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The Unstoppable Batman

Issue 5: A New Path pt. 5

Master Sensei brought his cup to his lips and gingerly took a sip. The seasoned ninja master was sitting in his quarters enjoying one of the few moments of peace that he was afforded as master of Yamanouchi. The taste of the fresh tea was one of the small luxuries in life that the old master enjoyed the most. After taking a second, longer sip he sighed contentedly before placing the cup back down and then prepared himself as he heard light footsteps approaching the door to his room.

"Enter." The sensei stated without even turning around. He heard the door gently slide open and then the voice of his student call.

"Master, he will arrive momentarily." Yori informed the old master while giving a respectful bow. Yori rose from her bow to find that the master was already up and standing next to her.

"Then let us go Yori San. It would be inhospitable not to be there to greet our guest." With that the master began making his way through halls of the temple, with the young kunoichi close behind her. The two made their way out into the courtyard in a few minutes. They then quickly made their way over to the main gates of the school and stopped.

The two stood by the door for several long moments waiting. Master Sensei seemed to be as still as a statue and seemed as if he were off in another world. Yori did her best to remain calm and still though it was harder for her than her master. Particularly due to the guest that they were expecting any moment.

Suddenly the old master smiled and opened his eyes. "Open the gates."

The command was followed immediately by two shinobi manning the towers above the gate. In a moment the large wooden doors swung open revealing a figure standing several feet away. The figure was leaning on one of posts at the end of the wooden bridge that led to the school and was panting trying to catch his breath.

"Ah Stoppable. It is an honor for us to see you again." The master smiled and his eyes twinkled at the sight of his one-time student. Yori's smiled and her eyes gleamed as well, though for different reasons than her master.

The blonde teen waved at them with one hand and then pushed off the post and walked toward them still trying to catch his breath after the long climb that he had taken to get there. He stopped in front of them before giving a polite bow still trying to catch his breath. "Sensei… Yori… It's good… to see you again. And it would be my honor… to find a guy to put an… elevator or… skytram or something in here for you guys."

Master Sensei let out a deep chuckle. "Ah, Stoppable I have truly missed your American jokes. Come young one, I'm sure that you are hungry after your journey up the mountain."

At the mention of food suddenly a small, pink figure poked out of one of the pockets of Ron's jacket. "Hnk. Cheese?"

Yori let out a small giggle at the sight of the mole rat. "Of course, Rufus san. How could we forget your favorite."

An hour later Yori, Rufus, Ron and Master Sensei were sitting in one of the schools many dojos. The four had eaten dinner together and spent sometime making polite conversation and catching up with each other. Sensei then had the remnants of their meal taken away decided that now was the time to get down to business.

Sensei sat down on the polished floor of the dojo opposite of the entrance way. Yori sat down on her masters right and Ron sat before the master. "Now Stoppable San let us get down to the true purpose of your visit. Your loss of control and the mystical power that lies dormant inside of you."

Ron nodded. "Right. We need to get the monkey power out of me first thing."

Ron shuddered slightly at the mention of monkeys. Then looked at the master quizzically when he chuckled again. "Ah another fine joke Stoppable San. No, the Mystical Monkey Power is a part of you. It is intertwined with you in a spiritual sense. It cannot simply be removed like taking off a piece of clothing."

Sensei noticed that the young man seemed to deflate at that. "There is however a technique that should be able to keep you from using the power unintentionally again."

Ron perked up hearing that. "So, I wouldn't blackout and go on a… mystic rampage like I did with Shego again?"

"Your blackout was not caused by the mystic power. The technique would simply keep the power suppressed until such time as you feel you are ready to accept it." Sensei explained.

Ron thought for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Okay, so it would keep me from accidently using it. But what about my loss of control?"

"Control, whether of emotions, martial skills or anything, is something that must be learned. That is one of the many lessons that we will be assisting you with during your stay here for the next few months. You will be taught the same as other Yamanouchi students. As the martial and shinobi arts will aid you in attaining the discipline and focus that you are seeking"

After the master finished explaining the room went silent for several moments as the blonde teen was contemplating the master's words. Finally, Ron spoke up. "Okay so when do we start?"

The kind masters face grew serious. "Now. But before we begin, we must establish a… baseline, I believe is the term you might use, for your skills. To know where your skills are at currently, and where we need to begin teaching you."

Ron nodded "Okay Sensei. When do we start that?"

"We will begin immediately. Please stand in the center of the dojo Stoppable San." The blonde teen stood and quickly moved into place and waited for the masters next instruction, Rufus had scuttled over to Yori and was sitting on her lap. The master then raised his right hand ever so slightly. Ron suddenly heard the sounds of several feet lightly touching the ground. Ron whipped his head around to see that there were now a half dozen Yamanouchi students standing in a semi-circle around him. Each of them was in full ninja garb and stood in a combat stance.

"Uh, Sensei?" Ron's eyes turned to the master.

"Last as long as you can Stoppable San." The master then gave a nod before giving the order.

"Begin."

FOUR MONTHS LATER

Ron felt all the breath escape from his lungs as he felt one of his fellow Yamanouchi student's knees slam into his stomach. He then barely got his arm up to block a strike from a bo staff, but the suddenly felt the cold metal of a chain wrap around his throat. He then felt himself being yanked back and into the air, before harshly slamming down onto the floor.

"TEISHI." Master Sensei's voice boomed through the dojo. Bringing an immediate halt to the training session. The chain around Ron's neck went slack and the half dozen students quickly bowed to the master before quickly exiting the room. The master then walked over to the panting teen lying on the floor. "Are you alright Stoppable San?"

"DAMN IT!" Ron screamed in frustration before slamming his fist into the floor, leaving a decent sized dent in the mat. The teen rose to his feet quickly, his anger only continuing to grow. "It's been four months Sensei. Four months and I'm still getting my ass kicked by the same six students."

The old master remained calm while the young man continued to rant for a few moments. Allowing him to air his frustration. The master didn't take it personally, he understood that the anger the teen felt was at himself rather than at the master. After a few moments Ron then took a deep breath and rubbed his face with his hand.

"What am I doing wrong. Four months and I haven't seemed to learn anything sensei. No matter how hard I try I still can't beat them." Ron then looked at the master after feeling a hand on his shoulder. The master was smiling at the young man.

"Hit the shower Stoppable San. I believe that is one of your American expressions. Then meet me back here. We have much to discuss before you return to America tomorrow." Ron wanted to protest but instead simply nodded and turned. Ron walked through the hallways giving a polite hello here and there to students who offered the same to him. Ron returned to his room to find Rufus napping on his bed mat. The mole rat awakened at the sound of the door closing.

"Hnk. Ron okay." Rufus asked noticing that his human seemed depressed. Ron shook his head while grabbing a clean gi and towel.

"I don't know Rufus. It's been four months and I feel like I haven't learned anything. I mean after a few days I feel like I'm starting to get on top of things. Then it's like I all my progress goes back to zero and I'm starting all over again." Ron took another deep breath and focused his mind. Letting all his frustration out with his breath, as he had been taught in his meditation lessons. "I'm gonna go wash up and then we need to go see Sensei."

Rufus nodded and then Ron went to wash up. Thirty minutes later Ron was sitting in front of Master Sensei and Yori in the dojo with Rufus sitting on his shoulder.

"You have been with us now for four months Stoppable San. During this time, you have been instructed in the martial arts, stealth and deception, meditation and philosophy. I am aware that you had certain goals set for yourself when you first came here. I am also aware that you have not met those goals that you set for yourself." Ron winced at hearing that. He knew it was true but it still hurt to hear. "That said as your teacher I must give you my honest assessment of the time you have spent here with us."

Ron lowered his head, a feeling of shame washing over him. He mental began bracing himself for the beratement that he knew was about to come. And then Sensei spoke.

"I am both impressed by and extremely proud of you Stoppable San." The room was quiet for a moment as Ron looked up into the smiling face of the old man. He then turned to look at the young kunoichi next to the master and saw that she to was looking at her American friend with pride in her eyes.

"I… Don't get it. I mean Sensei I… to use the American term, suck. I haven't improved at all." The old master let out a dry chuckle before replying.

"You have improved far more than you realize. And I must admit, more than I expected you to Stoppable San." The look of confusion didn't leave Ron or Rufus's face. "Allow me to tell you a story that might help explain."

"Once many years ago there was a young samurai who traveled the land seeking to become the greatest warrior that ever was. He traveled far and bested many strong opponents and legend of his exploits spread far and wide. Still, he felt as though he was not the warrior, he dreamed of being. One day he approached the home of an ancient warrior rumored to be the greatest of his generation who had never lost a duel. He found the old man was on his death bed and instead of a duel the old man granted him an audience."

"The samurai asked the dying man how it was that he became so strong and when he realized that he was the greatest warrior in the land. The old man smiled and told the samurai that there is a secret. He then told the young warrior to climb to the peak of the mountain that was just beyond the valley behind the old man's home. Once he reached the top the old man told him to look around him. If the young warrior was truly worthy and wise then he would be able to learn the old man's secret on the peak."

"The young samurai thanked the old man and left to climb the mountain. It took him days to reach the mountain from the home. And after he began the climb, it took him weeks to scale it. The mountain was steep and filled with dangers. Feral animals, crumbling paths leading to falls that would no doubt be fatal, even Oni roamed the mountain according to legend. But the samurai persevered facing each threat and slowly worked his way toward the peak. The mists grew thicker the closer he came until he could barely see scant inches ahead of himself."

"Finally, after weeks of climbing, the samurai broke through the mists and found himself standing upon the peak of the mountain. After a moment of celebration at his achievement the warrior looked around expecting to see a shrine, a scroll of knowledge, something, anything that could be what the old man had promised him was up there. But it was clear to see that the peak was barren and that no one had been up there for many, many years. The samurai was angered, feeling that the old man had lied and had simply led him here for nothing other than his own amusement. As the samurai turned to begin making his way back down the mountain, he caught sight of the surrounding."

"The peak was above the clouds and the sight was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. But what drew his attention was the sight of another mountain. There was another mountain miles and miles away that stretched up into the clouds as the one he was on did. But this mountain stretched even higher into the sky piercing another layer of clouds and stretching beyond his sight. He then noticed there were two more mountains beyond that. They each seemed to be larger and stretch even higher than the last."

"The samurai was quiet for a moment before smiling in understanding and thanking the old man, before beginning his journey back down the mountain to continue his journey."

Sensei finished the story and looked at Stoppable San for a moment. The blonde teen was mulling the tale over in his head. Suddenly Ron looked up. "So, the lesson was… there's always another mountain to climb. That there's always something new to push toward, something new to conquer or learn. That a true warrior is always learning and trying to push themselves to improve."

Ron noticed that the smile on the old master's face seemed to widen slightly. "Very good Stoppable San."

Ron scratched the back of his head absentmindedly. "Okay that's a good lesson but I don't see how it applies to me. I mean I never made it past the foot of the mountain. I kept getting beat by the same six guys in combat training. And it didn't seem like I made much progress in stealth training either. I haven't improved at all."

Yori then spoke up. "Sensei perhaps it is time to let Stoppable San in on the joke. I believe is the American term."

Ron raised an eyebrow, then looked from Yori to his master. "Very well. Stoppable San you believe that you have shown no improvement because I withheld a certain piece of information from you. You have not been fighting against the same students every day in your training."

"Uhh, what do you mean" Ron asked.

"You began your training with students who were beginners similar to yourself. However, you did improve Stoppable San. So much so that I had the students you were sparring with changed out after only three days."

"…huh?"

The master continued. "After that each time I noticed that you were beginning to reach the point of being able to overtake the students that you were training against I had them switch with more and more advanced students. Since the students faced you in full garb, including masks, you did not notice this. Much the same was done with your stealth training. When you appeared to be getting a handle on a technique the courses and the challenges you were training to overcome were made more difficult. Essentially every few days the challenges and foes that you were facing became more difficult without your knowledge."

Ron stared blankly at the master for a moment. "WHAT?! Why wouldn't you just tell me that you were making things harder?"

"Because of the most important lesson that I was attempting to teach you." Sensei continued. "In truth I was anticipating that at some point you would quit. That your frustration from seemingly not making any progress would lead you to throwing in the towel. But you didn't. And that was the lesson. My plan was to show you how you had been improving even though you thought you hadn't. It was about persevering even if it seemed as if nothing was going your way. As this is something that happens to all of us in life from time to time."

Sensei then nodded to Ron in respect. "But it seems this was a lesson that there was no need to teach you. You trained and studied every day. Improved every day for these past four months. You never gave up even though you thought that you were going nowhere. The will to push on even when you seem to be struggling. Never giving up that is one of the truest measures of strength"

Ron opened and closed his mouth a few times. Yori chuckled at the sight of Ron seeming to impersonate a fish. "So, you… I mean I…"

Ron closed his eyes and took in a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. Then asked. "So how much did I improve Sensei?"

Yori answered. "As Sensei said the first group you were sparing against were all beginner students. As of today, you were sparring against some of the school most advanced and skilled students. And while they did eventually over power you, you were able to hold your own against six of them for nearly two hours before going down."

Master Sensei interjected. "You have improved at a rate no other student has Stoppable San. And do not think that it was the Mystic Power that let you do this. Your determination, blood, sweat and tears are what has carried you through these months. While I'm sure you are upset with me for not letting you in on how you were being trained, just know that I am truly proud of how far you have come in such a short amount of time."

Ron then nodded his head. Then noticed Rufus patting him on his shoulder and giving the blonde teen a thumbs up. "Good job, Ron. Hnk."

"Thanks buddy. And thank you Sensei. I am a little… upset that you didn't tell me what was going on but… You are the master and if that's how you thought was best to teach me, then I trust your judgement." Ron stated.

Sensei then gave a polite bow. "You honor me with your words and understanding Stoppable San."

Ron then bowed to the master as well. After a moment Yori spoke up. "Perhaps we should have dinner. After all Stoppable San will be heading back home tomorrow."

"Cheese!" Rufus spoke up. This brought a laugh from the three humans. And Sensei called for their dinner to be brought in to them. Ron's last night at Yamanouchi was spent talking and laughing with his master and Yori. Ron even promised Sensei that he would return after school for more training. Yori and the old master were both pleased to hear this. Yori told Ron that she would show him around Tokyo next time and Sensei even joked perhaps by then they will have that escalator put in for him.

It would be one of the teens most cherished memories of the school for the rest of his life. Not only because the next day he would leave, but while he didn't know it this night and the next day would be the last time he would see Sensei and Yori alive.

"You gonna go meet our boy at the airport tomorrow?" Monique Symone asked as she took the final bite of her Naco. She and Kim Possible were sitting at their usual table inside Bueno Nacho. Both girls had just finished their shift at Club Banana and since both their parents were working late that night the girls decided to grab dinner together. After getting their food they had been bemoaning their manager and store politics when Monique finally asked the question.

Kim set her drink down and bit her lower lip. She thought hard for a moment before responding. "No. I think I'll just wait to see him at school."

The fashionista raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? You sure that's the best call?"

The redhead then proceeded to shake her head and look down at a spot on the table. "I don't know Mon. It's been so weird not seeing or talking to him for the last few months. I do want to see him but…"

Kim trailed off and Monique allowed her friend to gather her thoughts for a moment. Soon though she grew tired of looking at the top of Kim's head as she kept her attention down on the table. "But what girl?"

"What if he's still angry?" Kim finally looked up. A trace of fear in her eyes and tinging her voice. "Ron asked for space and time to figure out how he feels. And he's had that. But now I'm worried… No. I'm scared that when he gets back that he's going to say he's still angry. That he can't forgive me. That my best friend since Pre-K is gone."

Silence hung heavily between the two teens for several minutes. Monique seemed to be searching for an answer that would be able to pacify her friend and Kim waiting like a convict awaiting the judge to pronounce her sentence. Finally, Monique spoke. "Then that's something your just gonna have to live with Kim."

Kim looked down once more as she felt the sting of those words. Those words that she knew were true. "But I doubt that's what will happen."

Kim looked up again. Monique reached out and comfortingly placed her hand on top of Kim's. "He could stay mad but it's Ron. He will forgive you. He might still be upset or angry. He has the right to be. But I do know Ron and he's not the kind to hold on to a grudge forever. It might be really awkward and tense for a little while, maybe even a long while, but you and Ron have a friendship that has lasted almost your entire lives. I think that in the end it will survive this."

Kim gave a genuine smile to her friend and then gave her hand a squeeze. "Thanks Mon."

"No prob girl." Monique smiled. She then picked up her drink and took a sip as Kim wiped a tear that had been threatening to fall from her eye. Monique sighed after her long sip. "So, you gonna go to the airport now?"

Kim seemed to think for a moment. "No. He'll have had a long trip and he should have a couple days of rest before school starts. I think I'll wait until then to see him."

Monique wanted to object but then thought better of it. It was Kim's call when she wanted to try speaking to Ron. And she wasn't wrong about him probably needing a few days to relax after being gone so long before school started up again. So, with a smile Monique quickly changed to subject to something more lighthearted. The two girls began chatting about a movie they were both looking forward to seeing while mentally reassuring themselves that now that Ron was coming home things would be back to relative normal soon.

Neither girl could imagine just how wrong that they were about that.

Martha Stoppable had just pulled a hot casserole dish out of the oven when she heard the lock on the front door of her home turn. She was setting down dish down when she heard the door open and then heard the voice of her husband echo through the house. "Guess who I found at the airport dear."

She walked out into the living room and took in the sight of her husband hanging up his jacket. She smiled at the sight of her only son setting his bags down by the staircase and quickly walked over to give the boy a tight hug. The boy quickly returned the gesture.

"Hey Mom. I missed you too." Martha broke off the hug and again looked her son over. She noticed that it looked like Ron had some bruises on his face that had not completely faded away.

"Ronald what happened to your face."

Ron shrugged at his mother's question. "I tripped going down some stairs at Yamanouchi."

Martha cocked an eyebrow at her son. "Really?"

"Yup." Martha turned to see Rufus standing on her husband's shoulder nodding in confirmation of her son's answer. Rufus the proceeded to mime falling down stairs. "Slip. Ahhh. Boom. Boom. Boom. Ouch."

Thomas chuckled at the mole rats act before patting his son's shoulder. "How long 'til dinner's ready."

"Just pulled it out of the oven." Martha answered then noticed her son looking blankly at her.

"You… cooked?" Ron turned to his father avoiding his mother's glare. "Uh, isn't that one of the signs of the apocalypse?"

Thomas did his best to suppress the laugh that threatened to erupt from his throat. He coughed twice to clear his throat and then turned with a grin to his wife. "Why don't we let the boy take his bags upstairs and we can get dinner ready. Then he can tell us all about his trip. And all about… Did you say Yori was her name Rufus?"

"Yori?" Martha's glare turned curious at hearing the name. Ron then proceeded to shoot a glare of his own at the mole rat who was currently, whistling and doing his best to avoid his master's gaze.

"Come on Rufus." Ron picked up his bags as Rufus hopped from his father's shoulder to his. The teen then proceeded to make his way upstairs as his parents began heading to the kitchen. "You told Dad about Yori, come on dude."

"Sorry, hnk." Rufus apologized at they made it into Ron's bedroom and the teen set his bags down on his bed. Ron then took a moment to sit down on the bed a take in a deep breath. Rufus hopped over on top of the pillow and looked at his human. "Ron, okay?"

"I'm just tired buddy. I was too wired to sleep on the plane and mom and dad are gonna wanna stay up and talk for a while." Ron took a deep cleansing breath. "And I still have to go out later."

Rufus looked nervous hearing this. "Tonight? Hnk. Sure?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I'm too wired to sleep tonight and I figure since I won't be sleeping I might as well take a trial run at my new job. Right buddy."

Rufus padded up to Ron and nervously twiddled with his paws. "Sure, bout this? Hnk. Relax. Retire."

Ron shook his head. "Buddy, we talked about this all summer. After what I saw I can't do nothing. And since G.J. made it pretty clear that team possible is shut down, I gotta find another way. Figure tonight will be as a good a time as any to do a test run."

Rufus huffed. "Can't help. Hnk."

Ron sat up. "I know you want to buddy. But the docs here and at Yamanouchi said that too much excitement is not good for your little heart bud. It's better if you stay here so I'm not worried about you out there with me."

Ron noticed that the mole rat still looked nervous. "I promise I'll be careful and won't do anything… too crazy out there."

Rufus was still unconvinced but nodded as Ron got up and picked him up. As they were making their way out of their room to head downstairs to eat Rufus asked another question. "Call Kim?"

Ron stopped at the head of the stairs and thought for a moment. "I'll see her in school. I wanna be rested up for that conversation."

"Really?" Rufus skeptically. "Tonight?"

Ron sighed. "Tonight isn't gonna be nearly as tough as talking to Kim pal."

With that the two made their way downstairs and into the Stoppable dining room. Where the Stoppable clan sat down together for a family dinner for the first time in months. They spent the next few hours catching up on what they had all been doing. Ron told them about classes and meditating. They grilled him, longer than he would have liked, about Yori. They told him about how their work had been going all the while Thomas and Martha were also dancing around the subject of Kim. They were curious how he was feeling about that situation but decided they would ask him later.

After a few hours Ron and his father cleaned up the dishes. Then the family decided to turn in, with Ron saying that he really needed some sleep from his long trip home. The family all went to bed and by ten o'clock the Stoppable house was completely dark. If someone had been outside the home about an hour later, they would have seen a light in one upstairs room come on for a few moments before going back out.

Then if that someone was very, very observant; they just might have caught sight of a quick, shadowy figure darting from the house and into the night.

Carl Edwards had been working as the night shift guard for a row of warehouses in Lowerton for two weeks. It wasn't the best paying job in the world but he wasn't making much flipping burgers at his day job and he had a girlfriend at home and a baby on the way. The job itself had seemed simple enough, just walk around the warehouses once an hour or so and the rest of the time he could sit on his butt watching security monitors.

Tonight, had seemed like any other night as he made his way around the one of the warehouses. At least until he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head before everything went black around him. Carl awoke what felt like a seconds later, but was really nearly half an hour, to find himself bound and gagged with duct tape. He then watched as four men in coveralls, ski masks and gloves were loading boxes from the warehouse into the back of a semi.

The guard quickly realized that there was nothing he could do but watch as the men raided the building, as his employer was too cheap to hire more than a single guard for the property. He would most likely be there until his relief came in the morning.

"Comin' thru'" Carl looked as one of the masked thieves stepped over him while carrying a large crate toward the semi. After loading the crate the into the truck one of the other men pulled out a walkie talkie from his pocket.

"We're done here. How's it look out there." After a moment a voice crackled back over the radio.

"Streets are all clear." The man placed the walkie talkie back into his pocket and gestured for one of his companions to close up the back of the truck. Then he looked over at the prone form of Carl.

"What about him." One of the others asked. "He didn't see our faces or anything Angelo."

There was a brief moment of silence before 'Angelo' turned and smacked the other man on the back of his head. "Except you just said my name jackass."

Angelo shook his head before walking over to Carl and pulling out a revolver from one of his pockets. Carl's eyes grew wide and he felt his body begin to tremble as the man stood over him and pointed the gun at him. Angelo shrugged his shoulders almost regretfully. "Sorry man. Blame the name dropper for this."

Suddenly the sound of shattering glass was heard and the building lights above them began to go dark. Before Carl could wonder what was happening, he heard Angelo yelp in surprise and then the gun went off. The gun was pointed toward the ceiling and from the flash from the shot Carl briefly made out what seemed to be another masked figure struggling for the gun.

Next, he heard a loud thud as a body dropped to the floor in front of him. Then his mind panicked for a moment as he felt someone grab him and quickly drag him across the floor for several meters and stuff him behind a stack of crates. Carl was still too shocked from the near shooting to put up any resistance. After being stuffed behind the crates he heard another voice, this one much quieter and kinder.

"Hang tight. This'll be over soon." And then the voice was gone and he was alone in the dark.

"Hey, what's going on in there? Angelo?" One of the three remaining men outside shouted into the dark warehouse. The three thieves had watched as the lights went out and heard the shot go off but now things were eerily quiet. Two of the men had drawn their own guns and the third had produced a small switch blade.

'I got this.' Ron thought to himself from his vantage point in the shadows. Ron had quickly made his way up to the roof of the warehouse via a skylight, and was now looking down at the remaining crooks. Ron quickly worked up a plan and began to move.

Ron moved to the edge of the roof while pulling several shuriken from his utility belt. Ron judged the distance, the warehouse was only three stories tall, and then took a steadying breath. As Ron leapt off of the building he flung shuriken toward his targets. He tossed five shuriken in total. Two found there way into the upper arm of one of the gunmen, causing him to scream and drop the weapon. One sliced into the cheap material of the second gunman's semi automatic disabling it, while another went into the man's hand making him drop it. The final blade sliced through the air and knocked the switchblade out of the third man's hand.

As the men were dealing with the surprise attack Ron landed on the back of the semi-trailer with a loud thud. The three men quickly looked up at the sound to see what was happening. Ron stood on the edge of the trailer, wearing the same outfit that he had been wearing during his assault on Bueno Nacho headquarters, glaring down at the criminals doing his best to stand tall and look intimidating.

"Okay guys. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice." Ron loudly proclaimed.

Silence hung in the air for several long seconds before one of the men turned to the other two and asked. "It this f#%$in, guy serious."

For a second Ron deadpanned behind his mask hearing this and felt his body droop in disappointment. 'Not the reaction I was hoping for.'

Before Ron could do anything, he noticed that one of the men had quickly recovered his gun from the ground and was now aiming it at him. There was an audible click as the trigger was pulled and nothing happened. The crook looked at his gun. Only now did he notice the metal blade that was imbedded into the weapon keeping it from firing.

Ron suddenly snapped to attention and noticed that one of the other men was bending down to grab the gun that was shuriken free and would still work. Ron leaped off the trailer and proceeded to deliver a devastating drop kick to the mans face as the crook was righting himself with the gun in hand. The man flew backward slamming onto the ground unconscious. Ron landed on his back on the ground before quickly flipping back up to his feet, he noticed that the gun had slid several yards away from him and the thieves and that they wouldn't be able to get to it without passing him.

Ron turned in time to dodge a wild haymaker from one of the men. The man had a good six inches on him and at least a hundred pounds. Suddenly the other criminal was upon him and he began dodging attacks from both of them at once.

Kick. Dodge. Punch. Dodge. Punch. Parry.

Ron carried on like this with them for half a minute. The men were beginning to breath heavily not used to fighting like this. Ron on the other hand wasn't even sweating. After months of fighting trained ninjas daily this was nothing at all to him. Finally, Ron decided that it was time to put an end to the melee.

Ron caught a punch thrown by one of the men before yanking the man forward and then slamming his elbow into the man's nose. Ron could here the sound of bones break and the man reeled back in pain with blood flowing from his nose. The other man attempted another haymaker, but Ron swung his foot forward and kicked him in the side of his knee. The man dropped to one knee and Ron quickly proceeded to drive his knee into the man's face. Then proceeded to throw an upper cut, knocking the man onto his back and into unconsciousness.

Ron then turned hearing the other man running and noticed that he was heading straight for the gun that was still left. The thief managed to bend down and grab it but as he was swinging around to aim the weapon Ron was already upon him. Ron caught the mans gun arm at the wrist and gave a quick twist, causing a loud pop and scream to come from the man and the gun to clatter to the ground. Ron then spun around behind his opponent and delivered a powerful chop to the back of his neck. He was out before he hit the ground.

Ron began looking around. The guard was safe. The shooter inside was down. The three out here were down. The goods were still here.

'I did it.' Ron was grinning ear to ear under his mask. He then pumped his fist in the air in triumph. "Boo Ya…"

Ron was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Then the teen felt a pain slice across his left arm. Instinctively the he began moving for cover while looking over his shoulder. He saw a man dressed in normal street clothes, jeans, sneakers, blue windbreaker and baseball cap, firing at him with a revolver. For a moment Ron was perplexed.

'Who's that guy?' Suddenly Ron remembered. The man Angelo called to over the radio. Ron mentally berated himself as he ducked behind a crate inside the warehouse. 'LOOKOUT! I heard them talk to him and I FORGOT about the lookout.'

Ron peeked out from behind the crate when he heard the sound of the semi cabs door open. He saw the shooter climbing up into the cab quickly before slamming the door shut. Upon hearing the transmission grind as it was thrown into gear Ron bolted from cover toward the trailer. As the engine revved and the truck began to pull away Ron managed to jump onto the fender of the trailer and quickly climbed onto the top of it.

'Okay, gotta stop the truck.' Ron ran up the trailer roof before hopping off onto the roof of the truck cab. Suddenly the truck turned sharply out of the warehouse loading lot and down an alley leading to the streets. Ron and the driver were rocked as the trailer scrapped against the side of one of the buildings. 'Okay, I gotta stop this before he gets out onto the road and causes an accident.'

Suddenly an idea came to him. Ron scooted over to the driver side of the roof and peeked over. He found he was in luck as the driver side window was cracked open. Ron reached into his belt and pulled out two grey spheres, a gift from Yamanouchi, he then leaned over and threw the balls through the window and into the cab as hard as he could.

Suddenly the drivers screamed in surprise as two pops were heard and suddenly the cab filled with thick smoke. The truck began to sway back and forth slamming into buildings on both sides as it went down the alley. Finally, the vehicle slammed into the building on the left side and scrapped its way to a stop a few feet from the end of the alley and the street.

Ron turned his head as he heard the passenger door open and he turned to see smoke billowing out the open door. He then barely made the figure of the driver , coughing his lungs out, jumping out of the cab. Ron took a run and then jumped off the root and landed on the man's back. The man crumpled to the ground with the masked teen on top of him.

Ron noticed that the man was unconscious from the hit along with the smoke. Ron quickly hoisted the unconscious form onto his shoulder and moved away from the truck and back to the warehouse. Ron dropped the last of the thieves on the ground then heard the sounds of sirens approaching in the distance. 'Someone must have called in the smoke.'

Ron quickly dragged the lookout and the other four thieves into a pile. He then began collecting all of his shuriken that he had thrown. Ron then made his way into the dark warehouse and over to the bound guard. The guard tensed up when he felt Ron grab him, but relaxed some when Ron cut through his bonds with a shuriken. "The someone should be here soon for that truck but you might want to call the police just the same."

Ron moved away before the still shocked guard could respond. Making his way back up to the skylight to the roof. As he was pulling himself up to the roof Ron felt a pain in his arm near his shoulder. After grabbing the spot with his hand he pulled it back to reveal blood coming from a wound.

"Great." Ron muttered as he made his way across the roof. He leaped to another rooftop as the flashing lights of emergency vehicles began to shine down the alley. By the time that Carl the guard would make his way to the responders and alert them to the robbers, the masked teen was blocks away.

Betty Director took a long final drag from her cigarette before crushing the butt out in an ashtray. She had tried to quit several times over the years but with the stress of her job she was never able to kick the habit for very long. And with team Possible disbanded her plate had been filled even more than usual.

Betty's mind drifted to the teen team as she looked at the stack of paperwork piled on her desk. While she knew that the teens tended to deal with the more ridiculous and less threatening villains and threats, as well as the occasional disaster relief, but now with them retired much of that now fell on her organization to pick up the slack. Just recently Will Due had been dealing with Doctor Dementor and though he never said it she felt her top agent was gaining some appreciation for the load that Kim Possible had helped them with.

'Think of the devil.' Betty thought as she heard the door to her office open and Will Due entered. The agent looked somewhat disheveled and his standard issue G.J. uniform was dirty and torn. "Did things go well with Dementor?"

Agent Due remained professional but Betty could hear the frustration in his voice. "Dementor's plans were thwarted. However, Dementor himself was unfortunately able to escape."

"Maybe if you were working with a partner that wouldn't happen." She hinted.

"I work best alone ma'am." Betty sighed knowing that there wasn't much use trying to convince Due of the need to work with others. It was the agent's greatest weakness.

Suddenly there came a knock from the door. Betty shouted. "Come in."

Into the office stepped a G.J. analyst. Noticing Agent Due the analyst began apologizing. "I'm sorry Ma'am, I didn't realize that you were in a meeting with Agent Due. I can come back lat…"

"It's fine. I take it you have something important." The analyst nodded to his superior.

"Yes, two hours ago there was a robbery at a warehouse in Triton. Specifically in a district in Lowerton." Betty raised an eyebrow hearing this.

"What was being stolen? Weapons? Nuclear material? High-tech devices?" The analyst quickly looked at the report in his hands for a moment before responding.

"Crates of plasma screen televisions, computer components and DVD and Blu Rays." Betty kept her eyebrow raised.

"And could any of these be used to create WMDs or something that Dementor, Drakken or W.E.E. could potentially use."

The analyst scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Uh, no Ma'am. Not to our knowledge."

"Then why exactly does this need to be brought to my attention?" Betty asked finally.

"According to the report the robbery was thwarted by the intervention of a vigilante." Hearing this caused both Betty and Will to perk up.

"Kim Possible?" Due asked before Betty could.

"No sir." Then the analyst continued while setting the report on his superior's desk. "But what grabbed our attention was the description. According to the criminals that were taken in the vigilante's appearance matches that of the description that Drakken and Shego gave of the extra-legal operative that stopped their Diablo attack."

Upon hearing that Betty snatched the report off her desk and began reading through it intently. It took her several minutes to get through the entire report. After reading through it all she looked to see both the analyst and Due waiting for her patiently.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. That will be all." The analyst gave a quick salute before turning and leaving the room. She then gestured for her number one to take a seat opposite her. After Due was seated she passed the report over to him. "As of now I want you working on finding this individual."

Due nodded as he quickly skimmed the report. "Understood Ma'am. I'll have him in custody immediately."

Doctor Director shook her head. "Not yet. For the moment I'm just interested in knowing who is under that mask. We'll figure out what to do with them after that."

Due rose from his seat, saluted and exited the room with the report. Betty leaned back in her chair and looked over at the pile of papers. She had enough work to do but now her mind was focused on the vigilante that had resurfaced. Then she reached into her desk and took out a new cigarette.

"Ouch. Ron muttered under his breath as he finished stitching up the wound in his arm.

Ron had been able to make it back to the treehouse on the edge of the Stoppable's and Possible's property line. Ron had decided to use it as a base of operations as Kim and the twins didn't use it and no one else ever came up there. Making it an ideal place to store Ron's equipment.

When Ron had arrived, Rufus had been waiting for him and the poor mole rat nearly had a panic attack seeing blood on his master's arm. Fortunately for the teen the bullet had simply grazed him rather than putting a hole through him. But it was still a deep cut that needed stitched, a first aid skill he had been taught at Yamanouchi.

As Ron finished, he put all the used medical supplies in the garbage and the rest back in the first-aid kit. Ron then turned and proceeded to stuff his work clothes into a knapsack and stuff them under the couch, before sinking into the cushions himself. Rufus scampered up onto the cushion right next to him and patted his leg.

"Okay?" Rufus asked. Ron looked down at him for a moment before shaking his head.

"No buddy I'm not." Ron then gently ran his fingers of the stitched wound. "This could have been a lot worse. I got cocky and… if that guy had been a better shot… I got lucky Ruf."

Ron rubbed his temples. "Months of being told to mind my surroundings and I still make that mistake. And they weren't at all intimidated by me. They were surprised to see me there but they weren't intimidated when the surprise wore off. I mean first I lost focus when they weren't scared of me. One of them got a shot at me and the only thing that saved me was he didn't notice the gun was jammed. And I completely forgot about the last one and I got winged for it."

"Lucky. Amateur." Ron paused in his beratement of himself. "Lucky Amateur."

Ron sank deeper into the couch as he continued. "Sensei said that intimidation is a powerful weapon. If you can get in someone's head it gives you an edge. 'Theatricality and deception are powerful agents Stoppable San. You must be more than a man in the mind of you adversary.' Those were his exact words."

Rufus nodded in understanding; he had been there when Sensei had imparted this lesson to the teen. Ron continued looking at his little friend. "Any ideas how I can be 'more than a man' Rufus?"

Rufus seemed to think for a moment. Suddenly the mole rat shot off the couch and into a corner of the treehouse filled with boxes from Ron and Kim's younger years. Soon Rufus ran back with an old worn and somewhat faded comic in his paws. He hefted the comic at Ron. "Here. Hnk."

Ron picked up the comic and looked at it. It was an old copy of the Fearless Ferret. "Uh, Rufus, if you didn't notice I'm already trying the masked vigilante thing."

Rufus shook his head before jumping up and pointing at the image of the Ferret crimefighter. "This."

Ron blinked. "You think I should become the Fearless Ferret?"

Rufus shook his head. 'Same but different. Hnk."

Ron looked back at the comic. "So, like a totem. A symbol that I can use to be more intimidating. Right?"

The mole rat nodded. Ron looked back at the comic for a moment mulling over the idea in his head. The teen then stood up and slowly began pacing back and forth around the treehouse. He stopped for a moment to look out the window noticing that the sun was just beginning to peek out from the behind the horizon.

"Okay if I'm gonna do this I have to have the right symbol; right." Rufus nodded as Ron continued. "I need something that's intimidating. Something that will send a jolt of terror into bad guys hearts at just the mention of it. Something terrifying, something hideous…"

Ron stopped for a moment a realization hitting him. Then he turned to Rufus with a serious face. The mole rat sat up giving the teen his undivided attention. "I know what I have to do buddy. I must become…"

Rufus eyes widened in anticipation.

"…A monkey."

Ron paused dramatically before looking down at Rufus. Who was giving the teen a look that could only be translated as 'you cannot be serioius.' Ron lost the dramatics and chuckled nervously.

"Okay that would probably be more intimidating for me. You have a better idea?" Rufus thought for a moment before gesturing at himself. Ron blinked for a moment. "Uh, Rat-Man?"

Rufus nodded proudly. Then noticed that Ron was giving him the same look he had just given him a second ago. "Hnk. Maybe not."

Ron sighed. "Come on buddy let's think. It's not like the perfect idea is gonna land in our lap."

Suddenly a screech came from behind the teen and he saw Rufus jump up in fear and burrow himself under the couch cushion. Ron turned to catch a dark shape flying around the air around him. The teen let out a yelp as he swung his hands around in panic. He then fell to the floor and watched with wide eyes as the figure flew circles before landing upside down on a beam in the corner of the treehouse.

It was large bat.

Ron was still catching his breath when he noticed that there were multiple scratches, from the bat's claws on the beam it was now on. He also remembered that when he had first come up the treehouse, he had to clean up a mess in that corner, that he had assumed was from some birds. He quickly put together that at some point after he had left for Japan this bat had decided to take up roost here.

Ron was beginning to relax. Then Rufus poked his head out of the couch and noticed the winged mammal. "hnk. Bat?"

"Yeah buddy." Ron then turned and noticed that Rufus was still shaking. "What are you scared bud?"

Rufus just kept shaking in the couch cushions. Ron continued. "It's okay bud. It's not gonna hurt us. It's just been crashing here."

Rufus still looked terrified as he slowly emerged from the couch. Ron looked back at the bat which seemed to be licking its wing. Ron looked back to Rufus as he picked the little guy up and held him close. "If it helps, you're not alone buddy. A lot of people are scared of bats."

Ron then turned his attention back to the winged creature. "I mean I do get it. They are pretty creepy. And in books they're like vampires. They come out at night. You can't always seem them but they can bite you. They can suck your blood. When you see pictures of devils and demons, they have horns and bat wings. It's no wonder people are scared of…"

Rufus turned his head to look at Ron as the teen trailed off. Ron was no longer looking at Rufus but had seemed to lock eyes with the winged mammal hanging in the corner. After several long seconds of staring and turning an idea over and over in his head. Ron felt a small grin spreading across his face.

"That just might work."

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed issue 5 of The Unstoppable Batman. Sorry for not getting an issue out last month but things got crazy and I wasn't able to get it out in time.

I hope there isn't too much disappointment that I didn't go to in depth with Ron's training. I just felt that it's something that would take a lot longer to go over than I wanted to spend there. And I can always make call backs in later issues to things Ron was taught there as needed.

But if you are curious; the overall curriculum that Ron was given was.

Combat Training.

Stealth and Deception.

Tactics.

Meditation.

Philosophy.

Those are the big points that he would have hit on during the training. I wanted Ron to come out of his months at Yamanouchi as a capable warrior but not be completely over powered. After all he was only there a few months, and I'm a big fan of Batman stories where he isn't an unstoppable machine. Like Batman Year One, he's capable and more than a match for almost any thug he meets on the street but he's not invincible. I just find that makes the story more interesting to me.

Anyway, next issue. Ron and Kim meet up again. We find out about something else that Ron brought home with him from Yamanouchi. And Ron will suit up for the first time. And Triton and the lives of Ron and his friends and family will change forever. Whether they know it yet or not.

Hope to see you all back here next time. Same Bat-Fic, Same Bat-site.