Last Time On…
Ken showed his worth in an amazing brawl with neighborhood thugs. Karen was impressed with her brother and sought to train him for the next three days for his competition.
“From tonight til your competition for three days we will do nothing but eat, sleep and train at the warehouse.” Karen gets up and walks out of the bar.
The time was currently one in the morning after the brawl seen by all. Most people in the club thought that it was Karen fighting due to the jumpsuits and no one argued the beard at the time. Karen in standing outside in the rain that continues to pour and begins stomping her feet rhythmically like she was performing a rain dance and haka ritual combo.
In an all out crumping like movements Karen begins belting, “Outrage & Justice… These are my virtues and my power is megaphone. My ability allows me to express my opinion without any interruption. This allows me to stop the wrong doings around me. For this I am proud.”
Ken calmly walks out to watch Karen. Just as she finishes Ken says, “So you do that on your balcony right?” Karen nods yes as she is steaming from the heat generated. Ken continues, “Your balcony is super strong! Hahahahaha!”
Ken hears a deep breath and “Pfffft.” Ken grabs his neck and pulls out a dart. “What the fudggggggahhhh…” Ken passes out and just before his eyes close he sees Karen holding a blow dart rig. Ken falls unconscious.
Waking up hours later fully rested, gets up from the cot he is on and stretches wide and stands up stumbling around. Rubbing his eyes Ken sees nothing but darkness.
Tripping on something, “Aaaaggguhhh!” Ken exclaims grabbing his foot hopping around until his heel hits the edge of a bedroom with no wall. Ken looks down to see a warehouse and no stairs down from the bedroom area. Taking in the surroundings he sees an all matt black gym, vehicles in a full garage, wood shop, kitchen, martial arts area and reading nook. Ken then seeing the coffee maker in the kitchen with fresh coffee, then looks above to see a rope to swing down from the room and leaps.
Landing hero pose on the ground thinking, “goooosh my knee!” Ken continues, “how does Karen do that?!”
Stumbling up to the pot of steaming coffee, Ken pours a cup and begins to drink. Exhaling a large plum of vapor from his mouth. Ken then realizes that if that if large cloud came out of him it must be cold in here. Just then he begins to shiver. Ken’s eyes begins to sharpen to his surroundings due to the caffeine kicking in and takes in his surroundings a bit more as he turns on the large lever labeled “Master Lights.” The whole warehouse lights up in seconds.
“Did you really need to turn those on?” Karen asks annoyed. Looking up, “why are you in only underwear?!” Karen points her fingers to fresh cloths hung by the bed up in the loft bedroom and says, “put those on idiot.” Karen has been sitting in her reading nook waiting for Ken to wake up.
Ken standing proudly in his tighty whities and as he is shivering lets out a large hot belch that quenches his shivering. “Right-O!” Ken climbs the rope and dawns the fresh cloths.
“Oye! Were you reading in the dark Karen?!” Ken asks just realizing…
“Yes.” Karen states bluntly.
“Ooooookay Batman…..” Ken says sarcastically as he makes his way back to his second coffee.
Opening the refrigerator Ken sees there is nothing to eat, turns to Karen and says, “you have no food in here!” Met with silence Ken continues, “we will need to goto the store.”
“I have the store I goto,” says Karen.
“Nope!” Ken blurts out! “We are going to MondoMart!” Ken continues to convince Karen, “MondoMart is a warehouse grocery store where you can get pallets of food if you want.” Karen looks up from her book. “And we can get one of those platform karts and ride around as we shop.”
“Lets go.” Karen states getting up and walking to the garage. Karen makes her way to her favorite vehicle a matte black, illegally altered large pick up truck that was restored from an old chevy body.
Ken pounds his third coffee and runs over to the truck thinking to himself, “woooooaaahhh a 1986 Chevy C10 truck body, lifted with monster hydraulics, large bone crunching tires, murdered out in matte black, fitted with a roll cage, ramming shield, truck horn, full stereo system and a large bed to carry all types of stuffs.” Ken is drooling and snaps out of it wiping his face and getting in.
Looking over at Karen as she starts the truck says, “this is amazing.”
Karen looks over and smirks. She hits the garage door button and takes off accelerating down a small hallway leading to the garage door as it slowly open Karen barley misses it from grazing the roof. Karen hits the garage button again watching the door close as they speed off.
Arriving at MondoMart Karen parks far away in the parking lot as she takes two spaces with her huge truck.
“Why did you park so far?!” Ken laments.
Karen quickly snaps a stern look in Ken’s direction.
“I mean more steps are always great,” Ken says sheepishly.
The duo make their way through the parking lot as Karen begins grabbing all karts that aren’t placed in the proper area of collection. Ken notices Karen is no longer walking with him and is standing at the entrance as he watches Karen collect every missed placed kart. Just as Karen rides the last kart like a scooter to the collection area a burly man after loading his car pushes the kart into the garden and walks to his car. Karen scowls as she pushes the kart she is riding into the next kart stacking them as is appropriate. The man was parked right next to the kart area and still pushed it into the garden. Karen is bright red and pissed.
Ken sees what just happened and can see a bright red and steaming Karen, “oh shizzz!” Taking a long exhale, “well guess I gotta just watch they are too far away.” Ken chuckles under his breath because they are only twenty feet away.
The man’s car is backed into his spot as his kart sits pushed into the bush behind his car. The engine starts and Karen walks up to the driver window and knocks….
The man rolls down the window and sternly asks, “What do you want?!”
“Get out of your car and put your kart in the collection area,” as she points at the kart area beside his car.
“No Bit….” The man exclaims as he rolls his window up and puts his car in drive.
Karen noticing his shifting of gears moved to the front of his car. The man can’t back out so he revs the engine threatening Karen that he will go through her. Karen is now noticeably steaming and dripping with sweat just as the car nudges get belly….
Ken gulps and says, “here it comes!”
Karen raises her hands above her head, spreads her fingers, tenses her muscles and from a technique she learned long ago slams her palms down compressing the hood of his car where her hands were placed. Large craters remain with even the finest detail of her finger prints pressed into the aluminum. The man’s eyes dilate and begin to tear up. He gently rolls the window down placing his hands outside the car opening it from the outside and walks to the kart in the bush slowly removing it and walks it back to the collection area. Karen walks away and gets to Ken as the man is heard taking off screeching tires on his way.
“Let’s go in.” Karen says firmly.
As the two make their way inside one of the kart boys walks up to Karen and thanks her for getting all the stray karts. She simply nods and walks off. Karen grabs a large platform kart and vigorously wipes it down with wipes she carries in her fanny pack. As she does this Karen quietly whispering, “does anyone actually clean these?!” As she rhetorically fumes.
“Get on the platform Ken.” Karen states pointing at the platform.
“No way Karen I’m not a child!” Ken states.
“You are today. Get on or I will force you.” Karen says as she makes the same eyes she did at the man and his kart.
“Fine.” Ken sheepishly does so.
Karen had looked at the layout of the store ahead of time so that she would be familiar with where everything is. Armed with an index card and a gel pen she places one foot on the platform, grips the hand rails and pushes off with the other leg….
Karen launched them both down the isle as she yells, “incoming,” the the other people in the isle.
Everyone moves aside like a run away train is coming through and there might as well have been. Both Ken and Karen on a platform with wheels and a push off from Karen is a recipe for a worn out kart. Burning down the isle just before ramming into a family, Karen smirks as Ken screams, as she plants her foot and leans into the kart as it drifts the corner into the next isle. Everyone but Karen is breathing hard. Ken nearly shat himself as he quickly checks his shorts.
Karen then barks to Ken, “from this isle we need bread, cereal and cookies; four of each!”
“Okaaaaaayyyyyy….” Ken yells as Karen takes off.
Ken then pops up on the platform like he is surfing as he begins reaching his hands out left and right grabbing everything from the shelves. Karen with a savage grin continues to burn down the isle. Finishing the isle Karen drifts around the corner and makes her way down to meats. Karen turns the next corner to the long row of meats and fish that leads to produce. Ken is still standing and is now staying ready.
Karen grips the kart once more to take off as she lists whats needed and Ken agrees saying ready when… two ladies walking side by side are taking up the whole isle.
Being that Karen is not a slim lady she thinks to herself, “Damn these two are blocking the whole isle. How is that even possible?!” Karen clears her throat and yells, “ladies single file or I will run you down with this kart!”
The ladies as slow as an arthritic iceberg turn around with the stankiest resting faces on the planet. They look back resemble an attitude that they won’t be moving.
Karen smiles and yells, “THREE… TWO… ONE…” Karen takes off not a millisecond past saying one as Ken begins grabbing foods needed on the way just before hitting the ladies they dive into the refrigerators on either side to avoid the Choo Choo Karen Train.
“Wow they moved much faster than I was expecting,” says Ken laughing.
Karen and Ken make their way through the store loading up the platform and after checking out make their way back to the truck.
“Well the rest of that went smoothly,” Ken says as he loads the truck. Karen put the kart away, jumps in the truck, starts it and takes off.
Pulling back into the warehouse Karen parks the truck into its spot, jumps out and hammer fists the big red button on the wall.
The sound of metal activating can be heard as Ken looks around. Shutters built into the walls and roof start opening up letting in the natural light from outside. The warm light bathed everything black with a soft orange light. Ken takes a true look at this masterfully built facility.
“How long have you had this place?” Ken asks in aw of the loads of equipment.
“Eight years.” Karen says plainly.
“Woah so you have been doing what exactly with this?” Ken continues.
“In my personal life I like very few things, I eat the same things every day and I don’t spend time with many people. Also since giving up the booze I wanted to channel the pain I was downing into something productive.” Karen expresses.
“So you spend your days doing what…. crime fighting, working and sleeping?” Ken asks confused.
“Yes.” Karen states as she walks to the workout area of the warehouse. Ken follows.
In the corner of the warehouse sits a massive regulation boxing ring and surrounding it is free weights for lifting, mats for wrestling, heavy bags of differing sizes, a mini frig of energy drinks and a variety of cardio equipment.
“Woooooohoooo this place is loaded!” Ken says as he runs around touching everything.
Karen picks up a ninety pound medicine ball, scoops it into one hand and throws it at Ken yelling, “lets get to work.”
Ken catches it, falls on his butt and says, “ooooooooffffffff okay.” As he catches his breath.
“First things first get on the row machine and start rowing, I will signal when you are done then you will come to the mat with me. Once done with the wrestling portion we goto the ring and practice drills then back to the row machine and repeat.” Karen states.
Ken gulps, shakes is head, slaps both sets of cheeks and says, “lets get it, but whats the goal here?”
“Ken…” Karen says gathering his attention.
“I got the fight and you got the flight, difference is I know how high you can fly and you don’t.” Karen falls silent keeping heavy eye contact.
“I will push you to your limits only once we have reached them can we break them. I know you are the champ in your wrestling, but you are going for the finals and I plan on you to decimate the competition.” Karen says as if she was on horse back speaking to an army holding a sword above her head.
Ken grabs an energy drink, his keys from his pocket as he jams a hole in the bottom and cracks the top shot-gunning it down. Letting out a large belch he makes his way to the row machine.
Ken straps his feet into the rower and begins rowing. Karen walks over stepping her feet on the feet under the fan that adds resistance to the machine. Holding it down from moving Karen increases the difficulty and gestures to Ken to pick up the pace. As Ken explosively pulls back its as if the rower is trying to take off like a helicopter. Karen nods and says, “keep this pace.”
Each time Ken pulls back the loud engine like noise of the rower reverberates through the warehouse. From the outside it sound like a drag car is warming up. After dripping sweat and gasping for air Karen grabs Ken by the arm pits and pulls him to the wrestling mats and begins to throw him around like a life sized teddy bear in a young boys room. Karen stands him up and slams him down, over and over again.
Large slams can be felt throughout the neighborhood as others in the warehouse district concerned of possible explosions in the distance. Karen stops once she feels that Ken has given up and drags him over to the kettlebells where Karen instructs Ken to hammer out one thousand swings.
Ken completes the swings and Karen drags him to the row machine saying, “Again!”
Gasping for air and dry heaving Ken asks, “how…. many… rounds?” Looking up defeated.
“More.” Karen states.
“You will not stop until you pass out or throw up. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” Karen yells out.
“Yes!” Ken pops up on his feet and sits at the row machine and continues.
“For the rest of today you will do this with me til your body can’t take any more.” Karen pauses. “If you quit…. Well you won’t.” With a glint of threat in her eye.
People driving by the warehouse can hear the dramatic workout and can see steam as thick as smoke leave the building. Ken is now on his tenth round and keeps pushing. Karen keeping up with him continues to push her brother. Time goes by as Ken is on thirtieth round he sits down on the row machine straps his feet in and blacks out. Ken flops over with his feet still strapped looking like a banana peel draped over the rim of a trash can.
Ken comes to in the bed atop the loft. “Karen?!”
From the reading nook Karen looks up and says, “oh you are awake.”
“What happened?!” Ken asked concerned he gave up.
“You pushed your limits. Well done.” Karen states putting her book down and standing.
“Come down.” Karen commands as Ken slides down the rope from the loft.
“You blacked out at the end of your thirtieth round.” Karen congratulates Ken. Karen also thinking, “I got to fifty rounds, but he doesn’t need to know that.”
“Today was about beating you down to nothing so that we can build up from here.” Karen states.
“If that was today what are the next two days like?!” Ken asks scared.
“What I put you through will be the hardest thing that will happen to you for the rest of your life. I saw how you handled the men at the club and now I saw where your limit is. Now we solidify your technique and flair.” Karen lays out as she depicts this on a whiteboard.
“But why beat me down to nothing?” Ken states. “Isn’t that counter productive?”
“No. Now we know where your limit is and that lets us know how hard to push in competition. Now that you are aware of how much your body can take before you black out; this knowledge will allow you to modulate what you exert.” Karen circles the last thing she wrote on the whiteboard points and says. “Modulate.”
“What did you do the rest of the day while I was out?” Ken asks curiously.
“Fought some local thugs. Took care of some people at the club. Oh and went to see my personal trainer Joey and fed my birds.” Karen lists.
“What!” Ken exclaims. “How many rounds of that hell did you do before all that?” Ken asks.
“Fifty.” Karen says as she walks to the boxing ring.
Flabbergasted Ken stands stunned that his sister not only out did him in that circuit but then did so many other things that night. Karen is standing on the edge of the ring holding the ropes of the ring apron open.
“Lets go idiot.” Karen scolds gesturing to the ring.
Snapping out of his amazement Ken answers, “Right on!” Slamming his scolding coffee down his throat.
Karen and Ken spend the morning doing drills of different moves that Ken likes using during competition as Karen cleans them up. This went on for hours as the two are moving pretty gently, but working up a massive pool of sweat the permeates the canvas of the ring. Once the two got to a point where there wasn’t enough traction on the canvas they decided it was time to eat.
“Wooooooooooohhhhh Time To Eat!” Ken yells!
Ken sprints to the kitchen and begins pulling items out of the refrigerator stacking them on the island behind him. A pile of food items is stacked high.
“What are you doing Ken?” Karen asks.
“I will make us the most epic meal!” Ken says with confidence as he is wearing a full chefs outfit and sporting a chef knife and tongs.
“Very well but clean up after.” Karen states as she goes to her reading nook.
As if one was watching the food network at two times speed Ken begins a flurry of chopping, sautéing, baking and cleaning. He is moving so fast that his hands are a blur to the untrained eye. An hour goes by and Karen places her book after sensing the commotion is done and there is a succulent sent in the air. Walking over Karen sees Ken has made meals and placed them in containers for the next two days of training. The island is stacked high with Tupperware filled with a variety of meal.
“I’m impressed.” Karen states sporting Ken a crisp fist bump.
Ken and Karen continue training, eating and planning. Karen goes out in the night when Ken is wiped out from training and comes back when he awakes. This routine went on until they run out of food as planned.
“Ken I will admit you have come a long way in three days and tomorrow is your competition.” Karen pauses and continues, “you are ready.”
“What is my new costume?” Ken asks excited.
“Lumber Jack.” Karen states pulling out an outfit perfect for a Canadian Woodsman and an axe. “I know your underground name is Jack so I figured you could be..”
Interrupting Karen Ken takes off grabbing the outfit and putting it on.
“Awesome!” Ken states holding his axe above his head like he is Thor summoning thunder.
Next Time On…
Karen the Vigilante: Ken’s Competition Part One