41Disclaimer: I don't own Jackie Chan Adventures; JCA and all its characters are the property of Phil Weinstein, Frank Squillace and Jackie Chan himself.
Author Notes: Many thanks to author Zim'sMostLoyalServant for being this story's first reviewer; and many thanks to the guest reviews received in December 28 and January 1 too. For more notes, see end of the chapter.
Jackie Chan Adventures
Out of the Corner of the Eye
Chapter two
Graduation and politics
From the journals of Marcus Malone. Second entry. February of 1946.
I suppose I should start telling something about myself rather than start directly with what I try to accomplish writing this. I was born in 1915, during the first war. I was born in New York, and of course, not under the name 'Marcus Malone'. Due to that the war never got here, I got a peaceful childhood. Since I had use of reason, I have been a curious kid, an adventurous one. I suppose that was what led me to being a journalist, which I was until the second war started. No, I didn't fight the Nazis, not in the usual way. But I would have been glad to put a bullet into one of those Krauts' skulls. I'm Jewish, and even if not a practitioner, I hate those bastards. But funny thing, I think that I hate them because of how people from America treated me. Even now, there are still some idiots that look at us like we are nothing. To Jews, Blacks, Chinese... don't these fools know that old, good, white, Christian men wouldn't be here if not for our people? But I hope that will change now, or with time.
Anyway, during the second war I worked as something akin to a propagandist. Creating and distributing pamphlets, and messages for newspapers, or even movies! Those were such good times, the guys and I all gathered writing or drawing; I remember that one time when Ethan started doing caricatures of Goebbels as a gigantic worm… it was hilarious. When the war ended in Europe, they send me with the guys... with my friends, to whatever was left of Germany. There was where I met the man who has changed my life... to worse. I blame it to my damn curiosity more that I blame it into that blasted book he gave me. Maybe that is the problem of our species as a whole, you know? Maybe if there were less curious kids... maybe we wouldn't be in this situation.
San Francisco. Section 13.
Drops of warm water fell over the naked body of a sixteen years old girl. The drops fell over the girl's head and they ran through her wet black hair until they fell from the tips of her bangs to her body and they travelled across her skin until they reached her feet and her toes and then fell to the floor of the shower. The teen closed her eyes, and inhaled the fuming and dank air that clouded the insides of the shower. Slowly, she started to move the muscles of her back, then her arms and legs, her necks, face, even the smallest of muscles in her fingers started to move and harden at her command, and then she relaxed them al of a sudden, exhaling the air she had previously inhaled and opening her eyes slowly.
If there was a word that described Jade Chan perfectly, that was over-energetic, or maybe hyperactive. But even the most energetic of persons can enjoy themselves in a relaxing moment inside the shower. Jade raised one of her arms and searched for the towel she always let at one of the borders of the shower. She didn't like to get out of the shower without, at least, having dried out a little. The change in temperature made her shiver, and if she was wet, the sensation just increased. She didn't like cold.
Exiting the shower with the towel around her body and quickly putting a new one over her hair, Jade crossed the door that connected this bathroom with her private room in Section 13. During the last four years she had been living in this room practically all by herself, only seeing Jackie, Uncle, Tohru and the others sporadically. During the last months it had become almost impossible for her to left this place, going out only in her birthday, with all the preparations for the ceremony and the last time tests. She searched in her closet for the clothes that Captain Black had indicated her to wear in the graduation ceremony. Graduation, she thought to herself, and then, incapable of avoiding it, she jumped in the air out of pure excitement.
"WHOHO!" Jade shouted. "Who's a totally awesome agent of Section 13? Well, your badass Jade Chan, of course!"
She laughed at her own display of childish behavior in the front of the mirror she was looking at. Her sudden jump had made the towel of her head to fell to the ground, and she picked it while laughing. She then dried her body and dressed up. Looking at her own reflection in her mirror, Jade was greeted with her own self, wearing a dark blue suit with an American cut. It wasn't one of those female suits with molesting skirts, instead being a normal male suit that she had chosen for this occasion. Captain Black had said that she could choose whatever type of formal clothing she wanted to wear during her great day, so she had chosen this one. I swear to God, she thought, that in the first moment this day ends, I will never stop wearing anything that isn't a pair of jeans.
She then breathed deeply and calmed herself. "Okay, world," she said to her reflection once again. Jade Chan exited her room into Section 13's corridors. Heading towards the auditory where the graduation was going to be housed, Jade couldn't avoid feeling nervous. But of course, this was one of her longest and deepest dreams come true. No more treating her like a kid, no more getting her out of danger, no more pats in the top of her head. No, now she had a title and a badge that marked her as totally capable agent of a secret governmental agency. That categorized her as a 'made of awesome' person you wouldn't want to mess with. A part of her, however, felt reassured that her family, especially Jackie, was going to be with her in the auditory.
"Prepare yourself because here I come!"
"Sir, I know that you are a busy man, but I have my own compromise to attend to today..." a man in a blue pullover and a pair of khaki pants talked into a phone while a taxi drove him towards his uncle's antique shop. Jackie Chan was many things, but he would never put business over family. "I am very sorry to have to leave Brazil before our meeting, Mr. Banski, but..."
"Mr. Chan." the dried voice of an old man answered from the other side of the line. "I think that this conversation is going to get us nowhere. I will go to San Francisco by myself and speak with you there. Are you free...? I don't know, maybe the next Monday?"
"Well... yes, I think." Jackie answered, a little surprised. "Thank you very much, sir. And sorry once more."
"No need for that, Mr. Chan." the apparently called Mr. Banski said. "I don't like people who apologize continuously. And besides, it was I who delayed our meeting until it was too late. I will see you soon."
The call ended, and Jackie put his cellphone back in his pocket. That went better than I thought... the archeologist and expert martial artist (and from time to time, demon hunter) said in his own mind. He looked by the taxi's window to San Francisco's streets. They were full of people, as per usual in this hour of the day. He looked at the watch that adorned his wrist. He had still plenty of time, but the sooner he arrived at Uncle's shop, the better.
"We're arriving at Chinatown, sir." the taxi driver said while turning a corner. "The place was... eh..."
"Uncle's Rare Finds." Jackie clarified to the man.
"Right, the antique shop." the driver said. He took another corner, and after a few seconds the vehicle stopped right in front of the old shop. The taxi driver turned slightly around. "It will be twenty one dollars, sir."
"Twenty one?" Jackie asked, a little perplexed, but the only thing he got in response was the tired look of the driver. "Fine, here." Jackie handed him the money and then got out of the taxi. He took his luggage and, making sure to not trip and fall to the ground, he crossed the door of the shop.
"Uncle! It's me; I'm back from- ow!" Jackie didn't finish the sentence as Uncle, almost as he had appeared out of nowhere; hit him in the forehead with both index and middle fingers. To be fair, Jackie thought that by this moment he should had grown accustomed to it, since Uncle had done it since Jackie was a child, but the elder always took the archeologist by surprise.
"Nephew is always veeeery loud!" Uncle yelled, apparently not paying attention to the fact that he was being even louder than his nephew. "And one more thing! Nephew is almost late!"
"I know, Uncle, I'm sorry." Jackie apologized. "But I was…"
"One more thing!" Uncle interrupted him, and took his wallets. "Nephew has suit prepared upwards, Uncle choose it for him! He should be preparing noooow!"
Tohru appeared then, and took Jackie's wallets from the old Chinese man. "Hello Jackie. How was Brazil?"
Jackie smiled at the Japanese giant's greeting. "Mostly well, except I didn't get to meet the man I went there for meeting."
"Oh," Tohru said. "And you can't meet him another time?"
"Actually yes, he will come to San Francisco by himself, so we can- ow! Uncle!" Jackie complained after his second slap of the day.
"Wasn't nephew listening? He needs to go and chaaange!" Uncle said.
"Sensei, we have plenty of time." Tohru said, trying to calm his mentor. "The graduation won't start until four hours from now."
"Tohru doesn't know how slow Jackie is to put on formal attire!" Uncle said. "He just can't get how to put a tie around his neck."
"Uncle, that was years ago." Jackie complained, now slightly annoyed. He remembered that day, when he had to put into one of those uncomfortable suits and go to one of those auctions where Uncle got the majority of his antiques. "I was just a kid, and…" seeing the old man's stare, Jackie sighed and started to go up the stairs. "I will go changing. You can let the luggage where you can, Tohru; I will put it in order when we are back." Jackie said to the mountain of a man, who did as asked and then retired to his own room. Being the size he was, Tohru really was the one who needed time to prepare.
"Nephew, one more thing." Uncle stopped Jackie from climbing the stairs.
"Yes?" Jackie asked. Uncle climbed a pair of stairs and put his wrinkled, old hands over Jackie's shoulders.
"Today is a very important day for niece." Uncle said to Jackie. "And you are very important for her, she really looks up to you. You are a second father for her. So now, go and put in pretty suit, and if Uncle sees that his claps are louder than yours in ceremony, nephew will have to search for another place to live."
"Thank you, Uncle." Jackie answered and he went to his room. There, over his bed, was a black tuxedo waiting for him. Not overly refined, but not ordinary. Jackie supposed that Uncle could have good taste in things that weren't antiques or teas with strange flavors; even if it were tuxedos. He looked at the clothing and the accessories that accompanied it. He smiled at the fact that the worst thing that had happened to him lately was struggling with a tie. Of course, that wouldn't last long.
Far away from Uncle's Rare Finds, into a lonely office block in the middle of San Francisco; a middle aged man by the name of Preston Fisher was passing a lot of financial movements from one book to another. A man with a thin body and fingers that some deemed too large for a man his height; with curly hair of a bronzed tone of red and a skin of a milky white. He had been always a skinny guy, one of those kids that were called 'scarecrow' by the other children in the school's playground.
Preston was what the boss of every company would call a model employee. He never disturbed anyone, never talked out of turn, he did his job efficiently and, most important of all, he never asked for a raise. Politeness incarnate, at least for the big shots. For the other workers, or even the people of the street, Preston was a weird man. He would just do his job silently, sat down in his corner without talking; only the fast drumming of the pen against paper could be heard from there. It didn't matter if he was invited to a party, or if someone showed the slightest of interests on him; he would always decline it with a polite yet cold smile and answer.
But today was, for some reason, a different case. The pen didn't move as fast as it usually did, and sometimes it would escape the middle aged man's hand and fell to the ground. Sweating and feeling as if a truck had run over his whole body, his head was spinning.
Am I sick?, Preston thought, his head hurting badly, impending his concentration. I can't work like this... better go home.
Preston closed both books and walked to the boss' office. Knocking the door and entering after a dry 'enter' came from the other side of the door. Preston explained to his boss, a woman in her forties with a mane of dark brown hair tied into a topknot and that looked at him with light brown eyes behind a pair of little glasses that rested upon her round nose. She gave Preston permission to go home (hey, it was his first complain in ten years, it had to be true) and then dismissed him. Preston exited her office, picked up his things and his jacket and took the usual way back home, not paying attention to the looks of surprise in his coworkers' faces upon witnessing the first time that Preston had left the place before everyone else.
Walking through the streets of San Francisco, each step a little closer from his glorious bed, Preston looked to the skies, where black clouds seemed to be gathering over his neighborhood. A storm?, he thought. Weird... there was no report of storm for today.
Preston fastened his walk a little. He didn't want to get caught into rain on top of being sick for whatever reason. In the distance, a thunder could be heard cracking the skies.
Section 13. Three hours and a half later
It was the first time that Jackie Chan had seen a large room of Section 13 so full of people without being under attack, or having an emergency meeting. The auditory, a new room added when the new base of Section 13 had been built after the Ice Gang had done a literal stampede in the old base, crumbling it into pieces of stone. But now, four years later, here it was anew, large enough to remind Jackie of one of those enormous ballrooms he had seen in movies, full of multiple people just chatting, drinking from tiny glasses and laughing. They were all agents, or maybe workers, some of those scientists he had seen sporadically when had lived here; Jackie thought. Among them there were younger ones, few in comparison, but yet remarkable. Those were the ones that got graduated with Jade; they weren't but teenagers in the verge of adulthood. Something inside Jackie told him that there was something wrong with having those kids (there was no better word to describe them) becoming agents of something like an organization as Section 13, but… he was no one to protest, he supposed. Jackie moved slightly under the fabric that was nagging against his skin.
Even at his age, Jackie Chan felt incredibly uncomfortable inside the suit. He never had been a huge fan of this kind of clothing, and every time he put on one he felt strange, itchy and scratchy. Maybe it was his inner martial artist, telling him that it wasn't the adequate type of indumenta for a body like his; that tuxedos were meant for tranquil men with bodies that moved in slow motion; not for trained ones, accustomed to energetic movement. Jackie chuckled a little; he couldn't imagine himself fighting in a tux, or in any other type of suit. He would be so ridiculous!
Speaking of people in formal clothing, he looked at the one chosen by Uncle and Tohru. The Japanese giant was wearing a normal looking suit (of Italian cut, if Jackie's eyes didn't fail him) that hugged quite well to his body, making him look elegant and refined even with his size. Jackie had to admit, Tohru had quite an intimidating aura wearing that kind of clothing. Maybe he wore those when he was part of the Dark Hand, and Velmont dragged him everywhere as his personal bodyguard? Probably.
As for Uncle… well, Uncle was wearing a dark green Nehru, or mandarin suit. "Uhum, nice work with the rebuilding… Uncle should ask Captain Black for the people who did this for shop's expansion." the Chinese elder whispered to himself as he admired the fine work around him, mostly due to how fast it had been done.
"One of the privileges of working under the government, gentlemen" a voice interrupted the trio. Captain Augustus Black had entered the scene, wearing his usual long, black coat and the dark brown pullover and grey pants under it. He offered a hand in salute. "How has life been treating you all?"
"Captain Black!" Jackie said, shaking the man's hand almost in instinct. Then he looked at him, up and down, slowly and carefully. "Why are you not wearing a suit?"
Black smirked. "Jackie, I am the Captain. Even if I would like to, I had a lot of things to do that, sadly, mean that I can't be here."
"Shouldn't you be making a speech, or something?" Jackie asked, a bit saddened after the fact that Black wouldn't be attending. "For Jade and the other graduates, I mean."
"No, I'm sorry about that." Black apologized. "But don't worry; Joseph will be giving a speech, and knowing him, I suppose it will be magnificent."
"Who is Joseph?" Tohru asked, but Black just shook his head, as if explaining that there was a lot to be told, and no time for it.
"I will see you all later, but I think you should prepare, Jackie." Black said as he left the trio at their own business and disappeared behind a bunch of people.
"Wait, what did he mean with that?" Jackie asked upon his old friend's strange behavior, but when he looked at Tohru and Uncle, they were a few meters away from him. "Uncle?"
"Remember Jackie, the body must move as bamboo, strong yet flexible!" Uncle said to him.
"Why is everyone talking like…?" Jackie asked, but then a black blur appeared in front of him faster than he could react, trapping him into a rather oppressive hug.
After the hug ended, and looking at the person that had almost assaulted him, Jackie saw the form of his niece Jade, standing there with a wide, happy grin in the face. Clad in a suit of a dark blue, Jackie looked at Jade with a warm smile. He noted that she had grown even taller these last months since they celebrated her birthday, being now only half a head or so smaller than him. Four years and a trip into adolescence really had paid off, putting an almost grown up Jade of sixteen where, not so long ago, there was only one little girl of twelve. Of course, her nature had remained mostly the same; she still liked those Ultra-Moose toys, and she still was eager to go into the first adventure that appeared right behind the corner. Even after four years, she was still the same energetic and curious Jade.
"Hi Jackie." Jade said in her usual carefree tone; as she looked her uncle from head to toes. "You look like a penguin."
"Hi Jade." Jackie said to his niece, passing over her joke.
The two of them produced something between a giggle and a laugh; and when it was clear that the moment of the reunion between the two had ended, Uncle and Tohru approached the pair and hugged Jade with the same enthusiasm that she had done with Jackie.
"You have a lot to tell me!" she said to them. "Like, what have you been doing these last months? Have you been somewhere interesting? Tohru, have you practiced new spells, or..."
"Jade! Where were you?" a blond girl with a complexion similar to Jade's, with short hair that fell only to the middle of her neck in curls and bright green eyes, and dressed into an skirt suit of a light brown approached the group and held the girl by her wrist, interrupting her. "C'mon, we have to hurry, it's going to start!"
"Oh, right! Thanks Stephanie!" Jade said. "Sorry, Jackie, see you later!"
"Was that your family?" Stephanie asked Jade as she practically dragged her towards the first lines of the swarm composed of people. "Was that, you know, the Jackie Chan?"
"Well, duh." Jade replied. "Who did you think he was?"
Stephanie looked back, and, making sure than none other than Jade could hear her, she asked "Do you think that you could get me his... er... autograph? You know, later."
Jade looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "Sure..." she said, not very convinced.
"Awesome!" the blonde answered. "You know, I think I have never really thought about how lucky I was to make friends with you in the academy."
"Of course you were lucky. I mean, I'm me." Jade replied. "If it wasn't for me you couldn't have passed that one obstacle race."
Stephanie pouted. "You couldn't have passed that hacking test without me. And you could use some of my advice in fashion. You look like a guy with that look."
Jade smiled threateningly at Stephanie. "Listen to me carefully here, Steph. I'll die before wearing a freaking skirt."
Steph rolled her eyes. "Never say 'never'."
"I didn't." Jade said, snickering.
And like that, the two girls went to meet the other soon-to-be agents, and little by little all of them took seat in the first lines of a bunch of metallic chairs that were waiting for the attendants in front of a lectern. They shouldn't be much more than thirty, the new and fresh generation of Section 13; ready to throw themselves into the world in order to save it. Minutes passed and Jackie, Uncle and Tohru took their own seats.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Tohru, sir; we should have thought about your... body shape." a little employee apologized for the chairs standard size, but Tohru waved his hand, letting the man know that it wasn't of importance. The employee sighed in relief while Tohru sat in his chair, its legs bending a little under the Japanese giant's weight. After all the people had sat in one of the chairs a man separated himself from the crown and took place behind the lectern.
Now, Jackie had seen very weird-looking men in his life, and that was just counting the human ones, Daolon Wong usually standing at the top of the list. But this one, this man that was now standing before them had taken the first place from the elderly dark chi wizard almost automatically. Standing merely one meter and fifty centimeters from the ground, the most prominent characteristic of the man was that he was fat. Now, not in the same way that Tohru was, with powerful muscles bulging from his body; but neither in a gross manner. The fat of this man seemed… elegant, for some reason, with the round and big belly and inflated arms and legs somehow giving him a tranquilizing guise. Dressed in sharp suit of a light grey color that contrasted strangely well with the dark grey tone of his skin; the man had only his left arm, the right one gone. His face was contracted into a playful grin, like the one of children when they are about to open their Christmas presents. Jackie noted that the man had rather animalistic features in his face, small eyes under two thick rectangular glasses and a big mouth and big cheeks that made him look like some kind of amphibian. Black, messy and probably greasy hair adorned his head, combed back in a classy hairstyle. He put some papers over the lectern while some assistant put a little table full of what looked like police badges at his side. His right eye looked at the paper while the left one looked over the crowd, and when he raised his head to direct himself to the expecting faces of the people gathered there, the left eye was the one to look at them, while the right one was now looking at the ceiling.
"Gentlemen, ladies, and most important of all, graduates" the man spoke. His voice was surprisingly deep. For some reason, Jackie had expected his void to be high-pitched. "As many of you know, I'm Director Joseph White, in charge of Section 13's public, interstate and international relations; administrator of its founds and resources, and head of the psychological branch of the organization." the man smirked, and not only Jackie, but also Uncle and Tohru could have sworn that he had quite the set of strange teeth in the mouth. "Or in other words, I'm the man who, since three and a half years ago, signs the papers so you all can fly in expensive planes; and also makes sure than none of you go insane." A bunch of laughs could be heard across the auditory, mainly from the graduates. The man, Joseph White, continued. "Normally, our dear Captain Augustus Black would be giving this speech and presiding over this ceremony, but he has been taken away by the forces of bureaucracy, so I will have to give it in his place. Now, without more delay, I will like to thank all the presents for attending; and I would like for the graduates to come here and take their badge, license and to receive their well earned cheer when I call them by name. Now, let's see…"
One by one, exactly thirty three teens passed and received what Director White had promised them; the last one being Jade, who looked in awe at the object she had been given, a triangular shaped badge of a platinum tone with the number 13 engraved in it. Of course, this thing was almost never carried by any agent, and it fulfilled more a symbolic duty than anything else, an object to keep in our room and remind you that you were once a young man or woman with dreams and aspirations of justice, or adventure, or just intense emotions. But to Jade Chan, this was the most precious gift she had received in her whole life. She looked at it first, then to the crowd, and when the clapping and the cheering exploded from them, she searched for Jackie with her sight. Her eyes, met and the archeologist couldn't feel more proud about his niece than now. Both of them smiled to each other. This was for both uncle and niece, what you would call a Good Day.
It was going to change very soon.
Far away from Section 13, in a lone apartment occupied only by one renter, it was the worst of days for Preston Fisher. Even since he had returned home, he had tried everything he could think about in order to get rid of the headache, to no avail. It didn't matter how many pills he took, how much he tried to rest, the pain continued there. After two hours, the pain had ended from focusing in the head and had changed to torture his whole body. It was indescribable; he was feeling almost as his entrails were burning angrily, as if his blood was boiling inside his veins.
After that... things started to get weird. Preston had tried to watch the TV in order to distract himself from the pain until the ton of painkillers he had taken started (he hoped) to make effect. But when he turned the TV on, the only tjing that the device answered him were interferences, dancing and buzzing in the screen, as if they were a thousand flies behind the crystal. So Preston turned the TV off.
Did I forget to pay this month?, Preston thought. Ugh... I will think of it tomorrow... I need to call a doctor...
Preston walked slowly towards the telephone, but when he tried to pick it up, an electric current ran through his body and compressed in his hand, shooting a lightning from it that scorched the phone down to ashes. Preston's body started to tremble, and he fell to the ground, as if he was suffering from an epileptic attack. His body started to be enveloped by lightning that shot from every pore of his skin, striking the walls and ceiling of the apartment. Every electrical appliance of the flat either started to turn on and off randomly or directly exploded with its circuits burned. And logically, Preston's brain took the most logical course of action, and he fainted.
Outside the apartment, black clouds twirled over the building that housed Preston's flat. For people that were away, it was such a weird show, seeing that the black clouds of the storm only condensed over that spot. A thunder cracked the silent skies once again and lightning ran free across the black clouds. And yet there was no rain, only thunder and lightning.
Back at Section 13
"Thank you very much, Mr. Chan!" Stephanie thanked Jackie as he, rather clumsily, had given her his autograph when Jade had asked her if he could. Of course, Jackie felt obliged and he did so, earning himself a smile from the blond teenager. "I'll treasure it!" Steph said as she left the Chan clan alone, probably in order to put the autograph into a safe place.
"Your friend seems nice." Tohru commented to Jade, as the girl stood there, watching Stephanie go.
"Steph? Steph is a dork." Jade said to the Japanese giant. "She is a nice, girly dork; but a dork. She has her whole room filled with cables, and computers, and stuff…" noting Tohru's smiling face over her, Jade dropped the little façade. "But yeah, she is a good friend."
"Niece should treasure Goldie-girl." Uncle said. "Is very, veeeery hard to find good friends in this world!"
"Why did she want my autograph?" Jackie asked then.
"Huh? You don't know, Jackie? You're famous here." Jade answered, delighting herself in the strange expression that her uncle was making over her answer. "I mean, you were the first one to fight demons, and shadow ninjas, and all that. I and the others wouldn't be here if not for you."
"Indeed, you are quite popular with the newcomers, Mr. Chan." a deep voice entered the conversation. Director White had approached the group making himself no to be noted until he was there. He held out his only hand. "And also some that aren't very new. Director Joseph White; at your entire service."
Jackie took the man's hand; pressing it he noted that his skin was incredibly rough at contact. "The same for you, Mr. White. I think I have never heard from a 'Director' of Section 13 before."
White smiled. "I only got here after you all dealt with that… ah… what was his name again, Miss Chan?"
"Drago." Jade answered. "His name was Drago."
"That one." White said. "During these four years there has been a lot of… movement inside the chain of command." the Director told them all.
"How come?" Tohru asked to the weird looking little man.
"Tohru, right?" White asked as he extended his hand towards him and the Japanese chi wizard took it in respect. "Well, you could say that it all started when Augustus tried to tell his direct superiors at the time that magic, and demons were real. Of course they didn't believe him, and took down all his petitions."
"What happened then?" Jackie asked the man.
"Isn't it obvious?" White said as a grin appeared in his face. "A whole army of shadow demons almost took over the world! So the previous bosses got fired, and they put me in 'charge'. Of course, Augustus still has complete control over the operations; I only dealt with bureaucrats and some other things that are rather important. Speaking of which, since this is such a good opportunity, having you all here, I mean; I would want to talk with you all, in private, if possible."
Jackie looked to Uncle, who had remained silent since White had appeared and started to talk. The Chinese elder's eyes shifted a couple of times between his nephew and the strange-looking man in front of him. He then extended his hand towards White, and Jackie, Jade and Tohru saw a glimpse of green light covering it. "I'm Uncle. Pleased to meet you, Director White."
Tohru looked surprised at how seriously his mentor had extended his arm, while Jackie had been more surprise by the totally defensive position his uncle was in. White took the man's hand with his and shook it without any problem. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Chan. Miss Chan here is one of our most prominent promises as an agent. Now, about that chat in private…"
"Of course," Uncle said politely as he separated his hand from White's. "My family will be glad to attend." No willies; and White hadn't been burned by the good chi magic he had put in the handshake. But his appearance, why no one else seemed troubled by his appearance? And the sensation he irradiated… there was something wrong with that man.
White smiled again, once more sporting that weird grin that stood between creepy and funny. "Good. Now, if you all could follow me…"
"Jade, do you know something about this man?" Jackie asked his niece as the four members of the Chan clan waited outside his office. Tohru was leaning against the wall, while Jade and Jackie were standing nearby. Uncle, for his part, was staring warily at White's office's door, as if expecting (or trying to sense) something evil from it.
"Well, I know he is my boss, Jackie." Jade said, arms crossed over her chest and a little offended by the earlier display of the Chan patriarch. "And he is a good guy, really. He even gives psychological advice to the agents in training, he gave it to me."
"He did?" Jackie asked.
"Yeah!" Jade answered, sounded more offended with each second. "And he was incredibly helpful! And you saw it, Uncle's magic did nothing to him, and bad magic can't touch good magic! I mean, I admit that he looks a little strange, first time I met him I thought that Ratso looked healthier, but you should give him a try instead of just…!"
"Jade, calm down." Tohru said. "I know this is a very important moment for you, but there is no reason to talk like that to Jackie. You know that he only cares about you."
"Tch…" Jade said, looking sideways. "I hate when you have the reason, Big-T."
"Uncle did not feel evil coming from the man. He feels no chi from him." Uncle said then.
"Then why did you do that?" Jade said. "What if he had noticed, what if he had… OW!"
Uncle had hit Jade in the same way that he always hit Jackie or anyone that was bothering him. "Was niece not listening? Uncle felt no chi from that man. No chi means any type of chi; no evil, but no good either. There is something very wrong with White-man… He could be plotting something, preparing a trap behind door, just waiting to open it!"
As in clue to what Uncle had said; White opened the door and let the Chan clan in. Of course, there wasn't a trap, just the man's office. The insides of the Director's office were all painted in a light almond tone, a greenish carpet covering the floor, a desk with a chair behind and four in front presiding the stance. A big mirror stood silently in one of the room's corners, a pattern of undulating lines decorating its black borders. All around, bookshelves full of thick tomes could be seen, and in them, Uncle, Tohru and even Jade could recognize books that spoke about chi magic or mystical creatures of mainly Asia, but also Europe. Uncle could see how some ones were just encyclopedias about legends, demons and the like. Others looked like pure and real spellbooks, both about chi magic and other types of magical arts. Uncle could have sworn that he had seen one of the only five original books that depicted the way of performing a ritual in order to create a chi vessel with an object. Master Fong always regarded them as treasures among treasures; how had this 'man' got his hands over it?
While his two blood-relatives and Tohru looked at the little private library that the Director had assembled, Jackie was looking at the ceiling. A painting had been made over it, occupying its whole surface. It depicted a total of eleven spheres, all of them connected with thick lines that looked like braches; one of the spheres as its center, the 'tree' took its form with nine of the other ten spheres depicted into three groups of three in an ascending manner; with the last sphere as its root.
What is that? Jackie thought. I think I have seen something similar to it before, into a temple, somewhere…
"If you all could come here." Jackie heard White's deep voice. The four approached the man's desk, where he had put a bunch of files over it. "First, I would like to thank you all for your efforts in fighting alongside Section 13 during all these years. Your cooperation with this organization in taking down the Dark Hand and central rol in the fight against the 'forces of evil' has been of the utmost importance, and I thank each one of you." White moved some of the papers over his desk, pulling some photographs at the top of the files. "As you all know, we still had quite the collection in our faithful Vault, which resisted the little catastrophe of four years ago; more or less."
White stopped for a moment, letting the Chans look over the images he had put over the table. Oh yeah, I remember those ones. Funny times, Jade thought as she looked at the two parts that composed the Eye of Aurora, the necklace that could teleport people; and that mirror that held those crazy clowns captive; and also the puppet form of the Monkey King. But wait, where is...
"AIYAH!" Uncle screamed. "Where is Déjà Vu stone?! Jackie made great effort into bringing it here! Uncle was very insistent into protecting it from forces of evil! It could be disaster into wrong hands!"
"The Déjà Vu is gone." White explained, as he waved his only, grey hand over his head. "People far higher than me deemed that having something with the ability to time-travel could be... problematic, to say the least."
"So we kind of get rid of it." Captain Black's voice came from the door carrying another set of files under his arm. The bald man approached the desk and put the new files over it.
Uncle's face became of a dark red tone, and he burst in anger. "GET RID OF IT?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "HOW?! WHERE?! Déjà Vu stone is...!"
"Mister Uncle." White interrupted him, his deep voice somehow calming the old man enough to stop yelling and focus in the conversation. "The stone was put into a strongbox and thrown into the Mariana Trench. I doubt that someone can go that deep and survive."
Uncle narrowed his eyes at the strange looking man. It weren't just the looks, or the sensation of not having chi at all..., it was something else. Uncle had met a lot of evil men during his life, but this man felt just wrong. Exactly like the feeling from the previous night. So for now, Uncle folded his arms and kept silence; as if telling White that he understood. He would do research later.
"Ah, Augustus; did our friend of France agree to our little idea?" White asked Captain Black.
The bald man nodded. "Yes, in fact he was quite eager to agree upon that matter." Captain Black said, making White to smile happily.
"Excuse me," Tohru asked the pair in a polite tone. "But you said that there was something important you would like to discuss with us."
White smiled. "Ah, yes, yes. The matter of most importance is... this." White pulled another photo from the pile of files to the top. There it was, in al its glory, feline features and red skin; the only Oni Mask that remained.
"Tarakudo..." Tohru muttered; his body shivering a little upon watching the guise of the sealed lord of the Oni. It weren't willies per se, but the last time they had faced Tarakudo... it hadn't been a pleasant experience, to say the least.
"What has Big Red to do with all this?" Jade asked. "We dealt with him, he is sealed in that mask, and there is no way for him to escape."
"That's not the point, Jade." Black said. "How to explain it..."
"Mr. Tohru." White spoke. "Tell me; is a Shadowkhan alive as you and I are? Can they die?"
Tohru raised an eyebrow in curiosity since all the attendants, except for maybe Director White, knew what a Shadowkhan was. But as he had been asked, he explained. "Shadowkhan are neither alive nor dead, they are just puppets created from shadows and given form by the dark chi from the Shadow Realm that the ones that conjure them draw from there."
White smiled upon the Japanese chi wizard's explanation. "Do they need to drink, eat or sleep?"
Tohru shook his head. "No. For all purposes, they don't need any of that."
The Director's smile widened. "And they obey everything that the one that calls them says?"
"Well, yes; that's their role." Tohru answered.
White clacked a quite disturbing, sort and dry laugh. "Well, Mr. Tohru. You have just described the dream army of every nation in human history!"
"What do you mean with that?" Jackie asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Jackie, we are a secret agency; but an American secret agency. And now not even very secret." Black stepped into the conversation. "After all that happened with the Oni and Drago, but especially with the Oni; other countries pressed ours in order to know what was going on with the enormous mass of blackness that covered their territory and that originated from ours." Black put a finger over one of the files over White's desk. "The European Union, China, Russia, and especially Japan... They were all kind of troubled that we have this kind of power at our disposal. They are worried that someday, some madman will see this mask and get... ideas."
The Director reclined himself in his chair. "During these past two years, we have been taking measures to open Section 13 to the world." White explained. "We have been building a complex in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in cooperation with other nations, and they have started to establish their own versions of Section 13 in order to create a worldwide defense against magical threats."
So, Section 13 International?, Jade thought. Great, we are going full Justice League.
"And that's where you four, and our friend here" White continued speaking, tapping the mask's image; "enter."
Black took the image of Tarakudo in his hands. "We will like for you to come with me and transfer the mask there."
Jackie sighed in relief at the prospect of something so easy. "So we just have to go and deliver the mask, right?" Black and White exchanged glances.
"Actually, Jackie." Black said, trying to sound the softest and most diplomatic possible. "We would like to only Jade and Tohru to accompany me."
Jackie's eyes moved from Black to White, and then to Black again. After repeating the movement a couple times, his eyes focused solely in Black. "What?"
"First mission?" Jade asked, smiling in awe. She threw her arms above her head. "First mission!" Jade then noticed Tohru's eyes over her. "Hehe... Sorry."
"Captain Black..." Jackie said into a tone that sounded quite worried. "Why only Jade and Tohru?"
"Jackie..." Black began, but Uncle interrupted him with his own words.
"Uncle believes it's a good idea." the Chinese elder said in a serious tone. "Tohru is better than Uncle in Japanese chi magic."
"Uncle, you can't…" Jackie said, only to get another slap from the elder.
"Didn't you hear Uncle?" the Chinese old man replied. "Tohru is better to dealt with mask than me! Nephew never listens!" Uncle said in anger. And that way, I will have time for research, he added in his thoughts.
"I'm not worried about Tohru, I…" Jackie started to say, even if he noticed Jade frowning at his side.
"Mr. Chan." White interrupted him. "Could I speak with you in private, just a few minutes?"
Jackie looked at the strange-looking man and then at the attendants. Tohru seemed to agree with the idea, and Uncle had said what he wanted to; so he accepted, and Black accompanied the others outside. When they were finally alone, White reclined even more in his seat and let out a large and sonorous sigh. He took his glasses of and rubbed his eyes with his only hand. After several moments of silence and putting his glasses back on, White spoke. "Mr. Chan. Do you know that, if she wanted to, your niece could defeat you in combat now?"
Jackie stared at White with a blank expression. "What? That must be…"
"It's not an exaggeration." White stated. "During the last four years she has been here, polishing her abilities to their peek. And albeit her physical might and cunning are vastly superior to her other competences, she is now at the level of agents that had years of experience at their backs. Of course, she is still rather reckless and impulsive, and maybe a little too proud of her own abilities sometimes, a facet of her personality that maybe has worsened; but I must admit that I haven't seen someone so capable in a long time."
"This was your idea, wasn't it?" Jackie asked the Director, now catching up to the man's reasoning, and not with a slight hint of mistrust.
"Mostly," White answered. "Mr. Chan; I know that you are worried about your niece's safety, everyone in your situation would be. In fact, that's how you are supposed to react. But aside being in charge of this organization and being a politician; I'm also a psychologist." White explained. "And over the last months I have noted that Jade doesn't want to prove her abilities only to her own self, but also to you. I think that the best course of action would be to let her have this… victory, to call it something. Let her prove you that she can manage in her own. Otherwise, in a worst case scenario, someone of her talent could develop an inferiority-superiority complex to contend with not being able to hold up to you."
Jackie pondered the man's words after he had listened to them, letting them to sink in his mind. "You really care for Jade to tell me that."
"Mr. Chan, your niece; like every teenager in the world; wants to be heard and seen as an equal, as a person of her own." White explained. "Denying that, even if fundamental in the desire of wanting to protect her, could be catastrophic." The strange-looking man smiled. "And don't get me wrong just because I look weird; I care for every person in this base. That's my job, after all."
Jackie smiled shyly after that sentence. "I'm sorry; it's not that I wanted to offend you, but my Uncle is ratter… suspicious of new people."
"Mr. Chan." White explained. "I doubt that by this point in my life anyone could say something about my appearance that offends me. And don't worry about me; I'm just a friendly man of Massachusetts, there is nothing to worry about." White smiled from ear to ear. "And believe me, there is no one in this base that cares about your niece's safety more than me."
Jackie gave his thanks to the man of dark grey skin and then directed himself to the door. Before leaving, he gave one final look to the ceiling and suddenly, the name he had almost forgotten came to his mind. "By the way I didn't know you were a follower of the Kabbalah."
White looked at him with an eyebrow raised in confusion. "Follower of what?"
Jackie pointed to the ceiling. "The ten Sephirot." Jackie said. "It's a symbol of the Kabbalah."
The Director looked at the image of the ceiling and then to Jackie, then to the image again and one final time to Jackie, almost if the archeologist had said one of the biggest insults in the world to his face. A varied range of emotions passed over his face, from disbelief at what Jackie had said, then to anger about it, then pure hate at Jackie for having said it without consideration and finally, pity for Jackie due to not being able to understand what he was seeing. Then his expression relaxed and White smiled once again.
"Is something wrong?" Jackie asked, a little worried by the man's reaction.
"No, no; of course not, Mr. Chan. Is just that I'm not very accustomed to people recognizing it."
And with that final exchange of words as a farewell; Jackie left the newly Section 13's Director's office. White looked at the ceiling after Jackie left and let out a weird chuckle out his mouth.
Kabbalah, eh?, White thought. Well, I suppose that one could have taken inspiration from you, but to be mistaken… But, I suppose it's not his fault. He can't see the rest of spheres. For now.
Jackie found Jade half an hour later into one of those training rooms that had served him very well during his time living in Section 13. She had left the jacket and the tie of her suit, now wearing only the shirt of her suit and a pair of dark blue pants. She was practicing some movements, concentrating and delivering blows; punches and kicks into the air.
She really has become way better, Jackie thought, looking how Jade's movements were now swift and precise. No energy was lost in the blows, no muscle was used at random. From his niece's little show, Jackie could see that Jade had added new styles and types of martial arts to her own.
Four years.
"Where are Tohru and Uncle?" Jade asked; having noticed Jackie's presence.
"Waiting with Captain Black." Jackie answered. "Some of those movements are new, aren't they? I don't remember teaching them to you."
"Uncle Jackie." Uncle. She had called him uncle; it was clear she was upset. "You haven't the only one teaching me during this time."
Four years, even with the visits. Four years were a long time, especially for a teen. Jackie sighed. "Jade, listen..."
"No, you listen." Jade retorted, stopping her exercises. "This is like, the best day of my life, and I really wanted to have you here, I'm glad that you are here. But what happens? Uncle almost chi-spells the Director, and then you said that..." she sighed. "Jackie, you have to understand that I'm not the same little girl that arrived at Uncle's shop."
"Jade, I know that." He was the one to sigh now. "I talked with Director White." Jackie said. "And I agreed with you accompanying Tohru in that mission. Alone."
Jade was left speechless, and for a moment she just looked at Jackie; feeling how her frown disappeared little by little, leaving a small smile in its place. "Really?"
"Really." Jackie said, smiling in an awkward manner. "Jade, it's not that you aren't ready or strong enough. It's just that I'm worried about you."
"You shouldn't."
"But I am." Jackie answered. "I always will be."
The two of them fell silent and then, without any type of prior warning, Jade hugged Jackie. "Thanks, Jackie." Jade said. "And I promise; I won't break anything, create any international crisis and I will protect Tohru."
Jackie raised an eyebrow. "You will protect Tohru?"
"Well, duh. It's the ocean, Jackie." Jade said.
"Oh right," Jackie said holding back a laugh. "The fishes."
"But seriously now." Jade said. "Thanks for giving me this, Jackie. I promise I won't disappoint you."
Jackie put a hand over Jade shoulder. "Jade, you could never disappoint me. Even if you will always be that little girl wearing a hoodie that I met at Uncle's shop. By the way, some of those movements look really good, and I think that we still have time before we have to go." Jackie said them taking his jacket off and taking into a fighting position in order to spar. "Why don't you show me what others have been teaching you?"
Jade smirked, and in a matter of seconds the two of them were exchanging blows into a friendly manner. Sometimes, speaking with the body is better than speaking with the mouth; and this was clearly one of those situations. Jade delivered an ascending kick to Jackie's head, but her uncle caught her leg in mid air and turning around she literally threw her in the air. Jade gave a somersault while falling and landed over her feet in the floor. She then launched an attack towards Jackie composed of rapid punches, some of them fast enough to force Jackie to put a great effort in order to stop them. And there it was, clear as crystal, the fact that Jade was as capable as him, but that she would never be like him. Even if Jackie had been able to really nail on her that 'The best battle is the one that is not fought'; it was clear that Jade preferred being in the frontlines, attacking. Here he was, in the defense, avoiding, blocking, redirecting; and there was she, attacking as there was no tomorrow. Reckless and as energetic as an atomic bomb; but still his little niece Jade.
Time after the spar
"Why do niece and nephew stink so much?!" Uncle asked in a screech while the four of them were driven back home into one of Section 13's official vehicles; a SUV, to be exact. After all, it was one of the few vehicles that could afford Tohru's weight and size without losing its shock absorvers while driving.
"We don't stink!" Jade protested. "It's just that we couldn't use the showers after our spar."
"You two sparred?" Tohru asked with a bit of surprise.
"Yes." Jackie answered. "Nothing serious, just a little excercise to seeif we both were still in shape." After a few seconds, he added, "Jade won."
"You did?" Tohru asked, now pride over his young friend achievement taking over surprise in his voice.
"You bet I did!" Jade said almost in a shout. "It was awesome! Jackie tried to get me in a wrench but then I flipped and I got him in my own! I mean, it was hard as hell to get him, but I did it!"
Jackie had taken White's words at heart. If what Jade needed was being recognized as an equal, why not do it into all levels? Jackie had to admit, fighting in a serious tone with his niece had been kind of entertaining. It hadn't been one of those 'fights to the death' that he had with Hak Foo or with a member of the Ice Strike Gang; it had been just a serious spar with Jade. They weren't trying to broke each other's bones, or cripple each other's body; they were just fighting, trying to see to what extent the other was capable of going, see how the other had developed. And Jade had won. Jackie now felt a new kind of pride, the pride of being surpassed by someone he cared about.
"And the best thing is that Jackie gave me permission to go with Tohru to that mission!" Jade continued. "Isn't it great, big guy?"
Tohru smiled warmly. "It is." then he shifted his glance to his elderly mentor. "But sensei, why did you agree with Director White's proposal? You said that you find him suspicious."
"Aiyah... Uncle finds White-man really suspicious, Tohru. But Captain Black is going to accompany you, and Uncle trusts Captain Black. He has very good chi in him!"
"Speaking of chi, sensei..." Tohru said, "you said that you felt no chi from that man."
"Here we go again..." Jade complained. "Just when I was in a good mood."
"Uncle doesn't feel chi from White-man." Uncle said in a somber tone. "Even niece has to admit, that is suspicious."
Jade mumbled something between her teeth, but didn't say a thing. Okay, that was a little suspicious... okay, it was pretty suspicious. But if Director White was evil, the why was he directing Section 13? Why was he so helping and caring, and nice to her and the rest of the cadets? For Jade, it didn't make sense. True, she had been once fooled by Hsi Wu, and from that moment she had been very wary about falling for the 'bad guy acts like a good guy act'; but White seemed truly dedicated in body and soul to help people and improve humanity's defenses against evil! For God's sake, he even called his mother every Monday!
Meanwhile, Tohru was the one to point the obvious. "But sensei, all living beings have chi, either good or bad. Even beings like the Jiang-Shi have it, even if they need to consume the one from others to strengthen the little one they have. If Director White doesn't have chi, then it means that he is not alive, which he is. Maybe you committed a failure...ow!"
"Former apprentice has grown very adept in the use of chi magic, and Uncle thanks him for reminding him of one of the basics." Uncle said as he hit Tohru. "But that's the reason why Uncle must do research!"
Jackie glanced outside the window of the SUV. Just like when he had looked out of the taxi, people were walking San Francisco's streets, minding their own business, except for the ones looking surprised at seeing a SUV through the highway. Jackie's mind shifted back to the conversation he had had with White. The man didn't seem mischievous, and Captain Black trusted him; but the way he had looked at Jackie when he had talked about the painting in the ceiling...
Jackie's thoughts were interrupted when the driver took a turn and Uncle's shop appeared in sight.
Looking at the shop, Jackie spotted a man that he suposed was in his forties or so, who was inspecting the outsides of the shop, as if expecting for someone to arrive or something to happen.
"Uncle, were you expecting a client today?" Jackie asked the chinese elder.
"What do you mean? Uncle was very insistent in making clear that shop was closed today! He even put a 'closed' sing in the door, so is impossible for..." Uncle suddenly stopped his rant and the others saw how his skin lost a little of colour. Then a shiver ran up his spine and through his whole body.
"Sensei?" Tohru asked with concern
Uncle looked to not point in particular. "Uncle has the willies..."
Looking outside the car, Jackie saw how the man raised one of his arms and pointed his palm towards the SUV, sparks generating in his palm. Jackie had seen enough magic these last years to not recognize it at sight. The last thing he remembered saying was "Take cover!" to his family before the SUV was hit by a lightning bolt and sent crashing backwards into the streets he fell unconscious due to the impact.
An hour before that…
Preston Fisher awoke from his previous fainting with a little headache, a feeling of hotness over his whole body and, above all else, a sensation of thirst. Without paying attention to the little havoc he had caused in his apartment before falling to the hands of the sleep without dreams, Preston went to his kitchen, drank everything that could refresh his throat and then headed to his shower. There he washed his body carefully, almost as if he was inspecting it like a stranger could do.
Then he went out of the shower and dried himself using everything at his disposal, from towels to the shower's curtains. Then he went to his room, and with clumsy movements he dressed up in a pair of old jeans, a reddish T-shirt and a pair of old boots. Then he headed or the entrance and looked himself in a small mirror that hanged in the hall of the flat.
"How did Shendu tolerate this for such a long time," Tchang Zu spoke through Preston's mouth "is something I will never know." He looked at his new face with clear distaste. "No scales, no fangs; only this clumsy and weak flesh!" The Thunder Demon, now inside a human body, clenched his fist and roared as loud as his new vocal cords permitted, throwing a pair of small lightning bolts out of his fists that collided with the ceiling, leaving two scorching marks over it.
"But I was right choosing this man as a vessel, his will is so pathetic and his chi so malnourished that I have taken control completely over him." Tchang Zu toppled Preston's apartment's door in one kick, sending it out of its frames and exiting to the hall. "And my own chi seems to have increased his physical abilities. Good!" Tchang Zu walked the hall and started to walk down the stairs. "And I won't make the same mistakes that Shendu made. I will destroy the only ones that can vanquish me! Jackie Chan, your days are numbered!"
"Hey! I don't know who the hell is out there!" came then a voice from one of the other flats of the apartment building. "But shut the hell up! I'm trying to sleep! Some of us work at night, you inconsiderate bastard!"
Tchang Zu grumbled but didn't pay any more attention to the human. He then headed out of the apartment and inhaled the air around him strongly. "Ha! Even at such a distance I can smell the reek of good chi that comes from that old fool's lair, just like Hsi Wu told me! Now, it is time to destroy the enemy of all demon-kind once and for all!"
And as soon as those words left his mouth, Tchang Zu started to search for Uncle's shop, ignoring the stares that the people of the streets were giving him. After all, not every day you see a man speaking alone in the middle of the street about chi and demon-kind.
The present
"-Chan! Wake up, sir! Mr. Chan!" a voice startled Jackie and was able to pull him back from his forced slumber. Jackie then was faced with a bulky man in his fifties, with short brown hair with a few white stripes on it adorning his head. He sported a thick and messy moustache, and his skin had an almond tone to it. Two greenish grey eyes completed a face with a prominent, almost rectangular, jaw. Jackie then realized that he was the driver, and he remembered the stranger in front of the shop, and the lightning.
The Section 13 agent helped him to incorporate. "Are you alright, sir?" he asked, but before Jackie had time to answer, or ask for his family's location; another bolt struck the man in the back, and he was left over Jackie's lap, the archeologist not sure if unconscious or even dead.
The man he had seen at Uncle's shop approached Jackie, his hair of a bronze tone becoming spiky and delivering sparkles of electricity. He looked down at Jackie, and smiled wickedly. Jackie, for his own part, looked at the complete red eyes of the man and how electric bolts ran across his arms and hair. He had seen this same situation before, albeit that time the man had been Valmont, and the element had been fire, whie now it had been lightning. But that only could mean…
"Tchang Zu the Thunder Demon?!" Jackie asked in disbelief.
"Greetings, Jackie Chan." Tchang Zu said, and then pointed one of his hands towards Jackie, condensing quite the amount of lightning in it. "AND FAREWELL!"
"Bad day!" Jackie screamed as he saw the lightning charge at not even a meter of his face. Indeed, it was clearly a Bad Day now.
A/N: I think this is a good moment to end this chapter; since the fight with the possessed by Tchang Zu Preston will be the focus of the start of next chapter and will let the Chan Clan to know that the Demon Sorcerers (except Shendu, of course) are now roaming free in spirit form.
The focus of this chapter was reintroducing Jackie and Jade; and present Director Joseph White, character entrusted with tying the JCA universe to the Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft fans should know what the painting in the Director's ceiling is. Also, yes, obvious bad guy is bad; if some doubts are still present.
I think that this story will start as how the JCA show was, with the Chans trying to stop an ancient evil (again) via Chi magic; and then have them descent slowly into the things that the superposing of the realities that happened in the previous chapter has brought to their home. I think that, by chapter four, they will be confronting some of the creatures of the Mythos, and then we will head into an arc that will clearly nail that the Chans are not dealing with simple oriental demons anymore.
Having said that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter; and to answer the question made by the guest reviewer of January 1, NO, Drago is not dead. Hastur pulled information out of his mind, and the process left him insane and without the chi he had been collecting. It was a side effect of mind-contact with the King in Yellow, but he is still alive, if mad and almost catatonic.
Good bye.