Kimdom Come continues with the calm before the storm. (kinda long)
by Gavok
A younger Kim Kaphwan and a living Geese Howard were locked in an epic struggle. A beaten and bloody Iori Yagami was their witness as the two attempted to tear each other limb from limb.
Geese countered one of Kim's kicks and slammed him to the ground. He then lifted his hands into the air.
"RAGING... STORM!"
As he slamming the palms of his hands into the ground. The white blast of the attack exploded throughout the nightmarish environment, completely consuming Iori. Most of Iori's body became vaporized from the Raging Storm, leaving only a skeleton with red hair.
[---]
Watching this scenario on a monitor, Iori started getting very uneasy.
"No! NO! No, this... this didn't happen! This never happened!" He tried to get out of his chair, but he was strapped in.
Adon, the only other person in the room, paced behind him. "No, you're right. It didn't happen. But it could have. Things like this happen all the time in this world. It's all the martial artists' fault." Adon pulled out a syringe and tapped the needle. "They're all so very evil, aren't they? Look at the destruction they leave in their wake. And you were one of them, weren't you, Iori?"
"I... No! I wasn't..."
"Of course. My mistake. No, in your heart, you're a pacifist. You hate violence. But that damned Orochi blood within you... If only." Adon slammed the syringe deep into the side of Iori's neck. Iori's eyes rolled into the back of his head. "If only there was a way to repress your violent blood."
A dizzied Iori started drooling. He was more than likely unable to follow Adon anymore.
"Shi... Shi... Sh..."
Adon laughed. "No, no, no. Not yet, Iori. It's not time yet." He admired the needle. "Ah, truly this was Nerdy Birdie's greatest creation. Don't you think? It's a shame Jin Kazama had him dropped into a volcano. But then again, I have a better underling now." He patted Iori on the back.
"Huh...?" Iori shook his head and started smiling. "What am I doing here?"
Adon undid the restraints and helped him up. "We have some guests. Get our guests some drinks, on the double."
"You got it, sir!"
[---]
Not so far away, Smart Chang leaned over a railing to watch the mass assembly of dozens of Changbots. Adon exited a nearby room with an optimistic Iori. The two parted and Adon walked towards Smart Chang. He joined him in leaning over the railing.
"Magnificent, aren't they?"
"Of course," Smart Chang said. "I created them."
"Heheh. With your brain and my resources, Kaphwan won't have a chance. But enough of this. Please, follow me."
Smart Chang followed his ally into a boardroom. The room featured a very large roundtable. Sitting around it were not only The Evilest Badguys Ever Other Than Geese Howard, but Smart Chang's followers. This included some of the recruits that Billy Kane had picked up at the Re-Employment Center for Budgeted Talent, such as Baby Bonnie Hood, Rainbow Mika, Doom Guy and Siegfried. Iori Yagami loomed around the area, passing out drinks, but those from Smart Chang's side were very uneasy with his company.
Adon admired Smart Chang's followers. "An interesting set of company you keep."
Smart Chang sat down. "But reliable and powerful."
"You said it," Lucky said. "We's unstoppable like some kind of juggling astronaut."
"INCONCEIVABLE!"
"My bad. I mean 'juggernaut'."
Billy Kane leaned back. "Yep. All we need is the signal and we'll naffin' attack faster than you can say 'I wish I could tear him apart!'"
"Here's your coffee, sir." Iori handed a cup to Billy and moved on.
Billy shook his fist. "I wish I could tear him apart!"
"Good to hear," Adon said. "I hate to keep you all in the dark, but I will reveal when you all will be needed soon enough."
Smart Chang pet his short beard. "I take it your plan has something to do with Kimcatraz?"
"As a matter of fact it does. Very smart indeed."
Smart Chang stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I need to use the bathroom. Which way is it, again?"
Hyo pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Down the hall and last one on the right."
"Thank you."
[---]
Smart Chang, unbeknownst to anyone else, wasn't actually leaving to use the latrine, but to meet an old ally. In an alleyway in-between that building and another, Smart Chang met with a man wearing a long, black coat and a black cap that seemed to merge with his hair.
"Jotaro."
"Not so loud!" he told Chang. Usually known for his cool demeanor, Jotaro Kujo was incredibly jitterly. "I... I tot-totally came."
"You need to calm down."
"N-no! I can't!" Jotaro looked around in fear. "I've heard about what Kimcatraz is like. Last I checked, that reekazoid Jhun Hoon is still mad with me. I can't let him take me in!"
Smart Chang put his hand on Jotaro's shoulder. "Shh... It's okay. Just calm down. You remember why I asked you here, right?"
"Y-yeah. I don't know if I can do this. B-b-but I do want to help."
"You'll do just fine. Just do what you do best. I'm positive that Jhun will not catch wind of you being here."
"Positive?"
"I'm smart, aren't I?"
"Okay." Jotaro took a deep breath. "Here I go."
He ran around the corner and near the entrance to the building. Star Platinum appeared over his shoulder, invisible to most others. An instant later, he ran back to Smart Chang, carrying a vial of red liquid.
"H-here you go, Chang." He handed the vial to him. "I don't think anyone saw me. Listen, I need to go. I don't feel safe at all. Plus I hear Jolyne's gotten herself arrested and I need to see what that's about."
Smart Chang nodded and looked him in the eyes. "You helped me greatly today, Jotaro Kujo. I wish you good luck on your future endeavors."
Jotaro had stopped time and ran off. Smart Chang wasn't sure which direction he left towards, but he didn't care. Instead, he studied the contents of the blood sample Jotaro had acquired for him.
Without even using a microscope, Smart Chang narrowed his eyes and said, "Interesting."
[---]
Terry handed Kim the telephone. "It's for you."
"Thanks." Kim put the phone to his ear. "Hello? The... the White House? In America? Why would he want to talk to me? You see, I'm a little busy with... Oh. That's why. I'll be there in a couple hours, then."
Kim hung up.
"What was that about?" May Lee asked.
"President Haggar insists that I see him. I guess it's to congratulate me on the awesome progress of Kimcatraz."
"I... don't know about that, Kim."
Elsewhere in the room, Rikimaru, Leona and Cool Choi conversed.
"I just think that Image is a troublemaker," Leona said. "He and the rest of his Wolfpack. And tossing them into Kimcatraz, which is full as it is, is a bad, bad idea."
"I agree," Cool Choi said. "To be honest, I don't know if this Kimcatraz thing is a cool idea in the first place."
"Choi, please put some pants on."
"No."
Kim walked over. "What are you guys talking about?"
Rikimaru looked nervous. "We are talking about baseball and certainly not second guessing your idiotic idea--"
Leona placed her hand over Rikimaru's mask, somehow silencing him.
Kim crossed his arms. "Is that so?"
"Wait!" Cool Choi tilted his head and squinted. "Everybody stay still." He slowly started walking in the direction of Jae, Dong and Calypso. Calypso, realizing what was about to happen, vanished.
You see, Cool Choi was cool. Really cool. What Jae and Dong didn't realize was that he was so cool that one plane of existence couldn't even contain him. His coolness transcended realities, not unlike Christopher Walken and Jack Black. He neared the confused Jae and Dong and used his talons to hook their doboks and pull them into his world.
"What the hell?" Jhun Hoon asked. "Are those Kim's kids?"
Leona grabbed Dong by the collar and held back her fist. "It's a trick. Get an axe."
Kim placed his foot before her fist. "Please. I know my own children when I see them."
"Dad!" both sons cheered, hugging him.
"I'm glad to see you guys too. My how you've grown."
Jae was first to draw away from his father. "Dad, you need to stop."
"Stop what? And how did you guys get in here? And where have you been all this time? If your mother still existed, she'd be worried sick."
Dong tried his hardest to explain everything. "Listen, there's all this bad stuff that's going to happen. Jae and I have been getting these visions and there's going to be this white fire from the sky and we already saw that Kyo was going to explode and Smart Chang and there's Adon and Ior--"
"Kids, kids. I'll be fine." Kim patted his sons on the shoulders. "Now you two scamps go off and play. We're busy doing adult things here."
Dong rolled his eyes. "I'm 28!"
Jae rubbed his temples. "Dad, you're not listening to us! Something bad is going to--"
"Holy crap!" Samus Bounge interrupted, watching a monitor.
"What is it?" May Lee asked before Kim could.
"There's a huge riot at Kimcatraz! In fact, I think they just found a way out!"
Kim gasped. "But Kain told me there was no way out."
"He forgot to mention a clearly marked exit, apparently. All the reformees thought it was a trap, but an overly desperate Clark just realized it's legit."
As Kim tried to think of something, May Lee shouted out orders. "Samus! You and your husband go to the site and try to control the riot! Jhun and Terry! You guys go with her!"
"Who put you in charge?" Jhun asked.
"Who cares?! This is urgent! Go!"
Jhun and Terry looked to each other and shrugged before leaving with Cool Choi and Samus.
"What was that?" Kim asked sternly.
"It's called taking incentive. Face it, Kim. You're slipping. Kimcatraz was a lousy idea and I don't want to end up paying for it. I'm not going to sit here and wait for this team's leadership to fall into oblivion. If it means stepping up, then so be it."
Kim stood there, dumbfounded.
"Now let's get to the White House. You have that appointment, don't you?"
"Fine. We'll discuss this later. Let me just say goodbye to my..." Kim turned around. "...kids?"
Leona looked around. "They were here just a second ago."
Rikimaru whistled. "Those are some nice stealth skills, if you ask me."
Calypso led Jae and Dong away. "Let's try not interfering again, okay?"
They both groaned. "Yes, Mr. Calypso."
[---]
President Mike Haggar looked across his desk in the Oval Office to see Kim Kaphwan and May Lee standing side-by-side. "I'm sure you know why I want to speak with you."
Kim beamed. "Because of the amazing job that we're doing with Kimcatraz, right?"
"Wrong."
Kim's smile died down.
"'We' aren't doing anything. It's just you and your hoodlum friends."
May Lee frowned. "I take exception to that."
"Too bad. I run the United States of America. Now I've been talking with all the other world leaders and we all agree: this thing stinks."
"What thing?" Kim asked, oblivious.
"You using Seoul to harbor more criminals. I'll be honest with you, Kaphwan. I never agreed with this reforming idea. Thought it was a bad idea since the beginning. I bet if we put Yagami and Yamazaki to death, none of this mayhem would have happened. I don't mind a little vigilantism. I'd be a hypocrite if I said different. But I can't condone your attempt to police the entire world."
May Lee tried to ease the President. "It's okay, Mr. President. I can assure you that everything will work out fine."
Haggar clasped his hands and whispered to himself, "You have no idea." He addressed the two again. "Now get out of my sight. I have a very important meeting to attend."
[---]
Adon addressed the members of his awesome alliance. "Everyone, good news! The time has come! A riot's erupted and Kimcatraz is ready to blow at any moment!"
"That's not all," Smart Chang smiled.
"Oh?"
"I just saved a ton of money by switching to Geico."
"Uh... right." Adon turned to Iori, who looked at his boss nervously. "Now all we need is for a certain somebody to crack open Kimcatraz and let the beautiful insides out to eliminate Kim's friends. Right, Iori?"
"Wh-what? You want me to...? But with all that stuff you talked to me about?"
Adon patted Iori's right cheek. "Iori, my boy. We agreed that all these fighters are evil and too dangerous to exist, right? But if you do this for me -- for us -- they'll all wipe each other out. The only winners in all of this will be everybody in this room. Don't you see?"
"I... I don't know about..."
Just then, a large iron ball swung over and nailed both Adon and Iori, knocking both of them to the floor. Adon crawled to his feet while Iori remained on his back.
"Smart Chang, what are you doing?!"
Smart Chang looked down at Iori. Rather than try to fight back or get angry, Iori just started whimpering like a hurt puppy. He tried whispering something, but couldn't because of Smart Chang stepping on his throat.
"Shi... Shh... Shi-n..."
"What the naff?" Billy asked. "All this time we've been in mortal fear of Iori Yagami and he's just a red-haired wussy?"
Smart Chang nodded to Billy while keeping his foot on Iori. "Exactly. I suspected from the beginning, but Jotaro helped me prove it. Those of you who have ever read Iori Yagami's profile know that he abhors violence, yet he partakes in it regularly because of his Orochi-infested blood. I had Jotaro turn off time and get a blood sample from Iori. As I had expected, Adon has been 'deforming' him to his side by using traumatic images and injecting him with a serum that suppresses Iori's violent blood."
Adon showed Smart Chang sneer #77 (the "What the hell?!" sneer). "But... but I thought we had a deal! We were going to kill dest--"
"Destroy Kim Kaphwan? Thanks, but no thanks. The only reason I joined you was to see where Iori stood in all of this. In this formula of a global conflict, Iori Yagami was the x-variable. And I make it my hobby to solve any and all x-variables I come across. Because I'm smart. Bitch."
Axl Low pulled out his kusari-gama. "So, I take it that's the signal?"
Smart Chang smiled. "That's the signal. Go to it."
Chang's faction, who outgunned and outnumbered the EBEOTGH, jumped into action. Goenitz tried to summon his mighty winds in defense, but Siegfried immediately hit him upside the head with his giant sword. The dazed Goenitz staggered around until Heavy D! punched him right between the eyes.
Ayane tried running away, but BB Hood kicked one of her mines into Ayane's path, easily neutralizing her.
Hyo reached for his sword, but Rainbow Mika rushed and tackled him to the floor. Almost instantly, she maneuvered him into the Sharpshooter.
"RAINBOOOOOOOW!!"
Hyo started tapping his hand into the carpet. "Uncle!"
Doom Guy sat in the corner of the room, watching Athena and Sie Kensou fend for themselves. Doom Guy looked at the guns he brought with him.
"Boomstick? Too old school. BFG? Too messy. Ah! Perfect for Doom Guy!"
He stood up and aimed his weapon at Athena and Sie. He pulled the trigger.
Doom Guy lowered his nail gun to see Sie and Athena both stuck to the wall, their clothing pinned by the nails.
"Doom Guy lousy shot," he frowned.
"Psst! Athena!" Sie whispered. "Can't you teleport out of this and escape?"
"What, are you kidding me? I think they'd find a woman running through the streets in her underwear a little conspicuous. Besides, it's cold out there."
Sie snickered. "Yeah. Right. 'Underwear'. If you say so."
Athena growled. "I told you to stop reading my mind!"
Hwoarang was about to go at Billy Kane when Axl Low tossed a strange projectile at him from behind. Before Hwoarang knew what hit him, he found himself covered in chains and suspended from the ceiling.
Axl pointed to Billy. "Break the piñata, bro."
Billy's staff seemed to multiply as Billy jumped, held it up and swatted Hwoarang upside the head with it.
Adon, on the other hand, seemed to be able to slip out the door.
"He's getting away!" Smart Chang yelled. "Lucky, press the button!"
"With pleasure." Lucky held up a basketball and opened it up like a suitcase, revealing a glowing red button. Lucky pressed it down and grinned.
Meanwhile, while Smart Chang was distracted, Iori grabbed his foot and shoved him off. He got up and scrambled out the door.
"Sh... Shi-- *cough*"
Smart Chang got up and gave chase. "Iori! Wait!"
[---]
Adon ran through a corridor, in the direction of his escape segway. As he ran, Lucky Glauber was pressing the button on his basketball remote control.
Wow, I am so the first person to ever write that sentence.
clang
"What?" Adon asked nobody in particular.
clang *clang* clang
He saw several pairs of red eyes looking at him from one end of the hallway. He turned around and ran back the other way.
clang *clang* clang *clang*
He saw more red eyes staring at him from the other way. As they neared, he realized his horrible fate. Adon fell to the floor and got into fetal position while sucking on his thumb.
The surrounding legion of Changbots closed in.
[---]
"Iori, come back!" Smart Chang yelled, chasing him through Adon's complex. "You don't need to run! You don't need to suffer anymore! Listen to me!"
But Iori refused to listen. Like a scared animal, he continued to bolt away from Smart Chang. He didn't pay attention to where he was going, hence he eventually ended up back in that same room where he and Adon would spend their "quality time".
"Please, Iori! I can help you! I'm smart, remember?"
Iori turned around and ran backwards, noticing that Smart Chang was gaining. He accidentally ran into a rack hanging off the wall, causing the glass jars on it to shatter and its contents to fall onto him.
He looked down and immediately freaked out. Those were the jars where Adon kept his syringes. While none of them seemed to pierce into Iori, the image itself drove Iori over the edge. At once, his Orochi blood boiled and overcame any suppressants in his system. Iori grabbed onto his red hair and started exhaling smoke. Loud enough to reach several blocks, Iori stood to his feet and screamed.
"Sh... SH... SHI-NE!!!"
Smart Chang was knocked back by an explosion of purple flame. As the coast cleared, all Smart Chang could see was a hole in the wall shaped like Iori.
"Done and done." Billy grabbed Smart Chang and jumped upward and off-screen.
[---]
Kim walked in on May Lee getting dressed. She had discarded her shiny sweatpants and frog t-shirt for a Power Rangers uniform.
"I'm not sure how I feel about this," Kim told her.
"Too bad. A sentai is always prepared. As you said, we're at war."
"We were at war, May. Now we've won. So there's a little riot going on. It'll die down and they'll all be ready to learn about justice again. Right?"
"Again, a sentai is always prepared. Even if it means maximum justice through maximum force."
Kim's face shadowed over. "I will not condone acts of lethal force, May. That's way over the line. We're better than that."
May Lee put her green helmet on and shoved her finger into Kim's chest. "But they aren't! And I'm not going to go easy on them and give them the chance to destroy the world!"
Kim pushed her finger off his chest. "Well, you know what I think of your sentai code?"
Before he could tell her, the phone rang.
"It's Jhun," Leona said.
"Put him on speaker," Kim told her.
"Hello?!" Jhun screamed on the line.
"Jhun, what's wrong?" Kim asked.
"Kim! It's a disaster! This is worse than we thought it'd be! There are too many of them!" His words started gaining static. "They... they killed Terry Bogard."
"What?" May Lee gasped.
"I SAID THEY KILLED TERRY BOGARD!" Jhun calmed down. "And now they're trying to make Cool Choi wear pants! We need backup! For the love of tae kwon do, we need backup!" There was a moment of silence. "Oh, you want a piece of me? Bring it, you disco-dancing ninja frea--"
The call ended.
Kim picked up the receiver and yelled into it. "Jhun! JHUN!"
Just then, Kyosuke walked through the room, holding his cell phone to his head. "Can you hear me now?"
Leona grabbed Kyosuke by the neck, pulled out a handful of earrings, shoved them down his throat and tossed him out the window. Two seconds later, there was a loud explosion outside, followed by a car alarm going off.
Rikimaru walked over to the window, pulled out a small remote and turned off the alarm.
Leona crossed her arms. "Good."
Kim sat down for a second. What Jhun said was too heavy for him. "Terry... gone, just like that."
May Lee looked down at him. "So what should we do, fearless leader?"
"I... I have no idea."
"Well, I do. Everybody, let's go down to Kimcatraz and kick some ass!"
"Yeah!" J.P. Polnareff cheered. He seemed optimistic despite having metal legs and only one eye.
"Let's do this!" Mr. Driller exclaimed.
Rikimaru raised his hand. "Um... we can't take my car, though."
As they all left, led by May Lee, Kim remained, sitting in his mansion. Things remained completely silent as he thought to himself. Then inspiration struck. He stood up and stepped towards the window. With one knee up, he jumped out and flew off into the sky.
[---]
Smart Chang was alone in his laboratory, making some calculations. He heard a loud noise coming from the ceiling that sounded like some kind of woodpecker breaking through. Instead, it was Kim, kicking through the ceiling and landing in the middle of the lab.
"I need your help."
Smart Chang sighed. "Kim, we've been through this already."
Kim angrily slapped some test tubes off a counter. "Shut up, Chang! This isn't the time to get smart with me! I--"
Smart Chang started snickering.
"What's so funny?"
"'This isn't the time to get smart with me.' Heh."
Kim paused. "Ha! I didn't even catch that!" He shook his head and got back into character. "Kimcatraz is ready to blow and we need to stop it!"
"I know." Smart Chang turned his back on Kim. "But have you ever thought that maybe it's for the best? The reformees get loose, a big brawl takes place, and the fighter population takes a deep dive. All in all, it would make the world a more peaceful place for the pacifists."
"Don't you dare give me that!" Kim grabbed Smart Chang by the shoulder and spun him around. Kim looked him in the eye. "Your brain may think this is the best choice, but your heart says different, doesn't it? Because I know you, Chang. Maybe not as much as Choi, but I know you better than even you do! And you're above this."
"Am I really?"
"You're not a killer, Chang! Whether fat, lean, dumb, smart, evil, or good, you're not a killer! You never were! Even back before I met you, you weren't a murderer! If you strip away the chains and the iron ball and the facial hair, you have a man who doesn't want to see anybody die. That's the one thing you and I have always had in common and the one thing that made me believe that I could turn you to the right path. And I know I did!"
Smart Chang looked downward, taking in what Kim said.
"It's not too late, Chang. We can still do this. We can band together, go to Seoul, get Choi and bring back the greatest team to ever grace the King of Fighters. Team Korea can fight together one last time!"
Smart Chang considered this momentarily, but then sat back down at his console. "It's not so simple, Kim. You forgot about Iori Yagami."
"Iori? What does he have to do with anything?"
"Adon brainwashed him. Now he's going crazy and plans to break open Kimcatraz. He's probably more dangerous now than he's ever been. Even if you and I fought together, I'm not sure if we could take him dow..." Smart Chang turned around and saw only a dust cloud shaped like Kim. It immediately dissipated.
"Huh. I didn't even get to tell him about all the money I saved switching to Geico."
[---]
One last installment of Kimdom Come Who's Who:
Geese Howard = Darkseid
Rock Howard = Orion
Kain Heinlein = Mr. Miracle
Khushnood Butt = Deadman
Jotaro Kujo = Martian Manhunter
Next installment: the shit hits the fan.
Gavok
Posted on Mar 13, 2004, 9:18 PM from IP address 66.66.42.236