Kim's setup was a bit different than it had been in previous years. Her room was nearly identical, except a few things moved here and there. But her desktop setup was completely changed. It was the same work desk she had over the years, now with dozens of wires, cords and other bits of power cords hanging off every side. The computer monitor itself was now spanned across three monitors, all connected to one large computer unit on the top shelf.
One keyboard, one mouse and a few other small trinkets were connected to the entire setup. Over the years she had slowly been adding to it, to create a small version of a supercomputer. Nowadays, a normal teenage setup wasn't gonna cut it. Since she was her own hero and her own team now she needed something next level.
She sat in her computer chair in the darkness in her room—the only light being the moonlight through her window and the bright screen illuminating on her face.
She reached up to the screen, and swiped to the side to continue reading a news article.
'Teen Hero Ron Stoppable Leads Rebuilding of Yamanouchi'
She grazed over the title multiple times. Seeing the name of the one person she loved, gave her mixed emotions. It was an old news clipping, from about a month or so after she had last see him. The cover photo, was Ronald himself with Rufus standing on his shoulder. They both had matching construction uniforms, with a yellow helmet.
He had that bright ear-to-ear smile that nearly melted her heart. The picture was black and white, but what gave it color was his happiness. She loved seeing him so happy. Even with the spot they were in now. Surely he was missing her as much as she did him. But why hasn't he tried to contact her? Was he still upset? Or were they both simply just too proud to say something first? But, she knew the only way to fix a problem was to take it head on.
She spent another hour doing research on the current state of Yamanouchi's restoration. She not only wanted to see how much progress Ron had made, but was desperate to find an interview or video or something of him. She had to hear his voice. She just had to.
But one other question remained: Where in all of China is Ron Stoppable?
She knew he was more than likely living in Yamanouchi, or definitely somewhere close. Her best bet was to start in the city and work her way out. But to find a bigger clue, she needed to do some detective work. Hardcore digging into Yamanouchi. She typed in the Google bar, 'Yamanouchi estates'. At least here she knew there were homes she could check first.
When the first page came up, there was a recent story as the first link. It was from FOX News. There was a small square picture of a black figure with glowing white eyes. The title next to it read:
'New sighting of Mysterious Black Lotus in China'
"Black Lotus?" She questioned out loud. Curious and clearly distracted from her current mission, she clicked in the link. She gazed through multiple interviews, reports and news videos of said man. The most recent however, showed a man strung up by his legs and hands. He looked badly beaten, but the girl didn't care. She didn't care simply because she immediately recognized him.
He was a drug trafficker that had only been a small blip on her radar. She had better things to worry about at the time of his huge scandal.
The next photo she saw was an enlarged version of the thumbnail. It was still an amateur photo, but it was a much more clear version. This picture was in color. They only way she could tell, was the glowing sword he held in his hand. The rest of the photo was black and white due to the darkness of the night and his black costume.
She paid closer attention to the blade he grasped. She knew she had seen it somewhere. But when it finally clicked in her head, she gasped loudly with big eyes.
The Lotus Blade.
And it was glowing. That meant only one thing. It had to have been wielded by a master of the monkey arts. The only Monkey lord she thought of? You guessed it. Monkey Fist.
She had seen months ago that he had escaped prison along with Duff Killigan. The only reason she didn't pursue, is because she was too focused on making sure Eric was still imprisoned.
But even that, she was too late.
The only thought now that kept her mind off of a free Eric, was the idea that Monkey Fist was free, and he's roaming around Yamanouchi. Was it another part of their genius from so long ago? Did he still have business to attend to there? It didn't matter. She knew for a fact she had to leave for China. Not only would she need to stop him from killing anyone else, but she needed to warn Ron. This totally wasn't an excuse to go see Ron, if that's what she was thinking. Not at all.
She quickly used to index and middle fingers, and slid the image from her middle monitor to the left side monitor. She went back to the main monitor and googled a flight plan to Yamanouchi. She was going to need to use civilian transportation. Otherwise, he might see her coming. But one question still remained. Why was Monkey Fist using a different alias to help the world? Was it possible he had a change of heart? Unlikely.
There was a flight that left Friday, two days from now. She still needed to prepare. She needed to come up with a plan and let her parents know. There was still a lot that needed to be done, so she knew she better get started.
"Play it again." The man in the navy blue suit spoke. He stood with his arms crossed on his chest as he ordered an agent to replay the footage.
The man did as told, and replayed the recording from a security camera. The footage was of Eric, completely annihilating an entire building full of Global Justice agents. The man at the computer cringed at the sight of Eric slicing a man's throat clean open, with red blood paining the camera lens.
The man in charge showed no emotion. Only a constant scowl on his face. He wasn't upset, nor was he livid. No, he was frustrated. One of the most dangerous men—if not the most dangerous man—on the planet had escaped therapeutical custody. This couldn't be happening.
"Director Young... this man— this monster is unstoppable. And there's no telling where he's headed now. He could be in Greece, or China or even fuckin' two streets away from us right now!" The computer genius began to elaborate his fear.
The director didn't speak. Only continued to stare at the ongoing replay.
"Not unstoppable," he finally spoke. "Just need to find someone who can give a gentle push." He finished his smart remark, then turned his attention to the board next to him. On it, were pictures of specific people pinned to a small map. They were stuck to their current location, meaning he could go right down and get them if he wanted.
"Do you really think the supers are going to help? This is an international criminal, not an alien invasion." The computer nerd spoke.
The one picture in particular he looked at, was a photo of multicolored people. Each had the same patterned uniform, but with a different color and black.
One wore purple and black.
Another blue and black.
A set of twins with red and black.
And a woman. Wearing green and black.
"I think I know a few."
January 12th
9:37 PM
Heart of Yamanouchi
Navigating through a foreign city was probably one of the most difficult things Kim had ever done. Donald had offered to go with her, but she denied his request. This was something she had to do alone. Not just take down Monkey Fist, but find Ron. Having company wouldn't only slow her down but could distract her and cause a problem. Besides, she needed an eye in the states in case Eric popped back up on the radar.
The sky was a dark grey, starting to block the night moon with its clouds. She could feel a light sparkle on her cheeks, not knowing if it was rain or small specks of snow.
The district she was in was probably the most organized part of the whole city she had seen. Yamanouchi was a beautiful city with gorgeous scenery. But the small districts and streets she had walked down weren't exactly the cleanest or clearest.
As she continued down the path she walked, there were only few citizens outside. Some were walking to their destinations while others were still running their small roadside kiosks. The only light she had was from the string colored lanterns above her. When she looked up at the lights, something caught her attention.
The space between two buildings she stood under, bared a certain resemblance. She reached in the side pocket of her backpack, and pulled out her Kimmunicator. When she switched it on, the first thing to pop up was the photo of the drug lord strung between the buildings. The very two buildings she stood underneath. She glanced back and forth between the picture and the buildings, then put the Kimmunicator back in its slot.
Super, she knew she was once trail. A vivid trail, but still a certain one. There were 7 main districts in China where the Black Lotus had left criminals, spanning across three cities.
Shanghai, Chengdu and Yamanouchi. The cities were well spread out, so she knew Monkey Fist—aka Black Lotus—had to have some way to travel, and a fairly decent place to stay. That was her next clue.
Kim has already searched many homes, apartments, estates etc, and it was finally starting to wear her out. She was hoping to find him within the first day, or even some of the next. But it started to look like she's going to have to find somewhere to stay.
As Kim was deciding what her next move was, she heard quickly rustling behind her. The volume of the nighttime citizens was beginning to rise too, as if something startled them. Kim turned around, curious, at the sudden rise.
The people of the street were beginning to run away, leaving their carts and kiosks behind. Some ran into smaller alleyways, others just ran to their closest door and slammed it shut behind. Within a minute's notice, the whole street was abandoned. "That's not good." She said out loud. She always had amazing tell when something bad was about to happen.
This was one of those times.
Kim heard multiple footsteps around her coming from each side. Loud stomps, quick paced steps and casual walking was all the girl heard. Her head started darting around to find the source of said noise. But as she did, multiple men caught her eye.
From everywhere she turned, there was a man in sleek suit. Their ties were just as dark as the jackets themselves, with their off white button ups underneath. In Kim's profession, this was never a good sign. Asian men in suits surrounding her? She wouldn't be surprised f they pulled out katanas or Uzis.
"You're a long way from home, Kim Possible-San." One of the men spoke, his hands behind his back. Possible-San. That was something she hadn't heard in a lonngg time. But, it was a name of great respect. So she knew these low lives at least credited her with respect.
"I'm always home as long as I've got my lucky underwear packed." The girl blankly joked. "Turn back now. Foreign affairs is none of your concern. Leave and act like this never happened." The Asian man spoke again, now bringing his hands—or fists by this point—back around to his sides. She heard the sound of sliding metal, instantly recognizing it. Her head stayed forward, as her eyes darted at some of the men drawing their swords.
Totally called it.
"Swords, huh? Let me guess... Yakuza? One form or another?" Kim smartly guessed. They could tell by the way she unclipped her backpack and threw it off to the side, that she wasn't going anywhere.
"Ahh, good eye. But you've made your choice. You will not leave here alive." The dark man grinned, and drew his own sword. She could tell by the scar above his right eye that he was a definitely a fight-over-flight type of man.
"Look, I've had a rather tough last 42 hours. I'm here on my own mission, on my own time. So I seriously recommend you just let me walk in peace."
The only reaction they gave her, were cruel grins.
Great. Another distraction to detour her from her mission.
"Alright then.." Kim slightly looked around at her odds. 14 to 1. Nice. She smirked, then reached for her gloves. She fastened the straps of her gloves and tightened them.
"Who's going first?" She continued to smirk confidently.