The Monkey's Tail

First off, I want to apologize. I had added a section explaining why it was taking me a while to update the story. That changed the last update "date." After the Mods saw it, I had to remove it or risk having the entire story deleted.



"'Author's Notes' chapters are no longer allowed in the archive."



Anywho. Here is the update.



For Angel



Please remember that Steve Barkin is doing most of the talking while he finishes up his story, unless otherwise noted. I got tired of typing "Steve said, or Steve replied." after every other line. And please, let me know what you think.



Thanks to Lesmistress and RuneMan over at Palcomix Forum for proof reading.



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After he finished, Steve sat there in silence for a couple of minutes.

Kim looked at him and decided that he looked like he was here in the present. She waited for him to continue. She looked at Ron and saw that he was staring at one of the shuttered windows, being just as quiet as Steve.

" I ah....I need to go and wash my hands. Where is your .....?" asked Steve.

Before he could finish his question, Kim told him it was down the short hallway and to the left.

After Steve was out of earshot, she looked back to Ron again, wanting to ask a question that she wasn't sure she wanted answered.

"Ron?" she asked, "If the same....."

"Yes. I would have." he replied, still staring at that shuttered window. He sounded like his mind was a world away.

"But I didn't finish the question." stated Kim.

"You didn't have to." he said as he turned back to her. "If someone ever did anything to hurt you, there is nothing in this world that could stop me from tracking them down and making sure that they know what kind of pain they inflicted on you. I would have done the same thing that Steve did. I'm sorry if that changes your feelings towards me, to know that I would get revenge, but it's who I am."
"I'm Jewish, remember." he said as he tried to smile. "We started the whole "eye for an eye," thing." He then turned back to looking at the shuttered window.

Kim looked at her clasped hands in her lap, sighed and then reached out to touch his shoulder.
"Ron, I would have done the same thing too." she said softly.

When he turned to look her in the eyes, she continued. "When you were in the hospital, your heart stopped and I thought you were dea.........When I thought Monkey Fist had kil.........When I thought you had passed, I was going to go after him. If I could have gotten my hands on him, I would have beaten him until his face turned into a bloody pulp and then I would have kept on beating him till I couldn't lift my arms any more. It wouldn't have mattered if he were alive or not." She was almost in tears at this point.

Ron reached out, pulled her into his arms, hugged and held her.

"I know that isn't how we should be. But that's what I would have done." she finished when she was able.

"Kim, that doesn't make us bad." Ron whispered to her.

"No. It just makes us human." replied Kim as she and Ron closed their eyes and touched their foreheads together.

A moment later, Steve walked back into the room. Seeing the two so silent brought him up short. Clearing his throat, he approached them and said, "Listen, if you two don't want me along after what I just said, I'll understand. I just thought you should know what kind of person I really ......."

Before he could finish, Kim had jumped up off the couch and had him in a big hug. Ron gave him a smile and a thumbs up.

"So, how did you go from being a Global Justice agent and Ninja to becoming a school teacher?" asked Ron after Kim finally released her grip on Steve and had sat back down.

Steve had sat back down in the chair and began again.
"When I got back, I had to go through more security measures than if I were going to see the President, with a loaded gun." said Steve. "At first they didn't believe I was who I said I was. After my finger prints came back and proved my identity, it took them almost 4 months for them to make sure that I hadn't been captured and brain washed."

"You mean they kept you confined for 4 months?" asked Ron as he imagined Mr. Barkin wearing a straight jacket in a padded room for that long of time.


"Oh, no." replied Steve. "During that time, I was assigned quarters in the complex. I had full access to the gym, cafeteria and library. The only problem was when I wasn't being tested or questioned, I had three agents "escorting," me from place to place. Two senior agents following 15' behind me and a probationary agent at my side. If I tried anything, the two in back would have had time to alert the complex and attempt to subdue me. It was more or less a test to see what I would or would not do. I'm sure there were more agents tailing us that I never saw."

"The two in back rotated with others and I hardly ever talked to them, but the probationary agent stayed the same and we talk a lot. It helped that she seemed to be interested in what I had to say as opposed to what I didn't say." continued Steve. "You see, in my report and during all of my debriefings, I never told them the location of where I was or any names except for Yori's. I told them I would only disclose that info to Director Waverly. I wasn't willing to betray Sensei's trust in me. Over time, I started calling the Probationary Agent, MPP. It stood for "my personal probie, or I just called her, Probie." She in turned started calling me "Boss," since I determined where we went during my personal time."

"After the Psych boys felt that I wasn't brain washed, I lost the two chaperones in back and a meeting was set up for me with the Director. Probie still had to escort me everywhere, but she waited in the hall outside Waverly's aids office when I went in for my meeting. He was not a happy camper."

"As soon as I closed the door and stood at attention, he read me the riot act, about filling out reports in full and responding to my supervisor's questions while being debriefed. After going over about how they had almost as much clearance as he did, he finally sat down and told me to report on what I left out."

"I said one word," said Steve. "Yamanouchi." The old man indicated me to stop by holding up his hand. He then went to the door, opened it and told his aid to go get himself a cup of coffee. After closing the door he moved to stand in front of me and in a low whisper, he asked "Master Sensei?" When I nodded yes, he then asked me another question."

"Then the girl's name, your wife's name, was Kiyone?" Director Waverly asked.

"The old man surprised me enough that all I could do was reply with another nod. He then seemed to deflate till he looked like an old man. He walked over and started looking at some photos he had hanging on his wall. After a few minutes, he returned to his desk and sat down."

"Agent Barkin, I want you to fill out a full report on this incident. Leave nothing out, and return it to me. On my desk by 0700. I'll send for you in the afternoon. This report will be for restricted for now. Continue keeping this to yourself until I tell you different. Understood?"

" Yes Sir." I replied." said Steve. "He had me more off balance than I had ever been. I started to ask him how he knew about Sensei, but he dismissed me before I had the chance. I went back to my quarters and filled out the report. I left nothing out. I had it on his desk at 0630. At 1300 hours, I was told to report back at his office."

"When I got there, escorted by Probie, his aid directed us to a conference room at the far end of the hall. When we entered, I found three other people sitting at the opposite side of the table, the old man was standing at one end."

"He stood and said, "I have called these people together to conduct a Tribunal of Inquiry and Justice concerning inappropriate actions by Agent Barkin. These three, the head of the legal department, the head of research and development, and the head of the computer department, will conduct the inquiry and will render a verdict. I will execute out that verdict. I need one more person to act as a guard during these proceedings. Do you have any objection to the probationary agent filling that spot?""


"If I had thought the Director had me confused before, I was wrong. I was expecting to be kick out on my keister and into jail or a full blown departmental trial with me standing there in handcuffs, but all I could do was stand there and nod my head."

"Probie had become a friend, but it was time she learned the truth about me."

"I was told to sit at the table across from the three department heads. My report was read to me and I was asked if I wanted to change any of it. When I told them no, they spent the next three hours asking me all kinds of questions concerning it. What kind of jets were we fighting? Did I know where we were when I tried my landing? When did I remember who I was? Did I ever try and find out who I was? Etcetera."

"When they said they were done, Director Waverly leaned forward and asked me one more question. What did I whisper in Kiyone's ear just before she passed away?"

"I replied that I told her that she was Mrs. Steven Barkin, and she could tell her ancestors her true name. That she was married to a man that knew who he was and what he had to do. And that I loved her. I knew that would be important to her in the afterlife, when she met her ancestors, that she was not married to a man that had no name."

"After that, I was told to return to my quarters and wait for their decision. Probie was to stand guard and make sure that I had no contact with anyone. That included between us. I didn't have to wait long. Two hours later we were summoned back."

"Standing before the three, the head of R & D, read the charges and verdict."

"On the charge of wrongful death of Agent Buzz Flyboy, I was found innocent. The Doctors determined the fatal round severed the main artery in his leg. The only question there was how he managed to hold on as long as he did. They didn't know Buzz. I was also given a letter of thanks from his family, for bringing back his remains. It gave them closure."
"On the charge of failure to return with the information in a timely manner, I was found innocent. The case of amnesia cleared me on that."
"On the charge the wrongful death of Dr Chicago, a man that had surrendered to me, thus placing himself into my custody, I was found guilty."

"It was their recommendations, that I be held responsible for financial compensations not to exceed 3 million dollars to his widow and orphans. That I not be allowed to be a member of GJ for a period of five years and that a letter of reprimand be included in my permanent record. They would leave it in the hands of Director Waverly to care out the sentence."

"Director Waverly then collected all of the copies of the proceedings and all paperwork, including the all copies of my report. He then thanked the three heads for attending the seminar on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace and hoped they had learned something and would make sure that it didn't happen in their departments."

"Huh?" asked Ron looking puzzled. "Wait......What seminar?"

"It was the Director's way of accounting for their whereabouts during the trial. It also informed them that what had happened, was to never be talked about again." said Kim. "Right Mr. Barkin?"

"Right." answered Steve.

"After they left, Probie was ordered to escort me and I was to follow the Director back to his office. Once we got there, the he put all of the paperwork in a small compartment in the wall near his desk. He went back to another wall and was looking at some pictures when he asked me if I wanted to know why we just had those hearings. When I replied I did, he motioned me to come closer to him. He was still looking at a photograph when he said he was too close to the case to give an impartial judgment. I looked at the photo he was looking at and saw a Japanese couple surrounding a younger version of the Director. He was holding a baby. The woman looked like an older version of Kiyone and the man was a young Sensei. "My goddaughter and her parents." He told me, as he went to sit behind his desk.

"Now, as to the sentencing." said Director Waverly. "Dr Chicago was such an egotist, that he never considered having a friend, let alone a woman, willing to marry him. No widow, no orphans, no financial compensations. Not be allowed to be a member of GJ for a period of five years. Well, you've been missing for over six years. Those five can come out of those. That way, we will only owe you for one year plus back pay. And your letter of reprimand," he said as he wrote some down on a counseling form. " Try to do better." There I think that takes care of everything."

"Then I heard a "ding!" Director Waverly reached over and opened the compartment that he had put all of the records in. All I could see was a pile of ash. He started saying "Oh dear, dear dear. I inadvertently put the proceedings of your hearing in the incinerator and they were all destroyed. He then turned back to me and asked me what my plans were now. After he let me stand there and stammer a bit, he suggested that I remain working for GJ. I agreed. I thought that I might be able to regain some honor by trying to save the world. Maybe even enough to be able to get my daughter back some day."

"Director Waverly said that might happen, and he wanted me to meet my new partner. My new partner at her request. He then indicated Probie. I asked her if she was sure. She said she was and she thought we would make a god team."

"For five years, she was right. We were the best they had at the time. I had taught her all I knew about hand to hand and how to be a good agent. She kept me up to date with the new gadgets that were being developed and showed me how to use them. Like a team, we covered each other’s backs and looked out for each other. We also became more than that."

Steve remained silent for a minute, letting that piece of information set in and then continued.
"She helped me get over Kiyone's death and teach me how to be human again. We even talked about getting Yori and becoming a family. So I thought about going to Yamanouchi to see Sensei."

"The day before I was going to ask for some time off to make the trip, I got a letter from Sensei. He had been sending me letters every other month to let me know how Yori was. She was eleven now and able to do things that most of his twenty year olds were just trying to learn. She was excelling at everything she did. Sensei thought that she was going to exceed Kiyone's expectations of her. He agreed with my decision to leave her with him to fulfill Kiyone's final wish. He had enclosed a photo of her. She was the spitting image of her mother."


"His letter crushed any ideas of my restarting a family with Probie and Yori. I had my promise to live up to and with it. I wasn't going to break it."

"We had a mission that night. Our Intel said a crime ring was going to have a meeting inside a cosmetics research building. They were going to try and branch out into slavery too. The old man wanted his best two people in to scope out the situation so we could arrest them all before storming the building. That would have been Probie and me. My mind wasn't really into it, but the mission was too important to pass on. After we entered the building we made our way down to where the meeting was suppose to take place. I had the lead. I don't know how I missed it, but I tripped a booby trap that a first year Pixie should have seen. The next thing I knew, the room was exploding all around us. I pushed her ahead of me and we headed out as fast as we could. She was having trouble moving. It wasn't till we got out that I realized that she was hurt. She was hurt and it was my fault."

"She was rushed to the hospital while I had to report. It turned out that it was a setup. Our intel was wrong. Probie was in the hospital because I fouled up and all I got was some new formula splashed on my face. Kyione died because of me and Probie suffered a PPI because of me. That was when I decided to get away where I wouldn't be the reason of anyone's sufferings. I would teach high school."

"Ron leaned over when Steve wasn't looking and mouthed a question to Kim. "What's a PPI?"

Kim sort of shrugged after making sure that Steve wasn't looking at her and mimed cutting off a finger, ear or nose.

"I waited till Probie was out of the hospital and back to work at GJ before I told her." continued Steve. "To make a long story short, she disagreed but understood. She said she would wait for me to come around because she loved me."

"I got a job at Middleton and worked my way up the rank and file. I started up with my military discipline again to try and keep myself under control and away female company. Eleven years ago, I got two letters in the mail. One was from Director Waverly telling me he was going to retire, he also asked me to keep an eye on a student that showed great potential and might be interested in becoming an agent. That was you Miss Possible. The other letter was from Sensei, asking me to do the same thing, only he wanted me to keep an eye on you Ronald. He said you had great potential."

At that moment, Kim heard her favorite ring tone. Beep beep be beep.

"What up Wade?" she said after getting her kimmunicator out of her side pouch and turning her back to Steve and Ron so didn't interrupt them.

"Kim. Who was the mystery...." Kim saw him type something on his keyboard and look at another monitor. "Mr. Barkin?! Who would have thought it?" exclaimed Wade.

"Wade. How did you know who it was?" asked Kim. "I wasn't holding the kimmunicator so you could see him."

"Oh.....Well....I......um." stammered Wade, looking embarrassed.

"Just how many cameras do you have built into this thing?" Asked Kim, and then she exclaimed in a low voice,"Oh my God! You were watching Shego and me! What else have you seen?"

"Kim! We ah... really don't have time. I've got more information for you about the mission." Wade said trying to change the subject.

"Okay. But we need to talk about this later." said Kim looking very serious and hurt. Wade's face fell like he just lost his best friend. Kim smiled back at him and said, "And I want copies. Of everything. From all the way back."

She turned back to the others to share the kimmunicator with the others. They saw a very relieved and confused looking Wade on the small screen.

Wade collected himself before he spoke. "Uh, it's almost time for you guys to be heading out to your entrance. Everybody else is in place and they are ready to start their attacks. I've re-modulated the frequencies of the kimmunicator because we may have a problem."

"GJ scientists have finished examining the petrified bodies of their two agents and they are pretty sure that one of them is missing their GJ mobile database. With it, Monkey Fist can access all of the files in the database. He might have even been able to monitor the kimmunicator. I'm pretty sure he won't be able to do that now."

"How sure are those scientists, Wade?" asked Ron.

"About 95 percent sure. We got another possible problem too. All three zoos that Monkey Fist stole the monkeys from, now report that early this morning, someone broke in and stole all of their tranquilizer darts and guns. Everything. But here is the funny part, they only took enough tranquilizer for maybe three people."

"This doesn't make any sense." said Steve. "Why all the hardware and not enough juice?"

"We're not even sure it was Monkey Fist." said Wade. "Either way, it's time for you guys to head out. Director Betty arranged to have a vehicle to take you to the entrance. Contact me when you get there. I may have to help you locate it."

As they started to gather up their stuff, Steve Barkin started to hand the pouch with the magic jar in it to Ron.

"No," said Ron. "You carry it. We trust you and we know you'll take good care of it."

They gathered up their stuff, redonned their hoods and left, all of them trying to figure what Monkey Fist's plans were. Either way, they would all find out soon enough.

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The Lord Yono, as he preferred to be called now, casually tossed the small device that was the GJ mobile database, on a chair. It was almost time to implement his plan thanks to that device and what they had found in the tunnels. He looked over at Amy Hall, who was now wearing the second neuro-compliance chip on her forehead.

"To bad you started to question my desires and plans Miss Hall." he said to her. "But at least I won't let you go to waste. I'll still give you the occasional "romp!" but I will need you to continue turning our captives into monkeys too. And especially Kim Possible. Once she has returned to being the monkey she almost was.........." A sudden memory of Kim, when she was almost transformed into a monkey after wearing the amulet of the Monkey King appeared in his mind's eye. This time however, the memory wasn't obscured by the spirit of Toshimiru.

"Firefox." he whispered to himself. "I will have you. It may have taken me over sixteen hundred years, but I will have you. And you will pay."