A/N: Tajeri Lynn the Extremo Luchadore once again brings to you the next step in the insanely long series following Jackie Chan and a cast of others. The show "Jackie Chan Adventures", however, belongs to Kids WB and Sony Television. Alas, it seems the Enforcers save Hak Foo are gone. Grrr...Guess that means they'll have to do work at the Imaginary Center live on Fanfiction.Net.
Chapter VI: Resurgence
Jackie had entered in the San Francisco Medical Center, where Captain Black and his officers were recovering from the blinding assault at the Helms Fish Cannery. The rooms would have been sterile as the white hues were it not for the bustling nurses and doctors, rushing in all directions to ensure lives that were about to fade into the unknown, and then some. Jackie kept excusing himself every square inch he walked through the third story hallway. He felt like a lost ball being kicked by kids; nobody really knew or cared which way he went, but just that he went. And it just so happened that Tohru, Black, and the incapacitated Dark Hand were recovering at the same level.
"Room 372. Angus Black," said Jackie after reading numbers from one end of a wall to another.
The room had no doctors present, but Black surely was there, albeit he didn't look familiar. That might've been because a cotton wrap was secured firmly around his emerald green eyes, which at the time can see nothing but endless black. For the moment, Black was lying on a stretcher, sheets covering everywhere but his head. Jackie took it upon himself to look at the doctor's file next to the doorway. It turned out Black suffered instances of epileptic convulsions, but had regained equilibrium minutes ago.
Jackie couldn't keep his friend waiting. "Captain Black? How are you doing?"
"Things aren't looking bright here, Jackie...literally", groaned Black, who couldn't move for he was advised not to. "5 days, Jackie. 5 days till I get out, and already time passes by like it's a week. And it's going to get worse. I've notified my superiors, Jackie, told them that Section 13 is officially OOA, out of action."
"What!?" Jackie's face turned ghostly pale, and he wasn't even in immediate danger.
Black remained silent for a while, regretting his decision. "I know how you feel about this, and I don't like it one bit either. But all remaining resources and officers in the vicinity of Section 13 will be relocated to a new base. All except one. Kepler."
"Kepler? The doctor?"
"Rocket scientist, in my book," chuckled Black softly, before reverting to the facts. "Kepler has been perfecting an advanced laptop, one with the capacity usually contained within mega-computers. The laptop is permanently connected to Satellite X-3, a surveillance mechanism designed to pinpoint every square inch of earth, and Section 13 owns it. I've been hesitant to report the laptop to my superiors; they're not quite convinced demon activity is a worldwide matter. So I am entrusting Kepler and the X-3 Com to you, until I am finally able to leave the white house."
Jackie Chan cocked his head. "Isn't the white house in Washington, D.C.?"
"I meant the hospital, Jackie. It's white everywhere, in case you didn't notice."
"Oh! Well, don't worry, I do see white...very much." laughed Jackie, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Don't worry, Jackie. My superiors wouldn't understand it to this day, either. Just go get the ice demon and his rocket fiend."
"Then, I guess I'll be seeing you until I find the Horse Talisman. Wish me luck," Jackie smiled as he waved a hand to Black. He then paused, remembering Black couldn't see, so he went back to shake the captain's hand, before he departed.
"Good luck," replied Black quietly as he rested his head back onto the snug pillow, heaving a huge sigh of contentment. Once Section 13 was back, he ought to install bed rests like these. There were never enough.
************************************************************************
Jackie proceeded to a room somewhat opposite to Black's own. It was where Tohru was to have his legs mended. But as he went inside, the room was empty, save for the typical medical supplies and a covered stretcher, indicating it was unused, or worse...
"Tohru?" shouted Jackie in panic.
"I'm right here, Chan."
Jackie turned to see the giant sumo waving from the hallway. Tohru was secured on an enormous wheelchair, one that actually suited to his larger-than-life build. The giant's face was plastered with a gentle grin; happy to see Chan had arrived. And he wasn't alone. Jade, El Toro Fuerte and Mama Tohru had been conversing with him for quite a while, revealing what was going on while he was out.
"Hmm," pondered Jackie Chan. "I guess I'll have to explain my matter as well."
He stood next to his four close companions. "Good to see you Tohru. Looks like the doctors have found the best wheelchair for you."
"Indeed they have," commented Tohru as he pressed a button on the armrest of the wheelchair. In moments, a straw rose out of the armrest, and then bent toward Tohru's mouth. He gladly sipped on the straw. "Sip. Mmmm...This wheelchair comes equipped with grape soda...My Favorite."
"See what I meant, Tohru, my boy," spoke Mama Tohru. "American doctors like you even better than the billy goat!"
"Heh-heh", chuckled Jackie. "Whatever you say..." He cleared his throat and retained his composure. "I all have something very important to tell you. All of you."
Tohru, Jade, El Toro Fuerte and Mama Tohru looked at one another, before turning focus to the archaeologist.
Jackie exhaled deeply. "The whole world may be in danger. The Horse Talisman was stolen by very dangerous people. Worse yet, Section 13 is unable to help. That is why Captain Black has assigned me Dr. Kepler to help me track the talisman. And, if I may say it, I need help from all of you."
"Cool!" beamed Jade. "The J-Team is on a roll!" She raised a small fist in jollity.
"Jade," Jackie began as he knelt down, patting her head, "you will be the best of help if you can finish that final essay, and get that nice little `A' you've always wanted", said Jackie with a toothy smile.
"Oooh!" moaned Jade, as she turned around and crossed her arms.
"Senor Jackie, I can assure you that more help will arrive. Viper and Paco will come just in time for this mission to begin. The one-year anniversary can wait, but not the world," spoke the luchadore El Toro Fuerte in a tone of stout willingness.
"One-year celebration? Oh, the J-Team! All this time, I never knew!" exclaimed Jackie. Then he paused. "Um, did you say Paco will follow? Why isn't he here with you?" he questioned El Toro.
"Because Paco's got a GIRLFRIEND," replied Jade with bitterness.
"I am sure Paco's a very lucky boy", said El Toro with pride for his student.
"So what does that make me, unlucky?" Jade shot narrowed eyes back at him.
"Um, no...Of course not, that's not what I meant..." replied the luchadore slowly.
"Of course that's what you meant," began Mama Tohru, hoping to join in on the conversation. "Only thieves would hurt little girl's feelings!"
"Would that little nina be you?" said El Toro in rare sarcasm.
"Watch it, big bull!" Mama Tohru viciously raised her arms in a martial-arts stance. "I can whup your butt from here to eternity!"
Soon, El Toro, Mama Tohru and Jade began confronting each other, armed with their volley of verbal stabs. Fortunately, the hallway was empty, so no one heard them. Problem was, there was nobody to stop them.
"This...I did not anticipate," sighed Tohru as he shook his head in disappointment, before activating the straw to drink more of that sumptuous grape soda.
Jackie rubbed his face right and left, in frustration. "Uhhh! As if wendigos and Killer Bee Rockets weren't bad enough, now I have to stop three friends who've never argued together!"
Tohru spit the grape soda in astonishment. He turned around to Jackie urgently. "DID YOU SAY KILLER BEE ROCKETS?"
As if broken out of a trance, the disputing trio stopped their actions. It was especially good for El Toro: Jade and Mama Tohru were attempting bear hugs to wear him down.
"You know of them?"
Tohru's eyes narrowed in resent. "Killer Bee Rockets are called that way because they spread into smaller rockets when fired."
"Whoa. Talk about the perfect swarm," said Jade.
Tohru continued, this time addressing to Chan. "Remember the Yokunawa crime gang? The ones who tried to steal the Kyoto Octopus?"
"How I wish to forget," Jackie replied.
"When I had met the Yokunawas, they mentioned and even held KBR, named after substances for which even I can not recall, so Killer Bee Rockets were their nickname. The gang was planning to rob the Guggenheim in New York, joking that the KBR were to be used. Whether they would have done so is not important, because we stopped them. Nobody ever messes with your uncle and my mommy."
"How right you are, my boy" said Mama Tohru, putting an affectionate arm around his neck. "But sometimes billy goat deserves push off cliff!"
Tohru blinked at his mom's harsh words to his sensei, but proceeded. "Following their arrest, I became the prime witness against the gang. I even explained about the KBR, but no one else had heard of these weapons. And when the police and Section 13 investigated every Yokunawa hideout, it seemed there was no Killer Bee Rockets. Or so it seemed..."
"What do we do?" said Jackie. "The Yokunawas are now in maximum security in Sacramento. How can we interrogate them?"
"I'm not finished, Jackie. Please let me finish...Most of the Yokunawas were found guilty on many accounts of robbery and attempted murder, but not Boss Yokunawa's middle son, Kenzo `Skinny' Yokunawa."
"Kenzo? `Skinny?'"
"Large black hair, small eyeglasses, arrow-shaped nose? He also prefers the color purple among his tuxedos."
"He not so tough", added Mama Tohru. "I threw him around like a rag doll, last I saw him."
"He's not tough at all. Kenzo sold out his entire family. He claimed he was only forced to join his father's schemes for stealing the Kyoto Octopus. The court was convinced; Kenzo was the only Yokunawa found to have no previous relations with his family's crimes. So Kenzo served several months for aiding and abetting. But if there was anyone who knew the KBR better than anyone else, it was him. He bragged of them like he knew how to use them.
"We must stop him, Chan. I fear he may want to target all of us, especially my mother", Tohru growled, slamming a clenched fist on the armrest.
"Don't worry, T-Man," Jade ascertained. "No way Skinny's going to come within a mile of you or T-Mom. Right, Uncle Jackie?"
"I doubt he wants to target us," Jackie deducted. "He went to the Dark Hand because they might've known about the Horse Talisman. It was only a matter of time before Kenzo and his wendigo pal found Section 13. But there was a disagreement with the Dark Hand, so Kenzo and the wendigo made sure there wouldn't be any ratting out. Skinny only wanted the Horse Talisman, the healer, when he could've taken the Dragon, the Pig, and so forth. He's trying to revive something or someone. But whatever needs being healed, it couldn't be done so under human hands."
"Until I meet with Dr. Kepler, it is best that the rest of you stay in Uncle's Rare Finds, so I will see you there," Jackie concluded as he rushed his way out of the medical center.
Everything was so tranquil once again. Then Jade and Mama Tohru shattered the silence by continuing their assault on El Toro Fuerte. "Help, senor Tohru!" shouted the luchadore. "They are trying to remove my mask. They must not see my face! Remove them from me at once!"
"There's only so much I can do right now," replied Tohru as he calmly sipped grape soda.
To be Continued...Again!
Chapter VI: Resurgence
Jackie had entered in the San Francisco Medical Center, where Captain Black and his officers were recovering from the blinding assault at the Helms Fish Cannery. The rooms would have been sterile as the white hues were it not for the bustling nurses and doctors, rushing in all directions to ensure lives that were about to fade into the unknown, and then some. Jackie kept excusing himself every square inch he walked through the third story hallway. He felt like a lost ball being kicked by kids; nobody really knew or cared which way he went, but just that he went. And it just so happened that Tohru, Black, and the incapacitated Dark Hand were recovering at the same level.
"Room 372. Angus Black," said Jackie after reading numbers from one end of a wall to another.
The room had no doctors present, but Black surely was there, albeit he didn't look familiar. That might've been because a cotton wrap was secured firmly around his emerald green eyes, which at the time can see nothing but endless black. For the moment, Black was lying on a stretcher, sheets covering everywhere but his head. Jackie took it upon himself to look at the doctor's file next to the doorway. It turned out Black suffered instances of epileptic convulsions, but had regained equilibrium minutes ago.
Jackie couldn't keep his friend waiting. "Captain Black? How are you doing?"
"Things aren't looking bright here, Jackie...literally", groaned Black, who couldn't move for he was advised not to. "5 days, Jackie. 5 days till I get out, and already time passes by like it's a week. And it's going to get worse. I've notified my superiors, Jackie, told them that Section 13 is officially OOA, out of action."
"What!?" Jackie's face turned ghostly pale, and he wasn't even in immediate danger.
Black remained silent for a while, regretting his decision. "I know how you feel about this, and I don't like it one bit either. But all remaining resources and officers in the vicinity of Section 13 will be relocated to a new base. All except one. Kepler."
"Kepler? The doctor?"
"Rocket scientist, in my book," chuckled Black softly, before reverting to the facts. "Kepler has been perfecting an advanced laptop, one with the capacity usually contained within mega-computers. The laptop is permanently connected to Satellite X-3, a surveillance mechanism designed to pinpoint every square inch of earth, and Section 13 owns it. I've been hesitant to report the laptop to my superiors; they're not quite convinced demon activity is a worldwide matter. So I am entrusting Kepler and the X-3 Com to you, until I am finally able to leave the white house."
Jackie Chan cocked his head. "Isn't the white house in Washington, D.C.?"
"I meant the hospital, Jackie. It's white everywhere, in case you didn't notice."
"Oh! Well, don't worry, I do see white...very much." laughed Jackie, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Don't worry, Jackie. My superiors wouldn't understand it to this day, either. Just go get the ice demon and his rocket fiend."
"Then, I guess I'll be seeing you until I find the Horse Talisman. Wish me luck," Jackie smiled as he waved a hand to Black. He then paused, remembering Black couldn't see, so he went back to shake the captain's hand, before he departed.
"Good luck," replied Black quietly as he rested his head back onto the snug pillow, heaving a huge sigh of contentment. Once Section 13 was back, he ought to install bed rests like these. There were never enough.
************************************************************************
Jackie proceeded to a room somewhat opposite to Black's own. It was where Tohru was to have his legs mended. But as he went inside, the room was empty, save for the typical medical supplies and a covered stretcher, indicating it was unused, or worse...
"Tohru?" shouted Jackie in panic.
"I'm right here, Chan."
Jackie turned to see the giant sumo waving from the hallway. Tohru was secured on an enormous wheelchair, one that actually suited to his larger-than-life build. The giant's face was plastered with a gentle grin; happy to see Chan had arrived. And he wasn't alone. Jade, El Toro Fuerte and Mama Tohru had been conversing with him for quite a while, revealing what was going on while he was out.
"Hmm," pondered Jackie Chan. "I guess I'll have to explain my matter as well."
He stood next to his four close companions. "Good to see you Tohru. Looks like the doctors have found the best wheelchair for you."
"Indeed they have," commented Tohru as he pressed a button on the armrest of the wheelchair. In moments, a straw rose out of the armrest, and then bent toward Tohru's mouth. He gladly sipped on the straw. "Sip. Mmmm...This wheelchair comes equipped with grape soda...My Favorite."
"See what I meant, Tohru, my boy," spoke Mama Tohru. "American doctors like you even better than the billy goat!"
"Heh-heh", chuckled Jackie. "Whatever you say..." He cleared his throat and retained his composure. "I all have something very important to tell you. All of you."
Tohru, Jade, El Toro Fuerte and Mama Tohru looked at one another, before turning focus to the archaeologist.
Jackie exhaled deeply. "The whole world may be in danger. The Horse Talisman was stolen by very dangerous people. Worse yet, Section 13 is unable to help. That is why Captain Black has assigned me Dr. Kepler to help me track the talisman. And, if I may say it, I need help from all of you."
"Cool!" beamed Jade. "The J-Team is on a roll!" She raised a small fist in jollity.
"Jade," Jackie began as he knelt down, patting her head, "you will be the best of help if you can finish that final essay, and get that nice little `A' you've always wanted", said Jackie with a toothy smile.
"Oooh!" moaned Jade, as she turned around and crossed her arms.
"Senor Jackie, I can assure you that more help will arrive. Viper and Paco will come just in time for this mission to begin. The one-year anniversary can wait, but not the world," spoke the luchadore El Toro Fuerte in a tone of stout willingness.
"One-year celebration? Oh, the J-Team! All this time, I never knew!" exclaimed Jackie. Then he paused. "Um, did you say Paco will follow? Why isn't he here with you?" he questioned El Toro.
"Because Paco's got a GIRLFRIEND," replied Jade with bitterness.
"I am sure Paco's a very lucky boy", said El Toro with pride for his student.
"So what does that make me, unlucky?" Jade shot narrowed eyes back at him.
"Um, no...Of course not, that's not what I meant..." replied the luchadore slowly.
"Of course that's what you meant," began Mama Tohru, hoping to join in on the conversation. "Only thieves would hurt little girl's feelings!"
"Would that little nina be you?" said El Toro in rare sarcasm.
"Watch it, big bull!" Mama Tohru viciously raised her arms in a martial-arts stance. "I can whup your butt from here to eternity!"
Soon, El Toro, Mama Tohru and Jade began confronting each other, armed with their volley of verbal stabs. Fortunately, the hallway was empty, so no one heard them. Problem was, there was nobody to stop them.
"This...I did not anticipate," sighed Tohru as he shook his head in disappointment, before activating the straw to drink more of that sumptuous grape soda.
Jackie rubbed his face right and left, in frustration. "Uhhh! As if wendigos and Killer Bee Rockets weren't bad enough, now I have to stop three friends who've never argued together!"
Tohru spit the grape soda in astonishment. He turned around to Jackie urgently. "DID YOU SAY KILLER BEE ROCKETS?"
As if broken out of a trance, the disputing trio stopped their actions. It was especially good for El Toro: Jade and Mama Tohru were attempting bear hugs to wear him down.
"You know of them?"
Tohru's eyes narrowed in resent. "Killer Bee Rockets are called that way because they spread into smaller rockets when fired."
"Whoa. Talk about the perfect swarm," said Jade.
Tohru continued, this time addressing to Chan. "Remember the Yokunawa crime gang? The ones who tried to steal the Kyoto Octopus?"
"How I wish to forget," Jackie replied.
"When I had met the Yokunawas, they mentioned and even held KBR, named after substances for which even I can not recall, so Killer Bee Rockets were their nickname. The gang was planning to rob the Guggenheim in New York, joking that the KBR were to be used. Whether they would have done so is not important, because we stopped them. Nobody ever messes with your uncle and my mommy."
"How right you are, my boy" said Mama Tohru, putting an affectionate arm around his neck. "But sometimes billy goat deserves push off cliff!"
Tohru blinked at his mom's harsh words to his sensei, but proceeded. "Following their arrest, I became the prime witness against the gang. I even explained about the KBR, but no one else had heard of these weapons. And when the police and Section 13 investigated every Yokunawa hideout, it seemed there was no Killer Bee Rockets. Or so it seemed..."
"What do we do?" said Jackie. "The Yokunawas are now in maximum security in Sacramento. How can we interrogate them?"
"I'm not finished, Jackie. Please let me finish...Most of the Yokunawas were found guilty on many accounts of robbery and attempted murder, but not Boss Yokunawa's middle son, Kenzo `Skinny' Yokunawa."
"Kenzo? `Skinny?'"
"Large black hair, small eyeglasses, arrow-shaped nose? He also prefers the color purple among his tuxedos."
"He not so tough", added Mama Tohru. "I threw him around like a rag doll, last I saw him."
"He's not tough at all. Kenzo sold out his entire family. He claimed he was only forced to join his father's schemes for stealing the Kyoto Octopus. The court was convinced; Kenzo was the only Yokunawa found to have no previous relations with his family's crimes. So Kenzo served several months for aiding and abetting. But if there was anyone who knew the KBR better than anyone else, it was him. He bragged of them like he knew how to use them.
"We must stop him, Chan. I fear he may want to target all of us, especially my mother", Tohru growled, slamming a clenched fist on the armrest.
"Don't worry, T-Man," Jade ascertained. "No way Skinny's going to come within a mile of you or T-Mom. Right, Uncle Jackie?"
"I doubt he wants to target us," Jackie deducted. "He went to the Dark Hand because they might've known about the Horse Talisman. It was only a matter of time before Kenzo and his wendigo pal found Section 13. But there was a disagreement with the Dark Hand, so Kenzo and the wendigo made sure there wouldn't be any ratting out. Skinny only wanted the Horse Talisman, the healer, when he could've taken the Dragon, the Pig, and so forth. He's trying to revive something or someone. But whatever needs being healed, it couldn't be done so under human hands."
"Until I meet with Dr. Kepler, it is best that the rest of you stay in Uncle's Rare Finds, so I will see you there," Jackie concluded as he rushed his way out of the medical center.
Everything was so tranquil once again. Then Jade and Mama Tohru shattered the silence by continuing their assault on El Toro Fuerte. "Help, senor Tohru!" shouted the luchadore. "They are trying to remove my mask. They must not see my face! Remove them from me at once!"
"There's only so much I can do right now," replied Tohru as he calmly sipped grape soda.
To be Continued...Again!