The Jade Warrior

Raging Storm

*At the Weather Station*

At the Weather Station, MK landed in front of Red Son with a determined glare. "Not so fast, Red Son!"

Red Son smirked, his flaming hair flickering menacingly. "Noodle Boy! I thought I smelled garbage. Turns out I was right!" He let out a mocking laugh, his voice dripping with disdain.

MK clenched his fist around the Golden Staff. "You’re laughing now, but I’m invincible! So yeah, you're basically toast. Prepare to get M.K.O'd!"

From behind him, Mei cheered, bouncing excitedly. "Yeah, MK! You show him who's bos-" Her words were cut off as the Golden Staff swung wide and smacked her right in the head.

Pigsy screamed, ducking for cover. "Jeez, watch what'cha doing!"

MK winced. "Sorry, Mei!"

The staff spiraled out of control, narrowly missing Pigsy and Tang before swinging straight into Sandy with a loud thud.

Sandy rubbed his side, groaning. "Oh… my chakra..."

Tang gasped dramatically, his hands flying to his head. "Oh no! You’ve killed him!"

Mei shrugged, rubbing her forehead. "Eh, he’s a big guy. He’ll be fine."

Red Son rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed with the chaos. "You dorks done beating each other up yet?"

MK shook his head, regaining his focus. "Yes! And you’re next on my list!" With a swift motion, he hurled the Golden Staff at Red Son, the weapon extending rapidly. It jabbed into the ground, sending Mk flying out of the Weather Station with a startled scream.

As Mk was launched into the sky, his voice echoed back. Red Son couldn't help but laugh "I guess the garbage takes itself out now!" His laughter trailing off as Mk plummets.

MK crashing into the ground like a small meteor, only standing up a little bit later "Owwwww~"

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps reached his ears, and MK looked up to see Monkey King leaning against the side of the building, grinning very awkwardly. "How you doing there, bud?"

MK's face lit up. "Monkey King! Great! Now that you're here, we can go fly up there and smash-"

Monkey King cut him off with a lazy wave of his hand. "No, no, no, no, no. In case you forgot, I’m retired. You’re supposed to be taking care of the bad guys now, remember? Besides, you're invincible, right?"

MK hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, yeah, I mean, I am invincible, but… every time I try to do anything, I just mess everything up. Something’s wrong." Monkey King jumped onto MK's shoulders, balancing effortlessly.

"Hey, what are you doing?" MK asked, trying to look up.

Monkey King tapped his head, pretending to be deep in thought. "Oh yeah, you’re right. This is bad. Something's really wrong."

MK's heart sank. "What? What's wrong?"

Monkey King hopped down in front of him, flicking him lightly on the forehead. "It’s you, dummy."

MK blinked in confusion. "What?"

"In order to have full control of your powers, you need self-confidence," Monkey King explained.

MK puffed out his chest, looking offended. "I’ve got self-confidence!"

"No," Monkey King corrected, wagging a finger, "you’re just loud. The only way to get real self-confidence is-"

"Fake it ’til I make it?" MK suggested, hopefully.

Monkey King sighed, shaking his head. "No! Practice! You think I took shortcuts? It took me centuries of training and fighting. Just beating up demons. So many demons…" He trailed off, coughing awkwardly. "Anyway, nothing worth anything comes for free."

MK’s face fell. "But what about my friends? The city? They’re all counting on me."

Monkey King groaned, rolling his eyes. "Fine, fine. If it’ll stop your whining. I know a way to limit your powers so you can learn to control them. But…"

MK leaned in, listening intently. "But what?"

"You won’t be invincible anymore," Monkey King warned, his tone serious for once.

MK let out a long sigh, glancing at the chaos unfolding around him. He couldn’t afford to keep messing up like this. "Alright, let’s do it."

Monkey King nodded, clapping his hands together. "No turning back." He pressed his palms forward, sending a wave of energy toward MK. The force pushed MK back, and he stumbled, feeling his powers wane. He fell to his knees, catching his breath as the sensation settled.

"You feeling alright, bud?" Monkey King asked, raising an eyebrow.

MK stood up slowly, testing the waters. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

A familiar, mocking voice rang out from red son as Mk landed in the building..

"Peasants, Back to beat yourself up some more?" Red Son says smiling

MK tightened his grip on the Golden Staff. "Hey! I’ll have you know, I can control my powers now. Only downside is… I’m not invincible anymore. So, you know… I could die."

From somewhere behind him, Pigsy screamed in panic. "What?!"

MK shot him a reassuring look. "Forget I said that. I got this!" He spun the staff around confidently. "Here comes Monkie Kid!"

Red Son charged, summoning a horde of Bull Clones from the sky. MK’s eyes widened, and he immediately turned tail. "I totally don’t got this!" he yelled, running for cover as the clones rained down.

Red Son cackled, slamming MK into the side of the Weather Station with a blast of fire. MK groaned, picking himself up and looking around at the swarm of Bull Clones approaching. "How am I supposed to fight all of them?" He squinted, focusing, and everything slowed down as it turned gold.

Through the strange golden vision, he noticed the storm swirling above. A smile crept onto his face. "That’s it!"

But before he could act, the clones piled on top of him. MK groaned beneath the weight.

Red Son landed on top of the clone pile, laughing triumphantly. "Not so tough without all your Monkey King powers, are you?!"

Suddenly, the Golden Staff shot up, extending rapidly and sending all the clones flying. Red Son was launched high into the sky, screaming in surprise.

MK scrambled to the control console and spotted a bright, flashing button. "Oh, look! A lightning button!" He slammed it with his palm.

A massive bolt of lightning shot down from the clouds, electrocuting the remaining Bull Clones. MK dove behind the console, covering his head as the storm raged.

When the dust settled, Red Son hit the ground with a thud. Smoke curled from his hair as he struggled to his feet. "You may have won this round, but... you’re still garbage!" He vanished in a fiery tornado, his laugh echoing in the distance.

MK stood up, grinning triumphantly. "Let’s get this place back to normal." He flipped the console’s controls, and the storm quickly cleared, revealing a sunny sky once more. "And that should do it."

Before he could relax, Mei slammed into him with a hug. "MK! You really did it!"

Sandy followed, clapping him on the back. "Aw, you really did limit your power."

MK chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. Just until I learn to control them better."

Pigsy crossed his arms, eyeing him skeptically. "And how are you gonna do that?"

MK smiled sheepishly. "Practice, practice, practice." He playfully bumped himself in the head with the Golden Staff as his friends laughed around him.

"Their you go kid!" Wukong suddenly says, appearing with a speedy dash. He wipes a bead of sweat from his temple... however it is short lived as all the glass in the Weather Station tower shatters.

Outside the station, all anyone saw was a massive beacon of green light emitting from mountains in the distance.

"Isn't that where the Jade Warrior guy is?" Mk says as Wukong nods his head, getting into a fighting position. Which he needed to do, because as soon as he blinked. A massive glaive was being swung at his neck.

"Secure Wukong"