June 4, 2005
It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
Kim’s heart was racing at a hummingbird’s pace, and her concentration and resolve were quickly waning.
With a determined effort, she turned her head upwards, ignoring the pulsing pain reverberating through her skull. Her oxygen-starved brain noticed that the sky was just beginning to turn a beautiful shade of royal blue, and her body gave an involuntary shudder as she realized it would be night soon. Dressed only in her usual black shirt and olive green cargo pants, Kim was already feeling the early consequences of the nocturnal temperature drop.
She tried to comfort herself by reasoning that even if she weren’t in such a bad condition, she wouldn’t have been able to scale, jump, or flip her way out of the deep ravine she was currently lying in anyway.
She mentally cursed herself for going on this mission without warning Ron or Wade of her travel plans, but she never expected to fall off a cliff either. She realized that by the time anyone noticed her prolonged absence, she would be dead. This thought renewed the sense of dread that had been chewing at her gut, and Kim did something she hadn’t done in months.
She started to cry.
However, her uncontrollable sobs did nothing to help improve her medical condition. Her tears dripped down her already swollen throat, and each cough brought white hot searing pain to her chest. Trying to calm her racing heart and stifle her coughs, Kim turned her head to one side, closed her eyes, and took a few shallow breaths, scattering a few sand particles as she exhaled.
A sudden shadow over her prone form made her open her eyes. Her spirit soared as she entertained visions of her rescuer being her valiant crime-fighting partner Ron Stoppable with his trusty sidekick, Rufus. Or maybe the police were patrolling the area, and they had stumbled upon her broken body. Or maybe some unsuspecting local hiker who had a cell phone and could call emergency. Or maybe Wade had some weird tracking device in her Kimmunicator, and had been alerted that it had been destroyed.
Or maybe…
Two words from a frighteningly familiar voice made her quickly forget her rescue images.
“Hello Kimmie.”
Long black hair that matched the sleek black and green color motif of her outfit softly brushed against Kim’s face, and Kim closed her eyes, wondering what she had done to deserve the sudden change in what had been formerly good karma.
Unable to form a coherent comeback, Kim managed to look up to her rival with tired eyes.
Shego looked as fashionable as ever, leaning over Kim’s body with her head slightly tilted to one side and one hand on her hip. The night breeze was softly fluttering her beautiful black tresses, and Kim laughed at the irony that at this moment, SHE, the supposed superhero, was the one battered and bruised.
With half of a smirk gracing her face, Shego dropped to one knee to put herself more at Kim’s level. As if guided by instinct, Kim tried to move away from her enemy; however, her motor control was sorely lacking, and the only action she could manage was a series of twitches in her left leg.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk Kimmie. What dreadful situation have you gotten yourself into this time? And where is your sidekick, that idiotic Ron Stoppable?”
“Ron…Ron’s not…he’s not an idiot…” Kim was able to blurt out, her shallow breathing obviously a problem.
Gently taking Kim’s head in her hands, Shego sat down beside Kim and started stroking the teen heroine’s blood-soaked hair as she continued to talk.
“Such a shame Princess. I was rather looking forward to finishing you off myself. But, I guess this will have to do.”
Jerking her head in a crude motion of disagreement, Kim managed to cough a few more times in response.
Shego laughed.
“You can’t even talk, can you? Well, here you don’t have to. You just have to listen. When I bring your dead body back with me, I will be feared and respected. I will be the one who killed the legendary Kim Possible. Just imagine Kimmie. Kimmie?”
Hearing a sharp intake of breath from the young girl in her arms, Shego glanced downwards to the head resting in her lap and noticed that Kim’s eyes were closed, and her breathing still labored. She reached down and carefully pushed a stray strand of hair out of Kim’s face.
Sighing, she continued her monologue.
“I wish it didn’t have to end like this Kimmie. I’ve never had to fight anyone quite like you, you know. You were superior, you were a worthy opponent…”
She took another long sigh and paused before finishing her sentence.
“You were special.”
Gazing down at Kim’s body, Shego gently ran her hand over a 3-inch scar that ran down Kim’s left side and mentally cringed. That scar brought back some bad memories. With her spare hand, she produced a syringe of clear pink liquid from a bag slung over her shoulder. Holding it up to the small amount of light still left, she checked the volume of the solution. 5 CCs. Perfect. She took one last wistful look at the unconscious figure in her lap.
“We may be enemies, but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect you. I want to make this as painless as possible.”
The girl coughed in response, as if she had heard the compliment, if one could call it a compliment.
“Time to sleep Kimmie.”
With one swift motion, Shego jabbed the needle in Kim’s thigh before depressing the plunger.
A single tear dropped onto the cold sand.
“I’m sorry…for everything.”
To be continued…