((…Rewritten))

Chapter Four

I don't remember a lot from what I assume was the next few days. I constantly had an awful headache, and could never see or think right. My brain was just a giant disorganized mess, and I was never awake enough to piece together what was going on. Instead, I suffered through what was quite possibly the worst sickness of my life. My body was burning up, but freezing at the same time, and I could barely think, let alone speak. Covered with sweat and my teeth chattering, I remembered a few vague moments of consciousness before my brain failed me again.

Several times, weird figures floated above me. I heard tidbits of conversation from them, but never enough words to have a coherent idea of what was happening. One of the figures kept coming back, and would often poke and prod and move me without my consent. I sort of could tell who it was, but I couldn't understand their true identity. My brain refused to follow anything, and I couldn't keep my thoughts together.

I had enough sense to tell that the pain in my leg was growing less and less, though I could still feel it a lot. Otherwise, I felt like crap. My eyes were always closed, waiting for what would happen next…

Then, I opened my eyes abruptly, blinking and staring up at a plain white ceiling. The fog and confusion was gone from my head, and I could think again. I felt almost normal, like I had just woken up from a very long nap.

…Where the hell am I?

Shaking my head, I pulled myself into an upright position and nervously looked around my surroundings. I was lying on a soft, narrow cot, with a black blanket stretched over me. It was the only piece of furniture in the room: it was plain and bare, with the exception of two doors. Nothing else.

Taking a deep breath, I swung my legs to the floor. A sharp bout of pain greeted me, and I winced as I looked down. My ankle was messily bandaged in black gauze. I froze in place, staring numbly at the doors across from me. Then, I sank to the floor, my head in my hands.

My memories from the fight had caught up with me, and I was slightly overwhelmed. I was a kidnap victim, and my kidnapper was Jack Spicer of all people! How could I have let myself be captured by him?!

It wasn't your fault…I told myself. You were hurt. He…didn't know.

A sudden creak of hinges made me jump, and I looked up as someone dressed in black entered the room.

"Spicer?" I asked wearily, my hands curling into fists.

"Good, you're up," Jack replied, closing the door behind him. I glared at him, refrained from ripping him apart on the spot, and instead took another deep breath. "Here, I brought you breakfast." Jack placed a tray of food onto the cot, and sat down besides it. I eyed it suspiciously, even though my stomach was growling.

"Trying to poison me?" I asked rather cautiously. He rolled his eyes and stared back down at me.

"Nah, I already did that- It's just a joke, chill!" Jack added on rather hastily after I gave him a nasty look. I reached for the plate and took a small bite of whatever weird substance he had managed to cook. Jack watched me expectantly, and as I determined I was safe, he crossed his arms and leaned back.

"What did you do to me? Where am I? Why did you kidnap me?" I demanded in a rushed voice, ignoring the food for a moment. Jack sighed and sat up again, and I raised my eyebrows. "Jack, you kidnapped me for a reason. Do you think I'm just going to sit here and not ask-"

"I hardly did anything to you," he interrupted, rolling his eyes. "So calm down. Oh, and sorry about your leg, by the way. I didn't know. If I did, I would have been less…violent."

I glared at him and shifted my legs uncomfortably. Well, apparently he was going to kidnap me no matter what. That was…reassuring?

"Yeah…You had a few pretty deep cuts, so I found a first aid kit somewhere and tried to fix your ankle. Mom made me take a first aid course a while ago…I guess it came in handy," he said, smiling almost sheepishly.

I wiggled my ankle painfully and stared at him. Did Spicer actually help me? All my worries started up again, and I sighed in exasperation. What did he want with me?!

"Oh yeah…And the…um, tranquilizer I gave you had a pretty bad effect…You've sort of been really sick for the last couple of days, and if I didn't know what to do…Well, I'm not sure what would of happened."

I kept staring at him. Great, this day was getting even better. Jack had potentially almost killed me! But then again, he did help me afterwards.

…But he still almost killed me. That was reason enough to attack him right now.

Instead, I tried to take a deep breath. "Why did you help me Spicer?"

"Well, I couldn't exactly harm my prisoner, could I? If…If I'm going to trade you for Shen Gong Wu, you're going to have to be in, um, pretty good condition."

He sounded strained, and as he spoke, his eyes shifted nervously back and forth. I raised my eyes even higher: this kid was obviously keeping something from me. Jack definitely had something else on his mind besides trading me for Wu. Although I should have known that was all he wanted me for, he seemed a little…upset.

But, instead of questioning him further, I turned back to my food and tried to gag down the lumpy, cement-like oatmeal he had made for me. If I was going to escape, I would need my strength, since my leg wasn't going to help me. As soon as I was done, Jack took the tray and stood up, then looked back down at me.

"I'm going in my lab. It's the door on the left if you're bored…But don't expect to be getting out. All the doors have locks on them that only respond to my voice. Oh, and there's a bathroom through the other door…I left some things out for you if you want to take a shower."

I gingerly ran a hand through my grimy hair and looked down at my rumpled clothes. A shower sounded nice, and I didn't exactly want to spend any more time with Jack. By now, he had disappeared into his lab and left me alone. Sighing, I pulled myself to my feet and started for the bathroom. Hot water had always helped me think clearly, and I needed to work on escape plans…and soon. Damn it, I'm a prisoner of Jack…again! Why does this always happen to me?!

After I was done, there was a black towel and another black bundle of cloth waiting on the counter when I emerged. Blinking, I grabbed the towels and began to look around for my clothes. I didn't exactly want to put on the same dirty robes, but I didn't really have another choice.

But, my clothes were no where to be found. I had folded them and placed them on the counter top beforehand, and now they were gone, although my underwear was still sitting there and looking a bit askew. Keeping my towel firmly around my torso, I searched everywhere in the room until it was clear: my clothes were gone.

Scowling in frustration, I paced around the tiny room, wondering what I was going to do. I'm sure Jack, with his perverted sixteen year-old mind, would love to see me come out in just my underwear, or better yet, only in a towel. I sighed and turned back towards the door, just as a small note caught my eye. A small piece of paper was pinned near the doorknob; no wonder I had missed it.

Rolling my eyes, I snatched it off the door and opened it.

Kimiko- I took your other clothes, but I'll put them in when Mom does the wash. Ashley left some of her clothes here, you can just were them for the meantime. They're on the counter.

Jack Spicer, Evil By Genius

My eyes wandered to the black bundle that I refused to touch on the counter earlier, thinking Jack left his own nasty clothes there. But…apparently it was for me. I crumpled the note angrily and set it on fire in the sink before turning back to the clothes. I shook it out and stared in horror: he'd left me a tight black shirt and a black miniskirt. My shoes had mysteriously made their way from the floor to the counter, but they were already black.

"Ew," I said weakly. Not only was Jack making me wear Katnappe's weird clothes, but he was the one who had left them, meaning he had been in the bathroom while I was in the shower. And I didn't even notice. Scowling, I began to get dressed, and nearly had a heart attack when I saw how short the skirt actually was.

At last I was dressed, and I fearfully looked at myself in the mirror: all I needed was red hair.

But, at least the clothes fit and I didn't have to wear my dirty robes. Shaking my head, I dried my hair the best I could and walked back into my room. It was time to figure out how to escape.

I poked and scratched and kicked and punched every square inch of that tiny room, and even tried several times to set it on fire. But everything, including the blankets, were unusually inflammable. Stupid Jack had obviously coated everything with something very resistant to my element. The room was built solid, and I was trapped.

But, the fact that Jack had thought of everything possible to keep me under control didn't bother me. Instead, I began to throw myself at the walls, in hopes of finding a weak spot or break one down. It was then that Jack finally came to see me.

I had just finished running into a wall and unfortunately, tripped over the cot when I heard the door open. My bad leg smacked into the iron legs of the cot and I hissed in pain, then stumbled forward…straight into Jack. He caught me in his arms, and I looked up in surprise. Then, I yelped and pushed myself away from him. Jack stared at me in amusement, until I nearly set the tail of his trench coat on fire.

"Hey! Kimiko, cut that out! I'm trying to work-" Jack stopped mid sentence as he stared at me, his mouth slightly open. His eyes wandered from my bare legs up, and I immediately tugged my skirt down farther.

"What?!" I snapped. He kept gaping at me, and I crossed my arms in front of my chest, feeling slightly violated by his wandering eyes.

"Huh? Oh. Stop making all that noise and trying to escape…It's useless anyways. But I'm trying to fix all the robots that you destroyed, and I need to concentrate, and I can't with you banging away on the-"

"I thought those robots could put themselves back together."

"Actually, I only super magnetized them so all the pieces stayed together. Past that, they're pretty useless."

Great, I had been defeated by useless robots. This day just kept getting better and better.

"…Never mind, just come with me. I can't trust you by yourself anyways." Spicer grabbed my arm and pulled me to his feet, then through the door to his lab. I stumbled after him, cursing his carelessness with my bad leg under my breath.

The lights dimmed dramatically, and I found myself standing in a room practically encased in black and silver metal. Robots whizzed around me curiously as Jack walked over to his huge computer and grabbed a chair. He pushed me down into it on his return, and I gratefully fell into the seat.

Then, I crossed my arms and gave Jack an amused look. If he expected me to stay in one place, he had something else coming. Jack glared at me and went back to fiddling with something on a medal table. As soon as his back was turned, I got up and started to silently limp towards another door, probably one that led to the outside door. Ducking behind a shelf of robot parts, I continued to creep until I could clearly see the lock Jack mentioned earlier.

But, he must have seen me get away, because suddenly Jack was in front of me and he grabbed my arms again. Jack dragged me back to the chair, despite my weak attempts to tell him I just wanted to see the robots up close, and sat me down in the chair. He then hauled me over to his work station, and I tried to touch my ankle, which was swelling because of his careless dragging.

"Sit. Stay. Do I have to tie you up? I really don't want to."

"Did you really think I was just going to stay in one place?" I yawned, crossing my arms and staring up at him. His freaky red hair was glowing in the limited lighting, like some oddly colored glow stick. Jack raised an eyebrow at my comment, and menacingly brought his watch up from his side.

"Do you want me to make you stay?" he asked, pushing a button. At once, the robot with the straightjacket flew by his side, and I cringed.

"Nah. I'm good." The robot flew away, and I inwardly sighed in relief.

"Good," he said back, taking out a wrench and beginning to bang away at some scraps of metal. I backed up a bit away from him. After all, he didn't seem like a very trustworthy person with tools, and I didn't want a dent in my head. Neither of us moved for a few moments, since I was waiting for the first chance that he took his eyes off of me, and Jack was intent on making sure I would stay in one place.

Then, the purple hag I was hoping wouldn't appear glided through a wall. "Jack!" she screeched, in that annoying, whining voice when she wanted something. "Jack you infernal boy! Where are you?!"

Jack looked up from his work and scowled. I watched him closely: I swear he had flinched at the sound of her voice. He fumbled with the metal in his hands before quickly looking at me. I raised an eyebrow: that was another sign that something was going on behind my back.

"What?!"

"Instead of playing with your useless robots you should be planning! Do I need to remind you that we do not have much time left to get the girl and- Oh! It's her," Wuya stopped abruptly, seeing me for the first time. She looked at Jack and he nodded. I glared at them both: obviously Wuya was the one who decided I needed to be kidnapped. But what did she say about time?

"You mean, you actually did it?" Wuya breathed, sounding slightly impressed. "Oh, well done, Jack, well done! You were always my favorite…" Her eyes grew large and she floated away, looking very please about the fact that I was a prisoner. I turned around in my seat, stared at Jack, and glowered.

"Jack, what the hell are you planning?! How long have you known about this?!"

"Only a few weeks. That last Shen Gong Wu really settled it though. I mean, as soon as Wuya saw-" Jack stopped abruptly and his face paled. "…I wasn't supposed to say that."

My own face paled, and I got to my feet. There was no way I was staying around to find out why they'd kidnapped me in the first place.

Maybe I was just exaggerating…but the force had started around the same time that Jack said he was planning. Coincidence? I didn't know, but if Wuya was watching me at the showdown…She had to have known.

"…That's it. I'm getting out of here." I began to limp away from Jack again, this time at a faster pace. I went to the closest door in view and miraculously, it opened. But, it was only a storage closet. Sighing in exasperation, I went to the next door. "…Let's see what's behind door number two…" Another bathroom.

Looking around, I saw the door that I had tried to get to before when Jack had stopped me. I was about to limp over to it, when suddenly Jack was behind me and had his hands around my waist.

"Get off!" I snarled, elbowing him as hard as I could. "Perv! Take your hands off of me!"

"No!" he yelled back. I could hear him fumbling with something in his pocket, while he had one arm around my waist. I was ultimately pinned, and as I tried to work myself free, Jack stepped on my foot. I let out a howl of pain and slumped over slightly. My first reaction was to kick him back, and being in my state of desperation, I forgot to use my other leg. The pain increased greatly and I groaned. Apparently, my leg wasn't completely healed yet.

I watched Jack pull a vial of some weird liquid from the corner of my eye, before whacking him in the chest with my elbow again. He made a muffled groan and tried to hold on. Spicer was surprisingly strong, and I suddenly felt ashamed that I couldn't get him off of me. If I couldn't defeat a lanky, pathetic guy like him, how was I ever going to escape, nevertheless become a full Xiaolin warrior?!

But, before I could get a hold on myself, Jack spun me around and I painfully tripped over my own feet. He was holding me just a little too close for comfort, and I stared up at him in surprise. His hands were digging into my arms. Creepy.

His red eyes met mine, and I flinched slightly, forgetting my struggle and instead worrying about what he was about to do. Spicer just started at me for a few moments, the same weird expression on his face that let me know he was struggling to hide something. I raised my eyebrows, trying to think of something to say that would coax it out of him.

But, he came back down to earth too soon, and Jack quickly brought the vial up to my face. Before I could react, there was a sudden, sharp metallic smell in my nose, and my vision blurred dramatically. My legs weakened and I fell towards the ground. Jack caught me and my eyes closed as I entered the darkness once again.

It was hours before Kimiko was found to be missing. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, and the monks immediately knew something was wrong. Even with her injuries, it was unlike Kimiko to miss two meals in a row and not tell someone.

Raimundo was the first to notice, and he quickly searched her room, the gardens, the vault, and any other place he could think of. Omi and Clay followed suit, but it was clear that she had disappeared.

They were forced to go to Master Fung, who seemed unusually preoccupied and silent through their hurried explanation. He sighed and stared out the window before looking up at the three boys gathered beside them.

"I believe I saw Kimiko heading beyond the Temple walls…Perhaps she has fallen asleep, or is in need of assistance coming back," he told them calmly. Master Fung knew perfectly well where she was, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

Without a second's hesitation, the monks ran to the tree where she had last been. The grass was littered with pieces of metal, and the trunk was splattered with what appeared to be blood. Clay picked up a piece of shiny metal and turned it over in his hand.

"They were Jackbots."

Raimundo narrowed his eyes, and stared towards the horizon as the sun sank behind the mountains.

"Spicer has her."