comments on the way, either. It had egged on the pain he now felt. He'd proven his failures again, bigger than before. All his planning, hard work, the details he'd finally thought he'd gotten...all foiled by forgetting one thing: Stoppable. He tried to glare again, but he couldn't because other emotions were winning for once.

He felt his chest hurt and his own breathing become shallow as he fought his emotions. Nearly a year's planning, and four dedicated months of effort and details...gone. He was used to foiled plans, used to this disappointment breaking him further and driving him on... But as much as it hurt, he felt it grow numb to something else. The last four months seemed like the worst decision of his life now. Using the Mind Mints to get control of Bueno Nacho, hours or research dedicated to being a modern teenager to perfect his ultimate creation: Erik.

Drakken told himself that. His creation... He was no different than any other synthodrone. Nothing special about him; just a robot decoy used for distraction and gaining information. The only difference was Drakken had programmed him to act human, to have his own adjusted will, to have a sense of humor, to think on his own, to have his beliefs, his mental attributes... He remembered when Erik had first said it... First called him that of his own accord: Dad. Drakken had felt a weird wave of unease at first but hadn't corrected it. The more he'd heard it, the more it barreled into his core.

He wasn't even real.

Drakken told himself that, and it was true, but no matter how many times he'd reminded himself of it...he felt like he was in mourning. He swallowed hard and tried to stop this feeling again and bottle it up with others. If he never thought about it, never mentioned it again...maybe he could forget for once.

His mind fell back to Shego. Her fried hair, her tired stature... She'd been hurt and he'd been ranting like an idiot. Those cold eyes again when she'd yelled. There was more than just disappointment there. She looked battle-worn and angry with him. Could he blame her? His plans were plenty but there were no results. She'd even left him for the buffoon because he'd showed promise, and she was right. He'd hoped this would be the one; the final step... And he was back to those feelings again, trying hard to numb once more. He glared. Now he was a crying failure in a jail cell.

You're pathetic.

"Drakken." He heard a familiar growl and sat up, wiping his face.

Shego glared from behind the bars, light illuminating her features. His heart sank. That cold look was in them, and the emotions shifted again. He didn't like that look. Everything told him to cower behind his bed, and perhaps he would have if he wasn't trying hard to numb himself to his feelings. His eyes looked over Shego. She'd snuck out of the infirmary; apparently she'd been hurt more than he'd thought. Cuts littered her arms, and she looked gaunt, but her cold eyes held something new in them now. He could see broken blood vessels in her shifting gaze. The caution outweighed his relief to see her, to see her right in front of him. He walked towards her, his hands on the bars. He watched her shoulders fall and the glow grow.

"I'm sorry," he said as he looked at her, waiting for the blast, but it didn't come. Her eyes rolled.

"Your crying is waking up the whole fucking floor," sighed Shego. She scoffed, and he felt a smirk on his lips. "They voted, we got evicted. Pack your shit and let's go."

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Drakken as he saw her cringe when she moved her arm to blast the lock.

"Now he asks," she muttered under her breath with a sigh as she hit the lock.

"Shego..." he began.

"I'm fine, let's get out of here," said Shego, and Drakken's hand grabbed hers as she went to turn away. She looked at him and sighed. "Apology accepted. Now move it."

A Baby One, Sorry →