Whirr, bzzzt, clank and other high pitched mechanical sounds filled the air in Jack's lab, noises that were music to the evil boy genius's ears. On his face was a Welder's mask to protect him from the warm glow of a blow torch as he put the finishing touches on his latest creation. Bent down, his trademark goggles were on the floor by his shoes. His tongue was poked out cutely as he worked as if that somehow helped him concentrate better the last tedious details.
Creating new Jackbots was more than just for battle, the constant struggle to make new versions of the robots and to put old ones back together gave the young man something to do and to focus on. It was a way to drown out everything else around him, the days defeats, insults and aching loneliness. It kept his emo side at bay and helped him to forget, at least for a short while, just how much he missed Chase Young's presence. It also masked the silence of the large basement, making it less obvious that Wuya wasn't there and added to an already countless number of times that she had betrayed him to return to Chase's side. The only reason he had forgiven her all those times prior and let her rejoin him was because he hated being alone, but he had his limits and was slowly starting to get fed up with the slings and arrows that came from having her around.
But so was a never-ending story, almost everyone abandoned Jack and that was something he was sadly accustomed to dealing with.
''Done!!'' a triumphant shriek rang out amongst the noise. ''It may have taken me months to finish these new Jackbots; little sleep, long nights, neglecting my wild social life and suffering a few injuries,'' he ranted on, talking to himself as usual as he held up his right hand, exposing a bandage over the tips of his index finger and thumb. ''but they're just battle scars now baby! It'll all be worth it when I get my revenge on those Xiaolin losers.''
The noise was finally silenced and Jack raised from his crouched position on the floor, setting aside a blow-torch and moving his goggles back to their normal position atop his head. How he managed to wear them without smearing his eye make-up was nothing less than astounding.
''Surprise Bot,'' he shouted, once again coming up with a great name for his inventions, ''stealth mode. Go to the kitchen and get me a juice box!'' The robot hovered above the ground for a moment, activating it's cloaking device and went completely out of sight. To the eye, the Surprise-Bot looked identical to his usual Jack-Bots. That had been done intentionally and not out of lack of creativity or laziness. The simple idea was that, if the Surprise-Bots looked like his Jack-Bots while visible then no one would be able to tell them apart and they wouldn't look suspicious. After all, the entire idea was to keep the Surprise-Bot and it's copies a secrete. They had been designed to be shadows in the night, theives that went undetected. (Hence the name.)
''Yes! Yes, that's it! They work! It's brill-'' Jack's self-boasting was cut short by the sounds of a door opening. He ran a hand over his face in frustration at seeing no one there. ''Don't use the door!'' Jack instructed, pointing dramatically at the wall in front of him. ''Through the wall! Why would I want you to go invisible and then open the door!?''
Silence. The Robot didn't respond, making Spicer pander for a moment if it's voice chip was working properly. The door slowly shut itself and minutes later, while Jack's gaze fixed itself on the wall and tapped his boot against the floor with impatience, his robot returned and removed it's cloaking device shortly after passing through the wall.
"It worked! I'm so good, I even impress myself'' he chimed in, a big smile on his face.
''This is it. . . the greatest invention I've ever made! Mimicking the power of the Serpent's Tail and the Shroud of Shadows and putting them into my Surprise Bots was nothing short of genius. With it, they'll be able to pass through walls, through people and be completely unseen. And this time they're really invisible. . .Rai's stupid Sword of the Storm won't help him again! With my new Surprise Bots, it's like they're not even there! I can rob those Xiaolin punks of every one of their Shen Gong Wu in a single night! They'll never know what hit them.''
After this rant he raised his hands in the air, clenched tightly into fists and gave an evil laugh. . .or attempted to at least.
''Mwa hahaha hahah--!!,'' half way into the laugh he broke into a coughing fit.
''Don't just stand there," he coughed, "give me my juice box!,'' he demanded of his Surprise Bot. ''I can't give my evil laugh when my throat's dry!''
The chest panel of the Surprise Bot opened and the juice box slid out on a metal tray, jerked away roughly by Jack who glared at the box with a child-like pout. ''Grape? I wanted apple! Can't you do anything right!?'' Still, he punched the straw into the box and took a long sip of it.
''That's better. Now where was I? Oh, right.'' he cleared his throat as if he were about to give an important speech. ''With the help of my new Surprise Bots, I'll have all the Shen Gong Wu without ever having to lift another finger again! I'll crush all my enemies and rule the world!! Mwa hahaha hahahaha ha!,'' his laugh echoed once again off the walls of the basement, but over-excited about his good fortune, he clamped his hands shut to mock crushing his enemies, bursting the juice box and sent the contents splattering all over the floor and his across his boots.
''Great. . .how am I supposed to take over the world when I'm all sticky?,'' he whined, throwing the crushed drink box on the floor as well. ''Yes-Bot!,'' he called out to another of his robots, one that had been too good not to rebuild when it had been destroyed. It looked the same as before, and still had a happy chipper voice and attitude to match. It didn't take long for the robot to join his side either, made to be even more faithful and complimentary than before. After all, even evil needed a pat on the back sometimes. . .especially Jack, who was very rarely, if ever, praised by anyone else.
''Jack, great job. You're looking as fantastic as ever, those new robots are amazing. . . brilliant! Just like you! What can I do for you? I'm eager to serve and aim to please.''
''Well I-''
''How about a milkshake? Extra thick?''
''No I-''
''. . .a hamburger with lots of ketchup? A back rub?''
''A back rub would be nice. . .but not right now. What I want is f--''
''Shall I draw you a bubble bath, sir? Some hot-cocoa with extra marshmallows? a c-''
''Stop interrupting me!!''
Maybe there was such a thing as too loyal? Jack glared at the robot as he finally quieted down to actually listen.
''I want you to clean up this mess. How a boy genius is supposed to work under these conditions is beyond me.''
He complained more, raising his boot off the floor and shaking some of the juice off the top of it. ''Then get me another juice box. . .and make sure I don't spill it this time!''
''Right away, sir. My pleasure to serve you!,'' came the cheery response as the robot dashed off to do as it was directed. Once it was busy, Jack began to re-think his earlier plan. Leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest, he re-formulated the idea aloud as if anyone else was there to listen.
"Maybe taking all their Wu at once wasn't such a good idea. They might get suspicious and rush over here to get it back. . .and they'll hurt me.'' He winced at the very idea, knowing his usual robots didn't do much in the respect of stopping the others. And because he only had one working Surprise Bot, he didn't want to be caught unprepared. ''It's too risky. . .I know! I'll do a rest run first,'' he continued, in a hardly audible voice.
''Surprise Bot!''
''Sir?''
Jack raised an eyebrow. ''You can talk? But. . .why didn't you say anything before? I thought your voice chip was malfunctioning!''
''I didn't want to interrupt you, sir. I'm programmed to listen and obey. You're the master.''
Spicer was taken back by the response for a moment, and cocked an eyebrow as if in disbelief. He wasn't used to being shown such obedience and respect, aside from what the Yes-Bot gave him. "Oh man, these new Surprise Bots are awesome. I have got to make more,'' he mused happily, ''and don't forget it!'' he returned to the robot's pledge.
''I want you to go to the temple, stay out of sight and bring me back just one of their Shen Gong Wu.''
''Which one?'' came a mono-tone and very un-enthralled voice that sounded oddly similar to Spicer's own.
''Surprise me, I don't care. That's why it's called a practice run, now go and don't get caught!''
''Yes, master.''
Jack rubbed his hands together in anticipation as the robot cloaked itself and went to carry out it's task. If all went according to plan, that night would be one of many triumphs for the young man.
"Your juice, Jack. And might I say that you are looking very evil tonight," the Yes-Bot had returned, as eager to please as ever.
''Tell me something I don't know.'' Spicer retorted, taking the juice.
''Is there anything else I can do for you?''
''Shine my shoes!''
''You got it, champ.''
As the Yes-Bot began to clean and shine Jack's shoes, the young man finally got a good look at the cup that had been brought to him. . .a soft blue cup with a big cartoon puppy face on the side and a lid on it's top.
''Is this a sippy cup?! How am I supposed to look evil when I'm drinking out of a sippy cup!?'' It was apparent that the Yes-Bot had taken Spicer's request to be sure he didn't spill more juice a bit too literally.
''Where did you get this thing from anyway?!''
''From the kitchen cupboard, it has your name on it.''
Jack looked down at the cup again, seeing his name written across the lid in black marker. he shifted his eyes in embarrassment, a warm blush coaxing itself across his cheeks. ''Never mind that! it..it's from when I was little..'' he tried to talk his way out of it with lies.
''But it was in the cupboard and had just been washed...!''
''I said, never mind! A-and you missed a spot!''
''My apologies!''
As the Yes-Bot went back to Jack's boots, the boy lifted the cup to his mouth and took a drink after looking around to be sure no one else was in the room. ''Mmm, apple-licious,'' he decided aloud, giving a thumbs up and a big cheesy grin to no one in particular.
It was about then that Jack realized that he had a trail of apple juice making it's way down his chin.
''Hey. . .this thing's broken,'' he said with a frown as he looked at the cup (which wasn't at all broken) then brushed off his mouth on the sleeve of his trademark black coat.
''Would you like me to throw it out?,'' came an offer from the Yes-Bot once it continued trying to finish the job on it's master's boots.
''Not my sippy cup!'' Jack retorted quickly, his voice taking on an effeminate tone as he hugged the cup to his chest. ''...I've had it since I was a baby.'' he added, pupils dilating cutely in a sad fashion while his bottom lip quivered. It took him a moment to realize what he was saying and then tried to backtrack and act more like a real villain.
''I mean...I'll throw it out...later. ...in an evil way!'' Jack's voice clicked back to it's normal boyish sounding quality as he struggled to act coolly about the situation. Walking backwards over to one of his shelves he slipped the cup into hiding behind one of his many machine parts so that it would be unseen until he could place it back in the cupboard.
''Sounds like a fabulous plan, Jack! I never doubted you for a second!,'' the Yes-Bot chimed in, following Spicier to his position in front of the shelf and began polishing at his boots again.
''Aren't you finished with that yet!?,'' he snapped at the robot who had been dusting off his boots for the past 15 minutes now. It gave a few more sweeps then retracted it's brushes and hovered back at Jack's chest level.
''Task completed!,'' the machine signaled proudly, to which Spicer rolled his eyes.
''It's about time!,'' he returned in a huffy voice, looking down at his boots. ''Nice job, but work on the timing. What am I supposed to do if I ever get invited to an evil banquet thrown in my honor and I can't go because I'm standing around here all day waiting on you to finish shining my shoes!? The guest of honor shouldn't be late.''
''I apologize sir, you are as right as ever, but good things are worth waiting for, and you are as good as it gets!''
''Too true. but learn to be faster anyway.''
''Of course, sir! I'll work on it as often as possible until my time improves to a speed that you approve of.''
''You do that.''
Jack leaned over a nearby table and began to drum his fingers against its top in an anxious way. The minutes passed, though they seemed like hours, and the longer the Surprise Bot was gone the more of a tension headache Jack Spicer got. The silence made him nervous and uneasy, and eventually he spoke again, just to hold back his on coming panic attack. The Surprise Bot had been gone a long time now and Jack was starting to grow fearful that it had been caught in the act and that the typical four were on there way over to his house right now to kick his butt. ''J-Jack Bots. . .'' he stammered, his voice nervously directed at the few he kept in his basement, ones with voice chips that gave him something to talk to whom were less annoying than his Yes-Bot.
''How may we assist you?,'' the two chimed in perfectly together in unison as they hovered to the opposite side of the table.
''I'm bored, amuse me.'' Jack ordered. The two robots turned to one another and then the one on the right gave a shot at Spicer's odd request.
''Knock, knock.'' came it's mechanical voice.
''Who's there?'' Jack returned quickly, a hopeful look on his face.
''We are.'' the Jack-Bots finished, together. their flat response making the young man look completely dumbfounded for a moment before he leaned further over the table and with an annoyed look on his face, and pointed angrily at the two.
"That's not funny!'', he shouted. He ignored their argument on how they hadn't been programmed for humor and stomped off to the other side of the basement, propping himself up on a clean spot on one of his metal tables. He sat with his elbow on his knee, hand on his cheek and pouted.
Jack wanted to be left alone, but his Yes-Bot wouldn't hear of it. The robot couldn't pass up the chance to one-up the Jackbots and be it's master's favorite robot for awhile.
''Is there anything that -I- can do for you?'' The robot's voice was very hopeful and high pitched.
''Yeah, for starters. . .stop following me!''
But despite the harsh response, the robot didn't detour from it's position in waiting loyally for it's next command.
''You're not going to leave me alone, are you?''
''Not until you're as happy as you are suave!''
Jack sighed at the Yes-Bot's corny suck up lines, not that constant compliments weren't nice to hear but they would've been better tolerated by someone who actually meant them.
''Can you at least tell better jokes than the Jack-bots?''
''I'll do my very best to please you.''
''Fine, then let's hear one.''
''Knock, knock.''
''Who's there?''
''Hot.''
''Hot who?''
''Hot Dog!''
And with that the Yes-Bot had prepared a hotdog and shoved it close to Jack's nose, much to the boy's annoyance
.
''That wasn't even remotely funny. . .and get your wiener out of my face!'' Jack retorted bitterly, waving the hotdog away.
''My apologies, sir. But there must be something I can do to cheer you up! I am programmed to cater to your every whim after all!''
''Right now, all I need is to think.''
''Is there anything I can get you while you think?''
''No.''
''How about a pillow? Or a blanket? It's a little chilly in here and you wouldn't want to catch cold!''
''No.''
''Some coffee?''
''I'm already full of juice and I hate coffee.'' By now Jack's voice was impatient.
''A candy bar?''
''I'm not hungry.''
''You look a little more pale than usual, how about a vitamin B shot?''
With that offer, the Yes-Bot had pulled the said injection from it's chest plate. One look at the painful looking metal syringe in the robot's hand and the long needle atop the it's frame and Jack's eyes rolled back in his head. He hit the floor, fainting on the spot and falling off the table with a soft thud. When he came to, he was still on the floor with the yes-bot hovering over him, it's hand in the form of a fan, waving back and forth in front of his face.
"W..w-what happened?'' his voice was shaky and confused.
''You fainted.''
''. . .Why?''
''It was after I offered this, sir!'' the Yes-Bot explained, once again pulling the syringe from it's chest plate.
''AHHHH!! Get that thing AWAY from me!!'' Jack yelped and slunk underneath the table, hands over his head and shaking softly. He refused to budge until the injection was hidden and the Yes-Bot pulled him out from under the table.
''It's alright now sport, it's gone.''
''Don't you ever do that to me again!!,'' came a still fearful response as Jack tried to calm his pulse.
''My apologies, sir. I wasn't aware of how afraid you were of needles.''
''I..I'm not afraid of anything! . . .I just..don't need it, that's all.''
''Of course you don't! You're already at your physical peak without it.''
''Exactly!''
Fixing his goggles that had become disheveled during the fall, Jack again took a seat on the metal table. This time his eyes went down and he grinned.
''Hey, this thing is so clean I can see my face in it,'' he noted with a childlike excitement, admiring his reflection like a hyperactive parrot for a few minutes and then began to make faces at himself. ''Tell me the truth, Yes-Bot. . .am I a looker or what?''
''Absolutely beautiful!,'' the Yes-Bot agreed, making Jack frown in disgust.
''Don't call me beautiful, that makes me sound like a girl. Tell me I'm handsome!''
The Yes-Bot hesitated for a second and then replied, ''You're very beautiful, Chase Young is the handsome one.'' The robot's response wasn't very shocking, it had been built by Spicer after all.
''Isn't he though??'' Jack agreed, his eyes taking on heart shapes as he hugged onto himself and got lost in a moment of Chase love. He began to trace his index finger in a circular motion beside him on the table with a giddy like quality. "He's so -'' pausing midway through the sentence when he realized what he was saying, Jack tried to blame his feelings on someone else. ''S-stop making me be gay and go do something useful!'' he spat out, blushing slightly.
''Popsicle?'' the yes-bot replied, offering Jack a cherry one which only made his face hotter with embarrassment.
''It's really not a good time to be offering me a popsicle, Yes-Bot!'' he bit back, climbing off the table and trying to shrug off what had just happened. ''Stupid robots . . .always making me gay. . .I'm not-'' he was interrupted during this unconvincing rant to himself by another voice that shot out of nowhere.
''I have returned,'' it rang out, making Jack cower on the floor, after an overly girly scream.
''Aiiyee...don't hurt me!! I give up! You can have whatever you want, j-just don't make me cry!'' he whimpered, staying tightly against the ground for a minute or two until nothing happened, and curious, he raised his eyes to see his own Surprise Bot hovering in front of him with it's cloaking device finally off.
''Don't DO that!'' he squeaked, hand to his chest as his heart beat wildly. ''You're not supposed to surprise ME!''
The robot had returned, nearly giving Spicer a heart-attack in the process. The robot gave no reply and no apology, it wasn't as loyal or as much of a suck up as the Yes-Bot, and had finished it's command and would do nothing more until commanded to do so.
"Did you get the Wu?'', Jack finally thought to ask it, his voice still breathy from the shock.
"Mission completed.'' it confirmed.
Hearing that his plan had succeeded, the shock washed off Jack quickly and he returned to being all smiles. Cupping his hands together, he outstretched them towards his new robot, wiggling his fingers in anticipation.
''Gimme, gimme, gimme!'' his voice shout out, in an almost begging fashion; sounding like a kid at a candy store. Spicer's eyes widened as the chest plate of the Surprise Bot opened and the Wu was exposed, snatching it up it look at it more closely just to be sure that he wasn't dreaming.
''Excellent work, Surprise Bot! And what a choice!'' he babbled on with excitement, looking over the Wu in his hand with a sparkle in his eyes. ''With the Fancy Feet Shen Gong Wu, I'll be lightening fast and I'll finally know martial arts like the others! Better than the others!. . . .Except for Chase..'' he paused to add softly. ''...but more importantly, I'll finally be able to make them look bad and get my revenge.'' Jack gave a laugh at the very thought, cutting it short when a bad idea ran through his head.
''No one saw you do this. . .right?''
''If they had, then I wouldn't be a very good surprise bot, now would I?''
''Good point.''
Jack slid an arm around the robot's shoulders as he finished the statement. ''Something actually worked. You've made me so happy, I could kiss you!''
And so he did.
Tilting his head, Jack placed an awkward, wet kiss on the Surprise Bot's neck which triggered an electric shock. In his burst of joy, the young boy genius had forgotten that metal, electricity and wires didn't go well with any form of liquid. He got a powerful zap that shot through his entire body from head to toe, spotting him with black smoke and making his hair stand on end.
When the shock released him, Jack coughed, releasing a little cloud of smoke cutely from his mouth, then smiled in a dreamy way. ''I have got to stop doing that,'' he mused. ''I'm starting to like it.'' he added, blushing lightly and smiling wider with guilt before he dusted himself off and tried to regain his composure. However, Spicer was unable to keep that thought from his mind for long.
''How about another one? To celebrate?'', he offered, leaning over with his lips puckered, only to have the Surprise Bot's arm clamp softly over his face in rejection.
''Access denied.'' the robot spat at him sarcastically.
Poor Jack, even turned down by machinery. ''Ah..okay. I got'cha.", his response sounded a bit disappointed. ''I'll just be..over here then.'', he finished, walking off when the robot let him go.
He hadn't gone far when his more obedient robot's voice sounded out.
''Congratulations on the victory, Jack! Would you like to perhaps, make out with the toaster instead?''
''Congratulations on the victory Jack, would you like to meh nuh nahh nah nhh'', he shot back mockingly. ''NO I don't want to make out with the toaster instead!''
''Of course not, forgive me for my ignorance. How about you give me one then?''
''Uh. . . no. . .that's okay.''
The Yes-Bot was harder to discourage and wrapped his metal arms around Jack and pulled him in close to it.
''No really, Yes-Bot..I'm fine. . .''
''Come on, Jack...kiss me! Really plant that sucker!'' The Yes-Bot was pratically pleading now. Sometimes it was difficult to tell if The Robot was simply loyal or if it genuinely had a crush on Jack.
''I said n- GET OFF ME!!'', the young man finally freaked out and wiggled from the robot's grasp, crashing to the floor for the umpteenth time that night. ''Stop trying to molest me, Yes-Bot!'' he snapped back, standing again but keeping a distance from the machine.
''I was only trying to please you.''
''Yeah, well that was just creepy and wrong!''
The robot hovered for a moment without a word then acted as if the scene had never happened. ''Popsicle?'' he offered for the second time that night, wiggling it at Jack.
''Would you stop offering me that damn popsicle already!?''
''How would you rather I serve you?''
''I don't know! Brag about how great I am.''
Spicer really never grew tired of hearing compliments from his robot, and he actually deserved it that night for all that he had accomplished.
''With vigor!'' the robot agreed and closed the gap between he and Jack, patting the young man on the back.
''Outstanding performance, Jack! I am proud to serve under you.'' it began cheerfully. ''You are a true asset to the evil side, what with you're genius mind, skill, strengths and dashing good looks. . .it's no wonder all the others are so jealous of you.''
''That's so true.'' Jack returned, trying to sound smug before his pupils dilated cutely and he begged, ''. . . tell me more,'' while batting his eyelashes at the robot.
''Why you're the most evil person in existence! An absolute pleasure to be around!''
''Aren't I though?''
''No one can match your mechanics skills.''
''Also true.'' Jack was all smiles as he agreed with the Yes-Bot, his spirit lifting.
''There's certainly no one better looking.''
''Oh, stop,'' came a giddy reasoning as Jack waved a hand, as if to brush off the compliments.
''And no one looks prettier in eyeliner.''
Spicer frowned, his ego deflating slightly as he waved a hand, trying to quiet the robot. ''Okay, that's enough praise.''
''. . . you're the most flexible man I've ever seen.'' it continued, adding insult to injury.
''...Sh-shut UUPPPP!!'' Jack screamed in frustration, trying to sound intimidating but his voice cracked into a high pitch midway through, making him sound more humorous than anything. ''You're spoiling my evil moment!'' he whined with a pout.
''A thousand pardons, sir! Would you like that backrub now? You look a bit tense.''
''. . . fine, but be gentle this time. . .I bruise like a grape.'' Jack returned, rubbing at the back of his neck briefly with his free hand.
''As you wish,'' the robot chimed in, it's metal fingers working the buckle of Jack's Heli-Pack and sliding it off his shoulders, along with his black tattered trench coat and folded it neatly. then laid it carefully on the table beside them, the Heli-Pack on top of it. Spicer was left in his pants, gloves, boots and deep red jagged shirt, and of course his goggles which were rarely removed. Sitting there, his eyes drooped and Jack let out a yawn, rubbing his eyes in a cutely exhausted way.
''Why don't you lie down this time, Jack? The rest would do you good,'' the robot offered, pulling some over-stuffed pillows from it's chest plate (amazing what fits in there, huh?), and laid them on the table in front of the young man.
Normally, Jack would have protested to the offer. His usual backrubs from the Yes-Bot were done while he was sitting upright and was more of a simple shoulder massage than anything. Despite his cuddly appearance, Spicer wasn't overly fond of being touched, even by machines. In fact, regardless that most of their physical contacts were in the form of rough, painful experiences in which the boy genius was usually thrown around or struck, Chase was the only person that Jack had ever known who could touch him without making him want to throw up.
Still, Jack was physically drained from the hard work he had put into the new robot and from long nights with only a few hours of sleep, he was unable to refuse the Yes-Bot's offer when his tired eyes locked on the soft pillows.
''Good idea,'' he muttered softly as he curled up on top of them, tummy down with his eyes already half-lidded. It felt so good to lie down that he couldn't help but give a happy moan as his chest met the pillow beneath it. The Wu was pushed forward on the table in front of him and Spicer hugged one of the pillows under his chin.
Laying on top of the table, Jack was chest down and his behind in the air; as was the usual position that he fell in as well. It took a moment or two, but eventually his lower half met up with the rest of his body and met the table with a soft whump, his belt buckle clacking against the metal top.
"I'm going to begin the backrub now, sir.'' The yes-bot's voice rang out through the heavy silence. The robot knew better than to just begin touching Spicer, especially while he was half awake. and with his guard down it risked scaring the young man half to death, possibly forcing him to bolt off the table. This was something that had happened twice during the simple shoulder rub with Jack sitting upright so precautions were necessary.
''Ugnn. . .nn. . .hggmm,'' he returned as if only barely aware of what he was even saying. Jack was snapped out of this however, when the robot's hands met his bare shoulder blades. The feeling wasn't unlike being dunked in ice water and made Spicer jolt upward.
''AHHHH COLD! C-COLD. . ,COLD!'', he shrieked in a stutter, slowly adjusting as the metal warmed from it's contact with his pale skin. Then and only then, he collapsed back against the pillows and let the Yes-Bot resume it's job.
Jack's eyes went half-lidded again, as if he'd forgotten that the chill had ever happened, his interest fixing on the soft down pillows under his worn out body. He made only a small sound of appreciation as the Yes-Bot's hands began to move along his neck and shoulders, it's fingers rotating in small circles over his lightly chiseled muscles. Despite what the others may have thought, Jack Spicer did have them hiding beneath his layers of clothing. He may have lacked the 6 pack that Rai and Chase sported, but Jack was still strong. He had to be. As the only regular fighter for the Wu who didn't know martial arts, Spicer had to work twice as hard to keep up with the others, and all his battles along with long days and nights of lifting metal parts to build his robots had sculpted Jack's body into a tight package.
''Nnn. . .oo. . .don't,'' his voice was soft as he tilted his head against the pillows, a lock of his red hair falling forwards over his goggles as he looked back at his Yes-Bot, who's hands had slid to the center of his back. Spicer had never let the robots touch him below the level of his shoulder blades before during one of his daily backrubs, but he was too tired to put up much of a fight and he had to admit how incredible it felt.
''Would you like me to stop?'' The Yes-Bot paused for a moment, gaining an annoyed look from Jack before he stretched and went back to hugging his pillow.
''No. Just keep it above the waist.'', he returned, his voice taking on a serious tone before it drifted off. Innocent and lonely or not, the young boy genius wasn't about to let the first person to cop a feel on him to be one of his own robots. Thankfully, his yes-bot knew what boundaries to test and it knew better than to challenge one of it's master's instructions when that tone of voice was used.
''Yes, sir.'' it replied obediently, letting it's hands travel only to Jack's belt line then guiding them back up in a slow, detailed process that coaxed Spicer to raise into the touch more than once like a happy kitten.
Some time during the backrub, Jack fell asleep. It really couldn't be helped considering how spent he was and the massage had worked on him like a charm. Time passed, and Jack stayed in his position on his tummy, twitching a bit in his sleep and drooling over his pillow and onto the floor below. His left leg hung cutely over the table's edge, his lab filled with the man's soft noise. It wasn't really snoring per say, but more like loud breathing that gurgled in a barely audible level when he breathed out because of the drool pooling behind on his bottom lip.
His rest was cut short, the silence harshly broken by a shrill beeping noise that made Jack bolt awake and fall off the table, the Wu falling with him and beaming him on the head in the process.
''Owww. . .what's going on!?'' he looked wide eyed and worried, rubbing the spot on his head where he'd been struck and looking around frantically, until he realized that it was his detecto-bot going off a few feet away. ''Ughh, what does a guy have to do, to get some rest around here?'', he complained aloud as he walked over and checked to see what was going on.
Jack's Detecto-Bot V.3 was new and improved, or was supposed to have been. After his other had abandoned him (like most everything else), Spicer had built the new version in the form of a metal parrot with a window in it's chest and big red eyes that blinked when it was set off. It's voice was extremely grating and loud to alert him even if he were in other parts of the house. The bird also had the ability to leave it's metal perch and fly to him if it's call went unheard for more than a few minutes. In his watch was a tracking device the bird used to track Jack down, and so it would know to only go looking for him if he were still in the house or very close by. . .after all, it would look rather odd to see a metal bird stalking you if you were in battle.
It also had been programmed to not only alert him to new Wu but also to any fights that happened so that he could keep track of all going on's instead of being in the dark all the time.
''Wu Alert, Wu Alert!! Something's happening!! AAIIYYEERRKK!!'', it called out over and over again as it flapped it's metal wings against it's sides, making annoying clanking sounds along with it.
''Boy, who would have guessed?'' Jack said in a sarcastic sleepy voice, trying to better wake up and check the screen for it's data.
''Wu Alert!! Something's Happening!!'' the bird screamed out louder, making Spicer wince.
''No kidding!'' he screamed back at it. ''So show me what's going on, already!'' The parrot paused as Jack leaned over to look at it's screen and then screamed out another loud noise.
''ARRAAWWWKKK.''
''Shut the hell up!!'' Jack retorted, his hands locking around the bird's throat and he shook it violently until it's beak locked on the tip of his already bandaged index finger. ''Aghhhhhh! Ow! Let go, let GO!'', he shrieked, shaking his hand with the bird still attached. It finally released him when he slammed it back on it's perch and the display screen popped on, static rolling across it for a moment or two as the focus adjusted. ''You can't even trust bird robots,'' Jack sneered at the bird, shoving his finger tip into his mouth and suckling on it softly as he watched the screen through eyes that were clouded with tears.
The bird's output was captured by another robot, one the size of a house-fly that had the ability to record visuals but not sound. As it's camera bounced with the beat of the robot's wings, the display on the Detecto-Bot was shaky and full of noise, all things that Spicer had been meaning to fix when and if he ever got the time, but obviously that was a rare thing for the boy genius. Eyeing the screen, from what Jack could best manage from the poor picture, was that the Xiaolin warriors and Wuya, along with Chase, were facing off some distance from his house. It wasn't clear what they were fighting over, or even who was winning, but it was apparent to Spicer that it had to be over something of value or it wouldn't be worth fighting for. . .and to him, that meant that he had to hurry and get there or miss out on whatever it might be.
''I guess I should see what's going on,'' he mused aloud, still trying to fully wake up. ''And whatever it is, if there's Wu involved, it will be mine. With the Fancy Feet Sheng Gong Wu they'll all soon learn to fear Jack Spicer, boy genius!'', he added, stroking his own ego a bit more.
''Jack Spicer, queen of the world!'', the parrot squawked.
''What!? No! It's king, KING of th-.''
''Queen of the world, queen of the world!''
''Stop saying that! Someone might hear you!''
''Jack Spicer, queen of the world! What a mamma's boy!''
''Hey! Whose side are you on!?"
''Nancy boy, queen of the world!''
''Shut up!''
Jack lunged at the parrot, trying to capture it, but it evaded his grasp and flew a short distance over his head.
''Stupid bird! You have to come down sometime!'', he snarled at it, chucking a nearby wrench in it's direction, though it managed little more than hitting the beam of the ceiling and came crashing back, hitting him on the head and knocking him off his feet. ''Owwwwwwww my head. . .'' he whined, slowly standing up again. ''You're lucky I don't have time for this!'', he huffed, bending to pick up his goggles from the floor, having been knocked off during the latest assault to his head.
''Arrwwkk, sissy boy!'', the parrot returned mockingly, staying safely out of reach. Jack growled in frustration, clamping a fist and glaring at the bird before he went back to the metal table and slipped on the rest of his clothes in a hurried manner, clicking on his heli-pack as he stepped into the Fancy Feet. His heli-pack was activated and he lifted into the air, moving quickly to the escape hatch on the ceiling, which usually opened automatically but not today. Jack came to a crashing halt rather literally when the top of his head met the metal ceiling. Slipping both arms over his head, Spicer winced, his poor head had taken so many injuries already and he could feel tears building in his eYes-Both from the pain and frustration. ''Why me?'', he asked pitifully to no one, biting back the pain for a moment before he collected himself again.
''Yes-Bot! Fix the escape hatch!'', Jack ordered, lowering his height a little to get out of the way as the robot obediently went to it's latest task.
''It seems to be stuck!''
''Really? I hadn't noticed--I know it' stuck!'', came an irrigated response as Jack removed his arms from his head, looking over his hands to see if his gloves were spotted with blood. Nope, he was okay. ''Just fix it.''
''Sure thing!''
As the escape hatch was oiled and repaired, Jack covered his face with his right hand, his index finger and thumb coming to rest at the corners of his eyes as he watched. ''By the time I get to the showdown, no one will even be there,'' he thought to himself disgustedly, seconds from settling on using the basement's doors when the escape hatch slid open and he sped through it, with his usual onslaught of Jack bots following instinctively behind him. He had only one Surprise Bot built and wouldn't risk it's destruction before he could complete his plans of make an army of them, so his normal robots would have to do.
Jack flew at a nice speed, now and then rubbing his eyes because the wind made them dry and achy after little sleep. He was doing his best though, to both get to where the others were by following the tracking device on the fly-bot with his watch, and to get there as quickly as possible.