"I've got all the information on the kid I'm supposed to be looking for, right here," Chun Li said as she barged into the hospital ward without even considering the visiting hours. It wasn't like the others minded. They sat around the room, looking as if they were in the middle of utter boredom. Sakura sat slouched over by the window, gazing at the evening lights in a hypnoticdaze. Ken and Cody were sitting on Ken's bed, using the dinner tray as a flat surface for arm wrestling. The cold air of the room formed goose bumps on her skin while the stench of medical chemicals raided her nose.
"Did you find anything new?" Maki asked, secretly crossing her fingers behind her back. Up to that point, she had been sitting on a cold, uncomfortable plastic seat beside Cody's bed twiddling her thumbs. She was too restless.
"No," Chun Li replied, "at least no new information for me. But there might be something for you here." She handed some crumpled sheets of white paper of to Maki's impatient hands. "The picture of the boy - that's Kenneth Feng."
Maki's eyes widened with recognition. "That's him," she said. "That's Kenny." The announcement drew the attention of Cody, Ken and Sakura as they immediately stopped whatever they were doing and headed over to Chun Li and Maki.
"So he is the kid you're looking for," Ken said. "But it doesn't make any sense. What would Bison want with him? He's just a street kid."
"No, he's a lot more than that," Ryu's voice said as he appeared through the doorway of the ward. The others looked at him, their eyes begging for any information he could provide. "I've found his friend Cranky and I had a nice talk with him."
"Well, what did he say?" Cody asked, getting impatient.
"Cranky thinks there's something inside Kenny," Ryu said, unsure of how to word it correctly. "If you guys have been watching any T.V., I'm sure there was a report somewhere about a mysterious fire in the residential area on the outskirts of the city."
"I think I've read about it somewhere…" Maki said, trying to recall forgotten memories. The only one who didn't seem to possess any knowledge about the current events, ironically, was Sakura, the native Japanese girl who lived a few train stops away from the Dome.
"Anyway," Ryu continued, "he says when Kenny's house was burning down, he heard a group of people inside killing his mother. And then they tried to kill Kenny. Cranky said he heard the gunshots and all. Then, he heard screams from the men and then found Kenny walking outside looking like he was possessed."
"I'm sorry, but … that doesn't sound very believable," Chun Li said, looking at Ryu as if she were looking at a madman.
"Yeah," Ryu replied, "but if you think about it, why were there three extra bodies found in the remains of the house? Chun Li, you're an Interpol Agent, you must know something about this, right?"
"Yeah, but I wasn't the one responsible for the investigation of this case."
"Well, as long as you're familiar with what the local police found. Why didn't they find Kenny's body? Cranky said he heard the men kill the woman. Who could've killed the intruders?"
"Perhaps the woman's husband did it?"
"When Cranky said the intruders seemed to have a hard time killing Kenny and the fact that Kenny came out of the house alive looking like some kind of ghost?" Ryu had Chun Li cornered in her argument. "The only thing we can assume is Kenny was the one who did it. And with the ability to slaughter three grown men, that would be seen as an asset through Bison's eyes."
Maki leaned in towards Cody. "Kono bakana hito wo shinjiteru no?"
Cody clasped his hand tightly over her mouth. "We're not in the U.S. anymore, Maki!"
"Listen, Maki, if you don't believe me and you really think I'm useless, then you can just forget about joining us to help Kenny," Ryu said firmly. "At least I'm trying to get him back after you screwed up and let Bison take him."
"Ouch," Ken said, "that was low, Ryu." But Ken's words went unnoticed by his friend as Ryu walked hastily out the door.
"Chun Li, I'd like to have a word with you, please," he said, just before disappearing around the bend.
Tears had begun to well up in Maki's eyes. Chun Li took Maki's hands in hers. "Don't worry," she said, "I'm sure he doesn't mean it." She got up and joined Ryu outside, talking to him in low, soft tones.
* * *
Kenny's eyelids were heavy, but he had to open them. His body was damp with sweat while his tongue was coarse and dry. He wanted some water. His head hurt but upon moving, he hurt all over. Kenny remembered Maki telling him he had broken many parts of his body. He also remembered being in the hospital but where was he now?
His tired eyes looked around for some clue of where he might be, but the only thing he saw was darkness. There was a light hanging above his head, bathing his body in a pool of light. He could see that he still had his hospital gown on. But instead of the warm, soft covers of the bed, he was strapped to a cold metal platform that was positioned upright. His arms were held by leather straps alongside his body while his legs were bound together with a larger single strap.
"You're finally awake," a man's voice growled. Kenny remembered the big man with a cape and a red suit. That was the last thing he remembered seeing until now. Maybe the person speaking was him.
"I'm thirsty," Kenny replied, hoping he would get something to drink.
"I don't suppose that would be bad," the voice replied. He heard a snap. "Get the boy some water!"
"Who are you?" Kenny asked, straining his eyes to see through the dark.
Something moved in the shadows towards him. At first, he could only make out slight movements but as the form reached the edge of the light, he recognized the man. It was the one who brought him here. Kenny's heart started to pump faster in his chest. Something told him this man was up to no good even though he acted kindly. "My name is M. Bison," the man said. "I apologize for your discomfort, but we needed to run some tests on you."
"What kind of tests?"
"I'm not going to lie to you, Kenny," Bison said. "We've run some scans on your body, and it seems you have some kind of a computer chip inside you. It's welded into your spinal cord."
"What's a chip doing there? I haven't had chips in a long time."
Bison smirked. "No, child. It's a computer chip, not a potato chip. You can't eat those. But it contains a lot of information that will help us."
"Help you do what?"
"It will help us… make the world a better place."
Kenny's eyes widened. "Can it help me find my mom and dad?"
Bison nodded. "Of course it can! It's an invention by your father himself! In fact, all of your father's work is stored inside that chip."
"But how are you going to get it when it's inside me?"
"We can't take it from you," Bison replied. "The chip has kind of gotten 'used to' you. It doesn't want to leave."
"Here's the water, Lord Bison." The form of a very tall, bald headed man appeared behind Bison. Kenny didn't like the look of him either. There was a patch over one of the man's eyes. He had only shorts on, and Kenny could see a large scar on the man's chest. His hands, one of which was holding a glass of water with a straw, were wrapped in some kind of white bandage - in fact, so were his feet. Kenny had never seen such strange clothing before, but he decided it would be safer if he didn't ask.
Bison snatched the water from the man and didn't even say thank you. He plopped the glass in front of Kenny on a metal tray beside his head, the end of the straw near to the boy's mouth. "Have a drink. I'll be back later to see how you're doing."
* * *
Bison and Sagat headed down the dimly lit hallways of the Shadowlaw headquarters. This particular location was at the base of Mount Fuji, deep within the mountain. His heavy rubber boots thumped against the cold metal that the entire base was constructed of. Swinging lights hung above them lighting the way all the way down the hall.
"What have you discovered, my Lord?" Sagat asked. "You have been searching for this child for awhile now. I hope it was worth it."
"Oh it was well worth the effort," Bison replied. "Dr. Feng was a smart one. He really did mean to keep the technology that we funded for himself."
"How so?"
"He only made one copy of his work and saved it into a microchip. I don't know how that man did it, but to keep it from us, he put it inside his son and somehow, embedded the technology into his son's brain using his spinal cord."
"So the chip kind of gives the boy its information," Sagat concluded.
"It's wired to the boy's sub conscience."
"So he actually managed to successfully blend organic life with technology. I didn't know our scientists were capable of working such wonders."
"That's why I hired him," Bison said, with a hint of regret. "But the man had to betray us. He had to fight for the 'right cause'. Well his stupid right cause has gotten him and his wife killed. His son now possesses the Shadow technology and soon, when we have learnt how to duplicate it, we will have a Shadow army of our own."
"Lord Bison," Sagat began, unsure of how to express his thoughts into words. "Are you suggesting that the six year old kid, lying in that room, is a Shadow soldier? This has been the goal of the entire Shadowlaw organization for years now!"
"Hard to believe, isn't it? But yes, Kenny Feng is our first one. Who would've guessed a six year old boy would the key to the next step of the organization's development?"
"We must be careful though," Sagat warned. "We don't fully understand the Shadow technology yet. We don't know what this boy is capable of doing."
"Hence the leather straps on his little limbs, Sagat," Bison said. "We're tightening up security around him and I don't want anyone upsetting this boy. Just like you said, we don't know what to expect from such power just yet."
* * *
"I've got a partner helping me on this assignment," Chun Li whispered to Ryu, her eyes following each passer by carefully, making sure nobody would overhear. "His name is Charlie Nash, one of the big boy lieutenants up in the United States military hierarchy. Anyway, my point is, he knows about Kenny too."
Ryu rubbed his chin and folded his arms. "Will he be joining us?"
"He will be in time." Chun Li patted Ryu's forearm. "But when I was researching Kenneth's background, I discovered two things. First off, the boy is the same Kenny that got kidnapped. Secondly, your suspicions about him possessing some kind of 'power' are correct."
Ryu's eyes widened. "What … what exactly is inside him?"
"I got a phone call from Charlie when I was away just now," Chun Li sighed outwardly, trying to repeat what her partner had told her. "The American FBI has a few moles infiltrating the Shadowlaw headquarters. A few of the moles claim to have gotten close enough to Dr. Feng to work on the same scientific team."
"Who's that?"
"Dr. Feng is Kenny's father. Anyway, it's become official, classified information that the FBI has passed onto Interpol, that Dr. Feng has been working on some kind of technology for Bison, allowing Shadowlaw to build mechanically advanced soldiers."
"What's that supposed to mean? Mechanically advanced soldiers?"
Chun Li shook her head. "I'm not sure," she said. "But all I've heard from Charlie is that this technology welds organic matter, which I assume are to be human soldiers, to computers or microchips. That's all the information we were able to get because Dr. Feng was paranoid about anyone discovering his project. He was killed because he was so proud of it, he didn't even want to give it over to Shadowlaw even though they were the ones who funded the project. Before he died, he only made one copy of his work, just to make sure nobody could get to it."
"So where's the technology now?"
"The FBI and Interpol don't know," Chun Li replied, shrugging. "But I bet Shadowlaw does. And that could be why they kidnapped Kenny."
"I don't get it," Ryu said, rubbing his head. "Why would that boy know anything about his father's work?"
"Think harder, Ryu," Chun Li said, balling up her fists enthusiastically. "Where would be the last place anyone would ever look, especially for a technology that has the ability to weld itself to organic matter?"
"Are… are you suggesting that Kenny …"
Chun Li nodded, smiling like a child. "He's got the technology inside of him. We have to make sure Shadowlaw doesn't get their hands on it, or harm Kenny either."
* * *
Finally, they made it here. Lieutenant Charlie Nash now squatted amongst the bushes and leaves in camouflage gear looking through a large pair of cold, metal binoculars. He could feel the crisp, dry night air biting at his body, especially at his hands, nose and toes. Cutting his mind off the physical challenges of the winter atmosphere, he concentrated on tonight's duty, determined as ever to succeed in their mission. Shadowlaw had to go down.
He checked his watch … it was eleven at night, about three hours since Chun Li had called him, asking for information regarding the boy she was supposed to locate. She should've gotten all the information when he faxed her yesterday. Such irresponsibility wasn't typical of the Chinese Interpol officer.
Following leads given by the FBI moles that had infiltrated the Shadowlaw headquarters, Charlie was flown immediately from the United States along with his platoon members and several hundred other platoons. Bison was currently at the Shadowlaw base situated near Mount Fuji, Japan.
At last, here they were, just a few hundred feet from the insignificant entrance of the base. It was clever in design, consisting of two large boulders strategically placed beside each other, so that they covered the cave mouth that served as the main gates. A bunch of everyday hikers would hardly look twice. But they wouldn't be armed with the information the FBI had, and Charlie started smirking upon realizing that.
Charlie felt some leaves rustling behind him. "Thomas, settle down!" he ordered in a harsh whisper. "We're only here to observe Shadowlaw for now. We attack in about a week." Charlie rolled his eyes at the impotent soldier. He was in the platoon for a good six months now, but still wasn't able to get his act together. Some people just weren't built for the military. He wondered why some people even bothered joining. It wasn't as if the United States had some kind of conscription law.
"Attacking in how long, exactly?" an unfamiliar voice asked. At that moment, Charlie could feel the cold, metal barrel of a gun against the back of his head. He turned around slowly, sure that he wouldn't be happy with what he'd find. Charlie cursed himself mentally. How could he have been so careless, especially for a Lieutenant?
He turned around and his eyes met a really grim view. Thomas lay facedown in the leaves, his body unmoving with the handle of a knife protruding out of his back. Standing beside the fallen body, a Shadowlaw soldier, dressed in dark, rusty armor over a long sleeved jacket and pants, held a large rifle with the barrel pointed squarely at Charlie's forehead.
The soldier smirked. "Don't move and you won't get hurt," he said, "for now." Charlie panicked. He'd never been in a situation like this before. All those years training in the army, learning how to survive extreme circumstances, had ended like this; by one stupid, careless mistake. He dropped his guns and raised his hands to the soldier, who proceeded to grab him by the neck and lift the shocked lieutenant to his feet.
"What are you going to do with me?" Charlie asked. "You might as well kill me. As long as I live, and even if I don't, Shadowlaw is going down. I'm only one soldier in the forces of millions who've dedicated their lives to your downfall."
"I wouldn't under estimate Shadowlaw's forces," the soldier replied. "We are a lot bigger in numbers that you think. And you may not have to worry about death. Lord Bison has been looking for a candidate to be the first to try the duplication of the Shadow technology."
The words didn't sit well with Charlie. He was to be the first victim of the Shadow technology? No, there was just no way he'd allow Bison to conquer him that easily. He couldn't go down without a fight. He considered knocking out the soldier that had captured him, but he could feel the gun pointed at his back, just waiting to release the bullet with his name on it.
His fighting instinct kicking in, rather than his brain, Charlie whirled around with speed and crouched. The soldier was caught completely off guard by the sudden move, and stumbled back a step, the rifle aiming upwards, away from Charlie's head. This was the break the lieutenant had been waiting for. Charlie knocked the barrel further upwards with his forearm. Using the muscles in his powerful legs, Charlie pushed his body off the ground with one leg and extended the other one forward, digging the toe of his boot into the soldier's mid-section. At the same time, using his momentum, Charlie flipped his torso over, high into the air, bringing the other foot up and smashing it into the soldier's jaw, performing a graceful somersault as he landed, yelling, "Somersault Shell!!".
The force of the move was so powerful, the soldier's body was sent sailing up and backwards into the air, landing headfirst into a group of dense shrubs at about the same time Charlie's feet touched the ground without making a sound.
Charlie remained in battle stance in case the soldier got up - but that wasn't necessary. In the darkness, he could just make out the lines of the soldier's limp, unmoving body. Charlie knelt down briefly to savor his moment of victory. And that was, until he heard a voice behind him.
"I congratulate you on your stunning performance," it said. Charlie spun around to face the mysterious speaker applauding. But as he saw the familiar form dressed in a red suit, black cape and that hat with the skull and wings, the speaker remained mystery no more.
"Bison," Charlie spat with a tone of hatred in his voice.
"I see I need not introduce myself," Bison replied. "I'll get straight to the point. I've been looking for a special volunteer, one possessing fighting skills of only the finest warriors. And their purpose is to be the first to receive our beta version of the Shadow technology."
"You've already begun duplication of the technology?" Charlie asked. "It'll never work, at least not without original data from Dr. Feng."
Bison reared back and let out a loud, monstrous laugh. "We already have it!" he declared, in almost a victorious manner. "You'll never believe the slyness of that doctor, hiding the data files in his own son!"
Bison was talking about Dr. Feng's son … he was the kid Chun Li was assigned to help locate, somewhere in Osaka, Japan. Does that mean Bison already got to him?! "What are you trying to say, Bison? Where's Kenneth?"
Bison continued, ignoring Charlie's question. "By hiding the Shadow technology in his son, Dr. Feng has created for us our first Shadow soldier! And now that the boy is in our possession, we can obtain the files from the chip inside his body and duplicate it. And you, my lucky friend, have already displayed phenomenal fighting abilities worthy of receiving the Shadow technology. You will be a fine soldier."
"No thanks," Charlie said, shrugging the evil dictator off. "I don't need anymore enhancements, especially one coming from the likes of Shadowlaw."
Bison's wicked smile disappeared from his face. His eyes began to glow an eerie blue and he seemed to float a few inches off the ground. "I'm afraid that choice isn't yours to make, Lieutenant Charlie Nash!"
Charlie's eyes widened in shock. How in the hell did Bison know his name?!
"You will take in the Shadow technology whether you want it or not, even if it happens right here!" Bison shouted over the noise of the thunder that was beginning to emanate from him.
That was the last thing Charlie remembered before he felt his body explode into a world of pain. Something was seriously hurting him, tearing him apart but cruel enough to keep him alive so he could feel the discomfort. At whatever it was, it felt like it was entering his body. Charlie tried in vain to resist, but the more he did so, the more it hurt. And when his body could take no more, the world seemed to turn black.