Redheaded Romance

Note: Yet another JCA fanfic focusing on Finn, but of course. Finn finds the woman of his dreams (Pearl) during a jewel heist for the Dark Hand. These jewels are no ordinary jewels (as you could've guessed). The jewels are pivotal in a device Dao-Long Wong has created with Dark Magic known as the Dreamcatcher. When activated, the entire World will be put to sleep forever. Finn has to think of what he is doing since he stole a sweet kiss from her dainty, elegant hand. He doesn't want her to sleep forever without knowing how he truly feels for her. Dao-Long becomes angered, and the J-Team is called into the scene. Action abounds !

Chapter 1—The Most Rare and Beautiful Treasure

Dao-Long Wong had recently created his most ingenious sinister invention called the Dreamcatcher. This device was created with the help of Dark Magic and particularly powerful, but it needed the power of rare jewels for its fuel. There was only one store in town that carried rare and unusual jewels. With the jewels in place, the Dreamcatcher device would be activated and the entire world would be put under a sleeping spell...forever. Finn had been apart from the Dark Hand for a while had decided to return to the notorious group. It wasn't that hard of a choice, because in his mind, he was through with being unemployed and having nothing to show for his skills and rakish wit. Dao-Long was not sure why he hired a mortal into the Dark Hand, but he was certain just like the other members of the organization that he would get the job done and always do as he was ordered to do.

One night, Wong had commanded his lackeys to hold up the jewelry store downtown while he watched from a safe distance. As the heist was in progress, Finn was swiping jewelry from a breathtakingly gorgeous Latin woman named Pearl Sanchez. The moment he set eyes upon her, he found himself transfixed. She wasn't afraid of him, or the fact that he had a gun on hand. Her chocolate eyes were full of admiration for Finn. Playfully, she grinned at him gently, her tan cheeks picking up tints of rouge. Bravely, he took her hand delicately in his strong yet tender grip, and touched it to his lips. "I won't forget you, Pearl.", he said, softly, and left, grinning confidently for more than one reason. His heart was soaring, and he knew that what he had discovered this night was more important than anything else he had ever felt before was.

For the longest time, Finn couldn't calm the palpitation of his heart. His mind was racing with daydreams of the beatific Pearl. He could hear her calling his name, but then he realized it was his boss and he wanted the final jewels for the Dreamcatcher device. Finn was in quite a quandary. He wanted to see Pearl again and have the chance to take her out to dinner and a discotechque. But, Wong was growing impatient. "What are you waiting for, Finn ? I may be immortal but I want world domination NOW !", Wong bellowed, causing the whole room to tremble. Finn could hardly think straight, but he was able to decide the right action to take, even if it wasn't what the others were forcing him to do.

Chapter 2—Enter the Law

When Finn defied Wong's direct order, he grew enraged with Finn and demanded the others to force him to give up the jewels. "Oh, I am so outta here !", he thought to himself, and quickly pivoted on his left foot and bolted out of the underground hideaway. Just then, the authorities burst into the door and tried their best to arrest the members of the Dark Hand. While the police were being beaten by Dao-Long's black magic and the cat- like reflexes of his undead assistants. Finn ran away as fast as his feet could carry them. Unfortunately, he knew that the jewelry store was closed so he would have to find another place to hide the jewels and keep them safe.

The police had no other way to retaliate than to call in the J-Team from Section 13. A grand battle between the J-Team and the Dark Hand had commenced and both the police and Finn had left the scene. The police didn't even notice that Finn had escaped their grasp. The police would return to the Dark Hand's hideout if the J-Team needed any reinforcements. Seeing that the J-Team could handle the situation, they continued on their route of retreat. Finn remained cool, calm, and collected until the heat was off and then escaped to his apartment on the other side of town. The battle was so intense that even the Dark Hand had nearly forgotten about the precious jewels until Wong reminded them after their embarrassing defeat. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed a mortal to help him out more than ever. Beaten, sore, and aching, Wong also knew that he had to recuperate before finding out where Finn was and began considering what sort of painful punishment he would have to endure.

Chapter 3—No Turning Back

Finn knew he had already dug himself into a pretty deep hole, but he felt that there was still hope for him. He would have to return the jewels to their rightful owner incognito, but he would leave hints to Pearl of who he truly was. Inwardly, he was certain that Pearl was an exceptionally intelligent woman since her sophistication separated her from most ordinary women. All he had to do now was to gather his courage to do what was right.

After taking the initial preparations to return to the jewelry store, Finn lugged the bag of jewels over his left shoulder and drove his '70 metallic white Stingray to the middle of downtown. Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly and steadily, Finn exited his beloved Stingray and entered Kay Jewelry. "The culprit happened to leave these behind after the unfortunate incident yesterday, and I have come to return them. I hope that whoever was responsible is dealt with tout sweet.", Finn said, handing the heavy bag to Ms. Sanchez. In his left hand, he held a white rose, and there was a note attached to it. He placed it on her counter and flashed a flirtatious wink at her, bearing a genteel grin. With that, Finn left the premises and Pearl read the card that had been attached to the rose. It read, "This gift pales in comparison to your radiance and you are far more precious and rare than anything I have ever encountered. I hope to see you again someday. Yours, Finn." Pearl was nearly moved to tears, and she knew she had to see him again and call his number that was conveniently left on the back of the card. The safety of the jewels was still in her mind, but she wasn't worried. In Kay's safe, they would be concealed from any outside force, but she didn't realize that Finn would become a catalyst in keeping the entire world safe and even helping the J-Team.

Chapter 4—Rebel with a Cause

As predicted, Dao-Long orchestrated yet another robbery of Kay Jewelers but the J-Team was one step ahead. The one element they weren't expecting was Finn helping them out. Needless to say, Wong was infuriated with Finn's betrayal. "You'll regret ever leaving the Dark Hand, you traitor ! You'll get no better treatment from the outside world than our kind of treatment !", Wong screamed at the top of his lungs. "Oh, shut up you old fool !", Finn retorted, landing a kick to Dao's token staff and knocking it out of his hands. The Chi Wizards had the advantage in the battle and the Dreamcatcher device was damaged without any hope of repair. Cassandra had learned a new spell to cause temporary memory loss. She was confident in her abilities and cast the spell on the Dark Hand. At this time, Finn thought it was an opportune time to make his getaway. As the light died and the Dark Hand was discombobulated, the moment they turned around, Finn wasn't there. "Well, that's strange. I wonder why Finn helped us and what caused the sudden change in his personality ?", Jackie asked. "Who knows. But you should be accustomed to the strange and unusual, Jackie.", Captain Black said, laughing. They all chuckled at Black's odd sense of humor. "I don't think we'll ever become accustomed to this kind of life. There's always something weirder to see and experience almost every day !", Viper mentioned. "No kidding !", Jade agreed. The J- Team left the underground lair of the Dark Hand and parted ways for the evening. Somehow they knew they would be seeing Finn again in the future.

Epilogue

Any ideas concerning the Dreamcatcher device or the jewels used to fuel it had been completely forgotten, and Dao-Long Wong had returned to devising another plan for world domination. He had become so involved with his plans of dictatorship that Finn leaving the Dark Hand was never a sticking point for him. In fact, Finn had found a new line of work as a salesman in a CD and DVD factory. He had never been so happy or felt so productive. He kept in touch with Pearl and grew closer to her every time he saw her. As a force of justice, he was certainly more comfortable fighting for the side of justice and being treated as a human being rather than being nobody. As for the future in assisting the J-Team, Finn would keep a low profile until they completely trusted him. It would take them time in order to completely open up to him. After all, he had been a crook for longer than he could ever remember, but he knew he was travelling down the right road now. Proud, but not too cocky in himself, Finn continued to do well in everything he did, and hoped that one day he would become a part of the J-Team. Until that day, he would remain the mysterious do-gooder in the chic modern clothing.

The End...Or is it ?

To be continued...

In the next chapter of Redheaded Romance, called "A Finn For All Seasons", Finn's trustworthiness is put to the test when Pearl and the J-Team are in the clutches of the Dark Hand. Dao-Long wants to force Finn into recording subliminal messages on the latest digital release of a new Abba CD. Finn thinks this is absurd, but Wong convinces him that if he doesn't do it, the J-Team and Pearl could face imminent destruction at his hand and die a most horrendous death. Will Finn go through with toadying to Wong's desires or will he take a stand and try to find a way to free his love and the J-Team ?

By: Elizabeth Berndt February 10, 2004