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by Trackula

Balance does not discriminate. The failure of successive dark champions present and future has created an imbalance in favor of the light. Thanks to the meddling of a fallen foe, Jade Chan will pay the price for another's tampering with destiny. Though heroes will rise yet again to face darkness, Jade has a stake in this conflict such as no dark foe before her. Post Season 5

13. Rise of the Samurai: Part 3

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By Trackula and Co-written by Eduard Kassel

C13 – Rise of the Samurai: Part 3

The wheels were spinning but they weren't going anywhere, Viper thought.

The room was full of the voices of Uncle and Tohru talking on the phones, Uncle through the room phone and Tohru through a cell phone. Both were speaking to the occupants of the shop back in San Francisco, their faces red with frustration and their knuckles white as their grip on the phones increasingly tightened. They were trying to use the Enforcers to do research and clearly failing miserably.

From what bits of information Viper had idly picked up, apparently there was also some agent on hand. Not Captain Black, he had his own hours to log after all. Probably some nameless blacksuit keeping an eye out for the three ex-felons.

Anyway, the process of research could be dubious enough with men who knew what they were doing, the Enforcers empathically did not. She wasn't even sure if the three had even graduated high school, all things considered. Though she had heard Ratso had claimed to be an astrophysicist, once.

Granted Uncle screaming every third word into the phone likely did not help working conditions back at the shop. Though considering the three having been stuck under slave drivers like Valmont, Shendu, Daolon Wong, Tarakudo and briefly Drago, it was likely they had a higher than average tolerance to abuse. Experience that was most likely coming in handy right about now as the old man continued to curse at their attempts.

"Is this normal?" Bardem asked. He had leaned down to address Viper who was sitting on a chair, her jumpsuit still down to her waist, and holding a can of cherry soda to her brow. A previous spell attempt had knocked out the AC and Uncle refused to open the windows. Bardem and El Toro seemed the only ones not baking in their clothes. Viper was frankly envious of people who seemed to have developed that intense climate immunity.

The thought unbidden brought the image of some Inuit teenager sunbathing in a Kentucky winter or something dressed like they were at Miami Beach while a local was shoveling snow nearby all bundled up.

Her sudden laugh must have sounded off because it drew the attention of everyone in the room. Coughing in her hand she gave an embarrassed smile and actually opened her soda, taking a drink. Most of the troubled stares turned back to their business at the sight.

The cool drink did make her feel better, along with the sweet cherry. Bardem was still leaning down and she realized his question went unanswered. And frankly he deserved a bit better than waiting for it while ogling her fine body, she thought. She blinked at that, knitting her brow in some concern; she really might be overheating.

"No," she finally answered. "The wiz boys are usually better prepared than this. We've kind of gone off the rails here and it's throwing us off our game."

The detective gave an empathic nod at that. He would know all about how that feels, Viper noted taking another sip. After all, she imagined law enforcement rarely had a clear path of destruction, or ancient texts to guide their way.

"If I may, you do not seem off your game," he noted. Viper sighed at that. Yes, El Toro was doing a light workout in the back while Jackie seemed to be alone in his thoughts. She must've been coming across as the one cool customer in all this sturm und drang.

Choosing her words carefully, instinctually wary of giving much away in the presence of the agent, Viper explained, "I worked solo a long time, doing jobs where you had to not only have a Plan B but be ready to improvise on the fly. No back up or support, at least not the kind you can really rely on. Did it so long it seemed the only natural way to get things done."

"It's only after you get real friends and comrades you realize how much it sucks," her voice turned slightly more bitter and regretful than she expected. "But still, the experience makes you learn how to land on your feet when the rug is pulled out from under you.

"Right now that means I have to land on my feet AND either catch them from falling or at least make sure they just bruise themselves instead of breaking something. It's not been my job until recently. I really wish the regular girl was here," she muttered softly, leaning her head back and willing her eyes to not moisten. "There wouldn't be nearly so many problems if she were on the job."

"Hmm, no offense to your predecessor, Señorita Viper, but you sell yourself sort. I have worked under many superiors that I would not trust to work as custodians, let alone law enforcement. So trust me when I say I have the experience to discern quality of leadership," Bardem remarked. He pulled back, leaving Viper looking and feeling surprised.

Lead? She was the thief, at best the speedster second to Jackie and Tohru's ace and magic man. She was not sure who was really in charge in their merry band, but it was definitely not the ex-criminal. She waved off the nonsensical misunderstanding and looked back at where Jackie sat, looking troubled as always lately, and almost missing the sound of Bardem's cell going off.

"Lemme get that," he muttered, digging into his baggy jacket and retrieving the device. He put it to his ear, barking a brief question in Spanish.

Any thought that this might have been a mere checking in from his colleagues or a superior was dashed against the rocks when he suddenly shot to his feet, the whites of his eyes flaring. He turned away from them all, his voice hushed and frantic in the phone, muffled from the hearing of even the attuned thief. Finally apparently the call ended and he was left staring blankly, face pale at the now disconnected phone.

"What is wrong, Agent Bardem?" Jackie asked, already on his feet, having quickly sensed the change in mood from the older gentleman. El Toro stood behind him, meaty arms crossed. Tohru and Uncle as well were cutting off their ultimately futile conversations in order to give Bardem their attention.

Bardem cast a hesitant look at all of them, his receding brow looking slightly moist as he met all his comrades' eyes. Finally he swallowed and spoke; his voice wavering and hesitant as he considered his words.

"He asked me to tell you he would be calling again in a few minutes. Wanted me to get introductions out of the way so we could get right down to business," he explained, eyes wide, hardly believing his own words.

"WHO told you these things?! This is TERRIBLE introductiooon!" Uncle admonished, shaking an index finger critically towards the agent.

"The Old Colonel," Bardem finally muttered as though the title were a curse unto itself. He looked up at their quizzical faces, finally settling on Viper's who stood and placed her hands on her hips.

"You saying he's a superior of yours, Agent?" she asked, doubting the rank in the introduction actually referred to someone in the chain of command from Bardem's reaction. As if to confirm her suspicion, he gave a humorless bark of a laugh and shook his head.

"Of the major players in this city's underworld, the one at the top, and the most experiences, not to mention the last keeping his own head, is one they call the Old Colonel," he muttered, his thick eyebrows knit nervously. "The man is careful, shrewd and brutal; we have been chasing his shadow since before I went into law Enforcement. The man is a ghost."

"And why would a Mexican drug king be calling a bunch of misfits from out of town?" Viper asked before any of the others could voice the same thought. Her lips were tugged down at the sides; memories of having worked for such higher ups in various assignments in the past still gave her nightmares at times.

"He apparently caught wind of our run-in with El Diablo," he muttered, as troubled as the rest that the whole affair had been viewed by another potential enemy. "As for what he wants, he said he wishes to tell that to whoever is the leader of this group. He ignored me when I asked…"

"Bad day," Jackie muttered rubbing his eyes at the thought of taking a call from some scum who earned his daily bread filling the streets with drugs and guns and who knew what other shady business. He still felt some satisfaction that the Dark Hand had collapsed in on itself, considering Black had mentioned just how extensive their criminal enterprises had been.

"Fine! Uncle will talk to evil drug lord and get him straighteeeened out!" the old man declared shaking his fist.

"Uh, Señor Uncle," El Toro interrupted, wincing at the thought of the irate old wizard acting as their mouthpiece. "Perhaps someone younger whom has some experience with such individuals would be best to handle this talk?"

He cast a look at Tohru who shook his head adamantly. "No! No, I couldn't. I worked FOR such men, not WITH. I would not know how to deal with any crimelord like this…I was… I was just a leg-breaker. At most an overseer of… thugs like I was. I have experience delivering to men like this, but I've never negotiated or represented with one…"

Patting Tohru on the shoulder, El Toro pointed out, "And those days are behind you. Perhaps it is for the best you not deal with such a man."

"Well… one of us might have some idea," Jackie frowned, casting a look at the one woman in the room. All others turned their gaze her way as well, and she stepped back, eyebrow raised at the looks.

"Whoa, stop right there," Viper exclaimed, holding up both hands defensively. "Last time I checked, this was the J-Team, NOT the V-Team. You're always the one in the front lines. Why don't YOU do it, huh, Jackie?"

Jackie just gave her an impatient look and stated flatly, "I'm an archeologist."

Narrowing her eyes, slightly hurt, and tender from her earlier thoughts on the matter, Viper snapped back, "And I'm a thief, right?"

The cellphone rang then, and Viper snapped towards it, missing the slightly regretful look in Jackie's eyes. She confidently snatched the phone from Bardem's sweaty hand and placed it up to her ear. Her voice was clean and clear with her confidence and authority. "You wanted to talk, so talk."

"Ah, the Señorita," the voice on the other side spoke. It was dry with age, but also smooth and syrupy with a light accent. Deep and tempered by clear years of confidence and authority over others. "I did not expect you would be the voice of your little party, but I definitely prefer the company of beautiful women."

"You call here just to flirt, Mr. Colonel?" Viper leaned against the wall, her tone playful but with an edge of impatience.

"Perhaps under more reasonable circumstances," the Colonel went on, amused. "I must congratulate you all. A mismatched band if I've ever seen one, and yet you are the only group to survive an encounter with Chang."

"You know his real name?" Viper blinked, genuinely surprised at the casual reveal of the true face of El Diablo.

"Alas, despite years of effort, it seems I continue to be underestimated," he went on, his tone a mocking parody of being wounded. "Even by The Viper, it seems. Yes, spare me your continued surprise. Frankly you and El Toro were by far the easiest to identify of your group."

Her eyes narrowed, and he went on, "As much as I would like to know why a famous cat burglar, luchador, and three Orientals are working together to fight monsters, we have little time to waste on pleasantries."

"Lots of rambling from a guy who claims to want to get to the point," Viper sniped, getting irritated with this game. All crimelords and drug kingpins tended to have the same insufferable ego. She was reminded of how happy she'd become when she no longer needed to work under such overblown slimeballs ready to burst under the mighty force of their own self-importance.

"No need to be rude, my dear," the Colonel smirked over the line, not the least bit effected by Viper's change in tone.

"You said WE don't have time," Viper pointed out, casting a look at the men around her, aware they were probably holding their breath to hear both sides of the conversation. "Seems to me you're the one overdue for one hell of a haircut. Last time I checked, Chang wasn't just taking a little off the top."

"That is where you are wrong, Señorita Viper," he stated, less cordial this time, but still forcing some mirth into his old voice. "You do not understand the situation near as well as you'd like. This is not a man, or monster, intending to build a home here. This is the work of a parasite, planning to bleed the land dry and leave the exsanguinated carcass for the crows."

"You're saying… you think Chang's gonna run for it soon… and you actually think we won't catch him when he does?" the ex-thief smirked, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "We're pretty experienced in this business. If Chang scampers off for another dark hole, we'll just find him there."

"I doubt it," he went on, his voice growing cold and soft, the tone making the muscled between her shoulder blades tense. "When El Diablo is fat on his spoils, he will go to ground, burrow in deep. By the time you find him, he will be untouchable. I know how this man thinks, give him time and the resources he has taken, and he will be unmatched."

Gritting her teeth, Viper glared at the cellphone as if it were the speaker, hating when such men proved how they came into power in the first place. Chang was smart, if obsessive. Before they had entered his tournament, he had been one of the most well-fortified gangsters in Asia if not the world. Imagining that along with an army of lifeless darkness at his beck and call? Viper shuddered to think.

"And if we don't help you, even if he doesn't kill you, by the time you creep out from under your rock, you'll be king of the ashes. Anyone left will only remember you as the coward who shoved his head in the sand," she pointed out, voice dark and savoring perhaps a little too much sticking the facts to this man. She knew he wasn't one of her past employers she hated so, but she wasn't above using him as a stand in.

"That reputation you worked your whole life on will be an irreparable wreck, right? Might as well just LET Chang kill you," she pointed out, flippantly. "Will let you at least go down with some dignity."

Viper frowned when the other side of the line was ominously silent; she worried if perhaps in her irritation she'd gone too far in pushing the old bastard's buttons. At best that would mean she and the others would never hear the reason for his call. At worst… well, a drug lord in hiding was STILL a drug lord. She swallowed down, but blinked in surprise when she heard a low chuckle on the other side; slowly increase in volume to a deep dry laugh.

"Indeed, my dear snake thief. We are both in rather dire straits and I hardly have the time or inclination for youthful posturing," he went on, his voice still sounding mirthful. But Viper's well-honed criminal instincts still sensed a cold ruthlessness behind the words.

"Simply put, here is what I propose," he went on, not waiting for the young woman's response. "I have already contacted Chang. He was eager to hear from me as I have the honor of being the missing piece of his macabre little collection. I've told him where I will be waiting, with my best and last remaining men. You will appear from the back, and help me kill Chang before he kills me."

"You expect us… to act like your bodyguards?" Viper blinked, dumbfounded by the audacity of the proclamation.

"I KNOW you will, Señorita. Your little groups' dripping altruism is transparent," he smirked smugly. "Regardless of what you have heard about me, most of which is true, the rest is vastly understated. I don't understand such a mentality, but I won't hesitate to take advantage of it.

"And what, you'll be using a double and hiding away in some bomb shelter as we do all the hard work?" she asked, tone becoming heated as her brow knit. "Maybe shoot us in the back while we're risking our lives for yours?"

Viper waved away the questions and surprised looks from her friends at the sudden and alarming turn of her side of the dialogue. But the man just chuckled again and went on, "During better times, perhaps. But I hardly have the time for such machinations. This is one last bold push to maintain my empire. One last roll of the dice before all is lost. I'm afraid I've been forced to resort to honesty, as distasteful a thought as it may be."

"You really expect Chang will show?" Viper went on, tone rising, "you're not naïve and I know you aren't big on trust so why in the hell would you trust a snake like Chang to honor this showdown at the O.K. Corral you have planned?"

"Why wouldn't he?" the Colonel asked, sounding like this outcome was the only reasonable solution. "So far he has been unstoppable, and I have run around his grasping little claws for some time. By now he is both very confidant and frustrated. He will come himself, if only to see to it my head is taken quickly."

"I know of Chang," he went on, his tone casual and informative despite the distasteful topic, "he was a prince of the underworld and a true kingpin. And not a day passes for a fallen prince without longing for their lost throne. Chang knows he should be patient, but he is on the road and sees his throne at the end. He is eager to reach it, and killing me personally will restore much of the reputation his disgraceful defeats destroyed.

Viper heard him smirk over the line and tensed accordingly, "Also there is the recent failure by him and the araña woman to kill you. Nothing soothes the wounded pride of squandered opportunity like total victory."

"As for my personal preference," he muttered with some false hesitation, "my soldiers are loyal and strong, but they are also mere mortals. They never expected to fight devils rather than men. If I send them into such a battle and do not march with them personally, they will flee for their lives."

"I do not hold such against them. I would not stay if not shamed by an old man's courage were I in their shoes."

He quickly gave an address upon hearing a voice in the background mumble something to him. Viper was about to stop him and demand he give her a single good reason why they should save his awful monstrous existence, but he spoke up first. "Sorry my dear, preparations require some oversight. I look forward to working with you."

He hung up just as Viper shouted for him to hold the phone, literally. With a frustrated growl, she hung up and threw the phone on the couch, eyes narrowed in frustration and anger. She blinked and flushed slightly when she looked up at the several questioning gazes focused her way.

"Well… that was a pleasant conversation," Viper stated with forced cheer and a clearly strained smile towards her boys.

"What did thief talk about with evil crimebooossss?!" Uncle snapped out the moment that Viper had released the phone. Clearly from the attentive looks of the others, he was speaking for the group as a whole.

"Well, first," Viper sighed, flopping onto the couch and leaning back, rubbing some tension out of her temples. "Let me just say how pleasant that psychopathic druglord is. A real charmer, totally lives up to the whole 'never judge a book by its cover' saying. Though in this case the contents are full of termites."

"I've never met someone who actually spoke with the Old Colonel," Bardem muttered, looking vexed and overwhelmed from so many stressful revelations in a single day. "I never expected I would for that matter…"

"So what did he want?" Jackie pressed, leaning closer to the beautiful thief. "The timing of the call strikes me as worth noting, considering…"

"Yup," Viper muttered after giving a deep sigh. "He knows we tangled with Chang and Jade, somehow. Decided he's going to hold a villainous last stand against the guy. Evil creep vs. Evil creep. He's on the ropes so he has no other options if he wants to keep what's left of his ill-gotten gains."

"And… what does that have to do with us?" Tohru spoke up, crossing his thick arms skeptically, automatically as wary of such a man as Viper herself.

"That's the fun part," Viper mumbled out under her breath. "We're gonna save the bastard."

She preemptively covered her ears blocking out the prerequisite loud and indignant, "WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" all of them produced at her words.

"Thief wants to save evil from evil?! Have you never heard that two wrongs do NOT make right?!" Uncle shrilly declared, gesturing wildly at the nonsensical plan.

"I must agree with Señor Chan," Bardem grumbled out, casting Viper a searching and skeptical look. "If the old vulture wishes to throw his life away in a blaze of glory, I say we sit back and enjoy the flames."

"Right," Viper nodded, leaning back as she addressed the whole group. "I agree with everything you're saying, people. Which is too bad, because we're gonna do it anyways."

Again there was an uproar, but thankfully Jackie quickly shushed the group down for Viper's benefit. But even still, he turned a critical eye back her way and asked, "Care to share why you think this is the right option?"

"Gladly," she stated forcing a calm analytical tone as she stood back up, intending her change in posture to command some authority. "If we wait for help from the chuckleheads at the shop, or throw in the towel, we WILL lose Chang. He will bunker down so deep we will probably NEVER get a chance like this again. Not to mention he'll finish becoming an Oni, so then who knows what we'll do."

"The Old Colonel is already as bad as he's gonna get, but CHANG? A megalomaniacal Oni crimeboss with all the money and scary rep he could want? I think anything that can throw a monkey wrench in that scheme is worth considering," she cast a look towards Uncle critically. "This isn't evil versus evil, it's evil versus complete disaster."

"Second," she continued, holding up two fingers to illustrate her point to the group, "Assuming Jade is helping him; we'll need all the bodies we can to keep her busy. We'll get that from the Old Man's thugs."

"And finally," she finished, holding up a third finger, "this isn't the type of organization that sits back and lets people, even scummy blood-soaked people like him, die. It's a slippery slope and I know you all want to keep your distance from it; you're just too stressed to see it. This is the only option, so we best get ready."

Uncle and El Toro seemed about to speak up, but Jackie was surprised to see a frustrated and uncharacteristic glare from Viper silenced them before she stated, anger coloring her words, "You all put me on this, even though I didn't want to do it. So if you don't like my decision, that's on you. But it's happening. You can veto my decision-making privileges when we get back to San Francisco if you want, but until then I suggest you start getting ready. We're leaving in fifteen."

A stone silence fell and Viper stood in the center, trying not to match eyes with anyone. But against her better judgment, he eyes met with Jackie's for a brief moment. He looked at her, his expression surprised, then he frowned and looked towards the others and stated loudly enough that his voice would carry, "She's right. We need to hurry."

Quietly the others nodded or made other gestures of agreement as they made their way to set up for the rather chaotic battle they expected to be in the thick of soon enough. Bardem gave Viper a wry grin, before taking up his phone, about to call his superiors. "Be interesting to actually meet the Old Colonel before I die, eh Señorita?"

Viper shook her head, "Dying isn't in the schedule, clashed with dinner. But there is ONE other matter I'd like to get settled with you first…"

"Sí?" he frowned, lowering his phone back to his side.

"I may be on the side of the angels now, but that doesn't mean I intend to play nice…"

XXX

"Settle yourself, Javier," the old man spoke softly yet firmly, earning an immediate response from the man in question. The large thuggish and seasoned gangster looked the worst of the lot, which spoke a great deal about their enemy to come.

Each of his personal guard had been chosen from the very best of his forces, all with colorful and impressive, if horrific backgrounds. Until recently, they were hardly ever put to use. They served better as a deterrent than as active soldiers. But they'd seen plenty of action recently, which was why they were now a mere quarter their original number.

The way they stood behind their aging employer almost seemed as though they were hiding behind him. Did their enemy really scare them so that they must tremble before a crooked, half blind, and half deaf arthritic old man? On some level it amused him that, after his years in this business, his nerves were tempered to solid steel even at his miserable age.

The Old Colonel, as he was known, stood as straight as he could, while leaning on his cane's ivory grip with both wrinkled and liver spotted hands. He knew he must have been quite a sight before the several heavily armed and rather large men standing cowed behind him. He had worn his best suit for the occasion, hair neatly combed. Eyes were piercing gray under a drooping wrinkled brow, making him seem disarmingly innocuous. Just a VERY well-dressed and groomed older gentleman.

But to those very few in higher positions of society, his was the face of dread. An image he cultivated regularly, and during his youth with a degree of glee. But those days seemed to be coming to a close, just like his already too-long life. What a dilemma he had found himself in; how did one compete with literal monsters? A more cynical portion of his thoughts made him feel like some sort of pretender to the underworld, now that he knew actual devils creeped in the dark.

But fine, should he fall in battle, he already had his servants instructed to put him in his second-best suit and how he'd like to be disposed of. He was past the climax of his own life, appropriate if all else fails, for demons themselves to usher him into Hell. He supposed he should be flattered, how many others were personally dragged down into the flames by those who dwelled within them? He supposed that meant he'd at least been rather good at his chosen career, if anything.

Old though he may be, ancient in fact, he could still tell the chill in his bones was far from natural, as the lights around them in this construction site began to flicker and dim. He grit his dentures at the sound of his men, hired killers all, shifting and gasping as the blackness around them stretched and pulled into armored forms.

He'd had them described to him, but it was another matter seeing them in person. They were such anachronisms, feudal suits of Asian armor, black metal with glowing red lights eerily bleeding out from behind the masks. He took a silent breath to steady himself, wouldn't do for anyone if he looked afraid, after all.

With silent footsteps, a figure, masked like the devil himself, stepped out from between the black soldiers flanking him on either side. Unlike the others, he wore a crisp black suit, rather than plating. Though his right arm was covered in a shiny black gauntlet, clenched into a tight fist.

"I won't bore you with the details," Chang spoke first, surprising the Colonel somewhat with his metallic infernal voice; as though his throat were full of metal shavings. "But I can tell already you're not some body double or stand-in. Impressive that someone who already has a foot in the grave would come out here. Though make no mistake, your death is absolutely assured."

Red light seemed to glow through the slits in the man's demonic mask, further hints of the beast within having supplanted the man. "Be a good old corpse and satisfy my curiosity, would you? Why come out here with your pathetic little soldiers and bare your neck to me when you seemed so intent to stay in your well-hidden rat's nest?"

"As we are asking questions, Señor," the Old Colonel spoke up, his voice clear and loud, despite his age. He took a few slow and methodical steps forward, ignoring how his men winced at the sight. He looked up into the demon's eyes when he was a mere ten meters away and continued. "Perhaps you can tell me why it is you threw away your dignity as a man for that disgusting parody of power? Had your wounded pride become too great a weight for you to bear?"

"Are you saying you find my improvement… unethical?" Chang asked, genuinely sounding surprised at the attitude. Not even upset at the harsh insult so much as unprepared for the evil old man's words to him. "You of all people have crossed so many lines your name is a curse in the mouths of your associates. Or was, before I rendered them silent."

He gestured wide to his forces standing stoic and disciplined beside him, still as stone, blades still sheathed. "But these are too far for the man whose wrath and greed is spoken of among crooks from all walks of life like ghost stories?"

"Sí, I am, as you say; unethical," the Colonel agreed, nodding his head once, reaching into his coat and pulling free a thick dark cigar. He placed it in the corner of his mouth after cutting free the tip, and lighting it with his antique gold-plated lighter. All the movements were steady and methodical, and he paused to puff the fragrant smoke briefly before continuing. "But for whatever reason, I see casting aside one's humanity as… undignified."

His gray eyes frowned and he added calmly, "My soul is most certainly putrid in its blackness after all these years. But I earned that, it is all mine; my soul, my darkness. My efforts, my choices, the man who I was and I am now. I have lived a very long time, and am blessed to have lived a life where I regret not one thing.

"Because I will go to my grave knowing I was nobody's puta."

He took another long puff from his cigar, savoring the scent and flavor, as it could very well be his last. Then he added, "I'm afraid, long life of a devil you may now have, you already cannot say the same, Pendejo."

The Oni turned his head aside and gritted his fangs tightly enough that even the old man could hear the awful scraping, satisfied he perhaps touched a nerve. Though instead of lashing out, Chang forced a light chuckle and stoked it into a hearty amused laugh. "Oh you are everything I'd hoped you'd be, decaying old desert rat that you are."

"You know, a thought occurs," Chang pondered aloud, slowly easing off his mask and revealing his true demonic and twisted visage beneath the lights. His sparkling cobalt scales hit the light where they pierced through his powdery fragile skin. His tusk-like oni-fangs pulled at the corners of his black lips and he practically purred.

"Seeing as how this will cap off both my night, and plans for this dung-hill of a country, I think it would be a symbolic gesture that I end your pathetic too-long life personally." He outstretched his armored right hand, black smoke swirling between the fingers and coalescing into a long curved blade, sucking in the light. He clenched the handle with instinctive sureness and angled it towards the Old Colonel who continued to simply watch, puffing away on his last cigar.

"Gentlemen," Chang declared to his minions, all drawing spears of blackness from the ether and angling them forward to charge. "Kill all of his men, make a spectacle of it. I'm sure the authorities would enjoy a flashy crime scene over years of trudging through the traditional. But the old fool is mine. I want him to watch."

The Colonel's men, while all seasoned in their bloody profession all stepped back in dawning horror at the sight of the demons beginning to steadily advance. It was only their unmoving and calm leader that kept them from fleeing for their lives. The mere possibility he lived would mean a terrible wrath would descend on the deserters.

The lead of the dark Samurai vanguard approached across the field at a steady disciplined pace. The impossibly sharp tip of its spear promised perdition to all of the mortals in sight. And just like that, it and the three at its sides exploded in a mass of black smoke, filling the air with the smell of smoke and stagnation as they flickered away. The old man smirked as Chang paused; looking confused and then enraged at the sudden extinguishing of some of his forces.

"What did you do, Old Fool?!" Chang raged, eyes flaring blood red, empty fist clenched tightly enough that the steel glove strained. A voice from behind had him whipping around in surprise and rage, cursing himself for not placing more soldiers at the perimeters. How had someone gotten past without him knowing?!

"Looks like you're between a rock and a chi spell, Chang" Viper stated calmly walking up, her companions flanking at her sides, already prepared to dive in. "I dunno what you hoped to get out of causing all this mayhem, but seems to me you're suddenly good and surrounded."

She smirked, preparing to spring, "I'd tell you to give up, but why waste time? Get him, boys."

Chang snarled, enraged at the sudden turn, both at his enemies and their smugness in driving him into this corner. Drawing on his inner darkness, he pulled up ten new Samurai, all armed with bows of crackling black light pulled taught and aimed at both sets of enemies.

"Kill ALL of them!" He roared; his cry a signal both towards his minions to rush into the fray, and his enemies to begin pelting the animate shadows from both sides with useless bullets and lethal magicks.

"Fire at will," the Old Colonel said calmly around his cigar. Gunfire erupted and battle was joined.

XXX

"Wow, it's getting messy down there," Jade mused, popping some cheddar and sour cream chips into her mouth, letting them liquidate before swallowing them down. He six eyes never left the action unfolding beneath them. "Wonder who the weird old dude and his crew are. Any of you know?"

The she-spider turned to where her three companions sat balanced on the girders and unfinished scaffolding that hung above the chaos below. Tara was practically hanging off the side, her claws stuck fast into the metal were all that supported her from falling down into the brawl. She grinned broadly at the sight. Fangs extended and venom dripping ravenously down her chin as she watched the battle closely.

Jumper was silent at Jade's side, leaning snug against her abdomen. The blonde didn't seem to even register the fight any more than she was aware of her normal surroundings. Her wide piercing eyes continued their usual jerking dance across the half-finished building, never settling on any one place for long. She noticed Jade's attention almost immediately and affixed her with a bright, if manic smile.

Jade nodded her way, but broke eye contact quickly, finding the open adulation a bit uncomfortable in large doses and turned to her largest concern; Widow. The pseudo-drider's six eyes nearly seemed to bulge from their sockets once the Khan rose from the dark and the magical fireworks began. She was clutching the girder beneath her with her hands and feet so tightly the metal was warping and creaking out of shape.

'What is her problem?' she frowned, stroking her chin in thought. Unfortunately she hardly had time to really deal with her more troubling minion's shock right now. They couldn't exactly wait around and sort out their interpersonal concerns, not with all this chaos unfolding. They'd never have a more perfect chance than this to dive in and… well, do what Bossman told her to do to the handless creep.

'Don't have time to handle personnel issues right now, though,' she mused, following the action below closely. El Toro was apparently guarding the old guy from harm, but looked none too pleased with the task if the uncharacteristically grim expression on his stony face told her anything. They were the calm at the heart of the storm, everything around them a chaos of fists, blades, bright flashes of magic and even bullets, though most of THOSE ricocheted harmlessly off the Samurai-khan armor.

Jade didn't really know why, but seeing all that action and activity moving along without her side's involvement she found strangely annoying. Her six eyes narrowed as she sucked down another handful's worth of potato chip soup. It was hardly polite of them to start the party without the guest of honor. But looking at them all, it seemed they'd forgotten she was even a player.

The Queen was at least able to accept, however, how her envy at being out of mind during all this chaos was incredibly irrational, but irrational or not, it was the case. At least she was in touch enough with her feelings to admit it! She shook her head to shake out the bitter and ultimately useless thoughts, reaching back to stroke her eggs. They no doubt sensed the furious activity down below, and their mother's apprehension, so there was a degree of distress or at least unease being projected her way.

She sent a wave of reassurance back towards them, and even tried to believe it as she stood and turned towards her soldiers. "OK, my Arachnid Angels. Here's your mission. See all that craziness down there? Well, we're gonna jump in the middle of it. I want you three to keep my family off my back while watching each other's."

Tara seemed to hardly be listening, eyes still locked on the fighting below. 'Well, at least she seems eager…'

Jumper was focused intently on her leader, nodding at her every word. Jade was sure she'd follow every one of her instructions to the letter, and knowing there was someone so reliable among her ranks calmed her somewhat regarding their trial by fire.

"Widow?" Jade frowned, looking at where her now rather sickly-looking minion continued to watch the action unfold, claws dug into the steel up to the knuckle. She jerked up at her name, and stared blankly at Jade as though seeing her for the first time, mouth slightly parted. Jade hated the fact that she hardly had time to deal with this strange response, given the urgency of the situation, so instead she reached forward with her pedipalp and caught Widow's right hand in hers, stroking it with her thumb.

"You'll be fine, okay? Just remember what we practiced and what I told you about my family." She turned towards the others and stated clearly, "NONE of you are to focus on Jackie. He's out of your leagues, keep moving, don't settle on anyone and watch out for eachother."

Jade then raised both arms, and fifteen Gumokhan creeped out from the darkness around them. The sight nearly seemed to send Widow over the side into the battle alone. But she held on via instinct. Jade chastised herself briefly for not having introduced the girls to her army earlier. She smiled, hoping to disarm the shock, though Tara and Jumper were taking the newcomer arachnids in stride, it seemed. Hardly giving them a glance.

"These ladies will keep the Samurai busy while you focus on the others and keep my family off my back. So don't worry, both sides are covered. And they know you're on our side, so as far as we're concerned, they're as harmless as kittens," she pointed out with a smile, still holding Widow's trembling claw.

Widow nodded, barely. The movement seemingly on autopilot, but Jade couldn't deal with that now. At the sight, Jade merely sighed and pointed down. "Let's go, girls! "GERONIMO!"

With that, she and her army dived down, into the fray from above.

XXX

The loud exclamation had everyone not busy scrambling for their lives while outrunning black spears and crackling arrows of darkness look up into the air. Though the new sight of several insect-like nightmares falling lightly in the center of the fray, their claws scraping the gravel beneath on impact, was hardly a comfort. Several of the Old Colonel's men apparently considered this their line in the sand, and quickly ran off, certain they had better things to do that night than fight evil armored demons AND giant spiders. Unfortunately for them, the Samurai were not capable of the same surprise, and two of their archers easily shot down the retreating criminals the moment their backs were exposed.

While Jackie was not quite surprised at the sight of Jade and her army interrupting the already messy Battle Royale they'd found themselves in, the three creatures at her side gave him pause. They were clearly not Shadowkhan, seeming far too aware and lacking uniformity of design. Smaller than Jade, but all clearly variations of other spider women like herself.

'Of course she has minions,' Jackie sighed, but still ducked around an outwardly thrust spearhead, grabbing the shaft and throwing the Samurai-khan into one of the supports. Unfortunately not hard enough to "poof" it. It seemed this tribe was much harder to exterminate when they weren't being governed by a ne'er-do-well Irishman's rear.

Jade, flanked by her Khan and the mysterious three spiders fixed her eyes on Chang who stared back grimly, his eyes flaring like red-hot coals. She seemed to stare down her nose at him as she marched forward. Automatically two of his Khan turned and rushed towards her, but Jade's were apparently a great deal more maneuverable than the large armored warriors.

Two of the small feminine shadows immediately met the advancing samurai, scurrying up and around to their back as the larger Khan flailed, trying to angle around and reach them, but then exploded in black smoke as the Spider-khans jabbed their thin sickle-like claws into the joints of the armpits and throat.

If Jade noticed the brief scuffle she ignored it as she marched forward, silently on her eight legs through the now-parting warriors in her path towards Chang. He looked up at her, now no longer hiding his contempt through a false veneer of civility. "You should have made an appointment, Queen. If you haven't noticed, I'm a little busy."

"Yeah, about that," Jade muttered offhandedly, looking back at Chang with her narrowed six eyes looking the pseudo-Oni up and down. "I spoke with the boss about your refusal, Stumpy. He had some very clear instructions for me regarding your decision to pass."

"Oh do hurry up," Chang hissed dismissively, gauntlet clenching his dark sword tightly as he glared up at the arachnid interloper. "If you decided to interrupt this chore as some hard-ball tactic to strong arm me into reconsidering your offer, then I need to direct you to a waterspout you can wash down."

"Urgh, spider insults," Jade scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Then again you did call your elite little group the 'Chang Gang' so I dunno why I expected better."

"Anyway, here is the offer again. Pledge your fealty to King Tarakudo as his Samurai General. Aid us with the Essence hunt and whatever world domination scheme he has planned and you get support from me and other Generals as well as access to lots of useful Oni knowledge. What do you say?" Jade asked.

"My answer remains no. If you are done, then leave. I have a battle to win," Chang waved her off.

"No," Jade said.

Flames flared up around her, crackling up and down her demonic form as she stepped ever closer to the demon-man. Chang apparently began to sense just how dangerous this situation was becoming, and slowly took a step back, trying not to seem intimidated.

"Yeah, seems like you've caught on, Captain Hook," Jade nodded, not smiling but rather staring intensely in his direction, dark lips pressed tight. She raised her right hand up, armored fingers positioned together as she continued to stare him down. Suddenly the carapaced digits snapped, producing a strange high-pitched click.

In response, a line of green flames split off from Jade's body and snaked around, cutting Chang's backpedalling off with a wall of burning green that continued along its path until the two were sectioned off from the other combatants by a ring of chi flame. "Just you and me, Chang. I gave you a chance and you threw it in my face, not to mention were more than a little insulting."

"Wanna know a life lesson I had shoved down my throat at puberty?" Jade went on, the glow from her flames casting her face in an eerie light as she continued to steadily advance, Chang's eyes darting left and right looking for any sort of breach in this mystic living barrier. "Our choices have consequences, and sometimes those will really bite you in the abdomen when you least expect it."

XXX

'This is NOT my scene,' Viper thought bitterly, ducking and weaving between a Samurai's katana, barely managing to keep the etheric blade from giving her an unwelcome trim. She ducked swiftly between its legs, and locked its ankle with her own before yanking its feet out from under it and sending it tumbling to the ground.

With it down, she pulled free a small combat knife from her boot, grabbed the shadow warrior by the helmet and yanked it up enough to plunge the blade deep in the base of where she assumed its brain was. Though frankly, she wasn't sure if these creatures had anything even resembling organs. Regardless, the spot proved to be just as vulnerable to the shadow as a mortal man, and the warrior dissipated into the ether all the same.

The ex-thief unsteadily rose to her feet, rubbing the sweat from her forehead and sheathing her knife. This was both life-threatening AND tedious, a terrible combination in her long experience. She wasn't a small woman, per-se, but dealing with these heavy armored bruisers was exhausting, especially in this infernal Mexican heat. On the opposite end of the spectrum were those nasty little spiders, smaller than she was and more agile. It was actually harder to put one of them in the obituary than the big guys, just because of how nimble and tricky they could be.

On a personal level she hated having competition at her own game, especially from mass-produced demon bugs. Thankfully, they seemed to mostly have their many hands full with the tin cans. But as for Jade's shiny new lieutenants on the other hand… that was another story entirely.

Viper winced as she maneuvered stealthily out from between the main bout, feeling both out of place and frustrated. Not to mention just needing a breather from the seemingly endless all-out brawl taking place. She could still see, curled up into itself in the corner was the dark blue one with the sunglasses that looked almost like Jade in miniature.

That one had been almost disappointing. Tohru and El Toro apparently anticipated it would cause the most trouble of the three and immediately body slammed the poor thing into a cement-mixer. That had apparently taken all the fight out of it, monster spider or no. She almost felt bad for it, if it wasn't a creepy nightmare monster anyways.

'How did Jade end up with that one anyways?' she mused, spotting some nearby scaffolding and making her way towards it. 'Maybe she saw the sunglasses and thought she needed her own Chow to finish off the set…'

Viper ascended the scaffolding, feeling like a bird's eye view of events would be the best bet since down below, she was lost in the din and could hardly think. This felt more like her, being unseen and ABOVE the chaos, not down in the dirt rolling in it. She was already starting to feel a little more like herself as she made her way to the unfinished skeletal levels above. The same place she imagined Jade had been crouching and hiding before making her grand entrance.

Speaking of the Queen Spider herself, from up here Viper could see clearly into the ring of flame she'd erected to section off herself with Chang. Her form still made Viper feel more than a little nauseous to look at her; just from knowing that was Jade now. Even worse considering she seemed to LIKE it.

It seemed that Chang had neglected practicing with that evil pig-sticker of his, as Jade was dominating the battle. Chang was left tumbling about, trying and failing miserably to get around her wall of sharp and long limbs to her vulnerable side, while being mindful of the flames which seemed to surge whenever he got too close.

That made Viper frown; as much as she thought the jade-fetishizing cretin probably deserved to be eaten by a giant spider, it would mean Jade would land a really powerful Essence in her hands and there was nothing they could do to stop her. This whole sneak attack was going the way of the Hindenburg fast, all because they could hardly deal with one evil army, let alone two.

How long could Chang last down there in the Thunderdome? Likely not long enough to come up with a plan that worked. She scanned the scuffle below, looking for some sort of answer. Uncle was pulling a Clint Eastwood with his magic taxidermy collection, blowing away any of the numerous mindless army of Samurai or Spiders that got within the wily old bastards way. With their Generals too occupied to summon more, their numbers were steadily depleting, but not as fast as Viper would have liked.

The easiest brawl to spot in the mess below was definitely Tohru and that creepy white spider. She was nearly his size and plated like a panzer tank, but the big guy had weight and leverage on his side. Not to mention he was clearly smarter. The white one only seemed to have one trick up her sleeve, roaring and charging, no matter how many times she was throw aside. Tohru seemed to have lost his patience with that one and after slamming her to the gravel again for the hundredth time; he sat his massive rear down hard right on her skull.

Viper winced in reflexive sympathy at that rather brutal conclusion to their duel, and resumed her scanning of the scene, briefly noting El Toro was keeping the old monster safe from the evil hazards as best he could for a man that well and truly deserved to be turned into a pincushion by waves of evil warriors.

Viper frowned then, looking about the chaos and searching closely at all the faces involved. Where was that THIRD spider? The light blue one with the webby blonde hair and crazy eyes was nowhere in sight. Granted, she was the smallest of the three by far, but it shouldn't have been this hard to spot her, especially given most of the gangsters were out of the fight by now, cut down or run off.

Could she have run away too? Viper pondered, leaning closer. But even with her intense concentration on the action below, she still felt the faint tremor in the girder beneath her. Automatically, she somersaulted forward, nearly losing her balance and falling down the fifteen foot drop into the heart of the battle, but her hands gripped tight.

Quickly turning around towards the area she'd instinctively fled, she caught sight of a small blue form just staring at her with those six huge twitchy eyes, slowly extracting her claws from the area Viper's head had recently vacated. The arachnid woman's eyes never left Viper as she freed her claw.

Viper swallowed down her unease at this one, tensing her muscles to spring again. But the Light Blue instead slinked into the darkness behind it, never taking her eyes from Viper as she did so. Quicker than the ex-thief would have liked, she disappeared completely from view.

'Wow, creepy enough yet, Legs?' she thought, taking a breath, trying to find where the woman had disappeared to. She crept forward, getting slightly closer to the shadows, trying to force her eyes to adjust to the still darkness above. But it was from her right side that she suddenly felt a shift in the air against her ear.

She yelped and dived forward, and heard sparks fly behind her, turning around as quickly as she could just in time to see the light blue blur zip past, and the whole end of the girder slice off cleanly and fall into the battle, crushing the head of an unlucky samurai grappling with El Toro.

Whipping around, she again could no longer find the creepy little sneak, having again melted into the shadows of the building's unfinished upper levels. She was starting to sense the rules of this annoying little game of tag, and had no intention of losing. She gritted her teeth and stood, balanced on the scaffolding beneath her, shutting her eyes.

Her vision would only get in the way; this little vermin had only given herself away through touch, not sound or sight. It'd only see her become spider food if Viper banked on the blonde changing her method now. The ex-theif could barely keep her heart from racing as she waited in this self-imposed darkness. She felt like an idiot anticipating this monster with her eyes shut when she should have been running for her life.

'Thieves run when things get bad, and I'm not a thief anymore,' she told herself, feeling all her muscles tense. Then, just barely, Viper felt the vaguest tingle of disturbed air in her right shoulder she'd almost certainly have missed if she'd worn her catsuit zipped up. She jumped back, but not far and grabbed forward.

Her hands ached as they grabbed a fast-moving hard limb coated in stiff coarse fur she was sure was cutting into her palms. But she was too busy to dwell on that, she angled and twisted around, using the falling body's momentum to toss it well away from the girders and directly into the heart of the battle.

Viper's eyes trailed the arc of the spider-woman's descent, but to her dismay, apparently the idiom about cats and landing applied to spiders as well. The blonde twisted in midair and landed on all eights lightly, before turning and shooting a glare upwards at Viper that could've scourged flesh from bone before vanishing into the shadow of the battle around her. Viper let herself shudder briefly but shook it off after, the adrenaline born of mortal fear beginning to drain from her system.

Unfortunately, adrenaline was a hell of an anesthetic, and with it thinning away, she was made acutely aware of how much her hands ached. Looking down, she could see the skin was red and irritated and looked like the ass-end of a porcupine. Apparently people weren't gonna be making coats of spider-pelt anytime soon. Viper's hands were trained to be more sensitive than most, and she was definitely paying for that now.

The retired thief leaned back, wincing against the scaffolding, pulling sharp blue hairs free one by one, her mind pushed elsewhere to consider her next move. To her relief, she spotted Jackie bouncing around the battle like a superball. It seemed both breeds of Khan were just ignoring him now in favor of more approachable prey, which meant they were capable of SOME degree of autonomy while their masters were busy in their fiery death match. Viper made note of that detail for future reference.

She crawled to the end of the scaffolding; trying to get as close to the lower level as possible without being noticed and minding how her palms itched and burned in equal measure. There HAD to be some sort of irritant on those hairs, it was the only explanation. She cursed the Light Blue again as she leaned forward and spotted Jackie's black scalp from above.

Muttering a silent apology, she reached forward and tossed underhand one of the abandoned screws she'd retrieved from the unfinished construction above. It sailed true through the air and struck home right up against Jackie's temple. The Chinese Archeologist cried out in a rather high pitched tone, and looked up with his eyes narrowed and fists bared at the ready for this cowardly assailant.

He blinked and lowered his guard somewhat when he was met with Viper smiling sheepishly and gesturing for him to join her. But she also made a "shushing" gesture to make it clear he wasn't to make a grand show of it. Sighing, Jackie nodded and with some difficulty snuck out into the dark of the seemingly perpetual battle and made his way up to where Viper hid.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked, and rubbed the welt on his temple. "And couldn't you have thought of a less painful way of getting my attention?"

"Sorry, Tiger," Viper smiled apologetically, but pointed over to the ring of flames. Chang was basically doing all he could just to keep his head attached as Jade dominated their battle, proving between the two what a difference experience made.

"From up here, you can jump into that little free-for-all and HOPEFULLY get to that Essence before Jade does. It's a longshot, I know. But the Old Man seems a bit too busy getting his Tolkien on with those Shadowkhan to have time to bring down that firewall. Not to mention Tohru is a bit pinned down keeping the big white one out of play."

Viper pointed to the tote bag hanging around Jackie's right shoulder and added, "That's the stuff, right?"

Jackie blinked and nodded, adjusting the strap so that it wouldn't cut into his arm so. He'd need to adjust the strap to be nice and tight so that it wouldn't swing around frantically while dealing with giant spiders and ancient warriors. "Yes, Tohru threw it to me when he decided to keep that nasty white one out of the fight. That weird little blue one nearly took my head off though, so I'm not sure he picked the right one to keep down…"

Viper winced and nodded, rubbing her own throat nervously, "Trust me, I concur. Should probably invest in a few bottles of Raid when this is all over."

Looking back at the battle, Chang seemed to finally have reached his limit, suspended in the air and held firm. Jade's upper arms grasped his throat, lower arms restraining his arms, and front legs gripping his legs by the ankles. Viper wasn't sure if Oni NEEDED to breathe, but Chang certainly didn't seem to enjoy having his throat twisted shut, which was perhaps a prelude to Jade deciding to draw and quarter the bastard. "That looks like your cue to move, Tiger. Think you can make it?"

"I think I can try, anyways," Jackie nodded, standing from his crouch and stepping back. Viper watched as he assessed the distance silently, crouched and then ran the short distance down the unfinished girder and sprung. His arms and legs pumped in the air as if trying to find a purchase in open space. Viper almost wanted to cover her eyes when it seemed like he was going to land atop the fiery barrier rather than beyond it.

But Jackie Chan was a man who regularly stretched the boundaries of what was rational for a human to achieve and he made the distance.

XXX

Jackie's feet connected with Jade's shoulder, bringing all his weight down with it and she lurched to the side, while Jackie sprang off from where he struck and landed crouched at to her left. Her shock automatically released Chang's right arm from her grip as she cried out in surprise and some anger. Chang, wasted no time taking advantage of his unexpected stroke of fortune, a black blade forming in his tight grasp and swinging in the same motion.

The blade parted Jade's pedipalp claw from its wrist, a line of wet purple streaking across the gravel as Jade hissed and reflexively released Chang back with a forward throw. His back struck the flaming wall hard, sending heat and energy coursing through his body with nauseating crackling and popping before he was repelled back into the safety of the circle.

Jade looked at the weeping stump of her lower wrist, and then turned her blazing eyes towards the interloper in her duel. She was hardly surprised to see Jackie there, looking at the wound he'd just earned her and seeming about to throw up. But she was too angry to care about his state as she turned and loomed over him, ignoring where Chang smoked face-down on the ground.

"Not gonna lie, Jackie, that was pretty uncool of you," she glared, fangs bared and glistening in the firelight as she stared down her uncle. "Do you have ANY idea how much growing a limb back ITCHES?!"

"I… I'm sorry," Jackie muttered on auto-pilot, suddenly jumping to the side just as one of her legs struck out, gouging out gravel that flew through the air and into the firewall where it disappeared into the flames.

"Yeah, you just keep being sorry, don'tcha, Uncle," Jade growled out through her fangs as she continued to lash out at the man, circling about awkwardly on her eight legs, but keeping her eyes glued to her opponent all the same. At least until he rolled beneath her outstretched leg and disappeared under her body.

"You never realize how annoying this can be until you're on the other side of it," Jade muttered, twisting around and searching the floor, and then her sides when she could no longer track where her Uncle had disappeared to. No doubt he was still within the ring, even he couldn't jump that high. So that meant he was still inside with her and the creep currently smelling like grilled pork on the ground.

'Darn, I skipped dinner for this,' she realized, taking a whiff of the smoke coming off of the downed one-handed Oni.

Sighing, she shut her eyes and just stood, arms crossed. Suddenly Jade whipped her upper half around to her lower left side and struck out. The startled yelp accompanying the maneuver made her smile just slightly, even though she grasped open air. "I wasn't just gonna play this stupid little game of hide and seek while you stick to my blind spots, Jackie. I've been laying thread on the floor ever since I lost sight of you. It only really works for confined spaces when there is not enough stomping going on to disrupt it too much, but when it works... Now I can feel every footstep you take as you're circling around. At this point I don't even need my eyes for this."

"You were always so resourceful," Jackie stated softly, slowing his swift legwork to a walk as he circled around her wide body. "I need to stop thinking of you as my little niece, is that right?"

Jade frowned and turned her head slightly his way, eyes still closed, and pedipalp covering her wounded stump. "I wasn't gonna say that. I AM still your niece. Though I suppose you guys are probably doing your best to forget about that."

"Of course not," Jackie stated, stopping and turning to her, as she finally shifted to face him, opening her eyes.

"And yet you pulled something really low last time," Jade stated as she glared down at the man, her voice soft but cold and sharp. "Who did it?"

"That was an accident-"

"WHO DID IT!?" she shouted, advancing on him, slicing her right claw forward that he twisted around lightly and struck along the wrist, letting him dive to the side. He was no longer trying to hide as that was apparently not in the cards in this fight. But he could keep away.

Unfortunately, while Chang was in the perfect position to have his Essence extracted, there was no way in Hell Jade would sit still and let Jackie work. Not while dealing with her alone, anyways.

Jade continued her assault, slashing at her uncle, trying to corner him against the flames and get her claws on him. No more jumping about, she was going to have some answers, family or no. "Was it Uncle?! Viper?! Paco?! Tohru!? Who threw the potion, Jackie?!"

Jackie winced at the sound of her voice taking on a screech as she focused on her rage at the accidental, but nearly unforgivable, maneuver on Paco's part. While he would have taken the blame, he knew already Jade would be able to tell if he lied. He leapt up, grabbing her outstretched arm and using it to vault over her shoulder and onto her back, putting him in the one place most of her limbs couldn't reach.

She hissed, twisting her upper body about so she was facing backwards towards where Jackie crouched, right above her abdomen. Jade was about to strike with her arms, but paused and pulled back her right claw, slowly. The limb trembling as she stared at her mentor and family between her and her abdomen.

He continued to stare at her, eyes lacking any recognizable intent to cause harm, but steel all the same. Seeing her pause in her assault as he'd hoped, he took a deep breath and stated calmly, "Whoever did that regretted it. It will never happen again. I swear."

For a time, Jade just stared at the man in silence, her face still scrunched in a look of piercing anger. But slowly, her expression softened ever so slightly, and she looked down, clenching her fists. The armored digits strained against themselves, exposing the elastic tissue in between the thick plating.

"Never again, Jackie," she responded, looking into his two eyes with her six. "I don't come after you while you sleep; you leave me and mine alone. We'll butt heads over the Essences, but let's not make things worse for each other than they are."

Taking a deep shuddering breath, and trying to ignore the nagging chastising voice he could already hear from Uncle, Jackie finally nodded. Jumping on any opportunity he could to try to retain SOME level of civility from his not-so-little niece. "I'll make sure the others know."

"I'm only asking once, Jackie," she said, driving her warning tone in. "You come after me even once after hours and the deal is off and things will get uglier than either of us are comfortable with."

Jackie swallowed down bile and nodded, knowing her words to be true, but dreading picturing what his once adorable little niece meant with her promise. Both were so preoccupied with their brief understanding, neither noticed a third set of blazing red eyes lifted their way.

Chang slowly looked up at the spider, twisted around and chatting with that consistent plague on his house, Chan. He repeated the words he'd picked up in his stupor in his head in a circle over and over again, as though trying to put a puzzle together made from pieces belonging to entirely different sets.

Chan had called Queen his niece. Queen as well, but there was only one person who fit that description. That loathsome little rat, Jade Chan. The thorn in his side that ironically shared a name with his greatest treasure. Calling a giant demonic spider niece was so nonsensical it bordered on the absurd. Bad comedy all around.

But then there was the alias, Queen. The immature speech pattern. The childish attitude like a little girl acting like how she THOUGHT adults acted like. And a connection to the mystical and unnatural. That was what this was, somehow. He didn't understand how, but he didn't care. A rage swelled in his belly and his fingers, both flesh and shadow-steel clenched into the gravel.

Once again, for the fifth time in a row, Jade Chan was somehow fouling up his life's ambitions. Even as a demon, it seemed Chang could not shake that interfering and infernal monkey from his back. But no more, this was it. She was distracted by her disgusting little heart to heart with Chan, but he knew regardless of differing goals, both wanted to see Chang fall. The moment they noticed he had gathered his wits; both would fall upon him like a storm and the game would be over.

He could never best Chan in gentlemanly melee at the best of times, and Jade has already showed him the rank difference between a master in these demonic arts and a novice like himself. Both at once would have been a foregone conclusion. He was going to lose. If he didn't think of something now, they would drag him down and his power and freedom would be left to the realm of restless dreams.

Never.

He would damn himself open armed, before he would give up everything that made his life worth living. Damn himself and everyone between him and his glorious return. Deep inside he felt the black pit of darkness within him swell further and faster than ever before. Ever since he'd been gifted this power he felt the shadows tear him away inside, hollow himself out little by little. But now he encouraged it, shoveling what was left of his soul into the black hole as though feeding a roaring flame.

Let it consume him, let it try. He would master it, and then the screaming would start. None of it his.

It was almost too late when Jade finally sensed the raw buildup of Dark Chi before her. The cold raw energy spiked out, seemingly from nowhere at all. The complicated thoughts of Jackie perched on her fled at the sheer horror of being blindsided by a hated enemy. She straightened her body around, in a flash, all the while cursing herself and Jackie for being so clumsy as to assume Chang down and out. She felt Jackie tense upon her, but he clearly didn't understand the origin of the sudden chill overtaking the heated Mexican air.

Turning her torso around was mistake, Jade realized all too late. The Shadow Chi erupted over her in a vaguely nostalgic wave. The freezing air, and rapidly expanding pressure struck her open and delicate six eyes as though a solid wall of needle-like icicles. The Gumo Queen shrieked in surprise and pain pressing hands to her blasted eyes which felt as though they'd frozen within their sockets.

Rendered blind, she only felt Jackie get knocked off her by the wave, and her barrier snuffed out like a candle in the breeze. The force of it struck each and every Khan remaining in the fray and banished them in bursts of unholy smoke while indiscriminately striking and flinging the mortals through the air, all the same.

But Jade was too upset to take note of such details as she roared in a high-pitched shriek, willing healing Chi to her eyes to accelerate their regeneration as her claws tore up the ground in front of her, searching desperately for her opponent. There were no higher thoughts, only the surprise and fury of a wounded animal lashing out.

Her grasping claws rent naught but open air as she struck out, feeling terribly exposed, her eyes screaming and useless. They were healing far too slowly, she was in a state of panic, which damaged her concentration, and she'd already expended plenty of Chi on that now recently destroyed barrier. The blast, whatever it was, had even blown aside her threads, so even if she regained her focus, she was standing in a void.

She bit down on her tongue hard, the thin hooked fangs piercing deep into the meat as she forced herself to calm down using the sudden stinging as a crutch to ground her senses. She wasn't helpless, surrounded by enemies or not, she still had her minions, and she still had other senses humans couldn't even dream of.

Jade moved her attention to the hairs along her body, each able to catch the minute changes in the air better than a cat's whiskers. It wouldn't give her the best sense of range, but she'd at least have some early warning to work on until her stupid and currently useless eyes started carrying their weight again. The world gained some fuzzy definition as she focused, Jackie was groaning on the floor, his frail mortal body having been struck hard by the blast, just like Drew and Ms. Hartman all those years ago.

But as she struggled about, trying to keep a perimeter of safety, she felt something fast cut through the air. She could hardly define it, the way it was suddenly there, and gone, and then there again. Always seeming closer, the air still chilly with residual raw Chi floating about. But as she thought on it, a grim picture began to form in her mind.

The blast was like when she was still a kid, freshly demonized in that school hallway. Chang had been almost done cooking… the oven timer must have gone off sooner than she expected. Chang must have somehow become full Oni face down on the gravel. Not the most dignified position to start his new Unholy life, but now he was positively crackling with Dark Chi, and riding the high as he moved through shadows perhaps for the first time in his life.

That was why he kept vanishing, why he was getting closer in random skips. Getting closer while she could see… Her body tensed, and she braced herself, swallowing down fear, and reigniting her Royal Flames, spreading them out as she forced her eyes to heal faster to no avail. Six eyes were a lot to manage, let alone reconstruct in a hurry. But suddenly she felt Chang bypass her torso area entirely.

'Did… did he miss?' she thought, claws bared, trying to guess his next exiting point so that she could preemptively strike. 'What is he… NO!'

Her insides turned to ice despite her flames when she realized where he was aiming if he was maneuvering behind her. There was only one vital place back there that would be sure to destroy her and everything she had dedicated her life to. Her life and her future was the eggsack. Chang wanted to kill her kits!

The Queen whipped around, scanning, trying to guess from what angle Chang would emerge. She couldn't sense him like this; he was radiating fresh Chi after his transformation. He was blinding in the darkness, filling her perception when she tried to sense his Chi. There was no pinpointing at this time, not until his transformation settled, and he wasn't going to wait around for that!

If she didn't find him soon, it was over, she had to! With his blade it wouldn't matter how tough her abdomen was, that dark katana sliced through steel like air. It would make short work of her natural defenses. If she could have sweat, it would be running down her chin in rivulets as she twisted back and forth trying to get a fix on his position. She wouldn't lose like this, not to him, NOT where her eggs were concerned! The fear and rage at the threat boiled within her, and he knew then that this had been him toying with her.

The handless monster was toying with her, getting back at her for schooling him so utterly in their little duel. She regretted not finishing him off from the start, just blowing the scum away, leaving just a greasy smear. She was paying for it now. No, her EGGS were paying for it now! She'd only have one chance at catching him while her eyes regenerated so slowly she wanted to scream. One chance or-!

There he was, suddenly at her lower right side. She could feel him rushing outwards from the Shadows like a bullet, that whistling sound likely his katana's edge cutting through the air itself. He was at too awkward an angle; there was no way she could shift in time before he had run her through. There was no way she could protect them! She'd failed Sensei, her second mother, the one who'd given her life so Jade could carry their kind to the future. Failed completely in an instant, one mishandled choice was all it took.

She held onto the cries within her, scared and disturbed by their mother's frantic fear. She focused on that sound, preparing for the awful moment where it would suddenly be replaced with silence.

But it never came. Instead she heard an enraged cry, and the sound of something hitting the gravel hard. The again followed by a more wounded cry. 'What's happening? What's going on?!'

She jerked around towards the noise, and finally gave in trying to regenerate her eyes in time, stopping the process outright. Instead, she refocused all the restorative Chi on her right primary eye. That speeded things up extensively, and within seconds, the pained tingling had faded away to zero. She parted the lid gratefully, the world blinding at first, but she powered through the pain, forcing the one working eye to adjust to the light and shapes.

Jackie was lying on his side breathing hard barely conscious, Chang several feet away, holding his side gingerly. He glared over at her, breathing deep wheezing breaths as he struggled to rise to his feet. His old skin was gone now, not even the powdery remnants remained. All his exposed flesh was now covered in uniform cobalt-blue scales. His temples twisted and curved outwards in broad short horns, curving down his cheekbones in jagged rows. Even his hair was longer now, spiky and wild.

Bartholomew Chang the human was dead and gone, an Oni General having ripped him from the world.

But Jade hardly cared. Injured as she was, five-sixth blind, and down one claw, not to mention deeply shaken, she was hardly at her peak. But even still, if Chang took one step towards her, she would rip him to pieces and scatter them across the floor. One step towards her, injured or no, and he'd look like a Picasso painting before the night was through.

A low animal hiss rumbled out from her throat as she loomed over the kneeling General, fur bristling, fangs bared and positively aching to be buried to the gums in his skull.

Chang's glowing red eyes looked up at hers, narrowed hatefully, but he seemed to slink back under the hateful presence looming before him. Slowly, never taking his eyes off the she-spider, Chang crept back and began disappearing into the darkness of his own shadow as he retreated. Eventually, the tips of his new horns slipped within the black pool and vanished. Along with it was the presence of Chang's Chi, showing him to be well and truly gone from sight.

With his departure, Jade visibly slumped. The adrenaline thinned away in her system with a burning tingle, leaving her to feel stretched and weak. Her joints loose like an old action figure. But then jerked in shock when she felt strong arms wrap tightly around her waist and support her from falling to her knees. Looking down, she saw Jumper looking up at her intently from her side. She blinked at the sight, and then nodded slightly, regaining her bearings and gently pushing the devoted spider-woman aside.

She looked about and saw poor Widow still curled up upon herself, like she'd been since the battle's beginning. Tarantula was face down on the gravel, free of Tohru's tremendous behind, but still having seen better days. The remaining humans, including her old team were still scattered about the construction yard in a daze. It amazed her that Jackie, practically pointblank before the blast, had been able to rouse himself in time to…

…He saved her. He saved THEM. It was the only explanation that made sense. And seeing him lying on his side, he'd clearly suffered a blow from Chang for his trouble. Her uncle, through and through. Even if she was on the other side of the fence now, he still protected her and her eggs, risking his own life in the process. That was her Jackie.

Jade stared down at him for a moment before lowering down to her knees and kissing him lightly on the forehead, whispering a quiet "Thank you for saving them, Jackie" Before standing back up and straitening herself. She turned to the rather confused looking Jumper, but was too tired and strained to feel embarrassed, and instead merely stated, "Go grab up the other two. We're clearing out."

Jumper nodded and immediately went about the task, springing over to Widow, and then Tara, and hauling them under her eight arms securely, where they hung like dead weight, dragging partly on the ground as they dwarfed their light blue sister. With that, Jade reached down and retrieved one of her weaves, sending a charge into the silk and then tossing it to the ground.

On impact, the weave burst and spread, forming a wide glowing green web rotating steadily, suspended in mid-air. The tunnel-web completed, she and her minions would have a clear path back to their temporary base where they could lick their wounds in peace. The other side of the gateway had already been activated ahead of time on the off chance they would need to egress in a rush. The two gates folded space neatly while using only a fraction of the energy required in normal teleportation.

Jumper stepped past her queen as Jade ushered her forward. Holding her comrades securely, the blonde nervously stepped into the web. Like that, she slowly passed through and vanished from the battlefield without a sound.

Jade was about to join her, but froze and jerked her head up when she heard someone conspicuously clearing her throat.

Viper was standing on the scaffolding above, arms crossed and leaning against a steel girder, her dark eyes tracking Jade's movements towards the escape-route. After a moment of mutual stares, Jade opted to merely nod, a gesture which was returned in kind. She was about to step towards the web, but was interrupted once again, this time from words spoken down her way.

"I saw what Jackie did. Seems to me we're square for the scrapyard incident, don't'cha think?" she asked, her tone light, but having an assertive undercurrent.

Jade frowned, and squared her shoulders, but then sighed tiredly and crossed her arms. "So long as it's not something you guys repeat, fine."

"Chang's both our problems now, huh?" Viper added with forced casual indifference. "If only one of us had backed out of it, we'd never need to waste another thought on the freak. Now a guy like that not only has a shadwkhan army but access to who knows what Oni mojo down the line."

"Subtle," Jade scoffed tiredly, glancing away at her stump distastefully. "Don't tell me you're worried about Captain Hook, Viper. We have a solid 5/0 record on him, and knowing him, he'll be licking his wounds for months. But make no mistake, nothing's really changed. I'm still gonna get those Essences, and I'm still gonna trounce you guys if you try and stop me."

Viper continued to stare silently down at her, before shrugging lightly and stating, "Bring it."

Jade cracked a slight smile and the challenge and looked back toward the spell, stepping through, and feeling it collapse behind her.

XXX

El Toro gave a wheezing breath; his weathered joints creaking as he slowly rose to his feet. His comrades seemed to be in a similar sore state as he, all of them slowly standing upright, memory fuzzy after the sudden black wave that had overcome them all near the end of the battle.

Tohru was helping Uncle to stand, whereas Jackie was leaning against Viper, seeming covered in bruises, and needing the slender woman to keep him standing. Made sense, if the old Luchador remembered right. He'd been the closest to the blast when it happened. It was a wonder he could move at all. Viper seemed fine, oddly. He wondered how she'd managed to avoid getting pile-driven by evil magic like the rest of them.

The night seemed so quiet now, he realized, dusting stray bits of gravel off his leotard. Now that the chaos of the night had reached its conclusion. Or his eardrums had been blown out in the explosion. Either way.

Everyone seemed accounted for, at a brief glance. But that also made him catch sight of several bodies lying about the yard in varying degrees of wholeness. The old monster's men had proven poor warriors where these forces were concerned. They treated las sombras like human opponents, or froze in terror at their first real taste of the occult, and for that they fell to the sword. Literally. Though, El Toro hardly recalled past battles resulting in so many bodies.

Things had truly changed, there could be no doubt. He feared how many would fall to conflicts in the future. Thankfully, these men had all been a plague on his country, they, and their awful master. No one would mourn their passing, him least of all. But still, he was relieved Paco was nowhere to see such sights. The boy had a fire in him, but he was still a boy. He should not be exposed to the grimy side of the world, not if El Toro Fuerte could help it.

Speaking of, he turned and glared, seeing the crooked old chupacabras casually step out of the dark, ostentatious cane supporting him as he strode over. The Old Colonel truly must have had the devil's luck if he managed to avoid the blast, unlike the others. But El Toro wouldn't disgrace himself by asking how.

O, how he'd loathed acting as bodyguard to such a man. Such coyote's in the skin of men created no end of misery for the people. But honor demanded he could not step aside and let a man die, even a wicked one meant for el infierno. To do so would be to take a step towards becoming such a diablo himself, and the dishonor the task his comrades had entrusted him with.

He looked over and noticed the others coming to meet him at the center of the yard, adjusting his mask idly all the while. The old man slowly and casually made his way to their side, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, revealing more than a few gold teeth. His dark eyes glittered as he regarded the group, all staring back at him warily.

"Gracias, truly, my camaradas," he spoke, his thick syrupy aged voice oozing his satisfaction. "I had forgotten the rush involved with gambling my own life. It has been too long. Needless to say, you all preformed wonderfully, my friends."

El Toro's eyes narrowed, his bile rising up at the thought that he'd acted as a shield to such an unrepentant monster. Looking around he could see the others hardly seemed pleased themselves for the most part. But none had the experiences of living under the fear of these tyrants pumping their poisons into his home. He'd known and lost friends to this breed throughout his life. He feared for Paco daily that he would fall to such a fate or worse. No, his friends did not understand, but he was a grown man. He knew when to bite his tongue, swallow down his anger and remain silent.

"Granted," he went on ignoring the dirty looks surrounding him, "I would have preferred Chang's head be delivered to me on a velvet pillow, but I am not one to ignore good fortune."

He looked about to the bodies surrounding him distastefully, quirking his eyebrow as if looking at a park covered in litter rather than a battlefield carpeted with the bodies of his comrades. "Though in hindsight I feel I should not have bothered bringing my forces for all they accomplished. I suppose at least I will not have to pay them for shoddy performances.

"Of course, I must again congratulate you all, my friends. Suffice to say, I will owe you a boon in the future," the Old Colonel finally added after a moment's pause. El Toro deciding the old man very much liked the sound of his own voice.

Viper finally spoke up at that, placing her free arm not supporting Jackie on her hip and stated clearly, "Yeah, I don't think so, Grandpa. We won't be needing anything from you, now or ever."

The Old Colonel smirked, leaning forward on his cane, "Oh, my lovely Señorita, I must insist. Your involvement was paramount in my plans to regain some control of this situation. And with Mr. Chang having retired most of my rivals and allies both, I will be able to hold this city in the palm of my hand for the foreseeable future uncontested."

Viper surprised El Toro by smirking at that, her expression cold and cool. "Seriously, Old Man. You're being a little slow on the draw. We won't need anything from you because you won't be in a position to give anyone any favors."

As if on cue, the sound of several vehicles closed in on the construction site, four black vans squealed in and skid around the group forming a circle. Gravel was kicked up along with dust at all the activity. Once finally coming to a halt, several armed agents in black poured out of the vehicles, all surrounding the injured warriors and Old Colonel.

The old man seemed to drop his amused smirk for the first time that night and simply stared at the law enforcers surrounding him. His eyes fell on Agent Bardem as he casually stepped past the others and into the inner circle of the group, his eyes looking tired as ever, but a lazy smirk on his face almost hidden by his mustache. A cigarette dangled in the left corner of his mouth steadily trailing smoke.

"You really should have seen this coming, Colonel," Bardem smirked as he stepped up, a pair of handcuffs gleaming in his hand. If El Toro didn't find the idea ridiculous, he could have sworn they'd been polished before now. "We have you in connection to a whole field of bodies, all men with records connecting them to your name."

"Even still, you are a fool if you think this is enough to hold me, Agent," The Old Colonel stated flatly, steely eyes piercing the night at the smug agent. "Avoiding such charges is Childs play for me, I can assure you. You waste my time."

"That's the beauty of it," Viper chimed in, smirking all the while. "They don't need to even convict you. You've lost your men; have fallen into the public eye and best of all, if Chang didn't get to it already, your own lieutenants are probably strip-mining your operation and are making a run for it as we speak. By the time you're free again, IF you weasel your way out of this, you'll just be a sad old man alone in a city that hates him. One hell of a retirement plan if you ask me."

The old man's eyes narrowed as he took in the ex-thief's words, his lips beginning to angle down into an annoyed sneer, pointedly ignoring when Bardem strolled up and put the cuffs around his aged wrists.

El Toro didn't realize he was grinning until he noticed his cheeks were beginning to ache. Viper shot him a coy smile, and he nodded in return. He noticed the others of his group seemed equally amused to varying degrees, even Uncle.

"Do consider, Señor," Bardem went on smugly as he began forcibly guiding the old man towards one of the vans. "Even if you manage to escape justice with some degree of wealth intact, you will almost certainly be targeted by every young up-and-comer who wishes to fill the power vacuum."

"If you wish to live out the short rest of your life in relative peace, I must recommend cooperation. But what do I know?" Bardem shrugged as he began to help the glaring old man up and into the Van. Sure that he wouldn't try and run, but enjoying keeping him well under his thumb all the same.

He blinked when the old man resisted his escort for a moment, and turned back towards the smug and satisfied J-Team, "Emerged victorious against demonios, only to be out-maneuvered by a lovely Señorita. Two firsts for me tonight, it seems. Life will never cease to surprise you, no matter how old you may get. Keep that in mind, Viper."

He shot Uncle a cruel smirk and added to the group, "May you all live in interesting times."

"I am NOT sorry to see you go," El Toro stated dryly, crossing his thick arms.

With that the Old Colonel turned and was led into the van, door slammed behind him. Bardem turned towards the others as all but one of the vans drove off, crossing his arms in satisfaction. "The peace will only last so long, I'm afraid. But thanks to your group, the law has a long head start to take advantage of. Gracias, all of you."

"You're welcome, Agent," Jackie nodded, feeling like he'd just been river-danced on by Shendu. "It's unfortunate Chang escaped, though…"

"He's a pure-blooded Oni now," Tohru stated grimly, cracking his knuckles. "We cannot douse his location any longer. Who knows when we will find him again, or what we will do when that happens…"

"But he'll need to keep his head down," Viper pointed out, moving stray locks behind her left eat. "Not only does he need to avoid us, but Jade's little crew is gunning for him too. That will at least buy us a grace period to work with."

"Speaking of Niece, she has made veeery bad company!" Uncle criticized to no one in particular.

"Urgh, don't remind me, Sensei," Tohru grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he tried to banish thoughts of the large white tarantula-woman who spent the majority of the bout seemingly trying to eat his eyes. Jade sure had fallen in with a particularly bad crowd. He almost wished she'd taken the Enforcers instead. He reached back and discretely rubbed his sore rear, his fingers trailing over several coarse hairs piercing through the seat of his pants.

"What will you all do now?" Bardem asked, stepping towards Viper. His question conspicuously directed towards her and not Jackie.

"Best head back to San Fran, I guess," she muttered squaring her shoulders and getting a better grip on poor Jackie. "Much as we liked helping you out, Agent, we failed at our goal of taking care of Chang. All we can do is reassess the situation back with Section 13, and plan from there. So, I guess we'll be heading out pretty soon."

Several nods in agreement later, and Bardem sighed, holding out his left hand for Viper, which she smirked and shook, following the gesture with all the others, save Jackie who was a bit too tenderized to accomplish more than hanging off Viper and hold his likely broken ribs. But he at least managed to exchange a pained but respectful nod.

"Well, this will certainly be a case to remember, J-Team," he stated, taking a puff from his cigarette, and then stepping towards the van. "If the agency hears anything that may be of help to your efforts, I will personally give the information to Señor Fuerte to relay to you all."

"Gracias," El Toro nodded respectfully.

"Now, come on. I'll drive you back to your motel for now, and then pick you up in the morning," he sighed, opening the van's back door for the group. He cast one last look at the bloody battlefield and grumbled as he put the key into the ignition.

"I cannot wait to fill out the paperwork for all of this."

XXX

"So," Jade muttered pacing back and forth between her lieutenants who sat before her on the web. Tarantula was picking at the strands with her claws, her eyes narrowed bitterly and averted from their leader. Widow was in the back, curled into herself, face hidden in the dark, and her visor cracked slightly. She'd been dead silent since coming to. Both had healing weaves wrapped around their torsos and sore limbs. Jumper was… Jumper. Sitting straight at attention, bizarre unhealthy focus on her leader that Jade was beginning to find a little off-putting despite valuing the efficiency.

"Now that we've all had a moment to get our heads on straight…" she went on, and noticed Tara duck her head down angrily, handfuls of web stretched between her claws rhythmically like a stress-ball. Jade continued unabated, making sure her voice was clear and confidant towards her troops. "You all… did really well!"

"WHAT?" Tara snapped, looking up surprised, anger momentarily forgotten as she stared blankly towards her General. "I spent most of that fight stuck between an ass and a hard place, courtesy of Fat Bastard! And WIDOW over there… doesn't even deserve commentary…"

Jumper smacked her hard in the shoulder for interrupting Jade's talk, earning a hateful and instinctive hiss from Tara that Jumper defiantly returned. Jade sighed and rubbed the flesh between her eyes. Stress made her venom glands swell with excess.

"Yeah, things were rocky," she admitted, keeping her tone calm for Tara and Widow's benefit. "But I told you all already that my old team are Demon-Hunting vets. My plan didn't hinge on you beating them, just keeping them busy. And you did that! Well, mostly you and Jumper."

"By the way, Jumpy," Jade stated happily to the quiet blonde soaking in her ever word. "You were definitely MVP in that whole thing. Just exceptional all around, I'm so proud of you. Keep up the good work!"

Jumper nodded emphatically, flashing a brief and somewhat oddly crooked and twisted smile that left her face just as quickly as it appeared. She was back to her too-intense stare so quickly Jade almost believed she imagined the brief change in expression.

Finally, the she-spider frowned and looked back at where Widow sat alone in the dark, seemingly dead to the world, "And Widow? I'm sorry about earlier. I thought you were ready, but I guess I was just hoping. I'll put a lot more effort into getting you acclimated in the future. This was my bad, not yours. Don't beat yourself up over it, or go comparing yourself to the others, kay?"

"Sure, thanks," Tara drawled, unimpressed with the praise. "But forgive me for saying but I don't consider my method of taking Odd Job out of play to be somethin' to break out drinks over."

"I warned you roaring and charging would cost you," Jade chastised, sitting back against the webs, reclining towards her abdomen. "Now you have some incentive to use that scary mind of yours a little more efficiently, don't'cha think?"

"Whatever," Tara grumbled; turning and skittering back to her personal web, collapsing into it like a petulant teen girl.

Jumper, however, crawled up to her leader and whispered something into her ear, surprising Jade with the rare show of vocalization. "What are we gonna do about Chang? Don't worry, Jumpy, we can hunt that creep down once we have some free time. Unlike the J-Team, for us that'll be easy."

"But," the young Queen then stated, loud enough to earn Widow and Tara's attention. "Some new announcements for you all."

Then she-spider looked around and gestured to the crackling green web they had escaped through, still lit with energy and rotating lazily in midair against the far left wall. "I've kinda gotten used to this place, and I think it'd throw the J-Team off if we settled on our primary HQ being here south of the border. I expected this, since I'm awesome as all get out, so I reconnected that tunnel web to one I previously set up back in the San Fran warehouse."

Tara and Jumper just stared up at her, one blankly attentive and one openly confused. Jade sighed and dumbed down her explanation. "I'm saying, for now we'll live here, but we're literally a magical step away from the States thanks to that tunnel. I'll teach you how to activate it later after I get you all that big dinner I promised."

Jade smirked when they nodded at varying degrees of enthusiasm, holding onto that rather than her own growing unease. She reached back and rubbed her abdomen, feeling the little lives she nurtured shifting within. She'd been feeling a bit nauseous ever since the battle, not to mention sore. She didn't feel like she was recovering as fast as she should have. Even when focusing her Chi, the sensation didn't really abate. It wasn't sickness, but what else could it be? Stress?

Worst case scenario, something was going wrong with the Vessel. And without the old Queen, there was very little she could do about that beyond search through the scrolls. But she wouldn't show her minions that distress. Like Tarakudo said, confidence was key. She was the boss, so she needed to act like everything was alright, even when it wasn't. Especially with girls like these.

Yes, she would keep her concerns to herself, not even sharing them with Tarakudo. This was Spider business and she was the prevailing authority there.

"Okay, so what do you guys feel like? Burritos? We're in a country loaded with tastiness to enjoy. What do you think, Widow?" She blinked, and then frowned, staring blankly at the empty corner uncomprehendingly. "…Widow?"

XXX

Fact versus fiction. In real life you never want to punch out a window. Broken glass will easily rip up your arm even through a jacket. Better to throw a rock or bash it in with a crowbar or something. Trying to mimic action movie stars was a quick route to the ER. Though Taranee frequently did it anyways way back when, regardless of the risks involved. Or perhaps because of them.

That was the fiction these days, Widow thought. She punched through the glass door front. The thick pane offered almost no resistance, like punching through rice paper. The glass scraped along her arm, uncomfortable on the tough flesh beneath her fur stretched taut over her shell, but nothing more. A moments probing let her unlock it. She hardly noticed how her armored claws seemed to pick up tactile sensation just like her own fleshy fingers had.

The transformed biker growled, an inhuman instinctive sound from deep in her throat when she became stuck for a moment in the narrow door, her abdomen catching on the doorframe. It did not last, with some wiggling and exertion she was finally inside.

A liquor store. She sighed and set about filling her silk satchel with clinking bottles of whatever came in hand's reach, her front legs automatically chipping in to expedite things. In two minutes she estimated the satchel was bulging and clinking; a bottle of tequila was in one hand. She had become her mother, though to her sick amusement, that was no longer her worst nightmare. She was currently living that.

Pausing to collect herself, she then matter-of-factly stepped back out and proceeded to scale the wall of the building. She may have been the slowest of her team of godless freaks but her awful new form seemed to give her a natural edge at vertical scaling or ceiling hanging. She'd abandoned the pull of gravity alongside her humanity it seemed.

Widow almost wished she could be proud of that. Habit led her to jump some roofs to get away from the crime scene. Years of casual felonies putting her into instinctive motion. Though the idea of being arrested was laughable. She almost wanted to wait for the cops, just to see what they'd do. But that would put off doing what she NEEDED to do, which was unacceptable.

Besides, being arrested was an outcome that belonged to a sensible world, she thought. A world that she'd left, that possibly never existed in the first place. She set her bulging satchel down, made from her own silk. It was plain and however Jade tried to spin it, essentially made from shit. That it was her own shit was scant comfort. Though she'd known better to make that claim around their vaunted leader. The way Jade went on about their butt-string, you'd think it was solid platinum.

She knew there was no comfort to be found in the bottles, she smiled without happiness, adjusting her visor. She had rarely ever gotten drunk before, not like Tara or Jumper. It was another way to stay in control, to distance herself from the ghetto-trash she shared genetics with. But there was already no control, and she was no longer even the same species as her so-called family, so she lost nothing by finally giving in and indulging.

In fact, it would be her first drink since this nightmare started. God, had it really only been such a short time? It already felt like a lifetime ago, like memories of her childhood under that fat single mom she had been so desperate to get away from. Though she had a new mother now, one who was mad and erratic rather than stupid and apathetic.

But she needed it now, soothing drink, the oblivion that was inebriation. Because magic was real.

It made her laugh out loud, that after everything that had happened in her life, especially recently, THIS would be what finally drove her to drink. Not being mutated or press ganged by a mutant, but realizing Jade was not some secret of Chernobyl. Or some WWII Japanese horror experiment. But a genuine supernatural horror straight out of the pages of King, or Koontz.

Tonight, she had seen things that could be nothing but magic. And heroic daring do right out of Saturday morning! She supposed that put her among the notable ranks of Cobra, or Skeletor, the evil monsters and hideous forces fit to be conquered by the smirking picturesque heroes.

Worst of all, it was all real. Her cynical realist worldview was disproven at a stroke. Mutant abomination of science however horrifying still followed some rule of logic; it was just hard to understand. But this, it meant the entire world was a lie, that the things dismissed as fiction were the smiling indulgent face behind the bland mask she had called the world. The very concept of "suspension of disbelief" was always flawed, inapplicable.

It was truly hopeless, was the reality she had come to accept. It wasn't merely that she had been dragged along on the march of madness. It was that madness such as this WAS the real world. That she had fallen into the backstage and found out the place she had been her whole life was just a small insignificant set. An illusion maintained by those backstage in this far vaster structure where the stage rules were a joke and the willful ignorance of the audience and most of the actors a source of amusement.

It was the truth, and it was too much. She took the drink, loving how it burned and knowing it was the first of many. The bug admitted defeat, she was at rock bottom and standing was more trouble than it was worth. Let Jade collect a sloshed spider when she noticed her doll collection was short one. For now, the oblivion of the drink awaited and she was not going to try its patience.

C13 – END

Author's Notes: Sorry for all the typos and grammar issues that I'm sure EK and myself may have overlooked. Polishing a chapter of this length for two writers is never easy.

And so ends the second Essence hunt. Two down, seven to go. At least, assuming things go according to plan for the J-Team. And they never do. Much more adventure and intrigue to come very soon, as well as more than a few surprises.

Please enjoy!