Part II:
Altered Past
Chapter Thirteen
Po headed to Mei Ling's Sports Massage, intent on talking to his newlywed wife. He never knew why Tigress trained so hard until he ended up with her job. He never knew what it was like to be a leader. Ever since Tigress vanished, everyone had been looking to him. Sure, Tai Lung's army was a great help in covering ground Po couldn't, but the Furious Fighters were looking to him for leadership and guidance – two traits Po had his doubts he had.
Still, despite everyone believing she was dead, Po still believed she would come back. She would find a way. She always did. She was tough. Resilient. Capable. Clever. She never gave up. Many believed Eden had cast her adrift on the currents of time. But, as Oogway told Po in a dream, "Time flows ever onward." He knew one day, she would surface. It didn't matter if she ended up a hundred or a thousand years into the future or past, she would find a way back.
Po didn't even realize Mei Ling was standing outside when he arrived. "I know, honey – long day, don't feel like talking," she told him.
"I'm sorry, honey," Po apologized as they entered the shop.
"You've nothing to apologize for, dear," Mei Ling told her husband, gently massaging his shoulders. "You did nothing wrong."
"I should have stopped him," Po sighed. "She'd still be here if I had done something."
"Po, baby... let it go. You saw what happened that day – no one but Tigress could touch Eden. There's nothing you could have done," Mei Ling said.
"I know," Po admitted. "I just... wish she were still here. I never knew why she was so... well, like her, until I ended up with her job. I never wanted to be the one leading the Fighters."
"Maybe you should ask Tai Lung to take over?" Mei Ling suggested.
"Tai Lung... as great as he's been recently, he's got enough on his plate as it is," Po sighed. "Not only is he the Commander of an Army, but he-"
Po was cut short when a pig entered the room. "Master Po! Something's happening!" he exclaimed.
"What do you mean, 'something?'" Po asked.
"Come on! Hurry!" the pig urged him. Po and Mei Ling rose and walked outside, and just outside Mei Ling's shop, amidst a gathering of the Valley's denizens, an anomaly stood. It pulsated, sparking, crackling electricity, a light flashing at the center, as though something was trying to manifest itself. The flashing light steadily got larger with each pulse, sending arcs of harmless electricity and sparks, but the larger it got, the more it appeared to swirl, like...
Po's eyes went wide when he realized he'd seen this kind of anomaly before – on the day Eden cast Tigress through time. It was a Temporal Rift.
"Mei... fetch Tai Lung. Get him and his best down here. Now," Po told his wife. Mei Ling wordlessly acknowledged and ran to get Tai Lung, while Po pushed through the crowd to confront this anomaly head on. The anomaly continued to grow and pulsate, and Po, while hoping for the best, assumed a combat stance in case of the worst.
Tai Lung and several of his best arrived in short order, who took up positions around him and Po, rifles pointed at the anomaly, ready to shoot whatever came out should it be hostile. Tai Lung, himself, had his rifle ready to fire.
"Any ideas?" Tai Lung quietly asked Po.
"Not a clue," Po admitted.
It was then that a steady thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump of heavy footfalls could be heard on the other side of the rift. The troops readied to fire, but when two armor-clad figures stepped out of the rift, both armed with different rifles still completely alien to everyone around them, everyone paused. The anomaly vanished behind them, and the two armored, faceless creatures stared at Po and Tai Lung. One of the armored creatures had a feminine look, the other definitely masculine.
"Told you they wouldn't recognize us," the feminine one said.
"I never doubted it," the male responded. "But we better put away the guns before they shoot us."
"It's not like their bullets could harm us – not in this armor," the female chuckled, slinging her weapon. The male did the same, and Tai Lung spoke,
"Who are you? What are you doing in this valley?"
The female didn't vocally respond, instead, tapping her gauntlet in a few places, and her helmet seemingly vanished. The face beneath shocked everyone in the immediate vicinity.
Staring them down, breathing, smiling, and alive in full color, was Master Tigress herself. Both Po and Tai Lung shared a look of complete shock. She tapped her gauntlet again, and the rest of the armor seemingly vanished into the gauntlets, revealing she was dressed in the same clothes she wore when she disappeared.
"... Tigress," Po whispered. "But... how? How did..."
"Alright, what's all the-" boomed Master Shifu's voice as he made his way through the crowd. He stopped, his jaw dropping, eyes wide, as he saw the source of the murmurs and whispers, and his face bore a look of complete astonishment. "Tigress...! You... you're alive!"
"Alive... and well, father. I have returned," Tigress affirmed.
"But... how?" Tai Lung asked. "How did... how did you get back?"
"To answer that," Tigress replied, "You'll have to talk to my mate, here." She indicated the armored masculine creature. As though on cue, he tapped on his gauntlet, and his armor disappeared, revealing the face of a white tiger. "Tai Lung... Po... Father... this is my mate, David."
David regarded the masses arrayed before him without expression. Hie eyes went from Po to Tai Lung, then to Mei Ling, and stopped on Shifu.
Shifu spoke first, but it was clear that this had knocked his wind out, as he could barely speak as he approached David: "You, uh... you are the... the one responsible for... for bringing Master Tigress back?"
David knelt to his level. "That I am, sir," he affirmed.
Shifu stopped in front of David, placing a hand on David's shoulder. "As the master of the Jade Palace... and a loving father... thank you, for bringing my daughter home," he said. "As far as I am concerned, you already earned your place in the Jade Palace. As Tigress's mate, you deserve no less."
David bowed his head. "Thank you, master," he said. "However... there are some details of what happened before we came here... that shouldn't be mentioned out here. May we have a private audience with you and the rest of the masters of the Jade Palace?"
"Of course, Master David," Shifu responded.
"Twinblade," Tigress corrected him. "As far as titles go, he is called Twinblade."
Shifu smiled. "Very well... master Twinblade. This way," He said, heading toward the steps to the Jade Palace. Tigress, however, approached Tai Lung.
"Tigress... for what it's worth, I'm sorry for how we-" Tai Lung began. He was cut short when Tigress reached out and hugged him.
"I'm sorry, too," she told him. "I didn't know at the time you were my brother."
Tai Lung looked surprised and pleased. "So you figured it out," he surmised.
"David told me," Tigress said. She released Tai Lung and turned to Po. "Po," she told him, "You've been my friend since the day you became the Dragon Warrior. You have helped me find emotions inside I previously didn't think I had. But, moreover, you've done an admirable job keeping the Fighters together in my... absence."
"I never knew why you took your job so seriously until I ended up with it," Po responded. "Tigress..." he paused, then hugged Tigress. "... Welcome home," he whispered.
"We should head to the Jade Palace," David suggested. "The story Tigress and I have to tell is not a short one." Po released Tigress, and they all marched up the steps to the Jade Palace. The trip up the steps to the Jade Palace was shorter than Tigress remembered – indeed, before she knew it, she was walking into the courtyard of the Palace, where Crane, Viper, Mantis, and Monkey were waiting.
"Tigress!" Viper exclaimed. "You're back!"
"We thought you were gone for good!" Mantis chimed in.
"Who's that with you?" Crane asked.
"My friends, this is my mate, David – and he and I have a long story to tell," Tigress told them.
"Wait a sec – did you just say that man is your mate?" Monkey queried.
"Sure did," David affirmed with a nod. "Trust me – it'll be explained in a bit. I don't know about any of you, but I'm starving."
"Starving?" Po repeated. His eyes went wide as he exclaimed, "Oh, crap! I knew I was forgetting something!" He ran back down to the valley. Tigress and David looked to Mei Ling.
"What was he forgetting?" they asked in unison.
"Likely ingredients for his special soup he planned on cooking tonight," Mei Ling answered. "Can't say I blame him for forgetting, though – none of us were expecting you to just appear out of nowhere, let alone with a mate."
"Yeah, well, David and I wanted to go for a, uh... David, what did you call it?" Tigress asked.
"She and I were going for a coup d'effect," David answered. "A big show, basically."
"I see," Mei Ling chuckled. "Well, I'd say you accomplished that marvelously."
"I'd be inclined to agree," Shifu said. "I imagine you've caused quite a stir in the Valley."
"Master David... that weapon you're carrying... may I see it?" Tai Lung asked. David paused regarding Tai Lung with suspicion, but with assurances from Tigress, David unslung his weapon, flipped the safety on, and handed it to Tai Lung.
"Be careful with that," he said. "That's a modded Dragon Arms M37 Dual-Purpose Assault Rifle. One of the many weapons Tigress and I have."
"Meaning you and Tigress have more than this?" Tai Lung guessed.
In an affirmation, Tigress materialized her Modded Kalashnikov Rifle, and David his TDR. "Believe me, Tai Lung – we're packing a full armory in these emitters," Tigress said.
"Impressive weaponry," Tai Lung complimented, examining the M37 further. "So complex, so... deadly. I'll have to sit down with you at some point and discuss it. The troops could use weapons like these, and if you're packing a full armory in those... emitters... I think I have a place you can store them."
David smiled. "We can discuss that later, after I've settled in," he said.
"Of course," Tai Lung said, handing the M37 back to David. He then proceeded to the living quarters, and Viper looked between him and David, finally telling David,
"Been here an hour, and you've already made a buddy," she said.
"I imagine it's because he and I are both militants," David commented. "But I'd better explain to him why these weapons should be kept in reserve for emergencies only."
"Why?" Viper asked. "Tai Lung's army could use a major edge, especially if Eden comes back to finish what he started here."
"That would constitute as an emergency, yes – but the weapons Tigress and I are packing are centuries more advanced than anything ever available here," David responded. "I can't risk these weapons falling into the wrong hands. Tigress and I have used these weapons long enough – we know the kind of damage they can do should the Valley's enemies get their hands on them."
"True, but we both know these weapons, David – and we know how to counter them. Defend against them. They don't. They have no armor to deflect the shots. No ammo to get through our armor. No knowledge how to use these weapons. We can teach the army what we know," Tigress told David. David murmured something to Tigress, who simply said, "I know. But what that will create is a future free of the hell you had lived in for two centuries. You're going that far already – it won't be so bad to go further."
"Did she just say you've been around for two centuries?" Mei Ling asked in disbelief.
"Two hundred twenty-five years, to be exact," David affirmed. "Again... it'll be explained later, likely over dinner."
"This, I gotta hear," Crane commented. "I've heard of some pretty old warriors renowned for longevity, but to be two hundred twenty-five years old and look that young... man, that blows everyone else out of the water."
"What was that? Did I hear that right?" asked Po's voice as he came back with arms full of cooking supplies. "Tigress's mate is over two centuries old?"
"Can you people lay off the questions?" David growled. "I said I-" Tigress quickly silenced him, and spoke,
"Guys, please... don't. Be patient, he will explain at dinner," Tigress pleaded with the others. The others stowed all other questions, and led David into the living quarters. Po and Tai Lung went about cooking, while the others showed David and Tigress to Tigress's room.
"Hm... smaller than I remember," Tigress commented. She remembered something, then turned to David. "Darling, those remodeling emitters we packed from storage... could they be used on this room?"
David frowned slightly, then comprehension dawned. "If we enclose this room for a bit, sure, we could. Damn good thinking, honey," he said. He gestured, and a barricade of bricks appeared in the window. He and Tigress then went about setting up an odd device in the center of the room, then smaller devices connected to it in the room corners, while the others looked on in confusion. "What kind of layout did you want, dear?" David asked.
"Familiar territory for us both – that Vault setup you had back in Vegas," Tigress answered.
"Okay," David said, apparently not minding Tigress's choice. They fiddled with the devices for a bit, and finished as Tai Lung came walking in.
"Dinner's ready," he reported. Tigress walked out of the room first, then David, and Tigress shut the doors.
"Trust me, guys – it's best if we stay out of there while the emitters are working. I don't know what'll happen if the doors are opened before the process is complete," David warned.
"Not to worry," Shifu assured him, "I imagine we'll be preoccupied enough by the stories you and Tigress have to share."
Tigress and David followed the others to the dining area, where two seats were situated side-by-side at one end of the table, and a similar setup occupied by Po and Mei Ling on the opposite side. Tigress and David sat down, and Tai Lung began distributing the bowls of soup as Shifu asked, "Now, Tigress, David... what's the big secret? Why a clandestine meeting here just to explain how you got back?"
Tigress sighed, then began to tell the tale of what happened, with David pitching in and explaining certain parts, starting with her arrival to the American Wasteland, meeting David, how he saved her life and made her as immortal as he, then the training, the escapades in DC, what she learned of what happened in the Valley after she was thrown into David's time line, after which, she went on to explain the hunt for the power module, being captured by the Enclave and destroying their base at Raven Rock, then the cross-country trek from DC to Vegas, the stint in Zion, the Vegas night life, and culminating in her taking David as her lover and coming back to Tigress's time, ending the story in their current situation. When it was all done, the Fighters remained quiet. Shifu let loose a long sigh.
"That's... quite a tale," he said. "David, you've done far more for my daughter than I initially suspected. I stand by what I said before, more so now than earlier – you've more than earned your place in the Jade Palace. This... Eden... I imagine you are also here to destroy him?"
"That's correct, sir," David answered. "Destroy him to prevent the tragedy that befell my own time."
"But if that happens... nothing you will have done with Tigress will have happened," Viper said. "You'll cease to exist."
"Wrong," David corrected her. "My armor is equipped with temporal technology stolen from Eden and the Enclave, technology that was designed to protect against temporal anomalies and tested by Eden himself. They will protect me."
"You thought of everything, didn't you?" Monkey asked.
"You don't survive for two hundred years without planning for every possible outcome. My number one motto for such things is, Hope for the best, plan for the worst," David answered.
"This... serum, this concoction you used to make Tigress immortal... could you do the same for us? For others?" Tai Lung asked.
"Could I do it for you? Absolutely. Could I do it for others? Hell no," David responded. "Reason being, you all have training others don't. You all can use the powers you'd end up with responsibly. Others... not so much. I let my serum, my immortality, my powers, get loose... It'd do far more harm than good. A thousand little wars will erupt from petty grudges and rivalries over time."
"A responsible outlook on such things," Shifu said.
"Even so," David continued, "Would you really want to be immortal? Could you live like that, never knowing what paradise in the afterlife looks like?"
"We live in paradise, all the time," Mantis said. "Why would we want to leave this paradise for another?"
"And from what I've gathered," Shifu agreed, "We'd merely be immortal, not invulnerable. There would still be opportunities to see paradise in the afterlife."
"I agree," Viper said.
"Same here," Crane added.
"What of... what of our future children?" Po asked. "Would they be as immortal as us?"
"I'd imagine so, since the serum affects everything in you. If you were immortal when your children are conceived... chances are, they will be, too," David sighed. A long pause followed, before David said, "Well, if you all are serious about this... it's a damn good thing I have a workshop being set up by those remodeling emitters."
"How long did the console say it would take to set it all up?" Tigress asked.
"An hour," David answered. He looked at the time on his gauntlet, then shrugged. "It's been two. I imagine it's done at this point."
They all finished their meal and rose, approached Tigress's room, opened the door to reveal a red-lit chamber with another door alien to all but David and Tigress. They approached the door, and the door sensed their presence and opened vertically.
"That's a neat trick," Po commented.
Beyond the door was the same setup David had in his personal vault outside Vegas, but Crane, Viper, Monkey, Mantis, Mei Ling, Shifu and Tai Lung couldn't help but stare in awe at the setup.
"How is this possible?" Shifu asked.
"Believe me, master, it's probably better I don't explain," David answered. "I don't understand how it works much myself, but suffice to say, America's military technologies weren't the only badass American technologies. Before the war, the Civilian tech market was quite... diverse. Remodeling emitters that make spaces like this were a cheaper, faster alternative to remodeling projects."
"Since we're in here, dear," Tigress suggested, "Maybe we should unload the armory in our emitters?"
"Yeah, probably should," David admitted. He and Tigress moved to the Armory, there they both plugged their armored gauntlets in, and like magic, the weapons they'd been carrying suddenly materialized on the walls, the ammo on the shelves, explosives, armors, everything.
"Whoa," the others said in unison.
"Two hundred years is a long time to amass a stockpile of weapons," David said. "To say nothing about the ammo, explosives, and armor."
"Could you possibly teach-" Tai Lung began.
"Tai Lung... David just arrived here. Let him get settled in, get used to living here. He can teach your army in due time," Shifu interrupted him.
"Could I teach your army to use weapons from hundreds of years in the future? Perhaps," David responded. "But first – Shifu is right. I just got here. Let me settle in. Second, If I do teach them, they will have to swear to never let anyone outside your army get their hands on these weapons. No civilians begging for help, no mercenaries, no one. It's risky enough letting your army use them, and I am letting you do so because I know what your army became. If I train your army in my ways of battle and combat, you and yours must swear to guard these weapons and technologies with your lives. Do I make myself clear, General?"
"Crystal, Master David. Crystal clear," Tai Lung answered.
Nothing more was said on the subject. When everyone turned in for the night, Tigress and David retired to their new Vault-Tech remodeled room, crawling into bed and drifting off to sleep cradled in each other's arms...