Disclaimer: Round and round and round it goes. Where it stops, nobody knows.
High on the mountain of the Yamanouchi school, Sensei's body lay frighteningly still in a cross-legged position. However, he was not dead. Simply meditating. It took some of the newer students a while to figure this out.
His eyes snapped open. "So it is", he stated with a slight nod.
"Sensei. Is something the matter?" Yori ran toward the elderly man with great concern in her eyes and voice.
"Quite the opposite, Yori", he intoned. "Do you remember one of our greatest warriors, Stoppable-san?"
The blush on the young woman's face suggested that she remembered him quite well. "Indeed."
"Well, he has willed his Mystical Monkey Power to another."
"With all due respect, Sensei, that seems very dangerous."
"Worry not, Yori. In all the time we've known him, Stoppable-san's judgment has been beyond reproach. I just know that whomever he has bestowed his gift upon is most deserving."
"Doggone it, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. I don't care what you pay me." It took quite a bit to anger Slim Possible, but the tone of his voice suggested that the person to whom he was speaking was doing a fine job of getting to him.
"Fine. We can negotiate your fee later." The fancy suit, slicked-back hair and toothy grin ably suggested that Ollie Agenous was not a man to be trusted.
"I didn't make those horses to be sold."
"Surely, we can come to some kind of agreement."
"Daddy, what's going on?" Joss, wide-eyed as ever, ran toward her father.
"Nothing, Joss. Go back inside."
The lapse in Slim's concentration allowed Agenous to pull out a contract. "All it takes is a signature-"
Slim snatched the contract and threw it to the ground. "I'll thank you to leave my property, Mr. Agenous."
Agenous merely offered a half-smile as he picked up the document. "I see you need more time to think about this. We'll be in touch." Agenous shook the dirt from the contract and slipped it back into his suit.
Agenous opened the door of his limousine and got in. Sharing the back seat of the vehicle with him were a pair of tough-looking gentlemen.
Keyes narrowed his different-colored eyes at Slim. Loch, a scar running up his face, leaned in. "So, what'd he say?"
Agenous stole a glance at the Lazy C Ranch from his window. "He said that he needs the two of you to help make up his mind."
Slim angrily muttered as he made his way back into his house. The only words that Joss could clearly make out were…
"No-good rattlesnake…"
"What was that about, Daddy?"
"That city slicker wanted me to sell him my horses. Can you believe such nonsense?" Slim took a seat and wiped his brow. He took a calming breath. "Never mind him. How was school today?"
Joss bit her lip. "It's going fine. Just fine." She'd hoped that her father didn't pick up on the slight hesitation before she answered.
"Well, that's good to know. Now, go get started on your homework. I'll get started on dinner."
Joss eagerly ran for her bedroom, hoping her work would take her mind off of her own troubles.
Joss's room was plastered with pictures of Kim and Ron from various newspapers and magazines. Over the years, she'd come to understand the important roles that the both of them played in saving the world. Given what else she understood about the two of them, she'd hoped to someday be a bridesmaid.
She slept quietly in bed, free to dream. However, her eye started to twitch. Usually, this suggested a dream state, but Joss would later swear to herself that she'd heard voices speaking to her.
"Use your power wisely, young one."
Joss awoke with a start. "Who's there?", she whispered. She wasn't up to yelling her question, as her father would certainly hear her, leading to ever more questions. Hoping to ignore the voice, Joss fell back asleep.
Joss carried her books down the hall, greeting any and all she saw. In the midst of one of her greetings, she bumped into a wall of flesh, which caused her to fall to the floor. She gathered her books together. "I'm really sorry about that."
Joss stood to her feet, bringing her face to face with Millie. Rumors flew around the school about her, ranging from 'she should've graduated four years ago, but the teachers are too scared to tell her' to 'she went too far on a cow tipping jag and ate one of them raw'.
"You need to look where your going, Possible."
"I'm sorry about that, Millie."
"'Sorry' isn't good enough. You need to be taught a lesson in respect." Millie reared her fist back.
Meanwhile, Joss felt a surge of energy flow through her. Her eyes flashed bright blue but for a second; despite the small crowd of students, no one much noticed the change in her green eyes. She balled her hand into a fist, almost like she considered fighting back. Before any contact could be made…
"What is going on out here?"
Joss snapped out of her trance and regarded Miss Hadley, every bit your average schoolmarm.
"Nothing, Miss Hadley."
"Yeah. I was just helping Possible up." Millie took Joss's arm and gave it a tight squeeze. "She's pretty clumsy."
"I hope it's nothing", the woman said, adjusting her glasses. "Carry on."
Millie spun Joss around, disorienting her for a moment. "This isn't over." The big girl dropped Joss to the floor.
Joss merely stared at her as she walked off. 'I felt like I could've flattened her just now', she thought to herself. 'Wait. Me flatten her?'. She shook her head. What a crazy notion.
The fences surrounding the robotic horses were smashed to pieces. Slim had just driven up with fresh lumber. Once again, he was angrily muttering.
The events of twenty minutes ago played out in his head. He'd called the sheriff and reported that Ollie Agenous was responsible. However, according to the video taken of the vandalism, Agenous wasn't there. Just two thuggish gentlemen, one of whom had a scar running up his face.
The sheriff agreed to put an APB out on the thugs, though Slim just knew that they were Agenous' puppets. Without proof, however, what could he do?
Slim brought the wood over to the busted fences and hammered them into place.
Joss walked into her house and set her backpack down. "Daddy?"
Slim came up to her, wrapping her in a hug. "Hey, there, darling." As she broke away, Joss noticed her father's bandaged fingers.
"Daddy, what happened to you?"
"Oh, just fixing the fences."
"Were you angry?"
Slim rubbed the back of his head. "Well…"
"You always tell me not to take on a job like that if you're upset, 'cause then you can't focus and you get hurt."
Slim smiled at Joss and hugged her again. "You're right. It's just that that Agenous has got me so riled up…" Remembering himself, Slim calmed down. "So, how have you been?"
Joss took a seat on the couch. She sighed. "Daddy, I feel like my body's changing. Kind of like I don't recognize the person I see in the mirror in the morning."
"Well, changes like…those are just a part of growing up. It's nothing to be afraid of."
"I don't know. I'm a little afraid of these changes."
"It's not a problem. It's just your body telling you that...you know how a caterpillar retreats into a cocoon and becomes a butterfly? Well, what you're going through is your cocoon stage and soon, you'll be a butterfly." Slim sighed. "Your mother would've been so much better at this."
Joss smiled at her father. The changes she was thinking about weren't quite in that way, but she appreciated the talk. "You're doing your best, Daddy." With a hug, Joss retreated to her room, feeling a little better about her situation.
Sleep came quickly to Joss that night, her mind untroubled by worries of the waking world.
Crack!
Joss sat up in bed. That was the sound of wood breaking. She rubbed her eyes and hurried to the window.
A pair of thuggish gentlemen stepped over the fresh planks that had been installed hours ago. They each held flashlights as they entered the horse pen.
"I don't see why this guy can't just sign the horses over." Keyes trained his flashlight behind him, making sure he wasn't being followed.
Loch took the lead. "Because some people have no priorities."
The thugs made it to the stables. The horses were plugged into the walls, recharging their batteries.
Joss raised her homemade grappling gun and fired it at a tree. The hook caught one of the branches and retracted her out the window.
She dropped out of the tree and stealthily ran toward the stables.
"I wonder what 10% of what these horses are worth is."
Keyes unplugged one of the horses. "I bet it's a lot."
"Those horses don't belong to you."
Loch and Keyes turned toward the entrance of the stables. In the doorway stood Joss, in her own Kim-style outfit.
Keyes shined his light on the intruder. "And who are you?"
"Joss Possible, and I aim to bring you to justice."
Loch moved around the horse to get a closer look. "Possible, like Kim Possible?"
"Yeah. She's my cousin."
The thugs slowly approached her. "Is she here now?"
Joss matched their every step forward with a step back. "No, she isn't."
"Then there's not much you can do to us, is there, little girl?"
Joss started to huff, more out of nervousness than anything. She closed her eyes and sunk to the ground.
"Aw, she's gonna cry", Loch said in the mocking tone of voice that seemed to be made for the expression.
Joss opened her eyes, but they were far from the familiar forest green that she knew. Currently, they glowed a brilliant blue.
"I believe I said that those horses don't belong to you." The little girl's voice echoed and reverberated, sending a chill down the spines of the two thieves.
Faster than the men could process, Joss rushed toward them. She climbed up Keyes's back and flipped him over her shoulder to the ground.
Loch tried to run, but Joss simply stomped her foot down. The ground shook and displaced, as if struck by an earthquake. The ground splintered and arose. The crook's foot caught a hunk of ground and tripped. He spat out a mouthful of dirt.
Loch scurried to his feet and picked up his cohort. They stared in surprise as the girl, glowing as blue as her eyes, floated toward them.
The same echoing voice as before left the girl's lips. "Leave this place. Never come back and never mess with my daddy, again."
The two men ran as fast as they could away from Joss. They leapt into their car, which disappeared over the horizon.
Joss turned to the destroyed fence and the displaced ground. She raised her hand, which started to glow.
Slim awoke suddenly, as if he felt the earth move. "Joss! Jocelyn!" He ran to Joss's room. She was asleep in bed, as peaceful as the day is long.
Slim gently shook his daughter. Joss yawned as she woke up. "What's the matter, Daddy?"
"Didn't you feel the earthquake?"
"No. I've just been here sleeping."
"Could've sworn there was an earthquake." Slim glanced out the window. The horse stables were closed, the fence was as good as new and the ground was smooth. Slim shook his head. "I better get back to bed."
"Okay. G'night, Daddy." Joss kissed Slim on the cheek and settled back into bed.
Just as Slim got back into bed, he got an odd look on his face.
He rushed downstairs to his surveillance room. Concentrating on the monitor showing the horse pens, he rewound the tape twenty minutes.
He tightened his hand into a fist at seeing the two thugs. His anger turned to concern at seeing Joss drop in.
Before long, his concern melted away, replaced by disbelief at what he saw transpiring on the monitor.
Joss walked down the halls of her school, filled with confidence. She couldn't help but feel proud at what happened last night, even if she didn't understand it.
"Possible!"
Joss turned behind her. Millie stood at the end of the hallway, seething. Joss just shrugged her shoulders and continued walking. Millie, taking offense at this gesture, charged at her.
Moments before Millie made contact with Joss, the smaller girl turned around, clearly not in the mood for this nonsense.
"Possible, we never got to finish our little talk."
Joss advanced on Millie, a determined look on her face. "What is your problem with me, Millie? Just because I'm smaller than you, you think you can push me around?"
Millie was at a loss; her victims rarely (if ever) stood up for themselves.
"Well, you can't." Joss turned and walked away, laughing a little at her outburst. Millie, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes at the brown-haired girl.
In the lavatory, Joss had just finished washing her hands. She grabbed some paper towels from the dispense and dried her hands. She heard the door open, but continued to dry off.
Joss felt herself get shoved against the wall. Millie did not look happy.
"You think that was funny, telling me off like that?"
"I didn't think it was funny. Just something you needed."
Mille tightened her grip on Joss's arms. "Now, let me tell you what you need. You need to recognize the way this works. You don't fight back. You don't defend yourself."
Joss closed her eyes. Millie's speech bled away in her ears. Her eyes opened with a distinct blue glow. Millie stopped talking at seeing Joss's eyes. The bigger girl released Joss, who floated three feet in the air.
"I don't like to fight", Joss stated in her echoing voice. One of the faucets turned on. Water burst out of the spigot. "At least if it's not something worth fighting for." Another faucet came to life, spewing water. "You think that picking fights with people weaker than you makes you strong, but as a wise man once said, 'it takes true strength to walk away from a fight'." The third faucet turned on. "Do you have true strength?"
Millie, her face ashen with shock, ran out of the bathroom, panting nervously. Joss settled to the floor. She put a hand to her head.
"Whoa."
Joss walked into her house and set her backpack at her feet. "Daddy?"
"Joss, could I talk to you a moment?"
Joss entered the surveillance room, where her father was sitting. The monitors all showed the same video.
"What is it?"
Joss glanced up at the monitors. They played the footage of Joss taking on the two thugs. She stared in surprise at what was happening.
"It's not every day you get to see your daughter glowing blue and fighting guys much bigger than her.
"Daddy, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't know how. It's something that's hard to put into words-"
Slim put a hand up. "I don't pretend to know everything about everything. Come to think of it, that's more your uncle's department." Joss giggled a little. "But I do know that this is some kind of gift. It could be handled a little more responsibly, but I appreciate what you did."
"Thanks, Daddy."
"And no matter what happens, if you keep these powers or not, you'll always be my little girl, and I'll always love you." Slim wrapped his daughter in a hug.
"I'll always love you, too."
Slim watched as the tape continued past the point of the thugs rushing toward their car.
"Did you get the horses or not?"
"We couldn't, Mr. Agenous. Some girl came at us."
"You two were scared off…by a girl?"
"You didn't see this girl."
Joss glanced around. It was like she was floating in mid-air. She'd had a number of dreams like this.
"Greetings, young Jocelyn."
"Who's there?" Joss turned in every direction, searching for the owner of the voice.
Sensei faded into being, surprising the brown-haired girl.
"Who are you?"
"I am Sensei, leader of Yamanouchi."
"What's that? Are you the one who gave me this power?"
"I am merely an observer. The power was bestowed upon you by another. Are you familiar with a young man by the name of Ron Stoppable?"
"Yes. I know him. He's best friends with my cousin, Kim Possible."
The elder man stroked his beard. 'Small world', he thought to himself. "Stoppable-san was gifted with Tai Shing Pek War, Mystical-"
"-Monkey Power", Joss finished. "I looked it up a while back. I heard that Ron had it, but I never thought it was really real."
"He has chosen to bestow the power to you, but for a short time."
"That's nice of him. Good thing it's a short time. I don't think I can handle this for too long. Is there any way to, um, get rid of this, if I may?"
"This will not be a problem. Just close your eyes."
Joss did as she was told. She felt the energy ebb out of her. She sighed heavily.
"How do you feel now?"
Joss shrugged. "Like my old self."
"There are great things ahead for you, Joss. You need only embrace them." Sensei faded away, leaving Joss floating.
Suddenly, she fell out of the air. She plummeted to the ground, screaming the whole way.
With a sudden start, Joss woke up. She flipped on the lamp next to her bed. She concentrated with everything she was to lift herself out of bed. After about a minute, nothing happened. Not even the frustration she felt at trying to make something happened could do anything.
Joss flipped the light off and went back to sleep.
Kim wasn't much for slapping anyone, least of all her best friend/boyfriend Ron, but she delivered two slaps to his freckled face.
"You gave my cousin Mystical Monkey Power? How could you be so irresponsible?"
Ron rubbed his face. "First of all, ow! Second, I was just trying to be generous. Joss even shot me an e-mail thanking me and talking about how that Agenous guy was busted for masterminding the horse theft."
"Granted, she was able to do good things with it, but she could've been seriously hurt."
"Sorry, KP. Still, what good is this power if you can't help people with it?"
"I guess. Still, I'm glad that everything is back to normal."
Ron exchanged a glance with Rufus that argued otherwise.
The gentle waves of the nearby ocean had helped to lull the woman to sleep. However, the woman's eyes opened. She couldn't sleep. Not with all this energy coursing through her.
She moved her bed out of the way, a task that usually took a muscular orderly to accomplish. She cleared a large space for herself.
She took a bow and assumed a fighting stance. She practiced kicks, lunges, spin-kicks, flips. Moves that she learned decades ago came back to her as if she learned them yesterday.
"Whoo!", she exclaimed as she ran up the wall and flipped back to her feet.
Nana Possible had never felt more alive.
A/N: I'd been curious to attempt whitem's 'MMP story jam'. The problem was 'who do I give it to?'. I'd considered a short list of characters before settling on the one for this story. I like to think I did I good job.
Thanks for reading and reviewing and have a nice day.