Southside Docks, Harbor District, Grit City
The Sorcerer Scientist in her rage at finding yet another shipping container full of useless junk mentally caused it to levitate and flung it into the harbor with her mind--the whole container glowing a deep violet shade as it levitated and soared through the air. She was a monstrously tall woman at 8'9", her white lab coat and black pants suit beneath were scientifically designed to stretch with her body. Her skin when in this altered state took on a violet undertone beneath her otherwise alabaster complexion.
"That was the last of the shipping containers that came off that ship," said Madam Boszorkány, the Sorcerer Scientist's magical mentor and assistance in crime. The Sorcerer Scientist had long since outstripped the Madam in the sheer power of the arcane magic, but there were still times that the Madam could help her student focus and channel that power--something the Scientist had been ill-suited for when she had first gained her powers in a scientific study on a cursed ancient statue.
"And yet my order of the most precious Lamp of Time is nowhere to be found!" bemoaned the Scientist in her fury.
"Therefore someone must have gotten the jump on you--learned that something was coming and got here first. The only question is, what do you plan to do about it?" asked the Madam.
"I--I--" started the Scientist, whose rage began to subside as she began focusing on the Madam's question, which in turn, caused her to shrink back to her normal proportions of being a 5'10" woman with alabaster skin tone.
"I had the shipper place a tracking spell on the lamp. As long as I activate the spell before it gets too far, we should be able to find it."
"Igen gyermekem. See what happens when you stop to think instead of letting your power manipulate your emotions. Just because you have such power, doesn't mean you need to always go off the handle on it."
The now more modest-looking Scientist nodded her head, pulled her long black hair back into a pony tail and pulled out a piece of chalk and set about casting a Locator Spell as she traced a circle and pentacle onto the dock boards. When she was complete with her spell, she felt her soul astrally project as if it were being drawn across the landscape of Grit City until she came to the hillside that overlooked the rest of the city and contained only the mansions of the wealthy--and in one of those mansions, beneath the ground, lay a subterranean gymnasium where the lamp awaited her.
"I know exactly where to go," declared the Sorceress to her mentor.
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The Gym, Keller Estate, Just Outside of Grit City
Ken meanwhile, with the help of Amelie, was assisting Ethan and Jack into child-versions of their normal attire, or at least what close proximity they had on hand.
There were no boxing gloves small enough for the Blue Boxer, but there was a tactical suit that had shrunk in the washer when Ethan had tried using the washing machine on his own without Amelie's supervision back when he was first starting out as a
"You never threw this away?" asked Ethan of his gray-haired French Housekeeper.
"I knew it might come in handy some day--I didn't know how, but I knew it would," said the older woman with a wink. The tactical suit wasn't as snug as Ethan usually preferred it, but it fit him better than the oversized t-shirt he'd been wearing for over the last hour. An old utility belt from his early days lost a few of its links, allowing it to be shrunk to a more manageable size for the younger Ethan. And while there weren't combat boots small enough for the Boxer's feet, there were an old pair of blue All Stars that fit his feet just fine. There weren't any old gym shorts beyond what Ken had already given him, so he pulled them up and over his tactical suit. A small domino mask from back when Ken had just been starting out as the Khaki Karateka fit Ethan just fine.
"I'm missing something around my arms and legs without my boots and gloves," whined Ethan as he tried to go through the motions of his old moves, and feeling weird having nothing but air on his hands and legs.
"If you have to have something on your arms and legs, try these," suggested Amelie as she handed Ethan a small pair of fingerless black tactical gloves that Ken had always worn to give his hands some protection back in his early days, and what looked like a pair of old black leg warmers from the 80s. Ethan looked at the leg warmers then at Amelie, who with a quiet look bound the newly minted twelve year old boy to secrecy. While skeptical of these offerings, Ethan also knew that beggars couldn't be choosers and gladly took them to put them on.
As Ethan went over to add them to his younger costume, Jack came out of the bathroom from where he'd taken his proffered choices of attire on hand that were "outdoorsy". To his dismay no flannel shirts had been found in his size, and so Jack came out in what looked like an old-fashioned "greenie" scout uniform with mismatching long sleeves, short shorts, and knee high socks. Jack had laid claim to the only pair of boots near either of their sizes, and apparently had found a green domino mask which was the only thing keeping his boyish locks out of his eyes and face--though just barely. The only items from his own lumberjack utility belt that Jack had managed to squeeze onto his own belt was a rather large jack knife, a pair of adjustable climbing spikes, a heavy duty carabiner, and a grappling ropeand hook.
"I look completely ridiculous," admitted Jack as he stood before the mirror.
"Nah, you just need a few adjustments, is all," proffered Ken as he unbuttoned and rolled up the sleeves to the elbows, allowing some of the scratches and scrapes on his arms to be shown off. Ken also gave Jack a pair of tactical olive green gloves, provided him a pair of high-tech binoculars for his belt that Jack thought was just a fancy toy until it allowed him to zoom in and observe with clarity what was going on halfway across the city, and an olive green beenie to keep his dark hair up and out of the way for the most part.
"There, that's a bit better," said Ken.
"I still look ridiculous," bemoaned Jack.
"Hey Jack, looks like you fit in my Dad's old uniform!" teased Ethan after he had put on the fingerless tactical gloves and leg warmers. He was also doing some mock punches in the air and a few kicks as well. Of the two, Ethan looked the most ready to take on a fight of some sort.
"Mon Dieu! That knife is too large for a boy your size," commented Amelie as she got a good look at Jack.
"No it ain't," countered Jack automatically.
"Pull it out and try to make a stab at me," instructed the aged housekeeper.
Jack exchanged looks with Ethan, who shrugged his shoulders. Jack took that as permission to follow instructions and did as he was told. He tried to lunge with it, but Amelie was faster than her aged apperance let on, she dodged his lunge and knocked it out of Jack's hands easily. As it it the floor, Jack had to concede that the knife had felt a little unwieldy and heavy in his hands.
"Wait here, I'll be back with something more... appropriate," said Amelie.
"Could you take a quick look at the dockside camera on your way? I need to know how much more time we have to get them ready before we HAVE to go," said Ken to Amelie.
"Consider it done," called the housekeeper as she hurried up the spiral staircase. As she did so, Ken turned his attention back to the pint-sized vigilantes he had once looked up to.
"All right, now time is tight, but before I can clear you two to come out with me, I need to have at least a baseline understanding of how well you two handle your bodies at this age, and we need to make it quickly," said Ken sage-like.
Both Jack and Ethan were invited to come up and punch into a foam pad that Ken held up like a shield. Ethan made a whole show of a flurry of punches which hardly seem to cause Ken to feel any impact. Jack gave one meaningful punch that caused Ken to at least step back from the impact of.
This was repeated with kicks, which only unbalanced Jack, causing him to fall on his butt, while Ethan managed a kick so strong Ken nearly lost his balance.
"My kicks feel more powerful now than my punches..." observed Ethan, rather surprised at that.
"Not unusual for a boy your age. Often the lower body starts growing first before the upper body," added Ken.
"And you were a foot--ahh, soccer star the first time you were this young, Monsieur," said Amelie as she returned, carrying something. She pulled Ken aside to tell him something briefly, out of the earshot of both Jack and Ethan.
"Perhaps we should call you the Kickboxing Kid..." teased Jack.
"That's not a bad idea! Jack, you're a genius!" said Ethan with a grin. Ethan then struck a pose like any twelve year old boy playing superheroes might.
Amelie then approached Jack and handed him cloth satchel, which opened to reveal a set of throwing knives. Jack's eyes lit up at the sight of them.
"I haven't had a set like this since I was a kid!" exclaimed the boy excitedly. And as if to prove a point, Jack took one of the knives out of the satchel, took aim and struck right in the middle of a head of an old punch dummy.
"Well, I figured they would be more useful to you than locked away at the bottom of my hope chest."
"They're yours?! Well, I'm not sure I should take--"
"No, I insist. Take them."
"Yes'm... Mam," said Jack.
Ken interjected by saying, "All right, boys. I think you're as ready as you're gonna be. Remember, you're kid side kicks now--not adult vigilantes. And as such you have to remember to keep a LID on it out there."
Ethan tilted his head before his eyes widened and a proud grin stretched across his face.
"Keep a Lid on it?" asked Jack, completely confused by the expression's application.
"It's the three main roles of a kid sidekick, LID: Lookout, Intelligence, and Distraction," explained Ethan.
Jack nodded his head, "Okay, I get that... kinda corny way to remember it."
"Hey, I explained it to him over 5 years ago once and it stuck didn't it?" defended Ethan.
"Fair point," admitted Jack.
"And lastly we're gonna need aliases for you two to go by while you're out there. Are you really good with The Kickboxing Kid?" asked Ken to Ethan.
"If my legs are the core of my strength right now, then it's as good a name as any," said Ethan.
"All right, and what should we call you, Jack?"
"Well, since I'm a scout apparently because nobody in this mansion wears flannel... I dunno my mind's drawing a blank."
"How about The Sneaky Scout?" suggested Ethan.
"Too kiddie," dismissed Jack.
"The Stealthy Scout?" proffered Ken.
"That... I could live with. Yeah, especially with these binoculars, my grappling rope and climbing spikes, I guess I'm more the Lookout and Intelligence part of the LID equation while The Kickboxing Kid over here is definitely more of the Distraction," said Jack with a sly smile. For which Ethan gave Jack a playful shove that barely moved Jack.
"Great, let's go, we don't have much time to lose. The Sorcerer Scientist is on the move through the city, and we've got some friends of mine to meet up with along the way."
Ken motioned for them to head over to where the Boxermobile and the Karateka Motorcycle were housed in The Gym. Ethan out of instinct went for the Driver's side door, but was shocked to find the door was locked and he didn't have the keys to get in.
"Unfortunately you're too young for a permit, so you boys are stuck with me as a driver," said Ken as he unlocked the car and had both sit in the backseat, given their current sizes, much to Ethan's chagrin. Ken made sure they had their seat belts buckled before pressing the garage door button.
"Don't forget this," said Amelie as she rushed over to hand Jubbar's lamp to Ken through the window as they waited for the garage door leading to the cave entrance that led to a lonely stretch of road just outside the city to finish rising. Ken had Ethan take the lamp.
"Whatever happens, merci et au revoir," called Ken before hitting the gas and driving out of The Gym. Little did they know what would await them on that lonely stretch of road just outside of town...