#my default assumption is that it's a crossover with ranma 1/2

[jimothy-g-brooks]

Ki Users In The Dresden Verse

 Very quickly, I told Bob about my run in with the Foo Fighters, wincing at every bruise I was reminded myself of. Other than a few crass questions about the girls that took part in my emasculation, it seemed like he was paying close attention to my description. 

 "Thing is, they felt human," I finished. I like to think I can feel out when something is inhuman, at least when it starts pulling out the mojo. Mind you, when most creatures do that, that's when they stop pretending to be the least bit human. "And not like scions either. These were bonafide purebred humans, near as I could tell. Not vanilla mortals for sure, though. Not the way they moved." 

 Bob was quiet for a moment, his eyes socket empty of ethereal orange light. If he were human, I'd expect his eyes to be closed and thoughtful hum to be coming from his lips. "Well, boss, it sounds like you had a run with some ki users. Not a lot of those on this side of the world, more of an Eastern thing." 

 I nodded, reviewing what I remembered about Chicago's latest exotic guests. "That tracks, they sounded like they were from there. So, it wasn't magic then? Or is ki a kind of magic?" 

 "They're the same thing in the way that radio waves and gamma rays are the same thing. Technically, but you're dealing with very different animals. For one, they're not bound by the Laws."

 That got a flinch out of me. The Seven Laws of Magic were a combination of metaphysical and legal. Break them, and it stained your soul, at least right up until some very interested men in grey cloaks come around to chop off your head. It was the biggest thing keeping wizards from running richkshaw over vanilla mortals. 

 "Mind you, you won't normally see a ki user invade minds, change people's forms or raise the dead. Some can, but they're an esoteric minority of an already small bunch And you definitely won't be seeing them time travel or do any kind of summoning, let alone things beyond reality." 

 I thought about what he said or, more importantly, what he didn't say. That still left Law number One, Thou Shalt Not Kill. That'd put a new spin on our encounter if I didn't naturally assume everyone wanted to kill me already anyway. It also meant a bunch of potential killers that could go toe-to-toe with White Court Vampires at the very least were loose in Chicago. Not that they've killed anyone, yet. 

 "Any weaknesses?" I asked, getting to the practical question. 

 "No more than you. Less, actually. They're still mortals, with all the perks that come with having freewill. Ki doesn't even mess up technology the same way magic does." 

 I frowned, thinking of the logistic implications of that. "Is there a particular reason that ki use isn't more widespread? It doesn't sound anywhere near as restrictive as magic." Magic users might be rare, but a big enough city like Chicago has a small community. 

 "There's a few theories, though they all have problems. Your basic predator doesn't like prey that can fight back, hence that White Court scheme to wipe out minor female practitioners, but wizards are a wily bunch, especially when cornered, and you lot have ways of taking your killers with you." 

 I grunted at that, noting at least one implied weakness there, ki users didn't have a Death Curse. Not that I was planning on killing them, but life has a funny way of sneaking up on you and so does murder, so it was a good thing to know ahead of time. 

 "The Jade Court operates in the East and for as quiet as they are no one's got the balls to step into their territory, at least not for long. Now, the theory goes that while every other predator went out of their way to cull the herd of humans that could hop like grasshoppers, the Jade Court cultivated them instead." 

 "Why would they do that?" 

 "Why don't you ask Thomas how good wizards taste? White Court vampires eat with magic, Jade Courts eat with ki, so people think they allowed ki users to spread in their territory for greater meals. The problem is, that's kind of like roiding up your local deer population so they make more meat, it's asking to get gored! I don't know a lot about the Jade Court, not a lot of people do, but I'm pretty sure they're not stupid." 

 "Okay, so what's the other theory?" 

 "Well, whatever misbegotten gene gave you monkeys magic must've been present in your earliest ancestors, because as rare as it is, they still show up everywhere. So, the other theory goes that whatever traits lets humans harness their ki showed up later in Asia. It had to have been after the last Ice Age too, because the trait doesn't appear in Native Americans either. 

 "Now, the problem with that theory is that migration is still a thing. People packed up their things and hoofed it for thousands of miles all the time. Yet, you still hear about ki users so infrequently in the Western hemisphere that you're over here asking me what even are they. So, one of two theories that actually makes sense combines the last two. 

 "The ki trait shows up in Asia, possibly because of Jade Court vampires, meddling with the stock without knowing the results or humans just developing a defense or even both. It grows out of control before they can do anything about it but every time it moves out of their sphere of influence every other predator moves in to cull the herd." 

 I sat back, digesting that monologue of exposition before letting another knot of worry settle in my stomach. As dangerous as that group that I ran into potentially was, they looked young. Like, too young to drink even. And if the local post-human pseudo-cannibals got wind that another breed of freak kine was running around, they might do exactly as Bob suggested and cull the herd once again. Those kids were inordinately tough, I'd seen that myself, but I also didn't go in against them with gun blazing. The monsters of Chicago wouldn't handle them with kids gloves. 

 "Wait, you said one of two theories that made sense. What's the second one?" 

 "That the decadence of the West is detrimental to the discipline needed to harness ki." 

 "Oh, well fuck you then."