Return of Bad Boy Chapter 13

Disclaimer: As we reach the conclusion of this story we are forcibly reminded that Deyinel does not own Kim Possible!

Well, here we are, the last chapter. "There is something solemn about it" (Burnett, "A Little Princess").

I want to thank everyone who read and enjoyed this story. It has been wonderful sharing it with all of you, and I hope to continue writing and posting fan fics for a long time to come.

I especially want to thank all my reviewers. Everyone who took the time to review let me know that they liked the story. The constructive criticism has been very helpful, and although grammatical errors still persist, I know you have all helped me to improve my writing style. Mostly I just loved opening my e-mail and seeing reviews from people who liked the chapter, or even who had issues with the chapter they wanted to discuss with me. I love to here what is good about my chapters, what achieves its effect and why, and I like to know what people are thinking, and what they noticed in the chapter, what got through to them.

It's been a crazy ride, and thanks, once again, for joining me on it.

Please enjoy the last chapter. The poll's winning story will be announced at the end of the chapter.

PS: if you're waiting for a reply to you review, I will get to them, I have just been busy. ;)

Read on!

Dedicated to my wonderful mother, who schools me in grammer and constantly helps me to improve my writing.

Perhaps it isn't up to me to tell you what happened next. However, you would be hard put to find someone in the next few weeks who felt he had the time to spare for storytelling, and so I must suffice, I suppose.

It turned out that Ron was at least partially right; Doctor Director was anxious to avoid a scandal, largely because the whole event had placed her organization in a very bad light. World leaders were furious at the situation they had been faced with. People that important are not used to having real obligations to the laundry lady, let alone being at the complete mercy of a seventeen-year-old with a cape. Needless to say, they were extremely displeased that Global Justice had been totally unable to stop him or to do anything once Kim Possible was defeated and Ron had struck.

People always said that. He struck swiftly. He struck with precision. They never said he conquered, that he controlled the world, if only for about a half hour. But they were thinking it. You could see it in their eyes, in their emphatic declarations of how he had 'struck' without warning.

In any case, Doctor Director arranged for a highly publicized trial, in which it was eventually decided, through great deliberation and unending, unimpeachable respect for the honest pursuit of justice to the full extent of the clear law, that Shego's recent, redeemable conduct more than balanced out her past offences.

Do I sound bitter? Forgive me. It is not because I don't think Shego deserved a second chance. If not for her the world would be a very dark place right about now and I would be the slave of a ruthless tyrant, or worse. My problem with this solution, as usual, is simply factual. I have always despised how leaders will spit on any law they please so long as it will benefit them. Somehow, Doctor Director worked the trial so that, by the end of it, you half believed she had planned all of this from the beginning, and she made much of granting a pardon to Shego, proving how Global Justice is even capable of reforming formerly hopeless villains, while mere prison terms still fail to work. Wasn't it her organization that is so fond of throwing every criminal in sight into a dungeon, including Shego? Doctor Director had no thought of pardoning Shego until Ron convinced her and, it must be owned, threatened her with public exposure.

It didn't bother Ron, didn't ruffle his plumage in the slightest. But then it was Ron who first came up with this plan. I never realized it before, but I think Ron is a great deal more logical and aware than any of us ever suspected. He was also very forceful. He took charge of the situation with the sort of ardor I rarely saw in him before, and would stop at nothing until his end was achieved.

The world is still dying down now, although I think the worst is over. Shake people up, frighten them, force them to see a dark reality they never thought of, and you'd be surprised how quickly they shake it off and fall back into their normal routines. The adaptable nature of humanity at work is truly amazing.

I'm avoiding a subject, I know. Kim and Ron. Well, you have to understand that it's complicated. I wasn't there and didn't see it, but I know that their friendship came closer to shattering than it ever had before. They had a long talk together after much of the mess had been sorted out, and decided together that they couldn't have a relationship as anything more than friends, at least not at the time. Kim was still very shaken and wounded, and Ron was strangely calm and unemotional. He knew how much he had hurt her, even if it wasn't technically him at the time, and they decided on the best outcome possible in my opinion.

Kim's now off working to become a full agent of Global Justice, and Ron's working on getting a cooking degree so he can open a restaurant. He doesn't really need the silly piece of paper of course, but when I asked him, he said he found the classes interesting and inspiring, so I suppose it's worth it. They still see each other as friends of course, but not quite so often as before. There have been…a couple of changes.

Then of course, there's Shego. Shego has grown like a young, eager sapling newly planted in good soil. I've only spoken to her a couple of times, but she's a very interesting person. She's still very sarcastic you know, but there's no bitterness behind it now, only playfulness. She's still mysterious, I suppose, but that's another part of her. She's back at University now, finishing her Masters; Psychology, if you can believe it.

Concerning her and Ron? No, I don't think I'll say anything about them at the present. You can draw your own conclusions.

The sunset glinted golden off of two brown eyes. Large eyes. Deep brown eyes, deep and dark down in their depths with what they knew, what they had experienced, but bright and sparkling with light at the surface with the joys of life. Ron stood and looked at the sunset. It was a glorious one; pink and gold and orange clouds all melting into one another while dark gray and wispy white guards provided escort to the glowing, bejeweled maidens.

"It's beautiful," Shego said.

"Yes." Ron breathed the word; let it wander away to the fantasy landscape overhead. He turned to look at her where she sat beside him. She was wearing a rich, blue turtleneck with a pair of warn, black jeans, and her dark hair fell wispy around her face from a loose braid. At a sudden thought he glanced at her uncertainly.

"Don't you have a class?"

"Class can wait," Shego murmured. She moved closer to him and lay her dark head against his shoulder. "It's not often my man finds the time to come and see me during the week." Ron blushed slightly, but his arm came up, almost of its own initiative, and hugged her closer.

"Well, my instructor was sick," Ron said, whispering too. "And I couldn't think of a place I would rather be." A soft chuckle at his shoulder.

"Flatterer," she accused.

"Not at all," Ron said gallantly. "It's nice to have someone nearby to taste my creations before I have to show them to the class."

"Well, always nice to know you think of me," Shego pouted, making him smile. It was fun to tease him, but not too much. He was still so shy around her, as though always afraid of driving her away. It reminded her that although he was becoming more confident in himself, in his powers since he began training with that ninja school for part of the year, more confident in his own strengths – in his power over his dark side, still he was shy and sweet and somehow pure. Indeed, he was all of those things which she was surprised to learn had initially drawn her to him.

As if by some unspoken agreement they rose, and watched the last of the sunset together.

The glittering ladies were dancing away now, flying before a high wind that swept their gowns about before it. Darkness came with it in a great sweep like the last note of a song. Standing before the chill wind Shego tactfully shivered, and was rewarded when Ron wrapped his long, strong arm once again around her. She smiled into his eyes and saw her smile reflected back, and knew she always would.

The world was settling down already. They had both changed, she knew. And yet, somehow she thought that things would work out for the best. She looked into his eyes and knew that he thought so as well.

And that was really all that mattered.

Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing and enjoying this story. It's the first one I started writing, and now it is finished. (sniff)

And the winning story is…Best Friends Since Pre-K! Woo! Thanks all for voting, and the first chapter will be up soon.

In the mean time, feel free to check out my other stories if you're in the mood. ;)

And, as always, please tell me what you think. ;)