"Uh, guys, what's going on?" Raimundo asked. He had appeared in the courthouse only to find himself standing up to his waist in water. Several of the court's furniture had detached themselves somehow and were drifting aimlessly by, like leaves in a small lake.

"Someone decided to shoot holes in the ceiling." Kimiko explained. "Clay and I tried to stuff the holes with cotton but that didn't work."

Omi, who was sitting on his head, turned over. "I tried to use my water chi to stop the flow of water but that didn't work either."

"How'd the showdown go, pardner?" Clay asked.

Raimundo whistled nonchalantly. "I…uh…I kinda…Jack's robot won."

"Speak of the Devil…" Clay muttered as Jack Spicer himself came over.

"Hi, guys!" He said brightly. "Remember my Siamese Fighting Fish-bots?" When the monks shook their head, he smiled and jerked his thumb at the wall behind him. In the center of that wall was a glowing fissure that was intermittently emitting puffs of acrid-smelling smoke.

Dojo popped his head out of the water. "I just decided what the next round should be."

The three Siamese Fighting Fish-bots burst through into the courthouse. They had been sewn back together, with their mechanized muscles replaced by inky-black sinews.

"You have to wrestle those guys." Dojo said. "One warrior per demon fish. First person to defeat their opponent wins."

"I'll handle this." Kimiko said.

"Are you sure that you will be able to do it?" Omi asked.

"Why not?" Kimiko demanded. "Is it because I'm a girl?"

"No. It is just that your fire chi will be weakened because of all this water." Omi said hastily.

"I can handle it." Kimiko repeated. Inwardly, she was sort of worried. She hadn't noticed it until then but every time she tried to get a boost of fire energy she had a hard time calling onto her reserves. But maybe she wouldn't need it for this battle. If their previous performance was a good guide, then they weren't so tough that she couldn't handle them. Besides, she only had to fight one, right?

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Everyone except for Kimiko, Katnappe, and Lawyer-bot 3.0 went to the far side of the courthouse. Then, the six competitors squared off. Kimiko had gotten a black-colored Fish-bot while Katnappe and 3.0 had received a yellow and purple one, respectively.

"Ready, set…go!" Dojo called.

In unison, the Fish-bots launched a heavy black ball at their opponents. 3.0 rocketed out of the way of his but Kimiko and Katnappe were both ensnared as the ball exploded, sending a weighted net tangling around them.

Oh great, Kimiko thought to herself as she struggled to break free from the net. The only way this could get worse if…

"My claws are just purrfect to cutting through these nets." Katnappe quipped as she sliced her way out of the trap.

Great. Cat puns. Kimiko set her fingertips on fire and scratched her net to pieces. Immediately afterward, she was tackled by the Fish-bot. The machine gnashed its metal claws frantically and it took all of Kimiko's strength to keep it from literally biting her head off.

She pushed the machine backwards, slamming it into the back of Katnappe's opponent. Before it could react, Kimiko darted forward and pressed her hands against its pulsing metal chassis. "Fire!" She yelled, sending a surge of fire energy through the metal, separating some of the plates.

"I hate having to watch my robots be destroyed…again!" Jack complained.

"You mean, you're not used to it by now?" Clay responded.

Jack shot him a glare. "No!"

The robot hissed and clicked as the newly-separated plates shifted back into place. It was if Kimiko hadn't done any damage to them at all. What was worse, some of the plates had warped and expanded into spikes that crackled with electrical energy. Kimiko could hardly stand to go near it.

"I love the Texas system of justice." Clay said. "I can't think of another place where the verdict depends on winning a fight with a magic robot fish. This is better than oiled-saddle day at the rodeo."

Raimundo shook his head. "No. No it isn't."

"Yeah it is." Judge Roy Bean insisted. "And if you say something like that – you're guilty!" He emphasized that last word by firing the last bullet into the wall, letting even more water into the already beleaguered courthouse.

Kimiko wasn't faring too well. The water had dampened her powers even further and the robot had her on the run. What was worse, Katnappe and the Lawyer-bot were wrapping up their opponents. 3.0 had socked his robot enemy a good series of blows with his extendable arms. Katnappe was using the Thorn of Thunderbolt to blast her robot to pieces. In a few minutes, one of them would win and claim victory for their teams.

"Kimiko!" Master Fung called. "Use your power!"

Huh, Kimiko thought to herself as she dodged one of the robot's laser blasts. I had almost forgotten he was there. She caught a razor-sharp pincer with one of her hands and stumbled backwards, trying to keep it from hitting her. What was that bit about the power though? Can't he see that I can't do anything?

She grimaced while the robot began unlocking more of its magically-upgraded weapons. If this was Goo Zombies II – XCIX, there would be a power-up token appearing right about now.

But she couldn't see a power-up token. Just a bunch of muddy water and a big, hulking robot that barely resembled a fish at all.

Kimiko tried to focus. She needed to find a way to win this round if the Xiaolin monks were ever going to win. If she lost this fight, then they'd lose almost all of the Shen Gong Wu they had to Jack Spicer or those other assorted Heylin henchmen. But what could she do without her fire energy…

Casting her gaze around the room, she noticed that one of the exposed wires on her robot was flickering with electricity. That clicked in her mind and brought up memories of the last training session she had held with Master Fung and the other monks, in which they had tried (and failed) to master the art of Ki Lightning. Ki Lightning would be the perfectway to vaporize the robot. Still, how could she expect to master it now when she couldn't get it to work right then.

"Kimiko, what are you doing?" Omi called as Kimiko closed her eyes. She tuned out the calls coming from her fellow dragons as she stopped moving and put all her focus on the creature in front of her. Before long, it was as if she and it were the only two things in the room.

She mirrored the pose that Master Fung had shown her. This time, thanks to her utmost concentration, she could feel the electrical energy jumping from everything around her; the water, the air, and even the machine itself.

There was a loud whirring as the machine raised both pincers up above Kimiko's head. "Too slow!" Kimiko snapped, and she held up both hands – palms first – in front of her face. The lightning crackled ever so slowly before erupting forward. The first bolt connected, frying the circuits and killing the reanimating spells within it. This sent the Fish-bot into a mindless spiral in midair as its parts began to dribble out of its dented armor.

"Loser!" Katnappe sneered as she saw Kimiko's robot disabled.

"What're you talking about?" Kimiko demanded. "Mine's dead, and you guys are still wrestling with yours."

"Actually…" Dojo interjected. "You have to destroy the robot in order to get the point."

"And I won't let you do that." Katnappe added. "Fist of TEBIGONG!" She slammed her fist against a wall, sending debris crumbling from the ceiling onto the dragon of fire. "Now," She said, playing with her fingernails absently. "I can win at my leisure!"

But just then, as she was turning around, there was another deafening hum. Everyone in the courthouse arena looked up and saw a swirling mist pressed against the roof of the building.

"Oh, now that's just dandy!" 3.0 complained. "She made an electrical st--,"

He didn't get to complete his sentence, for bolts of Ki Lightning rained down from the 'heavens', zapping Kimiko's robot. One bolt blew a gaping hole in its midsection while another melted its head clean off. Three electrical blasts targeted Katnappe's and 3.0's enemies, blowing them to smithereens again. It was like fireworks had gone off in the arena as the electric charges rushed about the courthouse, born on the water that had deluged the building.

"Point – Kimiko!" Dojo announced, ending the penultimate round.

The newly-unemployed bailiff scurried into the slimy waters to rack up at the point for the Xiaolin warriors.

"Well done, Kimiko!" Omi announced. "Of course, I could have done better myself, being the Xiaolin dragon of the water, but you did the best you could."

"You have truly mastered Ki Lightning." Master Fung said.

"Thanks." Kimiko said, picking off bits of rock from her outfit. "I just wish we could get out of here. I'm sick of this trial and I'm sick of fighting against the Heylin warriors."

"You're complaining?" Lawyer-bot 3.0 said as it sauntered over. "Do you have any idea how horrible it is on our side? All Spicer ever does is smash, smash, smash. And you people with your elements and your…your…Shin Gang Roo! Aargh!"

The Xiaolin dragons shot each other a quick look. Clay was the first to speak.

"Well, how'd you like to drop the Heylin losers and work with us? At least until we get out of this mess." Clay suggested. "We have rhubarb pie on Tuesdays…and Wednesdays…and Saturdays, and an all-you-can-eat steak buffet courtesy of the Bailey family ranch!"

The robot shrugged. "That would be a violation of Spicer's poorly-phrased protocols, but what the hey? I'm adaptable!" Lawyer-bot 3.0's beady digital eyes gave a short wink. "My programming has just been altered. Consider me an adaptive survivalist instead of just an evil robottorney." 3.0 sighed. "But could you hold the phone a bit? I think it's time for Spicer's pudding cup."

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