Darev: My thanks to VN and PC. Okay so it's going to be three chapters. It's been pretty easy to write so far, albeit a bit time-consuming. Let's see how MF is going to get himself out of this one.
Monty felt strange. The feeling was oddly familiar in a way as if an old war wound that hadn't bothered him in a long time had suddenly resurfaced. It wasn't painful at least, but it was very uncomfortable.
Forcing his eyes open, he found that he was still trapped in the cell. Duff Killigan, Dr. Drakken, and Shego were gone—far into the future, he would suspect. He was thankful for small miracles. He never liked any of those fools, particularly Drakken's obnoxious lady confidant who seemed to take great pleasure in ridiculing them at every turn. Such disrespect deserved punishment and after what Shego did to him he wanted to be the one to do it. No matter how long it may take, Monkey Fist will get his revenge.
Was the cell this big before?
Slowly getting to his feet, Monty checked to make sure he was alright. Nothing appeared to be damaged and for the most part he felt strangely rejuvenated. Vigor pumped through his body. Monty moved with an ease that he hadn't felt in so long. His body felt much lighter, as if half the stress that had been pinned down on him over the years had suddenly gone away. He was unnerved and intrigued at all once. Why was he feeling like this? Why did he feel so strange?
He backtracked. After being defeated by Kim Possible yet again, he, Drakken, and Killigan, were arrested and taken to jail. There, Shego appeared, apparently from the future, with an offer the mad doctor and that loathsome golfer could not refuse. Monty however, did. He tried to fight her—she beat him. Then he was lying on the floor while Shego pulled out a device….
"No."
Scanning the cell for a mirror or some kind of reflective surface, Monty felt his heart quicken as reality set in. The cell was bare except for a pair of beds and a toilet on the far corner with a partition to allow the prisoners some privacy. Such an indignant way to treat the Ultimate Monkey Master. He'd see to it that the warden pays dearly for this insult. But right now, he'd have settled for a mirror. My kingdom for a mirror.
"Blast!" His woeful tone carried across the room. He found himself sulking on the bed Drakken once occupied with his head in his hands. "This is not happening. I cannot be trapped here like this." He bared his teeth. "If I ever get my hands on that wench I will introduce her to a level of pain such as she never knew existed." He looked at his hands; his beautiful genetically-altered hands. "With these hands I shall ring her neck." He tightened them, imagining Shego's soft throat within their clutches.
Then he realized his juvenile behavior was beyond a man of his standing and stopped. "Stop it, you fool! You are the Monkey Master. Now get a hold of yourself and find a way out of this wretched cell." Talking to oneself was not much more mature than pretending you're strangling a green woman, but right now he needed to steady his nerve. He was alone in the past with no means of returning to his own time. He'll need to think of a plan if he wanted….
His feet dangled several inches above the floor. They were quite small, Monty realized. In fact, his whole body was very small. As if gently being nudged by an invisible source, his head slowly turned towards the window. Not long ago his face would barely fit between the bars. But Monty was always thin and lithe in his youth. Adding to that his alterations and those window bars looked less imposing than they were a moment ago.
Monkey Fist wasted no time. He did not wish to remain in this cage any longer than he had to. His destiny called. This was only a minor setback. If he didn't let some bothersome, freckle-faced teenager stop him from becoming the next Monkey Master then he sure wasn't about to be stopped by a barred window.
It hovered way above his head, like a treat just out reach of a pleading dog. Monty was no dog. With hardly an effort, he leaped up to the window. His hands easily grasped the bars but there was a problem. Despite his increased agility, he lacked the upper body strength provided by his older self. Using his feet, Monty had to forcibly push himself upward along the wall. His head squeezed easily enough through the bars though the rest of his body proved a bit of an issue. Small or not, the body was many times the size of the head—and those bars were very close together.
His ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. The mumbling of two foul-mouthed guards grew louder as Fiske struggled to untangle himself from between the bars. He'd managed to squeeze his shoulders through though that was just as the guards stopped right in front of his cell. "Hey!" Monty heard someone fumble with a pair of keys and bit his tongue when he heard the cell door swing open.
Quickly, and with considerable discomfort, he forced his torso, waist, knees, and finally his feet through the window. A guard's heavy hand was just milliseconds away from grabbing him before he hit the ground, rolled, and came up to a stand. "Too slow, Yank."
"Sound the alarm!" He heard the guard who tried to grab him yell to his companion.
Monkey Fist wasted no time in searching for an escape route. He noticed, with no mild distress, that while he may have been able to squeeze through a pair of prison bars, he was unable to cover much ground with his tiny legs and feet. His heart began to pump in his chest when he heard the prison alarm go off. Lights blinked on in numerous windows around the prison. Searchlights from the nearby guard tower began to scan the yard. Men started shouting to one another and doors slammed open. Guard dogs began to bark wildly—elated to be let out on the hunt. Along the wall, armed men began looking for the escaped convict. Monty could not tell if those were tazer guns or live weapons but he did not want to find out. As skilled as he was in Tai Shing Pek Kuar, he was still a man, and men could be hurt.
The guard dogs were getting closer and Monty could feel the noose slowly begin to tighten. No, he thought, I'm not going back. He did not want to face the guards in his current state. He was even less enthusiastic about the dogs. There was at least thirty yards between him and the main gate and searchlights prowled the entire area. Catching a small moving target would not be easy, Monty realized, but to cover that distance with his tiny legs without being caught would be a daunting experience. He doubted he could outrun a dog should he be caught. He was pretty confident a guard would be able to catch up with him, too. What's more, he was feeling winded. His small frame could not exert itself as much as his adult body had been able to.
Still, Monty swore he would not go back. He would not rot away in this damned place while he yet had a purpose in life. Fate demanded he become the next Monkey Master if it killed him, and while he'd much avoid that last part he knew he preferred it much more than the alternative.
Brains would suffice where brawn failed. He may not be able to run fast, but he still had his enhanced hands and feet. He would climb. Guards converged on his position. Those with dogs found the spot where he was hiding first. The canines used their heightened sense of smell to track him down while their handlers spotted flashlights over the ground. They did not find Monkey Fist. Some of the dogs converged on the wall where their muzzles turned up sharply. Each dog began to bark and the men turned their lights upward. A small, black figure was on the move. It jumped from window to window, using the bars as a means to hold itself up.
"He's up there!" One guard yelled and a searchlight fell upon the moving dot.
Monkey Fist felt his whole body freeze once the light had spotted him. He looked back, held up his hand to protect his eyes, and sneered as if that would somehow make it go away.
It didn't.
With the light to follow, one of the guards aimed his gun at Monty and fired. A pellet came within an inch of his foot and Monty cursed. Down below, the guard took aim yet again but was stopped by another. "Don't! You want to catch him if he falls?"
Sensible advice. Such a fall would surely injure him. Perhaps even paralyze him. The notion of being trapped in the past as a paraplegic only hurried his ascent. It was easy for him to make his way up to the top. Once there, however, Monkey Fist found out that some of the guards had taken the initiative. About half a dozen of them were waiting for him at the top, their lights stopping him dead in his tracks. "Freeze!"
Damn it all!
"He's just a kid," One of the guards muttered to his companions.
"What's he doing here?"
"Let's just bring him in. Let the warden sort him out."
"Not likely," Monkey Fist spat and made a run for it.
"Hold it!"
Monty heard them in hot pursuit and was silently grateful that none of them had the indecency to shoot a child. No doubt his appearance made this hesitant and he would use that to his advantage. The rooftop was wide but there was only so much running room. As Monkey Fist reached the edge he quickly judged the distance between the roof and the prison wall. There was no way he'd be able to make the jump.
The sound of rushing propellers filled his ears. A police chopper had come to the aid of the guards, flashing a bright light on Fiske as he neared the ledge. Stopping, Monty counted himself damn lucky for making it this far, but he was never one to settle for "almost." As the chopper came to a halt, the men chasing him formed a semi-circle around him. A loudspeaker from the chopper ringed loudly before a gruff voice spoke. "Give it up. We have you surrounded."
"On the contrary." Monty leaned back and fell off the roof. The guards immediately rushed to where they saw him fall. One man leaned his head over only to find Fiske leering up at him. He used his toes to grasp the ledge on the way down and was hanging with his head down. Seeing the guard, Monty reached up with his hands. He pulled himself up onto the guard and used him as leverage to make a mad jump for the helicopter. His tiny enhanced legs gave him enough strength to just barely cover the distance. His hands grabbed onto the bars and he held on.
"He's on the chopper!" One of the men below warned the occupants.
The pilot of the chopper, proving that not all police officers were incompetent in their job, immediately began to lower the vehicle near the rooftop so that the men below could grab Monty. Seeing his plan, Monkey Fist leaped over to the other bar and climbed up. There was a man holding a radio cord. He had been the one talking over the loudspeaker. Montgomery opened the door, catching the man by complete surprise. "I believe this is your stop, my good sir."
A moment later, the officer came flying out the passenger side. His body collapsed on the men below and they fell into a heap. Meanwhile, the pilot had to contend with a very disgruntled monkey-child. "What the hell are you?"
"Out of here." A well placed kick sent the man spiraling out and right onto the pile of men below. "Or more to the point, you are." Pulling the door shut, Monkey Fist took the controls. He had to stand and reach at an awkward angle but he only needed to get over the wall so he used his piloting skills to take him up and away. Searchlights followed the chopper until he flew beyond their reach. The prison was in an uproar from his breakout. There must have been around fifty police officers in the yard watching the whole spectacle. They could not believe that a convict was making his escape using one of their own helicopters.
Success!
Monkey Fist allowed himself a moment of jubilation. This was no small feat considering his circumstance. Just goes to show that size is not the true measure of a warrior. But now that he'd escaped, there remained the issue of what to do now?
Without the Tempus Simia, Monty had no hope of returning to his own time. He could go to England but he doubt he'd find any semblance of returning to a normal life there. Right now he was teaching a course at Cambridge University—he imagined it would be quite the brain-rattling experience for his current self to see him waltz into his office. On the one hand, Monty could always fill in his past counterpart on all future events.
With knowledge comes power and that kind of knowledge could make Montgomery Fiske more powerful than ever before. Knowing all that he did, Monty could tell his other self the locations of all the monkey idols, where to find DNAmy, and the deepest secrets of Tai Shing Pek Kuar. With his insight and the current Monty's connections, he could be the new Monkey Master before ever went online. Then there'd be no stopping him.
Ironic that Shego's attempts at humiliating him would turn out to be the best thing that could ever happen. This was a gift! Oh he could kiss that beautiful green bitch.
So many plans. So much to do. Monty had to move fast if he wanted to set in motion the events that would enable him to achieve his destiny. But then a thought crossed his mind. Kim Possible would no doubt try to stop him. She unlike he had the ability to travel through time. Back at the mansion when Monty had brought the gorilla guardian to smash the Kim Possible of the past, her future self arrived and not only destroyed the guardian but put him and his accomplices behind bars. What's to stop her from doing it again? He could just imagine him meeting the Montgomery Fiske of the past only to have Possible come streaming in through a portal. Seeing what he was about to do, the teen could prevent Monty from ever realizing he had a destiny. She could interfere with history. Monkey Fist would never have been born and Monty would live the remainder of his days as an ordinary archeologist.
No!
That cannot happen. He'd have to deal with Possible before she became a nuisance. She may be a preteen now, but she lacked the skill and training, not to mention the experience, that Monty possessed. He could defeat her. It may prove quite the challenge in this state, but Monty could not let this opportunity pass him by. Afterall, if he gets rid of Kim Possible in the past, there would be no one there to stop him in the future. And should the future Kim Possible try to stop him, he'd simply kill the younger one. The thought of seeing the future Kim fade away as her past self was smut out like a candle sent a shiver down Monty's spine. This was just too good an opportunity to pass up.
He recalled Shego's words about opportunity. Well Monty would answer it. He would deal with Kim Possible before she ever became the thorn at his side. And when that was over, maybe he'd pay Ron Stoppable a little visit.
Monkey Fist dunked the helicopter in the middle of the lake in Middleton Park. No sense making it easy on the cops. Besides, he was sure that the Upperton Police Department had alerted their Middleton counterparts about the breakout and the last thing Monty needed was a bunch of cops looking up. He flew low, just above the treetops, before he'd just reached the border between the two cities. Wanting to rid himself of the chopper as soon as possible, Monty recalled the layout of Middleton and headed straight for the park which wasn't that far off. Then when he saw the lake, he pointed the vehicle into a nosedive and leapt for the tallest branch of the nearest tree.
The helicopter made quite the ruckus as the engine sputtered out its final sounds. The propellers split apart, some fragments landing near where Monty had escaped. He had expected this, though. The police would find evidence of the crash. They would try to pull the chopper out of the water which would take time. Protocol demanded they make a sweep of the area to see if he left any traces. For that reason, Monkey Fist avoided the ground. He moved about the trees as nimbly as any monkey. Let the dogs try to follow his trail; they'd be hard-pressed trying to catch him now.
Cunning or not, Monty knew there would not be trees everywhere he went. He'd have to settle for house roofs instead. A police vehicle would drive by now and then, either out on patrol or looking for him, it didn't matter; he would not be stopped. Still, he played it safe and ducked his head until the car pulled around the corner. Then he would use the lampposts to clear the streets before moving on to the next neighborhood.
His memory served him well. When the house came into view he almost kicked himself for having it so easy. Kim Possible lived just like any other American girl. There were no gates, no sensors, no traps or warning of any kind to prevent someone with a grudge against her from taking their revenge. Didn't she realize she put those she cared for at risk by doing what she did? What's to stop some disgruntled crook that was put in prison because of her to break out, buy a handgun, find out where she lived, and just riddle the house with bullets?
Not his style, but he would not complain.
Diving behind the same row of bushes that he and his former partners in crime once used to spy on her, Monty waited. The light was on inside her bedroom window and he counted his blessings. It's as if whatever greater power watching over him wanted him to take his revenge and kindly placed the object of his hatred right in his hands. Grinning, he climbed up the exterior of the house and made his way over to her bedroom window. Monty saw a shadow pass by. He hid. Then he realized who he was dealing with. This was not the Kim Possible of the future. She was just a preteen girl now. Ignorant in the ways of the crime fighter.
That means she's vulnerable. Monty moved like the ninja he was: silent, mysterious, unseen. He landed on the windowsill and peered inside. Kim Possible was on the computer to his left. She was speaking to someone on the phone while she was typing. Monty shook his head. How could a brat prove such a hindrance to his plans? Best to get rid of her now before she becomes a bigger pain than she already was.
Leaning his ear toward the window, Monkey Fist caught the last few words of a sentence. "…thinking. But, Ron, if I put that down, people might start to get the wrong idea."
Ron? Ron Stoppable? Monty felt his ire grow.
"Yeah and if I recall you're the one who said it was too braggy." She waited for his reply. "I know that. But still…Ron, we were almost squashed by a giant gorilla statue. If my future self hadn't come when she did, you and I would be leaving pasty marks along Mr. Pazley's vault." She leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. Kim was currently wearing a pair of blue pajamas with stripes. She looked about ready to go to bed and Monty wondered whether it would prove more beneficial to wait until she is asleep bef….no. He would not steal his victory. When it comes time for her to die, he wanted her to know who did it.
"Right. Like anyone's going to believe a girl goes around fighting bad guys. What happened tonight was a fluke, Ron. It's not like we're going to go around saving people and junk. Not that I wouldn't want to help someone in trouble or anything, but it was a once in a lifetime deal. We're just kids." Then her mouth curled into a sneer. "I know anything's possible for a Possible, Mister Stoppable. But saving the world?" She became uncertain. "That's crazy."
So this is how she got the idea to become a teen heroine. Monkey Fist could not believe it. All this time he and the entire evildoer community thought Kim had chosen to fight them on her own accord out of some pathetic need to help others. Instead, it was Ron Stoppable, her ally, which prompted her on this path. Maybe he was at the wrong window.
Still, he would deal with Ron when the time comes. Right now he only cared about one thing and one thing only.
"Someone has visions of grandeur. I think you're letting the whole you not being afraid of monkeys in the future thing go to your head. So you lose your phobia and I can fight giant statues. That doesn't mean we're not like anybody else. We have more important things to do with our lives. And besides, you've got that little molerat of yours to take care of. Can't go saving the world while worrying about him too." She smiled. "Uh-huh." She typed something on the computer. "Okay, we'll talk more tomorrow. I know. I'll think on it. Go get some sleep, you sound tired. Kay. Night, Ron." She hung up.
Now was his chance. As suspected, Kim did not lock her window. Why would she? Monty slid into her room.
The evening breeze was pleasant, and it flowed through Kim's hair. Looking back, she found her window closed, undisturbed. Her eyebrow went up to indicate something "odd" had happened but dismissed it before going back to her computer. "That should do it. I'll have Ron take a look at it tomorrow." Kim turned off her desktop. She yawned and stretched out her arms. The night's close call had taken its toll on her and she was looking forward to a good night's rest.
Walking toward her bed, she pulled back the sheets and laid down. Once she turned off the lamp, Kim snuggled in as much as she could before closing her eyes. Safe and secure in her own bed, the young girl readied to drift off to sleep.
Monkey Fist had a more permanent sort of rest in mind for her.
Minutes passed and Kim's snores soon filled the air. Monkey Fist wanted to savior the moment. There were so many ways he could go about doing this; it was difficult to choose. He could feel his mouth watering at the prospect of inflicting pain. He normally abhorred brutality and all its implications. As a warrior he could kill with a touch. Pinch the right nerve and you are paralyzed. A direct hit to the temple would create a blood clot that would eventually deprive your brain of oxygen. He was a living weapon. He was a killing machine.
He was the Monkey Master.
And she was his enemy.
Kim's eyes fluttered open. She yawned. "Is…someone there?" Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up to look around. There had been no sound made and yet she sensed him. Perhaps her victories weren't all flukes. Senses tended to sharpen in the dark. People naturally feared darkness and when the eyes failed them, their other senses became heightened. With her training and innate skills, Kim Possible's were undoubtingly more advanced than most. She always seemed to have a knack for knowing when trouble was afoot.
"Kim Possible."
She gasped. "W-Who's there?" She pulled the sheet around her. Her shock and surprise was authentic. Monkey Fist smiled.
"An old acquaintance," replied a small but cultured voice. "Or a new one, depending on your point of view."
She reached over to turn on the lamp. The room was bathed in a reddish glow that Monty found all to appropriate. He would be sending her to that fiery place real soon.
Kim pushed her fear aside. A stranger had invaded her house and she was not about to take that lying down. On her feet, she began searching the room. "Come out. Show yourself."
"Are you scared?" His voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere.
"N-No," she lied. "I'm not."
Her hands were raised as if to fend off an attacker. Strange, he thought. A regular girl would have screamed for help or gone running out of the room into the arms of her parents. Kim had every intention of fighting off Monkey Fist by herself. The girl really did have spirit.
All the more reason to crush it. Hmm. Now that he thought about it, perhaps Drakken's original plan to crush her spirits was not so foolhardy afterall. Killing her would be one thing. Watching her break down in tears while she begs for mercy would be so much more satisfying. Oh yes. He would have his fun with her before the end.
"Where are you?" She asked. Her voice hardened. "Step out where I can see you."
A large shadow loomed over her. Kim gasped and turned around to find a small boy in a black ninja gi with his hands folded behind him. He was smiling at her. He stood in front of the lamp, hence the shadow. "Hello."
"Who are you supposed to be? And why are you in my room?" She looked down. "And what happened to your feet?"
"All valid questions. But the one you should really be asking yourself is what will you do now?"
Kim didn't know how to answer that. She stared at him. "I…I think I know you."
"Indeed," he smiled. "I am the man who is going to kill you."
I should really spend more time on my author's notes. But since I have no real insight at the moment, I'll just hope you enjoyed the chapter. See ya.
