A Boundless Fist

A Kim Possible fic

---

A/N: It's time for the kicks, the punches, the palm strikes, and the throws. Time for the joint locks, shoulder spears, the body blows, and the flips. Now the footwork, the sweeps, elbows, and knees. It's time for the fighting. Hope you like.

---

By the time they had made their way to Fiske's camp, Ron was starting to feel much better, though the jade statue seemed to do strange things to him when he got too close to it. It wasn't near as bad as the temple, though. Still, when he and Kim had laid out their sleeping bags, he had tried to choose a spot away from the tent where the statue rested. Kim had wanted to sleep close enough to guard it. As with many of their disagreements, Kim had won. It didn't do anything to stop Ron's unease…or to stop Kim from picking up on it.

"Ron, would you just get to sleep? It's not like you're going to die." Kim yawned.

He glared at her. "Kim, what happened to me the first time something messed with my chi flow?"

"You're better now."

"I'm telling you, that statue is messing with me. This whole sitch is bad road, KP."

"You're obsessed," groaned Kim in exasperation, before rolling over. "Sleep!"

Ron frowned, then tried to relax. Couldn't. Probably why he spotted the black-clad, monkey-like thief. He blinked as he saw the masked man grab the jade statue, then jumped from his bag. "Hold it right there!"

Kim rolled back over, then started as she saw Ron facing off in a neutral stance against a foe who seemed to be imitating a monkey. She struggled with her bag's zipper, which was stuck. Ron needed help, and that freak had the statue.

The black-clad thief struck first, stepping forward and bringing his rear leg up in a kick aimed for Ron's solar plexus. Kim gasped as Ron seemed to flow into the move, angling his body and letting his arms rise then fall with the kick, ensnaring the leg. But the flowing grace suddenly turned into basic movement as Ron tried to pull the thief across his body and away in a throw. The power was simply not there, and the man twisted around as Ron let go of him, the free arm lashing out in a backhand that staggered the blonde.

Finally freeing herself from the bag, Kim tensed, then sprang at the thief in a classic flying kick, a move which the man fell backwards under, rolling back as she flew over him and springing up to plant his feet into her exposed side. The added energy sent her flying into the equipment tent, face skidding across the jungle loam.

Her arms snapped straight under her as she forced herself off the ground, spitting out jungle dirt, before spinning around in what was also a sweep. The finish to the move brought her legs under her and she lunged at the thief.

His arm whipped out, hand bladed, once, twice, and suddenly Kim found herself fighting with enveloping cloth for the second time that night as the tent's entrance awning fell down into her face.

Ron recovered just in time to see the man snap the awning poles. Falling into a solid, low stance, he quick-stepped forward, driving a fist with the first knuckle extended just a bit at the base of the thief's spine, letting his legs drive him upwards as he struck, rear foot stamping down to add power.

It was a well-constructed blow, but Ron's aim was a little off, and instead of driving a wedge of force into his opponent's spinal column, Ron sent the penetrating kinetic energy into the man's left kidney. The thief staggered forward before lashing out with a back kick that caught Ron in his right hip, weakening his stance. Ron still gamely grabbed for the thief, but his gloved hand brushed against the surface of the statue. A strange feeling flooded through Ron, and he froze for long enough for a crossing uppercut with the heel of the thief's free hand to tag him in the jaw, sending him off his feet and to the ground.

The blonde looked up in horror, seeing the man preparing to bring his foot down on his throat, but he jerked his eyes from Ron to where Kim had just freed herself from the awning. Kim's foot came up in a crescent kick that the black-clad thief lithely avoided before producing a smoke bomb that he drove to the ground at Kim's feet.

The man seemed to fade away into the smoke as Team Possible coughed in the dark cloud. When it cleared, Kim could find no trail. "Oh no! He got away."

"Got the statue too," observed Ron, not entirely sad to see it go. Touching the idol had definitely messed with his chi flow. He was sure of it. Again, his hand clasped the pendant around his neck, the metal seeming warmer than it should.

"What's all this then?" asked Fiske as he and Bates scampered out of the tent they were using.

"Some ninja stole the jade monkey."

"How shockingly awful!"

"Yes," said Bates. "Awfully shocking, my lord."

"Word of our discovery must have gotten out." The English lord clenched gloved fists. "Oh, rot! If only your bravery was not wasted."

Kim helped Ron up from the ground, both of them with matching hard looks on their faces.

---

Ron winced as he opened the doors to Middleton's famous Bueno Nacho. Upon coming back from Cambodia, he had gone to visit Sifu Valentine. Zach had agreed that something was odd with Ron's chi flow and immediately started Ron on a marathon session of chi gung, acupressure, and martial arts practice. The practice included sparring, which was the cause for Ron's wince. His sifu had a tendency to use joint locks, and Ron had tried a little too hard to fight one of them. He was lucky he hadn't broken his wrist. His energy was pretty good, as they generally ended with a revitalizing technique. Didn't do anything for his hunger, though.

That was half the reason he was in the Bueno Nacho. The other half was marked with a mane of dark red hair. (Well, if Ron was being honest, he'd admit that he really didn't need a reason to visit Bueno Nacho, but there was no reason not to smite his hunger and hang with his bon-diggity best friend, now was there?)

Ron got something for Rufus and himself and slid into his side of their booth. Kim managed a small smile, then sighed as Ron started on his food. "Saturday is going to be Night of the Living Larry."

Ron took a bite out of his burrito, his lips reflecting a bit of a frown. He started to speak, then reconsidered it, swallowed, then put down the burrito. "You know, KP, I don't see what the big deal is. This Larry sounds like he could be a majorly fun guy if you'd just let him."

"Uh huh," squeaked Rufus as he attacked his hard taco. "Majorly fun."

"I mean," went on Ron, "I'd love to have more time to watch movies and play video games. You're kind of…just a bit, mind you…acting like Bonnie."

Kim curled her lip and narrowed her eyes. "Want me to send him to your house?"

Ron opened his mouth to say that he had practice to do, which would have likely touched off a minor argument, but the four note ring of the Kimmunicator cut him off. Kim's arm rummaged in her backpack and came up with the blue comm. device.

"Go, Wade."

"Kim. I dug up some information on that jade monkey."

"Why do we care?" interrupted Ron. "It's not like we have any leads on that wannabe ninja who stole it."

"First," said Kim, scowling at her blonde friend. "It belongs in a museum. Second," Her expression softened. "That thief tried to kill my best friend. That's something I'm so not letting go of."

Ron flashed her a little smile, which she returned. "Go on, Wade."

"The temple was one of four built by the followers of Monkey Kung Fu. Each temple had a jade monkey."

"Back up!" said Kim and Ron at the same time.

"Jinx, you owe me a soda!"

"You vex me so, KP," moaned Ron. "Wade, what is a temple of a Chinese martial art doing in Cambodia? And which one of the three forms are we talking about?"

"Ron?" asked both Wade and Kim, confused.

"Sifu told me about this," explained Ron, too weirded out by the sitch to take advantage of pulling the jinx on both of them. "There's three distinct forms of 'Monkey Kung Fu'." He put air quotes around the words. "First, Hou Quan, which can be literally translated as 'monkey's fist', which is actually a conglomeration of styles based on the elaboration on 'monkey techniques'," Again he added the air quotes. "in Taiji Quan. It doesn't really mimic monkeys…but Southern Preying Mantis hardly imitates the mantis." He pushed aside his burrito, prompting Rufus to dive on it. "Then there's Tai Sheng Men. It's the first one that goes hardcore into imitating monkey movement. Guy in jail saw monkeys out the window and combined their movements with Tei Tong. Named it after Sun Wukong…the Monkey King. The name translates to…Great Sage, I think." He bit his lip. "Then there's Tai Sheng Pek Kwar. It's a combination of the Pek Kwar style, which translates to 'Axe Hand' and Tai Sheng Men. It's probably the most famous these days."

"I have…" admitted Wade, "no idea. I'm working off of legends here. And I don't know how what is looking like a Chinese sect got to Cambodia at that point in world history. Carbon dating places the temple at C.E. 220, plus or minus fifty years."

"It would have been Hou Quan, then," said Ron definitively. At the looks they were giving him, he shrugged. "Tai Sheng Men only came into being near the end of the Qing dynasty." He looked thoughtful. "Given the timing, they probably were fleeing from the turmoil of the Three Kingdoms period, or the events before it."

Kim gave him a look. "Your sifu taught you all about this?" At a nod from Ron, she gave an exasperated sigh. "Why don't you pay this much attention in school? You'd have better grades than me."

Ron gave her an uneasy smile. "Sifu Valentine saved my life, Kim, something which Mr. Barkin has yet to do."

"Can we agree that I have?" pleaded Kim.

"Oh, yeah."

"Then for my sake, put a little of this brainpower towards school, huh?"

"I'll try, KP."

Wade gave a cough. "Well, you've certainly given me some new leads to search on Ron, but given Team Possible's habit of dealing with crazies, I think that there's a section of the legend that bears giving immediate attention to. The legend states that when the four jade monkeys are brought into alignment, they granted the warriors Mystical Monkey Power." A graphic came up on the Kimmunicator's screen, demonstrating.

"That's the same picture we saw on the map. But why would they separate the statues?"

"They probably didn't want anyone else getting the power," observed Ron.

"That's what the legend says. Thing is…it would fit perfectly with Ron's theory that they were fleeing the events of the turmoil of the Three Kingdoms era."

"Maybe the thief believed the legend," opinioned Kim.

"He might not be wrong," admitted Wade uneasily. "You know I hate the idea of magic…but what if it's some chi thing, like what happened to Ron before I knew the two of you?" He looked away with a nasty look on his face. "Though that's hardly better," he muttered under his breath.

"It would explain why I felt so bad at the temple," noted Ron. "And why I went numb for a moment after touching the statue."

"We need more information," said Kim decisively. To be honest, she wasn't all that comfortable with Ron's frequent brushes with something science couldn't quite explain. But she hadn't been comfortable with Rufus for quite a while either. She would keep an open mind, both for Ron's sake, and the sake of the mission.

Wade's fingers flew across the keyboard. "The leading expert on all things simian is Lord Monty Fisk."

Kim gave a smile and shrugged. "We helped him, he'll help us. We'll go talk to him this weekend."

Ron folded his arms. "Oh, that'll be fun. Old snooty Brit. He's going to spend about half his time insulting me."

"Ron, look. You didn't do anything to endear yourself to hi…OH! Saturday. I just remembered my dinner with Larry."

"Can't you flake?" asked Wade.

"No," she moaned. "All flaking options denied. I don't even know if a clear and present danger to Middleton would be enough. Dad would probably just tell me to leave it to the cops." Interestingly, Wade started typing at his keyboards.

Ron snorted. "Like that'd do any good if it were one of our freaks."

"Can I make a suggestion?" Kim and Ron looked over to see a perfect visual and auditory duplicate of Kim standing there. Ron suppressed a shudder. "Send me!"

Kim walked around the holo-Kim. Ron shuddered again. "Not a holo-Kim!" He pointed at the fake Kim. "Sick and wrong, Wade."

"What's wrong with it?" asked Wade, hurt.

"I'm seeing an image of my best friend walking around with all of the chi flow of a corpse!" He waved his hand through 'her', causing the momentary de-rezz. "What do you think is wrong?"

At this, Kim shuddered. "So that's why you thought the holo-Wade was a ghost."

Ron nodded. "I wasn't really letting myself sense back in school, up until my hand went through Wade…I thought you were dead, buddy."

Wade's face twisted. "Oh. Well, I'm alive. Anyway…think about it, Kim," he went on in an enticing tone. "My holographic simulator is ready for a field test."

"Really, Larry," said the holo-Kim with a genuinely interested look on her face. "That's so interesting, Larry. Niiiice costume, Larry."

Ron shook himself. "Ugh. I'm turning that sense back off."

"It rocks, Wade, but I can't do the virtual flake. I promised Dad." She brought her hand up to her chin. "It is very tempting, though."

---

One flight to England, mostly spent sleeping, and a helicopter ride from there found Ron and Kim in front of the front door to Fiske's castle, a building which Kim would have bet her cheer squad captaincy hadn't been built in antiquity.

"So what made you decide to do the holo-flake?"

"Wade really wanted to test out his holographic generator."

Ron shrugged and rang the doorbell. Something seemed off, but he put that down to the fact that he was meeting Fiske. With surprising promptness, the door opened to reveal Bates.

"Ah! Kim Possible."

"Nice to see you again, Bates." Kim gesticulated rather widely as she spoke, changing her posture three times in two sentences, a fact which Ron noted with narrowed eyes. "We just had a few questions for Lord Monty Fiske."

"I shall announce your presence." He indicated they should come in with an outstretched arm.

As Bates went ahead, Ron looked over at Kim. "What's with you, Kim? You're acting awfully strange."

"So not."

"So are. You're switching posture like you do around Mankey, and your walking is weird. It's like you're balancing completely differently. Doesn't help that I'm getting a bad vibe from this place."

"You're paranoid," responded the redhead, turning to see Lord Fiske in a maroon and black robe.

"Ah…Kim Possible. And her sickly little friend. How delightful."

"Sorry to bother you, Lord Fiske, but we wanted to ask you some questions about…"

"So you know all about it!" interrupted the English lord frantically. Shedding his robe to reveal a martial artist's uniform in maroon and black, he pulled on a candelabra. "My obsession with Tai Sheng Pek Kwar!" The fireplace slid away to reveal a secret passage.

"I'm sorry," said Ron. "Did you say Tai Sheng Pek Kwar?"

"Oh, playing stupid, eh? Yes, Tai Sheng Pek Kwar! Monkey Kung Fu, you buffoon."

"Well, one of the styles, yeah…"

"Shut up!" He knuckle-walked into the passage, followed by Bates, Kim and Ron. "Rrrrrg. Well did you know that I spent the family fortune to get these!" He thrust his hairy hands in their faces. "And THESE!" Hopping onto his hands, he showed off his almost identical feet.

Ron bit his lip. "You know, I said from the beginning that he was bad road, that this whole sitch was bad road. Someone didn't listen to me." He glared at Kim, then narrowed his eyes. "Wait a second…" The muscles around his eyes tightened, then he shuddered.

Fiske jumped into the middle of the four jade statues, sulfurous light lancing out from them and raising him into the air. "BOW TO MY POWER! I AM MONKEY FIST!" The insane British lord land in stance right in front of them. "So…now you know my secret…which you will take to your graves."

"Well, how can you say that? A lot can happen in the next sixty or seventy years." Fist shoved his rather simian face into Ron's, growling. "Please, monkey-boy," glared back Ron. "I'm not scared of you. Sifu would have you crying in seconds." Ron's shock of blonde hair smashed into Fist's nose, sending him reeling back in pain. "And since neither Kim or Sifu is here to kick your biscuit…I guess I'll just have to do it myself."

Fist growled as he wiped blood away from his nostril. "What are you babbling about, boy! Kim Possible is right there! Get her, Bates!"

Bates gamely swung a staff though Kim's holo-duplicate. "Sir, it's not her!" he cried as the image de-rezzed for a moment.

"That's not her? Then where is the real Kim Possible!?"

"Game night," smirked Ron. "Now, come on Monty, old chap. Let's dance!"

Fist growled, then stopped as a three note tone rang out. "Serenity chimes, time for center." He fell into the lotus position.

"Monkey Kung Fu is half mental," informed Bates from behind Ron.

"Completely mental, in this case," retorted Ron, snapping around to transition to a straight tight fist punch to Bates's face. The short man's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped. Ron grabbed his shoulders to keep him upright then spun, swinging Bates about and tossing him at Fist just as the three note tone rang out again and Fist opened his eyes. "Rufus! Keep Bates down! I'll take Fist." The mole rat saluted and scampered out of Ron's pocket even as Fist kicked Bates's form off of his body and rolled to what were apparently his feet.

"Prepare for pain!" Fist sprung at Ron, leading with his right upper paw. Ron's eyes widened, but the muscle memory that practice had instilled in him was already taking over. His body sank as his bladed hands flowed straight up to the inside of Fist's right arm, slapping against both fore and upper arm, and sending the blow past Ron's ear. Then, as Fist's left hand began to shoot forward in a punch aided by the rotation of his body, Ron's right arm shot straight out in a palm strike to Fist's shoulder, stealing the force and speed from the blow, letting Ron merely take it as a graze atop his right shoulder. Finally, his legs straightened, driving his torso upwards, as well as shooting the heel of his left hand into the insane noble's jaw. The blow lifted Fist off of his feet and sent him flying through the air, Ron standing with his left arm fully extended into the air.

It didn't seem to faze Monkey Fist, though, and even as he arced through the air, his 'feet' shot out and grabbed Ron's extended arm. Ron found himself flying through the air as Fist planted his hands and pivoted, drawing Ron in to where Fist's other leg could drive a kick into his belly. This time it was Ron who went flying, crashing into a folding panel screen emblazoned with the silhouette of a monkey in stance. It was a few seconds before Ron stirred. "Ugh."

"Your sifu taught you well," admitted Fist as he stalked towards where Ron lay. "But you have no chance against me, beginner. I am a master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar. And I have been blessed with Mystical Monkey Power!"

Ron shoved himself up off the ground. "Funny. Sifu told me that the only master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar that wasn't Chinese was Roger Smart, who lives in Australia. Seems to me that you're nothing but a master poser. Of course, I see how some stuffy old Brit might wish he was an Australian!" He bladed his hands in front of him, covering his centerline, then dropped his stance and set his legs' direction perpendicular to his body.

"For that, I shall kill you slowly, boy," promised Fist. "And then I shall hunt down that red-headed slag you call a friend and kill her too. I can only imagine what torments my new power will be capable of dealing out upon her." The English freak went up on one leg and proceeded to lash out with a series of fast kicks at Ron's upper body.

The blonde's hands worked frantically, slapping at Fist's ankle to divert the blows. One, two, three, four blows were misdirected, but the fifth made it through, foot-fist impacting against his shoulder, spinning Ron backwards. The teen's feet worked furiously, skittering him back over the wreckage of the folding screen, then he broke stance and dashed for another side of the room before spinning and bringing his guard back up as Fist caught up with him. The two traded blows and blocks, Fist's violent and powerful, Ron's flowing and deceptive. Still, every once in a while, Ron had to straight block a blow from Fist, and his arms were starting to go numb.

"RON!" cried out Kim's voice.

"Not now, holo-Kim!" exclaimed Ron as he spun down into the ground like a screw, ducking under a hooking kick and extending his leg to sweep Fist. It worked, though Fist simply dropped onto his arms and continued to fight with his legs. "I'm a little…OOF…busy!"

"No! It's the real Kim…sorta." Ron's gaze flicked over to where the holo-Kim was 'standing' for a second, noting that instead of mission gear, this Kim was wearing capris and a lime-green crop top. "I'm using the holo-Kim to talk to you. I got worried when Larry told me Fiske practices Tai Sheng Pek Kwar."

Ron snapped his leg up into a high kick, one of the few that he had been taught, catching Fiske in the face. It didn't seem to do a great deal of good, and he just barely retracted his leg in time to keep it from being grabbed. "Rumor confirmed! Oh, and that legend? So true."

Kim gasped. "Ron? Are you going to be okay?"

Fist laughed. "Of course not! He shall be the first to die at my empowered hands! Make your peace Ms. Possible, for the next to die shall be you!" His next punch slipped through Ron's guard and caught him full in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

Ron grimaced as he picked himself up again. "I'd ask for your help, KP, but I get the feeling that this is going to be over, one way or another, in the next few minutes."

"You have no idea how right you are, boy." Fist came at Ron with hands clawed, but Ron walked a half-circle behind him. "Stand still and die!"

"I won't bother to ask if you're crazy," quipped Ron as he stepped into the turning blow Fist threw, using his arm to take control of his opponents, then turning in a tight circle to throw Fist at the ground face-first. "KP, I think I'm about as good as he is, but whatever the statues did to him made him superhuman."

"I have an idea. Ron, right?" The holo-Kim's voice and appearance had changed quite a bit. Cousin Larry was perhaps the most stereotypical loser Ron had ever seen. Now he could see why cheerleader Kim had so much trouble with her cousin. Didn't make it right, but he could see why.

"Yeah." Ron grimaced as Fist got to his feet again, not much the worse for wear after being slammed face-first into the floor a high speed. Still, the circle-walking was proving effective.

"Do you remember the ninth level of Fortress?"

"Never got that far! Couldn't spare the time from Sifu's training."

"Right…I'll give you the cheat codes." Larry looked a little disappointed. "Old Japanese proverb."

"I said sifu, not sensei. I practice the Chinese arts, not the Japanese! Whoa! That was close." A clawing hand strike ruffled Ron's hair.

"It probably came from China, like just about everything from Japan. 'To fight a demon, become a demon.'"

Kim burst in on the hologram. "WHAT!? That might kill him!" She mirrored Ron's reaction to a T. If it was chi-based, it could reawaken his chi gung psychosis, and then he'd be dead. Fiske wouldn't even have to touch him. He could just sit back and watch Ron lose to an enemy he couldn't even fight.

"Fiske will," pointed out Larry.

Ron's eyes hardened, and on his next circle-walk, he shot forward and slammed Fist in the middle of his back with a double palm strike backed with all the power of his turning body. Fist was launched away, and Ron spun, leaping for the center of the monkey statue array. "HEY MONKEYS!"

Rufus gasped and ran for his beloved human, intending to knock him out of danger. The naked mole rat leaped… "NO!"

"RON, NO!"

"HIT ME!"

…and was caught in the golden light with his master.

---

A/N Mk2: I realize that I haven't really finished this chapter within the weekend like I said I would, and I didn't finish up the episode's events like I said I would. But I did give you some martial arts action. I hope that it in some small way makes up for what I didn't do. And the chapter is over double the length. So if you can or can't forgive me, or even if you just have an opinion on this fic one way or another, please do inform me of your stance by using that wonderful review button. I'm hardly the biggest review slut on this site, but I still like em. This is the Ronin, signing off till next time.