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September

VAV

New Mombasa, Kenya

V

The glory of hindsight was often in the little details. Like right this second, he rather regretted leaving his phone in Bibi's apartment. He could use some music or an audiobook to listen to. The police would probably have taken it before putting him here in the jail cell, but the slim chance they didn't was still better than laying on the uncomfortable mattress, staring at the ceiling and hoping he'd fall asleep at some point. At this rate, he wouldn't be getting any sleep at all tonight.

Bibi had assured him that it was only until morning, which left only an hour or two before dawn when considering the time since they had arrested him and brought him to the station. That hadn't sounded so bad, but the adrenaline from the fight hadn't died down. As tired as he was, his eyes wouldn't stay shut and all he could do was replay the fight in his mind. From when he first barreled into the door to stun that arse on the other side, grabbed his gun barrel and proceeded to twist it out of his grasp with his other hand so he could catch the asshole in the temple with his own weapon. To moving across the room as quickly and violently as possibly until he had the other one in a tight clinch, knocking them around the room until he could shift their arms and throw him onto the table he had just been pushed into. He hadn't planned on the table breaking, but at that point he didn't care. Just followed the man down to the ground where Fox could punch his face over and over again, until he stopped twitching in his grasp. Then the silence of the room had told him that the fight was over and, as much as anyone could claim it, he had won. The shock changing seconds into minutes and back as he stood there in the silence until jolted by the sound of sirens.

Course that was when he had struggled to stand up and realized that he had no idea where he was even with the confines of their apartment. All he had focused on was driving through the enemy, he hadn't had time to come up with an escape route. Running away had never been an option, even before the police had drawn their pistols on him, arrested him, before bringing him here to jail for due process.

"Wake up mtoto. We're letting you out."

Fox stirred, still hazy about the cell he was in and hesitant to start moving around in unknown territory. But the speaker voice was clear, despite his strong accent, and easy to face towards. "I thought you were going to wait until morning. Last I heard none of you spoke English."

"They called me in from my own district to help. Your grandmother is good friends with the local Imam's family it seems, and was doing here best to get her little Mjukuu back home. I think she did not notice the two men you beat upon."

"I told you guys, they had a gun on me."

"Yes, we have cleared you of everything, but you must forgive our jest. This is a far more interesting night than we ever expected."

"Trust me, I wasn't planning on it either."

"Come now, your grandmother is waiting. I do not want her to cry the ears off the other officers."

"I suppose mine are a lost cause."

"The wonders of family, no?"

VAV

Midsomer, England

V

Of course, the professor had approved the crazy idea from her roommate's boyfriend. Instead of the nice, simple one she had originally came up with. It was everything he was looking for, as she was almost positive that insanity had been one of the actual requirements. The man had practically thrown Coco out of his office saying she should start her research right away. What she hadn't counted on was him being right.

Turns out that researching "superheroes of history" came up with three kinds of result. The first was an academic explanation of how things get exaggerated in history and that there were several reasons for this, but the largest was essentially a PR stunt. While the second were conspiracy theories, including several that Bruce Lee was the last of a dying breed of mystical martial artists because no one else had ever come close to his level of sheer badassery. Whatever that meant. And the last was comic books. Actually, most were comic books if she was honest about it.

So instead she searched for information on the monk, Quánlì Rén. Which proved just as unhelpful. Most people were skeptical that the blur in his photo was the broken blade as the records claim. Including one article which showed how impossible his "unbreakable skin" would be in real-life by showing the force of a bullets impact on skin and the biological makeup of the tissue. According to the article, his skin would need to be stronger than almost any metal on the planet, and different from skin on a chemical level. At least that would make for a good counter argument source for her paper, but arguing against any of this wouldn't take long. The whole idea was ridiculous and she should just change her topic before the deadline came up. Especially as now, the more she thought about it the surer she was that the Michael Jackson guy had used a wire in the YouTube, probably the same for the wheelchair girl against the car.

The only important thing she even found was another argument that pointed out that Quánlì probably had severe asthma judging by several descriptions of him by his friends. The thought of him not only going through his severe training as a monk, but excelling at it, simply did not make sense. He should have been disabled, not charging machine guns.

A week of fruitless research went by, and Coco changed her search words a hundred times trying to find something. But nothing legitimate and useful came from "Martial Arts Superpowers", "Chi Abilities", "Supernatural Martial Arts", "Qi abilities", "Inexplicable humans", "Abnormal human abilities", or any combinations of the like. She kept looking for something that she could actually use for a research paper, but at the end of the day there were very real limitations to the human body, and they made it clear that some stuff just wasn't possible.

No 5'8" girl, especially if she was in a wheel chair, was just going to stop a car from running her over with sheer strength. To do that would require enough muscles she wouldn't have fit in the chair, which clearly wasn't the case. And even the best soldiers missed some shots. Just because some general, a rank which would almost never have time to train for combat shooting, had a lucky day on the training field didn't meant he couldn't miss. Especially when you consider that prosthetics are not known for their stability. The blind guy was almost worse because it almost sounded like a PR set up with the thugs he had fought.

Desperation finally brought Coco back to Yatsu's video. If all of it had been crap, then there was no point in going further anyways. She had engineering classes she should be working on, no point wasting time on some pseudo-science. Nothing had changed about the video, exact same as it had been a week ago. The comments were interesting though, a lot of the same skepticism from the rest of her research. Except for one from LionOfTheRedDawn:

[I know most of this is bullshit, but I'm friends with a couple of the people from this video and they are amazing people in real-life. Even if you don't think the stunts are real, it takes a lot of dedication and training to even come close to them.]

This had originally been followed up by its own little comment section that Coco largely ignored as it talked about stuntmen work and training. None of which the original poster had made any comment on, as if the replies had missed her original point. But then LionOfTheRedDawn had followed up recently with a link to a news article and her own thoughts on the matter: [Haters gonna hate; some of us aim to win.] Not that it meant much, but this poster, if she was friends with the people in the video, was the closest thing to a source Coco had at this point. One news article wouldn't hurt.

Blind to Danger, Local Athlete Turns Foreign Vigilante: "The last Paralympic games ended with Great Britain earning almost 150 medals, second only to the People's Republic of China. However even outside the games the athletes show incredible abilities such as one Fox Alistair, who was released from jail and acquitted of all charges this morning after apprehending two criminal gunmen while visiting his grandmother in Kenya. His complete visual impairment proving to have no effect on his ability to fight even outside the dojo, as this is the second time he has been suspected of assault and battery. The previous time involving a pub-fight between the young athlete and eight football fans who mistook him for a member of the rival club. Despite receiving several injuries in the process, Fox was able to keep both himself and his father, a bystander and long time local, safe in the ensuing brawl…"

The picture for the article showed a man her age covered in scars, playing with a russet border collie who wore a neon yellow service animal vest. The bright coloring contrasting heavily with the man's black pants and tank top, which showed arms covered in scars and veins that highlighted his athlete's build. Combined with red hair and the scars, he looked like he'd be every bit as scary in a fight as the article made him out to be. None of which explained how the intimidating, handsome guy had survived two fights now that would have killed him. This was the real world, where two on one was never in the lone guys favor, even without weapons or another six fighters.

Coco still didn't believe the paper topic wasn't a wash, but LionOfTheRedDawn was her last shot. Otherwise she was going to go back to Oobleck and talk his ear off about explosives until she could make that her new topic.

Less than a day later she got her response to her email. No text or message, another link for another rabbit hole. This time leading to a forum called "The Semblance of Qi" and the admin's email address.

VAV

Norway

V

There were several core principles when it came to training in Tai Chi, but first and foremost was to move slowly. Patience allowed you to test your balance, check your posture, and ensure your movements were exactly what they were intended to be. Speed in training encouraged each of these to weaken.

However, when playing Soul Calibur against Nora's character of choice "Rock", as she did her level best to pulverize his poor Xianghua, he didn't feel too guilty in just spamming the Y combo that put his girlfriend as far away from him as possible. Not that it worked well. The character was a tank, and he was barely doing anything to the health bar with his spamming. He was just happy he lasted the minute before she blew past his assault and left Xianghua beaten into the ground.

He groaned a little, but that was the extent of it. Jaune could be found on a computer at any hour, especially given the fact that he teaches them, and Nora just loved fighting games period. Between the two he never had a real chance in their little tournament. Then Jaune had found a friend online a few months ago who somehow managed to keep up with his weird hours and now they had another member of their friend group who could beat him in video games. Returning Nora's hug with one of his own before she turned back to the screen, he turned to the group chat and saw Jaune's friend had already commented on the last fight.

[Pyrrha: Good job Ren.]

[Ren: You saw that I lost, right?[

[Pyrrha: I did, but Nora seems to be particularly energetic today. I expect she's going to beat me as well.]

[Ren: I doubt that, but thank you.]

[Ren: I'm going to get snacks for the rest of us. I would offer but, you know."]

[Pyrrha: Thank you nonetheless. I'm sure your food is quite good given Nora's tendency to rave about it in detail.]

Ren glanced over at his flat mates and the epic battle between the unstoppable Rock and Jaune's constant blocking as Cassandra. His strategy may lack flare, but it was hard to deny the fact that shields were invented for a reason. A reason that let him keep up with even an energetic Nora. Either way, they were going to be busy for a while. Long enough for him to get out to the kitchen. He pulled out his scroll and saw there was an email for him. Not from one of his tai chi students, who were usually the only people to contact him, it was from the forum this time.

[From: CAdel

To: Administrator

Subject: Student Research

Hello. My name is Coco Adel and I'm a student at Midsomer University doing research on martial art's impact on history as part of a Sociology and Anthropology Class. The paper will have a specific focus on those who have shown abilities that can't otherwise be explained. I was directed to your forum by LionOfTheRedDawn, who I believe is one of your forum's members. If possible I would like to join as a member for academic research purposes by conducting interviews with yourself and the other members. I recognize that personal details must remain non-disclosed, and my research on the forum will only be for foundational purposes. Any personal interviews will be vetted by all parties, and my professor, for safety reasons, along with a signed permission slip as required by my University. Thank you.]

Semblance of Qi was technically his project. Nora suggested he create a forum as a way of… understanding some of his own quirks, and with a computers teacher in their flat it wasn't particularly hard to do. A few internet searches and a couple of invites had created a small group of people to chat with their own unique tie, even if the language barrier had kicked them hard. Half the group only spoke Spanish, and aside from Fox, the rest spoke English only as a second language. Plus, one of the girls gave him the creeps like no one else, but that was a different kind of barrier.

Ren? You okay?

Nora had joined him in the kitchen, clearly hesitant over something. And by the looks of it Pyrrha must be doing her best to take on the team champ. Jaune only yelled when he was at his wits end which, outside computers, was admittedly quite often. Apparently Patroklos Vs. Cassandra was proving to be an interesting battle.

It's nothing.

Your staring at your scroll. Bad news?

Arslan wants to invite a new girl.

Does she have… you know?

No. She's a student, doing research on kung-fu abilities.

Normal kung-fu1 or…

My kind of kung-fu.

Oh?

Nora pulled herself alongside him, not quite a hug, more to nestle herself into his side. It made communicating harder really, but she was the clingy sort no matter where she was emotionally. She also knew better than most how much he valued his privacy. This new research student, by her nature, wouldn't be able to give him as much. But at the same time, it felt right.

He taught his students that martial arts were supposed to develop the body, mind and spirit. That the day they stop pursuing these goals was the day they stopped being a martial artist. To tell another student to give up didn't feel right, felt like it would bite down on her own spirit even from afar. He just didn't trust himself to make the sacrifice willingly.

Are you going to let her join?

I'll talk to the others first. I'm sure they have their own doubts, but I think I should.

She didn't seem entirely convinced. To be fair neither was he. However, this was hardly the biggest breach in privacy for them, Jaune and his inability to keep a secret still won the award for that one, and they lived through that. It's not like too many people were going to read a random college essay anyways, one student wouldn't change their lives. Not really.

So if you're letting her join, can I finally have my own account? I'm thinking MuMuTheHammer2 for a screen name. Nora asked.

I'll talk to them. Probably introduce a plus one policy, and then I could add you in.

Awwwwww, Does this mean you have a crush on me? Letting me be your 'plus one'?

Nora, we've been dating for two years. I'll send the girl my reply. Those two still flirting out there?

"Pyrrha definitely is, Jaune still has his head up his ass."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Came Pyrrha's motherly tone from the system speakers. Cheerfully hoping that Jaune's poor English would not recognize the conversation's subtext.

Nora turned back to her partner, signing over to him with a regretful shrug. Apparently.

Can you call out to him for any requests.

Sure. And Ren?

Yes?

Love you.

Ren didn't bother to hide his open staring of Nora as she stood to leave the kitchen, reading every little detail about her. From the happy creases in her eyes as she blew him a kiss, to the legs toned from her life in physical education, to her veins he helped made sure remained un-constricted by stress, her point of balance she insisted on leaning ever forward towards the next point, every part of her body and through to that pool of positive Qi that made her ever irresistible.

Love you to. The words spelled out for the smiling face as it turned around, halfway to leaving, and reminded her always that past sins were forgiven. She was and always had been a positive influence on his life, no matter what she said otherwise.

VAV

Semblance of Qi

V

"Hey Fox."

"Arslan."

"Heard you had an interesting vacation in the end."

"Shit. How did you hear about it?"

"Dug up a small news article, but you were lucky this time. With the Games far enough away, you only made the one piece in a England sports section that's still waiting for football season to start up. Not even a local headline. I only found it because I wanted to win a internet argument."

"As long as it stays little, I can manage. Did I tell you about the guys who tried to pick a fight with me after the last one? Had to change pubs just to get away from them."

"You could just quit drinking. For a professional athlete, it's dumb even by your standards."

"Back off, or I really will visit for that spar."

"Right, just keep talking."

Fox didn't have to turn as he felt the soft tremors of paws moving across his room, reaching down to ruffle Mouse fur as she pulled herself up to commandeer his lap. Even after all her training to be his guide in the normal world, he'd never been able to convince the girl she wasn't supposed to be a lap dog. But they didn't have long to talk, Arslan got up early to exercise before classes, and he needed to sleep at some point tonight. The time zone differences made their chats work, just not entirely convenient, and this time he couldn't just shoot the breeze. "Did you see Ren's post about the research student and the possible membership rule changes?"

"Yeah, that one's on me actually. I made a comment about knowing you after some people started dissing us in a comment section for this video. She sounded safe enough so I sent her Ren's way. If nothing else, he's more the historian of the group, the rest of us are just gym nuts."

"Can't really disagree with that. Do we need this though? We all agreed we wanted this to be a closed group, research students are the opposite of staying closed."

"It's fine, not like she can cite us anyways. A supernatural martial art paper is only interesting as a premise, at the end of the day the only people who are going to read it is her professor and some of us. I'd be surprised if the Spanish side of the forum3 even bother. None of them speak English, and the translation software never works as advertised."

"I have been having more luck with translations lately. But if she's fine, what's with the weird username?"

"Chanel'sGAU8? I asked a buddy of mine at school whose big into military stuff and he said the GAU-8 is a big-ass minigun, so we were guessing she's American4. But no idea who or what Chanel is. Look, I wouldn't worry about it. At least the girl isn't as shady as Mercury or Neo."

"You say that like it's possible to shadier than those two. I still don't think he's a bouncer."

"But you believe Neo's a 'software security specialist'?"

"No, no I don't."

VAV

VAV

"English", [English], Norwegian Sign Language

1: Kung-fu: any discipline or skill achieved through hard work and practice; any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to complete. Dedication required, not martial application.

2: It was very important to research if resident expert, Darcy Lewis spelled it MuMu, MewMew, or Myeuh-muh. Unfortunately, I lacked the official transcription of her work and settled with the shortest option.

3: Semblance of Qi is a multi-lingual forum, however within the limited members there's about half who are fluent Spanish speakers and half who can speak English, most as a second language. People who meet the forum requirements outside of these languages theoretically exist, but Ren couldn't hunt them down given the language barriers. Notably, they know of no one in Africa, despite probably having the highest number of potential members given known variables.

4: Big-ass machinegun, mounted in the A-10 "warthog" close support airplane. It's exclusively American usage, so I'm not just mocking my own country. Let's be honest, Coco just likes big guns.

V

JNPR needed some actual characterization to get the ball rolling, but the Forum was more important. Next chapter I'm going to be elaborating on what I mean by Ren signing about My kind of kung-fu. It's important. I wrote the story description that way for a reason.

In case it isn't obvious, there's a lot of exposition needed to push the plot. Something I'm not entirely used to. Normally I just write character conversations and half-hearted platitudes about cuddling, or academic papers. Haven't had to worry about plot in years really. This has also made issues, as once again my globe spanning idea makes languages important. So please, pay attention, it should be adding up. Devil's in the detail on that one.