Within minutes, a handful of BB members had snuck through an old tunnel and arrived under the Museum of Fine Arts.
"This job is way too easy" Control Freak said, "we didn't have to disable any alarms or take out any guards."
"Yeah, we just sneak in, grab the amulet, and sneak out" Slipstream replied "no hassle."
"And best of all, no American Dragon to ruin things" the Ottoman replied "quickly, one of you use the glass cutter and open the display case. We'll keep watch."
Museum of Fine Arts, 10:15 p.m.
Unknown to the baddies, at that moment, Jake Long and his entourage were heading inside the museum.
"So Jakey, explain to us again what's so bad about this freaky amulet thing" asked Trixie, Jake's African-American friend.
"I told you, the amulet possesses some real bad vibes, and if any evil dudes get their hands on it, they could cause some serious problems."
"You mean like, turning us all into brussle sprouts?" Spud asked, "cause I hate brussle sprouts. They're all green and short…"
"Will you shut up about yer stupid brussle sprout problem!" Trixie shouted, "okay Jakey, just tell us what we gotta do."
"Nothing, all you guys need to do is stay out here and keep watch" Jake explained "me and Fu will sneak in, replace the amulet with the fake one he made, and be back out in no time."
"Aww, but we wanted to help you beat up the bad guys" Spud complained "I've even been studying the ancient art of ninjitsu for just this occasion."
"Just wait out here" Jake said, "and try not to do anything that will attention to you."
"What's he mean by that?" Spud asked, "is he saying we're stupid?"
"Something tells me Jakey wasn't talking 'bout both of us" Trixie replied.
"Ooh, you should feel angry that Jake insulted you like that" Spud added.
Meanwhile, inside the museum Jake and Fu were making their way down the long corridors. "Man, I always hate these places" Jake said, "they're always full of old artwork or dumb antique stuff. Why can't they have a museum about important stuff, like hip hop?"
"Good question kid, maybe you can bring it up to the city council when we get out of here" Fu replied, "right now, can we do this, huh?"
"Relax Fu, it's late at night, nobody's here" Jake replied. Just then, he heard muffled voices. "Okay, I guess I'm wrong, quick, get down!"
He and Fu ducked behind a nearby display case, then peeked out towards the sound of the disturbance. He saw a gang of oddly costumed characters breaking into the Amulet of Amon display.
"Yo, those guys are trying to steal the amulet!" Jake said, "there ain't no way I'm gonna let that happen!"
"Now hold on there a sec Jake" Fu said, "you don't know who these guys are or what they can do. And you're not gonna be any use to anybody if you're turned into stone or something."
"Relax Fu, I'll mop the floors with these weirdoes" Jake replied, "dragon up!"
With those words, Jake transformed into a red dragon, with black hair and green scales. Without missing a beat, Jake flew over to the Bean Brigade and stood near them.
"Excuse me, but I don't think that belongs to you" he said.
"Who's this clown?" Slipstream asked.
"Who cares?" Control Freak replied, "just blow him away!"
"My pleasure" the portly villain replied, sending a powerful tornado Jake's way.
"Aww man!" was all Jake could muster before he was blown back several feet, crashing into a bust.
"Okay, that's it. Now the Am Drag's gonna get mean" Jake said, flying towards the villains at top speed. Slipstream barely had time to react before Jake crashed into him, sending him to another corner of the museum.
"Ain't so cocky now, are ya?" Jake asked.
"If I were you, I wouldn't celebrate so quickly," Control Freak said, using his remote to animate several suits of armor. "If memory serves, knights are the sworn enemies of dragons" he said, "so I imagine these guys will know how to take care of you!"
"Think again ugly" Jake said, knocking over one of the knights with his tail. Jake dodged a blow from a mace and whapped his tail into another knight. Two more charged at him, but Jake flew up at the last moment and they destroyed each other.
"What are you idiots doing?" Control Freak shouted "get the dragon!"
"Forget him" Ottoman replied, "we've got the amulet, let's get out of here."
"Aw jeez, they're getting away," Fu said, still watching from the safety of the display. "I hate ta do this, but I can't let the amulet fall into the wrong hands."
And running as fast as his stubby legs would carry him, Fu sunk his teeth into Ottoman's tights and pulled as hard as he could.
"What the…?" the Ottoman looked down to see an ugly looking pug tugging on her leg. "Get off of me, you miserable cur!" she shouted, trying to shake him off.
"I got him Ottoman" Herring said, grabbing Fu and pulling as hard as he could. Fu held on as tight as he could and waited for his opportunity. When he was certain he distracted Ottoman, Fu slipped the fake amulet from the folds of his fur and took the real one, replacing it in her hand. Then he loosened his jaws, just as Herring pulled backward, sending him through the air.
Meanwhile, Jake was battling with Control Freak, having used his fire breath to melt a statue that the nerdy ne'er do well had brought to life.
"I guess you don't care for art huh?" CF asked.
"Okay punk, playtime's over," Jake said, grabbing CF by his coat collar, "who are you, and why are you trying to steal the amulet?"
"First you answer my question" CF said, "how much mana is required to play your special abilities?"
"Huh?" Jake seemed genuinely confused; he didn't get a chance to expand further, as the airborne Fu crashed into him. CF was loosened from his grip and took off down the hallway.
"What was that about?" he asked Ottoman, as they ran for the door.
"Some stupid dog was gnawing on my leg" she said, "Herring took care of him."
"And I'm gonna make sure dragon boy don't follow us" Slipstream added.
Using his wind powers, he lifted up a display case filled with 17th century pottery. Over in another part of the museum, Jake had just recovered.
"Ooh, I feel like I just took a ride in the washing machine" Fu said, "that's the last time I get involved in the action."
"Come on Fu, we gotta stop those crooks" Jake said.
"Guess again dragon boy" Slipstream's voice rang out "I got a special delivery for ya!"
Jake looked up and saw the display case heading right towards his head. "Aww man!"
CRASH!
Ouch! Jake's going to have quite a headache after that. But not as bad as what's going to happen when Hannibal discovers the amulet in his possession is a fake. And now that Jake knows someone's trying to steal the amulet, what will he do? Find out in the next chapter.