Lord Monty Fiske waited patiently for the last page to print and be ejected from his printer.
His hacker had come through, and gotten this Jennifer Wheeler's file from the Global Justice databanks.
He picked up the pages and sat down at the table in his library. Right off the bat he saw a list of video files that were part of the main file, but his hacker hadn't been able to get those. Not a problem. He'd already downloaded from the Web video of her using her bad-luck ability.
He was shocked by what he read. Apparently she was from another universe, where people with extraordinary abilities were common. GJ had given her the identity of a double who had died several years ago. Odd... even the fingerprints were the same. Well, that was a puzzle for another day.
Right now he needed to find out all he could about what she could do, so he would be able to neutralize or eliminate her. She was an obstacle to his quest to become Ultimate Monkey Master, and rule the world, and one that would be removed, along with the cheerleader and Stoppable.
Part of the report was a transcript from the cheerleader's tech kid of Wheeler telling of her life. The part that caught his attention was the comment that as a child, bad luck seemed to follow her, so no foster home ever worked out.
That was interesting-- she couldn't control her power when she was young. He made a note and continued to read. As a teenager, she had been taught to control and use her power,
but according to a short report appended from 'Anne Possible'-- the cheerleader's mother?
Wheeler had confessed she still didn't have complete control. He grinned. THAT was what he was looking for. A weakness he could exploit. He made some more notes.
So-- she had been trained as a villain, and to work with a team. His grin widened. It seemed that everything was falling into place. He didn't need to eliminate her, he could turn her back to evil, and use her abilities for his advantage.
The problem was how to do so. It would take magic, of that he was certain, but the Mystical Monkey Power didn't use luck-magic.
He sat back and thought, sipping a cup of tea. ...Didn't USE luck-magic, but what about defending AGAINST it? In ancient times, when magic was more common, a Monkey Master had to be able to hold his (or her) own against others who did use it.
He sat up and grabbed an ancient tome, turning to the bookmarked page he had made earlier,
while waiting for the report. It took time to translate from the ancient dialect, and he was disappointed when he did. The required information wasn't there, but it DID refer to a particular scroll that seemed to hold promise.
He checked against several other books, and found one more reference to the same scroll.
It seemed to be his only lead.
He checked several other ancient books, and almost by accident came across what he was looking for. There WAS a Monkey Magic item that was crafted to defend against luck magic.
Perfect! Now it was just a matter of tracking it down...
He went to the section of his library where he kept scrolls, and found the one that had been referenced. Opening it, he got a shock.
"BATES!" he called.
"Yes, sir?" replied Bates, stepping into the library.
"We need to prepare for an expedition. I've found what I was looking for," Fiske replied.
"Good show, sir! Where are we going?" asked the manservant.
"Ironically, enough, back to the temple where we first met the cheerleader!" said Fiske.
"You mean...?" asked Bates, taken aback.
"Exactly. Cambodia," said Fiske with an evil grin.
kpkpkp
A week later found the evil duo at the entrance to the temple where Kim Possible had recovered the last statue needed to access the Mystical Monkey Power.
Fiske was removing his gloves, shoes, and socks while studying the scroll.
"You're going in yourself, sir?" asked Bates.
"Yes. When we were here before, my modifications were still new, and I didn't want to risk them. But now I'm quite at home with them, and have the confidence I need to succeed," answered Fiske. "I should be back within the hour."
He leaped to the top of the entrance, and, agile as a monkey, made his way inside. The traps sprung by Kim Possible's visit were still inactive, and gave him no trouble at all.
Using the scroll as a guide, he made his way down a side corridor, narrowly avoiding a trap of poisoned needles.
He counted wall-stones from the floor, and pressed four in a certain pattern. In between all of them, a stone cover slid aside, revealing his prize. He carefully removed it, and the scroll lying beside it.
He found the passageways had changed somehow, and it took him some time to make his way through, avoiding newly revealed traps.
Once outside the temple, he made his way back into camp, where he found Bates preparing afternoon tea.
"Ah, there you are, sir. Tea is prepared. I take it all went well?" asked Bates, handing him a cup.
"Yes, as you can see, I found the item," replied Fiske. He held up a dusty statue of four monkeys standing on a base holding a large crystal above their heads. "And the instructions." he added, holding up the scroll.
"Very good, sir," said Bates.
kpkpkp
Back in England, Bates and Fiske spent time carefully cleaning and polishing the statue. The original paint had faded away, but the details of the carving were incredible. The monkeys stood upright at the corners of the base, holding a croquet-ball sized crystal above their heads. Each monkey had different colored jewels for eyes. The base was covered in the very old hieroglyphics of the region.
Fiske had very carefully translated the scroll and the statue's base, and then did so several more times, to be sure he had it correct. He sat back, a frustrated look on his face.
"Problem, sir?" asked Bates.
"Mmmm... possibly. One of the tenets of Tai Sheng Pek Quar is never do exactly what your opponent thinks you are going to, and this statue uses the same philosophy," said Fiske.
"What do you mean, sir?" asked Bates, looking more closely at the statue.
"Instead of a shield to keep luck magic OUT, as you would expect, it was hidden on the battlefield to keep the luck magic IN. That way, it would randomly affect the enemy soldiers, causing confusion and harm," explained Fiske. "The problem is, how would I use it against Wheeler?"
Bates pondered a minute. "If I may make a suggestion, sir..."
"By all means," responded Fiske.
"As I understand it, Miss Wheeler attends Middleton High School with Miss Possible and Mr. Stoppable," said Bates, and Fiske nodded.
"So her social life would revolve mostly around the school. If the statue was hidden on the school grounds..." said Bates.
"Ah! I get your drift! Her bad luck would randomly affect the school population, she would be blamed for it, lose her friends and standing, and if approached at the right moment,
could be turned back to evil! Brilliant, Bates! Remind me to give you a raise!" said Fiske.
"I shall, sir," said Bates, smiling.
Fiske rubbed his hands together, grinning evilly. "Then another expedition is in order. An expedition to Middleton, Colorado!"
And the halls rang with the sound of monkey-like laughing.